//------------------------------// // Rules of the Road // Story: Cybertron Girls // by SonicSpeedster97 //------------------------------// “Galaxy Key, eh?” The team had told Retrofit, Clocker, and Hot Rod about their mission to find the keys after the old bot poured them some Energon, and while Sideswipe had left a few things out, he was sure the message was received. “Well, sorry to say it son, but I’ve never heard of such a thing.” “Aw come on Retrofit, you’re one of the oldest people on the planet,” Sideswipe remarked. “If you don’t know where it is, then no one does.” “Well, maybe I can help ya more if ya tell me what it looks like.” Retrofit suggested. “That’s the thing; we don’t know what it looks like either.” Sunset shrugged. “All we know is it’s an ancient relic of the Primes.” “Primes? Well, if that’s the case, then it was probably somethin’ ol’ Amalgamous brought with him.” Retrofit remarked. “And even I’m not old enough to remember all that.” “Who?” asked Rainbow. “Amalgamous Prime; the Ninth of the Thirteen,” Bumblebee remembered. “And the progenitor of Transformation itself. The Covenant of Primus says that he possessed the original T-Cog and could shapeshift into just about anything he wanted.” “So if the Key was brought to this planet by one of the Thirteen, it has to be something extremely important.” Twilight theorized. “Well, whatever the case, I’m gonna help you guys find it.” Clocker assured. “I’ll go too. Things have been going stagnant around here recently.” Hot Rod nodded as he stood up. “Just make sure you don’t get in their way, boys.” Retrofit ordered. “Relax, uncle; we’ll be fine.” Hot Rod assured. “In fact, I think I know just the bot to talk to first.” “Oh great.” Sideswipe groaned quietly. Spike noticed this and looked up at him. “What’s wrong, Sideswipe?” “I think I know who Hot Rod’s talking about, and I really don’t want to see them right now,” he replied. “Well, we don’t have a lot of options.” Spike returned. Hot Rod smiled as he led the group out of the small farmhouse. “Cmon guys, let’s burn rubber.” Quickly, he transformed into a sleek supercar with long chrome-plated side pipes and shot out toward the road with the rest of the team close behind him. Moonracer laughed as she weaved her way between her teammates. “Whoo-hoo! Man, I love this place! Wish I’d come here sooner!” “I know, right?! Sometimes, I used to just stay out here for months burning fuel,” Sideswipe smirked as he raced alongside her. “Uh, we got company up ahead,” Sunset remarked, pointing up toward a massive construct closing toward the team along the road. “Is that trouble?” “Pfft. Only when it’s not around.” Hot Rod smirked. “Those things are all over the planet; they fix and maintain the roads. We couldn’t get around half as well without ‘em.” The team’s engines echoed as they thundered beneath the repair machine, letting them really see how big it was. “Man, this beast is huge!” Rainbow remarked. “You don’t have stuff like this back on your planet?” Clocker asked. “We don’t even have roads like this.” Rainbow smiled. “So where’s this person you want us to meet, Hot Rod?” asked Sunset. “See that mesa up ahead?” Hot Rod asked, directing the team’s attention to it. “That’s the Champion’s Track; a private practice track for the fastest racer on Velocitron. If he’s anywhere, he’s up there.” Sideswipe seemed surprised by his choice of words there. “‘He’?” “Yeah, he. Y’know, Blurr.” Hot Rod remarked. That was what made Sideswipe slam on the brakes and screech to a stop in the middle of the road before he transformed, prompting everyone else to stop and transform to bot-mode as they looked at him in confusion. “Blurr?! That motormouth is in charge of Velocitron now?!” “He has been for the last few thousand years.” Hot Rod remarked. “Where have you been?” “When did he win the title? What race?!” Sideswipe asked seriously. “The 536th Planet Cup.” Hot Rod replied, now getting a bit nervous. “Are you kidding me?!” Sideswipe asked angrily as he stomped to the side of the road. “Ugh… I already knew she was gonna kill me, but this…!” “Whoa Sideswipe, rev it down,” Bumblebee said seriously. “What’s your damage?” “Ugh, forget it. Cmon, let’s move.” Quickly Sideswipe transformed and raced onward toward the Champion’s Track. “What’s his deal?” asked Rainbow. “Search me. But he’s right about one thing; this Blurr guy isn’t gonna wait forever.” Bumblebee noted. “Blurr barely waits at all; he talks almost as fast as he moves.” Hot Rod remarked. And soon enough, the team would learn just how true that was; on the track at the top of the mesa, a bright blue streamlined bot – clearly Blurr – was talking to the Stunticons. “Look-buddy-I-don’t-know-what-I-can-tell-you-that-I-haven’t-already-told-you;-I-don’t-know-anything-about-this-Galaxy-Key-thing;-if-it-isn’t-a-race-I’m-not-interested.” “Blurr please, be reasonable; my new boss can be very reasonable.” Motormaster