Disclaimer: I own nothing... Only borrowing them for a ride...

Summary: When Wheeljack's latest invention go haywire in the middle of a battle, Starscream and Optimus Prime find themselves thrown in a completely different universe... One in which they both meet their worst nightmare.

A/N: This is from a RP I am currently doing with NightElfCrawler. SO it's still on the work^^ I'll try to post more chapters as they come along. But that shouldn't be too long between updates. In one evening we wrote 40 pages, can you believe it? We're apparently on a row XD

A/N 2: It's a crossover between Shattered Glass Universe and G1 Universe.

WARNINGS: Non-con, violence, torture, angst, adult and dark themes. That should cover it. So it is STRICTLY Mature/NC-17. I'm not responsible for anyone that's not adult who would read it...

EDIT: This story is now Beta-ed by The Starscream. Thank you for her kind offer!

Journey through the Pit

Chapter 1: Through a broken mirror

As usual, it was a complete free-for all.

It hadn't started out that way, no…. but once plans, strategies and their cover had been blown, guns started firing and it dissolved from a typical energon raid into a complete melt-down and 'take out the rest' fight…. A typical fight, in other words.

Starscream twisted tightly in a spiral, raining cluster bombs down on the helpless Autobots who weren't quick enough to scurry out of the way, a little irked.

"I told you we should have done this at night!" He growled tersely to himself, aimed at Megatron naturally, who was otherwise engaged with a cluster of Autobots and trading fire with them.

The battle was raging around them and Optimus was in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by mechs from both factions, fighting fiercely. It had been the usual 'whoop Decepticon's aft' battle until now and the Autobots had gained the upper hand quickly after their arrival on the scene.

Overhead, he heard a whine of jet engines barreling to the ground and there was a crash almost right behind him. But since Megatron had just jumped him, he had no time to look at who it was. Probably the twins trying some Jet Judo...

"It's over Megatron! You've lost, surrender now!" He said, grappling with him.

Starscream was a small distance to his right and shouting at Megatron, as usual... Behind him on a cliff, Wheeljack was working on something he'd brought with him.

"No Prime…" Megatron growled, a dark smirk on his face as he leveled his fusion cannon right at him, the charge glowing purple as it began to build up. "I'd say it's just beginning!"

A purple blast shot out of the cannon, aimed straight for his nemesis…. of course the problem with fusion blasts were that they did take time to charge, thus making it easy to dodge if one was quick enough.

Up on the hill, Skyfire stood uncomfortably close to Wheeljack, watching him tinker.

"Um…. are you sure that you know what that does? You've never tested it before..."

Wheeljack looked at his companion with that 'look' in his optics, the 'Mad Scientist at work' look, and said while finishing the last settings of his newest invention.

"Don't worry Skyfire, I'm confident this will work just as I planned it."

But then out of nowhere, the machine started to power up all by itself and there was a deafening buzzing sound coming from it.

On the battlefield, many things happened at once.

Optimus saw the purplish glow form on the fusion cannon and he started to duck and roll away, just when that deafening sound rose and then... the blast from the fusion canon was released at the same time as the blast from Wheeljack's machine and they met right in the middle, creating a huge explosion of sounds and light... with two forms caught in the centre.

Skyfire flinched… and did the first thing that came to mind, he ducked behind a large rock. Naturally, those on the battlefield didn't notice, as it was one of many things happening.

On the ground, Starscream touched down, transforming behind Optimus, gun raised and ready to fire…. when he saw the light from the cliff and looked up in time to notice what was coming his way.

"Oh slag." He growled, flinching just as the brilliant light slammed into him.

It was hot, tingling, painful and yet distorting…. his first thought was one of absolute curiosity…. it was like Skywarp's warp signature, only more wrenching. The second thought was, slag this hurt more than anything he'd felt before….

Optimus felt Starscream slam into his back and the tingling sensation invaded him as well. He had never really experienced teleportation but it felt like something was twisting, pulling at his spark and plating and wrenching them in all the wrong directions. It wasn't painful just... weird. And he twisted and probably screamed but he wasn't sure with all the noises around him.

On the cliff, the only thing 'Jack said was "slag..."

The battlefield went inexplicably silent as the light faded…. and all that was left was a slightly scorched piece of dirt, no mech pieces, no Optimus, no Starscream. And Megatron looked pissed.

On the battlefield, on the Autobot side, the same bewilderment was clearly visible on most of the mechs' faces, until one voice spoke up and asked, baffled.

"Where is Optimus?"

Then almost at the same time on the Decepticon's side, another voice asked, just as baffled.

"Where's Starscream?"

