Crystal and Steel (Transformers/Final Fantasy XIV)

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER ONE: IN THE RUINS OF A DEAD WORLD

***

In the end, it wasn't the war that cost us Cybertron. It wasn't a conqueror's wrath, or a losers final spite. It was something else, something from beyond. A song of despair, sent out across the universe, that worked to infect the sparks of all it touched. And when those sparks were overcome by emotions like grief and guilt, despair and fear, they were devoured from within.

So many worlds were destroyed by this evil, and ours was no different. Soon, even the lifespark of Cybertron was infected and warped, until the very ground turned against us. We had no choice but to abandon our home by whatever means we could, to seek safety in the cold of space. In those dark days, the differences between our nations were forgotten, as we all fought to save who we could. 

Now, like so many others, we drift between the stars, scavenging what we can from the murdered worlds. We've found ways to shield ourselves from the Void Siren, to some extent. But it's always out there, waiting to finish the work it began so long ago.

***

Aside from them, the city was utterly silent. No people, no animals, no power. Even the wind was utterly still. It was an unnatural silence, the sort that would make even the most hardened veteran want to flee as fast as possible.

Rodimus found it somewhat depressing that he'd gotten so used to ignoring that part of his instincts.

Next to him, Minerva was less composed, focusing on the scanner in her hands to avoid looking at their surroundings. "No unusual radiation spikes, no active nanotech or organic pathogens. Aetherical readings are like a deserted asteroid. It's just… dead," the red and white plated Autobot said at last, looking up with a shudder.

He merely nodded slightly. "So, probably the Song again."

"Almost certainly sir."

Shuttering his optics for a moment, Rodimus fought back the familiar stab of despair and grief thoughts of the Endsong always invited. Such emotions were how the damn thing wormed its way into your spark after all, rotting your essence from the inside out and leaving you a mockery of life. He'd lost too many friends that way to fall into the trap himself. "Hardtop. Find yourself a nice perch. I want you on lookout."

"Minny just said the place is dead," the smallest bot of the team noted, even as he pointed towards one of the taller skyscrapers. "That should work for overwatch."

Rodimus shrugged slightly. "Call me paranoid if you want, but it wouldn't be the first time an alien species had its Defiled turn out to be waiting for life to return so they could kill again." He couldn't help but smirk. "Remember what happened to Blitzwing."

That drew a laugh from Hardtop, the noise echoing weirdly across the deserted park they'd landed in. "Even if he wishes we wouldn't," the green and purple mechanoid said. "Still, it's a fair point."

Behind them, the last member of their team couldn't help but giggle softly as she stepped off the shuttle, shaking her head. "No one wants to be the next mech to need to visit Ratchet for a problem like that," Dustoff commented, her camo-patterned armor plates shifting as she stretched. "Care for a lift?" Hardtop nodded, and the larger bot transformed, components shifting, unfolding and compressing in an intricate pattern, replacing a feminine humanoid figure with a well armored helicopter, blades already spinning fast enough to lift her into the air. Jumping slightly to reach her, Hardtop grabbed onto one of the landing struts, letting her carry him ever higher above the ground.

"Catch up when you're done!" Rodimus called after them, before turning back to Minerva. "No point in staying here. There's about five miles between here and the crash site. Let's roll." Minerva nodded, and the pair transformed to their alt-modes as well. Engines roared to life, and the two living vehicles pulled out of the park and onto the road beyond. Behind them, the shuttle lifted off, setting off for a flight pattern high above the city, just in case.

It was never easy navigating a city like this. Whatever the dominant lifeforms of this world had looked like, they were clearly much smaller than the average Transformer, perhaps reaching Rodimus' knees at most. Footpaths and walkways often proved too narrow for the pair, and while the roads were somewhat evenly scaled with their vehicle modes, the amount of debris and various abandoned vehicles meant that a good deal of creative maneuvering was required.

And if he was being entirely honest, Rodimus was grateful for the difficulties. The combination of rally driving, switching modes, and parkour was keeping his mind focused on the task at hand, and stopping his mind from lingering on the unpleasant details. Such as how the local apocalypse had been so quick and total there were so many vehicles left on the road. Or the way that so many of those vehicles had clearly been torn open from the inside…

As he slid over the top of what looked like an old bus, Dustoff swooped overhead, the sound of her rotors helping to combat the unnatural silence all around them. "Take the third left along this path," she called out. "It looks like the clearest route."

"I've got optics on the impact site," Hardtop said over the squads comm channel. "Still no sign of movement."

"Not a surprise," Minerva replied while swerving around a car, clipping the edge of the sidewalk in the process. "The escape pods on the Wayforward were fitted with deep stasis systems to prevent long-term spark contamination. Those systems are durable, but they take a long time to pull the subject back to a fully aware state."

Above, Dustoff made a noise of disgust. "I hate those things. Dragging your spark so close to Mortilus' domain… it's unnatural," she said, a shudder running through her fuselage. "Still, I have to admit, it's better than the alternative."

Sliding under a low pedestrian walkway, Rodimus couldn't help but smile in bitter agreement, before switching to vehicle mode and continuing forward.
 
***

Reaching down, Rodimus hooked his hand under the bottom of the roller door and pulled up. After being untouched for so long, the door promptly refused to move up in its guides, instead tearing apart. "Oh come on," he grumbled, fighting with the tangled pile of metal for a moment and trying to ignore the two femmes laughing at him.

Nothing jumped out at them as they stepped inside, and there were no unpleasant surprises revealed by their lights. Just an old warehouse filled with pallets of what looked like electronic goods, with a massive hole in the roof and an impact crater underneath.

"I see the escape pod," Minerva said, the headlights in her shoulder pads sweeping over a small, cone shaped craft that barely reached her waist, its metal hull dented and scorched from reentry and the landing. "Minor damage, but it appears intact."

"Maybe we should have brought you with us Hardtop," Rodimus grumbled, looking the pod over. "It's a single person pod from a micromaster ship."

"It's smol?" Dustoff said, giggling, as she circled above, shining her own lights through the broken roof.

"It's smol," he replied with a sigh.

"Do I need to come down there to press tiny buttons for you?" Hardtop asked, clearly amused.

"We'll be fine," Minerva chuckled, holding up her left hand. As Rodimus watched, her index finger split open to reveal several small tools. "I generally use these for surgery, but I'm sure they can handle tiny buttons and switches," the medic noted, kneeling down next to the pod, then pausing, her expression becoming much more serious. "Scrap."

"Problem?"

In reply, she tilted her shoulder pads down, shining her lights over the bottom of the pod… and the dark, organic looking webbing there. "Unknown substance, possibly organic."

"We haven't seen anything organic since making planetfall," Hardtop said. "Not even remains. Tripwire?"

"Yeah, that would be just our luck, wouldn't it?" Rodimus muttered, slighting a visor down over his optics for a closer look. After flipping through several settings, his scowl only got worse. "Nothing. No heat, no emissions of any sort, just enough aether to remain tangible. Looks like the Defiled still have a presence here."

Dustoff spoke up, her voice as serious and worried as her teammates. "Well then, it doesn't take an investigative mind like Prowls to work out the chain of events. The Wayforward suffers engine failure upon arriving in this system, he heads for this planet hoping to find life. When the engine failure reaches the point of tearing the ship apart, he abandons ship."

Nodding to herself, Minerva continued the train of thought. "While he is more than comfortable traveling by himself under normal conditions, he logically concludes that in this… necropolis, it's safer to place himself into deep stasis, rather than risk the Sirens Song infecting his spark. But it was still enough to draw the Deflieds attention."

"And while they might not have enough intelligence left to get at him, they still may have enough instinct to wait for him to come out," Rodimus finished.

As usual, Hardtop was less interested in the past, and more focused on the problem in the present. "So, now we know it's likely trapped, how do you wanna play this one boss?" 

In reply, Rodimus grinned to himself, standing back up and sliding the visor back into his helmet. "How else? We spring the trap. Moving the entire pod will take time and almost certainly wake whatever abominations are 'sleeping' anyway. Get ready, all of you. We may need to move fast. Flight, this is Rodimus," he continued, switching channels. "Be advised, it may be about to get loud down here. Stand by for possible hot extraction."

"Copy that Rodimus," their shuttle pilot replied. "Remember, there's nowhere big enough to land within several miles, you''ll likely need to get on the rooftops if it comes to that."

Next to him, Minerva couldn't help but sigh. "Because it can never be easy…" she muttered. "Cracking the seal." The operating waldos from her finger danced over the pods small keypad, entering a series of commands. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a series of lights, starting at the top of the pod and running down to the base, lit up, first in red, before shifting to green.

Rodimus glanced at the organic webbing, seeing no reaction, then turned to look around the warehouse. There was no new movement, nothing in the shadows that hadn't been there before. He scowled, watching his lights, and those from Dustoff above, cut through the darkness, looking for any sign of trouble, then frowned, taking a closer look at the beams themselves.

With a puff of escaping air, the seal on the escape pod broke, and the hatch swung upward without issue, revealing a tiny red and cream robot, one small enough that he could ride inside the rescue teams vehicle modes without issue. Almost immediately, the bot began to lean forward, blue optics flickering to life. "Countdown, can you hear me?" Minerva said. "We received your distress signal and came to assist."

"Know that voice… Minerva? Yes. Minerva, medical officer… assigned to Lost Light…"

"Yes sir. Can you move? This site isn't safe."

One of Countdowns optics went dark, while the other flared brighter. "I… Carry me," he said his voice growing stronger as he reached an arm out. "We have to go, now!"

Realizing just why the light wasn't cutting through the dark quite as well as it should have been, Rodimus spun, seizing the smaller bots arm. "Outside, now!" he barked at Minerva, right as the shadows themselves lunged to attack.

[classicdrogn]

Nice. I'm guessing IDW comics continuity for the TF side, based on the mention of the Lost Light? (Or possibly At Least I'm Not Cliffjumper ficfic, since that's got the only female Dustoff I know of) Never really got into the comics, but I'll give any TF fic a try, with the caveat that regardless of intended setting I'll be imagining it as (the best of) G1 style animation.

Please sir, may I have some more?

[Matrix Dragon]

The TF side is pulling from pretty much every continuity to be it's own thing, and Dustoff is indeed based off the At Least I'm Not Cliffjumper version, with her creators permission.

[Matrix Dragon]

Tendrils of literal shadow stabbed into the light, uncaring of how impossible that should have been. Had Rodimus been even a fraction slower, they would have passed straight through his spark chamber, with possibly fatal consequences at best. Instead, they passed over the mechs head, missing him by mere inches as he continued turning, tearing Countdown out of the escape pod.

From above came the roar of Dustoffs nose cannon, high intensity energy bolts slamming down into the tendrils without mercy. Despite not seeming to harm them, the gunfire still drew a reaction, as the tendrils pulled back into the dark accompanied by a glass-rattling shriek. That reaction brought Rodimus and Minerva the time they needed, both of them transforming mid-leap, engines roaring to life before they even finished.

With his spark still on the edge of stasis, there was nothing that Countdown could do but get dragged along for the ride, and try to make sense of his surroundings. This wasn’t an easy task when there was a larger bot literally transforming around him, an action that would have resulted in his getting at least a limb caught between shifting components had it been anyone less talented than Rodimus doing the transforming. Instead, he landed in a surprisingly comfortable seat, restraints locking down over his shoulders, windshield sliding into place above him and giving him a good view of the chaos.

Neither car could get up to speed in the tight confines of the warehouse, but they were both close enough to the ground, and their headlights were illuminating the area directly in front of them, that they could make a decent attempt at an escape. Shadow tendrils occasionally blocked their path, but they lacked the numbers to contain the vehicles, both of them punching straight through. Taking a turn sharp enough to clip a pallet and send its contents everywhere, they headed directly for the doorway they’d used to enter. “Dust, bring it down!” Rodimus ordered as they shot out into the narrow laneway, turning sharply once again to avoid plowing straight into the building directly ahead of them.

As he’d expected, he barely got the order out ahead of Dustoff launching a pair of missiles down through the broken roof, introducing the darkness within to a delicate mixture of liquid energon, nucleon and octogen. She'd carefully calibrated the missiles settings from the moment Minerva had reported the tripwire, which means that while the resulting explosion outright vaporised a good deal of the interior outright, the blast then mostly went up, reducing the roof to shreds. But for all that destructive power, her teammates right outside the warehouse experienced nothing more than a flash of heat and wind.

"Sweet Primus and all his heralds woman, have you heard of overkill?!" Hardtop exclaimed.

"You know there's no such thing with Defiled," she replied. "Best to give them the final mercy as soon as possible."

Groaning, Countdown shuttered his optics, trying to process all the conflicting data his senses were sending to his brain. "Overkill of Polyhex. Former Decepticon, data block alt-mode. Believed alive, wanted for involvement in ‘Pink Alchemy’ conspiracy…” Groaning again, he reached up and rubbed at his temples. “And that’s completely irrelevant.”

"It made me grin at least," Rodimus told his passenger, not bothering to go around a trash can. "Gears turning a little smoother?"

"I feel like someone sandblasted my brain module, but yeah, I think so.”

Turning another corner, Rodimus grunted in agreement. "That's a good description of deep stasis. You came down in an industrial district, nowhere for a shuttle to land.”

“Finding a rooftop that can handle our weight?” Countdown guessed.

“Pretty much, there’s a street up here that should give us some options.” Reaching the end of the alleyway, he shot across the small parking lot, clipped over the edge of an old garden, then flew over the sidewalk and landed on the road, wheels spinning as they tried to grip on the asphalt. “...Ah.”

Pulling up behind him, Minerva twitched her side mirrors. “What does that mean… ah,” she also said, taking in the sight in front of them. Rising up from beneath the street, was another shadowy mass. As the bots watched, dozens of tendrils reached out from its core body and pressed against the ground, as if it was a corporeal being trying to support its weight. Then, slowly and awkwardly, it began to drag itself towards the trio.

Before it could go more than a few meters, a salvo of purple energy bolts slammed into the core, making it ripple like water. Twisting in his seat, Countdown tracked them back to their source, catching sight of another burst launching from the top of a distant tower in the city center. He watched the bolts race across the kilometers between them in slight confusion, taking a moment to remember Hardtops presence. At least this time, he was spared the embarrassment of detailing the ‘cons resume out loud.

“Am I even hurting that thing?” the sniper demanded.

Switching back to robot mode, Minerva stepped in front of Rodimus. “At the very least, you seem to be disorienting it.” Her right shoulder pad transformed again, unfolding into a scanner array that slid in front of her face. “Hmm… Even for a Defiled, its Aetherical density is non-existent. It must have fallen victim to the Endsong a considerable time ago. But if that’s the case, how can it still manifest like this? No individual could have have a spark large enough to endure the song for so long…” Behind her, Rodimus revved his engine, making the medic twitch. “Sorry. But yes Hardtop, you are hurting it. What little Aether it has left is struggling to remain coherent. If you continue, we should be able to withdraw-" Her voice cut off as the Defiled screamed, like hundreds of voices mixed together, making her instinctively mute and cover her audio intakes.

As they watched, the shadows began to shift, becoming darker, more solid. gaining actual mass and shape to interact with the world. Slamming two of its tentacles into the road in front of it, the creature shattered the asphalt, sending large chunks flying into the air. One actually intercepted a shot, getting reduced to powder in the process, but the rest came to a halt, floating just above the Defiled, before shifting and reshaping into just over half a dozen spikes, each as long as Minerva was tall. “Hardtop, incoming!” Rodimus hissed, the roof of his vehicle mode flipping open to reveal a small weapons turret.

Hardtop adjusted his aim slightly, even as Dustoff swooped down, nose cannon roaring to life, and Minerva raised her own rifle and opened fire. Two of the spears shattered, then three more, and then they launched, just barely staying under the sound barrier as they raced towards the tower Hardtop had set up in. Another was shot down by the sniper mid-flight, but that still left one last spear to slam into the tower, the impact echoing across the dead city.

"Good news, this bastard has a really bad aim," Hardtop said in a conversational tone, even as the top of the tower blew apart, raining debris across his sniper nest. "That was way too high. Bad news, the shuttle definitely can’t take a hit like that."

“Then I guess we’re putting this poor thing down,” Rodimus said. “Countdown, can you fight?”

Cracking his knuckles, his tiny passenger powered up the blasters in his forearms. “Well enough.”

“Hardtop, if that tower starts to go, yell. Now, let’s get started.” His engine roared, and his wheels spun for a fraction of a second before grabbing the road, launching him down the street. He dodged to the left, avoiding a tentacle that crashed down into the asphalt, even as he adjusted his fuel mix slightly. The exhaust pipes running along both sides of his body twitched slightly, before flames started spewing out the back just as he passed underneath the creatures main body. Hitting the handbrake, the bot pulled a hard J-turn, spreading the flames over as large an area as possible, making the area as unpleasant as possible. Then, for good measure, Rodimus shifted back to robot mode and blasted the flames straight up into the Defiled.

Leaping free during the transformation, Countdown landed clear of both the flames and the core body, sliding to a halt and opening up with his own weapons, targeting the nearest tentacle. Out of the corner of his optics, he saw Minerva moving in, her weapons fire aimed towards the base of the same tentacle he’d been firing on. A moment later, purple bolts started slamming into the exact same spot, dispelling an even larger area of shadow.

As a final touch, Dustoff swooped down over the beast from above, spraying it with cannon fire. Between her and Rodimus, the Defiled was sufficiently distracted that it didn’t realize that the other three were being much more specific in their efforts. At least, not until one of Hardtops shots vaporized enough ‘shadow-mass’ that the limb began to tear itself loose. That, it noticed. Shrieking with a hundred different voices, it flailed around with its other tentacles, quickly turning the street, footpaths and handful of vehicles in its path into razor sharp shrapnel.

Countdown scrambled backwards, realizing just a second too late that he had absolutely no cover against the incoming wave of flechettes. All he could do was cover his face with his arms and wince in anticipation of the pain he was about to experience.

Then, at the last possible moment, Minerva was in front of him. Her backpack had unfolded and combined with her left shoulder pad, forming an armored shield that was as tall as she was. The storm of shrapnel impacted with an almost deafening noise, but the two bots were left untouched. “Captain?!”

On the far side of the beast, a tentacle that had half-buried itself in a storefront exploded in a massive ball of flame. When the fire died down, a slightly unsteady Rodimus emerged. “I’m okay, it’s mostly my paint job. Zagged when I should have zigged…” Watching as the beast flailed, its form becoming more solid by the second, he nodded to himself. “If it’s shifting like… Dustoff?”

“Yeah Rod?”

“Go high. I want you to prep for a Remi Entrance on my mark.” In response, the helicopter rose higher into the sky, keeping up the barrage on the Defiled as best she could despite the increased distance. Meanwhile, Rodimus took a deep breath and twisted his wrists, a pair of blaster pistols appearing seemingly out of nowhere. “Everyone, any limbs it sticks out, cut it off. Keep making it turtle up.”

Stepping out from behind Minerva, Countdown transformed to his alt-mode, a small, one-person buggy, with a large adjustable satellite dish behind the seat. “Do I want to know what that’s supposed to mean?” he asked, as he aimed the dish towards one of the tentacles that was moving a bit slower than the rest. Energy gathered in the dish for several seconds, flowing towards the center, before launching out in a constant beam of blue light, striking the target and carving a trench into its pseudo-flesh.

Rodimus laughed. “Come on, do you really think I’m gonna spoil the surprise with a setup like that?” he asked, opening fire with both pistols.

“Right, forgot who I was talking to…”

Under the barrage from multiple angles, the Defiled hesitated, seemingly uncertain of who it should attack first. Then, with a roar made up of a thousand screams, its mass shifted again, crossing the line between shadow and reality as it started to become a mass of flesh and muscle, more fluids spraying across the ground beneath it without skin to contain it. “Well, that’s disgusting,” Hardtop muttered.

“Try being close enough to smell it,” Minerva muttered, grunting as several bone spikes bounced off her shield.

“I’m a sniper for many valid reasons Minny. This is one of them.” Several eyes of different sizes sprouted from the top of the main body, looking around in various directions wildly. “And there’s another one,” he added, making a gagging noise before turning his attention to popping the eyeballs as quickly as possible.

Firing both pistols into a cavity that was starting to form teeth around the edges, Rodimus scowled. “Dammit, I hate being right sometimes. Dustoff, go!”

Even as he kept his weapons array locked onto the Defiled, Countdown aimed his sensors at the sky, curious to see just what Rod and Dustoff had planned. While his memory banks were mostly operational at this point, the data just wasn’t adding up. What WAS a Remi Entrance? Dustoff tended to prefer long range combat, so possibly a beam weapon, something that needed distance to build up for a full effect…?

High above, the forest camo patterned helicopter came to a stop, turning to face her nose towards the beast far below, and transformed. But not into her robot mode. Instead, she took on another form, with her head and upper torso atop a body that retained much of the mass of her helicopter form, and eight long, spindly legs reaching out around her. As she floated there for a brief moment, the pieces came together in Countdowns mind with an almost audible ‘click’

Dustoff had a twin sister, commonly known as Remi. Both femmes had inherited a beastial spider form from their mother Arachnia. And while Dustoff preferred to fight at range, that beast mode was suited for a devastating style of close combat, one that Remi had perfected to an art form, and one she had naturally taught to her sister.

Thrusters roared to life, legs arranged themselves in a crude drill, and the femme descended on her target with a wordless, fuel-curdling scream. Below, Rodimus dived for cover behind an overturned truck, while Countdown shifted gears, reversing behind Minerva as fast as possible. Barely three seconds after launch, Dustoff made impact with the Defiled with an indescribable noise, tearing her way through flesh, bone and shadow with horrifying ease, thrusters burning whatever her deadly claws missed.

As the smoke and dust cleared, it was obvious to the rest of the team that with that brutal strike, the battle was over. Dustoff stood tall on her spider-mode legs, covered in organic viscera, surrounded by pieces of her enemy no larger than Countdowns torso. For a moment, it was a truly horrifying sight… Right up until Dustoff whimpered with a clear sense of utter disgust, trying not to curl up on herself. “Oh Primus, it’s all over me… I’m gonna purge my tanks…”

Chuckling, Minerva twitched her shield, shaking off a few pieces that had flown her way. “You’ll be fine, you big protoform,” she teased the other femme, before folding the shield back into storage. “That’ll wash off just fine.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not wearing it like an exo-suit!”

Shifting to robot mode, Countdown looked around at the carnage, wincing. “A Remi Entrance. Yeah… You know, I’d forgotten how enthusiastic… she can be.”

“She is a lady of many talents, many of them horrifying,” Rodimus agreed as he walked over, picking fragments of road shrapnel out of his chest plate. “But you certainly can’t deny their effectiveness.”

“That’s a word for it…”

“Does anyone have any water? Please?”

“No time for that,” Rodimus said, ignoring the high pitched whine and gleaming optics from Dustoff. “We’re lucky that more haven’t turned up already. Let’s get out of here and then you can clean off.”

His friend kept up the desperate look for a few seconds more, before sighing dramatically and relenting. “Fine…” she muttered, the quartet setting off again. Behind them, the bulk of the Defileds remains slowly faded away into flickers of shadow, as what lifeforce held it together was lost to the Endsong.

***

Sealing the hatch behind Rodimus, Huffer turned towards the pilots cabin. "All aboard and accounted for! Punch it!"

"With pleasure," his crewmate called back. "Everyone hold on, there's going to be turbulence."

Countdown chuckled weakly, even as he slumped into a wall mounted chair scaled for micromasters. "It'd have to be real bad to compare to the last time I was in orbit," he muttered, dimming his optics as the emergency overclocking faded and the exhaustion returned.

"Given the very small parts left of the Wayforward, we guessed as much," Hardtop said, placing his rifle in a storage rack, then grabbing a small water tank and turning to Dustoff. As he opened the valve on top, he gave her a grin. "Hold still stinky."

Dustoff ignored the teasing in favor of sticking her head under the water stream with a sigh of relief, even as Huffer groaned and muttered about how he'd be stuck cleaning the deck plating. As more of the gore ended up on the deck instead of the arachnoid, Rodimus could only pat him reassuringly on the shoulder, promising to get the mech some help.

A voice from the pilots cabin interrupted the moment. "Captain, Magnus is calling for you."

Suddenly looking much more serious, Rodimus went over to a handset mounted by the door, unhooking it and holding it to the side of his head. “Ultra Magnus. Countdown successfully extracted, although we were forced to engage local Defiled. No injuries, but Dustoff is going to need a serious decontamination shower.” He pretended to ignore the moan of misery from behind him. “Who was monitoring global aether readings… Perceptor? Excellent. Have him start a detailed analysis. Based on the nature of the Defiled we fought, we might be looking at a Scar Tissue World… I can’t be sure yet, no. Have Blaster deploy the warning beacons like we discussed earlier. Until we get confirmation, it’s best for Gorlam Prime to be off limits to salvagers.”

Shuddering, Minerva knelt down in front of Countdown. “You certainly picked a nice place to end up stranded,” she teased, opening up her medkit.

He snorted slightly, not powering up his optics. “Not like I knew the planets lifespark was hiding in a cocoon of dead aether,” he muttered. “And it’s not like I had much of a choice. When a transwarp drive goes, you’re there to stay.”

“One way of putting it,” the medic agreed as she started her scans. “And I suppose it does beat the alternative. Although, how exactly did you lose the Wayforward?”

Wincing as he thought back, Countdown couldn’t help but sigh. “Got pretty banged up from a lot of automated orbital defenses, made what repairs I could. I was hoping it’d hold together until I made it back to Commonwealth space at least, but…” he shrugged, frowning slightly. “There’s something else… something I’m forgetting…” Sitting up straight, the micromasters optics blazed to life as his memory files reached the front of his cortex. “Etheirys!” he exclaimed. “That was its name! The planet where I…”

Minerva scrambled back to make room as Countdown leapt to his feet, the commotion drawing the attention of the other bots in the room. He ignored them all, taking a deep breath of air through his intakes to center himself. Then his chest began to transform. Not into his vehicle form, instead carefully moving armor plating and internal components around in a careful pattern that formed a hole leading to directly below the collarstruts.

Everyone in the room froze. Revealed deep within the micromasters chest was a small, golden container, a crystal gleaming with a faint blue-white light visible in the front of it. It was a type of artifact that every bot present recognised, despite the fact that it simply couldn’t be possible. Slowly, with great care, Countdown reached into his chest with both hands, grasping it and pulling it free of its hiding place.

It was Dustoff that spoke first, saying what everyone was afraid to say. “A Matrix. That… That’s a Matrix.”

“They were all on Cybertron during the Fall!” Huffer managed. “None of them made it off… None of them.”

Hardtop shook his head. “Well strip my tires and call me a train…”

Rodimus picked up the handset from where it had slipped from his grip, speaking over the voice of his executive officer. “I’m going to need a Priority Alpha line to the Council as soon as we get back aboard. There’s been a new development.”

***

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER THREE: DEBRIEFING AND DRAGONS

Secrecy was vital, at least in the short term. A Creation Matrix was simply too valuable for it to be any other way. Fortunately, Countdowns very existence provided the perfect cover story. A Commonwealth Ranger, having returned from the Unexplored Regions, only to have his ship destroyed on the very edges of known space, leaving him stranded on a dead world until the crew of the Lost Light detected his distress signal… Few people would question them escorting him the rest of the way home.

