//------------------------------// // Tinker, Tailor, Gamer, Spy Part 3 // Story: Friendship Is Magic: Prime // by Darkryt Orbinautz //------------------------------// Darkryt Orbinautz presents... Previously on Friendship Is Magic: Prime... "Extreme circumstances." Optimus answered. "I request you send Chase and Boulder." Twilight paused mid-sentence. "Wait, no he didn't! So any weapon he finds, he can easily allow himself to use the weapons on the humans! On the Decepticons! On US!" "Twilight's not here right now." Novo answered. "But I'll fix you up." Starscream raised his claw, brought it smashing down on the urn hard enough to produce sparks and...twisted the lid. Dash kept struggling against it, and her eyes were discolored, almost like she'd been infected with Dark Energon, but rather then purple, pinks and whites were instead bright red, reddish-brown and blacks. Optimus observed their injuries. "I see Ratchet was unable to complete your repairs before departure. I will tend to them." "You did good, soldier...you did good." Rarity rested herself up against him. Friendship Is Magic: Prime: Act III Chapter XII: Tinker, Tailor, Gamer, Spy! Part 3 Episode Synopsis: In the course of the the Relic Hunt, Twilight gains an unfair advantage, Pinkie Pie runs afoul of a Las Vegas mob boss, and Rarity forms a new bond with Agent Fowler and Bulkhead. Bumblebee having just left the GroundBridge, Optimus turned to Rarity. "Rarity, can you refit one of your spacesuits to fit a human?" "I suppose I could, Optimus, but why?" "Boulder and Graham are the best equipped to head for the Arctic. The Artic's freezing temperatures make a threat even to us Cybertronians, so I am not comfortable with the idea of sending Graham there unprotected. " Optimus explained. "Oh my!" Rarity exclaimed. "That does sound rather cold! I'll alter Twilight's...after all, she-she's not using it..." Rarity walked out of them room with her head held low. "I've never heard of the Arctic." Boulder informed Graham, optics twinkling at the prospect of new Earth experiences. "What's it like?" Graham took off his glasses and polished them with handkerchief. "The Arctic is an entire continent made of ice. The temperatures there can reach subzero daily." "Subzero?" Boulder repeated. He looked at Optimus with concern. "Optimus, are you still want Graham to come with me?" "While it grieves me to put a human in such a dangerous situation, I am of the impression that you and the other Rescue Bots have greatly increased effectiveness with the help of your human partners." Graham grinned nervously, trying to hide that he was uncomfortable with Optimus' oblique compliment. "It's ready!" Rarity announced, hanging the modified spacesuit, now fit for a human thanks to her skills with a needle and fabrics. Graham got up to take it, but Rarity smothered him in it with her magic, somehow manipulating his body and it until it was neatly tucked around him. The boots meant for ponies' front legs were of no use to Graham, and they were rubber, rather then cloth, so Rarity compromised on them: they were now more like over mitts, which Graham could live with. He had worse. Ratchet attempted to reach his hand over to pull the lever for the Bridge, but it was shaky to the point of being pathetic, so Optimus felt forced to grab it and put it to rest against the controls. "Allow me, old friend." The GroundBridge whirred open. Graham flexed his fingers against his over mitts, remembering how it felt to go through the Bridge the first time. He looked up at Boulder. "Well...let's go." Dreadwing watched with a disinterested interest in Megatron's chewing out of Breakdown and Knock Out. When Breakdown shook his shoulders, "Graceful?" Megatron questioned. "Graceful? I have no use of your grace, Knock Out! Move quickly and operate with a SURGEON'S skill, do I make myself clear?" "Eh...as crystal, Lord Megatron." Knock Out answered, stepping backwards. Megatron narrowed his eyes at them. "WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!?" Knock Out, Breakdown and the miners all scrambled out of the room. Megatron shook his head in disapproval, then looked at Dreadwing. "I hope you, Dreadwing, will prove more reliable then Knock Out has." Dreadwing snapped to attention. "I will put whatever task you have for me above my finish, at the very least, Lord Megatron." Megatron turned around to examine the coordinates. "The second set of coordinates suggest that the relic lies at the very bottom of this world." Dreadwing bowed. "I will travel to the end of this, or any other world, to serve your will, Lord Megatron." Megatron's looked over his shoulder at him. "Go. Return with my prize, and prove are you more worthy of being my second-in-command then those you have preceded you." Dreadwing nodded, then left the room just as Fearstorm walked in, passing the Vehicon on his way. Twilight trotted through the hallways of the Harbinger, wrapped up in trying to decrypt the her transcript of the Database with the help of a tablet Starscream had been willing to give her. She was so wrapped up that she had already forgotten a bump she had into Doctor Morocco...at least she did the same to Silas. "Oh, sorry, Silas." Twilight apologized. "I keep getting lost in this Iacon information." "I understand, Twilight Sparkle." Silas assured her. "...Exactly what does this Iacon Database contain?" "Mostly the locations of some old weapons and stuff." Twilight answered. According to the Autobots, they jettisoned into space to keep them from the Decepticons. Optimus Prime Pinkie Promised-..." Twilight stopped. Wait...Optimus hadn't Pinkie Promised! He said he would, but he didn't! "Wait, no he didn't! Optimus said he Pinkie Promise after he distracted Megatron, and he distracted Megatron, but we had to retreat before he Pinkie Promised!" She turned away from Silas to voice her concerns. "So any weapon he finds, he can easily allow himself to use the weapons on the humans! On the Decepticons! On US!" "Twilight, I don't think Optimus is the type to-" Starscream's voice behind, but it was interrupted by a tiny thump. "I mean, yes. Yes, Optimus' exact words were a Pinkie Promise. Which he did not make. So now he can use the weapons for his own nefarious uses. Yes." Twilight tensed up, thinking of what the first thing she should do about the artifacts. She lit up her horn. "COMMANDBOTS! TO ME!" That classic noise of misplaced bodily fluids resonated from the crystals in Twilight's chest. Three of the Commandbots came soaring into the room. The other three were too far away to heed her call. She knew from her symbiosis. Twilight started thinking to herself. What to do about the relics?...Wait, the Autobots' medic had salvaged six coordinates! Those were the ones she needed to get to first! But even with all the Tracers, plague victims, and Commandbots at her beck, she couldn't be in two places at once... "Starscream! I want you yourself to go to these coordinates." She helpfully pointed at the coordinates at the top of her little note. "Wha-me!?" Twilight narrowed her eyes at him. "Starscream...are you doubting me?" Starscream raised his arm in front of him for some reason. "Hmm." Twilight flicked her head to show that she was in charge, then started walking off beside the Commandbots. Starscream and Silas had a short conversation behind that she didn't pay attention to. Silas must've said something, for Twilight felt her hair flow in the air current made by Starscream's alt-mode flying by. She and her Morbot company kept walking, but Novo placed himself at the side of herself. "Heeey, Twilight! What's up?" "What's up, Novo," Twilight agitatedly replied. "Is that I need to make sure these six relics here are not acquired by the Autobots!" Novo looked over her shoulder at them. "Think you can help, Novo?" Twilight questioned at his interest in the papers. "Yeah." Novo put his finger on the paper. "This one leads to New York." "I already sent Starscream after that one." "All right..." Novo traced his finger down the page. "That is...in the Arctic." Twilight turned to him with a curious look on her face. "Arctic? I don't think we have anything like that on Equestria..." "It's this chunk of ice big enough for it to have it's own ecosystem." "An ecosystem...in ice?" Twilight got a look of amazement on her face. "Wow! Earth sure is interesting!" "Flattering. Anyways, I'll go set up the GroundBridge thingy to get you there. I'm got gonna put right by it in case there's something nasty waiting for you there." "Understandable." The Commandbots transformed, opening their doors to allow either Twilight or Novo in. With their passengers secured, the Morbots drove to the room where the GroundBridge set up was. Adam and a few MECH grunts were fiddling with it, a wrench in Adam's hand. "Adam?" Twilight asked, stepping out of her ride. "What are you doing?" Adam yelled and dropped the wrench, clearly not having had expected any visitors. "Just-just trying to understand the tech better. Honest." "Ah, well, nothing wrong with that, is there Novo?" "I guess not." Adam and his troupe left the room to let Novo take control. Novo pushed buttons, then pushed more buttons, which opened the GroundBridge in front of Twilight and her assault vehicle companions. "I'll stay here and be your mission control." Novo said. "Thank you." Twilight said as she approached the Bridge. Novo's mask contorted in a way to suggest his eyes had widened. "Hey, wait! The Artic is cold! We need to get you some clothes!" Twilight stopped her approach, then...just stood there. "The Dark Energon will protect me." There was a slight chill in the unicorn's voice when she said this, then she entered the Bridge. A green circle materialized in territory unknown to whomever was passing through it. A light green steamdozer rolled right out of and into it, the crawl of his caterpillar treads gliding worklessly on the pure frost. "Wwwwoow..." Boulder oohed. "This place is beautiful!" The ground was bluish-white, and went on for miles and miles of road, untouched by industrial development. A few stalagmites were scattered across the ground, pointing upwards and giving