Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~A Universe, Transformed~

Chapter One: Axe Me a Question

- - -

Beach City: a bustling city on the eastern American coast, known for its beautiful seaside views, historical significance, and resident celebrities. Because of this, it was a semi-popular tourist destination, though it was far from being a bustling metropolis. And right now, the streets were deserted, save for one solitary youth happily strolling through the streets, without a care in the world.

To most, the empty streets would appear eerie, but not to Steven Universe. He simply hummed a tune as he headed down the sidewalk, stepping past a street-sweeper drone, the tiny robot the sole other being present. And perhaps the reason for the lack of pedestrians was in the distance: further into the city, the sounds of clashing metal and discharging laser weaponry rang out–it sounded like a war was being waged just over in the town square. But the sounds of battle did little to deter Steven from his mission.

His path brought him closer to the beach, where a small shop sat just beyond the residential district. ‘The Big Donut’ it read in big letters above the front, a hologram of its namesake hanging just over the roof. The bell from the door made a gentle dingle as Steven entered the establishment. “Good morning, Big Donut crew!” he announced cheerfully. There didn’t seem to be anyone there at first.

However, at his greeting, two older teens peered out from behind the counter, appearing to have been taking cover behind it. One of them, though anxious about their current predicament, waved. “Steven! Hey!” she said. “Here to pick up your order?”

“Yup!” he said, strolling over. The other worker scowled, clearly less than happy to see him. “Four donuts for S. Universe! Thanks for taking the time to make ‘em with all the commotion, Sadie.”

“Oh, it’s no problem,” she said, handing him a carry-out bag.

“Maybe for you it isn’t,” the more antagonistic of the two butted in. “Steven, the entire city’s under siege, is buying donuts really the best use of our time?”

He seemed to take offense to this. “Hey, everyone likes donuts! I’m just trying to do something nice for the guys: what could be better after a long day of saving the city than a nice, freshly-baked donut? And it’s not like you have anything better to do, Lars !”

Lars rolled his eyes, not willing to give this a response. “Whatever. Just…tell that helicopter lady I said hi.” Sadie gave him an angry nudge.

“You know what, maybe I will!” Steven said, exiting the shop. “Goodbye, Sadie! Mediocre-bye, Lars!” The brief interaction did little to lower his spirits, as, donuts in hand, he continued his journey back home. However, he gasped at something that was much more likely to ruin his day.

Crawling over a building, he was suddenly faced down with the eight glowing eyes of a giant spider. Very giant, as the creature was easily the size of a car. It could very well have been a car, as it was made entirely of metal. The mandibles of the mechanical menace clicked together as it observed the helpless human, crawling down the building towards him. He looked to either side, but more of the arachnids crept down the street. He was surrounded.

“Morning, Steven!” a cheerful female voice called from above. Also from above came a hailstorm of bullets, tearing through the approaching spiders. Those that survived the initial barrage turned their attention to their airborne attacker. A small but fast twin-rotor helicopter sped past overhead, turning around for another run. It was painted mostly pink, with shades of orange, yellow, and red, making it the color of a sunset.

Steven was unbothered by any of this, simply waving. “Hey, Elita!” he said. “How’s the battle going?”

As the helicopter looped back around, something extraordinary happened: as it slowed and approached the ground, it changed its shape entirely. Metal panels shifted and parts replaced other parts, and in a matter of seconds, the vehicle had transformed into a humanoid robot. “Oh, not too bad, thanks for asking,” she replied, the voice heard earlier belonging not to the helicopter’s pilot, but to the helicopter herself.

The feminine robot was tall and thin, with a tiny pair of lights on her head that resembled horns. As the spiders began to swarm her, she retaliated with a series of kicks, in addition to drawing a rifle from her back. The blades from her helicopter form extended from her ankles, slicing through her attackers. On her shoulder was a symbol: the image of a valiant robot face, stalwart in its demeanor, and colored red. Incidentally, Steven bore the same image on his shirt.

“I see you’ve got some donuts!” she said cheerfully, opening fire on the spiders. Her rifle changed from rapid fire to shotgun-like bursts as they got closer. “Sideswipe will certainly appreciate that! Speaking of, you be careful heading home, okay?”

“Okay!” Steven strolled away from the carnage, uncaring that one of the spiders was bearing down on him. Just as it was about to strike, a sleek black sportscar sped up, battering it aside as it scooped up the boy in its passenger door. The move was so smooth, it was clear they had done this before. “Hey Swiper!”

“Yo, what up, Ste-man?” It was the car itself that spoke, as it had no driver. While mostly black, its rims, underside, and two stripes down its length glowed neon green. “Are those donuts I smell?”

Steven hung his elbow out the window, rock music blaring from the car’s radio as it mowed down more spiders. “Sure are! Got you a glazed!”

“My fave! C’mon, let’s get home before Ultra Magnus gets overwhelmed!” With the hiss of nitrous, the black car blasted down the road, both outrunning and overtaking more of the spiders. Its tires screeched as it wheeled around, firing on them with machine guns that emerged from below its headlights.

Before long, Steven and Sideswipe had arrived at the back, where a gigantic statue stood beneath a large cliff. It depicted another robot, this one holding a sword to the ground. In front of this sword was a small house, attached to a much larger garage. Beside this house, another robot was being swarmed by even more of the spiders.

Just as the helicopter had, the black car transformed into a robot as well. Steven ended up in his hand, and he set him down while smoothing out where his hair would be. “How’s it holding up over here, Mags?”

The robot on the beach was the largest of the three, able to hold off the spiders even though they almost covered him completely. He was mostly blue with some red highlights, much broader and boxier than his compatriots, with a pair of large white shoulder pads. “Not exactly well,” he said casually, smashing through the spiders with his bare hands.

“Well, here’s some good news: Steven got donuts!” said Sideswipe, holding up the bag. “Let’s see…I got dibs on the glazed, and I imagine he’ll want the strawberry sprinkle. We got an eclair and a bear claw, which one d’you want?”

“I can’t deal with that now!” said Ultra Magnus, who was covered in spiders.

“Yeah, you’re right, we’ll wait for Elita. Sideswipe handed the bag back to Steven, who headed into the house. He then drew a pair of swords, rushing into the fray. “Sideswipe’s comin’ in, y’all!”

Once inside, Steven set the bag down on the counter, looking out the front window at the battle unfolding on the sand. Elita, Sideswipe, and Ultra Magnus all did battle valiantly against any threat the city faced, and this was no different. The sight of all three of them protecting humankind filled him with pride…only for the pride to soon be replaced with something else. He looked down at himself, examining his arms intently, finding fault in his seemingly normal appearance.

“Another donut run, done,” he said sadly. “They’re out there fighting, keeping the world safe…and all I can do is go out and pick up refreshments.” He sadly walked over to a nearby wall, looking up at several pictures depicting the robots. “I’m basically just an intern. I wish I could do more to help, and be a real Autobot! Like…like Dad.”

One of the pictures, an older one, depicted the three Autobots outside posing with several humans. However, there was a fourth in the picture: even taller than the others, he was red and blue with a faceplate over his mouth, and an axe in his hand. This Autobot stood at the center of the frame, drawing all attention with his mere presence.

Steven looked up fondly at the picture, before sighing. “Maybe one day.” The sounds of battle outside had ceased, so he decided to head out and see how everyone was. The three Autobots stood amongst the wreckage of countless mechanical spiders, surveying their remains.

“Hmm…” Sideswipe crouched near one of the scrap piles, which had already begun dissolving into rust. “I’m not seeing any sparks. Are these not Predacons or something?”

Ultra Magnus surveyed their surroundings. “Unlikely. What is more likely is that these are the spawn of a single Predacon, which has weaponized budding to test our defenses. It will be here soon–we must prepare.”

“It will be hard to prepare when we don’t know what to prepare for ,” said Elita. “Oh, Steven’s back. I imagine it’s time for donuts, then?”

“Huh? Oh, right, the donuts…” He seemed distracted. “So, what’s up? You guys have anything going on you need to talk about?”

Elita approached, kneeling down beside him. “I know that tone, Steven. Something’s bothering you again, isn’t it? Something about Optimus.” He hesitated, then nodded. “I thought so. If there’s anything you need to talk about, feel free.”

“Oh, well…it’s nothing, really. I just can’t help but wondering if I’m–”

His concern went unfinished, as there was a sudden shout of “Elita-1, look out!” from Ultra Magnus. One last spider had remained unseen, and had descended from atop the cliff to launch an attack on the unaware bots. Elita pulled out her rifle, but it was clear that it would reach her before she could fire.

But it didn’t reach her. Before the spider even hit the ground, there was a bright flash of orange light. Each half of the spider fell to either side of Elita, it having been cleaved in two by a searing blade. Following the source of the glow, all three looked down at Steven, who held a large axe in his hands: the same axe held by Optimus in the picture, scaled down to his size. Even he seemed surprised to see it, having acted entirely on instinct.

“Steven…” said Ultra Magnus, astonished. “That’s…Prime’s axe. How did you…?”

Just as astonished, Steven stared at the two severed halves of the spider-bot, which likewise dissolved into rust. “I-I don’t know,” he said. “I saw it coming, and it was gonna hurt Elita, and then I just…it just happened.” He held up the weapon to examine it. The blade glowed orange, emitting heat as well as a hum that was almost inaudible. He gave it a few practice swings. “Looks like I’m a real Transformer after all! I wonder when I’ll get my own altmode?”

Sideswipe chuckled, sitting down next to him. “Not so fast there, little bro! You got your first weapon there, but there’s still a long way to go before you can run with the big boys!”

Noticing Steven looking down after this comment, Elita reassured him. “But, this is definitely a big first step! Next to the Matrix of Leadership, Optimus’ axe was his most notable possession. With that weapon, he fought off hordes of Predacons, protecting the Earth with everything he had!” She sighed dreamily. “He was wonderful, Optimus Prime…”

“Uh…yeah,” said Steven. His focus off the axe for but a moment, the weapon suddenly disappeared, seeming to retract into his arm. “Wait, wait, no, no, come back! Come back–aww…” He hung his head, having undone his first major step. “It’s gone…”

“No need to worry, Steven,” Ultra Magnus assured him. He put his hand out for Steven to climb on, lifting the boy up to eye level. “None of us were master warriors when we first became Autobots–not even your father. It takes years of practice, and you’ve only just begun.”

Steven smiled, a sight which made Magnus do the same. “Thanks, all of you. But I really would like to help you with this!”

Ultra Magnus gently set him back down. “You can help us by making sure the people of Beach City stay indoors when there’s a Predacon attack. Sounding the alarm saves many lives.” He turned to address his fellow Autobots. “Elita-1, Sideswipe, this battle is not yet over. These drones have a master, and it has yet to arrive. We need to be vigilant, and find this…this…”

“Blackarachnia!” interjected Sideswipe.

“...before it reaches the city,” Magnus finished, giving him a beleaguered look. “Roll out!”

All three Autobots headed off to keep watch for the newly christened Blackarachnia. Steven watched them go, but just as before, his pride in them soon turned to uncertainty in himself. He held out his hands, gripping an imaginary axe handle as he struggled to will it into existence. “C’mon, c’mon…!” But no matter how hard he tried, he came up empty handed. “Aww…” Sadly, he headed back towards Beach City.

- - -

Steven sat at a park bench, brushing donut crumbs off his lap. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with me. Ever since I was little, I knew I was supposed to join the Autobots in protecting the city. So, when’s that supposed to happen? I mean, you were a great warrior, when will I be?”

In the center of the park, Steven looked up at a life-size statue of Optimus Prime. He valiantly held his axe over his head, giving off an air of valor that not even the pigeons perched on him could diminish. Valiant as it was, the statue’s axe almost seemed to be taunting Steven, literally and figuratively just out of his reach.

“I know you’re a giant robot, but it’s not like I’m a regular person!” said Steven, apparently arguing with the statue. “You created me for a reason…I just wish you’d told me what that was.”

The statue, being a statue, didn’t respond.

Steven sighed, tossing his trash in a nearby bin. The pigeons swarmed around him to pick up his leftovers, not that he minded. “You’re right. Maybe I’m not ready. Maybe I’ll never be ready. But I have to at least try, right?”

A pigeon on Prime’s head cooed.

“Good idea! I’ll go ask the ‘bots!” Steven ran off to find the others, turning back towards the statue. “Thanks, Dad.” Resisting the urge to get sentimental, he returned to his mission.

- - -

“Hmm…that’s a good question,” said Elita, “and unfortunately one that isn’t easily answered. For us, things like transforming or creating our weapons just comes naturally. It would be like a bird explaining how it flies, or the sun explaining how it shines.”

Situated on top of the cliff above the house, standing next to the lighthouse, Elita peered down toward Beach City through a pair of binoculars.

“O-okay.” Steven didn’t quite understand Elita’s metaphors. “But even a baby bird has to learn how to fly from its mama bird first, right? aren’t there any tips you can give me?”

Elita gave a small laugh before turning to face him, going into what Sideswipe called ‘Teacher Mode.’ “Well, I can certainly try. You see, unlike humans, who have to learn just about every skill, Cybertronians are often designed for a specific purpose. Those of us who weren’t designed for combat have to adapt, either using parts of ourselves for other purposes, such as my blades, or use tools that aren’t part of our bodies, like my Null Rifle.”

She produced her gun to demonstrate, switching it between its two modes. “So, it’s like in a secret compartment or something?” asked Steven.

“Um…not really,” she said. “Nobody is entirely sure how Optimus’ axe works. I’m not certain he knew. It just seemed to…appear whenever he needed it.”

This gave Steven an idea. “Then maybe I just need to need it! Elita, can I help you fight Blackarachnia when she gets here?”

“Absolutely not!” she said, vehemently shutting this down. “I won’t let you put yourself in danger like that! You got lucky with that spider earlier. Without any combat experience, you’d be…well, you wouldn’t be able to help us properly.”

He was disappointed, but only slightly. “I understand. So, maybe some training will make it easier?”

“You’re certainly welcome to train all you’d like!” she said, resuming her search. “Provided you don’t put yourself through anything too dangerous. Sideswipe’s back in the Ark , maybe you could ask him to run some simulations?”

- - -

“So, you wanna learn from the master,” said Sideswipe. He leaned up against the base’s computer, sipping glowing blue liquid from a barrel, with a pipe as a straw. “I’ve been kickin’ Predacon mudflap since ‘fore your other daddy was in diapers. If anyone here’s gonna teach you the ways of the blade, it’s me.” He set down his energon drink, doing some preparatory stretches. “So, ask away.”

Steven stood on a banister overlooking the room, so that he was at eye level with the large robot. “Well, you saw me earlier,” he said. “I summoned Dad’s axe, and cut that spider-bot in half. What I want to know is how to do it again .”

“Then you’ve come to the right ‘bot!” Sideswipe began making martial arts poses. “I just happen to be the greatest jet judo practitioner on the planet!” He was probably the only one, but Steven had seen him in action, and he was no slouch. “Now, weapons. Some ‘bots have them built in…some get their own!”

He proceeded to draw his twin Tironium swords, swinging them around in demonstration. Steven was privy to an admittedly very graceful display, but none of it helped him with his current predicament. “That’s nice and all, Sideswipe, but where do the swords come from? Do you have to do something special to get them out?”

“No…usually I just grab the handles and pull. Here, maybe this’ll help a bit more.” He sheathed his blades, extending his arms as panels around his wrists began to shift. A pair of Plasma Launchers extended from his forearms. “Now these babies are a different story! ‘Ey, Teletraan, boot up training sim level one!”

“Training sim level one engaged,” said a disembodied voice. Holographic targets appeared around the room, which Sideswipe began to blow away. Just like with his swords, he was an artist with his guns, slinging plasma all around the chamber.

After less than a minute, all the targets had been destroyed. “And that,” he said, the guns disappearing, “is how a master does it! The key is not to think of the weapons as weapons: they’re part of you. You have to feel them!”

“Okay…I’ll do my best!” Steven tried to follow Sideswipe’s advice, imagining his axe as an extension of him. But all that amounted to was picturing himself as some sort of dinosaur with the axe for a tail. He struggled and strained, trying to make this image a reality–somewhat–but all that got him was clenched muscles and a slight headache.

Sideswipe stepped in to stop him. “Alright, alright, don’t hurt yourself, kid. You’re gonna blow a gasket, or whatever the human version is. See, if you gotta strain that hard to get your weapon, it’s probably not gonna work.”

Clearly disappointed, Steven leaned against the railing. “Aw man, it feels like I’m never gonna get the hang of this! Is there something wrong with me ?”

“Don’t sweat it, little man!” said Sideswipe, lightly patting him on the back. “Why don’t you go ask Magnus about it? If anyone knows their stuff about this sorta thing, it’s him.”

“Good idea!” Steven said, perking up. “I’m gonna go see him right now! Thanks, Swiper!” He darted out of the room.

Sideswipe stood there for a moment. A few moments after Steven had left, he took a sip from his drink, drawing his swords once more. “Teletraan! Training sim max level!”

- - -

“...and, that’s basically the gist of it,” Steven said, sitting on the beach. “Do you have any advice? You’re the oldest and wisest person I know, Autobot or human.”

Ultra Magnus was busy piling up boulders. “I don’t know about all that, but I have seen something like this before. Sometimes, when a Cybertronian gets older, they have a bit of trouble with their functions: weapons, transforming, and other assorted abilities. But you’re quite young by both human and Cybertronian standards, so I doubt that’s your issue.”

“Then what is ?” he asked. “Elita and Sideswipe made it look so easy, so why am I having so much trouble?”

“Simple: you’re young.” Magnus easily hefted up a pair of boulders, one in each hand. “Now, I don’t know much about swords or axes–these fists are all the weapons I need–but it seems to me like all you need is some experience.”

Steven nodded, reluctantly agreeing. “It sounds pretty simple when you put it that way. If you don’t have any weapons, it must’ve been easy to learn how to, eh, be a Transformer.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I have no weapons.” Taking a moment to wind up, Ultra Magnus hurled the boulders out to sea. Taking aim, the white extensions on his shoulders opened up, revealing two Hex-Missile Pods. Twelve rockets launched after the stones, blowing them to powder in a pair of impressive explosions. He then turned back to see Steven’s reaction.

The youth was, of course, blown away. “WOAH!” he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “That was so awesome! When can I learn to do something like that!?”

Magnus chuckled, crouching down beside him. “All it takes is a bit of patience, and a lot of practice! When I first became an Autobot, there’s no way I would have been able to pull off a maneuver like that. But with a little help from Optimus Prime and his friends, I became the stalwart mech I am today. So you see? These things take time; you can’t rush something you aren’t ready for.”

“I understand,” said Steven, “but I sure wish I could…”

“No need to worry–I’m sure it will be your time to shine before you know it.” He continued hauling rocks. “Now, you’re more than welcome to stay and chat, but I should get back to preparing. We don’t know when or where…er, Blackarachnia is going to get here.” He sighed in slight annoyance.

“How does he come up with these names?” laughed Steven.

Magnus rolled his eyes, cracking a slight grin. You know, he’s actually the one who decided to call them ‘Predacons’ in the first place? “I swear, sometimes I think naming Predacons is his real talent. One time, we went up against one he dubbed ‘Latolata.’ Where he got that from, I will never understand.”

He and Steven shared a laugh. “Well, hopefully before long, I’ll be able to go on missions with you guys. Hey, maybe one day I’ll name a Predacon of my own! Later, Magnus! Good luck with your rock collecting!”

Steven headed back to the house, with Magnus waving him goodbye. He then looked back, realizing there were a good deal more boulders to move into place. He groaned, picking a few up. “I hardly think this is the best use of my talents…”

- - -

He had spoken to all three Autobots, and all three had told him some variation of the same advice: that his powers would manifest when the time came. The only problem was, they had been around for hundreds of years, likely more, so the ‘time’ they were talking about could very well be along that timescale.

“I hope I’m not in a nursing home by the time I can summon my axe at will,” Steven lamented, laying down on the couch. “Rolling into battle on my mobility scooter…” The image did make him chuckle, however.

He stared at the picture of the Autobots, his father front and center. Everyone loved Optimus, looked up to him…how could he live up to that? Could he even? Doubts and uncertainty had been creeping up on him all day, and only became more and more obvious with time.

“I’m not even a robot like you,” he said glumly. “I’m not made of metal, I’m not three stories tall, I don’t have, um, super-powered energon bootsters, or…whatever else you might’ve had! What was even the point of having me?”

Although Steven didn’t know all the details, he was well aware that Optimus Prime had given his life so that Steven could come into existence. And as much as he enjoyed living in this world, he often wondered about his father’s motivations for doing such a thing. The way Elita and the others made it sound, he was well aware of what would happen. So why did he do what he did?

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud crash coming from outside. “Huh? What’s that?” He ran to the door to investigate, opening it just in time to see Sideswipe being hurled across the beach. “Woah!”

The Autobots were engaged in combat with yet another robot spider, only this one was much different than the others. For one, it was nearly twice the size, its long legs making it tower over even Ultra Magnus. It moved quickly despite its size, almost literally running circles around them.

“Hey Steven! Blackarachnia’s here!” said Sideswipe as he sped past him into the fray. The giant metal arachnid fired a stream of webbing from her mouth, the black car swerving to avoid it. He transformed, firing some shots of his own, but they merely annoyed the behemoth.

Elita-1 flew overhead, trying to distract it. “We need to slow it down somehow!” she observed. Her shots weren’t doing much either, only momentarily grabbing its attention away from the others.

Just before Blackarachnia could snatch Elita out of the air, a massive boulder crashed against her side. Ultra Magnus picked up another, hurling it at the Predacon. “Now, while she’s pinned down! Sideswipe!”

“On it!” The black car revved forward, taking Blackarachnia’s legs out from under her. The spider screeched as she fell to the ground, and her attempts to get back up were halted by Elita landing on top of her. She unloaded her weapon right into the spider’s face.

Still on the doorstep, Steven watched all of this go down. “Yeah! Get her, Elita!” he shouted. However, his well-intentioned cheer managed to draw her attention away from the enemy.

“Steven!” she shouted, realizing how close he was to the fray. “Get back inside! It’s not safe here!” All it took was a single moment of distraction, and Blackarachnia had ensnared her in a strand of webbing. “Urgh!” The spider rose up, hurling her away and into Ultra Magnus, who stumbled and fell in his attempt to catch her.

“...Oops…”

Sideswipe drew his swords, rushing the spider. “No worries, Ste-man! Check this!” Like her, he was surprisingly quick despite his size, landing numerous blows from his blades on her armored shell. “Just…die…already!” Blackarachnia was decidedly against this plan, spraying him with more webbing and locking him in place. “Ugh–really!?”

“Sideswipe!” shouted both Steven and Elita in tandem. As the other Autobots tried to draw the spider away, Steven ran towards his trapped companion. The webbing was sticky, but it seemed to mostly bond to metal, so he did his best to tear through it to free him. The trouble was, it might as well have been steel cables for as tough as it was. “Hang on, I’ll get you outta here!”

“But who’s gonna get you out?” asked Sideswipe worriedly, as Blackarachnia noticed the rescue attempt. Knocking the other two aside, she skittered back to the trapped bot, raising her leg up and preparing to bring it down. “Look out!”

Steven looked up just in time to see the razor-sharp limb thrusting downward. “Steven!” He wasn’t sure who had cried his name. As time seemed to slow down, the outside world became a fog. In that moment, he wasn’t concerned for his own safety, but for Sideswipe’s, who he thought was the intended target. He acted without thinking; driven by instinct. There was a flash of light, and a clash of metal.

Blackarachnia screeched, staggering backwards as her leg fell to the ground. Steven looked at Sideswipe: he was unharmed. He looked at the severed limb: the cut glowed with heat. He looked at his hands: he was holding the axe.

“Woah…” said Sideswipe, as it was his turn to be awed. “Steven, look at you, making progress already!”

“I-I did,” he said, not yet fully grasping what had just happened. “I did! I summoned his axe! Guys, look!”

Ultra Magnus and Elita were definitely impressed, but there was no time for celebration, as Blackarachnia had begun to recover. “We’ll throw a party later,” said SIdeswipe. “For now, could you, um…”

“Oh, right, sure.” Using his newfound weapon, Steven easily sliced through the webs binding him. Sideswipe stood up, lifting Steven up onto his shoulder.

“You ready, little buddy?”

“Let’s roll out!”

Steven held on as Sideswipe readied his blasters, opening fire on their enemy. With some effort, Elita managed to lift Ultra Magnus into the air, who then landed on top of the spider. Fallen once more, Sideswipe drove his swords into two of her eyes, while Steven leapt off, severing another of her legs. She screeched in anger, spraying webs all over the beach.

She managed to escape from underneath Magnus, lunging at him. He grabbed onto her mandibles, her maw inches from his face. “Elita-1! Iacon City Shuffle, now!”

“Roger–Sideswipe, you know what to do!” She sped forward near the sand, transforming inches from the ground. She used her momentum to slide underneath the spider, unloading everything her rifle had into its underside. She released Ultra Magnus, who unleashed a barrage of missiles, stunning her.

“Let’s go!” Sideswipe scooped up Steven, preparing to toss him like a baseball. “Axe, now!” He tossed him through the air, and when he was above Magnus, Steven tossed his axe. Elita caught him, and Magnus caught the axe, which had shifted to a much more fitting size.

Just as Blackarachnia lunged again, Ultra Magnus did the same, letting out a shout as he put everything behind his swing. His warcry echoed across the beach as everything else was silent and still: the robotic spider fell to the ground–in two pieces, glowing down the middle. Magnus looked over the body of their fallen foe, pulling the axe out from a cluster of glass it had created when it hit the sand.

“We did it!” Steven cried triumphantly, still being held by Elita. “Guys, that was amazing! I’ve seen some pretty cool teamwork from you before, but that was on a whole other level! You were so in sync it was like you could hear each other’s thoughts!”

“Ha, that’s what fighting together for the last…how long’s it been, four, five thousand years?” said Sideswipe. He chuckled, sheathing his swords. “Anyway, my point is, we’re a lean, mean, well-oiled fighting machine! And that includes you, Steven!”

“Indeed.” Ultra Magnus picked up a glowing blue object: apparently a cube, but it sparked and swirled with energon so much that it was hard to tell if it stayed that shape. Another spark of energy appeared, this one greenish, forming into a small portal that he placed the first object into. “Without your help, Steven, this battle would have been much more difficult. We may not have won it at all. Here–I believe this belongs to you.”

Steven swelled with pride as Magnus handed him his axe, which had shrunk back to his size. “Aww, guys!” he said, touched. “You know…I was kinda bummed earlier about not being able to meet Optimus, and not being able to live up to him, but…you guys are the best family a boy like me could ask for!”

“Aww, Steven,” said Elita, pulling him in for a hug, or as close to one as their size difference could allow. “You don’t have to be Optimus. You’re Steven Universe, and no matter what you can or can’t do, that’s good enough for me.”

Sideswipe cuddled up to Elita. “Yeah, don’t sweat it! Don’t try to be Optimus, just try to be you! ‘Cause you’re the best you this planet has to offer!”

“Alright, group hug.” Magnus lifted all three of them up in his arms, to their surprise.

When he was back on the ground again, Steven examined his axe. It was more than a weapon: it was a symbol of the man who had spent years protecting this world, that had been passed on to him. “Thanks, guys,” he said, allowing the axe to disappear once more. “You were right all along. I can’t force myself to become a great warrior. It’ll happen when it’s time.”

The four of them sat down, looking at the sunset just over the horizon. “You are very right, Steven,” said Ultra Magnus. “And something tells me that it will be time before you know it.” He placed a hand over the boy’s shoulders.

Steven smiled–and so did Magnus.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: Robots in the Skies

- - -

“Hello, and welcome to Fryman’s. May I take your order?” The automated voice came from the mouth of a quite creepy-looking mascot, though its movements were thankfully limited. Its lifeless eyes stared in two different directions as it waited for the customers to order.

The black car in the drive-thru studied the menu–not the driver, the car himself. “Uh, yeah, could we get a number five large, with a large cola, and large–you know what, just make everything large. Steven, you want a drink?”

“No thanks, just the bits for me!” said the passenger.

“Yeah, and the bits.”

“‘The bits’ is not on our menu,” the animatronic speaker informed them.

“I know it’s not–look, we just want some of those little fry-bits that are left over when you cook ‘em,” said Sideswipe. “Could we have some of those? Please?”

After a brief silence, the mascot replied with “Number five, large everything. Will there be anything else?”

“The bits!” both Steven and Sideswipe shouted in unison. “See, this is why I hate dealing with machines,” the machine added under his breath.

But it looked like orders such as these were still beyond such a robot’s basic algorithms. “‘The bits’ is not on our menu,” it repeated.

Thankfully, one of the restaurateurs came to their rescue. The voice of a boy a bit younger than Steven usurped the mascot’s command, asking “So, Steven, the usual?”

“The bits!” both chanted again.

“We’ll get that ready for you. Ten-ninety-five at the window, please.”

“You got it! Thanks, Peedee!” The issue of the bits solved, Sideswipe drove around to wait for their food to be ready.

“That living fry thing really creeps me out,” he said. “I know it’s supposed to be cute and all, but it looks like it’s gonna come to life and try to murder us in our sleep. The way things go for us sometimes, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did at some point.”

While Steven had nothing against Frybo, he could see Sideswipe’s point. “Yeah, it does look kinda…malicious,” he admitted. “I’m just glad they retired the old suit version of him. Now that thing was a monster!” He and Sideswipe shared a laugh at these memories.

At the window, Peedee’s father handed Steven their order, his sons working diligently behind him in the kitchen. Well, one of them was, the other more distracted by trying to get a picture of Sideswipe. “Here you go: a number five for Sideswipe, and an order of the bits for Steven!”

“Sweet! Thanks, Mr. Fryman!” said Steven, taking the bag and handing him the money. “How’s business been faring lately?”

“Oh, we’re hanging in there,” he replied. “Small family business and all that. I probably could get some more robots to do the cooking, but I prefer the human touch. Er, no offense to your friend.”

“Trust me, none taken,” said Sideswipe. “I’ve seen the alternative back there, and it’s not pretty.”

The owner chuckled. “Yeah, we’ve had a few comments about that thing. A lot of people say it looks pretty malicious, but it’s been our mascot since day one. Anyway, enjoy your day!”

“You too! Keep on hangin’ in there!” Steven said, as the two of them drove away. It was late afternoon in Beach City, not quite evening yet, but the sun was drifting low in the sky. The town was quiet, but unknown to the pair, things were about to get much louder.

Steven had already opened up the bag, ready to chow down on the fry bits. “Easy there, cowboy, at least wait ‘til we get home!” Sideswipe said. “Either that, or pass me some fries!”

He was about to do so, only to realize the obvious problem. “Uh…how exactly are you supposed to eat in car mode?” Steven asked.

“...You know, I’ve never actually thought about that. Yeah, where does my mouth go? Maybe in the glove compartment?” Steven checked, but found nothing out of the ordinary. “Huh. Maybe you’d have to look under the hood to–”

The pavement behind him was suddenly blasted apart as an explosion erupted from the road. Startled, Sideswipe began driving even faster. “What was that?” asked a similarly-startled Steven.

“Beats me! Maybe a gas vein burst or something?” Just then, there was another explosion to the side, taking out a streetlight by the sidewalk. “Not a gas vein! Not a gas vein!” He swerved down a side road, trying to shake off whatever it was that was causing the explosions.

Sideswipe’s radio crackled to life. “Steven! Sideswipe!” said Elita. “Get back to base, now! It’s locked on to your position!”

“ What is!?” shouted Sideswipe.

Another explosion rocked the road just in front of them. Sideswipe did a quick u-turn, racing towards the Ark . Steven glimpsed the blast, and in the split second before it occurred, something seemed to have fallen from the sky.

“We aren’t sure,” came the voice of Ultra Magnus, “but it seems that whatever it is, it’s targeting us specifically. Once you are inside, you should be safe.”

“Not that I don’t trust you, Magnus, but I don’t really like your use of ‘should,’” Sideswipe said. As more of the strange explosions erupted around them, Steven caught more glances of their origin. Something streaked down from above, just barely slow enough for the naked eye to catch, before blowing its target to pieces.

Sideswipe made his way to the beach in no time at all; unfortunately, their invisible assailant had followed him, as the sand was exploding around them. As he rounded the path towards the Ark , Elita peered out of the garage, hurrying him towards it. “Quickly! It can’t hit us in here!”

Both Steven and Sideswipe hoped she was right as the latter pulled into the building. Thankfully, the explosions stopped once they reached shelter. Sideswipe transformed, exhausted from the chase, setting Steven down beside him.

“Are you two alright?” asked Elita, checking them for wounds.

“I think we’re okay,” Steven replied. “I didn’t feel any hit us. What was shooting at us, anyway? It almost looked like it was coming from the sky, but I didn’t see anything above us…”

Sideswipe stood back up. “Okay, so we’re being shot at by some unseen force. But on the upside: the fries survived.” Elita shot him an annoyed look as he held up the bag, and led them further into the ship. “What? What?”

The three of them arrived at the main control console, where Ultra Magnus was hard at work. “Did you get all that?” Elita asked.

“Indeed.” He typed away, seemingly narrowing in on their assailant. “We had picked up some odd readings a while back, which preceded these strange attacks. Given Steven’s observations, as well as our safety indoors, that leaves only one place to look: up.”

The screen zoomed higher and higher up in the sky, narrowing in on something hovering above the city. Far, far above. “It seems to be in a fixed orbit in the planet’s upper atmosphere,” Elita observed. “Magnus, you don’t think…”

“No, it’s more likely a Predacon.” A further zoom revealed the object in full: a satellite, red and orange in color, with a large cannon extending towards the ground where a receiver would be. “Bingo. There’s our guy.”

“Hang on, I can’t see!” Sideswipe lifted Steven up to the screen. “ That’s a Predacon? I thought they all looked like animals and monsters and stuff?”

“For the most part, they do,” Magnus explained. “But every so often, you find one that’s learned to mimic human machinery, such as our orbital friend here. At least we know it needs visuals to fire…”

“That may be so,” said Elita, “but we can’t risk it getting impatient. If it gets bored, it might try firing on the Ark , or worse, anything that moves. We can’t go outside without risk of being fired at, but we can’t leave it alone without risk of it firing at humans…”

“I’ve got it!” said Sideswipe with a snap. “Me and Magnus can go out there and get its attention, while you fly up there and shoot it down! Piece of cake, right?”

Elita shot him another look, disappointed. “Do you not know how helicopters work? Even if I could avoid getting shot at long enough, the atmosphere would be too thin. My rotors would barely work.”

“Not to mention, I can’t say I’m keen on the idea of getting shot at on purpose,” said Ultra Magnus.

“Yeah, and don’t we need a way to collect its spark when we beat it?” asked Steven.

Sideswipe was quiet for a moment. “Alright, so there goes that plan. Anyone else got a better one?”

An idea came to Ultra Magnus. “I think…there may be a way to safely remove its spark without having to leave the safety of the ship. All we would have to do is deploy a diagnostic drone from here. With any luck, the Predacon won’t react to its presence, as it lacks a spark. The only question is, do we have any left?”

He approached a cabinet on the far side of the room, opening the door with a button. The shutters rose to reveal numerous shelves with absolutely nothing on them. He looked deeper in, as though making sure he didn’t miss one hidden in the back. “So, that’s a no, then?” asked Sideswipe.

“How is it possible that we’re completely out of diagnostic drones?” Elita asked incredulously. “It’s been centuries since we’ve used one!”

“Maybe that’s why it’s been so long,” Magnus said. “Teletraan, are there any spare drones hidden anywhere?”

“Negative,” answered the computer. “A single drone remains, but it is not here. As per the order of Optimus Prime, any remaining diagnostic drones were placed in the custody of Gregory Universe.”

“Wait, so we’ve got one drone left, and Greg’s the one who has it?” said Sideswipe, also incredulous. “Welp, guess we’ll never see that thing again.”

Steven seemed to take offense to this. “Why’s that?” he asked accusingly. “My dad wouldn’t just hock some important Autobot tech!”

“We’re not saying he would, Steven,” said Elita, “but Greg is…a bit of a packrat. Even if he hasn’t lost it by now, it would likely be hard to find amongst all of his other…toys.”

“Greg is an excellent person,” Ultra Magnus chimed in. “He just isn’t the person I would trust in a situation like this.”

“C’mon, guys, don’t write him off like that! Dad has the drone you need, I just know it! And to prove it, I’ll go and get it right now!” Steven headed for the door. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes, tops!”

None of the ‘bots were exactly keen on letting him go outside, Elita especially. She pulled him back in. “Steven, wait! It’s not safe with that thing looming over us!”

Ultra Magnus checked on it via the screen. “Perhaps that’s not entirely the case,” he said. “Predacons without their other senses often rely on detecting our sparks to find us. With his spark masked by his organic body, Steven should be safe.”

“I’m not risking his life over a ‘should,’” Elita made clear.

Sideswipe approached the door, peering towards the sky. “Alright then, let’s try an experiment. First, a Cybertronian.” He cautiously stepped out onto the sand, anticipating one of the satellite’s orbital shots to rain down from above. Sure enough, one raced towards him, the Autobot making it back inside just in time. “...Okay, now you try.”

Much to Elita’s chagrin, Steven stepped outside. All three robots held their metaphorical breath, ready to scoop him up if anything were to happen. But nothing came. “The Predacon has not moved,” reported Magnus. “As I predicted, its senses are based around sparks.”

“Great!” said Steven. “Then there’s no time to waste; I’ll be back before you know it!” He ran off towards town. “Don’t go anywhere!”

“Somehow, I have a feeling we’ll still be here…” observed Sideswipe.

- - -

The lad’s destination was not far from the temple, also overlooking the beach. A small auto shop just down the road, its unlit neon sign reading ‘Universal Repair.’ The sound of whirring machinery came from within, as well as what sounded like a person’s voice.

Steven walked past a white van, adorned on the side with the name ‘Mr. Universe.’ Inside the mechanic’s, there was another white van, with the giant head of Beach City’s mayor sitting on top. Someone’s legs poked out from underneath the vehicle as they worked on it. “Hey Dad! Uh…is this a bad time?”

The reason for his question was the vehicle’s constant, tinny repetition of ‘Ma-yor De-wey! Ma-yor De-wey!’ “Juuust one moment, Schtu-ball…” With the sound of a turning screw, the recorded voice slowed to a halt. ‘Maaaaa-yooooor Deeewoorrrrrr…’ His work done, rolled himself out from under it. “Now, what can I help you with?”

“How’s work going?” Steven asked, sitting down on a nearby bench. “I see you’re fixing up the Deweymobile. I imagine Mayor Dewey pays pretty well!”

Greg wiped his brow as he put away his tools. “He does when I do a good job,” he said. “At least, when he thinks I did a good job. But I’m not hurtin’ for cash, if that’s what you were wondering. Anyway, how are things going with the Autobots? I heard some explosions earlier, I hope there’s not too much trouble.”

Steven glanced skyward out the window. “That’s…actually why I’m here. You wouldn’t happen to still have that old drone Dad gave you a few years ago, would you?”

“Hmm…the diagnostic drone? I think so, but I’d have to look through my stockpile. Why? Do the ‘bots need it for a mission?”

“Yeah, some kind of evil satellite creature,” Steven said. “The drone’s the only way to stop it. And apparently, you have the only one left.”

“Oh. Wow, that’s a lot of pressure on me, then,” Greg said, surprised. He walked over to the door to peer outside, trying to spot the creature Steven mentioned. “And, you said it was the one causing those explosions?”

He nodded. “It was only shooting at the Autobots, so we should be safe. Magnus says it can only detect things with sparks, but Elita said it might start shooting at humans too if it gets bored.”

“Sounds like all the more reason to find this drone.” Greg joined up with his son, and the two of them made their way over to a shed beside the workshop. “So, I, uh, heard from Sideswipe that you summoned your axe. That’s pretty cool.”

“Huh? Yeah, it is,” said Steven. “But, it’s not really my axe.” He was silent as Greg opened the shed door. “Hey, Dad? You knew Prime, right?”

“Well, yeah, we’re both your dad, so we met.”

“And what was he like?”

Greg seemed like he had prepared for this conversation, but still appeared unsure of what to say. “Oh, he was a great guy. All the other Autobots really respected him, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Really respectful, mellow too. Why he chose me to help him, I don’t know if I’ll ever understand.”

“I know why!” Steven said. “It’s because you’re the best dad ever! You’re a great guy too, and respectful and mellow. And you’re the best mechanic in the whole city!”

He chuckled. “Well, I guess I can’t really argue with that. Still, it’s hard to compare with a giant robot who’s protected the world for thousands of years… Anyway, c’mon, let’s get that drone.”

The two of them stepped inside the shed, which was filled to the brim with all sorts of technological gadgets and gizmos. Most of it was of earthly origin, but a few were recognizable as modified or scavenged Transformer tech. Just about everything in there showed signs of being tinkered with, no doubt by the shed’s owner.

“Now this is a walk down memory lane,” Greg said, examining the scattered machinery. “I haven’t seen some of this stuff in years! Ooh, hopefully this thing won’t be too hard to find… Mind giving your old man a hand?”

“That’s why I’m here!” Steven said. He and his father began sorting through the assorted clutter, finding numerous interesting devices, but none of them the drone. One of them, oddly enough, was a tiny figurine in Optimus’ likeness, which he picked up. A little lever on its back made its arm move up and down, and pressing on its head made it say, in a tinny voice, ‘Autobots, roll out!’ which made Steven giggle. “Did Dad ever say anything about…well, me?”

“Of course he did,” said Greg, rooting through some boxes. “You’re his son, after all. He wanted someone to carry on his legacy, someone to do good for the people of Earth in a way he felt he couldn’t. And like I said, for some reason I’ll never understand, I’m the one he chose to help him with that.” He put the box away after looking fondly at its contents.

“Huh, no pressure,” Steven said with a laugh, one that Greg shared. “Um…Dad? You wouldn’t have sold it or lost it or something, would you?”

“No, of course not!” insisted Greg. “Sideswipe said something, didn’t he?” Steven nodded, hesitant to add that, technically, all the bots said something. “Yeah, I thought so. I know I keep a lot of my stuff around, and some might think that makes me a ‘packrat’...and maybe it does. But a lot of this stuff has sentimental value–and it’s not like what I sell doesn’t, it’s just that running an auto shop when there’s machines that can probably do most of that stuff for a lot cheaper isn’t exactly the highest-paying job. But Optimus gave me that drone for a reason. I wouldn’t dare lose it, and definitely wouldn’t sell it!”

Somehow, hearing it straight from the man himself reassured Steven that much more. “I know you wouldn’t,” he said. “So let’s find it, save the day, and prove everyone wrong!”

“There we go!” said Greg. “Now, it’s probably–Wait, prove them wrong about what?”

“Nothing.”

After a bit more searching, Steven came across a shelf lined with various flying machines of about the same size. One was about the size of a human torso, slightly spherical in shape, with a glass screen on the front and two little arms. “Hey, I think I found it!” he said.

Greg came over to examine the find. “That’s it alright!” He looked it over for a bit, before fiddling with some switches on its back. The drone whirred to life, hovering above the floor. “Aha! Still works, after all this time!”

“So, how are we gonna get it back to the Ark ?” asked Steven.

“Simple…” Behind the drone had been a battered old remote, the kind that would have been used for controlling RC vehicles. Greg picked it up, and began directing the drone outside. “I may have made some alterations back when I first got it! We should probably leave the actual mission to the pros, though.”

“Probably a good idea.” Steven and Greg left the shed, led by the drone that the latter controlled. Showing off a bit, he had it open the door for them, giving a little bow when they stepped through. “Hey, you’re pretty good with that thing!”

Greg chuckled. “Oh, I just made it do a few tricks. Nothing that impressive, really.”

“Sure it is!” said Steven, as they continued down the beach. “I’ll bet Sideswipe can’t do that!” Once more, the pair shared a laugh.

They soon arrived back at the base, thankfully with no interference from the satellite. “Steven! Greg! Thank Primus you weren’t vaporized!” said Elita. “We’ve been watching the satellite, and we think it’s getting closer.” Over on the screen, there seemed to be a bit more blue sky below it than there was before.

“We can’t be sure what this means for Beach City,” Magnus said, “but it definitely isn’t anything good.”

“Then it’s a good thing Dad came through!” said Steven, presenting the diagnostic drone to the Autobots. Greg made it wave at them. “See? I told you not to doubt him!”

“Yeah, alright, there’s step one,” said Sideswipe, “now we just need to get this thing airborne. Magnus?”

Ultra Magnus took hold of the drone, loading it into its slot beside the terminal. “Now, to launch it into orbit. Teletraan, begin the process.”

“Affirmative,” said the computer. The screen changed to display the view from the drone loaded into its tube. “Preparing to launch in five…four…three…” A hatch atop the Ark opened up, showing the blue sky. “...two…one. Launching drone.”

With a sound like both a bang and a hiss, the drone was thrown skyward, rocketing into the upper atmosphere. “Woah…” Steven was transfixed by the monitor as the diagnostic drone flew up at near-impossible speeds. “It’s going so fast!”

“Almost there…” said Elita. The blue sky slowly began to shift to the star-filled black of outer space. Once the air had thinned to the proper lightness, it slowed down, eventually coming to a stop at the very edge of the atmosphere. Its arms reappeared, ready to begin its mission.

“Good. I was worried for a moment that something would go wrong,” said Ultra Magnus. “Teletraan, activate manual controls for the drone.” A control scheme emerged from the computer…but none of the levers caused any movement. “Eh? What’s going on?”

“Cannot connect to drone,” reported Teletraan. “Modified for unrecognizable control scheme.”

Everyone’s eyes then turned to Greg, who still held his remote control. Except for Steven, their gazes were varying degrees of accusatory. “...Okay, so I may have tinkered with it a bit. I didn’t think it would render it inoperable!”

“Maybe it isn’t,” said Steven, but the Autobots were too upset to listen.

“So, this plan is a bust,” Magnus said. “If anyone else has a way to destroy or disable this Predacon, I’m listening.”

“Hmm… What if we just shot up in the air a lot?” suggested Sideswipe. “With enough shots, we’re bound to hit it eventually if we keep at it for long enough!”

“Uh, hey guys–”

“I wish I didn’t have to explain everything wrong with that idea,” Elita said. “The sciences of gravity, rotational force, and energy dissolution aside, how do you expect to get a shot without it firing back?”

“Maybe we could–”

“Oh, this from the bot too scared to fly after it herself?” Sideswipe retorted. “Maybe we should just hole up in here for the rest of our lives, and let Steven take care of all our missions for us!”

“Why don’t we–”

“Fighting isn’t going to solve anything,” said Magnus. “Besides, Steven isn’t ready to–”

“Teletraan!” Steven shouted suddenly. “Could we connect Greg’s controller into your main computer thing? So he can pilot the drone from here?”

After a second of determining, another panel opened up below the terminal, out of which slid a small cord. “Affirmative,” Teletraan said. “Secondary control system recognized. Preparing to connect to diagnostic drone.”

The Autobots were quiet for a moment as Steven brought Greg over to the panel. Greg plugged the controller in, and tested it by pushing one of the sticks. The view shifted as the drone rotated slightly. He moved it a bit more; “I don’t believe it,” said Elita. “It’s actually working!”

“I’m as shocked as you are!” said Greg. “Uh, Magnus, could I get a boost? I can’t see the screen too well from down here. Don’t wanna get a nosebleed, you know how it is.”

Ultra Magnus didn’t, but he complied, lifting Greg up in front of the monitor. Luckily, the cord was lengthy. “Are you sure you can manage?” he asked. “Not that I don’t trust you, but this is not a simple operation. It will take skill, and finesse, and above all, dexterity. All of which I’m sure you have, of course.”

“Go on, Dad!” Steven cheered. “You got this!”

“He’s right–I got this!” Greg said, steeling himself as he gripped the controller. “Also, none of your hands are small enough to use this.”

It only took a small moment of searching to find the satellite: hovering far above Beach City, its cannon still facing down. Luckily, it hadn’t noticed the drone, something they all hoped would stay that way. Carefully, cautiously, Greg eased it forwards.

All five of them watched anxiously as the tiny drone drifted through space, knowing that the living satellite could see it at any moment, and would likely blow their only means of stopping it out of the sky. “Now, Greg, you’ll want to slow it down a bit here,” Magnus instructed.

Greg pulled back on the throttle, slowing the drone to a stop. “Okay, now what? I’m not exactly a…person who, eh, works on Transformers. What exactly am I doing again?”

“Manual spark removal,” said Ultra Magnus. “Usually a very complex procedure, but this Predacon’s simplistic build will hopefully extend to its spark chamber as well. Don’t worry–I will walk you through the process.”

“Uh, hey, Mags? Not to be a downer, but since when are you an expert on spark surgery?” asked Sideswipe.

“I have viewed numerous holovids on the subject,” he replied. “Namely, all three seasons of Beating Sparks of Iacon . But I am confident I am knowledgeable enough to see this matter through.”

“You’ll forgive me if that doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence…” Elita admitted.

Magnus pointed at the screen, directing Greg towards the satellite’s middle, where a small panel could be seen. “First, you must remove that panel. Use the diagnostic drone’s manipulator arms to undo the four latches, but be careful not to–”

As Greg had gone about following Magnus’ instructions, the drone’s arm accidentally nudged the inner section of the panel, which triggered a sudden shudder in the Predacon. Pieces of it began to shift and retract, seeming to partially transform. “Ooh, that’s probably not good,” he said. “What’s happening, what’s happening!?”

“N-no need to worry, you’ve just triggered its defensive measures,” Elita said, sounding a bit worried herself. “Magnus, this is no reason to be worried, right? Right?”

Ultra Magnus stared at the screen like a deer in the headlights  for a moment before regaining his composure. “No, no it isn’t. This just means that our timetables have, ah, accelerated.”

He shifted the screen’s view to show the satellite from below. In addition to its solar cells folding against its sides, its cannon had been replaced with a spiked nosecone. Sideswipe was undeterred by this image; “So, it’s just goin’ into sleep mode or something?”

“Nnnnnot exactly,” said Elita. “Presumably, it is intending to drop itself from orbit. A process that, assuming its size and speed, will result in the destruction of a large chunk of Beach City, if not its entirety.”

A brief silence. “I believe in you, Dad!” shouted Steven.

“Right,” Greg said, firmly gripping the controller. “I can’t give up now! Come on, Magnus, show me what to do!”

Alternating between looking intently at the screen and looking worriedly at the sky, Magnus attempted to resume talking Greg through the procedure. “Now, same as before, but be very careful to not touch anything but the clamps! The Predacon’s already on the defensive, there's no telling what it could do next…”

Moving agonizingly slowly, Greg moved the drone’s claws to undo the four clamps at the panel’s corners. Steven held his breath, Ultra Magnus stood stock still, and Elita gripped the railing so tightly it started to bend. Meanwhile, Sideswipe had curled up in the corner with his hands over his ears, though he still snuck the occasional peek.

After a few more agonizing moments, the final clamp was undone. Everyone present let out a palpable sigh of relief as the panel slid open, revealing the shimmering shape of the machine’s spark. In that moment, it was the most beautiful thing any of them had seen. “I-I did it! I actually did it!” said Greg, unable to believe it.

“Just a moment, we aren’t finished yet,” Ultra Magnus said. “There’s still the matter of removing it. See those two clasps on the sides? You’ll have to retract those if you want to–why are you moving up?”

“Huh? I’m not doing…anything…” said Greg, as it dawned on him what that meant. If the drone wasn’t moving up, it could only mean the satellite was moving down . “Uh, Guys? I think it’s starting to drop!”

All the Autobots rushed over to the screen: Elita changed the view to show that it was, indeed, falling out of the sky. “We have to do something!” she said. “There’s no chance of shooting it down once it reaches terminal velocity–we need to evacuate as many people as we can!”

Sideswipe was already on his way to the door when Magnus stopped them. “Wait!” he said. “Greg…can do this. I have faith in him.”

“You do?” asked Sideswipe.

“You do?” asked Greg.

“I do,” said Magnus. “Quickly, grab onto it before it gets too far!” Greg did so, latching onto the satellite’s side with the drone’s claws. The small drone was then pulled along for the ride as the satellite-turned-missile picked up speed, entering the atmosphere.

The tension returned as Greg stared at the screen, sweating profusely. “Okay, now what!?” he asked nervously.

“You’ll need to retract the clasps,” said Ultra Magnus, clearly having difficulty staying composed. A simple press into the pressure zones here and here should do.” He pointed out the positions on screen.

And so, with one claw firmly gripping the only thing keeping it in place, the drone reached out to do just that. One false move, and it would be left behind as the Predacon turned a chunk of Beach City into a crater. Steven hadn’t taken his eyes off the action since it started: “C’mon, Dad. Show ‘em what you can do.”

A blanket of fire now surrounded the falling satellite, making it that much harder to see. But, after a few more tense moments, both clasps had been retracted. “The spark chamber’s open!” gasped Elita, sounding just as overjoyed as she was surprised.

“Now comes the hard part,” Magnus said gravely. “Removing the spark should be simple in concept. However, it will likely take both of the drone’s hands to lift it.” Everyone knew what that meant for the procedure, but Greg was undeterred.

“I’ve come this far,” he said confidently. “I won’t let you down now!” He reached forward with the drone’s free hand, which grabbed hold of the open spark. They had fallen far enough to see the surface now, able to just make out the peninsula where Beach City was. Greg knew what he had to do, and once he started, he only had a split second to do it.

“So, uh, not to sound like a downer, but just in case, I’ve really enjoyed our time together,” said Sideswipe. “I’m…gonna go face my end with dignity now.” He then stepped outside, looking up at the sky with his arms outstretched.

Carefully maneuvering the controller, Greg made the drone lean to the left, tilting its arms just right. “Steven? Count me down from three!” he said.

“Okay. Three…two…one…NOW!” shouted Steven.

On his mark, Greg let go of the satellite, allowing the momentum to swing the arm around and grab the spark. He pulled back, sliding it out of its chamber as the Predacon’s body continued to fall, already dissipating to rust. There was a brief silence, as everyone tried to comprehend what just happened.

“YES!” shouted Ultra Magnus, his fist in the air. “He’s done it!” Everyone gathered around Greg, cheering. The day had been saved, all thanks to him.

“He did? Hot dog!” said Sideswipe, stepping back inside. “I’m not becoming one with Primus today!” He joined the others in lifting Greg into the air.

“Aw, it wasn’t that big a deal,” Greg said bashfully. “I just know my way around machines, is all…”

“‘Not a big deal?’ Dad, you just saved everyone!” cried Steven, hugging his father. “I knew you could do it!”

“You certainly did,” said Elita. “Seems like we underestimated you, Greg. We won’t make that mistake again, that’s for sure!”

With the Predacon dealt with, all that remained was to bring the spark down to Earth. The drone’s view was stunning, showing the curve of the planet from high up in the sky. “I don’t think I say this enough: this planet truly is beautiful,” said Ultra Magnus. “No wonder Prime wanted to protect it.”

“Yeah, it really is,” said Greg. “And I’m glad I could help, in whatever way I can.”

As they admired the view, the dissolving satellite crashed into the temple, harmlessly scattering into a cloud of dust that covered the area. “So…who’s gonna clean that all up?” asked Sideswipe.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three: Pizza Night at Ground Zero

- - -

As the sun set on the Beach City sky, one lone traveler hurried through the streets with excitement. It was none other than Steven himself, carrying not one, not two or even three, but four boxes of extra-large pizza. ‘Fish Stew Pizza,’ the labels on them read. He excitedly hurried down the beach towards home.

It was the third Friday night of the month, and for him and the Autobots, this only meant one thing. A timeless ritual, one passed down among them for millennia–or at least a few years. No missions, no crises, no deep-seated emotional baggage, just the four of them, spending time together. It was a night that Steven cherished above all else.

Soon enough, he reached his house, and began to chant as he opened the door. “Pizza night! Pizza night! Pizza night! Pizza…night?” For once, Sideswipe hadn’t joined in. In fact, it didn’t seem like any of the ‘bots were ready for some pizza night quality time. Not sure where they were, he set the pizzas down on the counter before heading over to the Ark .

He found them fairly quickly, as they were all standing in the main room. “Welcome home, Steven,” said Ultra Magnus, calibrating the groundbridge. He had lived with them long enough to realize what was going on: they were heading out on a mission.

“Uh…hi,” Steven said. “What are you guys doing?”

“Our scanners have picked up an enormous surge of something very dangerous,” explained Elita-1. “Something we’ll need to deal with soon, before it can spread.”

“But, you’ll be back in time for dinner, right?” asked Steven. “You wouldn’t want to miss it! Right?”

Sideswipe was over in the corner, sharpening his swords. “Sorry, Ste-man, but this one’s pretty important,” he said. “We might not be back ‘til past your bedtime.”

“Past my bedtime!?” Steven said, aghast. “But it’s pizza night!”

Elita winced, the tradition clearly having slipped her mind. Still, she walked over to him to try and explain things. “I know it is, and we’re disappointed that we have to miss it, too. But being an Autobot is a full-time job. Each of our missions is to prevent innocent people from being put in danger, and as much as we love having pizza night with you, danger doesn’t take a night off to relax. You understand, right?”

Though disappointed, Steven understood how important the Autobots’ work was. “Uh-huh,” he said.

“Excellent. Now, we’ll be sure to make up for this tomorrow night, okay?” She joined the others in waiting for the groundbridge to be ready. “Goodnight, Steven! We’ll see you in the morning!” The other two waved goodbye as well.

“See you then!” Steven offered a friendly wave before heading back into the house. Once alone, he let out a sad sigh. “Aww, man. We’ve never missed pizza night before.” He reluctantly stuffed three of the pies into the fridge, taking one over to the couch to begin. He slumped down and sadly took a bite of a slice. “So good…and nobody to share it with. And it’s never as good reheated…”

It was then that a brilliant idea appeared in Steven’s mind. How had he not considered it sooner? With this, he would be able to check off two boxes on his list of ‘bot activities to be done! He sprang up from his spot, carefully carrying the pizza box as he raced back into the ship.

Luckily he caught them just before they left. “Guys! Guys!” he called excitedly, skidding to a stop just before hitting the railing. “Wait! I just had the best idea!”

Magnus and Elita glanced at each other, while Sideswipe was far more eager. “What do you have for us, huh? Shoot!”

“At first, I was upset that your mission meant we couldn’t do pizza night,” he explained. “But then I thought, ‘why does it mean that?’ Why can’t we bring a pie with us, and have pizza night and your mission!”

“Genius!” Sideswipe happily accepted the slice Steven handed him, popping it down. “So, what do you two think? …Uh-oh, I’ve seen that look before.”

‘That look’ was on Elita’s face, and it was one of understandable apprehension. “Steven, while I…admire your creativity, I’m not sure a mission is the best place to be having a pizza party. Especially considering that you haven’t been on one yet.”

“But that’s the best part of it!” said Steven. “This way, we can kill two birds with one stone! Not that I approve of that… But anyway, now we can have pizza night, and I can go on my very first mission! It’s a win-win!”

“Er…” Elita tried to think of a way to let him down gently. “That’s not exactly what ‘win-win’ means, Steven. Missions like this are dangerous, and inexperienced as you are, we wouldn’t want you getting hurt.” She looked to Ultra Magnus for help.

“That said, he will remain inexperienced without experience,” he said. “Perhaps taking him on a mission for once will allow him to gain some? I understand your concern, of course. We will keep a close eye on him–and Steven?”

“Yeah?”

“You have to promise to be extra careful. This mission may not involve any fighting, but there might still be danger around every turn. Stay close to us, and don’t let the pizza distract you.”

Excitedly, Steven hurried down the stairs to join them in front of the groundbridge. “All right! You won’t even know I’m there, except when you check on me to make sure I’m still there. And anyone who wants a slice, just ask!”

Though Elita was still uncertain about this, she saw Magnus’ point. “As long as you won’t run off on your own…again. Remember that whole debacle when you were four?”

“I certainly do!” Sideswipe laughed. “Boy were those two surprised when they realized they took the wrong kid!”

Pulling a lever, Ultra Magnus activated the groundbridge. A spark of green light appeared on the far side of the room, growing and spreading as it revealed a whirlpool in the air, leading to parts unknown. “Woah…” said Steven, taking a bite. The Autobots, Steven among them, stepped through the portal to where their mission took them this time.

- - -

Steven heard their destination before he saw it: the sounds of rolling waves and calling seabirds. He initially thought they couldn’t be far from Beach City, only for a sudden blast of cold air once they arrived. They also appeared to be inside some sort of metal structure, but it was too dark to make out its exact nature.

The others stepped through moments later. “Elita, have you located the source of the signal?” asked Magnus.

“Not exactly,” she said, looking at a holographic display projected above her arm. “Too much interference–that nasty stuff’s all over the place. I can imagine we’ll have to head for the center of the device.”

Sideswipe wandered off in the direction of some light. “Sounds like a good enough plan to me. Hey, maybe this won’t take so long after all!” Steven followed after him, with Magnus and Elita doing the same.

After reaching part of the building that let in some moonlight, Steven could see that it was very old and decrepit. In fact, the light shone in through a massive hole carved out of the wall. He approached the edge, only to stagger back with a start when he realized they were many stories in the air. “Woah!”

“Careful there, buddy-boy!” said Sideswipe. “A fall from this height would be bad for a Transformer, let alone a little guy! And between you and me, I wouldn’t rely on Elita to catch you…” She shot him a glare.

Making sure to watch his step, Steven looked out at their surroundings. Wherever this building was, there was no sign of land, just ocean stretching to the horizon. The only form of ground came in the shape of scattered ice floes and icebergs floating just beyond the main structure. And although he didn’t notice at first due to the dim light, there was something strange about the water: namely, it was purplish, and seemed to shimmer erratically. “Hey, what’s with the water here?” he asked. “How come it’s all…janky?”

“The water here is ‘janky’ because it has been infested with dark energon,” Ultra Magnus explained. “While normal energon is life-giving and natural, dark energon is an insidious poison that corrupts and destroys whatever it touches. That is why we are here: something has caused this facility to reactivate, and it threatens to spread this poison to the other corners of the earth. Needless to say, we have to stop it.”

“Wow…so this entire place was made to spread this dark energon stuff?” Steven was glad the Autobots had stopped it last time. “Then there’s no time to waste! Autobots, let’s save the world! Again!” He looked around. “So…how do we do that?”

Elita referred to a diagram of the structure on her display: the entire building was an enormous sphere, with the water barely reaching its middle even though it sat on the ocean floor. “Although this device has decayed beyond repair, its core seems to have reactivated somehow. Once we reach it, there is the matter of safely destroying it without further spreading the dark energon. Though how we’ll do that, I’m not sure.”

“We always think of something,” said Ultra Magnus. He made his way over to a maintenance hatch, lifting it open for the others to walk through. As he disappeared behind it as well, nobody was left behind to peer over the edge. Nobody was there to see the ominous shape drifting just beneath the murky waters, a metallic fin piercing the surface. It too then submerged, rounding the machine in the direction of the newcomers.

The inside of the massive device didn’t seem to be designed for easy access. There weren’t any obvious doors or walkways, any way for a Transformer to navigate the interior. There were enough metal platforms for the gang to make due, though. “Woah…” said Steven, marveling at how far up the ceiling was. “How big is this place?”

“If I had to guess, bigger than your house, but not as big as the entire planet,” Sideswipe helpfully observed.

Elita rolled her eyes. “I’ve never had the time to actually measure it, my best guess is that this facility is somewhere between twenty and twenty-five miles in diameter,” she said. “It was designed to spread dark energon across the entire globe, after all, so it would need to cover quite a large distance in order to do so.”

“So it’s basically a big bomb?” asked Sideswipe.

“Well, not exactly,” said Elita. “Yes, it was designed to propel a substance across a large area, and it contained many of the integral components of what we might call a ‘bomb,’ but seeing as the outer covering is still intact–”

“No, it’s a bomb,” Magnus said. “A very big, very bad bomb. Now let’s shut it off before it hurts anyone else.” He seemed a bit more reluctant about this than usual. Ultra Magnus was never one for lengthy conversations, but it was almost like talking about this bomb brought up some bad memories. Steven had considered asking who built the bomb in the first place–it didn’t seem like something Predacons would be capable of–but decided against it.

The group jumped, crawled, and climbed their way through the derelict structure, a lake of the dark water waiting for them at the bottom should they happen to fall. True to his word, Steven made sure to avoid straying too close to the edge, and waited until it was safe before allowing one of them to gently lift him across any gaps or obstacles. To his surprise and their relief, carrying the pizza along didn’t hinder him as much as they expected.

Unfortunately, not long after they ran into a dead end. An enormous wall stood in their way, just in front of an almost-as-large gap. There was no way to climb over it, nor around it. The three Autobots peered over the edge, the consequences of a fall silently remembered between them.

“Welp…I’m not seein’ any way through,” Sideswipe observed. “I don’t suppose there’s a secret passage I’m not aware of? Unless Elita wants to fly us across…”

“She won’t need to,” said Ultra Magnus, scanning the obstruction. “I should be able to clear us a path. Everyone brace yourselves.”

Steven and Sideswipe held onto the wall, and Elita crouched down and shielded the former. Magnus braced himself as well, the doors on his missile pods opening up. With a loud racket, twelve rockets fired, carving a slab out of the wall in their way. In addition to the explosion echoing through the chamber, the room groaned and creaked as the metal slid out of place, tethers breaking.

However, the slab of metal didn’t fall straight down, as they had expected it to. Some of the tethers remained in place, holding it up before it could plummet to the waters below. In fact, it slowly but surely began to tilt towards them, a massive shadow being cast over the platform.

“Uh…Magnus?” said a worried Sideswipe.

“I got it!” Magnus declared, thrusting his hands upward. He braced as the metal fell down towards them. As everyone prepared for impact, it slammed down on top of him, though he was able to catch it. The entire platform and likely much of the room groaned under its weight, as did, understandably, Magnus himself. “Someone cut this thing down!”

Sideswipe hurried over, drawing his swords. “I’m on it!” But the slightest movement was enough to destabilize the platform, tilting it violently to the side. Elita steadied herself against the wall…but Steven didn’t have the same luxury, tumbling over and sliding towards the edge.

“Woah! Help!” he cried.

“Steven!” Elita reached for him, but he was sliding too quickly, and she just missed him. He tried to grab onto the edge, but had the same results. “I’m coming!” She charged after him and dove off the edge.

Steven found himself plummeting towards the corrupted waters, screaming all the way down. “Protect me, pizza!” he pleaded, holding the pie over his head like a parachute. Before he had the chance to find if it would slow his descent, Elita grabbed hold of him, transforming with him in tow.

Moments before the two hit the water, Elita, in vehicle mode, pulled up at the last moment. Steven clung to the seat for dear life, even though he was safe in her cockpit. “I’ve got you,” she reassured him. “Are you alright? Nothing’s broken?”

He checked himself over to make sure, relieved to find that he was in one piece. “Nope, Steven’s all good!” he reported. “And the pizza survived? How ‘bout that?”

Similarly relieved, Elita couldn’t resist a small chuckle. “What a relief! Come on, let’s go join the others before…” Elita trailed off, as though something had caught her attention. But she was rarely the type to be distracted.

“Elita? What’s wrong?” asked Steven, worried by her silence. He looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary–for some meaning of the word. But the fact remained that nothing dangerous was around them.

“Something’s in the water,” Elita said in a hushed yet urgent tone. Steven scanned what little of the pool he could see to try and find the mysterious object. “Now, I’m going to lift us back up. As long as we don’t make any sudden movements, we should be okay.”

While they didn’t make any sudden movements, the thing in the water did. The water beneath them suddenly burst as it breached out, leaping quite some distance at the helicopter. Steven only caught the briefest glimpse of a mouth filled with hundreds of rotating metal fangs and saws as it only just barely missed biting down on Elita. As it fell back down, he saw what it was more clearly: those shades of blue and white meant that it could only be a giant mechanical shark.

Neither he nor Elita spoke as she carried them up to the others, who were much more talkative. “Woah, that was insane!” said Sideswipe as Elita transformed. “You guys almost got Jaws’d!”

“Yes, we’re fine, thank you for asking,” Elita grumbled, placing Steven down on the ground.

“What is a Predacon doing here?” Magnus wondered aloud. “I was certain our readings showed none in the area.”

“The dark energon core no doubt covered it up,” said Elita. “It probably attracted it here, too.”

“Hang on, I thought you said dark energon was poisonous,” asked Steven.

“It is, to Autobots,” Magnus clarified. “Predacons, though, they can’t get enough of the stuff. All the more reason for us to shut this thing down.” Now that they had gotten past the blockage, they continued onwards toward the core.

Anytime any of them glanced down, they could see the shark circling beneath them, its lifeless eyes staring up. “What are we going to do about that?” asked Elita.

“Not much we can do at the moment,” said Ultra Magnus. “Not with it literally swimming in dark energon. Thankfully, it isn’t putting anybody in danger all the way out here.”

“Except us,” Steven observed anxiously, unnerved by the Predacon’s repeated movements.

“Yes, well, with any luck, it will leave once the core has been dealt with. And speaking of…” When they reached another precipice, one of the first things they noticed was the occasional drops of a dark purple liquid falling into the sea from above. Glancing up, it seemed to be coming from a car-sized metal orb dangling from some cables. “...I believe we are here.”

“Yup, that looks like the core alright,” said Sideswipe. “Guess it’s climbin’ time.” He then began to do just that, drawing his swords to use as handholds in the ascent.

Elita, not wanting a repeat of her daring midair rescue, scooped Steven up and placed him on Magnus’ shoulder. “I’m not taking any chances,” she explained. “Hold on tight, okay?” They both nodded.

As all three ‘bots pulled themselves up towards the core, Steven made an observation. “How come you aren’t flying, Elita?” he asked.

“Too risky,” Sideswipe said. “That’s the thing with dark energon: even a tiny little drop could infect you.”

“Yes, and I’d rather not take that chance, either,” she said.

It didn’t take long at all for the three to reach the core. Magnus and the others soon pulled themselves up to the area surrounding it: a large, flat floor almost perfectly sized to be an arena. Hopefully, though, the core wouldn’t fight back in their attempts to destroy it. Speaking of which…

“And, now comes the hard part,” said Magnus. “We can’t get too close to the core, lest we become infected with dark energon. And yet, attempting to shoot it may just make it discharge more of the stuff.” He stroked his chin. “A troubling conundrum…”

Carefully maintaining his balance, Steven peered over the edge. Sure enough, the shark-like Predacon was still circling, as though hoping one of them would lose their footing. “What if we threw it into the water?” he asked. “Maybe it isn’t waterproof?”

“Given how the water’s purple, I doubt that,” said Sideswipe. “Still, I’m not hearing any better ideas. Anyone else for ‘Operation: Chuck it in the Drink?’”

“That may be a terrible name, but that’s far from a terrible plan,” said Elita. Steven beamed that he was able to be helpful. “We’ll need to carefully sever the cables keeping it in place. Sideswipe, I believe this is your specialty.”

Swords in hand, the eager Autobot climbed atop the core’s old chamber, from which it now dangled. “I’m your go-to guy for all sorts of slicing, dicing, and occasional mincing! Stand back now, y’all!” Steven did so as he began to saw through the cables with his swords.

One of them snapped, rattling the whole chamber as it dropped further down. The creaking of metal, which had by now become quite familiar, was accompanied by yet another sound: thrashing in the water down below. A glance revealed that the shark was churning the purple waves white, seemingly angered by their doings. Soon after, though, it disappeared.

Shrugging, Sideswipe continued severing the cords. But as he resumed his work, there was another sudden splash. Steven and the others had no sooner peered over the edge that the shark came into view, leaping higher than any shark, even a giant mechanical one, had any right to. This was likely possible due to the pair of jet boosters emerging from its sides.

It went right for the core, Sideswipe diving back to relative safety as it chomped down where he had just been. The beast continued upwards, now circling them from above instead of below. “So much for no danger–enemy engaging!” shouted Magnus.

The Predacon swooped down on them from above like a vast, predatory bird, attempting to crush them between its jaws. “Woah!” cried Steven, retreating to a far corner of the room, holding his pizza close. The Autobots opened fire on the shark.

“Great, it was bad enough in the water, now it’s in the sky!?” moaned Sideswipe as he rolled to the side, out of the way of the creature’s teeth. His blasters only seemed to annoy it, likewise for Elita’s. Even Magnus was having trouble causing any major damage.

After a missile barrage got its attention, the shark turned towards him, maw open wide. Magnus quickly transformed, its teeth clamping down on an armored van. With no joints to bite through, it gnawed on him as sparks flew. “Some help would be appreciated!” he called, though before anyone could come to his aid, it tossed him aside, setting its eyes on a far lighter, easier meal.

Steven let out a small squeak of fear as he locked eyes with the shark. It sped in his direction, quite literally chomping at the bit as it went. He ran for it, though there wasn’t really anywhere he could go. “Goodbye, pizza!” he cried.

Luckily, before Steven or his pizza could be devoured, the Predacon stopped in its tracks. Elita held it by the tail, struggling to hold it back as its thrusters roared. “Steven, get to Magnus!” she ordered, which he was happy to oblige. The shark kept its attention on him, seemingly deciding that he made for a better snack than any Autobot. “Sideswipe, slice and dice!”

“Rodeo time!” Sideswipe leapt atop the shark just as Elita let go, whooping and hollering as he rode it around the room. It thrashed and shook to try and get him off, but he and his swords were stuck on tight. “Nice try, bucking bronco, but you ain’t buckin’ this cowboy!”