As he stared out the conference room window at the starscape beyond, Countdown mused that at least he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer before the burden in his chest was someone else’s problem. While he could be a leader if necessary, in his spark he would always be an explorer, seeking a new frontier to chart. Other mechs could deal with the future of the species, thank you very much.

“You know how it ended, but I suspect you’d prefer some context on events before you found me.” Turning, he considered the people sitting around the table that took up most of the room.

It was the largest mech present, a mass of blue and white armored plating, that spoke first. “I have reviewed all the relevant documentation that was filed before contact was lost with you. Would that be a suitable place to start?" Ultra Magnus inquired.

"More or less," the micromaster agreed, returning to his place at the table. The chair was compatible with his smaller physiology, lifting him up to table height and unfolding an armrest to form a second desk. "It should be noted, by that point I was only contacting the Commonwealth for scheduled check-ins every twenty years. Simple fact was, I was too far out to get help if I ran into any problems and the maintenance time on the quantum communications array was such that it really wasn’t worth calling more often.”

“Five minute call, two weeks downtime?” Rodimus mused.

“If I was lucky,” Countdown replied. “One of the perils of a solo mission. You have to do all the maintenance yourself.” The larger bots winced at that, getting a smirk in reply, before he tapped several buttons on the desk, activating the built-in holoprojector. An image of the galaxy appeared above the conference table, before zooming in on the section that made up local space. A marker appeared, showing the current location of the Lost Light above Gorlam Prime, followed by a bright line far to the galactic east across dozens of systems, showing the path followed by the Wayforward.

Leaning forward, Rodimus considered the line for a moment. “Very… back and forth, wasn’t it?”

That observation got a slight shrug in reply. "Side effect of my mission brief. Some Rangers are sent out with specific goals and locations to investigate. My assignment was more open ended than that. I was to search for anything that might help against the Endsong. Information, possible shielding methods, that sort of thing. Anything else, be it valuable minerals or navigation data, was just a nice bonus.” A cable slid out of his forearms and plugged into a port on the desk in front of him. The map updated, the Wayforwards path becoming more of a straight line that dived into the unknown. "About a year after my last check-in, I came across a small enclave with some interesting information. A star system that had supposedly survived the Endsong. Don't get me wrong, I was skeptical-"

“Who wouldn’t be?”

“-But they convinced me of why they weren’t investigating it themselves. They were a waystation for their people, a place to refuel and repair before continuing on to their own safe haven. They didn’t have the ships to go exploring rumors and odd dimensional anomalies.”

Several mechs nodded in understanding. “While your entire reason for being out there was to poke things,” Dustoff noted. “In more formal language of course.”

Grinning slightly, Countdown continued, updating the map again, showing the path he’d taken, and highlighting star systems along his path with icons to designate assorted stellar threats. “It wasn’t easy getting to the system in question, I’ll admit. That entire region seemed to be carrying scars that predate the Endsong. But after twelve years, I made it. And what I found…” He paused, considering what to say, then decided to let the hologram speak for him.

Everyone present reacted in some way as the map vanished, replaced by the image of a beautiful world with two moons, massive blue oceans, and continents layered with a rich tapestry of color. It was the sort of world none of the transformers present had seen for millennia. A world that was undeniably alive. "Oh, that's a nice color scheme," Rodimus whispered.

Further down the table, First Aid leaned forward, his gaze intent. "That looks like an organic ecosystem. For it to be developed enough to be visible from orbit it must still be sufficiently stable despite any Endsong effects on environmental aether.”

That comment drew a wry smile from Countdown. “Now that’s where it gets really interesting.” The display changed again, this time overlaying the existing image with a map of the aether flow patterns around it. The planet itself was a shining gem of multiple colors, radiating out from the planets core before returning inward, as had been normal for any world with life before the Endsong. The smaller moon had an odd aetheric signature, with something remarkably strong at its core, but it had relatively little effect beyond the lunar surface.

But it was the larger moon that caught everyone's attention. Glowing from within even more brightly than the planet it orbited, the moon radiated living aether outward, washing over the world below, the other moon, and the space beyond, eventually passing off the edges of the image. “Well, I can safely say I’ve never seen anything quite like that before,” Ultra Magnus mused, before glancing at the mech on his left, who had suddenly started giggling. “Perceptor?” he asked, optic ridges raised.

“My apologies,” the head of the ships science department managed. “I do believe I can identify the phenomenon Countdown witnessed.”

Leaning back in his chair, Rodimus grinned at the scientist. “Must be something special to get you of all bots giggling.”

“Ah, yes, well.” Coughing slightly, Perceptor pushed his embarrassment aside to focus on the topic at hand. “Bear in mind, this is currently conjecture based on a cursory evaluation of the evidence Countdown has presented. That said, it bears considerable similarity to a theory developed by Shockwave and Brainstorm.”

Frowning, Red Alert sat upright. “That sentence alone makes me want to do a contraband sweep of Brainstorms lab,” the security chief muttered.

Placing his hands on the table, Perceptor shifted into what his coworkers had termed his ‘university lecturer mode’. “As we all know, the Endsong is based in dynamis, the ‘dark matter’ that exists alongside the aether-based reality we can perceive and interact with. In order to interact with our reality in even minor ways, let alone corrupt living aether as it does, the Endsong requires truly extreme amounts of dynamis. This simple fact, an immutable law of reality, is the basis of all shielding technologies and methods that have been developed since its first appearance, by creating a layer of specially charged aetheric energy. However, the largest single shield any known civilization has been able to create is mere kilometers in diameter, and overlapping multiple such shields has historically been troublesome at best."

Glancing at the hologram again, Ultra Magnus frowned thoughtfully. “I hate to point out the obvious, but this is quite a bit larger than just a few kilometers.”

“Indeed!” Perceptor noted. “Which, I believe, is where Brainstorm and Shockwaves Planetary Lifespark Assisted Negation theory comes into play. They theorized that it was possible to take the lifespark of a world, converting it to a physical object much like our own Allspark was, and implant it within a lunar body. From there, it would radiate outward, naturally covering the world it orbited with a protective layer of aether. Any decay of the lunar aether is automatically restored by the lifespark of the planet below, which does not have the Endsong affecting it and thus is able to regenerate lost aether as normal.”

Unnoticed by the scientist in his excitement, the mood around the table shifted, from the initial wonder at the concept of a truly safe world and amusement at Perceptor actually managing to keep his explanation (relatively) simple for once, to unease and growing horror. "I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood you somewhere in there," First Aid said. “Because it sounds a lot like their brilliant idea was to murder a planet, compress its lifeforce into a physical object, then use it to shield another world."

“No, you understood the theory accurately,” Preceptor replied, disturbingly unconcerned by the direction the conversation had suddenly taken. “Also, in order to properly negate the effects of the Endsong, Brainstorm believes that the planetary lifespark would need to be at least a class 5 world.”

Groaning, Rodimus slumped back in his chair, running his hands down his face. “Epistemus, help me with those you blessed,” he said, turning his gaze towards the ceiling as if he expected to find the deity there.

“Wait wait wait,” Dustoff said, leaning forward. “Wait. Percy, I know what happens when you try to use Sapient-grade sparks for anything even approaching necromancy. There is no way the entire lifespark of a murdered world wouldn’t curdle almost immediately.” Slapping a palm against the table, she glared at the scientist. “I refuse to believe that even Brainy and Shockers, in the height of mad science arrogance, would think that it was possible to calm and purify a travesty like that enough it would be possible to wield it as a shield against the Endsong.”

In the face of such anger, Perceptor could only smile. “Exactly. And thus we come to the second reason it has remained nothing but a theory. There is no way such a shield can be crafted through deceit or violence. It would require those beings that make up the lifespark to choose to sacrifice themselves." Dustoff blinked, mouth dropping open slightly as she realized what that meant. "If this is the result of another civilisation developing a similar theory,” he continued, leaning forward across the table, “then this is the result of an entire worlds worth of people deciding to give up their lives to protect others.”

“Holy slag,” First Aid whispered in the silence that followed that statement.

“Well, that explains why you were giggling,” Countdown said. “And thank you Perceptor, you’ve actually answered some of my questions about Etheirys here. Although those answers raise other questions…” Shaking a head, he waved his hand, dismissing the questions for later. “If I may continue?” No one protested, although several bots looked slightly distracted by what they’d just heard. “After my initial scans, I made the decision to investigate the planet first, given it was the center of the anomaly. As I approached however…”

Removing the aetherflow overlay from the display, he shifted the image to a recording of the Wayforward approaching Etheirys. Then, the smaller moon lit up with dozens of icons everyone recognised all too well. Threat warnings. Missiles, attack drones, particle beam cannons and more. The entire lunar surface was covered with weapons emplacements, a large number of which were turning their attention to the Cybertronian scout ship.

"This was their first response?" Ultra Magnus enquired, eyes narrowing as he watched the attack make its way across the space between the moon and their target. “They made no attempts to contact you, or even fire a warning shot? An immediate escalation to hostilities?”

Red Alert snorted, resting his elbows on the table. “Well, someone’s paranoid about anyone coming to their private little paradise.”

That drew an odd little smirk from Countdown, but the micromaster simply continued the report. “Wayforwards evasion and shields were mostly able to handle it. The weapons systems were designed with the expectation of having technological superiority in mind. Still, they got enough hits in for what I assume was one of their goals. Like it or not, I had to make an emergency landing on the planet…

***

Looking over the battered form of his ship, Countdown didn’t bother holding back a sigh of frustration. Right along the starboard side of the ship, there was a large furrow burned into the orange-yellow armor plating, along with several more that curved up over the top of the ship and out of sight. Some of those hits were deep enough that they likely did some damage to the sections beneath that armor. And this was the part of the ship that contained the Transwarp drive. Which meant that it was all too likely that he wouldn’t be leaving this star system any time soon. While there was a hostile force here, probably hunting for him.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he turned away from the Wayforward, looking over his surroundings. At least in the short term, he’d found a good landing site. Remote, no signs of civilization to be seen, and with sightlines that stretched for miles, so even if the hostile locals found a way past the Wayforwards sensor arrays, he had a decent chance of seeing them coming.

Although if he was being honest, he’d been that busy looking for somewhere safe to land, he hadn’t immediately processed the fact that this island was somehow floating thousands of meters above the ground.

Watching as a rock about as big as he was just floated by, he felt a smile forming, almost unwillingly. Yes, the situation might be bad, brought down on a hostile world by forces unknown, far from home and with no one able to help him. Yes, the fact he’d wandered in for a closer look like a Sharkticon that had seen Energon made him want to kick himself. But despite that, he was still feeling that familiar tingle in his wheels as he witnessed something new and incredible. In the end, that was the reason he was out here, after all.

Shaking his head, he turned back to his ship, then stopped as he caught movement out of the corner of his optic. On the far side of the ship, there was a fallen tree not too far from one of the landing struts. As he watched, the log shifted slightly as something bumped against it, followed by the sound of feet shifting in the dirt.

Powering up his internal weapons, just in case, Countdown kept his gaze on the log. After about twenty seconds, a small, red scaled reptilian looking creature poked its head around the side of the log, only to freeze as it realized it had been spotted. After meeting the transformers gaze for several seconds, its head tilted to the side. “Hey… Are you wearing like, a really complicated suit of armor, or are you made of metal?” she asked.

***

“You understood her? Just like that?”

Countdown chuckled. “Her species aren’t actually native to Etheirys. The dragons are descended from a handful of refugees who stumbled over the planet by sheer luck while fleeing the armies that invaded and destroyed their homeworld. At some point, someone from Cybertron must have visited that world, but there was no record of the meeting in the Wayforwards database, just the language in the translation software.” He shrugged, his mood darkening. “I’m hoping the archives on Nexus have something I can take back to them. Their ancestor quite literally escaped with nothing but an armful of eggs.”

Everyone around the table shifted uneasily, clearly remembering Cybertron. Even Rodimus, usually a bot of exuberance and joy, looked a million years older for a moment. "I see no reason we need to keep that particular matter classified," Ultra Magnus said, breaking the silence. "I'll forward a request to the chief archivist and see if they can get started." The ranger nodded gratefully, before continuing.

***

“Mostly metal. Some plastic and ceramics as well, but nothing organic,” he replied in the same language.

“Ha! I was right,” she laughed, leaping out from behind the log and stretching, revealing the rest of her body. She was a quadruped, with her body barely coming up to Countdown’s waist, although her long neck would at least save her from having to look up too much while talking to him. A pair of leathery wings were tucked in tight against her back, and a long tail trailed behind her. "I've never seen any mortal manage to make armor that includes so many moving parts. They need to fit a person inside," she added thoughtfully.

Grinning slightly, the ranger couldn’t help but snark a little. “Well, if the person couldn’t fit inside, it wouldn’t be very good as armor, would it?”

Considering that, the dragon had to nod in agreement. "I’m Fylgja.”

Bowing slightly, he replied to the introduction with a polite “Call me Countdown.”

“So, how'd your skyship get so broken?"

Putting a hand behind his head, the mech looked up at the scars along its hull. "I flew too close to the moon. Someone up there didn't like that, so they started shooting at me."

"Ahhh, that makes sense," the small creature replied. "The Allagans were real jerks like that."

"Oh, you know them?" Countdown asked, although he noted the use of past tense when she referred to them.

"Yeah-huh. Well, I've heard of them. They all died a looong time ago, way before I hatched. I think about three thousand years? You’d need to ask the Loresingers for an exact number.” Flapping her wings, she lifted off the ground and floated alongside the ship. “But the way Mama tells it, they killed Uncle Bahamut, which really upset Auntie Tiamat. I mean, really upset," she emphasized, while Countdown moved his estimation of the dragons age bracket down. "She was so upset she tried a magic spell to bring him back, and it… kinda worked? Except he was really mad about being killed, which I can totally understand, I’d be mad if someone killed me, so he went to kill the Allagans because it's only fair really. But they were ready for him and trapped him in the moon! Which made Auntie Tiamat even more upset, so she locked herself away and won't talk to anyone, and then the Emperor of Allag decided to use the moon to steal Bahamuts power for himself, but something went wrong. Mama said there was an 'Umbral Calamity', and the Allag went splat!"

Nodding to show he was paying attention, Countdown resisted the urge to frown. This child, if she was telling the truth, and if what she'd been taught was accurate, it implied several different things. First, that the people who made that damn war moon were no longer a problem, which likely meant the things defenses were running on automatic. Which meant that if he managed to repair his ship, he could get off-world without too much difficulty, and that they weren’t tracking his location from orbit while arranging local forces to trap him.

Second, this world was even more interesting than he'd already suspected. Resurrection techniques weren’t unheard of, but they were still incredibly rare. And Bahamut had enough of a spark to return from the Lifespark, and still possess incredible power. If the Allagans had actually planned to trap him in that war moon as a power source, as opposed to a desperate method of containing an angry enemy, the implications…

But much more important were the short term considerations. It suggested that Fylgja was related to powerful beings of considerable importance on this world. If she’d wandered off to investigate his landing, there was a good chance someone would come looking for her, and sooner rather than later.

And as he had that thought, shadows passed overhead, along with the sound of much larger wings than Fylgja’s.

***

“Fun note,” Countdown said dryly, to the much larger mechs gathered around the table. “Dragons come in at least as wide a range of sizes as Cybertronians.”

[classicdrogn]

Dang MatrixDragon, this is looking good! I'm glad I finally got back to it, and it's gonig to be higher on the priority read list from now on. I don't know FF14 but... an Alleghany Moon? Seriously? Though I expect Countdown would have preferred it not shine quite so brightly in his direction

[Matrix Dragon]

Oh hey, I never put chapter 4 here. I don't have time to paste it all right now, so here you go

https://archiveofourown.org/works/427329.../119189959

[classicdrogn]

I saw it on SB earlier, but AO3 is fine too

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER 4: WELCOME TO EOREZA

Leaning across the table, Rodimus smirked. "So, upon arriving on a distant world of floating islands and fortress moons, and the first thing you did was find a princess who'd snuck out without telling anyone, then the guards sent out to find her? Did you get thrown in a dungeon next, really complete the experience?"

"Ha! No, no, it wasn't nearly that bad," Countdown laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "For one thing, Fylgja isn't a princess. Draconic society doesn't work that way. Her mother, Ratatoskr, was important, yes, mostly because she hatched from one of the seven eggs that Midgardsormr managed to rescue from the Dragonstar, and thus is one of the oldest dragons alive. None of that status passes on to all the children she's had over thousands of years. The only real problem was I was a weird alien with a spaceship that had landed on their island. Heck, the fact I was peacefully talking with Fylgja was actually a point in my favor."

"Okay, fair enough, no dungeon." It was clear that Rodimus was mildly disappointed by that. "So, if they decided you weren't hostile…"

The smaller mech grinned back. "I was a curiosity. And one thing you need to understand about Lady Ratatoskr? She positively adores a good curiosity."

***

It was quickly becoming clear that Dragons didn't see much need for fine architecture. They were perfectly comfortable making their homes in caves and mountains, forcing it to bend to their needs. The massive cavern that Countdown had been brought to had been carved out of the rock by tooth and claw, and probably a lot of fire, over the course of centuries. At a glance, he could see dozens of alcoves, most of them full of dragons in various sizes, looking down at him with obvious fascination.

But he spared them only a glance. In the center of the cavern, there was a raised platform upon which rested an enormous dragon, bigger than any he'd yet seen. Her scales were a deeper red than the others in the cavern, with the marks and scars of time carefully tended to. A long tail curled around the body, making a perfect pillow for her head as she napped. "Mother, we have a guest here to see you," Fylgja announced, her earlier glee now replaced by a nervousness Countdown found rather adorable.

As the massive being stirred, Countdown could feel his outer plating tingle from the sheer power radiating outward, and kept a firm grip on the fear in his spark, even as she regarded him with glowing eyes. "Well now, thou art an interesting surprise," the massive dragon said at last, in a surprisingly gentle voice, even with the cavern amplifying its volume. "A soul wrapped in living metal. I must admit, this is something beyond my ken." She moved forward, head ducking down to inspect Countdown closely. After several seconds, she glanced over to where Fylgja was hovering nervously and laughed lightly, relatively speaking. "Thou always find the most fascinating things daughter. So, what is thy name stranger?"

Smiling politely, he bowed, a deeper and more elaborate bow than the one he'd given Fylgja. "Millady, I am Countdown of Cybertron, Ranger of the Commonwealth, and Captain of the Starship Wayforward." His smile became more playful. "Although honesty compels me to admit, the last title is not as grand as it might seem, what with my being the only crewmember." 

That drew a laugh from the dragon, the noise echoing off the walls and making a number of hatchlings take to the air in surprise. Countdown just let the noise wash over him, with all the ease of a micromaster that had spent his life around larger scaled bots. "Such modesty thou have good sir! And yet, a ship that can travel between the stars... Mine father spoke but rarely of the nature of his own, similar trials, but I know tis no simple feat. So I hope thou wouldst be willing to indulge my curiosity, and share your tale."

"Lady Ratatoskr, I would be honored."

***

"I must admit, our people know little of the stars beyond this one," Ratatoskr admitted as she made her way out of the tunnel and into the clearing outside, Countdown following close behind. "Among our kind, only my father would possess the power needed to travel in such desolation. And after the ordeal that brought him here, he would not embark on such a journey again without good reason. If he knows of the threat thy people  face, he has never spoken of it with us." Pausing, she looked up at the darkening sky, her expression thoughtful. "He has often called this star the last bastion of hope. Before, I always believed he was speaking in terms of finding safe refuge at last, but now I wonder…"

Lacing his fingers together behind his head, Countdown considered her words for a moment. "Could we ask him?" 

She replied with a rumbling noise that he assumed was thoughtful. "I will," she said at last. "If he will meet with thou, I know not. My father is reclusive at the best of times," she added apologetically.

Quickly, he shook his head, waving off the apology. "As a mech whose job means he spends years without talking to anyone in person, I'm certainly in no position to judge."

That earned him an appreciative laugh, as Ratatoskr spread her wings wide. As he watched, the massive dragon indulged in a full body stretch, seemingly working every muscle along her frame, giving a hint as to how much physical power she possessed. "You said that your ship is damaged," she mused, changing topics. "It will take time to repair, I suspect."

"I'd only just begun inspecting the damage when Fylgja found me," Countdown admitted, watching as another island drifted by overhead. In the back of his mind, he made a mental note to look into just how that was possible.

Turning slightly, she considered the smaller being for a moment. "Then for the time being, allow me to offer thou a place to rest and recover."

***

"And so, I became a guest of the Horde for just over a decade, during which I divided most of my time between repairing the Wayforward and exploring the world below." A fond smile slipped onto his face as he thought back to those days. "And let me tell you, that world? Floating islands in the sky are just the beginning. I met over a dozen different sapient races during my time there, and I know of just as many more again."

"Other races taking shelter from the Endsong?" Dustoff mused.

He shook his head. "Nope. Besides the dragons, they're all native. Several clearly share a common ancestor, but not all." Removing the map from the display on the tables holoprojector, he replaced it with a collection of images, showing the various peoples of Etheirys, with labels showing species names. Sure enough, some, like the Hyur, Elezen and Roedagyns, were all similar enough that a common ancestor was possible. Then there were those such as the Sylph, Kojin and Ixal, who were so wildly different they couldn't possibly be related.

"I'm afraid I don't understand?" Ultra Magnus said after several seconds of looking between the various images.

First Aid merely shook his head. "It's an organic biology thing."

"...I'll take your word for it. Although I must ask, it took you a whole decade to repair your ship? Even with a planetary survey to perform, that seems excessive."

Leaning back, Countdown couldn't quite suppress a groan. "At first, I prioritized trying to get the quantum communicator online. Given how long the travel time back to the Commonwealth was, it seemed like the logical option. Actually, that was a complete waste of my time," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I went through so much grief trying to get the raw materials for that, but it just never came together. My best guess is there was some microscopic damage I could never find, but either way, that was countless hours wasted. And it left me with lots of other repairs that could have been done…"

Magnus nodded in sympathy. "Errors in scheduling are never a welcome development."

"I'm guessing you didn't just trip over the Matrix the first time you went looking around for those raw materials," Dustoff said.

"Not even close. Ethereiys was a chaotic place, to put it mildly. In particular, the continent below the dragons domain, Eoreza, was… familiar, in some ways."

***

As a long range exploration ship, the Wayforward came equipped with an array of Sky Spy drones, designed to map out worlds at high altitudes with minimal chance of detection. In this case, Countdown had actually been slightly hesitant to use them. With how the war moon had already seen through his ships' stealth systems, he couldn't help but worry that there were other weapons satellites lying in wait for him. Eventually however, after some discussions with Ratatoskr on the matter, he deployed the drones to map out the world beneath what the Dragons called the Churning Mists. 

Now, he stood in the clearing that had become home to his ship, a mobile holoprojector set up, watching as the first images were compiled into a map. Alongside him were Ratatoskr and Fylgja, plus several other dragons of varying size and age, all of whom had varying degrees of interest in seeing the continent known as Eoreza in new ways.

"Wow," Fylgja whispered, flying closer to the massive map taking shape in the air. "This is… Oh, the Loresingers could use this to add pictures to their songs!"

Her mother chuckled. "That is an ambitious idea, daughter. One I shall be certain to mention to them."

Folding his arms over his chest, Countdown considered the image with a thoughtful frown. As the image updated, the Sky Spies AI marking out items of interest and displaying side images, familiar patterns began to emerge. Villages, long abandoned and forgotten. Battlefields where the dead had been left to the elements. The larger cities, hidden behind massive walls lined with guards and weapons. Countless small forts, some at locations intended for defense, while others were lookouts, clearly intended to sound the alarm at best.

Before the Fall, when the Decepticons had made war in an effort to 'unite' all the transformers under their banner, Countdown had been an Autobot Commander. As he looked at the images in front of him, he could feel the familiar dread wrap around his spark. "A cold war, occasionally turning hot," he murmured to himself.

"Huh?" Fylgja asked, turning to look at him.

Ratatoskr nodded her head, her expression becoming much more serious. "Most perceptive Captain. The lands below us are trapped in a war that has been waged for generations, consuming countless lives in a heartless cycle. Ever since the city-state of Mhach first discovered that which would become known as Black Magic. What was at first a tool of defense was quickly warped into a weapon of conquest. The other city-states were forced to develop their own defenses against the expansion, and now, we see how such a path can end." She sighed, wings slumping slightly. "Perhaps the only way it can end. My brother believes that such is the nature of mortals, that their short lives doom them to nothing but a cycle of violence and hatred. That it is all too easy for them to accept the way the world is as all it has always been, that it is the way it should be. I admit, there are times I fear he may be right."

Considering that for a moment, Countdown shuttered his optics. "Mortality isn't the cause of that," he admitted at last, his mind drifting back to Cybertron. Memories of countless battles, horrors, loss… Opening his optics, the mech continued. "Transformers live for so long that some of us believe that no one has ever died of old age. But this?" He gestured at the images being presented to them. "I recognise this from my own past. For a long time, our race was trapped in a seemingly endless war. I won't bother you with the politics, but it grew to the point that pretty much all the nations of our worlds were trapped in it. To the people of this world, we're immortal in every way that matters. But in the end, we still have the same evils in our sparks."

Fylgja looked between the pair, confused as only the young could be. "But you're not evil," she protested, in the tone of voice that insisted such a thing should be obvious.

"No, he is not," Ratatoskr reassured her daughter. "But he speaks truth regardless. The potential for such things exists in all souls, even ours. Envy, hatred, greed, fear… we experience such emotions, just as the mortals do. What matters is having the strength to rise above those temptations, to be stronger." Reaching down, she rubbed her head against her hatchling, who still looked like she didn't quite understand. "Although, now I wonder. Might I ask what happened with your people Captain?"

"An outside problem," he said, knowing Ratatoskr would work out exactly what he meant. "When the ground was literally crumbling under our feet, the would-be conquerors had more important things to worry about. Most of them accepted, however reluctantly, that the only chance for our people to survive the crisis was by working together."

Considering him for a moment, the brood-mother raised an eyeridge. "And were all your people comfortable with offering them that aid?"

That earned her a somewhat bitter laugh in reply. "Not all of us, no. There were a lot of bots that didn't like the idea in the slightest. You're talking to one of them right now." As Fylgja chirped in obvious disbelief, he massaged the back of his neck. "I'd been fighting for a long time. Every time we held out a hand in peace, every last time, they'd cut it off. The thought of doing it again, with so much on the line? Just asking for trouble. First chance they got, they'd do what Decepticons always do, and good people would die. But what was the alternative? Take up arms against our fellow Autobots for their basic decency? None of us were that lost. So we waited for things to go wrong, to make sure all of our people got out of it." 

Chuckling to himself, he shook his head. "Except that's not what happened for the most part. Oh, a few of them were stupid, sure, and they were even high ranking 'Cons in some cases. But the majority, and a lot of the rank and file? When the sky was burning, they had more faith that their enemies would help them then in their leaders to save them." Smiling wryly, he shrugged, the earlier bitterness gone. "Having something like that proven beyond a doubt really does shake things up."

