Chapter Text
Chapter Eighteen: Winds of Change, Part 2
- - -
Steven had never seen the Autobots so worried. He had never seen Dr. Maheswaran so worried, either–though he had known her for less time overall, seeing her so shaken up was somehow even more striking. He had watched as her face turned pale over the video call as Magnus informed her of what had just happened the night before.
“We have all of our equipment scanning the area for spark signatures,” she told them, “but so far we have nothing. She should still be in the area, yes?”
“She can’t have gotten that far without transforming,” said Elita. “You have to admit, it was strange that she didn’t, right? She just flew away on the wind instead.”
“Definitely odd,” Magnus replied. “The way she controlled the air like that…it seemed more precise than simple turbines could achieve. You don’t suppose she’s an Outlier, do you?”
“I’ll bet she didn’t transform because she can’t ,” said Sideswipe. “You saw all that dark energon comin’ outta her mouth. Didn’t you say that when someone’s infected with that stuff, the T-cog’s the first to go?”
Steven listened to their conversation from the back of the room, not making a sound. He did want to add his two cents to the discussion, but part of him felt like he didn’t deserve to. He was the one who let Windblade out, after all. And the parts of him that weren’t guilty were angry–angry at the Autobots for the part they played in this mess. If they hadn’t attacked her…
“I’ll send out some search parties to see if we can track her down,” said Dr. Maheswaran. “In the meantime, you three keep looking. The last thing we need right now is a Decepticon on the loose.”
“So, here’s the thing: she told us she was gonna make us pay,” said Sideswipe. “I’m pretty sure that means she’s coming back here eventually. Could we use that?”
“We know she’s coming back, but we don’t know when or how ,” Elita replied. “She could very well be unearthing some sort of ancient weapon to destroy the whole city.”
“Or, just as likely, she’s trying to contact Cybertron,” added Magnus. “All the more reason to find her quickly.”
Eventually, Steven worked up the courage to join the conversation. “I don’t think she’d do that,” he said quietly. The others turned to look at him. “She promised me that she wouldn’t tell anyone about the Earth when she got back home. And even though she’s mad right now, I don’t think she’d break that promise.”
The Autobots were silent, so Dr. Maheswaran spoke up. “Steven? I trust that by this point, you are familiar with the Decepticons, right?” He nodded hesitantly. “Then you know we can’t afford to leave her to her own devices. Until she’s in custody, NEST will be on high alert. Good hunting.” The call ended, and the Autobots were left to their own devices once again.
Before the awkward silence could be broken by one of them, they were surprised to hear a car horn outside. “Uh, is somebody’s mom here to pick them up?” asked Sideswipe, confused.
A few moments after hearing a door slam, Greg made his way into the Ark . “I heard about what happened here, how can I help!?” he said frantically.
The Autobots glanced at each other. “I’m…not sure there’s really much for you to do,” Elita informed him. “Thank you for the offer, but I think it’s for the best we handle this ourselves.”
“No offense, but from what I heard, ‘handling it yourselves’ meant attacking her even though Steven said she was harmless,” Greg pointed out. “You could’ve had at least a little faith in him…”
Steven walked over. “Thanks, Dad, but it’s kinda my fault, too. I should’ve done more to try and talk her down. The only reason she’s even out there now is because of me.”
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up,” said Greg, putting a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “You did the right thing. Just because it didn’t go as planned doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have done it.”
“Just because something was ‘right’ doesn’t mean he should act without thinking,” Elita shot back, more than a little bitter.
“That’s enough, everyone,” Magnus said, firmly but gently. “Arguing over who’s at fault will get us nowhere. Regardless of the how, why, or who, a Decepticon is currently on the loose, infected with dark energon, and more than likely plotting our downfall as we speak. However we do so, we need to find her, before somebody gets hurt.”
This, Steven could agree with. “You’re right,” he said. “We’re all a little to blame for this. The least we can do is make it right. When we find Windblade, I-I think I can talk to her, and make her–”
“Steven…” Elita interrupted. She sounded like she was barely holding back anger, or at the very least, annoyance. Before speaking further, she took a moment to compose herself. “Greg’s right: you always do the right thing. That’s what makes you an Autobot. But despite that, you need to be prepared for the possibility that Windblade won’t see reason. She’s a Decepticon, she’s angry with us, and she’s infected with dark energon–that’s not a good combination.”
“Hey, at least let the kid try!” said Sideswipe. “He helped me when I was all darked up, why can’t he help her?”
Elita shot him a look, but Magnus spoke before she could. “Of course, all of that assumes we can find her. None of our sensors are working: she’s too far gone to be picked up by our spark detectors, but not far gone enough to register as a Predacon. We will need to think outside the box for this one…”
Everyone was silent as they tried to come up with ideas. “Maybe we just go in the general direction she went?” suggested Steven. “She seemed like she was heading in a straight line. We’re bound to run into her eventually, right?”
“That leaves too much to chance,” said Magnus, “but I can try cross-referencing anything in that direction she’d want to reach. It could let us know exactly what she’s planning before we go.”
