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Secure Holding Cell

Kup nodded appreciatively at Rewind's observation. He'd hate to think that whatever was happening to Megatron was happening to Optimus Prime also. Megatron at least deserved whatever slag was ravaging his mind.

"Alright, Perceptor is unavailable. Our second option besides the also unavailable Wheeljack, is Swerve," Streetwise said, rightly getting back to the business of getting this mess sorted out.

"Good. I don't have reason to say it too often, but this is right up Swerve's alley. Give the little oddball a chance to earn his keep," Kup said as he finished cutting away a second piece of scarred metal.

"Alright lads 'n lasses, after all this mess, I don't know who the big wigs want where in terms of ship assignments, so for now just do what feels right. I'm gonna head back to the bounce chamber 'n override the lockdown so we can get over there as needed."

As he turned to leave the holding area, the old warbot started muttering to himself.

"Feel like I've been walkin' up, down and sideways all over this fraggin' ship, now we got that slaggin' slagface Megatron to deal with again and..."

Medical Bay / Corridors

The alarms ceased ringing and the all-clear had been given, much to Wheeljack’s relief. At least being blown away by Megatron was no longer a concern for them, and they could safely head down to the hangar where Perceptor was likely already waiting for them.

“Don’t worry about me ‘Jackie. It'll take a lot to try and keep me down! Now, didn't you say he had a shuttle to catch?”

Wheeljack smiled, his faceshield retracted so that his larger comrade could see it. “Why yes I did, Railway. Perceptor should have the shuttle all ready by now down in the main hangar,” the mechanical engineer responded as he followed Railway out of the medical bay and into the corridors beyond. “However, our little team is not yet complete, I’m afraid. I need to comm a certain cavalier who’s currently over on the Guardian.”

>>”Hot Rod, this is Wheeljack on the Ark-22. Perceptor and I are gearing up for a new mission planetside, and I thought you might want to stretch your legs and come along, maybe help take your mind off things. We’re heading for Antarctica to mine a large Ore-13 deposit deep under the ice. So, if don’t mind the cold, bounce on over here and meet us in the main hangar bay. Okay?”<<

Wheeljack cut his comm line and continued to follow Railway through the corridors of the ship, assuming he knew the way to the hangar.

Hangar Bay

Roughly a breem later, Wheeljack walked into the primary hangar, still following behind Railway. The engineer quickly scanned the room and found the mech he was looking for waiting near a shuttle craft.

“Perceptor!” Wheeljack called out as he approached his fellow scientist. “I guess you heard the all clear? That’s a relief to be sure. I got Railway as you can see, and I commed Hot Rod a little bit ago, but I haven’t heard back from him yet. So…wait…” the mechanical engineer paused, looking around the immediate ares. “Where are Landmine and Sidetrack? Are they on the shuttle already? Have you commed them yet, or was I supposed to do that?”

Medical Bay
Snow Cat had been standing against a wall in the medical bay. He hadn't gotten any quarters or anything yet. He wasn't sure why, but he knew he wasn't incredibly important to the grand scheme of things. He would be gotten to eventually, he was sure.

In the meantime, he'd learned that the beautiful marble they were in orbit around had a large world wide computer network with an endless amount of data on the cultures below. He'd found everything he'd wanted to know about the world... including some things he didn't want to know or see.

After a little searching, he had found out that he had been looking for. Maps. Lots and lots maps. Jackpot. He spent a couple mega-cycles studying as many as possible. Soon, he came to a conclusion- This planet needed help. Not just fighting 'Cons, but also in other ways. Like exploring areas that the little humans couldn't get to. At least he could make himself useful around here.

While he was studying, he noted Wheeljack walk in and strike up a conversation with Railway. Snow Cat peeked up when he heard that they were having a small team come together to go down to the planet. A chance to check this place out...

Hangar Bay
Snow Cat quickly looked up as the two were leaving. Quickly, he saved his work and disconnected from the network. Running, he shot out of the medbay and followed them to the hangar. He saw them walk over to a shuttle, where he then spotted the scientist Perceptor.

Wheeljack wrote:"I guess you heard the all clear? That’s a relief to be sure. I got Railway as you can see, and I commed Hot Rod a little bit ago, but I haven’t heard back from him yet."

The Minibot walked over to the much large Autobots, feeling a little intimidated. "Uh... hey? What's going on? Y'all heading down to Earth?"