"I imagine so," Ratatoskr agreed, before changing the topic slightly. "Given the tensions between the nations of man, we dragons rarely travel to the lands below. But I suspect thou would not prefer such a path."

"Afraid not," he admitted. "I'm the sort of bot that prefers a hands-on investigation. Still, given what you've said about the situation on the ground, it is better I remain relatively unnoticed, at least until I'm reasonably confident I'm the sort of 'Outside Problem' that won't just flip the table." As if demonstrating his point, one of the side displays shifted to an encampment of soldiers being run through training drills. Row after row of men in armor, striking at training dummies with swords, axes and spears. "After all, they might be as welcoming to unexpected guests as your people…"

***

Leaning back in his chair, Rodimus gave the latest set of images a thoughtful look. "Yeah, that looks like the kind of situation where everyone's response to a starship would be 'hey, let's steal it to destroy our enemies.'"

Dustoff sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "With the second response being 'we should attack our enemies now, before they get the ship and destroy us.' So, how exactly did you disguise yourself? Your alt-mode is still the one we had on file for you, so clearly that wasn't it.'

Pushing his chair back, the micromaster stood up, giving everyone a good view of most of his body. As they watched, his body began to shift slightly, panels and components moving to smooth out his profile. Then, as the wheels in his limbs split open and flattened out, hidden compartments in the axles slid open to reveal small crystalline gems that began to glow slightly. A moment later, Countdowns entire form wavered as an image settled over it. It was a carefully crafted illusion of a gray-skinned roedagyn man, the panels of his body made to look like plated armor, with chainmail and fabric underneath. An open helmet shaped like his actual head framed a face dominated by a flattened nose and brilliant blue eyes, with strands of brown hair poking out from under it.

"Ratatoskrs work, for the most part," he admitted as he turned on the spot to give them all a good look. "The crystals in my shoulders have a detailed draconic spell array carved into them, which when power is channeled through them, generates what she likes to call a 'tangible glamor.' It's solid enough, and provides the right kind of feedback to the touch, that it passed casual inspection by local capabilities… um?"

Leaning across the table, Red Alerts optics narrowed as he inspected the illusionary man very closely, with all the laser focus one would expect from a professional paranoid. After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction and sat back down. "Limited effectiveness against infrared and magnetic scans. While I'll need more data before making a final conclusion, I don't see it posing a viable threat to the security of the ship."

"Plus there's the fact that any possible beings that might use it as a method of infiltration are over a vorn away," Rodimus said, resisting the urge to grin at his security chief. He'd take it the wrong way.

"That's no reason not to consider countermeasures," Red pointed out, Magnus nodding in agreement.

"Thankfully, the civilisations of Ethereiys lacked the ability to apply such security precautions," Countdown continued, returning to his seat and deactivating the illusion, the roegadyn form flowing back into the crystals like water. "At least as a wide spread measure. There were some people, besides the dragons, with the ability to see through the glamor, but given that they were people in positions of authority that my investigations were already trying to avoid making contact with until I was certain it was safe to do so…" He waved a hand dismissively. "Anyway, it took about a year before we had the glamor of sufficient quality for field work, at which point I started a more hands-on investigation, combined with resource hunting for ship repairs."

"Judging by the armor your illusion was wearing, I can guess your cover story," Dustoff said, getting a chuckle and nod in reply.

"There's always work for a hired sword in a cold war on the edge of going hot. Still, it could have been worse. Helped a lot of people with wild animal and bandit problems, made some remarkable friends, some of them I even trusted with the truth about where I was from, and even did pretty well in regards to tracking down the rare metals and chemicals I needed… and that was how I ended up on the path to the Matrix."

Plugging back into the desk, he changed the main image back to the map, zooming in on the edge of a large desert. "The Amalj'aa Expanse. Technically allied with Mhach, but by the time I arrived, that was all but non-existent. Mhach had a history of using its allies as expendable slag, because they knew Amdapor wouldn't accept any nation willing to change sides by this point."

"Well isn't that familiar," Rodimus muttered.

"That being said, the amalj'aa people weren't shy about making their feelings known, which led to this." He replaced the map with a rather large settlement, built around and into a mesa. Secondary images, taken inside the city itself, showed streets filled with people from at least a dozen different species, doing business at countless shops and stalls. "Zal'na'rak. The largest free market on the continent. Mhach couldn't get the clans to shut it down, and too many people on the Amdapori side found psuedo-neutral ground too valuable to attack."

"Oh, very clever," Dustoff said.

"If you know who to ask, you can find almost anything there, from restricted Mhachian summoning rituals to high quality Nym wards. Which made it perfect for someone hunting raw materials…"

***

"Seven hells, this heat is disgusting," the small miqo'te woman next to 'Copper Dawn, wandering sell-sword' groaned. Compared to the disguised transformer, she wasn't exactly threatening to look at. Barely five fulms tall, with the usual 'humanoid' body structure that was so common across the galaxy, a mess of blue hair on her head with fur covered ears poking out the top, and a similarly fur clad tail at the base of her spine. Even here in Eoreza, a land familiar with the race in question, Countdown had seen more than a few people make the mistake of assuming she was no threat, usually right before the fight started and the axes came out 

He merely chuckled, shaking his head. "I did warn you."

"There's a difference between being told, and knowing." Adjusting the cotton robes she was wearing, O'riana Aluph sighed. "But I just had to experience the famous amalj'aa markets for myself. I am now regretting that decision somewhat."

On the other side of the counter, the vendor couldn't help but laugh. "Many people say such things on their first visit. I think they are overreacting, but then, I am amalj'aa," he said with a shrug, an act that showed off the bulky muscled upper body, massive arms, and thick, leathery skin that were the usual for his species. "Ifrit has blessed us to thrive in these lands. I suspect I would not enjoy what you consider to be moderate."

"I suspect you would be correct," she admitted, shaking her head. "But then, the world would be far less interesting if we all possessed the same needs and desires."

"There would be no point in traveling," he agreed. "Very boring." As if summoned by the comment, the sound of festive music caught their attention, as a wagon carrying a band made its way down the street, singing a rather cheerful ballad. "You see? There would be no festivals to enjoy!"

Grinning, Countdown watched as the wagon made its way down the street, pulled by a large yellow bird covered in ribbons and bells, who was preening from all the attention, and clearly believed that the festival was entirely to spoil him, as opposed to showcasing the realms finest musicians. "And we can all agree, that would be a tragedy," he said, turning back to the merchant and handing him a collection of coins. Taking a small cloth bag off the counter, he handed it to Fylgja, who was curled up on top of his backpack, pretending to be nothing more than a familiar of some sort, before saying his farewells to the merchant and continuing on his way down the street.

"If nothing else," the dragon murmured, her eyes locked on the wagon, the tip of her tail twitching in time with the beat, "I know I'd mourn not getting the chance to hear the music of mortals."

Reaching over to pet the dragons head, O'riana chuckled playfully. "It is taking all your willpower to not fly over there and study their instruments, isn't it?"

"Kind of?" she admitted, squirming. The young dragons love of all things music related, and her utter fascination with the instruments the 'mortal races' crafted for the purpose, was well known to all her friends, or anyone who even knew her by association. "They have a flute, but it sounds so different to the ones we heard in Nym!"

"I think that's actually an oboe," O'riana said. "I am told they are very popular in Mhach. To begin with, they're crafted from wood as opposed to metal. And if you look, you can see that they're held differently…"

Countdown let the discussion wash over him as he kept walking, letting it appear to anyone watching that the miqo'te was talking to him, and not the 'familiar' on his back. Instead, he indulged in his favorite pastime, observing the various beings they passed. The sheer diversity of different species on the streets here was unlike almost anything he'd seen in his travels across the galaxy, and everybody just treated it as normal.

Ahead of them, a species that looked like a bipedal rodent of some sort, who didn't even come up to Countdowns thigh, was in deep debate with some kind of large, bulky creature that looked like it had evolved from birds. Across the road, two Elezen, a race similar to the Miqo'te, but with no tail and long pointed ears on the sides of their head, were haggling with another amalj'aa merchant, while behind them, a trio of kobolds, which he could only describe as 'fuzzy', were struggling to unload a wagon.

As they turned a corner, a horn sounded from the south, a single bellow that cut through every other noise. Instantly, the mood on the street shifted, with the shopkeepers trying to usher patrons inside as quickly as possible, while other locals were heading in the direction the sound had come from, a number of them carrying weapons of some sort.

Approaching one of the later group, Countdown caught the man's attention. "What's going on?"

"Watchers on the city wall," the amalj'aa growled. "There's trouble coming." With that, he continued past the disguised transformer and vanished back around the corner. Countdown watched him go, glanced at O'riana, then they all followed him, running through the streets towards the city outskirts. 

Zal'na'rak was surrounded by a massive wall of sandstone, a defense against threats both natural and manmade. By the time Countdown reached it, there was at least a dozen amalj'aa in the group ahead, along with several other adventurers of various species alongside him. He raced up the nearest staircase, taking the steps up three at a time, before skidding to a halt at the top, O'riana hissing a vicious curse next to him.
 
Far in the distance, emerging from behind the sand dunes and hills, was the unmistakable form of an army. Hundreds of men, perhaps more, all moving with clear purpose. Precisely the kind of thing no one wanted to see approaching without warning. And given the level of panic the city guard was displaying, it was obvious they hadn't had any warning either.

"This doesn't make any sense," O'riana hissed as Countdown took her by the arm and guided her away from the stairs before they were trampled by more guards. "Attacking from the south? Even if the Alliance of White wanted to surround Zal'na'rak, they'd need to cross the border and somehow maneuver their way through the Silver Fields, all without being noticed. How could they even manage that?"

"It's not the Alliance," Countdown replied. His companion pulled her gaze away from the distant army to give him an incredulous look, and he shook his head. "Even from here, I can tell it's all wrong for that. Hardly any cavalry, no banners declaring their allegiance, and look at their formation."

A new voice joined the conversation, as an older guard glanced their way. "Thou art more observant than most, mercenary. Even at a glance, one can see that there is no true coordination in their movements. Indeed, 'tis likely that several of them will collide ere they reach the city walls." Rubbing his chin, the Amalj'aa considered the matter. "Nay, no general that could navigate the fields unseen would be so clumsy. This is something else…"

Rummaging around in a bag at her hip, O'riana pulled out a spyglass, flipping it open and holding it up to take a closer look at the approaching army. A moment later, face pale and ears lowering, she handed the tool to Countdown. "Ohhh, Twelve help us now," she whispered.

Pretending to look through the lens, Countdown adjusted his optics, zooming in on the front units. Then he instinctively flinched back slightly, as he was presented with the decayed forms of bodies long dead, flesh rotting away underneath the ragged uniforms of multiple armies, yet all somehow animated with a perverse mockery of life.

"Ah," he said at last, handing the spyglass to Fylgja. "It's going to be that kind of day."

***

author notes

I'm STILL not really entirely happy with this chapter, if I'm honest. If nothing else, Countdowns previous adventure is clearly going to take longer than I planned. But if I don't go ahead and post this, I'll be stuck at this point for even longer, while fragments of later chapters float around half-written.

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER FIVE: FIRE AND ASH

For a long moment, there was only silence in the meeting room, as everyone attempted to process what they'd just been told. Countdown leaned back in his seat, giving them the time they needed. He'd had similar thoughts the first time he encountered the undead, after all.

"Sparkless." Staring at the holograms in disbelief, Rodimus tried to get his brain module back in gear. "Organic sparkless. I didn't even think that was possible."

"It shouldn't be," First Aid muttered, optic visor locked on the holograms in front of them. "Everything I know about organic biology says that decay sets in too quickly without some form of lifespark sustaining it. Even if there was some way to reanimate the flesh, it would lose any ability to function in almost no time…" His voice trailed off for a moment, then he sighed in frustration at one of the images, where an undead was managing to walk at a brisk pace, despite its legs being nothing but bone. "Never mind, apparently there things are the sort of abomination that doesn't care about minor issues like 'physical limitations.'"

Chuckling slightly, Countdown shook his head. "Ethereyis had more than a few things that had ways around some physical laws. Undead were just one of the more disgusting."

"That's an interesting thing to call sparkless," Dustoff mused. "Undead. Not something referencing the false life like we do with our own monsters. Did you find out how they were created by any chance?"

"Corpses that were improperly buried, or not at all, are apparently perfect vessels for a variety of non-corporeal parasites. The usage and manipulation of said entities was one of the primary weapons in Mhachs military arsenal. And in this case…" bringing up the map again, he highlighted an area to the west of the city. "The Silver Fields. Site of some of the biggest battles between the Alliance of White and the Ascendancy."

"A perfect source of materials. Although, are you saying Mhach was attacking their own ally?" Ultra Magnus asked. "Even if their alliance had flaws, that seems particularly ill-advised."

"They were the obvious suspect at the time, for that and other reasons. It was more complicated than that, but… well, we'll get to that later." Unpausing the footage, he let the early battle play out in front of everyone.

With the only perspective available being Countdowns optics, they were limited in how much of the situation they could see, compared to the usual battlefield overlay. But there was still enough detail for them to recognise that there was no real strategy to the attack. Just a massive horde of undead charging the city walls. "Not the most thought out of plans, is it?" Dustoff noted.

"Mass undead don't really have many other options," Countdown replied. "At least with the weaker ones that were employed here. While the parasites possessing the corpses can subvert the laws of physics to some extent, there are still hard limits to the amount of outright decay they can ignore. Especially the organic version of brain modules."

"Well, thank Mortilus for his small mercies," Rodimus muttered, watching as the recordings viewpoint turned to see a squad of perhaps half a dozen amalj'aa raised orate staves. Fire and lightning sprang to life around their weapons, building in intensity before launching towards the approaching horde, detonating on impact in large explosions that sent bodies flying in all directions. But the gaps in the horde lasted only for a moment, before more undead filled it in, as though the hole had never been there. "Well, there's my new nightmare… Surprised you didn't call in the Wayforward for some air support."

Optics dimming, Countdown sighed in regret and old pain. "I was tempted. Very tempted. A few passes with the plasma cannons and things would have been very different." He shook his head. "But I held back. There was too much potential of triggering a larger conflict, I told myself. Maybe they could pull themselves back from the brink without blatant outside intervention… So many dead, because I wanted to play it safe." A bitter smirk flickered across his lips. "The worst part? Here we are, centuries later, and I still can't be certain I made the wrong call."

"And that's assuming it wasn't both," Dustoff pointed out sadly.

"True… I really hoped that after Cybertron fell, after it stopped being Autobot versus Decepticon, we could leave those kinds of choices behind us. But that's the battlefield for you."

On the recordings, the undead reached the base of the wall, most of them piling over those ahead of them, making a makeshift ramp up. Others took a cruder, noyet more worrying route, clawing at the sandstone walls with enough force that their fingers dug into the brickwork, forming simple ladders. "Oh good, more things organics really shouldn't be doing," First Aid muttered.

"Lack of pain response can be useful sometimes."

First Aid buried his face in his hands, groaning even louder than before. Then the undead reached the top of the walls, and the recording became much more… intimate.

***

"Keep them off the thaumaturges!" 

Countdown was already moving, darting between the spearmen to slice off the head of one of the undead. Perched on his shoulder, Fylgja unleashed a burst of flame breath that ignited the next two beasts. One of them, blinded, stumbled into the nearest spear, but the other charged forward while still aflame, aiming to stab Countdown with the broken sword in its hands. At the last second, O'riana ducked past the Autobot and embedded an axe in the animated corpses chest, sending it toppling over the edge and back into the horde below.

The gap was filled instantly by twice as many undead crawling over the ledge, and all too soon the sandstone bricks were slick with rotten viscera, leaving Countdown grateful for the fact he could disable his olfactory sensors. But between their efforts, and some well placed spears from the town guard, they managed to hold the line, letting the mages behind them send more blasts of fire and lightning into the main horde.

After what felt like an eternity, but was perhaps three minutes at most, several amalj'aa took their place at the front line, letting them fall back to catch their breath. "This might be the most disgusting thing I've ever seen," Fylgja muttered, gaze still focused on the horde. The dragon was clearly terrified, with her wings tucked in, her tail lashing back and forth, and her claws digging into Countdowns outer plating enough to scratch it, something she was usually careful enough to avoid

Laughing with a mixture of bitter experience and genuine amusement, O'riana wiped some gore off the handle of one of her axes. "Undead are so much worse than normal bloodshed," she noted. "It's the rot." Considering the dragon for a moment, the miqo'te decided to take the young girls mind off the larger threats. "You know, it could be worse. You haven't made use of tooth and claw yet."

"Oh ick, do not make me vomit!"

"Don't make her vomit, she's riding on my shoulders," Countdown added in agreement, not looking up from inspecting a gash on his forearm. To an outside observer, it would appear that a blade had deflected off the bracer. Behind the glamor however, it had dug somewhat deeper than the illusion implied, piercing his outer plating outright. Thankfully, it didn't seem to have damaged any of his arms internal components. Shaking his wrist a few times, he picked his sword up and turned his attention back to the wall.

Despite the now constant stream crawling up over the wall, the men that had taken their place were holding back the undead. However, the amalj'aas preferences for wearing little in the way of armor meant that despite their size and power, they were starting to be worn down by sheer numbers.

Then, even as the Autobot and his companions began to move forward again, one of the amalj'aa missed a lalafell. It was understandable, with the tiny figure, not three fulms tall, hidden behind the bulk of a roegadyn corpse. But that was enough for the undead warrior to drive his blade into the amalj'aas hamstring, sending him to the ground with a bellow of agony, and the swarm rushed to fill in the gap.

Snarling a Nymian war cry, O'riana threw herself forward, axe heads literally glowing from the aether flowing through them. An undead soldier managed to interpose its shield in her path, only for the force of the blows to outright shatter it on impact, before continuing on to carve the zombie in two. 

Countdown followed close behind, wrapping his spark energy around his sword, causing the blade to seemingly ignite with blue flames for a moment, before his lunge drove it into an undeads chest.

***

"Well that's new," Dustoff commented idly. "I take it you learned some of the local combat styles?"

"And not just to blend in better," Countdown said with a fond smile. "They had some absolutely fascinating techniques for the manipulation of both their personal sparkfield and environmental aether. Physical enhancement for starters, healing, defensive barriers, ranged combat like you saw with the thaumaturges, the list is almost endless." He chuckled. "Although it wasn't easy to learn, I'll admit. Practically every single race on Etheirys has an innate talent for aether manipulation in general, so I was starting with a severe handicap."

As Perceptor frantically took notes and muttered under his breath, Rodimus leaned forward. "Soooo, would you feel confident in teaching some of those techniques to some willing volunteers?"

Next to him, Dustoff groaned loudly, glaring at her best friend and captain. "Don't you have enough ways to set things on fire?"

He looked back at her with an expression of false innocence. "I don't have the ability to make swords burst into flames at will. Yet."

"Pyromaniac."

"I prefer recreational arsonist."

Glancing between the pair (As well as Ultra Magnus, who looked like he was developing a headache), Countdown suppressed a laugh. "I'll, uh, see what I can do later. For now, perhaps we should move on."

"Perhaps we can discuss the next abomination to flagrantly ignore the rules of organic biology," First Aid said in an exasperated tone of voice. Countdown glanced over, then followed his gaze back to the recordings, which had reached a rather dramatic and memorable moment of the battle.

While the town gates had naturally been closed and barricaded, the sheer mass of the undead had finally managed to force their way in. As they surged through the gates and pushed the defenders back, what could only be described as a tear in reality formed in the air. From that jagged rift emerged a number of deformed, unnatural forms. Giant eyeballs with leathery wings and spindly limbs, dozens of blank, screaming faces joined by a shapeless robe, massive arachnids fused clumsily with humanoid figures, all these nightmares and many more came out of the rift, joining the undead in their assault.

"Voidsent," the small bot spat, his mood souring. "According to legend, they're from a realm of pure darkness. They're not really organic, and only sort of following the laws of physics if I'm honest. Mhachs sorcerers perfected the art of summoning them to the physical plane, developed ways of binding their will, and promptly began using them as soldiers."

Groaning, First Aid buried his face in his hands again, while Rodimus scowled and folded his arms over his chest. "...Slave soldiers from a nightmare dimension? Classy."

"Think of it less as slaves and more of a business transaction," Countdown admitted. "Most intelligent voidsent considered the sparks of sapient beings a delicacy. The binding was more to stop them from turning around and eating the summoners. Which worked most of the time, unless the voidsent figured out a way to slip the leash."

"And the amalj'aa were allied with them?" Red muttered, clearly disapproving.

Magnus shrugged very slightly. "From Countdowns earlier outline of the international tensions, I suspect that the politics of this situation had reached a point where the nations involved can't afford to outright break alliances, regardless of moral disagreements," he said. Countdown nodded at that, as the viewpoint for the recordings leapt off the wall towards a pack of the winged eyeballs.

***

Landing in the middle of his targets, Countdown pulsed his spark like he'd been taught, sending out a shockwave of aether that sent the creatures flying out of control, leaving them wide open for Fylgja and O'riana. The pair were right behind him, axes and claws seeking out weak points with devastating efficiency.

"Damn Mhach!" O'riana spat. "They must have had summoners hidden in the horde."

"We'd have seen them before now," Countdown disagreed, before sidestepping a blast of purple energy from one of the remaining eyeballs. Darting forward, he hacked off one of its wings, then stomped down into the center of its 'body' when it hit the ground. As the voidsent dissolved into smoke, he backed up to rejoin his friends. "Something still doesn't add up here!" 

More creatures charged towards them, forcing a pause to the conversation as they focused on the more immediate issue of survival. Despite their skill, the sheer weight of numbers slowly forced them to give up ground, falling back down the street to avoid being overwhelmed. Other defenders began to join them, abandoning the defense of the wall as monsters swarmed the streets, and just for a moment, Countdown believed they could hold.

That hope died as a wave of tainted aether raced down the street and washed over them. Every defender that the wave touched froze in place, a thin layer of what looked like stone forming over their bodies. Rendered helpless, they were left wide open for the voidsents next attacks. But instead, the creatures all backed away, waiting.

"My my, what have we here?" said a new voice from the air above, unnaturally smooth, and with an undeniable arrogance to it, the sort that reminded Countdown of some of the more unpleasant Decepticon warlords he'd had to deal with over the years. Fighting the effects of the petrification as much as possible, he slowly turned his head towards the voice, before terror bubbled through his energon conduits.

From a distance, one might mistake the figure floating in the air for a Hyur male, wearing dark formal wear of a style preferred by Mhachan nobles. But that would only be for a moment, before the wrongness set in. His proportions were ever so slightly off, with long forearms and thighs contrasted with short biceps and calves. His face was unnaturally pale and bland, like a porcelain mask, but it moved like flesh. Then would come the fact that the fancy clothes were not clothes at all, but the outer layer of his body, insectoid chitin in the place of skin and fabric, somehow twisted into a mimicry of modern fashions. With that, the illusion completely fell apart, leaving the realization that they were looking at a monster.

"Here I was, thinking that this dinner would be bland. Filling, but more of the same souls Mhach had always offered me. But you, little one, you are a treat I did not expect." Setting down in front of the petrified defenders, he licked his lips, eyes focused on Fylgja, who had awkwardly crashed into the dirt. "A dragon, young and vibrant… ohhhh, it has been so long since I got to eat a dragon. Mhach would keep you for themselves, but now? Now I get a treat."

Watching as the beast reached towards his friend, Countdowns spark surged with an intense fury. Before he knew it, feeling returned to his extremities, the petrification effect burning away, and he stepped forward. As he started to move, the voidsent sneered in contempt, clearly unsurprised that someone had managed to overcome the petrification. "There's always someone that just can't accept their fate," he said mockingly, turning towards Countdown.

Then his eyes widened in shock as the Roegadyn illusion around Countdown faded away. The mech charged forward, transformed, and his lunar buggy alt-mode crashed into the voidsent, booster rockets blazing. Those rockets carried him across the street, dragging the voidsent with him, before crashing into the wall of a house, drawing a shriek of pain from the creature. Then, just for good measure, Countdown shifted modes again and used the transformation to set himself up for a snap kick to the voidsents face.

"Away with you!" the voidsent snarled, gesturing wildly and causing a wave of spikes to erupt from the ground. Countdown avoided the worst of it, but was still forced back, giving his opponent time to recover. Using the opening, the voidsent pulled itself clear of the wall, revealing a vast network of cracks running across its face and torso, completely ruining the Hyur illusion. "You… What are you?!" it demanded, glaring at the Autobot, before looking towards its minions, who were all staring as well. "Well, GET HIM!"

Before any could obey that order, one of the strange spidertaur creatures shrieked as an amalj'aa spearman suddenly landed on its back, glaive stabbing through its humanoid torso. A moment later, O'riana practically teleported into view to cleave another of the arachnids in two, and the fight quickly descended back into a confusing melee.

***

Dustoff suppressed an inappropriate giggle with some difficulty. "Not the most dramatic way to blow one's cover I've seen over the vorns, but still very impressive."

"Thankfully, those that survived this battle were all sworn to secrecy," Countdown said. "But even if they hadn't, it was still worth it. I'd go to the smelting pools before I'd let one of those bastards harm Fylgja."

"No protest here, and I haven't even met the kid," Rodimus chuckled, before turning serious again. "Still, what he said before you rammed him… Mhach would have kept her, but he gets a treat this time? Sounds like he's not working for them here."

"You noticed that? I admit, I didn't at the time." Glancing at the recordings, Countdown frowned. "We found out later that this attack wasn't Mhach, or even the Alliance of White employing their enemies' own weapons. It was a third party, one who'd seemingly infiltrated both major powers to some extent, staging 'incidents' like this one to keep the cold war bubbling over."

Cursing under her breath, Dustoff tried to smooth her armor plating back down, which was now flaring outward from her agitation. "I suppose it was too much to hope that form of glitched morality and general stupidity hadn't infected yet another world."

"I said much the same thing at the time. By the time I left the planet, we were almost certain that these 'Paragons', as they called themselves-" Magnus harrumphed in disgust at the name, drawing a smirk from the Ranger, "-weren't even an Eozeran based group. Our best theory was some of the nations on nearby continents, possibly operating under the delusion that they were keeping the war from spreading to their shores." He frowned, his mood turning somewhat melancholy for a moment. "Probably all resolved now, one way or another. I wonder if O'riana ever managed to track down Igeyorhm…"

Sighing, he waved a hand. "I'm getting off topic." He gestured at the recordings, where the voidsent leader was in view once again, now wielding a sword that looked like it was carved from bone. "This is really all just context for what happens next, after all."

"The local version of sparkless, other-dimensional monsters, and a suitably impressive reveal of your true form to some locals, and that's all background material?" Rodimus muttered. "How are you going to outdo that?"

The smaller mech merely smirked.

***

Bringing his blade up to meet the voidsents own blade, Countdown twisted, angling it away from him, then slammed his shoulder into the creature, spinning the wheel mounted in the limb against its face for extra impact. Snarling in pain, the voidsent stumbled back several feet, unable to recover before Fylgja swooped in, breathing a stream of fire over their opponent. 