“If only we had something else to track her with,” lamented Elita. “Maybe we could go off of the anomalous weather patterns formed by her wind control, but Teletraan’s atmospheric sensors aren’t that precise.”
Greg suddenly perked up at that statement. “She can do weather things? Why didn’t you say so!?” He suddenly ran off excitedly back to his van, to the confusion of the others. Magnus opened the door to the Ark , and they filed out to see him digging through the back of the vehicle.
“Got an idea, Greg?” Magnus asked, sounding just a little skeptical.
With some effort, Greg pulled out what looked like a large antenna built out of household appliances and scrap. “Do you remember a few years ago–I think it was ‘97–when we had that really bad hurricane season?” He strained as he tried to lift the device on top of his van, with Steven going over to give him a hand.
“Oh yeah, the Great Storm Boom of ‘97,” said Sideswipe. “Took us weeks to get all the water outta the–” He snapped his fingers. “The Storm Tracker 2000! I thought I recognized that old hunk a’ junk!”
With what was apparently the Storm Tracker 2000 secured atop the van, Greg began running some cords back towards the Ark . “Optimus helped me build this so we could detect when a storm was coming,” Greg explained to Steven. “And if this Decepticon of yours can create storms, then all we need to do is hook her up to your computer.”
“And with Teletraan’s advanced computing, and your device’s sensors, we’ll be able to track Windblade wherever she goes!” said Elita. “Greg, this might just be your best idea yet!”
“Wow, thanks!” he said, pleasantly surprised to get such a compliment from Elita, of all bots. “Uh…Magnus, could I get a hand over here?”
“Of course.” Magnus walked over to help plug in the cords. “And Greg? You were right. Perhaps we should not have been so quick to place all the blame on Steven.”
“Hey, parenting’s hard–I should know,” he replied. “Look, normally I’d be skeptical about letting Steven try to talk to a giant death robot from outer space…you guys notwithstanding. But I’ve come to learn that when it comes to things like this, he’s usually right.”
Magnus nodded. “Indeed. Optimus usually was, too. He truly is his father’s son–both of them.”
Greg was touched by this compliment, so much so that he almost didn’t notice when Teletraan started beeping. “Oh, uh, I think we’ve got something!” he said, as Magnus went to check it. “What’s it say?”
“Hmm…still not enough to get an exact bead on her location,” he announced. “It looks like there’s an atmospheric anomaly twenty miles southeast of this location. That’s where we’ll start.” He began the procedures to activate the groundbridge.
“Greg?” said Elita. “If we’re going to track Windblade down, you’ll need to come with us…at least to bring the Storm Tracker along.”
“That’s ‘Storm Tracker 2000,’” Sideswipe specified.
Elita rolled her eyes. “Yes, well, names aside, are you sure you’re okay with putting yourself in harm’s way like this? Once we find her, Windblade is almost surely going to attack.”
“You kiddin’?” said Greg, getting into the driver’s seat of his van. “I’m just happy I can finally help you guys out! I can’t remember the last time I went on a mission.”
Steven hopped in on the passenger side. “Besides, I’ll be there to protect him! Don’t worry, Dad, I won’t let anything happen to you!” He held on tightly to Greg as an indication of his dedication. Greg returned the gesture.
The swirling shape of a groundbridge soon appeared. “Alright, it’s now or never–every second counts,” Magnus said. “Is everyone prepared?”
Elita cocked her blaster. “Ready.”
“I was built ready!” said Sideswipe, twirling his swords.
“Let’s do this!” said Greg, revving his engine.
Steven leaned out the window. “Lio! Let’s go!” But the lion didn’t respond. In fact, the lion didn’t appear to be anywhere around. “Uh, Lio?”
“No time, he’ll have to sit this one out,” said Magnus. “Everyone through!” Ready for a fight, all of them ran (in Greg’s case, drove) through the groundbridge. Sideswipe let out a battle cry, waving his swords around as he traveled through the other side, but it petered off when he saw there was nobody around.
“Huh? What gives?” he said. Despite scanning the horizon, there was no sign of Windblade. They appeared to be on a dirt road near some trees, far from civilization. “Where’s the fightin’?”
Magnus checked his forearm-mounted scanner again. “The anomalous weather patterns are here, but they’re fading. Windblade must have come through this area some time ago. The readings get stronger in this direction.” He pointed off further into the wilderness where dark clouds hung low in the air. Dirt, grass, and tree branches littered the way, kicked up by strong winds, and recently at that.
“Keep an eye on those readings,” said Elita. “I’ll keep checking Teletraan’s database for anything that might be out here. Come on–there’s no time to waste.” She transformed, taking to the skies and speeding off in the direction of Windblade’s readings. Sideswipe and Magnus transformed as well, racing off after her.
“Alright, it’s a road trip!” said Greg, putting the pedal to the metal. As all four vehicles traveled after the Decepticon, Steven only hoped it wasn’t too late.
