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Anywho, here's the rest of Chapter 7, enjoy!

Prologue: Part 1 | Prologue: Part 2 | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 6.5 | Chapter 7

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Now on with the story.

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"Have you lost your mind?!" Leader-1 screamed at the holographic image of Blane that smiled at him over the communication hub. "I said you were NOT to kill anyone! ANYONE!"
"Please, five bots on a ship we crashed, maybe a few more on Earth, who gives a damn beside you?"
"Five Autobots! I told you the Autobots were off-limits, you were only supposed to attack the Decepticons dammit!" Leader-1 leaned closer to the image, wishing that Blane was in the room with him, "You listen to me Blane, when I give you an order-"
"You best take the bass out your voice and watch how you address me, punk!" Blane's smile was gone, replaced by a wicked sneer that contorted his features, "Or else, next time I see you I will shove the spikiest part of my boot down your throat and into your core, you got that?!"
"This whole operation was based on keeping them confused, off balanced, and unable to anticipate our next move. How are we supposed to keep them guessing if they know what to expect from you and the Renegades?! And now that you've killed, they're not going to think twice before pulling the trigger on any of us!"
Blane's eyes were narrow slits. "Too bad your upgrade ain't come with a spine. Nobody... lemme repeat that... nobody gives a flyin' flux about those Trans-pukes but you! If we did things my way, we'd be kickin' back with a sixer of coolant right now and they'd all be scrap."
"If we did things your way, Unicron would have wiped us out! I-"
"Leader-1," Turbo had entered the room, but remained near the door. He didn't like the look in Leader-1's eye. "We're here."
Leader-1 glanced back at Turbo, then turned his attention back to Blane and growled, "We'll finish this later."
"Bite me, lugnut." came the retort, and Blane's face vanished. Leader-1 noticed his fists were tight circles, and forced himself to relax enough for them to loosen.
"Hey, you okay? I could hear ya down the hall."
Leader-1 only breathed, trying to calm himself. "Blane, and the Renegades, they... they hijacked an Autobot shuttle and killed the crew." He placed a hand to his forehead, running it over the dome. A moment later he sighed. "Any leads on Pathfinder?"
"Hans-Cuff's got Guardian scanning the channels, but so far no good."
"Tell him to keep searching, then I want you, Smallfoot and Scooter to join me, we've got a lot of explaining to do to Matt, A.J. and Nick."

**************

Blane slammed his fist into Thruster's communication panel, sending a spray of sparks bouncing off his chest. His eyes were wide saucers, lips pulled back in a painful looking sneer. Cop-Tur and Crasher backed away from him.
"That arrogant scud of a PITT!!! Who the scud does he think he is?! I'll-"
"Don't... hit...me."
The sound boomed throughout the control room, as if coming from the walls themselves. Blane halted and whipped his head around, eyes falling on Crasher and Cop-Tor
"Was that either one've you?"
They shook their heads in unison.
"Not them," the voice, female and gruff, boomed over the audio channels, "...me."
Blane's mouth twisted into a confused slant, his anger ebbed, "Me who?"
"ME!" it sounded angry now, frustrated.
A monitor near Blane clicked to life. A large, green, featureless face appeared. Blane turned back to the monitor and took in the sight. Slight triangular indentations where the eyes would be, it flickered with an internal, unknown light source when it spoke.
"Me."
Blane's jaw lowered a little, he brought a hand to his chin. "Waita-wait, hold on..." a smile pulled at his lips now, his eyes grew slightly in disbelief, he barked a harsh, single laugh, "Wait-a-*minute*!" Leader-1 was forgotten for the moment, "Thruster, you're talkin'!?"
"Thruster?!" Crasher, "Since when were you able to... to... well..."
"Since the next step." the head replied, channeling her voice into that single room now. She sounded calmer.
"And you're a girl-bot!" Blane beamed, "I wondered why you had a little somethin' in the cargo compartment in bot form! Haha!"
Thruster's voice came again, sounding confused "I always have something in the cargo compartment."
Crasher laughed, "We'll talk later honey."
"What about the other Thrusters?"
"I don't know. None of them answer when I try to talk to them."
"Makes you the only anomaly then." Blane placed a hand to the control panel, "Looks like I don't have to touch your controls anymore. Jump us to hyperdrive Get us to Cybertron."
"On it."
They braced themselves for the jump, feeling Thruster shudder, then level out as she compensated for the speed.
Crasher frowned, watching another monitor tick off their increasing distance from Earth. "Blane, are we're really just going to leave Earth? Just like that?"
"We are, yeah, but don't you worry. As long as there's an Earth, there'll be Renegades on Earth."
Crasher laughed, eyes squinting as she threw her head back and laughed, enjoying Blane's blatant defiance of Leader-1. She couldn't believe she ever held a torch for that straight arrow.
"Crasher," Blane beckoned her to follow as he headed towards the door, "...wanna talk to you."
They traveled from Thruster's now pointless control room and walked in silence for almost a minute.
Without warning, Blane took Crasher by the arms, pushed her against the wall, and pressed his mouth to hers. Crasher, unfazed, grasped the back of his head and pulled him towards her. They remained that way for a few seconds and parted suddenly, smiling and gasping. Blane's forehead leaned down against hers as they stared at each other with wide, feral eyes.
Crasher managed a quiet giggle. "I didn't know I was your type."
"Why wouldn't you be?"
"I dunno, I always thought you had a little thing for Snoop."
Blane laughed, "Twiggy? Please."
"So," she leaned forward, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial tone, "why'd you do it?"
"Because lockin' lips with you is something I've always wanted t'do."
"Not that, I mean back on Gobotron." Blane raised a brow, she continued, "Why'd you insist we be the ones to throw our lives away and attack Unicron's horn?"
"Why indeed." Blane smile widened, a hint of the old Cy-Kill coming through as he winked at her. Crasher felt her smile growing as well.
"You knew, didn't you? You knew Unicron wouldn't kill us!"
"Not for sure. But I had a pretty good idea."
"How?"
"'Cause it's what I'D do!" Blane pushed himself off the wall and pointed at the ceiling, "The head man was weak when he came to Gobotron. Strong enough to rip us a new one, yeah, but weak by his standards." He began to pace. "I said to m'self, Self, if you're hurt, and you find yourself sittin' in the middle of a potential armory, what d'you do? Do you break all those beautiful deathbringers, chew em' up, bend em till they're useless, throw em out? Nah, you polish and shine those babies up, make nice and pretty as you please..." he eyes began to glow, a half-snarl, half-smile came across his mouth. He aimed his pointer finger at Crasher's nose, thumb pulled back in imitation of a firearm, "...and then you take aim at the thing that hurt you in the first place. You make em' pay, you make em beg, and then you make em pay some more." He lowered his hand and began to pace again, "But a dog that lays down and gives up its stomach is just gonna get it ripped out. Now, a dog that tries to take your face off... I don't know about you, but that's the dog I want on my side. I had to make sure we were those dogs. And I had to make sure we did it first. If nothin' else, Head Man'll know that it was the Renegades who lunged at him b'fore those gutless Guardians even thought about thrownin' down the gauntlet."
Crasher cackled, "You, Blane, are a genius!"
"Damn right I am, now gimme some more of that sugar."
They leaned towards each other when the floor began to quake. They were almost thrown to the floor, Crasher grasping a nearby doorframe to steady herself while Blane did the same. Thruster's voice thundered down the hallway.
"Disruption! Disruption in corridor 4... 5... 6..."
"The heck's goin on Thruster?!"
"Decepticon active! Traveling northwest in corridor 2..1... alpha section A... B..."
"Crasher, get back to the control room and, I dunno, calm Thruster down or somethin'. I'll be back." Blane changed modes, his motorcycle form bulky even in Thruster's massive corridors. His engine snarled and he took off, enjoying the sound of his own tires scraping against the floor as he cut a right turn and barreled towards the source of the disturbance.