Emerging from the fire, the voidsent raised a hand, a glyph forming in the air around it momentarily, before a bolt of darkness launched itself at the dragon. She avoided the attack with almost contemptuous ease, before turning her flames on a pair of undead that were moving up behind an amalj'aa warrior.

"Blasted lizard," he spat, his earlier composure now completely absent. "I'm going to skin you alive! You'll be begging for me to eat your soul by the time I'm done! And you," he continued, turning back towards Countdown. "Oh, I'll invent entirely new tortures for you, metal man. I will peel away the layers of your soul, one at a time, until you tell me everything. What you are, where you come from, where those like you hide… I will know everything. And you will die screaming!"

Optics narrowing, Countdown powered up the blasters in his arms, the barrels sliding out over the back of his wrists. Before he could make use of them however, the space between them was suddenly blocked, as a pillar of flame erupted out of nothing, reaching into the sky, radiating a  heat so intense that even the transformer was forced to back away from it. 

The pillar of flame quickly faded, revealing a massive amalj'aa warrior, nearly two stories tall and towering over everyone else on the battlefield. There were cracks in his skin, mostly at his joints, glowing from an internal fire, giving the impression that the flesh was struggling to contain the power within. Growling, the giant glared down at the voidsent leader. "Bold of you to think you will survive today," he snarled, before glancing towards the Autobot. "You and I must speak after this, Countdown of Iacon." 

It was only his considerable experience that allowed Countdown to resist the urge to stop and stare at the new arrival at those words. He was more successful than many of the amalj'aa on the street, who had stopped fighting and were now staring at the giant with expressions of awe. Then one of them raised his spear over his head, yelling a single word, starting a chant that was soon taken up as soon repeated by many of his kin, over and over again.

"Ifrit! Ifrit! Ifrit!"

A smirk flickered across the giants face, before turning serious again. "Keep your blades ready, my brothers! These blackguards thirst for our very souls! Ready your blades, and show them that Zal'na'rak will never fall to the Dark!" The flames flowed down his forearm and past his hand, reshaping it into a sword somehow made of literal fire.

Countdown stepped back as Ifrit marched into melee range, outright crushing any undead in his way, flaming sword carving through the larger voidsent. The transformer glanced to the side as O'riana joined him, leaning against a lamp post for support. "Ifrit," she muttered, disbelief in her voice, resting one of her axes on the ground so she could run a hand through her disheveled blue locks. "I honestly did not think I would ever encounter something even more incredible than when you revealed your true nature to me. But here we are."

"You know who this is?" he said, looking at her curiously.

She made herself take a deep breath before replying. "If he is who they are claiming… Then that is Ifrit, Lord of the Inferno. The First Flame of the amalj'aa, and their god."

"He's… well, that's a thing," he mused, glancing around. In the few moments he'd looked away from the fight, Ifrit had torn a bloody path through the enemy ranks, the seemingly endless wave of undead swarming into the city coming to a complete stop. The moment the creatures passed through the gates they literally burst into flames, so intense that they barely lasted a second before crumbling to ash. 

More effort was required for the voidsent, but even they were completely overwhelmed by the supposed gods wrath. None of them were able to defend themselves against the fire blade, both metal and flesh giving way with disturbing ease. Their leader was still alive, but only because of some very close dodges, and a willingness to use his comrades as cover. 

Countdowns optics narrowed, watching the voidsents movements closely, timing his dodges, studying how he moved. "Come on, give me an opening…" he murmured. A few seconds later, his target did just that, dodging behind a suit of animated armor, right where the Autobot had anticipated. Countdown didn't hesitate, firing both his arm cannons into the voidsents back.

The creature screamed, staggering, and Ifrit took the opportunity presented, driving his blade through the voidsents chest. "The voids curse of life eternal has limits. There must be something left of your soul to return to it," the god said, holding the blade in place and allowing the flames to spread. "That, I will not allow. Now, succumb to the inferno!"

Desperately, the voidsent leader clawed at Ifrits arm, trying to dislodge the blade that had replaced most of his torso. The giant didn't even seem to notice, keeping the blade level. Then flames spread across the last of the voidsents torso and onto his limbs, and the screams cut out instantly. A second later, there was a brief intense burst, and then the fire died away, leaving nothing behind.

"My thanks, Autobot." Nodding in satisfaction, Ifrit turned towards the city walls, crushing a smaller voidsent with his tail in the process. "Now then, with their master dealt with…" As Countdown watched, he raised his hand above his head. A moment later, seemingly from nowhere, fire rained from the sky. Jagged spears of impossibly solid flame rained from the sky, each one seeking out an enemy soldier with shocking accuracy. Across the street, on the city walls, and in the plains beyond, undead and voidsent found themselves nailed to the ground, the flames quickly consuming them without mercy.

***

The conference room was silent for a long moment, before Rodimus spoke. "Well, as statements of divinity go, I like Ifrit's style."

Countdown chuckled. "He pretty much ended the battle in an instant. If those nails of his missed anyone, they didn't survive for very long afterwards." His amusement faded. "Just in time too. If they'd gotten much further into the city, they'd have reached where the civilians were taking shelter." Several mechs winced slightly, being all too familiar with such nightmares.

Leaning forward, Dustoff studied the images of Ifrit, a thoughtful frown on the face. "So, at least one of the local religions gods is real, and able to intervene directly in matters. It's been quite some time since I saw a world where that was possible." Tapping her fingers against the table, the ships xenoculture expert considered the matter. "I wonder if he's a natural response of Etheirys' lifespark, or if there was something more deliberate in his creation. Both are possible, depending on exactly how the planets aetheric fields are laid out."

"I'm more concerned with the fact he knew Countdowns name," Magnus said.

"So was I," the micromaster agreed. "Thankfully, he'd already expressed a desire to speak with me. Once I was certain the fighting was over, I got that chance."

***

Zal'na'rak was built around a large mesa, and the temple the amalj'aa had built into the side of it. Over the centuries, more of the mesa had slowly been hollowed out, leaving vast chambers and halls, many of which were now being put to use as a space for treating wounded soldiers, or for ensuring that those that had given their lives could not have their bodies defiled by any lingering spirits. Slowly, Ifrit led the way deeper into the temple, pausing often to offer words of reassurance and support to any of his people that needed it. Given the circumstances, Countdown (true appearance now safely hidden behind a glamor once again) was more than willing to let him take the time needed.

Eventually, as they walked down a stone hallway in the temples depths, Ifrit spoke up. "Your arrival upon this star was foretold long ago, by Hydaelyn, Goddess of Light and the Mothercrystal of the star."

"Foretold."

Ifrit paused, then turned to look at him, raising one eye ridge. "You disbelieve in such arts?"

"It's not that I don't believe in it," the mech replied, waving a hand, "it's that I don't trust it. My people have encountered more than a few methods of precognition. Even at the best of times, they're unreliable and vague, with lots of room for misinterpretation."

Considering that for a moment, the god nodded in agreement. "There is some truth to that. Which is why, when Hydaelyn foretold your arrival, she took steps to ensure little room for error. As your companions can tell you, the gods rarely take physical form to intervene personally in matters of this realm. There is a simple but valid reason for that."

"Something tells me it's not that you just can't be bothered," Fylgja quipped, earning a startled look from O'riana, but an amused laugh from Ifrit.

"Nothing so negligent, I assure you." He held out his hand, letting the flames flow out of the cracks in his flesh and pool on his palm. "To craft a form that can contain the power of the divine is a complex task, one that requires vast amounts of aether. If I was to bring myself forward without proper preparation, or if my children were to recklessly summon me, that aether would be taken from the land around us, in such amounts that…" Staring at the flames dancing over his palm for a moment, he sighed and shook his head. "Well, I may be the god of fire, but not everything needs to be reduced to dead ash."

Considering that for a moment, O'riana couldn't help but frown. "Without proper preparation… But you knew you would be summoned when Countdown was here, didn't you? You could make the preparations needed to ensure your presence wouldn't harm your people."

There was a chuckle from ahead of them, and an elderly amalj'aa stepped into view. In sharp contrast to most of his kind, who were broad and incredibly muscular, time had worn him down, leaving him with a thin, almost skeletal build beneath the robes and jewelry of the priesthood. Despite this, and the way he had to lean on his staff for support, his gaze was still sharp and clear. "Most perceptive my dear girl. Long ago, before your people crossed the frozen seas, Hydaelyn knew this day would come. That a man made of metal would arrive in our lands from a distant star, and he would have the misfortune to arrive at the same time as voidsent, in their lust and greed, would attempt to lay siege to this city. Knowing this, she made preparations for this day. A spell was prepared, one that would slowly gather the aether needed over time and keep it hidden." He turned his gaze to Countdown, smiling wider as he did so. "Then, when the spell sensed the unique flames of your soul, that aether was released, and our lord took form in this realm. Your arrival ensured that our home was saved, and for that, I thank you."

"Tamel Koh here is the High Priest of the Undying Flame," Ifrit said, gesturing towards the man. "A small order by the standards of our people, but a vital one. For centuries they have maintained and cared for both this temple and the city that grew around it, all the while keeping the secret of your eventual arrival. That we both stand here now is all thanks to their hard work."

"It was my honor and my duty to serve your will," Tamel said, mostly managing to maintain a facade of stoic calm, although it was clear that his gods praise had him wanting to scream in delight. "As you instructed, we have secured the remains of the spells physical components."

"Ah, excellent. Thank you my friend." Ifrit paused, his smile fading somewhat. "Alas, today was not the only battle Hydaelyn foresaw. Tell me Captain, in your time on this star, what have you come to learn about the Umbral Calamities?"

Next to Countdown, O'riana froze, a squeak of horror escaping her throat as she realized why the god would ask such a question. "They mark the end of Astral Eras," the mechanoid said, making sure to keep his voice level. "Massive, civilisation ending disasters that span the entire world, sparing no one. Each one is different. The Third was worldwide quakes that shattered mountains. The last one was an ice age that lasted for centuries… And the fact you're asking me what I know about them can't mean anything good."

The God nodded sadly, his flames dimming. "I am afraid so. Once again, this star will soon face Calamity. It can not be avoided or defeated, merely survived. But thanks to your presence here today, I can give my people fair warning. We can prepare for what is coming." He studied Countdown for a moment. "And it is my hope that you are willing to help us spread this warning to others."

"How?"

"This is not the only place where Hydaelyn prepared a summoning spell to bring forth a god, keyed to the unique fire of your soul. Several of my kin are waiting for their opportunity to manifest in the physical realm, in order to warn their people of what is coming. They simply require your presence to activate the spell."

Fylgja landed on Countdowns shoulder and tilted her head thoughtfully. "So, all we need to do is visit a few temples, their gods will pop up and say 'hi everyone, the Calamity is coming!', then we go home, secure in the knowledge we did our part to save lives from a world-ending threat? Not the most thrilling of adventures, but I'll take it!" she said cheerfully.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, O'riana sighed. "That is not what you should be focusing on here."

"Well, if it was going to be a proper adventure, we'd need to… I don't know., duel an angry god in the middle of a thunderstorm."

Countdown ignored the two of them, keeping his attention on the god in front of him. "I'd like to think I'd be willing to take a lot more personal risk than that to help save lives," he said at last. "So, where do you need me to go?"

Flames returning to their previous intensity, Ifrit laughed in delight. "My friend, you are just as noble as Hydaelyn foresaw! I don't even need to bribe you with her reward for you!" Countdown blinked, and Ifrits laughter only grew as he turned away. "As I said earlier, she did not just merely rely on her foresight! Come, I believe you will appreciate what compensation she has for you!" he called out, throwing open the doors behind Tamel.

The chamber beyond was smaller than those they'd passed through before, being a small circular room built around a central altar. On that altar was a twisted mass of metal, melted and deformed by an intense heat from within, now barely recognisable as a bird. "Before today, this was a tribute to my brother Phoenix, the aspect of the flames that symbolizes rebirth." Stepping up next to it, Ifrit placed a hand on one of the melted wings, running a finger along the edge. "Given the ultimate purpose of the summoning spell woven into it, it seemed an appropriate choice, even if I was better suited for the actual summoning."

Carefully, the god used his flame as a plasma torch to cut open the idol's chest, molten metal dripping to the floor as he worked. Once that was done, he reached into where the heart would be on such a creature and removed a small orange cube with circuitry patterns along the sides. The moment it was free of the ruined idol, the patterns glowed blue for a moment, before unfolding into what looked like a metallic flower. "What is that?" Fylgja asked, leaning forward in an attempt to get a closer look.

"It's Cybertronian," Countdown replied, disbelief in his voice.

"Indeed it is. If nothing else, we did require an object that could resist the ravages of time as the core the summoning was built around. Something almost anything from your star is naturally suited for," he added with a teasing smile. "Of course, this particular item has a considerable history even by your own people's rather extreme standards." The circuitry glowed once again, and the flower transformed once more, this time into a small clockwork gear.

Taking the gear from Ifrit, Countdown turned it over in his hands, frowning thoughtfully. "These patterns are cyberglyphics," he mused, tracing a finger along the circuitry. "Pretty much the oldest Cybertronian language known," he added for his friend's benefit.

"What's it say?" Fylgja asked.

"Hard to say. Most of the language was lost during the Quintesson occupation. That said, I think…" Running a finger along an edge where the glyph seemed to cut off, he nodded to himself as a row of tiny serrated teeth popped out. "I was right. This is a piece of a larger item. One designed to separate into smaller components too." Looking up, he gave Ifrit a suspicious look. "Now how did you happen to come across a relic from my world's ancient past, that just happened to be perfect for separating into multiple smaller parts so that you could set up multiple summoning spells across the land?"

The god merely smiled innocently. "I am afraid you will have to ask Hydaelyn. She never did tell me exactly how that came into her possession." 

Considering the object in his hands, Countdown chuckled. "Well, look at that, another mystery to tempt me. She planned this quite well."

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER SIX: CONVERSATIONS AND DIVINE INSTRUCTION

“So, the mission was straightforward, if terrifying in scale,” Countdown said. “Locate the other fragments of an ancient cybertronian relic, which would then automatically summon the local god, who would warn their people of a coming global apocalypse, allowing them to prepare.”

Letting out a low whistle, Rodimus stood up and went to a cart in the corner of the room, retrieving himself a glass of energon. “This Hydaelyn character seems to have more basic sense then some fortune tellers I’ve dealt with. Keeps her message relatively simple, assigns a task that you’d not only want to achieve, but should be within your abilities and resources, and she actually provides suitable compensation.”

“You sound particularly annoyed about that,” First Aid noted.

“Long story involving the Solstar Order and a Dire Wraith, you really don’t wanna know.” Returning to his chair, the captain took a sip of energon, then turned his attention back to Countdown. “Obviously the relic parts combined into the Matrix you brought back, that or they led to it.”

“The former,” he confirmed. “Which made for a fun surprise once we collected all the pieces. Took us the better part of a year, even with Tamel Koh helping to provide introductions at some points, and I won’t say it always went smoothly…”

***

“Hey Fylgja, remember back when we were talking to Ifrit?” O’riana said as her axe carved though yet another butterfly seemingly made of light. More took its place, with wings sharp enough to cut through steel, forcing the miqo’te back. “I seem to recall you saying something about how our mission wasn’t suitably epic?”

“I remember that,” Countdown continued, ducking under a burst of flame that reached across the arena. “I believe it was something about how we’d need to do something like duel an angry god in a thunderstorm.” Powering up his arm blasters, he opened fire on their opponent, only for every single energy bolt to be deflected by four gleaming blades. “It’s more of a firestorm,” he added with a glance at the flames surrounding the platform they were on, “but it should still count.”

“He’s not really angry though,” the woman mused.

Landing in front of them, the giant insectoid form of Ravana, Wrath of the Colony, laughed in delight. “There are few ways better to understand the soul of a man than to face him in combat!” He swept his four arms wide, swords glowing with inner light. “Come my friends, dance with me in the song of ringing steel!”

The tiny dragon cringed as the firestorm around them grew stronger. “I have regrets!”

***

“...but we managed. More or less. But until that point, the pieces we recovered failed to react to each other at all. While someone was holding them, they would transform from one shape to another, but aside from that…” he waved a hand. “They were mostly decorative.”

“Which still would make them incredibly valuable,” Dustoff noted. “If only from a historical perspective. There aren’t exactly many pre-Quintesson cultural artifacts left, after all.”

“True, and I even said as much a few times to the others. But by the end of our little quest, they’d almost become a side detail, especially compared to the more local issue.” Smiling at the memory, he shook his head. “So, needless to say, after we’d spoken to the last of the local gods and returned to the Wayforward, we weren’t expecting much.”

***

“How can we even be sure this is all of them?” O’riana wondered, looking over the collection of orange shapes on the table that served as the centerpiece of the Wayforwards recreation room. “I mean, I can’t even see how they’d all fit together, so…”

Leaning across the table, Fylgja tapped a claw against a piece, causing the glyphs on it to glow, before it unfolded from a cube into a long thin cylinder. “Ohhhh, I hope they don’t need to be in certain shapes before you can fit them together. It’d be like a jigsaw, only all the pieces are cheating and can’t make up their mind. And I’m terrible at jigsaws!”

Chuckling, Countdown took an aether crystal from a storage locker, biting into it like an organic would a piece of bread. Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, he shrugged. “The annoying thing is, it's entirely plausible. That's the problem with hunting old relics. Still, based off everything we've seen, I can't really see Hydaelyn cheating me out of a decent payment for our work.” Flipping open a panel on his leg, he retrieved the last relic piece that they'd just retrieved from the god Alexander, holding it up to consider it.

“So, what, jigsaw time?” Fylgja mused, before the piece in Countdowns hand began to glow. Not the glyphs engraved in it, as all the pieces had countless times, but the entire thing, glowing with a soft inner light. A moment later, all the other pieces began to do the same thing. “Or bring them all close enough to each other, I guess.”

As they watched, all the fragments floated into the air, positioning themselves in an intricate pattern, before transforming again into specific forms that then locked into each other. Then, over the space of a few seconds, the entire object transformed, some sections splitting open and swapping parts with others, resizing drastically, all while a familiar five tone harmonic could be heard. When the transformation was complete, the collection of relic parts had become a mostly spherical container that settled back on the table without incident.

Ears twitching, O’riana leaned in for a closer look. “Huh. So, I don’t suppose you can recognize it now…? Countdown?”

The Autobot didn’t seem to hear her, all his attention on the relic. Slowly, as if afraid he would break the illusion, he reached out and gently touched it with a finger, tracing along the glyphs that now all led to an indentation in the apparent front of the object. “A Matrix,” he said at last. “It’s a Matrix. It's…” laughing unsteadily, he dropped into a chair, optics never breaking contact.

“Okay?” Fylgja said, glancing at O’riana nervously. Neither of them had ever seen the transformer as shaken as he was now.. “And I’m guessing that’s important?”

Running a hand down his face, he forced himself to take a deep breath. “You wouldn’t know, right, of course. Okay, so, I should note a lot of this is myth and legend, but almost every version of the myths have certain similarities that indicate a shared origin. It starts with Primus. I’ve mentioned him before.”

“He’s the god of your star, correct?” O’riana said. “Basically your peoples Hydaelyn.”

“Very much so. Some say Cybertron is his body, others that he merely slumbers at its core. Either way, the result is much the same. The sheer power of his spark, what you call the soul, radiates outward, fusing with the unique metals of our world, reshaping it to suit its own needs, and from that…” he waved a hand across his body. “A new transformer is born. Natural Forging, the first and, once upon a time, most common method of transformer creation. We live, we grow, we learn, and finally then our spark rejoins his Allspark, to begin the cycle anew.”

Tilting her head to the side, Fylgja looked somewhat confused, then gestured at the Matrix. “Ssssooo, how does transformer babies lead to this?”

“There have been times when the Allspark dimmed. Never enough to put a halt to new Transformers, not entirely, but even with our lifespans, there were concerns. It’s said that Primus himself, seeing the risk to his children should something happen to him, crafted the first Matrix from a portion of his own spark. A piece of a god, as seemingly infinite as he was, and a source of new life, to ensure that we would always have a future.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “A lot of the old myths then talk about how he proceeded to come up with even more methods for us to reproduce, just in case.”

O’riana glanced at the Matrix with an expression of respect. “Well, I’ve heard of architects and spell-weavers working to account for failure points in their designs,” she mused, “but this is the first I’ve heard of such a feat being done with living beings.” Smiling wryly, she glanced back up at Countdown. “Every time I think your people run out of ways to surprise me, you prove me wrong.”

“The real surprise is that all those precautions? Nearly weren’t enough.”

Thinking back to some of the stories of Cybertrons history Countdown had shared with her, O’rianas eyes narrowed. “The Fall.”

Nodding, the mechs shoulders slumped. “Some of them had been used before, to create what we called Hot Spots on various colony worlds, to allow the creation of new transformers there. Some had been lost somehow, and most of the ones that were left were kept in very secure locations, thanks to the threat posed to them by the war.” Sighing, he reached across the table and picked the matrix up, tracing a finger across the glyphs again. “Those locations all had large populations, both civilian and military, and often were sites where the lifespark of Primus was particularly strong. Which made them the first locations where the Endsong took hold. Every single remaining Matrix was lost in the chaos.”

Moving across the table, Fylgja leapt onto the mechs shoulder, providing a comforting presence. “You lost Cybertron, and the second option for continuing your people,” she said, her voice gentle.

“We’ve got other ways to create new bots,” Countdown replied, “but all of them are a lot more limited. There's been a fear, ever since we left the fatherworld behind, that we were the beginning of the end. That time would take its toll, slowly but surely. But this…” a smile appeared on his face, weak but genuine. “This gives us a future.”

For a long moment, there was silence in the room as Countdown savored that feeling. That silence ended as the Matrix began to glow again, in a similar manner as its separate components had before combining, but with a far greater intensity. Before anyone could react, the light grew blinding, washing away the room around them, before fading away completely, leaving the three… elsewhere.

“What in all the hells…” O’riana muttered, looking around in awe. Where before they had been surrounded by the dull gray of the ships bulkheads, now they floated in an endless blue-black void, broken by drifting crystals of various sizes, and odd lights that danced in the distance. “What just happened?”

“Teleportation,” Countdown said, as Fylgja leapt off his shoulder and darted over to their companion. While the starship captain was adjusting to their situation with the experience of a man who’d spent considerable time in zero-gravity, O’riana was starting to drift away from the group with no real idea of how to compensate. “Not any sort I’m familiar with either. When such things are cybertronian in nature, there’s a common feeling to them.”

“So, it wasn’t the Matrix itself, but something placed on it from this star,” O’riana guessed, as Fylgja dug her claws into the back of her tunic and pulled her back towards Countdown. “Hydaelyn’s doing, one assumes.”

Nodding, he held up the Matrix for a closer look. “I can’t really think of anyone else that would have the opportunity to apply a spell like that to the Matrix, let alone have the power to do so.but I can't imagine anywhere ”

“So, next question,” Fylgja said. “Where the heck did she bring us… Um… Guys?”

Following the dragons gaze, Countdown looked at the void beneath them. Emerging from the mists was a mass of aether crystal, larger than any he'd ever seen, on this planet or beyond. As he watched, it slowly rose higher, rising up next to them. After a moment, he winced and shut down several of his sensor arrays, as the sheer power in physical form before him was leaving them screaming.

Then, a new voice spoke, seemingly emanating from the mass before them. “Countdown of Iacon, Autobot and Ranger of the Commonwealth,” the feminine voice said, echoing through their bodies with a sheer presence that not even the gods they'd met could match. “Riana of the O tribe, daughter of Aleph, former marine of Nym and Explorer of the Unknown. And Fylgja, daughter of Ratatoskr and Seeker of Stories. I bid thee welcome.”

“Ohhhh…” Fylgja whispered in understanding, eyes wide. “‘She rests in the depths of the lifestream, her soul a radiant crystal like none other.’”

“The will of the star,” O'riana managed. “Hydaelyn.”

Chuckling softly, Countdown considered the goddess. “I think I can see why you sent the other gods to speak with their people. This kind of power on the surface…”

“Perceptive as always Captain. While the gods of the Wild Pantheon could manifest briefly without endangering the mortal people of this star, alas, that is a luxury my nature denies me.”

“Hence why you had us running around as your couriers,” Countdown said.

“Indeed. Thine actions over the recent moons are to be commended. Whilst none can avert the coming calamity, my children are now better prepared to survive it to the best of their abilities…” Her voice trailed off for a moment, before continuing with a tone of wistful amusement. “And they have always excelled at exceeding expectations. Which brings us to what must happen next.” A stream of aether reached out from the mothercrystal, wrapping around the Matrix in Countdowns hands. As they watched, the aether gathered within the opening at the front of the artifact, condensing into an incredibly dense sphere, before shifting back to a physical form, becoming a blue-white crystal that glowed with an inner light. “Whilst the spells to call the Wild Pantheon forth were crafted from my own aether, separating the Matrix into so many pieces meant that the fragment of Primus had to be carefully hidden from those that would use it for ill.”

The armor plating and panels that made up Countdowns torso began to move, followed by internal components moving aside. Carefully, he fitted the Matrix into place in the hollow that formed, before closing his chest up again. “Best to keep it hidden I think.”

Looking slightly uncomfortable with her friend opening his body, O’riana turned towards the Mothercrystal. “Forgive me, but I must ask. How did a relic of Cybertrons past come to be in your care?”

“Some time ago, before the first of the races of man were born, a transformer came to this star, bringing with him the Matrix thou now possess. Upon the instructions of the god Primus, he sought an audience with me.” The space between the trio and the crystal wavered, forming into an illusion of silver and white mechanoid kneeling, his outstretched hands offering up the Matrix to Hydaelyn.

Floating around the illusion, Countdown considered the mech, optics widening in surprise. The outer layers of armor paneling were complex patterns of moving gears, some of them interlocking systems, others merely decorative single gears, a style of transformer design that hadn’t been seen on Cybertron since the Quintesson occupation, nearly twelve million years ago. “I don’t recognise him,” he said out loud. “But the Matrix is certainly proof he speaks on behalf of Primus. Making that claim without his permission… it wouldn’t end well.”

“Primus knew this day would come, as did I. When thou would stand before me, having spread word of the coming Calamity to mine children. And so, thou has a reward worthy of thine efforts. A way to ensure the survival of thy people despite the Song of Oblivion that has engulfed creation, until the day when hope shines once again.”

Pausing, Countdown chose his next words very carefully. “You’re the first being I’ve encountered on this world to know about the Endsong. I wondered if whatever prevented it from taking root in this worlds aether meant that there was simply no contact with it. But you… you existed before the people of your world.”

“Indeed. There was a time, before the first mortals were born, before Midgardsomr arrived carrying what would become known as the First Brood, that the Endsong struck this star. I am all too familiar with what that unnatural despair can do to the soul.”

Tail lashing back and forth, O'riana shook her head. “You've told me of this Endsong before,” she said to Countdown. “How is it any different from the coming Calamity?”

“An Umbral Calamity is destructive, true, but it is finite. In time, balance will restore naturally, and the Calamity will end.”

“...But this Endsong won't.”

“The Endsong seeks out life itself. Should it reach Etheriys, it will not relent until the star is dead and cold.” Her voice wavered slightly, and the light streams flowing through the void suddenly flickered and flared as an echo of the goddesses own horror rippled through them all. “But the day will come captain, when your people and mine can strike back at the oblivion that threatens us all. I have seen it, as has Primus. We have been preparing not just for the Calamity, but what comes after.”