Topspin was getting bored. He'd been practicing, read up a little on reports, and was now walking about the ship. He was suppose to be getting a call to join his fellow Wreckers with his brother, Twin Twist. There was little nothing to do while he waited. And it was boring. He needed to be active, doing anything. There was an entire world down there to experience. So many different areas to be free in. To personally trek over and live to tell about it.

He'd hoped the call about Megatron would allow him and his twin to get in some action at least, but it seems they were forgotten about. Finally, Topspin had had it. He decided if he was going to be useful, he needed to take matters into his own hands. He wandered around to the hangar bay, looking around for an active shuttle.

His optics quickly found Perceptor and Wheeljack, along with two bots he didn't recognize, one that seemed to convert to some sort of locomotive and a tiny blue one. He grinned and opened his comms to his brother. >>"Dude, looks like there is a shuttle priming to leave. Better get down here if you want a seat aboard."<<

He closed the channel and walked over to the tiny group. "Sooooo, mates, what do we have going on here? Actually, I don't care, as long as we're leaving this place."

Engineering Bay

Skydive was talking too much. He was spending too much time lamenting on and on about some balance of power or the destruction of worlds. Well, at least according to Air Raid. He slapped his teammate on the back.

"You think too much, bud! Lighten up a little, won't you?"

"Once we have the modifications installed, we Autobots shall have a Devastator of our own!"

Air Raid grinned at Ironfist. "As fun as that is and all, please tell me that we're not gonna call this little group effort Devastator too?"

Corridors Outside the Medical Bay

Like his brother, Twin Twist was bored. Unlike his brother, the Jumpstarter had decided to do something about his boredom.

He had taken to roaming the corridors of the Ark-22, ready to leap at a moment's notice to take down the Slagbringer himself. Unfortunately, Twin Twist did not get such a pleasure.

What he did get was a brisk walk back to the Medical Bay. Maybe Topspin had finally found something to make them, or at very least himself, useful.

Twin Twist burst into the medical bay. "Hey, 'Spin! Have you found something do to besides sitting on your aft..."

He noticed that his twin was gone, and that the occupants of the room were giving him irritated looks. Obviously, there was no further reason for his being there.

>>"Dude, looks like there is a shuttle priming to leave. Better get down here if you want a seat aboard."<<

Oh, there he is! Twin Twist reopened the comm.

"Don't you dare leave without me! I'm on my way."

Almost instantly, Twin Twist had shifted into his drill mode and barreled through the ship. Within minutes he'd made it to the hanger and located his brother.

"'Spin! So, what're we doing? Please tell me we're we're slagging something."

Bounce Chamber

As Kup was entering the bounce chamber, a transmission came in from Ultra Magnus, unsurprisingly wanting to know what all had happened over on the Guardian.

Kup sighed. What a fragtastic vorn this was turning out to be.

>>"Gonna be better if I show you, Magnus. Don't think you're gonna believe it otherwise. Sending some vidfiles to you now,"<< Kup transmitted back. >>"Oh, and if you could unlock the bounce chamber over on your side that'd be great, we have some stuff I want Swerve to go ahead 'n take a look at. You'll see why here in just a klik."<<

Kup then approached the bounce pad controls and made sure he had everything ready to go.

Bounce Chamber

Red Alert appeared in a flash of light, staggering off the bounce pad and clutching his wounded shoulder. He had made it. But the sense of urgency wasn’t gone. He had to lock Prowl out before he could get back and silence him. Prowl would know now. His optics darted to the controls where a familiar form stood. Kup. Red froze. It couldn’t be a coincidence. But…it might be possible that he hadn’t heard from Prowl yet? Or maybe he wasn’t even on Prowl’s side. Could he take that chance?

Stowing the data drives first, Red Alert ambled over to Kup, watching the old timer very carefully. What should he do? Did he take the chance? Did he incapacitate Kup and flee to the Guardian? Oh Primus, help him.

“Ah…Kup, do you mind? I need to do something. Urgently. Please,” Red managed to get out. His body was as tense as a coiled spring, ready to attack should things not go well.


Secure Holding Cell

"An archivist, eh? Well then, you sure could help me remember a lot of what happened while I was inactive in the CR chamber."

“Sure, I’d be happy to. If you tell me when you got put into it, I can compile a short little summary video for you from then until now.”