**************

UNECOM BASE OF OPERATIONS: FACILITY # 4189

The grey walls of the UNECOM facility stood in stark contrast against the rocky landscape. Red and tan cliffs surrounded the establishment, a dusty, dry and barren stretch of land that facilitated the various experiments that took place on a daily basis. There was a populated city two hours from their location, a fact that bothered Matt about this particular UNECOM site, but it was one of their main development areas, and though he could have pushed for them to relocate the site somewhere else, he couldn't deny that the area was indeed perfect for their work. Nobody ever came out here despite the scenic view.
Matt stood flanked by a trio of soldiers who looked more like secret service agents. Every one of them were inhumanly large, wore shades, and had small devices in their ears. Matt himself had a pair of shades on, but only because of the glare of the sun. He still sported the same crumpled blue jeans and his trusty, beat up brown jacket.
He saw what looked like a mirage, a dark blur against the landscape.
Nick and A.J. skidded to a halt a few feet from Matt. He suddenly remembered how difficult it was to look at the vehicle dead on, the area surrounding it heavily distorted. After a moment, the car appeared more solid, the door folded open and the duo stepped out.
The three of them stared at each other in silence for what seemed an eternity. Matt forgot how much they had grown since the Gobots left. Nick wasn't a skinny half-pint anymore, the relentless training he endured filled his frame with compact layers of muscle. He could pass for lean under a coat, but heaven help anyone who thought about engaging him in physical combat. A.J. had gone through the same training, racing through the programs with a gritty determination that intimidated most of her instructors. Matt almost smiled, he was never able to express how proud he had been of them, how much their disappearance hurt him.
"Nick, A.J."
"Matt." Nick mumbled, hands shoved in his pockets. Despite his bulkier frame, the motion made Nick look a lot younger. A.J. said nothing, clearly she was only there to support Nick. Matt noticed she still loved purple, but had updated her look. She wore a purple half jacket over a tight black shirt, her hair an impressive curtain of braids that reached just past her shoulders. Dark purple jeans, black belt, black shoes. Matt repressed a smile, that outfit only looked like casual dress, it was calculated. He noticed the half jacket was form fitting, but loose enough to be easily discarded if someone grabbed it from behind. The cuffs of the pants were just high enough to reveal a slip of black fabric, no doubt she was black-clad from head to toe, if she wanted stealth, the purple parts of that outfit would be gone in a flash, and so would she. He didn't even want to guess what kind of concealed weapons she was without a doubt carrying. Despite the hidden pride he had in A.J for being so prepared for a confrontation, Matt felt something sink in the pit of his stomach. How did he go from being their friend to a disapproving father figure, did she really think he was going to try to ambush them? He removed his shades, then pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
"Follow me."
They obliged, following him through the first and second gates, past the lines of armed guards sporting weaponry neither Nick nor A.J. recognized. They sported guns that looked like toys, but the gleaming chrome and digital gauges told them they were anything but kids' toys. Security held back when they approached another pair of doors requiring identification, Matt's personal guard had access to every point in UNECOM-except the area beyond this particular point. Matt held his hand to a panel beside the door, allowing it to be scanned. Another beam of light shone from the wall and into his eye, lingered, then faded. For a split second it looked like Matt's entire body became a blur, then he seemed fine. The light bar above the door flashed through a spectrum of colors, then settled on green.
Access Granted, welcome back Mathew Hunter.
The computer's voice carried the faint hint of a Russian accent, the tone and inflection similar to an old colleague of theirs, Dr Anya Turgenova. Nick looked sidelong at Matt.
"How is Anya anyway?"
Matt frowned, "We don't talk much these days." He walked past the door and motioned for Nick and A.J. to allow themselves to be scanned as well. They both held back, Matt sighed.
"You're both in the system. You were always welcome to come back... anytime you wanted."
A.J. allowed her slender fingers to touch the panel, the scan was quick, though she looked taken aback when her body blurred slightly.
Welcome back Allison Janmoria Foster.
"You're going to need to get that fixed," she noted, walking through as Nick placed his palm to the panel, "The last name is Burns now."
Matt tried a disarming smirk "Don't tell me you're mad about the wedding thing too."
She shot a look that prompted him to raise his hands in mock defense, "Sorry, attempt at humor, failed."
"What was that last scan, everything felt... weird."
"We call it the Shift-Check. Remember when the Guardians told us about that parallel world they went to that had evil versions of themselves?"
She nodded.
"And that whole mess with the bug weirdos from the 23rd level? We couldn't risk the possibility of intruders from another dimension showing up and pretending to be you. What you felt was the computer checking your dimensional biorhythms against the ones we have cataloged in this dimension. If you're from another world, or even another time, we'll know."
They walked forward a few steps, and Nick noticed a thick sheath on metal slide down behind them, sealing off the way they came, eliminating the light coming in from the door and leaving them in darkness.
The lights snapped on, Nick and A.J stood back in shock, mouths agape, eyes wide as they beheld the new form of Leader-1. He stared down at them, surrounded by Guardians. There was a rip in his chest, a nasty wound.
"Leader-1!" Nick couldn't stop a smile from taking over his face. "Turbo, Scooter!" He could identify most of the Guardians, some required a harder look before a name came to mind. He blinked, expecting them to vanish, that this was just a cruel, underhanded trick by Matt to get him and A.J to show up. But here they were, and despite all the things he had thought about them in the bitterest of times, he couldn't think of a single one of them. He just knew he was happy, so happy to see them back on Earth where they belonged. A.J. however, did not share his sentiment.
Leader-1's face carried the slightest hint of a smile despite how troubled he appeared. He opened his hands towards them. "Matt, Nick, A.J., I can't tell you how good it is to see you after all this time."
"No." A.J. seethed, glaring up at the Guardians with rising anger. The Guardians looked taken aback, all except Leader-1, who seemed to expect it. "Don't you dare try to act like everything's fine, because it isn't!"
"A.J., you don't unders-" Matt began, but went silent when she wheeled around and turned her gaze on him. She returned to Leader-1.
"You've been gone for years. Years! No notice, no good-bye, just, gone! We thought you were going on a mission to New Earth and you never returned!" tears rolled down her cheeks, but she paid them no mind. "We didn't know if you were dead, if Cy-Kill destroyed you and Gobotron, and now you stroll back in here like nothing's happened?!"

Leader-1's mind latched onto 'New Earth'. The name reflected the nature of the planet called home by the Last Engineer, the one responsible for jumpstarting the Gobot's new robotic era of being. New Earth was supposed to be a settlement, won after a violent battle with the Last Engineer's antithesis, the Master Renegade. Though he did not possess a robot body, he and the Last Engineer were every bit as powerful as the evolved Gobots, both helping to usher in Gobotron's original technological leap.
The victory was short lived.
New Earth was only allowed a few scant years of peace, during which time the Last Engineer devised countless technological advances for the planet and its inhabitants, slowly creating a paradise and safe haven for all species and races. Clean pools of energy were tapped using the planet's deeper resources, medical advances were allowing progress to be made on the original Earth.
And then came the cataclysm. When the Master Renegade returned, he was not alone. A shaky alliance with Cy-Kill had been formed, and together they unleashed a galactic maelstrom upon New Earth, ravaging over a third of the planet before the Guardians even knew it was under attack. Leader-1 received the news from Zeemon himself, already en route to New Earth with the entire Gobotron Council with him.
There was a global call to arms, hasty good-byes, and the Guardians departed Earth, not knowing it would be the last time any of them would set foot on the planet for years to come.
The battle was a nightmare. With the Master Renegade's sinister mind at his disposal, Cy-Kill's army had swollen to include the hideous Beast Fiends, whose combined form, Monstrous, wreaked havoc across the planet. Damaged Renegades had been reconstructed into a new version of Puzzler. This one was not the mindless, remote controlled giant like its predecessor, he now had his own sinister thoughts of destruction. When the Guardians attempted to battle both combiners using the Power suits, Cy-Kill relished the opportunity to reveal new Renegade Power suits of his own, capable of merging as well and becoming the power warrior Grungy. Every one of the suits had been upgraded and duplicated by the Master Renegade, granting Cy-Kill an even greater advantage when they merged to become Nemesis.
In the end New Earth was literally torn to in two, exposing a core overflowing with energy the Master Renegade and Cy-Kill intended to harvest for their own. But without warning the energy, which had thus far been completely stable, seemed to come alive. The resulting explosion destroyed what remained of the planet and caused a cosmic shudder that disrupted New Earth's neighboring planets. Though the Guardians barely escaped, the inhabitants of the planet we not so lucky. They searched the drifting debris for weeks hoping to find survivors, but only found lifeless bodies drifting through space. There was no trace of the Last Engineer, nor any possible survivors.
It was a grim lesson.
Leader-1 vowed the fate of New Earth could not become the fate of the original Earth, and with a heavy heart, ordered the Guardians to sever all ties to the planet. Their purpose became protection at all costs. They fought Cy-Kill tooth and nail when he attempted to return to Earth, erecting outposts to detect Thrusters and battled them to a standstill. It wasn't until Cy-Kill's fury redirected itself towards Gobotron as a whole that they felt Earth was finally safe. Though it saddened them, they refused to communicate with the tiny sphere, afraid of the signals being detected by the Renegades. Any slip, any reminder of the planet had the potential to re-ignite another interplanetary war, and Leader-1 swore to do everything in his power to spare Earth from the same horrifying destruction as New Earth. The thought of losing a second world kept him up more nights than he cared to remember. Now, looking into A.J's tear streaked face, Leader-1 began to wonder if he had made the right call. He had done this for them after all...