- - -
About half an hour later, the group was no closer to finding their target. They simply wordlessly drove along, following where the signal was strongest. Their surroundings had changed from pastures and fields to a more desert-like badland, meaning there was less in the way of visible signs of tornadoes.
The whole time, Steven had been pondering just what he would say to Windblade once they reached her. She seemed pretty angry the last he saw of her, and as he knew from experience, dark energon had a way of making someone less than reasonable. That thought reminded him of something; she contacted the others over the radio. “Hey, Magnus?”
“Yes, Steven?”
“So, I was doing some thinking, and something you said earlier stood out to me. You said that Windblade wasn’t ‘too far gone’ to be a Predacon. Does that mean dark energon makes someone look like a Predacon to Teletraan?”
For the longest time, there was radio silence. Even Greg seemed to be looking away uncomfortably. Eventually, it was Sideswipe who responded. “I mean, he was gonna find out eventually. Might as well tell ‘im now,” he said.
“What? Tell me what?” asked Steven, getting a bad feeling about all of this.
Elita was the one who answered. “She wouldn’t just appear as a Predacon–she would be one.” She spoke hesitantly, clearly wishing she didn’t have to tell him this. “That’s what dark energon does to Cybertronians, it warps them into unrecognizable monsters. Every Predacon that we’ve ever fought…it used to be just like us.”
Now Steven understood why none of them wanted to discuss this. He slowly lay back in his seat, taking it all in. For years he had wondered why there had only been four Autobots left despite hearing tales of a once-great society. But whatever answers he had imagined, none of them had been quite so grim as the truth. “So we’ve been…fighting your friends?” he asked quietly.
“Indeed,” Magnus said gravely. “Prowl, Jazz, Bluestreak–all of our former comrades, so twisted both in mind and body that they became little more than animals. No longer able to tell friend from foe, or even to remember who they were. This was the fate of everyone who succumbed to dark energon’s influence.”
Steven suddenly understood why their mission to disable the dark energon device out at sea had been so important. But upon remembering that mission, another, more frightening thought went through his head. “So, you mean, if I hadn’t been able to save Sideswipe…?”
“Yup, I’d’ve been just another beastie for the Autobots to lock up,” said Sideswipe. “For what it’s worth, though, I think you guys coulda taken me. I doubt my Predacon self would’ve had my impeccable combat skills!”
Noting his son’s gloomy expression, Greg tried to cheer him up. “Look on the bright side, Schtu-ball: you saved him!” he said. “Sideswipe’s here with the rest of us, and it’s all thanks to you!”
He was right, but Steven couldn’t help but ponder on the what-ifs. But that did lead to him having a much more positive thought. “Hang on a minute…if I cured Sideswipe with the Matrix of Leadership, doesn’t that mean I could cure Windblade with it, too?”
“Anything is possible,” said Elita, though it was clear she wasn’t too keen on the likelihood of this. “Of course, whether she wants to cooperate is another matter entirely.”
And so, they continued on, following the invisible footprints that Windblade left behind. How she had made it so far in relatively little time was beyond them, but she clearly had a particular destination in mind. That, or she was trying to put as much distance between her and the Autobots as possible, for which Steven couldn’t really blame her if that was the case.
“Hey, Dad?” he asked, turning to Greg. “Did Dad ever tell you about the Decepticons?”
“Oh, well…a little bit,” Greg replied. “Optimus didn’t really like to talk about his past all that much. He mentioned bits and pieces here and there, and Elita and the others filled in some of the gaps, but I probably don’t know much more than you do. I know how there was a war a while back, but that’s about it. I assume the Autobots won, seeing as we’re still here.”
Even if they had sent the Decepticons packing, it was hard to call it a victory when every one of your comrades had been mutated into horrible monsters. “Do you…Do you think he knew about Windblade? The other ‘bots seemed surprised she was in there, so there’s no way he knew, right?” All of this disguised his real question: could there be more Decepticons, malevolent or otherwise, trapped within the Ark ’s containment room?
“That’s…a bit beyond me, Steven,” he answered. “I just sorta helped out with any projects they needed an extra hand on. I wouldn’t know anything about what went on in that ship of theirs, at least that i didn’t see myself.”
Steven nodded, acknowledging that he probably wouldn’t see answers to his deeper questions for some time. He held a hand to his chest, hoping his attunement to the Matrix had grown since he had last tried to access it.
A little while later, the silence was broken by Magnus over the radio. “Hold on, the readings are getting stronger. We must be getting close to Windblade, and whatever she’s doing, it’s causing some big waves.”
“What? Here?” replied Elita, sounding a little worried. “Let’s confirm this first. It might turn out to be nothing, but if she’s where I think she is…”
The convoy continued on as the readings grew stronger and stronger. Their path soon brought them to the edge of a large basin, the dry and cracked ground stretching into the distance to reveal the source of the readings: a massive dust storm, probably miles across, covering most of the horizon. Everyone stopped and transformed to stare at the gigantic whirlwind.