Rewind nodded happily as Alpha Bravo agreed to have a personal segment done for the archives. He looked to Groundbomber, who just gave him this puzzled look when Bravo spoke to Skids, returning Skids’ earlier greeting. However, both of their optics turned to Kup as the old warbot addressed the group.

"Alright lads 'n lasses, after all this mess, I don't know who the big wigs want where in terms of ship assignments, so for now just do what feels right. I'm gonna head back to the bounce chamber 'n override the lockdown so we can get over there as needed."

With that, Kup turned away and went out of the room. Rewind rubbed the back of his head lightly. “Hm...what to do now…” He trotted over to Chromedome, putting a hand on his conjunx endura. “Weren’t you working on the gestalt project?”

“We were, yes,” Skids replied, his piece of blackened metal in hand, “But don’t worry about it, Chromedome. I’m sure after all the excitement, high command won’t mind if you take a breem or two for yourself.” He offered him a sympathetic nod before looking to Alpha Bravo and Groudbomber. “For my part, I’m gonna go with Kup and maybe see how Optimus is doing before getting back to it. You’re welcome to come along if you want.”

Secure Holding Cell

Groundbomber was glad that Rewind dropped the discussion of an archive video. There was no way that's she'd willingly agree to such a thing. Not for all the Energon on the planet below.

“For my part, I’m gonna go with Kup and maybe see how Optimus is doing before getting back to it. You’re welcome to come along if you want.”

The commando turned her attention to Skids. The Guardian? Groundbomber shrugged, muttering a quiet, "Sure, why not."

And without another word, the large crimson and gray Autobot slowly backed out of the small room and positioned herself to wait for Kup, Skids and maybe Alpha Bravo.

She sent a simple text to Skydive. "Going off-ship. Good luck."

Main Engineering Deck

After his initial arrival, First Aid had moved to an open terminal to access the Aerialbots’ medical records. He was just finishing up when he noticed Ironfist motioning for him to join him.

Severing the link to the computer terminal, Aid made his way over to the slab Silverbolt was currently occupying. Even with his faceplate in place the Protectobot doctor was still able to project the semblance of a warm smile.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about, Bolt. You’re in good hands.” First Aid looked to Ironfist and nodded to the scientist.

“Now...” He placed a reassuring hand on the Aerialbot Commander’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “Shut down your systems and we’ll get to work.”

Secure Holding Cell:

>>”Sure thing, Streetwise. I’ll be over in a second. We’ve been having a heck of a time here too. Optimus flipped out and went on a rampage. Crazy. You’re not safe in your own base! I tell ya, buddy, what I wouldn’t give for a breem or two of peace and quiet without hidden death lurking around every corner.”<<

Ah. As the others suspected. Optimus had gone slagging crazy as well.

"Fellas and lady, before you go, I was just informed by Swerve that Optimus Prime had his own... incident of sorts on the Guardian," said Streetwise in as calm and collected of a tone he could muster.

>>"Explain, Swerve, is Optimus under control now?"<<

Bounce Chamber

Before he could set the new destination coordinates, the bounce chamber fired up and suddenly Red Alert was there, staring at him like he'd just shot Optimus Prime in the face or something. On the other hand, it was Red Alert and he tended to look at everybody like that from time to time.

“Ah…Kup, do you mind? I need to do something. Urgently. Please,” Red Alert said.

"We got all kindsa 'urgent' going on around here right now, not the least of which is slagfraggin' Megatron bustin' himself outta here," Kup grunted as he finished entering the coordinates. "What's yours?"

Kup then noticed that the bounce chamber was firing up again. The origin was the Guardian and there were multiple signals incoming.

"Huh, looks like we're about t'have company."

Secure Holding Cell

Rewind wrote:“Sure, I’d be happy to. If you tell me when you got put into it, I can compile a short little summary video for you from then until now.”

Alpha Bravo gave Rewind a quick nod, acknowledging his help. "Hmm, let's see...", Alpha said as he paced his memory drives, "The last thing I remember was being put into the CR Chamber sometime before this whole "Fallen" incident happened. I'm not sure particularly when though, my memory seems to be losing track."

"As for the archive video, let's take care of that after this whole mess has wrapped up. You never know, they might need more hands to help." He added. Soon afterward, Kup spoke to the group.

Kup wrote:"Alright lads 'n lasses, after all this mess, I don't know who the big wigs want where in terms of ship assignments, so for now just do what feels right. I'm gonna head back to the bounce chamber 'n override the lockdown so we can get over there as needed."