"You abandoned us."
"A.J.," SmallFoot stepped forward and knelt "You don't understand, it was just as hard for us to not be able to talk to you guys, we missed you so much!"
A.J crossed her arms and backed away. Nick approached and placed a hand on her shoulder, she covered it with hers, "Matt's told us everything, about Unicron, and this war you've started, how can you do what you're doing?"
"C'mon guys," Turbo's voice sounded thicker in the confines of the hangar, "you think we like what's goin' on anymore than you do? This blows exhaust for us all, but... Leader-1 knows what he's doin'."
Leader-1 sighed, the sound heavy, "A.J., have you ever watched a planet die?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide, quizzical.
"I have. More times than I'm comfortable with. You don't forget something like that A.J., it haunts you, knowing that billions of lives were snuffed out and there wasn't a thing you could do to stop it. It's worse watching someone ravage your own world, and know there's nothing you can do? But what if there was a chance? What if there was a chance, however slight, to save billions of lives?"
"You can't justify this war with the Transformers Leader-1! You can't trade the lives of one planet for another..." she looked down, bit her lip, then looked back up, "Not even if it's for your own people."
Leader-1 said nothing. He tilted his head, as if listening, waiting...

***********

Gobotropolis

Night Ranger's engine roared, he tore across Gobotropolis and swerved around a large metal spire. He still resembled what the humans called a harley davidson motorcycle, but now he looked more compact, the contours of his body closer to the newer Gobotronian designs of dual wheeled cruisers. He changed modes and slid in a crouch towards another spire, standing abruptly and staring over his shoulder towards the spire he just passed. He waited, trying not to think about what could be happening to Leader-1 and the others, wondering if he would even see them again. He shook his head and began counting off multiples of three in his head. 3, 9, 27, 81, 243... He counted, he waited, and then he heard what he was told to wait for:
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
He changed modes and sped away from the spire, then doubled back and increased his speed. A pair of blue lights lit along his exhaust pipes, getting brighter as he accelerated until the cycle actually began to lift off the ground, a thin anti-gravity field encircled his body. He neared the spire and climbed higher, twenty feet in the air when his tires connected with the spire's surface on a near 90-degree angle. He raced upward and opened a small compartment and fired a tiny, spiked sphere into the side of the structure. It stuck and began to spin, burrowing beneath the metal until it vanished from sight. Night Ranger continued his course, traveling almost to the top of the huge metal spike before firing another sphere that also dug into the surface and disappeared. He spun, aimed himself at the ground, and leapt, changing modes as he descended and landing with a quiet 'thunk'. He stood, mind still ticking off multiples of 3, eyes fixed on the spire, and waited.

***********

Leader-1 held up a hand as if asking them to wait, then, "Dneirf ym si ymene ym fo ymene eht."
"What?" Nick's confusion was echoed by Matt and A.J.
"Dneirf ym si ymene ym fo ymene eht." He said again, slowly, deliberate. When he saw their expressions hadn't changed he stood.
"Everything's backwards these days. A.J., you're right to be upset. I hate what it looks like we've become."
"I don't... hate you, I just don't understand why you left and never came back."
She searched their faces, even in their new forms, they couldn't hide their uneasiness.
"What happened? What happened on that last mission?" A.J. could see the uncomfortable glances some of the Guardians tossed each other.
"New Earth was destroyed." He saw their faces drop in shock, only Matt retained his composure. Leader-1 recounted the battle fought for the planet and its inevitable destruction."
"It was Cy-Kill and the Master Renegade, they wiped it out of existence. We couldn't forgive ourselves if the same thing happened to Earth."
Nick turned to Matt, whose expression remained the same throughout the story. "How can you look so calm? Did you know about this?!
Matt grimaced, then nodded. Scooter looked perplexed.
"How? We never contacted anyone on Earth after it happened!"
Matt's gaze shifted from Scooter to Nick, then A.J., and finally Leader-1. They all wore the same look.
"You really don't know, do you?"
They stared at him, confused.
"Follow me."
He led them to the edge of the hanger, a tremendous, solid, reinforced wall of unknown alloy. Large bolts studded its length in a large 'x' pattern. Matt approached and pressed his palm flat, the section he touched faded black and scanned him. A small circular opening rolled down and scanned his eye, lingered, as if searching further, then winked out. A cluster of blinking bars appeared across the wall and it came apart in a series of interlocking sections.
Blue light flooded from the small openings breaking through, revealing a much larger room beyond the one they currently stood in. Faint wisps what looked like steam poured from the entrance and covered the floor, cool and misty. The room was alive with machinery, wires poured from a single cylindrical glass tube in the center. It was the source of the cloudy mist, the center point of the wiring and machines that buzzed with the faint hint of sentience.
Matt's expression became stern, he stared ahead. "Didn't any of you think it was strange that this place continued to advance with Gobotronian technology even though you haven't been on Earth?"
A pale, white glow lit the bluish fluid inside, revealing a humanoid torso connected to reams of wiring and cables. Its head lolled in the fluid, revealing an empty left eye socket, the other eye was closed. The right side of its skull was covered in a glistening layer of metal that wrapped around its chin. A swath of white hair drifted from the exposed portion of his scalp, tinted by the fluid and drifting with the motion of his head. What little flesh remained on his torso tapered away into a network of wiring, as if it poured directly from him. He was missing his right arm, more wires plugged into the stump as well as the remains of his left.
The Gobots gasped in unison. It would have been funny under other circumstances.
As if he heard them, the Last Engineer's eye snapped open.

*********************

Spike kissed Carly, gave Daniel a quick hug, then raced out the door of their house and jumped into Bumblebee, who was already shifting gears and spinning his tires before he could close the door.
"What's the word?" Spike reached over his shoulder and strapped his belt as they tore down the highway towards the city limits.
"Big attack on Metroplex, I mean big, Spike. I'm getting reports of another race of robots that, get this, transform like we do. They hijacked one of our cargo ships and plowed it right into Metroplex."
"Geez, it's 2005 all over again." Spike glanced outside the window, building blurring past and giving way to the more desolate landscape. They zoomed down a multi-lane highway that became less and less crowded as they neared Autobot City II.
"Prime's on the way." Bumblebee wove between the cars racing along the freeway, taking a sharp right that took them onto an expanding stretch of road with hardly any motorists.
"I think he's already here." Spike tilted his head and took in the sight. The Autobot craft looked strange, descending with such grace for a ship its size. As Bumblebee whizzed past Autobot City II, he had to cut his wheels and zigzag through the ravaged remains of what used to be the road. Spike took in the long stretches of burns and melted tar, the ground riddled with indentations from gunfire.
"We're sure it's not another branch of the Decepticons? Maybe this is just another ploy to restart the war. We all know how badly Starscream wanted-"
"I doubt it. If they're new Decepticons, it's a shock to Galvatron. I don't know how much I believe it, but word over the wire is that the 'leader' of these new bots stomped him pretty good."
"You're kidding!"
"Wish I was. Galvy was bad, but I liked to think he was as bad as it got."
They soared down the road, the form of Metroplex becoming visible over the horizon.

**********

"Then Galvatron gathered his bots and gave chase." Ultra Magnus sighed, holding his bad arm with his good hand. "We've been repairing Metroplex and tending to the wounded since."
Optimus placed a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "You've done a fine job holding the fort Magnus." He saw the orange sparks playing about his wounded arm. "Get yourself checked out, that looks pretty bad." Magnus nodded, allowing First Aid to lead him to the lab. Optimus watched them go, then glanced about the area. It was worse than he imagined, his hands curled into fists.
Metroplex was in ruins. Prime had seen the deep, uneven dents across his body when they descended, smoke still billowed from the cracks in his frame. He looked... wrong. Now that he stood outside, taking in the damage first hand, he felt pity for Metroplex, it quickly shifted into anger towards the GoBots. Why attack Metroplex, then cut and run? For that matter, why attack Cybertron and run?" He needed answers. Optimus walked into Metroplex and headed towards the containment cells.