They all knew then that they were well and truly slagged...

oOo

Starscream first felt something different from the odd place of nothingness that they were in, as his frame slammed into the dirt with his shoulder and the whole world jerked to a stop, the light fading and silence echoing loudly in his audials…. His tanks roiled as he rolled over and cracked an optic open to see what had just happened. The first thing that Starscream saw, was that they were clearly not where they had been.

It was dark… star-lit night. But there was an enormous glowing object eerily hovering in the night sky above them…. And it was no moon. Instantly, he realized where they had to be…. Cybertron. Only Cybertron had Unicron's dormant form hovering high above its orbit….

"Slag…." He hissed, pushing himself up on his elbow, staring around.

And promptly froze as his optics came in contact with Optimus Prime's backside. The first thing he did was arm his null ray and point it straight at the side of Optimus Prime's head…. since he hadn't yet noticed that he wasn't alone.

"Don't move." He hissed in a low voice, feeling a rise of glee and yet terror at the same time. He had the advantage over Prime. But… well he'd figure the details out later. "Drop your weapon."

Optimus fell on something hard and sharp that stabbed his side roughly, making him jerk and gasp for air. He dared not open his optics or move, he felt sick to his tanks and feared he would purge if he tried anything... But eventually he forced himself to open his optics and have a look around. The first thing Optimus realized upon opening his optics was that he wasn't on Earth anymore.

Or at least... this looked nothing like the Earth they left a moment ago. Where they were was a mystery... until he looked up and saw that... Was that Cybertron? Here on Earth? Impossible. The close proximity of the planet would've torn the Earth apart! He remembered when the decepticons tried it a while ago, the Earth was almost destroyed. So how was it possible? Unless... they were back on Cybertron. One of the moons? But how...?

Optimus stiffened considerably when he felt that infamous weapon tap on the side of his helmet.

He had been stupid! He'd let his guard down assuming he was alone... A grave mistake... He slowly lowered his weapon and let it drop to the ground, before saying, his voice calm and collected.

"Starscream, don't be rash. We should work together here... To know where we are and how we got here."

Reaching his pede out, Starscream swept the weapon back out of Prime's reach.

"Right. Sure we will, Prime." He drawled sarcastically. "I will do the deciding from here on concerning what we do next, not you."

His optics snapped upwards sharply, as his audials picked up the distant sound of engines.

"It appears our arrival has drawn attention."

Optimus growled a bit in annoyance, Starscream was such a brat sometimes, but he was intelligent and clever. If they could work together at finding a solution... They would be out of here quicker and back to Earth.

"Starscream..." He started when he heard the same engine sounds.

Someone was approaching fast... Autobot or Decepticon?

The seeker slowly rose to his pedes, glancing around sharply to see where they might take refuge. Then he prodded Optimus with his weapon.

"Up. Over there." He demanded, pointing at a pile of junk. "We should see who it is on our terms, not theirs."

Optimus frowned under his mask and wanted to protest but he knew from experience that a null ray blast was very painful and he did not want to experience it again. Besides... he was agreeing with Starscream on this, they should not let these bots meet them in the open like that. So he walked to the junk pile and crouched behind it.

The seeker snatched up the other weapon, then scuffed at their footprints to hide their direction before crouching behind Optimus, peering around the junk pile.

Just in time, as a pair of fast-moving vehicles tore through the entrance, a familiar splash of color… followed by a third, whose engine rumbled as he transformed. A tall thin black mech with splashes of red, his back to the hiding pair, surveyed the area sharply. As his back was to them, no emblem was visible, and he was unfamiliar to Starscream from this angle.

But something nagged at him….. This didn't feel right.

"Check it out." The voice was sharp, stern, and oh-so familiar.

Prowl slowly turned around, his crimson optics surveying the piles of junk, noticing that the dirt had been disturbed and showed signs of being treed upon….

"Someone was here."

Optimus had the same dreadful feeling about these mechs when they appeared out of the dark and he narrowed his optics, something nagging at his processor. Something was very familiar yet so very wrong with them...

It wasn't until the mech spoke that he understood who he was looking at... and his optics widened. Prowl? But he looked nothing like the Prowl he knew for so long. And... something was telling him to not let them catch them here.

Starscream tensed, staring at the mech's face with rapt attention and a rather interested look. Now this was interesting…..

Prowl turned back to the other two Autobots who had accompanied him.

"Scout the area. Look for anything unusual, shoot it and bring it back here. Now."

Optimus felt the urge to walk out and go to his friend but this couldn't be his friend. The paintwork was off as well as the optic color... and attitude. Prowl would never order anyone to shoot a defenceless target. This was wrong and yet he was fascinated...