To the Guardian, huh? The big ship. Well, the Ark was also pretty big, but the Guardian just felt a lot bigger in his mind. Since it looks like there was someone needed there, he figured he'd hop along. Skids spoke up.

Skids wrote:“For my part, I’m gonna go with Kup and maybe see how Optimus is doing before getting back to it. You’re welcome to come along if you want.”

Alpha responded, "I'll be there too, Skids, but I have something I need to take care of first." He waved at him, Groundbomber, Rewind and the others present in the room, and headed elsewhere on the ship.

Corridors

He opened up his comm-link, trying to locate for the frequency at which his squad-mates shared. He didn't know how long he'd been out, so he hoped for the best that someone would respond to it. >>"Hello? Uh... 'Razor? 'Roll? 'Balloon?"<<

He waited. A single klik passed by. He continued down the corridors. Another klik. Still silence.

And then a voice came through. >>"Alpha! Haha, thought I'd never hear from you again!"<<

Alpha's optics shot wide open. >>"Wait... 'Glide... is that really you? Where are you?"<<

Powerglide was hanging around in the armoury, stocking up on some concussion bombs. >>"In the armoury, get your tailpipe in here!"<<

Armoury

Alpha Bravo ran as quickly as he could, locating the armoury and entering it. And sure enough, the red and white flier was in there. The two had a moment of glee upon seeing each other for the first time in meta-cycles. The Powerglide slapped the chopper 'bot on the shoulder and gave him a grin. Alpha reciprocated and lightly smacked 'Glide's head.

"How long were you sleeping in that CR Chamber?" commented Powerglide, to which Alpha laughed. "Only Primus knows, hehe." He returned the response. The two sat down and shared memories of them flying together before. "Remember when 'Razor got downed because he dived headfirst into that ledge? That was the funniest thing ever!" The two laughed. For a moment, it seemed to both of them as if nothing bad had happened in the past few breems.

Then Alpha sat up. "You heard about the whole... Megatron thing, right?" Powerglide nodded. "'Course I did, sirens were blowing off everywhere. You'd need to have your audio receptors malfunctioning in order to not hear that." Alpha brought him up to speed based on everything he'd gotten from the group he was previously with.

"So you're leaving for the Guardian, huh." Alpha nodded at Powerglide's statement. "If you want to come along, you can too. Not like there's much left to do on here." Powerglide agreed and the two stood up and headed outside.

Bounce Chamber

Alpha leaded Powerglide into the Bounce Chamber, where Kup and an unfamiliar red bot were standing. He gave Kup a wave and gestured towards Powerglide. "He'll be coming with us as well."

Bounce Chamber

The bounce pad came to life as multiple signals originating from the Guardian were detected. Bright light enveloped the room as Hot Rod, Trailblazer, Blurr, Cliffjumper and Swerve all appeared on the pad. The cavalier staggered slightly as he stepped down onto the main floor. The flame-covered mech peered around to see that a small group of Autobots had gathered in the Ark’s bounce chamber including Kup, Red Alert, Powerglide, Alpha Bravo and Groundbomber.

“Oh, hey guys,” Hot Rod said with a warm smile and a quick wave. “I didn’t know we’d be greeted by so many. A welcome surprise to be sure. We heard the all-clear was given and figured it was safe to come on over. Perceptor and Wheeljack need me for a mission planetside and these guys behind me decided to tag along.” The cavalier paused for a moment, looking around at everyone present. “It is safe now, right? Megatron’s gone?”

Bounce Chamber:

Cliffjumper stumbled out of the bounce pad. Gah, never gonna get used to that scrap.

"Heh, hey," said Cliffjumper to the others present before their arrival, "If Megatron is in this ship, I'm blastin a hole through his tin skull."

Corridors

It was odd Groundbomber that Alpha Bravo decided to split off from the rest of the group. She shook her head and dismissed it. Wasn't her business in the slightest.

She followed the group into the bounce chamber...

Bounce Chamber

Trailblazer appeared on the pad with a flash. He doubled over in pain as his cooling and plasma control systems went haywire, his hands lighting up in flame.

"SLAG!"

The freaking bounces always did this to him. The circuits that controlled his powers were very sensitive. The results were...unpleasant to say the least.

