The air cracked with residual energy. A sharp ozone scent lingered before the hum of the teleportation faded into the vast silence of the hangar. The group staggered by the instantaneous displacement across dimensions. They were slightly dizzy and a high-pitched ringing echoed in their ears.
"Everyone okay?" James asked as he looked around at the diverse group of survivors and warriors.
Lois was the first to find her foot. "We are," Lois replied. "It is always the worst the first time," she added.
Jasmine let out a long, shaky breath. "I have gone through this many times and it still catches me," she said.
Saeko sheathed her blade with a crisp click. "Some have it worse than others," she said.
Rei rubbed her temples. "I am okay," Rei stated.
Musubi bounced on the balls of her feet. Her pigtails swayed. "That was great," she said. "I'm ready to go again if we have to," she added.
Lefi simply yawned. "'Tis but a trifle of a tingle, and naught more. Should we venture thus oft enough, 'twill become as dull as the descending of a flight of stairs," she remarked.
Elita-1 vented a cloud of cooling steam. Her optics flashed a steady blue. "Remarkable," she said. "It was as if my entire chassis was spinning at lightspeed while remaining perfectly still," she said. She thought she remembered being transported before however this was different.
Moonracer walked forward. "So this is what traveling at his speed feels like," she said.
Firestar checked her internal heat ventilation. "We have travelled vast distances before but this one feels like a record," Firestar. "We have joined an interesting group," she remarked.
"Interesting indeed," Moonracer agreed. She looked around and saw a vast hanger. She wondered what this place was.
Greenlight tapped her head. Her cooling fans whirring loudly. "So we are here," she said.
Lancer stomped a heavy foot down to test the gravity. "Feel like earth," she remarked. "But it is not," she added. "What is this place?" Lancer asked.
"It's one of the floors of our dungeon," Lois explained as she stepped forward. "This is another universe," she added.
"And more importantly our home," Musubi said as she jumped on the spot. Her breasts jiggled up and down.
Before James could respond, the heavy hiss of a lift echoed through the bay. Shizuka and Tsukiumi stepped out.
Shizuka moved forward and slammed into James. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "James," she said. "You're back," Shizuka cried. Her large breasts pressed firmly against his chest as she squeezed him. "I missed you so much! It felt like you were gone for years," she said.
"Who is she?" Greenlight asked as she looked down to see such intimate affection. She thought they were very close together.
"That is Shizuka sensei," Rei responded.
"She is a medic," Lois added as she watched Shizuka and hugged James. She smiled.
"A healer," Moonracer remarked. "You have most bases covered," she said.
"Their skill in battle is second to none," Elita-1 said as she looked at Jasmine.
"Get off him, you shameless woman," Tsukiumi barked. Her face wet red as she marched toward them. "I am the first Sekirei wife, and it is only right that I am the one to welcome him properly," she said.
Musubi puffed out her chest as she appeared at James's side. "Actually, I was the first," she proudly said.
"If we're being technical," Saeko interjected with a small, knowing smirk, "Musubi has already been to his bed twice," she said.
Tsukiumi sputtered. There was water rising from the ground. "That is irrelevant," she said. "I will be his true wife," she added.
"True wife?" Rei muttered as her eye brow rose. She spoke up. "Well true wife," she said.
Lois giggled. "We have had a long journey," she remarked.
The Autobots watched the exchange with varying degrees of confusion. Moonracer tilted her head. "Is this a biological ritual?" she asked.
Firestar looked at Tsukiumi. "She possesses an ability," Firestar said.
"Water," Lancer remarked.
"They do seem incredible," Greenlight added as she looked at them.
Elita-1 looked at Lefi. "Indeed," she said.
At that moment another lift opened. Saya, Akitsu, Kusano, Matsu, Yuriko, Miia, Papi, Cera, Mero, Suu, Rachnera, and Illuna all walked out.
"It's good to see Shizuka," James said as he finally pried Shizuka off him so he could breathe. He thought it felt good.
Miia slithered forward, her long tail coiling as she looked up at the towering robots. "They're huge," she said. "Even taller than Tionishia," she added.
James thought he had not seen them in a little while. He thought it must have only been a few weeks at best however it felt like years. He did want to go back to Monster Musume soon, however had to do a few things before.
"Cool! They're like giant toy soldiers," Papi chirped as she flapped her wings to hover at eye-level with Firestar. "Can you fly? I can fly," she said.
"Interesting, a small flying bird," Firestar remarked.
"Such beings do exist," Moonracer said as she looked at Cera who had the lower body of a horse.
"It is finally nice to meet someone who does not wish us harm," Saya remarked.
Lancer's helm tilted. "Do not paint us all with the same brush," she said. "Not all of our kind are forged for malice," she added.
"I meant no offense," Saya clarified. "We just have not encountered a good one so far," she added.
Yuriko stepped forward, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "There is light and shadow in every race, child," she remarked. "Though I must say, James, I am perpetually impressed by your talent," she added as she gestured to the towering Autobots. "It seems my daughter's competition for your attention grows," she remarked.
"Mother!" Saya hissed as she looked away.
Cera stepped forward. "I am Cera and I hope we all work together," she said.
"I am Elita-1, commander of the Female Autobot Elite," she replied. "The honor is ours, Cera," she said.
Nearby, Suu stood shifted until it perfectly mimicked a gear.
