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Camille ran, quick steps quiet as she scurried down the endless halls of the gargantuan warship, Alex hot on her heels. They hugged the walls, pressed so tightly against the cold metal that they could feel the otherwise minuscule scratches and wear and tear. But bravely through the warship did they traverse, hiding behind pillars and corners whenever a patrol passed. The identical, towering robots were easy enough to hide from, but the unique ones, like the red one they had escaped from, or the thin grey one, they were far more perceptive.

But the worst was the thin, dark one, the same one that had taken them so many days before. Soundwave, the cherry red one had named the creature, seemed to be following them, or at the very least, heading in the same direction as them, given how many times they had crossed its path and vice-versa.

But still, they persisted, weaving down the dark, purple halls with adrenalin coursing through their veins with every step further into the labyrinth. Quick as a whip, they moved; Camille with practised, cat-like mobility; and Alex, with a long stride and the speed of a swimmer.

They moved in almost practised silence, falling quickly into a rhythm of hand signals and baited breaths, on edge and cautious. Both knew the risks, but their punishment was still unclear, and neither wanted to find out what these giant robot aliens would do to them.

“Hey…Hey Cam?”, first to break the delicate silence they had crafted, Alex grabbed at Camille’s tank top, slowing the young woman’s speedy walk. “What do you think they will do if, you know, they catch us? Like, worst case VS best case and all that”

“Probably direct us”, Camille deadpanned.

“What”. She didn’t expand. “Camille you can’t just drop that on me! I don’t want to die! I'm twenty! I might be Gen Z but I have a life that I would like to live!”

“And I have crippling debt. I’ve made my peace-”

“I haven’t!”

“I swear if you don’t shut up, I will make you”

“Try it”

Before Camille had a chance to move, the warship's lights flared, brightening exponentially and almost blinding the two who immediately covered their eyes, reaching for each other in their temporary blindness. Pulling each other closer to the wall, they huddled close, waiting nervously for their vision to clear.

“What do you think’s going on?”, Alex whispered lowly to Camille.

“I don’t fucking know. I don’t hang out on alien warships all that often”

“That implies you’ve been in an alien warship at least once before”

“Yeah, it was a movie prop!”. With the approaching footsteps came rising panic, and while their vision finally cleared, giving Camille just enough time to see that both humans were wrapped tightly around each other, and with this came clarity. Immediately, they pulled apart.

And before any more could be said, ruby claw snatched them up, muffling any screams they could have unleashed by shoving them back in their box.

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“I told you escaping was a bad idea”

“Oh did you now”

“Yep. I said ‘Camille, this is a terrible idea, and I don’t want any part of this’ but of course you had to drag me out of the box. I told you ‘No, I’m not going’, but nooo, you just had to make me come along-“

“Will you shut up!”, Beyond the confines of their prison, a granting voice echoed, silencing even the distant tickity-tacks of metal fingers on keyboards. The voice demanded silence from all but the ship itself, which still rumbled defiantly around them.

But the escalating argument between the two humans had an ulterior motive, one that had surprised both of them with its success. Through the conversation taking place around them, they had learned the names of their metal captors, the organisation they seemed to operate under, and the warships name and location. Along with other inklings of important information.

Knockout; The shorter red one and Chief medical officer. Vain as all fucks, but still the prettiest by a mile.

Breakdown; The taller blue one and assistant to Knockout (The two wondered if they were romantically involved, but nothing had been proven yet)

Arachnid; The psychotic short feminine one that they had decided to stay far away from, if possible.

Starscream; They grey second in command that they were in a disagreement on regarding their gender. As for the name, Scream spoke for itself.

‘Lord’ Megatron; Most likely the head honcho, gunmetal grey paint could use a touch-up, but Camille wasn’t going to judge. 50/50 0n if he was high as a kite or his eyes just did that™️

And then the last on their list of important characters, and arguably the scariest bitch aboard, Soundwave; Mr Tall, dark and scary himself. Legs for days and arms to match. Would give Slenderman a run for all he’s worth.

Along with such information, these ‘Decepticons’ inhabited a warship aptly named the ‘Nemesis’, definitely not the good guys then. But the most important of all the information they had gathered, was the ships location and current objective. The Siberian tundra, on a mission to secure a massive reserve of ‘Energon’ before their rivals, the ‘Autobots’. Definitely the friendlier of the two factions.