*************

Kup wheeled himself into one of Metroplex's control rooms and looked around, his aged eyes taking in all the damage. He had waited for everyone to leave the shuttle, then carefully made his way through Metrplex's back entrances, using the smaller, less traveled corridors to reach this point. He had seen Ultra Magnus, Springer and Hot Rod from afar; it was good enough for him, and better for them. A quick key code into a hallway monitor showed him Arcee in recovery. First Aid had done some extensive work to the poor fem's forehead and right eye. He wondered what those GoBots had done to her to leave behind that much damage. She was moving, clearly awake, but too much movement caused small lines of energy to shoot from the wound.
Monitors had been smashed by all the flying debris during the fight, papers and chairs scattered about as if a cyclone settled down in the middle of the room. He sighed and wheeled over to the main control panel, flipping a few switches to see if it was worth trying. His brows lifted slightly in surprise as a few lights turned on, blinking in erratic intervals. He patted the side of the panel.
"Messed you up pretty good didn't they?" He clicked a few buttons, the remaining monitors stuttered, then filled with static.
"I..." Metroplex's voice filled the room, crackling through a speaker in the ceiling, "am...hurt."
"I know big fella," Kup frowned, "It's been a long day for us all."
He rolled to the nearest broken monitor and began to pick up bits of glass.

***********************************

Starscream stormed down the surprisingly large open hallway. He was still screaming, unable to think straight, reality still blended with the horrors his now corrupted memory files insisted on forcing him to experience. The area suddenly went dark, the lights snapping off with an air of resentment. He still sailed forward, hoping to get away from the impossible things in his head. Then he saw them. A pair of eyes, bright and yellow in the dark, glaring at him with a palpable malice. Instantly Starscream's weapons fired, the null ray slamming into the ground beside the thing and illuminating it in a quick, pink flash of light. The monster looked crouched, it snarled with the sound of a motor and raced towards him.

Blane revved his engine and charged towards the obviously psychotic seeker. What did Dr.Go do to him? He'd have to have a 'chat' with the good doctor later, but right now this Decepticon had to be dealt with. An explosion went off beside him, the Decepticon was firing at him, then began launching everything in his arsenal, not caring what he hit or how much damage was being done to the surrounding area. Blane charged the slanted headlights set midway against his front, and fired.

The beast was returning fire. Starscream howled and launched another barrage, wondering if he was fighting Predaking, or was it Abominus? He became vaguely aware of another light coming from behind, the eyes before him suddenly disappeared. Maybe both gestalts were there? He transformed, landed, spun on his heel and saw them; another set of eyes, emerald, half-lidded, not at all malicious. They almost looked bored. Starscream's shouts paused long enough to hear
"Shhhh..."
A metallic sound. Click... Click.
A jarring, high frequency shriek assaulted his audio receptors and split the glass along his canopy. His own scream was lost in the sonic assault, rings of added energy raced across his body. Starscream's internal operating systems shut down and sent him into stasis while they rebooted, the codes reconfiguring themselves as he faded once again into darkness.
Thruster turned the lights back on.
Tux stood over Starscream, the flaps of his metal longcoat lowering, the slots that fired the assault dimming as they powered down. Blane walked over to the downed seeker and crossed his arms.
"Nice."
"I came as soon as I heard." Tux tilted his head, "Dr.Go says this one wields something called a Null ray. Like a restraining bolt, but a lot more... effective."
Blane knelt beside Starscream and looked up at Tux, his smile returned. "Frag've a weapon, ain't it?"

**************

????????:

Zeemon snapped awake. He was surrounded by blackness, so thick and heavy he thought he could reach out and touch it. It was silent, either that or he had gone completely deaf. Where was he? What was going on? He lay still, afraid to move a circuit in fear of the unknown. His mind raced, and memories poured into head. Unicron, the chaos that followed, Leader-1's last desperate attempt to purge Unicron from Gobotropolis... Failure.
Suddenly there was light without a source, revealing him to be in a large room, dull, official looking. He realized he was on his back, staring up at the ceiling of what was once the Gobotron Council's meeting chambers. He was on the meeting table, now he could sense the cold metal beneath him. How was this possible? He dared a look to his left, then right. Empty, dark, and strange in this unearthly light. He raised a hand, cautious, and saw a familiar silver claw rise into his field of view. He considered it a moment, turning it left and right, when suddenly he saw himself. It was an impossible angle, because he was flat on his back, and yet for a few second he was granted a bird's eye view, a clear image of himself in the position he thought he was in. He body looked no different than it had before, why did this confuse him? Was this a mirrored ceiling now? No. Now he was staring at the actual ceiling again. Forgetting his initial trepidation, he sat upright, his head swimming and making him feel ill. He glanced about the meeting chamber and realized it was not as familiar as he thought, It was in fact, more familiar than he remembered. A chair rested in the corned, the same make as the one in his private quarters. They didn't have one of those, everything here was official, standard issue. Pictures of himself at various events hung from the walls, moments he shared with other Guardians he didn't remember being recorded. There were no pictures without him. That didn't make any sense, he always attended major events with the other Council members, where were the pictures of them?
He turned and saw a small cluster of frames were now sitting beside him on the table, each perfectly outlined and propped up to show their contents, various moments in his life displayed proudly. He leaned closer, examining them. Leader-1 accepting a metal he presented for successfully halting a riot on Elba. The completion of Gobotropolis' restructuring. A closed quarters council meeting, all of its members deep in thought. His eyes darted to and fro, confused. They didn't take pictures at meetings, where did this come from? All forms of recording devices were forbidden to keep sensitive information from being discovered or leaked to the Renegades. He looked closer, who took this? He caught glimpse of another picture and froze. The image was taken at night, but he and Spa-C were lit clear as day. They stood atop Metallis Tower, one of the highest Gobot-built structures, her hands in his. He remembered, the stars were brilliant that night. She was tilting herself upward, lips pressed to his chin. He remembered that moment so clearly. What he did not recall, however, was anyone else being there besides the two of them. Those in the Guardian ranks were forbidden from fraternizing with High Command, lest the impartial nature of their decisions become compromised. It was an offense punishable by expulsion, for both of them.
He snatched the picture up and stared at it, no one was there dammit, it was just him and Spa-C. Then it clicked. He gasped and spun around, eyes darting about the room as he realized that he wasn't really here at all. The familiar chair, these pictures containing images of his life, both official and intimate...
He was inside his own mind.
"How is this possible?" he whispered.
He turned towards the doorway and made for it when it stretched away from him, growing impossibly long and tilted in the beginnings of a spiral. Zeemon stepped back, heart thudding, mind a blur of thoughts. Then he heard the laughter, a cold, humorless chuckle carrying down the hallway and pervading the chamber. He backed up against the wall, terrified by that sound. He saw the pictures on the table had changed, they faced him accusingly in tight rows, each displaying the final moments of Unicron's attack, Zeemon's own Command Center collapsing under waves of redirected energy and exploding. He felt a twinge of guilt as his body drifted, barely harmed by the Center's explosion due to his secret. His body's heightened durability held up even in the middle of that maelstrom, he looked oddly out of place next to his decimated friends. The images began to move, each one a second ahead of the one before it but all replaying their particular slice of time. Zeemon saw himself pulled into Gobotropolis itself, the surface becoming alive with motion and reached towards him, ensnaring his unconscious form and dragging him into its murky depths. He saw the abstract cocoon-like structure alight with blinking green and amber lights, lowering itself into a vast empty space. It split with a wet, ripping sound and spilled a bright red splash of liquid clogged with dripping wires wrapped around a leviathan of a machine. It lowered slowly, small, quivering motions as the shape became more solid and sure of its movements. As the tangle of cables slipped free of the form, Zeemon barely recognized what Unicron had done to his body, aghast to see the path of his new evolution. Unicron's aura radiated from the monstrous creature, concentrated itself within the being. It was horrific. He felt his legs trying to backed away from those horrific images, forgetting that he was already pressed firmly against the wall. He tried to look away but couldn't, his eyes were riveted, he couldn't stop staring at that... thing that corrupted his body. In every picture frame it stood, barely contained by their borders, and slowly turned its head to face him.
Zeemon wished he could back away further when he heard that chilling laughter again. He swiveled his head around and saw the wall was no longer a wall, but a large, clear window. Unicron (or did he call him Gobocron, maybe Zeenocron now?) stared down at him. The ceiling curved upward, as if cringing away from the abomination. The faceless beast towered above the Gobot, its featureless face silent and unreadable.
Zeemon screamed.

To be continued...

