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Hi all,
It's rather long, but I wanted to share.

What happened to Mirage to cause his absence from the roster in AoE? Or Sideswipe? Why on Earth was Ratchet in a boat in the beginning of AoE? I was inspired by these questions, and by the Japan-exclusive Advanced Age Deluxe Mirage toy.


R and M - an Age of Extinction prequel fanfic by RotorstormNZ.

The air was still and silent and the jet-black sky made the stars above shine even brighter than normal.

That caused his spark to twitch, if only a little.

Where are you? he asked the stars silently, shaking his head.

He turned to look at Ratchet, who – in his absurdly-coloured vehicle mode – was powered down and parked next to a decrepit old tractor-trailer unit. The medic seemed weary, he reflected, tired of running and just as keen to return to the others as soon as was practical. Running from humans didn’t feel right to either of them but, after what happened to Sideswipe…

Mirage shuddered. After the Battle of Chicago, and what he was told about Mission City, he didn’t think the human military had the tools or capability to defeat Cybertronians.

Ironhide – Primus protect his spark – had mentioned a superweapon which destroyed Devastator, but that had been mounted on an oceangoing craft, it wasn’t a land vehicle. Something else had killed Sideswipe that day.

The way his chest had burst open, the shower of sparks and shrapnel…it had to be a Cybertronian weapon. Perhaps the humans had reverse-engineered weapons from the fallen in Chicago? He’d noticed that after Prime had killed Megatron, the latter’s body had quickly vanished.
He smirked – Prime KILLED Megatron…at last! That must have been satisfying.
He heard clanks and clinks behind him, the shuffling of metal, followed by soft footfalls.

“What’s on your mind?” Ratchet asked as he sat next to his red comrade atop a wall of crushed scrap.

“Optimus. And Sideswipe.”

Ratchet shook his head. “He never had a chance, rest his spark.”

“What killed him?”

Ratchet seemed uncomfortable thinking about it.

“I mean, it wasn’t human.”

“What else could it be? The Decepticons are gone; it would hardly have been one of our survivors!”

Both looked up at the white orb in the sky, visible past the trees to the east.

“I can’t look at it without thinking about Sentinel and his betrayal,” Ratchet said in a low tone, turning his optics away from the rising moon. Mirage saw his fists ball up, the right slowly shifting its form into a blaster.

He placed a hand on his friend’s wide shoulder. “He’s gone.”

“So are Ironhide, and Wheeljack, thanks to him.” The gun returned to a handshape and Ratchet flexed it with a sad expression. “Not to mention the Twins. But, I know, there’s nothing we can do.”

Mirage nodded contemplatively as he ran a hand along the blade on his left arm. “The way they got Sideswipe still bothers me. I know the ‘cons are all gone…but…it may have been someone from off-world…”

Ratchet turned, nodding slowly. “Prime did send a lot of broadcasts into space. It’s possible a Decepticon ship intercepted one of them.”

“When he told me about those messages…it was foolish to advertise our presence on this planet in such a fashion!”

“But it brought more of us – you wouldn’t have found us yourself if it wasn’t for him.”

Mirage retracted the blade and folded his arms petulantly.

“I’ll take the watch tonight,” Ratchet said firmly. “You should rest. We’ve had a hard few cycles.”

“Doctor’s orders, eh?”

Ratchet smiled, a forced grin to humour the stealth warrior who climbed down and transformed into his newly-scanned alt-mode of an Audi sports car. It was less flashy – and easier to hide – than the Ferrari he had first taken on his arrival to Earth six years before. The bright red car moved into position among a bunch of dilapidated old wrecks and powered down.

Ratchet turned his gaze back over the fields and waited for dawn.


When the sun rose the two Autobots were long gone, leaving no hint of their presence but for tire tracks in the dust. The unlikely pair – a red sports car and a green-and-white emergency services Hummer – sped away along a busy highway, with their holodrivers activated and keeping a safe distance from each other lest they arouse any suspicion.

That was a lesson learned the hard way after Jolt and Chromia were ambushed and killed by the humans. The two had travelled together and were discovered at a rest area, according to their diminutive companion Wheelie who had escaped during the energonbath that followed. The tiny former Decepticon told Mirage and Ratchet the terrible story, but his spark gave out from his injuries before he could tell the entire story.

From his position Ratchet watched his scarlet companion turn off a side street and down a road, which he took too. The pair stopped in an abandoned shopping mall’s parking lot and, hidden by the big building, transformed into robot mode to “stretch their legs”.

“All this driving is beginning to give my servos cramp,” Ratchet grumbled.

“We are Autobots, Ratchet,” Mirage pointed out.