***

“Crack my cog,” Red Alert muttered. “We should have seen that coming… If he knew enough to have a Matrix waiting for someone to retrieve it, then he'd know why we needed it.”

“I'm more interested in what it says about the Endsong,” Dustoff said. “If I'm understanding this correctly, not only is there a point of origin to the phenomenon, it won't be hidden forever. But if it involves the same divine precognition they've already demonstrated…”

Snapping his fingers, Countdown pointed at the femme. “From what she said, I got the same impression. Some of this is speculation on my part, but I believe that certain events still have to happen for us to get the opportunity to strike back at the Endsong. Not that she told us all of them.”

Groaning, Rodimus leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “Of course not. First rule of precognition. The more you try to force the future to conform to your preconceived notions, the more it slips out of your control. So it’s like when she got you to deliver her messages for her. She’s keeping the details as vague as possible.”

“Still, some details didn’t need to have divine instruction,” Countdown said, his smile turning slightly bitter. “Namely, that I needed to leave Etheirys as soon as possible. We'd brought the pieces of the Matrix together, and Hydaelyn had returned its core to it. If the Calamity was even half as bad as she was implying it could be, I couldn't take that risk. Some of us took that better than others.”

***

“How is it you're less bitter about this than me?” the Autobot wondered, standing at the edge of the island and looking at the world below. The skies were rather clear at the moment, giving him a good view of the mountain of Sohm Al that the islands floated around, and the fields and woodlands beyond. He could even make out the city of the insectoid Gnath, where he'd summoned, then fought, the rather battle hungry god Ravana.

Next to him, O’riana shrugged before she sat on the grass and let her feet hang over the islands edge. “We’ve always known you'd have to leave eventually. And that you wouldn't be coming back in my lifetime. Fylgja and her kinds lifespan maybe, but certainly not mine. Even if I live a long and safe life, old age will almost certainly claim me before you even make it back to your own people. The fact the moment has come sooner than we expected doesn't change that. So, I suppose the real question is, why does it bother you so much?” Looking up, her expression turned sympathetic. “You're not abandoning us by leaving now.”

“Are you sure about that?” he asked, wheels spinning in agitation. “You’re all about to face a world-changing crisis, and I'm just going to fly away? All our plans about how the Wayforward might be able to help, just thrown in the smelter.” Fans revving up, he made himself take a deep breath. “It certainly feels like abandoning you.”

“You heard what Hydaelyn said. The Calamity is a disaster, true, but the Endsong will be our annihilation one day, unless we find a way to stop it. Which you should know better than me, given you've actually faced it,” she pointed out. He growled slightly but nodded, conceding her point. “That relic will give your people a stability they currently lack, and it will convince them to lend you their aid. When you return, and I have no doubt you will, you will not be alone.” Smiling, she looked out at the horizon. “Who knows, perhaps we’ll meet again, in whatever form I’m reborn in in the next life.”

Sighing, Countdown dropped down next to her. “You are entirely correct,” he admitted. “The problem is, logical arguments mean nothing to the spark.”

“Yet another similarity between your people and mine.” They fell silent for a time, watching the world below. “I'm going to miss you,” she said softly after a while, as a flock of drakes flew past, darting around each other in a giant game of tag with no real rules.

“Now that, I can agree with.”

***

“Launch went smoothly. I waited until that damn war moon was on the other side of the planet, and left the system without incident.” Countdowns voice was level, the grief at the inevitable passing of mortal friends contained thanks to long, painful experience.

And it fooled none of the other bots in the slightest. “And planned your route with a lot of care, I'm guessing,” Rodimus said, giving the smaller bot something to focus on.

Entering a command into the holoprojector, the mech switched it back to map view, a line appearing along it, leading from Etheriys all the way to their current location of Gorlam Prime. It was nowhere near a straight line, doubling back on itself more than once, and avoiding certain regions entirely. “Paranoia was the rule of thumb, yes. If the Wayforward was at a hundred percent, I might have been willing to take more risks, but I couldn’t be certain I’d missed something in the repairs. Better to take it slow than have something go wrong during a desperate dash.”

“Given we found you in an escape pod…” Dustoff said.

Letting out a sigh, Countdown slumped back in his chair. “I don’t know why, I haven’t had time to go over the logs yet, but something glitched in the transwarp drive as I arrived in system. Right as I left the conduit back into normal space, alarms started screaming at me. Some sort of power surge maybe, I don’t know. Either way, I made it to orbit, by which point it was clear that the planet had been hit by the Endsong. But, given how limited my options were at that point…” He sighed again. “I launched the primary distress beacon, got in the escape pod and bailed out. About three minutes later, the transwarp drive discharged, and, well…”

“It twisted reality in ways not approved of by the committee?” Rodimus suggested with a wry grin.

“That's an accurate assessment. If nothing else, I now know what green tastes like. But more importantly, once I was convinced the planet wasn't safe to traverse alone, all I could really do was activate the deep stasis systems and wait for rescue.”

Glancing at the map, Red Alert did some quick calculations in his head. “So, about a hundred and eighty years from Etheriys to here, and just over a century in stasis before we arrived. Nearly three hundred years all up.”

“That time in stasis makes me wonder,” First Aid said. “Do you think Hydaelyn knew you'd run into trouble like that?”

“Maybe. She didn't say anything about the Wayforward, but it's possible she didn't want to skew my decisions along the flight home. After all, this way, I still ended up somewhere that I'd be found.”

“And that brings us to today.” Tapping his fingers against the table, Rodimus considered the matter. “So, I have to admit, when we picked up your distress signal, I was not expecting us to get a literal mission from God. One with the fate of all explored space at stake, at the very least. Anyone else trying not to freak out?”

“Just a little,” First Aid admitted, holding up a thumb and forefinger.

Taking control of the holoprojector, Ultra Magnus shifted the map across, highlighting a specific location some distance from the current location. “Nebulos. While the planet itself has been abandoned since the Endsong manifested in the region, the orbital space bridge hub remains manned and operational,” he explained to the micromaster.

Nodding in reply, he considered the map. “That was my planned destination,” he said, to no one's surprise. While a ship with transwarp drive could go anywhere, it was still a method that took considerable time, even by the standards of long lived species like transformers. Space Bridge portals, on the other hand, allowed for instantaneous travel between two linked locations, no matter how great the distance. Even without his ships top speed being limited by possible damage and power limitations, making use of such a facility was only logical.

“Even better, they finally managed to link one of the bridges to the Nexus Station hub a century back,” Rodimus said. “We can deliver the Matrix straight there without any detours. Percy, time estimate?”

Looking over the map, Perceptor rubbed his chin in thought. “A cursory estimate based on current information for all known stellar conditions in this region of space suggests minimal concerns for possible delays. Combined with current energy reverses and the current abilities and limitations of our transwarp drive, my initial estimates for arrival at the Nebulos Space Bridge Hub are approximately four-point-five-seven years at cruising speed. If you wished to strain our engines somewhat, we could reduce that time to three-point-four-four years while still remaining within fleet recommendations for power reserves and drive maintenance.”

“We don’t need to redline the drives for this,” Rodimus said. “We’ll aim for about four years. And then, we get to convince the boss bots to send the Lost Light to Etheriys.” Some of the around the table showed surprise at that statement, while others were merely amused. “What, did you think I was going to just leave this for someone else?”

[Matrix Dragon]

And now, a sidestory.

***

THREE MILLION YEARS AGO…

The Kalis region had been one of the Decepticons first conquests after deciding that all of Cybertron needed to be crushed under their feet. Once they had 'pacified' the region, they moved on to other targets, leaving the region to rust, until the empire discovered their need for countless materials to fuel the war effort. Soon, Kalis was covered in seemingly endless fields of factories, warehouses and energon refineries, all of that sitting above the ruins of the old city-state, where the worker class mechs were left to survive when not serving their masters.

For those longsuffering mechs, it was a harsh life, an unrelenting cycle of gear-stripping toil and bitter misery. Despite that, there were still those in the city that were willing to fight for more…

***

Two guards were waiting as the train came to a stop at the platform. Despite standing ready, seemingly alert for trouble with arm blasters unfolded, neither showed much in the way of actual awareness. Both of them were low ranking troopers, of the mass produced model that had been mockingly nicknamed 'Vehicons' thanks to the forging process leaving them with absolutely no unique features, and sparks so weak they were barely a step above automated drones. Lacking any real initiative, the pair walked along the train, checking for any sign of tampering or intruders exactly as they had been taught, without any deviation.

Which meant that they were both looking in the wrong direction when a sleek green and gray clad femmebot slipped off a freight car, stepped up behind one of them, and shoved a shock rod into the base of his spine. By the time his companion turned around at the noise, he was sprawled out on the ground, limbs twitching, and his assailant nowhere in sight. The remaining Vehicon raised his arm blaster in alarm, running up to where his comrade had fallen, sweeping his blaster over the train in an attempt to locate the attacker. At which point, a second mech in similar colors to the first grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms and leaving him wide open for the femme to reemerge and aim a flying kick right into his chest.

As the second Vehicon fell to the ground, knocked right into stasis, two more bots emerged from their hiding spots. One was a short, portly mech with signs of a construction vehicle altmode, slinging a bag of equipment over one shoulder. The other, a brown mech who probably outmassed all three of his teammates combined, with a massive auto-cannon taking the place of his right arm. Looking over the train platform, the bulky mech nodded in satisfaction, before turning back towards the train. "Get down here merc."

One last mech dropped down from the top of a freight car, giving the team leader a look of profound disinterest. In contrast to the other four, his altmode was clearly military, bearing the chest cockpit and shoulder vents that almost every single Decepticon Sky Soldier body type variant possessed. However, a large number of the panels across his body clearly showed signs of being crude yet efficient field repairs, leaving odd patches of discoloration, with black and brown breaking up the dark blue that was most of his frame. On his back, mag-clamped between his wings, rested a massive sword that was nearly as long as he was tall.

For a long moment, the team leader considered the mech, distrust radiating from him. "You're up."

"Copy," he replied, seemingly unconcerned with the suspicion as he walked down the platform.

"Time to see if Mister 'Ex'-Seeker really isn't with the Decepticons anymore," the large mech muttered, the barrels on his autocannon cycling.

Despite his suspicions of the hired mech, he had to admit (very grudgingly) he had some impressive skills. The moment a patrol came around a corner and spotted the team, the mech had launched himself down the hallway, the turbines in his legs roaring. Before the Vehicons could even hope to aim their arm cannons, he was landing in the center of the squad, massive sword swinging around to take the legs clean off, using the momentum to continue on to his next target.

The rest of the team took advantage of the distraction, ducking around to the side of the one sided fight and continuing on. Only the femme even looked back for more than a second, giving the mercenary a playful salute and a wave. "Have fun." He ignored her, bringing his blade around to block a clumsy shot from one of the guards, then adjusted his stance and lunged.

Sighing, the femme semi-transformed, her feet and lower legs being replaced with wheels that let her race past the rest of the team, before skidding to a halt at a set of armored blast doors. Prying the front of the control panel off, she shifted her hand into a collection of data spikes and plugged them directly into the circuitry underneath. "So, what's the deal with the Seeker anyway?"

"Ex-Seeker, to hear him tell it," one of the other mechs replied. "Not that he says much. Scrap, if it wasn't for Heartlock being an old friend of his, I'm not sure we'd even know his name."

"I still don't," Nitro Artemis said dryly.

That made the mech glance at her in surprise. "No one told you? Sorry. It's Nimbus. Still, the name isn't really important. What matters is that he's a professional, unlike the rest of us."

The panel chirped, and one of the lights above it turned green. "One down… So, is he sticking around?"

"Hard to say,," he admitted. "He doesn't seem like the sort to abandon a contract, but if he's only here for the money…" the mech glanced down a side corridor, where the team leader was keeping watch. "You know how obsessed Calibur can be about loyalty."

"Well, I wouldn't mind a bit of extra firepower around, especially if this mission works out the way we hope." A second light turned green, and the femmes optic visor brightened in satisfaction. "Plus, I will always appreciate a nice fuselage to admire."

"Oh here we go," her companion muttered.

"Come on Big-S, try and tell me that airframe isn't gorgeous!"

"I am precisely the wrong mech to be asking that question to and you know it."

Listening to the pair banter, the last member of the group fidgeted nervously, one hand playing with the forklift mast built into his torso. Hearing a sudden noise behind him, he spun, then relaxed slightly as he saw Nimbus approaching. "Oh! Sorry about that, you startled me… Shouldn't have really. I mean, a buncha Vehicons versus a Seeker, sorry, ex-Seeker, it's not like they were going to beat you and come up behind us-"

"Wedge." Nimbus' voice, without raising its volume, somehow managed to cut through the shorter bots' growing anxiety. "Breathe." Wedge obeyed, his internal fans cycling up for several moments. "Better," Nimbus said with a nod, looking him over.

Laughing awkwardly, the bot rubbed at the back of his neck. "Must seem kind of dumb huh, me being so nervous about this?"

"It's your first mission," Nimbus replied, shrugging. "Everyone has to start somewhere. Just keep your mind on the job and you'll be fine."

"You got it!" he declared, giving the ex-Seeker a thumbs up. Behind them, the last light above the control panel turned green, and the doors began to open, drawing everyone's attention. Big-S and the femme moved through before the door was even fully open, Wedge scrambling after them.

Nimbus would have joined them, save for a massive hand clamping down on his shoulder. Unconcerned, he turned his head slightly, staring into Caliburs reflective visor. "You'd better be worth the money merc," the mech growled, voice low and dangerous. "Every last shanix." Nimbus didn't reply, simply staring blandly, until Calibur made a huffing noise and released him, stomping off after the others.

***

Inside the actual refinery, hallways were replaced with exposed catwalks and conveyor belts around massive processing machines that were constantly pumping out energon in the form of glowing purple cubes. Pausing to look over a railing, Big-S let out an impressed whistle. "There's enough energon here to feed the entire slums for an entire vorn."

"And the Decepticons won't even spare a pittance for us," the femme muttered as she passed him. "All of this goes to their coupling war effort."

Calibur growled, panels across his body rippling. "Nitro, lemme tell you something. Greed, violence, those are the least of this place's sins. They call it a refinery, but the truth is easy to see if you pay attention." He swept his left arm out, gesturing at the machinery. "Be it fuels or raw electricity, there ain't nowhere near enough coming in to be converted into energon, and there sure as the Pit ain't any natural energon crystals being harvested here. No, this energon comes from below! Harvested from the lifespark of our world, from Primus himself!"

Glancing at the bulky mech, Nimbus briefly looked skeptical, before his expression faded to a more neutral one and he turned to look out across the chamber again. "Huh… a deepspark extractor?"

"You've heard of them before?" Big-S asked.

"Never been assigned to one, but they're not exactly a big secret in the Decepticons. One of Shockwaves' ideas, if I remember right. Draw energon from the one place on Cybertron that should never run out."

"Never run out?!" Calibur snapped. "You think Primus is just some magic well you can tap without consequences?!"

"Never said I agreed with it," Nimbus shrugged. "That's just how High Command viewed it."

"Right. Just how your old bosses see things. They don't care about the long term consequences of their actions." Turning, he spat off to the side. "They burn the world down with their lust for war, enslave entire nations, and then, because that ain't enough, they cut into the divine spark of the Creator, just for more fuel for their war machine!" Spinning back to face Nimbus, he glared at the other mech. "Those are the mechs you followed like a good little drone."

If he'd been hoping for a reaction with that last comment, he was disappointed as Nimbus merely met his gaze, unconcerned. Calibur held the glare for a moment, then turned away, snorting in disgust as he stomped down the walkway towards the elevators. The rest of the team started to follow, Nitro turning around momentarily to shrug apologetically at Nimbus. Watching them go, the ex-Seeker spun his turbines in mild irritation. "Should've charged more," he grumbled to himself, before glancing over the edge of the catwalk and frowning.

Below, another Vehicon patrol emerged from a side entrance, accompanied by a bulkier mech, with what looked like heavy rocket launchers built into his torso and upper arms. In Nimbus's experience, that usually indicated some sort of artillery vehicle alt mode. Deciding not to give them time to set up to open fire on his teammates, he leapt over the railing and fell a short distance, before transforming to his own alt-mode, a somewhat battered looking, but still rather sleek jet fighter. Turbines roaring to life, he swooped down on the squad, opening fire with twin laser blasters before they even realized he was there.

***

Across the city, in a small residential block, a red, yellow and gray comm unit sat on a table, dials spinning as it spun its reception across various frequencies. Then, without warning, it stopped on one specific frequency, volume dial now turning towards maximum. "Security breach at Refinery Seven confirmed. Multiple squads not responding, security cameras down. Refinery manager requesting reinforcements," a voice reported through its speakers.

"Well that's a surprise," said the red and blue mech standing by the tiny energon mixer on the kitchen bench. Putting his glass down, he turned towards the comm unit. "I didn't think there were any other Autobots this far inside Decepticon territory."

In response, the comm unit transformed, growing in size and leaping off the table as it assumed a more humanoid shape. "News to me as well boss-bot," he admitted as his feet touched the floor. "And I don't mean ta brag, but knowin' stuff is kinda my job."

"Hmm, so they're probably local." Stepping over to the window, his companion moved the curtains slightly and glanced out. From their location, he could just see the massive tower that formed the center of the refinery in question, spewing out an endless cloud of smog over the city. For the moment, he couldn't see any outward signs of trouble, be it violence or the local Decepticons moving to respond, but that didn't mean much. Tapping his fingers against the window, he considered the matter for a moment. "Blaster."

"Yo?"

"Get the others in here. We might have work to do." Turning towards the door, Blaster gave a sloppy half salute, before leaving the room and leaving the squad leader to his thoughts. Outside, the city continued going about its business, with no sign anything was amiss. "Always something to keep life interesting," he muttered to himself, closing the curtain again.

***

"Always something to keep life interesting," Nimbus growled, using the flat of his blade to block a laser beam.

"Interesting my aft! What in the Slag Pit is this thing?!" Calibur roared, arm cannon springing to life. Across the platform from the pair, a massive six-legged beast hissed as Caliburs shots tore shards from the mismatched armor plating across its main body, before it lunged forward, claw arms snapping at the pair.

Boosting to the side, Nimbus shoved his employer clear of the attack, then brought his sword around to parry one of the claws. "At a guess, I'd say one of Scorponoks clan. Enough limbs for one of them anyway." Ducking under another swing, the ex-Seekers wings transformed, flipping over his shoulders as a pair of laser cannons that he promptly fired directly into the beastformers face. The creature screeched in pain, distracted just long enough for Nimbus to dart back out of range.

Calibur growled, pulling himself to his feet, before opening fire on the creature again. "You saying it's a transformer?" he yelled.

"Might have been. Not sure it still is." Glancing at the rough welds across his opponents side, Nimbus couldn't help but wince in sympathy. "I think we're looking at one of the Science Divisions repurposed experiments." He flinched slightly as his vision inexplicably blurred for a moment.

"Well ain't that charming?"

Above, on one of the catwalks torn in half when the beastformer dropped into Energon Storage from wherever it had been hiding, Nitro Artemis dragged herself to somewhat more stable ground, took a deep breath, then transformed both her hands into blasters and opened fire on the creature from above. For a moment, it seemed that her attacks weren't even being noticed, the plasma pulses doing little more than chipping at the armor plating on its back. Then a panel blew clean off via explosive bolts, revealing a mass of machinery that unfolded outwards, reconfiguring into a series of long tubes. Optics widening, she sprinted down the catwalk, shifting to her motorcycle form and racing away, even as the first missiles closed in.

Calibur roared in rage as the catwalk vanished in a series of fireballs, switching his arm cannons to an alternate mode of fire, one that left lingering blue flames on their enemies armor. Meanwhile Nimbus paused, watching the explosions until he caught sight of Nitros form, now flying off the catwalk and into the open air. Planting the tip of his sword into the floor, the ex-Seeker launched himself into the air on an intercept course. Grabbing the motorcycle in both arms, he spun in midair, then fired the thrusters in his legs again, sending both of them in a high arc across the room, landing next to where he'd left his sword.

"My hero," she said as Nimbus lowered her to the ground, transforming back to her robot mode as he did so.

"Just fulfilling my contractual obligations," he replied dryly, retrieving his sword. "Can you fight."

"Yeah, yeah I'm good," she said, switching her hands back to weapon mode. Nimbus nodded, swept his sword around, and charged back in.

***

The small group of Autobots had relocated to the top of the residential building, giving them a better view of the distant refinery, now surrounded by a small swarm of flight capable bots and transport vehicles, many of which seemed to be flying around rather aimlessly. "I'm thinking they don't know who's in charge over there," said the team sniper, a blue red and black mech by the name of Crosshairs. Opening his chest panel, he removed a pair of binoculars, using them to take a closer look at several of the aircraft. "Yup, I'm seeing local security forces, some regular army units, and even a few Sky Soldiers in naval colors."

"Well, we know Decepticon High Command wasn't exactly assigning their best to this region," the team leader noted, rubbing his chin. "Blaster, any word on what's happening inside?"

The comm unit sitting on the rooftop spun his dials, shifting through frequencies. After a moment, he emitted a burst of static. "Getting conflicting reports from what few mechs have gone inside. Scrap, at least half of those are Vehicons, and it sounds like they're shootin' at shadows. There IS something about an 'experimental heavy' that was stored on site being deployed, but it sounds like it might have made a bigger mess than the intruders before it got taken out."

"As usual for things like that," one of the other bots muttered, drawing bitter laughs from several teammates. Many Autobots were all too familiar with the various 'experiments' of the Decepticon Science Division being used as guard mechs or shock troops once the labs had lost interest in them, and didn't think much of them.

Considering that for several seconds, the team leader went to speak, then paused. In the distance, something was happening on the massive smokestack of the refinery. A strange pink glow began to emanate through several windows and doors on the facility, growing in intensity. Then, less secure panels were blown off the tower as explosions began to erupt across its frame. Watching as they increased in intensity, his optics widened. "Down!"

A moment later, with a roar that knocked all their audio receivers into emergency shutdown, a massive explosion erupted from the tower, launching into the sky. After several seconds of that, the tower gave way, much of it thrown into the surrounding buildings and gathered Decepticons, while the shockwave continued on to wash over the rest of the city.

After several minutes, when the building had stopped shaking and the Autobots managed to restore their audio receivers, Blaster managed a weak laugh. "Call me crazy, but I think someone hit something important."

Crosshairs chuckled, not moving from where he was still lying on the rooftop. "Intel said there might be deepspark extractors in Kalis. If they detonated the primary unrefined energon storage, it'd almost certainly ignite the whole supply, and, well…" He waved a hand at the sky. "That."

Pulling himself to his feet, the team leader looked towards the refinery, now little more than a massive inferno and falling debris. "Odds the saboteurs were expecting this kind of damage?"

"Even if they knew it was a deepspark? Hard to say. Not many civilians realize just how powerful energon from the core is. They might have expected a more conventional energon explosion."

Scowling, Orion Pax didn't look away from the flames. "If they made it out, we need to find them," he said at last. "Before the Decepticons do."

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE SIXTH ASTRAL ERA

In the year 1570 of the Sixth Astral Era, few beings on Etheirys could imagine their star was about to be visited by beings incredibly alien, yet so similar to the races that lived there. After centuries of travel, braving the dangers of the Sea of Stars, the ships of the expedition had finally reached their destination. While the majority of the ships remained in a nearby star system in order to construct the Space Bridge that would provide a link back to the Commonwealth, the starship Axalon, under the command of Countdown, proceeded on to Etheirys.

It was a small ship by the standards of Transformers, crewed mostly by mini-cons and micromasters, those who, with the aid of holograms or specially designed alt-modes, could move among the people of Etheirys without raising suspicion. With no current information on the state of the star, and with only vague details from Hydaelyn on just how the core objective of the expedition could be achieved, caution and stealth would be critical, especially in the early stages of contact.

And so, hidden behind the best stealth technology the transformers had, to avoid the attention of the War-moon Dalamud, the Axalon settled into orbit above the continent of Eorzea, and Countdown teleported to the Churning Mists, in the hopes of reestablishing contact with the draconic allies he’d made on his first visit...

***

There was a trespasser in the Churning Mists, Darkscale was certain of it. Moments before, there had been a sudden surge of levin-aspected aether, unlike anything the black-scaled dragon had ever experienced. Despite the intensity of the surge, it had somehow been focused on one specific location. If he hadn’t been drifting in the skies above the floating islands, he would have missed it entirely.

He didn’t know what it was, be it some sort of teleportation spell or some sort of weapon, and it didn’t really matter. It was the mortals of Ishgard, seeking to compound their sins yet again by trying to attack their betters. And once again, Darkscale would burn them out. With a roar that echoed across the land, calling to any of his kin that were nearby, he swooped towards his target.

Surprisingly, his prey was out in the open, not even trying to hide. And it didn’t appear to be Ishgardian soldiers, or their elite ‘Dragoons’. Instead, it appeared to be a single metal figure in the shape of a mortal, red and white plates gleaming in the morning light. Eyes narrowing, Darkscales fury grew as he realised what this must be. One of the Garlean Empires ‘magitek’ creations, like the devices they’d used in their foolish attempt to slay Midgardsomr. Snarling at the memory, he tucked his wings in and dove sharply, pulling up just in time to avoid crashing into the ground, then unleashed his flames across the magitek soldier.

The solider leapt clear of the green flames, rolling on the ground as he did so to smother the patches of flame clinging to his leg and arms. “I’m not here to fight!” he cried. Having no time or patience for mortal lies, Darkscale landed and pressed the attack, lashing out with claws almost as long as the machina was tall. To his surprise, his target caught the blow on his forearms, managing to stand despite being driven back over half a dozen fulms. “I come here in peace,” the machina insisted. “I seek an audience with-”

Darkscale spun with greater speed than one would have expected for one of his size, catching the metal man with his tail and throwing him back across the clearing, bouncing painfully across the ground until he finally slid to a stop against a fallen tree. The dragon grinned in satisfaction, but before he could call upon the flame again, another voice called out to his right.

“Captain, I know what you hoped for here, but I don’t think he’s going to listen to you!” Darkscale’s head snapped around, only to freeze in sudden confusion. Instead of another mortal soldier, he found himself looking at a grey griffin, the animal meeting his gaze with a surprisingly intelligent look. Shaking his head, the dragon opened his mouth and unleashed another stream of fire, only to have the griffin take to the air and avoid it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the beasts ‘captain’ pull himself to a standing position. “I think you’re right. Axalon, initiate recall.” Snarling, Darkscale spread his wings wide, channelling aether along the bones in them. That aether flowed out of his body and through the air, forming into spears of ice that raced towards the machina. In response, the machina unleashed bolts of plasma from long barrels on his forearms, blasting the spears out of the air before they reached him.

“We got more incoming!” a third voice to his left called out, which only made Darkscales rage grow even fiercer as he turned to see some variant of coeurl, yellow furred with black spots, standing on a rock. The animal was staring into the distance, where half a dozen winged shadows could be seen in the sky. The sight of his kin approaching cooled Darkscales fury, a vicious satisfaction taking hold. Whatever was going on, they would carve the answers from the animals very bones.