Illuna, clung tightly to James's leg while staring up at the giants in wide-eyed wonder. "Oni-chan is the coolest," she said. "I didn't think anyone could be taller than the dragons, but these sisters are big," she said.
Matsu adjusted her glasses. She had a distinct lewd mischievousness as she looked at the plating of the Autobots' pelvic joints. "Oh, the mechanical possibilities, I wonder, what kind of lubricants would one even use for a bedroom interface?" she said.
Greenlight leaned down. She looked at Matsu. "Your face seems different," she said.
"She is being herself," Rei remarked.
"Well, you are all far more pleasant than the metal monsters that came from us," Mero said.
Moonracer's head snapped toward her. "Who exactly attacked you? Were they Decepticon scouts? Megatron's lackeys?" she asked.
"One of them called himself Ironstride," Saeko answered as she drew a cloth over the edge of her blade.
"Ironstride? " Firestar remarked. "I have no record of that designation in the High Command archives or the traitor registries," she said.
"Then the mystery deepens," Elita-1 concluded. "If they are not of our world and not of the Decepticon ranks, we are dealing with a new faction entirely," she said.
"Talking of a new faction," James said. "We had a run-in back with some old acquaintances," he said.
"Miura and Tsuonda," Rei said.
"Are they not your classmates?" Shizuka said.
"Not anymore," Rei said. "They were twisted," she added.
"They both also wore white clothes," Saeko noted.
"White clothes?" Miia asked. "Like a uniform?" Miia she questioned.
"Exactly," Tsukiumi replied. "A uniform means they belong to a specific faction or a force," she said.
Lois nodded in agreement. "They have technology that allows them to slip between universes. And they aren't the first. We encountered Aladdin before this," she said.
"He said he knew me," Jasmine whispered. She put her finger on her chin. "But I've never seen him in my life," she added.
"Just some crazy guy," Shizuka said with a shrug.
"I doubt that," Rachnera clicked her spider-legs against the floor. "Aladdin, those men in white," she said. "They're all pieces on a board. Someone is pulling their strings and coordinating these 'freak' events," she said.
"Speaking of pulling strings," James said. "When we were travelling, I was pulled into a void. I met someone or something but she called herself The Law of Identity," he said.
The girls looked at James.
"The Law of Identity?" Mero asked as her tail swished in interest.
"This happened right now?" Rei asked.
"Yes, while we were travelling," James said. "The Law of Identity is a God," James added. "She has the power to rewrite her entire universe," she added.
"Wow, Darling," Miia said.
"You spoke to someone like that?" Saya remarked.
"My son-in-law is an impressive man," Yuriko said as she winked at him.
"Mum," Saya pouted. She thought she never misses a chance.
"Well, she told me a few things," James said. "She said, there is corruption spreading through the universe which is fueled by Element 115 and a type of dark energy that acts like a cancer on reality itself," she said.
"That sounds horrible," Greenlight said.
"And scary," Papi said. Suu nodded in agreement.
"Element 115?" Firestar questioned.
"It is the element which is said to control the dead and create weapons," Lois replied.
"That is interesting," Moonracer said.
"What is interesting, is that she said this happens all the time and the multiverse would be born and reborn again," James said.
"So in some ways this is the natural course of events," Saya said.
"Does that mean people will die and be reborn?" Rei questioned.
"In a way yes but they will be different," James said. "But she said, we may be able to influence some outcomes," she said.
"So we are going to be the heroes to save the multiverse?" Jasmine questioned with a smile.
"I want to be a hero, Husband," Papi chirped. "It sounds cool," she added.
"Hero," Illuna said.
Lefi thought she had heard about these entities. She thought that her man had spoken to one. She smiled. She thought despite being magic less, he was special.
Tsukiumi smiled. She thought there was greater purpose.
"We will deal with problems as they occur," James said. "First we need to awaken Sage and get a healer," James added.
Elita-1 went silent for a long moment. She thought about this man. She looked at the girls. She thought some had abilities some did not but they all looked at one man. "You spoke to a god-like entity and she gave you a mandate to save existence itself," she said. "Very well. If the multiverse is at stake, we shall stay. Our mission has changed from protecting Cybertron to protecting everything," she said.
James thought that was not the message he got from her. However he thought his girls would come first.
Lefi stepped forward and held a shimmering metallic box. "Here," she said as she thrusted it into James's hands.
"What is in there Darling?" Miia asked.
"Is there food?" Shizuka questioned as she licked her lips.
"Did you just not eat right now?" Tsukiumi questioned.
"I always want more food," Shizuka said.
"Well, this is not food," James said as he opened it and revealed the pulsing, geometric shape "This is the All-Spar," he added.
Greenlight gasped. "Where did you get that?" she asked.
"It's a power artifact," Lancer muttered.
"Hand it back," Firestar demanded, though not unkindly. "That power is too much for one world to hold," she added.
Elita-1 raised a hand to quiet her team. "Optimus said it would be in safe hands," Elita-1 said as she looked at James. "I suspect he knew exactly who he was trusting it to," she added. "It is under our collective protection," she said. "For now, James is its guardian," she said.
"It is pretty," Papi remarked.
"Very pretty," Shizuka said.
"I can feel its power," Cera said.
"I want to study it," Matsu said as she leaned forward.
"Okay, we will put this in the lab for now," James replied. "For now, everyone should rest," James said. "We had a big day today," he added.
They all nodded.