//------------------------------//
// It's holding up 
// Story: BACK TO LIFE 
// by CROSSOVER KING 
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In the middle of a dimly lit and mostly empty room of the Decepticon warship, the Nemesis, Shockwave was busy constructing a gigantic circular structure made entirely of metal. He was using the huge laser beam being emitted from his arm cannon to weld the parts together before rapidly entering several lines of code written in Cybertronian language with his one and only hand to the monitor attached to the right side of the structure. 

Just as the chief scientist of the Decepticons finished writing those codes and was about to weld another piece to the structure, he heard the automatic door behind him open and another Decepticon enter the room. Even though he did not turn his head to see the identity of his visitor, he did hear the familiar sound of the footsteps coming closer to him and thus, he let out a sigh in utter frustration. 

"What exactly is the reason behind your presence in my private workshop, Starscream? I thought you were ordered by Lord Megatron to assist with the treatment of Breakdown's battle wounds," he said with the same monotone tone he used in every single conversation.

"Oh, don't you worry about him, Shockwave. He's as good as new right now," Starscream replied as he continued walking towards his comrade. "Anyway, since the orders from our master also prevent me from attacking the Autobot base until your little science project is complete, I decided to take a look at your progress so far. You wouldn't mind, would you?" 

Shockwave thought about this suggestion for a few seconds before finally answering, "As long as you refrain yourself from making a physical contact with it." 

"Yes, of course," declared Starscream in a rather bored tone. 

Immediately afterwards, he began to carefully examine the structure as he walked around it. He then stopped right beside Shockwave and commented, "So, this is what you've been working on ever since we arrived on this backwater planet. A complete replica of the Space Bridge back on Cybertron."

"I can assure you, it is not a replica," replied Shockwave as he started welding together another section of the structure. "I am building a modified version based on the designs of the original structure, as well as my own knowledge on the subject of Space Bridge technology. Once its construction is finished, it shall be at least fifty percent more efficient than the one we went through to reach this solar system."

"Ah, I see," Starcream said in a far more interested tone. "And exactly what purpose will you be using this ancient but powerful technology for once you're done with building the bridge itself?"

"That information is currently classified for all military personnel," Shockwave promptly replied. 

When he finally finished welding and started moving towards the monitor, Starcream quickly followed behind him and frantically asked, "WHAT?! Hold just a moment there! Have you forgotten that I am Megatron's first lieutenant?! This means I deserve to know as much as you and our master do!"

"Then, it appears that you once again forget your place," announced Shockwave as he stopped near the monitor. "You may be Lord Megatron's second in command in charge of all military operations, but I share that rank with you in all scientific endeavors. Additionally, I have been ordered by the master himself to disclose the information you seek to the military personnel only after the Space Bridge is fully operational."

Then, he started entering several more lines of code to the monitor and Starscream briefly growled in pure rage before an idea suddenly came to his mind. Immediately after that, he calmed down, a devilish smile appeared on his face, and he asked, "Have you ever given some thought to the possibility that this plan of yours may never really work? After all, a Space Bridge requires a significant amount of Energon to become fully operational and we're already using a significant amount just to keep this ship afloat in the air. Of course, we will be using those 'magical artifacts' that Breakdown's targets are in possession of for some extra power, but who knows? They might turn out to be an unstable power source and the whole plan could go sideways in an instant."

"I have already come up with a contingency plan in case the scenario you describe does become reality," Shockwave revealed as he continued to write codes with his hand. 

"You did? Excellent work! You truly are the most brilliant scientist in the entire history of Cybertron," joyously declared Starscream. "That being said, a number of soldiers might not actually give you the chance to implement it. You see, as Lord Megatron's second in command in charge of all military operations, I've been watching them pretty closely, and I can certainly tell that most of them are tired of all the failed plans you and Megatron have come up with since the very beginning of the Decepticon uprising. There is a strong possibility that they'll start a mutiny and even demand a new leader if this Space Bridge fails to function properly. Who better to lead them than their exalted military commander who can save our glorious cause with your contingency plan? Of couse, he cannot actually do that without knowing what exactly this contingency plan is, now can he?" 