Ultra Magnus had pulled himself back up, getting Steven to a relatively safe spot. “He’s having a bit too much fun with this, if you ask me,” he said of Sideswipe’s impromptu rodeo. The shark, noticing the two of them, made another move for Steven. Magnus threw it off the trail with a well-timed punch to the nose.

“It’s really after me, isn’t it?” Steven observed, eating another slice. “I must be delicious if it’s so intent on…” He gasped.

“What? What is it?” asked Magnus.

“It’s not after me–or just me,” he said. “It must want my pizza!”

“Steven, I don’t think the Predacon cares about a–Steven, wait!” Before Magnus could stop him, he ran out back into the fray, flying a very strange flag above his head.

Sideswipe repeatedly drove his swords into the shark, trying to wrest control of its movements. “Thanks for the ride, but this is my stop!” With a hardy yank, he pulled the shark to the side, metal screeching as it grinded against the wall. He removed his swords, delivering one final dual slash and leaping off as the shark crashed to the ground, falling back below. “Man, I’m good.”

But the shark wasn’t finished yet, turning its attention to Elita. It took a moment to regain its bearings, which she used to get in some free shots. It lunged at her, though aiming at its eyes seemed to cause it to miss. However, it wasn’t until it had passed her by that she realized she wasn’t its target. “Steven!”

He ran right at it, no fear in his eyes as it charged. “You hungry for some pizza?” he asked. Opening the box, he grabbed the pie by the crust. “Well, this one’s on the house!”

Steven hurled what was left of the pizza like a discus, his throw landing on the core. He squeezed his eyes shut as the shark drew closer–but it seemed his hunch was correct, as it changed its course at the last second, passing him by. Its jaws latched around the core in an attempt to devour the pizza: a perfect fit.

The Predacon pulled on the core, either trying to get at the pizza or pull itself free. Its thrusters whined as more and more of the cords snapped. Eventually, the core finally gave, falling down towards the water, dragging the shark with it. There was a massive splash, and then the water was silent.

All four of them looked over the edge, waiting for it to reemerge. Though a minute passed, and then another, with no movement. “So…pizza,” said Magnus. “ I certainly wouldn’t have guessed.”

“I’m not reading an active spark anymore,” Elita said, examining her display. “Though it could simply be masked by all this dark energon. And speaking of which, now we have no way of knowing if the core really is destroyed or not…”

“So…mission complete? Kinda?” asked Sideswipe. He shrugged. “Eh, good enough for me.” He strolled away from the hole, whistling.

Panting, Steven picked up the empty pizza box. “Sorry if I ruined the mission,” he said. He paused to yawn. “I just thought if I could have pizza night and a mission together, I could…I dunno, be more of an Autobot.”

“Oh, Steven, you didn’t ruin the mission,” said Elita. “True, we didn’t reclaim its spark…but we didn’t come here for that! We came here to shut down that dark energon core…which we don’t know if we did.” She quickly changed the subject. “Everyone ready to head home?”

- - -

“Ah, finally! Solid ground!” Sideswipe said as he stepped out of the groundbridge. “Never thought I’d miss it so much!” The others stepped out as well, and while the ‘bots looked just fine, Steven seemed exhausted. And no wonder, considering how long they had been out. The sun had long since set, and most of Beach City was already asleep.

“I suppose all we can do now is wait and see what happens,” said Ultra Magnus. “If dark energon levels in that area increase, we’ll have to go back–presumably with some protective equipment.” He noticed Steven wandering up the stairs in a half-asleep daze. “Steven? You weren’t exposed, were you?”

He looked up, bags under his eyes. “Huh? Oh, no, I feel fine, just sleepy. Again, sorry if I caused you any trouble, but I think I’d like to go to bed now.”

“Of course,” Elita said assuringly. “Your first mission always takes a lot out of you–I still remember mine. And you don’t have to worry about anything, you did just fine. Goodnight, Steven.”

“‘Night,” he said, crawling to his room. Exhausted, he just left the pizza box on the floor, crawling into bed without even bothering with his pajamas. His first mission had been a fiasco–and yet, he had managed to find the Predacon’s weakness, something that made him smile as he quickly drifted off to sleep.

- - -

It wasn’t the sun that woke Steven the next morning, but a familiar, delicious smell. It was lovely, but it wasn’t what he had grown to associate with breakfast. Too meaty to be waffles or pancakes, but too doughy to be sausages. It almost certainly wasn’t french toast. Yawning and stretching, he soon realized it was pizza. As soon as he looked up, he saw the smiling faces of all three Autobots ready to greet him.

“Good morning, Steven!” Elita offered her cheerful greeting while holding a place of pizza. The other two both held something similar, and a ding from the microwave told him that there was another waiting for him.”Did you sleep well?”

“I sure did!” he said, heading down the stairs. Ultra Magnus gingerly handed him the small (to him) plate, which he took gratefully. “Is…is all of this because we missed pizza night? Aw, you guys didn’t have to do that!”

“Sure we did!” said Sideswipe. “I figured if we couldn’t have a pizza night, we could at least have a pizza morning! We know how special this is to you.”

Steven didn’t know what to say. So he didn’t, letting his smile say it all.

“And, you could also say this is to celebrate your first mission! A very important milestone!” Elita added. She noticed his expression fell a small bit. “And first missions never go perfectly. Why, on my first mission, I accidentally shot my commanding officer in the back of the head! It was only a training round, but boy was she mad!”

“I got lost ‘cause I confused east for west,” said Sideswipe.

“I froze up,” added Ultra Magnus. “First-mission jitters.” It was hard for Steven to imagine any of the Autobots, especially Magnus, freezing up. “The point is, you still have a long way to go…and we’ll be here with you every step of your journey. Just like Optimus was for us.”

Steven took a bite of the pizza. “Aww, you guys!” A small tear fell from his eye.

“You’re that touched, huh, little man?” asked Sideswipe.

“No,” he said, “I just burnt my mouth a bit.”

All four of them burst out laughing, enjoying their company as much as their breakfast. And that was the true meaning of pizza night: it wasn’t the freshness of the pizza, for oven-fresh or microwaved, it all tasted just as good when eaten with family.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four: Stuck on You

- - -

Steven always enjoyed it when the Autobots’ business took them to the Beach City History Museum. Not only because such missions didn’t involve large monsters or other such dangers, but also because he was able to look at the exhibits for free while they went about their business, which usually involved some manner of negotiations.

“Yes, I understand that,” said Ultra Magnus, standing with the other three in the museum’s large main room. “But it doesn’t matter where it was found, or in what condition, the fact of the matter is that it’s an ancient Cybertronian relic. This means that, technically, it belongs to the Autobots.”

The museum’s curator, Mr. Smiley, lived up to his name. He was extremely kind and sunny, and it was in fact because of him that Steven technically got free admission in cases like this. However, the Beach City History Museum was not the most popular tourist location, so he was rarely willing to give up any potential exhibits. “Hey, if it’s so important, what was it doing buried in the middle of a desert somewhere?” he asked. “Besides, do you know how much money I paid for this thing? Even more than the animatronic dinosaur in the other room! And that thing wasn’t cheap either!”

The object they were fighting over was on display near the front entrance, proudly placed on a pedestal. A placard sat beneath it, describing how it was a Cybertronian object of unknown function. Magnus, however, explained that its function was indeed known: “However much it cost, the Polarity Gauntlet is far too dangerous to leave this close to innocent humans. If it were to go off unexpectedly, any two objects it affects could be magnetized!”

“All the more reason to leave it alone and not touch it!” said Mr. Smiley. “Besides, I put it behind glass, so it’s not like anyone’s gonna try and take it!”

Steven didn’t want to get in the way, so he figured he would go and look at the other new exhibits before either of them started yelling. The Beach City History Museum’s exhibits rarely stayed for long, and they very rarely had anything to do with Beach City specifically, but he was always eager to learn about whatever Mr. Smiley could find. Last week there was a geology exhibit, and the week before that he had learned more than he ever thought he would about the history of the telephone.

“Named for his distinctive oversized jawbone, the tyrannosaurus nicknamed ‘Grimlock’ is one of the most complete t-rex skeletons ever uncovered! Look to your left to see what Grimlock may have looked like!”

The pre-recorded message played out from a panel next to the animatronic dinosaur Smiley had mentioned. Although it was certainly big, it wasn’t very impressive: Its range of movement was simited to pivoting side to side and opening its mouth, while the cloth covering it looked extremely faded and fake. It didn’t even make any noise, save for the squeaking of its rusty joints. Nevertheless, Steven was taken by the wonky-looking dinosaur.

However, something nearby caught his eye, causing him to gasp and hide behind a display case containing one of Grimlock’s fossilized footprints. Of all the things he had been expecting to see here, she had been very low on that list. What should he do? Should he go and talk to her? It couldn’t hurt…but what if she didn’t want to talk to him? What if she was content minding her own business and he bothered her and that made her want nothing to do with him anymore and–

Realizing he was making something out of nothing, he remembered the wise words Sideswipe had once told him: ‘Why bother worrying about something, when you can just as easily not ?’ Emboldened by his advice, he decided there was nothing wrong with just going over to say hello. That didn’t mean he was any less nervous walking over, though.

The girl was reading a plaque nearby the animatronic, quietly jotting down facts in a notebook. She seemed really engrossed in it. “Hhhhhi…” Steven said softly, not wanting to startle her.

“Hmm?” She looked up, adjusting her glasses. “Oh. Hi.” She looked at the floor shyly; Steven was similarly reluctant to meet her eyes. “Are you enjoying the museum too?”

“Yup,” replied Steven. “Learning all about…Grimlock.” He looked up at the animatronic. As charming as it was, he couldn’t deny that there was something creepy about the way it moved. “You, um…you enjoying it too?”

“I am,” she said. “I’m actually doing some research for a report I’m writing for school. I actually haven’t seen you around there…Steven, right?”

He nodded. “Mhm.” The two had met before, but only on fleeting occasions. Plus, she was fairly new in town. “Probably because I don’t go to school. Dad and the Autobots teach me most of what I need to know. I’ve always wanted to go.”

“Eh, you’re not missing much. I’m Connie, by the way. If you didn’t already know,” said Connie. She held out a hand, and, after hesitating a moment, Steven shook it. “Actually…I’ve always wanted to meet the Autobots, or at least see them up close. I hate to ask, but if it’s not too much trouble…?”

“Sure!” said Steven. “They’re here right now, actually. I could take you to go meet them!” Excited to have a chance to introduce his new friend to his family and vice versa, he eagerly led her into the next room. “I think they’ve probably seen you around at some point, too, so they might recognize you. But I don’t know how long they’ll be willing to talk, ‘cause they’re on a mission.”

“Ooh, a mission exciting!” Connie said, clutching her notebook. “Let me guess: a Predacon has somehow infiltrated the museum, and they have to find it before it comes to life!”

Steven chuckled nervously. “Uh, nothing that dangerous. Just a Transformer artifact that Mr. Smiley picked up. With any luck, they’ll have convinced him they’ll trade with him for something better by now.”

“I hope so,” Connie said. “Don’t get me wrong, dinosaurs are cool, but it would be even cooler to do my report on an ancient Cybertronian artifact!” With the way her eyes glistened, Steven could tell she was really passionate about Transformers.

Sure enough, it seemed that the Autobots had finished up when they reached the main room. Sideswipe wore the gauntlet on his hand, posing with it. “Sideswipe, that isn’t a toy!” chided Ultra Magnus. “If you aren’t careful, we could all get stuck together!”

“Relax, Mags!” said Sideswipe. “What’s the use of havin’ a dangerous doohickey like this if you don’t live dangerously? Hey, Elita thinks I look cool, right Elita?”

Elita wasn’t really paying attention, instead focusing on her holographic display. “Something’s been bothering me since we got here,” she said. “My radar keeps picking up some sort of energy disruption. It could just be a glitch, but…”

“I suppose the Polarity Gauntlet may be interfering with your readings,” Magnus said. “Ah, Steven, I was just about to go looking for you. We’ve obtained the Gauntlet and are ready to head out. Who’s your friend?”

“Magnus, this is Connie,” said Steven. “Connie, Ultra Magnus.”

“Leader of the Autobots, former second-in-command to Optimus Prime himself, and all-around beast!” Connie said. “Armed with state-of-the-art Hex-Missile Pods, and transforms into a Moro-works armored transport van!” She certainly seemed to know quite a bit about him. Even Steven didn’t know some of that!

Ultra Magnus couldn’t help grinning, and leaned down to their level. “You really know your stuff, Connie! I take it you must be the Maheswaren’s daughter?”

“Yes sir, that I am!” she said, beaming up at him.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you. Tell Doug and Priyanka hello when you see them.”

“Absolutely!” She looked over at Steven, grinning. “I can’t believe I got to meet Ultra Magnus! Thank you so much for this, Steven!”

“Y-yeah, of course!” he said, blushing slightly. “Hey, so, I probably have to go now, but would you want to, um, hang out sometime? I don’t know if you’re busy, but maybe if you aren’t sometime we could go and, uh, get ice cream or something?”

Connie blinked. “Yeah, sure, I like ice cream.” She looked around awkwardly. “I’ve, uh, still got a few hours before Mom picks me up, we could hang out now if you want. Unless you really have to go.”

Steven looked up at Magnus. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” he said. “We did just procure the artifact, after all, so the mission is complete. It’s a good thing, too: who knows what might have happened if the Polarity Gauntlet fell into the wrong–”

Still posing with the gauntlet, Sideswipe caught his foot against a bit of rope. “Oop!” He stumbled, this having the effect of accidentally squeezing the gauntlet’s trigger. A beam of energy shot off from the device, bouncing off of a large chunk of quartz, careening off of a seventeenth-century mirror, ricocheting around in a crystal chandelier for a while, before finally shooting out right into Steven and Connie.

“...hands.” Magnus slowly turned to glare at Sideswipe, who sheepishly hid the gauntlet behind his back.

Neither of them were too bothered by the gauntlet’s beam. “Huh, tingly,” Connie said. “So, does that mean we attract metal now?”

“Not exactly,” Magnus explained. “The two of you are magnetic, but instead of metal, well…” As he trailed off, both Connie and Steven realized they were sliding across the floor. Moments later, they were suddenly thrown at one another, back to back, stuck to one another. “...that happens.”

This made Elita finally look up from her screen, racing over to them. “Sideswipe!” she admonished. She snatched the gauntlet away from him, with minimal resistance. “We told you not to play with that! Does everything we say go in one audio processor and out the other!?” She knelt down beside the two. “Are you alright? You aren’t in any pain?”

They both shook their heads. “No. Feels kinda sticky, though,” said Steven. He and Connie tried to pull themselves apart, but they only got a foot from each other before being yanked back together.

“At least we know the Polarity Gauntlet works on humans now, right?” Connie offered helpfully. She didn’t seem too concerned about their predicament, or was at least able to hide it well.

“Unfortunately, that knowledge doesn’t do us much good at the moment,” said Ultra Magnus. He took the Polarity Gauntlet to examine it. “We aren’t entirely sure how the Gauntlet works, unfortunately. It’s an old relic, from long ago in our history. Apart from its basic function, nobody is really sure how it works…including how to reverse its effects.”

Sideswipe raised his hand. “Maybe it’s one of those things where one shot magnetizes things, another shot un-magnetizes ‘em. Worth a shot, right?”

“No, it is absolutely not worth a shot,” chided Elita. “It’s bad enough you shot them once, there’s no telling what a second shot could do. For all we know, they could become even more magnetized! Until we run more tests, we are not using this thing on anyone again.”

“Sorry about all of this, Connie,” Steven said. “It’ll probably be a lot harder to do your research with somebody stuck to your back…”

“That’s okay, Steven, accidents happen,” she replied. “Besides, this isn’t so bad. Maybe it wears off after a few minutes!”

- - -

Two Hours Later…

“Okay, so we can rule out it wearing off,” said Connie. She and Steven were sitting on a boardwalk bench, literally joined at the hip. Elita had initially wanted them to stay at the Ark until testing was complete, but with how complex the Polarity Gauntlet had proven to be, she eventually let them take a walk. Though she had told them not to wander off too far, as she was still worried about the signal interference she had gotten earlier. “Hopefully they can figure out how to work that thing before Mom gets here.”

“Yeah, that would be pretty awkward,” said Steven. “It’d be all like, ‘Hi Mom, I have a conjoined twin now! Can he stay for dinner for the rest of our lives?’”

Connie laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think she’d be too happy about this. Actually…maybe she could help. She does deal with stuff like this a lot. Well, not exactly like this, but still.” She reached into her pocket for her phone. “I’ll text her to see if she has any advice.”

Unfortunately, using her phone was a bit more complicated than was anticipated. No sooner had she produced it that it seemed to stick screen-first to her hand. She tried to pry it off, but once she did, it ended up stuck to her arm. From there, attempts to turn it on resulted in her finger getting stuck to the screen. “Huh. So, no texting?” said Steven.

“No texting,” replied Connie. “But, we can handle this on our own, right? Magnets are just science! Maybe if we can get far enough away from each other, we won’t be attracted to each other anymore!”

Even though they’d still probably be magnetized, it was worth a shot. “Let’s try it out!” said Steven. “But the bots already tried pulling us apart. What else could we do?”

“Hmm…” Connie gave their surroundings a glance, settling upon something in the distance. “Aha! Over there: let’s let the force of gravity do the work!” She tried to get up, pulling Steven along with her. He stumbled, but caught himself before they could fall over. The pair shared an awkward laugh as they clumsily staggered over to potential salvation.

Working in tandem just to walk, they made their way to the location of Connie’s plan: a small playground not far from the boardwalk. It had all the usual equipment: swings, a seesaw, a slide. But what Connie was focusing on were the monkey bars. “Are you sure this’ll work?” Steven asked.

Connie reached for the bars. “No, but what’s the worst that could happen? Could you give me a boost?” He did, and she pulled her legs up and hooked them around the bars. “Now dangle!”

Steven did so, letting himself fall to the ground. But rather than land in the sand, he found himself hovering between it and her. “Uh, I don’t think it’s working!” he said.

“Just a bit longer!” Connie said, struggling to hold on. “Let the force of nature do its work!” But magnetism seemed to be beating out gravity, as Steven got no further from Connie. He did get closer to the ground, but that was only because she was beginning to lose her grip. “We’ve almost got it! Just a…little…more…!”

But it was not meant to be; Connie lost her grip, falling down on top of Steven, who had just fallen to the ground. Getting up wasn’t easy with the two back to back-to-back, but they managed. “Guess gravity isn’t as strong as we thought,” said Steven.

“No, I guess not,” Connie replied. “But we’re definitely onto something here. Maybe if we wedged something in between us, we could pry ourselves apart somehow…?”

After a moment, Steven had an idea, but not one he seemed to like. “I know someone who might be able to help us,” he said. “But it could be pretty costly…”

- - -

“So, any luck?” Sideswipe had been observing their progress on studying the gauntlet from the other side of the room, as he had been forbidden from coming within twenty feet of it.

“Nothing so far,” said Ultra Magnus. A pair of empty energon cubes sat on the table before them, having been magnetized together. “This thing doesn’t exactly come with an off switch…or a manual.”

“Maybe we should have asked Mr. Smiley where it was found,” Elita suggested. “There might be some clues there.”

For the past few hours or so, Magnus had been fiddling with the gauntlet to no avail. But just now, something finally came up: what they had all assumed to be a stabilizer on its back turned out to be a dial when he tried rotating it. “Hold on, I think I have something!” The other two peered over his shoulder as he spun it around, turning it from red to blue.

“All right! Shoot it shoot it shoot it!” shouted Sideswipe. Elita escorted him to a safe distance as Magnus aimed at the cubes. With another blast from the gauntlet, it at first seemed like nothing had changed. That is, until the cubes slowly slid away from each other.

“We’ve done it!” Magnus declared, excitedly slamming his fist down onto the table. However, in the proximity of metal, the cube slid away. And as it slid closer to the other one, that slid away from it in turn. “Oh…”

Elita picked the cubes up. Any attempt to bring them together resulted in them pushing away. “Hmm. It could very well be a temporary solution…”

“You kidding?” said Sideswipe. “Steven would hate that! How’d he be able to hug his friend again?”

Ultra Magnus considered this, looking down at the cubes. “You have a point…Steven does enjoy hugs.” He picked up the gauntlet again. “Very well. We will try and find a more optimal solution, but if nothing presents itself, we’ll have to repel them.”

“It will appease Dr. Maheswaren, in any case,” said Elita. “Alright, let’s keep looking.”

- - -

“And that’s basically how we ended up like this,” Steven finished his story. “I figured if anyone here had any ideas, it would be you. So, can you help us?”

The small pale child appraised the situation, scanning the attached pair from all sides. After a while, he wordlessly went into his garage to rustle through the tools available to him.

“Oh, and the ‘bots already tried pulling us apart,” said Steven. “No offense, Onion, but if they couldn’t do it, I’m not sure you could.

As though disappointed, Onion set down the crowbar he had been brandishing. Instead, he looked around the garage, before beckoning for them to come closer. He guided them into place, stopping them when they were right under it.

Connie didn’t seem to trust him. “Are you sure this is safe?” she asked. “I’m not sure your friend really knows what he’s doing.”

“Who, Onion? He’s the smartest guy I know!” said Steven, as Onion prepared a saw. “If he can’t fix us, I’m not sure anyone can!” He then pressed the button to lower the garage door.

“If you say so…” The door lowered down towards them, and Onion directed them to lean in opposite directions. They did, and the door slowly but surely closed in-between them; Steven on the outside, Connie on the inside. “Did it work?”

“I don’t know,” Steven answered. “I think so. Try walking away!” They did, each going in the opposite direction. Having a door between them meant they weren’t touching, but the power of magnetism was still too strong. They struggled to move after just getting a few feet apart, eventually being pulled back into the door. Onion flashed a thumbs-up.

Rubbing her head, Connie pried herself off of the door, or at least as best she could. “No luck,” she said. “We gave it our best shot, Steven, but maybe we should just let the Autobots handle this.”

“No way, we’re so close!” he said from the other side. “We just need to use our brains more–science got us into this mess, science can get us out! And what better place to learn about science than the place this all started?”

“The museum?” asked Connie. “I guess Mr. Smiley might know something. Like you said, we can’t give up now!”

“Yeah! Let’s go!” For a brief moment, neither of them moved, mostly due to not being able to. Steven knocked on the door–”Uh, Onion, could you…?”

Onion nodded, pressing the button to open the garage. The door slid up, only for it to begin dragging Steven and Connie up with it. “Woah! Help!”

“Onion, quick, quick!” Brandishing a crowbar, he ran to the pair’s aid.

- - -

By the time Steven and Connie made their way to the museum, night had fallen. “Oh… Probably closed, huh?” observed Steven, noticing the lack of lights inside.

“Maybe not.” Connie, and by extension Steven, approached the front doors, finding them unlocked. “Still open. Maybe that means Mr. Smiley’s not done closing up for the night?” They headed inside.

Steven looked around anxiously at the unlit exhibits. “Isn’t this breaking and entering?” he said. “Plus, we’re not paying an entry fee. The ‘bots won’t be happy with me if this ends up being a felony!”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine!” Connie reassured him. “It’s not like we’re sneaking in here to see the exhibits, we just want to ask Mr. Smiley some questions about our situation. Besides, if he really wanted to keep people out, he should probably start locking the doors…”

“Good point, I guess,” said Steven, though he was far from assured. Not helping was the eerie atmosphere: the museum was a fun place during the day, but after hours it was an entirely different story. The low light combined with the eerie silence made it easy to believe that threats of all sorts were lurking just around the corner. For instance, although the animatronic ‘Grimlock’ from earlier was now completely still, the way its teeth glinted threateningly in the moonlight made Steven want to get out of here as soon as possible.

There was nobody in the lobby, nor were there any workers in either the gift shop or the security booth. “Wow, this place really is abandoned,” Connie said. “But, there’s no way Mr. Smiley could have left without locking up first, right?” Steven shrugged. “Let’s see–Hey, Mr. Smiley! Are you still here!? We need your help!”

Connie’s shout echoed through the halls of the museum, but nobody answered. Half-expecting something to growl in response, the two couldn’t help but inch closer than they already were. After glancing at each other, and realizing what they were afraid of, the duo shared a small laugh, partially of relief.

“He’s probably at home by now,” Steven said. “I guess we’ll just have to get this figured out ourselves…”

The two headed back for the exit, finding no help in the museum. “I’m sure the Autobots can think of something,” Connie added. “Although…I have to say, as far as someone to be stuck to…you’re a pretty good choice.”

Steven smiled. “Aw, thanks. Despite everything, I-I enjoyed hanging out with you today. Maybe once we’re back to normal, we can do this again sometime? The hanging out, not the being stuck together part!” he quickly clarified. Once again, the two shared a laugh.

“I think I’d like that,” said Connie. “You’re fun to be with, Steven.”

After a day of being too close, it seemed the pair had grown closer. They walked back the way they had come, thoughts of how to remedy their current problem now gone from their heads. Instead, they wondered what they would do next time they hung out. Unfortunately, these thoughts were interrupted by a chance glance from Steven, revealing something rather strange. Or rather, it was the lack of something that was strange.

He blinked, as though unsure of his own vision, before looking all around. “Uh, Connie?” he asked, somewhat nervous. “Wasn’t Grimlock right there?”

“Who, the dinosaur?” She looked over into the room, but there was a noticeable lack of dinosaurs in it. “No, it had to be somewhere else, right? I mean, a giant t-rex animatronic doesn’t just get up and walk away, right?”

The pair stepped in to investigate. Sure enough, there was the pedestal it was stood atop, but no sign of it. “It does if it isn’t an animatronic…” Steven said cryptically.

“Huh? You mean you think it’s…” Before Connie could finish her thought, a shadow fell over them. Something very large put its head down close to them, and let out a low growl. “...real?”

As slow as they could, the duo turned around to face it. And sure enough, there it was: Grimlock, in all his glory, staring down at them. A relic from a lost age, in the flesh, no doubt moments away from a late-night snack.

“Be very, very still,” Connie whispered. “Their vision is based on movement–”

Grimlock opened his mouth to let out a mighty roar, shattering the silence of the night.

“Nevermind! Run!” Steven and Connie took flight as fast as their conjoined legs could carry them, with Grimlock right behind. The t-rex ran rampant through the museum, smashing through anything in his way, be it exhibits or walls, to reach his prey. Though attached at the hip, the pair were faster, though only slightly.

Steven noticed the gift shop. “Quick, in here!” They rounded the corner and headed inside, taking refuge behind the shelves of merchandise. Each of them held their breath as Grimlock eyed the place through the door, trying to sniff them out.

Eventually, he seemed ready to give up. He walked away to search elsewhere, which is when Steven and Connie tried to sneak away. But just then, the silence was once again shattered. “Steven! Steven, what happened here!?” They duo flinched as Elita called out, gaining Grimlock’s attention. He turned around, noticed the duo, and the chase resumed.

As they ran for their lives, at least this time they knew they had some form of solace. “Elita! Over here, help us!” cried Steven. They rounded the corner to find her amid the wreckage, holding the Polarity Gauntlet. If she was surprised to see them, then the sight of Grimlock was something else entirely.

Elita-1 wordlessly leapt into action, drawing her blaster and opening fire on the rampaging dinosaur as it rounded the corner. The shots did little to deter it, though they did set its outer covering on fire. Connie and Steven took cover as the battle between Elita and the dinosaur heated up–literally, as it was now burning.

Although there wasn’t much room, Elita had just enough space to transform, opening fire on Grimlock. Her guns in helicopter form were slightly more effective, at least enough to drive him back somewhat. He crashed through a wall to retreat, and she transformed back. “Are you two alright?” she asked.

“We are now!” said Steven. “Good thing you showed up when you did! How’d you know where to find us?”

“I’ve been looking all over town for you!” she said. “Your little onion friend was able to point out where you were. We have a solution with the gauntlet, but it might not be ideal: you see, it can also work in reverse, causing two objects to–”

But her explanation was interrupted, as a massive chunk of dinosaur bone was hurled her way. The impact caused her to fall, dropping the gauntlet in the process. She picked herself up just in time to see her enemy emerging.

By now, the fire had spread to the rest of the museum. Grimlock’s eyes appeared first, glowing red through the flames. He stepped out, revealing his full mechanical glory: a machine that looked very familiar. “Steven, you were right–that thing’s a Predacon!” said Connie.

“He is?” Steven replied. “I thought he was a real t-rex!”

Grimlock roared as he charged, his jaws nearly gnashing down on Elita. The Autobot rolled to the side at the last moment, retaliating with a burst of gunfire into his side. She ducked under a tail swing before going into melee range. A few kicks proved fruitless, even with her ankle blades, and Grimlock moved in for a bite. “Elita!” Steven shouted. “We have to help her!”

Elita held open Grimlock’s maw, which was moments away from chomping down on her. “No! Don’t worry about me, just get to safety!” she said. But it was clear she was straining, and she couldn’t hold him back for long. Grimlock pushed her back against a wall, trying to further jam her into his mouth.

“Come on, Connie, think, think!” She looked around the room for something that could help, her eyes soon settling on the fallen gauntlet. “Steven, over there!”

They ran over. “But how is getting them stuck together going to help?” he asked. Nevertheless, he worked with her to point it in their direction.

“It won’t, but reversing their polarity might!” Once the gauntlet was facing the right way, Connie slid down its sleeve, with Steven squeezing in behind her. At their size, the triggering mechanism took the form of a long bar. “Push down!” The two pressed on the trigger, their combined strength just able to turn it.

A beam fired from the gauntlet, striking both Elita-1 and Grimlock. Confused by the unfamiliar light, the t-rex retracted to observe its source, giving Elita a moment of respite. When he went back for another bite, he struggled, as though an invisible force was holding him back–which is exactly what was happening.

Elita was being pushed back as well, though thankfully out of danger. “Using the gauntlet–good thinking, Steven!”

“Thanks, but it was Connie’s idea!” Steven said.

“Get him, Elita!” said Connie. Now that Grimlock pushed Elita back with every attempt at attack, she was at a safe distance by default. She opened fire, whittling him down gradually. But as the battle went on, the museum began to face its share of collateral damage.

Steven peered out from behind a shattered glass pedestal. “Mr. Smiley’s livelihood is in danger!” he said. “We’ve gotta do something!”

Connie knew what they had to do: “How do we switch it from repel to attract?” she shouted.

“The dial on top!” Elita shouted. She was pinned against the wall, Grimlock struggling to get closer. While she kept him busy, the two pushed the gauntlet once more.

“Okay, be careful not to hit Elita!” said Connie, turning the dial on top from blue to red. They returned back inside the glove, taking aim at both Grimlock and a fixture on the ceiling. “Ready?”

“Ready!”

“Fire!”

The Polarity Gauntlet let loose once again, striking Grimlock and the chandelier. This time, the t-rex knew exactly what had happened, turning and roaring at the occupied gauntlet.

“Hurry, go!” Steven and Connie tried to run to safety, only for Steven to get snagged on something around the gauntlet’s outer ring. “Ah, I’m stuck!” Connie tried to pull him free as the massive Predacon was feet away from them…

And his jaws snapped shut mere inches away. The chandelier was being pulled down towards him, also pulling him back like a dog on a leash. He continued pulling and pulling, eventually succeeding in yanking it free of the ceiling. It crashed into him, knocking him to the floor.

With one final heave, Connie pulled Steven free from the gauntlet. In the process, a tiny (by Transformer standards) lever was pulled, turning the dial on top from red to yellow. “Is…is it dead?” Connie asked, not noticing this.

Grimlock staggered to his feet, definitely not dead. The shattered remains of the crystal chandelier coated his body, the fragments of metal and glass piercing though his body, forced in further due to the magnetism. Despite his mangled body, he roared, preparing to finish off the humans once and for all…only for Elita to slide past, firing a well-timed blast into his side. The t-rex’s side exploded, and he fell to the ground, dissolving until only a spark remained.

Steven opened his shut-tight eyes. “You did it!” he exclaimed excitedly. “Elita, you defeated Grimlock!”

Elita got to her feet, heading over to the fallen spark. “It was thanks to your help,” she said. “The two of you make a good team!” She knelt down to pick up the spark, only for it to slide away as her hand got closer. Reaching for it again yielded the same result. Groaning in exasperation, she began trying to chase it down.

“You know…we do make a good team,” Connie said, smiling at Steven.

Steven smiled right back. “Yeah! I never would’ve thought to use the gauntlet like that! We should team up more often! ‘Steven and Connie: Predacon Hunters!’ It has a nice ring to it.”

Connie laughed. “Maaaybe we’ll stick to hanging out at your place for now,” she said. “I always said I wanted to meet a Transformer up close, but this isn’t what I had in mind!”

The nearby wall exploded, nearly sending them both back inside the gauntlet. But it was only Magnus and Sideswipe, both ready for action. “Where is it!? Where’s that thing, lemme at it!” shouted the latter.

The two newcomers looked around. Much of the museum was in shambles, on fire to boot. As Elita continued chasing the spark, Connie and Steven stood near the gauntlet. “Hey guys!” said the former, waving. “Fashionably late, huh?”

- - -

“So, let me see if I have this correct,” said Ultra Magnus. “The Polarity Gauntlet’s reverse mode is activated by this switch, and not only is it almost impossible to see normally, but is hidden by the user’s arm while it’s being worn?”

“Yup, that about sums it up,” Connie said. She and Steven, now un-magnified, stood outside the museum with him as the fire brigade put out the flames. “Doesn’t seem very intuitive, does it?”

He set the gauntlet aside. “Ah, these ancient Cybertronian relics rarely are,” he said. “But, this should hopefully be the last time Mr. Smiley tried to add one as an exhibit.”

“Or that SIdeswipe tries to handle one!” joked Connie.

“Mmm, that’s a good point. Maybe this would be safer in a museum…”

Speaking of, Sideswipe and Elita stepped out of the nearly flame-free museum. “Well, now we know what my scanners were picking up,” she said. “At least this all happened when nobody was here.”

“What I don’t get is how nobody noticed their animatronic dinosaur was actually a Predacon!” he said. “I mean, there weren’t any signs!?”

“That one’s actually easy to explain.” she answered. “It looks to me like ‘Grimlock’ here has what’s known as a parasitic spark. The animatronic likely existed separately until he found and inhabited it. We’re lucky we were able to deal with him before he could possess something more dangerous.” She opened up a small groundbridge, placing the spark in storage.

“Wait, what’s more dangerous than a dinosaur!?” Steven wondered. Everyone laughed…but they were interrupted by the sound of helicopter blades.

The official-looking vehicle descended from above, touching down on the street nearby. It was mostly white, with the word ‘NEST’ emblazoned on the side. Several official-looking people stepped out, flanking one in the middle. “Connie!” said a woman who looked a lot like her daughter. “What happened!? I’ve been trying to call you all day, but you never answered, and now you were in a burning building!?”

“Mom!” Connie exclaimed. “I didn’t get any…” She looked at her phone, seeing a whole bunch of unanswered calls and texts. “Oh. I-I can explain…”

“I don’t think you’re the one who needs to explain,” said Connie’s mom, glaring accusingly at the Autobots. Sideswipe looked away while whistling, while Magnus awkwardly averted eye contact. “But not right now. I’m just glad you’re safe.” She embraced your daughter. “Besides, it’s past your bedtime.”

“Sorry about all this, Priyanka,” said Magnus. “There was an incident with a magnetic gauntlet. And a Predacon. Nothing like this will happen again.”

“I should hope not,” said Priyanka. She and Connie returned to the helicopter. “We’ll discuss this during our next meeting. Goodnight to you all–including you, Steven. Hopefully we can meet again under better circumstances.”

“Uh, okay!” Steven said, surprised she knew him. “Bye Connie, bye Connie’s mom! See you later!”

Connie waved as the helicopter took off. “Bye, Steven! I’ll text–oh, but I don’t know your number. I’ll email you–oh, no. I’ll write you a letter!” The copter carried them away, hoping to see each other another day.

Sideswipe noticed how Steven watched their receding form. “Uh-oh! I think Stevens got a girlfriend!” he teased, tousled his hair. “Our little boy’s becoming a man!”

“No I’m not!” he said, laughing. The others joined in…until they were again interrupted.

“MY MUSEUM!” came a shout from behind them. A distraught Mr. Smiley had only just arrived, taking in the sight of the smoldering building. “What happened!?”

“Uh…okay, I know this looks bad,” said Sideswipe. “Because it is. It is bad. But, it’s not all bad! We can pay for the damages!” Magnus shook his head. “We can’t? We can’t pay you.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Five: Life and Lasers

- - -

It had become something of a ritual for Steven: every so often, once the sun was setting, and all the small family businesses were shutting down for the day, he would make his way over to Fryman’s for some fries. But not just any fries: the fry bits . The little, crispy, crunchy fries that had been left in the fryer all day. Seeing as they would usually be thrown away, Mr. Fryman was kind enough to let Steven have them free of charge.

Sometimes Sideswipe would drive him if he was in the mood for some human food, but today it was just him. Soon enough, he saw the familiar sight of the giant holographic Frybo waving to passers-by from above the restaurant. But something was different today. The hologram was completely still, and the sounds of heavy machinery could be heard from a block away. Intrigued, Steven hurried his pace–he had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn’t be getting his bits tonight.

It wasn’t long before the construction vehicles came into view. Fryman’s looked to be under construction, and Steven’s intrigue turned to concern. Had something happened? He jogged up to see Peedee Fryman talking to the foreman.

“...and we’ll need to reroute enough power to light up the neon sign at night,” said the young boy, pointing at a blueprint. “To compensate, we’ll need to put more outlets here, here, and here. That should–oh, Steven!” He waved, letting the construction worker go about his business. “Good to see you. I’d love to offer you some bits, but now’s not exactly a good time.”

“What happened here?” asked Steven, worriedly looking over the restaurant. “Did a meteor crash into this place?”

“No, nothing like that,” Peedee chuckled. “We’re just doing some renovation. Making Fryman’s better than ever! Hopefully we’ll be done by tomorrow, we can get you some fries then.”

Steven’s disappointment at not getting the bits lasted only a second. “Well, it’s looking pretty good already!” A crane was hoisting a neon sign bearing the restaurant’s name into place. “So, uh, where’s Mr. Fryman? Or Ronaldo?”

“Doing some shopping,” Peedee said, either not knowing or not being interested in the specifics. “Dad put me in charge here. He figured I’d be able to handle it better than either of them could.”

Even though he was even younger than Steven himself, Peedee was one of the most responsible people in Beach City, even more than some adults. But now that he thought about it, Steven had only seen him in the context of work–he couldn’t remember a time he had seen him at the park, or the bowling alley, or just enjoying life. “So, you really like this kind of thing, huh? Business stuff, I mean. You’re definitely good at it.”

Peedee seemed confused. “Why wouldn’t I like it? I’m going to be the owner of this entire franchise some day, so I need to be prepared. Handling renovations is just practice for when I eventually make Fryman’s into a cross-country franchise. How does that saying go? When you love your work, you’ll never do…ah, you know what I mean.”

“I think I do,” replied Steven. “But are you sure that’s good for you? It’s not stressful, being involved with work all the time, is it?”

“No, of course, it’s fine,” Peedee assured him. “The only thing I have to be stressed about is if something goes wrong. And seeing as this engagement is under my supervision, anything that should happen to go wrong should be able to be resolved in the blink of an–”

The echoing sound of a metallic twang echoed through the street as a cable snapped. The neon sign tilted to the side, the crane losing its hold on it. “Look out!” called the driver, unable to move the heavy sign out of the way in time. More cables snapped, one after the other, until it fell from its place towards the two boys.

Peedee instantly curled up into a protective position, while Steven stared up at the ‘Fryman’s’ hurtling towards him, which could be the last thing either of them would see. His body reacted for him: both of his arms shot out towards the falling sign, and a warm glow lit up the shadow beneath it.

The sign exploded, the force of the impact splitting it in two pieces, which were propelled to either side of the pair. Many construction workers hurried over to secure the area and handle any injuries, but there were none. Peedee looked around, amazed. “I-I’m alive,” he said quietly. He looked over at Steven, who was still in shock. His arms were still facing upwards, but rather than hands at the end, they were now tipped with metallic blasters that extended from his skin. Glowing blue lines of energon ran through his arms, where metal and flesh melded together, indistinguishable. “You saved my life…”

“Huh. I did, didn’t I?” Steven began examining the blasters his arms had turned into. He wasn’t even entirely sure how he had made them appear. One moment, he could tell that Peedee was in danger, and the next–Boom! He shook his arms to try and make his hands reappear, but for now, they seemed to be locked in place. “You okay?”

Peedee checked himself over for bruises or scrapes, but he was completely unscathed. “I’m fine, thanks to you.” He seemed to be partly in shock as well. “I really could’ve died just then. But because of you, I-I’m just fine. Thank you, Steven.”

He chuckled awkwardly. “Don’t mention it! Saving people’s just what we Autobots do! So, um…” He wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands, now that they had been replaced with plasma-slinging guns. “If everything’s fine here, I think I’m gonna head home. Let me know if you wanna hang out sometime!” Steven headed back home, leaving Peedee to wonder about…well, a whole lot of things.

The construction workers were apologizing profusely, and promising to make sure nothing like this happened again as they cleaned up the mess, but Peedee didn’t mind. It wasn’t the near-cause of his death that bothered him, but rather that it had happened at all. Outwardly, he brushed off the workers’ concerns, directing them on how to continue the project, but inwardly, he couldn’t get Steven’s words out of his head: did he really like this kind of thing?

- - -

After two full minutes of examining Steven’s newfound gun-arms, Sideswipe finally reached a conclusion. “Yup, there’s no doubt about it: those are blasters, alright.”

“It took you two minutes to figure that out?” asked Greg. “I know next to nothing about Transformers, and I could’ve told you that!”

“Yeah, but I noticed it first!” Sideways said, which wasn’t technically untrue. But that was only because he saw Steven approaching Greg’s workshop before Greg himself. “So, you shoot anybo–er, anything yet?”

“Just a sign,” Steven replied. “It almost landed on me and Peedee, so these things just sort of…came out. They’re pretty cool, but I can’t figure out how to make them retract.”

Sideswipe may have been concerned for Steven’s wellbeing, but Sideswipe was still Sideswipe. The moment his concerns were assuaged, he began looking at the scenario from another angle. “Welp, you’ve got ‘em, so you might as well use ‘em, right? C’mon, give those puppies a go!”

“You mean…shoot something?” asked Steven. “Like what?”

“Like anything!” he said, gesturing wildly to their surroundings. “It’s just us out here, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“My expensive equipment could get damaged!” Greg cried. “Listen, Steven…as much as I dislike the idea of you playing around with guns, they are a part of your Cybertronian heritage. Not to mention part of your body. All I ask is that you do so in a safe, controlled environment.”

“Like out here on the beach!” Sideswipe reiterated.

Steven nodded. “Don’t worry, Dad. I like to think that I’m a pretty safe guy! C’mon Sideswipe, let’s go blow something up!” The boy hurried down to the sand, with the robot eagerly following after him.

Greg watched, nervously wondering if this decision was going to come back to bite him. “Ooh…I’m a good dad, right? He knows what he’s doing. This’ll all be fine, Sideswipe’s there to…Oh. Sideswipe’s there…” Trepidation filled Greg as he went back to his business, stuck between trusting Steven’s independence, and not trusting Sideswipe’s.

- - -

“Alright, you ready?” Sideswipe had accumulated a pile of old tires next to him, one of which he was preparing to throw.

“Ready!” Steven aimed his blasters out to sea, pumped up at the opportunity to master a new Transformer ability. “Pull!”

Sideswipe spun around in place before hurling the tire like a discus. Tongue out in concentration, Steven lined up the shot, and with only a vague idea of how they worked, took the shot. Twin streams of plasma streaked through the air before colliding with their target–a direct hit! Both of them began cheering as the flaming husk of the tire sank into the ocean, the former out of how cool it looked, the latter out of joy at being able to control these new weapons.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, not counting the stuff I did!” Sideswipe yelled. “Did you see that!?”

“ See it? I did it!” Steven said, equally excited. “Throw another one, throw another one!”

He did, and just like before, it was a bullseye. More whoops and hollers as it too fell into the water. “Are you kidding me!? You’re an instant marksman!” exclaimed Sideswipe.

Steven chalked it up to computers or something he had inherited from Optimus. “Ah, it’s just tires!” he said. “I don’t know if they’d be so effective against a Predacon…”

The Autobot shrugged. “Nah, don’t be so modest! If you’ve got it, flaunt it, that’s what I always say! Now, let’s see if you can hit two at once!”

As the two of them shot tires, someone approached from the city. Ever since his near-death experience, Peedee couldn’t get Steven’s words out of his head. For as long as he could remember, business had been his number-one priority. And yet, here was Steven, getting so much joy out of something as silly as shooting tires. If anyone could teach him what he was doing wrong, it was him.

The large robot fell to the ground while clapping after Steven had shot two of the tires out of the air at once. He took this moment to approach: “Uh, Steven?” he asked, gaining his attention.

  “Hmm? Oh, Peedee, hey!” said Steven. “How are those renovations coming along?”

“Fine, fine,” he said. “Look, Steven…you’re not too busy, are you?”

Steven glanced at the pile of tires, then at Sideswipe. “Not busy busy. Why? Is there something you need?”

He hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. “Actually, yeah, there is something. So…remember earlier when you saved my life? Thanks again for that, by the way. But, coming that close to getting squashed by a sign made me realize something. Life’s too short to be worrying about business all the time, and I’m too young to dedicate my life to something like that. But when I see how happy and carefree you are, I think… Do you think you could show me how to have fun? To enjoy my life?”

This wasn’t a query Steven would have expected. He took a moment to process it, but Sideswipe had a response instantly. “You kiddin’? If anyone in this town knows how to have a good time, it’s this kid! Remember that time we groundbridged to the Gobi Desert to go sand-sledding?”

“Oh yeah!” Steven said, chuckling at the memory. “Yeah, Magnus was not happy with us. Sorry, off topic–Sure, I could show you how! It’s pretty easy, though, so there might not be much to show. You just find something you enjoy, and then…do it.”

“That’s kind of the problem,” Peedee said. “Work was something I really enjoyed doing, but I’m trying to find something to get my mind off work. Something more relax-y, like most normal people do.”

“I have a few suggestions!” said Steven. “Swiper, you’re fine with me heading off, right?”

“Sure! I’ll just hang out here!” He picked up one of the tires, hurling it out to sea. Whirling around, he landed a direct shot with his blasters, before blowing off the steam. “Good luck having fun!”

“Isn’t that supposed to be really bad for the environment?” Peedee asked Steven.

“It’s fine,” he said quickly. Steven led Peedee back into the city to begin his lessons. “Now, what better place to learn how to have fun than at Funland!” Peedee was eager, but couldn’t help but stare at Steven’s gun-hands. Their maintained presence wasn’t exactly putting him in the mindset of ‘having fun.’

- - -

All the colors, lights, music, and people screaming was a bit much at first. “And this is fun?” asked Peedee, even more skeptical than before.

“Have you really never been to Funland before?” asked Steven, genuinely in disbelief. “No wonder you don’t know how to have fun! C’mon, the roller coaster has to be the first thing you try!” He grabbed his friend’s hand, or tried to, having no fingers with which to grab. Peedee did the actual grabbing, holding on to Steven’s blaster as he pulled him towards the intimidatingly tall ride.

Peedee stared up at the various loops and drops that hung above them. “Are you sure this is up to code?” he asked. “This seems like the kind of thing that people could get injured on…”

Steven shrugged. “Only sometimes. But, as long as we don’t crash, I’m sure we’ll be fine!” This didn’t exactly reassure Peedee. He debated telling Steven he needed to use the bathroom, then ditching him. But given that Steven was the expert here, he decided to let him lead the way.

In no time, the line had diminished, and it was their turn to ride. Steven eagerly stepped into the car, and Peedee nervously sat down next to him. “Wh–Where are the seatbelts? This can’t be safe!”

“Don’t worry, I go on this ride all the time!” Steven assured him. “There’s this bar thingy that keeps you in place!” Said bar thingy came down over them, and Peedee immediately latched on. Steven tried to grab it as well, only to encounter a problem. No hands, as it turned out, equaled no holding things. “Uh, that’s probably fine, right?” He wrapped his arms around the bar, hoping that would be enough.

The car then started to move, machinery clacking as they were pulled up to the first drop. Peedee was sweating, and although he usually had fun on this ride, Steven was a bit nervous himself. If he suddenly flew off and crashed straight through the boardwalk, that would put a sizable damper on his mission to get Peedee to lighten up. For a moment, they hung there at the summit, staring down at the incoming drop, before rocketing down the track. Turbulence kicked in, pinning both of them to the back of their seat.

Though initially screaming, Peedee soon grew used to the twists and turns. Even the loops didn’t bother him as much as he thought they would. That isn’t to say he enjoyed it, though. “This isn’t exactly what I’d call fun!” he said over the rushing wind. “...Steven?”

Steven wasn’t fearful either, nor was he having fun. In fact, his face was mostly blank, staring ahead as he hung on. And was it a trick of the light, or were his eyes glowing red? Peedee chalked it up to the former.

Before long, their ride came to an end, and the car was back where it started. The bar raised up, carrying Steven with it, as he was still holding on tight. Peedee shuddered as he stepped out onto solid ground. “That was unpleasant,” he said. “Not as scary as I thought, but I’d rather not do it again. …Are you okay?”

After a moment, Steven dropped back down into his seat. “So, was that fun or what?” he asked. He blinked, seeming to realize he had just come to his senses. “Uh-oh. I didn’t pass out again, did I?”

“I don’t… think so, but you did seem pretty out of it. Are you feeling alright? Maybe we should get you some water.” Peedee leaned in to inspect him for signs of injury.

“No, I feel fine,” said Steven, stepping out of the coaster. “Besides, I promised I’d show you how to have fun, and I intend to keep that promise! We just have to find a ride that’s more your speed. This way!” He hurried off to the next ride, a hapless Peedee following close behind.

He led them to a tent, where people threw baseballs at empty bottles. “Uh, Steven, you realize games like this are rigged, right?” Peedee said. “They’re designed to make you waste all your money trying to get a prize they’ve made it impossible to get.”

He laughed incredulously. “Whaaaaat? No way, I’ve won this exact game plenty of times! One time, I threw the ball so hard it tore through the other side of the tent! The guy gave me a prize just so I’d stop ‘wrecking his livelihood.’ Anyway, let’s give it a shot!” He slapped some money down on the counter. “Three balls each, my good man!”

“Oh, the Universe kid,” the man said under his breath, before reverting back to his cheery carny persona. “Well then, give it your best shot! Knock every bottle down, win a prize! Just…try not to throw it so hard this time, ‘kay?”

Peedee went first, feeling the weight and heft of the baseball in his hand. He lined up his shot before letting it fly…and it didn’t even reach the bottles. He tutted in disappointment, but Steven wasn’t faring any better. He found it nearly impossible to pick up the ball with guns for hands. A half-hearted lob didn’t even get as far as his friend’s had. “Did…did that even count?” he asked.

“The ball left your hand, didn’t it?” said the carny. “Yeah, I’d say it counted.”

Peedee’s next throw went significantly better. With more of a windup, he was able to wing one of the bottles, which was just barely enough to make it topple over. The one atop it fell as well, leaving only one on the table. “Hey, look at that!” he said, pleasantly surprised. In trying to emulate this tactic, Steven ended up accidentally letting the ball fly over his shoulder and down the boardwalk. The carny wasn’t exactly happy.

On the third throw, Peedee managed to hit the final bottle. It wobbled at first, then tilted, and finally fell over. “Aaaaand that’s a win!” the carny said. “I believe this is for you!” He handed Peedee a plush of what looked to be a crying tub of yogurt. He looked at the thing in confusion, but took it regardless.

“I’ve got an idea!” said Steven, looking down at the blasters. He managed to cram the last ball into the barrel of one of them, before taking aim at the bottles. Perhaps wisely, the man ducked down. He fired–rather than being launched at its target like a cannonball, the laser tore through the ball, rendering it a useless, scorched pile of leather. The bottles fell from the blast, but each of them ended up shattered on the floor. “Did that count…?”

The carny shot Steven a dirty look. “The goal is to knock the bottles over with the balls, not to destroy my place of business.” He figured that was a ‘no.’

Steven shrugged. “Oh well, you can’t win them all! But you did! Congrats, Peedee! …What’s up?” Peedee had been giving him a strange look again.

“No, it’s nothing,” he said. “Probably just a trick of the light.” Again, he had noticed Steven’s eyes glowing red. “I’m not…exactly thrilled with the rewards here. You want it?”

Although the Crying Breakfast Friend was tempting, he declined. “No, you won that fair and square. So, what do you think? Pretty fun, huh?”

Peedee looked back at the stand, where the man was busy sweeping up. “It wasn’t un pleasant, but…maybe we could try something a bit more, I dunno, casual? Just something relaxed and laid-back, where there aren’t any stakes.”

“I know just the place!” said Steven, once again hurrying off. “If you want fun , there’s no better place for it than the fun house at Fun land!”

‘Funhouse’ was what the building was labeled, but it wasn’t entirely accurate. Not that what went on inside wasn’t enjoyable, but it was more specifically a house of mirrors. The two of them headed through the curtains into the tent, and were met with various distorted versions of themselves. Slightly comical, but not outright funny enough to make Peedee crack a smile. Steven, on the other hand, was really enjoying himself.

“Check it out! I look like a cartoon character!” he said, posing in front of one of the mirrors. This, on the other hand, did make Peedee smile. The funhouse wasn’t as fun to him as its name suggested, but seeing Steven have a good time could improve anyone’s mood.

As they continued through the house, it went on much like this, with Steven having most of the fun. And although he enjoyed seeing Steven enjoying himself, the attraction wasn’t really his style. Nothing in this park had been his style, as a matter of fact. As much as he was grateful for Steven’s efforts, he was still in the same boat he had been at the beginning.

Peedee had seen his reflection be stretched, squashed, and twisted all throughout the house, but one of the mirrors caught his attention. He looked up at himself, nearly twice his height. Was that what he’d be like as an adult? Just his kid self, but bigger? And what would that mean, if he’d never had a childhood? Maybe he was better off sticking to what he knew.

“Hey, Steven?” he said. “Thanks for doing all of this, but…I don’t think having fun is for me. I’m just not as happy-go-lucky as you are, so trying to have fun in the same way just isn’t going to work. Sorry to drag you out here for nothing…”

“It wasn’t for nothing,” said Steven. “I got to spend the whole day at the amusement park with my friend, right? I’d say that’s a day well spent! Besides, Funland’s just one of many places to have fun in Beach City. We could try somewhere else if you want!”

He sighed. “Thanks, but it’s probably a lost cause. Maybe some of us just weren’t meant to have fun. Some people are probably only good for business, and nothing else.” He stared gloomily at his reflection.

“Well, do you enjoy it?”

Peedee looked up. “Huh?”

“Your job,” said Steven. “Working at Fryman’s with your family. I mean, your dad putting you in charge of renovating the whole place? Most grown-ups wouldn’t have that sort of responsibility! If he trusts you with that, you must be good at what you do. And since you're good at it, that must mean you like it, right?”

“That isn’t necessarily the case,” Peedee said. “It’s just that I’ve been doing it for so long. Restocking the ketchup, buying potatoes, cooking the fries…seeing the satisfied look on a customer’s face…” He couldn’t help but smile. “You know what? I think you’re right. I think I really do enjoy my job.”

“So that’s how you have fun!” Steven exclaimed. “We’ve been going about this all wrong! I thought you needed to lighten up a bit, but you were already as light as you needed to be!”

Peedee chuckled a bit, partially at this revelation, partially at his tall reflection. “Wow. Who would’ve thought? Thanks so much, Steven.”

He shrugged. “Ah, no thanks needed! This was all you! Now, how about we get out of here, and go get something to–” He bumped into a mirror. Glancing over revealed a grotesquely distorted image of his face, right up against the real thing. “Gah!” he cried out in alarm.

“You alright?” asked Peedee, strolling over. But he just stood there, completely still. Still to an eerie degree, that no normal human could attain. “Steven?” He reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, which is when it happened.

The mirror shattered, accompanied by another sound. Peedee leapt back, startled, but Steven continued to stand still. It wasn’t until he turned around that Peedee had some inkling of what was going on: his red eyes had returned. Steven just continued to stare at him, emotionless, seeming to consider the boy.

And then, he raised his blaster.

“Wh… Steven, what are you doing?” Peedee asked. “What happened to you? Did you cut yourself on the glass or something?” He took a step forward, and was only barely able to get out of the way of another blast. It whizzed past him, shattering the mirror behind him. What was going on was beyond him, but he knew his friend was no longer in control. He took off running back the way he came, with Steven strolling after.

Peedee passed by dozens of copies of himself as he ran from the berserk Steven, who continued firing at him. More shattered glass fell to the floor as the mirrors were broken, littering the floor with sparkling shards. Steven just pressed on, blasters extended, ignoring the pieces underfoot as he chased after his target. Why exactly Steven was after him specifically, Peedee didn’t know. It was probably some Transformer thing he knew nothing about. But whatever it was, he had to get help, and fast–not just him, but everyone in the park was in danger.

- - -

Sideswipe and Elita arrived just in time to see the throngs of people fleeing from the park. Greg hopped out of the former as both transformed. “Steven’s in there!” he cried. “I knew I shouldn’t have let him go off alone!”

“This wasn’t your fault, Greg,” Elita assured, casting a sideways glance at Sideswipe. The three of them headed into the park to find more panicking people fleeing, as well as one of the workers waiting there for them.

“You got here just in time!” he said, relieved to see the pair. “I don’t know what, but some thing is tearing up the house of mirrors! I think just about everyone got out, but it’s still firin’ all willy-nilly!”

Elita energized her blaster. “Think this could be a Predacon?” she asked.

“...Maybe,” said Sideswipe, a bit bashful. “So, depending on how things are in there, there’s a slight possibility that Steven’s not the one in danger…”

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Elita got her answer as Peedee suddenly came tearing out of the tent, nearly stumbling over himself as he raced for cover. Some of the lasers came after him, having apparently targeted him for some reason. The source of these blasts slowly walked into the light, arms raised, eyes glowing red. “Wh…? Steven?”

The look on Steven’s face was completely impassive: he didn’t recognize any of them, nor did he seem the least bit perturbed by his actions. He simply aimed at Elita, and opened fire. Steven shooting at her was the last thing she expected, as she didn’t move out of the way until she had been shot a few times. She pulled Greg and Sideswipe behind a nearby building for shelter. “T-that was Steven!” said Greg, almost in shock. “Why was he shooting at us!?”

“Sideswipe?” she asked, “what’s going on?” It was clear from her tone that she knew this was somehow his fault.

“I didn’t do it!” he protested. “Uh, I mean, Steven must’ve inherited Prime’s blasters, ‘cause he saved that kid earlier or something. Me and him were out shootin’ tires, and he wanted his help, and–”

“And you let him go!?” said Elita. “You know his abilities are starting to manifest! With how volatile and unpredictable abilities can be in newly-emergent sparks…” She groaned. “Nevermind! We’ll need to find some way to snap him out of it!”

“He said he could take care of himself…” Sideswipe said sheepishly.

Greg was completely lost. “So, what exactly is going on? Is he in some sort of trance?” he asked. Part of him was worried that Steven had been possessed by some sort of Transformer ghost, back to wreak havoc on the living.

“His targeting systems are being overloaded,” Elita explained, peering out to keep tabs on Steven. “I’ve seen this before in young Cybertronians. When they first activate their weapons, there’s too much sensory input, causing them to think everything is a target. If we calm him down, this shouldn’t persist.”

Meanwhile, Peedee was hidden behind a booth, trying to stay silent as he heard the hum of Steven’s weapons moving around him. He considered making a run for it, hoping that he wouldn’t give himself away. He crept over the counter when he felt Steven was far enough away and bolted. Apparently Steven’s hearing was better than he thought, as a stream of plasma shot by him, narrowly missing his leg and burning a hole in the boardwalk.

He took cover behind another stall. “Whatever I said or did, I’m sorry!” he shouted. “I don’t know if you’re mad at me, or if something here reminded you of something bad, but I regret it if it’s my fault!” He then found himself being picked up by Elita, and carried away to safety.

She set him down next to Greg. “Make sure he gets out of here!” she said, hurrying over to Steven. Sideswipe had managed to sneak up behind him and grab hold, but the kid was stronger than he looked.

“Hey, you’re fine, it’s just me!” Sideswipe tried to sound soothing, which was difficult when you were holding a child with laser guns for hands who wanted everything around him dead. Steven nearly yanked himself free several times, shooting all the while. “Elita, help! He’s a slippery little guy!”

Greg looked on worriedly. “You’re fine, right? You can make it to safety on your own?” he asked Peedee, who nodded. “Good. Because I need to rescue my kid!” He took off towards him, though a few near misses had him decide to take a more roundabout approach.

Sideswipe finally lost his grip, leaving Steven free to pepper the two of them with beams. “Ow! Ow! Ow-ow-ow!” he said, trying to cover himself. “He doesn’t come up to my knee, how does he pack such a punch!?”

“Just take a breath, Steven!” Elita reached out to him, wincing as her hand was riddled with plasma. “We’re here to help you, so just put the guns away, okay?”

Watching all of this go down, Peedee felt guilty just running away. “I can’t leave now–this may or may not be my fault, at least partially! Steven helped me, and a Fryman always repays his debts!” Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into the open, facing his friend. “Steven!”

At this, Steven stopped firing. He slowly turned to the source of the shout, much to Sideswipe and Elita’s concern. He didn’t raise his blasters at first, simply observing the other boy. Only after this brief moment of stillness did Peedee begin his speech.

“When I came to you earlier, I asked for your help. You had something I never did, and I wanted to know how you lived your life so carefree. And without a word of protest, you helped me. You went along to try and show me how to enjoy life, taking time out of your day to bring me here, all because I asked. And the entire reason I asked was because I didn’t want to live a life filled with regret. But you know what? Thanks to you, I realized that I enjoy my life! You showed me that I can find fulfillment in what I already have! Whatever’s going on with you, that’s not the real you! You showed me the way…now, at the risk of being blasted a bunch of times, let me show you the way.”

Peedee approached Steven, a smile on his face, arms out for a hug. “Kid, don’t!” shouted Sideswipe, but he wouldn’t be deterred now. Steven remained stone-faced, trying to process what was happening. He then raised both his arms, aiming his blasters at Peedee. Undeterred, Peedee simply shut his eyes, bracing for a lot of stinging as he walked forward. He would hug his friend even if it killed him.

“Steven!” Before anyone could make the next move, Greg swooped in, hugging Steven so forcefully he might have tackled him. “Steven, it’s okay! It’s just me, your dad. Nothing’s here that’s gonna hurt you… It’s just us, and Peedee, and Sideswipe and Elita… You’re safe. You’re safe.”

Once again confused, Steven didn’t struggle. Even when he regained his composure, he didn’t. Greg hugged him tight, and he simply felt his father’s warmth. After a few tense seconds, his face changed. His blank expression softened, as calm finally washed over him. The glowing of his blasters subsided as his hands shifted back into place. His red eyes turned back to normal, before he returned his dad’s embrace.

“Are you back?” Greg asked, after a few moments of sharing the hug.

Looking at his hands, Steven saw that there were no signs they were mechanical underneath. “Yeah,” he said, relieved. “Yeah, I’m back.”

Peedee walked up, having breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s enough near-death experiences for one lifetime! Did…did it help? My speech, I mean.”

“Kinda,” Steven said. “That whole thing was like a dream–I could sorta tell what was going on, but it felt so surreal and…distant. Like I was watching a movie while half-asleep.”

“That’s more or less how I’ve heard it described.” Elita and Sideswipe sat down beside them, riddled with scorch marks. “Even the smallest Autobots can be dangerous when they lose control. We’re lucky nobody was hurt.”

“Unless you count us,” said Sideswipe, gesturing down to his pockmarked chassis. “I’ll have to buff this out when we get home!”

“Which you can– after you clean up all those tires you left in the water!” said Elita. Sideswipe averted his eyes.

Steven stood up. “Sorry your trip to Funland wasn’t exactly fun,” he said.

“Are you kidding?” said Peedee. “Aside from you going berserk and trying to kill everyone, I had fun today. Sure, the attractions were underwhelming, but I got to hang out with my best friend. Next to working, there’s nothing I’d rather do more.”

Smiling, Steven gave Peedee a hug. “Then I’m glad I could help!”

“There is one thing, though,” Peedee said. “Please don’t mention any of this to my dad.”

He chuckled first, followed by Steven, and soon, everyone was  laughing.

Peedee then got serious. “No, I mean, actually don’t tell him. He’ll freak out if he hears I almost died.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Six: Crushinator

- - -

It was a bright sunny day along the Delmarva coast. Waves crashed into the rocky shore about a mile from Beach City. Unfortunately, this day wasn’t all that peaceful, as something else crashed against the rocks: Elita-1. She quickly picked herself back up, rushing back into the fray. “Go, guys! You can do it!” Steven shouted from the safety of the treeline.

Knee-deep in the ocean, the three Autobots fought against their opponent, a Predacon shaped like a giant snake. Its metal body was banded in amber and turquoise, undulating through the water as it darted around them. Making matters worse, it also had three heads–two more than it had started out with.

“Sideswipe! Stop that, you’re making it worse!” called Ultra Magnus. He tried grabbing the serpent, but it proved to be too slippery, almost unseen under the water.

It quickly emerged to strike at Sideswipe, who severed one of its heads with a flick of his wrist. This did little to slow it down, though, as not only did its remaining two heads drive the body away, but the neck stump began to shift and twist, expanding from within. Before long, four heads glared at the trio. “Sorry! It’s a reflex!” he called back.

Grumbling, Elita opened fire at the Predacon. “Maybe put your swords away this time!” she said. The beast’s four heads lunged, but she was faster, delivering a kick to one as she dove to the side.

“Try cutting off its tail!” cried Steven. “...Nevermind! Then it’d probably just have more tails.”

Magnus did try grabbing its tail to hold it still, but it very quickly turned around to bite him four times at once. But at least it was still while he grappled with it. “Quickly! Shoot it!” he said. He held it in place as Elita and Sideswipe did so, but it managed to wriggle free, submerging once more.

“Where is it? Where is it?” said Sideswipe, frantically looking around for any sign it was near. Something brushed against his leg, and he reflexively swung down with his sword. Elita glared at him as the now five-headed snake swam on. “Sorry!”

Elita fired at any ripple in the water she could see. “Try and surround it!” she suggested. “If it has nowhere to go, we might be able to force it into a vulnerable position!” She rolled to the side just as it struck, letting loose a barrage into its center mass. All of its heads turned towards her and hissed, disappearing once more. “Magnus!”

Ultra Magnus was searching the waters as well, but something seemed off about him. The way he staggered around, it almost seemed like he was dazed or confused by something. It wasn’t incredibly noticeable, and he was able to react when the serpent inevitably attacked him, though not as quick as he usually would have been able to.

“Somebody get this thing off me!” he said, struggling against its many fangs. He let loose several missiles from his Hex-pods, which flew around and exploded in the water. The three others took cover as the rockets hit just about everywhere except for the snake.

Elita got closer to deliver another barrage, freeing Magnus from its grip. “Are you alright? You seem off your game,” she said, helping him to his feet.

He was off running at their foe the moment he was up. “My game is at its peak!” he yelled, unleashing another barrage of missiles before Elita could stop him. These ones were more on their mark, blowing the snake’s multiple heads to smithereens. This would have been helpful, if it didn’t result in each one splitting into two, resulting in a total of ten heads. Each one of them roared, daring the Autobots to approach. 

“How come he gets a free pass!?” asked Sideswipe indignantly. “Nevermind, I’m taking this thing down my own way!” He shifted into a car, racing across the ocean floor towards the Predacon. He transformed again before it could react to him, landing on its back. Then, screaming out a war cry, he began hacking away with his swords.

Five, ten, twenty heads were added to the creature’s total count as more and more were lopped off. “Sideswipe, stop that!” Elita shouted. “You’re only making it…heavier?” Although more heads meant more to deal with, that also applied to their owner. As a veritable tree of heads now sprouted from the snake’s body, it became harder and harder for it to move.

Seeing an opportunity, Elita raced in to take it. Dozens of jaws snapped, but couldn’t do much as she placed her rifle against its chest, firing one powerful blast. Finally wounded in a way it couldn’t regenerate, the snake slumped to the seabed. The tree of heads collapsed, each of its fruit falling as well. Sideswipe emerged from the rust, triumphantly brandishing its spark. “And that’s that!”

“Woo-hoo! Way to go, guys!” Steven cheered at another successful mission. “You showed that snake who’s boss!”

“We sure did,” said Ultra Magnus. He made his way back to shore, leaning against the cliffside. “It was spotty there for a moment, but we pulled through because Sideswipe had a good idea.”

Sideswipe sent the spark away through a ground bridge. “It’s been known to happen from time to time!” he said. “So, what’re we doing to celebrate? Karaoke? Catch a movie? Trip to the arcade?”

Transforming, Ultra Magnus was already back on the road. “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’d just like to head back home for now. I would like to rest.”

Steven headed down, strapping himself into his passenger seat. “Fine by me! That was a pretty tough battle, you guys deserve some rest!” The other two transformed, and all three headed back towards town. “Besides, I’ve got some tv to catch up on!”

Though the battle was over and the Predacon was dealt with, Elita still had something on her mind. “Are you sure you’re alright, Magnus? You seem distracted somehow. Is there something on your mind?”

“Nothing but another successful mission,” he said. Though she couldn’t place it, there was something in his tone, something that sounded almost defensive. If he didn’t want to talk about it, it wasn’t her place to pry, so she let it be. “So, Steven, what was it you wanted to watch?”

“Oh, um, nothing much,” he said. “A little while ago I stumbled on this demolition derby show, and I’ve gotten hooked! It’s called Grand Slammers , and today’s episode is a big one-on-one showdown between Crushinator and Destructicon! It’s sorta like a championship bout, but for cars.” He seemed somewhat bashful, talking about the show.

Sideswipe, for one, seemed really interested. “How have I not heard about this show?” he wondered. “Cars bashing into each other at high speeds? That seems right up my alley! I’ll have to check and see if there’s any auditions any time soon…”

“I wouldn’t advise that,” said Magnus, a touch sterner than usual. “Something like that could seriously distract from our missions.”

“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with having a hobby!” said Sideswipe, nonplussed.

They soon made it back to Beach City after only a short drive. Ultra Magnus headed straight into the Ark , while Steven made a beeline for the tv. “Hey, you guys wanna watch the epic showdown?” he asked.

Unsurprisingly, Sideswipe was all over it, but Elita decided to check it out as well. “I suppose it could be worth a watch. Magnus?” But their leader had not even responded, having already retreated to his quarters. “Hmm. I guess that’s a ‘no.’”

“His loss,” Sideswipe said. “Alright, let’s see what this is about!”

Steven flicked on the tv with both Autobots looking over his shoulder. The show was just starting: the title appeared as chunks of metal slamming into the screen amid a bunch of flames, before melting away in the extreme heat to reveal the words ‘Grand Slammers.’ Narration began: “Welcome back, Slammers, to the epic confrontation between two life-long rivals! It’s pure carnage today as the Crushinator takes on Destructicon! Get ready to see sparks fly!”

Elita was confused, but Steven and Sideswipe were hooked. “Aw man, this is the corniest thing I’ve ever seen!” the latter said. “Turn it up!”

Soon enough, it was time for the showdown to begin. Wheels kicked up dirt as the two heavily-modified vehicles began to duke it out. Both of them looked like something out of a post-apocalyptic blockbuster: Destructicon had once been some manner of humvee, absolutely bristling with spiked armor and shooting flame from its tailpipe. Crushinator, meanwhile, was a van stained with black paint, chains hanging from its sides. It charged, ramming the other with its armored grill.

“Yeah! Get ‘im, Crushinator!” cheered Steven.

Though the other two were transfixed by the carnage, Elita couldn’t help but notice that something was off. Something about Crushinator felt…familiar, in its shape, in the way it moved. She leaned closer to the screen. “It couldn’t be, could it?”

Sideswipe looked at her. “Couldn’t be what?” he asked.

She pointed at the vehicle in question. “That one there, the Crushitizer. What does it look like to you?”

“Hmm…I think I saw something like it in a movie once,” said Steven. “Why?”

“No, no. I should be asking, who does it look like?” asked Elita.

Both of them looked closer. In a moment after Destructicon rammed into Crushinator, the van was pushed closer towards the camera. It was very quick, but the brief close-up of its side felt very familiar to the two–not in the least due to the unmistakable glint of an Autobot logo.

Steven couldn’t believe it. “Crushinator is Ultra Magnus!?” he shouted, hands on his face. “Everything I know is a lie!”

“Elita, Elita, Elita,” Sideswipe chuckled. “I’m pretty comfortable with you being the smart one of our group. But there is no way that’s Ultra Magnus. Because that would mean he’s secretly some kinda wild and crazy party animal who gets up to crazy shenanigans without us knowing! And there is no reality where that describes Ultra Magnus.”

She shot him an annoyed look. “Then who do you think that is?”

“I dunno,” he said, shrugging. “Could just be another Predacon.”

As they discussed it, Steven was still questioning his reality. “I’ve been rooting for him for weeks, and I had no idea! Good thing I wasn’t rooting against him… Hey, wait, is this how you guys afford to pay for damages during our missions?”

“No, of course not,” Elita said. “...I think. Hmm, I suppose we should ask him.” She began walking into the Ark to speak to Magnus about all of this, but Sideswipe stopped her.

“Woah, woah, hang on!” he said. “You can’t just put him on the spot like that! What if he gets embarrassed, and stops doing it? For all we know, this could just be some harmless pastime of his, and who are we to get in his way?”

