*Time skip a few hours to morning brought to you by Micronus is Tony Stank*

"BlueStreak!"

I jumped awake when someone called my name. I looked down and saw the infamous Galloway.

"You're supposed to be in hangar 56!" he said angrily.

"Hey, we have feelings, too, you know! We mourn over our dead, just like you humans do," I replied, not really wanting to deal with his scrap right now.

"Cut her some slack," Epps said as he walked in.

Note to self: thank Epps.

"And what are you doing here?" Galloway asked.
"Patrolling the area, like you told me to," he replied.

Galloway huffed and walked out. I knelt down in front of my human friend.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem, Blue. I'm pretty sure everyone's annoyed with that guy by now. Besides, I know that you had a crush on him. Bumblebee told Lennox and me last night," he mentioned.

I smiled a little. Bee did ask if I wanted him to tell them and I told him that I didn't mind.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure this affects all of us to some degree. I mean, I know I'm sad about what happened, but you must be devastated," he added.

I only nodded as a few tears escaped my optics again. Epps put his hand on my leg and gave me a sad smile before walking out. I took a deep breath as I stood up and looked at Optimus one last time. I closed my optics and whispered "I love you," before I left. When I got back to the main base, my brother greeted me.

"Hey. Ready to go?" he asked.

I nodded and followed him outside where, Sam, Mikaela, and Leo were waiting for us.

"Oh, by the way, Ratchet said Star went for a drive. He found a note in the med bay when he went there this morning," Bee mentioned.

I nodded.
I hope she'll be okay without us for a while.

Bee and I transformed, then let the humans in. I was stuck with Leo.

"So...you're from another planet?" Leo asked after a few minutes of silence.

Wow, this kid's slow.
"Yeah, Cybertron," I replied.
"Well, what's it like?" he asked.

"Right now, it's not much. The war has definitely had an effect on it. Before, though, it was amazing. My favorite city has to be Iacon. Last I checked, the Autobots controlled it, but I don't know if they still do or not," I explained.

"Iacon? Sounds Russian," Leo said, making me chuckle.

"It was one of the most magnificent cities on Cybertron. It had a huge dome building in the center. That's all I can really remember about it before the war," I added.

The hour ride to Simmons' butchery passed by quickly. Leo talked and asked the questions the whole way, which got annoying, though at the same time I was glad that he did. We parked behind the building so we would be less likely to get caught.

"How are you doing?" Bee asked me after everyone had gone inside.

"Been better," I replied.

Awkward silence flooded over us for a few minutes until the others came out. Simmons rode with Leo and me.

"Hey BlueStreak. Long time no see," he said casually.
"Hey Simmons. Nice to see you again," I replied.

When Star and I first got to Earth, he was one of the first humans we met. I heard that he was the leader of Sector 7, who had captured my brother and tortured him for a while. At first, I didn't trust Simmons, but now we're on good terms. I wouldn't call him a close friend like Lennox and Epps, but he was a friend nonetheless.

"So, where are we heading?" Bee asked.

"The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The minicon showed us that there's an old Transformer there who can read the symbols in my mind," I heard Sam reply.

It took us a few hours to get to the museum. When We did finally get there, the humans made their way inside while Bee and I stayed outside as lookouts.

"Any idea who this could be?" my brother asked.

"Nope. For all we know, it could be Sentinel Prime," I replied.

"But I thought he left Cybertron during the war in the Ark," Bee commented.

"He did, but no one has heard from him since. Who knows where he is or even if he's still alive," I said.

"Ratchet to Bumblebee, is Star with you?" I heard over the com.

"Negative. Isn't she back at base?" my brother asked.

What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time, Star?

"No, she never came back, and her signal isn't popping up on the screens. Keep your optics open for her," Ratchet replied.

"Right," Bee replied.

After a moment, my brother started his engine, even though the humans weren't back.

"I'm going to look for StarCatcher," he said.

I knew I wouldn't be able to stop him. Besides, if anybot can find her, it'd be him.

"Alright, just be careful, okay?" I said.
"I don't want to lose you, too," I added softly.

"Don't worry. I'll be okay, I promise," he replied before driving off.

I sighed and noticed that the Knucklehead Twins were driving off, too.

"Skids! Mudflap! Get your tailpipes back here NOW!" I yelled at them over the com.

I saw them turn around and come back.

"Where were you two going?" I asked them when they got back.

"Uh...just doin' a little explorin'," Skids replied.

"Yeah, sure. You better not sneak off again or you're gonna be in some serious trouble, and by trouble I mean Star," I warned them.

If Bee finds her, that is. I really hope she's okay.

"Autobots please help. I'm in Nemesis...." I heard over the com.

That sounded like her! I wonder if Bee heard it. I should mention it to him, just in case.

"Bee, come in. I think I know where Star is!" I said.
"Where?" my brother asked.