There was just a dismissive grunt in reply as Mirage scaled the wall of the multi-storied complex to check out their surroundings, his disruptive camouflage activated to conceal him. “Were you followed?” he called.

“Not as far as I could tell, but all those other vehicles seemed to be going the same way as us.” The medic-bot stretched his arms and legs, and cranked his head from side to side. “Nothing in the sky, either.”

“Hmm,” Mirage replied as he came back down and into view. “I was surprised Skywarp and Thundercracker never made it here; I’d have thought Screamer would’ve brought his buddies along.”

“There was Ransack…” Ratchet began.

“…who was put down before he could do any damage,” Mirage replied. “Jetfire had something to do with that, I was told. No, there were no reports of any other fliers.”

Ratchet nodded – it was indeed a great stroke of luck that more Decepticons with airborne alt-modes had not travelled to Earth. The death of Starscream in Chicago had dealt a crippling blow to any Decepticon plans involving air attack…if any Decepticons remained at all.

“So you’re certain whatever it was that killed Sideswipe was human?”

Ratchet’s placid expression vanished. “Mirage, leave it alone!”

“I just know it was Cybertronian! A new Decepticon arrival, perhaps?”

“If you’re so bent on finding out, why not go out there and take a look for him?” Ratchet blurted out, waving his arm around them.

The pair was silent for a moment, and then Mirage turned.

“No, I wasn’t serious - ”

Mirage turned, his face contorted into a scowl. “He was my friend, too, and if there’s something out there that the humans can use to kill us I will find it.”

Despite Ratchet’s jabbering pleas for him to reconsider, Mirage abruptly transformed back into car mode and sped off.


The Autobot disguised as a red car was stopped at a traffic light – he and Ratchet would never risk exposure by breaking any of the humans’ arbitrary “traffic laws” – when he saw a black car pull up behind him.

Very nice! he thought as he admired the car’s lines. It even had tinted windows but overall was a much nicer-looking vehicle than his old Ferrari alt-mode. There was a sigil of an Earth animal of some sort on the front grille, quite different to the Ferrari’s. As the light turned green and he pulled away he decided to scan the vehicle, as he’d wanted to change his alt-mode for some time.

Mirage pulled into the right-hand lane and slowed slightly so he was abreast of the black car. From the side it’s even nicer, he thought. Slowly he shifted a panel to expose his transcanner.

“I have you now,” a sinister voice said out of nowhere.

Too surprised to reply, Mirage replaced the panel and sped away but the black car was hot on his tail.

The two whizzed past a human police car, which then pulled onto the highway behind them with its lights and siren on.

“You can’t run anymore, Autobot!”

It’s black, OF COURSE it’s a Decepticon! Mirage chastised himself.

Eager to hide the pursuit from other, human drivers he swerved off onto a back road, kicking up a rooster-tail of dust. He could sense the black Decepticon behind him, and the human police car further back.

Suddenly he saw the spoiler on the rear of the black car rise up and fold, and orange-tipped missiles in a rack were exposed…facing rearward.
“No,” Mirage cried, “don’t do it! This is our fight!”

Without further warning the black car fired a single missile and this shot out and struck the police car, destroying it in a cloud of flame and smoke, shrapnel pinging into the ground behind them.

“I hope that wasn’t your backup,” the black car called, taunting him.

Angry – that he’d failed to protect the human, and that this waste of metal had killed it so wantonly – Mirage screeched to a halt. With a succession of whirs, clinks and other sounds the red Audi R8 car shell shifted and transformed into his robot mode. With a flourish he swung his arms down, deploying his twin battle blades.

“You will pay for that, Decepticon! Stand and fight!”

The black car did no such thing, instead driving around Mirage’s feet at great speed, creating a massive dust cloud. His optics unable to penetrate it, Mirage flailed with his blades, vainly trying to strike the other vehicle.

With a sudden crash he was knocked off his feet and onto his back. He waved his arms to clear the dust.

And from the dust came another missile. It hit his right leg, blowing it off just above the foot joint and causing him to scream in pain.

The screaming of the other car’s engine ceased as he heard the Decepticon transform. There were heavy steps but the dust was so thick he could see nothing. No, there was something – a green glow up high, moving side-to-side in time with the footsteps.

“So that’s it?” Mirage asked, clutching the debris of his foot and then throwing it at the approaching figure. “You cripple me then you kill me? I’m right, aren’t I – you killed Sideswipe!”

“At least he died with some form of dignity,” the figure replied as it emerged from the dust. He was taller than Mirage, closer in height to Optimus perhaps, and the green glow was some form of screen that now retracted to reveal his face. He didn’t look familiar, didn’t resemble any of the Decepticons he had known before the War. His shoulders bore a trio of spikes on each side – the missiles, it looked like -, and he looked very solid. “Not like those two blue pests. I’m surprised the humans in the settlement nearby weren’t roused from their slumber by their pitiful baying.”