“Yeah, that doesn’t look like nothing,” said Sideswipe, gazing at the storm with trepidation. “What were you saying was here, exactly?”
“I was looking through our database, and I know why Windblade chose that spot,” Elita said. “A relic from the war is buried here: a spacebridge.”
While Steven had never heard the term before, it was fairly obvious what it meant. “So, I imagine that’s like a groundbridge, but…with space?” he said.
“Indeed,” said Magnus. “Now we know how she intends to return to Cybertron. But a miscalibrated spacebridge could lead to all sorts of disasters. Or worse, it could work–only to invite the Decepticons to our doorstep.”
“That…sounds bad,” Steven said. “We have to stop her before that happens!” How , exactly, he wasn’t sure, but hoped it didn’t need to escalate beyond a simple conversation. “Autobots–er, am I allowed to say it?”
Magnus nodded, smiling just a bit. “With how far you’ve come, I’d say you’ve earned the privilege,” he said.
“Autobots, transform and roll out!” With Steven’s battle cry, the Autobots indeed transformed and rolled out, speeding off towards the storm in the distance. They raced across the dirt, ready to save the Earth from potential destruction once again.
The group reached the edge of the dust storm, passing through the wall. Visibility was low, but they were able to push through until they reached the eye. Within, a haze of dust covered the sun, making it appear red. And there, hovering in the center of it all, was Windblade, silhouetted against the red sun like a demented effigy. She noticed them, descending towards the ground to greet her guests.
“I had a feeling you’d follow me.” Her voice was distorted by dark energon corruption, which also caused her blue eyes to periodically flash to purple. “In fact, it’s better that you’re here to see this in person! I’m leaving this planet behind, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”
Steven raced out of the van to the front of the group. “Windblade, please! It doesn’t have to be like this! I-I’m sorry about everything that happened before, but I can help you! We can help you, together!”
The wind swirling around her grew more violent. “‘Help’ me!? As if they’d want to help someone like me! There’s nothing anyone can do to help me anymore ! So you can all just BLOW AWAY!” The wind formed into a tornado, into which she disappeared. It began tearing up the ground as it touched down, hurling chunks of earth around the area.
Magnus bashed aside a chunk before it could hit Greg’s van. “She’s trying to dig up the spacebridge!” he shouted. “We have to find a way up to her!”
“Any ideas, big guy?” asked Sideswipe, cutting through the debris with his swords. “Elita’s the only one of us who can fly, and I doubt she’s getting through that !”
“Only one way to find out!” Elita transformed, her propellers pulling her up towards the tornado. This clearly took a lot of strain, given how the closer she got, the slower she moved. “It’s hard to get a lock…hold on…” She was just able to see Windblade’s silhouette within the tornado, opening fire.
Some of her shots hit their mark, but this only angered Windblade, causing her to send Elita careening off-course with a blast of air. She transformed before she crashed, landing beside the others.
Magnus went next, unloading a salvo of rockets towards the Decepticon. These were thrown off their mark by the rushing wind, being scattered all around the area. Some were thrown back towards the group. “Look out!” he shouted, getting in front of the others to block the incoming projectiles.
The rockets slammed against Magnus’ back, sending him to his knees when they exploded. “Magnus! Are you okay!?” asked Steven, hurrying up to him.
“Fine,” he groaned, getting back to his feet. “Steven, get back in the van and have Greg drive you to a safe distance. We’ll handle things from here.”
“What? But…” He went silent, getting back in the passenger seat. Rocks and dirt collided against the sides of the vehicle, though thankfully the larger chunks hadn’t reached them yet. The Autobots were to thank for that, keeping the debris away from them.
Wordlessly, Greg, understanding how dire the situation was, turned the van around and drove away from the chaos. Steven hated to leave his friends behind, but trusted them to handle it. However, it seemed like Windblade didn’t want him to leave just yet: as Greg reached the edge of the storm, the van suddenly stopped moving. “What the–?” he said, revving the engine to no avail.
Steven looked back to see what the problem was: the wind had lifted the van’s back tires off the ground, and was gradually pulling it back. “Uh-oh!” The vehicle was further picked up, the storm threatening to pull it into the sky. “Hold on, Dad!”
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” The van was pulled into the air, before falling back down onto its front bumper. The impact caused the airbags to deploy, as well as knocking both doors open. “Hang on, we’re going over!” he shouted, pushing the bag out of his face.
The van was about to tip over, rolling forward. Thinking quickly, Steven hopped out the door, changing into his Cybertronian form and catching it before it could fall. “Keep holding on!” He strained as he pulled it away from the edge, slowly lowering it back to the ground. But before he could, the ground itself gave way.
Windblade’s constant erosion of the desert ground had finally broken through the upper layer. Cracks appeared in the dried dirt, with even more chunks being pulled up by the speeding winds. And with a mighty groan, something long buried was lifted up to the surface.
Still holding the van, Steven couldn’t just let his Dad fall as a chunk of rock was hurled towards him. He braced for impact, hoping his stronger form would cushion the blow. But before it could reach him, there was a sudden flash of light.
