ask-smokescreen:

 the-scrappy-stinger:

(Bee follows along with Smokescreen.) 

(The hall pulls at the mystery-solving part of his mind. He wants to know what’s in those doors so badly. Every one of them sticks in the back of his head even after he passes them. Why’s Censere so protective of them? 

(Taken by surprise at his own image- taken from security camera footage?- Bee balks at his accompanying match. Smokescreen has a pretty clearly-pictured alternate… he… Bee swallows hard and tries to keep his CPU from spinning too fast. He’s dead, he’s dead here just like Megatron but he isn’t dead, his alternate is dead. When Bee takes his hand, it’s through kind of a fog, like he’s directing himself from behind.) 

B-but we need him. He’s the only one we know who’s tough enough to stand up to Megat- I mean, Unicron! We WANT Megatron back! He won’t be destroyed- it’s not certain! 

(Something clicks. Why would Censere be so adamant about them not having him… if he didn’t have him?)

/Smokescreen can’t help but stare as they move on, incredibly curious about what’s behind all of these doors. There’s gotta be other bots in such a big place, right?/

Wait, this is the boxy- It’s nice to meet you too, Censere! Welcome to the multiverse! We could tell you more later- I don’t think any of us come from the same universe.

/Smokescreen’s grinning, happy to shake the strange bot’s servo, fairly used to the multiverse’s weirdness. Still- it’s pretty sad seeing the other Bee offlined./

He’s not going to be destroyed from this, he and Optimus beat Unicron before- I know Optimus did something with the matrix, but Megatron had led him to where Unicron was in the first place, and was mentally fighting his control for a while.

But I’m willing to bet his body might get destroyed if we don’t get him back in there soon. I can’t imagine Unicron’s taking good care of it. 

Censere stands, drawing his servos back under his cloak. Megatron is many things, but Unicron… there is no force known apart from the Thirteen that can hold him at bay, much less a single mech, even one such as Megatron. And in the state Censere found him in…

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you. If the state of things are as bad as you say… No one mech can stand up to The Chaosbringer, not even Megatron. Optimus is a Prime, so perhaps he could help… but you are looking in the wrong place, regardless. You may stay here if you seek refuge, but otherwise, I’m afraid I can’t be of any use.”

ask-smokescreen:

the-scrappy-stinger:

Um- I uh- 

(Bee’s struck by the cape, figuratively. The starry expanse is still fresh in his mind, and the network of stars sitting so casually in a cloak throws him for a loop. His fingers flex in Smokescreen’s grip. Focus. For Lord Megatron.) 

I-I’m Bumblebee. It’s REALLY hard to explain, but I opened a crack into space and we fell through it, and it dropped us here. We’re looking for a spark- a really specific one, it- it was- 

(Bee gives Smokescreen a nudge.) Help me out here, I was in a bubble when it happened…

/Smokescreen also can’t help but stare at the cape, in awe./

That cape’s even cooler than Alpha Trions- did you make it? I mean. I’m Smokescreen! Elite Guardsmech- maybe potential friend? It’s nice to meet you, Censere.

Wait- wait, Necro World? … These aren’t all graves, are there? 

/Smokescreen’s at a loss, trying to think of everything that happened just today in a way that doesn’t sound completely ridiculous./

Basically, Megatron drew this magic card that took him out of his body, right? I thought it offlined him, but it sounds like he’s luckily still around. He’s got Unicron’s blood in his body, so his body’s still alive, but his spark’s floating somewhere else. And because Unicron’s blood is in him, Unicron can use his body to move around and, you know, cause chaos. So we want to get Unicron out of there and get Megatron in his body back as soon as possible.

I know it sounds really ridiculous- but that’s really what happened. we could bring you with us and show you, if you wanted to see for yourself. But have you seen any sparks around? We think he might be here, somewhere.

Alpha Trion, crack in space… The more Censere listens, the narrower his optics get. It’s not that he doesn’t necessarily believe them; it’s often the strangest tales that ring with the most truth. It’s that they can’t be who they say they are, and that even if part of it is true, not a word of it makes any sense. They still have yet to explain why Megatron would have Unicron’s blood, or why they’re the ones trying to help him when they weren’t even on the Lost Light, or why there is a Matrix of Leadership tossed casually over the larger one’s shoulder, or why… Unless…

“Wait, please. Hold on.” He gestures to the one calling himself ‘Bumblebee’, working things out in his mind before speaking. With a flourish of his cape, he invites them to follow him inside, walking past his many closed doors to lead them back to his control room. “Either the two of your picked poor mechs to imitate, or…” His digits fly over the panel, creating glyphs in an ancient language. The two centermost screens show Smokescreen and Bumblebee… twice. 

