Optimus Primal looked around med bay, his mind trying to cope with what had happened. He was human. He was no longer on the strange planet they had crashed on; he was on Cybertron. Just it wasn't the Cybertron he knew. Another dimension......
"Okay, you are just a bit bruised and battered, but nothing's broken," the human doctor, someone named Kyle Scott, told him, smiling. "Take it easy, rest, sleep, and don't run up against another wall, okay?"
Optimus smiled. "I think I can manage that. Where are the others?"
"In the other examination rooms. You can wait outside if you want to. And Rodimus wants to talk to you as well."
Optimus nodded. He had thought as much. The Maximal leader slid off the examination table and left the room. Once again the sheer size of everything struck him. He wasn't a tall robot to begin with, but being human enlarged everything several times again. The bustle in med bay had slowed down a bit and he could finally get a good impression.
There were several robots in here he didn't recognize. They had symbols he had never seen before and one of them gave him the creeps. He was just leaving, which was all the better for Optimus, but he was still the most eerie construction he had ever seen. Most of the others were Autobots, some were humans though. One of those humans now left another cubicle, her expression one of disgust. Optimus smiled slightly. Either she had had a dose of Rattrap or Dinobot, judging from the expression. The human was white-haired and as she came closer, he saw that she wasn't human at all. She was an alien.
"Your friend has an attitude problem," she told Optimus, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. "And if it hadn't been for the fact that he had just suffered major trauma, he'd now have a few bruises more."
Dinobot, Optimus decided.
"I wish I could say his bark is worse than his bite," he told her.
The woman snorted. "If he bites anyone around here, don't be surprised if he is bitten back."
He laughed.
Dinobot exited the room, his face a dark scowl. Optimus was once again struck by the icy blue eyes in the hard-edged face. The short-cropped, grayish hair only helped to enhance the effect. Dinobot was tall, muscular and you had the distinct impression that even though he was in an alien body, he knew how to use it. Rattrap joined them, bounding over. As in their own bodies, he was the smallest of the group, though he was only half a head smaller than Optimus. He had apparently found something to tie back the shoulder-length hair and his dark eyes sparkled.
The white-haired woman shot Dinobot a dark look, then left. Instead of her, another woman joined them.
"Hi there. My name is Shanygn and I'm your guide for this trip," she told them.
Once again Optimus was confronted with an alien and he wondered when Cybertron had started to employ humanoids.
"When do we get to see the sights?" Rattrap asked, grinning.
"Right away," was the answer. "We can start with Rodimus Prime's office."
Optimus smiled, trying to get the concept into his mind. Rodimus Prime, hm? Well, that would take some getting used to.
They followed her out of med bay and down the giant corridor. The robots they met either nodded at Shanygn or ignore them completely.
"This Rodimus Prime," Rattrap now said, "is he the same kid as some guy named Hot Rod?"
Shanygn shrugged. "Depends on who you ask, really. He doesn't carry the Matrix, if you want to know that, but he is Rodimus Prime, and he was Hot Rod. The whole change happened some 25 years ago, and more changes happened recently. But Rodimus can explain it all to you. We need to know how you arrived here and how we can get you back."
"And why were arrived as humans," Optimus added.
Shanygn smiled. "Yes, that too. But that's dimensions for you."
They arrived at the elevators and waited for a car to arrive. Optimus watched the robots around them and suddenly he his eyes went wide. He heard Rattrap's sharp intake of breath and when he glanced at Dinobot, he saw how rigid he had suddenly gone. The source of their surprise was a tall, silver-colored robot who strode down the corridor as if he owned it. His red eyes glowed brightly with what had to be anger, and he stopped abruptly as he came up against the still closed elevator doors. Shanygn rolled her eyes. The tall robot looked down on them and Optimus found himself nearly flinching back from the rage in that familiar face.
"What?!" Megatron demanded.
"Nothing," Shanygn replied. "I guess something went wrong, right?"
Megatron hissed something and before he could answer, one of the elevators arrived. He punched the button viciously and Shanygn gave a sigh as he left.
"Sheesh, it must have gone totally wrong."
"Was that who I thought it was?" Rattrap asked. "A Decepticon? Megatron?"
Shanygn nodded. "Yeah. Same long story." Another elevator arrived and she ushered them in. "Wait till you are in the office. There is no use in giving you bits and pieces and you start interpreting them your own way. It will confuse you too much."
Optimus nodded. He knew she was right. He glanced at Dinobot again, who's features seemed to be a mask, but of what Optimus had no idea.
 
 

[......]
 

Dinobot cried out in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his mid-section where the shrapnel had struck him. The Tji gave a howl of triumph and lashed out once more, catching him on the shoulder and flinging him into the next wall. Rattrap gave a cry of denial as he saw Dinobot break down like puppet whose strings had been cut, the wounds bleeding all over the place. He grabbed the weapon and fired continuously at the energy cloud hovering over the dead protoform body, but it was no use.
Suddenly there was a rush of air and something large and winged descended onto the Tji like an avenging angel. Rattrap lost only a micro-second gaping at the anthracite colored dragon, then hurried over to where Dinobot lay.
"Oh man, oh man," he muttered in desperation as he had a first good look at the wounds.
Dinobot's injuries were severe. The stomach wound was bleeding, as were numerous cuts all over his body. The shirt was already soaked and he looked very, very pale.
"Ey, Chopperface, ya readin' me?" Rattrap called, touching the limp form. He didn't want to imagine what internal injuries there might be, adding to the visible ones.
Dinobot opened his eyes, the icy blue color still reflecting the stubbornness and silent anger he had shown since their arrival. "I'm not dead yet," he whispered weakly.
Rattrap didn't know whether to feel relieved or even more worried. He tentatively reached out and tried to staunch the blood flow, which made Dinobot wince and groan slightly. Rattrap bit his lower lip.
"Oh, shit!"
Someone knelt down beside him and he discovered Shanygn. She was dressed up in her exo-suit and currently getting something out of a compartment.
"We have to slow down the bleeding!" she called.
Something roared and thrashed in the background. Rattrap looked over his shoulder and stared at the dragon which was currently involved in trying to pin the energy body of the Tji down on the ground. Dinobot's cry of pain let him turn back again and he paled a bit as he saw the taller Predacon go limp under Shanygn's ministrations.
"Is he..."
She shook her head. "No. Just couldn't take it any more. He needs help, fast!"