"In the Nemesis ship. She somehow managed to get on the Autobot frequency to send out a distress call. She didn't sound too good," I explained.

"I'm on it!" he replied.
"And how exactly are you gonna get there?" I asked.
"I'll...figure something out," Bee replied.
"Okay. Go save her, bro," I encouraged him.
"Thanks, sis," he said.

Normally, I would go with, but I had to keep an optic on the Twins. A few more minutes pass before there's a blast and out walks a bot. Skids, Mudflap and I transformed and walked over to them.

"What planet is this?" the bot asked.

"You are on Earth. My name is BlueStreak," I introduced myself.

"Earth? Terrible name for a planet. It should be called dirt. Planet Dirt. Anyway, I'm Jetfire. Tell me, is that robot civil war still going on? Who's winning?" he asked.

"The Decepticons," Sam replied.
Jetfire grimaced and spat before speaking.
"Well, I changed sides to the Autobots," he said.

    "What do you mean, changed sides?" Sam asked and I mentally facepalmed.

"It's a choice. It's an intensely personal decision. So much negativity... Who wants to live a life filled with hate?" Jetfire replied.

"You mean you don't have to work for those miserable freaking Decepticons?" Wheelie asked.

Wow. Just...wow.

"If the Decepticons had their way, they'd destroy the whole universe!" the now former Con replied.

"I change sides!" Wheelie proclaimed.

"Hold on! I'm opening a Space Bridge!" Jetfire said as a green light surrounded us.

There was a flash of light before we found ourselves in a desert. I landed on my back a few feet away from the Twins. I groaned and slowly stood up.

"What the scrap man?" Mudflap said when we regrouped.

"I warned you that I was opening a Space Bridge to Egypt," Jetfire replied.

"Woah woah woah. We're in Egypt? Why the scrap are we in Egypt!?" Sam asked angrily as Mikaela bandaged his hand.

"To find the Matrix. This planet was visited by our race once before, by our earliest ancestors, millennia ago. They were on an exploratory mission to harvest Energon, the lifeblood of our race. Without it, we'll all perish, oxidize and rust... like my wretched self! Do you have any idea what it's like to slowly fall apart and die?" Jetfire replied.

"Let's not get episodic, okay, old-timer? Beginning. Middle. End. Facts. Details. Condense. Plot. Tell it," Simmons demanded.

"Okay, so how do we stop them?" Mikaela asked.
"Only a Prime can defeat the Fallen," Jetfire replied.
"Optimus Prime?" Sam asked.

I took a deep breath and tried not to think about what happened as Jetfire leaned towards Sam.

"So you've met a Prime? Why, you must have met a great descendant. Is he alive? Here, on this planet?" he questioned.

"He sacrificed himself to save me," Sam replied.
Only because I couldn't save him.

"So he's dead. Without a Prime, it's impossible. No one else could have stopped the Fallen," Jetfire said sadly.

    "We can't give up! There has to be another way," I spoke up.

"The same energy that's gonna be used to reactivate the machine... could that energy somehow be used to reactive Optimus and bring him back to life?" Sam asked, referring to the Matrix of Leadership.

"It was never designed for that purpose, but it's an energy like no other," Jetfire replied.

"So, then how do you get us to the Matrix before the Decepticons get to me?" Sam asked.

    "Somewhere buried in this desert, our ancestors built a great machine. It harvests Energon by destroying suns," Jetfire said.

"Destroy suns?" Sam questioned.
"You mean blow them up?" Leo added.

"Yes! You see, in the beginning, there were seven Primes, our original leaders. And they set out into the universe, seeking distant suns to harvest. The Primes set out with one rule: never destroy a planet with life. Until one of them tried to defy this rule. And his name was, forevermore, the Fallen..." Jetfire explained.

He projected a hologram in front of us. I remember hearing a little bit about the Fallen, but most of this was new to me.

"He despised the human race, and he wanted to kill you all by turning on that machine. The only way to activate it is with a legendary key called the Matrix of Leadership. A great battle took place over the possession of the Matrix. The Fallen was stronger than his brothers, so they had no choice but to steal and hide it from him. In the ultimate sacrifice, they gave their lives to seal the Matrix away in a tomb made of their very own bodies. A tomb we cannot find," he continued.

    "Somewhere, buried in this desert, that deadly machine remains. The Fallen knows where it is, and if he finds the Tomb of the Primes, your world will be no more," he added after he turned the hologram off.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I said, eager to find the Matrix to bring Optimus back to life.

"Follow your mind, your map, your symbols! What you carved in the sand, it's your clue: When dawn lights the Dagger's Tip, Three Kings will reveal the doorway! Find the doorway! Go now! GO! That was my mission! It's YOUR mission now! Go before the Decepticons find me and find you!" Jetfire said as he shooed us all away.

We transformed and the four humans chose to ride with me.

Heh, I guess they think the Trouble Twins are really annoying as well.