some sense of direction to wandering travelers. Wind was made visible by the loose ice shavings carried on them. Graham couldn't see what Boulder thought was so pretty about it, but couldn't bring himself to burst the Construction-Bot's bubble of amazement. Boulder suddenly opened his door for Graham. "Graham, step outside and look at this!" Graham cautiously stepped out, wary of whether or not the fitted spacesuit would actually work as intended. Having yet to go numb from the effects of Boulder's door being open, he was confident. He couldn't see what it was Boulder wanted him to look at, though. "Look at what?" Boulder lifted his scoop upward. Somewhere considerable far away, far enough Boulder and Graham held no chance of running into the madmare, Twilight was galloping along, the Morbots rolling right behind her, her prediction of the Dark Energon protecting her having come true, when she stopped suddenly to look up. "Oh, wow! What's that?" Twilight asked in awe. Up in the sky above, green and purple lights danced like carefree animals, the lights large enough to nearly cover up the entire sky. "Novo! Novo!" Twilight snapped through her comm. "I'm witnessing the most amazing thing right now!" "Really? What?" "I-I don't know! It's like some sort of...snow rainbow or something! It's green, purple...and beautiful." "Ah. Probably the Aurora Borealis." "Au-what?" "The Aurora Borealis." Novo repeated. "It's a phenomenon in the Arctic." "It's beautiful..." "I'll take your word for for it, since I can't see. Have you found the relic yet?" "Huh? Oh, right! The relic!" Reminded of her task, Twilight resumed her gallop...then stopped and turned around to look at the Borealis a little longer. "Earth really is full of so many wonders...I wish my friends could see this." On that bitter reminder, Twilight began walking, the reminder of her friends causing an entanglement of any spring in she may have had in her step. "Why do I have to fight my friends?" Twilight seemingly asked the air, as if the unforgiving winds of the Arctic would have her answer. "Why?" Her question was not answered by the winds, but by the pulsating crystals in her chest and withers. They glowed, illuminating her in the Arctic lightning. Her eyes flashed purple. She narrowed them, clearly reminded of why she and her friends were fighting. "Prime..." She halted in her tracks. Sadness was not holding her in place this time. Rage was. "PRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!" Having screamed that, Twilight resumed walking, no longer galloping, but now at a much more steely pace. In short order, she and her Morbots came across a icy ledge. Her computer-rivaling memory confirmed that the relic should be...just beneath here. Twilight huffed and backed away from the ledge, then ran forward to build up speed for her jump off the edge, using her wings to slow her descent before teleporting to the lower ground. The Morbots transformed and followed suit. Now inside what could best be described as a valley made out of glaciers, Twilight began whipping about in her hunt. One of the Morbot's guided her attention to a tiny (relatively speaking) cave in the side of the valley walls. Twilight approached the cave and started using her magic to scan for her prey. Boulder pulled up on the outside of the valley, letting Graham out to double-check if this was their destination. "Looks about right..." Graham said, walking towards the valleyway. "Graham, stop!" Boulder shouted. Graham turned around to ask Boulder what was up, but on looking at the valley again, he saw it. Twilight Sparkle and her accompaniment of larger, red Morbots. The prospect of bigger Morbots was terrifying enough without Twilight Sparkle there. Twilight was really the main attraction. She'd been even more mutated since the last time Graham and Boulder had seen her. They didn't know it, but Dark Energon had indeed protected from the cold, adding new additions to her as a consequence. The two rescue workers hadn't been there for when Twilight first shoved the extra crystals in her shoulders and added the wings, but they could all that clearly. Additionally, a D.E crystal covering with the shape of fish scales ran across her sides, and pink crystal ornaments like a stag's antlers were attached to the inside of her hind legs. The faint black pattern in her wings had gotten bolder. Given what happened to Rarity's, it was impressive how they hadn't succumbed to the chill... The really disgusting part was that the crystals were actually beautiful, bordering on gorgeous, except for the part where they were grown into Twilight's flesh. Slightly less disgusting was the purple beam of light sweeping around the cave, emitted from her horn. After a few more sweeps, Twilight turned around and shouted at her soldiers. "Where is the relic!?" "I was about to ask the same of you, Twilight Sparkle." The Morbots turned around to see Dreadwing and a four-mech team of green jet Vehicons behind him. Graham ran for cover behind one of the ice spikes. "Who-or what- is that!?" "Decepticons." Boulder answered, transforming. "Graham, stay here." "I don't know where the relic is, Dreadwing." Twilight snarled. "I guess the triangulation was off." "Then it would seem we are on equal footing." Dreadwing growled. Both teams stood there with palpable of anticipation, each waiting for the other to make the first move. At the lack of progress, Dreadwing's finger twitched. Taking matters into his own servos, he pulled out his Gatling and opened fire. "ATTACK!" Twilight shouted, galloping away to hide behind the fire of her Morbots. "You flee, Faithful Student?" Dreadwing growled. "Stand by your soldiers and fight like a mech!" "I'm a mare!" "THAT is BESIDE THE POINT!" Twilight nimbly swept the ice with her hooves, sliding on it to dodge the stray shots until she ran into a wooden pole, the impact knocking her onto her rump. "Ow!" Twilight rubbed her head sorely and looked up to see her attacker. A wooden pole with a red flag tied around it. "What's that?" Boulder asked. "It's a flag." Graham answered. "Researchers leave them in the place of discovery so they can find the area again." "Do you think some researchers might have gotten the relic?" "It seems reasonable. I just hope Twilight doesn't know what it means..." "I know what this is!" Twilight declared, hopping to her hooves. "This is a marker of some sort! But who would-...humans!" Twilight looked around, and apparently deciding that way was more likely to have her target, ran in the opposite direction of the valley where Graham and Boulder were hiding. "We can't let Twilight get that relic!" Graham exclaimed. "But those robots..." "You go after Twilight." Boulder instructed, raising his fist. "I'll cover you." "You sure?" "Uh-huh. Plus, I've wondered what's like to fight a Decepticon..." Boulder stood up from behind the ice and slapped his hands together, producing a sonic wave that disoriented the members of the fight. Graham ran like his life depended on it while the Morbots and Decepticons were still stunned. "Uhh..." Dreadwing wobbled slightly, recovering quicker thanks to his battled-hardened nature. "Boulder!" Graham shouted. "Do it again!" Boulder prepped himself, but Dreadwing fired a laser into his chest before he could finish the clap. The Seeker Captain jumped up and over the Morbots to get in melee distance of the Construction-Bot. "I do not recognize you, Autobot." Dreadwing pulled out his silver bayonet. "Boulder." Boulder introduced himself, pulling out a very large J-pipe with which to counter Dreadwing's sword. "You might say I'm on loan." "Then I hope Optimus kept your receipt!" Dreadwing battle-cried and raised his sword overhead, but Boulder blocked it with the pipe. They then duked it out, green and yellow Ion trailing behind their weapons as they were swung. Behind them, the Vehicons and Morbots had recovered and resumed shooting. Graham had gotten out of the valley though, so as far Boulder cared, it was fine. Speaking of Graham, he was still running, still close enough to see Twilight Sparkle from behind. Knowing his running wouldn't keep him up with her, Graham bent his knees and jumped up onto her back. "AH!" Twilight reared up. She turned her neck around to see what had suddenly grabbed her. "Oh. Hello, Graham!" She activated her tail-hair tendrils and wrapped them around Graham's shoulders, arms and necks. Graham struggled against it, panicking. "Oh, I'm not going to do anything." Twilight lifted him up and placed him on the ground. "I just don't recall giving you permission to ride on my back..." She started walking. "What are you doing here, anyways?" Graham walked around and in front of her. "I'm here to keep you from getting the relic." "...HA!" Twilight reached her neck forward, nuzzling their noses together and cupping his chin with her hoof. "The little human thinks he can stop me. How cute!" Graham grabbed her hoof and moved it off, his uncomfortableness delaying his ability to think of a plan. Even without said delay, he didn't have much options. He reached into the pocket of the spacesuit, pulled out a monkey wrench, and slammed it into Twilight's cheek. The unicorn's head didn't budge a millimeter. "...The little human thinks he can hurt me!" Twilight walked around to behind and scrunched up her body, coiling her neck and tail hairs around Graham's shoulders. "That's even cuter! It was a nice try, cutie pie." Twilight licked his cheek, a show of affection to both ponies and humans, but the action had different...connotations between the species. Twilight untethered from him and proceeded on her way, but Graham arched his arm and threw the wrench at the back of her head. Twilight stood very still...signaling to Graham that wasn't a good idea. "I am beginning to grow very frustrated at your insistence, Graham." Twilight teleported. Back in the valley, the battle raged, up until the Morbots were given the command to rendezvous with Twilight now. "Our opponents in the valley are still attacking, Twilight Sparkle." The Morbot's programmed voice told her. "So...blow it!" Twilight hissed over the comm. The Morbots