This particular flash of light was one Steven recognized as a groundbridge opening. And not just any groundbridge, the kind specific to Lio. The lion in question suddenly shot out of the portal in his robot mode, blocking the stone with his shield. But he wasn’t alone: he was in his armor form, and piloting him…
“Hey Steven!” said Connie. “I’m not too late, am I?”
“Connie!” he said excitedly, lowering the van. “No, you’re just in time! How did you know to come here?”
“A little lion told me you were in trouble,” she replied, glancing down at her exo-suit. “So, who’re we fighting this time? Something tells me this isn’t your average Predacon.”
There was no time to explain, as Windblade’s objective was further unearthed. The edge of a giant metal ring emerged from the ground, looming over the Autobots, who stared up at it in terror. It was large enough to fly a passenger jet through, and the wings would just avoid scraping the edges. “Definitely not a Predacon,” Steven confirmed.
As the spacebridge was lifted further up, Windblade herself made a reappearance. “I’ve been stuck on this miserable planet for countless centuries ! You kept me trapped for so long, but now I’ll never be trapped again!” She raised the spacebridge up further, until it almost eclipsed the sun. “Whatever happens next–know that you had it coming!”
“Windblade, wait!” But Steven’s cries went unanswered, as Windblade activated the spacebridge. A tiny pinprick of pitch blackness appeared in the center of the ring, steadily growing larger as sparks of red, blue, and purple swirled around the singularity. Electricity arced between it and the frame, as the wind picked up even further. No, this wasn’t the wind–the spacebridge had created a vacuum, pulling everything nearby towards it.
“Alright, that does it!” said Sideswipe, holding on to Ultra Magnus to brace himself. “Get me closer!” Magnus trudged forward, both of them struggling against the hurricane-force winds. Sideswipe aimed his blaster carefully, opening fire towards Windblade. A few of his shots hit their mark, but others passed her by and collided with the spacebridge.
“Careful! You don’t want to destabilize the–” Magnus didn’t have time to finish, as Windblade crashed down to the ground, sending out a gust that threw everyone back. When the dust cleared, she stood there staring them down, energy sword in hand.
“Okay then. Guess I’m taking care of you personally.” Her voice was becoming further distorted, and even her body language seemed more aggressive. “You know what? I think I might even enjoy this!”
She wasted no time starting the fight, lunging with wind-enhanced speed at Magnus and Sideswipe. Elita was able to intercept her, knocking her off-course with a precision kick. “I’d reconsider if I were you,” she said. “In case you didn’t notice, it’s one on five!”
Windblade smirked. “It is–and you’re the ones outnumbered!” Her rotors spun, kicking up another tornado that sent debris flying towards the Autobots. Elita and Sideswipe dove to the ground to avoid the incoming rocks, Magnus weathered the assault, and Connie blocked them from hitting her, Steve, or Greg with her shield.
“Did I mention how glad I am you’re here?” said Steven.
Connie grinned. “I am too. Now, how do we stop her?”
It was currently taking all three Autobots to hold her back, given how strong her wind powers were. Through all of this, the spacebridge showed no signs of slowing down, continuing to tear a hole open in space-time. “Do you think you could get up there and stop that thing?” Steven asked.
Lio transformed, with Connie now riding on his back. “Leave it to me! Good luck!” Lio roared, opening a groundbridge that he quickly darted through. With that taken care of, Steven summoned his axe, making his way over to Windblade.
Swords clashed as Windblade and Sideswipe fought like demons. Steven had never seen him fight with such ferocity before. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish!” he said. “If that thing gets any bigger, we’ll all be space dust!”
“If that’s the price for getting my revenge on you, then so be it!” she yelled. With a blast of air, she hurled herself into the air, coming back down with a powerful slash. Although Sideswipe blocked it, the force was enough to throw him to the ground. She raised her sword to drive it into his chest, only for it to be blocked.
Steven had swung his axe, redirecting the blade. “Windblade, I’ve only known you for a few days, but I know this isn’t you!” he said. “It’s all that dark energon in your system–it’s making you act like this!”
Her face split into a psychotic grin. “You’re wrong, Steven…the dark energon is helping me realize who I really am! It’s letting me do what I wouldn’t have the courage to do! Like take care of the Autobots once and for all !” She charged at Steven, who once again parried with his axe.
Their weapons clashed again and again, with any fondness Windblade had for Steven having been forgotten. He was reluctant to hurt her, but at this point, he had no choice but to fight back. He swung his axe, aiming to incapacitate, but Windblade was too quick to be taken out so easily.
Where Steven was doing his best not to do any lasting damage with his strikes, Windblade was out for blood–or energon, so to speak. She likely would have gotten the upper hand on him before long, had Magnus not come in from behind to grab hold of her. “Hey! Let go, Autobot scum!”
He held her arms to her side, preventing her from using her sword. Plus, the position made it hard for her to blow him away with her turbines. “Steven! If you’re going to do something, now is the time!”