Immediately, Trailblazer went to work setting his systems straight. A blessedly few painful moments later, he'd successfully rebooted the affected processes and returned himself upright. He then activated his internal repair systems. A lesser bot would've been shamed and embarrassed by such a display, but Trailblazer said or did nothing as he righted himself and took stock in the group around and before him.

Cliffjumper wrote:"If Megatron is in this ship, I'm blastin a hole through his tin skull."

Trailblazer laughed, ignoring the ache in his stomach from the repairs being done internally, telling Cliffjumler, "Is there a line? Or are you just gonna take all the fun?"

Not hearing Kup's warning, Groundbomber reacted instinctively when multiple Cybertronians bounced in. She shoved Kup and Skids out of the way, covering them and drawing her pistols from their shoulder holsters. She saw the arrivals were Autobots and withdrew quietly as Alpha Bravo returned with Powerglide. She offered a single, quiet apology before turning her attention to the new bots.

The tactician was immediately put off by the loud, bombastic nature a couple of them, Cliffjumper and an unfamiliar yellow and dark gray bot, displayed. Groundbomber decided to move to the side, eying everyone carefully.

Private message to First Aid and Ironfist

>>First Aid and Ironfist, here is what my team came up with for the Titan Superior project. We had expanded it to include both teams. Ironfist, you and I might need to work on some of the more complicated weapon features for both titans in the near future.<<

Bounce Chamber

"We got all kindsa 'urgent' going on around here right now, not the least of which is slagfraggin' Megatron bustin' himself outta here," Kup grunted as he finished entering the coordinates. "What's yours?"

“W-Well, that’s…” Red trailed, trying to discern if he should trust Kup with a thousand thoughts racing each other in his head at breakneck speed.

"Huh, looks like we're about t'have company."

“What?!” Red Alert immediately moved to Kup’s side. Oh, thank the Primes. It was just from the Guardian. Still. It did nothing to ease his shattered nerves. Even as those that bounced arrived, even more filed in from behind. It made Red’s paranoia go a bit haywire. Everything in his head screamed that this was a trap. He was surrounded. He…He had to act natural. There was no way that he could overpower this many.

“It is safe now, right? Megatron’s gone?”

“Megatron? The Megatron?!” Red Alert guffawed in disbelief, “Here?!” How?! First, Hot Rod, who betrayed them all and he still didn’t entirely trust. Now this?! No…it couldn’t be that everyone here was under his sway, could it? A trick? It would be the perfect trap. Thankfully, his opportunity at the console came sooner than anticipated as one of the others pulled their guns. But they were pointed at Hot Rod. Not him.

Red dashed to the console, digits dancing across the keys. There. Prowl and those on the ground were denied bounce access to the Ark-22. Now for the Guardian and Magnus. Fortunately, Kup had the coordinates mostly entered. He finished it up and transformed, swerving onto the bounce pad as the remainder of the arriving group stepped off.

“Emergency business!” he stated gruffly as Swerve gave him a look. Red disappeared in a flash of light in the next instant.

Swerve shook his head and shrugged. “Looks like Red’s on another one of his crazy kicks. I haven’t seen him that stirred up since someone rearranged the furniture in his hab suite. Er, not me, of course.”

“I wonder if everything’salright,” Blurr muttered, looking at the pad curiously before turning to the rest of the room’s inhabitants. He hadn’t really expected this big of a reception. Anyhow, Blurr turned to the group of Autobots greeting them. Seemed like Red Alert wasn’t the only one stirred up as a femme he didn’t recognize moved to protect Skids and Kup. Couldn’t exactly blame her. Not with what’s been happening recently anyhow.

For his part, Skids offered the arriving group a weary sort of smile even as Red got the frag out of dodge. What was his rush? “Yes, Megatron is gone. Can confirm. You’ve nothing to worry about anymore.” Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Megatron free to return to the Decepticons was not a good thing, but he didn’t want to damper the relief. “We were just heading back over to report our findings and check on Optimus.”

“Ah, they have Optimus in the brig now, so it’s fine over there too,” Swerve said idly as he spotted Streetwise and trotted over to him. “So you needed me to look at something?”

It was so casually said that Skids actually thought that he misheard. Optimus in the brig? That was ridiculous. Couldn’t be right. Skids shot Swerve an odd look before moving over to Groundbomber and placing a hand on the larger femme’s arm. “Thanks for earlier,” he offered.