Then sparks of levin-aspected aether began to dance along the ground, with no apparent source. For a moment, he wondered if one of his enemies was preparing an attack, before realising that the aether was moving in similar ways to what had originally drawn his attention. Furthermore, it was gathering around the two animals and machina. Eyes widening, he lunged at the coeurl, but before his claws could reach the beast, the aether surged, bolts of levin wrapping around all three figures, briefly blinding the dragon.

By the time his eyes cleared, the aether was gone, and he was alone. Only the small crater the machina soldier had left in the dirt after the tail strike, and the scorch marks around where the levin had been concentrated, provided any evidence his foes had ever been there. His head darted around, searching in all directions, before he screamed in rage at being denied his kill.

***

Of the various forms of teleportation Countdown had encountered, orbital jumps were among his least favourite. Something about the way it tore him out of physical reality always left his circuits aching at the best of times. Given how thoroughly he’d been worked over by a disturbingly aggressive dragon, he nearly fell over the moment he appeared on the Axlaons teleportation platform.

Next to him, the coeurl darted forward, transforming as it did so, artificial skin and flesh separating along invisible seams to reveal the mechanoid underneath. By the time he reached Countdown, a quadruped had become a tall, thin humanoid, one easily able to provide a shoulder for him to lean on. “Easy boss-bot, I got you.”

The door across the room slid open, revealing an irritated red and white mech. “What in the pit happened to you?” Fixit demanded, quickly darting across the room.

“A rather angry dragon decided to protest our presence with flame and claw,” the griffin declared, transforming to bot mode as well. He took a moment to stretch his wings, still intact in this mode, before tucking them up on his back. “And unfortunately for our captain, he was the obvious target.”

“I really didn’t expect that reaction,” Countdown admitted. “Last time I visited, I landed a scoutship on their islands and they were still willing to talk first – ow.” He directed a glare towards Fixit, who looked utterly unapologetic as a section of melted shoulder tire peeled off in his hand. “A single mech standing out in the open shouldn’t have drawn such a hostile reaction from them.”

The ships chief doctor raised an optic ridge. “It’s been, what, two thousand years or so? Organic civilisations change pretty fast sometimes.”

He waved a hand. “Draconic lifespans are long enough that there shouldn’t have been this drastic a change, not this fast.” Frowning slightly, he rubbed at his nose. “Unless there was an outside factor to the change… something from the shorter lived races perhaps?”

“Either way, it can wait,” Fixit said. “Right now, you’re going to the infirmary. You’ve got severe structural damage to your arms, and I’m reading multiple smaller cracks and damaged servos across your torso. You should be able to walk, but Cheetor, Silverbolt, help him along.”

“Yes sir,” both beastformers responded, cheerfully ignoring their captains good-natured protests in favour of not drawing the doctors wrath.

***

Lying on a bed in the infirmary with sections of his chest panelling removed, Fixit carefully detaching a cracked energon pump from below his spark chamber, Countdown considered the matter once more. “While I’d like to make more attempts at establishing communications with the dragons, I think it’s best to wait until we have a better understanding of just what caused them to react so violently,” he said to his executive officer standing next to the bed.

Folding his arms across his chest, the black-furred mech frowned thoughtfully. “So, our initial plans of having on-site allies isn’t happening, at least in the short term. Well, that’s just prime,” he grumbled. “I’m really wishing you’d left some way to contact Ratatoskr directly.”

Sighing, Countdown let his head rest against the bed. “I wanted to, but she talked me out of it. She felt there was too much potential of it falling into the wrong hands. I’m not sure what exactly would be the wrong hands for a simple comm unit, but, well, there’s already a war moon here with enough firepower to be a threat to modern starships, so she might have had a point.”

“Well, at least the initial plans shouldn’t need to be altered too much,” Optimus Primal mused.

Countdown had to admit the mech was right. Even without the dragons to provide current information on local societies, sky spy drones should still be able to develop maps of the regions, allowing various mechs with beast modes to find places to observe the population undetected, and from there bots under holographic disguises could make contact. It was still a viable plan, they’d just have to move slower. “Start the preparations for me, could you?” He waved a hand towards his doctor. “You know where to find me for the foreseeable future.”

“Complaining won’t make me go any faster,” Fixit said, not looking up from where he was sealing off an energon tube. Optimus merely chuckled as he left the infirmary, leaving Countdown to wonder, yet again, just what happened to the dragons he remembered.

***

The answer, as he found a few days later, was all too familiar.

“We arrived in the middle of a war.” Standing at the far end of the conference room table due to the lack of any seats big enough to support him, Hardtop shook his head. “Actually, if our initial surveys are accurate, there’s several smaller conflicts across the continent, and potentially a few more brewing, but regarding the dragons in particular…” The wall screen behind him activated, displaying several high-altitude images of an area east of the Churning Mists, where the mountain ranges opened up into a wide valley. Several villages of varying size could be seen, with expansive farmland around them.

Then the outer images focused on a particular village, while the central one shifted to ground footage collected by one of the survey teams. While clearly recorded at a safe distance, one could easily make out the details of a vicious battle being fought, with dragons of every size and shape on one side, and an army of men on the other side. As the mechs watched, both sides tore into one another with a savage ferocity, neither side showing quarter or mercy.

As he watched a red scaled dragon pin an elezen warrior in place with a massive claw, then bite down through the chainmail and tear her open, Countdown winced noticeably. The aggression, the sheer hatred on display, all of it brought back memories of the Great War, when the nations of Cybertron fought with similar ferocity. “Something tells me this isn’t a new development,” he muttered.

“Yeah, pretty much. This was the only battle that Razorbeasts team was close enough to actually witness, but they have found evidence of others, less than a month old. And the sky spies found a number of ruins that we suspect might have been towns wiped out by attacks over at least a vorn, maybe longer,” Hardtop replied. “Sorry boss, but it looks like your old friends are stuck in a particularly nasty, ongoing war.”

“No wonder they reacted so poorly when you teleported into their territory,” Optimus muttered.

Countdown couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yeah, there’s a critical difference from last time I was here… Slag.” Leaning back in his chair, he ran a hand down his face. “Until we know more about the situation, I want the survey teams to maintain their distance from both sides. Let’s try not to get too involved, just in case.” Everyone else around the table nodded, and he pressed on, trying not to think about how such a conflict might have changed his friends. “Next order of business?”

“The team in what was the Amalj'aa Expanse have reached the location of Zal'na'rak. And… sorry boss,” Hardtop said with a wince, as the images behind him changed again. The majority of the city was long gone, with not even ruins left to remember them by. Even the mesa that had contained the Temple of the Undying Flame had collapsed, leaving the outer shell of the land that Countdown remembered. From images taken by the survey team, they could see that the area was inhabited, with timber structures built into the rocky walls. But instead of the Amalj’aa, everyone present seemed to be Hyurs, many of them in threadbare clothes.

“Pretty sure we’re looking at a refugee camp,” Hardtop continued. “And to make matters worse, the Amalj’aa don’t seem to have abandoned the area entirely willingly. Silverbolt reported several patrols, and at least two small skirmishes with the camp guards.”

“Where did they come from?” Optimus asked, frowning.

“Sky Spies have shown refugee groups moving west, towards a pretty large city out past what you called the Silver Fields. South is Amalj’aa territory and doesn’t appear to have changed hands any time recently. But to the east…” He changed the images again, now showing a I’d say they came from the other side of this before it went up.

“Skalla was in that region, back in the day. One of the smaller city-states at the time,” Countdown mused. “Their descendants maybe.”

“Maybe. Dinobots team is in that area now, hoping to determine the situation there...”

***

Once, the city of Skalla had been a grand sight. Founded at the dawn of the Fifth Astral Era, it had endured through the centuries, its stonework unmatched by any across the continent. Grand towers reached for the heavens, and elaborate temples celebrated the Twelve, while beautiful art decorated the streets.

All of that was gone now. While the city had faced countless challenges during the War of the Magi, its final destruction came from the waves of the Calamity of Water. When the ocean surged forth to claim the lands of Eorzea, the steep-walled ravine that had been the cities natural defence for so long became the source of its doom, forming a new inland sea where once so many people had lived. Centuries later, long after the last tower had sunk beneath the waves, it was remembered only in legends and tales, known to all as the Drowned City.

Standing on an old piece of masonry, Yda Hext considered the ruins, visible beneath the surface, smiling in satisfaction. She’d always loved this place, from the very first time her father had brought her here as a child. Despite the many upheavals in her life since those simple days, despite the dangers she faced from just being in the kingdom of Ala Mhigo, returning here at last had helped an old wound on her soul heal, just a little bit.

And not just from those memories of simpler times. There was a message in those ruins, to those who paid attention. Nothing was eternal, and time would wash away all those who thought otherwise. Her father and his allies had taught that lesson to the Mad King Theodoric, and in time, the Garlean Empire would learn it too.

A voice called her name, pulling her from her thoughts, and she turned to see a redheaded girl in her early teens making her way along the shoreline towards her. Grinning, the woman jumped down off her perch and sprinted towards her. “Fordola! I was starting to wonder if you’d make it!” she noted as she came to a halt.

“Mother wanted help with some chores,” the girl admitted, half-grumbling but still unable to hide her relief at the fact. When Yda had first met Fordola Lupis, it had only been a few days since the girl had lost her father, through circumstances Yda still didn’t have all the details on, and her mother had naturally been hit hard by the grief. Chores, and getting her daughters assistance with such was a return to normality, however slight.

Despite that, Yda kept her smile playful, her serious gaze hidden by her facemask. “Ugh, chores,” she said. “You think they’re all done, and then there’s more. Waiting. Watching. Lurking. And then boom, laundry out of nowhere and Papalymo’s grumping at me that it was clearly my turn...” She leaned in closer. “He’s got no room to complain. He wears all black and browns. I think it’s so he can put off doing the laundry for as long as possible.”

That earned a chuckle from her young friend. “While you not only wear clothing that will attract every stain,” she noted, gesturing at the womans white shorts and blouse, “but seem incapable of passing a mud pile without jumping right in.”

Yda gasped. “That lecturing… Papalymo, is that you? How’d you make yourself look like Fordola? Is it an illusion?” She started poking the girl, earning another chuckle that turned into a slight giggle as the youth proved slightly ticklish. The older woman kept her delight at that giggle carefully hidden. The pain and loss over her father had been smothering the poor girl, with no real outlet for it either. Yda knew, from personal experience, how such grief could turn toxic if one didn’t have ways to handle it. If she could help Fordola out with her antics?

Then her returning to Ala Mhigo was worth all the trouble.

Eventually, she stopped poking the girl, darting back before she could retaliate. “Okay then, good news! You’re not so late that todays plans are ruined.”

“You have plans?”

“Plans and schemes,” Yda responded. “But I do believe you expressed curiosity in learning how to hunt the other day. I have some gear to help out, and if you’re willing and able, today we will feast! On ducks or rabbits, not sure which yet.” Movement in the distance caught her attention, and she turned her head slightly. “Or we could try that raptor, but that might be a bit too much for your first try,” she continued without missing a beat.

“Try for wha-” Turning, Fordola squeaked and jumped backwards, bumping into Yda, as she saw the large reptile emerging from behind the rocks, sniffing at the ground. Her movement caught the animals attention, its head snapping up towards them, and Yda quickly pulled the young girl behind her. “What is that?!”

“That’s a raptor of some sort. Kind of weird to see one this far east really, maybe it’s a pet that got loose?”

“A pet? Seriously?”

“Hey, it’s clearly well fed,” Yda pointed out as the raptor tensed. She frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe a little too well, honestly.” The raptor growled slightly, and she carefully unhooked the pair of heavy darksteel knuckles from her belt. “Okay big guy, keep on moving,” she continued, keeping her voice and body language as nonthreatening as possible. “No need for any trouble…” Still growling, the animal considered them for a long moment, before apparently deciding the pair was neither a threat nor a meal, darting off in another direction and vanishing into the undergrowth.

Sighing in relief, Fordola relaxed. “Well, that was exciting.” Chuckling, she poked Yda in the side. “And here you thought you might have to save me from another beast, hmm?”

“At least this one looks nicer than a giant frog,” Yda laughed, darting away from Fordolas fingers. Behind her mask, her eyes glanced over at where the raptor had vanished. Something about the animal and its reactions seemed off...

And was it her imagination, or had it understood her when she insulted it?

***

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER EIGHT: OBSERVATION AND SACRIFICE

Bringing the knife down, Yda cut cleanly through the rabbits ankle and slid it aside, before taking a breath, gathering her confidence, and speaking up. "So, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. I'll be leaving at the end of the week."

Fordola looked up from where she was skinning another rabbit, a look of mild surprise on her face that quickly faded as she considered the matter. "Leaving Ala Mhigo entirely?"

That got an approving nod from the older woman. While both of them had carefully avoided the topic over their short time knowing one another, Yda had never really tried to keep her connections to the Ala Mhigan resistance a secret from her. "Good guess. How'd you work it out?" she asked curiously.

"It wasn't that hard. I've heard you using a linkpearl before," she said, gesturing towards Ydas right ear, where the tiny arcane device was hidden under the folds of her turban. "And you mentioned refugees a few times. You're taking them past the wall, out of the Empire. Somehow," she added, a hint of disbelief crossing her face. Baelsar's Wall had been a fixture of Ala Mhigo since she was a little girl, the barrier that cut them off from the rest of Eorzea. She'd grown up hearing about how impenetrable it was, so it was unsurprising that she found the possibility of Yda sneaking across it hard to believe.

Shrugging, Yda glanced down, severing another of the rabbits feet. "I mean, it's easier than you'd expect, honestly. They were in a real hurry when they built the wall, given how pretty much their entire air fleet got eaten at Silvertear Lake, and they were convinced the Eorzean Alliance was going to come for them. So there's gaps and blind spots all along the border that, if you're careful…"

Considering that for a moment, Fordola nodded, accepting that. Then she frowned. "But that doesn't make it easy."

"Not even slightly," Yda agreed. "Which means, that once I leave-"

"-You won't be coming back for a long time, if ever." Her shoulders slumped and she looked down at her rabbit for a moment. "I knew it would happen," she admitted. "I just wish…"

"Why don't you come with me?" The question slipped out before Yda could stop it.

Taking a breath, Fordola gave the question the thought it deserved, much to the other woman's approval. After all, leaving Ala Mhigo was not simply a matter of escaping the Empire. It would force Fordola, and hopefully her mother, to start from nothing in distant lands, with little to their name and possibly no support from anyone. It was a life-changing decision, one that shouldn't be made in a hurry.

And if Yda was being honest with herself, she was slightly ashamed for springing it on the girl without warning. She knew she should have spoken about her departure sooner, giving Fordola time to properly accept it before bringing up the possibility of coming with her. Instead, she'd put off sharing the news, instead enjoying simply spending time with the girl, and then dropped the followup on her without warning.

"What about my mother? And my friends, could they come?"

She thought about it briefly, then sighed. "We can only take so many people. One or two we can slip in with the cargo, but no more than that." Yda looked pained. "I'm sorry... Maybe it was wrong of me to ask."

To that, Fordola shook her head. "No, no, it means a lot to me that you did," she reassured her. "But… Can I think about it for a while?"

"I'm not leaving for a few more days," she reassured her. "You have time."

"Good. Good." Careful of the knife Yda was holding, the girl darted forward and hugged her. "Thank you."

As Yda returned the hug, neither noticed as a falcon in a nearby tree took to the air, quickly vanishing into the afternoon sky.

***

To the south of Loch Seld, the hills were filled with countless caves and caverns, some natural, some carved out by miners dating back several astral eras. Despite the best efforts of the Empire to map them out, there were still dozens of places where people could hide if needed. Several beastformers had taken advantage of this, establishing a small ground base where no one was likely to stumble over them. This allowed the large rat to abandon his act of a simple animal and laugh himself sick, even as a raptor glared at him and a cheetah groaned in frustration. "Too well fed! Oh gods, that's spectacular! I could kiss this woman!" Calming himself for a moment, he looked up at the raptor. "Maybe you should consider some exercise?" he suggested, before breaking down laughing again.

"Keep talking vermin," Dinobot hissed, stalking closer to the rock his companion was lounging on. "See how far you can push me before I indulge in the 'exercise' of carving your pelt from your frame."

"Oh please," Rattrap replied, standing up on his hind legs and meeting the glare with a smug smirk. "Keep on tellin' yerself that chopperface. Ya ain't got the bearings ta even try."

Burying his head under his paws, Cheetor groaned yet again. The pair had been arguing over Dinobots passing encounter with the native woman for far too long, and any amusement the younger mech might have had regarding the topic had long since faded. But that didn't stop Rattrap from continuing to snark, or Dinobot continuing to threaten the rodent. It was a familiar tale really, one the young bot had experienced countless times over the past few vorns, but the knowledge that the pair were actually good friends behind all the noise and bluster didn't really help when they kept on arguing.

"Hear… Feel… Think…"

Blinking, the cheetah sat upright, looking around the cave. For a moment, he could have sworn he'd heard something. A femmes voice outside the perhaps…? A moment later, he seemingly got his answer, as a familiar looking falcon flew into the cave, transforming and growing into a femmebot around the size of the natives they'd encountered. "Airrazor."

Holding up a small handheld device, she grinned at him. "Got those aetherical readings Perceptor wanted."

Turning away from Rattrap, Dinobot smiled. "Excellent work. Unlike some rodents, you never fail me." Behind him, the rodent in question made a rude gesture that everyone ignored. Transforming, Dinobot stepped forward, taking the scanner from his subordinate. "I must admit, exactly how he will use this to find Hydaelyn escapes me, but I have never had much skill in the scientific arts."

Cheetor shrugged. "Also, he's absolute scrap at explaining things."

"You're just terrible at paying attention," Airrazor said.

"...Fair."

Her expression turning thoughtful, the femme turned back to Dinobot. "On another note, I came across that mortal you crossed paths with earlier. Shut up Rattrap," she added quickly, cutting off the rodent before he could even finish opening his mouth. "More importantly, I think it might be worth keeping an optic on her. From what I overheard, she might have a connection to the local anti-government forces."

Folding his forelegs over each other, Rattrap considered that. "Kid's gotta point there. One of our jobs is gathering intel on the governments down here after all, and we ain't seen nothin' so far that says this 'Garlean Empire' is anything the captain's gonna be establishin' peaceful diplomatic relations with. But..."

Optics narrowing, Dinobot reluctantly conceded the point. "Opposition to a questionable government does not automatically imply virtue," he mused. "Best we determine the truth of such matters now, rather than later." He turned back to Airrazor. "You will likely have to perform the majority of the surveillance," he pointed out. "Cheetor and I are too large to approach civilians unnoticed, and so we shall continue scouting out local troop movements."

"I can handle it sir," the youth assured him.

Rattrap frowned. "What am I supposed ta be, rust shavings?"

"I should be so lucky," Dinobot muttered. "While she observes from on high, I want you ready to follow any interesting targets she may see. Or, for that matter, assist her should she be detected." He smirked, showing off a collection of pointed teeth. "No one ever expects the rodent for more than carrying plague, after all." The others smirked as Rattrap tried to figure out if he'd been insulted.

***

It was a universal truth that one can always find a guard willing to take a bribe. In this case, a conscript on gate duty at one of Ala Mhigos smaller gates who'd gotten a bit too fond of the local brothels and gambling rings, and found himself owing more than the stipend the Empire paid. One of Yda's allies had learnt of this, and offered to make the problem go away, in exchange for a tiny little favor. A single shipment out of the city not being properly searched. Where was the harm in that? After all, any threat would be getting smuggled in, surely.

Standing next to a cart loaded with goods, dressed as a simple laborer, Yda looked every part the timid and obedient citizen, the 'merchant' she supposedly worked for standing next to her. Meanwhile, the guard started to walk around the cart, tapping on several sections with his spear to check for hollow spots, then climbed up into the back, pretending to inspect the barrels inside. The pair of guards outside the city wall didn't seem to notice anything suspicious behind them. It was all going well.

Then movement behind the cart caught her attention, and she carefully didn't react at the sight of the guards partner stepping over from the guard post. The bribed guard saw him coming, stepping to the side of the cart to talk to him in a low voice, and Yda's stomach clenched even tighter. After a moment, the second guard stepped around to the side of the cart, thumping his fist against several panels a few times, then looked back up into the cart and shook his head. A moment later, the bribed guard jumped back down, gesturing to the merchant. "You're good to go." They climbed back up and retrieved the reins, while the second guard called out to the pair outside the wall. They moved aside, and the cart was on its way.

"Thank Rhalgr he was more interested in the cart," Yda said quietly once they were a safe distance from the gates.

"Hey, if he wants to look at the timber, I'm happy to let him do so," replied the dark-skinned man holding the chocobo's reins with a chuckle. "Third barrel on the left." Nodding, she climbed into the back of the cart, making her way to the barrel in question. Moving the top two layers of apples out of the way revealed a handle that lifted that section clean out of the barrel, revealing an elderly man in simple robes hiding underneath.

"Commander Kemp," Yda greeted the man, reaching down to help him out of the barrel. Above them, unnoticed, a falcon landed on the top of the balloon holding the cart aloft.

Conrad Kemp groaned, stretching out carefully and getting movement back into his limbs. "Thank you dear girl. I must admit, regardless of its necessity, I can not recommend this particular method of travel."

"It'd be worse for me," she grinned. "I'm all gangly limbs."

"And utterly incapable of standing still, unless something has changed since the last time I saw you," he said, looking her over. "My my, you've grown lass."

"It's been over a decade, I'd better have grown," she pointed out, not surprised that the man recognized her despite her having been a young girl when they last met. "What were you even doing in the city? With the price on your head-"

Conrad's laugh cut her off. "Meetings that couldn't be avoided, that had to be done in person despite the risk. Annoying but inevitable. And you're one to talk about bounties. I've heard stories about you and your friends. The Circle of Knowing, I believe you call yourself." He gave her a thoughtful look. "Trying to unite the nations of Eorzea to stand against the Empire. A lot of people would consider that a fools errand. Ishgard's obsessed with their dragons, Gridana's Elementals don't care about anything beyond their forest, and the Amalj'aa, well…" Sighing, he sat down on the bench running along the side of the cart and stretched his legs. "History shows how poorly the people of this realm cooperate."

Smiling wryly, Yda took the seat on the opposite side of the cart. "Yeah, I can't say any of that is wrong," she admitted, leaning back and looking up at the balloon. "We're a group of idealistic fools at best. But that won't stop us from trying."

"The price on your head is higher than mine," Conrad pointed out. "So if nothing else, someone in the Empire sees the threat you pose."

"The respect of one's enemies is noticeably overrated," Yda mused, getting a laugh from both men, before her expression turned serious again. "Midgardsomr hurt the Empire at Silvertear Lake, maybe more than anyone else ever has. Eorzea had the chance to drive them back after that, maybe even force them right off the continent. But they, we, wasted the chance. Old grudges and petty feuds were more important." She growled softly, her fury at that line of thinking slipping past the iron grip she usually held it in, just for a moment, then shook her head.

"Which brings me here, back to Ala Mhigo. When the wall went up, there were people the Gridanians knew still on this side. Family, business associates, that sort of thing. If they're willing to take the chance, we're getting them back across the wall, to put familiar faces on the stories the Gridanians hear about the Empire." She shrugged. "It's easy for a lot of people to ignore refugees when they're just strangers, but when they're people you know, that you love, suddenly it becomes a lot harder to dismiss them."

Leaning forward, Conrad frowned. "Forgive me, but you don't exactly match your reputation."

That earned a delighted giggle in response. "I'd hope not! I've worked very hard on my public image over the years. It works wonders."

***

The following morning, safely back in their hideaway, Rattrap used the chance to transform and stretch his limbs. "Well now kiddo, look's like ya found something dang useful," he chuckled. "This Circle of Knowing sounds like the sort of people the Captain would wanna know about. If and when he starts dealin' with the local governments, that sorta thinking…" The tiny mech, barely much taller than a Lalafell, idly flexed his shoulders to work a kink out.

"Honestly, I'm more curious about another thing they mentioned," Airrazor murmured. "Midgardsomr's name was in the files of the Captains first visit."

"Yeah yeah, some high-rankin' dragon or some such, if I recall right."

Having properly read the reports, Airrazor merely rolled her optics. "He was the first dragon on Etheirys. Ratotoskr hatched from one of the six eggs he brought with him." Crossing her legs, she considered that for a moment. "Given how powerful she's reported to be, and how dragons gather more aether as they age, I wonder what happened at this Silvertear Lake. The other time Yda spoke of it, she mentioned the Garlean airfleet getting eaten. Now I wonder how literal she was being."

"I imagine the Captain would be interested in that too," he admitted. "Word is that mess last week in the Churning Mists has him more worried than he'd admit." He would have continued, had both transformers comm systems not chosen that moment to beep with an incoming call. "Huh, what's up chopperface?" he asked, bringing a hand up to the side of his head. "Ya missin' little old me already?"

Surprisingly, the response was not the chest-rattling hiss of irritation both transformers expected. "Soldiers are moving towards your location. At least a platoon so far, with more likely to follow." Glancing at each other in alarm, they both instantly transformed to their beast forms, just in case. "They have a form of armored cavalry with them. Some form of walker."

Scurrying over to the cave entrance, Rattrap cautiously glanced outside. "Any sign they've seen you two yet?"

"Nothing so far. They seem to be focusing their efforts on ensuring their advance goes undetected by anyone ahead of them."

If she'd been in robot mode, Airrazor would have frowned. Dinobot and Cheetor had been investigating an area the Garleans called Porta Praetoria, on the west side of Loch Seld. If they were moving towards the region she and Rattrap were currently in, surely it would make more sense to send troops from the capital city instead-

Spreading her wings, she took to the air, flying out of the cave before she even had time to think about it. "I know where they're going!"

***

Standing on the old piece of masonry, looking out over Loch Seld, Yda sighed softly. The linkpearl tucked behind her ear vibrated, relaying the voice of her fellow Circle member, and dearest friend. "The Castrum is on high alert," Papalymo reported. "There's no way for us to sneak though to you. Any aetherytes in the region are certainly being monitored."

Turning away from the water, she looked out over the countryside, spotting the tiny figure of Fordola approaching from the city, as she had many times before. Completely unaware of who was following her. Eyes narrowing behind her mask, Yda saw glimpses of several figures, all in black armor, carefully following the girl, careful to remain unseen by her, but not quite good enough to avoid Yda's gaze.

"Dammit." It was her own damn fault. Yda had, in a moment of selfishness, offered to bring her and a handful of other people to Gridania, and then left it to Fordola to make the arrangements. A girl with no training in spy craft or stealth. She'd talked about it in the presence of the wrong person, it had made it back to the Garleans, and all they'd had to do was follow her and wait. And with what Papalymo had said about the Castrum, there were likely troops coming from the other direction, planning to catch Yda if she ran now, and it would take too long for her to cast a teleport spell.

The only bright spots in this disaster was that she got Conrad out of the region yesterday before the Garleans closed the gates, keeping a resistance leader out of their hands, and that Papalymo was on the other side of Castrum Abania, ensuring that he wouldn't die alongside her. Not that he would ever see it that way, of course. Her heart ached at what this would to to him and Lyse, to say nothing of the rest of the Circle.