Another weird look from her. “I think you’re thinking about this a bit too hard,” she said. “It’s like you said, this doesn’t seem like Magnus. I’m sure he has a good reason for doing this, but we won’t know if we don’t ask him.”

“Well…how about we don’t ask him , but we ask Crushinator?” suggested Steven. They both looked at him, hoping for elaboration. “If he’d be embarrassed if we confronted him, let’s just go down to the arena and ask him when he’s in-character! The show’s filmed not too far from Beach City–we can pretend to be fans, ask him about his life, and see what he says! Foolproof, right?”

Sideswipe seemed to agree. “Hey, that’s not a bad suggestion! Couldn’t hurt to give it a shot, right, Elita?”

It could, but Elita wasn’t in the mood to argue. “Oh, very well. I would like to get to the bottom of this as well, but I still think it would be much simpler to just ask him! Let’s just hope this plan doesn’t overcomplicate things…”

“Please! When have I ever been known to overcomplicate things?” asked Sideswipe.

- - -

“Okay,” Steven said, adjusting his fake mustache, “everyone have their disguises ready?”

“More or less…” For Steven, the disguise consisted mainly of a mustache, a top hat, and a monocle. Sideswipe was his car, sloppily painted black to ‘blend in’ with the crowd. As any sort of flying vehicle would have stood out in the parking lot, Elita herself had basically strapped some wheels to herself, pretending to be a motorcycle. “What exactly is the purpose of this?”

“Look, if Magnus sees us coming, he’ll pretend not to know us out of embarrassment of secretly being a party dude,” explained Sideswipe. “But if we’re disguised, we can ask him about his second life away from the Autobots without putting him on the spot. Genius, right?”

Elita opted not to answer.

The sounds of crashing and banging from within the arena began to draw to a close. “Sounds like they’re wrapping up,” Steven said. “Let’s head to his garage!”

Sideswipe drove and Elita sort of hobbled towards the garage where the contestants’ rigs were stored. Instantly they ran into a problem, seeing as it was locked. “Well, great, now what are we supposed to–”

Seeming a bit annoyed, Elita answered Sideswipe’s question by snapping the lock off the door, lifting it up for him to enter. “There. Let’s get this over with.” He drove in, and she followed, shutting the door behind her. Inside were all manner of tricked-out rides, modified for maximum devastation.

“Could you imagine if I could turn into one of these babies?” Sideswipe said, admiring the vehicles. “Think of the damage we could do to the Predacons!”

“Alternatively, think of the damage they could do to us ,” said Elita. As they waited for Magnus to appear, she slipped into a small parking spot between two larger cars. Sideswipe did the same, sitting there patiently. Steven tapped on his steering wheel, only to hide under the dashboard when he heard the door opening.

Two vehicles were dragged into the garage by tow trucks. Even in the low light, Steven could tell that one of them was definitely Crushinator. With little fanfare, the two contestants were dumped into parking spots, likely to be fixed up later. The two trucks drove out, leaving the garage empty…aside from the intruders, and the truck that was more than meets the eye.

Okay, we think Crushinator is Ultra Magnus, but we don’t know for sure , thought Steven. Should I get out to inspect it to make sure, or– Just then, the silence was broken by the unmistakable sound of a transformation. The Crushinator stood up, stretching out his dents in the unmistakable form of Ultra Magnus. He dropped off his add-ons like he was shedding armor, going over to the far end of the garage. Okay, well, that solves that . Their suspicions were confirmed.

Now, all that remained was questioning him. Sideswipe popped his door, allowing Steven to crawl out. Not wanting to startle the Autobot leader, Steven quietly cleared his throat before speaking in his best ‘distinguished gentleman’ voice. “Good morrow to you, good fellow!” he said. He almost tipped his hat, but felt that doing so might ruin his disguise. “Crushinator, I presume? I have beheld many of your matches, and I am inclined to ask–”

Ultra Magnus wasn’t startled, but he didn’t take to the impromptu interview the way Steven had hoped he would. For a split second after Steven started speaking, he looked down at the strange man, confused as to who he was, what he was doing here, and how he got in here at all. But only a moment later, his eyes widened in shock. “Steven!? What are you doing here!?” He glanced over, instantly noticing Elita and Sideswipe. “What are you all doing here!?

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sideswipe transformed. “Man! Well, guess the jig is up…guess these disguises weren’t all that after all.”

“Somehow, I feel like I warned you,” said Elita.

Looking like a deer in the headlights, Magnus took a few steps back. “I-I don’t understand,” he said. “Why are you here? Is this some manner of intervention?”

Elita shed her disguise. “No, Magnus, nothing like that at all,” she assured him. “We just saw you on tv, and wondered why you were here, is all. We could have asked you about it at home, but…well, Sideswipe didn’t want to put you on the spot.”

“And confronting me directly at the place I’m not supposed to be won’t put me on the spot?” he replied.

Looking a bit bashful, Sideswipe shrugged. “To be honest, this all sounded a lot better in my head. We were tryin’ to–wait, what do you mean ‘not supposed to be?’ Is there some reason you shouldn’t be here?”

Ultra Magnus looked very put-on-the-spot, despite their best efforts. “Hey, Magnus, we aren’t mad at you or anything,” Steven said, taking off his disguise as well. He walked closer to him. “We’re just wondering what’s up, is all.”

Letting out a large sigh, Magnus readied himself as though for a difficult task. “I suppose there’s no way around it. Yes, indeed, I moonlight as the Crushinator. This all began several months ago.” He stared off into the distance as he recounted his pastime’s past. “While tracking a Predacon, I believed it had somehow infiltrated this demolition derby, disguising itself as one of the contestants. In order to hunt it down, I decided I had to do the same.”

“And you got it! Right?” asked Steven. “Or are you still looking?”

“No,” Magnus continued. “My lead turned out to be false. Normally, that would have been it. However…to my surprise, I found I had enjoyed my time in the ring. The extravagant modifications, the extraneous names, not to mention the weekly carnage of crashing into one another…” He averted his eyes, embarrassed. “So I stayed.”

Elita’s gaze was sympathetic and understanding, not that he noticed. “I see. So, this really was just a pastime of yours. We had you all wrong.”

He nodded. “Please, don’t misunderstand, this was never about money or power. The reward money means little to me–in fact, I try not to win too much if I can help it. Nor is there any real danger, as the human vehicles have little chance of truly harming me, and I always make sure to pull my punches. I simply…” Another sigh. “Being the leader of the Autobots, protecting the entire world from the Predacons, is an enormous weight on my shoulders. Having something to alleviate that weight, even for a moment…” He trailed off, falling silent.

“Um…hey, it-it’s all good,” said Sideswipe awkwardly. “You coulda just told us, though, ya’ know. There wasn’t any need to keep this a secret.”

Magnus seemed to disagree, silently opening the door. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Steven noticed that Ultra Magnus was strangely disheartened as they made their way back to Beach City. “Hey, Sideswipe? You don’t think we ruined this for Magnus, do you?” he asked.

“No way!” replied the car. “All we did was go and see him. How could that ruin anything for anyone?”

“Mm.” Although he agreed with Sideswipe’s point, Steven couldn’t help but feel that they had intruded upon Magnus’ personal life. He just hoped it wouldn’t have any serious effects on the team dynamic…

- - -

“Hey guys?” asked Steven. “I’m worried about Ultra Magnus.” He hadn’t joined them that morning, still inside his quarters. “What if he doesn’t want to be part of the Autobots anymore?”

The three of them were cleaning up trash on the beach. There wasn’t a whole lot of it, but it was best to take care of what little there was before it built up. “Maybe he ran away to join Grand Slammers permanently.” Steven froze with shock at the suggestion.

Elita was quick to dismiss this. “Ultra Magnus has been our comrade for almost six thousand years, he wouldn’t abandon us! That said, he was acting strangely last night…he must be taking our discovery of his hobby pretty hard.”

“Why?” wondered Sideswipe. “So he likes to crash into other cars, who cares? I actually can’t blame the guy–putting up with the three of us all the time’s bound to be stressful! The man needs an outlet!”

Steven chuckled. “Yeah, he shouldn’t be ashamed of having fun just ‘cause he’s the boss! We should tell him!”

“Maybe later,” said Elita, pulling a tire out of the surf. “But right now, I think he wants to be alone. We’ll definitely–Ouch!” She suddenly jumped up, holding her wrist. “Something bit me!”

“ Bit you?” said Sideswipe, bewildered. “What kinda sea creature’s crazy enough to bite a Transformer? What’s even big enough? ‘S there some sorta shark down there?”

Elita carefully reached back down to pick up the object that had ‘bit’ her. Steven and Sideswipe were expecting some sort of jagged piece of metal, which, in a way, was what it was. It was a severed head, covered in seaweed and seawater. Once the water washed off, Steven realized he recognized it. “Hey, that’s one of those snake heads from yesterday!”

It was. Its eyes were dark, and its mouth hung open limply. How exactly the current had carried it all the way out here, nobody knew, but that wasn’t the only strange thing about it. “How come it didn’t dissolve into dust?” asked Sideswipe. “We took out the big guy, so why’s it still here?”

“I have no idea,” Elita said, examining the severed head. “I have seen Cybertronians who are able to deploy drones, or separate themselves into multiple smaller units, but nothing like this has–” Jumping back again, she suddenly dropped the head.

Her reason for doing so was the cranium suddenly springing to life, snapping its jaws at her in a frenzy. Even upon hitting the sand, it began hopping towards the first thing it saw, which happened to be Sideswipe.

“That thing’s still alive!” he shouted, firing at it as it hopped closer. It was surprisingly agile for something without any obvious means or propulsion. He and Steven staggered back as it got closer, only for it to be blown apart from behind. Elita lowered her weapon, the threat eliminated.

Or so it seemed. Steven got closer to the burning mass of scrap, making sure it was really dead. It was. “Wait, so if this one was alive, does that mean…?”

His question was answered as though by the sea itself, as wakes of something rapidly approaching streaked through the water. Three of them reached the shore, revealing three more heads that immediately launched themselves towards the Autobots. Sideswipe drew his swords, bisecting one that came at him. Elita blew another one out of the air, and quickly dispatched another before it could reach Steven. “Steven, I think it would be best if you headed inside,” she said.

Although he wanted to help, the sight of many more snake heads swimming towards them changed his mind. He hurried back to the house, looking worriedly over his shoulder at the two fighting off the horde.

“How many of these things are there!?” asked Sideswipe.

“That depends–how many did you cut off?” Elita responded. The two fought them off, but were slowly being overwhelmed by the sheer number. “Just don’t let any get to Beach City!”

Steven steeled himself. “Alright, time to get out there and show the world why I’m an Auto–Aaugh!” He hurried inside as one of the heads nearly chomped him, slamming the door behind him. “Okay…maybe this is a bit advanced for me. Time for the next best thing!” He ran into the Ark –there was only one bot who could save them now.

Even though he had only gone through the ship’s halls a handful of times, he knew the way to everyone’s quarters. He frantically scrambled through the giant hallways until he reached the command room, which Ultra Magnus called home. He banged on the door, hoping he was still awake.

“Magnus! We need your help! A bunch of severed snake heads are attacking the beach, and I don’t think we can hold ‘em off without you! Quick, open up!” The door stayed closed for a few seconds, longer than it usually did. But it eventually slid open, letting him in.

The inside was usually an intricate collection of reports and documents, organized to an almost obsessive degree. Because of this, it was almost disturbing to see that Magnus’ room was a mess, with papers strewn all over the place. Even more disturbing was Magnus himself, laying despondently on his cot. “Steven,” he said despondently. “Welcome.”

He blinked. “Did…did you hear what I said?” he asked.

“Not really. Can’t hear much of anything.” He barely shifted in his bed. “Probably not much of a problem.”

“Not much of a–the city’s in danger! You gotta come and help!” He tried pulling the huge robot up, though he knew this was a futile effort. “What happened to being the leader of the Autobots?”

“I don’t deserve to be leader of the Autobots,” Magnus moaned. “Not when I waste my time bashing into other cars like a brute. Even back when Optimus told me I should be the one to succeed him, I knew it wasn’t the right choice. I was never the one to lead, Steven. I’m just not fit for command.”

Steven finally gave up on trying to force him out of bed, instead climbing up onto his desk to try and talk some sense into him. “What are you talking about? You’re a great leader! Sideswipe and Elita both look up to you– I look up to you! I never got to know my robot dad, but you’re the closest thing to a robot dad I’ve got. And you know what? I could ask for a better one than you! Who cares if you go out and have some fun from time to time? Everyone has a hobby! No matter what, you’re still Ultra Magnus, and nobody’s gonna look down on you for any of that!”

It seems these words got to him, as he began to stir. “Do…do you really mean that?” he asked, looking up at Steven.

He nodded. “Hey, being the leader’s a stressful job. We don’t blame you for wanting to blow off steam from time to time. It doesn’t mean we look up to you any less.”

Finally getting up, Magnus held out his hands for Steven to climb on. “You really look up to me, then?”

“Of course! No matter what sort of danger threatens the day, you always know just how to save it! You stay calm in times of crisis, you hit harder than any truck I know, but you also know when to stay calm…I couldn’t think of someone more fit to be the leader than you.” Steven beamed as he looked up at him.

Confidence bubbled up within Ultra Magnus–he knew now that his team had never doubted him, and now he no longer doubted himself. “Then let’s go save the day!” he declared proudly. With Steven in tow, he hurried outside.

Out on the beach, dozens of heads had poured out of the ocean. Sideswipe and Elita had found refuge atop a rock formation, firing at the dozens of invaders.

“Never thought this was how I’d go out!” Sideswipe said. “Guess I should have watched out for snakes!”

“Just keep shooting!” ordered Elita. “They’ll have to run out eventually!” It sure didn’t seem that way, as there seemed to be no end to the swarm of hopping, biting heads. For every one taken out, more seemed to appear from out of nowhere.

Prospects seemed grim for the two heroes, until a barrage of missiles rained from above. The rockets crashed into the beach around them, blowing the horde of heads to kingdom come. Those that remained–as well as the two–turned in the direction the barrage had come from.

Steven and Magnus sprinted into action across the sand. The Autobot leader slid into the approaching heads, knocking them aside before leaping up, smashing his fists down on them. He swept his arms around, crushing the ones foolish enough to still be nearby. “Elita, provide aerial coverage!” he shouted.

Elita knew just what to do. Transforming, she flew upwards, opening fire on the heads. With no way to reach her, they were caught in a loop of futilely leaping at the air.

“Sideswipe, swords out!”

Drawing his blades, Sideswipe leapt off the rock, skewering two upon landing. “Now we’re talking!” Capitalizing on Elita’s distraction, he began carving through their numbers.

And Magnus himself led the charge, demolishing the heads with his bare hands. He let loose another barrage of missiles, blowing a cluster of them to pieces. But he, like his teammates, soon got surrounded, with a bunch of the little biters latching onto him. “Gah! They’re so small and…bitey! I can’t keep up with them all!”

Watching from the sidelines, Steven got an idea. “Magnus! It’s time to unleash the Crushinator!”

He nodded stoically. “It appears it is!” Ultra Magnus transformed, immediately crushing many of the heads beneath his tires. His boxy vehicle mode made it much harder for them to get a grip with their teeth, so all they did was leap into his grill. He started doing donuts, destroying them en masse in a whirlwind of carnage…as his announcers on Grand Slammers would have put it.

Within minutes, the beach was safe once again. Scrap that used to be the heads littered the place, which now began to dissolve to rust. The four Autobots stepped back to regroup, and to examine the fruits of their hard work.

“Everyone, the threat of trauma-replicated severed Predacon heads has finally come to an end,” Magnus announced. “And it’s all thanks to your efforts.”

“See, you say that,” Sideswipe joked, “but this was really all thanks to you. We were in over our heads there, but you kept calm. You always know what to do when things get hectic!”

He looked away, Steven detecting a hint of bashfulness. “It’s nothing, really. Keeping cool under pressure is just part of being a warrior. It’s what Optimus taught me.”

Elita put a hand on his shoulder. “Just like he taught you how to be a great leader?”

For a moment, there was a small smile on his face. “Oh, yes, I suppose. Point taken: from here on, I shall dedicate myself fully to leading the Autobots. No more Grand Slammers for me.”

“Woah-woah-woah, that wasn’t part of the deal!” Sideswipe said. “Look, we’re glad you’re feeling better, but we don’t want you to stop having fun forever!”

“I agree,” said Elita. “Magnus, you have no reason to be ashamed of this. As I’m sure Steven told you, we don’t think any less of you for having a hobby. Everyone needs a way to relieve stress, even a leader. Especially a leader.”

Ultra Magnus looked at Steven, who gave him a thumbs-up. “So…you really don’t think engaging in such violent and pedestrian activities makes me a bad leader?”

“Of course not!” Steven said. “Like you said, it’s all in good fun! Besides, now that I know Crushinator is you, I can root for you properly!”

With everyone smiling at him, Magnus raised his fists and punched at the air. “Then I guess my time in the ring is far from over. Look out, competition–the Crushinator takes no prisoners!”

Everyone cheered, grouping around Ultra Magnus. He positively beamed, unable to ask for any better teammates than the ones he had.

- - -

“C’mon, hurry, it’s almost on!” Steven ran up the stairs, leaping onto the couch. He turned the tv on before he had come to a stop, which thankfully only showed commercials.

Sideswipe joined him, a barrel full of popcorn in his hand. “Don’t wanna miss this one, huh? Isn’t this his big rematch with Roadrager?”

“I believe it is,” said Elita. “Though, of course, we could always just ask him.”

“Huh, good point,” said Steven. “Hey Magnus, do you win this one?”

Grinning, Ultra Magnus joined everyone else overlooking Steven’s loft. “I can’t give away all the answers, now can I?” he said. “That would take away from the fun!”

All four of them quieted down, their attention drawn to the screen. “Welcome back, Slammers, to another mayhem-filled episode of GRAND. SLAMMERS! Tonight, Crushinator is back and bigger than ever, but will it be enough to take down the mighty Roadrager!? Get ready to find out, because the carnage begins NOW!”

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven: Steven the Big Boy

- - -

For most children, a fight between several giant robots right in their front yard would be enough to have them up and about in a flash, either to hurry to the window to watch, or to run screaming to safety. But as has been established, Steven wasn’t most children. Although the commotion woke him up, he simply regarded it for a moment, before getting ready for his day as usual.

He emerged onto his front porch, cheerful as could be. “Morning, everyone!” he said.

“Hey Steven!” said Sideswipe, currently fending off attacks from a giant metal bug. In fact, all three Autobots were doing so. Three insectoid Predacons, all of them purple and black, had seemingly come out of the woodwork to attack the Ark . Sideswipe himself was fighting what looked to be a gigantic grasshopper, Elita fought with some sort of stag beetle, and Ultra Magnus was faced with another beetle, this one of the rhinoceros variety. “Sleep well?”

As much as Steven wanted to help, he figured he wouldn’t be at his best form, having just woken up. “Yeah, pretty good,” he replied. “Where’d these things come from?”

Ultra Magnus wrestled with his one, being pushed closer to the porch. “No idea…but better they’re here than causing trouble somewhere else!” He managed to lift the bug over his head, using the momentum to slam it back down.

“I agree, though I’d rather they didn’t come right to our doorstep!” said Elita. She had a hold of the beetle’s horn, her heels digging into the sand as it pushed her back. She unloaded into its face with a barrage from her rifle.

Meanwhile, Sideswipe was riding the grasshopper like a bucking bronco, struggling to hold on. “Woah, woah, woah! My brain module’s gonna get shaken loose at this rate!” Holding onto its antennas like reins with one hand, he drew a sword with the other, piercing through its head. Both he and the Predacon tumbled to the sand, with the latter dissolving until only its spark was left.

“Yeah, get ‘em, Sideswipe!” cheered Steven. “Get ‘em, Elita!”

Her rifle wasn’t doing much to the bug, so Elita opted for another strategy. Straddling its horn, she wrapped her legs around it, and used her ankle blades to sever the weapon. After this, its owner reeled back on its hind legs, preparing to crush its attacker. Elita had anticipated this, and held the horn like a spear, allowing the bug to skewer itself on its own defense. It, too, dissolved into rust.

With all the insects defeated, Steven hesitantly stepped onto the sand. “Is it safe to come down now?” he asked.

“Hold on, I’ll check,” said Magnus. He drove his fist down onto the last remaining beast, still embedded in the sand, which didn’t so much as twitch. “Yes, I think it’s safe.”

The other two bots sent away their collected sparks. “What a way to start my morning!” Steven cried excitedly. “I wake up, and BAM! There’s a battle right on the front lawn! You guys really took those things down!”

“We sure did!” said Sideswipe, posing with his sword. “Heh, I’ve heard of Insecticons, but this is ridiculous! …See, ‘cuz these things look like–”

“I understand the turn of phrase,” Elita said, a bit weary. “I’m glad you enjoyed the battle, Steven, but we still have a problem on our hands. We don’t know where these things came from, or what drove them here. There could be a bigger problem out there, one that we know nothing about.”

Sideswipe didn’t seem concerned in the slightest. “Ah, who cares? Predacons are always showing up outta nowhere and trying to kill us! What makes these ones so different?”

“No, Elita has a point,” said Magnus, walking over. “One thing I have noticed in the last five thousand years is that Predacons that travel in groups tend to be marginally less aggressive than the ones that travel solo, excepting when they’re protecting their territory. Something must have happened to drive these three out of their old home; something big. Knowing our luck, a bigger Predacon.”

Steven smiled. “Then it looks like it’s time for a mission!” said Steven. “So, what’s the plan this time? Build a super-scanner to track Predacon movement? Create a lure to bring them here?”

As Steven suggested ways for them to tackle their next mission, none of them noticed that the rhinoceros beetle was still alive. It slowly pulled itself out of the hole in the sand, rolling over back onto its legs. It set its eyes on the distracted bots, charging with mandibles extended.

“--giant magnet that only works on dark energon? Oh, or what about we dress Sideswipe up like a lady Predacon? Or we could–Look out!” Steven’s warning came just in time, with all three of them leaping aside to avoid the charging bug. But Steven himself was still in its path.

Suddenly, Steven’s eyes were overcome by a blue glow. His form was enveloped by a blinding flash of light, disorienting the Predacon. Before it could regain its vision, there was the swing of an axe, and one of its pincers fell to the sand.

Elita’s first instinct was to secure Steven, which she very quickly did. Magnus ran over to the dazed Predacon, punching it so hard his fist smashed clear through its shell, and tore out its spark. Everyone stood still for a second as the adrenaline rush wore off.

“Okay…okay, I think the coast is clear,” said Elita, lowering her guard. “Are you okay Steeeeee…ven…?” When she looked at him, she faltered, seemingly in shock. The other two walked over as well, just as taken aback by whatever they were seeing.

“Uh, yeah, I’m okay,” he said. He didn’t feel hurt or anything. His axe disappeared, though the Autobots still looked worried. “What’s the matter? It didn’t cut off all my hair, did it?” It was only now that he stopped to think about it that he realized he was roughly the same height as them.

“Eh…no, it’s not your hair,” said Sideswipe. “Though you don’t exactly have any right now…”

“Whaddya mean?” Their worry had been spread to Steven by this point. “Seriously, what’s–” He looked down at his hands, and saw only metal. “I…you…we…when…” He looked himself over, and saw that his entire body had become metal. Not only that, but he stood nearly two stories tall.

He was a Transformer.

“What’s happening right now!?” shouted Sideswipe. “What did that bug do to you!?”

Magnus remained calm, looking him over. “I don’t think it was the Predacon. We’ve seen Steven unlock his Cybertronian abilities through stress before. I think it’s likely being in mortal danger simply triggered this change…whatever its nature may be.”

“So, you mean, I’m just big like this forever now?” asked Steven. He went over to his house to look at his reflection in the window. Despite having become a giant robot, his face still looked like his own. His body was white, with luminescent blue orbs embedded in his chest, arms, and legs.

“Hopefully not,” said Elita, going over to comfort Steven. “I’m sure this is only a temporary condition. We’ll find some way to reverse it, one way or–”

But Steven wasn’t upset about his new form. Far from it, he seemed overjoyed. “I’m a real Transformer! Look at me, I’m huge!” He ran around the beach, excitedly getting used to his new body. “Does this mean I get to go on missions with you guys? Can I turn into a car!? No, wait, I wanna turn into a fighter jet!”

“You can turn into whatever you want, once you scan it!” said Sideswipe. He seemed almost as excited about this turn of events as Steven himself. “...Unless your human mode is your altmode.”

“Hmm. That’d be kind of boring, but it’s worth a shot.” Attempting to transform, Steven tried condensing himself back to human size by curling up into a ball. “Wrsch-sch-sch-sch-sch! …Did it work?” All three of them shook their heads. Eh, that’s okay. C’mon, now we can get started on our mission!”

“Hold on just a moment, Steven,” said Elita, stopping him when he tried to run off. “Right now, with your sudden…er, ‘cyber-puberty’ episode, we’ll need to see what sort of effects this has had on you. It could be dangerous to run off without knowing what’s happened.”

“Not to mention, we still don’t know where our mission will take us,” said Magnus. “We’ll have to find out where these Predacons came from first.”

Although Steven was a bit disappointed, he understood. “Oh. Alright then, I guess that makes sense.” He followed the others into the Ark , thinking how much smaller it felt. “So what do we do now?”

“Well, the first thing we should do is try and find out what caused this,” said Elita. “That way, we can determine how to reverse it.”

“If we can reverse it,” said Sideswipe. Elita gave him a nudge and a dirty look.

“Whether or not it’s temporary, I think we should tell Greg what happened,” Magnus suggested. “He has a right to know what happened to his son.”

Everyone else froze, quietly wondering just how Greg would take seeing Steven turned into a giant robot.

- - -

At the very least, they didn’t have to wonder for long. Greg made his way to the Ark what seemed like the instant Magnus had contacted him. Panting, red in the face, sweating profusely, but sprinting faster enough to possibly catch up with Sideswipe going full speed, he doubled over the minute he reached the medical room. “Where’s…where’s Steven?” he panted. “He’s…gonna be…alright, right?”

“Hi Dad!” Steven said with a cheery wave, assuring his father he was none the worse for wear.

Greg looked up at him, worry fading, but confusion going nowhere. “Wow… Y’know, when they said kids grow up so fast, this isn’t what I expected.” Steven held out his palm, lifting his father up to eye level. “So, it doesn’t hurt or anything?”

“Nope,” he replied. “Actually, I might feel even better than I did before! Like I could run a marathon without getting tired, or fighting twelve Predacons at once without getting a scratch!”

Greg winced. “Maybe don’t try that last one.” He looked over his son once more. “It’s so surreal seeing you like this. What exactly are you doing to him, anyway?”

As he sat on the examination table, Steven was hooked up to several cables. “Just monitoring his vitals, taking various routine tests, nothing too serious,” said Elita. “As Magnus informed you, we’re hoping to find a way to reverse the change.

“And…if you can’t?” Greg asked nervously.

“Dad, I’m still me!” said Steven. “Even though I’m a giant robot, I still love you!” He hugged his father close to his chest.

Despite being squished, Greg smiled as he returned the gesture as best he could. “I’ll always love you no matter what, Steven, but you’re a bit big for that now, don’t you think?”

“Oops! Sorry!” said Steven, setting his dad back on the floor. “Guess I’m not used to my size yet.”

Just then, the machine next to Elita beeped. “Looks like we have results!” she said. Everyone leaned closer to hear what the verdict was. “Hmm…it says here that Steven isn’t a normal Transformer. In fact, he might not even be a Transformer at all! For instance, he isn’t made of metal, but a pseudo-organic polymer with similar properties to metal, and his energon contains far too much water than should be possible.”

Sideswipe seemed unimpressed with these results. “Well, we already knew that ! He’s half-Transformer, half-human, that was established on day one!”

“The real question is, do we know any way to reverse it?” asked Magnus.

Elita looked over the results, comparing them to more sets of data. “Well…the strangest thing here is that, aside from his increase in size, Steven in this form is apparently no different from in his other form. It’s as though this is simply a natural evolution of Steven’s unique biological structure.

This worried Greg. “So…he’s like this forever?”

“Maybe not,” assured Elita. “Physically, there’s no difference, but mentally , that’s where things start to diverge. Considering Steven’s current neural activity, and adjusting for the differences between human and Cybertronian brain patterns, Steven is experiencing pronounced excitement.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” he said. “First that Predacon charged me, and then I was just so excited about being a real Transformer!”

“Then it’s possible Steven will revert back to his human form if he calms down,” said Ultra Magnus. “Perhaps if we engage in some meditation, we can–”

“Hold on, hold on!” said Steven. “I just got big, and now you want me to get small again already? I wanna at least enjoy this a little first! Now we know there’s a way to reverse it, so that’s good…but can we do it later?”

Though he clearly didn’t like the idea, Ultra Magnus acquiesced. “Okay, okay, I suppose nobody’s in any danger. Just…try to be aware that, with your new body, you might not be able to do the same things you would have been able to do before.”

“Alright!” Sideswipe was already ready to go, thumping Steven on the back as he headed for the door. “C’mon, Ste-man, let me show you how we Transformers do things!”

Steven took the cords off himself, eagerly following. “Right behind you!” He waved to everyone else before he too was out the door. “Bye guys! Be back in a bit!”

Everyone watched the two of them leave. “So…what are the chances this ends in tears?” asked Elita.

“Figuratively? Pretty high,” said Magnus. “Literally? Not much lower. I’ll get started on tracking where those Predacons came from.” He, too, left the room.

Now it was only Greg and Elita. “So…um…did Steven say he turned into a giant robot because a Predacon charged him?” asked the former.

“I’ll go help him,” Elita said, following after Magnus. Greg shrugged, heading back to his workshop.

- - -

“What is wrong with the people in this town?” complained Lars, cleaning up a table that had been left an utter mess by some rowdy patrons. “It’s like all of them were raised in a barn or something!”

“Yeah, sure seems that way,” said Sadie, grinning as she looked at him. He didn’t pick up on her meaning.

Just then, the bell rang as the door opened. Rather than a human hand, it had been pushed open by a giant robot finger, with the same robot’s face peering inside. “Hey guys!” said Steven.

“Hey Steven,” said Lars, only doing a brief double-take at Steven’s new form. “Let me guess: cyber-puberty?”

“Something like that,” he replied. “It’s supposedly just temporary though. But just ‘cause I’m big doesn’t mean I’m not hungry!” He tried to squeeze through the door, but figured out pretty quickly that it was a lost cause. “Oh…” he said, disappointed.

“Too big for indoor dining, huh?” said Sadie. “We can bring it outside to you if you want! What’ll you have?”

Steven squinted as he tried to read the menu, but the print was too tiny for his giant eyes. “Aww, I can’t see that far,” he said. “I thought I’d at least get super robot vision or something…”

“Hey, it’s no big deal!” said Sadie, rounding the counter. “Here, I’ll just bring you a smaller menu.”

“No need,” he said glumly, “I’ll just have my usual.” Crawling away from the door, he made his way to the parking lot to sit next to Sideswipe and mope. So far, being big wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Looks like movie night was prophetic once again…

“Didja get something for me?” Sideswipe asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe. I asked for my regular, but I don’t know if that meant my regular or our regular.” He flicked a pebble across the lot, or what amounted to a pebble to him. “Hey Sideswipe?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever wanted something really badly, like really really badly, but then when you actually get it, you realize maybe it’s not what you expected?”

Sideswipe wasn’t really paying attention, more focused on the cars passing by. “Not really. Hey, check that out!” He excitedly hopped up, leading Steven over to the road. “Look at that hot rod!”

A car had stopped at the light, and what a hot rod it was. Bright red with flames painted on the side, an engine sticking up out of the hood, and a spoiler topping it off at the back. The moment he laid eyes on it, Steven knew exactly why Sideswipe had brought him over.

“Imagine turnin’ into that beauty!” he said with a nudge.

“Way ahead of you!” said Steven. He fixed his eyes on the car, straining, trying to become one with it. It was only when he felt like he was about to blow a gasket, literally, that he stopped. A sudden realization came over him: “Uh, how exactly are you supposed to do that?”

“It’s not so hard,” Sideswipe said. “When I see a car I like, I just stare at it, trying to absorb all the little details and bits that make up the whole thing. And before I know it, I am that car! Give it another try!”

Steven concentrated as hard as he could, taking note of every minute detail of that hot rod. Before long, he knew it so well he could draw it with his eyes closed. But he felt no closer to actually becoming it. “C’mon, Steven, be the car!” Nothing happened, the light turned green, and the hot rod was off, driving towards the unknown. “Wait! Come back! …Aww.” Steven sat back down, moping once more. “What kind of a Transformer am I? I can’t even transform!”

“Hey, it’s not so bad,” said Sideswipe, sitting down next to him. “I knew plenty of Transformers who couldn’t transform. But they all still went on to live rich, fulfilling lives.”

“Really?” asked Steven, looking up at him.

Sideswipe nodded. “Yeah! …Well, um, I didn’t know them, know them. But I heard about them from Elita. And um… Ah, transforming’s overrated anyway! Y’know, I knew this one guy who could only turn into a leg–a leg! How goofy is that!? Well, I didn’t know him, know him, but, uh… Y’see what I mean?”

Unsurprisingly, Sideswipe’s anecdotes didn’t cheer Steven up. He was looking despondently at the road, watching the cars go by and no doubt wishing he could join them. Sadie soon arrived with his order: “Hey Steven, got your donuts here…Steven, is something wrong?”

“Ah, he’ll bounce back,” said Sideswipe, taking the donuts. “He’s a big boy!” He patted Steven on the back. “You want some donuts, big boy, or are they all for me?”

“...Did you ever have trouble with stuff like this?” he asked. “Like, transforming, or doing other stuff?”

In truth, all of that sort of thing had come naturally to Sideswipe. He took a moment to think of something that would cheer Steven up. “N-not really…but you’re making progress! I mean, just a few months ago, you couldn’t summon your axe, or use your blasters! But just look at you now!”

This perked him up. “Yeah!” It took a bit of effort, but Steven managed to pull out his axe, holding it up to the sky. He then turned his other arm into a blaster, holding it up valiantly as well. “Maybe I am a real Transformer!”

“That’s what I’ve been tellin’ ya!” said Sideswipe. “C’mon, let’s go shoot some tires!”

“Yeah!” The two of them ran off to go and have some fun. “Bye Sadie, thanks for the donuts!”

Sadie waved, smiling as they disappeared off into the distance. “Glad he was able to get that sorted out,” she said, heading back inside. But she suddenly stopped when she realized something. “Wait, I forgot to have them pay!”

- - -

Although he had a fun day with Sideswipe, Steven was worn out now. And after a long day of playing, all he wanted to do was lie down in his own bed–not that he could. “Maybe tomorrow, bed,” he said glumly. He stared into his house through the door on the Ark , far too small for him to get through now.

“Still haven’t gone back, eh?” said Magnus. “Well, you’re probably too excited. If those brain scans are painting an accurate picture, it’s excitement that triggered this change.”

Steven turned around to face him. “I’m not excited, I’m worried. What if I can never change back? What if I’m stuck in this big, useless body…forever?”

Magnus placed a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “Now, you won’t be like this forever, and besides, you aren’t useless. In any case, worry and excitement can be considered both sides of the same coin. Come here, let me show you something.”

He led Steven over to the training area. “Are we gonna train?” he asked. “I feel like that would only excite me more.”

“Yes and no,” Magnus said with a grin. “We will train, but not the sort you are used to.” He sat down, with Steven following suit. “Calmness is a secret that is essential for a warrior to learn, but precious few have ever mastered. Though it seems easy on the surface, it takes a highly disciplined mind to truly achieve true peace. Teletraan, noise cancellation, if you would.”

“Engaging noise-canceling procedures.” The two of them were then sitting in relative silence, untouched by the outside world. Magnus closed his eyes, taking in and letting out a deep breath.

Steven did the same, but his mind was still stuck on his current state. No matter how many deep breaths he took, he couldn’t forget the fact that he was likely to be stuck in this useless state forever, cursed to be trapped as not a real Transformer. His breathing became quicker and more haggard as a result, which Magnus noticed.

He opened an eye. “I know, it’s hard. It’s so easy for the worries of life to stick with us beyond when they should. The key to meditation is to not focus on any one particular thought, good or bad. Simply leave the mind blank, and your thoughts clear.”

“That, uh, sounds easier in practice,” Steven said.

“Indeed it is,” Magnus replied. “But as is the case with all things, the only way to get better is to keep at it. Actually, maybe complete silence isn’t the best way to approach this… Teletraan, play nature sounds.”

“Playing naturesounds.wav.” The sounds of a gentle stream filled the training room, complete with chirping birds and a babbling brook. Steven had to admit, he felt calmer already. He imagined himself within the forest, surrounded by all the plants and animals, not a care in the world. But, again, it wasn’t long before his world, and all the cares within, came flooding back.

At first, Steven had been overjoyed to have this new body. For too long, he had been the son of the great Optimus Prime, but had nothing to show for it. He had always known he was half-human, half-Transformer, but it wasn’t until recently that the latter half had begun to show itself. But what was the point of it all if he was so…so…pointless?

Sighing, Steven got back up. “Sorry Magnus, but I don’t think I’m up for this. I’ve got too much on my mind to meditate properly.”

Magnus stood up as well, walking over to console the boy. “That’s the tricky thing about meditation: it helps to calm the mind, and yet, it seems to require a calm mind to begin. It will make sense in time. Like I said, truly achieving peace of mind takes time. But for now, I think it’s best if you get some shut-eye.”

“Where?” he asked. “My usual bed’s too small.”

As though waiting for his que, Sideswipe appeared. “You can bunk with me!” he declared. “It’ll be a Ste-man and Swiper sleepover! I’ll go and clear some room!” Just as quickly as he had arrived, he headed off back into the depths of the Ark .

Ultra Magnus gave Steven a look, as though asking if he was okay with this. “Yeah, sounds fun,” he answered, though didn’t sound entirely enthusiastic. “‘Night, Magnus.” He too headed further into the ship to reach his makeshift bedroom.

“Goodnight, Steven,” said Magnus. “Perhaps you will be feeling yourself again in the morning. And if not, I’m sure we will be able to find some way to adjust.”

Steven entered through the door he saw Sideswipe go through, only to at first think they were in a storage closet. “Uh, are we in the right…?” he asked. The room initially seemed to be quite small, packed with all manner of junk. However, he soon realized that not only was the room much bigger than it first seemed, but it only looked that size because it was filled with even more junk.

“Yeah, sorry, it’s a bit cluttered in here,” he said, laying on his bunk near the back. “I find it’s easiest if you sorta swim through it. I put up a hammock for ya!”

“Thanks…” Steven climbed over and through the mountains of souvenirs, soon managing to pull himself up onto the hanging sheet of nylon. “You sure do love collecting things, don’t you?”

He grinned. “I just like having something to remember my many adventures!” Using his sword, he was busy carving a tally mark into the wall beside his bed. There were many more where that came from, seemingly around fifty or so. “‘Nother Predacon in the books. Maybe soon we’ll bag another one!”

“Yeah, maybe we will,” Steven said. He cheered himself up with the knowledge that even if he wasn’t as much of a Transformer as he would have liked, at least he wasn’t entirely useless. His new body would definitely come in handy on their next mission. “Hey, Sideswipe? Do you think I’m…”

But Sideswipe was already asleep, snoring like a bear.

“Ah well, it doesn’t really matter.” Before long, Steven was asleep too, having put his worries out of his mind.

- - -

His next morning began much like the last one, being awoken by a loud commotion. This time, however, he nearly jumped out of bed at the sound–or rather, fell off his hammock. It was Ultra Magnus, banging on the side of the wall. “Get to the bridge, Sideswipe, we’re moving out!”

The bot in question groggily rose out of bed. “Aw, can’t we at least have some breakfast first? I can’t fight on an empty stomach!”

“You don’t have an empty stomach, because you don’t have a stomach!” Magnus retorted. “And anyways, it’s urgent: I’ve located the source of the disturbance that drove the Predacons in our direction. And from the scope of what it leaves in its wake, it’s nothing to trifle with.”

While Sideswipe reluctantly crawled out of the room, Steven scrambled to the door. “I’m coming too!” he shouted, nearly knocking Sideswipe over in his hurry to get to the ground bridge.

“ Are you?” asked Ultra Magnus, accusation in his tone. “This isn’t your average Predacon we’re dealing with. We don’t entirely know what its deal is yet, but as I said, it’s carving a path straight through a mountain pass. It’s likely a bit more advanced than what we usually handle.”

“Well, so am I!” said Steven proudly. The three of them headed into the main room, where Elita was inputting the coordinates.

“Steven, you’re up early,” she said. “Seems like you’re feeling better, too! I’m glad.”

He smiled. “You bet I’m feeling better! Now that we’re going on a mission, I can finally see what this new body can really do! Who knows, maybe I’ll even finally be able to use the Matrix of Leadership after this!”

“Easy there, kiddo, one step at a time,” said Magnus. “Now, are we ready?”

“As ready as we can be,” Elita said. “Ground bridge engaging in three…two…one…” The familiar green glow of a portal filled the room as one opened up. “Now remember, we don’t know what it is we’re facing in there, so we need to proceed with maximum caut–”

As soon as the portal was open, Steven had drawn his axe and raced through. “Maximum somethiiiiiiiing!” he yelled, disappearing through the gateway.

“Steven!” Elita ran in after him, followed by Sideswipe. Magnus went through last, silently dreading what lay ahead. Both their opponent, and the circumstances.

When they emerged, they found themselves within reddish canyons, feeling the warmth of the desert almost immediately. Aside from the heat, something else stood out, which Sideswipe noticed: “Not a whole lotta plants here, is there?” he said.

“Well, it is pretty hot here,” replied Steven. “Must not be enough water for plants to grow here.”

Magnus was busy scanning the area. “It’s more than that–this area is completely devoid of any biological life. Not only that, but there’s no energon within miles of this place. Energon dead zones aren’t unheard of, but one this size…”

“I’m not picking up any dark energon, either,” said Elita, also looking at her scanner. “If that Predacon was here before, it’s long gone now.”

Steven wandered away from the group, searching for any sign of their quarry. “Hmm, it’s pretty here,” he noted. “I’d like to come back here sometime, when we aren’t busy on a mission. Maybe we can bring Connie along.” As he examined the cliffs, he noticed that there was a perculiar formation that dotted many of them. Holes, large enough that Ultra Magnus could walk through them with Elita on his shoulders, without having to duck. Most of them ran clean through the cliffs to the other side, dug by some enormous unseen presence. It wasn’t until Steven almost stumbled into one on the ground–letting out a startled shout as he leapt back–that he realized they were far too symmetrical to be natural. “Hey guys? You see these holes?”

“Yeah, what about ‘em?” Sideswipe stuck his head into one. “Hello down there! …Aww, no echo.” He peered further in, noticing that not only was there an odd spiral design along the edges, but also a series of ridges running along each third of the tunnel. “Something about this feels off somehow.”

As Magnus examined the tunnels, he came to the same conclusion. “Only one thing could’ve dug these,” he said.

“And what’s that?” asked Steven.

He then got his answer, which came in the form of a low rumbling. At first, it was barely noticeable, until he glanced over at some rocks shaking from the tremor. It grew in intensity, soon feeling like an earthquake was shaking the area. “Get out of the way!” yelled Magnus, tackling Steven out of the way as a massive machine burst up from the ground.

As the dust cleared, they could see the machine’s three drills, pointed skyward, slowly spin to a stop. Three long legs, each tipped with a gear-like wheel, hauled a cylindrical body out of the hole. Its drills, each at the end of an arm, lowered as it scanned the four of them with a purple light.

“Okay…nobody make a move,” said Elita. “If we’re lucky, it won’t detect anything, and–” But they weren’t so lucky, as it began stomping towards Magnus, a cluster of tendrils emerging from its underside. Her warning forgotten, everyone leapt into combat mode.

Sideswipe slid underneath the metal titan, weaving through its tentacles as he shot upwards. “What is this freak!?” he asked. “Not a Predacon, surely!”

“It’s an Energon Harvester!” replied Magnus, letting loose with a barrage of missiles. “No wonder this place is a wasteland–when these things go berserk, they’ll suck the energon out of anything and everything they can see!”

“And that includes us!” added Elita. “Stay out of range of those tendrils!” She took to the skies, strafing the Harvester from afar.

This was his chance–his chance to be a hero! Steven charged in, leaping into the air and bringing his axe down on the Harvester’s leg. While it didn’t completely sever it, it did create a sizable gash. Enough for it to notice him. “Woah!” He brought out his guns, firing on the tentacles that reached for him.

Luckily for him, Sideswipe came to the rescue, severing the tentacles with his swords. “Quick, get outta here, I’ve got your back!” More of them quickly replaced those, and so on as he continued to slice them. “Any plans?”

“Its intake port is directly connected to its power converter,” said Magnus, pointing at the spot where the tentacles were coming from. “A direct shot there should take it down in one go–the only trouble is getting close enough!” He charged into the leg that Steven had damaged, the blow gaining its attention.

Now that it was going after Magnus, Sideswipe tried to get under it again. But even when the tentacles weren’t actively trying to grab him, they were thrashing around so much it was hard to get a clean shot. Meanwhile, it had started using its drills as weapons, actively trying to damage its prey before consuming them.

Elita landed on its head for a brief moment, unloading a barrage into it before the drills forced her to fly away. “Sideswipe, get away from there!” she called.

Too distracted with his slicing, Sideswipe was right in the thick of things. “No way! There has to be a limit to these things, and I’m gonna find it! It can’t grab us without its grabby things!”

Meanwhile, Steven was busy trying to capitalize on its wounded leg, hacking away at the cut with his axe. “Come on! Why! Won’t You! Break!” It just then moved its leg, and he lost his balance, falling to the dirt. Panting, he got to his feet, before letting out a frustrated groan. “Why am I no good at this!? Why can’t I be a real Transformer!?”

It was then that a sudden shout caught his attention: “Sideswipe!” In his frenzy of slicing, it seemed he had gotten himself tangled up by the tendrils. Ultra Magnus fired his rockets, but they didn’t do much, the Harvester pulling Sideswipe closer to its ‘mouth.’

This was Steven’s chance. With his friend in danger, he charged into action, leaping into the air. He kicked off of the machine’s leg, cutting through the jungle of tentacles with a swing from his axe.

“Huh? What are you doing?” asked Sideswipe, struggling with his binds.

“Saving you!” Steven replied. But as he sliced through the tendrils, more of them emerged to constrict him. Pulling as hard as he could, and even biting some, it was all he could do to keep from being wrapped up himself. “Now go!” With one final swing, he cut Sideswipe loose, who fell to the ground below. Only now, he was caught by the Harvester.

Distantly, he could hear the frightened shouts of the other Autobots, as the three of them did all they could to save him. But the outside world was somehow dimmed, because of a blue glow coming from inside the machine. As soon as he looked into the light, he was completely captivated. Everything else seemed so far away…all his worries melting into nothingness. The light seemed to take everything away from him: all his troubles, all his cares, leaving only peace. As the energon drained from his body, he felt like he could drift off to sleep then and there.

No , his inner voice said. No, this is bad. You’ll die! But he was already half-asleep, his eyes beginning to close. There was only silence–nothing on his mind. Wait…nothing on my mind! That’s it!

As his strength waned, he imagined himself beside a babbling brook. Nothing but bird sounds and splashing water, with the gentle wind blowing through the trees. Nice, warm sunlight shone through the leaves, the finishing touch of this little slice of paradise. It was now that he was truly at peace.

He knew he was in danger…but he didn’t feel like it. He was completely calm in the face of peril. It was then that it happened: his body began to recede. The metal that was his skin became softer as he shrank back to his original size. The tentacles loosened, not only due to him shrinking, but also because it could no longer detect energon in his human body. It let him go, and he fell towards the ground…

…Right into Elita’s waiting arms. “Oh, Steven! Thank Primus you’re alright!” she said, hugging him close. She wasted no time getting him out of harm’s way, setting him down around a corner. “Are you alright?”

“A bit woozy, but I’m okay,” he said.

The Harvester continued its rampage, meaning Elita couldn’t stay. “Wait here, and recover your strength,” she said, drawing her weapon. “We’ll get you some breakfast once we get back.” With that, she ran back into the fray.

Steven got to his feet, watching the fight from afar. As glad as he was to be safe, he was hesitant to sit and watch as the others were in danger. That giant machine was after their energon, and if it caught one of them, it was game over. They couldn’t turn into humans like him, and–

Wait…that was it! With a sudden epiphany, Steven knew exactly how to defeat it. He ran towards the machine with a second wind and a one-track mind to save everyone. He may not have been an experienced fighter, or even a real Transformer, but he did have one thing the Harvester couldn’t handle: humanity.

“Steven? What are you doing!?” shouted Ultra Magnus. “Get back, it’s too dangerous!”

“Well, so am I!” he replied. In its pursuit of the Autobots, one of the Harvester’s legs nearly came down on top of him. But Magnus was there, knocking it aside just in time. Steven slid through the dirt, ending up right under its main body–his blaster appeared, firing up into its intake port. However, the sheer number of tendrils meant that none of his shots landed.

“Help him out!” Elita shouted. All three of them positioned themselves next to the machine, firing at it to get its attention. With each of them on a different side, it wasn’t sure which to go after, reaching for all of them. The tentacles parted, giving Steven a clear shot.

He took a deep breath, blocking out the sounds of the outside world. “Okay…mind blank…thoughts clear. I can do this.” Peering up into the light, he fired one single blast…and right into the mark it went.

The effect was almost instant, as small explosions began ripping through the Harvester’s body. Its tentacles seized up and twitched as it began stumbling, filling the air with the sound of creaking metal. Steven quickly got to his feet and ran as it fell down, heading right for him.

Before he could be crushed, he felt another pair of arms wrap around him. “Hold on, little buddy!” Sideswipe transformed, and Steven found himself in the passenger’s seat, racing away from the falling machine. With one last explosion behind them, its core was blown to bits–and the Energon Harvester was no more.

Sideswipe transformed once again, looking over Steven to make sure he wasn’t hurt. But Steven was too busy looking at the wrecked Harvester, overjoyed that he had actually managed to save everyone. “Steven! Are you alright? What were you thinking!?” cried Magnus, as he and Elita ran over.

“Guys, we did it!” he shouted. “We won! I…I did it! And look: I’m back to normal!” He excitedly ran around, overjoyed to be back in his old body.

Just happy to see that he was okay, Magnus let out a sigh of relief. “I see. Looks like you finally got the hang of meditating.”

Steven flopped down onto the ground. “Yeah!” He sighed as well, just as weary as it was relieved. “I guess it’s not so bad, being human…”

He was soon joined by the others, laying down beside him. “I coulda told you that much!” said Sideswipe. “Some of the coolest people I know are human. Priyanka, Doug, Greg…you!” He ruffled Steven’s hair.

Although he laughed, there was still a twinge of sadness to Steven’s voice. “Maybe I’m just…not meant to be a real Transformer,” he said. “I guess I’m just me…whatever I am.”

“Hey, now, what’s all this about?” Elita asked. “Who said you’re not a ‘real’ Transformer?”

“Well, it’s just…I know I’m technically half -Transformer, but until lately, I’ve only shown the human half.” He stared at the ground, running a finger through the dirt. “I guess I just wanted to prove that I’m…really one of you guys.”

Magnust sat up. “You are one of us, Steven. No matter what form you take, you’re still Optimus’ son. And even if you were fully human, you’re part of the team.” He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “As far as I’m concerned, that makes you just as much a Transformer as any of us.”

This seemed to cheer him up, showing a small smile. “Even though I’m not a very good fighter? And can’t transform?”

“Yes, even then,” said Elita. “Nobody’s an expert fighter overnight–even Cybertronians who were made to be soldiers have to learn how first. It’s the same with transforming. It takes practice, and some people go their whole lives without an alt-mode. And they still went on to live rich, fulfilling lives.”

“Oh yeah, Sideswipe might have mentioned that,” said Steven.

Magnus stood up, dusting himself off. “Did he tell you about the leg guy?”

Steven got up as well, chuckling. “Yeah, he told me about the leg guy!”

“Come on, let’s go home.” Elita led the way back to where they had first arrived in the canyon. “So, Steven, any preferences for breakfast?”

He considered it for a moment. “Well…I couldn’t decide between waffles or pancakes, so I figured we’d have ‘em both together! Oh, and with bacon! And sausages! And extra whipped cream! And sprinkles!”

“Sounds like my kinda meal!” said Sideswipe, rubbing his stomach. “You’d better eat it quickly, Steven, ‘cause I might finish it before you!”

“Breakfast race!” Steven said cheerfully. He began running, with Sideswipe close on his heels. “Bet I can eat more than you!”

“Betcha can’t!”

As the two of them ran around, Elita got the portal ready. “Never thought I’d end up raising two kids,” she said, watching them fondly.

“Me neither,” Magnus said. After a while, he added “Are you sure we’re handling this, Ariel? The way Optimus would have wanted, I mean.”

The two of them continued their game. “He looks pretty happy,” said Elita. “I’m sure Optimus would have wanted nothing more.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight: Lion to Steven

- - -

The desert: hot, harsh, and inhospitable even to the most stalwart of adventurers. Luckily for Steven, he was nice and cool riding in Sideswipe’s air-conditioned interior, relaxing on his cushiony seats while listening to his dad’s old CDs. “Hey Sideswipe, you were around in the 80s,” Steven said. “Did you know my dad during his music career?”

“Something like that,” Sideswipe replied. “He was still Mr. Universe, but he had pretty much retired by the time Optimus and the rest of us rolled up. Magnus probably remembers it a bit better–hey Magnus, remember when we first met Greg?”

“Keep this channel open,” Magnus chided. “Visibility’s low in this sandstorm. We need to make sure we don’t stray too far from each other.”

In addition to being hot, harsh, and inhospitable, this desert was also in the grips of a giant sandstorm. Looking out the windows, all Steven could see was sand, sand, and more sand being kicked up by the winds. “What did you say we were doing here again?”

Elita responded from above the storm. “This entire area’s been in a drought for weeks, ever since the local reservoir dried up,” she said. “Too quickly to be natural, I might add. No Predacons detected in the area, but we have reason to believe it’s some kind of Cybertronian tech at work.”

“Almost there,” said Magnus. “Be ready for anything.” After a bit more of driving through the sand, the trio reached the source of the drought. A giant lake had once been here, but lately it had all but entirely dried up. Driving down a hill to where the bottom would have been, Magnus and Sideswipe transformed. “Elita, we’re here. Do you have visual?”

“Negative,” she said. “The storm’s too thick. I’ll have to descend through. Can you see anything down there?”

Sideswipe peered across the lake bottom. The sand and soil was still damp, meaning visibility was much better without the clouds of sand. “Hmm…well, there’s some sort of giant…flower?” In the center of the empty lake, there was indeed some manner of strange plant growing out of the ground. A thick green stalk gave way to white and pink petals blooming at the top. “Something tells me that’s not native to the region.”

“Then let’s go get it!” Steven summoned his axe, about to run off towards the invasive species before Magnus held him back by the collar.

“Easy there, Steven. Let’s make sure it really is hostile before we run in guns-blazing.” Despite the warning, Magnus was on edge as the three of them approached the giant plant. It was taller even than him, swaying in the wind more than a flower of that size probably should.

Once they reached it, things got even stranger. Although it had similar skin to a plant, a closer look revealed it to be made of metal. “Is this thing some sorta Transformer?” Sideswipe wondered. He reached out, feeling along the side of the flower.

Big mistake. As soon as he touched it, the plant immediately closed up its bud, a cluster of vines sprouting up from the ground. He and the others leapt back as the vines thrashed around, kicking up sand as it tried to grab at them.

“What is this thing!?” shouted Steven, as Magnus shielded him.

“No idea–but I think your original idea might have been the right one!” Magnus fired his rockets at the frenzied flower, its metal exterior burning away from the explosions. Just as quickly, more tendrils sprouted from within, both covering up the damage and swiping at Sideswipe. “Elita, we could use some backup!”

Her crackly voice came in through the comms. “I’ll be there as quickly as I can, the storm is jamming my navigation! Whatever that thing is, it’s definitely the cause of the drought. Keep your distance, but try and keep it busy until I arrive!”

“Uh, about that…” Sideswipe said. The plant had been kicking up a lot of dust as it whipped its arms, bringing the sandstorm down into the crater. “Visibility ain’t so good no more, Elita! You sure you can’t just shoot this thing from above?”

“What part of ‘the storm is jamming my navigation’ didn’t come across?” she said, a little annoyed. “Just stay safe until I can get to you!”

Steven held a hand in front of his face to keep the sand out of his eyes. “Magnus? Sideswipe? You guys there?” He could hear the sounds of fighting going on around him, but couldn’t see a thing, even if his eyes had been wide open. “I feel like I’m getting closer to it. Tell me if I’m getting closer.”

He was, in fact, getting closer. He touched something that felt like warm metal, but had give, like a plant. He looked up just in time to see a large vine swinging downward, about to crush him. He cried out…and then suddenly felt himself lifted up and pulled out of harm’s way.

“Huh?” The metal arms of someone, though he couldn’t tell who, had carried him to safety. He looked up, but the sand was too thick to make out his rescuer’s appearance. They didn’t seem large enough to be Ultra Magnus, though, so he assumed it was Sideswipe. “That was a close one! Thanks.” Rather than respond, the Transformer set him down a ways away from the berserk weed before running back into the fray. Just before they left, Steven swore he saw a shield appear on their arm.

Through the swirling sand, Elita descended to deliver a barrage to the flower. “Everyone stay clear!” Bullets ripped through it, but despite the damage it only seemed to become angrier. “Sideswipe, get back, you’re too close!”

“I’m over here!” he said, having been shooting at the plant from several meters away. “Who’re you talking about?”

“Well, someone’s in my line of fire!” she replied. Through the sand, Steven could make out the silhouetted figure doing battle with the plant, slicing through its vines with the edge of their shield. “Magnus, are you up close?”

“I’m about to be!” Ultra Magnus charged in at the plant, tearing through its skin with his bare hands. With a large enough hole into its innards, he unleashed another salvo of rockets into the opening. “Everyone get back, this is gonna get messy!”

Everyone took cover as the flower exploded, scattering shrapnel everywhere and coating the surrounding area with green plant goop. A few of its remaining vines writhed for a few moments after the main body had been destroyed, before finally going still. Better yet, now that its source was gone, the sandstorm started to clear up. Everyone could see each other once again.

“That was…an interesting one,” said Sideswipe, wiping some of the goop off. “A Transformer that turns into a giant asparagus. What would you even call something like that? Vegecon? Triffidcon?”

“Phytocon?” suggested Magnus.

Elita was busy inspecting the remains of the Vegecon…Triffidcon…Phytocon…whatever it was, scanning its roots. “As I suspected: no spark,” she reported. “If I had to guess, this was some manner of experiment. Likely an attempt to grow Cybertronian-enhanced plantlife to choke out the local biosphere. It’s a good thing we stopped it when we did, otherwise–” She gasped. “Sideswipe, Magnus…on me.”

The urgency in her voice made Steven forget to ask who would’ve wanted to grow such a thing. “What? What is it?” he asked, hurrying over along with the other two. Elita was on high alert, her hand preparing to draw her weapon. “Is it another…woah!”

The thing that had drawn everyone’s attention was a lion. Any lion would have drawn suspicion all the way out here, far from its native habitat, but this was no ordinary lion. For one, it was huge, its head reaching all the way up to Magnus’ shoulders even when sitting down. Further complicating matters was that the animal was clearly mechanical, resembling a Predacon. However, it acted nothing like the feral monsters they were used to, instead docilely licking the green goop from its paws. It clearly acknowledged their presence, but was not alerted by them in the slightest.

“Well…where’d you come from, big guy?” asked Sideswipe. He had his swords drawn, just in case he should need them. The lion shook off the remaining goop, before curiously walking over to inspect the Autobots. It was mostly white, with some gold speckled around its form, in particular its large mane. “Hey, there, easy now!” It showed no fear or aggression as it sniffed Sideswipe’s hand. Then it meowed.

Ultra Magnus approached the creature cautiously. “This is a new one,” he said, reaching out a hand to touch the animal. It reacted as any domestic cat would, moving its head to rub against his hand. “Could this thing really be a Predacon?”

“It doesn’t look to be that way,” said Elita, once again looking at her scanner. “I’m not picking up any traces of dark energon. Actually, I’m not picking up any energon, period. Whatever this thing is, it’s not a Transformer. …Steven, what are you doing?”

“I just wanted a closer look!” he said, walking up to the lion. It leaned down, sniffing him as it had Sideswipe. It gave him a friendly lick, making him laugh. “See? He’s not dangerous!”

“We don’t know that for sure yet,” Elita said, moving Steven away. “Lions, like most wild animals, can be unpredictable even if they seem friendly. That goes double for giant mechanical ones.”

Examining the beast, Magnus acted on a hunch. “Sit,” he commanded.

The lion just blinked. “Mrow,” it said, licking his hand.

“...Untrained, but not aggressive,” he reported.

Steven walked up to the lion, sitting on its paw. “Can we take him home with us?” he asked. “He seems lonely out here. I promise I’ll feed him and water him and clean up after him! Please?”

Elita looked between Steven and the Lion uncertainly. “Well…having a pet is a big responsibility, Steven. Especially if it’s a giant mechanical lion of unknown origin. Even discounting that it might not need all those things. Like I said, it seems friendly now, but it might still be dangerous.”

While she was talking, Steven had climbed up onto the lion’s back, who had begun to purr. “Dangerous shmangerous, it’s a big ol’ kitty cat!” said Sideswipe. “Remember a few years ago, when I asked you if we could get a pet? You told me that if I found one who was big enough and well-behaved enough, you’d think about it.”

“I’m fairly certain we never had that conversation,” she replied.

“Well, we did in my version of reality,” he said. “Besides, we can’t just leave him out here to die! What’s he gonna eat, innocent backpackers? Tell her, Mags.”

Magnus considered their options as he watched the lion. “The beast has likely been out here for centuries,” he said, “so it clearly isn’t a matter of survival. That said, bringing it back to the Ark is our best bet if we want to find out exactly what it is and where it came from. We’ll just have to make sure we keep a close eye on it.”

“Yay, a new friend!” said Steven. The lion seemed to pick up on his happiness, responding with a meow. “Are you excited to come back home with us?” Another meow. “He is! Everyone’s gonna love you! Sadie, Connie, Peedee, Lars…well, maybe not Lars. But everyone else is gonna love you!”

“With that sorted, I think we’re done here,” said Elita, gesturing to the wilting metal vines around them. “The lake should fill back up in a matter of weeks. Opening a groundbridge now.” She prepared to open up a portal back to Beach City.

“You’re gonna need a name,” Steven said. “I think I’ll call you…Lio! But spelled with an ‘I’ instead of an ‘E’, ‘cause I’m not that cliche. What do you think? Do you like your new name, Lio?”

“Mrow,” said Lio.

“He likes it!” As the five of them went back through the groundbridge, none of them noticed the tiny piece of mechanical plant matter, even as it slithered its way into Steven’s pocket.

- - -

“So, as you can see…it’s a lion,” said Magnus. Lio was currently playing with Steven, chasing a laser pointer around the Ark , while Dr. Maheswaren observed the creature via video call. “As far as we can tell, it isn’t a Cybertronian, nor is it a Predacon. We know it’s a stretch, but do you have any sort of ideas on its origins?”

Unsurprisingly, Priyanka stared at Lio with no small amount of confusion. “...If you’re asking if it’s one of ours, you’ll be disappointed. While NEST has dabbled in human-made Transformers, none of them have turned out nearly as complex as that thing. Nor have any of them turned into Lions.”

Sideswipe was watching the pair play. “Well, it had to come from some where,” he said. “Lions don’t tend to just spontaneously turn into robots….I think. Couldn’t one of the groups on your watchlist have cooked up something like this? MECH, Morocco, KSI?”

“I’ll double-check, but it looks to me like this…Lio, as you call him, is a bit more advanced than anything any of them could have ‘cooked up.’ I mean, maybe Arkeville or Meridian, but we have both of them carefully monitored–we’d be alerted if they so much as go out to buy groceries, let alone work on a project like this.”

“Of course, there’s also the possibility he’s a Decepticon experiment, like the Phytocon,” suggested Elita. “There may be a lab located in the desert where we found him. If all else fails, we could look into that.”

Dr. Maheswaren nodded curtly. “I’ll alert you if I find anything. For now, keep an eye on Lio, and try not to let him too close to any civilians, just in case. That means you too, Steven.”

“Got it, will do,” he said, waving. “Bye, Mrs. Maheswaren! Say hi to Connie for me!” She ended the call. “So, does this mean we can keep him?”

“We can for now,” said Elita. “But Steven, like Priyanka said, it’s possible he may have been built by someone dangerous. It could be only a matter of activating his attack protocols to turn him from a docile pet into a killing machine. We should keep him out of Beach City for the time being, just as a precaution.”

“Indeed,” said Magnus. “Even if it isn’t a weapon, precautions are necessary. For instance, we should run some tests to see if we can discover just what this thing is.” He opened up a box of tools for that purpose.

Steven let Lio ‘catch’ the laser pointer. “Aww, c’mon, Lio’s not an ‘it!’” he said. “And even if someone bad built him, you can’t just go poking him with sharp things! He won’t like that.”

Of that, Steven was right, as Lio was on alert the moment Magnus began to approach him. The lion paced away from the invasive tools, giving Magnus the slip when he tried to chase him down. “Hold still, this is for your own good! Could someone give me a hand here?”

Sideswipe and Elita went over to try and catch Lio, who, like any cat, was being very uncooperative in regards to getting his checkup. He was nimble, as was also to be expected, slipping through Sideswipe’s arms when he tried to hold him from behind. “Leets, he’s comin’ your way!” Elita was about to grab him, but he jumped over her, and off of her, onto the higher level.

“We have him cornered now, at least,” she said. “And don’t call me ‘Leets.’” She and Magnus headed up the stairs, blocking both exits off from Lio. “Okay, kitty, don’t make this harder than it needs to be…”

Not giving either of them much regard, Lio simply jumped back off, landing on Sideswipe. “Oof! I didn’t picture you as a lap cat!” Lio hopped off, making his way over to the computer terminal. He glanced back, as though wondering whether or not they would decide to give up on their chase.

Ultra Magnus didn’t, slowly approaching the lion so as to not startle him. Though, startling him didn’t seem to be the reason for him running away. Just as he was about to bolt, Steven tried to calm him. “He’s right, Lio, it’s for your own good. Just let him give you a check-up.”

To everyone’s surprise, including Steven’s, Lio listened. He sat down like an obedient dog, patiently waiting for Magnus to get on with it. “Uh…good kitty,” he said, patting Lio on the head as a reward before getting on with the tests. Luckily for Lio, they were relatively minor, like checking his eyes and throat. He did have to take an energon sample, but Lio didn’t even flinch at the needle.

“What’s it lookin’ like, doc?” asked Sideswipe. “Is he gonna make it?”

Magnus examined the vial. “Well, whatever Lio is, he runs on energon. And aside from seemingly lacking a spark, he seems perfectly healthy. Other than that…I’m not seeing anything anomalous about him. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was a naturally-occurring Cybertronian lifeform.”

“Maybe he is,” said Steven, walking over. Lio leaned down to get his ears scratched. “Is there such a thing as a Predacon who doesn’t run on dark energon? Maybe he’s one of those.” Lio rolled onto his back, taking care not to squish the smaller organic.

Elita seemed like she was about to say something, but changed her mind. “In any case, he doesn’t seem to be aggressive now. But just to be safe, we should make sure he stays in a secure location overnight.”

“The cargo hold’s nice and spacey,” said Magnus. “We haven’t kept anything important in there in a while. I’m sure he’ll find it cozy enough.” He whistled, patting his thigh. “Here boy!” To nobody’s surprise, Lio stayed where he was. “Worth a try.”

“C’mon, Lio.” Steven led the way, and Lio semi-obediently followed. “So, when will it be safe to take Lio into town? I wanna introduce him to all of my friends!”

Ultra Magnus accompanied them to the cargo hold. “I wish I knew, bud,” he said. “We’ll probably go back to the desert tomorrow to see if we can find anything, but no guarantees. It’s possible he’s like a regular lion: too dangerous to bring around people.”

As disheartening as his answer was, Steven knew where he was coming from. That said, he also knew in his heart that Lio wasn’t as dangerous as they were worried he was. “I guess.” They reached the hold, with Magnus opening the door for them. “Okay Lio, in you go. This is where you’ll be hanging out for a little while.”

Lio blinked as he looked at Steven, as though he didn’t understand what was being asked of him. But still, he stepped inside, taking in all the new smells in the spacious room. He then yawned, lying down as Magnus closed the door.

Noticing Steven looked a bit down, Magnus leaned down to comfort him. “I know you’ve grown fond of Lio, but it’s our job as Autobots to protect people,” he said. “Like I said, I can’t promise anything…but if we’re absolutely, positively sure that Lio won’t hurt anybody, you can keep him.”

“I can?” asked Steven, cheering up a bit. “Like, for real?”

Magnus nodded. “For real.”

His funk now completely gone, Steven pressed an ear to the door. “I’ll come and get ya in the morning, Lio!” he said cheerfully. “So, what do we do now?”

“Now?” said Magnus. “Hmm…well, I suppose it’s almost dinnertime.”

The two of them headed back the way they came to get something to eat–for Steven, at least.

- - -

After an uneventful evening and night, Steven awoke bright and early the next morning with one thing on his mind. The moment he got out of bed, he headed from his house into the Ark , where none of the Autobots seemed to be awake yet. His next destination was the cargo hold, with him able to reach the control panel with a superhuman leap.

The sound of the door sliding open awoke Lio, who opened one eye to see what was going on. Upon seeing Steven, he yawned and stretched before sauntering over. “G’morning, Lio!” Steven said, patting his paw. “You sleep well?”

Lio licked his lips, apparently agreeing. He looked down at the boy, as though waiting for his instructions.

“So, what do you wanna do today?” Steven asked. “We could get some donuts from–oh, wait, I’m not supposed to take you into town. Maybe I could invite Connie over to–oh, not supposed to have you near people, either. I guess we can just play on the beach…?”

Seeming to be content with this idea, Lio followed Steven outside. He seemed to enjoy the familiar feeling of sand on his paws, hopping around once they were on the beach, and rolling around in it, which kicked the sand up everywhere.

Steven shielded himself from the incoming wave of sand. “You really like sand, don’t you?” he asked with a laugh. With that in mind, he then wondered if Lio missed the desert. Who’s to say it wasn’t his home, and he wanted to return there? He perished the thought, as the lion seemed perfectly content. Steven then joined him in taking a sand-bath.

For the longest time, Steven had always wanted a pet, but various factors prevented him from having one. Mostly it was the Autobots worrying that Steven wasn’t old enough to take care of one, seeing as they were almost always busy. For that matter, Greg was frequently busy as well, and often said that his workshop was no place for a cat or a dog. He had offered to buy Steven a fish or a turtle, and while Steven had never declined, he always wanted something a bit more…involved, a bill which Lio definitely fit.

“Gettin’ all sandy now,” said Steven, brushing himself off. Lio, too, seemed to notice how dusty he was, as he then headed towards the ocean to take a dip. He hopped into the waves, leaping over them as they came onto shore. “Good idea, let’s go for a swim! Lemme just go grab my swim trunks–oh, no need!” Steven ran into the water as he was. “Cannonball!”

As the two splashed around in the sea, Elita made her way outside as well. “There you are. You’re up early today, Steven.”

He sprayed out a mouthful of seawater. “Yup! Lio really wanted to play outside.” The lion was currently further out, swimming in the deeper water. “I tried to rein him in, but he was relentless.”

Elita grinned. “Well, speaking of Lio, we were about ready to head back out to the desert. If we’re lucky, we can find out where both Lio and that plant thing came from. Do you want to come along?”

“Um…” Steven looked over at Lio. “I would, but somebody needs to keep this guy out of trouble. Y’know, make sure he doesn’t go anywhere or eat anyone he’s not supposed to.”

It took Elita a moment to consider this. While she was still worried about Lio being dangerous, he hadn’t done anything to imply he was…yet. But Steven had proven himself more than capable of handling himself lately…to a degree. “Okay, you can stay here,” she decided. “But make sure you keep an eye on him. And call us immediately if anything happens, okay?”

Steven saluted. “You got it! Good luck on your mission!”

“Thank you. Stay safe, Steven.” Elita headed back inside the Ark , glancing back at the pair several times. Eventually, she went inside. Not long after, Steven heard the faint sound of a groundbridge opening.

After playing in the ocean for a bit longer, Steven and Lio had both laid down on the beach to dry off. They lay on their backs, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun. “So…it’s not like I don’t understand why they’re worried,” Steven said. “It’s their job to protect people from Predacons, and no offense, but I can see how someone might mistake you for a Predacon at first glance.”

Lio snuffled, apparently not taking any.

“But something about you feels different. Not only are you not a Predacon, but you’re not your average giant mechanical lion. It’s like, the moment I saw you, I felt something special about you.That whatever you are…we’re connected. You know?”

Lio snuffled again. Apparently, he knew.

“I don’t know why. Maybe we were destined to be friends?” Steven suggested. He rolled onto his side. “Do you believe in that sort of–” He was interrupted when Lio suddenly leapt up, ears back. The lion looked around, clearly on edge. “What’s the matter? Is something wrong?”