“R-right!” He placed his hands in front of his chest, concentrating as hard as he could on invoking the power of the Matrix of Leadership. A glowing light appeared before him, slowly getting brighter. Windblade stopped struggling, transfixed by the shine. Her eyes flickered back between purple and blue.
Earlier, Connie had exited the groundbridge to find herself atop the floating spacebridge. “Okay, wow, this is higher than I was anticipating,” she noted, holding tightly to Lio. “Ready to do this?”
Lio roared in response, transforming. Connie once again took control, taking his shield in hand. She brought its edge down against the metal rim of the spacebridge, making only a small dent. A few more repeated strikes, and the outer casing began to wear away.
It wasn’t long before she had broken through, revealing the machine’s inner workings. “Alright, let’s see if this thing can still function without these things!” After tearing herself an entry point, she hopped down, and began ripping through the various wires and circuits within.
Down below, everyone was so focused on their fight that none of them noticed the portal beginning to dim. Nobody, that is, until it caught Windblade’s eye. Furious, she spun her turbines, throwing both herself and Magnus back before Steven could purify her. Once free, she launched herself into the air to confront the saboteur.
Connie almost didn’t notice her approach, only stopping when she saw the glow of her energy blade. “So, the Autobots have the locals doing their dirty work, the hypocrites!” She pointed her sword at the girl, slowly making her way over. “You’ve chosen your side, now face the consequences!”
Windblade ran forward, her sword clashing against Connie’s shield. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you clearly don’t know anything about me!” She kicked the Decepticon’s legs out from under her, though she righted herself with a blast of air before she hit the floor. However, this gave Connie enough time to leap up and bring down her shield onto her with all her strength.
The impact clearly enraged Windblade, who unleashed an enormous blast of air that soon swirled into a tornado, which tore apart the insides of the spacebridge even further. Although she was doing Connie’s job for her, the vortex was also pulling her into it, not to mention all the debris it was throwing around.
Back on the ground, Steven could only watch as the effects of their fight appeared on the outside of the machine. “Connie’s in trouble!” he shouted. “We have to help her!”
“On it!” Elita transformed, taking off towards the spacebridge. Connie had already made a partial getaway, clinging to the structure’s exterior as Windblade’s tornado increased in intensity. “Quickly, grab on!” she shouted.
Connie did so, with Elita trying to fly away from the tornado. However, its pull combined with Connie’s weight meant that she was largely stuck in place. Seeing this, Windblade increased its power, causing them to careen off-course. “No, no, no–I hope you can land like this!”
“It might be more of a crash-landing!” Elita called back, doing her best to stay airborne as the entire sky around them was whipped up into a whirlwind.
The effects of this were felt even on the ground, with Magnus and the others forced to brace themselves against the ever-stronger winds. “I can’t see a thing!” he said, the storm kicking up a thick layer of dust that reduced visibility to near-zero.
“Steven!” The shout, coupled with the sound of creaking metal, drew his attention in a panic. Through the dust cloud, he could see Greg’s van being picked up by the winds. His dad was still inside, but that wouldn’t help him if the vehicle was thrown far enough. He quickly ran over, grabbing onto the van’s bumper before it could be lifted off.
“Dad! Hold on!” he cried, pulling with all his strength. Greg had no choice but to grip the steering wheel as Steven tried to pull the van down to the ground. Metal creaked as his fingers dug into its chassis, refusing to let go. But although he held on as tightly as he could, the van was not as strong as him–the bumper gave way, tearing free as the rest was thrown by the tornado. “No!”
Steven rushed after the van, but was unable to reach it in time as it landed hard onto the ground, rolling several times before ending up on his side. Panic overtook his mind, his only thought in getting his father out of the wreckage. He had almost reached him when the driver-side door was pulled open by the wind, pulling Greg out of his seat. “Help me, Steven!” he shouted, holding onto the door with one hand. Just as Steven reached him, diving to grab him, he lost his grip, being pulled away by the vast winds.
Greg tumbled through the air, being pulled up further and further, with Steven helpless to do anything but watch. Neither Sideswipe nor Magnus were close enough to aid him. He wouldn’t be able to reach his father in time. Panic overtook him, numbing out the rest of the world.
No. He refused to allow himself to be helpless. As the son of Optimus Prime, holder of the Matrix of Leadership, there had to be something he could do. As his fear was replaced with resolve, blue light shot out from his eyes, washing over the vehicle that lay before him. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but an odd sensation came next, akin to a warmth washing over his entire body. It passed in less than a second, as he took off in the direction of his father.
And then he transformed.
It all came naturally to Steven, as though he had done it a million times before. With a familiar sound, the metal that composed his body shifted into a new configuration. Doors and tires appeared where there had been none before, as he became the spitting image of Greg’s van, murals and all, with the Autobot symbol emblazoned across the hood. His wheels kicked up dirt as he sped across the ground at full speed towards his dad.