* * *
 

Dagger walked down the corridor, deep in thought. The conversation with Midnight, a rather civil one at that, he had to confess, as well as meeting McNeil, had rattled him more than he would have liked it to. Mainly because it reminded him of a suspicion cooking deep down inside of him. Something had happened to him the last weeks and it was not something he was actually happy about. Hearing about Scott McNeil and his unacknowledged Interface had hurt him on a subconscious level and in a way he had secretly wished it would have been him.
But I can't Interface, he told himself. Not anymore. Not because of the inability to do so. His Interface circuits were only mildly scarred through the death of his near-Interface, Three Morning Star, but because he was afraid of it. At the time when he and Star had been about to complete their bond it had been a wonderful thing, something to look forward to, but now... it brought with it the fear of losing his partner and turning completely insane. He had seen what had happened to Archer. It was frightening, but still all Sentinels accepted an Interface as a gift, as a completion. And even Seekers were still able to Interface, as Tornado had shown.
Dagger sighed. He kept on walking, unaware of where he was going until he focused his optics on his surroundings. To his surprise he found he was near the small airfield used by private space and airships. His inner voice laughed softly at him because he knew exactly who had an apartment here. Some of the hangars were no longer serviceable for aircraft use, so they had been rented out to private persons. One of those persons was Matt Frasier, former EDC Colonel and special operative. They had been on a mission together for a few weeks, accompanied by Cathy Lee Russell, and throughout the whole time Dagger had found himself immensely annoyed by the human. For no apparent reason as well.
Dagger stopped and gazed thoughtfully at the small aircrafts parked close by. Something inside of him vibrated with need and urgency and he flinched. The feeling increased and he dimmed his optics in emotional pain as old circuits reached out for something Dagger was trying to deny himself.
He couldn't do this!
And what about .... the human involved?
You want him to end up like McNeil?
Dagger stumbled back, turned and fled quickly from the airfield.
No!
He didn't get far and he didn't even think about transforming and flying off. The gray Sentinel simply sank down the side of a wall in a lonely alley, shaking, arms curled around his chest where the aching feeling came from. He couldn't do this! What would happen if he lost him? He couldn't go through this all over again!
"Why do you think you will lose me?"
Dagger's head snapped up and his optics flared, staring at the human standing in front of him. Matt Frasier was wearing casual clothes, his blonde hair as always cut very short, his unlined face open and questioning.
"What?" Dagger whispered, then caught himself. "What are you doing here?!"
"I had the unmistakable feeling that you were here and needed someone to talk to. Dagger..."
The Sentinel scrambled to his feet. "Leave me alone!"
Matt stayed where he was. "Why are you making this so hard on yourself? I know what happened. I might not know so much about the actual process, but I know it happened somewhere throughout our little trip to Earth." He shrugged.
Dagger felt a tremor course through him. "No, that's a lie! I can't...."
"Can't what? Interface? Well, I think you did a while ago, and you know it." Matt's blue eyes held the flaring optics. "Like it or not, you are stuck with me. And to tell you the truth, I'm not exactly thrilled. It's not the person at the other end of the link," Frasier smiled at the larger robot, "but more the fact that I'm now more or less immortal. Puts a dent in your plans."
Dagger violently shook his head. "This is impossible!"
"Why?"
The simply question made Dagger stop for a second and he turned away, unable to face Matt. "Because I Interfaced before and my partner died. I didn't turn into an insane suicidal case, but it hurt. My circuits have scars. I can't connect again."
A presence moved closer and he moaned silently. Matt was still standing where he had a few seconds before, but he was still closer. "No, you didn't go insane, just secluded and solitary. I can feel the scars, but they are not permanent. Dagger, it happened and we can't deny it."
Dagger turned and looked at the serious human again.
"I heard about Scott," Frasier went on. "Do you want to end it like this?"
Dagger winced. "Low blow," he whispered.
"No, the truth. I don't expect you to like me, or to let me any closer than you feel comfortable with, but just accept it, okay? Makes it easier on us and we can come up with a solution to it all."
Dagger sank to his knees in front of his future partner. "It's not that easy, Matt," he said, voice suddenly dropping to a soft and almost friendly tone of voice. "You automatically come closer because we are one. Separation is not a way to do this. Tornado and Nick tried it, and they failed, after nearly draining each other's strength because of this foolish attempt."
Matt shrugged. "So what now?"
The Sentinel dimmed his optics again, aware that there was only one way out of it. His Interface circuitry throbbed and demanded he acknowledge the Interface completely. Matt's brows rose as he felt waves of what was happening, then he smiled. He closed his eyes and Dagger gave an involuntary gasp as his Interface circuits were suddenly opened by a gentle force. His mouth opened, his optics flared, then he felt an unaccustomed warmth flood through him, enveloping what had always been a cold and scarred lump inside him, caressing the scars.