But Steven didn’t need an answer to tell that something was indeed wrong. Sensing something, he put his ear back down against the sand. A kind of rumbling, almost like vibrations, could be heard just below the ground. Before he had time to ponder what this was, he suddenly felt him lifted by the collar.

Steven shouted as Lio picked him up and carried him off. Just in time, as at that moment, a gigantic tree burst up from the sand where he had been sitting just a second ago. No, not a tree… “Is that…the Phytocon!?” he exclaimed. “It’s alive! How’d it get here?”

There was no time for answers as the plant took shape, its flower leaning down towards them. Between its petals was a circular mouth lined with teeth, which opened wide to give a terrifying shriek.

While Steven was a little put off by this, Lio was undeterred. He set Steven down behind a rock before running into battle with the floral beast. More vines burst up from the sand as the creature took root, though Lio deftly dodged these before he could be grabbed. He reached its main body, and for a moment, his claws tore into its stalk. But it wasn’t long before it countered, wrapping its vines around his middle and throwing him a distance away.

“Hold on, buddy! I’m comin’!” Steven raced into the fray, an axe appearing in his hand. The plant recognized the threat, sending multiple vines to intercept him. He managed to cut through the first few, but one of them grabbed onto his arm, preventing him from swinging his weapon. “Uh-oh… Maybe we could talk about this?”

The Phytocon was not interested in talking. Further ensnaring Steven, the vines hoisted him up towards the creature’s mouth. He struggled, his other hand transforming into a blaster and firing wildly. More of the appendages tightened around him, preventing any of his abilities from freeing him. The concentric rings of teeth spread wide to receive him, much to his dismay.

But just before he could be engulfed, the vines holding him were pulled back. Steven looked down to see Lio with his jaws clamped down on them, keeping the titanic tree from consuming him. “Lio! You’re doing it!” he called. “C’mon, you got this! We can beat this oversized shrub!”

Lio pulled and pulled, eventually tearing the vine completely. The plant turned half of its attention towards this annoyance, which was just the distraction Steven needed to break free. He pulled his arm out of its hold, severing the vines holding him in place. This had the unintended consequence of sending him falling towards the ground, though thankfully he landed on Lio’s back.

Like a horse and its rider, Lio carried Steven through the danger, leaping out of the way of the incoming vines. “For Beach City!” Steven said triumphantly, holding his axe aloft. He sliced the obstacles apart, standing atop Lio’s back as the latter circled their owner. “No evil vegetable will destroy my town when we’re around! Say your prayers, Phytoco–”

Just when Lio leapt at the Phytocon’s body, it swung itself at the pair, battering them aside. Lio crashed hard into the sand, rolling to a stop, with Steven coming to a landing not far in front. He spat out a mouthful of sand.

“W-well, that’s okay,” he assured the lion. “We’ll just try again. No big deal!” As Steven picked himself up, he noticed that the Phytocon was preparing something. A pair of vines thicker than the rest loomed over its head, both tipped with black flowers that were pointed at them .”What’s it doing…?”

Steven let out a surprised yelp as a stream of projectiles began firing from the buds, shooting into the sand as it adjusted its aim. He held his arms over his face in an attempt to protect himself, but it wouldn’t have done much. Whether or not his Transformer heritage would have protected him, he didn’t need to find out, because Lio leapt into action. He sprang up from his position, throwing himself towards the boy. And when he was in midair, he transformed.

His back legs lengthened, becoming more suited to supporting his weight alone. His forelegs tucked in as his upper body pivoted around, with a pair of arms unfolding from what had just been his back. His mane extended around his head, forming into a shield, which he placed in front of himself and Steven. Realizing he was safe as the machine gun fire ricocheted against the shield, Steven opened his eyes.

“Woah…” was all he could say, in awe at the sight of his protector. Lio’s other arm held him close, further shielding him from harm. The moment the plant’s barrage faltered, he stood up to his full height, throwing the shield like a discus, stunning the beast. He ran towards it, both to retrieve his weapon and to finish it off. “Hey! Wait for me!”

Unwilling to let his guardian, however skilled he was, handle this on his own, Steven ran back into the fray with his axe in hand. He was much more savvy in avoiding the vines this time, though it helped that the tree had to contend with Lio slicing through it with the razor-sharp edges of his shield. However, its trunk proved too hard to breach, despite his best efforts.

That was where Steven came in. “Give me a lift!” he yelled. As though understanding him implicitly, Lio held out his hand, tossing Steven into the air. He swung with his axe, cutting into the Phytocon’s stem and causing it to let out a loud shriek. He pulled downward, creating a large enough opening for Lio to finish it off. “Give ‘im the works, Lio!”

Lio tore apart the opening just as Ultra Magnus had done during the last fight. But rather than fill it with explosives, he reached inside, before yanking out a glowing blue object. With its spark removed, the plantlike monster only remained active for a moment longer. It shuddered and writhed, before collapsing to the ground, lifeless. As its vines did the same, its entire body began to wilt, shriveling up and turning from green to brown. At the same time, it also began to dissolve into rust. Steven panted as Lio held the spark: the battle was won.

“I…I can’t believe we actually did it,” Steven said, his axe vanishing. “I thought for sure we’d need to call one of the ‘bots to–Oh, no, the ‘bots! They’re gonna be mad I got into a fight without them! Quick, Lio, help me clean this up before…Lio?” It was only now that the literal and proverbial dust had settled that Steven got a clear look at Lio’s new form. He turned around, still holding the spark in his hand as he regarded the boy with a very familiar-looking face. “D-dad…?”

Aside from his mostly-white color, Lio was a dead ringer for Optimus Prime. While he wasn’t quite as tall or broad-shouldered, his face was a perfect match, right down to the faceplate. He blinked his blue eyes curiously, leaning down to inspect Steven. He reached out a finger, stopping just short of resting it against his face.

Steven reached out as well, placing his hand against Lio’s finger. “Are y–are you my dad?” he asked hesitantly. Lio simply cocked his head to the side, as though he didn’t understand the question. “No, you’re…you’re just Lio, right?” Other side this time. “Just Lio. But…I think that’s enough.”

Interrupting this tender moment, the doors of the Ark slid open, and all three Autobots came tearing out. “Steven!” yelled Elita, gun drawn. “Get down! That plant thing is still alive, and…you…took care of it already… Um…” The three lowered their weapons in surprise upon seeing that the threat had already been taken care of.

“Oh! Guys, you’re back already!” Steven said in surprise. “Uh, yeah, it turns out that thing wasn’t dead after all… And it also turns out it had a spark! Look!”

They did, but the spark wasn’t what they were more focused on. “Is that…?” asked Sideswipe, staring at Lio along with the others.

“I don’t think it is,” Magnus replied, “but it’s certainly an uncanny resemblance. When exactly did this happen, Steven?”

“While we were fighting the Phytocon,” he said. “Or Vegecon. Or Triffidcon, I dunno. He was protecting me, and then he just…transformed. Into this.”

Elita slowly approached the newly-humanoid Lio. “Hello…” she said, holding out a hand. Noticing this, Lio placed the spark in her grasp. “Oh. Thank you.” She stepped back, handing it to Ultra Magnus. “This is definitely…unexpected.”

His duty fulfilled for the moment, Lio changed back into a lion. He then sat down and began licking his paw as though none of that had happened. “So, does this mean you didn’t find anything else about him?”

“Unfortunately, no,” said Ultra Magnus, sending the spark into storage. “We did find an abandoned laboratory, but it does not seem Lio originated there. Though we were able to confirm that the ‘Phytocon’ was indeed a Transformer-plant hybrid lifeform, completely unique in its biology.”

“Yeah, I even came up with the perfect name for him: Botanicus!” Sideswipe proclaimed triumphantly.

Magnus cleared his throat. “A female hybrid lifeform.”

“Well, Botanic a , then, it doesn’t matter too much,” he said. “But whatever Lio is, looks like he came from somewhere else. Hmm…” He examined the cat’s sitting form. “You think…you think Optimus could’ve had something to do with him? I mean, they do look alike.”

The idea seemed to intrigue Elita, but she laughed off the idea. “I think if Optimus was creating a Transformer out of a lion, we would know about it.”

“The real question here is, is Lio a Transformer with a beast altmode, or is the lion form his rootmode, only able to turn into a robot after he scanned one of us?” He too examined Lio. “Most likely Steven, given the resemblance to his father. The possibility boggles the mind…”

“I guess it’ll have to stay a mystery for now,” Steven said. “But, I think the real real question is, since Lio’s proven himself to be totally friendly and heroic and not dangerous to the good guys, do you think that, maybe…?”

Elita gave an amused smile. “Lio went out of his way to protect you from danger,” she said, patting him on the head. “Yes, he can stay with us.”

“Yeah! You hear that, big guy? You’re here to stay!” Lio bent down to lick Steven’s face with a tongue as big as he was. Steven laughed, hugging his nose as he purred contentedly.

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine: Me Plus You Equals One

- - -

“And he’s off! He’s past the twenty…the thirty…Great Scott, he’s past the forty! This could be it! Sideswipe could go! All! The! Waaaaaaay!”

The basketball bounced against the Ark ‘s floor, the one currently in possession making his way across the room. Steven tried to grab the ball, but Sideswipe slid past him with a juke, tossing it towards a net fixed to the wall. He imitated the sound of a buzzer as soon as it left his hand, watching intently as it rolled around the rim…and slid into the basket.

Sideswipe pumped his fist. “Ooh! Oh yeah! Last-second buzzer-beater victory! Sideswipe takes it all home once more! Woo!” As he was doing his victory dance, Steven went to retrieve the ball.

“I don’t know what you’re celebrating,” he said with a grin. “That was almost a draw. You’re bigger than me, and I still almost won!”

“Well then, maybe you’ll have more luck once you reach your growth spurt,” he said, ruffling Steven’s hair. “But for now, you’ll just have to put up with Sideswipe: Basketball Prodigy Extraordinaire!” He struck a pompous pose.

Steven laughed. “It’s easy to be a prodigy at basketball when you don’t even need to jump to reach the net!” He tossed the ball to Sideswipe, who indeed was tall enough to simply place it through the net. He did this a few times, in fact.

Shrugging, Sideswipe began performing some tricks with the ball. “Okay, so I’m a bit tall. All the best players are! But that doesn’t mean I can’t dunk it like a pro! Just you watch!” He dribbled to the other side of the room, rushing back over in preparation for a slam dunk. However, just as he leapt into the air, Elita-1 walked in through the door just beneath the basket.

“Has anyone seen my–” She was unable to finish because Sideswipe couldn’t stop his momentum. He landed right on her, sending the both of them crashing to the ground. Steven winced, hurrying over as they got their bearings. She glared at him, to which he offered a bashful smile. “Get off me!” she said, irritated, as she shoved him off.

Elita got to her feet, brushing herself off as Sideswipe did the same. “I knew you would fall for me sooner or later!” he said, leaning against the wall and smiling smugly. “Only took a few thousand years!”

She rolled her eyes. “Get over yourself! I like to think I have some standards–I wouldn’t fall for someone so immature!”

Sideswipe, however, was undeterred. “So, you think she like me?” he asked Steven quietly. “Yeah, I think she likes me.”

“Are you okay, Elita?” asked Steven. “Don’t be mad at Sideswipe, it was only an accident.”

“I wish it was an accident,” said Elita. “You see, Steven, the problem with Sideswipe is that he never takes his duties seriously. Everything is a game to him.”

“And the problem with Elita is that she’s become a big ol’ stick in the oil!” Sideswipe shot back. It didn’t used to be like this, you used to be fun!” He reclined on a nearby chair. “See, Steven, this is why your Uncle Powerglide doesn’t visit anymore.”

Elita gave him an exasperated look. “The reason Powerglide doesn’t ‘visit’ is because…” She noticed Steven was staring at her, wide-eyed and big-smiled. “Yes, Steven?”

“I have an uncle!?” he said, ecstatic. “Who is Powerglide? What’s he like? How come you two fighting means he can’t come and visit? Also, where’s he been all this time!?”

Sideswipe chuckled. “Woah, calm down there, tiger! Powerglide’s not some long-lost relative of yours–Powerglide’s right here with the two of us!” He put an arm around Elita’s shoulder.

Noticing that Steven was confused, Elita explained. “You see, Steven,” she said, removing Sideswipe’s hand, “Cybertronians possess an ability to combine with other members of our race in order to form larger, more powerful warriors. These Transformers, known as Combiners, or Gestalts, are much stronger than others of our kind, but are difficult to maintain due to the mental strain it takes to remain in agreement with your partner.”

“Wow…” said Steven, his eyes sparkling with wonder. “Can I meet him?”

Both Autobots started. “Meet who?” asked Sideswipe, though he already knew who.

“Powerglide, of course!” he said. “You said that two Transformers can combine as long as they stay in agreement. That doesn’t sound too hard! You two get along great!”

Elita and Sideswipe shared an uncomfortable glance, before looking away. “I…wouldn’t exactly say great ,” said Elita. “We don’t really have the same friendship we had years ago.”

“Why not?” Steven asked, glancing between the two.

Neither of them was really sure how to answer that question. Each one could offer up many reasons as to why the other got on their nerves, but that didn’t explain what had begun the change. They looked at each other, unsure, which was when Magnus entered the room. “We’ve got a mission,” he announced.

“That was a close one!” said Sideswipe, sighing in relief. “I was afraid I’d have to confront my own deep-seated emotional issues for a moment there! Whaddya got for us, big guy?”

Magnus brought an image up on the monitor: it showed a mountain, with seemingly nothing out of the ordinary about it. “Ooh, is there a secret hidden base inside the mountain?” asked Steven. “With lava and deadly traps!?”

“Actually, you’re right on the money,” Magnus replied, changing the picture to show a cross-section of the mountain, revealing a facility within. “This is an old geothermal energon production plant located inside a volcano.” Steven went silent at the sheer coolness of that statement. “It’s remained dormant for centuries, but lately, pressure has been building up. If left unchecked, an eruption is certain, causing untold damage to the surrounding area.”

“Then it’s definitely our highest priority,” said Elita, examining the map. “How much time do we have until that occurs?”

“By my estimates, anywhere between a few hours to it’s already happened,” Magnus reported, much to everyone’s shock. “Assuming it hasn’t, we’ll need to split into two teams: Team One, consisting of myself and Sideswipe, will enter the volcano to turn a valve at the very bottom, while Team One, Elita and Steven, will fly to the very top to turn a valve up there. If both valves are turned at roughly the same time, the pressure will be alleviated, disrupting the eruption.”

Sideswipe raised his hand. “Uh, is there any chance I could swap with Elita? I don’t really handle high temperatures well…”

“Oh, yes, I remember,” said Magnus, looking to the side uncomfortably. “Well, Elita’s needed above for her flight, and I don’t trust Steven around lava. I guess all three of you will head topside, and I’ll handle the interior alone.”

“Are you sure?” asked Steven. “Going into an active volcano all alone’s gotta be pretty dangerous.”

He grinned. “Luckily, I’m pretty dangerous. Don’t worry about a thing, I’ll be fine. Now then, if there’s no objections, shall we be off?”

Everyone was in agreement–plus, there was no time to waste. Elita quickly opened up a groundbridge to the location, and all four of them stepped through. The air on the other side was very warm and humid, likely close to a jungle or rainforest. Steven found that they were at the foot of the mountain, nearly falling over when he tried to look up at the peak.

“Careful there,” Magnus said, catching him. “Now remember, this will only work if both valves are turned at around the same time. Otherwise, we risk speeding up the eruption process. I’ll contact you if I get there first, you do the same. Good luck, Autobots. Now roll out!”

With that, he headed towards a door, punching through it to enter a tunnel carved into the mountain’s side. Sideswipe offered a little salute. “Good luck to you as well, boss. So, we flyin’ up there or what?”

“ I’m flying up there, I don’t know about you,” Elita grumbled. “If I were to carry you up this mountain, we’d never make it there before it erupted.”

“Fine then, you fly, we’ll drive,” he said. Both of them transformed. “Come on, Steven, let’s beat her there!” As Elita took off, Steven hopped into his passenger seat. Sideswipe revved his wheels before racing towards the mountainside, racing up to the top…or he would have, it wasn’t so steep. He didn’t even get up one of his body lengths before he was kicking up dirt as he stayed in place. He then rolled back down, exactly where he had started. “Okay…let’s try that again.”

He did try it again. He tried it for a second, third, and fourth time, but the result didn’t change. “Hey, Sideswipe?” asked Steven. “Do you wanna just walk? It might be easier.”

“‘Easier’ isn’t always the answer!” he replied, going for a fifth attempt. When his wheels were unable to take them up any further, he gave up, transforming and sitting down. “Okay, maybe you’re on to something.”

Despite being able to easily make it to the top, Elita had stayed behind, looking down from higher up the mountain. “You could sit this one out if you want,” she said, with the smallest hint of smugness in her voice. “Steven can ride with me instead.”

“I can?” asked Steven, excited at the prospect of flying. “Uh, I mean…rule number one is that we stick together! Right Sideswipe?”

Sideswipe was in the process of climbing up the hillside. “I’ll stick together alright! We’ll see who beats who to the top…” Steven stood on his shoulder.

Elita waited for him to arrive, watching him climb up. “Maybe things would be faster if you had gone with Magnus,” she said. “It’s not too late to turn around.”

“You know as well as I do I have a phobia of hot liquids!” he grumbled. “No, I’m climbin’ this thing the hard way, even if I have to drag myself to the top!”

Steven raised his hand. “I have an idea! You know who could reach the top really easily? Powerglide! We could use a giant robot right about now! Well, giant-er than you already are.”

Neither of them were keen on that idea, looking away from each other. “Maybe later,” they both said, continuing on upwards. Steven followed, not wanting to give up on this just yet.

“How do you know you wouldn’t like being together?” he asked innocently.

Elita grimaced. “I think that ship has long since sailed,” she said, glancing over at Sideswipe.

In turn, he casually put his arms behind his head. “Ah, you’re just jealous of my natural coolness! Sure you can do just about anything effortlessly, but can you make it look effortless? That’s one thing I’ve got over you!”

Elita’s grimace became even grimace-ier. “Maybe I should have gone with Magnus,” she grumbled.

Steven wasn’t entirely sure, but the vibe between these two seemed to be even harsher than it had been before. Elita and Sideswipe had always gotten along before, so what had changed? He decided to appeal to something they both had in common. “Are you sure you don’t wanna form Powerglide? Not even for me?”

“Sorry Steven, but I don’t think Elita’s gonna go for it,” said Sideswipe. He leaned in, offering in a whisper “I think she’s intimidated by my natural charisma.”

Elita’s grimace subsided, replaced by a roll of her eyes. “Definitely should have gone with Magnus. Just remember, whatever you’re putting up with up here, he’s going through something much harder down there,” she reminded herself.

- - -

Whistling to himself, Magnus strolled through the facility’s interior with nary a care in the world. The internal defenses to the plant had long since eroded away with age, leaving nothing more than a derelict old facility. He simply walked across a catwalk over a lake of lava towards the release valve in the giant room’s center. All in all, he had expected things to be much more difficult.

“Now is usually the time some enormous problem presents itself to hinder my path,” he mused, quietly waiting for one such problem to appear. But after a little while, nothing did. Shrugging, he leaned against the valve as he contacted the others. “Elita, I have reached the interior valve. How are things progressing for you?”

“I think we’re almost…halfway there,” came her unenthused reply. “Forgive the slow going, but Sideswipe insisted I stay and babysit him.”

“I did not!” Magnus heard him say. “You’re the one who wanted to fly away and leave us in the dust! You coulda been up there already, but nooo, you just had to stay and watch me fail for your own amusement!”

“Listen to yourself!” she snapped. “Which is it? Do you want me to leave, or do you want me to stay? Make up your mind!”

“Both of you, try and focus,” Magnus said. “I don’t think I have to remind you what will happen if we don’t release the pressure in time. Luckily, we seem to have some time before the eruption, but that’s no reason to delay. Understood?”

“Loud and clear, Magnus!” said Steven, overhearing the call. “Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure these two get up there on time!”

“Thank you, Steven. Best of luck to you all.” With that, Magnus hung up, returning his attention to the interior of the magma chamber. A maze of pipes filled the room, rattling and banging as the pressure inside continued to build. “I hope those two can get along,” he said.

- - -

“All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant robot, a giant robot!” Steven sang to himself. “All I wanna be is someone who gets to see a giant robot!” Neither Elita nor Sideswipe shared his chipper attitude, trudging along behind him.

“You know what I think?” asked Sideswipe to Elita. “I think he wants to be a giant robot, and he’s living vicariously through us.”

She looked over at him. “So you’re saying we should give it a shot, for his sake?”

Sideswipe looked away awkwardly. “No, not at all. I mean, if we do, and that’s a big if, that’d be the only reason I’d do it. To make him happy.”

“Sure, that’s the only reason,” she said quietly. “I honestly don’t understand why you want to combine with me. I thought you saw me as uptight and judgemental.”

“What? Okay, first of all, I don’t want to fuse with you! Like I said, it’d be just for Steven. And second, I don’t think you’re uptight and judgemental. You are uptight and judgemental.”

Elita sighed. “Maybe a little bit. But you’re uncouth and irresponsible.”

“Maybe a little bit,” Sideswipe said, nodding. “Hey, speaking of, look!” He pointed ahead, revealing that they had nearly reached the mountain’s peak.

Steven stopped his singing, excited at this realization. “Hey, you’re right! C’mon, let’s get to that valve!” He ran forward, followed by the two until they crested the top of the mountain. However, just in front of them was a large caldera, which Steven almost fell straight into. Elita caught him just before he could.

“Careful!” she cried, pulling him back to safety. “I didn’t expect this to be here.” In the center of the crater, a large tower jutted up from the facility within. “There’s the valve. Proceed with caution, everyone–there’s no telling what could set this thing off.”

The trio carefully slid down the sheer side of the caldera, Elita holding on tight to Steven. The ground here was made of thick molten rock, and the heat of the lava below could be felt just by touching it. “Let’s not stay here any longer than we have to,” Sideswipe said nervously.

Their progress was soon interrupted by an alert on one of Elita’s scanners. She checked it, and her calm expression suddenly turned to concern. “That isn’t good. I’ve got a dark energon signature rapidly approaching.” She turned in the direction it was coming from–behind them–but saw nothing.

By now, everyone was on their guard. As the signature speedily drew closer, Steven began to hear a sound coming from above. He looked up, but clouds covered most of the sky. And then, as it grew louder, a red shape rocketed down to the ground, nearly crashing straight into the three. It swooped back up with its enormous wings, letting out a screech from its pointed beak.

“Run! It’s a pterodactyl!” shouted Steven. As the prehistoric Predacon continued to divebomb the Autobots, they hurried their pace towards the tower. Sideswipe and Elita both drew their weapons to fire on the creature, but its speed meant it was easily able to avoid most of their shots.

Unfortunately, they were about to find out that they were not heading towards safety, as a second screech rang out. A second, nearly-identical Predacon emerged from its hiding spot atop the tower, its eyes fixed on these intruders. It too took flight, gliding down towards them in an effort to chase them off.

“Run! It’s a pair-of-dactyls!” shouted Steven. The twin pterosaurs continued their attack from above, paying no heed to the team’s weapons. Eventually, they had no choice but to run, hurrying towards the edge of the crater. The Predacons accepted this show of retreat, returning to the top of the tower.

The three stopped to rest and regroup, laying low so as not to reignite the dinosaur duo’s ire. “So, Predacons and a volcano,” said Sideswipe. “As if one or the other wasn’t enough.”

Elita was looking closer at the top of the tower. “Look,” she said, pointing. “I think they made a nest up there. No wonder they’re being so protective of this area.”

Her communicator beeped, indicating a call from Magnus. “Um, hello up there, it’s me. Look, not to rush you, but are you there yet? Things are getting a bit hotter down here…”

“You didn’t tell us there were Predacons up here!” Sideswipe said loudly, right into Elita’s audio processor. This earned him a glare from her. “Sorry… But there are!”

There was a brief pause of puzzlement from Magnus. “There shouldn’t be. In any case, the volcano takes top priority–turn the valve first, then we’ll deal with them.”

“Easier said than done,” Elita said. “Alright: Steven, you hang back here. Sideswipe, you get to the valve, I’ll distract them. Ready? Engage!” She transformed, flying off towards the pair of beasts.

Sideswipe transformed as well, racing after her. “Hey, there was no countdown!” Elita fired on the Predacons from above, earning their ire. The duo took off to chase her into the sky, where dark clouds began to swirl. One of the pterodactyls latched on to her propeller, hurling her towards the ground, but she was able to recover in time. Meanwhile, Sideswipe carefully climbed up the ladder.

Despite Elita’s distractions, the other pterodactyl noticed him, angrily speeding towards him. He tried to fend it off with blasts from his Plasma Launchers, but it did him no good, as it knocked him off the ladder. He fell to the ground with a crash, unable to even stand up before the beast tackled him again. It had him pinned down, attempting to spear him with its pointed beak.

“Elita! Sideswipe needs help!” shouted Steven. She broke off from combat to aid him, firing at the pteranodon. This drove it off, but she came close to hitting Sideswipe in the process.

“Hey! Watch the friendly fire there!” he shouted. “You tryin’ to perforate me or something?”

She transformed, landing beside him. “I’m considering it,” she muttered.

The two Predacons circled them from above, screeching to one another. Both Autobots raised their guns, expecting the beasts to dive down once again. Instead, they only rose higher, tightening their circle. “Are they…?” Steven wondered aloud. Just as he suspected, their sparks began to glow.

Well, he hadn’t expected that exactly, but he figured he knew the end result. Bolts of energon sparked between the two, as their metal parts began to interlock and engage, as though they were transforming. The light grew brighter and brighter, until two pteranodons had become one giant one, complete with two heads. The Predacons had combined.

“Well, scrap,” said Sideswipe, dodging out of the way alongside Elita as the gestalt beast landed right where they had been standing. Raising both of its heads skyward, each one let out a resounding screech that resonated across the crater. The entire area shook, and at the edges, the foundation had begun to crack.

Steven hurried towards the middle away from the cracks, up from which lava had begun to bubble. “Woah! Guys, look out!” The two-headed pterodactyl had taken flight again, trying to corral the Autobots into one place.

Within the mountain, the lava had begun to rise as well. Ultra Magnus raised himself up to higher ground. “Not to rush you, but we’re facing an eruption in mere minutes!” he called. “Can we deal with that Predacon later!?”

“We’re working on it!” replied Elita, forced against Sideswipe’s back. Steven huddled in close as well. The pterosaur circled them, unbothered by the potential eruption. “I-I think…” She and Sideswipe shared a glance. “There’s no other option.”

After a reluctant pause, he held out a hand. “Let’s do this.” She took it, and drew him in for an embrace. Steven watched in awe as metal parts began to shift and lock into place, accompanied by the burning light of two sparks becoming one.

Before the light had subsided, the resulting gestalt raised an arm at the Predacon. The air was filled with the splitting thump-thump-thump of heavy ordinance as he fired his guns. The beast was driven away by the bullets, flying higher into the black clouds. Now that he could, Steven finally got a good look at Powerglide.

He was even bigger than Ultra Magnus, colored red with giant wings on his back. He looked down at Steven; his head was somewhat conical, with his mouth covered by a faceplate. “Looks like someone could use an emergency evac,” he said, leaning down to pick him up. His voice was confident, cocky even, sounding like it was coming from over a radio.

“G-giant robot…” Steven mumbled, climbing onto his hand.

“That’s affirm,” said Powerglide, giving a thumbs-up. He looked around as the lava continued to engulf the area. “Let’s take to the skies!” With a running start, Powerglide transformed, becoming a large gunner aircraft. Steven found himself in the cockpit. The plane sped upwards into the storm. “This is Powerglide, in pursuit of hostile.”

“Yes, it’s good to see you again, Powerglide, but I’d rather not be melted into slag right now,” said Magnus. “I estimate we have less than five minutes before catastrophic explosion, so if you absolutely have to deal with the Predacon now, I’d ask that you do it quickly.”

“Roger that, t-minus five till,” said Powerglide. “Closing in on target now.” Steven looked through the windscreen: the occasional lightning strike illuminated the pteranodon flying in front of them. “Brace for increased G-forces!”

Powerglide sped up, closing in on his target. “Woah!” shouted Steven, holding onto his seat for dear life. Once they got closer, the guns lit up again, peppering the Predacon with bullets. Its angry screech could just be made out above the wind and thunder, and it turned around to intercept. Powerglide veered to the side, evading its talons, before he resumed pursuit. Both of them streaked down towards the ground.

By now, the entire caldera had been flooded with lava. Steam had begun to rise from within as well, the molten liquid bubbling as pressure increased. “We don’t have much time left,” said Powerglide. “Rookie, you think you can handle a solo mission?”

Having gotten used to the speed of Powerglide’s plane form, Steven nodded. “I can handle it! You get to that valve, I’ll take care of those pterodorktyls!”

“That’s a negative.” Powerglide transformed, holding Steven in his hand as the boosters on his wings, as well as rockets in his feet, kept him aloft. Hovering over to the tower, he placed Steven atop it. “Proceed to the waypoint. Providing suppressing fire.”

Steven saluted, hurrying towards the valve. In no time at all, the Predacon had reappeared, swooping towards the intruder. Just as he said, though, Powerglide opened fire on the beast, managing to drive it back. He transformed once again, giving chase.

Luckily, there weren’t any eggs in the nest. Unluckily, once Steven found the valve, he realized it was intended for being of Transformer-like stature. Undeterred–well, sort of deterred, but only for a moment–he climbed to the top. “Okay Steven, time to use your super robot strength! You can do this!”

He then heard a voice in his ear. “Steven!? Are you telling me Powerglide left you to turn this thing yourself!?” said Magnus, both annoyed and worried.

“He’s taking care of our pterodactyl problem,” Steven said. “But don’t worry, I can handle this! Get ready to pull!” He pulled with all his might, just to get the valve to turn the smallest of inches.

Ultra Magnus’ silence said exactly how he felt about this. “Okay. I believe in you, Steven. Now pull! Pull!” He did just that, straining muscles he didn’t even know he had. Magnus now stood on top of his valve to avoid the rising lava, which would have been a comical sight could anyone see him.

Thunder roared from the clouds above, accompanied by the screeches of the beast and the thumping of gunfire. Then, like a comet from the heavens, the two combatants hurled down towards the mountaintop. Powerglide had his arms wrapped around the pterosaur, driving it into the lava, where both of them disappeared.

“Powerglide!” yelled Steven, his attention momentarily drawn away from the valve. But in that brief moment he lost his concentration, the valve turned, and millennia worth of rust gave way in an instant. He fell back down as it spun around and around, lessening the pressure–in theory. “Magnus, do it now!”

Magnus was already on it, turning the valve as fast as he could. All of the magma that had built up over the centuries began to recede back into the tunnels it had emerged from. “Steven, I think we did it!” he shouted, stepping down from his perch. Indeed, the rumbling ceased the moment the pressure was relieved. There would be no eruption today. “Is Powerglide there?”

Steven was looking over the remaining lava for signs of movement. “He fell into the lava!” he cried. “You guys can survive that sort of thing, right?”

As if on cue, a large figure burst up from his molten bath, glowing with heat, but showing no signs of slowing down. On the other side of the crater, the Predacon emerged as well. “Bogey has been grounded, repeat, bogey has been grounded,” Powerglide said, wading through the lava. “Moving to intercept.”

Both of the beast’s heads launched at Powerglide, but he managed to grab them by their necks and hold them at bay. Its great wings flapped as it tried to pull itself out of both the lava and his grasp. Before it could, he lifted it over his head and slammed it back down into the fiery sea, following up with a barrage from his gun straight into its chest. The storm above them was in full swing, buckets of cold rain falling down onto the battlefield. Slowly but surely, the lava began to cool, and thus harden.

Despite the danger, Steven had begun to descend the ladder leading down from the tower. “Quick, Powerglide, get outta there!” he said. “If you stay there, you’re gonna get trapped!”

While he pushed the Predacon down into the lava, Powerglide gave Steven a knowing wink. “That’s what I’m counting on, rookie.” As the lava hardened into stone, Powerglide waited for it to trap his enemy underneath. Soon enough, its consistency grew stiffer, but he waited until both of them were trapped. But Powerglide was not: with surprising ease, he burst out of his igneous prison, transforming and taking to the skies.

Steven tested the waters: the new rock was still warm, but safe enough to stand on. The pterodactyl screeched and struggled as it tried to break free, but didn’t have the same strength as the other combiner did. Steven waited and waited, expecting Powerglide to fly back in. He soon did, but it was more falling than flying: he rocketed down towards the two-headed dinosaur, crashing down upon it hard enough to create a smaller crater within the large one. Steven shied away just in case lava had splashed out, once again waiting.

Before too long, a giant arm rose out of the lava, clutching a spark. “Powerglide!” Steven ran over as the giant hauled himself to the surface, holding a second spark in his other hand. “You did it! I did it! We did it! That was amazing!”

“Powerglide to Ultra Magnus: tango down,” he reported. “Oscar-Mike in twenty.”

“Good job, you two,” Magnus replied. “I’ll meet you back at the foot of the mountain. It’s time we headed home.”

Powerglide knelt down beside Steven. “That was some good work out there today, rookie. Thank you for believing in me–if those two hadn’t decided to combine, I doubt we would’ve made it.”

Still slightly in awe at the combiner, Steven stared up at him in wonder. “I-it was nothing, really,” he said. “I just wanted to get to see a giant robot!”

He chuckled. “Well, you certainly got to see one!” Powerglide stood tall with his fists on his hips. “Now, how about we exfil?”

“Sounds good to me!” As Powerglide once again took on his plane form, Steven climbed into the cockpit. The two of them took to the skies, circling around the now-dormant volcano for good measure. The storm, which appeared to have been caused by the malfunctioning plant, had started to dissipate. They then returned back to their starting point on the ground, where Ultra Magnus was waiting.

He watched as the two of them landed. “This mission was a bit more perilous than I had anticipated. I’m glad you two are safe–and that those two were able to cooperate for so long!”

“Oh, they aren’t so bad,” Powerglide said. “They just disagree sometimes, that’s all. Uh, a lot of times. Most of the time. Pretty much all the time. Right now, in fact.” This was when Powerglide’s body began to distort, his one spark splitting into two. Interlocking metal detached, and he split in half down the middle, into Elita and Sideswipe.

The latter got to his feet, stretching himself out. “What was that?” he asked, almost defensively. “It was going so well!”

“You know what that was about,” Elita grumbled, getting up as well. “Just because we make a good team some of the time doesn’t immediately translate to being Powerglide all the time.”

“It was just a suggestion! …Wait, you think we made a good team?”

Magnus gave Steven a knowing smile. “Some things never change. Alright, Autobots, let’s pack it up.” He began to open the groundbridge back home.

Despite their successful mission, neither Elita nor Sideswipe seemed pleased. “Hey,” Steven said, “I meant it when I said that was really cool. And I don’t just mean Powerglide– you two are cool. I think that’s what makes Powerglide so cool: he’s both of you. Your coolness is even cooler when you’re cool together!”

Steven’s words seemed to lighten the mood a bit. “Cool,” said Sideswipe. He smiled at Elita, who smiled back.

“And speaking of cool,” Elita said, “it’s been a while since I’ve shot some hoops. That said, I did use to play some Cube back on Cybertron. I was pretty good at it, too. Think you can handle my moves?”

Sideswipe couldn’t resist a challenge. “You’re on!” All four of them walked through the portal to home, hopefully with some better understanding of each other.

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten: Corrosion

- - -

“And here’s the computer room!” Steven entered the Ark ’s main control room, Connie following close behind. A day of being stuck together had brought them close, but it wasn’t until they had started hanging out of their own free will that they had grown even closer. Connie had been overjoyed for a chance to see the Autobots working up close, and Steven had been just as excited to show her. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“That’s putting it mildly,” she replied, her eyes wandering all around the room. “How big is this ship, anyway?”

Nearby, Elita was busy running an inventory of the Ark ’s current Predacon inmates. “Almost as big as Beach City,” she answered. “If it ever took off, any part of the town that survived being uprooted would fall into the resulting sinkhole.”

Connie was both amazed and a little terrified by this detail. If the look on Steven’s face was any indication, he felt the same way. “That’s, uh…woah,” she said.

“It is indeed pretty ‘woah.’” Ultra Magnus entered the room. “Elita, have you seen Sideswipe at all recently? He isn’t answering his communicator.”

She looked up from the screen, confused and perhaps a small bit concerned. “No, I haven’t seen him since yesterday. Why? Is something wrong?”

Magnus looked worried as well. Connie could tell he was trying to downplay it, whatever ‘it’ was. “Not necessarily. But did you notice he was acting a little odd yesterday?”

“Odd?” Elita tried to remember, but no details came to mind. “Odd how?”

“He seemed more tired than usual,” Steven said. “He must be sleeping in.”

“In that case, it wouldn’t hurt to check on him,” said Magnus. He, followed by Steven and Connie, went to Sideswipe’s room with the hope that he was still there. “Sideswipe? Are you alright?” he asked, lightly knocking on the door.

There was a bit of noise on the other side, likely Sideswipe stirring in his bed. He didn’t respond at first, but he snapped when Magnus knocked again. “Alright, alright! Jeez, can’t a guy sleep in on his day off?” A moment later, the door slid open, revealing a very tired and grouchy Sideswipe. “Whaddya want?”

Magnus was rendered momentarily silent by the sight of him in such a state, but quickly recovered. “You weren’t answering your communicator,” he said simply.

“Yeah, well, maybe that was because I was asleep, y’ever think of that!?” he snapped. “Can you blame me, it’s been real rough around here lately…”

“...Has it?” asked Steven. “It’s been a little while since we’ve been on any missions. Wait, have you been going out on secret missions on your own!?” This question was asked with just as much excitement as it was concern.

Sideswipe only rolled his eyes in response–an answer Steven seemed to take to heart, his shoulders drooping. “As if these two would trust me to handle things alone. Well, I’m up now, so we might as well get the day started!” He pushed past Magnus and made his way towards the main chamber…only to suddenly fall to his knees with a groan.

The three of them rushed over to help him up. “Sideswipe! Are you okay?” asked Steven worriedly. “You’re not sick, are you?” As Magnus helped him stand up, Connie stood by watching.

“Transformers don’t get sick,” he said, annoyed. Despite leaning on him, he tried to push Magnus away, stumbling down the hallway. “I’m fine. I just need to get a little…a little…what day is it today?” With that, Sideswipe unceremoniously fainted.

“Sideswipe!” Magnus rushed to his side, as did Steven and Connie.

“Is he alright?” asked the latter. “Check his vitals!” Magnus was already doing so.

Hearing the commotion, Elita ran over. “What’s going on!?” she asked, immediately kneeling beside Sideswipe to tend to him as well. “We have to get him to the medical chamber!”

“Agreed!” Magnus and Elita both lifted him up, carrying him towards a room Steven himself had once been examined in. The two humans rushed to the side so as not to be underfoot, watching the three of them head inside. Steven’s mind was racing, trying to come up with some explanation to explain just what was wrong with Sideswipe. He was so distressed that he nearly forgot Connie was there, until he felt a comforting hand on his arm.

“He’s gonna be okay,” she assured him. “Whatever's wrong, I’m sure Elita and Magnus know how to deal with it. They’ve been doing this for thousands of years, after all!”

The idea of experience definitely comforted Steven. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s nothing too serious.” But despite that, he still worried. “Come on, let’s see if there’s anything we can do.”

- - -

“I don’t know what you mean, I feel fine,” Sideswipe said drowsily. Laying down on the table, he was hooked up to numerous machines that read his vitals. “Can I stay home from school tomorrow?”

As the other two worked tirelessly to achieve a prognosis, Steven and Connie sat nearby, hoping for the same. “Sideswipe said Transformers can’t get sick,” Steven said quietly. “Is that true?”

“In a way,” Elita said between her attention to multiple screens. “We aren’t susceptible to diseases in the same way humans are. But, being machines, we are still susceptible to types of malware and degradation. Cosmic rust, hate plague, gold plastic syndrome…none of that looks like what’s happening here, though.”

Sideswipe tried to stand for the fifth time, with Magnus not even looking when he nudged him back down. “Hey, c’mon, you can’t keep me here all day,” he slurred. “I have a dance to get to. I have a daaaaaaaance …” He leaned back onto the table, staring off into the distance.

“So far, the symptoms we have are delirium, mood swings, fatigue,” summed up Magnus. “You don’t think Sideswipe accidentally downloaded a virus again, do you?”

Elita shook her head. “Even Sideswipe learned his lesson from that . Besides, we got him some antiviral software, and even if we hadn’t the symptoms then weren’t the same as now. This is something different.”

“Um, excuse me?” Connie got to her feet. “I know I probably don’t know as much about Cybertronian physiology as you do, seeing as, well, you are Cybertronians, but could I make a suggestion? Maybe he just needs to refuel. Sometimes I get pretty groggy if I forget to eat for a while.”

Magnus and Elita exchanged a glance. “I suppose it’s worth a try,” said the former. “Even if that isn’t the direct cause, energon depletion can exacerbate existing symptoms.” The latter went to get a vial of the fuel, bringing it over to Sideswipe.

To everyone’s (mild, at this point) surprise, he shoved the energon away. “Get that stuff away from me! Can’t you see I’m watching my figure!?” In his efforts to escape the life-giving substance, he fell off the table, feebly trying to crawl away. Magnus helped him up, but he refused to stand of his own power.

“Now this is starting to get perplexing,” said Magnus, allowing Sideswipe to slump into a sitting position. “I can’t think of a single ailment that would make a Cybertronian refuse energon. This has to be the work of a Predacon!”

“You’re a Predacon,” Sideswipe mumbled. He then began giggling, as though what he said was the funniest thing in the world.

“Maybe he’s just not hungry,” suggested Steven. Unlikely, considering this was Sideswipe, but still possible. “Let’s just ask him. Sideswipe, are you not hungry?”

He looked over. “I wanna eat aaaaaaaall the lemons.” Laying on his back, he began pushing himself around with his legs.

“...I think we can count that as a no,” Connie said. “Maybe he ate something that didn’t agree with him? Why don’t you check his energon, maybe something’s infected that.”

Magnus produced a syringe from a cabinet. “Already on it.” He chased down the errant Autobot and removed a sample of energon from his arm. Everyone expected Sideswipe to raise a fuss about the needle, but he barely reacted. He placed the tool into a device near the computer, which began to analyze it. “Hopefully, whatever this is, it’s something we’ve dealt with before. Different ailments may have different effects on different Cybertronians, so there’s still the possibility that–”

While Magnus spoke, Elita had been examining the computer’s findings. For the most part, everything appeared normal, with all his systems functioning as intended. However, when she saw the root of the problem, she couldn’t stifle her gasp. She stepped back from the monitor as the other three asked her what was wrong.

“Get Steven and Connie out of here, now,” she ordered. Magnus immediately obliged, not even waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, Elita pulled Sideswipe back onto the examining table, hooking him back up to the machine. Once he was secured, she exited the medical chamber, sealing the room behind her.

The entire ordeal had left the other three with numerous worries and questions. “Elita, what’s going on?” asked Steven, concerned both for her and his big brother. “What’s wrong with Sideswipe?”

She stayed silent for a moment, as though the answer itself was painful to say. “Elita,” Magnus said, taking hold of her hand. The two of them met eyes, and she sighed.

“The computer analyzed Sideswipe’s energon sample,” she said hesitantly, “and it came back…not clean. I don’t know how, but it looks like Sideswipe’s somehow been infected with dark energon.”

Silence. Despite their different levels of understanding of the subject, all three of them knew that this was incredibly bad, not only for Sideswipe himself but for everyone involved. Connie gasped at the news, covering her mouth. Magnus went as pale as a giant robot could be, stepping back in shock. And Steven instantly looked over at the door, filling up with dread for the one sealed inside.

“Wh…how?” Connie asked softly. “My mom says there’s only a few places on the planet where dark energon can be found. Where could he have gotten infected?”

“The machine.” Everyone looked at Steven, who slowly walked over to the door. “There was that giant place out in the ocean that was spreading dark energon around. He must’ve gotten some on him when we went there to shut it down.” He looked up at Elita with pleading eyes. “Is…is there any way you can fix him?”

Elita looked through the window into the room. Sideswipe was sitting almost completely still on the table, only occasionally moving to glance around. “I…I don’t know,” she admitted. “Dark energon is still a little-understood phenomenon. We were never able to figure out how to cure it in the past. The only thing that ever came close was Optimus’ Matrix of Leadership.”

“The who now?” Steven asked, tilting his head to the side.

“You’ve never heard of the Matrix of Leadership?” said Connie in disbelief. “It’s only the ancient relic that signifies leadership of the Autobots! Optimus prime inherited it from the leader before him, who got it from the previous one, and so on. My mom told me it’s one of the most powerful Transformer artifacts there is!”

Hope returned to Steven. “That’s great! If we find that, we can cure Sideswipe! So, where is it?”

Elita and Magnus shared an uncertain glance. Steven’s hope slowly began to vanish. “That’s kind of the problem,” said Magnus. “Before he…ahem, Optimus never passed it on. As far as we know, it’s still with him, which is a problem, because it isn’t always a physical object. It always exists within its current owner, which would make it a bit…difficult to get to now.”

Connie was deep in thought. “Well, Magnus, you’re the leader now, right? Even if Optimus didn’t pass it to you directly, shouldn’t you have it as a result of being the de facto leader?”

“It doesn’t work like…” Magnus paused. He didn’t think it worked like that, but he didn’t know for certain that it didn’t work like that, either. “No, there’s no chance. Right, Elita?”

She was at a loss. “Even Optimus wasn’t entirely sure how the Matrix worked. If it’s our only option to save Sideswipe, then I’m willing to try anything.” After making sure he still wasn’t up and about, she carefully opened the door and crept inside.

Despite how afraid Elita and Magnus were of him, Steven didn’t think Sideswipe looked dangerous like this. If anything, he looked even less dangerous than he was regularly, what with him being bedridden and sickly. “Elita! ‘S goin’ on?” he mumbled, making a token effort to stand up before she gently pushed him back down. “So, how was the get-together? ‘D you meet any cute boys?”

“No, not this time,” she said in what Steven recognized as her ‘humoring’ voice. “Why don’t you get some rest? You were pretty tired earlier, after all.”

He laughed. “That was then, this is now! I feel like a new bot! C’mon, let’s go and rob a bank!” He once again tried to get up, and Elita once again had to keep him in bed.

“Sideswipe, we’ve talked about this, no robbing banks. Magnus, could you give me a hand here?”

Magnus came over to make sure that Sideswipe stayed still while Elita tried to figure out a way to slow the spread of dark energon. “What about repair gel? Could that work?”

She shook her head. “That would only fix physical damage. The dark energon is already flowing through his distribution systems, so there’s nothing we can do there. We need to find some way to counteract it before it infects his spark.” She placed a hand on Sideswipe’s chest, feeling if it was still beating.

“Where is he, where’s my guy?” Sideswipe looked all around before his eyes settled on Steven. “Steven, c’mere, c’mere,” he said in an urgent whisper. “Hurry, it’s important!”

Steven hopped up next to the table. “Yeah?” he said, worry once more washing over him. “You can tell me anything, Swiper.”

Sideswipe looked around, as though making sure he wasn’t being watched, before leaning in. “Coconuts have water in them!” he declared, as though it was the most important thing in the world.

“Uh…” Steven wasn’t sure how to take this life-changing revelation. “That’s…cool. Elita, how much longer does he have?”

Once again checking his vitals, Elita didn’t look very confident. “It's hard to say. Could be hours, could be weeks. It all depends on his emotional state.”

Connie climbed up to where Steven was. “That’s something, at least. All we have to do is keep him calm and content, and that should slow the infection! Right?”

“In theory,” Magnus answered. “Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. But if there was a way to keep him from getting agitated…”

He glanced over at Elita, who understood what he had in mind. “Here, this should work.” She opened a drawer and removed a needle, returning to Sideswipe’s side. “Here, this should…this should make you feel better,” she said hesitantly, preparing to inject it into his side.

“Elita?” Before she could, he reached up to weakly hold her hand. His eyes were wide with quiet terror. “Where’s Optimus?”

These words caused Elita to freeze up, her entire body going numb. “I-I…” She couldn’t find the words. None of them could.

“Why isn’t he here? Where is he?” Sideswipe sounded like he was close to tears. “Elita, I’m scared…I w-want Optimus…”

Elita grabbed hold of her wrist, noticing that her hand was shaking. “Everything’s going to be alright,” she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “This really will make you feel better, okay? Just…try to rest for now.” She pressed the syringe into his arm, and before long, he fell asleep.

Nobody spoke for a good long time. Magnus silently moved over to the door, wordlessly getting the others to follow. Everybody filed out of the room to reconvene in the hallway. Before he left, Steven looked back at Sideswipe, lying still on the table. At least he was peaceful now.

“So, um…that was pretty upsetting,” Connie said, staring at the floor. Although nobody agreed verbally, it was clear that they were all thinking it. “What do we do now?”

Magnus was deep in thought. “There’s…something I want to try. I might know where to find the Matrix.”

“You do?” asked Steven, looking up. “That’s great! We can go there, find it, heal Sideswipe, and then everything will be fine! So, where is it?”

It seemed like Magnus was uncomfortable answering. “I can’t guarantee anything, so I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. But right now, we don’t have many other ideas, so…it’s worth a shot. You all stay here and make sure his condition stays stable.”

With that, he began walking further into the Ark . Despite essentially living there his whole life, there was still much of the ship Steven hadn’t seen, so even he couldn’t say what was down there. “Where exactly are you going?” asked Elita.

Stopping for a single moment, Magnus looked back with an expression Steven couldn’t quite place. The closest he could come was sadness mixed with worry, but that was what they were all feeling now. Elita seemed to immediately pick up on something, nodding as he continued along.

Once he was gone, Elita sighed. “Okay, he’s right. We have to make sure Sideswipe’s stable. Energon blockers can slow the flow of energon, but–” She froze upon glancing back towards her patient, before rushing into the room. “No, no…where is he!?”

Connie and Steven instinctively moved closer together. With growing dread, they realized that Sideswipe was no longer laying on the table–in fact, he didn’t seem to be in the room at all. “Huh? Where could he have gone?” asked Connie.

Elita frantically searched the room, looking through cabinets and behind cupboards, but found no sign of him. “Ugh, he’s even more of an escape artist now than he was before!” she groaned. “Okay, we need to split up. Steven, Connie, spread out and search the Ark . If you find him, call me immediately. There’s no telling how–”

Once again, Elita couldn’t finish her sentence, though this time it was because she was interrupted. “Warning: dangerous level of dark energon detected,” came the voice of Teletraan, as the halls were bathed in red light. “Sealing off all rooms. Please remain where you are, and wait for this situation to be resolved.” The door to the infirmary slammed shut, trapping Elita inside.

“No, no!” she shouted, banging on the door. “Teletraan, override lockdown procedures!” But there was no reply.

Steven and Connie, now alone, tried futilely to open the door. “Elita! What do we do!?” asked Steven.

Elita took several breaths, struggling to stay calm. “Okay…Steven, listen to me: the two of you are going to need to head to the main computer to manually override the lockdown. I’ll call you from the terminal once you’re there, and walk you through the procedure.”

“What about Sideswipe?” asked Connie. “This lockdown means he’s been fully infected, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe. Energon blockers must have the opposite effect on dark energon, causing it to flow faster,” Elita suggested. “But right now, all we can do is deal with this lockdown. Once it’s lifted, we’ll find Sideswipe, and do whatever we can to cure him. It’s alright, Steven, you can do this.”

In spite of his fear, he nodded. “I-I can do this,” he repeated hesitantly. “I can do this!” he said, more triumphantly this time. “Connie, let’s go! It’s up to us to save everybody!”

“Let’s do this!” The two of them hurried back towards the ship’s main computer, leaving Elita to hope they would be fine on their own.

A sudden pang of worry ran down her spine. Connie was right that the lockdown meant his corruption had progressed to a dangerous level. But if he wasn’t in the medbay…where was he?

- - -

As the two of them crept through the halls, Connie silently wondered how exactly the red warning lights were supposed to help in an emergency. Teletraan had already informed them that something was wrong, so all the lights did was make everyone feel even more claustrophobic and unsafe. Really, all they were doing was making things worse. Why did it seem like every spaceship or secret facility had something like that?

Still, she was comforted by Steven’s presence, and he by hers. “Sideswipe?” he called, his voice echoing through the eerie silence of the locked down ship. “If you can hear me, it’s okay! We can fix this! You just need to stop hiding!” But there was no answer.

“Maybe we should focus on lifting this lockdown first,” Connie said. “It’ll probably be easier to find him when all the doors aren’t closed, and we have the regular lights back.”

“Yeah, probably,” Steven agreed. The two of them continued on towards the control room, which seemed much farther away than usual. “So, um…you really know a lot about Transformers, huh?”

Connie’s worried expression was replaced by a small smile. “Of course! Both Mom and Dad work at NEST, so I’ve basically been surrounded by Transformers my whole life–well, not literally. Back at the museum was the first time I got to meet one in person. I think it’s awesome that you get to live with the Autobots, you can see them every day!”

Her enthusiasm was infections, spreading to him–but only a small bit. “It is pretty cool,” he admitted, despite all of the downsides coming to mind. “Has…has your mom ever said anything about me? Not like that, but…about what I am?”

She gave him an odd look. “And what are you? As far as I can tell, you’re not so different from the other kids I know. Just a whole lot cooler.”

He couldn’t help chuckling. “I mean, like, as a half-Transformer. The ‘bots are always telling me there’s never been someone like me. I just hoped that, since she’s a scientist, she’d know something about what makes me so special.”

“Steven, I’ve only known you for a little bit,” Connie said. “But in that time, I think I already know what makes you special. You’re happy when everyone else is happy. You always see the bright side of things, and you’re always willing to help somebody cheer up, or offer them a helping hand. Sure, maybe there is nobody else like you…but isn’t that a good thing?”

Connie’s words had reached a part of Steven that was usually only reserved for Greg or the ‘bots. “T-thanks. I think…I think you’re pretty special, too.” He felt a new wave of pride washing over him, and with it, a wave of determination. “Now let’s go save Sideswipe!”

“Let’s go!” They continued their voyage, but slowed when they heard a sound echoing through the halls. As it had previously been silent, the sound’s presence was as eerie as the sound itself. “Is someone…crying?”

The sound indeed sounded like the forlorn weeping of some distant grief-stricken individual. “S-Sideswipe?” Steven asked softly, hoping that the ill Cybertronian would respond. But the weeping continued, only adding to the eeriness of their surroundings. “I think that’s him. C’mon.” The duo followed the sound to try and locate its source.

The sobbing led them towards a room that, for reasons unknown, had not been sealed. It was Sideswipe’s bedroom. “Sideswipe? Are you okay?” asked Connie. “Do you want to talk about it?” When he only continued to cry, they slowly slipped inside.

The Autobot in question was kneeling beside his bed, curled up in a heap with his back to the door. His head was buried in his hands as he sobbed bitterly. “It’s all my fault…it’s all my fault…” he moaned miserably.

Despite knowing the dangers his contamination presented, Steven couldn’t resist approaching his friend to offer a comforting hand. “No, no, it’s not your fault,” he soothed. “We just need to get to the main room so we can open the doors, and then Elita can fix you. It’s all gonna be alright.”

“Sunstreaker…why?” he moaned, seeming not to have noticed Steven. “Why did you do that? I wasn’t worth it…” His sobs quieted into mere whimpers. “We could’ve…”

Connie cautiously approached. “Who…who’s Sunstreaker?” she asked, stepping around to his front. “Is that a friend of yours, from back during the war?” She glanced over at Steven for clarification.

“I-I don’t know,” he answered. “I’ve never heard that name either. What’s going–?” Steven had leaned in closer to inspect his friend, but what he saw made him jump back in fear.

Sideswipe was crying, this they knew, but actual tears were falling down his face. A dark, glowing liquid dripped down from his eyes–dark energon. “No…” Connie whispered, slowly stepping back from the scene. But then, as though something in him had shifted, Sideswipe turned around to face them. Both were frozen in their tracks, staring petrified as he examined them.

“S-Steven…” he croaked, turning around with jerky motions. “Why are you…? What is…?” He was cut off by a coughing fit, with dark energon now leaking out of his mouth as well. “You shouldn’t…be here!”

“But I have to be here!” Steven cried, his voice tinged with helplessness. “I have to help you!”

“C-can’t…” he rasped. At first, Connie thought that the tears of dark energon were covering his eyes, making them appear purple. But his normally blue optics had now become fully dyed the color of the insidious substance. “Run…”

Steven stood firm. “I’m not running away,” he declared. “Not until we find some way to–”

“Run…from ME !” With an unearthly snarl, Sideswipe suddenly lunged at the pair, almost crushing them beneath his hand. They managed to split apart moments before, quickly making their way out of the room. “Go, Steven! Run away!” he growled.

As soon as they were outside, Steven leapt up to the door controls, sealing him in. But this didn’t stop his pursuit, as they heard a massive crash as he slammed against the door. The window was soon covered in dark energon as Sideswipe did everything in his power to get out, filling the air with abominable howls as he did.

“Quick! We have to get out of here!” Connie took Steven by the hand, pulling him down the corridor and away from the beast that used to be his brother. Not moments after they made their escape, the door was bashed out of place, and a grasping hand burst through towards them. Connie refused to look back, but Steven couldn’t look away.

He pulled against Connie’s grip, unwilling to leave Sideswipe behind. “We can’t just abandon him!” he shouted. “He still needs our help!”

“We can’t do anything for him now!” she cried, pulling him away from the approaching zombie, for lack of a better term. “All we can do now is open the doors, and hope that Elita or Magnus found a solution!”

Sideswipe shambled after them, constantly leaking the shadowy fluid from his mouth and eyes. “Keep going! Faster!” he gurgled, a part of him still fighting against his corruption. “Don’t let me hurt you!”

Although Steven hadn’t explored much of the ship, there were parts of it he knew like the back of his hand. “Through there!” he shouted, pointing out an air duct close to the ground. It was the perfect size for a pair of humans to slip through, and they did just that. The two scampered away from the opening just as Sideswipe’s hand crashed through the grate, scratching at the walls in an effort to grab them. Further and further through the vents they ran, until his screeching faded into dull echoes.

Now that they were relatively safe, the two of them leaned against the wall to catch their breath. Connie was shaken up by the experience, but Steven looked as though his entire reality was falling apart. Considering someone he had known his entire life, someone who he considered family, had just tried to kill him, this was understandable. “A-are you alright? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Steven checked himself for injuries while maintaining his shell-shocked stare. “No,” he replied, barely audible. “You?”

“I’m fine,” Connie said. “At least, on the outside.” She waited a moment to see if Steven had anything to add. When he didn’t, she continued. “We’ll save him, Steven. We just need to get to the computer room. You know the way, right?”

“Computer room,” Steven mumbled, before swallowing dryly. “Y-yeah, it’s just down this way. C’mon, let’s hurry.” He jogged down the vent, with Connie staying close behind.

They were careful not to make too much noise, as they could still hear Sideswipe shuffling around in the halls. He made disgusting gurgling noises as he searched, noises that no living being should ever make, robotic or otherwise. Steven wasn’t sure what was worse: that Sideswipe was still alive in there somewhere, or that he wouldn’t be for much longer. But if anyone could save him, it was Elita or Magnus. He vowed he would do his part, running as fast as he could without making a sound.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally made it to Teletraan’s main terminal. Steven helped Connie through the vent, and she pulled him through as well. “Okay, we just need to let Elita know we’re here. Teletraan, call Elita!”

“Calling Elita-1.” After a moment, Elita’s face appeared on the monitor.

“Steven? Steven, are you there? Did you make it?” A look of palpable relief crossed her face once she saw the two of them unharmed. “Thank Primus…okay, are you ready?”

“H-hold on,” Connie said. “Sideswipe’s still out there. What if he hears us in here and tries to come get us?”

“What do you mean he’s still–?” With a look of horror, Elita seemed to realize what she meant. “It’s already progressed to the next stage. Okay, new plan: one of you stand guard by the door, the other follow my instructions to lift the lockdown. If you see Sideswipe out there, hide immediately , understand?”

Steven and Connie looked at one another and nodded. “Got it.” The former headed over to the door, while the latter climbed up to the computer. “Alright, I’m ready, Elita!”

Although Elita clearly had them doing things the other way around in her mind, she nevertheless got to work. She talked Connie through the process of overriding the security shutdown. All things considered, she was surprisingly good at working the computer, especially considering she had to press the buttons by stepping on them. All the while, Steven stood watch by the door. “Anything, Steven?” he heard Elita ask.

“No, not yet,” he said, still a bit distracted. “I don’t think he knows we’re in here.”

The thought that Sideswipe was unaccounted for made Elita nervous, but as long as he wasn’t near any of them… “Even still, I want you two to hide once you’re finished here. He’s still incredibly dangerous like this, and he could infect either one of you.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll lay low while you do your thing,” Connie assured her. She looked over at Steven, who, though he diligently kept his eyes open for danger, still had a despondent look about him. Her concern for him outweighing her concern for herself, she called out to him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“M-me?” he asked. “Yeah, fine, totally. My best friend just got turned into a zombie and tried to eat us, but I’m fine, we’re fine, we can fix him! W-we can…” He trailed off.

This was the cue for Connie to climb down from the terminal and head over to him. Stopping the lockdown could wait–she had to make sure he was okay. “If you’re upset, you can talk about it,” she said gently.

He glanced back at her, before frantically turning his attention back through the window. “Upset? No, who’s upset? Not me, that’s for sure!” He let out a humorless laugh. “Just a little…traumatized for life…” His gaze unfocused. “Actually, I think maybe I’m not fine.”

Connie leaned against him in an almost-hug. “We’re going to get through this,” she promised him. “We’re going to be strong, and we’re going to do this together. And once we’re done, and everyone’s safe, I can have my mom hook you up with a good therapist. Sound good?”

Despite his hesitation, Steven knew they still had a job to do. Sideswipe was still in danger–as were they–so this was no time to fall apart. “Sounds great,” he answered.

“I’m proud of you, Steven,” Elita said from the monitor. “You handle crisis well–just like your father.” He beamed at the comparison. “There’s no time to waste. We need to unlock the doors before–”

For the third time, Elita was interrupted, this time by a loud bang coming from the floor. A metal panel near the terminal shifted, as though it was struck from beneath. An eerie groan emanated from underneath them, its source obvious.

“No…he’s in the heating systems again!” shouted Elita. “Steven, Connie, get out of there, now!”

They ran for the vent, only for the zombified Sideswipe to burst up through the floor in a shower of dark energon, screeching once he saw them. “Run! Other way!” Connie once again pulled Steven out of danger, with the undead terror scratching at their heels. The pair hid behind the terminal as he pulled himself out of the ground.

The form of Sideswipe pulled itself through the room, gurgling as it searched for them. Connie’s mouth was pressed over her mouth, while Steven desperately tried to activate his powers. “C’mon, get big, get big!” he mumbled, making sure to stay quiet. But despite how hard he tried, he couldn’t achieve his Transformer form.

“Steven.” Connie nudged him to grab his attention. She pointed over at the vent, which the zombie had wandered away from. They nodded at each other, before slowly creeping in that direction.

With a shriek, the thing that used to be Sideswipe darted towards them, reaching out a hand. “Go, go!” They sprinted towards the vent, but it cut them off with a surprising burst of speed. With one final lunge, it leapt at Steven.

He closed his eyes, preparing to feel its metal fingers wrap around him. But instead, he felt Connie’s hands press against him, pushing him out of the way. For a moment, everything was still, as their eyes met. They reached for each other…only for Sideswipe to pull her away. “Run!” she yelled.

Steven watched helplessly as Sideswipe lifted the girl up to inspect her. There seemed to be a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but this soon faded, replaced with monstrous instinct. “No! Put her down!” Steven furiously pounded against Sideswipe’s leg, hoping to somehow manifest the strength to overpower him. All that he did was annoy him, kicking the boy away. He quickly got back up, only to see Sideswipe lifting a struggling Connie towards his mouth. “NO!”

In an instant, there was a flash of light. The entire room was filled by the blinding blue glow, which had suddenly appeared from Steven’s chest. Not a moment after, a beam of blue energy shot forth from the same place, striking Sideswipe. The energy coursed through his shrieking form, traveling to Connie as well, who he dropped to the floor. Luckily, she was used to long falls, from all her days exploring NEST facilities, so she caught herself.

Once the glow reached its apex, a burst of the same energy came from Sideswipe’s body. It carried through the room, and he fell to the floor. Steven, who had been levitating throughout the ordeal, descended as well, holding something in his hands. It was an orange sphere, containing the blue glow in its center, with two handles on either side. Before either he or Connie could examine it, it disappeared, seeming to vanish back into his chest.

The entire time, Elita had watched through the monitor, horrified, but unable to help. Upon seeing that, she could only sit in stunned awe. “That’s impossible,” she whispered. “The Matrix of Leadership…”

“...Steven?” Connie slowly approached him, making sure he was alright. He looked a bit stunned, but otherwise didn’t seem injured. “What was that? Are you okay?”

“I-I don’t know,” he said, looking at his chest, trying to discern where it went. “Was that really the Matrix?”

Connie shrugged. “I wish I knew. You’ll have to ask the Autobots about that.”

Elita shouted at them from the screen. “Steve! Connie! Are you both alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, we’re fine!” Connie assured her. “A bit spooked, but no worse for wear. Right, Steven?” He nodded. “See? It’s all fine!”

As though corroborating her statement, Teletraan gave an announcement that spread through the ship. “No dark energon detected. Lockdown lifted.” And with that, the red lights let up, and all the sealed doors were opened. The three of them looked around in relief, no longer prisoners.

But both Steven and Connie turned with a start as Sideswipe got to his feet. They held their breath, hoping against hope he wasn’t still a member of the undead. “Ugh…why’s my head pounding?” he asked, his eyes back to their normal blue, and no longer oozing purple fluid. “...What? Did I say something wrong?”

“Sideswipe!” Steven sprinted to his side, throwing his arms around his ankle. Glad to see him safe as well, Connie approached too. “I was so scared you were gone for good!”

“Aww, don’t worry, little buddy, I’m not going anywhere!” He reached down to pat Steven’s back in assurance. “But, uh, where would I have gone?”

“It’ll take some time to explain,” said Connie. “Let’s wait until everyone else gets here.”

- - -

Considering he just heard the account of how he had been corrupted into some kind of undead beast, Sideswipe was taking things surprisingly well. “Wow… So Steven inherited Optimus’ Matrix thingy, huh? That’s a pretty big honor.”

All five of them had reconveined back in the medbay. Elita was making sure that he and the two humans were free from any lasting damage. “Part of me is surprised,” said Magnus. “But on the other hand, it makes perfect sense. You must have inherited it, just like human parents pass on their traits. Though I’m hesitant to call the Matrix of Leadership a mere ‘trait’...”

“Hang on,” said Connie. “Since Steven is the holder of the Matrix of Leadership…does that make him the leader of the Autobots?”

Steven gave a small laugh. “I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of responsibility just yet.” He placed a hand on his chest. “But in the future, who knows?”

Elita put away her instruments. “Well, all traces of dark energon have been completely expunged. And not only that, but it doesn’t look like Connie’s suffered any effects from being bathed in the Matrix’s light.”

“Wh–but how is that possible?” asked Magnus. “Raw energon like that should be incredibly toxic to humans.”

“Normally, it would be, but we still aren’t entirely sure how the Matrix works,” Elita replied. “It’s entirely possible its life-giving light is a panacea to all forms of life, not just Cybertronians.” She turned to Connie. “Let us know if you notice any side-effects, yes?”

She nodded, absently fiddling with her glasses. “Will do,” she said. “Hey, um, Magnus? You were looking for the Matrix down deeper in the Ark . Why did you think it would be down there?”

Magnus looked away uncomfortably. “Uh, I was just looking through Optimus’ old belongings,” he said quickly. “Thought it might be there. But it’s a good thing it wasn’t, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to bring it to you! You did a good job up there today, Steven.”

“Thanks,” he said with a slight blush, “but Connie saved me, too. Sideswipe would probably have eaten me if she hadn’t been there.”

Connie beamed as they looked at each other. “I just did what my instincts told me to do. It’s not that big a deal, really.”

“It is for me!” he replied. “I wish I had instincts like yours…”

Sideswipe wrapped his arms around them both. Perhaps not the best choice, considering the circumstances, but they smiled after a small fright. “And thanks to the both of you, I didn’t eat anybody’s processors! I call that a victory, huh? C’mon, you guys, bring it in!”

Both Elita and Magnus, after only a moment of hesitation, joined in on the group hug, happy that everyone was safe. “Let’s all agree to never have anything to do with dark energon again!” said Steven.

“Sounds good to me!” Elita answered. “I won’t even look at dark energon from this point forward! It’s only dangerous if you get near it!”

“I’ve had enough to last me a lifetime!” said Sideswipe.

“It’s a promise, then!” said Magnus.

Connie stayed silent, wondering if that was really a promise they could keep. Still, though, she didn’t worry too much. Right now, they were all safe, all together. She treasured it for as long as it could last. And besides, now that Steven could use the Matrix, he was basically invincible, right?”

…Right?

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven: Portal Problems

- - -

Lars let out a deep sigh. “Would you stop with the sighing?” asked a slightly annoyed, but also understanding Sadie. “You’ve been staring at those three since they came in here! If I didn’t know better, I’d say you had a crush on one or more of them…” This last part was muttered with a touch of envy.

“What!? No! At least, not in that way,” Lars insisted. His gaze had been focused on a trio of other teenagers sitting at a table inside the Big Donut. These so-called ‘Cool Kids’ were a common sight at the eatery, and Beach City as a whole.

Buck Dewey: son of Mayor Bill Dewey, the mayor. Despite the prominence of his family name, he was well known for his cool attitude and unflappable nature. Politicians from all over Delmarva wished they had children as cool as him.

Jenny Pizza, heir to the Fish Stew Pizza fortune. Despite her relative wealth, It was her magnetic personality and upbeat nature that endeared the populace to her. Chefs from all over Delmarva wished they had children as peppy as her.

Sour Cream, son of a local fisherman, and up-and-coming deejay. Known far and wide for never losing his temper, and always willing to offer words of wisdom to the lost. Fishermen all over Delmarva wished they had children as chill as him.

Lars sighed for the thirteenth time that day. “It’s just…wouldn’t it be cool to be cool? To be respected, instead of just being known as the donut boy that nobody likes?”

“I wouldn’t say nobody likes you.” To Lars’ irritation, Steven had appeared, leaning against the counter. “I like you, sorta. Sadie likes you. Your parents like you. Onion likes you, again, sorta.”

“None of those count,” Lars muttered, to Sadie’s silent disappointment. “I want to be liked by people who aren’t creepily clingy, only want donuts from me, or are forced to be in my proximity. It’s called popularity. You wouldn’t understand, Steven.

Sadie came to his defense. “Hey, Steven’s plenty popular! What else would you call being liked by just about everyone in Beach City?” Steven swelled at the compliment.

“I’d call it being a half-robot circus freak,” Lars grumbled.

“Well, I’d call it having a magnetic personality!” Sadie countered. “Which you wouldn’t understand.” He handed Steven his order. “Don’t listen to Lars, Steven, he likes being miserable.”

“I do not!”

Steven happily took the bag. “Thanks! I’m learning how to open up a groundbridge today, so I’ll need to keep my strength up! …Actually, wanna come watch? I could use you cheering me on!”

“Hmm…” Sadie considered this. “Well, we do have a break in a few minutes. What do you think, Lars? Want to watch Steven master the Transformerly ways?”

He sniffed with derision. “The last thing I wanna waste my break on is your space robot weirdness. Just go–and make sure you bring exact change next time!”

“Fine, I didn’t want you to watch anyway!” said Steven, turning to leave. Once he turned around, however, he was saddened. He really had wanted someone to come along, since Connie was busy with school. But, as he passed by the Cool Kids’ table, he was struck by an idea. “Hey guys!”

“....which shouldn’t be too much trouble on its own, but–oh, hey Steven,” said Sour Cream, setting down his pocket synthesizer. “What brings you by the Big Donut?”

“Oh, y’know…donuts,” he replied, holding up his takeout bag. “So, are you guys up to anything fun?”

“Not really,” said Buck, “unless you count Sour Cream telling us all about his latest single.” The deejay in question shot him a good-natured glare.

“Why, what’s up?” asked Jenny. “Are you up to anything fun?”

“Sorta,” Steven answered. “Ultra Magnus said it’s time I was connected to the groundbridge network. I was gonna practice interfacing with it now, and I figured if you want to watch, then…”

Buck and Jenny both glanced at Sour Cream. “He’s learning to open portals with his mind,” he translated.

“Sure, that sounds awesome!” said Jenny. “Are you sure Magnus is cool with it, though? We don’t wanna intrude.”

“No, the more the merrier!” said Steven. “And I miiight be persuaded to share my donuts…” He glanced over at Lars and Sadie, as though trying to entice them to come along as well. Lars averted his eyes, while Sadie waved apologetically.

The door swung open, and a large face peered through. “Hey, everything alright in here?” asked Sideswipe. “C’mon, Swipey needs his glaze!”

“Got it right here!” Steven headed for the door, looking back before leaving. “Anyone who wants to see this, now’s your chance!” He was followed by all three of the Cool Kids, chattering excitedly amongst themselves. It seemed that, just as many of the other teenagers of Beach City looked up to them, they looked up to Steven.

And so, once again the Big Donut was empty, save for Lars and Sadie. “You know, it might not hurt to talk to them,” Sadie said. “Who knows? They might want to be your friend, too.”