Bounce Chamber

Kup stood back as the Autobots from the other vessel bounced on board. Amongst their number was Hot Rod, who took the lead in addressing the Ark crew.

“Oh, hey guys. I didn’t know we’d be greeted by so many. A welcome surprise to be sure. We heard the all-clear was given and figured it was safe to come on over. Perceptor and Wheeljack need me for a mission planetside and these guys behind me decided to tag along. It is safe now, right? Megatron’s gone?” the Cavalier explained. Sounded pretty straightforward to Kup, even in light of everything that had gone on. Work still needed to get done.

"Yeh, everything's all clear over hear. Not ideal, but yeh, Megatron's gone. We'll deal with him. We always do."

Kup then smirked at Cliffjumper and Groundbomber's response. It was a good attitude to have. They all needed it if they wanted to see the other side of this war. But before Kup could say anything further, Groundbomber was clearing him and Skids out of the way of some perceived threat when the new faces had bounced over. Quickly, though, she realized she had overreacted. Kup gave her a reassuring nod. They were all a little jumpy.

Red Alert quickly pulled Kup's attention back in his direction.

“What?! Megatron? The Megatron?! Here?!” he asked, obviously incredulous. Before Kup could begin to shed any further light on the situation, Red Alert was off, doing something or other with the bounce chamber controls. “Emergency business!”

Skids, Blurr and Swerve then proceeded to catch them all up on some of the happenings on the other ship, but one thing in particular leapt out at the old warbot.

“Ah, they have Optimus in the brig now, so it’s fine over there too. So you needed me to look at something?”

Kup was holding a sample of what he wanted Swerve to look at. So were some of the others. But what he'd said just before....Kup couldn't let that just go by.

"Wait-wha? Why is Optimus Prime in the fraggin' brig?"

Bounce Chamber:

"Yeh, Optimus is in the slaggin Brig, mechs," said Cliffjumper in response to those questioning Swerve, "He went nuts, shot a few holes through some mechs, and then got tranqed by Smokescreen. Thankf'ly nobody died. I think. Ratchet is now workin' on Optimus under restraints in the Brig."

Bounce Chamber

Alpha Bravo had such a hard time believing Swerve's statement, he had to pull up his visor in addition to his already retracted faceplate. That was ridiculous! How could that ever happen? Powerglide shared a similar viewpoint. Both the flyers were in shock, much like a few others present. However, the crimson 'bot Cliffjumper made some clarifications.

Cliffjumper wrote:"Yeh, Optimus is in the slaggin Brig, mechs, he went nuts, shot a few holes through some mechs, and then got tranqed by Smokescreen. Thankf'ly nobody died. I think. Ratchet is now workin' on Optimus under restraints in the Brig."

"For frag's sake, how could he do such a thing!" Powerglide exclaimed. "Our own leader's goin' waaay off his circuits." It was very apparent that the red flier was frustrated, but the helicopter 'bot intervened.

"Glide, calm down. Optimus Prime would never do such a thing on his own. Cliffjumper just said so - he was not in his mind." Alpha Bravo replied. Just as those words left his mouth, a sudden stroke of realisation hit him - Megatron was also acting out of his mind... could it be?

"Wait, Megatron was acting strange as well. He didn't hurt anyone though, but apparently he made off out of the bounce chamber to somewhere. Maybe Optimus Prime and Megatron... what if they... what if they switched minds?!" As outlandish as it sounded, Alpha wanted to back it up. "Think about it, Megatron didn't hurt anyone. But he just... left. Optimus Prime attacked - even hurt some Autobots - it would only make sense if it was Megatron inside his mind! Maybe that has something to do with it?"

Powerglide sort of just stood there wondering how and when Alpha got the wits to say that.


Corridors

Cosmos frantically looked around for anyone he could find. Everyone seemed to have disappeared after the alarms. Ugh, even on a ship full of 'bots it still feels as lonely as being in space alone. The green recon 'bot paced up and down the corridors, hoping to hopefully, eventually, find someone.

Bounce Chamber:

"Wait, Megatron was acting strange as well. He didn't hurt anyone though, but apparently he made off out of the bounce chamber to somewhere. Maybe Optimus Prime and Megatron... what if they... what if they switched minds?!"

Cliffjumper just stood and stared at Alpha Bravo for a bit. He bumped his audio receptors a bit to make sure he was hearing correctly. Wow. That was stupid.