Right after hearing all this, Shockwave stopped writing codes, turned his attention right towards Starscream, focused his singular crimson optic directly at the commander's face, and began to explain with a small amount of anger in his normally monotone voice, "I am sorry to say that your argument does not contain one shred of logic, Starscream." 

"First of all, you exaggerate about the success rate of the plans that Lord Megatron and I have crafted over the course of our war with the Autobots. So far, ninety eight percent of them have culminated in complete success and the remaining two percent were a direct result of either our enemy utilizing seemingly illogical tactics or Lord Megatron allowing his negative emotions cloud his judgement."

"Second, I have also closely monitored the soldiers thanks to some assistance from Soundwave and my discoveries indicate that their loyalty to our master remains strong as ever. They still believe that our victory is near and there are absolutely no signs of them planning a rebellion against him any time soon."

"Finally, even if they do start a mutiny and demand a new leader, none of them would ever elect a bot as inept, unintelligent, and cowardly as you, Starscream."

By the time this explanation came to an end, Starscream's facial expression had become extremely shocked due to how difficult it was for him to process all this. Even after Shockwave finished speaking, he stared at the scientist in shock for a handful of seconds before he finally came to his senses by shaking his head a few times. He then stammered a bit, cleared his throat, and eventually managed to say, "Well... um... I suppose it would be best if I leave you to your work, Shockwave. Please, forget we ever had this conversation."

"Do not worry. I already have," Shockwave promptly replied without a hint of rage in his voice. He then watched as Starscream quickly walk away from him and as soon as he exited the room, he proceeded to weld together another section of his project. 





As soon as Rainbow Dash woke up the next morning in her bed, she began wondering whether or not everything she had experienced the other day were just parts of a dream. After all, she had seen absolutely crazy stuff like gigantic sentient robots that could turn into cars and trucks, and even claimed themselves to be an alien species from a faraway planet called, Cybertron. Considering the fact that she frequently dreamt about going on exotic adventures as Daring Do and also the fact that she was a big fan of sci-fi action movies, she would not have been surprised to find out that she actually dreamt the whole thing. 

With those thoughts in her mind, she got up and started walking towards her bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Once she did both, she headed for her closet in order to get changed. However, just as she opened the closet, she realized how slow she had been moving ever since she got out of bed. Normally, she would use her super speed to get ready for the day as quickly as possible, but for some reason, she was unable to access it that morning. 

Then, her answers came in the form of a horrifying realization as she touched her neck and discovered that the necklace holding her geode was missing. In a surge of panic, she started searching the entire room for it, but after nearly a whole minute of turning the place upside down, she came up empty handed. 

Now more frantic than ever, she ran downstairs and began to look around in the first floor of her house. Luckily, she did not have to worry about making noise as her parents were out of town for their wedding anniversary celebration at that moment and would not be coming home for at least another week. With that in mind, she quickly proceeded to turn first the living room, and then the kitchen, upside down. She gave no thought to the mess she was making as she knew that it would take her less than half a minute to clean it all up once she found the geode. 

Then, just as she had begun looking around the kitchen sink, she was suddenly startled by the sound of a car engine coming from outside. Curious about the identity of its driver, she went back to the living room, opened the front door, and was immediately taken aback by what she saw. 

It was a brand new Lancia Stratos with a red, white, and green color scheme parked right outside her front lawn with no driver and Rarity of all people at the passenger seat. Just the mere sight of this image flooded her mind with not just memories of the previous day, but also answers to every single question she had been asking herself ever since waking up: 

The car was actually the vehicle mode of an alien robot named Wheeljack who had been assigned to protect both her and Rarity while her geode was being studied by the other robots. 

Processing all this had nearly fried Rainbow's brain and she only snapped out of it when she heard Rarity calling out her name. Thus, she began approacing the car and when she was right beside it, she said, "Morning, Rare. Didn't expect to see you and Wheeljack here this early in the morning. What you guys been up to until now?"