It was an agonizing fifteen seconds for Lars. Spending time with some of the coolest kids in the city…while also spending that time with Steven. Before long, he had made up his mind, leaping over the counter and out the door like a man possessed. “Hey! Steven! Wait for me!”

Shaking her head with a knowing smile, Sadie went as well. It was a much easier choice for her.

- - -

“Listen closely, Steven–and guests–because this is incredibly important,” said Magnus, standing before the Ark ’s main console. “A groundbridge is a highly delicate instrument, and can be incredibly dangerous when handled by all but the most careful of hands. Ripping a hole in the fabric of space-time is not to be misused, especially as a toy. Is that clear?”

Steven saluted, stood at attention. “Sir yes sir!” He then eagerly looked up at his guests, as though making sure they were watching. Jenny waved.

All five of them waited with baited breath for the lesson to begin. “So, uh…you guys seem pretty close to Steven,” Lars said.

“Sort of,” said Buck. “We don’t hang out a lot, but he’s a good kid. Always brightens my day to run into him.”

“Oh. Huh. Well, I guess you could call the two of us friends,” Lars lied. “He comes into the Big Donut all the time, so we know each other pretty well! Right, Sadie?”

She was busy watching Steven. “Whatever you say, Lars.”

Lars looked expectantly at the Cool Kids. “Maybe we should hang out sometime! I mean, the Big Donut’s already the perfect hang-out spot! And since I work there, I miiiight be able to hook you guys up with free donuts… Guys?”

To his disappointment, none of them were listening. “Hold that thought, Steven’s getting ready!” said Jenny.

All three Autobots watched Steven as he took a few deep breaths. “I’ve just registered you as a user into Teletraan,” Elita said. “You should be able to open a groundbridge now–in theory.”

“Try to focus on a singular place,” Magnus said. “Preferably somewhere you know, where a portal suddenly opening wouldn’t disturb anyone. How about down on the beach? That sounds like a good spot.”

Steven concentrated. “The beach…” A series of images flashed through his mind. Here, on the Ark . The lighthouse on the hill. His dad’s house. The Big Donut. That large spherical place with all the dark energon. A tree he had never seen before. Fryman’s Fries. The volcano where he first saw Powerglide. That tree again. Grand Slammers . The same tree…

“Feel the energon flowing through your body,” Elita instructed. “Feel it connecting you to all things. Connecting you to the groundbridge network…”

“...Is he meditating or opening a portal here?” Sideswipe muttered.

“I can…I can see something!” Steven said excitedly. “It’s…a tree. A big tree, in the middle of a field. It’s like it’s calling to me.”

Magnus and Elita shared a glance. “Calling to you, you say?” asked Magnus. “I…suppose you can open a portal there. Just imagine a connection between this room, and that field.”

Steven did just that. A glowing mote of light appeared before him, flickering and sparking as it struggled to open into a gateway through space. “WOO! Go, Steven! You got this!” hollered Jenny from the observation deck. The other Cool Kids cheered him on as well, while Lars watched them with envy. Sadie, in turn, watched him.

“Good, good, very good,” said Elita, gently guiding him through the process. “Concentrate! Imagine space as a…eh, bendy straw, and you can bend it to your will!”

“Bendy straw…” Steven tried to bend the bendy straw that was space, but the image of that tree wouldn’t leave his mind. “Bendy straw!” The bit of light grew closer to his chest, spreading the glow throughout his body. For a fraction of a second, a phantom image of the Matrix appeared. “BENDY STRAAAAAAW!”

As Steven’s eyes snapped open, a groundbridge did indeed open. However, rather than being in front of him, it opened up in the observation deck. The first thing the group of teenagers noticed was a light breeze, accompanied by a low hum, followed by the feeling of being sucked into the world’s largest vacuum. “GAH! STEVEN, WHAT DID YOU DO!?” yelled Lars, grabbing hold of the first thing he could, which happened to be Sadie.

The moment he noticed what he had done, Steven tried to fix it. “Oh no, oh no, oh no! Un-bend, un-bend! How do I make it un-bend!?” He ran up the stairs into the room to try and close it manually.

“Steven, don’t, it’s too dangerous!” shouted Elita, as she and Sideswipe hurried after him to prevent him from being sucked in too. “Quick, shut down the network!”

“Trying my best!” said Magnus, who was hammering away at Teletraan’s keyboard. But try as he might, the portal continued to pull in the kids.

Steven hurried inside, watching in horror as Sour Cream was pulled in. Jenny was next to go, with Buck unable to hold onto her. “Jenny, no! Hold on!” he cried, running after her and leaping into the portal.

Sadie was similarly holding onto Lars, with both of them slowly being pulled closer. “Steven!” she said, reaching out to him. He grabbed her hand, trying to summon every last bit of his strength to carry them away from harm. But despite his Cybertronian strength, the portal proved stronger, and he soon lost his footing.

“Steven!” yelled Elita, reaching her hand through the door. But she was too late, missing him by a mere inch. He, Sadie, and Lars disappeared through the rogue groundbridge, leaving the room empty. Magnus was finally able to stabilize it, and it disappeared, leaving behind only silence.

The three of them were in shock. Catastrophic groundbridge accidents like that were very rare, and all but impossible with their current power supply. But their minds were less concerned with the ‘why,’ and more focusing on the ‘where.’ Steven and his friends could have ended up anywhere on the planet. Finding them would be incredibly difficult…could they even survive until then?”

“So, uh, that wasn’t my fault,” said Sideswipe. “You can vouch for me on that, yeah?”

- - -

The next thing Lars felt, not counting being hurtled through a tear in time and space, was landing on a wooden floor. “Ugh…what did I do to deserve these kinds of things?” he groggily asked, his eyes getting used to the darkness. There was some light, but not much.

Everyone else was there as well, also getting used to their new locale. “Where are we?” asked Sour Cream, similarly dazed. “Was this where you were thinking about, Steven?”

“I don’t…think so,” he said, unsure of himself. “Elita said to bend the universe to my will, and I guess I did. I didn’t think something like this would happen, though.” He got up, feeling his surroundings as his vision adjusted. His hands touched a wall, which he soon realized was made of unpolished wood. “Are we inside the tree?”

“Don’t ask us, you’re the one who brought us here!” snapped Lars. “And if you brought us here, you can send us back, can’t you? Do it! Send us back, now!” He fell to his knees, clutching desperately at Steven’s shirt.

“Okay, okay!” Pushing him back, Steven tried to concentrate on home. However, no matter how hard he focused, he just couldn’t visualize the location the way he had before. “It’s not working!” he lamented. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!”

Sadie approached to soothe him. “Don’t worry, it’s alright. We’ll figure something out. We just need some ideas! Anybody have any?”

“Hmm…” Buck closely examined their surroundings. “If we’re inside of a tree, then logically, we can get out of the tree. We should do that.”

“Yeah, yeah, listen to him, let’s do that!” Lars said eagerly. “Does anyone have an axe lying around?”

Lightbulb. “Oh! I do!” Steven’s practicing had paid off, as in a flash of light, an axe he had. He held it over his head like Excalibur, filling the chamber with a warm glow.

The Cool Kids were enamored. “Woah! Now that’s impressive!” said Sour Cream.

“Man, this kid’s fulla tricks!” Jenny observed.

Buck simply nodded in approval. Lars, on the other hand, shrank inwardly.

“Okay, once we know where we are, we’ll know where to go!” Steven approached the wall, and began chopping away with his axe. It wasn’t long before moonlight poured into the room–indicating that they had to have traveled roughly to the other side of the planet. “We’re free! After y–Wah!”

A nonchalant glance outside led to the sudden and startling revelation that the ground was much further beneath them than Steven had anticipated. His sudden shout had drawn the others over, who reacted similarly. “Did you shrink us too!?” Lars shouted.

“No, wait: look down there,” said Sour Cream, pointing to the distant ground. The floor was dotted with what looked like the occasional bush. “Those are trees too. I think this tree’s just really big.”

“Okay, so we aren’t tiny. Big relief,” Lars moaned. “New question: how are we supposed to get down?”

Sadie stared out of the hole, catching sight of a large branch just to the side. “There! We can climb down using the branches! …Or at least see where we are from the treetop.”

“I think I like the second idea better…” said Jenny, looking down at the ground. “The Autobots can find us eventually, right?”

Steven was concerned, but not worried. “I’m sure they’re working their very hardest,” he assured them.

- - -

“WHAT HAPPENED!?” shrieked Elita. “WHERE IS STEVEN!? WHERE DID THEY GO !?” She shook Ultra Magnus, who was frantically working at the terminal.

“I don’t know!” he said, barely maintaining his cool. “I’ve never seen a groundbridge do something like that before! There’s no way to track them down!”

“WELL, THEN FIND A WAY!”

During all of this, Sideswipe had curled up in a corner. “Why does this keep happening to me!?” he lamented.

- - -

“...Yeah, I’m sure it’s fine,” said Steven. “So, we’re going up, then?”

Sadie was already sizing up a potential jump to the branch. “Going up!” Before anyone, namely Lars, could object, she made the leap, landing it with surprising ease. She staggered a bit, but still reached her target. “Woah! …Okay, it’s alright. Who’s next?” She held out her hands, ready to catch whoever leapt next.

“Can we talk about this?” said Lars, perhaps understandably hesitant about making such a leap. “We shouldn’t have to put ourselves in danger just because Steven screwed up!”

“Hey, it ain’t his fault,” Buck said, coming to his defense. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

Lars’ eye twitched. “Mistakes that could end up with us being dead ?”

Despite the tension, Steven was next with no complaint. “Here I go!” Everyone watched with nerves thoroughly wracked as he got a running start, hurling himself over to the branch. Sadie reached out to catch him, as it seemed like he would come up short. Instead, he raised his axe, digging the blade into the wood beneath him. From there, he pulled himself up, standing beside her. “Made it!” he announced cheerfully.

Sour Cream sighed in relief, before applauding his jump. “Leading by example, that’s Steven for you! If he can do it, we can!”

“That’s the spirit!” Steven called. “C’mon, Lars! Don’t worry, we’ll catch you!”

If Lars had hoped to look Cool in front of the Cool Kids, he currently wasn’t. “Are you kidding!? I’m not putting my life in your hands!”

“It’ll be fine! Don’t you trust Sadie?” he said.

He wanted to say yes, but not to this extent. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, Jenny stepped up to jump next. “Okay…this is fine, you can do this!” she hyped herself up. “They’re gonna catch you, it’ll all be fi–”

The silence of the night was then broken by a distant screech, echoing all around them. Before anyone could ask what it was, a silent shadow passed by overhead. What wasn’t silent was the unidentified being landing atop the upper branches with a loud thud. None of them moved, completely petrified. The tension was then broken as a pair of blinding spotlights suddenly illuminated the inside of the tree.

There was another screech, this one much louder, as they all looked up at the source of the lights. They came from the eyes of a gigantic metal owl, none too happy with its territory having been invaded. Its feathers were white and grey, with eerie yellow eyes, and a red crest on its forehead that extended into horns. Despite its size, it began making its way down towards the stranded humans.

“Okay-I-changed-my-mind!” Lars said quickly, pressing against the wall by the hole. “Get us out of here, quick!”

The appearance of the Predacon was just the push Jenny needed to take the leap. With a yelp, she cleared the gap, with Sadie catching her on the other end. “Whoever’s next, hurry!” she called.

The divot in the tree was just large enough for the gigantic owl to fit through, but only just. It still needed to squirm and wriggle a bit to move towards them, giving them thankfully some more time. Sour Cream was next, landing on the branch but almost stumbling off. “Woah!” He flailed his arms as he tried not to fall backwards, though Sadie was thankfully there to catch him by the shirt, pulling him to safety.

Steven watched nervously as the Predacon grew closer, its terrifying screeches reverberating throughout the entire tree. As Buck made his way across, he considered leaping over to try and fend it off. He was more adept with his Transformer powers than before…but he still didn’t feel that confident in himself. Instead he stared, clutching his axe and hoping everyone made it.

The Cool Kids were all together once again, and only Lars remained within the tree. The owl’s spotlight eyes were fixed on him, fixing to make him its next prey. “Steven! Help!” he shouted, further backing into the corner. Everyone watched in horror as the Predacon worked its way closer, tearing into the wood with its talons. Sadie waited on the edge of the branch, looking like she was moments away from leaping over herself.

“Jump! Hurry, you have to jump!” shouted Steven. Although Lars seemed frozen in terror, he willed himself to head for the hole. He made the mistake of looking down, causing him to freeze up again. “Don’t worry, Sadie will catch you! Right, Sadie!”

With a beak that could tear through solid steel feet away from him, Lars didn’t have much of a choice. With a yell of fear, he ran as fast as he could and jumped, just as the owl bit down, missing him by a hair. Sadie reached out for him, their hands inches apart…narrowly missing each other.

The moment their hands failed to touch, time seemed to slow down. Everyone watched in horror as Lars began his descent, falling down the side of the tree. Steven leapt into action without even thinking. He dove after Lars, racing to meet him. The two continued to tumble down, faster and faster, until Steven was able to grab onto him. “Don’t worry! I’ve got you!”

Even though Lars was almost too terrified to speak, he made an exception. “And who exactly has you !?” he shrieked.

Steven held onto Lars with one arm, the other holding his axe. He raised the weapon over his head and swung it with all his might, the blade digging into the bark of the tree. After a few moments of continuing to fall, their descent began to slow.

“What happened? Can I open my eyes now?” asked Sour Cream, his hand in front of his face. “Are they dead?”

No, they were not. Sadie breathed a sigh of relief as the two of them reached the ground. They were safe…kind of. Unable to fit through the hole, the Predacon began the process of returning the way it came. “Come on, we have to get somewhere safe,” she said.

“What about them?” asked Buck, looking down at the pair.

Sadie didn’t want to move on without them, but she didn’t have a choice. “We can’t exactly jump after them. Right now, we have to worry about that owl.” She began looking at the tangle of branches above them, searching for a route to climb. “They’ll be fine…I hope.”

- - -

Back at the Ark , things had calmed down somewhat, but they were still no closer to locating Steven. “Okay, everybody think: if you were Steven, where would you have opened a portal to?” asked Elita.

Sideswipe thought for a moment. “...The Big Donut?”

“No! Well, maybe. But not this time! Come on, think! There has to be something he said, some kind of hint as to where that portal took them!”

As Magnus poured over the portal network, he suddenly remembered something. “Hang on…didn’t he mention something about a tree? A big tree in a field? What do you think he could have meant by that?”

“Could be anything,” said Sideswipe. “There’s gotta be millions of trees-in-fields on this planet, so he could be…” He trailed off, his eyes widening in realization. “You don’t think he meant that tree, do you?”

Elita and Magnus shared a glance. “I can’t really think of any other important trees,” the latter said. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll open a portal there…” He went back to the console to do just that.

The other two watched him, holding their breath in anticipation. “Please hurry,” Elita said quietly. “There’s no telling what they could run into out there!”

- - -

Don’t get him wrong, Lars was definitely glad to be alive. However, he wasn’t glad to be in a scenario where he would have to be glad about that in the first place. Getting sucked through an unstable groundbridge, being accosted by a giant robotic owl, and nearly falling to his death off of an enormous tree did not leave him in the best of moods. And even though Steven saved his life, who had opened that portal in the first place? “Get off me!” he snapped, shoving Steven back once they had landed. “Was this part of your plan!? Looking like a hero in front of the Cool Kids!?”

It took Steven a moment to process this. “What!?” he shouted when it finally hit him. “I just saved your life! How can you still be mad at a time like this!?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because this always happens!” Lars shouted. “Whenever you’re around, the situation always devolves into being chased by monsters, or locked in an ancient temple, or being launched into the sun! And does anyone ever realize this? No! Despite how everyone around you is always in mortal danger, they can’t get enough of you! You’re somehow one of the most popular people in Beach City, while people like me are completely ignored!”

“How selfish can you be!?” Steven yelled back. “We’re all in mortal peril, but all you care about is looking good in front of the people you like! I didn’t mean to get us stranded out here, I didn’t mean for that giant owl to chase us, and I definitely didn’t mean to always be the center of attention! It’s not like I want to be attacked by monsters or thrown into danger all the time–it just happens!”

Lars scoffed. “Yeah, because your dad was a giant alien war machine!”

“And so what if he is!? My dad could be the giantest, alien-est, war machine-est dad out there, but he’d still be a way nicer person than you! He was a hero, and he protected people…like I’m trying to do now…” Steven slumped down, sitting against the tree’s enormous trunk. “But I can’t do that, because I’m the one who got us stuck here.”

Seeing Steven take the blame for what had happened didn’t fill Lars with as much satisfaction as he thought it would. Instead, it only made him feel worse than he already did. “Hey…” Unsure of what to say, instead he simply sat down beside Steven. “It, uh… I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.”

Steven looked over at him. “You think so?”

“Yeah. Nobody could’ve known that would happen. But considering it did, you…handled things pretty well.” Lars didn’t seem to want to admit it. “You got us out of that tree, and you saved me from falling. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Of course,” Steven said. “I wasn’t about to let you fall.”

“See what I mean? You leapt off a huge tree to save someone who doesn’t even like you! It’s no wonder you’re so popular: you’re a hero.”

Steven looked away. “‘Hero’ is probably a bit strong,” he said.

“Not to someone who was moments away from becoming a pancake!” said Lars. “Thanks to you, we’re all safe. And I’m sure that right now, the Autobots are doing their best to find us. See? Everything is gonna be just–”

He was then interrupted by that same terrifying screech, indicating that everything would not be just fine. A shadow passed by overhead, the beast’s massive wingspan silhouetted against the moon. Before either Steven or Lars could react, the owl shook the ground upon landing. Turbines within its wings slowed to a stop as its eyes fixed on the intruders.

“What’s happening down there?” asked Jenny, from their new perch at the tree’s top. “Is it going after ‘em?”

“It is,” Sadie said with dread. “Lars! Steven! Run!”

Even though they couldn’t hear her from all the way up there, they both knew that was their best option. With another screech, the owl gave chase, with the pair taking refuge in the tree’s gnarled roots. The entire structure seemed to shake as it tore at the wooden dome with its talons and beak. Unfortunately, there was only one entrance to the hole they now found themselves in.

Understandably, Lars’ first order of business was to curl up in the corner as far away as he could manage. “What are we supposed to do now!?” he shouted, not really expecting an answer. “We’re gonna end up as pellets for that thing!”

“Not if I can stop it!” With surprising courage considering the situation, Steven marched up to the beast, who hardly noticed him in its frenzy. His axe reappeared in his hand, and with great conviction, he swung it against the bird’s beak…where it bounced off with only a few sparks. The owl stopped what it was doing and slowly turned to stare at him. “Uh…oops.”

The Predacon took to the skies with another screech, seemingly disappearing. “Did…did that seriously drive it off?” asked Lars, walking closer to make sure it was safe.

Steven double checked behind him. “I guess so. I thought that would be harder, but hey, I’m not complaining!” He posed with his weapon. “Another Predacon vanquished thanks to Steven Uni–”

“Get back!” Lars’ attention had not been focused on Steven, but on the opening behind him. The owl had silently doubled back, releasing a barrage of missiles from its wings. He had just barely enough time to pull Steven away from the roots before that entire side exploded, showering them both in burning splinters. Lars coughed, waving the smoke and ash out of his face. “Are you alright?” he asked the boy he had ended up shielding with his body.

Steven coughed too. “Yeah, fine, thanks to you.” He managed a quick smile, before he realized the position they were in now. “But I have a feeling we’re about to not be.”

The missiles had created an opening just large enough for the owl to slip through, or at least fit its head in. Its glowing eyes first appeared through the smoke, gradually revealing the rest of its form as it crept towards its prey. Steven and Lars both backed up against the back wall. “You don’t think that axe could chase it away again, do you?”

“Not like this…but maybe if it were bigger!” Steven broke away from Lars, running towards the towering bird, grinning triumphantly with his axe above his head.

“Steven, no!” But before Lars could do anything, he had already leapt straight into the owl’s beak. However, instead of disappearing into its mouth, there was a sudden flash of light. A powerful impact kicked up a cloud of dust, followed by the clashing of metal on metal with a loud screech. Where the boy had been moments before now stood a large white robot. “...S-Steven?”

Having been struck with a much larger axe, the owl, unprepared for the blow, retreated from the hollow. “It…it worked,” the robot said in Steven’s voice, turning around. “I did it! I wasn’t entirely sure that would work…”

Still in shock, Lars’ fear momentarily disappeared. “Is this something you could’ve done all along?” he asked.

“Sort of,” said Steven with a shrug and a sheepish smile. “It’s happened before, but I’m still learning to control it. But hey–it works when it matters!”

Before Lars could decide to berate or congratulate him, Steven was suddenly yanked out into the open. The Predacon had latched onto his arm with its beak, hurling him away from the tree–where there was less protection. It took to the skies, letting out yet another screech.

His eyes locked on his target, Steven thrust out his free arm, expecting it to turn into a blaster. Nothing of the sort happened. “Huh,” he said, looking down at his hand, “guess I can’t expect it all to work….”

The Predacon swooped down, its talons grabbing hold of the axe’s handle as Steven used it to block. His feet slid against the ground as he was pushed further away from the tree. From the very top, Sadie and the others watched in awe.

“Steven can turn into a giant robot!?” shouted Sour Cream. “When was he gonna tell us?”

“Come on, Steven, you can beat it!” cheered Buck, no louder than normal. “Can we do anything to help?”

Sadie wanted to help, but figured this was out of her league. “Not from this far away. Right now, try and stay away from the edges. I’ll try and find us a hiding spot in case that thing comes back–huh?” She turned around, noticing a small flicker of light appearing behind them.

Back on the ground, Steven had hurled the Predacon over his shoulder, watching as it took to the sky to loop around. He ran after it, reasoning that the farther away it was from the others, the better. However, since his eyes were on the bird, he failed to notice something in his path until after he had tripped over it. Steven fell to the ground with an “Oof!” and turned around to see a rusty, Transformer-sized sword. “Huh? What’s this doing here?”

It was then that Steven realized where he was. As he looked around, he saw that the empty field he was in wasn’t empty at all. Old weapons lie scattered across the grass, most of them sticking out of the dirt. Others seemed to have been deliberately arranged, as though forming a kind of memorial. Several withered flags dotted the ancient battlefield as well: some bore the Autobot symbol, but others were decorated with a symbol he didn’t recognize. It was purple, and much sharper than the one he was used to, with the bottom narrowing into a point rather than a mouth.

“What happened here?” he wondered aloud, getting up to survey the scene. He didn’t have much time to ponder the question, as the owl soon returned. He swung his axe to drive it off as it slashed with its talons, but it seemed more interested in something else. The Predacon soon grabbed hold of the sword, dragging it a short distance to one of the flags.

Curious, Steven moved closer. He saw that there were several swords propped up against the flag, as though intentionally left there by their owners. Once they were all in place again, it bowed its head, as though paying a due to the fallen. Steven looked around: small memorials such as this dotted the entire field.

“You’re…you’re protecting this place,” he said, as understanding dawned on him. He assumed that the Predacon had maybe been a friend of one of the warriors lost to the battle. “I’m sorry I disturbed you, but it’s okay now. I’m not going to hurt you.” To show he meant to harm, he set down his axe, reaching out a hand to the owl.

Even if it could understand him, the beast didn’t believe him, as it turned around to lunge with a shriek. Before Steven could grab his axe again, he was on the ground, holding back a snapping beak that was inches away from his face.

He could feel its talons digging into his chest as it tried to destroy the intruder. “Stop! I said I was sorry!” Steven groaned, holding it back with one arm while reaching for his weapon with the other. It was so close, but just barely beyond his grasp. He felt its beak scratching against his face as he tried to pull it closer, unable to hold it back much longer…

With the sudden sound of tearing metal and sparking wires, the Predacon froze. Its eyes blinked on and off as it shuddered, before finally going limp. It fell to its side to reveal none other than Ultra Magnus, with a spark in his hand. “ There you are,” he said, offering him a hand.

“Magnus!” Steven eagerly took his hand, throwing himself around him in a hug once he was back up. “You’re here! How did you find me?”

“Well, back when you were trying to open a portal, you mentioned something about a big tree.” He turned around, facing the giant tree, where Elita and Sideswipe were helping Sadie and the Cool Kids to the ground. “Only one really big tree I know of, so I figured it was worth a try. Good thing I got here when I did.

Steven glanced down at the Predacon’s form, which had begun to dissolve, before looking around at the weapons and flags everywhere. “So, you know this place? What exactly is it?”

Magnus looked around somberly at their surroundings. “Somewhere I wish you didn’t have to see. A lot of energon was spilled here–too much. We think that’s one of the reasons that tree grew so big in the first place, but who knows? It might be due to the souls of all the Cybertronians who fell in this battle.”

“So it is a battlefield,” said Steven. “But, what kind of battle would be this big?”

Looking away, it seemed that Magnus was unwilling to divulge further information. “The Autobots have always defended this world from those who would do it harm…including other Cybertronians.”

Before he could think too deeply that there were other Transformers who were hostile, Steven noticed the approach of the others. “Hey guys!” He shrank down to his human form as he ran over.

“Steven, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Buck. “You’ve gotta teach me how to do that sometime.”

“Um…” Steven wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he didn’t. “Are you all okay? You didn’t get hurt climbing up that tree?”

“No, thanks to Sadie!” said Jenny, hugging the girl from the side. “She really took charge and helped us all to safety! It’s probably thanks to her we’re still alive!”

She blushed. “Oh, it’s not that big a deal,” she said. “I just did what came naturally. Steven’s the one who did all the hard work.”

“Hey, no need to be modest,” Sour Cream assured her. “You two both played a huge part in keeping us alive. Isn’t that right, Steven?”

Steven was currently in the process of being hugged tightly by Elita. “Y-yup,” he said, her embrace constricting him. “Good job, Sadie!”

Meanwhile, Lars had stepped out from the tree’s roots, with nobody noticing as he approached the group. He sighed, deciding against calling attention to himself.

Eventually, Elita set Steven down. “Okay, now that’s over, new rule: no groundbridges for Steven ever again. At least until we can figure out what exactly happened here.”

“Hmm…is this tree important somehow?” asked Steven. “Back at the Ark , I kept seeing it in my head, like somebody was showing it to me.”

Sideswipe glanced over at Magnus. “Hey, didn’t his chest start glowing back there? You don’t think…?”

Magnus knew what he was referring to. Now that the Matrix was active within Steven, he would begin to experience overflows of its power. Could this have been one of the ways that manifested? “We’ll look closer into that another time,” he said. “For now, we need to get these ones home.”

“Yes, please!” said Lars. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at trees–or owls–the same way again!” For once, the Cool Kids agreed, eager to put this nightmare to rest. For a moment, he and Sadie met eyes, only to immediately look away.

Elita brought them all together, heading closer to the tree to open a portal. Meanwhile, Magnus glanced back at the battlefield behind him, his face fallen in remembrance. “At least you can rest now, old friend,” he said to the spark, before warping it back to containment. He joined the others, hoping to put this place behind him. Given Steven’s rapidly-growing abilities, however, he knew they would be back soon.

Chapter Text

Chapter Twelve: Enter the Matrix

- - -

Without a giant owl hounding him, Steven was able to appreciate the majesty that the enormous tree held. Now that he could see it in the daytime, it was apparent just how large it really was, especially when compared to the other, normal-sized trees that dotted the landscape. Of course, most of his questions were about the field behind them. “What’s that other symbol mean?” he asked, his eyes focused on the purple icon around half of the flags bore.

“Nothing–just some Cybertronians who didn’t necessarily share our views,” Magnus said quickly, indicating he would rather not dwell on it. “But that’s all in the past now. What we should be focusing on is the future–which means exploring your blooming abilities.”

Meanwhile, Elita was over by the tree’s roots, running tests on its bark. Sideswipe ‘helped,’ which consisted of him reclining on one of the wooden outcroppings. They were all curious as to how exactly the tree had reached out to Steven as it had, with Magnus having the leading theory.

Steven placed a hand over his chest, remembering how the image of the tree had just appeared in his mind. “So…you think this tree’s connected to the Matrix somehow?” he asked.

There was a momentary pause from Magnus before he replied. “There was no mistaking that glow when you opened the groundbridge. Not to mention, there are few things powerful enough to interfere that heavily with the network–and the Matrix is one of them. Come on, let’s see what they’ve found.”

They headed over to the other two, with Elita putting away her scanner. “It’s as we thought: the energon levels are spiking,” she reported. “As for why that is, I can’t say, but it seems to validate your theory. Are you sure this is the best option?”

“Positive,” Magnus said. “Something like this doesn’t happen for no reason. The tree called to Steven. He needs to answer.”

“Uh, hey, sorry,” said Sideswipe, hopping down to join the others. “I don’t mean to sound ignorant here, but how exactly does a tree call to anybody? It’s a tree. They don’t do much.”

Elita sighed. “If you had been helping me instead of slacking, you would know that this is no ordinary tree.” She turned to face Steven, her demeanor shifting to become much more positive. “You see, so much energon was spilled here that the local flora had no choice but to absorb it. In most cases, energon is largely toxic to organic life, but every so often, you come across some of just the right purity that it has the opposite effect: healing and strengthening whatever it comes in contact with!”

“Over time, all that energon coalesces into a single organism,” Magnus continued, earning him an angry look from Elita. “In this case, this tree. And because of its origin, it is able to resonate with other sources of pure energon. Can you guess what one of those might be?”

“The Matrix,” said Steven. “So this tree can teach me to access my powers!?”

“Eh…an oversimplification, but essentially, yes!” said Elita. “In theory.”

Steven’s excitement faltered. “‘In theory?’ So you’ve never done it before?”

“Well, none of us have held the Matrix before,” Magnus said. “Only Optimus Prime had that honor, and as far as any of us can remember, he mastered the Matrix before any trees like this appeared. He wouldn’t have needed to try it.”

Needless to say, this didn’t exactly encourage Steven. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense…” Sideswipe noticed his disappointment, so he swooped in to cheer him up.

“Hey, you know what that means, right? It means you get to be the first Autobot ever to talk to a tree! That’s pretty cool, right?”

“Yeah!” Steven exclaimed, his sadness all but forgotten. “I’m gonna be a pioneer in Autobot-tree relations! C’mon, let’s get started!” He hurried underneath the tree’s roots to find the perfect spot to access the Matrix.

“Don’t you mean ‘pine-neer?’ Eh? Eh?” Sideswipe wore a goofy grin, looking back and forth between Elita and Magnus. Both of them ignored him in contempt, following after Steven. “Eh. Pearls before swineoids.” He followed too.

As excited as Steven was to commune with the tree, he didn’t have the slightest idea how to begin. “Uh…hey there, tree! It’s me, Steven. I saw you in a vision yesterday. Remember how I accidentally teleported all my friends here, and then I fought that owl? Good times. …So, how do I do this?”

“You’ll want to start by clearing your mind,” Magnus advised, crawling underneath the roots as well as he was able. There wasn’t much room for Transformers down there, so he had to crawl just to be able to see Steven. “You’ve meditated before, haven’t you? Just let the calmness wash over you, and be at one with the universe.”

That sounded much easier said than done. “Uh, I can try,” said Steven. He sat down and closed his eyes, doing his best to follow those instructions. “One with the universe…one with the universe…one with the–Are you sure this is the best way to do it? I don’t feel any different.”

“Well, how did you do it last time?” asked Sideswipe. He and Elita had both worked their way under the tree as well. “Back when I almost ate ya, what was going through your mind?”

“...The thought that I was about to get eaten, mostly,” Steven replied. “All I could think about was how Connie and me were in mortal peril, from Sideswipe, who was also in mortal peril, and it just sorta happened. Boom, Matrix!”

“Hmm…think we can put him in mortal peril again?” suggested Sideswipe.

Elita nixed that idea immediately. “Not a chance. Steven, the Matrix may be a useful tool, but it’s also a symbol of the Autobot movement itself. It goes back millions of years, all the way back to its original creator. You don’t need to be in danger to access it–all you need to do is to be in tune with what it means to be an Autobot.”

‘What it means to be an Autobot.’ “So, helping people in need, fighting evil monsters, and protecting freedom?” asked Steven. Elita nodded. “Seems easy enough. Alright, here goes nothing!” With that, he screwed his eyes shut tight, trying to think Autobot-y thoughts.

All three of them watched him, waiting, if not expecting, for something to happen. “This may take a little while,” Magnus said quietly, not wanting Steven to overhear. “If you want to take care of some things, I can stay here and watch him.”

“No, wait–look,” said Elita, pointing up at the tree. The bark had begun to shimmer, emitting the unmistakable blue glow of energon. The glowing traveled from the tips of the roots towards the very center, until the entire underside was completely illuminated. It was brightest right above Steven, who had begun to glow as well.

Steven’s glow coalesced near his chest, taking the form of a spectral orb of light that hovered before him. Though faint, this orb was surrounded by a tell-tale image of…

“The Matrix,” Magnus said in hushed wonder. “Does this mean he did it?”

“You’re asking us?” Sideswipe said. “You’re supposed to be the expert. Hey Steven, did it work?”

But there was no reply from Steven. “He’s already attuned,” Elita said in a hushed whisper. “I never expected him to take to it this quickly. I’m not sure even Optimus managed it this fast!”

“Well, guess he should’ve tried meditating under a magical tree,” Sideswipe said.

They continued to watch Steven, who was by now adrift in the great knowledge that the Matrix held. Although each of them wanted to join him, this was one quest he had to undertake alone. “I wonder what he’ll see in there?” Magnus pondered.

- - -

Feeling the warmth of pure energon washing over him, Steven opened his eyes. He was floating in what looked like a sea of blue clouds, completely weightless. “Huh? Is this…inside the Matrix?” He glanced around, looking for any sign of orange walls surrounding him, but saw no landmarks of any kind. “It’s a lot more empty in here than I was expecting. Hello? Helloooooo?” His voice echoed, but he got no reply.

Despite floating in an empty void, it was far from foreboding in here. In fact, something about this space was oddly comforting, though he couldn’t place exactly why that was. He moved his arms to try and swim through the clouds, and to his surprise, it worked.

“Woah, it’s like I’m in space!” he exclaimed excitedly, darting around like an expert in no time. After a few moments of this, however, it soon lost its appeal. “Kinda boring in here, though. I wish there was more to look at…”

“I can help you with that, lad.” Steven whirled around upon hearing the unfamiliar voice. Before he could respond, mountains began to appear in the distance, as though being formed from the bluish mist that permeated this place. Upon looking closer, he saw that they weren’t mountains, but were in fact towering buildings, bigger than anything on Earth, a whole city of them. A metallic floor then appeared beneath him, to which he descended. “The secret is to picture it in your mind.”

Steven squinted, trying to make out anybody though the heavy fog. “Who’re you?” he asked. “Some sort of helpful Matrix guide?”

A shape then materialized before him, taking the form of a Transformer walking out of the mist. “I suppose you could say that!” He was reddish in color with a faint amount of purple, and had a long beard on his face–an oddity on a robot, to be sure. “Hello, Steven Orion Universe, holder of the Matrix of Leadership. I was wondering when you and I would first meet.”

“Oh, hi,” said Steven. “...Who are you?”

The Autobot before him grinned. “I am Alpha Trion, creator of the Matrix of Leadership, and its very first holder.” He gave a slight bow upon introducing himself. “I am something of a record-keeper, taking note of every holder of the Matrix since its creation. But of the many Autobots who have taken up this mantle, none have intrigued me quite so much as you, Steven Universe.”

Steven wasn’t yet sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Uh, why is that, exactly?” he asked. He hoped the answer wasn’t that he was a disappointment, or something along those lines.

Alpha Trion seemed to sense his worry, offering a reassuring smile. “Because, my lad, you are unique, even among the hundreds of Autobot leaders I have seen. For all of them have been fully Cybertronian, while you are partially a human. Nothing like you, no body like you, has ever been known to exist.”

“Don’t I know it,” Steven replied, a little bitterly. “So, since you’re a guide here, does that mean you have a user manual for the Matrix? Or some kind of pamphlet?”

The elderly Transformer chuckled. “I had a feeling I would like you! No, I’m afraid it isn’t so simple. To master the Matrix is to master oneself, as the Matrixis the purest form of the Autobot ideals. Mastery such as this is not so easily taught, though it can be learned, provided you have enough discipline.”

All of this was beginning to sound to Steven like a kung-fu movie–which, of course, made him even more eager to learn. “All right! So, what do I have to do? The Matrix has all the knowledge of past Autobot leaders–can you show me some of that?”

“I suppose I could show you around. I am a guide, after all,” said Alpha Trion. “But be warned, Steven Universe: the knowledge contained within the Matrix of Leadership is as deep and as vast  an ocean. And like an ocean, it is life-giving, but one must be careful not to delve too deeply, lest you become lost in its depths.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring my floaties!” said Steven. Upon saying that, a set of inflatable orange life preservers appeared on his arms. “Huh. I was kidding, but this actually works!”

Alpha Trion observed him for a moment, before producing what looked like a Transformer-sized quill. Using it to write in the air, the landscape around them began to shift. “In that case, prepare to dive right in!”

- - -

“...So, uh…how long is he gonna sit there for?” asked Sideswipe. The three of them continued watching Steven, some of them with dwindling interest. “He doesn’t need us to be here, does he? ‘Cause I was thinkin’ about going to grab a snack or something.”

Truthfully, none of them knew exactly what to expect from Steven’s jaunt into this sacred artifact. Whenever Optimus had sought the Matrix’s guidance, he had been in there for anywhere between a few hours to a few days. “I’m sure he’ll be out in a minute or two,” Magnus assured them all, including himself. The boy in question sat still, enveloped in a blue glow with the image of the Matrix hovering before him.

Elita shuffled her way out from under the tree. “I don’t like this. Optimus was always hesitant to consult the Matrix, only doing so when he had to. I’m worried we’re thrusting this on Steven before he’s ready.”

“No need to worry, Elita,” said Magnus, turning to face her. “Steven won’t be alone in there; Alpha Trion’s echo is there to guide him. Plus, he’s a smart kid, he can figure his way around.” As before, it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself.

“I mean, yeah, he’s figured his way out of a bunch of stuff before,” said Sideswipe, watching the still boy. “Why were you so insistent on having him do this, anyway?”

Magnus went back to watching Steven as well. “Because this is a perfect opportunity. The energon from this tree should give him the boost he needs, enough to keep him on track.”

“...On track for what?” asked Elita, suddenly growing suspicious.

But Magnus had already fixed all of his attention on his young pupil. “Do you think he is seeing Cybertron yet?” he asked nobody in particular.

- - -

A vast landscape began to form around them both. Massive buildings stretched to the skies, filled with lights even brighter than the stars. Speaking of, hundreds of stars filled the sky, some of which were moving–Steven realized that these were actually ships, coming and going to and from the ancient metropolis. Cybertronians of all shapes and sizes roamed the streets, both in their base modes and their altmodes. “Wow…” said Steven, too in awe to say much of anything else.”

“‘Wow’ indeed,” said Alpha Trion, proud of being able to impress the boy. “This, as I’m sure you’ve managed to guess, is Cybertron, as it was back when I was newly-made. It was a planet of peace, prosperity, and harmony. A true paradise for all mechs.”

Steven picked up on his word choice. “‘Was?’” he asked. “Did something bad happen?”

Alpha Trion looked down sadly. “Alas, something always happens. That is the issue with paradise: unless it is a complete bubble, isolated from the rest of the universe, something must always change. And when a place is as good as it could possibly be, that change is always for the worse.”

He waved his quill, and a dark shadow appeared over the city. Transformers ran in terror as a multitude of tentacles descended from the figure, red eyes glowing intensely as it snatched up anyone it could reach and dragged them back towards its form.

“I regret to say that the history of our people is one of war,” Alpha Trion continued. “Namely, a great many races wished to use our powers for their own gain. In order to free ourselves from this tyranny, several of us came together to make our hope a reality.”

The scene changed to show several more shadowy figures, these ones decidedly less menacing. One pounded away at an anvil with a hammer, before whatever they were working on was passed over to the next. This next figure poured energy from their spark into the device, which Steven now recognized as the Matrix. It was when handed off to another, who held it above their head triumphantly. It emitted a bright light that repelled the encroaching tentacles.

“Such is the story of the Matrix of Leadership, and with it, the Autobot Order,” Alpha Trion continued. “That one you see there is none other than Prima, not only the first Autobot, but the first Prime as well. He founded the Thirteen, and we protected Cybertron for many generations.”

Steven was very impressed by everything he saw, but one question still burned in his mind. “So, if I can see all of Autobot history here…could I see my dad?”

“Why, of course,” said Alpha Trion. “Within the Matrix, you can contact anyone who previously held it. And because you are his direct descendant, consulting the echo of Optimus should be a cin–be a cin–be a cin–a cin–a cin–cin–cin–cin–”

While not immediately worried, Steven had a feeling that Alpha Trion suddenly skipping like a record did not portend anything good. “Uh…are you okay there?” he asked. In addition to his voice repeating, his guide’s body was blinking in and out of visibility, like a tv set with poor reception. “Do you need me to…do something?”

“...cin–cin–ciiiiinnnnnnnn…” Alpha Trion’s voice and form alike dissolved into static, leaving only a harsh buzzing behind as he faded away. The scene around them became much darker, just like the shadow that had menaced the city. As the smoke grew denser, Steven noticed that there was a bit of it that was even darker than the rest. And it was rapidly growing closer.

Steven did the only thing he could think of: he ran, speeding through the now-empty city streets as the black cloud gave chase. “Even in the literal heart of goodness, something still wants to kill me!” he lamented, hoping that he could run faster in here than he could in the real world. “Hang on, can I even die here? What happens if it catches me?” He stopped, turning to face the darkness. However, after seeing the writhing mass of shadows barreling down on him, he quickly changed his mind. “Nevermind, I don’t wanna risk it!”

An ear-splitting metallic screech reverberated through the air, seeming to come from the pursuing cloud. The sound would have made Steven run even faster than he already was, if he wasn’t already running as fast as he could. Buildings cracked and windows shattered as the formless menace grew closer and closer to its prey.

“Someone, help!” Steven shouted, unable to think of anything else. He knew that the city was deserted, and didn’t expect anyone to hear him, let alone come to his aid. And yet, there was suddenly a brilliant glow coming from behind him. Risking a glance, he saw a figure, silhouetted against the bright light, driving back the darkness.

The shadow writhed and thrashed under the light, letting out more horrifying shrieks. For just a moment, Steven saw what he thought could be glowing red eyes glaring back at him, before the shape fled, disappearing back the way it had come. Hesitantly, he approached his rescuer.

As the glow gradually faded, he could make out more of the robot’s appearance. He was blue and gold, with a slight boxy frame. Despite his basic shape, Steven couldn’t help but freeze when he turned around. “You are safe, child,” he said, his voice reverberating like it was many voices at once. And yet, as freaky as that should have been, Steven inexplicably felt safe in this being’s presence.

“T-thanks,” Steven said, wondering if he should bow. “Um…are you Prima?”

The figure nodded. “We are Prima. We are the Autobots. We are the Matrix.” With a wave of his hand, Prima dissolved the cityscape, and they were once again floating in a cloudy void. “And you are Steven Orion Universe, correct?”

Steven found himself drifting closer to Prima. “That’s me! So, uh, Alpha Trion was showing me around the place, but he sorta…glitched out, or something. Did that cloud thingy cause that?”

“We believe so,” Prima answered. His face was almost completely still, showing almost no emotion. Steven wasn’t sure if that was a conscious choice, or just how he was made. “As for what it is, we are not certain. It is not a product of the Matrix…and yet, it is not invasive. It merely is .”

If the first holder of the Matrix, and possibly its embodiment, had no idea what it was, Steven figured it wasn’t meant to be known. “Well, at least it’s gone now. With that out of the way, do you think you could point me towards my dad? Optimus Prime, I mean. He should be around here somewhere.”

Prima once again waved his hand, and their surroundings changed to the inside of an enormous citadel. A long hallway lined with statues of Transformers led to a giant door, which Steven could see was slightly open. He also saw that he was hovering in midair, something which the newfound gravity quickly remedied. He fell with a thud, but easily dusted himself off. “Here you will find another Matrix-Bearer. He will be able to take you to your father. But beware, young Steven: the greatest darkness is often the darkness which lurks inside ourselves.”

With that cryptic bit of advice, Prima vanished in a burst of golden light, leaving Steven slightly star-struck. “Huh. Well then.” He headed down the hallway, wondering what sort of character he would meet next.

- - -

Magnus anxiously tapped his finger against the bark. It was true he had wanted this for Steven, but it had been hours. The sun was already beginning to set, and he had not moved an inch. Despite his nerves, he held onto hope that Steven was mastering his abilities with the knowledge the Matrix provided. He tried not to think about how some of that knowledge he might not be ready to learn.

On the other hand, Elita was far less patient. “Magnus, this has gone on too long,” she said. “It’s been hours. We have to wake him up–the longer he’s in there…”

“I know, but just think what he could learn!” Magnus said. “The Matrix contains everything there is to know about the entire Autobot movement! Just think: a few hours more, and he could be every bit the leader Optimus was! He could hear wisdom directly from all the bearers who came before him!”

But Elita still wasn’t impressed. “Yes, or he could learn things he isn’t ready to learn! What happens if he stumbles across what Predacons really are? How will he react when he first sees a Decepticon? The Matrix can show him anything in our history, and that means the good and the bad!”

While they argued, Sideswipe crawled closer to Steven to check on him. “Hey Ste-man, you good?” He prodded him, eliciting no reaction. Steven continued to glow, sitting completely still. “Yeah, uh, hey guys? I don’t think we’re waking him up anytime soon…”

“Look at this! What happens if he never comes out?” asked Elita. “You knew how dangerous the Matrix could be, and you let him go in before he was ready!”

“Optimus told us how he consulted the echoes of past bearers,” Magnus countered. “They’ll be there to guide him.” Despite his assurance, his face darkened as he looked back to Steven. “He’ll return to us when he’s good and ready.”

Elita looked at him as well. “Yes, that’s what I’m afraid of…”

- - -

Steven looked up at the massive statues that lined the hall as he walked past. They all looked sort of the same, but he wondered if these were past holders of the Matrix as well. Or perhaps they were other Primes…though he wasn’t sure what that meant yet. Before today, he had only known of one Prime, and that was Optimus.

He stopped when one of them caught his attention. “This one kinda looks like him,” he noted, part of him hoping it was. There were a few differences, however. “There’s probably a statue of Dad here somewhere, right? I still wish I could see the real thing, though. Or as close to real as this place gets…”

With a gasp, he turned around. The shadows on the statue’s face had shifted slightly, leading him to think something had moved in front of the light. When he saw that there was nothing there, he sighed in relief. But when he turned around again…

To his horror, he saw that the shadow of the statue was beginning to emerge from the wall. The darkness formed into a familiar miasma, emitting screeches and growls like an animal. Steven stepped back, resisting the urge to scream and run. Since making a break for it hadn’t worked last time, he instead hid behind another of the statues.

“What is that thing!?” he whispered, hoping that it hadn’t spotted him while it was still in the process of materializing. Apparently it hadn’t, as he could hear its noises moving around aimlessly. Slowing his breathing, he chanced a look around his hiding spot. The mass, though still nebulous, seemed to have taken on a slightly more solid form. It almost seemed like four legs were carrying it along the ground, searching for Steven. As it moved down the hall, Steven headed in the opposite direction, darting from statue to statue.

The further he moved from the…whatever it was, the more he felt he was in the clear. He couldn’t help but feel excited at meeting his father for the first time, and being safe from that awful thing! But all his hopes were dashed as another eerie shriek split the air: he had been spotted. The cloudy mass launched after him, and he once again ran as fast as he could. Red eyes peered out of the shadows at him–four of them, in fact. Two on each head. Two snakelike heads roared as Steven got closer to the door, and it got closer to Steven.

The door thankfully reached Steven before the shadow did. Despite how heavy it looked, he was able to pry it open with no issue, aided both by his Cybertronian strength and his rushing adrenaline. The fact that it was not even a real door may also have helped. Once in the next room, he slammed it shut, holding it closed with his back.

Even though the shadowy beast was still screeching up a storm behind him, Steven still took a moment to admire the decor. The circular room was lit by evening sunlight coming in through a stained glass window in the ceiling, illuminating more statues of potential Primes. “Huh. This place would be really pretty if it wasn’t for–” He froze: he felt something cold along his back, realizing with a start that the dark mist was leaking through the crack between the double doors. “...for that!”

Steven’s next move was to bolt away from the doors as his pursuer phased through the crack, its twin heads becoming visible once more, snapping their jaws at him. He backed away, only to run into what he first thought was a statue. Only thing was, statues didn’t loom menacingly over him, nor did they level an enormous blaster his way. As if one evil shadow being wasn’t enough, now there were two.

Crying out, Steven shielded his face as the figure’s blaster started to glow. Rather than firing at him, however, it raised the cannon towards the door, shattering it apart with a single shot. The miasma took most of the brunt as well, nearly dissipating. It roared at this new enemy, only retreating when several more shots rocked its incorporeal body. With it once again on the run, Steven got a better look at his rescuer, again.

A Transformer, but that much was obvious by now. He was covered in mostly white armor, with some greenish-blue underneath. In addition to the gigantic cannon, his impressive stature was further enhanced by wings spreading out from his back. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice as gruff as would be expected.

“Um…here, or here here?” Steven asked. “I’m here because Prima sent me, but I’m here because I went inside the Matrix to–”

“I do not remember asking for your life’s story,” the robot said, his cannon folding up as he took on a (slightly) more friendly posture. “Steven Universe, the first son of a Cybertronian. And with an organic, no less. If you ask me, that’s a lot of trouble just waiting to happen.”

This bearer was much ruder than Prima, but he had still saved Steven. “Thanks for scaring that thing off,” he said. “You don’t happen to know what it is, do you? And also, who are you?”

“Nova Prime,” he said, walking out another door onto a balcony. Steven followed. “I don’t have the slightest idea what that thing is, or where it came from. I haven’t seen anything like that in the Matrix before…at least, not until Orion Pax took it.”

Orion Pax–his father’s original name. “So, you think he had something to do with it?” asked Steven. He looked out over the landscape: the building they were in was so tall, he could see for miles around, all of it city.

“I can only speculate…it either came from him, or from you .” He looked down at Steven. “None of us bearers are free from our inner darkness. All the rest of us have had millenia to overcome ours, so as to not poison the Matrix with our demons. But you…you are a mere child. All of your fears, doubts, and ignorance have manifested into that detestable shape.”

Steven had a hard time believing that thing had come from him–if that was true, why would it be trying to attack him? But, Nova Prime had been here a lot longer, so probably knew what he was talking about. “I mean, I guess that’s good. I was worried it was some dark energon that got in here somehow.”

“Ha! As though the Matrix of Leadership could ever be corrupted by something so impure!” Nova Prime said disdainfully. “No, this is not an outside force, but one from within one of us. And as I said, we are not so easily led astray by worldly emotions!”

Somehow, Steven doubted that, at least for him. In any case, he was getting a bit frustrated. “Look, can you just show me the way to my dad? I wouldn’t want to waste any more of your time…”

Nova shot him a glare, but didn’t pursue the matter. “Very well. The sooner you take that horrid cloud with you, the better.” He raised his cannon once again, firing a shot into the sky. It exploded like a firework, creating ripples that made their surroundings disappear. “Beware how deep you travel, little one. Although it is a force for good, the Matrix will devour those who are incautious…” His words echoed as he faded from view.

“So I’ve heard,” Steven said to himself. “But how deep does it go, really? Dad was the most recent holder, so shouldn’t that mean he’s less deep? Ah, I probably should’ve asked more questions before I tried this.” A landscape began to appear from the fog.

At first, Steven assumed it was like all the others, with large buildings stretching up to the skies all around him, with hundreds of stars above. However, he realized this was different when the buildings were swaying in the breeze. They were not buildings, but trees, as he was in a forest. And not a Cybertronian forest, either.

“Is this Earth?” he asked, looking around. He walked further into the forest, keeping his eyes open both for his father as well as the cloud of darkness he was sure would threaten him again.

- - -

Night had long since fallen on the energon-enhanced tree. Hours had passed, and Steven remained static. Magnus was now the only one who still waited for him, as Sideswipe had joined Elita in worrying about his condition. “Magnus, please, we have to face facts,” she urged. “Steven has gone too deep. If we don’t do something now, it might be too late!”

“Do you have that little confidence in him?” asked Magnus, perhaps more aggressively than he had intended. “Steven will be perfectly fine! He has help in there, much more than we could ever give him!” However, his voice quavered, indicating even he didn’t believe his words.

Sideswipe scoffed. “If his ‘help’ is that good, why hasn’t he come back up yet? What’s so good in there that he’d lose track o’ time like this?”

“He’s probably spending time with Optimus,” Magnus said. “And why shouldn’t he? A boy his age, deprived of his father, would no doubt take any opportunity to speak with him in person! We certainly would, wouldn’t we?”

“I’ve heard enough; we’re taking him home right now!” Elita marched back underneath the tree’s roots to retrieve Steven.

Magnus tried to stop her, but was ignored. “Hold on! We have to let him come back of his own accord! If you pull him away from Optimus, he might never forgive you!”

“C’mon, man, what’s your deal!?” asked Sideswipe. “Is Steven meeting Optimus really that important to you? Are you sure this is about what he wants, or what you want? ‘Cause it’s startin’ to look like you’re making this about yourself.”

Insulted, Magnus glared at him. “The Matrix is the most important Autobot artifact to ever exist! It is the birthright of the Autobot leader, and I would never even think of co-opting that right! Steven should have the opportunity to  learn how to fully access the powers it grants him!”

Sideswipe raised an eyebrow. “The rights of the Autobot leader? I thought you were the leader. Unless you’re trying to pass the baton onto him or something?”

“Absolutely not!” Magnus shouted. “But as the Matrix-bearer, a time will come when he must take up the mantle–and as he is part human, that time may come sooner than we realize! Is it so wrong to want to prepare him for his destiny?”

“Yeah, if you’re doin’ it to get out of responsibility!” Sideswipe shot back. “And that’s coming from me, so you know it’s bad!”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” said Elita, cradling a sleeping Steven in her arms. “Magnus, open a groundbridge back to the Ark . Without the tree acting like an antenna, his connection to the Matrix should be weaker, right?”

Magnus took a moment to respond. “Y-yes, yes, that should work.” He fumbled with the groundbridge controls, eventually managing to get one open. “Come on, he shouldn’t be too hard to rouse.” He looked at the boy with concern as the three of them returned home.

- - -

Steven continued walking through the forest, disarmed by the beautiful scenery. He had forgotten all about the potential threat, until he heard the fighting in the distance. “Huh? What’s going on?” He hurried towards the sound, reaching the edge of the trees at the top of a hill.

It was hard to make out, both due to the dark and the movement, but two figures fought in the distance. One was clearly a Transformer, and the other was unmistakably the shadowy entity that had been hounding him all day. A pair of massive wings now aided it as it attempted to overtake this other holder, who swung an enormous weapon with great strength.

He made his way closer, trying to remain unseen, just in case. The Autobot fighting the thing had dark blue and orange armor, and his weapon was a gigantic hammer. He, too, had winglike bits like Nova Prime, though his were smaller. Terrible screeches, which Steven had grown to hate, once again filled the air. At this distance, the dark shape had taken on a more definite form: a great two-headed metallic dragon.

“Come on, you demon!” the bearer shouted, striking the dragon repeatedly with his hammer. “I’ve felled greater enemies than you! You’ll have to try harder than that!” With one powerful uppercut, the dragon fell to the ground, where he drove the hammer down onto its chest. Wounded, the thing let out a pained screech, before scrambling back to its feet. It flew off into the distance, apparently knowing when it was beaten. “Ah-ha! Yes, flee with your tail between your legs, beast!” Victorious, the Autobot turned in Steven’s direction. “It’s safe to come out now! Come, let me get a better look at you!”

Steven was surprised he knew he was there, but realized he shouldn’t be. “Hi there!” he called, jogging over once the dragon had flown away. “Thanks for defeating that thing! It’s been chasing after me since I came in here!”

The other bearer’s hammer collapsed into a tiny form, which he clipped onto his waist. “Not at all! Vanquishing evil is the whole purpose of being an Autobot!” He sat down, shaking the ground with a thud. “I am called Zeta Prime. And you, young man, are Steven Orion Universe–the son of my protege!”

He couldn’t help gasping. “Y-you mean, you’re Dad’s–uh, Optimus’ teacher!?”  Steven couldn’t believe he had ever heard of Zeta Prime. Considering who he was, he figured someone would have at least mentioned the name before. “Tell me all about him! What was he like? What were his interests? Did he ever say anything about having a son!?”

“Easy, one question at a time!” Zeta said with a laugh. “Your father was a wonderful Transformer. He was bright, kind, always eager to help others, no matter who they were. I couldn’t have asked for a better successor.” He got to his feet, and waved his hand.

Although the scenery stayed mostly the same, a few noteworthy differences appeared: namely, the once-tranquil field they had been sitting in a moment before now became a bed of carnage and devastation. Craters littered the landscape, as did the bodies of fallen Transformers, their weapons scattered across the field. Steven realized that this was the exact same field he was in currently, where the massive tree would grow thousands of years later. Among the fallen, he saw only one survivor, leaning down over another form–who was also still alive, but barely.

“That’s…you,” Steven said, realizing that he was witnessing Zeta Prime’s final moments. “And that must be Dad, then. Before you gave him the Matrix.”

“Indeed,” Zeta said from beside him. “Orion Pax was his name. I knew, even before this battle, that he would one day lead the Autobots. I knew that he would protect the Earth…and he did.”

Steven looked closer, and suddenly noticed something beneath the memory of Zeta Prime: beside him was a tiny sapling, onto which his energon was leaking. “Wait a minute…that’s the big tree, isn’t it? Does that mean you’re the tree? Were you the one who called me here?”

He chuckled. “Yes it is, no I am not, and yes, I am. I sensed it on the day you saved your friend Sideswipe: you opened your connection to the Matrix. When you opened that groundbridge, I was able to strengthen it.” He looked away bashfully. “Apologies about stranding you and your friends here. That was…unintentional on my part.”

“No problem,” replied Steven. “So, what is it you wanted to tell me about? Something about my super secret Autobot destiny or something? My connection to Optimus Prime?”

Zeta pointed at the scene. “No. Watch.” He did.

Orion cradled Zeta Prime. “No, no, Zeta, you can’t die!” he lamented. “Please! We still need you! The Autobots can’t survive without your leadership!”

The memory of Zeta chuckled weakly. “Oh, no, the Autobots will thrive. They will have a leader far kinder, far nobler, and far braver than I ever was: you.”

“B-but I’m not ready!” Orion begged. “I’ll go and get Magnus, he can fix you up, you’ll be fine! We can… We can…”

“Shhh…my time has come, Orion Pax. And your time has just begun.” Zeta Prime reached towards his chest, and in a flash of light, the Matrix appeared. “Take hold of your destiny, and become who you truly are.”

Orion was at a loss for words. “But…but I’m not ready,” he said tearfully.

“Nobody ever is,” Zeta replied, smiling warmly. “But we cannot choose our destiny. It chooses us. Just as I have chosen you. Now, take the Matrix, and arise, Optimus Prime.”

And rise he did. Hesitantly, Orion took hold of the Matrix, which illuminated their surroundings. Holding it aloft above his head, his body began to shift and change. He grew bigger, stronger, faster. When the light dimmed, Optimus Prime stood where Orion Pax had been.

“And there you have it,” said Zeta, breaking Steven out of his awe. “Optimus may have held the Matrix, but he was unsure if he was worthy of it. Unsure if he had what it took to lead the Autobots. But despite his uncertainty, he went on to become a legendary leader. Now, who does that sound like to you?” He looked down at Steven.

Steven placed his hand on his chest. “You mean…I can be just as great as he was?” he asked. “Even though I’m…just me?”

“‘Just’ you? Nobody is ‘just’ anybody, least of all a bearer of the Matrix!” Zeta exclaimed. “You are young and uncertain, but so was your father. You have a lot to learn, but so did he.” He knelt down beside the boy. “I know you feel yourself unworthy of the Matrix, my boy. But rest assured, no Autobot in history has ever been sure of themselves when they first receive this power, myself included. Not even Prima himself.”

“Not even Nova Prima?” Steven asked.

Zeta Prime laughed. “No, not even Nova Prime! What is important to remember is this: no Prime stands alone. Just as Optimus had Elita and Magnus by his side, so too do you have your family to support you. I trust you will make a brilliant Prime one day, Steven Orion Univ–”

His heartfelt speech was cut short as he was violently tackled to the ground by the two-headed shadow dragon. Steven instinctively fell back as it and Zeta thrashed around, struggling to overcome the other. As though an aftereffect of its arrival, the sky turned a foreboding black while they fought.

“Go! Get to your father!” shouted Zeta, attempting to drive the monster back with his hammer. It seemed more powerful than ever, with his strikes glancing off its armor. “I’ll hold it back as long as I can!”

His dad was so close now. “Be careful!” Steven called, running away from the dragon. Its angry screeches rang in his ears, but he didn’t dare look behind him as the battle raged. Frozen in time, Optimus stood with the Matrix raised, a brilliant statue that Steven was sure would save him from this nightmare.

It seemed that the dragon was not interested in fighting Zeta anymore, as it grabbed him in its jaws and hurled him aside. Both heads shrieking, it took to the air and swooped towards Steven. “No!” shouted Zeta.

Steven turned just in time to see a mouth filled with metal teeth ready to close down on him. He cried out, covering his head and bracing for the inevitable. However, the bite never came. Hesitantly, he opened one eye, then the other, seeing that the dragon was frozen in place. Slowly but surely, it, as well as the whole scene, began to dissolve, leaving him floating in empty space once again. “ Here you are,” he heard a familiar voice say behind him. “I’ve been looking for you, lad.”

He turned around. “Alpha Trion!” he said, floating over to the familiar face. “Did you do that? Man, you saved me just in time! I…hang on, where did you go the first time?”

“Unfortunately, some manner of outside force corrupted my memory,” he explained, bowing his head. “I was able to overcome it, but I fear it will continue to spread if left unchecked. As such, I can only stay here a short while longer.”

Steven glanced over his shoulder, half-expecting to see the two-headed dragon waiting for him. “So that thing, it’s not supposed to be here?” he asked.

“I cannot say for sure,” Alpha Trion said. “The beast is malevolent, but it may or may not be the source of this corruption. What I can say is that it seems to grow stronger the deeper into the matrix you travel. As for why this is…again, I am sorry to say I do not know.”

So then it was connected to him somehow. “Prima told me that our greatest darkness is inside us. Do you think…it could be that? My inner darkness?”

Alpha Trion nodded. “That is the most likely possibility, though it still leaves many questions unanswered. And speaking of questions, I come now to you with one.” With a wave of his hand, two shining lights appeared to either side of Steven. One was a vision of Optimus Prime, holding the Matrix aloft. The other was…himself, sitting still in a meditating position.

“Myself or my dad?” he asked.

“You traveled into the Matrix to meet your father, correct?” asked Alpha Trion. “That is still within your power. If you so wish, you can meet Optimus Prime. But be warned: the darkness will be waiting for you, stronger than ever, if you go any deeper.” A two-headed, winged silhouette appeared behind his dad. “Or, you may return to your body, and awaken in the physical world. If you choose this, it will be some time before you are able to enter the Matrix again–though with some effort, its powers may still be yours.”

Steven looked back and forth between his two choices. While he definitely wanted to meet his dad in person–or as close as this was–he didn’t want the others to worry about him. But also, he wasn’t sure that dealing with that dragon getting even stronger was a good idea, even with Optimus to fight it off. But also also, he was wary of the prospect of being unable to return into the Matrix in the future, however long that would last. Ultimately, what made up his mind was a sound coming from near his body: the voices of his family.

The sound was distant and echoing, like Steven was hearing it at a distance–which he was, in a way. The overlapping voices of Elita, Sideswipe, and Magnus, all trying to rouse him from his slumber.

“Steven, if you can hear me, it’s time to wake up. If you stay in there much longer, I’m worried we won’t be able to bring you out. Please, come home.”

“Yo, Steven, quit fooling around! These guys are worried about you! Heck, I’m worried about you!”

“I’m so sorry, Steven, this is all my fault. I never should have rushed you into this. If you’re staying in there because of me, I understand, but think of everyone out here who misses you.”

Steven turned to Alpha Trion. “Okay. I think I made up my mind. I know what to choose now.”

Alpha Trion nodded. “Farewell, Steven Orion Universe. Know that no matter your choice, I shall remain here, alongside my brethren, watching over you.” He vanished just as the fields had done, leaving Steven alone once more. But he wouldn’t be alone much longer, as he walked towards the path he had chosen.

- - -

“Uh, guys? I don’t think this is working,” said Sideswipe. The three of them stood over Steven’s bed, where his inert body sat, still meditating. “We gotta try something else.”

Elita relaxed slightly, though she was still quite tense. “Are you suggesting anything? Because we don’t exactly know how the Matrix works. If we understood it better, maybe we could…” She sighed.

“This is all my fault,” Magnus said quietly. “I was the one who rushed him into this. He wasn’t ready. I thought I could make him ready, so he wouldn’t have to…to face the hardships I did. I can’t believe I tried to put all of that on him.” He placed a hand near Steven’s bed, leaning in close. “I’m so sorry, Steven.”

A moment passed, with all of them silent. Unnoticed at first, the glow from Steven’s chest faded. He opened his eyes, gradually coming to his senses. “Guys?” he asked groggily, looking around. “...When did we get back here?”

There was a brief pause before the three realized he was awake. “Steven!” cried Sideswipe, lifting him out of his bed for a hug. “Man, that was fast! Did you hear us talking or something?”

“Kind of,” he replied, his voice strained from being squeezed. Sideswipe set him back down, and everyone crowded around. “It was…there was a lot happening in there. I met Alpha Trion, and Prima, and Nova Prime, and Zeta Prime, and…oh yeah, there was also a two-headed dragon made of my inner darkness that tried to eat me. So, some good, some bad.”

Ultra Magnus and Elita shared a glance. “Two-headed dragon?” she asked. “Did it…talk to you?”

He looked confused. “Uh, should it have? It just sorta screeched at me a lot, like an angry seagull. With two heads. Why? Do you know what it is?”

Magnus cleared his throat. “In any case, I’m not sure if you heard my apology, but…I’m truly sorry I forced you to do this. I was so worried that you would turn out like me, forced into a position of leadership with no idea what you were doing that I…I lost sight of what would have been best for you. I hope I didn’t cause you any sort of harm.”

Steven smiled. “No, not at all! No more than I usually run into on these sorts of adventures, anyway. And for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a great job as the Autobot leader!”

“Are you sure?” Magnus said. “When Optimus told me his plan, I… Well, I wasn’t sure I was the best pick, to say the least.”

“Zeta Prime showed me how he gave Dad the Matrix,” Steven said, a hint of sadness crossing his expression. “Optimus…he wasn’t so sure of himself either. But Zeta told him he didn’t have to do it alone. He had all of you…just like I do. And just like you do, too.”

Magnus looked between Sideswipe and Elita, placing his arms around the two of them. “He was a wise one, that Zeta Prime. I’m glad you got to meet him.”

“Yeah, he was pretty cool,” Steven said, before he grew sad again. “Didn’t get to see my dad, though. Like you said, going too deep into the Matrix is dangerous. I had to choose between him and you, and…well, you’re still here.”

“Steven…” Elita hesitated for a moment. “It might not be the same as meeting him face-to-face, but…would you like to see Optimus? Not in that way, of course.” A knowing, somber expression crossed all of their faces.

The prospect intrigued him, but Steven was unsure what that look meant. “Uh, yeah, sure,” he said. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

With a nod, Magnus held out a hand for him to climb onto. “This way,” he said. All of them headed back to the Ark , walking further into its depths than Steven had ever been before. “Do you remember when Sideswipe was corrupted by dark energon, and I thought I knew where to find the Matrix?”

He did remember that, even the parts he rather didn’t. “You mean you thought it was down here?” he asked.

“I think he means he thought it was still on Optimus’ person,” Sideswipe said knowingly, as though trying to ease Steven into where they were taking him.

But Steven already had a hunch. The room that served as their destination was at the very end of the Ark , and consisted only of a small space with a raised pedestal in the center. It was dimly lit, with only a few glowing crystals on the walls. Steven’s suspicions were confirmed when he realized that what he thought was the top of the pedestal was actually a box: one the perfect size for a larger Transformer. “This is him, isn’t it?” he asked solemnly. “He’s in there.”

“Indeed he is,” Magnus said, his voice low with reverence. “If you’re old enough to wield the Matrix of Leadership, you’re old enough to pay your respects in person.” He placed a hand on the coffin for a brief moment, seemingly saying a silent prayer.

“May I?” said Steven softly. Nodding, Magnus placed him next to it. He did the same, placing a hand against its side. “Hey Dad. It’s me. Sorry we didn’t get to talk earlier, but I…I wasn’t ready to leave these guys behind. But I still really wish I could’ve met you–everyone says you were really incredible. So I, um, hope I can live up to your legacy as Autobot leader one day. But I have a feeling that’ll be a while, especially since we already have a pretty great leader already.” He looked up at Magnus, both of them beaming.

Sideswipe and Elita both said their respects as well. “Not to sound disrespectful or anything, but mind if we head back?” he asked. “This place kinda gives me the creeps…”

“Today has been a heavy day for all of us, some more than others,” Elita said. “It might be best if we did something a bit more uplifting before someone’s bedtime.”

“Does that mean it’s movie night!?” Steven asked excitedly. “Do I get to pick it!?”

“You always get to pick it,” Magnus said with mock frustration. After a pause, everyone began to chuckle. Once their laughter petered out, they left the tomb with one last look to their fallen comrade.

The last one out, Elita closed the door behind them. “I’ll see you later, Orion,” she whispered, before leaving him to rest.

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirteen: On the Warpath

- - -

Steven had assumed that his endless enthusiasm for their mission would keep him warm. Steven had assumed wrong. Even all bundled up, he still shivered like crazy, trudging through the almost knee-deep snow. “I c-c-can’t f-f-feel my nose!” He said, breathing into his mittened hands to try and warm his frozen face.

“Well, we did warn you this wouldn’t be the most comfortable of missions,” said Elita-1. She led the charge, scanning the horizon with her eyes as well as her scanner for the Predacon they hunted. “We’re getting close. At least combat should warm you up a bit.”

There was a large chasm before them, with the ice-covered far wall up much higher than their side. It was the perfect place for an ambush, assuming the Predacon’s prey came from over there. Ultra Magnus had predicted exactly that, and had led them to this side accordingly. “It’s here,” he said, stopping the procession. “Get ready.”

Sideswipe drew his swords, preparing for a showdown. “Oh, I was built ready! C’mon, let’s get this party started!”

Magnus’ rocket pods opened up, firing a barrage into the icy chasm. The impacts sent snow and ice falling into the pit, causing a miniature avalanche. After the rumbling had subsided, there was a long, tense moment of silence. Just when it seemed like there was nothing to be found there, an enormous shape burst out of the snow, spreading its wings as it took to the skies.

“Look out! It’s a giant purple griffin!” shouted Steven, pointing at the airborne threat. The Predacon, which did indeed resemble just that, circled the Autobots from above as it prepared to strike. Elita scooped him up and ran for cover, firing a barrage at the aerial beast.

The griffin dove as Magnus fired another salvo, remaining eerily silent as it stalked towards him and Sideswipe. It only blocked with its wings as Sideswipe opened fire with his own guns. “Is it just me, or is this thing a bit bigger than we’re used to?” he asked, its size apparent as it grew closer.

“We’ve dealt with bigger,” Magnus said. He ran towards the beast, throwing a punch against its face. Although thrown for a moment, the griffin swatted him aside with its claw, before turning its attention to Sideswipe. It prepared to pounce, only for Magnus to slam into it in vehicle form, sending both of them crashing into a snowdrift.

After making sure Steven was safe, Elita went to rejoin the fray. “Stay here,” she said. “This could get dangerous.” He watched as she went off, firing her weapon as she ran.

“‘Dangerous?’” he said to himself. “Sure, but weren’t the other Predacons dangerous too? I handled them just fine…” Feeling a bit left out, he watched as the trio battled against the griffin. “I just need to figure out how to get bigger on command.” He strained for a moment, trying to shift into his Cybertronian form, but saw no success. “Aw…why can’t I be stronger?”

The griffin fought as ferociously as any Predacon, but as big and tough as it was, the Autobots were fighting smart. It soon realized it was out of its depth, too outnumbered to win. Rather than retreat, it pulled out its trump card: Steven saw it shoot up into the air on its wings…except only its front half had gone with it.

A tail folded out from the back of its front half, just as two smaller legs and a feline head had emerged from the front of the back half. The griffin has split into its component forms: an eagle and a lynx. “What in–!? Can Predacons be combiners?” asked Magnus, staring at the now two Predacons.

“I don’t think so,” Elita said, checking her scanner. “They should be registering as two sparks now, but I’m only seeing one. It’s…somehow split between them.”

Sideswipe ran at the cat half, running his swords through the snow. “Then it’s two for the price of one!” He vaulted over it as it swiped at him, slicing into its back. “Or would it be one of the price of two? Are we for this or against this?” The bird half took him by surprise, knocking him to the ground and attempting to spear him with its beak. “Gah! Against! Definitely against!”

While Magnus ran over to free him, the cat half of the Predacon homed in on Elita. “Come on, kitty, show me your claws!” She fired with her blaster, goading it into pouncing. It gladly obliged, pinning her to the ground. But before it could slice her, she thrust her leg upwards, spearing its side with her blade. She tore out the blade, and the Predacon fell limp onto its side as she stood up.

