Nightbeat stared fuzzily at Prime through a cracked visor for a few moments. “They... they got the drop on us, see? Threw us a fast one, pulled the plug on our optics, dumped us out of the ship! Everyone who they thought was too loyal to ya to threaten, nyeah! Me, Grimlock, Ironhide… lots of us, see?”

“Who did?!”

A hand gripped Prime’s foot, dragging the Autobot leader’s attention down to the crumpled form of Blurr.

“Rodimus… and Goldbug… I… I tried to stop them…”

Prime shoved Nightbeat aside and lifted Blurr from the ground with one hand, staring into the battered robot’s working optic. “And failed! We must pursue them!”

“Nyeah, boss, we can’t! We ain’t got another ship, see? An’ even if we did…” Nightbeat pointed to the sky.

Prime turned his attention upward. The dark starry night began to illuminate as sheets of wavering, multicolored light slowly appeared above them. The sky took on an eerie blue-white illumination.

“We’ve entered the Plait Expanse, see? Nyeah… we’re trapped, pinned down, boxed in, goin’ nowhere!”

Time seemed to stand still as Optimus fumed.

“Nightbeat. Tally up those who were dumped from the ship. I want a complete headcount,” he growled, his gaze never leaving Blurr. “Scoop. Take your fellow Targetmasters to the Agonizing Rehabilitation Chambers.”

“W-w-why me?”

“Because I know that you are more afraid of me than you are of them!” Prime shouted. “And as for you, Blurr…”

Blurr whimpered as Prime’s optics glowed with the fires of the Ember Forge itself.

“…You have failed me for the last time.”



- Do Over