Bolt Boy and Optimus got their answer from Rosadera herself, so they came together with their respective teams in a large storage Bolt Boy’s secret base to figure something out. Bolt Boy’s team consisted of his sister, Tornado Girl, his best friend, Quake Boy, Tornado Girl’s best friend, Sunray Girl, and their newest addition, Snowstorm Boy. All of them were roughly eight or nine years old. “Sorry about that,” called Moradelia as she reentered the room. “One of my sons called. Had to take it. What were we talking about again?”
“We’re just talking about how much trouble Bolt Boy and Optimus are in,” giggled Tornado Girl.
“We’re NOT in trouble!” hissed Optimus. “We just need you guys to help us figure a way out of this!”
“I’ve looked over the rules twice already,” replied Prowl. “There’s nothing in here.”
“Then help us find something to make the fight more fair for both of us!” snapped Bolt Boy.
“I don’t get it,” remarked Sunray Girl. “Why can’t you guys just say that the fight isn’t going to be fair for either of you?”
“We’ve tried that already,” replied Optimus. “Rosadera thinks we each still have a ‘reasonable chance’! I, personally, don’t know where she’s getting that, but the fight’s still going on, so here we are!”
“Rosadera thinks you two need to outthink one another to win,” explained Moradelia. “You know, use some strategy.”
“What strategy?!” argued Bolt Boy. “The only option we each have is giving up the match! Look at me, then at Optimus! He’s so big that if I zap him, he’ll crush me!”
“I know I’ve mentioned the rule about there being no allowance for forfeit while all competitors are decided,” muttered Moradelia.
“Maybe you should fly up and zap him in the chest and call it a day,” mused Quake Boy.
“That would kill him, though,” argued Sunray Girl, “and the Chizarans are against fighters even thinking about threatening to kill each other.”
“Well, there IS the Synthetic Energon Tails and I have been developing,” mused Perceptor. “If Optimus uses that, his endurance will be greater against electricity.”
“Or I could make a formula to expand your muscle mass, Bolt Boy,” offered Snowstorm Boy.
“NO!” shouted Optimus and Bolt Boy.
“Perceptor, aside from the fact that the effects aren’t permanent,” explained Optimus, “the last time I tried that Synth-En brew, I spent three weeks going through explosive Energon Waste Discharge!”
“And let’s not forget what prompted our parents to find out our secret identities after the disaster that was the Speed Formula!” hissed Bolt Boy.
“It worked though!” argued Snowstorm Boy.
“For an hour!” countered Bolt Boy.
“And that hour can be spent fighting!” insisted Snowstorm Boy. “What’s the big deal?!”
“The answer is NO!” declared Bolt Boy. At that moment, Megumi and Arsha came in via dimensional rift. Megumi was in her white and gold dress with her crown instead of her new blue rift dress and hairpiece.
“How are things going?” asked Megumi.
“Badly,” replied Optimus. He then did a double-take when he saw Megumi’s outfit. “Why are you wearing your old dress?”
“Verdutha wants a promotional pic of the three of us and insisted that I wear the dress she has in her files,” explained Megumi.
“Well, we can’t exactly do that,” grumbled Optimus, “until we get this settled!”
“Wait, Sir! Bolt Boy!” interjected Prowl. “I think I found something! Check Article 7 of the General Rules of Combat!” Moradelia then smacked her forehead in embarrassment.
“The Right of Substitution! I forgot!” she chided herself.
“Huh?” asked Bolt Boy.
“Competitors can offer a reasonable associate among their ranks as a substitute to fight in the original fighter’s place,” explained Moradelia. “Bolt Boy, you could have someone else fight Optimus for you or Optimus could have someone fight for him.”
“In other words, I might not need to get squished!” realized Bolt Boy.
“Exactly,” confirmed Moradelia. “But, you can only have one substitute per tournament. If you use this now, you can’t use it again for the rest of the tournament.”
“Don’t expect me to fight him!” hissed Tornado Girl.