Just as the bird half’s talons were about to shred into Sideswipe’s armor, Magnus grabbed it from behind. With a groan of effort, he tore the thing’s wings clean off, dropping it down into the snow. “I’d say two for one is two too many.” He helped Sideswipe up. “Elita, are we in the clear?”

Elita looked at her scanner in confusion. “I’m still getting a reading, but I couldn’t find a spark in my half. Yours?”

“None here either,” Magnus said, holding up part of the bird. “Maybe if we put them back together, we could–look out!”

In the nick of time, Elita rolled out of the way as the cat pounced from behind. The wound she had inflicted was healing, the metal that made up its chest being pulled back together by an unseen force. It gave them a fearsome roar, as though demonstrating its superiority. “Well, that’s gonna pose a problem,” Sideswipe observed.

“As is that,” Elita pointed out. The bird was recovering as well, remotely pulling its wings back to its body, where they reconnected. It flapped over to perch on its twin’s back, the pair preparing to engage once more. “We might need some extra firepower here.”

“I agree. And I know just the one who can help.” Both Sideswipe and Elita looked at him: the former with apprehension, the latter with ecstasy. “Prepare to form Warpath.”

While Sideswipe did a sort of happy dance, Elita kept an eye on the Predacon, which had begun circling them. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea. Warpath can be a bit…unpredictable. Remember what happened last time?”

Just then, both cat and bird struck. Magnus caught the former, hurling it away, while Elita drove the latter off with her blaster. “It doesn’t look like we have much of a choice,” he said. “Sideswipe, get over here!”

“Right away, boss man!” Sideswipe joyously leapt over to Magnus, and the two of them began to combine. Metal clicked into place, and energy flashed as two sparks became one. Elita, who had seen this process numerous times before, as well as knowing what came after, was none too impressed, just hoped this would all be over soon.

But Steven, who had only ever seen one Combiner in his life, was positively starstruck. “Giant robot…” he whispered, his eyes wide as saucers.

An enormous foot crashed down into the snow, revealing a towering figure that gave even the split Predacon pause. Broad-shouldered and covered in reddish-brown camouflage armor, the resulting Gestalt glowered at the two machines. “Turn your optical sensors this way, you glitch-ridden, sorry excuse for an operating platform!” Warpath bellowed, pointing at the pair. “You have one final chance to stop this tomfoolery before I come over there and personally tear out your central processors, and shove them so far up your exhaust port that smoke comes outta your ears! Do I make myself clear!?”

The Predacon paid no attention to Warpath’s threats, both halves splitting up to surround him. As they prepared to attack, he looked unconcerned, his eyes darting back and forth between them.

“It would seem that I do not make myself clear. In that case, you have nobody to blame but yourselves for the complete thrashing I am about to bestow!” Warpath threw his arms back as he thrust out a chest, which Steven realized housed a cannon. With a resounding BOOM, it fired a round that blew the Predacon’s cat half halfway across the valley, where it crashed into a snowdrift.

Steven was sure that Warpath would at least falter when the bird half attacked from behind, tearing into his shoulders with its talons. But the Gestalt was not phased in the slightest, simply grabbing the beast and slamming it down into the ground. Just when Steven was certain things couldn’t get any more brutal, Warpath leapt into the air and transformed. A tank slammed down on the bird, grinding it further into the snow with its treads. “This seems a bit excessive…but still awesome!”

The cat half charged, only for Warpath to fire at it again. Its face burst into shrapnel as it tumbled to the ground. He transformed, as it landed by his feet. Just for good measure, he stomped on it. “Let this be a demonstration for the rest of you Predacons! This is what happens when you try and disturb the peace, thinking you can get away with it!” Steven paused, wondering if he actually thought any other Predacons could hear him.

Warpath picked up the broken remains of the Predacon’s halves, and carried them over to the chasm. Both feline and avian were thrown down into the icy depths, disappearing into the dimly-lit expanse. With the battle over, Warpath dusted off his hands, and Steven raced over to speak his mind.

“That was incredible!” he gushed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of you guys take down a Predacon that fast! I-it was awesome! You’re awesome!”

His reaction had Warpath turn around. “‘Awesome?’ ‘Awesome!?’ Is that any way to address your commanding officer, Private!?”

“U-um…” Steven wasn’t sure how to respond.

“A mere ‘awesome’ is completely inappropriate for such a situation!” He began to march back and forth. “I’ll settle for no less than ‘astounding!’ ‘Awe-inspiring!’ Hell, I’ll even accept an ‘Unbelievable!’ These are the words fit to describe me! Is that understood, Private?”

“Loud and clear, Mr. Warpath, sir!” said Steven, saluting.

Elita was far less impressed. “In case you forgot, Mr. Commanding Officer,” she said as she approached, “our protocol is to retrieve and store the Predacons’ sparks. Throwing them down a hole like that makes it a bit more difficult, wouldn’t you think?”

Warpath’s eyes narrowed as he loomed over her. “Watch how you talk to your CO, Lieutenant,” he said, his voice far quieter than it had been. “Our protocol, set by my predecessor, Optimus Prime, is to neutralize the Predacons to minimize risk to indigenous life.” He pointed to the chasm. “I’d call that neutralized! Now, unless you want to try back-talking me a bit more, open up a groundbridge so we can all return to base!”

“And who exactly put you in charge?” she asked. “Last I checked, Ultra Magnus was acting commander.”

He glared. “Ultra Magnus, who, I didn’t think I needed to point out, is one of my components. Now, are we going home, or are you planning on challenging me for the title of acting Autobot leader?”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, keep your armor on.” She opened up a groundbridge, gesturing towards it. “Please, after you.”

After waiting a moment, he proceeded into the portal. “On me, Private. You still have much to learn if you want to climb the Autobot ladder.” Steven excitedly followed him, much to Elita’s concern. She had seen firsthand how Warpath could be–and he was not someone to idolize.

- - -

“If I lived in any other city in the world, this would be cause for alarm,” Greg noted, watching as a tank rumbled down the street towards his garage. Sure enough, his son stepped out, the vehicle transforming. “Looks like you’ve got a story to tell, Schtu-ball.”

Steven beamed as he hopped over. “A story I do have! You know about combination, right? How Transformers can fuse together to make bigger Transformers? Well, I learned about it a while ago when Sideswipe and Elita combined into Powerglide, and now Sideswipe and Magnus fused into Warpath, and he’s basically the coolest thing ever!” He gestured towards the large Gestalt.

Warpath gazed down at Greg, who couldn’t quite determine his mood. “Um…nice to meet you!” he said, offering a friendly wave. Warpath nodded, barely moving his head. “He seems…friendly.”

“Not to Predacons!” said Steven. “You should’ve seen him earlier–it was all like ‘WHOOSH!’ and then “BLAM!’ and then there was a ‘KA-BLASH!’ It was pretty exciting, is what I’m saying.”

“Sure seems that way!” Greg replied. “So, what brings you down to ol’ Universal Repair? Your new Combiner friend need a tune-up?” Warpath glanced down, seeming to take offense to the comment, but said nothing.

Steven hopped up on a nearby shelf to sit. “Actually, I was thinking: I’ve been struggling with using my Transformer powers at will for a while now. They just sort of…happen, usually when I’m in danger. If I really want to practice, I’ll need to get better at activating them. So, since I need to get stronger, who better to help me than the strongest Autobot I know!” He proudly gestured to Warpath once again. “What do you think?”

Something about the imposing Transformer didn’t bode well with Greg, but at the end of the day, he trusted both Sideswipe and Magnus, so why shouldn’t he trust the both of them together? “If you think it’ll work, sure,” he said. “Was my permission all you needed?”

Both Warpath and Steven glanced at each other. “Well…sort of, but not really,” said the latter. “A little while ago, some of my friends were put in danger by a Predacon. So I thought, if I’m getting stronger, why can’t the rest of my friends and family get stronger, too? That’s why, with Warpath’s help, I’m putting together the first ever Autobot Boot Camp! Autoboot Camp, for short. This way, everyone can be prepared in case another Predacon attacks! So, whaddya say? Wanna get stronger with us?”

Greg had seen what sort of fighting the Autobots did first-hand, and he frankly found it difficult to picture a human doing half of what they did. “Uh…sssure?” he said, not wanting to let his son down. Though he wasn’t altogether thrilled at the prospect of training to be at the Autobots’ level.

“Great! I’ll go round up the others!” Warpath transformed into a tank and rumbled away, with Steven peering out of the turret. “We’ll get started in an hour–don’t be late!” He waved as the tank traveled down the street into town.

Waving as well, Greg wore a forced smile. “I’ll be there! …Sheesh, I don’t know if I even have the physique to be an Autobot. I wonder if I still have that sweatshirt I got for my birthday.” He went over to his van to check.

- - -

“Now, when I agreed to be part of this Autoboot Camp, Steven promised me he would provide only the best and brightest cadets Beach City had to offer. Now, I’m not sure if this lineup says more about Beach City’s standards or Steven’s, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a pathetic, low-down, incompetent, unimpressive gaggle of layabouts then the one my optics are currently regretting to be witnessing! In all my and my components’ years of living on this crusty planet, I have come to accept the limitations of humanity–you lot, however, are far more limited than any other humans I have ever seen!”

Located inside the Ark , Steven had gathered the rest of his friends for Autoboot Camp. In addition to Greg, he had convinced Peedee, Jenny, Sour Cream, Buck Dewey, Lars, Sadie, and Onion. None of them looked exactly happy about being there–except maybe Onion, but he was hard to read anyway.

“H-hey, Warpath, maybe tone it down a bit?” said Steven. “They’re here to learn how to defend Beach City, just like us.”

“And it’s my job to turn them into Predacon-killing machines like us!” Warpath shouted. “And seeing as I’ll be doing that with a couple of scrawny children and a heavyset old geezer, I’d say I have my work cut out for me!” Greg glanced down, feeling his gut. “Normally, I’d say teaching a couple humans to take down a Predacon would be a lost cause–thankfully, I happen to be an expert at lost causes! Now, are you ready to learn?”

“Not really,” Lars said.

Warpath was instantly in his face. “Is that any way to speak to your commanding officer, maggot!? When I ask you a question, the only answer I want to hear is ‘Sir, yes sir!’ Is that clear!?”

“...but what if the answer’s no–?”

“Is. That. Clear!?”

After a momentary silence, Lars replied hesitantly. “Sir, yes sir…?” Warpath accepted this answer returning to the front of the lineup. He waited a moment, eyeing all of the cadets. Once everyone else had responded in kind, or an approximation of, he continued.

“Although we have no shortage of Predacons in stasis here on the Ark, using a real one for training exercises would no doubt result in rendering the entire thing pointless before it even began. Instead, we will be using a simulated approximation. Teletraan! Load Predacon simulation, maximum difficulty!”

“Understood. Loading training simulation.” The computer projected a hologram, which soon became the recognizable form of…

“Grimlock!” shouted Steven. The mighty metallic T. Rex roared, inciting panic from the cadets. As they began running in all directions, Warpath noticed that the test seemed a little lopsided.

“Hmm…Teletraan, halve current difficulty.” The holographic Grimlock halved in size, now standing about as tall and wide as a large horse. “Further quarter current difficulty.” Grimlock decreased in size to that of a smallish labrador. “...Multiply by eight, and split.” Seven more Grimlocks of the same size appeared. “Perfect! Engage!”

Steven watched as the mini-Grimlocks chased his friends around. “It’s okay, everyone! They’re just holograms, they can’t really hurt you!” His words didn’t seem to reassure anybody. Buck was being dragged across the floor by his hologram, while Lars had climbed up onto the console to escape from his. Onion, on the other hand, was chasing his, brandishing a wrench. “Did he bring that from home?”

“Hey, Steven?” Sadie came up to him, ignoring the miniature dinosaur gnawing on her leg. “I’m glad that you want to help us protect ourselves, but I think your new friend is a bit too…intense. Throwing us into the deep end like this isn’t gonna help anybody.”

Although Steven agreed with her, he still had faith in Warpath. “Don’t worry, it’s fine!” he tried to assure her. “Real Predacon attacks would be this scary–no, even scarier! Sure, he’s a bit harsh, but that’s only because he wants you to learn!”

Meanwhile, Peedee had hidden himself behind Warpath’s leg to escape from the tiny tyrannosaur chasing him. The hologram turned its attention on the Gestalt, who crushed it with a single stomp. “You think running and hiding is gonna save you in a real combat situation, rookie!? Teletraan, give this wuss another one!” A fresh mini-Grimlock appeared, chasing Peedee away.

“...Oookaaay, maybe he doesn’t really understand humans that much,” Steven admitted. “I’ll see if I can get him to tone things down a bit.” He walked up to Warpath, who continued to observe the chaotic scene with clear disdain. “Hey, uh, Warpath?”

The Gestalt glared down at him. “What is it, Private!?” he snapped. “We’re currently in the middle of a high-risk training simulation! Any kind of interruption could result in loss of critical functions for all involved!”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I know you have their best interests at heart, but I don’t think this is the best way to teach them…” Onion, now riding his dinosaur like a steed, sped past. “Maybe we should start with something easier?”

“‘Easier!?’ Primus’ sake, Private, I’m giving them the easiest setting this thing can go! If they can’t handle a few Grimlocks the size of glitch-mice, this whole town is doomed the next time a Predacon decides it would make a nice vacation home! Need I remind you that you’re the one who suggested this little exercise in the first place!?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Steven wasn’t sure what to say. This was his idea, after all. He briefly considered calling it off, but Warpath knew what he was doing, right? If a Predacon did attack Beach City while the Autobots were busy, they needed to be prepared.

As it turned out, Steven didn’t need to call it off, as Elita came in, taking a moment to comprehend what she was seeing. “What in–? What is going on in here!?”

Steven waved sheepishly. “Hey, Elita! I’m training everybody to defend themselves in case a Predacon attacks. What do you think?”

“ Please tell me you don’t like what you’re seeing,” said an irritable Lars, who had been dog-piled by three or so Grimlocks.

“I certainly don’t! Teletraan, end simulation!” The mini-Grimlocks disappeared, much to everyone’s relief (except Onion, who mostly just looked bemused). “Warpath! What exactly were you thinking, putting humans in danger like this!? This goes against everything we stand for as Autobots!”

Even before he uttered a word, Steven could tell that Warpath was seething. “Allow me to run down the following bullet points. First of all, we were specifically using holograms to prevent the humans from being put in real danger! Second, if the humans can’t handle these puny things, what chance do they have against a real Predacon!? And thirdly…well, why don’t you ask Steven?” He stepped aside, and Elita’s eyes fell upon the boy.

“I…hi, Elita!” he said. “Y-yeah, we’re helping train everyone to protect themselves from Predacon attacks! And it all was, uh, sort of my idea…” He trailed off, smiling guiltily.

Though Steven expected Elita to be angry with him, she mostly just seemed tired. “Warpath, could you give us a moment?” she asked. As Warpath nodded and stepped away, Elita sat down beside Steven. “That really is a noble sentiment, Steven. But was having them swarmed by a bunch of tiny Grimlocks your idea, too?”

“Not that part, no,” he admitted. “But, Warpath’s one of the strongest Autobots I’ve seen yet! With someone that powerful, he has to know what he’s doing, right?”

“Not exactly,” Elita continued. She looked off into the distance. “I’ve seen Warpath in action before. He has both Magnus’ power and Sideswipe’s…shall we say, enthusiasm. The two of them can get a bit caught up in being him. Why else do you think he hasn’t decombined yet, even though we defeated the Predacon?”

It wasn’t until this moment that Steven realized he hadn’t seen either Magnus or Sideswipe since that battle. Warpath really had stayed all this time. “But…they…they like being Warpath, don’t they?”

Elita gave a humorless chuckle. “They do, a bit too much. You see, Steven, Warpath is definitely strong, but he’s also very much lacking in restraint, morals, or general leadership abilities. That’s why I was so hesitant for them to combine in the first place. I’ve seen what happens when Warpath overstays his welcome, and it’s not pretty. He really isn’t the type of person you want to emulate, so–”

“Having a riveting conversation, Lieutenant?” The two only just realized that Warpath was looming over them. “What sort of insubordinate ideas are you putting in the Private’s head!? You’re lucky I don’t have you court-martialed for that kind of behavior!”

It looked for a moment like Elita was going to fold, but she instead stood up and got into his face. “Do you know what both Optimus and Magnus had in common? Humility. They both knew when they made mistakes, and weren’t afraid to correct them. You , on the other hand, are only satisfied with stroking your ego! Which is why the two of them were better leaders than you’ll ever be.”

Warpath’s eye twitched, and his arm shot out to point further into the Ark . “Consider yourself on probation, Lieutenant! Confine yourself to your quarters until further notice! And if I catch you speaking like that again, you’ll have yourself a dishonorable discharge! Have I made myself clear?”

“ Crystal ,” Elita all but spat. Reluctantly, she did as he said, returning to her quarters. She glanced back at Steven, wordlessly urging him to follow her advice before the doors closed behind her.

“Good. Now, with that sorted, we can continue our…” He looked around, finding that all of the humans were gone. “What happened to the cadets? Don’t tell me they walked out on us!”

Steven hesitated. “Uh, they sorta did. Elita had a point, we shouldn’t have forced them into something so scary right off the bat. Maybe they’ll come back if we start with something easier?”

“‘Scary?’ ‘Easier?’ ‘What Elita said!?’ Private, I’m sorry to say that you’ve lost all sense completely! It wasn’t kid gloves that won us the war, it was stone-cold determination! While it’s true that it’s often mistaken for cruelty, I can assure you that nothing I do is unnecessary! Now, if you want your little human friends to stand even the tiniest fraction of a chance against one of those dark energon-infested beasts, you’ll go and bring them back here on the double! Understood!?”

“Yessir!” said Steven, briefly saluting before he scampered out of the ship and back into his house. It was only after he was sure he was out of Warpath’s eyesight that he let out a relieved sigh, slumping against the wall. “Phew! I think Elita might be right–Warpath’s getting a little intense!”

Although everyone else was long gone, Steven found that his father had stuck around, relaxing on the couch. “You can say that again! But hey, I came for a workout, and that’s what I got. Just didn’t expect it to include running from dinosaurs!”

“Dad! Aw, man, I’m really sorry about all of that.” He sat down beside Greg, looking forlorn. “I just wanted Warpath to share some of his strength with everyone. I had no idea he’d take it so far. Guess I screwed up again, huh?”

“No, this wasn’t your fault,” said Greg, giving him a side-hug. “It’s a good thing you did, trying to help everyone defend themselves. With a better teacher, I’d definitely give it another try. If I was better prepared for it, I’d even let myself get chased by a dinosaur again! …Uh, as long as it’s a hologram.”

The two laughed. “I should probably go talk to him,” Steven said, getting up. “I’m sure he’ll understand when I explain everything.” Before he could head back into the Ark , a loud clatter came from outside.

Greg got up as well. “Wuh-oh. Are those raccoons going through the trash again?” Both of them went outside to check. “Well, I don’t see anything, but–Oh my goodness!”

They found not raccoons waiting for them outside, but a pair of metallic beasts atop the Ark . A bird and a cat, the two halves of the single Predacon seemed to be searching for weak points. They abandoned their search when they noticed the two humans.

“Look out!” cried Steven, pulling his dad inside as the bird half landed in the sand. Its beak easily broke the door off its hinges, the wall creaking as it tried to force its way inside. “Quick, into the Ark !”

“Only if you come with me!” Greg shouted. “I know you want to be strong, Steven, but you’re a little out of your depth with that thing!”

“But I can’t just do nothing!” he said back. “I’m an Autobot! That means it’s my job to help people!”

Just as the bird was ready to break into the house, likely taking the entire structure with it, it suddenly pulled back. Or rather, it was pulled back, as Warpath yanked it out of the doorframe, tossing it across the sand. The cat leapt down from above as well, but he was quicker, and it met the same fate.

Steven ran to help his dad to safety as the Gestalt prepared to fight the pair once again. “It seems my last beatdown wasn’t as effective as it should have been. In that case, I will have to go all out in order to assure your destruction!”

In response to this, the two beasts merged their forms into one. Metal shifted and clicked as the giant purple griffin spread its wings once more. It took to the skies, swooping down towards Warpath. But he was prepared, firing a round from his chest cannon. It collided with the Predacon, which careened into the ocean.

Elita rushed out of the Ark , her blaster at the ready. “Where is it!?” she demanded, aiming everywhere. “ This is why we collect their sparks! So they can’t return to seek revenge!”

“Didn’t I confine you to your quarters?” Warpath asked rhetorically. “And for your information, I have everything under control. The Predacon is wounded, and for all intents and purposes, already dead! See for yourself!”

He pointed to the beast crawling out of the water, which did indeed look rather ragged. One of its wings was dragging on the ground, all but completely severed. But things changed when it split apart once again. As soon as cat and bird separated, all damage had been repaired. Its bird half sped into the sky, while its cat half took evasive maneuvers to avoid Warpath’s gunfire.

From the window of his house, Steven saw everything. “It fixed itself–it can fix itself!” He ran out the door and onto the porch. “Elita! It can fix itself when there’s two of them!”

“Steven! Get inside!” Elita shouted. She had a bad feeling about this fight, what with Warpath uncaged. Still, that was a vital piece of advice; now all that remained was figuring out how to apply it.

Warpath had finally caught the cat again, tearing it clean in half and throwing both parts to either side. “Is this what you wanted!? Did you think you could handle me!?” he bellowed. “I am the pinnacle of Autobot combat! Stand against me, and be broken apart at the seams!”

Already, the two quarters of the cat half were beginning to come together, wires pulling it across the sand like tendrils. “Warpath! No matter how many times you demolish these things, they’ll just keep repairing themselves!” Elita shouted. “We have to force it to re-merge!”

“And in what scenario are you the one giving commands!?” he shouted back. “There is no enemy that can’t be defeated with overwhelming force–if it seems invincible, it just means your force isn’t overwhelming enough!” To prove his point, he transformed into tank mode, shooting the bird out of the sky with one shot. It crashed down into the sand, seemingly defeated.

Warpath shifted back into robot mode, and was about to gloat when the reformed cat half landed on his shoulders. Apparently not heeding her warning, he proceeded to throw it to the ground, crushing it with a single stomp. He leveled his cannon at it, sending a point-blank shot into the wreckage for good measure. He let this serve as his gloat, before going after the bird.

Elita groaned–she knew she’d have to do this alone. She sprinted past the scrapped cat, which was already beginning to reform once more, opening fire on the bird.

Her smaller form meant she soon overtook Warpath. “Did I not tell you to stand down!?” he shouted. “Hmm, I suppose I didn’t. Well, stand down, Lieutenant! The last thing I need right now is too many chefs spoiling the broth!”

“If you want to do this without me, you’ll have to get rid of me the old-fashioned way!” she said. While keeping the bird at bay, she also had an eye behind her, focusing on the cat. She didn’t have an eye on Warpath, however, who had decided to take her up on her offer. He grabbed her by the shoulder, tossing her back. “What are you doing!?”

“Removing an annoyance!” In his brief moment of distraction, the bird latched onto his head once more. In response, he ripped it off and slammed it down into the sand again. “Correction: two annoyances.” He fired on it some more, making sure it was dead.

The cat was almost back on its feet, so Elita had to act fast. She raised her blaster, firing a single shot that collided with the back of Warpath’s head. Though not damaged in the slightest, the insult was enough for him to freeze up for a moment, before whipping around to face her.

“What is your major malfunction, numbnuts!?” he bellowed, his chest cannon fully extended. “This goes beyond insubordination–this counts as mutiny! Treason! I have half a mind to consider you a traitor to the Autobot cause and deal with you accordingly!”

“Good luck!” Elita fired another shot, leaping to the side as Warpath’s cannon blew apart the sand where she just stood. She transformed, taking to the skies, dodging more cannon-fire as Warpath now considered her a higher priority target than the Predacon. Making sure to fly above the ocean, to avoid collateral damage from his shots, she spied the two halves of the griffin drawing closer. “Come on, come on…”

Seeing as he was preoccupied, Warpath didn’t notice them. “When I’m through with you, you won’t even remember your own name, let alone have the capacity for betrayal!” he shouted, continuing to fire on his teammate. “Never again will you sully the Autobot name with your selfish grabs for power!”

Warpath was silenced when the combined form of the griffin was upon him. Using both its superior size and the element of surprise, it was able to pin him to the ground. Its large beak tore into his cannon, all but biting it clean off. Although he put up a fair fight, punching against its legs holding him down, all it took was a single bite to the head to put him out of commission. The sound of crushing metal filled the air, and the Gestalt had reverted back to his components.

Magnus and Sideswipe may have been back, but they likely wouldn’t be in fighting shape for some time. Worse still, the griffin seemed to realize they were still a threat, placing a claw on Sideswipe and preparing to do the same to him. “Not so fast!” Elita sped towards the Predacon, using her guns to get its attention. Moments before the collision, she transformed, gliding over its head, which she leveled her blaster towards. She pulled the trigger; at the near point-blank shot, the Predacon was blown off its feet, and away from her teammates.

Elita slid to a stop through the sand, aiming her weapon at the beast. From the relative safety of his home, Steven watched with starry eyes. “So cool…” he whispered. The griffin didn’t seem to think so, rearing up and screeching as it flapped its wings in a threat display. Elita held strong, opening fire as she strafed around it. The Predacon used its wings to block the barrage, slowly turning to face her as she continued to circle it.

“Magnus, you there?” she asked.

There was a slight groan from the bot in question.

“When I give the signal, fire everything you have, got it?” Magnus weakly gave a thumbs-up in reply. Though Elita’s rapid fire did little to damage the beast, it had certainly got its attention. She stopped shooting–it seemed there was something wrong with her gun. As she struggled to resolve the issue, the Predacon made its move, slowly creeping towards her. Between the two was Magnus, who the griffin’s path took it directly over. “Now!”

Laying on his back, Magnus fired all of his missiles right into the Predacon’s underside. Twelve fiery explosions combined into one enormous fireball, more than enough to topple the beast. It fell on its side, heavily damaged from the attack–and as Steven had predicted, it didn’t repair itself. Switching her gun to close-range more, Elita approached it to deliver the final blow. It let out a final screech as it attempted to lunge, but this just gave her an opening to shove her blaster into its beak. Plasma shot down its throat, and it fell with a thud, its body beginning to rust.

The battle finally won, Elita fell down into the sand. Steven hurried over, excited as ever. “You did it! Elita, that was amazing! How did you defeat a Predacon and Warpath at the same time!?”

“By being quick on my feet and quicker on the uptake,” she replied. “Something your dad used to say. There’s a time for overwhelming force…”

“...and a place for subtle strategy,” finished Magnus. He and Sideswipe were slowly getting to their feet. “I suppose I should have remembered that before diving into the former. It seems like Warpath went overboard. Again.” He went over to retrieve the Predacon’s spark.

“Hey, speaking of your dad, he isn’t too shaken up by bein’ chased around by tiny Grimlocks, is he?” Sideswipe asked. “I’d feel pretty guilty if I ended up traumatizing all your human acquaintances…”

“Don’t worry, everyone’s fine,” Steven assured them. “And I guess I share some of the blame, too. I was so blown away by how strong Warpath was, I sorta ignored how mean he was being. But Elita showed us you don’t have to be mean to be strong!”

Magnus went over to sit beside Elita. “Well said. With wisdom like that, I’m sure you’ll be as strong as your father one day. Strong enough to be gentle.”

“‘Strong enough to be gentle,’” said Steven, sitting down in the sand next to everyone. “I like that. Dad was really a great guy, wasn’t he?”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Elita said, wistfully staring up at the clouds. “And I can already see a lot of him in you. You’re stronger than you realize, Steven.”

The four of them spent some time just watching the clouds float by. “So, uh, should we go make sure everyone’s okay?” asked Sideswipe.

“Later,” said Elita. “Why don’t we just…stay here a while? I think we’re all pretty exhausted after that battle.”

“I like that plan,” said Magnus. “A moment to cool off would do us some good.” And there they stayed, watching the clouds as the sound of the ocean waves filled the air.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen: Lion Around

- - -

Steven could hear Connie arriving before he saw her, due to her being carried in by helicopter. The NEST vehicle touched down in the sand in front of his house, with his friend hopping out moments later. “Connie! Glad you could make it,” he said. “Good to see you too, Mrs. Maheswaran.”

“ Dr . Maheswaran,” Connie’s mother corrected as she too stepped out of the helicopter. “I trust the two of you will behave yourself while we’re having our meeting?”

“Mom, I’ve hung out with Steven before!” Connie said. “It isn’t like we get into trouble every time we’re together!” She conveniently left out how it basically was.

It seemed that Dr. Maheswaran wasn’t convinced, but let it go this time. “Mm-hmm. Just try and stay out of trouble, if you can help it. This is important.” She approached the Ark , her helicopter taking off behind her.

The ship’s doors opened, revealing the waiting Autobots. “You’re early,” Ultra Magnus said. “I take it you’re eager?”

“I just prefer to know all the facts about the boy my daughter has chosen as her new friend,” Priyanka said. She walked past the three of them into the ship. “Now then, tell me everything. Don’t spare a single detail.” The doors closed behind them.

Steven and Connie hadn’t heard any of that, still standing on the beach. “Sooo…what do you wanna do?” asked Steven. “The ‘bots are busy, so we can’t explore the Ark …though I can’t imagine you’d want to, since last time Sideswipe turned into a zombie and tried to eat us. Maybe a movie?”

Before Connie could answer, something caught her eye: movement under Steven’s porch. “What’s that?” She went over to investigate. “Is it a Predacon? Should we start running?” Rather than sounding anxious or concerned, she almost sounded excited at the prospect of danger.

Upon getting a closer look, Steven recognized the ‘intruder.’ “That’s not a Predacon, that’s Lio.” The robotic lion in question crawled out from his burrow, stretching and yawning. He then walked over to inspect the pair. “I think I told you about him, right?”

“Lio…Oh, I remember!” Connie reached out to touch his nose. “Is he the one you said looks like your dad?”

“That’s him! Still don’t know what was up with that, though…” Although Steven was more than happy to have Lio around, his uncanny resemblance to Optimus Prime when in robot mode was a mystery that had kept him up many a night. Even after it had stopped bothering him, it was still something he would be glad to solve. “Oh, and he can do tricks too! Watch this: Lio, roll over!”

Lio did not roll over. Instead, he continued to sit still, closing his eyes in contentment as Connie scratched behind his ear. “Huh? Did you say something?” she asked.

“Nothin’. So, uh, how’re things with you?” Steven went to scratch Lio’s other ear.

“Oh, you know, my parents are busy keeping the world safe,” Connie said. “Other than that, there’s school, rehearsal, drills…the usual. That’s why I like hanging out with you, Steven–something crazy always happens!” She smiled as she glanced over at him.

Between Grimlock and zombified Sideswipe, Steven never would have thought that danger would have been so interesting. “You mean…you like when we get chased?” he asked.

“Of course!” she replied. “Well, it’s not just being chased–I like going on whatever sort of adventure ends up happening when I’m with you! Things at home are always really boring. Plus, the only other kids my age all have NEST parents too, so they’re always busy with something or other. But you’re never busy!”

“Yeah, I…guess not,” Steven said. He liked hanging out with Connie just as much as she did, so why did he suddenly feel dejected? Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he got another idea. “Hey, I know! If you wanna go on an adventure, how about we take Lio on one? He’s always running off on his own, I’m sure he knows where to find some cool stuff!”

Connie lit up at this suggestion. “Hey, that’s a great idea! But, Mom did say to stay out of trouble… but , she doesn’t have to know!” With that record turnabout and re-turnabout, Connie climbed onto Lio’s back. “Lead the way, Steven!”

As he climbed up as well, it occurred to Steven he had no idea where Lio would take them, if anywhere. “Um, okay…Lio, take us somewhere cool!” Much to his surprise, the lion obeyed, standing up and trotting off to town. “Woah, here he goes! Sure, now you listen to me!”

Lio ran down the sand, passed Beach City, and made his way over to the boardwalk. He skidded to a halt right at the entrance to Funland, crouching down expectantly as he waited for his passengers to depart. “Oh. Funland,” said Connie. “That sounds…fun. Wanna shoot some skee-ball, Steven?”

As fun as some skee-ball with Connie sounded, Steven couldn’t help but notice that she sounded almost disappointed. Maybe a day at Funland wasn’t quite as exciting or dangerous as she had hoped. “Hmm…Lio, take us somewhere dangerous!” he said.

Once more, Lio leapt to his feet, bounding away through Beach City. He passed through the residential area, hopping across rooftops of houses as he made his way out of town, running through the wilderness. After a while, they made it to…a quarry.

Piles of gravel were dotted around the pit, and an old excavator sat in the corner. “Well, I…guess this place is dangerous,” said Connie. “You might slip and fall, or that giant shovel could fall over. Not really what I had in mind, though.”

“I’m sure we can do better,” said Steven. He thought for a moment, wondering where else the lion could take them. “Hmm…I know! Lio, take us somewhere dangerous that nobody’s been to in a long, long time!” Hopefully, that would include somewhere Transformer-related.

For a third time, Lio sprang up, taking off into the wilderness. Steven and Connie had to hang on, as he was running much faster this time. Trees sped by them as he bounded through the woods, leaving Beach City far behind. “Um, not to doubt your judgment, Steven, but do you think we’ll be able to make it back home by the time their meeting is done?”

“No worries!” he replied, having to shout to be heard over the rushing wind. “I’m sure Lio knows what he’s doing!” In truth, he was worried that he had gotten them in over their heads this time. He had asked to go somewhere dangerous–the trouble was, just how dangerous of a place was Lio willing to take them?

Much to Steven’s surprise, the faster he ran, the brighter Lio’s eyes seemed to glow. He opened his mouth in a silent snarl, a glow seeming to come from within as well. And then, to the surprise of both of them, a blast of energy shot forth from his maw.

The blast traveled well ahead, releasing a flash as it stopped. But rather than an explosion, Steven recognized a groundbridge opening up at this spot. Before he had time to voice this to Connie, the three of them had passed through the portal to parts unknown…and likely treacherous.

- - -

Lio emerged from the portal, skidding to a halt across newfound soil. Upon reaching their destination, he then collapsed onto his side, letting out a big yawn as he rested his head. Opening up a groundbridge must have been a tiring affair. Steven and Connie disembarked, taking in their new surroundings.

They appeared to be on a lush green mountainside covered in mist, with more greenery down below. “Huh…where do you think we are?” asked Steven.

“Well, it’s hard to say without more to go on, but based on our surroundings, I’d say somewhere in Eastern Asia,” Connie said. “Or maybe South America. I’d have to get a better look at some of the local flora and fauna to–oh, but you don’t care about that. C’mon, let’s have a look around!”

As much as Steven actually would have liked to learn more about their location, he followed her further up the mountain. “Coming!” Luckily for them, there was a perfect path that seemed far too perfectly carved to be natural. Wherever it led, they were both sure that something interesting and dangerous lay at the end of it.

Lio was content to remain where he was, lounging in what little sun the cloudy weather afforded him. But his rest was not to be, as he perked up upon hearing something rustling through the foliage. Whatever it was, it was far too large to be that stealthy–he doubted it was an ordinary animal. He got up and slinked after Connie and Steven, purely for their protection, of course.

Indeed, something had been watching the three from the moment they had arrived. An unseen force stalked from just beyond the visible, eyes set on its prey. As they began their trek up the mountain, it gave chase, silently stalking after them.

Thinking he heard something, Steven turned around…but it was only Lio. “Oh, good, you’re coming too.” He did feel safer with the lion around, though from what, he wasn’t sure yet. “So, uh, Connie…what do you think we’ll find all the way out here?”

She was focused on fording ahead, like an explorer marching through uncharted territory. “Huh? Oh, I dunno, it’s hard to say. Lio must know there’s something out here, otherwise he wouldn’t have taken us! Who knows what could be out here… Maybe an Autobot ship crashed here centuries ago, and he took us here to find its treasure! Or an ancient temple waits at the top of the mountain, its hidden wisdom untouched for ages! Or-or it could be the prison of an evil that’s laid here for eons, and it’s up to us to stop it from waking up!”

“...I think I like the temple idea best,” Steven said. “Or the treasure. Treasure’s good too.”

“Sure, it sounds good, but there’s always the booby traps to deal with!” Connie laughed. “Don’t worry, though: with the three of us, I’m sure we can deal with whatever’s ahead!” Steven sure hoped she was right.

Luckily, the path itself wasn’t too perilous, and they made it up the mountain without much issue. Up there, even with all the mist, they could see for miles. The forest and mountains spread off into the distance, making for quite a sight. “Wow! Maybe this view is why Lio brought us out here!” said Steven.

Connie observed the view a bit more partially. “Maybe. It is pretty, but it’s not that dangerous…there has to be something else here, something that we missed!” She started looking around for any signs of danger around them.

“Does there have to be?” asked Steven worriedly. “This is a really nice view, maybe we could just sit here and–”

He was interrupted as Connie noticed something. “Of course! Steven, look where Lio’s looking!” Lio’s attention had indeed been focused in a different direction than the overview. He was instead looking at the side of a mountain, where, though obscured by foliage and stone, the discernable metal of some sort of construction was visible. “That’s gotta be Cybertronian! C’mon, let’s hurry!” She bounded off back down the path to reach the mystery location.

Steven shot Lio an annoyed glance. “Thanks for the help,” he muttered, before going off to follow Connie.

Lio began cleaning his face, as though to say ‘What? You’re the one who told me to take you somewhere dangerous!’

The path over to the other mountain was a good deal more perilous than the way up the first. Not only was the side much steeper, but every step they made caused a small avalanche to cascade down the side. Connie didn’t seem bothered by this, however, excitedly rushing down the mountain. Steven stumbled along, inwardly noting that sandals were not exactly the best footwear for this. Lio, meanwhile, just ambled along after them, not a care in the world.

Connie showed a similar lack of fear to the very rickety wooden bridge they had to cross. “Are you sure this is safe?” asked Steven, tightly gripping the ropes as he inched along.

“Of course it isn’t–but that’s the point!” Connie was already on the other side. “C’mon, Steven, you can do it! Just think of all the other perils you’ve conquered!”

He had indeed gotten out of plenty of dangerous situations, but none of them were quite so high up. “Don’t look down, don’t look down…” He tried looking down, having to pull his head back up to prevent himself from doing so. Moving only one board at a time, and stopping every few seconds to right his head, he wasn’t making very fast progress.

Soon enough, Lio made his way across, picking Steven up by the scruff as he passed by. Although the bridge creaked under his weight, he was undeterred. Finally making it to the other side, he deposited a shaken Steven back on solid ground. “You made it!” Connie declared. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

‘Not so bad’ wasn’t exactly how Steven would have described it. “Uh, y-yeah, no problem!” he lied. “So, where to next?”

The Cybertronian structure now sat before them, a giant wall of metal seemingly carved into the mountainside. “Remember what I said about puzzles?” asked Connie. “Looks like our first one will be figuring out how to get inside!”

“Hmm…” Steven examined the wall, looking for any features that stood out. “Oh, there!” He pointed up to a specific spot. “The Ark ’s doors have switches just like that one! There must be a door right here–hang on, I’ll try to reach it!”

Steven began straining as he tried to access his Autobot form, but as was wont to happen, remained the same size. As he struggled, he could feel Connie’s gaze on him, sure she was judging him. He pushed harder and harder, but his body refused to change.

Eventually, he fell onto his back, tuckered out. “Okay, that’s not happening,” he said. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s no problem, Steven,” Connie replied. “We’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way!” She walked over to the wall, attempting to use the grooves to climb her way up to the switch.

Before she could get far, Lio stood up, walking over as well. He then transformed, standing up to his full robot mode height. The two kids watched as he simply pulled the lever, upon which a series of loud clunks were heard from inside the construction. His job done, he transformed back, sitting down before the door.

“...Huh. He really does look like your dad,” commented Connie. “What do you think that’s about?”

“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Steven replied. “We have a few theories, but they’re either silly or terrifying. There is this one that–” He froze, his eyes fixed on something just beyond the treeline.

Connie glanced where he was looking, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “What is it?” she asked. “Did you see something?”

“There was a…thing,” Steven said, pointing out towards the wilderness. “I saw something yellow running through the trees! It was there for a second, and then it was gone!”

“Okay, calm down, maybe it was just a…a bird, or something,” she said. “Or it could have been a…let’s see, what else is yellow?”

Steven was not calmed. “A cheetah!” he declared. “They’re the fastest land mammal! We could try to run, but it’d still catch us!”

“Steven, everything’s fine,” Connie assured him. “Cheetahs don’t live in Asia. Or South America, wherever we are. Besides, even if there is an animal out here, no way is it following us into this deep, dark temple!” She revealed that the door on the Cybertronian structure had opened completely, revealing a cavernous opening.

“That’s a good point,” Steven said hesitantly. “This place is dark and creepy enough to scare off just about anything…” He peered into the nearly pitch-black corridor the door had revealed, with the only sound coming from within the echoing drips of water.

“Exactly! See, there’s nothing to worry about.” Completely unconcerned, she headed down the tunnel, using her phone to light the way. “C’mon! Let’s see what sort of treasures and dangers this place is hiding!”

At first, Steven didn’t move. He was torn between wanting to follow Connie, and wanting to stay out here where it was safe–in theory. He couldn’t get his mind off of whatever he had seen, and wondered if going inside would really be the safer option. Apparently not willing to wait behind him anymore, Lio followed, seeming to cast him a glance as he passed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, watching as the lion vanished into the darkness. “Hey, wait!”

He soon caught up to them, guided by the light of Connie’s phone. The corridor looked very much like the ones on the Ark , if it had been worn down by centuries of darkness and erosion. Rust lined the hallways, as did various mosses and mushrooms that had worked their way in over the years. It was just as eerie in here as he expected, all but certain something would leap out of a hidden corner sooner or later.

“Do you think the Autobots know about this place?” asked Connie casually. “We could be the first people to rediscover this place in the modern age–maybe even the first people to discover it, period! Wouldn’t that be exciting? We could write a book about our findings! ‘Discovery of the Century,’ by Maheswaren and Universe!”

Meanwhile, Steven was too busy focusing on watching out for sneak attacks to think about any future book deals. Every little sound made him jump, and that included the occasional snuff from Lio, who it seemed had enough of Steven’s skittish state of mind. However, his keen feline eyes must have noticed something the other two hadn’t, and he rushed into action.

Just as Connie reached a certain spot in the hall, Lio sprang forward and grabbed her by the scruff, pulling her back just as the spot ignited. The hallway from that point onward lit up with dozens of laser beams, crossing from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. A mushroom that happened to be in the way of one of the beams was sliced in half, a good indicator of what they had just avoided.

“Yup, just as I suspected: booby traps,” Connie said. “We’ll need to find some other way around them.”

“I, uh, don’t think the Ark has defenses like these,” said Steven. “Not that I’ve seen. Maybe we should just head back?” He didn’t think she’d go for it, but it was worth a shot.

Connie faced the multitude of lasers. “Give up? Not after we’ve come this far!” She turned to their leonine companion. “Lio, you seem familiar with this place. I don’t suppose you know how to get past these beams?”

Lio simply stared at the obstacle for a moment, before once again taking on his humanoid form. He placed a hand on the wall, moving it around as though feeling for a specific spot. A short time later, he found it, removing a panel identical to the others. Beneath it was an electrical terminal, which he disabled with a punch. The lasers shut off gradually, plunging the hallway into darkness once more.

“Wow, he does know the way through,” Connie observed. “Maybe this is where he came from. He could have taken us here to help him get back home! What do you think, Steven?”

Steven watched Lio shift back into lion form. “You think so? I hope he hasn’t been waiting for someone to ask him to come here all this time…” Had Lio really wanted to come back here for years, unable to do so until Steven had given the correct command? “Even if it is his home, it’s still dangerous.”

“Hopefully the worst of it is behind us,” said Connie. “Even still…Lio, you should probably lead the way from here, just in case.”

Lio obliged, walking down the remainder of the darkened corridor. Phone in hand, Connie followed him, and Steven followed her in turn. Their guide kept his head on a swivel, eyes opened and ears perked for any dangers they could run into. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any traps in their way, but this didn’t make Lio any less alert. If anything, most of his attention was focused on watching for threats behind them.

At the end of the hallway, the door was already opened. It led into a large chamber, just as dark and dismal as what came before. “This has to be where the treasure is,” said Connie, shining her light all around them. The room appeared to be lined with various statues of Transformers, each one holding out a sword. The blades of these weapons all pointed to the room’s center. “I’ll bet these guys were part of an ancient order dedicated to protecting Cybertron in days past!”

For reasons he couldn’t articulate, Steven couldn't help but feel somehow safer in this chamber, despite its similar atmosphere. “Maybe the statues are connected to some kind of puzzle,” he suggested. “Like in the movies. We could have to point all their swords in the same direction, or reflect some light off of–” As he walked into the room’s center, a series of panels on the floor began to shift. “...Or something might just happen on its own.”

As the ring of panels lowered and retracted, the lights in the chamber switched on, illuminating what was happening. From the newly-formed hole in the floor rose a platform surrounded by a cage made from many intricate interlocking bars. Slowly these retracted as well, revealing what was on the platform: a giant sword: embedded into a central pedestal.

“...Hey, Steven?” Connie asked casually.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“I think we just found Excalibur.” She approached the sword, which was the exact size and shape as the ones wielded by the statues. Beneath its handle was a yellowish body, from which a single handguard jutted out. The blade was mostly unseen, but seemed to be formed out of several interlocking pieces. “You don’t…you don’t think this is why Lio brought us here, do you?”

Steven also observed the sword, but with much more apprehension than excitement. “It definitely seems pretty important,” he said. “And usually in these types of movies, the most important things are the ones that get booby trapped…”

It only took Connie a moment of thought to decide what to do next. “Well, if it’s anything like Excalibur, only the chosen one can pull it out of the stone.” She gasped. “Steven! You should try to pull it out!”

“ What !? I mean, uh, why me? It seems pretty heavy, maybe we should come back later with the Autobots. We’ve already been away for a while as it is, and besides–”

Connie grabbed hold of his shoulders–not in a rough way, but it still surprised him. “‘Why you?’ Steven, you’re the son of Optimus Prime! If anyone would be the chosen one, it’d be you! Besides, even if it is booby trapped, no way would they activate on the person who’s supposed to take the sword! C’mon, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“I…well…um…” Steven stammered. “What if it doesn’t want me? What if only Optimus can take the sword? I might not be good enough!”

“Well then, Lio can do it!” said Connie, quickly pivoting. “He clearly knows his way around this place. Maybe the sword’s his! Hey, Lio, do you think you could pull out that sword?”

Lio stared at her for a moment, seeming to make sense of her request. He eventually acquiesced, transforming into robot mode for a third time. The two watched as he grabbed hold of the hilt, and began trying to remove the blade.

Seconds ticked by as he pulled and pulled, but the sword refused to budge. It didn’t seem to be a matter of strength, as Lio had demonstrated his strength before. Why, then, did the sword stay rooted in place. “...Okay, we’ll just need to try something else,” said Connie. “Steven, you’ve lived with the Autobots your whole life. Have they ever…Steven?”

Steven could only stare down the dark hallway they had come from, petrified. “Didn’t you hear that?” he asked quietly. “There’s something in here with us.”

“Don’t worry–Lio already turned off the booby traps,” Connie assured him. “Nothing in here could possibly…”

But she trailed off once she saw the same thing he did: a pair of dark red eyes slinking out of the darkness. Their large owner stalked into the light, revealing the rest of it as a four-legged creature covered in a piercing yellow coat. The feline Predacon growled, sizing up the prey that it had finally cornered.

“It was a cheetah,” Steven whispered, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. Lio, having apparently noticed the Predacon, continued trying to pull out the sword.

Connie did the same, holding stock still. “Don’t panic just yet. We don’t know for certain if it is a cheetah. It could be a leopard, or…I think some panthers have spots, but I could be mistaken…”

The Predacon, which Steven was pretty certain was a cheetah, was not fooled by the duo pretending to be statues. Not seeing Lio as much of a threat, it zeroed in on the pair, arching its back in preparation to pounce. With fangs bared and claws out, it sprang towards the two.

Both of them screamed as they were almost beset by the beast, only for their rescue to come in the nick of time. Lio rushed in as fast as a freight train, ramming into the Predacon just as hard with his shield. Completely blindsided, the cheetah took a moment before retaliating, in which time Lio turned to the two humans as though urging them to run. Claws pulled him down where fangs bit down into his neck–though he fought back, slamming his opponent into the wall.

“Hurry, this way!” Connie took Steven by the hand, pulling him away from the fight. Lio and the Predacon were a tangle of yellow and white, quite literally fighting tooth and nail to claim ownership of the pair of humans. With snarls filling the air just behind them, the duo rushed to anywhere that could be considered safety. Thankfully, the platform that had lifted the sword up had just enough space beside it for them to slip down into the mechanism’s inner workings.

The sound of the fight continued overhead. A familiar noise indicated that Lio had transformed again, facing the Predacon on equal footing. Powerful roars ripped through the room, each one accompanied by the violent shaking of everything around them. “What do we do now?” asked Steven. “We can’t just leave him up there with that thing!”

Connie’s mind raced to come up with a way out of their predicament. “Okay, don’t panic. Lio should be more than able to hold it off for a little while. That should buy us enough time to think of a way out of here. …Steven, you can turn into a Transformer, can’t you? I remember you telling me about all those Predacons you fought before! If you do that, it wouldn’t stand a chance against you and Lio combined!”

“Oh, um…I kinda can,” he replied. “But it more or less happens when it wants to. I can’t exactly control it yet.” He looked down, disappointed. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no, it’s not your fault,” Connie said, touching his shoulder. “You just need a little more time to master it, that’s all. It’ll come to you eventually. For now, we just need to figure something else out.”

It was then that Steven’s insecurities, formed over the entire journey, finally manifested. “No, it’s not just that. I’m sorry I can’t be as dangerous as you want. I know you like hanging out with me because of all the dangerous situations we get in, and how it’s always my fault when we can’t get out of them. I know I already said sorry, but…sorry.”

With Steven bearing his heart, it was finally clear to Connie just how he felt. “No, Steven. I’m sorry,” she said. “Yes, it’s true that I like going on all sorts of dangerous adventures…but only because they’re with you .”

Steven looked up at her. “You really mean it?” he asked.

“Of course! Sure, things can be pretty boring at home, and I like a little excitement here and there, but I like hanging out with you because of who you are, not what happens around you. I hope I never made you feel like I was only using you, because that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Relief washed over Steven upon hearing that. “Oh, good! I l-like hanging out with you, too.” There was some silence between the two as they processed what the both of them had just learned. “So, um, how are we gonna deal with that cheetah?”

Connie stood up, wearing a determined expression. “I got us into this mess, so it’s my job to get us out. Here’s the plan: as far as I can tell, this room has only one entrance. I’ll keep it distracted while you get Lio and run back to where those lasers were. Then, once I follow you, have Lio reactivate them just as the Predacon runs after me! Sound good?”

“No, it doesn’t sound good at all!” shouted Steven. “I’ll distract the Predacon! I can at least get big if I’m in danger, but you’d get eaten before I even reached Lio! Let me go instead!”

“Steven, it’s my fault we ended up here,” Connie replied. “The least I can do is get you to safety.”

Steven took a breath. “You said it yourself: only someone who’s worthy of Excalibur could pull it out of the stone. I may be Optimus’ son, but I wouldn’t be very worthy if I let my best friend risk her life to save me, would I? Especially not when it’s just as much my fault that we’re stuck here.” He prepared to climb back up top. “I’ll try and keep its attention as long as I can. Get to Lio and run…even if I don’t follow you.”

As he disappeared, Connie called back. “Steven!” He turned around. “...be careful.” He nodded, fully pulling himself up.

Lio had fought valiantly, but the Predacon was far too agile for him, and he had soon been overwhelmed. He lay in the corner of the room, injured, as the cheetah prepared to finish him off. Before it could, a shout gained its attention. “Stop!” It turned around, surprised to see a tiny human standing there defiantly. “Step away from the lion!”

Its larger prey was wounded, and could easily be finished. But this human was in plain sight, and would run away if given the chance. The cheetah turned away from Lio, preparing to pounce. Despite the obvious danger, the human continued standing there, as though preparing to face it head-on. This would likely be his last mistake, it thought, before lunging.

The Predacon’s teeth bit down not on its expected target, but instead met a metal pole. A force much stronger than the human’s body would suggest pushed it back, and indeed, the human no longer appeared as such. A Cybertronian stood up to his full height, having blocked the beast’s lunge with an axe.

Connie was speechless. “Woah…” was all she could muster.

Just as the Predacon fell back, Steven swung his weapon to drive it away from Connie, as well as to keep its attention on him. “Lio! Take Connie and get out of here!” he shouted, turning to face the cheetah as it tried to get behind him. Not only was it fast, but it was smart enough to avoid his blade.

Though injured, Lio struggled to his feet. Connie had reemerged from their hiding spot, hurrying over to the other big cat. Taking her in his mouth, he limped out of the room as fast as he could, offering a glance back at his owner before staggering down the hallway.

Steven continued trying to intercept the cheetah’s movements, but not only was it fast, and smart, it was unpredictable. Still, at least Connie and Lio had managed to get to safety. One overhead swing of his axe was evaded by the Predacon jumping onto the wall, pushing off directly into Steven. He felt its claws slicing into his metal chest as the force made him stagger backwards.

Grabbing the first thing he could reach, Steven was able to stabilize himself before he fell completely. His focus was momentarily taken away from the fight as he realized that his perch–the sword, which was now the perfect size for him–was beginning to glow. The blade had shone with a dim but noticeable blue glow, appearing just as Steven had touched it. Did this mean he was worthy? Could he wield this Cybertronian Excalibur?

This realization lasted only a split second as the Predacon lunged again. Pivoting on the sword, Steven was able to swing himself out of the way as the beast was sent to the room’s far wall. Without a moment to lose, he picked himself up, placed both his hands on the sword’s hilt, and began to pull.

There was the sound of metal scraping against stone as the sword was slowly removed from its pedestal. Its blade glowed ever brighter the further it came, until, with one final pull, it was freed. Steven held the sword aloft, illuminating the room with its invigorating shine.

The Predacon paid no mind to this weapon, hurling itself at Steven once again. Prepared to cut it out of the air, he swung his newfound weapon with all his might…only to find that he had swung it a bit too hard, missing his target by a mile. The cheetah’s claws raked across his armor once again, nearly sending him to the ground. The sword’s weight and heft was completely different from that of the axe he was used to, leading Steven to an important point: he had no idea how to use a sword. “Uh-oh…”

Down in the hallway, Lio and Connie had reached the spot where the panel powering the lasers was. “Here, this is the place,” Connie said, and he set her down. “Okay, get ready. As soon as Steven’s here, you need to turn the trap back on, understand?”

Lio gazed down the hallway, seemingly not having heard Connie’s order, before he looked at her expectantly. He showed no sign of preparing to transform, even accounting for his injuries.

“What? I don’t know what you want!” she cried. “Steven’s in danger, and we have to be ready to protect him! Please, transform, quickly!”

This, Lio understood. Gears clicked into place as his form shifted…but then abruptly stopped. Only his head had moved, lifting up to reveal that his chest had opened. Connie looked closer as more and more pieces moved out of the way. The opening was just the right size for a person to fit in–not only that, but there were several openings where this person’s limbs could fit. Almost as if…it was some sort of cockpit.

Steven fired several shots at the cheetah from his arm cannon, to little success. His next tactic was to dual-wield, holding his sword and axe in either hand as he ran after his opponent, swinging both wildly. The Predacon slipped underneath his attack, biting into his leg and bringing him to his knees. It then tried climbing up onto his back in an effort to bring him further down.

Reaching up to try and stop this, Steven could feel its claws along his back. He managed to grab hold of its jaw, preventing it from biting down, but he couldn’t manage to throw it off. Its claws did further damage as he struggled against it, pulling itself closer and closer to his head. But just before it could break free from his grip, someone came to Steven’s aid.

Something sailed through the air, colliding with the Predacon and knocking it off Steven’s back. As he moved to safety, he saw that it was Lio’s shield. The rest of Lio soon sprinted into view, tackling the dazed Predacon before slamming his fists into the beast. Steven then saw that this wasn’t Lio–at least, not entirely. In place of his robot mode’s head, there was a glass dome. And inside of this dome was…

“Connie!?” Steven shouted, still not entirely sure what he was seeing. “You fused with Lio? Could he have done that this whole time!?”

She hurled the cheetah against the wall, before turning back to him. “Yup, it’s me!” She looked down at her new exo-suit. “I’m…not entirely sure how this works, but I think–” Distracted, the Predacon attacked her from behind. Steven responded by swinging his weapons, chasing it off. “Hold on, you pulled out the sword!?”

“I guess I did!” he said proudly, examining the blade. “Looks like I’m worthy after all!”

Connie retrieved the shield as both of them stood before the Predacon. “Keep up that worthiness, because we’re not done yet!” She held up the shield, while Steven clanged his weapons together. Unimpressed, the cheetah pounced.

The two split apart, managing to corner the beast. Undeterred, it avoided Steven’s axe by leaping towards Connie, springing off of her shield. He tried to swipe it out of the air with his sword, but only succeeded in giving it a small scratch. Connie once again tried to hit it with her shield, but it had grown wise to this maneuver, allowing the disk to pass over it.

“I’m going in–cover me!” said Connie, darting towards the cheetah. Steven hurled his axe at the beast, distracting it before it could attack. She slid over to her shield and picked it back up, rushing at the Predacon and bashing it just as it was ready to turn its attention on Steven. When he tried to strike at it with both his weapons, however, it once again darted out of the way.

Steven hissed in frustration. “We’re never gonna take it down if it keeps dodging us!” he pointed out. “Quick, Connie, you know a lot of things: what’s a cheetah’s biggest weakness?”

“Um…” She thought for a moment. “Well, I know they can only maintain their top speed for short bursts. We’ll have to hit it once it stops.”

“Then let’s move!” Steven ran forward to intercept the Predacon, which predictably leapt over his swipes. Its movements carried it towards Connie, who sidestepped its claws, bringing down its shield where it landed. The attack missed, but only barely. Keeping up its momentum, the cheetah sprang off the opposite wall, heading back towards the two.

It looked at first like it was going towards Steven, but pivoted at the last second to go for Connie. Already imbalanced from changing direction so fast, it knocked her legs out from under her with a single swipe, before then attacking Steven for real. He once again found himself pinned down by the beast, his axe-handle in its mouth.

“Connie! Here!” With his free hand, Steven slid the sword over to her. Grasping the weapon’s handle, Connie stood up, clanging it against her shield to get the Predacon’s attention. It worked, as it left Steven behind to go after her instead. Blocking as it leapt at her, the cheetah sprang off of her shield–just as anticipated. With one powerful swing, she cleaved through the beast’s middle, the sword’s blue glow shining all through the room. Both halves of the Predacon fell to the floor, inert, and the battle was finally won.

Now that the adrenaline had finally worn off, both of the fighters collapsed to the ground. Steven reverted back to his human form, while Connie stepped out of her exo-suit, which reverted back to Lio. “Did…did I do it?” she asked.

A quick glance at the Predacon’s body, all of which save its spark had dissolved into rust, gave Steven the answer. “You did!” he shouted. “Connie, that was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that!?”

Connie blushed. “Oh, it wasn’t anything special,” she said. “My mom wants to make sure I can defend myself, so she has me enrolled in all sorts of classes. Y’know, Tai Chi, fencing, violin, stuff like that. Really, it was all thanks to Lio!” The lion in question nuzzled her, clearly glad to have helped.

In his excitement, Steven had almost forgotten the sword. The sound of clanking metal drew his attention, and he saw that it had shrunken itself down to a size more easel-wielded by someone his current size. “Maybe this thing really is Excalibur,” he said, picking it up.

“All the more reason to bring it back home with us,” said Connie. Lio had retrieved the Predacon’s spark, handing it to her. “Speaking of home, I have a feeling the meeting is over by now. Hopefully we haven’t been missed…”

“I’m sure they’ll understand when they see what we brought back!” Steven said, climbing up onto Lio’s back. Connie soon joined him. “Hi-ho, Lio, away!”

- - -

Lio emerged from the portal, skidding through the sand. The Ark lay before them, just as they had left it. There was no sign of the Autobots or Dr. Maheswaran, meaning the meeting was likely still in session. “Looks like we made it just in time!” said Steven, hopping off Lio.

“What should we do with these?” Connie asked, holding up the spark and motioning to the sword. “Transformers reform after a while, don’t they?” She glanced nervously down at the dark spark in her hands, holding it at a distance.

His job done, Lio yawned, and headed back to where he had started this adventure. He crawled under Steven’s porch for a nap, where he would likely be until he was needed again.

As fortune would have it, the main door on the Ark opened up, the meeting having just come to an end. Connie and Steven heard the tail-end of their conversation: “Well, just so long as you start keeping a closer eye on them,” said Priyanka. “So far, his track record as far as dangerous situations goes is not the best.”

“Hey guys, we’re back!” said Steven, excitedly hurrying over to them. “Lio took us to China or Peru or someplace, and we found an ancient Transformers temple, and there was a big sword in it, but then we got attacked by a Predacon, so I took the sword, and Lio turned into a suit for Connie, and then we won, and now here we are!” He beamed, holding up the sword for them to examine. Connie smiled awkwardly, holding up the spark.

For a long while, none of the four said anything. “That was…certainly a lot of words,” said Ultra Magnus. “You said Lio turned into a sword?”

“We found a sword, Lio turned into an exo-suit for me to pilot,” Connie corrected. She handed him the Predacon’s spark, which he sent to storage. “Also, it may be kinda my fault we went there in the first place… But everything turned out okay in the end!”

Dr. Maheswaran had been similarly silent. “Correct me if I’m wrong: in the time it took for us to discuss how Steven has been putting you in danger, the two of you disappear to hunt for an ancient relic, fight a Predacon, and merge with a Cybertronian being of unknown origin?”

“Sounds about right!” Steven said cheerfully, unaware of the quiet anger in her tone, unlike Connie, who was expecting a scolding in her future. “Here’s the sword. It was bigger when we found it, but it shrank after I pulled it from the stone.”

Gingerly, Elita reached out to take the weapon. It returned to its full size in her hands, captivating all three Autobots as they looked at it. “I…I don’t believe this,” she said in hushed awe. “You actually managed to find the Star Saber? How? Where…who…?”

“Oh, it’s called the Star Saber, huh?” he said. “Basically, Connie wanted to go somewhere dangerous, so I asked Lio to take us somewhere dangerous, and he did. Also, a cheetah was there, and that was a whole thing.”

Ultra Magnus glanced over at Steven’s house where Lio rested. “We’ve spent the last several thousand years searching for the Xantium ’s crash site, and that lion takes him there in one afternoon? Nothing about this adds up…”

“And speaking of not adding up, might I have your attention for one moment?” said Priyanka. Steven didn’t notice, but she was side-eyeing him as she said this. She and the Autobots slipped back over to the Ark for a quick discussion, likely relating to Connie’s visitation privileges.

For her part, rather than fighting the inevitable, took this time to reflect on their adventure with Steven. “So…that was pretty intense, huh?” she said. “I thought running away from a giant robotic zombie was intense, but fighting a Predacon with an ancient sword and a mech? Definitely not how I expected this day to go!”

“Yeah!” said Steven with a small laugh. “Um…sorry if I got you in trouble with your mom.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is. She’s kinda strict, but hopefully she’ll let this go when she hears what happened. With any luck, I’ll be able to come over again before too long.” She looked around awkwardly. “But next time, how about we do something a bit…safer. Like, just hanging out at your place.”

Just hanging out with Connie, nothing dangerous happening. “I like that idea,” said Steven, smiling. “Let’s do it!” The two sealed their agreement with a hug, while the heated debate between Priyanka and the Autobots continued in the background–but the pair remained blissfully unaware of that, at least for the moment.

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifteen: Watch Out For Snakes

- - -

“What!? What do you mean you aren’t allowed to see me anymore!?” Steven shouted into the phone.

“It’s…exactly what it sounds like,” Connie replied from the other end. “Mom didn’t like that I always end up getting attacked by a monster when I hang out with you, so she put her foot down. I’m sorry, Steven, I tried to argue, but she just tunes everyone out when she gets like this. At least we can still talk over the phone, right?”

Steven slumped down on his bed. “Yeah, I guess. But why is she so upset? It’s not like anybody got hurt! I mean, not only did we defeat a Predacon, but we brought back a long-lost Autobot artifact! That has to count for something!”

“No, unfortunately. All she can see is what could have happened, regardless of what did. She thinks keeping me here at the base will keep me out of danger.”

“...Will it?” Steven asked.

“Probably, but there’s still loads of dangerous things that can happen to me here,” replied Connie, sighing. “I could get food poisoning, I could tumble down the stairs, something they’re keeping locked up here could escape… So, what do you want to talk about? …Steven?”

Steven’s mind was somewhere else after hearing just how much danger she was in. “Are you sure you’re safe there, Connie?” he asked. “The way you’re talking, it sounds like a deathtrap…”

“Oh, Steven, everywhere is a deathtrap if you’re unlucky enough,” she said. “But that’s part of my point: when we were dealing with those Predacons, we got lucky. So why shouldn’t we be allowed to hang out someplace marginally less dangerous if it won’t make any difference in regards to our safety?”

It took Steven a good few moments to wrap his head around that one. “Um, okay. So, what do you want to talk about?”

“I dunno. How are things going with the Autobots?”

He got up from his bed, heading over to the Ark . “Same old, same old. Something’s going on with the water supply in Beach City, so Mayor Dewey has them investigating.” Ultra Magnus was hard at work in the control room, examining a sample of the contaminated water. “Hey Magnus, any luck?”

“Not just yet,” he replied. “I haven’t been able to determine the source of the contaminants, but whatever it is doesn’t seem to be toxic. Dangerous to humans in large doses, of course, but not poison outright. I swear I’ve seen something like this before…”

“Best of luck to you.” Steven then headed back inside. “So, that’s going on. Anything new with you?”

Connie sighed. “I wish. Ever since that debacle with the Star Saber, Mom’s made sure things are even more routine than usual.” She was interrupted by the beeping of an alarm clock in the background. “Oh! Speaking of, it’s time for violin practice. Sorry Steven, I wish we could chat some more, but I’ve gotta go.”

“That’s fine. I’ll see–” With a click, Connie had hung up. “...you later.” Steven placed his phone down, going over to the couch to mope. His life wasn’t really that dangerous, was it? Sure, he was menaced by the occasional Predacon, but that didn’t seem like a reason to ban Connie from ever seeing him again! Was there something else here he wasn’t seeing?

“Girl troubles, eh?” said Sideswipe, his face sticking through the door. “Yup, I’ve been there a few times myself.”

Steven jumped at the sudden intrusion. “Ah! Sideswipe? How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to hear all of that,” he replied. “I wanted to check up on you a few hours ago, but I got stuck, and you were still asleep, and, well…” There was a brief awkward silence. “Anyway, don’t take this sort of thing personally. Priyanka doesn’t hate you, she just thinks you’re a bad influence on her daughter.”

That wasn’t exactly much better. “Maybe I am,” Steven mumbled. “I mean, every time she comes over here, we end up running for our lives from some kind of monster that wants us dead…including you. Even if it isn’t my fault, I probably have the worst luck of anyone in Beach City.”

Sideswipe shrugged as best he could in his current predicament. “Hey, I wouldn’t go that far. You’re not the one with your head currently stuck through a tiny door like a labrador trying to get through a cat flap. My advice? Just give her some time. I’m sure Priyanka will come around eventually. And once she does, this whole thing’ll blow over, you’ll see.”

“I guess…” Steven proceeded to mope even further, laying back. While he wasn’t unwilling to wait, not knowing how long it would take was the worst part. It could be two hours, two days, two months…and that was assuming Sideswipe was right. If Dr. Maheswaran was as stern as Connie said, it was entirely possible he’d never see her again.

Sideswipe could tell he needed some cheering up. “Hey, I know what’ll pep ya up: fry bits! Why Don’tcha head on down and pick some up for us? I’d drive you there myself, but, uh…” His silence spoke for itself.

The thought of some perfectly-crisped fry bits admittedly lifted Steven’s spirits, if only a small bit. “I could go for a snack,” he said, getting to his feet. “It’ll take my mind off things, at least. Be back in a big–good luck with your, uh, situation.”

“I’ll probably still be here when you get back,” said Sideswipe. Without access to the door, Steven was forced to crawl through a window. Waving goodbye to his stuck friend, he made his way into the city. As he walked, his mind drifted back and forth between thinking Connie’s mom was being unreasonable, and thinking that this was all his fault.

“Maybe if I can prove that Beach City is just as dangerous as the NEST base, she’ll let us hang out again,” he said to himself. “Or should I prove that it’s way safer here?” He walked past a building under construction, damaged in a fight against a Predacon. “Hmm…that’s gonna be a lot harder. I’ll probably think of something on a full stomach.”

A little while later, he had finally arrived at Fryman’s. Thoughts of fry bits soon left his mind, however, when he saw some sort of commotion going on just outside. It looked to be a heated conversation between the Fryman patriarch and his eldest son, who was holding a stack of flyers under his arm. One of them had been plastered onto the restaurant’s door, something his father wasn’t too happy about.

As he got closer, Steven got a glimpse at what all the commotion was about. “Ronaldo, I’ve always appreciated your imagination, but this is where I draw the line,” said Mr. Fryman. “These people come here to eat, not to engage in whatever fantasy you’re peddling this time!”

“How can you call this a fantasy!? People’s lives are at stake, not to mention our very way of life!” exclaimed Ronaldo. He then proceeded to climb atop a table, waving his flyers at the nearby patrons. “The signs are all around us! The end of the world is coming soon, unless we finally unite! We must come together and fend off this reptilian scourge once and for all!” The customers tried to ignore him, while a few in line slowly made their way off of the premises.

Somehow, Steven got the sneaking suspicion he wouldn't be getting his fry bits today. “Morning, Mr. Fryman,” he said. “Ronaldo’s up to his old tricks, huh?”

Mr. Fryman rested his head in his palm. “Unfortunately. With him, it seems like every week, there’s a new crisis threatening to end the world. You’d think that never happening would make him realize eventually, but…” He sighed. “Do you think you could keep him occupied for a while? I can’t run the restaurant and babysit him at the same time.”

“Sure, my schedule’s pretty clear,” said Steven. He walked up to Ronaldo, too busy scaring away the customers to notice. “Ronaldo, hey. What’s going on this time?”

He turned around, a manic look in his eyes that momentarily gave Steven pause. “Steven! Finally someone with sense!” He hopped off his perch, getting a bit too close for comfort. “Are you here to help shine the light of truth on the dark secrets plaguing our society?”

“...Yeah, that’s right,” he said. “But first, could you tell me exactly what it is you’re shouting about? It sounds pretty important.”

“Important doesn’t even come close!” he said, shoving one of the flyers into Steven’s hands. “I’ve been on their tail for months now, and they’ve finally gotten wise to me! They’re always one step ahead, which is why we have to work together to overcome their insidious schemes!”

Rather than asking who he was talking about, Steven figured reading the flyer would shed some light on ‘their’ identity. It didn’t. The background depicted a raised arm, around which a snake coiled. “‘Fight Back! Only through truth can we banish the stranglehold on our humble town! Inquire with Ronaldo Fryman today, to become an official member of the Truth Seekers!’” he read. “Okay, but what is the threat?”

Ronaldo adjusted his glasses. “I’m glad you asked! You see, Steven, everything most people know about the world is a carefully-constructed lie meant to deceive the everyman, and prevent him from realizing the truth. And that truth…is that the world is really being controlled by an ancient secret society of snake-human hybrids who have existed since the dawn of human civilization!” Steven blinked. “They are known as…Cobra-La!”

“Cobra?” Steven said. “You mean those bad guys who went around causing trouble in the eighties? I thought they disbanded.”

“They did…officially.” Ronaldo began to pace. “However, while G.I. Joe may have defeated their terrorist cell, the true masterminds behind the movement remain in the shadows, plotting for a way to reclaim their former spot as world leaders. I’ve been tracking their movements for some time now, and they’re finally onto me! Think about it: isn’t it too much of a coincidence that our water supply is contaminated the same week I make a Yatter post exposing them?”

As much as Steven wanted to answer that no, it was just a coincidence, especially since they still didn’t know what was wrong with the water, but he had seen far weirder things in his time. For all he knew, Cobra-La was right here in Beach City. “I think I saw that post,” he said quietly. “So, how does poisoning our water help them conquer the world?”

“Short answer? It doesn’t, they’re just after me,” Ronaldo responded. “Long answer? This is only the most recent in a campaign to terraform the Earth, making it inhospitable for human life. If their plan works, Cobra-La will cause the extinction of all mammals, and reptiles will dominate the world, just as it was in prehistoric times!”

“...So, Cobra-La is a bunch of reptiles?” asked Steven.

Ronaldo couldn’t help shaking his head. “Steven, they’re called Cobra -La. Of course they’re reptiles. Sentient humanoid reptilians descended from dinosaurs, to be specific. Exact details of their endgame are still under wraps, but my best guess is that they intend to raise the global temperature significantly, to make the Earth more inhabitable for their cold-blooded ilk.”

Cobra-La was shaping up to be a serious threat, no matter how holes there were in Ronaldo’s explanation. “Sounds like things are pretty dangerous with them around,” said Steven.”