negotiated. “You help us find the key, Megatron will give you rewards greater than anything you could win in a race.” “There-isn’t-much-in-the-universe-better-than-the-rewards-you-get-from-races-here-Motormaster-you-know-that-better-than-anyone-but-if-your-boss-thinks-he-can-reward-me-better-than-a -race-you-have-my-attention.” Blurr said swiftly. At this point, Sideswipe arrived at the entrance to the track and saw this going on. “Oh great. Another race I’m late to,” he remarked. “As if I didn’t have enough problems.” “Name your price,” Motormaster said simply. “I-certainly-would-name-my-price-except-my-price-would-be-the-Planet-Cup-and-nothing-in-the-universe-is-more-valuable-than-the-Planet-Cup;-it’s-just-impossible-impossible-impossible!” Blurr countered. “Planet Cup?” Motormaster asked in confusion. Then Dragstrip snapped his fingers. “Wait a second, that’s it!” he said and zipped to Blurr’s side. “Okay Blurr, if you won the Planet Cup, then lead the way.” “Absolutely-positively-but-there’s-one-problem;-what’s-your-hurry?-I-know-this-place-is-the-racing-capital-of-the-universe-but-why-in-such-a-rush-to-see-the-Planet-Cup?” Blurr asked. “The Autobots, of course. They’re nothing but criminals here to steal the Planet Cup.” Dragstrip assured. “They want nothing more than to conquer the universe. You wanna know why we haven’t been back here in so long? It’s because the Autobots started a war on Cybertron and we were conscripted to fight against them in it.” “Well-that-certainly-sounds-bad-really-bad-super-bad-but-it’s-not-my-problem-you-wanna-know-my-problem-I-can’t-show-you-the-Planet-Cup-unless-you-beat-me-in-a-race;-you-know-the-rules.” Blurr explained. (Eurobeat Intensifies) “Alright, you’re on.” Dragstrip smiled and transformed. Blurr smiled and transformed as well, into a super-sleek racecar that slid right next to Dragstrip at the lights. “Three laps. I win, you hand over the Cup.” “Alright-done-deal-good-luck-may-the-best-bot-win-and-all-that.” Blurr nodded. “Oh, I intend to.” Dragstrip smirked as the lights on the arch over the track counted down. “So do I!” Sideswipe yelled as he transformed and roared past the light just as it turned green with Blurr and Dragstrip right behind him. “Sideswipe! I almost forgot how much you loved this planet!” Dragstrip smiled. “Don’t let him win, Blurr; he’s one of those warlords I warned you about!” “Oh, I’m the warlord?! Pfft, yeah right; and you’re the greatest racer in the universe.” Sideswipe smirked. “It’s always nice to have some validation.” Dragstrip smiled. “SARCASM, DUDE!” Sideswipe growled as he roared ahead. Blurr raced onward to keep up with him, leaving Dragstrip in the dust. “Oh no you don’t!” he snarled as he fired a tank of nitrous into his engine. “I refuse to lose!” He shot ahead, easily catching up to his opponents as the other Stunticons cheered him on from the side of the track. It was at about this time that the rest of Sideswipe’s team arrived at the track and watched it. “What the heck is going on here?” asked Twilight. “That’s what I’d like to know.” Hot Rod remarked. “Uncle Retrofit told me all about Sideswipe, but who’re those guys?” Sunstreaker looked and his optics popped when he saw Motormaster. “The Stunticons!” he yelled and leaped onto the track weapons at the ready. “Bro, move!” Sideswipe yelled over the coms before he raced through, knocking Sunstreaker clean off his feet and straight into the wall. “Ugh. Well, that was embarrassing.” Sunstreaker groaned. “Sideswipe, what’s going on?” asked Bumblebee. “I figured out what the Galaxy Key is; it’s the Planet Cup, the greatest racing trophy on Velocitron,” Sideswipe explained quickly. “Blurr has it right now and if Dragstrip wins, the Stunticons get it.” “But if you win, we get it.” Rainbow realized. “Don’t you dare stop until you win, Sideswipe!” “Oh, I don’t intend to,” Sideswipe smirked as he saw Dragstrip drifting off his line… before he hit the wall and started scraping it. “Comin’ through!” He raced ahead of the yellow formula car and went bumper-to-bumper with Blurr into the last lap. “No! That cup is mine!” Dragstrip roared, but kept going into the wall. Moonracer was keeping an eye on things around the track until she spotted something near the far wall. “Uh-oh. Uh, I think we got trouble.” She was right to think that; she’d just spotted Ransack and Crumplezone. “If Dragstrip doesn’t win this, he’s gonna be ticked.” Ransack pointed out. “Then I guess we’d better make sure he wins.” Crumplezone smiled as the racers shot under the arch. “Last lap! Last chance to pass him and win that cup!” Sideswipe smirked as he roared around the track. He drafted behind Blurr for a while before he finally found an opening and slingshot himself around Blurr. “Ha-ha-ha! See ya at the finish line, Blurr!” He roared onward toward the arch… right before he saw Crumplezone jump into the road and fire two massive projectiles of wind from