"Uh, no," said Cliffjumper simply, "Optimus was shouting about Megatron sending his followers to finish 'im off er sumthing. And I THINK I remember a pink Cassettebot playing some song and Optimus saying the Decepticons were mocking him with it. Nah. He just went nuts. Plain and simple."

Hangar Bay

Before Wheeljack had received a response from Perceptor regarding the whereabouts of Sidetrack and Landmine, three other Autobots had entered the hangar and approached the scientists. Snow Cat, Topspin and Twin Twist all wanted to know what they were doing. The mechanical engineer allowed his face shield to slide back, revealing a friendly smile underneath.

“Perceptor and I are leading a mission down to Earth, Antarctica to be precise,” Wheeljack stated plainly to the trio. “A rather large deposit of Ore-13 was detected deep underneath the ice not far from the south pole. We’re going to retrieve as much of it as possible for study and possible use once it’s been determined to be safe for consumption, of course. You’re all welcome to come along if you like. We can use all the help we can get. Your drills, Twin Twist, will definitely come in handy when mining the Ore down there. Heh.” Wheeljack then received a comm back from Hot Rod, indicating that he would be over soon.

“Ah, looks like Hot Rod will be joining us. Good,” the mad scientist added, glancing over at Perceptor. “With Roddy on his way and the new arrivals here, I don’t think Sidetrack and Landmine will be needed. Besides, I think I heard they were both indisposed at the present time anyway. So, it all works out for the best.” Wheeljack then turned back to the Jumpstarters and Snow Cat. “If you guys want to get on board the shuttle and get situated, we’ll be on our way as soon as Hot Rod arrives.”

Bounce Chamber

Kup wrote:"Yeh, everything's all clear over hear. Not ideal, but yeh, Megatron's gone. We'll deal with him. We always do.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Hot Rod responded with a smile. Before he could say any more, Trailblazer appeared behind him and immediately doubled over in pain. “You okay there, ’Blazer?” The cavalier asked as he turned around and gently patted his comrade on the back to give him some comfort. Trailblazer seemed to be taking the affects of the bounce worse than the others. It affected every mech differently. Roddy remembered a time when bouncing made him want to purge his tanks, but he eventually got used to the sensation and now it only made him feel a tiny bit unbalanced.

Once Trailblazer had regained his composure, he reacted to Cliffjumper’s assertion that he’d blast a hold through Megatron’s skull if he were around. “Well, thankfully, that won’t be necessary, Cliff. Heh,” Hot Rod interjected as Red Alert suddenly rushed to the bounce controls and typed something into them before then rushing back to the bounce pad, declaring that he had “emergency business”. The paranoid mech was then gone in a flash of light.

“What’s his deal?” Hot Rod wondered aloud to no one in particular, shrugging his shoulders. Typical Red, as paranoid as ever it seemed. Skids then confirmed what Kup had already said regarding Megatron being gone. The topic of conversation quickly turned to Optimus Prime being in the Brig over on the Guardian, which was something that elicited a shocked response from Kup. Cliffjumper then offered an explanation on what had happened to lead to the Autobot leader being incarcerated. Alpha Bravo followed that up by suggesting that Megatron and Prime might have switched minds, an idea that was quickly shot down by Cliffjumper.

Hot Rod, for his part, remained silent as the conversations about Optimus continued. Everything that had happened in recent cycles was almost too crazy to believe. Between the battle with the Fallen, Hot Rod’s subsequent visions, Prime and Megatron returning and Optimus attacking his own Autobots it was enough to drive any mech insane.

“These are crazy times we’re in,” the cavalier finally spoke up again, shaking his head. “But, Cliffjumper’s right. I don’t think their minds were switched. Prime seemed to think he was fighting Decepticons. And, apparently, when Smokescreen finally shot him with a tranquilizer dart, Optimus remembered everyone before falling unconscious. It was very strange to say the least. Hopefully, Ratchet will be able to figure out what caused Prime’s delusions and fix him so he won’t try to hurt anyone again.”

Hot Rod let out a deep sigh before turning towards the oldest and highest ranking Autobot present. “Anyway, if you’ll excuse us, Kup, my group and I will take our leave. As I said before, we’ve got a mission to go on.”