“Oh, apocalyptically so,” said Ronaldo. “Unfortunately, none of the so-called ‘experts’ believed me when I brought this to their attention–further proof that the highest levels of our most trusted institutions have been compromised! Last time I look for information at the library… But I can’t let that deter me! Someone has to stop them, and who better than me!?”

Ordinarily, Steven would have objected, but his mind was clouded at the time. “Yeah! I’ll come too–if I can give Connie’s mom proof that Cobra-La is real, then she’ll have to let Connie hang out with me! After all, no sense protecting her if she’s in danger no matter where she is, right?”

Ronaldo looked at him for a moment. “That’s…questionable.” He actually sounded a bit worried, but it soon vanished in place of enthusiasm. “But I’d be glad to have an Autobot’s help! After all, they collaborated with G.I. Joe many times in the past, so essentially, you’ll be up against your ancestral enemy.”

“So where should we start?” asked Steven. “The water treatment plant’s already been investigated plenty, so there’s no point in checking there…”

“Ah, but we have a keen insight that others do not possess,” Ronaldo said. “Where their eyes are clouded over by complacency and complicity, ours are honed by our desire to find the truth! In other words, any real clues can be found by us and only us! To the water treatment plant!”

- - -

“Well, here we are. The water treatment plant,” Steven announced.

Just a little ways out of town, the water treatment plant was, as its name suggested, a plant where water was treated for the wider Delmarva area. Contaminants in the water supply should have been filtered out here, but for some reason weren’t being. Seeing as nobody had been able to figure out why, it was obvious to Steven that Cobra-La was behind it.

The two of them stared up at the building. “I don’t think they’re gonna let us inside.”

“Just as well,” said Ronaldo. “I came prepared for just such an event!” He reached into his shirt, producing a vial of water. “Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to closely examine the contents, but it should give us an idea of how the non-contaminated water compares to the contaminated.”

“Good thinking,” Steven replied. “...So, uh, what’s the plan?”

Ronaldo pushed up his glasses. “Simple: in order to locate the source of Cobra-La’s machinations, we must follow the water itself. The first order of business should be to test the outgoing water from the plant.” He pointed out a large pipe leading away. “This contains the water going towards Beach City. From what I have gathered from my time studying social media, Beach City is the only one affected by their poison. Because of that, we can assume that its source lies somewhere between here and there.”

Flawless logic. “Sounds good, but how do we do that?” asked Steven.

He led him closer to the pipe. “We’ll need to compare this water to that water. Try and find a leak, or crack, or any sort of structural breach. Given the nature of our enemy’s plans, there has to be one somewhere around–”

Steven summoned his axe, driving it against the pipe’s side. A spray of water shot out from the hole, arcing over them and creating a very localized downpour. He removed the weapon, looking at Ronaldo expectantly.

“...That works too,” Ronaldo said. He produced another vial, this one empty, filling it up with the water spraying from the pipe. Holding the two vials side by side and examining them for a few moments, he soon came to a conclusion. “No contamination! The water here is perfectly clean!”

“Cobra-La must’ve struck closer to town,” Steven surmised. “...Do you just carry around vials with you at all times, or is this a special occasion?”

Ronaldo poured out the clean water, pocketing both vials. “It never hurts to be prepared. Now, all we need to do is follow this pipe, and it should lead us to exactly where they’re applying their poison. Be on your guard, as there’s no telling what–”

“Hey, what do you kids think you’re doing!?” The two of them jumped as a plant employee shouted, hurrying towards them.

“An agent of Cobra-La!” Ronaldo exclaimed fearfully. “Quickly, Steven, we must avoid brainwashing!” He sprinted away, his partner following behind. Luckily for them, he was more interested in dealing with the hole in the pipe than pursuing them.

The employee blocked the stream of water by reclining against it. “This is probably coming out of my paycheck,” he lamented.

- - -

A few miles later, the duo were still following the pipe back towards Beach City. “...Hey, Ronaldo?” asked Steven. “Sorry if this is a personal question, but…do you have a girlfriend?”

“A man like me must maintain as few relationships as possible, lest my friends and family become targeted by my enemies,” he replied. “That said, I have watched a great many romance anime in my pursuit of the truth. I should be able to answer your question with reasonable accuracy.”

Steven thought for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his query. “So…there’s this girl. I don’t think she’s officially my girlfriend, or even unofficially my girlfriend, but I really like spending time with her. And I’m pretty sure she feels the same way. But, her mom doesn’t think I’m the best influence on her, whatever that means. What do you think I should do?”

Ronaldo was silent for a moment as he thought. “This sounds to me like a classic case of forbidden love. Two lovers destined to be together, but kept apart by their disapproving parents.”

“Actually, my dad doesn’t have a problem with–” Steven tried, but Ronaldo paid him no mind.

“In my experience, such affairs can only end in tragedy. More often than not, pursuit of this love will lead to destruction for both parties involved. It’s as the saying goes: the faster you chase the forbidden fruit, the further away it becomes.”

Steven was fairly certain that wasn’t an old saying. “So, you’re saying I should stop trying to see Connie?” he asked.

“Not at all! If this truly is love, then it must be pursued at all costs! But if you’d rather it didn’t end in tragedy, I would recommend taking this up with her parents directly. Un-forbidding this romance would probably be the best way to make it less dangerous.”

“Dangerous…yeah, that’s part of the problem,” Steven mumbled, sitting down on the pipe. “Maybe I’m going about this wrong. I mean, if the world was really so dangerous, why would the Autobots bother protecting people? And yet they’re out there every day, fighting Predacons and retrieving artifacts. Ultra Magnus was even looking into Cobra-La’s poison…wait a minute…”

Ronaldo turned to him, having seated himself beside him on the pipe. “What’s the matter? Have you had a life-changing realization?”

“No, it’s just…if Magnus fought Cobra before, why wouldn’t he recognize one of their schemes now?” Steven pondered. “He did say it looked familiar…”

“Unfortunately, Steven, Cobra-La is far more insidious and secretive than even G.I. Joe or the Autobots realize. Cobra was merely one of their many arms, doing their bidding out in the open while they pulled the strings from the shadows. We shouldn’t look down on others for their ignorance, tempting though it may be–it is the duty of people like us, who can see through these lies, to bring the truth to light for the sake of the rest of the world.”

Once again, he was making a lot of sense, but Steven was still worried. “Maybe. I just hope that everything turns out fine when we–” He was interrupted as a loud bang came from the inside of the pipe they were sitting on, causing both of them to leap up. “What is that!?”

The banging continued, evidently from something pounding against the inside. Whatever it was continued for a moment, before traveling down the length of the pipe. “That must be Cobra-La’s genetically modified snake beast that’s been poisoning the water supply!” shouted Ronaldo. He took off, following the rumbling sound down the pipe.

“Hold on, wait for me!” said Steven, chasing after him.

“No time! Every second we delay, we’re playing right into Cobra-La’s hands!” Ronaldo paid no mind to his surroundings as he pursued the sounds, blindly following along as the pipe ran along the hillside. He was so focused on chasing it that he didn’t notice that the pipe went down a dropoff just a few feet ahead of him.

Steven did notice it. “Ronaldo, wait!” He charged forward, tackling him to the ground moments before he could step off the cliff. The source of the noise continued along, leaving the pair behind as it headed towards the city.

Despite his life just being saved, Ronaldo wasn’t happy. “No! We were so close, and it slipped through our fingers!” He angrily turned to his partner. “Whose side are you on!?”

“I’m on the side of you not falling off a cliff!” Steven replied. “We can’t exactly save the world from Cobra-La if you break your arm, or worse!” However, Ronaldo was no longer paying attention, looking down to the bottom of the cliff. “Did you even hear me?”

“There’s no time for idle chatter, Steven,” he said, his previous anger having suddenly disappeared. “Every second we wait is another second Cobra-La digs their heels in further. We can’t give them that chance!” Sitting down on the edge, he slid down the cliffside, tumbling over himself when he reached the bottom. Undeterred in the slightest, he got back up, much to Steven’s relief–and then ran off down the pipe, much to Steven’s irritation.

Sighing, Steven slid down as well, following after his ‘leader.’ Clearly, Ronaldo didn’t care about his own wellbeing in the slightest, only in pursuing this (highly dangerous) threat. Was this how Connie’s mom felt, worrying about her and Steven’s safety. But Connie and Steven didn’t just blindly rush into their adventures, did they?

…Did they?

- - -

“After some careful deliberation…I can say with near-certainty that Cobra-La’s bioweapon has passed through this area!” Ronaldo held two vials of water, both of which had been turned brown by an unknown contaminant.

Steven glanced between the near-identical vials. “Uh…good job.” Their path had led them to the edge of town. This meant that, in addition to the pipe disappearing underground, the weapon had finally made its way into a populated area. “But how are we gonna stop this thing?”

“Easy: despite its larger size and enhanced poison, a snake is still a snake. It stands to reason that it would still be cold-blooded, thus vulnerable to lower temperatures.” Ronaldo struck a pose, pointing towards the city. “We must freeze it!”

“Good thinking, but, again, how?” asked Steven. “Unless you have a giant freezer, I don’t think we have anything big enough to…actually, maybe Fish Stew Pizza has one. We could try luring it in there. Or better yet, I could see if the Autobots have a freeze ray we could use!”

Ronaldo struck his triumphant pose again. “No need! As always, I prepared long in advance, knowing this day would one day come. First, we’ll need to procure the liquid nitrogen that I stashed under the dumpster at our restaurant. Follow me!”

The two of them headed in the direction of Fryman’s. “Pretty smart of you to have some liquid nitrogen prepared for–” Steven went silent as the full meaning of those words sank in. “Hang on…you have a tank of liquid nitrogen? That you keep underneath a dumpster? For the express purpose of fighting Cobra-La!?”

“Yeah. What’s your point?” asked Ronaldo, not even looking back.

Steven blinked. “I dunno. I guess that sort of thing seems kind of…irresponsible and dangerous. Like something you should leave to the professionals.”

“Steven, we’ve been over this,” said Ronaldo, sounding slightly exasperated. “Cobra-La controls the professionals at the highest level. It’s up to the little people like us to fight for our freedom when it’s threatened. You think it isn’t dangerous when you go with the Autobots on your missions?”

He had a point. “I…guess so.”

“Well then, that’s exactly what’s happening here.” The pair of them had returned to Fryman’s, heading around back. “Heroes need to do dangerous things in order to save the day.” Ronaldo pushed the dumpster aside, revealing a green canister placed in a paper bag far smaller than it. This was apparently his idea of keeping it hidden.

“That’s a fair point, but we’re usually careful when we go on missions,” said Steven. “If this is the only way to stop Cobra-La, shouldn’t we at least take the necessary precautions?”

Ronaldo hoisted the canister over his shoulder, completely gloveless, holding it by the valve. “Steven, I’m always cautious. Now, our best way to flush out this thing is to freeze the water supply. Help me dump this into the sewer.”

Once again, Steven objected, but at least this time he had a reason Ronaldo could understand. “Freeze the entire town’s water with just one container? That’d never work. We’re going to have to lure it out first.”

“Good thinking. I’ll scout out the ideal location to spring our trap, while you go and order a giant, genetically-modified gerbil over the internet. Come find me once it’s delivered.” Ronaldo then walked away, dragging the canister along the ground. Steven could only stare, his mouth hanging open.

- - -

“Hey, welcome back,” said Sideswipe, hearing Steven’s footsteps. His head was still stuck in the doorframe. “Uh, I’m not smelling any fast food. They outta the bits or something?”

“No, it’s not that.” A morose Steven sat down on the porch. “Hey, Sideswipe?”

“Yeah?”

“Does Ultra Magnus ever ground you? Like, make you stay home while they go on missions?”

“Oh, all the time,” he replied. “Y’know, Optimus got on my case a few times, too. It was always stuff like ‘Sideswipe, you’re too injured to fight effectively.’ ‘Sideswipe, you’ve got to stop blindly rushing ahead.’ ‘Sideswipe, apologize to the foreign diplomat before you start an international incident.’ Stuff like that.”

Steven made a mental note to get someone to tell him that story sometime. “And whenever that happened, did they ever tell you that it was for your own good?”

“Yeah, but only because it was,” said Sideswipe. “Look, I’ll be the first person to admit I’m a loose cannon who doesn’t like being put on a leash. But as much as Magnus can be a hardplate about that stuff, he only does it because he doesn’t want us getting hurt. Same with your dad. I’d always get upset about it at the time, but looking back, I can tell that they were worried about me.” He shifted slightly, turning his head as best he could. “Why do you ask? This is about Connie, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s…yes,” Steven said, sighing. “I thought that if I proved to Mrs. Maheswaran that it was just as dangerous for Connie with her as she was with me, she’d have to let her come here. But now that I think about it, that’s just…crazy. I mean, if someone you cared about was in danger, you’d want to be as close to them as possible, right?”

“Steven, I’ve broken more hearts in my time than an inept surgeon, so I’m probably not the person to go to about love. But I can tell you that when you love someone, you want what’s best for them. And sometimes, that means you want to make choices for them, even if it’s not the choice they want you to make. …I’m sorry, does that sound weird? That probably sounds weird.”

“A little bit, but I think I understand,” he replied. “Mrs. Maheswaran is putting her foot down, for Connie’s own good. And now I’ve got to put my foot down, for Ronaldo’s own good! We’ll have to find some other way to beat Cobra-La!”

“Cobra-La? What are you talking about?” said Sideswipe. “We beat those guys in the eighties. They’re long gone.”

Steven looked over at him. “I remember you teamed up with G.I. Joe to beat Cobra, but Cobra-La is different. They’re an ancient secret society–”

“--that wanted to control the world, and used Cobra as a front to do so, I know,” Sideswipe finished. “Like I said, we defeated them.”

This revelation caused Steven to freeze in place for a moment, trying to reconcile it with the new information he had learned. “But…but Ronaldo says that they’re lurking in the shadows, waiting to reclaim their spot as rulers of the world.” Surely Ronaldo wouldn’t have lied to him, would he?

“Yeah, well, Ronaldo also says that the government spies on people using pigeons,” added Sideswipe. “Who are you gonna believe? Someone who believes in pigeon-spies, or someone who was actually there when it happened?”

Suddenly, everything Ronaldo had said about Cobra-La came crumbling down. Every point Steven should have second-guessed suddenly became clear. “You mean…he’s not an expert?”

If Steven could have seen Sideswipe’s face, he would have seen him rolling his optics. “Nobody’s ever accused Ronaldo of being an expert on anything. Except maybe anime, or whatever. But no, he has no idea what he’s talking about. Cobra-La is long gone, pigeons aren’t government spies, and I’m pretty sure the moon landing wasn’t faked on Venus.”

But if Ronaldo was wrong about Cobra-La… “I’ve gotta go!” cried Steven, rushing back into the city. “Thanks for the help, but I have to hurry before Ronaldo hurts himself, or anyone else!”

“Wait, Steven! Don’t just rush in, or you’re the one who's gonna get hurt!” Sideswipe called after him. “...Great, now I’m doing it! Magnus? Magnus, can you handle this? I’m a bit busy…”

- - -

“Ronaldo, Ronaldo, where are you?” Steven muttered, starting his search at Fryman’s. In hindsight, Ronaldo’s plan to lure the giant snake out with an equally-giant hamster and then freeze it with nitrogen had a few holes. Namely, he hadn’t given Steven a meeting spot. “I’ve gotta stop you before you freeze the whole town!”

Unfortunately, Ronaldo hadn’t left any traces: no drag marks from the canister, no patches of ice, nothing. Steven figured he would head to somewhere relating to water, but that didn’t narrow it down in the slightest. He had to have left some kind of clue…

“Let’s see, if I was Ronaldo, where would I go?” Steven wondered to himself. “Well, after I posted it online, I’d–” He gasped. “I’d post it online! That’s it!” Steven quickly pulled out his phone, opened Yatter, and looked at the newest posts.

Sure enough, Ronaldo had made one just a few minutes ago. It was a picture of him beside a drainage pipe leading out to the ocean, posing next to his canister of nitrogen. Steven himself had been tagged, as had Cobra-La and several other unrelated concepts that seemingly only tied together in his mind. Regardless, Steven now had his destination.

He recognized that pipe: it was just north of the Ark and outside of town. Steven raced over there, hoping to reach him before it was too late. He reached the beach in no time, seeing the shape of his friend coming into view. “Ronaldo! Ronaldo, wait!” he shouted.

“Oh, good, you saw my post!” Ronaldo said. “Did you get the genetically-engineered gerbil yet? Nevermind, there’s no time.” He turned to face the pipe. “I have managed to determine that all water that comes through Beach City eventually ends up coming out of here. Cobra-La’s creature will no doubt come through here in no time!”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Steven said. “Are you sure handling this on our own is the best idea? I mean, if this is really a creature created by Cobra-La, shouldn’t we get backup from the Autobots instead of running in with no plan and a bottle of liquid nitrogen?”

Ronaldo smiled a self-confident smile. “Let me guess: the Autobots told you that Cobra-La was nothing more than a myth, and we shouldn’t concern ourselves with such fairy tales?”

“...No, Sideswipe actually said that they were real. But he also said that they were defeated back in the eighties. Is it possible you’re just…getting yourself worked up over nothing?”

His question was met with a scoff. “Steven, that’s what Cobra-La wants you to think. You don’t think it’s a little suspicious that this ancient, all-powerful conspiracy was bested so easily? Have you not considered that they simply allowed their enemies to believe they were bested? How else do you explain their continued machinations!?”

Steven blinked, again. “If they’re so powerful, why haven’t they stopped you yet? You seem to be the only one who’s onto them.”

“Obviously, they’re so self-assured in their total control over the world’s populace that they don’t see me as enough of a threat to deal with directly. Hence why they opted for sending one of their mutants after me rather than their usual strategy of human-snake-crab hybrids.”

For the third time that day, Steven could only blink in response.

“Cobra-La is far too insidious of an opponent to be taken lightly. That’s why I’m the only one who can defeat them: because I’m the only one who doesn’t take them lightly! Come on, Steven, I know you’re smart enough to see it too!”

“I’m smart enough to see that, Cobra-La or not, you’re gonna get yourself hurt!” Steven shouted. “And even as weird and occasionally obnoxious as you are, you’re still my friend, and I don’t want that to happen to you! Please, just put down the nitrogen, and let’s go home, and leave this to the Autobots. If I tell them there’s something wrong, they’ll listen to me.”

It almost seemed like Ronaldo was going to listen to him. He was silent for a moment, clearly contemplating the thought. However, any revelation he may have had was cut short by a rumbling coming from deep within the pipe. “It’s here!” he shouted, quickly turning away from Steven. “Quickly, to positions!”

In a surprising burst of speed and strength, Ronaldo hoisted the canister over his shoulder and hauled it atop the pipe. He lifted it over his head, preparing to toss it down at whatever came out. Steven hadn’t moved in that time, both confused and surprised.

“Don’t just stand there, Steven!” he shouted. “It’s coming! Get ready!”

“Get ready to do what ?” Steven shouted back, unprepared to be thrust into action so suddenly. After floundering for a moment, he eventually settled on sidling up beside the pipe, reasoning it was the safest place to be when whatever was in there emerged. Hopefully, he would be able to follow up once Ronaldo had frozen it.

The banging and rumbling grew louder and louder, as whatever abomination Cobra-La had sent after them–but probably not–grew closer and closer. Sweat dripped down both of their foreheads as they waited for it to arrive. “Hooold…hooooooold…” Ronaldo whispered.

In a surge of contaminated water, a massive collection of rust shot out of the pipe. It hung in the air in a cloud, before it became apparent that there was something within the cloud of rust. A writhing shape, seemingly itself made out of rust, flailed in the water it had emerged into. It appeared to be serpentine in form.

“The mighty rust snake is upon us! Now is the time of reckoning!” shouted Ronaldo. With every ounce of his strength, he threw the canister at the beast’s coils, where it predictably landed with a thud, none of the liquid nitrogen spraying out. “Our attacks are futile! They planned for everything!”

Before Steven could reprimand Ronaldo, the rust-stained creature began to chance. The reddish substance sloughed off its form like a snake shedding its scales as it grew ever so slightly in size. The rust gave way to dark blue metallic armor, and several pointed legs emerged from its size. A massive set of claws emerged from its front. Its tail arched over its back, a stinger appearing at the end. Far from a snake, this beast was a scorpion–and no ordinary scorpion…

“A Predacon!” shouted Steven. “Ronaldo, quick, get to safety!”

“No way!” he responded. “Stopping Cobra-La is my responsibility! It doesn’t matter if their snake monster mutated thanks to its scorpion genes, I won’t let them brainwash the rest of my town!” He leapt down off the pipe, falling flat on his face. Despite this, he was back on his feet in no time. “Ultra spinning kick!”

He delivered the attack in question, which had absolutely no effect on the Predacon. All it did was get its attention, turning around to face him. He stared up at its multiple eyes as its mandibles snapped, unfazed in the slightest. He didn’t even react when its tail raised, prepared to run him through.

Steven launched into action, tackling Ronaldo out of the way as the scorpion’s stinger pierced into the sand. “What are you thinking!?” he yelled, further pulling him away. “You can’t fight something like that! You have to hide!”

“I appreciate your concern for my safety, but this is my fight!” Ronaldo replied. “I’m the only one who understands the threat Cobra-La poses!”

“Cobra-La isn’t real!” Steven yelled. But in his momentary lapse of attention, the scorpion knocked him down with one of its pincers. He looked up to see Ronaldo standing up to face the beast, unable to accept that the matchup heavily favored the Predacon.

His mind racing, Steven’s eyes darted around the field to try and find something, anything, he could use to save his friend. Ronaldo was preparing for a crane kick, the scorpion had its tail ready to strike, it was standing atop the canister–the canister! Hoping his powers wouldn’t fail him when he needed them most, Steven extended his arm.

A blaster emerged from Steven’s hand, letting loose a shot. The blast sailed through the air, colliding with the canister and causing it to burst. The scorpion screeched as it was covered in liquid nitrogen, ice forming along its carapace. Steven took this moment to grab onto Ronaldo, and pull him into the drainpipe in relative safety.

After overcoming his initial shock, Ronaldo started fighting against Steven’s grip. “Wait! This is my fight! Stop oppressing me!”

In response to this, Steven pulled Ronaldo back, pressing him against the edge of the pipe. “No, you stop trying to get yourself killed! Exactly what part of you sees a giant robot scorpion, and thinks you can fight it off with your bare hands!”

“My bare hands are deadly weapons!” Ronaldo claimed proudly. “I’ve spent many grueling hours training in the ancient art of–”

“That doesn’t matter!” Steven shouted. “Why does this always have to be your story!? You’re the only one who knows about Cobra-La! You’re the only one who can stop their plans! You’re the only one who can fight that thing!”

“I know–it’s a burden I must carry,” said Ronaldo, completely missing Steven’s point. “I’m the only one who can save Beach City from that–”

As if on cue, the scorpion angrily slammed against the pipe, reaching its claws in to try and grab the pair. Instinctively, they retreated further in–it seemed that, now that it was fully formed, it couldn’t quite fit. “And who exactly is gonna save you ?” asked Steven, gesturing to the hissing arachnid. “What’ll happen to Peedee and your dad if you get hurt?”

Ronaldo stared at the Predacon, then back to Steven, and his look of determination softened. “...You’re right. I got so caught up in my duties, I forgot all about the obligations I have to my family. But if I don’t stop Cobra-La…who will?”

The (relative) silence was shattered when a collection of explosives went off just outside the pipe, directly on the scorpion. It screeched and pulled back, another larger threat having just come into view. “I’d know the sounds of those missiles anywhere–Magnus is here!” Steven announced excitedly.

Through the opening, they could only see parts of the fight, though they could clearly hear the sounds of metal banging and the Predacon screeching. “Hold on in there!” called Magnus. “Help has arrived!” The battle went on for a little longer, before it finally went silent outside. Magnus peered in at the pair, victorious. “Are you two alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, thanks to you!” said Steven, hurrying out to greet him. “But, how’d you know we were here?”

“Sideswipe said you were trying to solve the mystery of ‘Cobra-La,’” Magnus said. “I detected a Predacon signature in the area instead, and deduced that the two were related.” He peered back into the pipe. “Its spark must have entered the water supply, only to find it was in too small of an area to reformat itself. So, I suppose you did solve a mystery in the end–not that I’m too happy about how you went about it.”

Steven chuckled guiltily. “I take it you’re mad at me, but it’s for my own good?”

“Well, yes, but I’m more angry with this one.” He turned to Ronaldo. “What exactly was going through your mind that you thought going after a Predacon by yourself was a good idea?”

“Isn’t the duty of all heroes to charge into action, regardless of the consequences?” he asked. “If not me, who is there to protect this humble town from the injustice of Cobra-La!?”

Both Steven and Magnus stared at him as he posed. “I…won’t even bother responding to that,” said the latter. “More importantly, the Predacon burrowed into the sand before I could secure it, meaning the area isn’t safe.” He transformed into his altmode, opening his doors. “Hop in so I can escort you both home.”

Steven climbed in, but Ronaldo did not. “Give up? Now? But I’ve only just learned that Cobra-La has the ability to harness Predacons for their insidious schemes! I must get this information to the masses: to the forums!” With that, he darted away back into town.

“Wait, kid, don’t…and he’s gone,” Magnus said with a sigh. “If he ends up being eaten by a scorpion, I’m telling his father it was his own fault.”

“That’s Ronaldo for you: once he gets an idea in his head, there’s just no convincing him otherwise,” Steven said with a slight laugh.

Magnus started driving back towards the Ark . “About that. I’m not sure I want you hanging out with that kid anymore…”

- - -

“How exactly do you keep getting yourself into these situations?” said a confused, and slightly amused, Elita-1.

Sideswipe’s head was still stuck in the door to Steven’s house. “Honestly, El, if I knew, it wouldn’t keep happening.”

Magnus drove back up, transforming as Steven hopped out. “That was fast,” Elita noted. “Brought us back a corrupted spark already?”

“Not this time,” Magnus said. “There’s a Predacon still roaming the beach somewhere. I managed to do some damage, so it shouldn’t surface for a while, but we’ll still need to be on our guards. That includes you, Steven.”

He saluted. “You got it! …But, uh, there’s something I need to do first.” He crawled back in through the window, heading up to his bed.

“Hey, you solve your lady problem yet?” asked Sideswipe.

“Not yet–but hopefully in a minute.” Sitting down, Steven pressed the contact on his phone, listening as it rang. He hoped that Dr. Maheswaran’s forbidding of him didn’t include monitoring her daughter’s phone.

Thankfully, she soon picked up. “Steven!” Connie said happily. “Sorry for running off on you earlier. Like I said, Mom’s got my schedule packed now. But I think if I play my cards right, I might be able to sneak out sometime. What do you say? Wanna hang out sometime?”

He was quiet for a while. “Um…I do , but I don’t…think we should ,” he said eventually. “Your mom, I know it seems like she’s being unfair, but…a friend of mine told me that when you care about someone, you end up making choices for them. She just wants you to be safe.”

“I mean, sure, that’s a fair point, but what about what I want?” said Connie. “Not that I’m saying I’ll force you to hang out with me, it’s just…”

“No, no, I get it, it’s nothing like that!” Steven assured her. “I think for now, we should do what she says. If she knows you’re safe, I know she’ll let us see each other again. Because when you care about someone, you want them to be happy.”

Connie took a moment to take this in. “Yeah, I think I get it. So, uh…until then, maybe we can video-chat?”

“Oh, I don’t think my phone can do those,” Steven said sadly. “But, maybe the Autobots will let me use Teletraan to see you! They contact the NEST base all the time!”

“I like that idea,” said Connie. “Let’s do it!” Steven hopped up from his bed, hurrying onto the Ark .

Chapter Text

Chapter Sixteen: The Lone Swordsman

- - -

The sound of explosions, gunfire, and the clashing of metal roared just on the other side of Steven’s home. He sat behind his house, concentrating all of his focus on one thing, and one thing only. All the noise simply faded into the background, his hands wrapped around the handle of the Star Saber.

“Feel its power…” he told himself, feeling the surge of energy flowing through the blade, “...and embrace it.” Just as it had aboard the ship, it glowed blue as it attuned to its wielder. “Okay, here we go. Let’s do this!” He ran out from behind the house, charging into the fray.

Magnus grappled with the Predacon scorpion from before, while Elita held back its tail. Sideswipe stood back, aiming at the beast while he waited for an opportunity to strike. Steven didn’t wait, charging straight at the creature and leaping into the air, driving his sword downward.

The Predacon saw him coming, disengaging from Magnus and pulling back. The Star Saber crashed into the sand, and Elita stumbled–though she still managed to keep its tail in place. “Remember, a sword is not an axe!” she told him. “You can’t rely solely on its weight. You’ll need to be decisive in your movements, but be careful of throwing your entire heft into one strike!”

“Got it!” replied Steven. Being used to using Prime’s axe, he wasn’t quite as adept at swordplay as he had thought. Fortunately, the arrival of the Predacon had given Elita the perfect opportunity to show him the ropes. He held the sword beside his head, pointing it at the scorpion. “Prepare yourself for the fury of Steven-style!”

The Predacon screeched, opening its claws to let out a flurry of machine gun-fire. Sideswipe and Steven hit the deck, while Magnus braced himself, his armor absorbing most of the shots. Eventually, it wrenched itself free from Elita’s grip, burrowing into the sand. It moved under the ground, leaping up into the air as it pinned Sideswipe down.

He held its claws at bay with his swords, though its stinger was repeatedly driven into the ground near his head. “Could I get some help over here!?” he cried.

Elita began running towards him, but Steven did so as well, reaching the imperiled ‘bot before she could. He raised his sword above his head, preparing to bring it down on the scorpion. It disengaged before he could hit it, the sword only catching sand. In addition, the beast whipped him with its tail, sending him careening into Elita.

“You two alright?” asked Magnus, getting them both to their feet. The Predacon burrowed beneath the ground, kicking up more sand.

“Oh yeah, just fine,” said Sideswipe, still laying on the ground.

He had only been up for a mere moment, and Steven was already bounding after the scorpion’s wake. “Steven, wait!” said Elita, hurrying after him.

“No time to wait!” he called back, following the Predacon’s movements. “We have to stop this thing before it takes somebody out!” He waited for the creature to emerge, holding up his blade as he waited, and waited…but nothing came of it.

That is, until it burst up from the sand behind him. He swung his sword, but he swung too hard, missing the scorpion completely and allowing it to land on top of him. The Star Saber fell to the side, forcing him to hold it off with his bare hands.

Fortunately, Sideswipe came to his aid, firing on the beast with both of his guns. The Predacon disengaged from its captive, firing a volley in response before retreating back under the sand. “Dang, this thing’s slippery!” he lamented, standing guard as Steven sprang back up.

“I’m not sure this is the best time for a training exercise,” said Elita, having retrieved the Star Saber. “We should handle this for now, then I can show you the ropes in a much more controlled environment.”

Steven took the sword, undeterred. “Nah, it’s just another Predacon–I can handle it! Besides, how tricky can a sword be to use?” With that, he charged into the fray once more. “C’mon, ya big bug! I’m ready for you this time!”

Sighing, Elita prepared herself as well. She aimed her blaster all around the beach, looking for signs of the creature’s emergence. Eventually, she spotted the slightest of shifts in the sand, firing just as it resurfaced.

The shots collided with its carapace, earning a hiss of annoyance from the beast. It scuttled in her direction, but she was prepared, running at it as well. She leapt up over it, ready to deliver a slicing kick with her leg-blades…only to see that Steven was in the way. He swung his sword in a one-handed strike, only for it to glance off of the Predacon’s armor. Elita was forced to pivot to the side lest he take the brunt of her attack, resulting in her landing in the sand.

“Elita!” shouted Steven, his momentary distraction allowing the scorpion to bash him with its claws, sending him to the ground as well. He desperately scrambled back as it raised its stinger, preparing to drive it into him. He raised an arm in preparation for the strike…but it never came.

Quicker than any of them thought was possible, Elita had pulled herself up, before hurling herself in front of Steven. He watched, horrified, as the stinger pierced through her abdomen, sticking out the other side. Energon dripped from the wound as both of them gaped in shock.

“No!” The silence was broken as Magnus charged forward, transforming into his altmode as he sped across the sand. The armored car slammed into the beast, throwing it against the side of the Ark . Sideswipe followed up with a dual-sword strike: although aiming for its center, the scorpion moved at the last moment, meaning he only succeeded in severing its tail. Letting out a shriek, the Predacon disappeared into the sand once more.

Magnus held Elita as she fell, with Steven rushing over. “Elita! No, no, no, I’m so sorry! I-I should’ve listened to you, this is all my fault!”

“N-not…your…” Elita said weakly, holding up a hand to Steven’s face. “I’ll…be…f-f-f…” She let out a breath, before her body began to rust, crumbling to pieces. In his horror, he shifted back to human form, the Star Saber landing beside him.

In no time at all, the only thing left of Elita was her spark. Ultra Magnus picked it up somberly, brushing off some of the rust. He held onto it, staring into its light as though trying to see her in it.

After wrestling with the scorpion’s still-moving severed tail for a time, Sideswipe soon hurried over to their side. “What happened? Is she–” His expression fell when he saw her spark. “Oh, no. Elita…”

“She’s gonna be fine, right?” said Steven, holding back panic. “As long as her spark isn’t damaged, you can fix her, right?”

Magnus lay a soothing hand on his shoulder. “Everything is going to be alright, Steven,” he explained. “As long as a Cybertronian’s spark is left intact, they will be able to regenerate a new body in time. Elita is not dead–think of it more as her being unconscious, and having to sleep off her wounds.”

“Yeah, she’ll be fine,” Sideswipe likewise assured him. “In a few weeks to a month, she’ll be good as new!”

“A month!?” exclaimed Steven, nearly tumbling over backwards. “B-but that’s so long! What about all the stuff she wanted to do? How can you guys go on missions with only the two of you?”

“We’ve managed before in the past, and we’ll manage again,” Magnus said, standing up. “On the subject of our missions, I suggest we head inside. It is entirely possible that Predacon will return now that it knows we’re down one.” Holding Elita’s spark close to his chest, he headed back to the Ark , carrying himself as though he was walking on eggshells.

Steven watched him go, stuck in place despite the potential danger. “There has to be something we can do,” he murmured. “Isn’t there any way to speed up her recovery?”

“Nothin’ for it ‘cept practice,” Sideswipe replied. “When you’ve been reduced to a spark as many times as I have, you get better at managing. My record is half an hour!” He beamed proudly for a moment, only for his mood to fall back down. “But for someone as nearly untouchable as Elita…” After a pause, he headed to the Ark as well. “Anyway, I’ll stand guard. You go ahead and see how she’s doing.”

But Steven was still frozen in place. He watched as Magnus, Elita in hand, disappeared through the door. In the back of his mind, a single nagging thought refused to go away: “This was your fault.”

- - -

“Aaand…there.” Magnus placed Elita’s spark in a clear glass container just beside the Ark ’s computer, in which she hovered gently. “She’ll be safe here until she is able to regenerate. I don’t feel comfortable keeping her in the same room with the Predacons. All that dark energon…”

Steven sat in a chair nearby, his eyes focused on the spark. On one hand, he was comforted knowing that, even though it would likely take a while, Elita would be good as new eventually. But to think all of her, her memories, experiences, skills, personality–it was all confined to that flickering ball of light. It made her, and by extension, all Transformers, seem so fragile. Could any of them be reduced to a similar orb at a moment’s notice?

“Alrighty, no sign of Scorponok,” said Sideswipe, returning from his patrol. “I guess he… turned tail and ran!” He grinned, glancing between the two of them. “Ahem…sorry, trying to lighten the mood. How’s our girl doing?”

“As good as she could be doing, what with being reduced to a spark,” Magnus said. He sat down in the chair before Teletraan’s main terminal, going back to scanning for threats. “Nothing to be done for it now–business as usual.”

Steven was so wrapped up in thought that he didn’t notice Sideswipe approach, and was startled by a metallic object clanging against the shelf he sat next to. “You dropped this,” he said, having placed the Star Saber beside him. Rather than respond, Steven went back to gazing at Elita. Noticing his mood, Sideswipe sat down next to him. “Hey. This must be a lot for you, huh?”

Wordlessly, Steven nodded.

“Yeah, that’s normal. I remember I used to get pretty anxious whenever this happened to her or Magnus, or, Primus forbid, even Optimus. Just goes to show ya that we aren’t invincible.”

“But she shouldn’t have been hurt like that,” Steven said softly. “If I’d…if I’d listened to what she said, none of this would’ve happened. I’m a terrible trainee.” He slid the Star Saber away from himself. “I don’t deserve this sword…”

Sideswipe scoffed. “ That’s what you’re upset about? Kiddo, I’ve known Elita long enough to know that she’ll get mad about any number of things, especially at me. But she’d never blame you for this. Not a chance.”

“Maybe not…but I’d still blame me,” Steven said sadly.

“Well then, how ‘bout I help you out with your swordsmanship?” offered Sideswipe. “If you learn how to handle that thing, then we can make sure you won’t make any more mistakes with grave consequences, right?”

“Sideswipe…” Magnus warned, well aware what he was signing Steven up for.

But Steven was all in. “Hey, yeah! Once I become a sword expert, I’ll never make another mistake that’ll get my friends hurt again!” He hopped to his feet, grabbing the Star Saber and pointing it skyward. “Where do we start, o sensei?”

“First, you must learn to properly wield your blade,” said Sideswipe. “C’mon, I think we have just the thing down in storage. Don’t wait up for us, Mags!” Steven behind him, he headed further into the Ark .

Magnus watched them leave. “Be careful not to get your hopes up!” he called after Steven, worried that his words wouldn’t be taken to heart. “Perhaps I’m worrying over nothing.” He glanced over at the contained spark. “This could be good for him. What do you think?”

Unsurprisingly, Elita said nothing.

“Good point.”

- - -

“Now, let’s see, he should be around here somewhere,” Sideswipe muttered, digging through a particularly cluttered section of the storage room. He was almost swimming in a sea of trinkets and gadgets, occasionally diving beneath the surface.

Steven watched him from a chair he found. “‘He?’” he asked.

Soon enough, Sideswipe resurfaced, bringing what Steven at first thought was another Transformer with him. “Aha! Found ‘im!” As he made his way out of the clutter, it soon became apparent that it was only some sort of dummy or mannequin, from how it was limp and draped over his shoulders. “Come over here, help me set him up!”

Curious as to exactly who and what this was, Steven went over to aid him. The dummy, or whatever it was, looked like a very minimalist Cybertronian, with white armor and red highlights, and a mostly-covered face. “Uh, what exactly is this?” he asked, hoping the answer wasn’t what he was afraid it was.

“You’re looking at a genuine Autotrooper,” Sideswipe explained. “Back during the war, the Autobots would use them to bolster their forces when they were outnumbered. ‘Course, their main purpose is to be automated sparring partners, which is exactly what we need right now!” He opened a panel on the Autotrooper’s back, and began fiddling with some of its mechanics. After a while, its eyes lit up, and it got to its feet.

A tinny voice emerged from its form. “Training module set. To begin at difficulty level one, please present weapon. To change current area, please input the ‘follow’ command.”

Sideswipe nudged Steven. “Pretty impressive piece of hardware, isn’t he? This guy taught me just about all I know about kickin’ plate and takin’ names! And now, he can teach you too! C’mon, let’s get him somewhere less cluttered.” He approached the Autotrooper, speaking slowly. “Follow.” It beeped, its eyes blinking. Sideswipe then led the two of them into an open room deeper in the ship.

The room almost looked like an arena of sorts, what with the circular pattern on the floor. Why a ship would need an arena, Steven wasn’t sure, but it was certainly useful now. Sideswipe had them stand opposite each other, before holding out his swords.

“Choose your weapon,” he said.

Steven hesitated. “Um, I already brought my own.” He held up the Star Saber.

Sideswipe took the blade, replacing it with one of his own. “An advanced weapon like this needs some advanced training first.” Once both combatants were armed, he pulled them in close. “Now, I want a good, clean fight. No slashes below the best, and don’t cut to kill. Ready? Fight!” He darted away, and the battle began.

Steven held his sword up, ready for the Autotrooper to come at him…only for it to do something that could only be barely described as that. With all the dexterity of an action figure with kung-fu grip, it walked a few jerky steps forward, before slowly moving its sword up and down. He blocked with his own weapon, even though there was really no need to do so, the two blades lightly tapping against each other with a light *tink!* sound.

After a few moments of guarding, Steven lightly tapped the Autotrooper on the head with his own sword, causing it to stop moving. “Level one complete. Now advancing to level two.” Gripping the hilt with both hands, the Autotrooper now took on a more proper stance, swinging the blade at Steven.

“Here we go, now it’s picking up!” said Sideswipe, as Steven dodged the ensuing strikes. “Remember, you gotta be precise with your movements! Be a ninja, not a butcher!”

“I don’t really know much about being either!” said Steven, who was mostly just mimicking moves that he’d seen in movies. It seemed to work at least marginally well, especially as the Autotrooper wasn’t exactly the most aggressive opponent. It was mostly on the defensive, anticipating where Steven would aim and blocking his strikes.

Noticing how unsteady the Autotrooper’s stance was, Steven got an idea. He aimed a strike at its head, which was predictably blocked. As it was unbalanced from the attack, he delivered a kick to its leg, knocking it off-balance. He then spun around to its undefended side, smacking its back with the flat of his blade.

Again, it stopped moving. “Level two complete. Now advancing to level three.” The Autotrooper turned its head to look at Steven, remaining completely still otherwise. It seemed to be waiting for him to make the first move.

“Uh…okay, kinda creepy.” He experimentally tried poking it with the tip of his sword. Moments before the tip made contact, the Autotrooper parried with blinding speed, nearly sending the weapon flying from Steven’s hand. “Gah!” He blocked just as it went in for a follow-up swing, its strength unexpected. It was on the offensive now, targeting any weaknesses it detected in his stance to force him back.

Sideswipe let out a hiss of sympathy as he saw the fight’s lead rapidly changing hands. “Don’t worry, level three’s a bit of a learning curve!” he called. “I had a little trouble here too–just don’t let up, you’ll tire him out eventually!”

The Autotrooper getting tired wasn’t very likely, as opposed to Steven, who very quickly was. It was all he could do just to focus on blocking, leaving him no opportunities to pierce through its defenses. “Could I get a time-out!?” he asked.

“There are no time-outs in war!” shouted Sideswipe. “You think a Predacon would let you take five, catch your breath real quick? No! You want a moment to rest, you make your moment! Now knock this clown into next cycle!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Steven said, his back literally against the wall, defending against the Autotrooper’s rain of blows. As the swords clanged together repeatedly, he found himself growing more and more frustrated at his inability to fight back. Growling, a grimace spread across his face. “That’s… enough !”

Tossing the sword aside, Steven instead summoned his axe, his opponent’s blade catching on that of the new weapon. With a snarl, Steven tossed the blade from the Autotrooper’s hands, driving the axe against its chest. It was thrown back by the force of the attack, a large gash appearing in its armor. But Steven wasn’t finished yet, sprinting over and raising his weapon to deal the coup de grace.

Just as he was ready to lop off the Autotrooper’s head, a vision of a giant stinger piercing through Elita’s chest appeared in his mind. He gasped, frozen in place. That image was all that he could think about, and how it had been his fault. He didn’t even react when the Autotrooper got back up, tackling to the ground. He didn’t react when Sideswipe ran over, sword in hand, to try and play damage control.

“Hey! That’s enough!” he said sternly, swatting the automaton on the head with the blunt end of the blade. “Bad Autotrooper! Bad!” Sensing this new challenger, it then dove to the side to grab the other sword, engaging Sideswipe. “Uh…”

The Autotrooper’s fury was now directed at Sideswipe, leaving Steven where he lay. Although he was a much more adept swordfighter, level three was not to be trifled with. Soon, just like Steven before him, Sideswipe had his sword knocked from his hands, forced to the ground.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Sideswipe scrambled back as the Autotrooper prepared to deal the final blow. Before it could bring down the blade, however, there was a sudden loud crash of metal-on-metal. Sputtering and sparking for a moment, the Autotrooper soon fell to the ground, inactive. It seemed to have been hit over the head with a large object–namely, Magnus’ fist.

Magnus wiped his hands once the machine was out of commission. “I believe that is enough training for now.” He helped Sideswipe to his feet, before doing the same with Steven. “Perhaps now would be a good time for a break.

“But I can’t take a break! Not until I’m as good as Sideswipe at this!” Steven cried.

“Sideswipe was just flattened by a training android,” said Magnus, glancing back at him. “I don’t think he should be the litmus test of competence here…”

The bot in question crossed his arms, looking away. “Gee thanks,” he grumbled.

Steven was undeterred. “We still haven’t caught Scorponok yet! What if he comes back, and…and something happens to one of you!? If I’m not good enough, and I can’t stop him, I…I…”
Magnus placed a hand on his shoulder. “Steven, it is our duty as comrades to care for one another. When one of our own is injured, we all feel responsible. But the true guilty party is the one who dealt them that injury. You must never blame yourself for such things.”

Sideswipe nudged him. “That was one o’ Prime’s, wasn’t it?”

He shrugged. “I may have paraphrased a little.”

But despite this pep-talk, Steven still couldn’t get the image of Elita out of his head. “Thanks, guys. I-I think you’re right, some rest is just what I need.” He slowly trudged out of the room, not even bothering to take the Star Saber with him.

A little after he had left, Magnus turned to Sideswipe with an accusatory glare. “I know you mean well, but perhaps level three was a bit much.”

“I’m not taking advice from a guy who talks to sparks,” grumbled Sideswipe.

- - -

Steven lay back in the chair before Teletraan’s main computer. “I just feel like I should be…doing more, I guess,” he lamented. “I mean, I’m Optimus’ son, I hold the Matrix, I have the Star Saber…so why am I such a failure?”

“Steven, you’re not a failure.” Connie was on the screen, looking at him with sympathy through her phone. “You just…had an accident. It happens to the best of us. I wasn’t a fencing master after my first lesson!”

“But I still should have listened to her!” he lamented, slumping down further. “If I hadn’t been such a showboat, Elita would still be here!”

Connie glanced over at the spark resting on the console. “Steven…you know Elita’s not dead, right? Mom says this happens to the Autobots all the time. She’ll be good as new in a month or two.”

“Now it’s two months!?” cried Steven, almost jumping out of his seat. “Sideswipe said it’d only be one! I wasn’t sure I could even last that long, but I’ll never make it now!”

“Hey, hey, it’ll be fine!” Connie assured him. “Like I said, this kind of thing happens all the time. If anyone is used to it, it’ll be Ultra Magnus and Sideswipe. They’ll be there for you. And so will I.”

“I know…and thank you for that,” Steven said sadly. “But Elita won’t be.” He looked sadly at the spark, silently wishing it would reform right then and there.

Connie began to get the feeling that they were going in circles. “Those two months, or however long it’ll be, will go by before you know it. So…how are your sword lessons going?”

He looked away uncomfortably. “I’d rather not talk about that,” he said. “Let’s just say that Sideswipe’s teaching methods leave a lot to be desired…and so do my learning abilities.”

Seeing how upset he looked, Connie tried not to smile. “Well, I could…show you a few moves, if you want.” He perked up at the offer. “Not in person, of course, but if you have your sword with you, I might be able to give you some tips. I’m not a teacher, of course, but… Steven?”

Steven was gone, having rushed out of the room. It wasn’t long before he came dashing back in, at full Transformer size, Star Saber in hand. “So, where should we start!?”

She blinked. “Um…why don’t we try a simple stance? My instructor always says that footwork is just as important as swordwork!” Steven recalled Elita saying something similar. He pointed the sword out to the side, moving his legs apart. “Good, good. Now, uh, go ahead and give me some simple swipes.” He did so, slashing through the air. “Great! Remember, stance wide, body low…”

- - -

Unbothered by the rain, Steven stood on the beach just outside the Ark , eyes peeled for any threats. He gripped the Star Saber’s hilt, ready to lift the blade at a moment’s notice to cleave any threats that came his way. No Predacon was getting to Elita on his watch.

“I’m ready for you, scorpion,” he said, eyeing the sand. “No arachnid stands a chance against Sir Steven of Beachbury!” Scorponok didn’t yet respond to his challenge, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

Behind him, the door to the Ark slid open, with Magnus walking out to greet him. “Steven, an urgent mission has just come up. A group of miners in Burma dug into an old energon refinery and became trapped. It’s up to us to rescue them–are you coming?”

“Huh?” he said, turning around. “B-but if I go, who’ll protect Elita?”

Sideswipe appeared over Magnus’ shoulder. “Kid, no Predacon has ever gotten into the Ark since ever,” he said. “She’ll be just fine, with or without you. Now let’s hurry, I’ve been working on my Burmese!”

“He’s right, you know,” Magnus said. “Elita is safer in there than anywhere else on the planet. Even if that Predacon decides to come back, it has no way of getting inside. Right now, those miners take precedence.”

Steven weighed his options. “I…I think I’ll stay here anyway,” he said. “You guys are better at rescue operations than I am, I’ll probably just get in the way. Besides, if Scorponok does come back, he might attack the town! Someone has to stay here to protect them, right?”

For a while, Magnus was silent, weighing his options in turn. Steven and Sideswipe waited for him to reach his conclusion. “Very well. If you want to stay behind, that’s your right. Sideswipe, go get the Groundbridge warmed up.”

“Huh? But aren’t you usually the one who–” He picked up on his meaning. “Ah. You got it, it’ll be ready in a sec!” He scampered off, leaving the two alone.

Magnus sat down in the sand beside Steven. “For the record, I don’t buy any of that,” he said. “You are entirely capable in a rescue mission, and the town is not in any immediate danger. Your wish to stay here and protect Elita…you are trying to make it up to her, correct?”

For a moment, Steven didn’t answer, but he eventually nodded. “I just…feel like it’s my fault she got hurt. I want to do what I can to keep her safe, even if she doesn’t need it. I owe her that much, at least.”

“This sounds like a matter of pride,” Magnus said. “Very well. We will leave you to it. Just be sure not to stay out in the rain for too long.” He headed back inside, followed by Sideswipe.

“Good luck! Ya might need it…” Sideswipe offered. The Ark ’s door closed, leaving Steven alone out in the cold and wet. Sentry duty was more tolerable than it might usually have been with his newfound metal body, but it was still not entirely pleasant. And yet, he had a duty to Elita. He would have to tough it out for them to be even again.

Steven repeatedly blinked water out of his eyes, scanning the beach. His body sagged, the tip of the Star Saber digging into the drenched sand under his weight. “I should be able to guard her from inside, right?” he asked himself, getting tired. He quickly shook the thought out of his head. “No, I can’t phone this in! Elita wanted me to be a master swordfighter, and this is why–to protect the people I care about!” Redoubling his efforts, he stood up straight, watching out for threats.

But even as determined as he was, Steven was still subject to fatigue. As the minutes dragged on, he found his mind began to wander, and his body began to sag. Repeatedly, he shook himself back to lucidity, though the time between each shaking grew longer and longer.

Between the rain and his exhaustion, he almost didn’t notice the slight disturbance in the sand just beyond his post. “Hmm?” He looked up, wondering if he was just seeing things. But with everything that was at risk, he couldn’t afford to write it off as his imagination. “Who’s there?” He raised his sword to show any potential intruders he meant business. “Show yourself! I’m warning you!”

His call was met with no reply, at least not immediately. A period of silence lingered just long enough for him to return to a period of uneasy peace of mind. Only then, when he was unaware of his surroundings, did Scorponok strike.

Only just barely did Steven notice that the rain-soaked sand beneath him was beginning to shift. That, plus the tell-tale sound of whirring rotors gave him just enough of a warning to dive out of the way as the Predacon burst up from below. The monstrous scorpion screeched as its claws clamped down on nothing, whipping around to face its target.

Gripping the Star Saber tightly, Steven held the blade in a defensive position. “So we meet again–do your worst, beast!” he shouted, waiting for it to attack first. It did so, its stinger darting straight for his chest. Imagining it was a sword, he moved to parry it, but the blow was too forceful. Steven was thrown back, landing amidst the sand.

Scorponok crept closer, swinging its claws like hammers as it attempted to crush the boy. Steven backed away, scrambling to his feet before aiming a strike at the scorpion’s head. Before the sword made contact, its tail came down from above, nearly knocking the Star Saber from his hands. In desperation, as it raised its tail for the killing blow, he activated his blaster and fired several rounds into its face.

This proved enough to drive it away. Screeching, the Predacon burrowed back under the sand and disappeared. As it did so, Steven noticed that it was moving much slower than it had been when it first attacked the group. The sand, made dense and clotted by the rain, was hindering its digging abilities. He made a note of that as he pressed an ear to the ground.

Far from running away, Scorponok was still moving down there, preparing for his next move. Steven tried to predict where it would emerge so that he could take it out in one fell swoop. After circling for a while, it sounded like it was returning to the surface. Making an effort not to step too loudly, Steven made his way over, raising his sword.

The preemptive strike would have been perfect, if Scorponok had actually emerged. Instead, it seemingly stopped just before bursting up. “Wha?” Confused, Steven once again lowered his guard, this time just as a flurry of gunfire shot up from the sand. Though dulled slightly by the muddy ground it had to pass through, several of the projectiles collided with Steven’s armor. While not dealing any significant damage, it stung a bit, and was enough to send him falling down once again.

As soon as Steven had fallen onto his back, Scorponok emerged. He tried swinging his sword, but all it did was collide pathetically with its claw. A single swipe sent it out of his hands, coming to a stop in front of the Ark . Seeing its prey helpless, Scorponok drove its tail downwards.

Steven was only just able to roll to the side in time. Scorponok’s stinger got stuck in the sand for a moment, giving him just enough time to dash over to his sword, opening the Ark ’s doors while he was there. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” he said urgently, as the way inside slowly appeared. The Predacon wrenched its tail free from the ground, scuttling over to him.

The moment the doors were open wide enough for him to slip through, Steven did so. Scorponok’s claws followed suit as it tried to force its way inside. Steven hurried over to the control panel, re-closing the doors before the Predacon could gain access. Thankfully, he was just fast enough, and Scorponok retreated before its claws could be severed. Safe, at least for now, Steven collapsed to the floor, reverting to human form.

“This isn’t going well,” he lamented, hearing the scorpion crawling around just outside the door. “I can’t protect Elita like this! She’s gonna get eaten by a Predacon, and it’ll be all my fault!” He angrily glanced at the Star Saber sitting beside him. “None of this would’ve happened if I was actually good as swordfighting, but all I know how to use is my axe!”

His eyes widened. “So why don’t I use my axe?” He sat up. “It’s so simple! This whole time I’ve been limiting myself ‘cause I…” He had to think of just why he was limiting himself in the first place. “‘Cause I want Elita to be proud of me… But I’m sure nothing’ll make her prouder than saving her and the Ark from a Predacon attack!”

The Predacon in question was relentless, having climbed atop the ship in its attempts to get inside. Battering and tearing with its claws, it searched all over for a weak spot in the armor.

“Okay, if this is going to work, I’ll have to approach this tactically.” He looked over at his sword. “Hmm…”

Scorponok crawled all over the roof of the ship, searching for an easy access point. It would seem that one presented itself as the door once more slid open. It made its way over to the edge, watching as a lone swordsman ran out of the Ark and into the rain, ready to do battle once more. As its opponent didn’t seem to know where it was, the scorpion took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

Leaping down from above onto the robot, Scorponok bashed him with its claws repeatedly. Though damaged, he was able to roll onto his back, knocking one of its claws aside with his sword. It shot its stinger down to finish the fight, but that too was parried. Growing angrier, the Predacon unleashed a barrage of gunfire at point-blank range.

The swordfighter’s armor was shredded, with the force of the bullets causing him to stagger back. Before he could recover, its stinger struck one final time, piercing through his chest. Scorponok lifted its prey into the air, bringing him closer to examine him.

The Predacon was expecting energon to be leaking from the wound, but no such thing happened. Instead, the victim twitched, emitting strange garbled sounds while its limbs moved around haphazardly. This was not the same prey it had been chasing: this was nothing more than a decoy!

“Hyaah!” Before Scorponok had realized what was happening, Steven lunged forward, severing its tail with a single swing of his axe. Both the tail and the Autotrooper it had skewered fell to the ground, while its owner shrieked in rage. It tried to turn around to crush Steven in its claws, only for him to leap onto its back.

Scorponok spun around, firing wildly as Steven held on tight. He clung to the scorpion’s back, waiting for it to be vulnerable. Once it realized it couldn’t shake him off, it went for the next best thing: retreating back underground. It stopped moving to burrow, which was a slightly slower process due to the rain.

This was Steven’s chance. “Gotcha!” Lifting his axe above his head, he brought it down, cleaving through Scorponok’s armor. Twisting his weapon, he was able to create a large enough opening to fit his blaster through. “You’re not going anywhere!” Shot after shot was fired into the Predacon’s inner workings as it flailed. Scorponok reared up, letting out one final screech, before falling back down to the sand. There, it began to dissolve into rust.

Steven, too, fell into the sand, more out of relief than anything. “I did it!” he said breathlessly. “I guess all it took to be successful was to focus on what I’m good at.” Once Scorponok had sufficiently deteriorated, he picked up its spark to bring it into storage.

The Autotrooper tried to sit up, despite the large hole in its middle. “L-l-level threeeeeee com-comp-comple-e-ete,” it stuttered.

“Level complete,” Steven repeated, looking proudly at the spark in his hands.

- - -

“You sure about this, dude?” asked Sideswipe. “I mean, if I’d found a long lost Autobot superweapon, I’d probably never take my hands off it. Like, ever.”

The three of them stood before the Ark’s supply room, with Steven holding the Star Saber. “Yeah, I’m sure. It’s like you told me, after all: an advanced weapon needs advanced training.” He set the blade down beside the Autotrooper, who had been patched up, complete with a bandage. “I’ll be ready for this responsibility one day. Just not right now.”

Magnus placed a hand on Steven’s shoulder as the door closed. “I believe you’re a lot more mature than you give yourself credit for,” he said. “Knowing one’s limits is something even some of Cybertron’s greats couldn’t manage.” As Steven smiled at the complement, he noticed something light up on his wrist. “Oh…perhaps we should head back to the control room. Something–or someone–may be waiting for us.”

“Wha…?” Though confused by this statement, Steven nevertheless headed back with the others in tow. Upon heading through the door, he noticed a telltale glow coming from just before the computer. It took him a while to realize what it was, but once he did, he happily gasped. “Elita!”

The device holding Elita’s spark had opened, allowing it to ascend into the air. From the spark extended a series of lines, forming into a grid in the recognizable shape of her body. Strands of energon then extended from the spark, which coalesced along the lines and took on the consistency of metal. And then, as her color returned, Elita was lowered to the floor. “Oh. I’m back.”

Steven, as expected, ran over to give her a big hug. “You are back! It’s been really lonely here without you, and I have so much to tell you! I tried to learn how to be a better swordfighter, but it didn’t really work out, but I did manage to defeat Scorponok all by myself, and–” His spiel came to a stop, and he released Elita and stepped back. “O-oh, and…sorry I got you stabbed.”

Rather than look angry, Elita simply pulled Steven closer with a motherly smile. “Steven, none of that was your fault. These sorts of things happen all the time. Just look at Sideswipe: what’s your record again, an hour?”

“ Half an hour,” he corrected, offering her a friendly cuff on the shoulder. “But hey, you didn’t do so bad yourself. I mean, two weeks? You must’ve been in a hurry!”

She looked down at Steven fondly. “Well, I did have to make sure Steven was okay.” She hugged him, Sideswipe hugged both of them, and Magnus wrapped his arms around all three of them.

“I do enjoy family reunions,” said Magnus.

Steven nodded. “Oh, tell me about it! As close as we are, I don’t think anything will ever break us apart!” The four of them were so happy, none of them noticed the small chirp coming from Teletraan, indicating a new message.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seventeen: Winds of Change, Part 1

- - -

Another slow day at Autobot headquarters. To an outsider looking in, it might seem like every day in Beach City is full of adventure and peril. But in truth, most of the time things were calm enough to be boring. Sure, there were the occasional monster attack or world-ending disaster to contend with, but those only happened once every few weeks. Between missions, Ultra Magnus sat at Teletraan’s computer, lazily playing solitaire.

That was when Steven rushed in. “Hey Magnus, can I talk to Connie?” he asked. “Last time we talked, she said she’d ask her mom if she’d think about letting us see each other in person again, so I have to see what she said!”

Magnus slowly turned to face him. “Wasn’t the ‘last time you talked’ yesterday?” he asked dryly.

“Hmh,” Steven said with a nod, not catching any hidden meanings.

“Well, I have been sitting here for a while,” Magnus said, getting up and stretching. “I could use a walk. Knock yourself out–just don’t reply to any spam mail. You remember what happened last time.”

Steven chuckled guiltily. “Yeah, don’t worry, I know better.” He climbed into the chair that Magnus had vacated. “I’ll be quick!”

“No, no, take all the time you need,” Magnus replied, heading outside. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be taking a stroll down the shore. Say hello to the Maheswarans for me.”

“Will do,” Steven said as he left. Tapping the keys twice the size of his hand, he sent the message to his friend, waiting for her to reply. After only a few moments, her face appeared on the screen. “Connie!”

“Steven!” She reclined on her bed, adjusting her phone. “Hey, how are you? Everything going good at the Ark ?”

He nodded. “Yup, no trouble here! So, how’d things go with your mom?”

Connie sighed. “I asked her, but all she said was that she’d ‘think about it.’ She didn’t immediately say no, though, so that’s a good sign. With any luck, we’ll be able to wear her down sooner or later.”

“Hopefully,” Steven said quietly. “Hey, so, I heard you’ve been practicing your swordfighting more. How’s that going?”

“Pretty good, actually,” she replied. “I figured that if I stepped up my game, I could prove to Mom that I can handle myself. I can’t say for sure yet, but I think it’s working! And speaking of swords, how about you? I heard you decided to hang up the Star Saber for now. What was that about?”

He shrugged, trying not to look uncomfortable. “I just figured I wasn’t quite ready for that yet. Maybe someday soon. And hey, if you’d be willing to teach me, maybe even sooner than that!”

“Maybe I will,” Connie said. “It’d be a shame if we went all that way to find it, and it just ended up stuffed in a closet. But anyway, I think it’s time we got down to business: discussing the latest episode of Crying Breakf–”

While Steven would normally have been paying the utmost attention, his eyes had been diverted by a tiny notice popping up in the corner of the screen, accompanied by a ping of equal size. A message sent to Teletraan. While Steven normally wouldn’t have paid it any mind, especially after that ‘Carbombyan prince’ debacle, he couldn’t ignore the first three words of the message.

Mostly because three words were all the message contained. It said >Are you there?

“Steven? Steven, what’s up?” asked Connie, eventually regaining his attention. “You spaced out for a bit there.”

He blinked, making sure he hadn’t misread the words. “Uh, y-yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “Can you see that on your end?”

“What on my end?” she asked.

Steven fiddled around with the keys for a bit, eventually showing her what was on his screen. “This. The Autobots got some kinda message, a really weird one. It might be nothing, but…” His curiosity having grown too strong to resist, he went to check for new messages.

As it turned out, this was not the first message Teletraan had received from this sender. The who, what, or where was unknown, but the sequence painted an unpleasant picture:

>Are you there?

>Please.

>Help me.

>Help.

>Is this real?

>It’s too dark.

>Where am I?

He felt himself shiver as he read back in time. Someone, or something, was desperately trying to contact Teletraan for help, but for some reason, all of them were being diverted into the spam folder. “Ah, they must’ve updated their filter after I gave that guy access to our bank account,” Steven said. “It’s my fault they don’t know about this…”

“We should tell them,” Connie said. “Someone’s in trouble, so we need to do anything we can to help them.”

But as much as Steven wanted to help, he couldn’t help but think how he was technically invading the Autobots’ privacy by reading their mail. True, it was for a good cause…but wouldn’t they be angry if he told them? “Uh, yeah, we will, just let me see something first.”

He looked at each message individually. The very first one had been sent a while back, even before his scam call. Had they really not seen it? The next message came a little while later, and every consecutive one came a bit sooner each time. It seemed like whoever this was was getting more and more desperate to be freed. Although knowing it was risky, Steven did the only thing he could think of to help.

>Hello?

“Steven? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Connie.

“Well, of course,” he said, though he sounded a bit hesitant. “We need to learn more if we want to help, don’t we? Our first step should be making sure this isn’t a trap. Or another scam.” Not long after sending the message, he got another in return.

>You can see me?

He responded.

>No, but I can read your emails. What do you need?

> Trapped. Help me.

Well, that wasn’t very specific. “Ask their name,” Connie suggested.

“Good idea,” said Steven, typing.

> What’s your name?

> I have a name?

> Of course. Everyone has a name. Mine’s Steven.

> Everyone except me. I think. Nice to meet you, Steven.

“I think I just made a new friend,” he said. “But it looks like our new friend doesn’t have a name.”

Connie considered the various possibilities. “Maybe they have amnesia?” she said. “Ask them if they remember anything else.”

> Do you know where you are? Or how you got there?

>Somewhere dark. Vast. Like space, but lonely. Lonelier. So many voices.

>Voices? What are they saying? Who are they?

>Nothing, and nobody. Just hate. Anger. Fear.

The more Steven communicated with this entity, the more chilling the situation became. “On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t get involved,” Connie said with a shiver. “I’ve read stories like this, and none of them end well.”

Steven agreed, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Hang on, I have a few more questions.”

>How are you contacting Teletraan?

>I called out.

>...How?

>I just did. He heard me, but he didn’t answer. You did. Thanks. It feels less lonely with you here, Steven.

>You’re welcome. If you tell me more, I’ll do what I can to help you.

>I don’t know much. I must not be able to access my memory banks. If anything happens, I’ll be sure to tell you.

>Sounds good. I might not always respond right away, but I’ll get back to you when I can.

>I appreciate that. Even now, you’ve helped me so much.

>No prob, Bob!

>Bob…is that my name?

>It could be your nickname.

>It has a nice ring to it. See you later, Steven.

>Bye, Bob!

With that, the responses stopped coming. The entity, ‘Bob,’ seemed to have logged off. “Well, that was…something,” said Connie. “Do you still think we shouldn’t tell the Autobots?”

As much as he wanted to, Steven couldn’t help thinking that they had to have known Bob was trying to contact them, and never once said anything back, or tried to help them. Why? Something was wrong here, something they didn’t want him to know. “I think…we should keep this secret for now,” he said.

“Keep what secret?” asked Sideswipe, somehow appearing over Steven’s shoulder without either of them noticing.

“Gah!” Steven shouted, nearly falling out of his chair. “Um, th-the surprise Connie has planned for her Mom’s birthday! Yeah, it’d be more surprising if we kept it a surprise!” He chuckled nervously.

Sideswipe grinned, none the wiser. “Wow, planning her birthday present nine months in advance! You sure are a thoughtful daughter, Connie!”

She laughed nervously too. “Oh, you know me, always going the extra mile! Anyways, it was nice seeing you, Steven and Sideswipe, but I have to go, see ya later!” She hastily ended the call.

With her gone, Sideswipe turned to Steven. “So, what exactly is this surprise of yours? Any way I can help?”

“Um…you know what?” said Steven. “We were actually thinking about planning a surprise for you guys, too! Since you don’t exactly have birthdays, I figured we could plan something to celebrate all the, uh, great stuff that you do!” He smiled, hoping he wouldn’t notice how much he was sweating.

For a good long while, Sideswipe stared at him. “Okey-doke! Can’t wait to find out what it is!” He walked away, humming, while Steven sighed in relief.

Before heading out, Steven looked at the computer, his mind still on his mysterious new pen-pal. Just who was this Bob, and could they be trusted? And furthermore, how would the Autobots react if they found out Steven was hiding this from them?

He decided not to find out. With one last glance at Teletraan, he crept back into his house, vowing to contact Bob soon.

- - -

Not one day later, he got his opportunity, walking into the Ark to discover that nobody was home. “Hello?” he asked, getting no response. “Guys? Uh, are you hiding for the surprise party? That’s not for another year…and I think I’m the one supposed to do the surprising…” He looked around a bit more, before remembering who he could ask. “Teletraan, what’s the current location of the other Autobots?”

“An urgent alert came in reporting a highly dangerous Predacon sighted near a residential area,” the computer reported. “Elita-1, Sideswipe, and Ultra Magnus immediately deployed to handle the threat.”

That was…oddly convenient. Still, it gave Steven plenty of time to learn about Bob. “Okay, thanks.” The situation wasn’t that strange–the Autobots went out to handle Predacons all the time–but the timing of it all was a tad suspicious. All of that was quickly forgotten, however, as he climbed up into the chair to check his messages. Sure enough, one had been sent recently.

>You there?

>Yup. How are you?

>Still trapped in this place. It’s hard to explain, but it doesn’t feel real. Like I’m stuck in a dream.

>Well, I’m real, I promise! How long have you been stuck there, exactly?

>Hard to say. I’m usually pretty good at telling time, but it all sort of blends together here. Is the war still going on?

Steven paused. Was Bob really referring to what he thought they were? He had to ask, just to be sure.

>Depends. Which war?

>You know, the war. Optimus Prime fighting to ‘save the Earth’ or whatever. Is it over? Who won?

>Uh, I think we did. We’re still around, so that’s good. Honestly, they’ve never told me much about the war. I haven’t asked, to be fair.

>Who, those three Autobots? I wouldn’t bother. They probably wouldn’t give you an honest view, anyway.

>Why’s that?

>Steven, even without my memory I can tell you that the Autobots were nothing but a bunch of self-righteous terrorists ruining things for us hard working Decepticons. It’s only natural they’d frame themselves as the good guys.

Decepticons? Now there was a word Steven hadn’t heard before. Regardless, he couldn’t let his family’s good name go disparaged like that.

>It’s not like that! Magnus, Elita, and Sideswipe are my friends! They wouldn’t lie to me about something like that!

>Have you ever met a Cybertronian who wasn’t an Autobot?

Bob had a point. Magnus, Elita, and Sideswipe were the only Transformers he had ever met. They hadn’t once mentioned anything about the Decepticons, whoever they were. But surely Bob was mistaken, right? Surely his family wasn’t evil.

>So, these Decepticons…they don’t sound very trustworthy.

>You’re changing the subject. Listen to me, Steven: those Autobots you live with are keeping secrets from you. Maybe I’m wrong, and maybe they really do care about you in their own way. But if I’m right…I can’t distract them with a fake Predacon sighting forever.

>Wait, that was you?

>Yup! That’s one of the few upsides of being stuck in here. Wherever it is, there’s a lot of dark energon floating around. All it took was a bit of practice to send it towards that computer of yours.

>Towards Teletraan? Isn’t that dangerous?

>Don’t worry, all it does is set off his sensors. Besides, that gives us a chance to talk. That’s worth it, right?

>I guess…

Bob waited a while before responding.

>Okay, fair, calling ourselves ‘Decepticons’ does make us seem a bit suspicious. I’m sure there’s a good reason for that name, but it comes from before my time. If it makes you feel any better, I’m telling you the truth. You have my word.

>I believe you, Bob. So you really think I shouldn’t tell the Autobots about you?

>I wouldn’t recommend it. I bet if you asked them about the Decepticons, they wouldn't have any kind things to say about us. Just don’t mention me directly, ‘kay?

>I won’t, but…something about this doesn’t feel right. How can I be sure you’re not someone dangerous?

>I wish I could tell you who I am. I think what happened is my system dumped everything but my essential data when…whatever happened to me, happened to me. It should reboot once I’m back to normal.

>Speaking of what happened…the Autobots didn’t do this to you, did they? Turn you into some kind of digital ghost?

>Not your Autobots, that much I can say. If it was them, they’d probably be doing more to hide me from you.

>Makes sense. Hey, you said you still have your essential data. Is there anything in there you think could help?

>Worth a shot. Most of it’s just diagnostics and stuff, but it’s a start. It might take a little while to go over it, though. Talk to you tomorrow?

>No, they might get suspicious if there’s two false alarms right after the other. We should probably wait a few days, at least three.

>Look at you, getting all tactical! Three days it is, then. I’ll try to be a bit more creative with my “sighting.”

>Sounds good. Good luck, Bob, I’ll see you then.

>See you then, Steven!

And that was that, at least for today. Steven exited out of the messages, hoping Magnus didn’t decide on a whim to look through the spam folder. This far in, it wasn’t just guilt gnawing at him, it was the fear of being caught as well. But this deep in, he had no choice but to see things through to the end.

Still, something Bob said had stuck with him. As he headed back into his room, he wondered if the ‘bots really were keeping secrets from him…

- - -

The next few days, despite being more normal than what Steven was used to, were unusually tense. At every moment, he worried he would let something slip, that a single word would clue them in on what he was hiding from them. Surely they’d understand, wouldn’t they?

And then, of course, there was Bob’s claim that the Autobots were actually the bad guys. Seeing as the other side was called ‘the Decepticons,’ Steven had his doubts even without factoring in the Autobots he knew. But he didn’t exactly know any Decepticons, so could he really pass judgment?

Currently, he lay in his bed, paralyzed with worry due to Magnus being so close to finding him out. The Autobot was currently at Teletraan’s main console, working with Elita to refine his signal. After the false alarm a few days prior, there had been more than a few efforts to prevent similar things from happening in the future. Hopefully, Bob meant it when they said their next distraction would be more creative.

Slowly, he got to his feet. He said it himself: while they had never mentioned the Decepticons to him, he had never asked. Well, if there was ever a time to do so, it was now. Steeling himself for a possible scolding, he exited his house and headed for the lighthouse at the hilltop.