As she despaired over that, Fordola came to a stop a short distance away. Where before, her approach had been confident, now there was a sudden unease as she took in the woman's body language. "Yda?" she called out in a small voice.

There was only one choice Yda could make. "It's not looking good here either," she told Papalymo. "Change of plan. Go now. Don't wait for me."

Angry spluttering echoed across the link. "I beg your pardon?! Yda, if you believe for a single moment that I would abandon you to those brigands-"

"I'm sorry, Papalymo! Look after Lyse for me!" Yda said with her customary cheer, then took the linkpearl out of her turban, crushing it between her fingers as she did so. Best not to let the Garleans take it from her corpse. Because she knew now that she wasn't going to be taken alive. Not because these Imperial soldiers were any more bloodthirsty than any others, or a particular desire to keep the secrets she knew out of Garlean hands. But because if Fordola was going to survive the day with both her life and freedom, she needed to skew the narrative.

Hearing her speak with her usual cheer relaxed Fordolas nerves, until the sound of footsteps reached her, and she spun to see the soldiers emerge from cover, fanning out across the beach.

"Nice trick." Even now, despite the need, it took effort to speak to Fordola with such deliberate coldness, such malice, but Yda managed it. It was so cold that it took a moment for Fordola to even realize it was her she was speaking to, turning back to Yda with confusion joining the sudden fear.

"Wh-What?"

"You knew I'd find out if you blabbed to the guards, so instead you made sure you were followed... Imperial rat!" Fordola made to protest, but her voice died in her throat when she realized the truth of the situation.

"Thought I'd be able to make some decent money off a merchant's daughter, but you had to go and spoil everything... You'd better run while you can, or I'll strangle you where you stand!"

***

A short distance away, four beastformers hid in the bushes, watching the scene in horror.

"Scrap," Rattrap said quietly. "They must know she's smugglin' people through the wall, but they don't know her motives. If she makes them think she's just a slave trafficker..."

"The sparkling will be dismissed as nothing more then a mislead child," Dinobot finished for him. "But to maintain such a story, she can not be taken alive."

"What do we do?" Airrazor hissed. "We can't just let her-"

"That is exactly what we must do," the raptor said, not looking away as one of the soldiers, who had been slowly moving up behind Fordola, reached out for the child. Yda instantly exploded into motion, closing the gap between them faster than the mechs could believe, driving a foot into the mans stomach. "Our mission is a covert one, and our orders to maintain stealth were clear. If she is willing to die to protect the child, all we can do is honor her choice," he finished, self-loathing evident in his voice.

Airrazor glanced at him in disbelief as, out in the field, Yda bounced on the balls of her feet, fists at the ready. "Feel free to attack all at once, if you're so scared!"

"Cut her down!" The soldiers brandished their blades with angry cries, and Fordola ran.

"Smart girl. She figured it out," Rattrap murmured, even as he marveled at Ydas fighting skills. She was clearly a brawler by nature, the sort that got in as close as possible, targeting limbs and joints with brutal precision. And there was no doubt that she was a master of the art. One soldier fell, his knee shattered, then another, the side of his skull caved in.

But while the soldiers might be nowhere near her level in skill, quality helped to bridge the gap, and the woman was soon bleeding from several smaller wounds. Even worse, one of the soldiers was a mage of some sort, remaining at a distance while casting spells to ease his comrades wounds. And even as Yda barely avoided a sword swing that would have gone across her face, losing her turban in the process, the transformers caught sight of movement to the west. The soldiers that Dinobot and Cheetor had originally seen leaving Porta Praetoria, accompanied by a walker mecha that clearly had some sort of artillery mounted in the front.

Whiskers twitching, Cheetor suddenly spoke up. "Seven, eight, ni- Scrap, one of them went after the sparkling!" Glancing to the west, they saw the tiny figure of Fordola running desperately, weaving around the rubble along the beach as she did so. But the soldier chasing her was clearly faster, closing the distance even as they watched. Behind them, Yda became aware of the same thing, breaking free of the melee with a spinning kick that hit no less than four of her opponents, giving her the opening to chase after Fordolas pursuers.

"She's not gonna make it," Rattrap winced.

And that was when Dinobot exploded into motion. Before anyone could stop him, the raptor had charged out of their cover and across the beach, moving with far more speed than the injured Yda could muster. As Fordola lost her footing and the soldier raised his sword, Dinobot lunged, driving the claws on his hind legs into the man, carving through the padded armor he wore and the flesh underneath with ease, his sheer weight instantly driving the man to the ground, his screams of agony quickly cut off.

Rattrap groaned, running his paws over his muzzle. "Aw fer bootin' up cold! You two, back him up. I'm callin' this in." As the falcon took to the air and the cheetah ran out into the fray, he activated him comm. "Axalon, this is Rattrap. Chopperface just brought a truckload of trouble wholesale, and I'm passin' the savings on to you!"

***

For a moment, Yda and Fordola stared at the raptor in disbelief as it rose to its full height. It returned their stares with what almost be called a smile, then broke into a sprint again, meeting the charging imperials halfway. As if that wasn't shocking enough, some sort of couerl emerged from the bushes, its long whiskers already cracking with levin as it whipped them at the nearest targets.

"… Well then," Yda said after a moment. Then, recognizing that Fordola was out of sight to the Imperials, she knelt down next to her, wincing at the pain from the wound in her side, before meeting the girls eyes without her mask for the first and last time. The girl whimpered softly, trying to speak, but was blocked by fear, shame and grief. Reaching out, Yda placed a hand on her hair. "Live, Fordola," she said gently. "Find some hope to hold onto." Fordola could only nod, barely able to contain the sobs that threatened to burst from her chest, as Yda graced her with one final smile. Then she was gone, running hard and fast towards the battle on the beach, leaving the girl she'd come to see as a second sister free to escape.

She came in on the raptors flank, intercepting a spearman that had been about to skewer it, leaving it clear to charge the conjurer that had been healing his fellow soldiers. Her eyes narrowed as the couerls whiskers lashed past her to finish off the spearman while he was occupied. Then, as one final touch, she saw the second wave of soldiers from the west come under attack, as a massive falcon swooped down out of the sky and tore the pilot of the Magitek Reaper clean out of his seat.

Thoughts and theories danced through her head, and she moved up next to the raptor. "I don't suppose you've got an exit plan of some sort?" she asked it. It looked back at her, and she smiled humorlessly at the clear intelligence in its eyes. "Yeah, I'm asking you a question."

"… We may," the creature replied, confirming her theory. Before he could continue however, two more beasts emerged from the hills to the south. The griffin that joined the falcon in launching aerial attacks was plausible, the animal was at least native to the region. The gorilla that hit the ground running and headed straight for Yda and the raptor was more of a surprise.

"I know you can talk," she said, drawing the gorillas attention away from the suddenly uncomfortable looking raptor. He turned to look at her, then back at the raptor. "I'm guessing auspices, or something like that. Never heard of any in Ala Mhigo, but that can wait. What's your plan for getting out of here?"

"We're going to have a long talk later," he growled at the raptor, who winced noticeably. "We've got a way out for us. But I've got no idea if it'll work for you. It's… untested, shall we say. It could work perfectly, do nothing and leave you here alone, or worse."

"Given the alternative," she pointed out with a twitch of her head towards the west, where the courel suddenly took an arrow in the side before the griffin dived on the archer with a snarl.

Considering that for a moment, the gorilla finally nodded, reaching up to the side of his head. "Axalon. Initiate recall plus one. Yes, the Hyur next to me. Just do it!"

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Slumping slightly, Yda put a hand to her side, wincing at just how sticky her shirt was. Then, sparks of levin began to dance at their feet, seemingly spawning from nothing. In seconds, it moved closer, before arcing up along the armored sabatons she wore, drawing gasps of pain from the woman.

Then, before she could react, the aether surged, and every nerve and muscle in her body exploded into agony unlike anything she'd ever experienced. The world around her vanished, leaving only the pain, seemingly burning to her very soul, continuing forever without end, until finally, after an eternity, blessed oblivion claimed her.

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER NINE: DIVERGENT VECTOR

Reality slammed into place around Countdown, and he reached up to rub his temples as electricity crackled around him. After a moment, he looked up to see the small valley and collection of beastformers he'd expected to see. "No change, I assume?"

"No sir," Tigertron replied. Nodding in mild satisfaction, Countdown looked up at the night sky. It was barely half an hour after sunset, the clear sky giving him an excellent view of the moons and stars. Stepping up next to him, Tigertron transformed to robot mode and gave him a curious look. "If I may sir, what exactly is going on? Our orders were rather sparse on details."

Spinning all four of his wheels in frustration, Countdown sighed. "There was an incident to the far east of here. Dinobots team ended up engaging a squad of Garlean soldiers. They're all fine," he quickly added, well aware that the young bot had been courting Airrazor for some time. "Every one of them is back aboard ship. But they ended up bringing someone else along with them."

Considering that for a moment, Tigertrons optics narrowed. "A local."

"Hyur woman, yeah. Possibly a person of interest in the long term, but right now…" he frowned again, optics searching the night sky.

"Organic lifeforms often have… adverse reactions to orbital jumps," Tigertron said carefully.

Countdown winced at that. "Yeah. That's certainly the case this time. And we still don't have enough information on local medical needs for Fixit and his people to care for her long-term. About the only good news is that she was unconscious when she arrived on the Axalon, so she doesn't know anything serious about our capabilities. Unfortunately, it also means we can't risk sending her back down with an orbital jump," he muttered.

"Hence, this approach," Tigertron nodded in understanding, looking up at the stars. "There she is," he said after a moment, spotting a tiny flicker of blue, barely visible against the night sky, descending towards them. As they watched, it came closer, until the bots on the ground could identify it as a small flying saucer style spaceship, maybe big enough for three micromaster sized passengers, if they didn't move around too much.

Watching as the saucer closed in, Tigertron considered the choice of vehicles. One of the handful of Gobots to join the expedition, Pathfinder was also one of the very few mechs aboard the Axalon capable of independent long-range space travel and atmospheric entry. Combined with her small size and natural stealth abilities, she was the perfect choice to safely transport an organic life-form planet-side without risking a reaction from the Allagan war moon. And on top of that, she was a skilled enough pilot to make a night landing with minimal lights, reducing the chance anyone in the city to the south of their location saw her.

Soon enough, the saucer settled down in the valley, safely out of sight from anyone that might have been watching the sky in the city to the south. Countdown and the beastformers quickly ran towards it, even as the side hatch unsealed and moved aside, revealing Fixit huddled over a blood-stained Hyur woman, wrapped in bandages seemingly made from pieces of her own clothes. "Gimme a hand here!" the doctor snapped.

"Solus have mercy," whispered the giant fire ant among the group, catching sight of the deep burns across the woman's thighs, and the odd scar patterns running along her arms. Even for a mechanical being, the sight was still horrifying, and he forced himself to look away.

Tigertron helped Countdown maneuver the woman through the hatch. The Captain then hoisted her over his shoulders in a firemechs carry, even as his shoulder wheels opened up and his tangible glamour activated, cloaking him in the form of 'Copper Dawn', the Roegadyns armor now updated to more modern styles. "Alright. Skywarp, you're on overwatch," he said, glancing at the eagle perched in a nearby tree. "We'll maintain radio contact as long as I'm in town. If something goes wrong… well, we'll figure that out based off the situation. For now, I want this site nice and burned. Make them think this is where she got her injuries."

Behind Fixit, Pathfinder transformed to her bot form, noticeably towering over the rest of the mechs present. "I think I can handle that," she informed him.

"Thanks Path. Best I get moving," Adjusting his load slightly, Countdown started to jog down the path towards town. Behind him, the rest of the bots backed away from Pathfinder as she began to crackle with electricity, quickly vanishing into another orbital jump back to the Axalon, leaving the grass around where she'd been burning softly.

Studying the flames as they spread, the ant chuckled bitterly. "Well, that's my nightmare for the next few solar cycles," he noted.

"I think that we're all have that to look forward to," Tigertron muttered, glancing over at where Countdown was vanishing around a bend in the road, before looking over at where Fixit was standing, studying his hands with a blank expression on his face. "Doctor?"

"I'm alright," he responded, trying to wipe some of the dried blood off his hands. "Just thinking… We need medical data on the natives. This won't be the last time my people have to treat them."

"That's not the sort of information we can gain with just watching people," the ant commented. "Times like this, I appreciate just being a grunt. Let more talented bots figure that sort of thing out..."

***

Covering her mouth, the Miqo'te guard tried his best to suppress a yawn, and failed, much to the amusement of his colleague. "Shut up."

"Told ya ta get some sleep during the day before ya start this duty rotation," the Roegadyn replied. "Shoulda listened."

"I did get some sleep. Night watch is just naturally miserable and you know it." Sighing, he adjusted the sleeve of his tunic and looked up at the stars for a minute. "Sooner I get back on the day roster the better."

Grinning, the Roegadyn opened her mouth, then paused, taking a closer look at the road to the north, and the patches of light provided by the torches that ran along it. "Someone's out there."

That comment cheered the Miqo'te up, just for the value of a distraction. That cheer lasted until he caught sight of what his partner had seen. A Roegadyn man in plate armor, running for the city gates like the Hound of Menphina was at his heels. And there was something slung over his shoulders…

"Matron's Tits," he swore. "Get the healers!" he yelled at his colleague, before sprinting out into the night. The Roegadyn man saw him coming and started to slow, only for his legs to nearly give way under him, sending him stumbling. Reaching him just in time, the Miqo'te caught him, taking the woman he'd been carrying. "What in the Navigator happened to you two?!" he asked, looking over the numerous wounds across her body.

"No… idea…" the man gasped as he fell to his knees, sounding like he was about to vomit his lungs up. "Found her… back that way," he managed, gesturing back into the hills, before unhooking a waterskin from his belt. The guard glanced at him long enough to check he wasn't actually hurt, then turned his attention back to the rough bandages around the woman's waist.

Behind them, several more guards were coming out of the town gates, one carrying a stretcher, while another hold an arcanists tome. Soon enough, the woman was laid out on the stretcher, intricate magical patterns glowing in the air above her. "She's safe to move," the arcanist said after a moment, before looking at an underling. "You, run ahead to the healing house. They're to prepare for a critical patient, battle wounds, severe burns, and high levin exposure."

As the underling sprinted away, the Miqo'te guard turned his attention to the Roegadyn man sprawled in the dirt. "And you?" he asked, noting the red blood stains across the mans upper body.

"Oh, this is all hers," he admitted. "Other than that, just out of breath. Sprinting a malm or so isn't exactly easy, even when you're not carrying someone." Groaning, he climbed to his feet, waving off a helpful hand, then watched as his companion was ferried into town. Stumbling slightly on unsteady legs, he took a deep breath. "Name's Copper Dawn."

"And the lass?"

"Not a clue," he admitted. "Like I said, I found her about a malm uproad. Maybe a malm and a half," he mused. "I kind of lost track of distance there. Anyway, I did what I could to stop the bleeding, then carried her here." Wiping at his neck and shoulder, he scowled as all he did was smear the blood across his clothes and skin more. "Not sure she was really safe to move, but I couldn't just leave her there."

Snorting, the guard looked towards the gate. "Yeah, no right choice there… look, let's find you somewhere to sit down before your legs give way again," he suggested. "And maybe somewhere you can clean yourself up a little."

Rubbing a hand against is neck, Copper scowled when it came back sticky with blood. "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

***

Pain. That was the first thing Yda was aware of as consciousness returned. Sharp pains across her waist and chest stood out in contrast to a cold, unnatural numbness in her limbs. Even lying down with her eyes closed, there was an odd sense of vertigo that left her yearning to return to sleep. Instead, she forced her eyes open, trying to ignore how that made her head feel like a knife was being stabbed through it, and found herself looking up at an unfamiliar timber ceiling. "Where…?"

"Aleport," came an oddly muffled reply to her left. Turning her head in that direction, she saw an unfamiliar Roegadyn sitting in a chair by her bedside, a book in his hands. "Specifically, the healing house run by the Knights of the Barracuda." Closing the book and placing it on the bedside table, he rose to his feet. "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to wake quite this soon."

"...Who are you?" Yda asked, surprised at just how much effort it took to get the words out. At the same time, her mind was racing as she tried to gather her thoughts. Hadn't she been in Ala Mhigo? Aleport was on the island of Vylbrand, literally on the other side of the continent! Had she teleported somehow? That or the man was lying for some reason, possibly as a Garlean trick, but she quickly dismissed that for the most part. The air certainly smelt like a Limsan port town, if nothing else.

He smiled, bowing slightly. "My name is Copper Dawn. I was the one that found you, about a malm and a half north of town last night. It's fortunate I did too, you were in a bad way. The Knights will likely want to ask you about it now you're awake." Taking a pitcher of water from the table, he poured a small amount into a cup and offered it to her.

Reaching for the cup, Yda frowned in surprise at the bandages covering her hand. Her failure to recognize their presence, combined with the general numbness, did not imply pleasant possibilities for her injuries. For the moment, she merely sighed, letting the man hold the cup for her as she took a sip. "Thank you," she said quietly. "Was… was there anyone else with me?"

"None that I saw," he replied. "Should there have been?"

"… I'm not sure," she admitted after a moments thought. "Before, I'd been…" her voice trailed off as she tried to remember, but just what she'd been doing was vague at best. She remembered escorting Conrad to the resistance team waiting to pick him up, then returning to Loch Seld to wait for Fordola, and then… she wasn't sure.

Thankfully, Copper didn't press for details, merely placing the cup on the bedside table and moving towards the door. "I'll let the nurses know you're awake." Yda didn't reply, instead staring at the ceiling and gathering her thoughts.

Unsurprisingly, the doctor that came to check up on her was accompanied by a Barracuda officer, one of the 'Yellowjackets' that served as peacekeepers and security across the nation of Limsa Lominsa. Given where Yda had been found, they naturally had many questions for the woman.

"The Circle of Knowing eh? We've had dealings with one of your group before," the officer noted after she'd shared her name and affiliation.

"Yeah, for you Limsans, that'd be Y'shtola. Miqo woman, little older than me but looks about the same age, white hair, capable of making you feel five years old with the raise of an eyebrow?"

That description drew an honest laugh from the man. "Aye, that certainly matches the good lady," he agreed. "One of my men made the mistake of giving her lip one time. Swear the lad flinches every time he sees white hair now!" His voice turned more serious. "I'll have someone inform her you're here."

"Thank you," Yda replied, as if she hadn't noticed the officer had implied he was going to be verifying her identity, and the consequences if she'd been lying. "I'd do it myself, but I, uh, seem to have lost my linkpearl. You wouldn't happen to have it by any chance?"

"There wasn't one in your possessions, and so far, the people we sent up to check where you were found haven't reported finding one. Now then Miss Hext, what brought you to Vylbrand?"

The woman frowned. "That I'm not sure of," she admitted. "Like, the last thing I remember, I wasn't even close to here. I was in the Twelveswood." The location she remembered was a lie, but she kept any trace of it from her face or voice. While it was unlikely that any Limsan would be sympathetic to the Empire, there was still the chance of some animosity towards Ala Mhigo, given both nations history. "Then I wake up here, a stranger next to my bed."

"You're saying you never met the man before?" the officer inquired.

She shook her head, then winced, regretting the action immediately. "Not that I remember."

"Then what do you remember?" the officer asked.

Yda considered that for a moment, then twitched a hand. "I'm sorry sir. Everything after breakfast is a blur."

That admission drew a suspicious look from the man, but then he relaxed slightly. "That matches with what our healers expected," he admitted.

Raising an eyebrow, Yda glanced at the Lalafell healer standing on a stool next to her bed. "You were struck by a frankly obscene amount of levin aether," the man explained. "Short-term memory loss is a common side effect of such things."

"Lightning magic…Do not like that…" she muttered, considering the possibilities, but was distracted by how heavy her eyes felt.

Catching that, the healer looked over at the officer. "That will have to do for now," he said. "She needs her rest."

Flipping his notebook closed, the man sighed. "Very well. We'll speak later Miss Hext."

Trying to focus on him, Yda realized the world was growing increasingly blurry for some reason...

***

"It's nothing to be concerned about," the healer said as they stepped into the hallway. "Extreme fatigue, periods of weakness, these are all aftereffects of levin damage. She'll be like this for some time, even with dedicated healing."

Looking up from where he was leaning against a wall (And covertly listening in on the whole meeting, thanks to some careful adjustments to his audio receptors), Countdown frowned. "She's asleep?"

"Afraid so," the officer replied. "Were you hoping otherwise?"

He shrugged slightly. "I was hoping to speak with her properly at some point. But after last night, I'd really prefer to reach Quarterstone before sunset, which means I should leave soon."

"True enough," the officer conceded. "Well, I don't see us having any further questions for you sir." He held out a hand. "My thanks for what you did here."

Returning the handshake, Countdown smiled. "I couldn't have done anything else," he said. "Once I reach Limsa, I'll be joining the Adventurer's Guild. If you need to contact me again after all…"

"We'll be sure to reach out, don't worry."

Bowing slightly to the healer, Countdown turned and made his way downstairs, and from there, stepped out into the afternoon bustle. Aleport was the first Eorzean town that he'd been able to see in person since returning to this world, and while he regretted the circumstances that led to his presence, he still welcomed the chance to get a closer look. Smooth, clean masonry, supported by timber and metal where needed. Relatively clean streets made of carefully crafted brickwork that held together, despite the grass relentlessly growing though the cracks.

And in the harbor rested massive sailing ships built for the open seas. Not just cargo ships or passenger liners either. Many of the boats he saw were armed, some of them with entire broadsides of cannons visible on the decks and through portholes below decks.

By the standards of the Transformers, it was all undeniably primitive, but there was a beauty to it regardless, and Countdown took the time to appreciate it as he made his way uphill towards the town gates. For a long time, he'd been afraid that the Calamity Hydaelyn had foretold would wipe away everything, leaving a world without civilization, the people desperate to survive in the ruins. But they'd endured that disaster, and rebuilt a society that seemed to be at least the equal of that which had come before. He couldn't help but take hope from that.

Reaching the gates, he nodded to the guards on duty, then set off on the road to the east. Several days travel along this route would take an individual around the isle of Vylbrand and down to the city-states capital of Limsa Lominsa. For the would-be adventurer Countdown had presented himself as, it made perfect sense to take that route as opposed to the direct ferry, and none had questioned him about it.

Which meant that, half an hour later, well out of sight from the city walls, there was no one to witness his disappearance via orbital jump.

***

Dinobot did not fidget. His pride would not allow it. Instead, he locked his frame in place as best he could and remained at attention, waiting as patiently as he could. At the desk in front of him, Countdown studied a datapad, never looking up at him. All Dinobot could do was wait, staring at the clock on the wall behind his captain moved ever forward, cycle after cycle. It was an age old tactic for officers who were… irritated with a subordinate. Dinobot knew this all too well. And yet, he still felt increasingly nervous as the cycles ticked over, the need to say something, or at least move, growing ever stronger.

Finally, Countdown placed the datapad on his desk and looked up at Dinobot, his expression blank. "So. We have a local woman who may or may not have knowledge of talking animals wandering around Ala Mhigo at the very least. Said woman is also seriously injured, possibly permanently, from actions Optimus was forced to take as a result of your intervention. The Garlean Empire now has several dead soldiers, and while it is unlikely they even suspect the true nature of what happened, should we ever decided to go public with our presence on Etheirys, they may recall this incident, at which point the odds of them considering us a hostile power would be… significant." Despite his need to speak up only a moment before, Dinobot wisely remained silent. Countdown's optics narrowed, and the micromaster tapped the datapad. "I've read the reports, both yours and your squads. I've reviewed the memories you all uploaded, as well as the sky spy footage. But there's one thing I still need to know. What were you thinking?"

"I have no excuse for my actions," Dinobot said, before Countdown slammed a hand down on the desk, cutting him off with a loud bang.

"I am not asking for your excuses Lieutenant! I am asking, specifically, what in the pit you were thinking when you decided to engage Garlean soldiers in a situation you knew you had no business getting involved in! Your statement to Airrazor is on the record," he pointed out, tapping the datapad again. "'Our mission is a covert one, and our orders to maintain stealth were clear. If she is willing to die to protect the child, all we can do is honor it.' Your exact words Lieutenant, less than a minute before you ran into the battle anyway. So, again, what were you thinking?"

For a moment, Dinobot didn't answer, searching for the right words. Then, he sighed softly, bowing his head. "They were going to kill a child. I recognize that taking action was a violation of our orders, but..." his head rose again, and he met Countdowns optics without flinching. "At the time, I was not thinking. I merely reacted."

Countdowns optics narrowed, studying the Maximal for long enough that Dinobot was once again fighting the urge to fidget. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "I'd be a hypocrite if I said I'd never done the same thing… You know, I assigned Cheetor and Airrazor to your team because I believed you could keep them from doing anything reckless," he said with a bitter smile. "And yet, here we are."

"As you say sir. Regardless, I still violated your orders. And as such, I accept any and all consequences for my behavior."

Nodding, the captain tapped his fingers against his desk, thinking for a moment. "You're off planet side duties for the next lunar cycle," he said. "You'll be reassigned to Rhinox, to assist him in various shipboard duties." Dinobot tried to suppress a wince at that, but didn't quite succeed, drawing a faint smirk from Countdown. "I'm sure he can find something to fill your time."

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed." Dinobot saluted, turned and marched towards the door only to stop as Countdown spoke up again. "Oh, and off the record? Sky Spies are keeping an optic on the girl, given we don't dare send a beastformer in right now. She's alive, and the Garleans don't even appear interested in her, now that Miss Hext is missing. Hold on to that little detail over the next few weeks."

"… Thank you sir."

***

Half an hour later, the door of Countdowns office opened again, and the mech looked up from his datawork to see Optimus Primal enter. Saving the current file he was working on, he considered his executive officer for a minute. "I gave Dinobot to Rhinox for the next month," he said at last.

Primal nodded in understanding. "That sort of work is the sort of thing that Dinobot loathes."

"That was the idea. How are you holding up?"

The other mech sighed, running a hand across his face. "Better now you confirmed she's awake and healing," he admitted. "I'm still not going to get the image of her in the Jump Bay out of my memory engrams anytime soon."

"You made the right choice for the situation you were left with."

"I made the least worst choice," Optimus disagreed. "There's a difference." Countdown sighed, conceding the point, and the grey-furred mech held up a datapad. "Anyway, I have some potentially positive news for you."

Taking the pad, Countdown scrolled through the images on it. Buildings in an unfamiliar style, some showing signs of neglect and collapse, city streets that showed the same, with roads starting to vanish under grass and other flora. "… An abandoned city?"

"A recently abandoned one," Optimus replied. "We estimate it was only abandoned in the last decade or so, and whatever the cause, it was an orderly evacuation." He smirked slightly. "More than that, it seems that a good deal of material was left behind. Records, libraries… We've even identified at least one school."

"Interesting… I don't suppose we have a name yet?"

He nodded "From several pieces the scouts have recovered, they believe it was called Sharlayan."