nodded, more to themselves, and took for the air. The Vehicons raised their blasters to compensate. The Morbots aimed their cannons at the valley's top and blasted them, blowing the ice apart into huge chunks which began descending down the cliffs. "Your skill is commendable, Boulder, but your technique is need of improvement." Dreadwing complimented. "I'll keep that in mind when I get back home." Boulder responded. The Vehicons' sudden screams alerted them to the new danger. "AVALANCHE!" "It's really more of a rockfall, innit?" "They're not rocks!" "IS NOW THE REALLY THE TIME TO DISCUSS THIS?" The Vehicons transformed to their jet forms and flew out of the avalanche. Dreadwing turned around to join them. A chunk of ice fell on top of Boulder, causing the Rescue Bot to grunt loudly. Dreadwing turned back towards him. Boulder grimaced at the realization Dreadwing had him at his mercy. Dreadwing sheathed his sword, then shoved his claws under the ice rock and picked it up. "Y-you're saving me?" Boulder questioned. "Up!" Dreading commanded. "Up! UP!" Boulder and Dreadwing transformed to their respective vehicle modes, driving and flying out of the way of the ice. Another chunk hit Dreadwing and sent him sprawling out of control. Boulder, having not forgotten what Dreadwing just did, swerved and caught the jet in his scoop. Boulder put his pedal to the metal to get out of the collapsing valley around them, swerving to the side just as he pulled out of harm's reach. Puff's of white dust rose into the air as the ice finished falling below. That done, Dreadwing and Boulder both transformed and cast a look back at the ice. "...Um...I hope you understand that I still can't let you get the relic." Boulder said to Dreadwing. "I know that, Boulder..." Dreadwing pulled out his sword again. "But I do not intend to give you a choice." "Boulder?" Graham shouted. "Are you there?" Boulder looked around to see Graham boxed in by two of the red Morbots. "Graham!" Boulder rushed over and punched both of the Morbots out, having caught them by surprise. Dreadwing took the chance to vanish. "Thanks." Graham said. "Twilight summoned those things to keep me in place while she went after the relic." "That 'Con's after it as well." Boulder transformed. "Let's go!" "Where could they have gone, though?" Graham asked as he climbed in. Once he got inside, though, he could see the tell-tale shadow of conical buildings in the distance. "...There?" Boulder rolled up to the base, where a bunch of humans in heavy Artic clothing were gathered around like they had just seen something bewildering. They heard the roll of Boulder's treads and turned around. "Tally ho!" One of them, with a comb mustache and aviator's helmet, stepped forward. "What might you be?" "Okay." Graham whispered to Boulder. "Robot robot mode." Boulder's dashboard display nodded. Graham stepped out to greet the researchers. "Hello! My name is Graham Burns. I'm looking for this relic thing I think you must have excavated?" The researcher raised his eyebrow. "That's funny. This unicorn came by just now asking for the same thing." Graham sputtered. "AND YOU LET HER?" "Well, we weren't going to argue with a bleeping unicorn, now were we? Also, she had this giant robot." Graham squinted his eyes shut. "Okay, listen. There are a bunch of, uh, murderous walruses on their way here. Everyone needs to get out of here now." "I knew it!" The researcher said, pounding his fist into his palm. "I knew the walruses were after us! Come on men!" The researcher quickly led his men out of the base. Confident he wouldn't be seen, Boulder transformed. "Now let's get that reli-AAAH!" A red laser hit boulder in the back and sent him flying into a crane used by the research team. At the entrance, Dreadwing held his smoking gun, the Vehicons beside him. "Graham..." Boulder said, grabbing the crane for support. "Stop Twilight..." Graham nodded, then ran off deeper into the base. Boulder regained enough strength to clap his sonar to stun Dreadwing's troupe. The green Autobot looked at the crane he was on. "I hope they don't mind if I borrow this..." Boulder picked the crane up by the crane portion, then charged at the Decepticons, using the crane as a club. Graham ran about in circles in the base until he heard the sound of a cutting laser. Following it, he found a storage building where the Command Morbot was looming over a huge chunk of ice, melting it slightly with it's laser. Graham wanted to do something, but he really couldn't. Not against the Morbot on his own. "All right..." Twilight's voice said. "Let's see what you can do." The Morbot reached it's claw into the partially melted ice, tearing out a Cybertronain-sized, large silver discus with blue highlights and handles. Once it got too close to the Morbot's chest and started whirring. "That doesn't seem good." Graham agreed, so as the disc began expanding panels that latched onto the Morbot, he decided to get out of there. Getting out didn't make him any more safer than he was in, since Boulder fell down just in front of him. Dreadwing marched forward, the re-purposed crane in his hand. He tossed the crane aside and moved in for the kill... The storage building suddenly spat chunks of its plaster and mortar, a titanic figure trudging it's way out. Towering over Boulder and Dreadwing both, with flat feet and rune-adorned hands. Ridges were on its shoulders and thighs, while a circle was affixed to its chest. Its head kinda looked like a spacesuit helmet, with a black visor and antennae. "So!" Twilight's voice came out of the titan. "Is this a boys only game, or can I play?" Looking closer, the Morbot's head was visible in the helm. "You dare claim what is rightfully Megatron's!?" Dreadwing shouted. "You will pay for your insolence, Twilight Sparkle!" "Blah blah blaaaaaa." Twilight responded. Dreadwing got out his sword and leaped at the armored figure, but it's right arm shifted and folded into itself to let the Morbot's cannon out, which Twilight used to block the sword. She then batted the blade aside and slugged Dreadwing with the other hand, before blasting him back with the cannon. Boulder got up and clapped his sonar at her, but the metal armor seemed to absorb the soundwaves. Dreadwing pointed his sword. "You will surrender the Apex Armor to the Decepticons it belongs to, Twilight Sparkle." "No, no, I don't think I will." Twilight batted him aside. Boulder planted his feet into the snow and leered at her. Dreadwing ran up to his side. "With the Apex Armor, Twilight Sparkle will destroy us both." Boulder humphed, not wanting to admit Dreadwing was right. "What do you have in mind?" Dreadwing handed Boulder the trademark plated bomb. "I'll grab her attention." Dreadwing sprinted towards, transformed, rose into the air and fired bullets from his fuselage at Twilight. He flew too close, and Twilight grabbed him and threw him aside. "Ha! Might beats flight!" Boulder jumped onto her back while it was turned and placed the bomb on it. "Wha-what?" Twilight turned around and drew the Armor back up around the exposed cannon. Boulder combat-rolled away just in time to avoid the bomb's explosion. When the smoke cleared, the Apex Armor was still standing, unscathed. The charred ground was not so lucky. "Ha!" Twilight laughed. "That almost tickled. This Apex Armor thing is great! Not only is it nearly impervious, but I can feel actual...power coming off of it!" Graham bit his lip, then inhaled deeply. He ran right in front of Twilgiht's Morbot-Apex Armor combination and started yelling. "Hey!" Graham yelled, waving his hands. "Hey! Hey, Twilight, over here!" "I see you, Graham. What do you want?" Twilight asked with a tinge of annoyance. "I want you to look at me!" Graham shouted. "...I don't have time for this-" Twilight turned around and paused at the sight of Boulder and Dreadwing standing in front of her some distance. "...Wait...you two and the human are up to something, aren't you?" Dreadwing flicked out his cell phone and pushed a button on it. Red lights started shooting out of the ground, showing the location of bombs Dreadwing and Boulder had scattered along the ground while Graham held Twilight's attention. Twilight had only one comment. "Scrap." The bombs exploded, covering Twilight's robot from view with the smoke, but the panicked whinny let the mismatched tag team know their plan had been successful, more or less. When the smoke cleared, Twilight was nowhere to be found and a smoking crater stood in her place. Dreadwing and Boulder gazed at each other. "Hmph." With the loss of his prize, Dreadwing transformed and flew off. Boulder watched him go. Graham walked up to Boulder's feet. "What's his problem?" "I don't know..." Boulder said, thinking about how Dreadwing and he had saved each other in the valley. At the ocean floor, Twilight made her robot swung its arms, vainly. "AAAAAGH!" Screaming in frustration, Twilight attempted to make her suited robot jump off the ground, to no avail. Inside the Morbot's cockpit, Twilight hung her head in defeat. An idea seemed to come to her head, though. "How...did they beat me?" Twilight wondered out loud. "This Armor is indestructible, or close to it. Hmm." Twilight reached her hoof over to the control and made the Morbot's visual feed play back the minutes leading up to the explosion. Right, batted Dreadwing, was immune to...whatever the scrap that Boulder was doing...batted Dreadwing again...got distracted by Graham. "There!" Twilight said to herself, pointing at the screen. "He distracted me..." "Hey." Novo asked through the comm. "You all right there, Twilight?" "I'm fine, Novo." Twilight replied, putting a hoof to her chin in thought and narrowed her eyes at the paused footage. "But I need to find a way...to combat...the human factor." Graham flexed his fingers against his over mitts, remembering how it felt to go through the Bridge the first time. He looked up at Boulder. "Well...let's go." Chief Burns stood back as he watched his son exit through the green portal, then turned Optimus when he had gone. "I have to say, Optimus, are you sure sending Graham out there is wise?" "Boulder may lack the