Due to most of the Ark being buried underneath the hill, the crew had to improvise to receive signals. A long time ago, they decided to hook up the ship to the lighthouse in lieu of a receiver or satellite dish. It had worked so far, and it was where Elita was currently. She had her arm connected to a bunch of high-tech stuff Steven didn’t really understand. “Uh, Elita? Do you mind if I ask you something?”

“Of course, Steven. What did you want to know?” she said, not looking up from her project.

At times like this, it was best to rip the bandage off and be done with it. “What’s a Decepticon?”

The instant the word was uttered, Elita froze. This wasn’t a mere pause, either, this was a full deer-in-the-headlights, fight or flight freeze. It almost looked like she was having flashbacks. She tried to play it off, hoping Steven hadn’t noticed. “And where exactly did you hear about them?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

“Oh, Connie said something about them in passing she heard from her mom,” Steven lied. “They sounded like something you guys would know more about.”

Elita took a moment to think of how to answer his question. She soon detached herself from the antenna, sitting down beside the lighthouse. She patted her knee, indicating for Steven to sit down as well. “Steven, you remember hearing about there being a war a long time ago, right?”

“Yeah, I did,” he said. “What was it about?”

“Well, when Cybertronians first came to Earth, there were two schools of thought. Some of us wanted to protect the life here and learn from it, while others wanted to take all of Earth’s resources without caring for the life that was here. Those who wanted to protect it became the Autobots, while the ones who wanted to harm it…”

“Were the Decepticons,” Steven finished. Suddenly, everything Bob had told him was put in a darker light. “Did…did you win?”

Elita looked away, her face darkening. “I suppose so. It was a long, hard-fought battle, with many casualties. But eventually, the Decepticons were driven back, while some of us decided to stay behind. The Earth was our home now, and we would always fight to defend it from evil.”

“So you guys stayed behind to protect us,” Steven said. He thought of his father, valiantly driving back the vicious Decepticons while protecting the humans. It was no wonder he held the Matrix of Leadership. “You don’t think any of them…stayed here, do you?”

“No,” Elita said. “After the war, the Decepticons figured that Earth wasn’t worth the effort. They went away to find resources somewhere else, hopefully with less people around to be put in danger. I…don’t think they’ll ever be back.” She sounded a bit worried when she said that. “Thankfully, this isn’t something you’ll likely have to deal with, so don’t you worry about the Decepticons!” She stood up, her cheerful demeanor returning.

It was all a lot to process, especially because Steven now had more experience with a Decepticon than any of them knew. “Well, that’s a relief,” he said. “They don’t sound like the friendliest people.”

“Indeed. They are called ‘Decepticons’ for a reason, after all,” Elita said. “But, like I said, that’s all in the past now. I’ll answer any questions you may have, but this really isn’t something you should concern yourself with.” She went back to working on the antenna.

“Just one more,” said Steven. “Were there ever any…friendly Decepticons?” Elita gave him a funny look. “Or, maybe not friendly, but just less…bad? Ones who might be easier to get along with than others?”

Elita blinked. “Well, no, I can’t imagine there would be. If a Decepticon was a good person, they would switch sides to the Autobots.”

“Did that ever happen?” he asked.

“Yes, plenty of times,” Elita replied. “But by that point, they weren’t really Decepticons anymore, were they? It’s actually very simple how this all works: Autobots protect life, Decepticons destroy it. Does that make sense?”

It did, more than he cared to admit. But as much as he was doubting Bob right now, something about all of this didn’t sit right with him. “Yeah.”

“Wonderful. Now, could you go down and see how things are going on Ultra Magnus’ end? Everything should be working up here.”

“Sure thing,” he said, relieved to have the subject change. If Bob was telling the truth about anything, it was that the Autobots wouldn’t appreciate him being friends with a Decepticon. With any luck, he would be able to find Bob, free them, and then he could put all of this behind him, with his family none the wiser. But as he made his way back to the Ark , he began to wonder if that was really the best idea…

- - -

>Bob? You there?

>Steven? What are you doing? Aren’t you worried the Autobots will catch us?

>I’m pretty sure they’re asleep. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something. Do you remember anything that happened during the war?

>Not much. Like I said, specifics are a bit blurry right now. I must’ve gotten captured or damaged at some point, though, otherwise I’d never have ended up here.

>Why’s that?

>Well, I ran those diagnostics, and as it turns out, my external shell was compromised! No wonder everything feels so floaty!

>???

>I’m just a spark, silly! If I had to guess, I’m probably being stored somewhere on that ship of yours. I don’t suppose your friends have a room where they keep their spare sparks laying around, do they?

>Actually, they do! You must be stored with all the Predacons–which explains why there’s so much dark energon around you!

>I know I’ve been out of it for a while, but…what’s a Predacon?

>You know, big scary monster? Likes dark energon? Causes trouble everywhere it goes?

>Not ringing a bell. But enough about that, what are we gonna do now?

As much as Steven wanted to help Bob right then, he had to ask them something first. He had to be absolutely sure he wasn’t getting into something there was no getting out of. At least, more so than he already was.

> First, I need to ask you that question I was talking about. If I set you free, what happens then?

>I go home, probably. As far as I’m concerned, the Autobots can keep the Earth. We’ll go find some other planets to harvest.

>Planets without life, right?

>Steven…I get why you’d want us not to harvest planets that have life. But if we don’t take energon where we can find it, we risk dying out. I don’t like it either, but when the alternative is starving…

>But if lives were on the line, why would the Autobots fight you guys off?

>You tell me, you’re friends with some. I guess they just like organics better than their fellow Cybertronians. But like I said, that’s all in the past now. I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you are.

Every part of Steven was absolutely certain that Bob wasn’t lying to him. They may have been a Decepticon, but they weren’t the violent warmonger Elita said the others were. It wasn’t fair that they were stuck in there with all those monsters just because of what they were. He knew what he had to do.

> Okay, hold tight. I’m coming to set you free.

>You are? Thank you, Steven! I can’t tell you how much this means!

Hopping up from his chair, he began making his way further into the Ark . However, as he went, he began having second thoughts. “Am I…being too hasty? Maybe this isn’t the right thing to do. But Bob…” He shook his head. “I should tell the Autobots first. Bob might not like it, but if I show them the messages, I’m sure they’ll believe me.” He reversed his path, heading back towards Teletraan.

First, he would tell Bob about his change of plans, before going to wake up the Autobots. True, it was late, but Bob shouldn’t have to wait any longer. But when he got back into the room, he stopped cold.

He wouldn’t be needing to go to the Autobots’ chambers, seeing as they were already there. The three of them were crowded around the computer, looking intently as Magnus scrolled through several pages. It was easy to guess what they were looking at. “Steven,” he said, looking up when he arrived. He sounded calm, but then again, that didn’t mean he was calm.

“H-hey guys!” Steven said nervously. “A bit late, isn’t it? What are you all doing up?”

Elita looked at him: unlike Magnus, he could tell she wasn’t too happy. “I would normally ask you the same thing, but we know what you’ve been up to.” She gestured towards the computer screen. “I had my suspicions when you asked me about the Decepticons, but this confirms it.”

Steven stepped forward, trying to reason with them. “Guys, I know this looks bad, but you read the messages–Bob isn’t like that! They just want to be free, and to go home, they’re not gonna cause any trouble!” He puffed out his chest proudly. “I’m willing to stake my honor on that claim!”

“Steven, this is worth more than your honor,” said Magnus. “Elita told you just how dangerous the Decepticons can be, but you still didn’t listen. Why would you keep this from us?”

“...I was worried you’d be mad at me,” Steven said. “At least, I was at first. I still am, but then I was worried you wouldn’t let me help Bob. You will still let me help them, right?” he asked, looking up at them hesitantly.

The three of them shared a glance. “Steven…you know we can’t let you just release a Decepticon,” Magnus said. “Whoever this ‘Bob’ is, and however they got into containment, letting them out now would be incredibly ill advised.”

“But Bob isn’t like other Decepticons!” Steven countered.

“Steven, you’ve never met any other Decepticons,” said Sideswipe. “How do you know Bob isn’t just tryna trick you, like all the others?”

This question made him hesitate, but when he found the answer, he answered with certainty. “Because…because this isn’t right. Even if Bob is secretly some evil Decepticon, they don’t deserve to be trapped in there forever. They just want to go home.”

Magnus stepped forward. “Steven, I appreciate your compassion, but we cannot let you do this. By setting this Decepticon free, you run the risk of compromising the safety of everyone on Earth, everything Optimus fought for. Is one individual really worth risking all of that for?”

“Would Optimus think so?”

Steven’s question gave Magnus pause. Nevertheless, he remained firm. “I know Optimus wouldn’t make rash decisions that could get innocent people hurt. We’ll handle things with Bob–for now, you go back to bed. We will discuss this further in the morning.”

For the first time in his life, Steven was seriously considering disobeying the Autobots. “And what if I’m right? What if there’s a perfectly innocent Transformer trapped in there, and you’re too hung up on your prejudices too–”

“You were not there !” Even Elita and Sideswipe were startled by Magnus’ sudden outburst. That was more aggression than any of them had seen from him in ages, possibly ever. “You…did not see what the Decepticons did to this world. To us. Do not even think of calling this ‘prejudice.’ Now go. To. Your. Room.”

Under Magnus’ firm glare, Steven was ready to fold. However, somewhere deep inside, he asked himself a question: ‘what would Optimus do?’ “No.”

It was Magnus’ turn to be taken aback. “N-’no?’”

“I’m sorry, but the Autobots are supposed to be the good guys. And good guys don’t keep innocent people trapped!”

“You don’t know they are innocent,” countered Magnus. “Everything Bob has told you could be a lie to get themselves free. For all you know, you could be playing into the hands of a notorious killer.”

“You’re wrong. I trust Bob. I don’t know how, but I can feel in my gut that they’re not a bad guy. Don’t you think we should at least find out first?”

Elita stepped forward. “Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to do that,” she said. “If Bob really is dangerous, the moment we let them out, that could be it. Especially considering how all of the Predacons we’ve caught are in that room…” She looked at Steven pleadingly. “Like Magnus said, we can talk more about this in the morning. Go to bed, Steven.”

“No! Why are you all being so stubborn about this!?” Steven cried. “Bob is my friend! They may not be my oldest friend, but I still think we should give them a chance! And if you won’t…then I will.” He began walking towards the door.

Before he could get far, Magnus was blocking his way. “Absolutely not. I refuse to entertain this conversation any longer–now go, otherwise I will have no choice but to ground you.”

The two of them narrowed their eyes at the other. Steven was fairly certain he was bluffing, but he did seem genuinely angry. “You wouldn’t ground me.”

“I don’t make empty promises, Steven,” Magnus replied.

After waiting for a few tense moments, Steven tried to dart between Magnus’ legs, only to be grabbed almost immediately. “Hey! I’m telling you, you’re making a mistake!”

Magnus lifted Steven up to eye level. “The only one making a mistake here is you, young man,” he said. “Now, it’s off to bed with you.” He began carrying Steven to his room, but he was interrupted by a sudden alarm.

“Warning: dangerous level of dark energon detected,” came the voice of Teletraan, as the room lit up red. The Autobots looked around, startled. Had there been a breach? Was Bob to blame? Magnus set Steven down, hurrying over to the computer as the doors were sealed shut.

Steven, on the other hand, knew for a fact that this was Bob’s doing. He scrambled over to the door as it closed, and rolled underneath it before it had shut completely. He had made his choice, and there was no turning back now.

“Steven!” Magnus banged on the door, with the other two hanging back just behind him. “Don’t take another step! Steven, I am warning you!”

“Please, Steven, don’t do this!” cried Elita. “You don’t know what they want! This could be a trap!”

“Yeah, don’t fall for it, man!” Sideswipe said. “At least let us tackle this together!”

But Steven’s mind was made up. He couldn’t allow his new friend to remain trapped, even if there was the possibility, however remote, that this was a trick. “I’ll only be a moment,” he said softly, looking away. “When I get back…I’ll accept whatever punishment you want to give me.” He made his way down the halls, the doors opening as he got close.

Magnus and the others continued trying to get his attention. “Steven! Steven !” But it was no use. He was already gone.

Steven had never been to this part of the ship before. He just went where the opening doors led him, reasoning that Bob knew the way. His path took him deep underneath the mountain, with the few windows he passed blocked by rocks. Then, he finally reached the sealed vault, which opened like all the others.

Wall to wall, ceiling to floor, the room was full of small chambers the perfect size and shape for holding a spark. There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands. Even if only a small portion of them were full, this room was still the prison for more Predacons than Steven ever considered to have existed. The only problem was, he now had to find the one that held his friend.

“Uh…Bob?” he called out, hoping his friend had some way to help him navigate this haystack he now found himself looking through. Thankfully, as he called out, one of the containers began beeping, a light blinking as it did. “Is that you? Beep once for yes, twice for no.” One beep. He had found his needle. “Alright, hold on, I’ll be right there!”

He then began climbing his way up the wall, heading towards Bob. Once the canister was within his reach, he turned the dial at the end, which clicked open to produce a spark. It didn’t seem to be tainted by dark energon, which hopefully meant he had got the right one. Grabbing hold, he fell back to the floor.

Once it was freed, the spark began to change. Just as had happened with Elita, a body began to grow from it: first, a frame, followed by the outline, before finally regaining its color. In no time at all, Bob now stood before him.

She was primarily red and black, with a large pair of wings extending from her back, two turbined contained within. “S-Steven…?” She wobbled around a bit, getting used to her new legs, before turning around to face him. Her face was white, looking almost like it was painted, with a yellow crest atop her head. “Steven! You did it!”

Steven looked up at the Transformer he had just freed. Sure enough, rather than an Autobot insignia, she wore a purple symbol he had occasionally seen before. A Decepticon insignia, no doubt. “No prob, Bob.”

She laughed, sitting down next to him. “Please, call me Windblade. That can’t have been easy, standing up to your friends like that. Do you…really trust me that much?”

“I mean…the Decepticons don’t sound like nice people,” he said. “But even though you are one, I don’t think you’re bad. You aren’t bad…right?”

A look of uncertainty crossed Windblade’s face, but her smile returned soon after. “No, of course not! I know what I said earlier, but I don’t want this place to be harvested. Especially not now that I know my savior lives here.” She reached out to give Steven a hug. A bit awkward considering the size difference, but nothing he wasn’t used to. “When I get back to Cybertron, I promise not to mention Earth.”

“Th-that would definitely be appreciated, yeah,” he said. “So, now that you’re free, your memory’s back, right? How did you end up in there in the first place?”

Windblade looked up, realizing that, without her sending dark energon signals to Teletraan, the lockdown had lifted. “I’ll tell you in a minute,” she said. “Is there another way out of here?”

He remembered the various drills and protocols Elita had shown him. “Um, I think there’s a tunnel that leads out into the ocean,” he said. “We’d better hurry if we don’t want the Autobots showing up.”

“No need to tell me twice!” Following Steven’s lead, Windblade traveled down unfamiliar corridors across the Ark, head on a swivel for the Autobots. Through perhaps a bit of luck, they did not encounter them on their journey through the ship. Before long, the two reached a room that had a pool in the center, filled with seawater.

“Through here,” said Steven, taking a deep breath before diving in. Windblade followed, with Steven leading her down yet another tunnel. They soon saw moonlight refracting through the surface, emerging to find they were now underneath the stars. “Ta-da! Your freedom, madame.”

Windblade chuckled as she and Steven walked up onto the sand. “You sure delivered, little guy.” She looked up longingly at the night sky, this being the first time she had seen it in centuries. “I’ll give this planet one thing: it sure has some nice views.”

Steven looked up as well, smiling. “Yeah. It sure does.”

This tranquility did not last, as they heard a shout behind them. “Steven!” He recognized Elita’s voice. They both turned to see the Autobots approaching, armed and ready for battle.

Not wanting this to come to blows, Steven stepped between them. “Guys, I know you’re mad at me–you’re probably right to be,” he said. “But Windblade’s harmless! She even promised she wouldn’t mention Earth once she got back to Cybertron!”

“No way are we letting her leave!” said Sideswipe, brandishing his swords. “Who’s to say she won’t lead the Decepticons here by accident?”

Before Steven could offer a rebuttal, Windblade stepped in front of him, no longer looking quite as serene. “ You .” she hissed, her face twisted into a scowl. “I was in there for almost six thousand years , and you never once tried to help me! You never even acknowledged me!” The turbines in her wings started to spin. “You really think you’re the good guys here!?”

Elita clutched her blaster. “Says the Decepticon tricking our boy into releasing her!”

“What? No, you don’t understand!” cried Steven, desperately trying to ease the tension. “Windblade didn’t trick me! There’s no reason to fight!”

At that moment, Elita leveled her blaster at Windblade, her finger on the trigger. That was all Windblade needed to see; the turbines on her wings accelerated to their top speed, creating two tornados that rushed towards the Autobots. Sideswipe and Elita were thrown back, but Magnus managed to only slide back a few feet.

Once the gale subsided, Magnus responded by letting loose a barrage of rockets. Windblade responded by sending out another whirlwind, throwing the projectiles off-course and careening into the sand around her, as well as into Magnus, knocking him down. She then produced a device from her hip: a purple energy sword extended from it, and she charged.

Sideswipe hurled herself in front of her, his twin blades clashing with hers. “Get outta my town!” he growled, pushing her back before swinging both swords from either side. Windblade leapt back from the maneuver, before darting forward with a stabbing maneuver. Their weapons were interlocked once more.

“Trust me, I’d rather not stay here any longer than I have to!” she replied. Her turbines spun again, kicking up sand that swirled around them. With this momentary distraction, she headbutted Sideswipe, before sending him to the ground with a kick to the chest.

As much as he didn’t want to join the fight, Steven’s best efforts to calm them down weren’t doing much. “Please, everyone, let’s stop and talk this out!” he shouted desperately, afraid to get too close to the fray.

The others were too consumed in their battle to hear Steven. After Sideswipe had gone down, Elita charged in, opening fire on Windblade as she ran. Windblade spun her sword to deflect the incoming blasts, but once Elita got close, she switched her blaster to close-range configuration. The concussive blast knocked the sword from her hands, as well as stunning her enough for Elita to press the weapon against Windblade’s chest.

Before Elita could fire, she was blown back by a burst of wind. Another gust blew Windblade’s sword back into her hand, a swing of which almost took Elita’s arm off. Instead, it created a gash on her shoulder, which was still enough to cause her to drop her weapon. Windblade raised her sword to deliver the finishing blow…

“Stop!” As she brought her blade down, she found it blocked by another. Steven, in his Cybertronian form, had raised his axe to protect Elita. “We don’t have to fight! Neither of you are the bad guys. If we take a moment to discuss everything calmly, I’m sure we can–”

Magnus chose that moment, to Steven’s horror, to throw himself at Windblade, delivering a punch that sent her careening into the sand some distance away. He managed to hold him back from following, but the damage was done. Incensed, Windblade picked herself up, wiping a drop of energon from her mouth– dark energon.

“You know what? I’m done playing games,” she hissed. A familiar noise sounded as she began to transform, but stopped short as she cried out in pain, clutching her upper chest. Recovering from this, she glared at her former captors. “You’re going to regret keeping me trapped for so long!” The sand beneath her began to swirl as a massive tornado formed around her, strong enough to lift her into the air. This tornado carried her past the Autobots and beyond Beach City, off into the wilderness.

“Both of you, secure the Ark , I’m going after her!” said Elita, transforming and taking to the skies. Magnus and Sideswipe returned to Steven and the ship respectively, playing damage control. Magnus tried to get Steven’s attention, but he was completely despondent.

Seeing Windblade vanish over the horizon, Steven fell to his knees, shifting back to human form. “What have I done…?” he wondered softly, as the sun began to rise.

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.

Chapter Text

Chapter Nineteen: Doorway to the Heavens

- - -

“Alright, a little to the left,” Sideswipe called out. Elita moved to the left, the section of roof she was carrying moving with her. “No, other way. Left.”

“That is left,” replied Elita, irritated. “If I need to go right, then say right.”

Sideswipe looked down at his hands as Magnus helped guide the roof into place. A tool of his inserted a row of nails into place, while Steven, riding on his shoulder, hammered them in. “Almost done, Mr. Pizza!” Steven announced.

Nearby, Kofi Pizza watched as the Autobots repaired his restaurant. “I never thought I’d need tornado insurance living in Beach City,” he complained. “With everything that happens around here, though, I should at least get some giant robot insurance!”

“They’re fixing your roof for free, I think that counts as insurance!” said Nanefua, nudging him. “You be careful up there now, Steven!”

A little while later, the job was done. “There we go. I would say Fish Stew Pizza looks better than it did before Windblade came along,” said Magnus. It most certainly didn’t, but the repairs would hold. “Now, for the matter of payment…”

Kofi stared at him, unamused.

“...A joke, of course,” he said. “Elita, how many other buildings need repairs?”

From up high, Elita scanned the town. “Looks like we’re done,” she said, returning to the ground and transforming. “Luckily, the tornado stayed mostly away from the residential areas.” She shot the Pizzas a brief apologetic glance. “...Though some businesses weren’t as lucky.”

“Nevermind–just so long as we can re-open, I’m content.” Kofi headed back inside, hoping that this was the last time his pizzeria would be on the receiving end of some Autobot-related trouble. Deep down, however, he doubted it.

“He may not sound like it, but he’s grateful,” Nanefua informed them. “As am I. You just keep on helping people, now!” With a friendly wave, she headed inside as well.

“We sure will! Bye Nanefua!” said Steven, returning her wave. “Alright, so that’s one pizza place done. How many more stops do we have left to make today?”

Magnus lowered him down to the ground. “For you, no more. Right now, there’s somebody who needs your help even more than anyone in town, and it’s high time you visited him.”

“Oh yeah!” Steven said, realizing who he’d almost forgotten. “Dad gets out of the hospital today, doesn’t he?”

“So I’ve heard,” Magnus said. “Elita, could you take him? I have something else I need Sideswipe’s help with.”

“Yippee, more work,” Sideswipe droned, trudging over to Magnus. “Tell your dad hey for me, Steven. If Magnus wants what I think he wants, I’ll be busy for a while…”

“Uh, okay,” said Steven. Elita transformed once more, and he climbed inside. “See you guys in a bit!”

The pair of them took off towards the hospital. The doctors had informed them that Greg’s injury wasn’t that serious, and that they handled broken limbs all the time. With any luck, he would be out by tomorrow–which, now, was today.

“Hey, Elita?” he asked.

“Hmm?”

Steven faltered for a moment. “Uh…nevermind.” The rest of their flight was in silence.

- - -

Elita touched down just outside the hospital, where Greg was waiting. “Dad!” called Steven, leaping out and rushing over to greet him with a hug.

“Woah, easy there!” he chuckled, returning the hug with his good arm. The other was held in a sling which Steven had to maneuver to avoid pressing into. “They just fixed me up, you want me to head back in there already?”

“No, I’m just glad you’re okay!” said Steven. “I know the doctors said it wasn’t serious, but you know me, I’m a worrier.”

Transforming once more, Elita walked over. “You’re lucky that wasn’t any worse,” she told him. “With how powerful Windblade proved herself to be, it easily could have been more than your arm that ended up broken.” Unseen by either of them, Steven winced when she brought this up.

Greg simply waved her off. “Hey, if it means helping you guys out, that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Speaking of, you don’t need any help getting the town fixed up, do you?”

“No, we already handled everything there,” she said. “Regardless, you’re in no position to do anything else except rest. Now, get in, I’m taking you home.” She transformed once again.”

“Hey, I may be down an arm, but I’m still plenty capable!” To show what he meant, he tried climbing into the cockpit with his one arm, only to stumble and nearly fall. He cried out as he flailed, but Steven caught him before he could. “Uh, heh, ignore that.”

With both of them securely fastened into their seats, Elita took off. “I will most certainly not ignore that. The doctor specifically told you to avoid any strenuous activity, and that’s exactly what you’ll do. Steven, I want you to keep an eye on him and make sure he does what he’s supposed to, okay?”

Steven saluted. “Sure thing! Are you gonna help  Magnus and Sideswipe with…whatever it is they’re doing?”

“Actually, I had another project I was thinking about getting to,” replied Elita. “But don’t you worry about that. You’ve got yourselves to worry about now.”

Even despite her insistence, Steven could see Greg’s eyes light up when she mentioned a project. “And, uh, what sort of project is it?” he asked. “You wouldn’t happen to be tinkering with something, would you?”

Elita sighed. “Greg, what part of ‘you need to rest’ didn’t you hear?”

“I know, I know, it’s just…even if I can’t help you out directly, I could still help indirectly! Come on, you said I need to relax, right? Well, nothing’s more relaxing to me than fixing something that needs fixing! So, whaddya say?”

They flew on in silence for a while as Elita thought it over. Eventually, with another sigh, she changed direction, heading west. “You’re lucky I’m the sentimental type.”

“That’s the spirit!” said Greg. As they flew, he noticed that the route they were taking looked familiar. “Now, this project of yours, it wouldn’t happen to relate to that spacebridge thingy, would it?”

“As a matter of fact, it’s exactly that,” Elita answered. “There used to be a number of spacebridges located all across the planet, but over time, all of them were either destroyed or lost. As far as we know, this could very well be the last one left. And considering the condition it’s in, I think it might be possible to repair it!”

“Cool, a real working spacebridge!” said Steven. “...So, uh, what exactly does a spacebridge do?”

Elita would have smiled if she wasn’t currently in her altmode. “It acts exactly like a groundbridge, only except of being confined to a single planet, it connects to an entire network of other spacebridges located throughout the known universe. If we can get it working again, maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to experience all the wonders of the cosmos together!”

“You mean we get to go to space!?” cried Steven, ecstatic. “No way! I’ve always wanted to go to space! Can we go wherever we want!? Are there other space people out there in space!? Do I get to ride on a spaceship!?”

“Steven, Steven, there’ll be plenty of time for adventuring once we get the portal repaired!” Elita said, chuckling. “But yes, I imagine you will be able to do all of that and more!”

“Woohoo!” Steven began to chant. “Goin’ to space! Goin’ to space! C’mon, Dad, help me out! Goin’ to space!”

Greg joined in. “Goin’ to space! Goin’ to space! Goin’ to space!”

Eventually, Elita couldn’t help but join in as well. “Goin’ to space! Goin’ to space! Goin’ to space!”

- - -

“Goin’ to space! Goin’ to space! Goin’ to–hey, we’re here!

Elita touched down in the desert where the massive ring lay: an ancient relic of a bygone age. But it wouldn’t be for long. Steven hopped out excitedly, helped Greg to the ground, and ran over to the spacebridge. “Hold on there, Schtu-ball! You can try, but I don’t think you’ll be able to lift that all by yourself!”

“Sure I can–watch!” Steven took on his Cybertronian form, and began trying to hoist the ring onto its side. After a moment of struggling, however, he found that he could barely budge it. “Okay, I might need a little help…”

“Luckily for us, if we do this right, it should lift up by itself,” said Elita. She stopped for a moment, looking over the damaged spacebridge. “To think, this is all that separates us from the vast cosmos…just a moment of repairs, and we can see the galaxies once again!”

“Can’t wait!” said Steven. “So, um…how exactly do we fix this thing?”

Greg took a look at the spacebridge as well. “I may not be an expert in Cybertronian tech, but I’ve dabbled here and there. Hmm…I think the first order of business should be cleaning out the inside, and making sure its circuitry is viable. Considering Windblade got it working, it should be relatively functional. From there, we’ll repair the damaged bits, and that should get it working!”

“My thoughts exactly,” Elita added. “Lucky for us, I thought ahead and brought tools.” She produced a drill and a welding torch from a compartment in her back. “Shall we get started?”

“Fine by me!” replied Greg.

“Yeah! Said Steven. “Let’s do it!”

- - -

The project started off slowly but successfully. Most of the beginning consisted of clearing out the sand that had accumulated over the centuries, which Steven was more than happy to help with. He may not have understood much of the technical jargon Elita and his dad were talking about, but he was proving himself to be very good at removing sand. He hauled it out by the bucketful while Elita and Greg discussed how best to tackle renovations.

As he went back and forth, emptying the buckets into the desert, Steven’s mind was on all of the various places he’d get to see once the spacebridge was repaired. There were the obvious choices, like the moon, and Mars, and maybe the Sun. Of course, Cybertron was probably what he wanted to see the most. For years, he had heard of its wonder, never enough to give him a clear picture, but more than enough to pique his curiosity.

Before he knew it, the spacebridge was ready for construction. “Okay guys, that should be all the sand!” he said, tossing the buckets aside. “Are you all ready to get started? How long ‘til you think it’ll be done?”

“Someone really wants to go to space!” said Greg. “Well, yup, I’d say we’re almost ready over here. I’ll finish drawing up the plans here, why don’t you help Elita get everything into place?”

“Will do!” Steven said, saluting. He hurried back over to the spacebridge, with Elita following. “So, is it almost done?”

“Steven, we haven’t even started on the repairs yet. We’ll be lucky if it only takes one day to be finished,” said Elita. “Though you’ve definitely helped us out by cleaning it up! Let’s see…if everything goes well, we should have this ready by nightfall.”

He could hardly wait. “Hey, Elita? You seemed pretty excited about going to space, too. Was there something specific you wanted to see?”

Elita was lost in thought for a moment. “The universe has so many things to see, I don’t know where to begin! There’s the continent-spanning racetracks of Velocitron, the titanic forests of Eukaris, the thermal caves of Lithone…” She looked wistfully into the distance. “I have to admit, I miss it, Steven. I miss it all.”

If he had been excited before, Steven was now chomping at the bit to see all of the places Elita was describing. “Wow, that sounds awesome!” But as excited as he was, the real question still had yet to be answered. “Do you think we could even see Cybertron?”

Upon hearing this, Elita tensed up. It took her a moment to answer, though she was much more hesitant to do so this time. “I, um…I certainly would like to,” she said, sitting down on the spacebridge’s side. “There’s so much about the planet that I love, that I…haven’t seen in so long.”

“Like what?” asked Steven.

“Well…I used to love visiting the Radiant Falls. A spring of energon bubbling up from the ground, surrounded by crystalline pillars…oh, I wish you could see it, Steven! And the Sonic Canyons could make the most beautiful music when the wind was right, provided you turned down your audio processors beforehand. Even the Sea of Rust had a certain desolate beauty to it. Better to look at it from afar than to be stuck in the middle of it though!” She laughed, before sighing. “I think a visit to Cybertron might be just what we need.”

“Then it’s settled: our first stop once the spacebridge is finished is your home town!” Steven declared, hopping up beside her. “I bet you’ll be happy to see all your friends there again, huh?”

Elita’s cheerful demeanor suddenly faltered, a shocked look crossing her face for a split second. She looked away before Steven could notice. “That would certainly be nice. I wonder what everyone’s been up to while I’ve been gone…” She looked up at the sky, lost in thought.

Steven let her reminisce for a moment before continuing. “Whenever you’re ready!” Elita collected herself, standing up and brushing off some sand.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to keep them waiting. So begins the process!” She pointed off into the distance valiantly, the wind blowing from behind her. Steven watched, starry-eyed, as Greg made his way over. “Ah, perfect timing! Are the plans ready?”

“Uh…yeah, everything’s all set here,” Greg said, holding up the papers. “You sure you can handle this all by yourself? I’d be more than happy to lend you a hand!”

She gave him a stern look. “You’ve already given a hand, Greg, that’s the problem. No, we agreed that you were only coming along to direct, and that’s what you’re doing. Think you can keep him to that, Steven?”

“Sure thing!” Steven went over to his dad, both of them taking a seat by the makeshift workbench the two had set up. “C’mon, Dad, we can be foremen together!”

Greg took a look down at the plans, then at his arm in a sling, then back up at the spacebridge. “Well, the doctors did say I needed to relax…alright Elita, I’m letting you take the lead on this one. Hope you know your way around spacebridges as well as I do!”

She smirked. “And here I thought you were only just familiarizing yourself with the blueprints,” she said to herself. “I hope you’re as good at directing as you are at playing music.”

“Eh, that was a long time ago,” Greg said, looking away as he shrugged. “I could probably play a few chords, but those days are mostly behind me now…”

Steven turned to his dad. “You never told me you were a musician,” he said. “Though I guess that would explain all those guitars in your workshop… Were you in a band?”

Greg smiled. “I was a band!” he recalled proudly. “You ever wonder why my van says ‘Mr. Universe’ on the side? That’s what I was called back in the eighties. Back in my prime, I used to play for sold out stadiums! …They, uh, weren’t very big stadiums, but semantics, right?”

His excitement for seeing space momentarily forgotten, Steven was now enraptured by a different kind of star. “Wow…my dad’s a rockstar! Did you ever meet anyone famous? Aside from you, of course. Did you ever trash a hotel room? Did you ever perform for the president!?”

“Not personally, a couple times on accident, and no,” Greg replied. “Though I did play for the mayor of Seattle once, but he wasn’t mayor at the time.” He chuckled. “There was another time when I called this one motel’s front desk and demanded they bring me up a pizza that I didn’t order, but a few too many grown-up sodas might’ve been involved there…” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Hey Elita, did you ever hear about this?” Steven called over to the Autobot. “My Dad used to be a rockstar! You ever hear him play?”

Elita removed herself from the spacebridge’s maintenance shaft. “I have not. We did see a Mr. Universe cover band one time–which was actually when we all met Greg. I think he was their sound technician or something, right?”

“Roadie,” Greg corrected, sounding disappointed. “Like I said, the eighties were my prime. By the nineties, the newer and younger talent had all but taken my place.” He sighed. “But hey, now I got my shop, I got my van, and I got you. What more could I ask for?”

“I know what I could ask for: some help!” said Elita, going back to her repairs. “You can play us a tune later, right now is the time for a tune- up . On this. Because we…did that wordplay make sense?”

“Right up my alley!” said Steven, giving her a thumbs-up as he looked at the instructions they had drawn up. “Okay, so, it looks like there are five blue cans around the ring, and you need to tie them to some red ropes that go in sorta like a zig-zag motion.”

Greg looked at the blueprints. “You’ll need to repair the cooling systems first,” he translated. “After that, the antimatter injector should be ready to go. Just remember not to crosswire the subspace capacitors with the microparticle targeting array, or you miiiight end up dooming us all.”

Elita scoffed. “You act like this is my first time repairing a spacebridge. Someone had to keep things up and running back on Cybertron.”

“So, you were a mechanic before you joined the Autobots?” Steven asked.

She nodded. “I was, and a fairly good one at that. I may not be an engineer or inventor like some of the others, but I could keep up with the boys!” She twirled the tool around her finger to demonstrate.

“Huh, you and Dad are both mechanics,” said Steven. “It’s weird you don’t hang out more. You have a lot in common!”

There was a brief silence as both Elita and Greg looked away. “I…think it’s best we get a move on,” Elita said. “So, after the cooling systems?”

- - -

“Aaaaand…there!” said Steven, drawing one final X in the sand. “I win!”

Greg snapped his fingers. “Got me again!” The ground all around them was covered in circles and X’s, with most of the latter being three in a row. “Best twenty-five out of forty-nine?”

“I dunno, I feel like any more of this would be cruel,” said Steven, looking around at his previous victories. “Know any other games we can play out here? …Dad?”

Not paying attention, Greg was instead looking over at Elita, who continued to make progress on the spacebridge. “Sounds good, Schtu-ball, let me just check in on how Elita’s doing. Why don’t you set up the next game for us?” he got up and headed over, leaving a confused Steven sitting in the dirt.

Steven didn’t stay sitting in the dirt for long, but he did stay confused as he followed. “Uh, Dad? You sure your head’s in the game?” Steven could usually beat his dad at tic-tac-toe, but he often put up more of a fight than this. It was obvious his mind was elsewhere, and Steven had a good idea of where that was.

Sure enough, he found Greg peering into the spacebridge, watching Elita work. “You, uh…you sure you don’t need me to give you a hand?” he said. “I might be down one of my own, but I can still be useful!”

Elita barely even looked up to acknowledge him, as her mind was occupied as well. “While I appreciate the offer, Greg, I really don’t want to put you in danger,” she said, welding something within the ring. “Spacebridge maintenance is an incredibly technical and often dangerous job even for Cybertronians, so you can imagine how hazardous it might be for healthy humans, let alone injured ones. You’re doing a perfectly serviceable job directing me, so keep it up.”

Steven could see Greg visibly deflate. “I haven’t been, though,” he said quietly, before sadly trudging his way back over to where he and Steven were sitting. “So, best twenty-six out of fifty-one?”

“Dad, stop,” Steven said gently. “I know when something’s bothering you, and something’s definitely bothering you. We don’t have to keep playing if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s not that,” Greg said with a sigh. “I guess I just imagined doing…I don’t know, more . It’s not often I get to help the ‘bots out like this. Remember when they asked me to pilot that diagnostic drone? I hadn’t felt like that since Optimus was still–” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, it was nice to feel needed. I guess I just wanted to feel that again.”

“Dad… I need you. You know that, right?” said Steven.

“Of course I do, bud,” said Greg, moving over to hug his son. “You know what? Why don’t we move past all this complicated grownup stuff for now? How about we just sit, relax, and enjoy this time we’re spending with each–”

There was a small explosion inside the spacebridge, accompanied by a pillar of smoke pouring out. This was followed shortly after by Elita emerging, coughing as she unleashed what Steven could only assume were a series of Cybertronian swears. “Primus-forsaken, rust-ridden malfunctioning hunk of slag!” she spat, before turning to see the pair standing there. “Oh, Steven, hi! I didn’t see you there!”

“Sounds like Dad’s not the only one who could use a break,” he said with a small smile. “Why don’t we head home for the day? We can come back tomorrow, with fresh minds and a better approach!”

Elita smiled. “I appreciate the offer, Steven, but there’s really no need. I’ve almost finished with the main systems in here, so we should be ready for a test run in just a little while. Aren’t you excited to see space!?”

He was, but not if it meant Elita overworking herself. “I am, but not if it means you overworking yourself,” he said. “Come on, taking some time off could be good for you!”

“Sorry Steven, but I can’t quit now–not while I’m so close,” she replied. Either he was mistaken, or there was a manic glint in her eye. “I finally have an opportunity to leave this planet! If I quit now, I might never get another one!”

“L-leave…?” asked Steven. But Elita didn’t hear him, going back to working on the spacebridge. “But why would you want to leave?”

Greg put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer. “Don’t worry about it, Steven. I’ve seen this before: whenever Elita sets her sights on a certain project, there’s no tearing her away from it. We might as well head back and meet up with her in the morning.”

“Uh, Dad? How are we supposed to go home when Elita was our ride out here?”

There was a brief silence. “Welp, might as well set up camp for the night,” said Greg, walking off to do just that.

- - -

“Steven! Hey, Steven, wake up!”

Groggily, Steven got his bearings, pushing off the blueprints he was using as a blanket as he sat up. “Huh? Elita?” The Autobot was sitting beside him, looking down with an excited expression. “What time’s it?”

Nighttime, that much was obvious, but Steven didn’t feel like he’d been asleep for long. “It’s time for the test run of our newly-repaired spacebridge!” said Elita, positively giddy. “Are you ready!?”

He shook his eyes. “Um, I was ready to get some rest.” Rubbing his eyes, he stood up. “Is Dad awake?”

Elita was already nearly to the spacebridge’s controls. “No, but this is only a test. If it works, I’ll wake him up for the real thing! Now come along, there’s no time to waste!”

Steven looked over at his sleeping father, considering waking him up. “You mean you woke me up, and I can’t even go to space yet?” he said, trudging his way over.

“Oh, no need to worry, that part comes soon!” Elita began running the startup sequence. “Right now, what we’ll do is open a small window to a nearby uninhabited world–say, Mars. You like Mars, don’t you? Then, if that works, we’ll be able to go anywhere in the universe we want! Can you believe that!?”

“Well, it was the plan we came up with…” said Steven. While Elita had definitely been happy to return to the wonders of the universe before now, tonight she seemed even more excited than Steven had. And while this enthusiasm would normally only improve his excitement, her strangely manic disposition did little to put him at ease. Being woken up at such an hour didn’t help, either.

Seemingly in her own little world, Elita giddily hopped around the spacebridge’s controls, giggling to herself as the machine began to hum. “Almost ready! Come over here to where it’s safe, Steven, just in case.” He did so. “This is such a momentous occasion! Just wait until Sideswipe and Ultra Magnus hear about this! We’ll finally be free again, all four of us!”

“What do you mean, ‘four of us?’” asked Steven. “What do you mean, ‘finally?’” It sounds like you’ll be glad to get off the Earth.”

“Oh, there’s no need to worry, Steven,” she said, not looking up. “In just a moment, you’ll be glad, too!” She let out a short cackle. “Here we go!”

“Elita, you’re starting to scare me,” he said. “When you said you were going to fix this thing, I wasn’t expecting you to go full mad scientist. How do we know something scary isn’t gonna come out of there when you turn it on?”

“Only one way to find out! Here we go!” Pulling one final lever, the spacebridge began to whirr to life. Lights around the edge lit up, while a hum came from within. Elevated by strange alien energies, Elita watched excitedly, and Steven anxiously, as the machine slowly lifted into the air.

Having warmed up, an atom-sized singularity appeared at the center of the ring, soon growing into an orb of energy that filled out the spacebridge’s interior. Electricity crackled as this tear in the fabric of space took shape, while both witnesses looked on in awe. And that was when everything went terribly wrong.

The source of the hum, a centrifuge located inside the device, grew erratic. While it was static when it started to rise, now it began to tilt from side to side, shaking. The bolts within grew more frenetic as well, and the singularity grew much less uniform.

Elita’s expression became one of worry, looking over the readings. Warning signs flashed on every screen, urging her to shut it down. “Hang on, I can fix this! I just need to make some adjustments, and everything will be fine!” She furiously pressed buttons to try and mitigate the disaster, to no avail.

Before long, something gave, and the spacebridge couldn’t sustain itself anymore. Crashing back to the ground, the hole in the center of the frame imploded, becoming a pitch black sphere that created a flow of air towards itself. “Is that…?”

“No it isn’t!” Elita shouted. Despite her best efforts, the computer refused to handle the issue. “Don’t panic, Steven, this isn’t anything I can’t handle!”

“You created a black hole!” cried Steven. “Elita, I don’t think you can handle this!”

“Yes I can!” she yelled. “I’m not giving up on this! Not when I’m so close!” The screens began to glitch out, before going entirely black. If there was any chance of controlling this spacebridge, it had just gone out the window, promptly being sucked into the black hole. Which, with nothing to regulate its growth, began to grow stronger and stronger.

By now, it was as though gale-force winds were blowing from every direction as the singularity drew everything near. Steven rushed over to Elita, fearing this was soon to be her fate. “Come on, we have to get out of here!”

“I…” Elita watched in horror at what she had wrought. “B-but everything was working just fine! How could this have gone so wrong?”

“Well, you were rushing things just a bit, and you were pretty tired,” said Steven as he tried to pull her away from danger. “Now come on! That thing’s getting bigger!”

Indeed it was, growing by the second. And with every second that passed, it got stronger. Steven and Elita could feel it pulling against them as they tried to make their escape. And they weren’t the only ones.

Greg, who had been asleep through that entire ordeal, only just now awoke when the black hole removed his blueprint-blanket. “Snmrph–Huh?” He sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Jeez, windy tonight, isn’t it? ..What the!?” He turned in horror to see what had become of Elita’s project. “What happened!?”

“I may have gotten a bit overzealous in repairing the spacebridge,” Elita admitted. “The subspace capacitors may have gotten tangled up with the microparticle targeting array…”

“So how do we stop it?” asked Steven, clinging to Elita’s leg to avoid being sucked in. “There’s gotta be some sort of emergency shutoff or failsafe, right? There always is in movies!”

“I don’t think this is a movie!” Greg replied. He too made his way over to Elita, fighting against the air current. “Is there any other way to stop this?”

“The controls aren’t responding,” Elita said, “but we could try to unplug the antimatter injector. With no electromagnetic field to sustain it, the singularity should collapse under its own weight…unless it gets too big first, so we’ll need to hurry!”

“Got it!” Steven began making his way closer to the spacebridge, but Elita didn’t allow that, quickly scooping him up before he could get far.

“Absolutely not! This is far too dangerous for you to handle on your own!” Elita said. “No, I caused this mess, so I’ll be the one to fix it!” She pulled the two of them away from harm, making sure they were safe before doubling back to disable the spacebridge alone.

Metal creaked as the spacebridge continued to draw in everything in range, growing stronger all the while. The black hole surged with dark energy, a relentless maw that was sure to devour all three of them if it couldn’t be stopped. “Wait! Elita!” Steven cried.

He was about to go after her when Greg stopped him. “Steven, you wait too! It’s way too dangerous for someone our size!”

“It’s too dangerous for someone her size too!” he said. Indeed, Elita was beginning to lose her footing, as the black hole relentlessly drew her towards itself. In her efforts to resist, she fell to the ground, being dragged through the dust as both humans gasped in horror.

Before being fully engulfed by the singularity, Elita transformed, her propellers working overtime to keep her from being swallowed. But even at full strength, she wouldn’t be able to escape from its grasp–not alone.

Knowing he had to do something, Steven turned to his father with an apologetic expression. “Sorry Dad, but I can’t just sit around when someone needs help!” As Greg cried out his name, Steven shifted into his Cybertronian form, allowing himself to be pulled towards Elita. “Elita, quick, transform!”

She did so, grabbing his hand just as he reached her. Steven then drove his axe into the ground, creating an anchor to resist the black hole’s pull. But although they were safe now, it wouldn’t be long before it grew too strong for anyone to resist.

“I…I’m sorry,” Elita said, pulling herself to the ground beside Steven, the two still holding onto each other. “I’ve just felt so trapped since Optimus died, and this spacebridge seemed like the only way to do something about it. I got so carried away that I lost sight of what’s really important.” She looked over at Steven.

“No problem!” he replied. “We all get a little carried away sometimes. But it’s important to know when to ask for help!” The spacebridge’s frame groaned as the black hole grew stronger still. “Like right now, for instance!”

Eventually, the frame began to tear itself apart. Part of it snapped in two as the black hole tried to consume it as well, exposing the interior. And when Greg looked closer, he saw…

“The antimatter injector! Keep holding on, I’m going in!” Venturing out from safety, and staying low to the ground, Greg began making his way towards the spacebridge.

“Dad, don’t!” Steven called. “You said it yourself, it’s too dangerous for guys our size!”

“It is,” he replied, “but someone our size is the only one who can fit in there!” He pointed to the hole that had been torn in the ring. “You and Elita keep each other safe! And wish me luck!” Although his relatively small stature meant that he was below the ring’s effects, he still had to be careful not to succumb to the wind.

As much as Steven wanted to dive out and grab him, letting go of the axe could spell doom for the both of them. “Be safe…” he said, barely audible over the howling gale.

Fighting all the way, Greg was eventually able to reach the spacebridge. With his one good arm, he held on to its side, working his way into the opening. From there, all Steven and Elita could do was wait, holding on as the black hole grew ever larger.

“...Steven?”

“Yeah?”

“When I said I wanted to leave Earth behind, I…I never meant leaving you behind. I may not be the biggest fan of this planet, but I would never abandon it. Or you.”

He smiled. “I know. That’s why you’re an Autobot, Elita. It’s why Dad was an Autobot…and why I am.”

The two of them hugged, not knowing if they would get an opportunity to do so again. But then, just as it felt like Steven’s axe was going to be uprooted, the wind stopped.

Gradually, the black hole’s ever-increasing pull started to lessen. The frame of the spacebridge lowered to the ground, coming to rest amongst the dirt. And the singularity vanished, leaving no trace of itself behind. Greg had done it.

With the crisis over, both of them ran over to the spacebridge. “Dad! Dad!” cried Steven, peering inside the wreckage. “Are you okay!? Please, say something!”

A huge cloud of smoke then erupted from the mechanism’s inner workings, causing all of them to cough…including a voice from inside. “Did it work?” he asked, his voice echoing. Greg then made his exit, holding a chunk of wiring torn from the antimatter injector.

“You’re alive!” Steven shouted, pulling his father from the wreckage and into his arms. “You did it, Dad! You saved us all!”

“Wow…I guess I did, didn’t I?” he said, returning the hug as best he could. “I’m good for something after all, huh?”

Elita crouched beside them. “Greg, you were always good for something. Out of all the people on the planet, Optimus chose you . And if that doesn’t count for anything, I don’t know what does.”

As he was placed back down, Greg let her words sink in. “Y-yeah, when you put it that way…” He looked behind him at the mess made of the spacebridge. “Sorry about your vacation plans. Even with both of my arms, I doubt we could fix this .”

“Don’t worry about it,” Elita said, smiling. “I’m just glad we’re all okay. It’s like Optimus used to say: there’s no shame in knowing when to persevere, and when to walk away.”

Steven nodded. “I think now would be a good time to walk away. What do you guys say?”

In response, Elita transformed. “I think we should spend the rest of the night in our own beds. Your flight to Beach City is now boarding!”

Steven shrank back to human form, climbing in along with Greg. The three flew home, leaving their dreams of exploring the cosmos behind–for the time being.

- - -

“Man, why did you guys get to do all the exciting stuff?” moaned Sideswipe. “I mean, fighting for your lives against a ravenous black hole? That sounds awesome! Magnus just had me doing computer work all day…”

He, Elita, and Magnus sat around a campfire on the sand, just outside of the Ark . “Important computer work,” the latter added. We need to be sure that Windblade’s departure has not drawn any unwanted attention to Earth. And for that, Teletraan’s early-warning systems have to be operating at peak efficiency.”

Sideswipe just shrugged. “I still don’t see why I had to do all that boring busywork. Anyway, where would you have gone if you had gotten it working, Elita?”

“Everywhere,” she said wistfully. “But even though the spacebridge is broken, I haven’t given up hope. One day, I’ll be able to show Steven all the wonders of this galaxy, and many others. But for now…” She gazed out at the stars hanging over the ocean. “...the Earth isn’t such a bad place to be.”

With a rattling and clunking sound, Greg’s newly-repaired (barely) van rolled up onto the beach. The back opened up, and Steven hopped out carrying a box. “We found ‘em!” he declared proudly, heading over to the others.

Greg climbed out as well, carrying a couple of record sleeves. “It took some digging, but here they are! My entire catalog of work, in vinyl form, for your auditory pleasure! Steven, if you would?”

“Why, certainly!” Steven popped open the box, revealing it to be a record player. “Any requests?”

“Hmm…how about something nostalgic?” suggested Elita. “Something that reminds us of all the good times we’ve spent together?” Steven hopped into her lap.

“Coming right up!” Greg removed one of the records, inserted it into the player, and started it up. “Everybody sing along!”

“ I know I’m not that tall / I know I’m not that smart / But let me drive my van into your heaaaart / Let me drive my van into your heart!”

Chapter Text

Chapter Twenty: Predaconnection

- - -

“I’ve always loved the deserts of the American southwest,” Sideswipe said to himself. He looked out over the bright red landscape from atop his cliffside vantage point, sipping motor oil from his barrel. Even with the distant sounds of weapons firing, metal striking metal, and the angry buzzing of dozens of wings, it was very peaceful out here. “How’s it going for you guys?”

For the others, ‘peaceful’ was not exactly the right word to describe their situation. Steven, Magnus, and Elita were all driving beside the same cliff, beset by a swarm of green car-sized wasps. Stingers the size of harpoons rained down around them, fired from the big bugs’ behinds. “Believe it or not, we aren’t exactly having a relaxing time,” Elita said through her teeth, firing back at their pursuers.”

“Yeah, sounds like it,” Sideswipe replied. “It’s too bad I can’t be down there to help out. But since Magnus specifically said I had to wait here to spring the trap, so it looks like I’m sitting this one out. Rootin’ for you though!”

Magnus grumbled. “Next time a Predacon comes calling, he’ll be the bait while we spring the trap.” He fired his missiles back at the swarm, but it seemed like there was always a replacement for every wasp they destroyed. Making matters worse, more and more of the giant insects crawled out of holes in the side of the cliff, joining the chase.

“He’s just upset he didn’t get to be part of the action,” Steven said. “Don’t hold it against him.” He transformed, slicing through an incoming wasp with his axe, and then transformed back again, keeping his momentum.

Taking a sharp right, the trio turned into a narrow canyon. The wasps followed, continuing to launch their stingers. “Sideswipe, we’re en route to the ambush point,” Magnus reported. “Get a move on!”

“Aye-aye, cap’n!” Sideswipe replied. He took a moment to down the rest of his oil, before getting up to stretch. “Alright…showtime!”

One leg at a time, Sideswipe’s feet slid up, replaced by the wheels normally positioned behind his heels. He proceeded to skate down the mountainside, moving quicker than he could run, but with more control than as a car. He sped down above the canyon, avoiding rocks and leaping from side to side when it got in his way.

On the way down, some of the wasps were drawn to him. He smirked, continuing his descent as he opened fire on them. One by one they were shot out of the sky, with Sideswipe taking particular glee in his showmanship. Before long, his route took him to the location of the ambush, which consisted of numerous rocks positioned above the canyon.

Beginning by firing on these precariously-placed stones to jostle some of them loose, Sideswipe drew his swords upon reaching them, slicing through the cliffside keeping them suspended. And so began the rockslide, tumbling down onto the hapless robots below.

Unfortunately, some of these hapless robots were the rest of the team. “That fool set it off too early!” said Ultra Magnus, as dust and pebbles rained down on his hood. “Increase speed to maximum!”

He, Steven, and Elita sped up to avoid the mass of boulders tumbling down on top of them. With a little bobbing and weaving, they were able to outrun the avalanche, while the wasps behind them weren't so lucky. Much of the front of the swarm was crushed, while the ones in the back, through a combination of momentum and lemming-esque tenacity, barreled headfirst into the growing mound of stones.

Upon reaching the end of the canyon, the trio transformed back into their robot modes. It seemed that their trap had been successful, as no more buzzing filled the air. From above, Sideswipe leapt off the cliff, driving his swords into its side to arrest his fall. Upon reaching the ground, he twirled the blades around before sheathing them. “Feel free to applaud.”

Steven did so, but neither Magnus nor Elita humored him. “Yes, well, now that the ‘fun’ part is over, how about we move onto ‘business?’ Namely, collecting the Predacon’s spark from within the wreckage.” He pointed at the pile of rocks under which the swarm had been buried. “I trust you don’t want to miss out on that, either?”

Seeing how massive the pile was gave Sideswipe pause. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to take all the credit. This isn’t a one-man show, after all, so it’s only right we share the burden.”

“Oh, we shared the burden alright,” Elita snarked. “And now we can share this burden.”

“Relax guys, this could be fun,” said Steven, heading over to the rock pile to begin the excavation. “Think of it like unearthing buried treasure! Somewhere, beneath all these rocks, is the remains of a Predacon just waiting to be found! And it’ll take all of us working together to find the–Waugh!” As he dug through the rubble, one of the wasps burst up from the rock, immediately zeroing in on Sideswipe.

The bug latched onto his face, attempting to pierce its stinger through him. “Somebody get this thing off me!” he shouted, wrestling with the Predacon as the others rushed to his side. Elita was the first to arrive, and with a kick, sliced it in two with her blades. Its halves fell to the ground, along with its spark.

Elita picked the spark up before tossing it to Sideswipe. “There’s the action you wanted, wise guy. Want to do the honors of sending it back?”

He looked down at the spark hesitantly. “I…think I’ve had enough of bugs for one day. Besides, Steven’s the one who found it, he should get the privilege.” He then tossed the spark into Steven’s hands, who was surprised to receive it.

“M-me?” he said, uncertain. “I dunno… Last time I tried to open a groundbridge, I accidentally trapped my friends in a giant tree.”

Remembering that incident, Magnus took charge to make sure it wouldn’t happen. “Not to worry: smaller portals are much easier to handle, not to mention you growing more attuned to the Matrix. I doubt something like that will happen again–but just to be sure…” He stood behind Steven, guiding his hand. “Picture the spark storage room. All those sparks, lining the walls. One of those containers is ready and waiting for this one. Picture it in your mind’s eye…and open the path.”

“Open the path…” Steven raised his hand, closing his eyes to better feel the network that permeated his circuits. There was a small flicker of light, before a tiny portal opened, just large enough for the spark to fit through. “I did it!” he said with a surprised gasp.

“Hey, nice work Steven!” said Sideswipe, clapping for the feat. “Maybe once that thing’s away, you can send us all home, too!”

“Now now, one thing at a time,” Magnus said. “Now, simply, pass the spark through the portal. It should fit perfectly into the chamber–and then just retract your hand, and the portal should close.”

Steven followed his advice, but the process hit a snag before it even began. “It…it won’t fit,” he said. As he tried to push the spark into the opening, it was as though something was blocking its path. He readjusted his stance, putting his weight into shoving it through. “Hold on, I’ve got it!”

“Hang on, Steven, something must be wrong here,” said Magnus. “Let me take a look–”

But Steven was determined to finish the job. “No, no, I got it! Just a little…more…effort…and…Aah!” Steven pushed too hard, not only causing the blockage to give way, but causing himself to fall through the portal as well. Sure enough, the portal closed behind him.

“...So, we goin’ after him?” said Sideswipe.

On the other end, Steven found himself tumbling down onto the floor of the spark room. After getting his bearings, he soon found out just what had caused the blockage: “Oh, another spark was in the way!” he said, looking at the other spark lying on the ground. “Wait a minute…”

Now free from containment, there was nothing stopping this other spark from regenerating. Steven watched in horror as eight metallic legs were brought into existence, hoisting up the chassis that had formed around it. He crawled back as the Predacon’s form became clearer, glowing eyes becoming visible. It was…

“Blackarachnia!” Steven shouted fearfully. He tried to find somewhere to hide, but the room was mostly uniform, with no corners of equipment for him to duck behind. He could only put his back to the wall, ready for the inevitable fight.

But to his surprise, the spider did not immediately single him out. It seemed to take a moment to get its bearings, staggering around on its thin legs. Rather than aggressive, it seemed…confused.

Steven remembered what Elita had told him: every Predacon used to be an ordinary Transformer. Although she had been warped into an unrecognizable monstrosity by dark energon, Blackarachnia used to be just like them. And right now, she didn’t seem remotely aggressive. It was a gamble, but it was one worth taking. “H-hello?” said Steven gently, making himself known.

The spider rapidly turned to face him, letting out an angry screech. Steven shrank back, trying to make himself seem as non-threatening as he could. Could the creature detect his spark? Smell his energon? Or did it just see him as a harmless human? It seemed even it didn’t know, staring at him for some time with its beady, glowing eyes.

“Um…hi there!” he said, grinning awkwardly. “I’m Steven. You’re Blackarachnia, right? I mean, you are now . Even though you used to be a…were you an Autobot or a Decepticon? Guess it doesn’t matter now, since the war’s over. …You can’t understand me, can you?”

Blackarachnia had been gazing at him the whole time, showing no signs of hostility. If anything, she seemed to have calmed down, deciding he was not a threat. Hesitantly, she walked forward, lowering herself down to meet him face-to-face. Each of her multiple eyes looked into his, and he felt no malice in them.

“You…you can understand me?” No longer afraid of the giant spider, Steven slowly reached out a hand. Blackarachnia lowered her head further still to reach him, his fingers just about to touch her metallic face.

“Steven!” The shout came from just outside the room, and was unmistakably Elita’s voice. Upon hearing it, Blackarachnia’s eyes immediately changed, becoming the same hostile lights Steven had seen during their first encounter. The spider scampered up the wall, hiding herself in the darkness.

Before Steven could call her back, the door opened, and all three Autobots entered. “There you are!” said Sideswipe. “You gave us a scare falling through the portal like that! Everything alright?”

He glanced up at the ceiling, considering whether or not to mention Blackarachnia. However, before he could, Magnus noticed the broken bits of glass on the floor. “A containment cell was broken–one of the Predacons must have gotten out!” His missile pods opened as he scanned the area. Elita and Sideswipe readied their weapons as well. “Get behind us, Steven!”

“Woah, no, wait, there’s no Predacon!” said Steven, rushing up to them. “I just…I pushed too hard and broke the glass, that’s all! Trust me, there’s no Predacons in here, no sir! So we can just put the weapons away, and chill out, yeah? Yeah.”

Though his strange insistence confused them for a moment, they didn’t see any reason he wouldn’t be telling the truth. “Um…if you say so,” said Elita, putting her blaster away. “So, everything’s squared away, then?”

“Yup! All taken care of!” Steven assured them. “Still, why don’t you let me clean up this mess? I’m the one who made it, after all. You guys just…take some time to yourselves! That mission was exhausting, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything!” He tried pushing them out of the room, but being giant robots, they didn’t move far.

“Very well then. If you say so,” said Magnus. “Just be sure not to cut yourself on any of the pieces. And come on out when you’re done.” He and the other bots decided to leave Steven to it, heading out the way they came.

A few tense moments later, Steven let out a sigh of relief. “Alright, they’re gone, it’s safe to come out now.” Blackarachnia descended from the ceiling on a thread of metallic webbing, looking down at Steven expectantly. “You really aren’t aggressive, are you? And you’re scared of the Autobots, huh?”

The Predacon didn’t reply per se, but she made a clicking noise that Steven took as confirmation.

“Well, we’ll have to get you out of here, then, won’t we? But how are we gonna do that without them noticing?” He looked around the room, not seeing any obvious means of egress. “Okay, I think I have a plan. I’ll go out and distract them, while you–”

Steven’s plan wouldn’t get the chance to be implemented, as the door suddenly opened, and Elita entered along with Sideswipe. “Steven, if you are going to clean up that broken glass, please don’t do it with your bare…hands…” Upon seeing Blackarachnia, she dropped the dustpan and broom she was carrying.

All four of them sat in silence for a good long while, until Sideswipe got his guns out. “Predacon! Steven, get away from it!”

Elita took out her blaster as well, charging forward. Blackarachnia shifted into combat mode, her eyes once again taking on that predatory gleam. She raised her limbs to attack the pair, only for Steven to leap in between them, causing all three to stop in their tracks. “Wait a minute, wait! Hang on! Guys, guys, it’s okay! Blackarachnia’s not evil! She doesn’t wanna hurt me, or you!”

Although neither the Predacon nor the Autobots attacked each other, they kept their eyes and weapons up. “Then what does she want?” asked Elita warily.

“Elita, remember what you told me? All the Predacons we fight are actually Cybertronians mutated by dark energon,” said Steven. “Whoever Blackarachnia is, whoever she used to be, she’s probably lost, scared, confused, and just wants somewhere safe to stay. Look at her–does she look evil and dangerous to you?”

Blackarachnia eyed the two, remaining calm but wary. Very slowly, they lowered their weapons, and like a switch, her demeanor became much less cautious. No longer seeming to regard them as a threat, she instead turned back towards Steven. At his beckoning, he was even able to convince her to lower down so he could climb on her back.

“Alright, I’m convinced,” said Sideswipe. “If anyone could tame a Predacon, it’d be Steven.” He walked up to the spider, which wasn’t the least bit perturbed by his presence. “First a lion, now a spider–where are you gonna keep all these pets?”

“Oh, Blackarachnia’s not a pet,” Steven clarified, as cool as that would have been. “But she does need my help to find a new home. I owe her one after accidentally breaking her containment case thingy. So, you guys wanna help?”

“Part of me thinks this could end very badly…” said Elita. “But Steven’s right, she is an innocent victim in all this. Very well. I’ll explain things to Magnus, and between the four of us, we’ll–”

“No!” Steven shouted, louder than he’d meant to. Both Sideswipe and Blackarachnia looked around for the danger. “I mean…do you think we maybe couldn’t tell Magnus? I’m worried he might not understand…”

Elita stood beside him. “Steven, of course he’ll understand. Ultra Magnus has been the leader of the Autobots for thousands of years. In that time, he’s become one of the wisest Cybertronians I know. If you tell him Blackarachnia doesn’t mean any harm, I’m sure he’ll believe you.”

“ Will he?” asked Sideswipe. “I mean, our first reaction when we saw her was to pull out our guns. And besides, we didn’t exactly set a good precedent for the kid with how we handled the whole Windblade thing,” he added in a whisper.

This was met with a weary sigh. “Sideswipe, you really aren’t helping. And Steven, hiding Blackarachnia will only do more harm than good. Magnus is sure to find out eventually, and knowing you kept this from him is going to make him more upset when he does. It’s best to just come clean now.”

Steven ran over the scenario in his mind. The way he saw it, there were two possibilities. Either Magnus freaked out and attacked Blackarachnia, resulting in a fight that leveled half the town, or Blackarachnia freaked out and attacked Magnus, resulting in, again, a fight that leveled half the town. “No! We can’t!” he suddenly shouted. “Please, can’t we just handle this quietly? Blackarachnia won’t hurt anyone, I promise! All we have to do is find her a new home away from everybody, and it’ll all be fine!”

Elita and Sideswipe shared a glance. “Well…I suppose what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him,” she said. “Okay, Steven, we’ll help. Now, did you have somewhere in mind?”

He all but lit up upon hearing they would help him. “You mean it!? Um, okay…back when I snuck Windblade out, I took her through a tunnel that led out into the ocean. Could you keep Magnus distracted while I take her down that way?”

“Sure! ‘Distraction’ is my middle name!” said Sideswipe. “Side-Distraction-Swipe. Leave it to me!” He made his way back to the door with a number of unnecessary rolls and hiding behind corners, before beckoning for the others to follow. Elita rolled her eyes as he did so, with Steven leading Blackarachnia behind them.

In all the commotion, the thing that had started all this trouble lay on the floor, forgotten. The wasp’s spark began to glow, regenerating its dark energon so that it might reconstruct its body…

- - -

“...So, wait…but if I was the one who went back in time to stop the Decepticons, I might not exist…but if it was you , then you would still exist. But…why does it matter who does it?”

Ultra Magnus took yet another weary sigh, leaning over Teletraan’s console. “Sideswipe, as I’ve told you a million times before, time travel is a purely theoretical science. But given everything we know–which is very little , mind you–changing the past would result in an entirely different branch forming to the timeline. An alternate universe, if you will.”

Sideswipe pretended to ponder this. “But then…when I return to the present, will I be in my time, or the new time made by changing the past? And either way, how would I know my actions did or didn’t create two timelines?”

Unable to help himself any longer, Magnus allowed his head to drop down onto the console. “I don’t know, Sideswipe. I just don’t know. I’m sure if Vector Prime was real, he’d be more than happy to explain everything to you. Why don’t you go and ask him?”

“How can I ask him if he isn’t real?” asked Sideswipe. “Unless…maybe all I have to do is find a timeline where he is real! …Oh. But then I’d already have a time machine, and the whole thing would be moot anyway…”

Their in-depth and thoughtful conversation was put on hold as Steven poked his head in through the door. “Uh, Sideswipe? Sorry to interrupt, but could I have some help with…something? Elita says it’s getting hard to handle something on her own, and something might be trying to head into town. Which we don’t want.”

“Sure thing, Ste-man! Sorry, Mags, but I’ve gotta jet. We’ll pick up this conversation later!” He headed out, and so did Steven.

Magnus was too mentally drained to respond, nor find anything suspicious about Steven’s request. “Thank Primus,” was all he could muster.

The other two met on the beach. “What’s wrong? Is the spider getting too jumpy?” asked Sideswipe.

“Something like that,” Steven replied, hurrying along. “Elita thinks she’s curious about all the noise in town. We’re trying to keep her away from everyone, since, well, when’s the last time they’ve seen a friendly Predacon? But the good news is I think I thought of the perfect place for her to live!”

The two of them finally reached Elita on the outskirts of town, trying to block Blackarachnia from the city. The Predacon was definitely very interested in it, as though something about it called to her. “Good, you’re here,” said Elita. “I could use an extra hand.”

Sideswipe crouched under the spider’s legs, gently hoisting her onto his back. Something about being carried seemed to calm her, as she stopped moving and curled her legs inward. “No problem,” he said, struggling from the effort. “So, Steven, where we taking her?”

“This way!” said Steven, leading them away from Beach City and into the nearby forest. “I remember one time Onion took me to this spot when we were looking for cryptids. We didn’t find any, but there was this neat cliff that looked like something could live there. Like a giant spider, for instance!”

A little bit of walking later, they arrived at the clearing in question. It was more of a hill jutting out of the ground, with a sharp incline on one side, but it was an ideal place for a spider of her size to build a web without being disturbed.

“Well, here we are,” said Sideswipe. He collapsed as soon as he stopped walking, with Blackarachnia continuing the rest of the way up to the mound. She took a moment to study it, and her surroundings, as though looking for something.

“Welcome to your new home, Blackarachnia!” said Steven. “Hope you like it!”

It seemed like she did. After a moment of initial hesitation, she climbed onto the side of the hill, scanning her territory from atop her perch. “I think she does,” said Elita.

“Hurray!” said Sideswipe, giving a thumbs-up. His voice was muffled on account of being face-down in the dirt.

“Well, that was easier than I thought,” Steven noticed. “Usually there’d be something that would make things way more complicated, but nothing like that happened! Maybe we just got lucky this time. Certainly a nice change of pace after–”

“Uh, Steven?” asked Sideswipe, having gotten up. “Where’s the spider?” He pointed to the mountain, and Steven looked to see that, to his shock, Blackarachnia had vanished without a trace.

Blinking, Steven looked around to try and locate Blackarachnia, but found nothing, not even footprints. “Wha!? How’d she do that!? One second she was here, and then she was just gone!” He scurried up to the mound to see if he could spot her.

“Hang on, I’ll scan from the sky,” said Elita, transforming and taking off. Her propellers caused the tops of the trees to sway as she flew above the forest. Accounting for that movement, she saw some more trees moving in the distance. “I see movement! Follow me!”

The two on the ground followed Elita as she flew after the Predacon. Luckily, Blackarachnia didn’t appear to be moving very fast, merely walking through the woods at a leisurely pace. She almost seemed to be looking for something.

“Hey! Blackarachnia, come back!” cried Steven. She paid him no mind, seeming to peer around the trees as though her quarry was nearby. “Don’t you like your new home?”

Amongst all the commotion, a deer emerged from the brush to see what was going on. Blackarachnia caught sight of the critter, before scampering over towards it. Frightened, it bounded off into the distance, darting between two trees that the Predacon found it difficult to fit through. “Woah there, spider bites!” said Sideswipe, blocking her way. “You can’t just run off like that! You could get lost, or hurt. Or you might hurt someone else!”

Steven looked in the direction of the fled deer. “Oh, I get it–she must be hungry! You guys bring her back to the hill, I’ll meet you there–I’ve got an idea!” Steven ran off back into town, leaving the two Autobots to take care of Blackarachnia.

“Do Predacons even get hungry?” Elita wondered aloud, touching down next to them. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one consuming food. Or even energon, for that matter.”

“Why’re you asking me?” asked Sideswipe. “Sure, I eat human food all the time, but I ain’t no Predacon!” He positioned himself beneath Blackarachnia to hoist her up once more. “Alright, here we go, one more time…”

- - -

“I’m back!” said Steven, returning to the clearing with numerous bags from Fryman’s in his arms. “And I brought snacks!”

Elita and Sideswipe had made sure Blackarachnia stayed put this time, and she had made herself at home. She even spun a metallic web from the trees to the cliffside, perched in the center. Upon seeing Steven, she descended to the ground to curiously approach. “Oop, I think she smells what you got,” said Sideswipe. “I know I do!”

Opening the bags, Steven produced a cheeseburger, holding it up to the spider. “Okay Blackarachnia, this is called a burger. They taste a lot better than deer, and they’re way easier to get. Try it!”

The spider examined the burger, poking at it with her mandibles. After a few pokes, she grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth. She appeared to enjoy it, as she then turned her attention to the other bags.

“She likes it!” Steven said. “Don’t worry, I brought plenty more!” He unwrapped the other burgers, handing them to her one by one. “And yes, Sideswipe, I didn’t forget you!” He tossed one of them to his friend.

“You never do,” said Sideswipe, popping it into his mouth. “You want some, Elita?”

She eyed the pair enjoying their meals. “I…think I’ll pass,” she said. “So, now that Blackarachnia has been successfully pacified, what now? I don’t think we should just leave her here.”

“Why not?” asked Steven. Having finished her food, the Predacon was now affectionately combing her mandibles through his hair. “She’s perfectly behaved! Besides, she wouldn’t go anywhere now that she has her web, right?”

The web was a good sign, as it most likely meant that Blackarachnia considered this place her new home. “That’s true, but…Predacons are like animals, Steven,” Elita explained. “They roam, they explore, they hunt. And if they get scared, they attack. And besides, aren’t you worried Magnus will find her this close to the Ark ?”

“No way, that’ll never happen!” said Steven, brushing off her concerns. “...I think. As long as she stays here and doesn’t cause trouble, it’ll all be fine!”

Even Sideswipe wasn’t too thrilled with this line of thought. “You might as well say ‘Nothing bad will happen as long as everything that happens is good,’” he replied. “Shouldn’t we at least have some sorta contingency plan for when she inevitably doesn’t cooperate?”

Elita examined the spider. “I believe I have an idea.” Approaching the Predacon, she produced a small metal cuff that she attached to Blackarachnia’s leg. “There we go. This tracking device should let us know where she is at all times. I’ll calibrate these trackers to let us know if she gets too close to the city.”

With the device attached, Elita then took out a small device shaped like a watch, twisting the top a few times. She handed it to Sideswipe, and gave another to Steven, which shrank to fit on his wrist. “Neat! So, we can keep an eye on her with these?”

“Precisely,” Elita answered. “When it vibrates, that means the target has entered the marked area. So in this case, it means Blackarachnia has gotten a little too close to the city for comfort. When that happens, one of us will need to come here to guide her back, ideally without Magnus knowing.”