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Anywho, here's the rest of Chapter 7, enjoy!

Prologue: Part 1 | Prologue: Part 2 | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 6.5 | Chapter 7

Or, you can just visit the website by clicking here .

Now on with the story.

---------------------------------------------

"Have you lost your mind?!" Leader-1 screamed at the holographic image of Blane that smiled at him over the communication hub. "I said you were NOT to kill anyone! ANYONE!"
"Please, five bots on a ship we crashed, maybe a few more on Earth, who gives a damn beside you?"
"Five Autobots! I told you the Autobots were off-limits, you were only supposed to attack the Decepticons dammit!" Leader-1 leaned closer to the image, wishing that Blane was in the room with him, "You listen to me Blane, when I give you an order-"
"You best take the bass out your voice and watch how you address me, punk!" Blane's smile was gone, replaced by a wicked sneer that contorted his features, "Or else, next time I see you I will shove the spikiest part of my boot down your throat and into your core, you got that?!"
"This whole operation was based on keeping them confused, off balanced, and unable to anticipate our next move. How are we supposed to keep them guessing if they know what to expect from you and the Renegades?! And now that you've killed, they're not going to think twice before pulling the trigger on any of us!"
Blane's eyes were narrow slits. "Too bad your upgrade ain't come with a spine. Nobody... lemme repeat that... nobody gives a flyin' flux about those Trans-pukes but you! If we did things my way, we'd be kickin' back with a sixer of coolant right now and they'd all be scrap."
"If we did things your way, Unicron would have wiped us out! I-"
"Leader-1," Turbo had entered the room, but remained near the door. He didn't like the look in Leader-1's eye. "We're here."
Leader-1 glanced back at Turbo, then turned his attention back to Blane and growled, "We'll finish this later."
"Bite me, lugnut." came the retort, and Blane's face vanished. Leader-1 noticed his fists were tight circles, and forced himself to relax enough for them to loosen.
"Hey, you okay? I could hear ya down the hall."
Leader-1 only breathed, trying to calm himself. "Blane, and the Renegades, they... they hijacked an Autobot shuttle and killed the crew." He placed a hand to his forehead, running it over the dome. A moment later he sighed. "Any leads on Pathfinder?"
"Hans-Cuff's got Guardian scanning the channels, but so far no good."
"Tell him to keep searching, then I want you, Smallfoot and Scooter to join me, we've got a lot of explaining to do to Matt, A.J. and Nick."

**************

Blane slammed his fist into Thruster's communication panel, sending a spray of sparks bouncing off his chest. His eyes were wide saucers, lips pulled back in a painful looking sneer. Cop-Tur and Crasher backed away from him.
"That arrogant scud of a PITT!!! Who the scud does he think he is?! I'll-"
"Don't... hit...me."
The sound boomed throughout the control room, as if coming from the walls themselves. Blane halted and whipped his head around, eyes falling on Crasher and Cop-Tor
"Was that either one've you?"
They shook their heads in unison.
"Not them," the voice, female and gruff, boomed over the audio channels, "...me."
Blane's mouth twisted into a confused slant, his anger ebbed, "Me who?"
"ME!" it sounded angry now, frustrated.
A monitor near Blane clicked to life. A large, green, featureless face appeared. Blane turned back to the monitor and took in the sight. Slight triangular indentations where the eyes would be, it flickered with an internal, unknown light source when it spoke.
"Me."
Blane's jaw lowered a little, he brought a hand to his chin. "Waita-wait, hold on..." a smile pulled at his lips now, his eyes grew slightly in disbelief, he barked a harsh, single laugh, "Wait-a-*minute*!" Leader-1 was forgotten for the moment, "Thruster, you're talkin'!?"
"Thruster?!" Crasher, "Since when were you able to... to... well..."
"Since the next step." the head replied, channeling her voice into that single room now. She sounded calmer.
"And you're a girl-bot!" Blane beamed, "I wondered why you had a little somethin' in the cargo compartment in bot form! Haha!"
Thruster's voice came again, sounding confused "I always have something in the cargo compartment."
Crasher laughed, "We'll talk later honey."
"What about the other Thrusters?"
"I don't know. None of them answer when I try to talk to them."
"Makes you the only anomaly then." Blane placed a hand to the control panel, "Looks like I don't have to touch your controls anymore. Jump us to hyperdrive Get us to Cybertron."
"On it."
They braced themselves for the jump, feeling Thruster shudder, then level out as she compensated for the speed.
Crasher frowned, watching another monitor tick off their increasing distance from Earth. "Blane, are we're really just going to leave Earth? Just like that?"
"We are, yeah, but don't you worry. As long as there's an Earth, there'll be Renegades on Earth."
Crasher laughed, eyes squinting as she threw her head back and laughed, enjoying Blane's blatant defiance of Leader-1. She couldn't believe she ever held a torch for that straight arrow.
"Crasher," Blane beckoned her to follow as he headed towards the door, "...wanna talk to you."
They traveled from Thruster's now pointless control room and walked in silence for almost a minute.
Without warning, Blane took Crasher by the arms, pushed her against the wall, and pressed his mouth to hers. Crasher, unfazed, grasped the back of his head and pulled him towards her. They remained that way for a few seconds and parted suddenly, smiling and gasping. Blane's forehead leaned down against hers as they stared at each other with wide, feral eyes.
Crasher managed a quiet giggle. "I didn't know I was your type."
"Why wouldn't you be?"
"I dunno, I always thought you had a little thing for Snoop."
Blane laughed, "Twiggy? Please."
"So," she leaned forward, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial tone, "why'd you do it?"
"Because lockin' lips with you is something I've always wanted t'do."
"Not that, I mean back on Gobotron." Blane raised a brow, she continued, "Why'd you insist we be the ones to throw our lives away and attack Unicron's horn?"
"Why indeed." Blane smile widened, a hint of the old Cy-Kill coming through as he winked at her. Crasher felt her smile growing as well.
"You knew, didn't you? You knew Unicron wouldn't kill us!"
"Not for sure. But I had a pretty good idea."
"How?"
"'Cause it's what I'D do!" Blane pushed himself off the wall and pointed at the ceiling, "The head man was weak when he came to Gobotron. Strong enough to rip us a new one, yeah, but weak by his standards." He began to pace. "I said to m'self, Self, if you're hurt, and you find yourself sittin' in the middle of a potential armory, what d'you do? Do you break all those beautiful deathbringers, chew em' up, bend em till they're useless, throw em out? Nah, you polish and shine those babies up, make nice and pretty as you please..." he eyes began to glow, a half-snarl, half-smile came across his mouth. He aimed his pointer finger at Crasher's nose, thumb pulled back in imitation of a firearm, "...and then you take aim at the thing that hurt you in the first place. You make em' pay, you make em beg, and then you make em pay some more." He lowered his hand and began to pace again, "But a dog that lays down and gives up its stomach is just gonna get it ripped out. Now, a dog that tries to take your face off... I don't know about you, but that's the dog I want on my side. I had to make sure we were those dogs. And I had to make sure we did it first. If nothin' else, Head Man'll know that it was the Renegades who lunged at him b'fore those gutless Guardians even thought about thrownin' down the gauntlet."
Crasher cackled, "You, Blane, are a genius!"
"Damn right I am, now gimme some more of that sugar."
They leaned towards each other when the floor began to quake. They were almost thrown to the floor, Crasher grasping a nearby doorframe to steady herself while Blane did the same. Thruster's voice thundered down the hallway.
"Disruption! Disruption in corridor 4... 5... 6..."
"The heck's goin on Thruster?!"
"Decepticon active! Traveling northwest in corridor 2..1... alpha section A... B..."
"Crasher, get back to the control room and, I dunno, calm Thruster down or somethin'. I'll be back." Blane changed modes, his motorcycle form bulky even in Thruster's massive corridors. His engine snarled and he took off, enjoying the sound of his own tires scraping against the floor as he cut a right turn and barreled towards the source of the disturbance.