"Oh, nothing much, darling," she explained. "I woke up about an hour ago, had breakfast, and worked on the design of a brand new dress for a bit before Wheeljack arrived to pick me up. Apparently, he had been driving through and around the city ever since he dropped you off here last night to search for possible Decepticon activity. So, he decided that it would be best if you and I stick together for the rest of the day. You know, I do wonder if these robots ever feel the need to sleep. Anyway, after he came to my house, I asked if he coud help me drop off Sweetie Belle at Scootaloo's house since they're preparing something for their club meeting at school tomorrow. Right after that-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rainbow suddenly interrupted. "Before you go on, I gotta know something. How the heck did you explain to Sweetie Belle and your parents the out-of-nowhere arrival of a sports car this fancy with no driver?"

In response, Rarity let out a nervous giggle before revealing, "Well, my parents are on another exotic vacation right now and they won't be back for another few days or so. As for Sweetie Belle... well... she can always tell when I'm lying about something. So, I asked Wheeljack to transform into his normal self for a little while and once he did... um... "

"The kid started screamed so loud that my audio receptors nearly broke," Wheeljack interjected, which caused Rainbow to both facepalm and groan loudly. 

Once she stopped doing those things, she asked, "So, now what? Your entire neighborhood knows about our secret too?" 

"No, not exactly," Rarity replied. "Right after Wheeljack came to my house, Sweetie Belle rapidly asked questions about where the car came from and why there wasn't anyone on the driver seat. So, I told her to get in and promised to explain everything in an isolated area. She reluctantly agreed and then, Wheeljack brought us to an abandoned toy factory near the city limits where he revealed himself. It took quite the effort to calm her down, but once I did, she actually started getting along with Wheeljack pretty well. Isn't that right?" 

"Yep, we talked about lots of stuff on our way to her friend's house," Wheeljack added. "The kid may have an unbearable scream, but she is pretty smart for her age and does engage in quite a few interesting activities. I do imagine her having a successful career in an artistic department when she grows up."

"I sure hope so," Rarity declared. "So, what about you, Rainbow? What have you done since you woke up this morning? And why are you still wearing your pijamas? Didn't you get enough sleep last night?" 

Upon hearing that, Rainbow quickly looked at what she was wearing and she was visibly shocked to find out that during the surge of panic she had experienced earlier, she had indeed forgotten to change. Even though, her cheeks immediately turned red from utter embarrassment, she managed to utter, "Um... not exactly. You see... When I woke up, I thought everything that happened yesterday was a dream, and when I couldn't find my geode on my neck, I freaked out and started looking for it everywhere. Also, during this whole commotion, I somehow forgot to change." 

Although Rarity stared at her for several seconds in total confusion, she eventually got a brilliant idea and gasped in excitement immediately afterwards. Then, she exclaimed, "I know exactly what we're gonna do today! We'll pick up some supplies from my house and then, go to the school's art studio to try out all the new designs I've created this week. That way, you'll have something amazing to wear and we can use the science lab to finish our project for the remainder of the day. What do you say?"

It took Rainbow nealy half a minute to come to a definitive decision. On one hand, she really did not want to go through yet another one of Rarity's fashion trials. On the other, she had been looking for something a lot cooler to wear than what was in her closet for quite some time and they did need to complete their project for the science fair as soon as possible. 

With those pros and cons in mind, she eventually took a deep breath and declared, "Fine. I'll go grab my coat."

Rarity nodded in agreement and watched as Rainbow ran towards the house. Right after she entered the house and closed the door behind her, Wheeljack asked, "And what exactly am I supposed to do while you two are working?"

Rarity thought about the answer to that question for a short while before answering, "Hmmm... If you want, you can drive around the campus until we're done. Or maybe just wait in the parking lot. We won't be gone for long, anyways."

Wheeljack responded by sighing deeply and admitting, "One can only hope." 







Needless to say, both girls were completely exhausted from everything they had done since arriving at their school. Rarity's tryouts had lasted nearly three hours, during which Rainbow had tried almost two dozen different dresses, ranging from tuxedos to gowns. Although she had utterly despised almost every second of it, she nevertheless went through it without voicing any complaints whatsoever. She not only held on hope that Rarity would have something actually cool for her to wear, but also wanted to give her friend the opportunity to test everything she had been working on since the start of the week. While she had little to no knowledge on the inner workings of fasion, she did know effort when she saw it and judging from how fancy Rarity's designs were, she clearly saw that Rarity had invested a whole lot of effort in crafting those dresses. 

