𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰

♛Chapter 8♛

++

Astrafrost hated the sea of rust.

The moment they arrived at the edge, they could see collapsed buildings, of an ancient civilization that once called it home. Rust covered everything, and the sky was an unhealthy orange tint.

Astrafrost, Optimus, Jazz, and Drift all transform back to their bot forms, staring at it.

"Looks simple enough to get through." Jazz commented, but Drift shook his helm.

"It may look like that," He said, looking ahead. "but the terrain is most unstable. That's the reason why Autobots haven't returned, but Decepticons- at least the seekers- have."

"You guys should follow my lead. I am the only flier here after all. I'll alert you guys over the comms if I see anything." Astrafrost said, looking over at Optimus.

Optimus thought about it for a few seconds. "Very well. Lead the way, Astrafrost."

She transformed back into her alt form, shooting off back into the sky.

❖

Astrafrost could barely see the ground below through the toxic atmosphere. She had flown many times in Kaon before, a very polluted city, and managed to fly just fine. But the atmosphere here was much more polluted than Kaon ever was.

'Astrafrost, see anything yet?' Jazz's voice came over the comms.

"Not yet." She replied. "I can barely see anything below, I'm sorry."

'It's alright. We'll just have to be even more cautious down here then. You should as well.'

The comms go dead silent, and Astrafrost sighed, trying to calm herself.

'Relax Astra," She told herself. 'you've flown over battlefields many times before. This is no different.'

She narrowly avoided hitting a tall, rust-covered building. It was shielded in the polluted fog, so she didn't see it before she nearly collided with it.

"Watch out for buildings," she said over the comms to the bots below. "The atmosphere here is covering some, so make sure to watch where you're going."

'Understood.' Optimus's said, and the comms go quiet yet again.

❖

~time skip: a few hours later~

'Astrafrost: we're nearing the energy signature.' Drift said. 'You should come down here.'

Astrafrost flew back down, flying slightly above ground level, with the rest of the team.

They stopped near an abyss. "This is where the signal is coming from..." Jazz's voice was full of confusion and uncertainty. Astrafrost couldn't blame him. Why was the Allspark down in an abyss, in the middle of the sea of rust? Why wasn't it in the Well of Allspark?

Drift stepped forward, looking downwards. "Doesn't look too deep." He proceeded to jump over the side, sliding down, Optimus and Jazz following his lead.

Astrafrost transformed, and flew down, just to be safe.

❖

They finally reached the bottom, darkness surrounding them- the only glow was from their optics.

"Where's the Allspark?" Astrafrost asked, looking around. She expected the Allspark to be glowing brightly, like a miniature sun.

"Should be... right here?" Jazz said, a hint of confusion in his voice.

Astrafrost took a few steps forward, her foot banging against something. She froze, before kneeling.

She saw an outline of a cube-shaped box. When she picked it up, the box faintly glowed her servos.

Suddenly, she heard a jumble of voices coming from the cube, overlapping one another to the point where Astrafrost couldn't make out a single word they were saying.

"Astrafrost? Are you alright?" Drift looked concerned as she nodded absently.

"Yes... just fine." She continued to stare at the cube.

"We must get back up to the surface. We do not have the time to simply stand here." Astrafrost jumped as Optimus's voice cut through the darkness

Jazz looked upwards. "Ya, but how are we going to get back up? It'll be impossible to climb back up there holding the Allspark."

Astrafrost thought about it for a little. "I could transform into my alt form and you three could hold on and one holds the Allspark."

"Won't we be too heavy for you to fly back up there?" Drift asked, and Astrafrost shrugged.

"I don't know. I never tried it before," She transformed. "But let's find out."

The three grabbed her wings, with Optimus holding onto the Allspark.

Astrafrost started to fly upwards- slowly. They were heavy, but she could still fly.

Finally, they reached the top, the three jumped off onto the ground. Astrafrost transformed back, collapsing onto the ground. Her wings were sore and hurt when she moved, but she ignored the pain as she stood back up.

A laugh echoed across the ruins of the Sea of Rust. Astrafrost looked over at where the laugh had come from, her optics widening.

"Thank you, Prime, for bringing me the Allspark." A deep voice said.

'M-megatron?'

❖

Sorry for the short chapter and for not updating for a while.