**************

UNECOM BASE OF OPERATIONS: FACILITY # 4189

The grey walls of the UNECOM facility stood in stark contrast against the rocky landscape. Red and tan cliffs surrounded the establishment, a dusty, dry and barren stretch of land that facilitated the various experiments that took place on a daily basis. There was a populated city two hours from their location, a fact that bothered Matt about this particular UNECOM site, but it was one of their main development areas, and though he could have pushed for them to relocate the site somewhere else, he couldn't deny that the area was indeed perfect for their work. Nobody ever came out here despite the scenic view.
Matt stood flanked by a trio of soldiers who looked more like secret service agents. Every one of them were inhumanly large, wore shades, and had small devices in their ears. Matt himself had a pair of shades on, but only because of the glare of the sun. He still sported the same crumpled blue jeans and his trusty, beat up brown jacket.
He saw what looked like a mirage, a dark blur against the landscape.
Nick and A.J. skidded to a halt a few feet from Matt. He suddenly remembered how difficult it was to look at the vehicle dead on, the area surrounding it heavily distorted. After a moment, the car appeared more solid, the door folded open and the duo stepped out.
The three of them stared at each other in silence for what seemed an eternity. Matt forgot how much they had grown since the Gobots left. Nick wasn't a skinny half-pint anymore, the relentless training he endured filled his frame with compact layers of muscle. He could pass for lean under a coat, but heaven help anyone who thought about engaging him in physical combat. A.J. had gone through the same training, racing through the programs with a gritty determination that intimidated most of her instructors. Matt almost smiled, he was never able to express how proud he had been of them, how much their disappearance hurt him.
"Nick, A.J."
"Matt." Nick mumbled, hands shoved in his pockets. Despite his bulkier frame, the motion made Nick look a lot younger. A.J. said nothing, clearly she was only there to support Nick. Matt noticed she still loved purple, but had updated her look. She wore a purple half jacket over a tight black shirt, her hair an impressive curtain of braids that reached just past her shoulders. Dark purple jeans, black belt, black shoes. Matt repressed a smile, that outfit only looked like casual dress, it was calculated. He noticed the half jacket was form fitting, but loose enough to be easily discarded if someone grabbed it from behind. The cuffs of the pants were just high enough to reveal a slip of black fabric, no doubt she was black-clad from head to toe, if she wanted stealth, the purple parts of that outfit would be gone in a flash, and so would she. He didn't even want to guess what kind of concealed weapons she was without a doubt carrying. Despite the hidden pride he had in A.J for being so prepared for a confrontation, Matt felt something sink in the pit of his stomach. How did he go from being their friend to a disapproving father figure, did she really think he was going to try to ambush them? He removed his shades, then pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
"Follow me."
They obliged, following him through the first and second gates, past the lines of armed guards sporting weaponry neither Nick nor A.J. recognized. They sported guns that looked like toys, but the gleaming chrome and digital gauges told them they were anything but kids' toys. Security held back when they approached another pair of doors requiring identification, Matt's personal guard had access to every point in UNECOM-except the area beyond this particular point. Matt held his hand to a panel beside the door, allowing it to be scanned. Another beam of light shone from the wall and into his eye, lingered, then faded. For a split second it looked like Matt's entire body became a blur, then he seemed fine. The light bar above the door flashed through a spectrum of colors, then settled on green.
Access Granted, welcome back Mathew Hunter.
The computer's voice carried the faint hint of a Russian accent, the tone and inflection similar to an old colleague of theirs, Dr Anya Turgenova. Nick looked sidelong at Matt.
"How is Anya anyway?"
Matt frowned, "We don't talk much these days." He walked past the door and motioned for Nick and A.J. to allow themselves to be scanned as well. They both held back, Matt sighed.
"You're both in the system. You were always welcome to come back... anytime you wanted."
A.J. allowed her slender fingers to touch the panel, the scan was quick, though she looked taken aback when her body blurred slightly.
Welcome back Allison Janmoria Foster.
"You're going to need to get that fixed," she noted, walking through as Nick placed his palm to the panel, "The last name is Burns now."
Matt tried a disarming smirk "Don't tell me you're mad about the wedding thing too."
She shot a look that prompted him to raise his hands in mock defense, "Sorry, attempt at humor, failed."
"What was that last scan, everything felt... weird."
"We call it the Shift-Check. Remember when the Guardians told us about that parallel world they went to that had evil versions of themselves?"
She nodded.
"And that whole mess with the bug weirdos from the 23rd level? We couldn't risk the possibility of intruders from another dimension showing up and pretending to be you. What you felt was the computer checking your dimensional biorhythms against the ones we have cataloged in this dimension. If you're from another world, or even another time, we'll know."
They walked forward a few steps, and Nick noticed a thick sheath on metal slide down behind them, sealing off the way they came, eliminating the light coming in from the door and leaving them in darkness.
The lights snapped on, Nick and A.J stood back in shock, mouths agape, eyes wide as they beheld the new form of Leader-1. He stared down at them, surrounded by Guardians. There was a rip in his chest, a nasty wound.
"Leader-1!" Nick couldn't stop a smile from taking over his face. "Turbo, Scooter!" He could identify most of the Guardians, some required a harder look before a name came to mind. He blinked, expecting them to vanish, that this was just a cruel, underhanded trick by Matt to get him and A.J to show up. But here they were, and despite all the things he had thought about them in the bitterest of times, he couldn't think of a single one of them. He just knew he was happy, so happy to see them back on Earth where they belonged. A.J. however, did not share his sentiment.
Leader-1's face carried the slightest hint of a smile despite how troubled he appeared. He opened his hands towards them. "Matt, Nick, A.J., I can't tell you how good it is to see you after all this time."
"No." A.J. seethed, glaring up at the Guardians with rising anger. The Guardians looked taken aback, all except Leader-1, who seemed to expect it. "Don't you dare try to act like everything's fine, because it isn't!"
"A.J., you don't unders-" Matt began, but went silent when she wheeled around and turned her gaze on him. She returned to Leader-1.
"You've been gone for years. Years! No notice, no good-bye, just, gone! We thought you were going on a mission to New Earth and you never returned!" tears rolled down her cheeks, but she paid them no mind. "We didn't know if you were dead, if Cy-Kill destroyed you and Gobotron, and now you stroll back in here like nothing's happened?!"

Leader-1's mind latched onto 'New Earth'. The name reflected the nature of the planet called home by the Last Engineer, the one responsible for jumpstarting the Gobot's new robotic era of being. New Earth was supposed to be a settlement, won after a violent battle with the Last Engineer's antithesis, the Master Renegade. Though he did not possess a robot body, he and the Last Engineer were every bit as powerful as the evolved Gobots, both helping to usher in Gobotron's original technological leap.
The victory was short lived.
New Earth was only allowed a few scant years of peace, during which time the Last Engineer devised countless technological advances for the planet and its inhabitants, slowly creating a paradise and safe haven for all species and races. Clean pools of energy were tapped using the planet's deeper resources, medical advances were allowing progress to be made on the original Earth.
And then came the cataclysm. When the Master Renegade returned, he was not alone. A shaky alliance with Cy-Kill had been formed, and together they unleashed a galactic maelstrom upon New Earth, ravaging over a third of the planet before the Guardians even knew it was under attack. Leader-1 received the news from Zeemon himself, already en route to New Earth with the entire Gobotron Council with him.
There was a global call to arms, hasty good-byes, and the Guardians departed Earth, not knowing it would be the last time any of them would set foot on the planet for years to come.
The battle was a nightmare. With the Master Renegade's sinister mind at his disposal, Cy-Kill's army had swollen to include the hideous Beast Fiends, whose combined form, Monstrous, wreaked havoc across the planet. Damaged Renegades had been reconstructed into a new version of Puzzler. This one was not the mindless, remote controlled giant like its predecessor, he now had his own sinister thoughts of destruction. When the Guardians attempted to battle both combiners using the Power suits, Cy-Kill relished the opportunity to reveal new Renegade Power suits of his own, capable of merging as well and becoming the power warrior Grungy. Every one of the suits had been upgraded and duplicated by the Master Renegade, granting Cy-Kill an even greater advantage when they merged to become Nemesis.
In the end New Earth was literally torn to in two, exposing a core overflowing with energy the Master Renegade and Cy-Kill intended to harvest for their own. But without warning the energy, which had thus far been completely stable, seemed to come alive. The resulting explosion destroyed what remained of the planet and caused a cosmic shudder that disrupted New Earth's neighboring planets. Though the Guardians barely escaped, the inhabitants of the planet we not so lucky. They searched the drifting debris for weeks hoping to find survivors, but only found lifeless bodies drifting through space. There was no trace of the Last Engineer, nor any possible survivors.
It was a grim lesson.
Leader-1 vowed the fate of New Earth could not become the fate of the original Earth, and with a heavy heart, ordered the Guardians to sever all ties to the planet. Their purpose became protection at all costs. They fought Cy-Kill tooth and nail when he attempted to return to Earth, erecting outposts to detect Thrusters and battled them to a standstill. It wasn't until Cy-Kill's fury redirected itself towards Gobotron as a whole that they felt Earth was finally safe. Though it saddened them, they refused to communicate with the tiny sphere, afraid of the signals being detected by the Renegades. Any slip, any reminder of the planet had the potential to re-ignite another interplanetary war, and Leader-1 swore to do everything in his power to spare Earth from the same horrifying destruction as New Earth. The thought of losing a second world kept him up more nights than he cared to remember. Now, looking into A.J's tear streaked face, Leader-1 began to wonder if he had made the right call. He had done this for them after all...