experience of Team Prime, but he is still an Autobot. He will protect Graham's life, even if it is at the cost of his own." Optimus answered gravelly. "Now we must send a team to find the next relic. Chief Burns, you and Chase will be accompanied by Pinkimenia. She will act as your cover." "Wait." Chief Burns raised his hand. "I thought the idea behind getting me and my team was to provide cover for the rest of you." Optimus nodded. "That is correct, but in the area you and Chase are departing to, you will be in far less danger should Pinkimenia take point." "Now where could they possibly going on Earth where Pinkie Pie would be less conspicuous than a police officer?" Rarity exclaimed. Chief Burns winced. "You...don't want to know." Chief Burns looked at Optimus. "Give Chase my apologies, Chief Burns." Pinkie Pie looked back and forth at them. "Where are we goin'?" Soundwave's spider-like claws skittered across the keyboards, giving the illusion that there were actual spiders running around on it. "Soundwave!" Megatron yelled through a comm. "While it is vital that you decode the Database, it is also important to prevent the Autobots from reclaiming our weapons!" Soundwave let the fading of noise from his halted typing speak for him. As usual, Megatron was somehow able to understand and respond accordingly. "Soundwave...you are an expert at being unseen. Which is why you are going to the place the humans go to be seen. I hope you enjoy gambling, Soundwave...you are going to Las Vegas." Doo-badoot-doo-wheeeeeeeino! So rang the trademark Las Vegas theme while the signs just outside the city shined their inviting shine. It was more like a warning shine to Chief Burns as Chase's vehicle mode rolled up the city's entrance. Chase was a stickler for the rules, following protocol to the letter, be it judicial or social. Las Vegas was brighty-lit place where chaos was the order of the day, gambling and other illicit business were profitable and preferable. The lure of crime was stronger here then on any other human city, and the police force just couldn't deal with them for varying reasons. Insufficient evidence, not enough manpower... Chase wasn't going to be irritated. He wasn't going to be uncomfortable. He was going to have a nuclear meltdown that would cause him to have a Spark attack from the stress. A passing car sloshed some soda onto Chase's window. Chase scoffed. "That civilian should be reported for littering and criminal mischief!" Mercifully, Chief Burns knew how to handle his team. "Chase, while I agree that wasn't an okay thing, you and I part of Griffin Rock's rescue team. While we're here in Vegas, you and I have no authority over anything that does not have something to do with the Iacon Relic. Understand?" Chase's dashboard view blinked. "Understood, sir." Chase's eyes drifted over towards Pinkie Pie, who was fawning over 'all the pretty lights'! Burns noticed. "Something wrong, Chase?" "I have been informed by Optimus that Pinkie Pie is a friend of Twilight Sparkle. I'm...not sure I'm comfortable having an associate of a known criminal in my passenger seat." Pinkie gasped and turned away form the window. "Twilight's not a criminal!" "I have sufficient security footage and eyewitness reports to charge Twilight Sparkle with breaking and entering, kidnapping, grand theft automaton, embarking on unauthorized maritime expedi-" "Chase?" "Yes, Chief?" "Drop it." "Yessir." To keep him from saying something else to upset Pinkie, Burns pushed a button which turned the dash-screen off. "Don't worry, Pinkie Pie." Chief Burns assured her. "Optimus told me everything." "Oh. That was nice of him I guess!" Chief Burns looked out the window as they came up on a red light. "...I'm sorry about what's going on with your friend." "Don't be!" Pinkie said perkily, waving her hoof. "It...it's not like it's your fault..." Pinkie's ambiance, which was usually full of perk, suddenly turned somber. Chief Burns started drumming fingers when the red light still hadn't moved. "Wish that light would turn green already. Every minute we lose is another these Decepticons have to find the relic." "I'm sure we'll find it first!" Pinkie bounced back to life. "I mean, it's not like Decepticons enjoy gambling, right?" Above in the skyscrapers, behind one of the many Vegas billboard's, a black claw grasped the edge, a blank face behind it looking around. "It's not like Decepticons enjoy gambling, right?" was played back through Soundwave's recorder. The Iacon coodinates quickly replaced the audio bars on Soundwave's display, and Laserbeak ejected from his master's roost. Soundwave walked to the edge of the building, then crawled onto it's sides, his pointy slender limbs making him look like a four-legged spider. The red light finally turned to green. Chase drove himself... Laserbeak, hiding in plain sight, fired a shot into the street, blowing apart a side of the highway and sending Chase tumbling into the dark below. Chief Burns and Pinkie curled up into their bodies to absorb the shock. Chase landed on his roof. Chase's face reappeared on the dashboard. "Chief, report! Is everyone all right?" "I'm fine." the Chief replied. "Pinkie?" "I've had worse." Pinkie shook her head, then pushed open Chase's door and go out. Burns followed suit. Chase started to transform. "Chase, no!" Chief Burns shouted. "Vegas isn't like Griffin Rock. A towering robot moving on its own will draw attention." Chase stopped transforming. Having gotten their bearings, Chief Burns and Pinkie took in their surroundings. They were in a very dim steel place that approached dystopian. It was dimly lit enough to keep them from stepping on each others' hooves, but dark enough Chase may very well should be allowed to transform. "...Chase, resume transformation." Chase did so. "Thank you, Chief-AH!" Chief Burns and Pinkie whipped around. "Chase, what is it?" Chase pointed upwards...to the building Soundwave was climbing down from, Laserbeak flying in circles around him. "Soundwave!" Pinkie yelled. She got out her party cannon and fired a solid ball of tied-together streamers at him. It puffed uselessly against his hunched back. Soundwave raised his head at them. Chase stepped backwards. It wouldn't be right to say Soundwave was a legend amongst younger Autobots. He was more like a horror story. Soundwave jumped off the building, and unveiled a new trick. His claws were both replaced by pointed black spikes much thicker then his fingers. Daggers. Cheif Burns pulled out his stun gun and aimed. Laserbeak dived downwards and grabbed Chief Burns in the little skis on him that passed for talons and pushed him into Pinkie, making off with them into the distance. Leaving Chase to fight Soundwave alone... Chief Burns and Pinkie Pie struggled to get out Laserbeak's grasp as the 'Con flew by building after building. "Burns, duck!" Pinkie instructed. Chief Burns did his best to duck in the awkward position he was in. It was enough to give Pinkie a clear shot at Laserbeak's face with her cannon, smothering the Mini-Con's vision with streamers. Laserbeak shook his head to shake off the streamers, but the distraction allowed Pinkie to somersault over his back and blasted him full-force with cannon, totally covering him in cake, causing him to crash and release Chief Burns. Laserbeak fidgeted, now glued to the ground by sticky cake. Chief Burns rubbed his head, then got up. "Well, let's see if we can find the relic..." Chief Burns and Pinkie started walking side-by-side down the street. They eventually saw a attractive black-haired woman in a green dress standing in front of an alleyway, like she was guarding it. "Think she could help?" Pinkie whispered to Burns. "No. I don't think she'd have any idea what we're looking for-" "Heeeey!" The woman greeted them. "You two oughta know where you are. You do know where you are, right?" "Actually-" Pinkie Pie started to answer, but the woman cut her off. "Trick question!" the woman walked up them and draped her arms around their shoulders, apparently undisturbed by the presence of the talking pink horse. "No one comes near the mob boss's turf without knowing where they are!" "But-" Chief Burns and Pinkie both tried to explain that they didn't know where they were, and had no buisness with any mob of any sort, but the woman wasn't having it. "Gotta say, it's a bit odd to dress up as the fuzz for a meeting with Joey, but who am I to judge? I'm the woman, that's who!" the woman giggled, then pushed them both into the alleyway where a door was painted black. "Just walk right in." the woman instructed, before leaving them to fend for themselves and resuming her post at the alley's end. Chief Burns and Pinkie Pie looked at each other. Burns looked at the door. "Not much else to do now other then go in..." He knocked on the door. "Hello? Mister Slick? Are you busy?" "Not at all!" A friendly voice beckoned them in. "Come on in!" Chief Burns nervously opened the door, and he and Pinkie stepped inside. What they found wasn't as terrifying as expected. From the things the woman said, it sound like this guy was some sort of mob boss, the room they were in was more a antique collector. Trinkets and nic-nacks adorned the room, bunched up in piles, and it was made of wood. There was a desk with a black box on it that being inspected a plain-looking brown-haired man. The boss probably...and based on the glowing red lines running along the box, it was in all likeliness the relic. "What can I do for you?" the mob boss asked. "Could we have that black thing on your desk there?" Pinkie asked, showing her normal lack of subtly. "I don't know..." The boss answered. "I just found lying on the ground somewhere. No idea what it does." "We do!" Pinkie answer. "So, will you give it to us, please?" "I could do that." The boss answered. Then he pulled out a gun on the two of them. "Or you could tell me what it does in exchange for me not shooting you." Pinkie grimaced, while Chief Burns tried to reach for his own gun. "Boss!" the woman opened the door. "Someone else is here to see you..." The woman was thrown across the room between Pinkie and Burns and onto the desk, showing Laserbeak in the door, having somehow escaped his cakey bindings, combat tentacles at the ready. Said tentacles rushed, grabbed the relic and the boss's neck. He dropped the gun and attempted to pry the tentacle off. Pinkie and Burns aimed their weapons. Laserbeak used the relic to bludgeon Burns' stun gun away, but Pinkie's Party Cannon was able to force the tentacle on the boss off. Laserbeak turned tail and fled with his prize. Chief Burns and Pinkie ran after him, leaving mob boss and his broad stunned. Joey rested his arm on his desk. "Wow. That weird horse sure was something..." Chief Burns climbed onto Pinkie's back to better pursue Laserbeak, following back to where they left Soundwave and Chase. Chase was clearly becoming winded, focusing more on not getting hit than hitting Soundwave. Laserbeak flew up to Soundwave's chest and took his perch there, handing the relic from his tentacle to Soundwave's. Chase attempted to slug Soundwave while he grabbed the relic, but the former gladiator was unfazed by the hit. Soundwave transformed and jetted off, the relic in two of his tentacles. Chase watched as he left, feeling quite inferior since he failed his assigned operation. Pinkie scraped her hoof. "Well...let's hope it's not anything too deadly." She said in attempt to look on the bright side. Optimus looked back at Chief Burns' looking at him. "Give Chase my apologies, Chief Burns." Once the cops and Pinkie had left through the GroundBridge, Optimus asserted who else was going where. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, there should be no humans in the remaining coordinates. You will accompany me, Rainbow Dash, while Rarity will join Bulkhead in the equator." "Equator?" Rarity questioned. "And why do I have to go with Bulkhead?" "Yeah!" Bulkhead agreed, not keen on being teamed up with the pony who kept criticizing his driving. "Why can't Miko come with me?" Optimus looked around the base. "Perhaps it is because she is no longer present." A quick look around confirmed Miko was not amongst them. "Why should I have to go the equator?" Rarity whin-COMPLAINED. Rarity complained. She wasn't whining! "Your gem locating 'special talent' should prove useful in the equator's terrain." Optimus answered. "What gem locating?" Rarity feigned, trying to get out of this. "I don't have any gem locating-" "Yeah you do." "Be quiet, Rainbow Dash! I'm trying to get out the mission-" Rarity wondered what Optimus' reaction to her admitting that would be. It was to lower his browplates and tap on Bulkhead's chest, causing a large portion to fold out like a drawer. Optimus pointed at the drawer, clearly not amused at Rarity's antics. "Oooh!" Rarity lowered her head and walked towards Bulkhead. Bulkhead lifted her up, put her inside the drawer, and closed it. "It's awfully spacious in here..." Rarity said from inside it. Bulkhead rolled his optics. Optimus pulled the Bridge. "Be on your guard, Bulkhead." Bulkhead nodded, then walked through the Bridge. Optimus reset it behind him, transformed, and opened his passenger side door. Dash got the hint and got in. Optimus' horn honked accidentally as the Prime built his speed to rush through the Bridge. "Return...in one piece." Ratchet drowsily wish his old friend well. Fearstorm walked into the bridge, passing Dreadwing on his way in. After a quick look in Dreadwing's direction, Fearstorm bowed. "You wished to see me, Lord Megatron?" "Yes." Megatron answered. "You will to go these coordinates." Megatron pointed to the screen. "There you find an Iacon relic. Claim it and bring it to me." "I will serve your will, master, or perish trying." Megatron turned around. "No...you will serve my will. Is that clear?" Fearstorm nodded, then left the room. After he left, Megatron exited the room himself and stomped towards the room of the Insecticon hive... Optimus and Rainbow came out on the other side to a desert area. Orange and red rocks where everywhere. The Prime drove to find the relic, and did so without any difficulty...except that there was a human archeological team digging it out of the ground. Construction equipment adorned the lip of a crater, one hook lifting a huge red crystal cluster. He parked himself behind a boulder for cover. "Red Energon..." Optimus noted ruefully. "Humans!" Dash exclaimed. "Whaddya wanna do, Big Rig?" "I will contact Agent Fowler." "I''ll do it!" Miko appeared behind the empty driver's seat, ocupying a space she really shouldn't have been able to occupy. "M-Miko!?" Dash yelled. "How did you get in there?" "I got skillz." Miko answered, jumping into the driver's seat. "So, what is it you need?" Optimus ignored her and pressed on. "Agent Fowler, I require access to a research base at my current coordinates." "On it, Prime." Fowler answered. The three of them sat there in silence, waiting for Fowler to give the all-clear. "Scrapping hay." Fowler swore. "Research team's head thinks I'm an scientist who's trying to steal the credit from him. Can't get him to budge." Dash pounded her hooves together. "Well, let's get out there and make him budge!" "Rainbow Dash, I forbid you from harming a human without provocation." Optimus told her harshly. "I'm plenty provoked!" Dash snapped. "How else are we going to get the relic?" "We could..." Miko pointed out the front window. "wait for the 'Cons." Fearstorm and some other Jet Vehicons flew overhead, transformed and aimed their blasters at the site. "Attention, puny humans! Whatever it is you have excavated, it belongs to-" The sound of screaming came from the dig sight. Jeeps and fleeing humans immediately left the area in mass panic. "Oh come on!" Fearstorm complained. "I didn't even finish! At least let me do that BEFORE you run away!" "That's a big one." Miko noted on Fearstorm. "But we can take him, right?" "Right!" Dash agreed, cocking her rifle. Optimus transformed, dropping Miko and Dash outside of from his huge grill via trapdoor. "Rainbow Dash, fly over ahead and take whatever pot shots you can find. Miko, stand back a safe distance." "What?" Miko protested. "I can't help!?" "I never said that." Optimus replied, arming his blasters. He ran out of their cover with guns-a-blazing', taking Vehicon after Vehicon. "Optimus Prime!" Fearstorm snarled, emphasizing each syllable. "I hope you understand, Optimus, that you do not scare me." "I have no use for fear." Optimus said coolly. He aimed his blaster at Fearstorm and fired. Fearstorm armed his and did the same. The two shots collided in midair, causing an explosion. They both fired again, with the same result. Seeing that this wasn't getting them anywhere, both Autobot and Decepticon decided to close the distance between them and engage in some good old-fashioned fisticuffs. Dash aimed her rifle over the rock and shot a Vehicon square in the shoulder before ducking behind and turning to Miko. "Optimus said that big crystal thing was Red Energon." "I know, Dash. I was in the back, remember?" "Yeah, yeah. What does Red Energon do?" Miko scratched her chin. "Hmm..." Miko whipped out her cell phone dialed a number. "Hey, Bulkhead?" "Miiikooo!" Bulkhead said through the phone. "I'm kinda in the middle of something here!" "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Just got a quiiick question for ya. What does Red Energon do?" "Red Energon?" Bulkhead replied. "It's a rare and sensitive Energon variant, caused by a genetic mutation. Using that stuff in place of normal Energon makes us run better and stronger. Faster, too. A lot faster-SCRAP! RARITY!" "What about Rarity!?" Dash yelled, quickly becoming concerned. She took Miko's phone into her hooves. "Bulk? Bulk?" The phone was silent... Miko put a hand on Dash's shoulder-equivalent area. "I'm...I'm sure she's fine, Dash. Bulkhead won't let anything happen to her." "He better not." Dash growled. "Now, what are we going to do about the 'Cons?" Dash and Miko poked their heads over to see the fight, where it had become clear Fearstorm and Optimus were too evenly matched. The fight was turning into a war of attrition. "Hang on to this, Pig Tails." Dash told Miko, hoofing over her rifle. "I got an idea..." Dash flew very high up, to where Miko couldn't see her. "Rainbow Dash!" Optimus ordered as Fearstorm locked him in a grapple. "I need a distraction!" "Oh!" Miko looked back and forth for Dash, before remember where Dash had gone...and that Dash had entrusted her with the rifle. Miko crouched over to the side of the rock and took aim. "Let's see how well you work..." She held the rifle steady, then launched a shot straight into Fearstorm's foot. "DAAH!" The beaten Con exclaimed, hopping on his good foot while clutching his injured one. "Who shoots a guy down there!?" Optimus managed to slip away and activate his head comm. "Ratchet, I require access to my trailer!" "Dah! Ooh! Ow!" Fearstorm stomped up and down, then cast a quick glance over to the direction of where the shot had come from. "Someone check behind that rock!" Miko's eyes widened. If the Decepticons checked there, they'd find her for sure! "Calm down, Miko..." Miko said to herself. "He's probably pointing to a different rock." Four Vehicons popped outta nowhere and aimed their blasters downward at her. "Or...it could be this rock." Miko despairingly said. "Eee..." The Vehicons began charging their weapons, but just as they were about to fire, a red blur came swooping through the air and start just trashing them. It knocked three down, then ran into the chest of the one left and lifted him into the air and threw him to the earth. Miko stared, awestruck, totally amazed and befuddled at what just happened. Rainbow Dash crash-stomped in front of her. "Dash!" Miko yelled. "Di-did you see that?" "I didn't see it." Dash replied smugly. "I was it." "What? How did you..wait..." Miko's amazment was stolen away by worry and fear. Dash's eyes had gotten all wonky, like she'd been infected with Dark Energon, but rather then purple, pinks and whites were instead bright red, reddish-brown and blacks. "...You all right there, Dash?" Dash answered in an incredible fast paced voice, so that it was hard to hear what she was