Bounce Chamber

The others picked up the slack for Swerve in explaining things, but they left out some juicy details that Ratchet had mentioned that made the whole thing even crazier. Swerve nodded and looked to Kup. “Yeah, and Ratchet said that some dark energy came out of Optimus before it happened and him saying something about being a harbinger. Not a great sign of things to come with our fearless leader.”

“Anyhow, later, Hot Rod. Good luck with whatever it is you’re off to do. Now, you all wanted me to look at something?”

Secure Holding Cell:

"Let's see... Kup has the sample for Swerve, so I'm not exactly needed for this part," said Streetwise, breaking the silence in the room.

Streetwise now had another piece of detail he knew he needed. One minor detail. Optimus. Streetwise knew there was an obvious connection, but he needed to be sure. And analysis of Optimus' case could very well give some much needed pieces to the proverbial puzzle. At that, the detective left the room for the Bounce Chamber.

Bounce Chamber:

Streetwise arrived just in time to see some other Autobots bouncing into the chamber. One of which seemed to be having a bigger issue than the others with the effects, but Hot Rod offered to help.

Streetwise then saw Swerve. He shot Swerve a thumb's up before saying, "Kup has the sample. You can talk to him about all that. I'm going to be on the Guardian checking out the Optimus situation if you need me for any detective work. Good luck."

Hangar Bay

Twin Twist huffed in boredom. He nudged his Topspin. "You think they're gonna give us a mission or what?"

Some small blue and white bot entered the hangar. Twin Twist gave the new guy a quick look. "He don't look like much. Not gonna help in battle."

He perked when two others walked in. It was Wheeljack and Perceptor. "Oh. Nerds."

Wheeljack wrote:“A rather large deposit of Ore-13 was detected deep underneath the ice not far from the south pole. We’re going to retrieve as much of it as possible for study and possible use once it’s been determined to be safe for consumption, of course. You’re all welcome to come along if you like. We can use all the help we can get. Your drills, Twin Twist, will definitely come in handy when mining the Ore down there."

"Bah! Mining?! Why would we do that? Wait. Ore-13? You mean the stuff that makes us normal bots as powerful as Phase-Sixers?"

Bounce Chamber

Hot Rod wrote:“You okay there, ’Blazer?”

Trailblazer nodded to Hot Rod. "Yes sir. It happens to me every time I bounce. My insides are...sensitive. On account of this."

He held his hand out, causing it to glow and light up with a soft orange flame. After a moment, he closed his hand. "Just a side effect. Thanks for your concern."

His attention was caught by the actions of Red Alert. He said 'official business', but Trailblazer seriously doubted it. Probably a paranoid fit. Oh well. Trailblazer didn't care.

What he did care about was Swerve. The little bot was spouting nonsense about Optimus Prime. It was taking a lot of control on Trailblazer's part to not speak up.

Alpha Bravo wrote:"Maybe Optimus Prime and Megatron... what if they... what if they switched minds?!"

"Ha!" Trailblazer laughed. "That's stupid! Why would you ever think of that?"

Cliffumper wrote:"Uh, no."

Groundbomber bristled. How dare those...punks insult Bravo! She drew herself to her full height. In a low, tactful tone that made it clear that she was not to be messed with, she gave Cliffjumper and Trailblazer a firm look, "Leave him alone. Both of you."

Trailblazer wisely considered his options and backed down. "My apologies."

Hot Rod wrote:"We’ve got a mission to go on.”

"Yes sir." Trailblazer nodded to Hot Rod and turned to leave.

Groundbomber pondered what Swerve had said about Optimus. If what he said was true, it was a wise precaution to put him in the brig.

Groundbomber flinched as a hand was placed on her arm. Quickly turning, she saw that it was Skids.

Skids wrote:“Thanks for earlier.”

"Oh, um...you're welcome." Groundbomber was confused. Why did he feel the need to thank her? "Sorry if I startled you."

Bounce Chamber:

"Leave him alone. Both of you."

Groundbomber was trying too hard as far as Cliffjumper was concerned. 'Cliff just smirked at her and chuckled, "What, are you his conjux endura all of a sudden, plane lady?"

Cliffjumper then walked past Groundbomber with a snooty look on his visage. As far as he was concerned, she seemed to be a sort of loose cannon from how jumpy she was. 'Cliff wasn't exactly gonna attack one of his own faction, but he wasn't afraid to kill the seemingly crazed grump of a femme out of self defense if she did anything stupid. Or, at least that would be a good excuse.