Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: just my OC's & the plot.
TRUE SELF
PROLOGUE
Somewhere in the western Sierras, 1:07am:
"Slag!" Barricade cursed under his breath as he ran hell for leather over the rocky ground: too steep and too jagged for his altmode to run on. It had hours since he left civilization behind, and retreated into the dark forest. Stopping every now and then to check how far behind his pursuers were.
Two attack choppers rising above the horizon soon confirmed his worst fears.
"How the slag?!-" He didn't have time to stop and ask questions, he bolted with everything he had. Energon was running low, internal systems were overheating: and his tires had been blown out after a previous encounter with the pursuers. As he went deeper and deeper into the vast mountainous terrain: he soon caught sight of his destination, on the side of a small mountain several miles ahead.
"Gotta keep going," he panted through his vents, "Gotta to send for help, have to, warn everyone..."
Elsewhere, twenty miles north of Bakersfield, Central Valley, California:
The air was still and cool as the stars shone brightly overhead; not a sound could be heard for miles around, even the insects were strangely quiet for some unknown reason.
The whole land felt like it was in the grip of something otherworldly, as if a presence had emerged from some ethereal plain, and had come to haunt the living.
Perhaps such a notion might not be too far from the truth? For a few miles away, at the end of a long apple orchid, on a small yet fairly impressive estate: a man was slowly drawing to the end of his life.
A knock-knock announced the arrival of one more guest, who'd come to bid the man farewell. "Ah, you came" the hostess smiled as she opened the door. The gentleman in question stepped in with a respectful nod, and placed his rucksack and staff by the coat hanger. ", I was half-worried you wouldn't" she added apprehensively.
"I made a promise Wendy, and I never break a promise" the gentleman smiled as he pulled his sleeves over his hands, trying the hide the cybertronian tattoos that covered his arms, "How's Daniel?"
The woman hesitated for a moment, as the sound of weeping echoed down the stairs; "Come with me," she beckoned him to follow, and led the way up the old wooden staircase: down the long dark hallway, and past several bedrooms. In one room, a group of people sat around a table: some held their heads in their hands, while others leaned against one another for support and comfort while a box of tissues was passed around.
"I see Maria has not taken it well?" the gentleman sighed ruefully
"She doesn't have the stomach for this: she thought she did, but? ...Well?"
"I know" the gentleman nodded, "But that aside, I have a job to do, and I don't have much time"
"Of course..." the woman nodded as she led him to the bedroom at the end of the hallway, "He's not got long, the priest is with him now..." she added as she knocked softly on the door, and opened it to let him in. "Thank you Wendy" he smiled, and quietly slipped in.
The bedroom was dark, lit only by candlelight, filling the bare walls with a soft golden glow that made the shadows flit and dance about; at the side of the huge four poster bed, the priest finished his recital of the last rights with the sign of the cross, closed his bible, and discreetly took his leave. "It's all in god's hand's now" he softly spoke as he left the room, closing the door behind him.
"I knew you would come..." said the dying man in a strained weary voice, barely able to draw breath as he willed himself to remain in this life.
"I said I would" the gentleman smiled as he pulled up a chair to the side of the bed, and sat as close as he could to the dying man.
"It's incredible: all these years, and you've hardly aged a day" the dying man thought aloud.
"If I had a quarter for every time I heard that" the gentleman chuckled
A brief silence past between them, before the dying man asked: "...So? Is it time yet?"
"...Yes Daniel, it is time..." the gentleman softly held his hand
A soft sigh escaped his lips, "...Finally..."
"Have the necessary arrangements been taken care of?" the gentleman asked
"Everything you asked for: the artifacts will go to Sam as promised; not that any of the other family would want them anyway, but still, I stipulated it in the will never the less"
"That's good"
"Tell me, what will happen now?"
"Now? ...It's up to Sam and Morwenna"
"I have to confess, there were times I seriously doubted this whole thing; knowing what they will endure once they discover the Chronicle"
"The future is not set in stone Daniel. They follow their own paths and write their own stories: the Chronicle is merely a broad overview of the possibilities, it is not absolute"
"But even so; are they ready for what's coming?"
"If their anything like their great-great-grandfather, they will endure. And besides, they are safe with the their friends"
"Okay" the dying man sighed, "...One last thing...When we last met, you promised me that you'd reveal you're true name when we next meet. The name that, you said can only be uttered, at death's doorstep"
"Indeed" the gentleman smiled, "And I always keep my promises..." he added as he leaned over the bed, and whispered in the man's ear. His pale face turned even paler, as he stared at the gentleman in a mix of surprise and disbelief. "...No..." he gasped.
"I'm afraid so" the gentleman nodded
"Well..." the dying man smiled, "It's reassuring to know, that even the worst, can find redemption"
Elsewhere:
Far from the physical world, beyond the constraints of body and form: in a place few have seldom seen, let alone heard of. Ravage was alone with his thoughts.