saying. "I'm-fine-never-felt- better-in-my-life-if-somepony-asked-if-this-the-be st-I've-ever-beenI-would-say:"yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah- yeah-yeah-yeah." She paused. "...yeah!" The rainbow pony's fast voice was near-impossible to decipher. Even Pinkie Pie would have trouble with it. Miko tried to think of what to say, and nothing came to her. So she said the only thing she could. "...You all right there, Dash?" "I-said-if-somepony-asked-if-this-was-the-best-I-ev er-been-I-would-say-yeah-times-six-didn't-I-how-could-I-not-be-all-right-there-here-and-everywhere?" Dash responded, but Miko still couldn't understand. "Listen, Dash, I can't hear a word you're saying." Miko explained. "So I'm just going to get Optimus, and then we'll-wait..." Miko narrowed her eyes at Dash's cutie mark. There was bright red crystal sticking out of it. "Oh, Dash, tell me you didn't-" Miko looked at the hanging cluster of Red Energon. The very top of it had been shorn. Miko facepalmed. "Dash... you're an moron." "So-I've-been-told-a-lot-actually-a-lot-of-ponies-tell-me-that-so-maybe-it's-true-I-don't-know-but-it -doesn't-matter-what-matters-is-me-being-the-awesomest-fastest-pegasus-in-the-entire-solar-system!" Miko shook her head. "Forget it, Dash. Sooner or later, that red stuff is gonna do something to you." Miko reached over to pluck the shard from Dash, but Dash ran away when her hand got near it. A red after-image of Dash trailed and faded behind her Miko ran over to her, but the same thing happened. "Dash, quit moving!" "It's-not-me!" Dash insisted. Dash kept dashing around against her will, eventually leading into Miko and herself into Fearstorm's and Optimus Prime's view. Optimus saw them and got worried, giving Fearstorm the opportunity to punch the Autobot leader aside. With Optimus blindsided, Fearstorm went for the Red Energon. The GroundBridge opened behind Optimus, and his trailer came rolling through, guided by remote programming. Fearstorm jumped off the crater's edge and onto the hanging Red Energon deposit, holding on by the strengthened cable. Optimus Prime ran towards his trailer and did something different with it. It didn't turn into a mobile battle platform, or combine with him to form some sort of super robot mode (that would be silly) but he was still ready to weaponize it. Clawings his hands underneath it, Optimus lifted the trailer and began swinging it to build momentum. Fearstorm clawed at the cable, trying to get it snap. "hhhhuuuuYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Fearstorm turned around to see the source of the noise, and saw Optimus' flung trailer flying at him. He raised his arm to brace himself for all the good it'd do. The trailer crashed into him and the Red Energon, causing the deposit to shatter into thousand pieces. Fearstorm pushed the trailer off himself, looked around at the broken Energon, then transformed and flew off. Optimus saw Miko chasing after the Red Energon-infused Dash. "Miko! Climb down the crater get some cable from my trailer! I will capture Rainbow Dash!" Miko seemed not to understand how he was gonna do that, but nodded and starte on the way down the crater. Dash turned around and just stood there while Miko descended, perfect for Optimus' plan. "Right...!" Miko exclaimed as she barely managed to push the trailer's back door open. The cable was thankfully close to the exit. After pulling it out, she turned around to see Dash still staring at her blankly. "Rainbow Dash, I hope you can forgive me for this..." Optimus said. Dash raised an eyebrow. "For what?" Miko closed her eyes away and looked away, waiting for the thump she knew was coming. WHUNFF! Miko slowly pulled one eye open. The sight was less gruesome then she was expecting. It was downright comical, even. Dash, her hooves all flaling, leaving red afterimages of herself as they struggled, her body pinned down beneath Optimus' wheel. Miko giggled. She climbed out of the crater, and with Optimus pinning, binding her hooves together with the cable wasn't as hard it might have been. Some time later, Miko and Dash were sitchuatied inside the trailer, hitched to Optimus as normally was in his vehicle mode. Optimus activated his comm. "Ratchet, we require a GroundBridge to base." There was a slight delay in the GroundBridge's appearance, but it appeared soon enough. Optimus drove through, careful not go fast, or he could send his trailer spinning through the base. Now inside, Optimus made his trailer open before detaching from it. Miko dragged Rainbow Dash out by the cables. Arcee noticed her condition. "Is Rainbow Dash okay?" "Oh, please don't ask that-" Miko covered her ears. "I'm-fine!" Rainbow answered, talking so fast that her words were blurred. "Super-fine-fantastically-awesome-absolutely-fine-I -feel-like-a-million-bits-and-then-some!" Miko covered Dash's mouth with her hand before the afflicted pegasus could continue. Optimus shifted to his robotic mode, then noticed a distinct lack of medi-bot in the base. "Where is Ratchet?" ""He left." Wheeljack answered. "Apparently an old buddy of Arcee's and his is here on Earth, and he went to go say hi." Optimus couldn't but notice they still had their injuries. "I see Ratchet was unable to complete your repairs before departure. I will tend to them after I have addressed Rainbow Dash." "You?" Wheeljack asked incredulously. Arcee rasied a finger. "Don't laugh. I've seen Optimus work on 'bots. He's no subsitiute for Ratchet, but he does get the job done." Optimus took Rainbow Dash into his hands. "I've-got-the-touch-I've-got-the-power-Yeah!" Dash rambled, eyes spinning. "Please. Stop. Talking." Miko begged, curling into a ball on the floor. Optimus walked out and headed for the medical bay. There, he put Dash down on her back and pulled out what looked like a jumper cable out of a drawer. "Is-that-thing-safe? That-thing-doesn't-look-safe-are-you-sure-that's-s afe?" Dash inquired. "At ease, Rainbow Dash." Optimus instructed, placing his free hand on her to keep her body still. The cold steel was oddly soothing to Dash. "I know what I am doing." The jumper-cable looking-thing was more of a pair of plies. Optimus grabbed the Red Energon with it and yanked it out. "OW!" Dash screamed. "I thought you said you knew what you were doing!" Optimus put the pliers down, the Red Energon still in them. "I do. My aplogies, Rainbow Dash, but I must leave you bound while we wait for the effects of the Red Energon to bleed out." Dash groaned. She hated being restricted in her movement, but she supposed Ratchet would probably shish-kabob her if she broke another tool of his in a struggle. Optimus returned to the main control room where Arcee and Wheeljack still where. Arcee inhaled deeply, waiting for Optimus to start reparing her already. Optimus picked up the stylus Ratchet had put away and started tracing on her other side. After he finished that, Optimus went looking for materials and thankfully found the black brick he was looking for, and the hammer to go with it. Wheeljack looked very uncomfortable at the sight of Optimus with a brick and hammer in his hands. "You're not going to use that on me?" "Hold still." Optimus instructed stonily, playing the role of doctor perfectly. He grabbed Wheeljack's shoulder and started pounding the mortar in to replace the lost parts. "This may take awhile..." Optimus said after Wheeljack's shoulder was still wounded, in spite of near-20 hammerings. "WILL YOU KEEP IT DOWN?" Fowler yelled at them, turning away from the terminal. Wheeljack and Arcee looked at him oddly. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, there should be no humans in the remaining coordinates. You will accompany me, Rainbow Dash, while Rarity will join Bulkhead in the equator." "Equator?" Rarity questioned. "And why do I have to go with Bulkhead?" "Yeah!" Bulkhead agreed, not keen on being teamed up with the pony who kept critizing his driving. "Why can't Miko come with me?" Optimus looked around the base. "Perhaps it is because she is no longer present." A quick look around confirmed Miko was not amongst them. "Why should I have to go the equator?" Rarity whined. "Your gem locatiing 'special talent' should prove useful in the equator's terrain." Optimus answered. "What gem locating?" Rarity asked shiftly. "I don't have any gem locating-" "Yeah you do." "Be quiet, Rainbow Dash! I'm trying to get out the mission-" Rarity wondered what Optimus' reaction to her admitting that would be. It was to lower his browplates and tap on Bulkhead's chest, causing a large portion to fold out like a drawer. Optimus pointed at the drawer. Evidently, Rarity was going to ride inside Bulkhead-in robot mode- as a punishment for her failed gambit. (though it was arguably more a punishment to Bulkhead.) "Oooh!" Rarity lowered her head and walked towards Bulkhead. Bulkhead lifted her up, put her inside the drawer, and closed it. "It's awfully spacious in here..." Rarity said from inside it. Bulkhead jerked oddly as he felt Rarity readjust herself inside his cockpit. Optimus pulled the Bridge. "Be on your guard, Bulkhead." "Will do, Optimus." Bulkhead saluted. "I'll prepare for tropical weather, Wrecker style!" Bulkhead ran through the GroundBridge. Megatron's two-toed footsteps echoed across the room as he entered the Insecticon's room. "Who is the strongest among you?" Megatron growled. "There is no greather strength then an Insecticon hive, but if you were to choose..." A deep, crisp voice answered. An Insectcion departed from the ranks of the walls and landed behind Megatron, transforming. His robot mode was discolored, scars running along his body that were either grey or yellow, depending on the color of his body where they were, including his face. "I am Hardshell." "You will retrive something for me, Hardshell." Megatron sneered. "...and do not hesitate to anniliate ANYTHING THAT GETS IN YOUR WAY!" The equator was a part of the Earth that was in perfect symmerty with the rest of the Earth. Only on the equator could one find nowhere that wasn't in perfect symmetry of the rest of the world. Hardshell and three of his brethen stepped out of their