“None of the human members of the Weather Squad are fighting him,” declared Bolt Boy.
“…You don’t mean…?” quizzed Sunray Girl.
“Er, I don’t wish to be nosy, but…” remarked Optimus.
“We’ve taken a few vehicles and made them into our own Transformers,” explained Bolt Boy. “Right now, we have the Weather Copter, the Time Van, and the Spy Jet. I think you’ll want to fight the Weather Copter in this fight. He’s the best fighter out of them.”
“I see no problem with this,” replied Optimus. “Let me see him.” Bolt Boy pressed a button and a robot roughly Optimus’ size with helicopter parts came into the room.
“What’s up?” asked the robot.
“Copter, this is Optimus Prime,” introduced Bolt Boy. “We both don’t want to fight each other because I might end up being flattened. So, if you want, you can fight him in my place.”
“This scrawny thing?!” protested the Weather Copter.
“…You’ve got a rude way of saying ‘Hello’,” remarked Optimus.
“I’ve only been in combat for a year and I bet I could mop the floor with this guy!” continued the Weather Copter.
“Doubtful,” hissed Optimus. “I’ve been fighting for five years and I’ve been training to be a Cyber-ninja and a wizard for 100!”
“A ninja and a wizard?!” laughed the Weather Copter. “How quaint! I suppose I can take care of him for you if you’re that scared of him, Bolt Boy.”
“I’m not scared of him!” protested Bolt Boy. “I just don’t want to be accidentally squashed if he lands on top of me!”
“Weather Copter, you have been asked to fill in for Bolt Boy in this bout,” interjected Moradelia. “Do you accept?”
“Yeah, sure,” replied the Weather Copter. “I can fly circles around him in both robot and vehicle mode.”
“Oh, can you?!” snarled Optimus. “Then I know how the fight’s gonna play out! You try to stay in the air and I’ll try and get you to hit the ground at least once! We’ll both use our arsenals and powers to accomplish our goal! No one else can help us and I need to bring you down within an hour!”
“Fine by me,” declared the Weather Copter. “We can fight in your universe. You CAN’T bring me down no matter where you are!”
“As the substitute agrees to the terms and has picked the battlefield,” declared Moradelia, “all that’s left is for all of the Princesses to approve the Right of Substitution. You shall have our decision within an hour, relative to your universe’s time-scale. Autobots, I shall return you all to Vorton. Once that’s done, I’ll bring Arsha, Megumi, and Optimus to Chizara for their photo op.” She, the Autobots, Megumi, and Arsha then vanished in purple light.
“Weather Copter, that was rude!” snapped Sunray Girl.
“The kid’s all talk and no action!” replied the Weather Copter. “I’m gonna win easily!”
“Don’t come crying to us,” hissed Bolt Boy, “if you lose!”
“A substitute?!” protested Rosadera. “Why would Bolt Boy want a substitute?!”
“From what I’ve seen,” explained Moradelia, “Bolt Boy’s a little worried that Optimus might flatten him if the kid scores a winning shot. The Weather Copter wants to fight Optimus in Bolt Boy’s place. Optimus has to make the Weather Copter hit the ground at least once within an hour while the Copter stays in the air. No one else can help them. I see no problem with this.”
“I have to side with Moradelia on this,” interjected Verdutha. “Bolt Boy may be powerful, but he’s a kid, for crying out loud!”
“I have to say, I’m not too wild about endangering a kid,” muttered Rojenthi.
“Besides, who DOESN’T love a good giant robot slug-fest?” asked Azuliterii. Rosadera sighed.
“I would prefer Optimus and Bolt Boy go outside their comfort zone in terms of combat,” she muttered, “but it seems I’m outvoted. …Very well, the Weather Copter can fight in Bolt Boy’s place and the bout will proceed as outlined by the competitor and the substitute.”
“Excellent!” cheered Moradelia.
“I’ll tell Optimus once the photo-op is done!” declared Verdutha.