"You abandoned us."
"A.J.," SmallFoot stepped forward and knelt "You don't understand, it was just as hard for us to not be able to talk to you guys, we missed you so much!"
A.J crossed her arms and backed away. Nick approached and placed a hand on her shoulder, she covered it with hers, "Matt's told us everything, about Unicron, and this war you've started, how can you do what you're doing?"
"C'mon guys," Turbo's voice sounded thicker in the confines of the hangar, "you think we like what's goin' on anymore than you do? This blows exhaust for us all, but... Leader-1 knows what he's doin'."
Leader-1 sighed, the sound heavy, "A.J., have you ever watched a planet die?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide, quizzical.
"I have. More times than I'm comfortable with. You don't forget something like that A.J., it haunts you, knowing that billions of lives were snuffed out and there wasn't a thing you could do to stop it. It's worse watching someone ravage your own world, and know there's nothing you can do? But what if there was a chance? What if there was a chance, however slight, to save billions of lives?"
"You can't justify this war with the Transformers Leader-1! You can't trade the lives of one planet for another..." she looked down, bit her lip, then looked back up, "Not even if it's for your own people."
Leader-1 said nothing. He tilted his head, as if listening, waiting...

***********

Gobotropolis

Night Ranger's engine roared, he tore across Gobotropolis and swerved around a large metal spire. He still resembled what the humans called a harley davidson motorcycle, but now he looked more compact, the contours of his body closer to the newer Gobotronian designs of dual wheeled cruisers. He changed modes and slid in a crouch towards another spire, standing abruptly and staring over his shoulder towards the spire he just passed. He waited, trying not to think about what could be happening to Leader-1 and the others, wondering if he would even see them again. He shook his head and began counting off multiples of three in his head. 3, 9, 27, 81, 243... He counted, he waited, and then he heard what he was told to wait for:
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
He changed modes and sped away from the spire, then doubled back and increased his speed. A pair of blue lights lit along his exhaust pipes, getting brighter as he accelerated until the cycle actually began to lift off the ground, a thin anti-gravity field encircled his body. He neared the spire and climbed higher, twenty feet in the air when his tires connected with the spire's surface on a near 90-degree angle. He raced upward and opened a small compartment and fired a tiny, spiked sphere into the side of the structure. It stuck and began to spin, burrowing beneath the metal until it vanished from sight. Night Ranger continued his course, traveling almost to the top of the huge metal spike before firing another sphere that also dug into the surface and disappeared. He spun, aimed himself at the ground, and leapt, changing modes as he descended and landing with a quiet 'thunk'. He stood, mind still ticking off multiples of 3, eyes fixed on the spire, and waited.

***********

Leader-1 held up a hand as if asking them to wait, then, "Dneirf ym si ymene ym fo ymene eht."
"What?" Nick's confusion was echoed by Matt and A.J.
"Dneirf ym si ymene ym fo ymene eht." He said again, slowly, deliberate. When he saw their expressions hadn't changed he stood.
"Everything's backwards these days. A.J., you're right to be upset. I hate what it looks like we've become."
"I don't... hate you, I just don't understand why you left and never came back."
She searched their faces, even in their new forms, they couldn't hide their uneasiness.
"What happened? What happened on that last mission?" A.J. could see the uncomfortable glances some of the Guardians tossed each other.
"New Earth was destroyed." He saw their faces drop in shock, only Matt retained his composure. Leader-1 recounted the battle fought for the planet and its inevitable destruction."
"It was Cy-Kill and the Master Renegade, they wiped it out of existence. We couldn't forgive ourselves if the same thing happened to Earth."
Nick turned to Matt, whose expression remained the same throughout the story. "How can you look so calm? Did you know about this?!
Matt grimaced, then nodded. Scooter looked perplexed.
"How? We never contacted anyone on Earth after it happened!"
Matt's gaze shifted from Scooter to Nick, then A.J., and finally Leader-1. They all wore the same look.
"You really don't know, do you?"
They stared at him, confused.
"Follow me."
He led them to the edge of the hanger, a tremendous, solid, reinforced wall of unknown alloy. Large bolts studded its length in a large 'x' pattern. Matt approached and pressed his palm flat, the section he touched faded black and scanned him. A small circular opening rolled down and scanned his eye, lingered, as if searching further, then winked out. A cluster of blinking bars appeared across the wall and it came apart in a series of interlocking sections.
Blue light flooded from the small openings breaking through, revealing a much larger room beyond the one they currently stood in. Faint wisps what looked like steam poured from the entrance and covered the floor, cool and misty. The room was alive with machinery, wires poured from a single cylindrical glass tube in the center. It was the source of the cloudy mist, the center point of the wiring and machines that buzzed with the faint hint of sentience.
Matt's expression became stern, he stared ahead. "Didn't any of you think it was strange that this place continued to advance with Gobotronian technology even though you haven't been on Earth?"
A pale, white glow lit the bluish fluid inside, revealing a humanoid torso connected to reams of wiring and cables. Its head lolled in the fluid, revealing an empty left eye socket, the other eye was closed. The right side of its skull was covered in a glistening layer of metal that wrapped around its chin. A swath of white hair drifted from the exposed portion of his scalp, tinted by the fluid and drifting with the motion of his head. What little flesh remained on his torso tapered away into a network of wiring, as if it poured directly from him. He was missing his right arm, more wires plugged into the stump as well as the remains of his left.
The Gobots gasped in unison. It would have been funny under other circumstances.
As if he heard them, the Last Engineer's eye snapped open.

*********************

Spike kissed Carly, gave Daniel a quick hug, then raced out the door of their house and jumped into Bumblebee, who was already shifting gears and spinning his tires before he could close the door.
"What's the word?" Spike reached over his shoulder and strapped his belt as they tore down the highway towards the city limits.
"Big attack on Metroplex, I mean big, Spike. I'm getting reports of another race of robots that, get this, transform like we do. They hijacked one of our cargo ships and plowed it right into Metroplex."
"Geez, it's 2005 all over again." Spike glanced outside the window, building blurring past and giving way to the more desolate landscape. They zoomed down a multi-lane highway that became less and less crowded as they neared Autobot City II.
"Prime's on the way." Bumblebee wove between the cars racing along the freeway, taking a sharp right that took them onto an expanding stretch of road with hardly any motorists.
"I think he's already here." Spike tilted his head and took in the sight. The Autobot craft looked strange, descending with such grace for a ship its size. As Bumblebee whizzed past Autobot City II, he had to cut his wheels and zigzag through the ravaged remains of what used to be the road. Spike took in the long stretches of burns and melted tar, the ground riddled with indentations from gunfire.
"We're sure it's not another branch of the Decepticons? Maybe this is just another ploy to restart the war. We all know how badly Starscream wanted-"
"I doubt it. If they're new Decepticons, it's a shock to Galvatron. I don't know how much I believe it, but word over the wire is that the 'leader' of these new bots stomped him pretty good."
"You're kidding!"
"Wish I was. Galvy was bad, but I liked to think he was as bad as it got."
They soared down the road, the form of Metroplex becoming visible over the horizon.

**********

"Then Galvatron gathered his bots and gave chase." Ultra Magnus sighed, holding his bad arm with his good hand. "We've been repairing Metroplex and tending to the wounded since."
Optimus placed a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "You've done a fine job holding the fort Magnus." He saw the orange sparks playing about his wounded arm. "Get yourself checked out, that looks pretty bad." Magnus nodded, allowing First Aid to lead him to the lab. Optimus watched them go, then glanced about the area. It was worse than he imagined, his hands curled into fists.
Metroplex was in ruins. Prime had seen the deep, uneven dents across his body when they descended, smoke still billowed from the cracks in his frame. He looked... wrong. Now that he stood outside, taking in the damage first hand, he felt pity for Metroplex, it quickly shifted into anger towards the GoBots. Why attack Metroplex, then cut and run? For that matter, why attack Cybertron and run?" He needed answers. Optimus walked into Metroplex and headed towards the containment cells.