Each screen splits, showing Bee and a grave site at Cybertron on the first screen, and Smokescreen and… Smokescreen, blocky and serious on the second. Censere looks back to the two in his room in awe. “I never thought I’d see an example of the multiverse for myself… It’s a pleasure to meet you Bumblebee, Smokescreen.” He offers his hand to each in turn. 

“There is much I still don’t understand, but if you are searching for something that has been Lost, I suppose I can’t blame you for looking here…” His face returns to a calm mask, tense once more now that his initial shock has worn away. “However, I am the protector of those who have been otherwise lost to history. I can’t allow you to remove anything or anyone from here if what awaits it is only certain destruction.”

ask-smokescreen:

the-scrappy-stinger:

mightymegatron:

He blinks at the screen, bewildered. Megatron’s body? But Megatron was… and the Matrix? What would Autobots want with Megatron that involved the Matrix? 

“…Leave me be. This is a private residence. I know my rights.”

… private residence? Crap. 

(Bee calls out in the speaker’s direction.) PLEASE, he’s in trouble! His spark was separated from his body and now Unicron has it! If you know anything at all, we could use your help! We don’t even have to come in, right, Smokey? 

(Bee squeezes Smokescreen’s hand tight.) 

/Smokescreen’s squeezing Bee’s servo as well./

Right- We’ll be out of your hair as soon as we figure out where he could be! We need to find his spark- Unicron’s in his body, and if we don’t find his spark soon, Unicron could, you know- destroy Cybertron.

Also, what is this place? What’s with the pedestals?

…These two seem very much not like hunters. He’s downright stumped by them. Since time immemorial, people have tried to feign needing help in order to set up a con, but either they’re colossally bad at making their story seem plausible, or it’s so outlandish that there’s truth to it. 

And generally, murderers and thieves don’t hold hands for so long. The door opens a crack, enough to show his ornamented helm. “…You don’t need to stay out there, but please, don’t touch anything.” After ensuring they’re listening, he opens the door the rest of the way, revealing a tall, orange mech with a cape… lined with what seems to be space itself.

“Where you are has often been nicknamed “The Necroworld… but I would prefer to be called Censere. I have some questions of my own- who are you? How did you get here?”

ask-smokescreen:

the-scrappy-stinger:

mightymegatron:

The door is flat, sealed shut with a mag-lock. There is a camera just above it, looking down at the two intruders with its light on. Behind the door there stands the mech, watching the pair through a datafeed over his wrist. He is silent for now, still suspicious. Why they’re looking for him is unclear, though with the relic at the larger one’s side, he still guesses they’re some kind of hunters. He closes his optics for a moment, getting his bearings. As far as they know, no one is home.

(Bee spots the camera, mostly from an eerie feeling of it drilling into the back of his head. The little light means it’s recording, but not necessarily that they’re being watched.) 

Knocking’s a good idea. (Bee walks right up to the door and bangs on it.) HELLO! Do you know anything about Megatron? We need to bring him back to his body! 

Is anybody on duty? (He bangs again.) HEEEY! 

/Smokescreen’s awkwardly resting the matrix so it’s on top of his doorwing hinges so he can free an arm to knock as well, looking up at the camera, giving a smile. Just in case./

HEY! Anyone home? We’re kinda lost- and we’re trying to find someone, and we’re wondering if you’ve seen any sparks floating about! Are you okay in there?

He blinks at the screen, bewildered. Megatron’s body? But Megatron was… and the Matrix? What would Autobots want with Megatron that involved the Matrix? 

“…Leave me be. This is a private residence. I know my rights.”

ask-smokescreen:

the-scrappy-stinger:

If we find someone, we just- I don’t know! We KNOW they don’t have his body! We’ll just ask around! (Bee’s just barely keeping pace, running so fast he’s certain his feet are missing the ground on some steps.) Who’d keep a spark anyway?!

Unless they’re in the statues… (Bee shakes his head.) No, that’d still be good, because there isn’t one on Megatron’s grave! NOT THAT IT’S A GRAVE! Because it isn’t! 

Like- LOOK there’s something! (Bee tugs Smokescreen towards the bigger building.) Look! Look look look that way! 

/Smokescreen keeps running, squeezing Bee’s servo, not feeling any sort of exhaustion at this point./

Yeah! But what if he’s like… In someone else’s body? What if he took over an alternate somehow? What if he lost all his memories? Bee, he’s going to be okay- right? We’ll find his spark, and get him home, and get rid of Unicron.

/Smokescreen stops his train of thought, staring at the building they’ve run towards, looking for a door./

You think someone’ll be in here? It’s been pretty barren all this way- they wouldn’t have found his spark or something, right?