his jet engines. “Oh scrap!” Sideswipe knew that he’d lose the race if he dodged, but he also knew he’d be scrap if he didn’t move. “Ugh, dammit!” He slammed n the brakes and skidded to the side of the track to avoid the missiles as Blurr shot across the line. (Cut it) “Yep, that’s some good cheatin’,” Crumplezone smirked as he and Ransack chuckled to each other… but this chuckling subsided as soon as Dragstrip slammed into them both and drove them toward the exit. “You idiots think I need your help to win?! I should scrap you right now!” he yelled as he leaped off the side of the track and down the side of the mountain, quickly followed by his fellow Stunticons who appeared greatly annoyed. “Well… that happened,” Twilight remarked as Sideswipe and Blurr roared over. “You-did-good-out-there-Sideswipe-was-it?-Sorry-I’m-really-bad-at-names-don’t-have-much-of-a-short-term-memory-high-speed-collisions’ll-do-that-information-goes-in-but-sometimes-it-doesn’t-stick.” Blurr rambled. “Anyway-you-did-good-not-great-but-good;-probably-would’ve-done-better-if-those-two-hadn’t-horned-in.” “Thanks, Blurr,” Sideswipe said almost bitterly. “But listen, we really need to talk about the Planet Cup.” “Everyone’s-got-the-Planet-Cup-on-their-minds-today-not-that-I-can-blame-them-it-is-a-really-special-trophy-but-if-you-want-to-talk-about-the-Planet-Cup-it’ll-have-to-wait-for-our-next-race-stop-by-when-you’re-healed-up-from-this-one-hope-to-see-you-soon!” With that, Blurr shot away. “Man, you weren’t kidding when you said he talks fast,” Sunset remarked to Hot Rod. “You alright, Sideswipe?” asked Lifeline. “Eh, the only major damage was to my pride.” Sideswipe shrugged. “Why’d you do that, Sideswipe?” Sunstreaker asked seriously. “I might not know as much about this planet as you, but I know Dragstrip didn’t stand a chance against Blurr, so why’d you get in that race in the first place?” “You heard me earlier; the Galaxy Key is the greatest trophy on Velocitron,” Sideswipe answered. “If we want it, we’ll need to beat Blurr sooner or later; I just figured it was worth the risk now.” “Alright, that’s fair. So how about now, we address your reaction to Blurr being the champion of the planet?” asked Sunset. “Because last time I was here, Blurr wasn’t the champion,” Sideswipe said simply. “I didn’t expect him to be here.” “Then who were you expecting?” asked Twilight. “Me.” That voice surprised the group as they looked and saw Override nearby. “No fraggin’ way; Override?!” Hot Rod said gleefully. “Oh man, I’m geeking out!” Sideswipe just stood up and walked over to Override. “Hey Override,” he said simply. “Listen, I-” He couldn’t finish his sentence as Override just slapped him across the faceplate. “Save it. You’ve got some nerve coming back here after what you did.” she threatened. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get off Velocitron and never come back. Otherwise, you’ll have to answer to me.” With that, she transformed and roared away. “Uh… what was that about?” asked Rainbow. Sideswipe didn’t respond; he just transformed and drove away in the opposite direction. “Wha- Hey! Sideswipe!” “Okay, does anyone have any idea what’s going on here anymore?” asked Twilight. “I wish. I’m pretty sure the only way we can be sure is from Sideswipe.” Sunset remarked. “We’d better find him. Fast.” “There’s only one place he could be going; it’s the most popular bar on Velocitron. Follow me.” Hot Rod ordered and transformed, roaring down the road after Sideswipe with the rest of the team on his fenders. Elsewhere, Dragstrip had tied Ransack and Crumplezone up in scrap metal and was dangling them over a particularly deep part of the Bismuth Gulch, ready to cut them loose at any time. “Let me make this as transparently clear to you as possible; when I fight, I cheat. When I talk, I lie. When I date, I two-time. But when I race, I win. And when I win, I. Win. Clean. If you two idiots want to cheat at races I’m in, cheat for yourselves. But if you ever think for even half an attosecond of cheating either for me or against me, I will personally cut out your T-Cogs. And when I do it… it’ll be slow and painful.” He tossed them aside away from the gulch and blasted them free of the metal they were tied in. “Now unless you wanna be scrapped, go find out when the next Planet Cup race is and enter the Stunticons. Pull as much more muscle as you want, but I take priority. I get pole position.” The two goons were still laying there, terrified. “Well?! GO!” With that, the two goons transformed and raced away as fast as they could. The other Stunticons had seen everything and were staring at Dragstrip in what looked like terror. “Okay, just gonna say it; if it’s between him and you, I’d pick you as our leader in a spark-beat Motormaster.” Breakdown said simply. “Agreed.” the other three Stunticons nodded. “Nice to feel needed.” Motormaster shrugged. This would be one race to remember.