Mirage, furious, tried to get up. “You killed them too?”

The other bot looked down at him. “Allow me to assist.”

The bot chinked his right arm into a large hook and then swung it at Mirage, catching him in the shoulder and pulling him upright. Even through the pain Mirage was stunned at his strength. He couldn’t help but cry out as the blade of the tool dug into him.

“Yes, I killed them. And I’ll kill you too. And, I’m no Decepticon.”

“Who are you…” Mirage whimpered.

He chuckled. It was an evil sound. “I’m no Megatron - I’m not about to tell you everything before I get the chance to do it. All I want is for you to tell me where he is.”

Mirage was confused. “Why? What do you want with Ratchet?”

“Ratch - ” Now the other bot was confused. Then he realised. “No, I know very well where he is. I’ve been tracking you and the medic for what seems like an age, now. I’ve no use for him unless you can’t tell me what I want to know.”

“Then who do you want?”

“Optimus Prime.”

Mirage was, for the first time since arriving on Earth, deeply scared. “I don’t know where he is!”

“Tell me where he is. Or I’ll take great pleasure in watching the life fade from your optics as I crush your spark.”

“I swear by Primus, I - ”

The other bot wrenched the hook-hand out of Mirage’s shoulder, tearing his arm off and causing him to yell in pain. The dead appendage fell to the ground, where the grey bot stamped on it.

“Where is Optimus Prime?” he repeated.

Mirage was beginning to go into shock. He was hysterical. “Even if I knew, why would I tell you?”

The tall grey bot shook his head. “Because you might have been useful.”

In quick succession his right hand transformed from the hook into a cluster of spikes and shot into Mirage’s chest, causing the Autobot to cry out once more in shock and pain. The grey bot’s arm twisted inside him and emerged with the spike back into a hand, in the palm of which was a blue-grey orb.

Mirage managed to look down, not believing what he saw – this enemy was holding his very spark in his hand!

He struggled to speak. “Who….are….”

He shook his head. “There’s no point in telling you my name, or who I work for.” He leant forward, locking his stare with the dying red bot. “Just know that you won’t be the last.” He crushed his hand inward, destroying the sparkling orb in his palm.

Mirage’s soft blue optics faded, his remaining limbs went limp and the glittering orb dimmed.

“What a waste,” he said to himself as he dropped the remnants of the spark onto the corpse. His flicked his green faceplate back down. “You can take him away – he’s of no further use to me.”

A trio of black vehicles crested a nearby hill, their headlights on full high-beam despite it being almost noon. They raced over to the wreckage of Mirage and groups of humans, dressed in black and carrying rifles, emerged. One approached the tall grey bot.

“No joy?” he asked as he looked up.

“Mister Savoy, by now you should be well aware that I have no need for ‘joy’.”

Savoy smiled, removing his sunglasses to rub them on his black shirt. “Sorry, I forgot. No offence intended, Lockdown.” He looked at Mirage as he replaced his glasses. His companions were swarming over the dead Autobot and he let out a whistle at the extent of the damage. “You didn’t leave much for KSI to work with.”

“As I recall, my task was to get information for your Government, not playthings for your scientists.”

“And what information did you gather?” Savoy turned back to the robot.

Lockdown shook his head slightly. “He knew nothing.”

“What about his partner? You said he was travelling with someone.”

“I have a plan for him,” the big robot replied as he knelt down, “one that will also involve your team.”

Savoy stood solid, long past the days of feeling intimidated by the giant alien – even when the massive mechanical face was inches from his own. “Do tell.”


Ratchet had begun to worry when Mirage hadn’t returned to the old mall, so he’d changed back to his vehicle mode and cautiously drove the streets looking for him.

He fought the urge to call out Mirage’s name, lest a human hear him and notify their authorities. How quickly they turned on us, he thought bitterly. After all we did for them.

Night was beginning to fall and he began to think about where to hide for the night – Mirage could look after himself, he reasoned.
On the way into the city he’d noticed signs pointing toward a port, presumably a seaport rather than one for space-faring vessels, and thought it would make a good place for the two of them to hide.

Leaving a hidden message for his missing red friend behind him, Ratchet transformed back into vehicle mode and merged into the late afternoon traffic, and turned off to the port.

A nice, quiet ship would do me nicely, he thought as he negotiated the lowered barriers at the entrance. He spotted a derelict ferry with two smokestacks, each of ample enough size to contain his robot mode, moored alongside the quay. Perfect, he thought with a weary smile on his hidden face.

Why did you post that?


I'm even more depressed now...but that also means your story is great.

Toooooo long. But good!