Bridge. "Divide." Hardshell ordered them. "And do not hesitate to conquer!" They all transformed, sqealing as they ran off into directions. Bulkhead stepped out of the GroundBridge, lava and charred rock awaiting him. "Uuugn!" Bulkhead groaned, waving his hand in front of his face to clear the smell. "Smells worse then the Decepticon barracks!" "You're a jeep." Rarity said from within him. "How can you smell anything?" "I'm also a Cybertronian." Bulkhead's head swiveld back and forth. "Hey, base. I think I've gotten the wrong coordinates." "You're there, wrecking ball." Agent Fowler answered. "The coordinates are right where it says you are." "Well, then the coordinates are wrong, because there's nothing here!" Bulkhead exclaimed. A quiet buzzing noise caught his attention. Bulkhead tensed. "...But something's coming." An Insecticon's squeal was Bulkhead's first clue to what was coming for him. Being slammed into cliffside, then hurled to the ground, was his second. "Bulkhead?" Rarity yelled. "What's going on out there?" "Nothing to worry about." Bulkhead answered as he got up to face his attacker. "Just a bug sent to do Megatron's dirty work for him." Hardshell landed in front of him, and they started circling each other. "You'd know a thing or two about dirty work, don't you, Wrecker?" Bulkhead was taken aback. He didn't recall having met this 'Con before. Not one to be daunted, he shot his own question back at him. "Do I know you?" "I know your kind." The scarred Insecticon hissed. "For I have terminated more then a few Wreckers in my time." Bulkhead shook his shoulders, getting itchy for a fight. "Now, see, the thing about bugs your size..." he readied his arm-maces. "is they make a bigger mess when I SMASH 'EM!" Bulkhead lunged at Hardshell with one mace rasied, but Hardshell stopped it cold in his claw, grabbed Bulkhead by the head with his other one, then stabbed him brutally in the chest. "Urrr..." Bulkhead stumbled after Hardshell let him go, then managed a wild uppercut which knocked Hardshell out. "Uuuooo..." Bulkhead shook his head. That hit was hard. "B-Bulkhead?" Rarity weakly asked. "What happened?" "Insecticon. One of Megatron's." "C-could you drive for a little bit?" Rarity questioned. "I do believe the Insecticon got me as well. " "Oh, um, sure, I guess." Bulkhead transformed and was able see Rarity in his seat through his dashboard. A series of medium length crescent scars were curving along Rarity's...well, curves. "Ohh!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "Sorry, Rarity. I didn't realize that bug was going to get you too." "It's not your fault..." Rarity assured him while he started driving down on incline. Rarity didn't notice, but he was going more slowly than he would have had she not been injured. "So, any ideas on where to find the relic?" Rarity asked. "Got one. I was thinking it must've been carried off by an old lava flow." Rarity was confused. "That would just burn it up, wouldn't it?" "These relics survived interstell transport. I'm sure they can take-aw, scrap, I'm leaking Energon." Energon was dripping off underneath Bulkhead's tailpipe, leaving a trail of drips behind him. "Insecticon must've hit me harder then I thought." "Do we need to take a rest?" "Ah, probably just knocked something loose. Nothing to blow a gasket over." The Insecticons, having attempted to contact Hardshell, but having received no response, they naturally traced his last location and attempted to find him. The combined noise of thier wings was enough to rouse Hardshell from his unplanned nap. "The Wrecker left me alive..." Hardshell noted as he pushed himself up. "The last mistake he will ever make." "Bulkhead?" Agent Fowler's concerned voice came over the comm. "You all right?" "Whoa!" Bulkhead exclaimed. Since when do you care?" "Well, when it was more than 10 minutes since your last snark, I got worried." Agent Fowler responded. Rarity looked at Bulkhead's controls. "...Do you two, er, have something against each other?" "No. Fowler's just a bot-sitter." "I take offense to that!" "Take offense all you want, momma's boy. I'm just getting started!" "Will you knock that off? If you wanted to verbally spare with Mister Fowler, you should've stayed behind at the base!" "Thank you, Rarity." Bulkhead scoffed and deactivated the comm. Rarity crossed her front legs and looked out the window. "Hmm...wait, Bulkhead, go back!" "What?" "I think I saw the relic!" Bulkhead backed up a few wheel's worth, let Rarity out, then transformed, where an urn was stuck in rock pile. "Good work, Prissy!" "Thank you...and don't call me that!" Bulkhead approached the urn and attempted to get the lid off, but it wouldn't move. When it refused to move again, and again, and again, Bulkhead got frustrated and just started banging on it with his fists, and later, his maces. Rarity whinnied. "Really, Bulkhead? This urn came from your planet. Shouldn't you know how to open it?" Bulkhead huffed. "Well, let's see you do better!" Rarity rolled her eyes, grabbing the urn in her magic. She twisted the lid and levitated it off. "...I knew that." Bulkhead said. "I'm sure you did, darling." Bulkhead walked towards the urn, then recoiled at the sight of whatever was in it. "Scrap!" "What's wrong?" Rarity asked, trotting closer to Bulkhead and the urn. "...and what is that delightful smell in this rancid waste?" "I don't about the smell, but what's wrong is this cache of Energon." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "That's enough to warrant all this Database and ejection into space nonsense?" "This stuff is. It's called Toxic-En. It weakens us to the point of paralysis...and then, it extinguishes our Sparks." Rarity backed away. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get away from it! If it's that deadly, then the Decepticons would be moronic to take it, wouldn't they?" "No..." Bulkhead said bitterly. "They'll want it ever more. During the War for Cybertron, Megatron figured out a way to refine raw Toxic-En. I saw an entire battalion wiped out in seconds. No way I can leave this stuff for the 'Cons to find and abuse!" "Well, let's call a GroundBridge, then." "No." Bulkhead shook his hands. "This stuff is way too toxic to risk exposing to the other 'Bots. I'm going to get rid of it the only way I know how." "...And that is?" Bulkhead looked skywards. "I'm going to lob it into the volcano." Rairty looked up at the volcano Bulkhead was talking about, then turn back to him. "Questions: didn't you say the relic survived the lava?" "Those urns are sturdy things." Bulkhead said with a gesture towards said urn. "This stuff probably would have melted in reentry if not for the urn." Bulkhead looked back at the urn. "Hang on a sec...sitchuation's ripe for an old Wrecker trick." "Everypony keeps talking about the Wreckers! Who are they?" "They're my old unit I worked for before joining Team Prime." Bulkhead answered. "Wheeljack's still in there, too." Rarity pursed her lips. "Mmh, so is it all Wreckers I dislike, or just you two?" "It'd probably be all of them." Bulkhead approached the urn and pulled out the Tox-En, a tiny Energon cluster that was sickly green, with fumes cast off it. "Bulkhead, what are you doing?" Rarity asked with fear. "I though you said that stuff was toxic!" "It is, but we need to put some distance between us and the 'Cons." Bulkhead broke a chunk of the Toxic-En off. "We'll put this bit back in, along with a grenade. Sooner or later, the bugs are bound to come after, when they do...hubboom!" Bulkhead dropped the smaller chunk back into the urn. (The larger one wouldn't have left enough room for the grenade.) pulled out a grenade from Celestia-knows-where and dropped it in as well. "Now come on!" Bulkhead transformed, a network of cables sprung up and tied the Toxic-En to his roof. Rarity got in, and they took off driving. "...Bulkhead?" Rarity asked delicately. "We're moving away from the volcano." "Exactly." Bulkhead responded while Energon dripped from his tailpipe. As predicted, Hardshell and his little friends came buzzing after the relic. Bulkhead and Rarity had been long gone from the area. The four of them landed in their robots, and the underling approached the urn. One Insecticon, daring to go ahead of the others, pushed the other two away. Hardshell tensed... "NO! WAIT!" The urn exploded, throwing the Insecticons backwards. The two on the sides got lucky, but the middle had Toxic-En shrapnel lodged into his throat. Hardshell, recognizing the effects, put his arm in front of his mouth. "Toxic-En..." Hardshell activated his comm. "Lord Megatron, the artifact we seek...it is Toxic-En." "How much is in your possesion?" Megatron demanded to know. "None, my lord. The Autobot-" "Are you not the fircest Insecticon!?" Hardshell turned silent, then deactivated the comm. He saw the Energon leaks leading away from the urn. He approached one spot, knelt down, picked it up with claw, and tasted it. "The Wrecker leaks from his wounds...yeeeesss. We go this way!" "Left a false trail, huh?" Fowler asked, having rebooted the comm. "I remember when I had do that after I got seperated from my unit." "When were you in the field?" Bulkhead asked disbelivingly. "I wasn't always a bot-sitter." Fowler answered. "I was an Army Ranger. We could wreck with the best of them." "Huh." Bulkhead remarked. "Who knew you and I were so alike..." "Exscuse me." Rarity raised her hoof. "But I'm starting to feel something of a third wheel here." "My bad." Fowler apologized sarcastiacally. "Let's talk about what's on your mind!" "Thank you for the offer, Agent Fowler." Rarity said, ignoring the sarcastic part. "This is something that's been on my mind, but nopony has the gall to answer..." "What's that?" "What is wrong with being sparkly!?" "It's girly!" "Pray tell, what is wrong with that?" "I, uh, it, well..." "Give up, soldier." Fowler said. "You may be a Wrecker, but you can't win a fight with a woman." "Thank you again, Agent Fowler." Rarity said, self-satifsied. She took a whiff of the air, then shook her head to clear her nose. "Hmm..." "What?" Bulkhead asked. Rarity started rubbing her hoof on his