Think we can just knock? They might be surprised to have company, since it seems kinda dead here- we should’ve brought a drink for them.

The door is flat, sealed shut with a mag-lock. There is a camera just above it, looking down at the two intruders with its light on. Behind the door there stands the mech, watching the pair through a datafeed over his wrist. He is silent for now, still suspicious. Why they’re looking for him is unclear, though with the relic at the larger one’s side, he still guesses they’re some kind of hunters. He closes his optics for a moment, getting his bearings. As far as they know, no one is home.

ask-smokescreen:

the-scrappy-stinger:

(Bee watches Smokescreen’s optics and hones in when they really focus. He follows the line of sight, then climbs up Smokescreen’s shoulders to get a better look.) 

OH! Good optic! Come on, thatta way. Think it’ll be easier to drive or run? 

(Wait, driving means he’ll have to let go… and his hand’s pretty well locked into Smokescreen’s by now.) 

Uh… l-let’s run, together. You lead, Long-Legs. 

(Clambering back down holding someone’s hand is harder than going up, but he still settles back on the ground and is ready to go at Smokescreen’s running speed.) 

That way? Sounds good to me! … Running sounds fine. Think we’ll get a bit more info on what this place is?

/He didn’t want to be in his alt mode- and didn’t want to let go of Bee, either, really. He’s shifting a bit, so he has a better hold of the matrix, before taking off, keeping his speed up- he figures Bee will be fine!/

What’ll we do if we find someone there? What if we find Megatron here and he doesn’t want to leave? Think we can drag him back?

As the trail goes on, the sea of flowers thins just enough to reveal that there is space where grass grows between the statues. The chiming flowers are only an endless sea from the point they started at Megatron’s pedestal; clusters otherwise gather around each new one. There is a different name on each, and some of them have life-sized replicas of the mechs they represent. Dreadnaught, Seaspray, Sideswipe, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to their placement. The trail twists and winds past so many, and in the distance lays a building at its end.

~

He watches them from his screen for some time, until they begin to get too close for comfort. They are Autobots, but in his long life, he has learned that faction means little. He goes around, locking the doors to each section of his home. If they were artifact hunters, he would have to suffice; they would not get an ounce more.

 ask-smokescreen:

 the-scrappy-stinger:

(Drawing the natural conclusion, Bee staggers back as panic rips at his spark. He holds his check to keep his spark pulse under control. His other hand is an iron grip at Smokescreen’s fingers.) 

Megatron’s okay. We just have to find him. He’s fine.

We’ve gotta find the head office and figure out why this is here.

(A graveyard would have a head office, even if Megatron’s is the only grave.) 

You’re tall… d-do you see anything? 

/Smokescreen’s quick to grab a hold of Bumblebee, giving him a squeeze, trying to calm both of them down- his spark was stinging, but he kept on smiling. He’s gotta seem like he’s got it together, right?/

Bee! Bee- bee, wait. Maybe it’s… It’s maybe one made prematurely? He died a while back but came back- maybe someone got ahead of themselves.

/Smokescreen’s looking around, before standing on the pedestal with Megatron’s name to get a better look, trying to see if there’s anything- or anyone else- close enough./

Squinting along the horizon, one might see dots, the distant shapes of other pedestals amid the flowers. Some even appear to have statues standing atop them, and from a higher angle, a light trail is clear leading through them all, almost overgrown by the glowing plants. It leads South for what seems like forever. They are closer together at the horizon.

~

The mech has reached his home, a mighty sanctuary and stronghold several stories high with many generators along the outside. He glides past them, leaving them off for now but locking the only door behind him.

Without removing his cloak, the orange mech strides through the halls and into a control room, lined with ancient monitors that look brand new. They are as much a relic as he is. Typing a few numbers in, one of the screens changes to view the visitors to his quiet corner of the galaxy. There is no ship, no weapons drawn…

“Is that… A Matrix?”

A gentle morning breeze stirs the idyllic field of flowers. They stretch to the horizon in every direction, coating the ground in a peaceful shade of blue. It almost seems as if there should be birds singing here, but the only sound is something like gentle chimes every time the wind blows. The glowing flowers lazily clink together as they sway, unbroken under the cloudless sky for miles.

A pedestal rises from the flora, the base and plaque for an absent statue. It is the only constructed thing in view, and yet it seems to belong here, as if it grew right along with the flowers. What does not belong here is the rift that splits open the sky with a crackling energy, dropping two Cybertronians onto the ground in front of the pedestal. With a sound like popping static, the portal closes, leaving only the sound of chiming petals. Somehow, the unfortunate flowers underneath the mechs remain in-tact, pristine when they are revealed again.

Welcome.