Treading the threshold of the Astral Void, between the place of pure mind and spirit, and the darkness where the damned roamed aimlessly; it was a place one did not hang around in. But for one like Ravage, whose life was halfway in the dark anyway, it was a place he liked to come to, to contemplate and meditate on certain matters: away from the physical world, and the bustling minds of the other bots and humans.
Time had no relevance here, so he had no idea how long he'd been walking across the black arid sands of the darkness, while overhead, the Astral Void shone bright and colorful as ever.
As he reached the top of a tall dune, and looked out over the desert below: a figure standing in the sand instantly caught his optic, and he recognized instantly who it was...
"...No..." he breathed in disbelief: was it another telepath? Or a being with similar astral abilities using a psychic disguise? Not likely, one would really have to go out of their way to deceive a telepath of Ravage's caliber, and even then, Ravage knew what to look for if he sensed something was out of place. As his mind scanned the ambient void for any signs of something amiss, and found nothing: the only conclusion was that this individual was exactly who they were.
Soundwave
"It can't be..." Ravage told himself, unable to bring himself to believe this was real. As he galloped down the dune and approached his creator, he saw something was different about him. He looked like he was offline: his armor was rusted and cracked with the paint flaking off like autumn leaves, his joints were buckled and worn, and his visor was cracked down the middle. But more prominently, his optics were dead and dark, with no sign of life to be seen or sensed.
"...Creator?" Ravage gently rubbed his head up against his leg like a cat.
Suddenly, Soundwave's spark chamber burst open with a brilliant shining light, and all at once his armor cracked and shattered like glass, falling off into the sand: revealing a very different mech now standing in his place. This Soundwave was different: familiar on many levels, but at the same time he was like a stranger; almost a flip-side of Soundwave Ravage hadn't seen before...
...Or perhaps? Hadn't known in a very long time? ...
It was hard to tell, so many emotions and memories were now buzzing about the strange mech standing in Soundwave's place: it was Soundwave, it was his spark, but at the same time it was not him: not the mech Ravage knew when he was alive.
"Creator?" he grabbed his attention
The mech gazed down, and smiled at him as he kneeled down, and gently scratched Ravage behind his ear: exactly the way he used to.
"It is you..." he purred in a broken voice, his joy welling up and threatening to overwhelm him
"It's me Ravage" Soundwave spoke in a soft warm voice; Ravage nearly flinched in shock, "What happened to your voice?!" the panther stared at him in disbelief, and as he expanded his mind out to 'read' the presence of this new Soundwave, what he 'sensed' both astounded and dismayed him.
"Things have changed, and I'm sorry to say; we have all been deceived" Soundwave spoke in a more rueful tone
"I-...I don't understand" Ravage gazed up at him in confusion
"Nothing is what it seems, and the truth-...The truth is, and always has been, a lie"
"What? You're not making any sense"
"I'm coming home Ravage, but things are going to be different; I'm so sorry for what is about to occur, but you must endure. If not for my sake, then for the sake of all who're involved...The deceit must end, so the truth may be known"
The winds began to whip up the sand, and as Soundwave disappeared into the darkness, his mind reached out, and instilled a sense of assurance with his creation, "...I will come my creation, I will find you..." his voice echoed as he drifted further away.
"Creator! Please Creator! WAIT!-"
"AH!-" Ravage woke up suddenly: looking around, he forgot where he was for moment, before remembering this was his room, and this was his birth. As his mind settled down, he suddenly sensed his brothers, and turned around to see them at his side, staring at him in mix of alarm, shock and concern.
"That was you wasn't it?" Buzzsaw pressed him
"Please brother, tell me that was you dreaming?" Rumble pleaded
As Ravage tried to get his thoughts back in order, he couldn't deny what he'd just experienced: "...No, it was not me..." he sighed, wishing it had been a dream.
A knocking at the door nearly made them jump out of their armor, reaching their mind's out to see who it was: they were a little surprised at who was on the other side of the door; "Huh? What's she doing here?" Ratbat raised a skeptical optic ridge.
'It's open' Ravage mentally told them
The door slid open, and Crystalwing stepped in: she was flustered and in a state of anxiety as she strode across to the birth and kneeled down to meet the drone's eye-level. "I sensed what happened as you crossed the void: please tell me that wasn't you?" she pleased desperately.
"No, it wasn't-..." Ravage stopped in his tracks as he realized what she just said, "...Wait a minute, you sensed him too?" he asked
"...So it was him" she breathed in amazement: as the drones reached their minds out to her to try to find out what she was talking about, her open memories made them flinch in shock.
"Wait! You knew-
"-I did: long before any of you were even online" she interjected
Realizing this was something big: Ravage got up, and looked her square in the visor. "Tell me everything; and don't skip on any details"
Down the other end of their bond, Crystalwing's children listened in silence, as their mother told the drones what they wanted to know. All bar Shadowstar, listened in fascination and concern, while she, listened to the echoes of her mother's voice over the strained bond.
Enigmatic? Certainly :)
So here's where we begin chapter 5 of the saga: enjoy, and remember to R&R please :)