She had absolutely no intention to let any amount of that effort go to waste. 

After approximately three hours of trying dresses, Rainbow finally settled on a combination of a black leather jacket, a dark blue t-shirt, and amber trousers. Shortly after that, they headed towards the science lab (which was thankfully still open) and started working on their project with the help of the advices that Twilight had provided them with the other day. 

Unfortunately, even after two hours of research and development, they had not yet accomplished anything. None of the potential topics that they had noted during their conversation with Twilight seemed even remotely interesting or easy to implement. Even though they had conducted extensive research about each one of those topics and tried to come up with new topics on their own, they were still at a complete and utter loss. Moreover, they had thought about calling Twilight and inviting her to the lab so that she could help them out, but then they remembered that she and Fluttershy also had an Autobot guardian, and that the Autobot leader Optimus Prime had warned them about how dangerous it would be for multiple humans and Autobots to be at one spot. 

Then, just when they were about to call it quits and head home, a brilliant plan began to take shape inside Rainbow's mind:

What if they asked for assistance from their own Autobot guardian who was an expert in working with machines?

With that in mind, she started running towards the front entrance of the school while an utterly confused Rarity tried extremely hard to catch up to her. Once both of them were outside the building, they began searching the parking lot for any signs of Wheeljack, but much to their shock and disappointment, he was nowhere to be seen. 

Fortunately, fate soon smiled upon their faces as they heard the familiar sound of a sports car engine coming closer to them in high speed. When they looked at the direction it was coming from, they saw Wheeljack driving alongside the left side of the building before they started waving at him with great excitement. 

In response, Wheeljack increased his speed in order to reach them more quickly and stopped right in front of them upon doing so before asking, "Are you guys finally done? I had to drive in circles around the campus every half an hour just to keep myself from getting too bored." 

"Well... Not exactly," Rainbow revealed. "We have a science exhibit that needs to be finished in two days and we haven't even decided on which topic it should be. Since you're really good that fixing machines, we were hoping that you could help us out a little." 

Wheeljack remained silent for a handful of seconds and then announced, "Fixing up machines and building them from scratch are not the same thing, kid. I suggest you ask someone more qualified to provide you with assistance." 

Then, Rarity admitted, "Tthere is no one else to get help from, though. The only other qualified person out there is Twilight, but as Optimus said, it's too dangerous for multiple Autobots to be at one spot for too long. Please, you're our only hope." 

"Sorry, but I can't. I gave up building stuff a long time ago," declared Wheeljack. "If you're so desperate, find a human engineer or scientist." 

"And how are we supposed to do that exactly?", a visibly irritated Rainbow asked as she crossed her arms. "Look up online for engineers and scientists who give tips about projects for free? Just so you know, we've researched nearly every topic related to science and engineering imaginable, and none of them seem easy for us to understand." 

"Then, I suggest keep digging. You're bound to come across a topic that meets your standards sooner or later," an equally irritated Wheeljack retorted. "Besides, both of you are almost at the same age as an adult. You need to be able to figure these things out on your own." 

"But that doesn't mean we don't have the right to ask for help from time to time," Rarity stated. "Please, you are our Autobot guardian. Your job is to help us in times of need." 

"No, my job is to keep you safe from Decepticons," replied Wheeljack. "That's the only thing I can help you with. Anything else is out of the question, especially if it involves the construction of a mechanical device. Also, I'm only on this mission because my commander ordered me so. If he hadn't, I would've been more than happy to just stay at the base and continue repairing stuff instead of protecting two adult-sized infants." 

Upon hearing that last sentence, both girls gasped in pure shock and Rainbow angrily brought both of her fists down on Wheeljack's hood. Even though it hurt like hell, she fought through the pain and shouted, "INFANTS, HUH?! Well, let me tell you something, bud! The only one around here who's acting like an infant is YOU! We only ask a little bit of input from you and you can't even give that? I mean, what the hell happened to you, man?! You were an inventor AND a swordmaster. What happened that made you give up on those awesome careers?!"