*************

Kup wheeled himself into one of Metroplex's control rooms and looked around, his aged eyes taking in all the damage. He had waited for everyone to leave the shuttle, then carefully made his way through Metrplex's back entrances, using the smaller, less traveled corridors to reach this point. He had seen Ultra Magnus, Springer and Hot Rod from afar; it was good enough for him, and better for them. A quick key code into a hallway monitor showed him Arcee in recovery. First Aid had done some extensive work to the poor fem's forehead and right eye. He wondered what those GoBots had done to her to leave behind that much damage. She was moving, clearly awake, but too much movement caused small lines of energy to shoot from the wound.
Monitors had been smashed by all the flying debris during the fight, papers and chairs scattered about as if a cyclone settled down in the middle of the room. He sighed and wheeled over to the main control panel, flipping a few switches to see if it was worth trying. His brows lifted slightly in surprise as a few lights turned on, blinking in erratic intervals. He patted the side of the panel.
"Messed you up pretty good didn't they?" He clicked a few buttons, the remaining monitors stuttered, then filled with static.
"I..." Metroplex's voice filled the room, crackling through a speaker in the ceiling, "am...hurt."
"I know big fella," Kup frowned, "It's been a long day for us all."
He rolled to the nearest broken monitor and began to pick up bits of glass.

***********************************

Starscream stormed down the surprisingly large open hallway. He was still screaming, unable to think straight, reality still blended with the horrors his now corrupted memory files insisted on forcing him to experience. The area suddenly went dark, the lights snapping off with an air of resentment. He still sailed forward, hoping to get away from the impossible things in his head. Then he saw them. A pair of eyes, bright and yellow in the dark, glaring at him with a palpable malice. Instantly Starscream's weapons fired, the null ray slamming into the ground beside the thing and illuminating it in a quick, pink flash of light. The monster looked crouched, it snarled with the sound of a motor and raced towards him.

Blane revved his engine and charged towards the obviously psychotic seeker. What did Dr.Go do to him? He'd have to have a 'chat' with the good doctor later, but right now this Decepticon had to be dealt with. An explosion went off beside him, the Decepticon was firing at him, then began launching everything in his arsenal, not caring what he hit or how much damage was being done to the surrounding area. Blane charged the slanted headlights set midway against his front, and fired.

The beast was returning fire. Starscream howled and launched another barrage, wondering if he was fighting Predaking, or was it Abominus? He became vaguely aware of another light coming from behind, the eyes before him suddenly disappeared. Maybe both gestalts were there? He transformed, landed, spun on his heel and saw them; another set of eyes, emerald, half-lidded, not at all malicious. They almost looked bored. Starscream's shouts paused long enough to hear
"Shhhh..."
A metallic sound. Click... Click.
A jarring, high frequency shriek assaulted his audio receptors and split the glass along his canopy. His own scream was lost in the sonic assault, rings of added energy raced across his body. Starscream's internal operating systems shut down and sent him into stasis while they rebooted, the codes reconfiguring themselves as he faded once again into darkness.
Thruster turned the lights back on.
Tux stood over Starscream, the flaps of his metal longcoat lowering, the slots that fired the assault dimming as they powered down. Blane walked over to the downed seeker and crossed his arms.
"Nice."
"I came as soon as I heard." Tux tilted his head, "Dr.Go says this one wields something called a Null ray. Like a restraining bolt, but a lot more... effective."
Blane knelt beside Starscream and looked up at Tux, his smile returned. "Frag've a weapon, ain't it?"

**************

????????:

Zeemon snapped awake. He was surrounded by blackness, so thick and heavy he thought he could reach out and touch it. It was silent, either that or he had gone completely deaf. Where was he? What was going on? He lay still, afraid to move a circuit in fear of the unknown. His mind raced, and memories poured into head. Unicron, the chaos that followed, Leader-1's last desperate attempt to purge Unicron from Gobotropolis... Failure.
Suddenly there was light without a source, revealing him to be in a large room, dull, official looking. He realized he was on his back, staring up at the ceiling of what was once the Gobotron Council's meeting chambers. He was on the meeting table, now he could sense the cold metal beneath him. How was this possible? He dared a look to his left, then right. Empty, dark, and strange in this unearthly light. He raised a hand, cautious, and saw a familiar silver claw rise into his field of view. He considered it a moment, turning it left and right, when suddenly he saw himself. It was an impossible angle, because he was flat on his back, and yet for a few second he was granted a bird's eye view, a clear image of himself in the position he thought he was in. He body looked no different than it had before, why did this confuse him? Was this a mirrored ceiling now? No. Now he was staring at the actual ceiling again. Forgetting his initial trepidation, he sat upright, his head swimming and making him feel ill. He glanced about the meeting chamber and realized it was not as familiar as he thought, It was in fact, more familiar than he remembered. A chair rested in the corned, the same make as the one in his private quarters. They didn't have one of those, everything here was official, standard issue. Pictures of himself at various events hung from the walls, moments he shared with other Guardians he didn't remember being recorded. There were no pictures without him. That didn't make any sense, he always attended major events with the other Council members, where were the pictures of them?
He turned and saw a small cluster of frames were now sitting beside him on the table, each perfectly outlined and propped up to show their contents, various moments in his life displayed proudly. He leaned closer, examining them. Leader-1 accepting a metal he presented for successfully halting a riot on Elba. The completion of Gobotropolis' restructuring. A closed quarters council meeting, all of its members deep in thought. His eyes darted to and fro, confused. They didn't take pictures at meetings, where did this come from? All forms of recording devices were forbidden to keep sensitive information from being discovered or leaked to the Renegades. He looked closer, who took this? He caught glimpse of another picture and froze. The image was taken at night, but he and Spa-C were lit clear as day. They stood atop Metallis Tower, one of the highest Gobot-built structures, her hands in his. He remembered, the stars were brilliant that night. She was tilting herself upward, lips pressed to his chin. He remembered that moment so clearly. What he did not recall, however, was anyone else being there besides the two of them. Those in the Guardian ranks were forbidden from fraternizing with High Command, lest the impartial nature of their decisions become compromised. It was an offense punishable by expulsion, for both of them.
He snatched the picture up and stared at it, no one was there dammit, it was just him and Spa-C. Then it clicked. He gasped and spun around, eyes darting about the room as he realized that he wasn't really here at all. The familiar chair, these pictures containing images of his life, both official and intimate...
He was inside his own mind.
"How is this possible?" he whispered.
He turned towards the doorway and made for it when it stretched away from him, growing impossibly long and tilted in the beginnings of a spiral. Zeemon stepped back, heart thudding, mind a blur of thoughts. Then he heard the laughter, a cold, humorless chuckle carrying down the hallway and pervading the chamber. He backed up against the wall, terrified by that sound. He saw the pictures on the table had changed, they faced him accusingly in tight rows, each displaying the final moments of Unicron's attack, Zeemon's own Command Center collapsing under waves of redirected energy and exploding. He felt a twinge of guilt as his body drifted, barely harmed by the Center's explosion due to his secret. His body's heightened durability held up even in the middle of that maelstrom, he looked oddly out of place next to his decimated friends. The images began to move, each one a second ahead of the one before it but all replaying their particular slice of time. Zeemon saw himself pulled into Gobotropolis itself, the surface becoming alive with motion and reached towards him, ensnaring his unconscious form and dragging him into its murky depths. He saw the abstract cocoon-like structure alight with blinking green and amber lights, lowering itself into a vast empty space. It split with a wet, ripping sound and spilled a bright red splash of liquid clogged with dripping wires wrapped around a leviathan of a machine. It lowered slowly, small, quivering motions as the shape became more solid and sure of its movements. As the tangle of cables slipped free of the form, Zeemon barely recognized what Unicron had done to his body, aghast to see the path of his new evolution. Unicron's aura radiated from the monstrous creature, concentrated itself within the being. It was horrific. He felt his legs trying to backed away from those horrific images, forgetting that he was already pressed firmly against the wall. He tried to look away but couldn't, his eyes were riveted, he couldn't stop staring at that... thing that corrupted his body. In every picture frame it stood, barely contained by their borders, and slowly turned its head to face him.
Zeemon wished he could back away further when he heard that chilling laughter again. He swiveled his head around and saw the wall was no longer a wall, but a large, clear window. Unicron (or did he call him Gobocron, maybe Zeenocron now?) stared down at him. The ceiling curved upward, as if cringing away from the abomination. The faceless beast towered above the Gobot, its featureless face silent and unreadable.
Zeemon screamed.

To be continued...