Just as it looked like Greg was going to hit the ground, Steven arrived. He transformed once again, throwing himself into the air to catch his father. His arms wrapped around him, with the two sliding to a stop in the dust. He had succeeded–Greg was safe.
“Dad? Dad!” he cried, looking down at his father. Though not dead, he didn’t seem to be in the best shape. “Dad, are you okay!?”
He groaned, opening his eyes. “Steven…yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said weakly. “I think…I think my arm might be broken.”
Steven was no doctor, but a quick glance showed that was definitely the case. “Okay, don’t worry, I’ll get you back into the van, and then you can–” Unseen until now, the van had been picked up by the winds, being hurled in Steven’s direction. “The van!” He turned his back to the incoming vehicle to try and shield Greg from the impact.
Moments before the van collided with them, another vehicle came racing over, slamming into the larger one and knocking it aside. Sideswipe transformed, looking a bit dazed. “Aw, man, and I just got this waxed,” he lamented. “You all good over there?”
“Sort of, but Dad’s hurt!” Steven said, racing over. “We’ve gotta get him outta here before this gets any worse!”
Meanwhile, Magnus had gone to try and catch the falling Connie and Elita. It was hard to gauge exactly where they were going to land, due to the wind, but just as they were about to hit the ground, he dove in their path. Magnus landed in the dirt, Connie landed on top of him, and Elita managed to touch down perfectly, on one knee. “Are you two okay?” she asked.
“ I am, but where’s Steven?” asked Connie, worried, getting up. She made her way through the storm, and soon the two groups reconveined.
Steven was still cradling his father, looking at him worriedly. “Magnus, Elita, Dad’s not doing so well. Could we open a groundbridge in all this?”
Magnus tried, but he was only able to create a flicker. “No good–the storm is causing too much interference. We either have to stop it, or risk driving through.”
Frustration grew inside of Steven. “Is this what you wanted!?” he shouted up to the skies, hoping Windblade could hear him. “I risked everything for you! I went against the Autobots, against my better judgment, all because I believed you were a good person. And I still do! I know you’re stronger than this dark energon, Windblade! You’ve held on for all these years–don’t give in now!”
The tornado kicking up the sandstorm slowly cleared, but in its place was the ominous floating form on Windblade. Her eyes were fixed on Steven as she descended towards the party, sword in hand. Everyone except for him prepared for a fight.
“Yesterday, you told me you didn’t want the Earth to be hurt,” he said as she landed. “But look around; what you’re doing, this is hurting! Not just us, but you too. All that dark energon, it’s hurting you. But I can help you. I promised I would.”
Windblade’s eyes began to flicker from purple to blue. “This…I can’t…” She stood in place, shuddering slightly as she resisted the corruption as best as she could. “No way to…help me…”
Steven handed Greg to Connie, as she could protect him with her shield if things went badly. “But I can. Trust me.” And then, with considerable effort, Windblade put away her sword. Everyone watched as Steven reached up to his chest, and the Matrix appeared.
A sense of serenity washed over the scene as its blue glow enveloped the area. Calmness filled the air along with its light, creating a blanket of reassurance. The winds slowed to a stop until finally, they could see blue sky again. The damaged spacebridge was slowly lowered to the ground, and finally, the plains were tranquil once more.
In surprise, Windblade looked down at her hands. “Am I…?” she asked, looking up at Steven. Her eyes were back to normal–the dark energon had been banished from her system.
“You’re all better,” Steven said happily, the Matrix vanishing until it was needed once again. “How do you feel?”
She looked up at the sky, feeling a cool breeze that was blowing across the plains. “I feel…amazing,” she said, smiling in bliss as she closed her eyes. “I don’t know what you did, but I haven’t felt this way in ages! I can’t thank you enough, Steven!”
Seeing her so happy, he couldn’t help but smile as well. “No need to thank me: that’s just what we Autobots do! And speaking of…” The other four were waiting behind Windblade for the right moment to address things, with Steven backing off to let them work it out.
Windblade took a deep breath. “Okay…I’m not exactly used to this sort of thing, but…I’m sorry everything turned out the way it did. I used Steven to get myself out, and then I went and proved exactly why you guys were wary of me in the first place.” She looked at Greg, wincing when she saw his arm. “If there’s any way I can make it up to you, let me know.”
“We must apologize to you as well,” said Magnus. “If it wasn’t my handling of the situation, maybe we could have avoided a lot of this. I think it’s safe to say that nobody is entirely blameless in all of this.”
“You’re sure?” Windblade asked. “I can stick around and…well, I’m not much of a mechanic, and I don’t know anything about organics, but maybe I can help with…something? It’s the least I can do after nearly killing you all.”
Sideswipe brushed it off. “Ah, don’t worry about it! We almost get killed practically every day around here! A few minor dents and some chipped paint don’t mean a thing.”
“Certainly wouldn’t be the first time I’ve broken my arm, I doubt it’s the last!” said Greg. “Ow…besides, you weren’t yourself.”