“All right, hand on the hip, Optimus,” directed Vioazira. “Now, Megumi, if you could raise your left arm as if your hand is resting on something, that’s it. Arsha, if you could hold your hands up as if you had just finished a dress twirl. Oh, lovely!”
“A classic pose,” praised Verdutha.
“All right, smile!” called Vioazira. The camera flashed a few times. “All right then! That’s all! Good work!”
“Thanks,” bid Optimus.
“I don’t get it,” remarked Megumi. “You guys used my Rift Dress before when showing the competitors of a fight, why not now?”
“Some of our people,” explained Verdutha, “wanted to see your old outfit. It’s a bit of nostalgia.”
“Ah,” realized Megumi.
“Er, I don’t wish to sound pushy,” interjected Optimus, “but, about the substitute…?”
“Ah, yes,” remembered Verdutha. She then cleared her throat and began the usual announcement with a bit of a twist. “The Substitute has been approved, the challenge has been set, the terms have been agreed upon, and the chance of victory is agreeable for both sides. Grilcaldo, the warm-grey princess of Chizara and the fire leader, will be judging. Tomorrow evening, your fight begins! Prepare and make ready! Good luck!”
“Has Bolt Boy been told?” asked Arsha.
“Moradelia’s already told him,” replied Verdutha.
“All right!” cheered Optimus. “Then let’s do this!”
“Just a sec,” called Vioazira. She handed the three their copies of the photo with “3V2R” written in gold on the top-right corner.
“Now that’s just cool!” praised Arsha.
“I shall return you all to Vorton,” offered Vioazira.
“Thank you,” bid Megumi. Blue-violet light surrounded them and they returned to Vorton. Richard approached them as Vioazira left.
“How did it go?” he quizzed.
“It went well,” replied Megumi. “Optimus is fighting another giant shape-changing robot on Bolt Boy’s team instead of Bolt Boy himself.”
“And we got a pretty decent photo together,” continued Arsha. Megumi showed Richard her copy as Arsha and Optimus headed to their respective ships.
“I still don’t know why they wanted my old dress,” sighed Megumi. “I look better in that new dress, right?”
“Of course,” replied Richard. “But, you’re beautiful in whatever you wear.”
“Charmer,” chuckled Megumi.
“I’m just saying it as it is,” answered Richard.
“Still, I think I’m gonna change back to my current dress,” decided Megumi. She headed off to their room to change.
Rosadera sighed as she finalized the last bit of paperwork before the next fight. She was going to judge the fight between Queen Phury and an alien defense attorney called Mr. Drendar. They were going to stage a mock murder trial with Phury as the Prosecution and Drendar as the Defense. She had to be drilled in legal proceedings with Amavorte as her coach. As she sank into her chair, a time rift opened in front of her desk. The person that used it was Mirai Megumi! “Ah, Rosadera!” she called. “Good to see you again!”
“How did you get here?!” demanded Rosadera.
“I walked,” snarked Mirai Megumi. “In all seriousness, has War gained access yet?”
“No, thankfully,” replied Rosadera, “but she’s about to break through.”
“Tell Azuliterii to install this in your satellites,” directed Mirai Megumi as she handed a flash drive to her. “It will keep War busy and force her to turn her attention away from you.”
“That’s very kind of you,” bid Rosadera as she accepted the flash drive. Mirai Megumi then turned to leave, stopping only when she heard Rosadera clear her throat. She turned to see Rosadera keeping her hand outstretched.
“…What?” asked Mirai Megumi.
“I’m not an idiot,” replied Rosadera. “Chizarans can see straight through perception filters.”
“Ah,” remarked Mirai Megumi.
“You smell of a different form of immortality,” continued Rosadera. “Have you REALLY aged a day in your timeline?”
“…Not until all parties are brought together,” declared Mirai Megumi. “I promise you; I WILL explain myself soon, but not until present-day-me and her group, you Chizarans, War and her team, and Megatron and his alliance are all together.”
“…Very well,” sighed Rosadera as she lowered her hand. Mirai Megumi then summoned another time rift and left Rosadera alone.