He jabbed at Starscream's side.

"We should move, now. I have the feeling they aren't joking about shooting us."

Which was why he was worried...

Starscream hissed, optics snapping down to Optimus as he slapped his hand away.

"Silence! I knoq what we should do…. and that's not get caught."

He glanced back to Prowl, frowning to see him gone. Which of course just preceded the click of a gun from behind his own head now, as a very long-expertly crafted rifle cocked against his head, a cool familiar and rather…. not-right voice coming softly from behind him.

"Put it down, Decepticon. Now, or your head becomes a trophy on my desk."

Perceptor stepped out from around the junk pile, slim, tall, with a scope for a right optic, his expression cold and dispassionate as he stared at the two of them.

oOo

Optimus was about to retort to Starscream quite harshly, starting to lose his cool, when the choice was made for them. He felt another gun jab against his helm from behind and he heard that same voice, which was both so familiar and so alien.

This was just so wrong! Where the pit were they? He slowly turned around and was now in the complete view of the two mechs behind them.

Starscream grimaced, but slowly lowered the gun in his hand, tossing it aside as Perceptor ordered. Then, the red mech tapped at the guns on his arms.

"Those too." The seeker glared over his shoulder at the sniper, who just stared back at him coldly.

Then, without warning, he fired one shot right across Starscream's arm. With a howl of pain, the seeker jerked his arm back, but not in time to see his null ray fall, severed, to the ground by the shot, still smoking. Alarmed, he quickly removed the other.

A third figure walked out from behind the junk pile and Optimus locked optics on him. This was totally unmistakable. The golden and black paintjob and the design of his helm... Cold blue optics, and something akin to cruelty in them too.

Sunstreaker.

The tall golden warrior saw him stare at him and snarled, aiming his gun Prime's way.

"Quit it if you don't want to lose your optics!"

He hated being stared at apparently... He jumped some at the sudden gunfire though and looked at Starscream just in time to see the severed null ray fall off.

"Well… what have we here." Prowl's voice was… oddly emotional, cunning, and pleased.

He stepped around the pile of junk, regarding the two caught mechs with curious optics. His own crimson gaze narrowed slightly in moderate confusion, as they darted from Starscream to Optimus and back.

"Now this is most interesting…. Who are you?" His gaze rested on Optimus, oddly intense and demanding.

Optimus's optics locked with the odd, intense red ones of the Autobot and he felt like, whatever he said it wouldn't do much good, their situation was already very precarious. From the corner of his optics he could see Sunstreaker almost leering at him, eyeing him very intensely too.

"I am Optimus Prime. But... you should know it. You are Prowl, aren't you?"

The black mech tilted his helm slightly, a dark smirk crossing his face.

"Ah, so you know who I am. Odd, that I recognize you, yet you are clearly not the Optimus Prime whom I follow." He stepped closer, grabbing his jaw and jerking it to the side, staring at him intently. "Red emblem…" His own was a bright blaring violet on his chest, mirroring Optimus' own. "So therein lies the question. Who are you really…. or perhaps I should be asking, where do you come from?"

Optimus fought not to jerk away from the cold, rough touch and he met the red optics once again, his own azure ones calm and intense as well. He noticed the purple Autobot insignia and had a slight, very slight frown under his mask.

"You know who I am... But I am not sure I know who you are, despite the emblems and striking likeness with the Prowl I know." He stayed as still as possible trying not to provoke the other mechs. This Sunstreaker looked particularly nasty, tenfold more than the one he knew... "As for where I'm from... I'm not sure of the answer myself."

"Hm. No, I wouldn't expect you to. You're not very bright it seems….. or rather, not as bright as that awful paint job."

Prowl released him, stepping back, then glanced at Starscream.

"You. You know where you are, I assume, if you are to be known by your reputation."

The seeker regarded him coldly, optics narrow, but he nodded curtly.

"I can wager a fair guess. Not that I would tell you anything."

Prowl smiled coldly.

"No, I imagine not. Very well then." He snapped a wrist to Perceptor and Sunstreaker. "Cuff them, bring them."

Sunstreaker smirked cruelly and roughly grabbed Optimus's arms, wrenching them behind his back to cuff them. And when he was at it, he used the opportunity to shamelessly grope him, chuckling in his audio.

"I'm sure you'll appreciate our... hospitality."

Optimus glared at him over his shoulder and bristled at Prowl's words. He was not an idiot, he was confused, true, but he will figure out what was going on here.

Perceptor grabbed Starscream's arms, cuffing them sharply as Prowl simply smirked at them, turning and leading the way down the path that exited the junkyard. Beyond them….. was a whole different and unknown world.

-TBC-