Transformers: Honor and Loyalty

Chapter 6: Motivations

Ultra Magnus is starting to get frustrated, though he does his best to hide it.

It has been nearly a full 24 hours since they'd landed in Japan, but there is no sign of Deadlock to be found.

"Well, that was a bust." Brawn grouches, driving along beside the former Wrecker leader.

"Indeed. This is getting us nowhere." Magnus replies, then notices they're missing the third member of the team. "Where is Moonracer?"

Brawn slows. "She was right behind us, I thought."

Before either Bot can get too worried, the mint green sports car pulls up behind them, slowing down to match their pace. "Sorry, sir!" Moonracer says quickly, sounding rather flustered. "Every time we stop, I get swarmed by teenagers wanting to take pictures of me!"

Brawn laughs. "That's what you get for choosing a flashy vehicle mode, kid."

Moonracer groans. "Next mission we're assigned, remind me to switch vehicle modes to something that'll blend in better."

Magnus chuckles. "Noted."

Brawn, a bit surprised, but playing it up to help Moonracer relax, slows a bit. "Is it strange I find him laughing odd?" He asks.

"Maybe?" Moonracer answers, unsure. "I know he's really strict, but he does have his moments where he drops it."

Brawn hums, intrigued. "So, he wasn't always like this?"

Moonracer is quiet for a moment before asking, "Does the name Windblade mean anything to you?"

Brawn's rear view mirror adjusted to reflect her. "Are you kidding?" He asked in disbelief. "Every Autobot knows her. She defeated Tidalwave on her own. And that was the largest thing the Decepticons had at their disposal."

Moonracer slowed down slightly. "Well, she and Magnus worked together for years." She explains. "Back then, he said that he was a lot more lenient with protocol. That changed when he allowed Windblade to take charge of a mission into Decepticon territory."

Brawn had a bad feeling about where this was going. "Was this the same mission that she..." He drifts off.

Moonracer sighs. "Yep."

"Primus." Brawn swears under his breath. He had heard all about that mission. "I see why he's so strict." To this day, no one is sure exactly what happened to Windblade and her team. They just...disappeared.

Moonracer hums in agreement. "He's a good commander and teacher, but that mission left its mark."

Brawn would shake his head if he were in robot mode. "No kidding." He would look at Magnus with just a little more respect from now on.

The pair then focus on following Magnus before he got too far ahead.

[Tokyo, Japan]

"Otōsan, I'm ready. I'll be in the garage!" Etsuko calls, walking down the few stairs to the garage, but stopping mid-step.

There is an unusual blue and black car in their garage. She didn't remember her father discussing a new car, so where did it come from?

She hears Kenji walking over and turns to him. "Did you buy a new car?" She asks.

Kenji frowns at it. "No. I've never seen that car..."

Just as Kenji recognized the dark blue and black color scheme, a voice comes from the car's radio.

"I selected an Earth-based vehicle mode after watching the nearby roadways last night." He says, startling the Sasakis. "Apologies. I did not intend to startle you." He chuckles just a little as Kenji and Etsuko recover.