***

After a week in bed, Yda was more than willing to admit she was bored. The staff of the healing house were insistent she remain in bed as much as possible, with the exception of physical therapy sessions. She'd already finished the small number of books they had on offer, and she'd fleeced enough people at triad that word was getting around. Even the more reckless Barracudas were reluctant to test themselves against her.

Shame really. It had been an interesting challenge to handle the cards with her fingers in bandages without giving away her tricks.

Sighing, she leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Bored. Bored bored boredy bored bored. So borrrrred."

"Personally, I'm amazed the staff here have managed to keep you safely in bed for this long," a woman's voice said, sounding an incredible mixture of relieved, sarcastic, and utterly furious. Wincing slightly, Yda lifted her head from the pillow to see a familiar Miqo'te woman standing in the doorway, hands on her hips.

Glancing down, Yda saw the womans tail lashing back and forth in agitation, and couldn't help but flinch. Y'shtola Rhul was a woman who tended to keep her emotions on a tight leash at the best of times. For her to slip enough that her body language was on full display… "I don't remember the day before waking up here," she said. "Is Papalymo alright?"

The question stopped Y'shtola's anger, just for a moment, as she considered the woman in front of her. "He is safe, in Gridania," she said after a moment. "Thancred is with him. As was I, until I returned to Limsa Lominsa briefly to attend to some time sensitive matters. You can imagine my surprise," she continued, anger returning, "when I found a message from the Knights of the Barracuda awaiting me, concerning a fellow Archon appearing in Aleport of all places." Her gaze passed over Yda's body, studying the bandages, the scar patterns on her arms, all of it, and her anger faded slightly. "We thought you were dead… And it seems you nearly were."

"A would-be adventurer found me north of here," Yda said, "in a valley full of burns they tell me looked like levin-aspected aether. How in the hells I got there, I have no idea. I could only make it that far in less than a day with some sort of teleportation, obviously. Not even Cid's best airship could manage that kind of speed, let alone without anyone seeing it." Grumbling, she moved to sit up slightly, an action that had Y'shtola briskly walking across the room and helping her adjust the pillows. "But I've never heard of any kind of teleportation magic that burns everything with levin. Everything," she repeated, raising her bandaged hands for emphasis.

Y'Shtolas eyebrows rose as she looked at her friends arms, before she took a well-maintained maple wand off her belt, carefully waving it over Yda's limbs, a faint glow radiating out from it. After a minute, she lowered the wand, her teal eyes filled with horror. "It is almost as if the levin dug its way into your body, before exploding outward… No one would design teleportation magics that worked like this, let alone-" Cutting herself off mid sentence, she glanced towards the still open door, then waved her wand, closing it with a well aimed gust of wind. "Let alone the Garlean Empire."

She nodded in agreement. With the Garlean race unable to directly use magic, the Empire had little interest in developing magic that only conquered races would be able to use, instead focusing on technological development. "What did Papalymo tell you?" Yda asked quietly.

"On the day you vanished, the Garleans sealed off all the major exits to the region, then sent soldiers into the wilds. When he spoke to you by linkpearl, your response suggested that they were already closing in on your position." Yda frowned, considering that, before Y'shstola continued. "The last thing you said was asking him to look after Lyse."

"…Shite," she whispered, eyes watering. "I expected to die there." Entrusting her partner with that responsibility would be her instinctive reaction in such a situation.

"So, certain death, only for you to appear on the other side of the continent, injured and without any memory of the event." Returning her wand to its holster, the Miqo'te considered the matter. "Perhaps the levin was not from the teleportation. If it was from something else, perhaps a Garlean weapon of some sort…"

Yda had known her colleague long enough to be able to follow her train of thought. "That would require a third party of some sort to extract me safely. But to leave me in the middle of nowhere… No, wait, the adventurer that found me. Copper Dawn, he said his name was. Maybe that discovery wasn't an accident."

"So he, or his allies, burned a location near here with levin, in an attempt to make us think teleportation magics were involved."

"Maybe they were, just without the levin. Like I said, I can't imagine how they got me here so fast otherwise. That said…" She chewed her lip for a moment as a thought occurred to her. "Are you familiar with auspices?"

Raising an eyebrow at the topic change, Y'shtola nodded. "A far eastern myth, although there is evidence to support it. Animals that have lived so long their aether has transformed, granting them sapience and enhanced magical abilities. Although I don't see the relevance…?"

"Neither do I," the woman admitted. "But my mind has been lingering on the topic all week, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's just my brain sparking out something weird after too much levin, but it could be something more."

"Perhaps," Y'shtola allowed, but one could hear the scepticism in her voice. Which Yda had to admit was understandable.

Closing her eyes for a minute, she leaned back into her pillow, before another thought occurred to her. "Shtola, did you send any messages about my situation to Sharlayan before the Barracudas contacted you about my survival?"

The silence that followed her question was telling, until the woman sighed heavily. "The boat carrying my update to Master Louisoix departed five days ago. I'm afraid that Lyse will be notified of your apparent death."

"… Shite."

[Norgarth]

heh, Pathfinder was one of the Gobots my brother and I had.we regularly combined them with our Transformers when playing.

[Matrix Dragon]

In this case, her appearance was based off last year's release, which was a repaint of the recent Cosmos figure (and honestly easier to get before this year's rerelease). Much like most continuitues, she's still a go-bot, not a transformer, meaning she has an organic squishy centre

[Matrix Dragon]

CHAPTER TEN: RESEARCH

"Hey Chopperface, ya hear the news?"

Dinobot didn't look up from the tray of mineral samples in front of him. "I have been far too busy to keep up with current events. As you well know."

Chuckling, Rattrap leaned against the side of the table. "Right, so. After that mess in Ala Mhigo a few weeks back, boss bot had to take that femme back down to safety, so he used that glamour disguise his dragon friend made for him, right?" Dinobot twitched slightly at the reminder, but said nothing. "The thing is, if 'Copper Dawn' vanishes now, someone might ask questions. And sure, that ain't automatically a problem for us, but if he needs to use that face later, someone might recognize it and ask questions we don't want 'em asking. So, boss bot has had to spend time making sure his new fake identity has some metal on the framework. Very time consuming busywork, apparently he's found it quite annoying."

"Is there a point to this," Dinobot grumbled, "or are you just enjoying informing me that the captain has more reasons to be irritated with me than previously thought?"

"Because he's so busy, being the captain and all, he's had some mechs working on rigging up a holomatter shell to look like Copper Dawn. That way, someone else can go planet side, and spend time being a nice, innocent adventurer. Of course, they'd need to be a bot with the right proportions and kibble to fit into a Roegadyn disguise. Plus a focus on melee combat would be preferable. Copper mostly uses a sword, after all-"

Putting the tray down, Dinobot took a deep breath. "I know what you are trying to imply vermin. Given my frame and skill set, this would be a perfect opportunity for me to perform the sort of tasks that I am not only highly qualified for, but I would greatly enjoy. Alas!" he declared, spinning and raising a hand to the sky dramatically. "This problem was created because of my impulsive actions! Thus, cruel fate will deny me the opportunity to take part, instead forcing me to watch as another takes my place!" Lowering his hand, he smirked at Rattrap. "Does that cover the situation that you wished to mock me over?"

The third mech in the room, a large brown and green beastformer, snorted loudly at that, not looking up from his own work. Rattrap scowled, folding his arms over his chest. "Ruin all my fun why don't ya?"

"With great satisfaction," Dinobot replied, returning to his work and ignoring Rattrap stomping out of the room.

After a moment, the other mech turned to look at him. "I thought you knew about the captain looking for a stand-in."

"He doesn't need to know that," Dinobot shrugged. "Besides, I'm not going to ruin all of the vermin's fun."

Rhinox laughed, a short sharp noise that rattled his frame. "Fair enough." Turning back to his work, his lips twitched in a smile. "You still wish you could get the job, don't you?"

"Don't you start!"

***

If Countdown was being honest with himself, he'd enjoyed being Copper Dawn again. Playing the role of a simple adventurer, providing aid to those that asked, had been oddly relaxing. Be it as simple as acting as a courier, or going out into the La Noscean wilds to hunt wildlife, it had been a delightful change of pace from centuries of starship command and datawork. Even the logistical issues with returning to the Axalon as needed via orbital jump wasn't enough to dampen his enjoyment.

But the fact of the matter was, his responsibilities to the expedition took precedence. And while he had learned quite a bit about modern Eorzean culture, none of it had really helped with the expeditions main goal of contacting Hydaelyn. Which brought him here, to the ruins of New Sharlayan.

Originally a research outpost established by Old Sharlayan, an island nation far to the northwest of Eorzea, it had grown over the centuries until it was a city-state equal to any other on the continent. Famed for its academia, research facilities, and the sharing of knowledge across the known world, to the point that many forgot it was actually still a province of Sharlayan proper.

That all changed a decade ago when, in a single day, the citizens of New Sharlayan abandoned the city en mass, returning to their distant island and leaving nothing but buildings, records, and more than a bit of wildlife that had been intended for research purposes. That second detail, combined with the fact there was seemingly no sapient lifeforms living in the region, made it perfect for the Cybertronian expedition to start finding solid data.

But as he stood in the area marked out for incoming orbital jumps, looking at the bursts of flames that rose above the decaying buildings to the south, accompanied by monstrous roaring and furious screaming, Countdown couldn't help but wonder if there was a detail he'd missed. "Is this something that I should be worried about?" he asked mildly.

"FOUL BEASTS! YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE US?! YOU SHALL BURN IN THE FIRES OF THE PIT FOR YOUR INSOLENCE! BURN! BURRRRN!"

"Nah, it's fine," Hardtop replied, waving a hand dismissively. "The local morbol population keeps getting curious about us. Inferno's just enthusiastic about teaching them to stay away."

Considering that for a moment, Countdown winced slightly. He'd been unfortunate enough to encounter that particular species of seedkin during the Fifth Astral Era, and remembered all too well the mass of tentacle-like vines, mouths larger than him with massive fangs, and breath full of poisons and acids that could strip the paint from his plating in moments. A bit of furious screaming at facing such creatures, and the use of large amounts of fire in their eradication, was certainly something he could understand.

"Honestly it could be worse," the larger mech continued. "At least we don't need to be subtle in dealing with them. No local intelligent life does have its advantages." He frowned slightly. "Gotta say boss, I'm still suspicious about that little detail."

"Likewise," Countdown agreed. Initial searches of the city carried out by the survey team had found remarkably few signs of looting in the decade or so since the city had been abandoned. Even most of the buildings were still locked, their interiors suggesting nothing more violent than an orderly evacuation. Logic would suggest that the Sharlayans had left people behind to ensure the security of anything valuable that they couldn't remove, but even after weeks, the survey team hadn't found anything . "Given most routes to this area go through Dravania, I suspect difficulty of access is a major factor."

Rubbing at his nose with a finger, Hardtop frowned. "Maybe," he said, "but not all routes. It's weird, like there's something I'm missing." Another burst of flame rose above the buildings to the south, and the mech chuckled. "Unless the morbols are keeping looters away, which, yeah, that I can understand." The flames were joined by a shark, spinning in the air and launching a pair of missiles from his mouth into the chaos below. "Okay, you know what, I'm going to go check on them." He glanced over to the brown and white feathered Maximal standing nearby. "Skywarp, would you escort the captain to the professor?I can't exactly fit inside anyway,"

"Of course Commander," he replied, bowing ever so slightly, before turning to Countdown. "If you will follow me sir."

As Hardtop transformed to his dune buggy alt-mode and speed off down the street, Skywarp led his captain in the other direction, towards a building still clearly recognizable as a school of some sort. Passing several classrooms, they arrived in a large auditorium that were filled with numerous desks and shelves in an attempt to organize the massive amount of textbooks, maps and cybertronian devices that had been brought in. Given there were several stacks of books on the floor, that had clearly met with mixed levels of success.

In the middle of this, a black and white plated mech stood in front of a blackboard, looking down at a text book in his hands, before glancing back up to scribble down a note. Muttering to himself, he flipped to another page, then made another note. After several moments, Skywarp coughed into his hand. "Professor, you have a visitor."

Twitching slightly, Rewind looked up from the book. "Ah, Countdown, thank you for coming." Placing the book down on a nearby desk, he stepped forward to shake the other bots hand.

Countdown smiled politely, then looked around the hall. "I see you've been hard at work here."

"Fortunately for us, the Sharlayans are apparently strong believers in a comprehensive education," the archivist chuckled, tapping a hand against a pile of books and scrolls. "It's allowed us to start putting together an overview of Eorzea's history since your last visit during the Fifth Astral Era."

"And here I thought you'd focus on the government offices to the north," Countdown said.

Rewind shook his head. "Not as useful as you'd think for this sort of research. Still, we had some bots go through the site. Barely found any paperwork or documentation at all. When they abandoned the colony, the Sharlayans either recovered or destroyed any information related to their government. But that's not why I asked you to come."

He nodded in understanding. "Your message said you might have a lead on finding Hydaelyn."

"It's a theory, based off recent history. So, some background," Rewind said. He moved several piles of books to the side of the central table, revealing a large, locally made map that showed what Countdown recognized as what the locals called the Three Great Continents. Surprisingly, the general shape was remarkable accurate to the orbital maps the Axalon had made over the past month, making the mech wonder just how the local scholars had achieved it. "The realm of Eorzea as it stands now," he said, gesturing at the continent of Aldenard and its surrounding islands. "About a dozen major nations and smaller states, some with relative peaceful relations, others in a state of open war with one another."

Tapping the combination camera/projector mounted to the side of his head, Rewind placed a simple holographic overlay on top of the map, highlighting locations across the Eorzean region that Countdown quickly identified as the nations in question. Then, he placed another light on the map, on the continent of Ilsabard to the north-east. "Here's where things get interesting. A little over fifty years ago, the situation to the north was chaotic at best. Multiple nations fighting over limited resources and sustainable cropland. Then the Garlemald Republic began developing machinery they call Magitek. Technology that is the equal of magic, hence the name. They quickly began to integrate this technology into their military, and the next time their neighbors pushed, they pushed back hard enough to outright conquer them."

"There's a familiar tale," Countdown chuckled.

"Yeah, well I'm pretty sure the next part will be familiar too," the archivist muttered darkly. "The Republic began to shift, becoming the Garlean Empire in 1522, with the then Republican Dictator naming himself Emperor Solus zos Galvus the First." Red arrows shifted outward from the light marking the empire, moving eastward into the continent of Othard. "One of his more famous quotes from the time was 'No lands must remain beyond our grasp. Go forth. Conquer. Rule.'"

Behind them, Skywarp laughed bitterly. "Another familiar tale."

"Reminds me of a few Decepticon warlords, yeah," Countdown replied. Considering the map before him, he frowned. "At some point they've obviously turned their attentions towards Eorzea, given their occupation of Ala Mhigo."

"And there's a reason for that," Rewind said. A new light appeared, over a region in western Othard. "This is called the Burn. According to historical and geographical records we've found, it's a dead zone. The aether in the region is so heavily drained that barely any life survives there. And the supposed cause are beings that the Garleans call Eikons, that Sharlayan scholars call Primals…" he glanced at Countdown, "and many of the people of Eorzea call gods."

"…Huh." Rubbing at his chin, Countdown considered that fact for a moment. "Ifrit did say that if he manifested without the proper preparations, the consequences would be disastrous. I should have guessed they had practical experience with that."

"Well, seeing the Burn in person was apparently a life-defining moment for Galvus. Garlean expansionism wasn't just about putting all lands under his rule anymore. Now it was about 'bringing civilization to the savages' 'eradicating the lies of religion' and 'destroying false gods before they destroy us all.'" Rewind rolled his optics before continuing. "And unfortunately, over the past few decades, summoning gods has apparently become something of an accepted military tactic by smaller nations here in Eorzea."

Turning away from the map to look at Rewind, Countdown raised an optic ridge. "As in, gods on the battlefield directly? Seriously?"

The other mech nodded. "Seriously." He tapped a book whose title suggested it was about recent military history. "There's been several major incidents involving beings similar to your descriptions of Ifrit, Titan and Leviathan, at the very least. I haven't found any details on just how it's done, but I suppose that the local governments would prefer that to not be common knowledge. But more importantly, I suspect they're the key to finding Hydaelyn. "

Behind them, Skywarp tilted his head to the side. "You wish to ask the gods themselves for aid."

"Exactly. The last time you were here," Rewind said to Countdown, "Hydaelyn knew you were coming long before you even arrived in-system. With the help of smaller gods, she laid out a trail of energon crumbs that led you to her, while also arranging to warn countless people of an impending disaster. I think that, even if they can't get us in contact with her directly, they can set us on the path to finding her."

Scratching his chin, Countdown considered that for a while. "In fact, they might even already have instructions to do just that," he said at last. "Where would we need to look?"

Turning back to the table, Rewind shifted the hologram over the map again, marking out several points across Eorzea. "Admittedly, these particular records are about seven years out of date now. That said, it's still a place to start. Near Limsa Lominsa, the Kobolds had summoned Titan, while the Sahagin summoned Leviathan. Just prior to the Sharlayan evacuation, the Ixal summoned Garuda in Coerthas. But the one I think you'll be interested in is this one here…"

A specific point on the map blinked, and Countdown nodded, smiling slightly. Now known as the Sagolii Desert, it wasn't far from the place where, once upon a time, he started on the path that led him to the O'riana Matrix. "Ifrit."

"Ifrit," Rewind agreed. The Amalj'aa have been clashing with the Sultanate of Ul'dah constantly over the years, and your old friend has taken to the field more than a few times. Which is a change from your reports of the Fifth Astral Era, I must admit."

Snorting in amusement, Countdown folded his arms over his chest. "Ifrit wouldn't manifest during an invasion of his peoples city by voidsent and undead without the Matrix fragment to provide power. Now he's willing to risk reducing the amalj'aas territory to a wasteland? Something doesn't add up there."

Shutting down his holographic projector, Rewind tilted his head. "Only one real way to find out. I wonder if he'll remember you?"

***

As the remains of the last morbol fell to the ground, smoke rising from the hole that had replaced its main body, Hardtop lowered his rifle and turned to look at the group of young mechs that had been assigned to deal with the seedkin. "'Watch out, they breathe acid.' I believe those were my exact words?"

Wincing slightly, the shark twisted to glance at where the acid in question had burned away sections of the artificial skin along his side, revealing the metal underneath. "Yes sir, you did," he said, in the tone of voice of a mech that knows what's coming.

"Did you think I was exaggerating perhaps?" he asked the young mech. "That organic monsters couldn't possibly threaten you? Or did you just get so excited and worked up that we could see the flames and hear the screaming from blocks away?" he added, turning his gaze to Inferno, making the fire ant squirm.

"We might have gone a little overboard…" he admitted.

"Did I mention the captain just arrived from orbit and saw that?" The assembled mechs all flinched slightly, and Hardtop chuckled, deciding to show a little mercy. "Luckily for you, he's dealt with morbols before, so I was able to convince him you were just a little overenthusiastic. That said, clearly we need to discuss what is acceptable behavior when handling perimeter security."

A short distance away, a frog sat on a rock by the riverside, watching the giant machines with the curiosity of a wild animal dealing with the unfamiliar. Eventually, he jumped off the rock and into the river, quickly vanishing underwater, unnoticed by all.

Ten minutes later, he surfaced a malm upstream, where the valley that contained New Sharlayan was being replaced by the steep cliffs that served as the divider between Dravania and Cortheas. Standing up on its hind legs, it made its way into a small cave, proceeding through the tunnels with familiar ease, before emerging in a small cavern that had been modified and expanded over time. Timber floors, shelving carved into the walls, lanterns installed in secure fixtures, everything that was needed to make the cavern livable long term. Several other frogs, several carrying staffs and wearing hats, were performing various chores and paid him little attention, while several brooms danced around, animated by complex magical charms. "Mistress Matoya, I've returned," he announced.

At a table in one corner of a cavern, an elderly Hyur woman looked up from her study of a thick tome and considered the Porrogo for a moment. "If you're bothering to announce it, I assume you have something to share with me," she grumbled.

"Yes Mistress," her familiar said, quickly waddling over to where a crystal ball rested in a crudely carved stand. Placing his hands on the underside of the sphere, he closed his eyes, and his recent memories faded into view on its surface. Matoya watched as the assorted mechs fought the morbols, all of them switching between robot and beast modes in the process, and were then scolded by their commander over their carelessness in doing so.

"Well now, aren't you an interesting bucket of bolts," Matoya mused. "Not some new fangled Garlean machina or relic of Allag. Too smart, too naturally alive. And they… change…" Staring at nothing for a moment, she tried to remember just why that sounded so familiar. Then she snorted softly, banging her staff against the timber floor. "Puro Roggo!" One of the other Porrogos hurried over. "Go into the library and see if we still have that copy of Saint O'riana's full journals. The full one, mind you, not the edited drivel the Forum decided to publicize." The familiar nodded and hopped away, leaving Matoya studying the images of strange machina.

***

Yda had mixed feelings about Limsa Lominsa at the best of times. The massive white stone towers, and the network of bridges that connected them, were certainly a remarkable sight, and a nice change of pace from the seemingly endless forest that was Gridania. On the other hand, the sheer number of pirate crews that made up most of the population meant that all too often, violence was a hairs breadth away from breaking out at best, creating an odd tension she'd never quite gotten the hang of. To say nothing of the smell when the wind was at the wrong angle.

Today, she was finding a new reason to dislike the city. The simple fact was that Limsa Lominsa was not built to accommodate a woman in a wheelchair. While there were a great number of ramps and walkways, most were far too steep for a chair to manage them easily, and far too many flagstones were poorly spaced, leaving gaps that she often caught her wheels in. Even with her colleagues on hand to assist her, getting up to the Drowning Wench tavern, located in the central tower, was a time-consuming and stressful affair, one that left her temper remarkably frayed.

"Sooner I get out of this chair the better," she growled, mentally cursing the fact she still couldn't stand or walk for more than a few minutes before vertigo set in.

Across the table, an older Lalafell man considered her for a moment. "I know it tests your patience," Papalymo Totolymo said. "I would be worried if it did not. But please do not push yourself harder in the hopes you can render that chair unnecessary sooner."

For a moment, a part of her wanted to snap at the man, to scream that he didn't get to tell her what to do. She resisted the urge, and the rage vanished as quickly as it appeared, as it often had over the last few weeks. Leaning back in her chair, she stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "I know, I know… I'm just being grumpy."

"As is your right," he assured her, smiling gently. It was a welcome sight, one that Yda was more than happy to see. The man had been plagued by guilt over his inability to aid his friend during whatever had happened in Ala Mhigo, and there were times she feared he blamed himself more than the Garlean soldiers she'd likely fought. She would need to discuss that with him soon, before it had time to lead somewhere unpleasant.

For the moment, she pushed the thought aside as Y'shtola returned to the table, accompanied by a rather scruffy looking Hyur man carrying a tray with several drinks on it. "Yer order folks," said Baderon, the taverns owner and local leader of the Adventurers Guild, as he placed the tray down on the table. "Now, Y'shtola here tells me yer lookin' fer someon' I might know."

Taking his drink, Papalymo nodded. "Indeed. An adventurer by the name of Copper Dawn." He raised a hand. "I assure you, we have no hostile intentions towards the man. Quite the opposite actually."

"He saved my life a few weeks back," Yda said, gesturing at her still-battered body for emphasis. "But he left Aleport before I could properly thank him, and I was hoping for the chance to do so."

"Aye, that sounds like the fella," Baderon chuckled. "And yer part of Y'shtolas crew, which sure as anythin' says ye can be trusted. But I'm sorry to say yer too late. He left port a day or two ago, bound fer Vesper Bay." He waved a hand. "Ye all know how 'venturers can be, runnin' round, wantin' ta see everythin' they can."

Slumping back in her chair, Yda stared up at the tavern ceiling. "Well damn. I really wanted to meet him properly." Carefully, she picked up her own drink, quietly cursing how her fingers didn't quite want to wrap around the handle, before turning her gaze back to Baderon. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me anything about the man I owe my life to?"

Rubbing his beard, the man considered that. "Not much ta say really. Man's a model 'venturer. Didn't talk much 'bout himself, liked to listen to stories when he was in here. When 'e wasn't, 'e was workin'. Usually out of town, huntin' monsters and the like. Hard worker too, spent a lot of nights campin' in the fields," he noted.

Taking a seat, Y'shtola paused. As the Circle of Knowing's representative in Limsa, she'd worked closely with Baderon for years, leading to her being more than familiar with the man's expressions. "There is something else, isn't there?"

"…Aye," he said at last. "His accent. Can't place the bloody thing. I traveled a lot in my youth, but where 'e might be from is beyond me." Folding his arms over his chest, he shook his head. "Now I ain't sayin' he might be a Garlean spy or somethin' like that. They'd try'n sound more like someone from Eorzea. It's just unexpected."

Yda resisted the urge to laugh at Baderon commenting on someone else's accent, given just how thick the mans Limsan accent was, possibly deliberately so. "Well, if we do meet him, I could ask him for you," she offered.

"Might just take ye up on that lass," the man chuckled, then glanced across the tavern as someone called his name. "If ye'll excuse me…"

Placing his mug back on the table, Papalymo glanced between the two women. "Well now, isn't that an interesting detail."

"Indeed," Y'shtola said, tapping her hand against her cheek thoughtfully. "Whilst I am inclined to believe the best of the man, I must admit he is becoming quite the mystery."

"If he took the ferry to Vesper Bay, he's probably heading for Ul'dah," Yda noted. "We could overtake him and meet him there."

"Perhaps," Y'shtola agreed. Then she smiled almost playfully. "But that is a thought for later. For now, you have far more important concerns."

Lowering her drink, Yda glanced at her friend in mild confusion, before someone slammed into her from the side. Gasping at the brief flashes of pain that sent through her, she looked down to see a familiar mess of blonde hair pressing into her chest. For several seconds, she stared in shock at the girl who, as far as Yda had been aware, was supposed to be on the island nation of Sharlayan, several weeks away by sea. "Lyse?!"

"Stupid!" the girl responded into her older sisters chest. "Stupid reckless… Idiot!" Any further words were lost to incoherent sobs, her arms wrapping around Yda, who quietly returned the gesture.

"Yeah… Yeah, I deserve that," she said gently, glancing towards the entrance to the Drowning Wench, where two familiar faces were approaching. A white haired Hyur man about her own age, and an elderly Elezen, his skin weathered by sun and time. "Forgive me sir, but I didn't realize you were coming. Either of you," she added, looking back down at her sister again.

"Well, when news reached us of your survival, someone needed to escort your sister here to ensure her safe arrival," replied Louisoix Leveilleur, founder of the Circle of Knowing, and long time mentor to all its members. "Fortunately, the Forum agreed that my status as her provisional guardian in your absence was sufficient."

Yda's eyes narrowed skeptically. The Sharlayan Forum, the governing body of the nation, had been increasingly isolationist and unwilling to let any of its citizens travel abroad, especially men such as Louisoix, who had been publicly and loudly critical of their policies for over a decade. The man had likely been waiting for an excuse that would let him return to Eorzea that they could not deny. Then she looked down at Lyse again, and her anger at being the convenient excuse quickly faded. "Thank you."

Louisoix merely nodded in reply. "May we join you?"