Touched by their understanding in the face of her rampage, Windblade turned back to Steven. “Well, I guess this is goodbye, then. It was nice meeting you, Steven Universe, and your friends, even if we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. Thank you for not giving up on me.” She held out her arms, hoping for a hug.
Steven eagerly complied. “I’ll miss you,” he said. “Come back and visit if you get the chance, ‘kay?”
“I’ll try my best.” Her smile turned bittersweet for a moment, but quickly lightened up once more upon seeing Steven’s. She cast him one last look as she turned away, before transforming into a jet. She sped off into the distance, letting out a sonic boom as she took off into the atmosphere. And then she was gone.
After a moment of looking up at the sky where she had flown, Steven turned back around to the others. “Hey, uh, Magnus? Remember what you said about nobody being blameless here? I have to apologize too. I should’ve been more patient and explained myself better.”
“Indeed you should have, which is why you’re still grounded,” Magnus said, crossing his arms. Steven looked down in shame. “That said…I must also apologize for a similar lack of patience. And the way you stuck to your guns even when we all told you you were wrong…that was very Optimus-esque.”
He perked up immediately on hearing this. “Y-you mean it?”
“ Very Optimus-esque,” Elita said. “Here, let me look at you.” No longer simply a protoform, he had taken on an appearance all his own. In addition to wearing the van’s colors, he had taken on some of its characteristics as well. Its headlights were on his shoulders, and its doors were on his arms like bracers. Despite it all, though, he was still recognizable as Steven. “It’s hard to believe you’re still the same little boy I first met all those years ago.”
Steven couldn’t help blushing a bit at the praise. “Hey, I’m still me!” he said. “I’m just…bigger.” He stepped closer to the group. “So, how’s everybody holding up?”
“Well, still alive,” Greg said. “My van’s gonna need a bit of work, though…” He sounded more upset about that than he did his arm.
“You kiddin’? You’ve got a better one right here!” Sideswipe gestured to Steven. “Hey, Ste-man, you don’t mind driving this guy around when he’s got somewhere to be, do you?”
Connie chuckled. “I’m fine, too. That Windblade packed a wallop, but I can handle pretty much anything as long as Lio’s with me. …And as long as you’re with me, too, Steven.”
His blush didn’t grow, but it didn’t vanish, either. “You were pretty good out there. All those lessons must be paying off, ‘cause you’re a natural born fighter!”
“Thanks!” The two were silent for a bit, just enjoying each other’s company. “Well, uh…I should probably head home then. If I’m lucky, Mom hasn’t realized I’m gone yet. It was good fighting with you again, Steven!”
Lio transformed, opening up a groundbridge that he and Connie sped through. Steven held up his hand, offering a small wave. “Bye,” he said quietly, smiling.
“We should probably be heading back as well,” Magnus said. “Dr. Maheswaran might not know Connie was here, but she’s sure to want a debriefing of everything that happened today.” He opened up a groundbridge of his own. “But for now, I think we’ve all earned a rest.”
- - -
Steven was glad to see the gentler sands of the seaside he called home, as opposed to the harsh grains kicked up by the windstorm. He shrank back to his human form, feeling the soft crunching underfoot as he listened to the gentle lapping of waves. Somehow, some way, he had saved the day.
“So, here’s a question,” said Sideswipe, carrying Greg. “Should we take him to a hospital, or try and patch him up ourselves?”
“Prooobably should leave this to the human doctors,” Elita replied, eyeing Greg’s arm uncomfortably.
Sideswipe transformed, with Greg in the passenger seat. “Welp, we’re off. You wanna come with, Steven?”
He hopped in the back. “Yeah, I should. We’ll be back in a bit, see you guys later!”
“Good luck,” said Magnus, as Sideswipe drove away. “And speaking of luck, let’s just hope the good doctor isn’t too upset about a Decepticon being allowed to head back to Cybertron.”
“Actually, I think Steven made the right call,” replied Elita, looking up to the sky. “Windblade really did seem to be harmless, once she was purified of dark energon. I think she’ll keep her word about not mentioning us. And besides, it’s been almost six thousand years–who knows what’s happened on Cybertron since then?”
The two of them headed inside. “That’s what worries me…” said Magnus.
Meanwhile, Steven and Greg were on their way to the nearest hospital. “You doing okay up there?” the former asked his father.
“Just fine,” Greg replied. “...Hey, Steven?”
“Yeah?”
Greg turned to face his son. “I know I’m not exactly the type to get involved with Autobot business, but…you did really well out there today. Fighting when you have to, making peace when you can, it’s exactly what Optimus would do. I’m proud of you.”
“Steven nearly teared up at this praise. “Thanks, Dad. I’m proud of you, too.”
Steven had always been assured that, regardless of his origins, his abilities, or whatever form he took, he would always be an Autobot. But that day was the first time he well and truly felt like a member of the team. Like he deserved to be called his father’s son, and to bear the Matrix. No matter what happened next, whether it involved Predacons, Decepticons, or just keeping the Earth safe, he would uphold his father’s legacy.