“Shall we introduce our guests? Knockout”, snapping out of her thoughts just in time, the one named Knockout, per his ‘lords’ words, tipped the box over, spilling the two humans onto Breakdowns awaiting palms.

“Disgusting creatures, really, my lord”, the good doctor commented, tossing the box aside. “Honestly, we could probably just tell Prime that we have a human or two, and we would more than likely get the same reaction”

Righting herself, Camille grasped Alex’s offered hand, letting him haul her to her feet on the uneven metal. Even though the two had barely any room on the platform of living metal, they still stubbornly stood. There was something unsettlingly sobering about standing in the palm of something too massive.

“Nonsense, Optimus would request proof of these humans”. Time and time again, that name would pop up, Optimus Prime, the supposed leader of the Autobots. And time and time again, the cloned deceptions filling the room would flinch. “Besides, perhaps this ‘human factor’ will offer some insight as to how those Autobot and their pets have managed to hold out for as long as they have. Now, Soundwave, contact Optimus and let him know of our guests”

Camille near jumped out of her skin when the silent communications officer appeared beside Breakdown, stopping for a mere minuscule second, before continuing on to the central control computer. And mere seconds later, a red and blue robot appeared on the screen.

“Speak, Megatron”. The warm timbre of the newcomer's voice filled the room, commanding a presence much like Megatrons own, but different in so many more ways. “I do not have all day, as you know”

“Now Prime, there is no need for such hostility, especially now that I am entertaining guests of my own”

It took a beat for this Optimus to catch on, but when he seemed to, Megatron moved aside, providing an unobstructed view of the two of them, balanced precariously on Breakdowns hands.

“What do you want, Megatron”, The words, spat like poison, as Megatron turned back around, a wicked smile plastered on his face.

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Touching down in Las Vegas had been as uneventful as the flight itself, which was to say, absolutely fucking full of chaos at every possible point. Between Nova and Lara attempting to light an alcohol fire; Jayda and Sarah finding vodka and proceeding to drink themselves to unconsciousness And Rey and Daiyu getting into an argument in both Mandarin and Japanese; it was a wonder Nikk and Lauren had enough patience left to herd the group out of the plane and into the awaiting limo.

The hot pink hummer sped through the bustling streets of the entertainment capital of the world, the matching pink underglow seeming to accent the vehicle against the Vegas backdrop, while the garishly pink fluffy interior almost caused three of the eight to find their own transportation.

And then, to make matters worse, Daiyu popped open her suitcase to reveal the contents mid-drive. Amid a mirade of traditional Chinese clothes and silks, three very long and very beautiful swords, along with their shorter counterparts, sat nestled in spidersilk-delicate scarves and cloths.

“Why did they let you out of the country with six swords!”

“What were they going to do? Say no?”

“Jayda”

“Yeshh”

“Pass the vodka. I’m too sober for this”

Before Nikk could join the drunk party on the floor, the Limo came to a stop outside a towering glass sky rise and the group were ushered out and up to the front doors. Walking through the double glass, they were met with a luxurious pallet of cream and gold. A massive, finespun glass chandelier descended from a towering ceiling, a mirror inlaid in the domed roof. But it wasn’t until their escorts, two MIB lookalikes, simply brushed past the reception desk with no more than a node from the receptionist, did they truly realise that they had no idea just who ‘LanternLady’ was.

Up and up and up the elevator went, eleven people fitting comfortably in the glass capsule that overlooked the Vegas strip as they rose higher and higher into the sky. And then when they felt that they were going to touch the heavens before reaching their stop, the elevator halted, opening to reveal yet another reception, this one bathed in grandiose black marble, golden veins running through the floor. And atop the curved black desk, conversing casually with the receptionist, sat a young woman, fluffy coat wrapped around her shoulders and her long hair tumbled down her back.

Upon noticing their arrival, the girl slid from the desk, white heels clicking against the marble floor as she marched closer. “Indiana, at your service, but you guys know me as LanternLady. Let's head inside, shall we? Get you guys freshened up and ready to start searching for Mangoo and Tim-Tam. I have some government officials hounding me about this, and since I'm your benefactor, let's say, there are a few things we need to sort out before we can get searching”

“What-“

“The actual-“

“Kentucky fried-“

“Fuck!”

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