dashboard. "You know, Bulkhead, normally I'm not a big fan of the color green, but you...you somehow manage to make it work." "Uh...thanks, I guess." Bulkhead groaned and shook like he hit a speed bump. "Ooowwnh!" Rarity cooed. "What's wrong, Bulky?" "It's this Toxic-En. It's giving me some serious lag...and you're talking really weirdly. You all right?" "I'm fine!" Rarity giggled immaturely. "As long as you're with me, soldier!" "Rarity, you're really starting to creep me out-" Bulkhead paused and hit his brake. The Toxic-En! It must be affecting Rarity like the other Energons had affected the other Ponies! "Hey, Bulkhead?" Miko asked through the comm. "Miiikooo!" Bulkhead scolded while Rarity started nuzzling his dashboard. "I'm kinda in the middle of something here!" "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Just got a quiiick question for ya. What does Red Energon do?" "Red Energon?" Bulkhead replied. "It's a rare and sensetivie Energon variant, caused by a genetic mutation. Using that stuff in place of normal Energon makes us run better and stronger. Faster, too. A lot faster-" Rarity jumped out the door and nuzzling him from it, right in the open where Hardshell could've easily squashed her. "SCRAP! RARITY!" "What is it, my metal mech?" Rarity asked. "Get back inside! You're a easy target out there!" Rarity quivered her lips. "But-but I thought I had a big, strong, Wrecker here to protect me!" she circled his door with her hoof. Bulkhead signed. He transformed and mangaged to scootch Rarity up onto his foot. At least there, she wasn't vulnerable from the back. Bulkhead started truding up the mountainside, but his pace was becoming slower and more sluggish with each step. Scanning the area, he saw a rock that looked perfectly good for lying on. A nap sounded good right about now...not a long nap, just a quick nap to build up his strength real quick...it'll be short... Bulkhead collapsed against the rock and went limp, his head rolling to the side as he groaned Rarity looked up at her big strong Wrecker with concern. "Bulkhead? What's wrong? "I can't do it...I can't go on." "Nonsense!" Rarity said, waving her hoof dismissively. "You're my Wrecker. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" "No..." Bulkhead replied with brutal honesty. "That's the Toxic-En talking...it doesn't mean anything at all..." Rarity took offense to this. "Uh! Well, fine! If you don't apprecitae my company, then I'll just take my business elsewhere to somepony who will!" She jumped off his foot and started walking away. "Uoogh..." Bulkhead was too disoritented by the Toxic-En to say anything...to even think anything about this. His head rolled around and around, and with a groan, he finally loosened his grip on the vile crystal, causing to ting against the groud. The sound of the Toxic-En hitting rock bottom seemed to snap Rarity out of the haze it had put her in. "Bulkhead! Oh my goodness!" Rarity rushed back over to him, putting her front hooves on his foot. "I'm so sorry, Bulkhead! Now get up!" Bulkhead's body lied still. "I said get up, you worthless piece of scrap!" Rarity screamed at him. "Oh! Agent Fowler! Agent Fowler!" She banged on her earpiece. "I'm here, Rarity. What's your status?" "Bulkhead's unconcious, and I can't get him to respond!" "I...can still hear you..." Bulkhead weakly told them. "Bulkhead, get up!" Fowler yelled through Rarity's comm. "You and I both know you've had worse!" "Not worse than this..." Bulkhead's head rolled again. "Not...even...Scraplets." Fowler clenched his fist in the base. "All right, Rarity, I need you to repeat after me. Tell Bulkhead that-" "There's a mission." Rarity said. "And a reason why you take the mission." "Honor...duty..." Bulkhead deliourously finished. "Family." Rarity finished, next adding a part that wasn't originally there. "You have to do this. For Miko, understand? If I don't come back to the base with you in one piece, who knows what she'll do to my mane!" Bulkhead chuckled. The laughter from the joke seemed to give him the strength to get up, grab the corrupt Energon variant, and transform. He opened the door for Rarity, who merrily hopped in. The Insecticon's footsteps pounded mercilessly against the rock terrian, following the trail of Energon. "There is no logic to his movements. His trail is meant to led us astray." Hardshell griped. "To find the Wrecker, we must not follow..." But if it wasn't following, then what did they need to do? Hardshell turned around, seeing the volcano. He chuckled. "Hehheh...we must anticipate." Bulkhead drove up the ledge of the volcano, finally passing the last obstacle in his way. "Keep going, soldier." Rarity encouraged him. "You're almost there." "WRECKER!" Shrieking, squealing, and snapping their extra claws, Hardshell and his two cronies descended from the other ends of the volcano. Make that second-last obstacle. "Give us the rock, and allow us to put you out of your misery!" "Gotta swat some flies." Bulkhead said, revving up. The 'fly', in this case, Hardshell, swatted him instead. Bounding forward, Hardshell picked Bulkhead's vehicle mode up. Plunging his claw into Bulkhead's door, he tore it off and threw it-and Rarity- aside. "Rarity!" Bulkhead yelled. "HHUYAH!" Bulkhead transformed himself free of Hardshell's grasp, then waved the Toxic-En in the Insecticon's face. The strong, sudden whiff disorientated Hardshell, allowing Bulkhead to knock him upside the head with his mace, sending him stumbling away. The other two Insecticons, still at full strength, made thier way towards both of them. Bulkhead grappled with the Insecticon that came after him, holding the Toxic-En to it's face. "Fair warning: I'm contagious!" swinging the Toxic-En around, Bulkhead punched the Insectionc's lights out. The other one went for Rarity and decided to play with it's food before eating. It stomped on her, forcing her into the ground covering her in the volcano's soot, then slashed at her body with the tips of it's claws, giving her more crescet scars. "Hey!" Bulkhead shouted, pulling out another grenade. "Didn't your motherboard teach you not to play with your food?" He lobbed the grenade at the Insection, blasting it backwards. Bulkhead rushed over to Rarity. "Rarity, are you okay? Say something!" Rarity hiccuped. Then, when Bulkhead could get his audio sensors closer, it sounded like she was...crying. "Rarity?" Rarity sniffed, wiped the tears from her eyes, then turned around. A sharp, bone-like protrusion was in the curl of her hoof. Her horn. Her horn had been severed by Hardshell's blow. What was left on her head was bleeding from the top where it been seperated, trickling down her face and mixing the blood with her tears. "Oh, Rarity..." Bulkhead apolgozied. "I'm so sorry." "I-i-it's not your fault." Rarity assured him through her soaking face. "It's fine, really...even-even though I'll never be able to do magic again!" Bulkhead absentmindedly flicked the Toxic-En into a lava pit. The hiss and sizzling that followed confirmed it been destroyed. Bulkhead got a little coser to Rarity and knelt down. "I'm sorry. If I had been quicker, maybe I could-" Hardshell ran up behind stabbed his claws into his back. "AAAGH!" "I may have lost the relic..." Hardshell noted as he jerked his claw out. "But Lord Megatron will surely forgive my failure if I terminate you, Wrecker." Hardshell belted him to the ground. The scarred Insecticon then started kicking him, slashing him, and just in generally beating him up. Bulkhead grunted and groaned the entire way through the bloody experience. "Your Spark is mine, Wrecker." Rarity bolted forward. "NOOOO!" Bulkhead squinted his opics shut, awaiting for the end. ...But it didn't come. Opening one eye slightly, Bulkhead could see Hardshell's arms clasped together, raised to deliver the final blow, held up only by... Rarity's magic. "Rarity? I thought you said you couldn't do magic!" "I THOUGHT I DID, TOO!" Rarity screamed, the stump of her glowing crazily, and her eyes...her eyes were glowing the same color as her magic. Bulkhead stared in amazement. "WELL?" Rarity demanded. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, AN INVITATION? PUNCH HIM!" "Right!" Bulkhead got up and rocketed his mace into Hardshell's face, smashing one of his larger manidibles off and sending Hardshell plummeting into the same lava pit Hardshell had been dropped into. The mandible stabbed itself into the ground. Rarity approached, picked it up with her mouth and draped it over her neck. "An eye for an eye...or mandible for a horn. Same difference!" Bulkhead smiled. "You know, I think I could beat a Wrecker out of you..." Rarity shied away. "Whhaaaat?" "Yeah, I don't believe it either, but I think a good beating or two, or forty...and you'll have to get over that thing with getting dirty, and we'll manage-" Bulkhead collapsed onto his back, unable to stand with his injuries any longer. "Bulkhead!" Rarity ran around him to his head. "Bulkhead! Bulkhead, speak to me!" Rarity bit her lip, trying to think of a course of action., "Agent Fowler! I need a Bridge!" The GroundBridge opened up behind her. Rarity gripped Bulkhead's head in her magic and started dragging him through the Bridge, tugging on him in her magic grasp. The slow of hum and whir of energies as she slowly traversed the GroundBridge were like a funeral dirge, slowly lulling her to her death knell. Pulling Bulkehad was taxing. He was heavy...but she couldn't stop. She couldn't give up. Not until her Wrecker was home safely. It took some time, but she finally manged to pull throught the GroundBridge's other end. She ignored whoever it was that was trying to greet her as she entered the base. Scrape after scrape after scrape later, Rarity could finally let go. Bulkhead lied down on the floor, inactive and his chest sparking from where Hardshell had torn the doors off. She walked up to Bulkhead neck and buried hers in it, nuzzling him. Cradling him. "You did good, soldier. You did good..." Rarity felt her eyelids become too heavy to keep alift any longer. She couldn't hear Fluttershy's concerned questioning...and seconds later, her screams of the same.