Wheeljack responded by remaining silent for several seconds before suddenly transforming into his robot mode, causing Rainbow to fall on her butt. Once his transformation was complete, the Autobot began glaring at the humans and revealed, "You really wanna know what happened, kid?! Well, I'll tell you what happened, then. THE WAR HAPPENED! I have fought in hundreds of battles and in each one, I watched countless comrades perish at the hands of those disgusting Cons. Every single one of my closest friends are now offline and there is nothing in this entire universe that can bring them back." 

"What's worse is that they were all equipped the very weapons and gadgets I had personally designed to protect them in their missions. And did those machines do their jobs properly? NO! They certainly did not."

"The Cons have always designed far better and deadlier weapons than I ever could, and with them, they slaughtered pretty much everyone I ever cared about. Do you know what that makes me? Obsolete. Useless. A complete and utter failure!" 

Upon saying all that, he started to breathe very heavily in an effort to calm himself down and then collapsed on both of his knees with his head hanging down in shame. A few seconds of silence later, he continued, "I do not deserve to be your protector. In fact, I do not deserve to be anyone's protector. Everyone I tried to help with either my inventions or my fighting skills have perished. So, I made a vow to never get myself involved in inventing or fighting again. Besides, even if I did, what good would that do? The Cons have basically won the war. It's only a matter of time before they find where we're hiding and wipe us out." 

Even though he was physically incapable of shedding any tears, his face did resemble that of someone about to cry. Upon seeing that, both Rainbow and Rarity felt immense pity for him, and Rainbow even walked closer to him before placing a hand on one of his arms. This caused the depressed Autobot to look at her with curiosity and see that she had become nearly as sad as he was. 

"I... I'm so sorry to hear all this," she said. "I shouldn't have said those mean things about you. Please, forgive me." 

Wheeljack responded by letting out a deep sigh and admitting, "There's no need to apologize, kid. If anything, I should be thanking you. You and Rarity are the first ones to ever hear my frustrations. And you know what? Venting them like this actually helped me feel a bit better. So, yeah, thanks so much for helping me release them."

Rainbow slightly chuckled upon hearing that and then said, "Anytime, pal. I stay loyal to anyone who's got my back when the going gets rough and I'm pretty sure deep down, you feel the same. I mean, all of your remaining comrades, especially your leader Optimus, look like they'd do anything to help you out when you're sad or in trouble. Isn't it unfair to just leave them hanging when they need help? Sure, repairing broken stuff is important, but I think we both know that you're capable of doing so much more."

Right after she said all that, Rarity came right beside her and added, "You'd benefit greatly from listening to Rainbow about this. She may be cocky and undisciplined most of the time, but she does know a great deal about loyalty to friends. We can always count on her to get us out of tough situations and in return, we always got her back when she faces a problem of her own. That's what loyalty really means and if you're not living by that rule, then you're doing a disservice to not just your cause, but also the memory of your lost friends." 

Wheeljack started thinking really hard about what the girls had just said to him and shortly afterwards, he let out another deep sigh and finally found the will to stand on his servos again. Then, he declared, "You guys got a point. My friends who have become one with the AllSpark would definitely want me to keep on fighting and helping no matter how hopeless the odds may seem. That's what they always did anyway and I suppose it's only fair that I do the same."

"WOOHOO!", Rainbow suddenly exclaimed while throwing her fists up in the air. "Alright, that's what I'm talking about! Does this mean you'll go back out there and start battling Cons with your awesome swords again?"

Wheeljack chuckled at that question and explained, "Only when Prime orders me so. Until then, we have more pressing matters to attend to. Such as your project. I'll try helping you out with the best of my abilities, but like I said, it's been a long time since I last practiced being creative with any machinery." 

Shortly after she heard that, Rarity got another brilliant idea and suggested, "Wait right here. I'll go get all the clothes Rainbow tried on today and she'll try them on again at the base. That should get your creative juices flowing right away." 

Even though Rainbow both facepalmed and groaned very loudly, Wheeljack replied, "Hmmm... Sounds like a plan."