Prologue
The beautiful green and blue planet far below stretched on for tens of thousands of miles, shimmering in the light of its magnificent yellow sun. Mountains arched upwards in gargantuan chains, reaching up mournfully at the sky, as continents collided with each other in slow-motion. The vast sapphire oceans roared mightily, beating violently against cliffs and rocks while gently caressing tan sandy beaches. Expansive emerald jungles teeming with life spread across mountains, valleys, and plains. Volcanoes belched smoke and ash, regurgitating and recycling the planet's swallowed interior, signaling its continuing ability to sustain- and destroy- the life so prevalent on it.
A white and maroon figure gazed longingly at the planet, staring through the forward portal. "It's finally over, Vector," said the gold and opal being behind him.
Vector Prime's gaze shifted around the cockpit of the Sojourner, over the flashing lights and control panels, the gauges and meters, the spacious seats upon which their kind could spend eons in, piloting these enormous starships throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.
"At last, we've found a suitable world," Prima continued. "At last, the object of Megatronus's insane ambition will be hidden away, permanently."
Covered in a clockwork-like design, Vector Prime nodded. "It seems that we have been searching for millions of years."
Prima laughed heartily. "It is unknown to me how long we've been meandering aimlessly through the infinite vacuum you and I call space. After all, you are the one bestowed with the ability to travel through time."
"Though we all may walk amongst the many billions of timelines in existence," Vector Prime countered.
Prima grinned. "True. But none so easily as you."
Vector Prime smiled back at his brother, and turned to view the enchanting planet ahead, which grew larger slowly as the ship approached it.
"What data exists about this planet?" Prima inquired.
"It is unmapped, unmarked, and undocumented in all of our star charts. It may as well not exist," Vector Prime answered promptly.
"Perfect." Prima grinned, nearly giddy. "We can finally rest peacefully, millions of years after our brothers and sisters who preceded us into the All Spark."
Vector Prime sighed. "I only wish that we could be visiting this planet under more peaceful circumstances, rather than hiding an incentive for war."
"Relax, Vector Prime," Prima said. "War will not come to this planet any time soon. Whatever sentient species inhabit it will have time to prepare themselves for our descendants' coming."
An airlock hissed, and five relatively diminutive red and blue figures entered, followed by a large, malicious green figure adorned with spiraling horns and five wicked-clawed digits twiddling from each hand. The larger figure regarded Vector Prime and Prima curtly, almost disdainfully.
"Liege, how did the procedure progress?" Prima asked.
The large green being answered, "It went well, considering..."
"Considering what?" Prima asked innocently.
"Considering the best minds out of our brothers and sisters were killed in battle," hissed the Liege Maximo.
"Even without Megatronus's betrayal, many of us would have been lost to your own ambitions," Prima countered.
Maximo hesitated. "I was created to be evil. It is my function. You know as well as I do that for either good or evil to exist, the opposite has to exist as well at some point in time in every universe."
Quickly changing the subject, he said, "Prima, present the Star Saber to Nexus so he can hide it!"
Prima nodded, unsheathing a glowing blue sword. "Be cautious, Nexus Prime," Prima warned, addressing the five smaller beings. "Many will search for the Star Saber once word of it gets out. Few will seek it for pure intentions."
The five sections of Nexus Prime nodded. "I understand," one said, stepping forward. "I will not let you down." Prima approached the group, and, with a mighty flick of his wrist, broke it into five pieces, distributing them amongst the pieces of Nexus Prime.
With that, the five fully-functioning and independent pieces turned and filed back through the airlock, which hissed shut. Moments later, the five exited the ship and rocketed silently into space, in five different directions, before disappearing amongst the blackness.
Prima turned and approached the ship's front viewport, gazing at the planet below him. "Only those who are determined, and strong of mind and body, and with pure intentions will be able to collect the pieces of the Star Saber. A weapon of such power must be guarded with the utmost attention; that is why Nexus Prime, one of our own, agreed to be split into five components."
"What about the Matrix of Leadership?" the Liege Maximo hissed. "Was it wise to leave it behind?"
Prima turned to his counterpart. "Regardless of the reasoning behind it, it was necessary. The Matrix of Leadership chooses those who lead Cybertron, and will continue to do so until it is passed to the One-"
"Yes, yes, we know. Until it is passed to the One who will light our darkest hour. The Covenant is programmed into our beings," Maximo growled impatiently. "But was it wise to leave it with that weakling, Primon?"
"Alpha Trion believes that it was destined to be so," Prima countered.
The Liege Maximo hesitated. He sighed, and turned away from his brother to stare at the blank wall. "Who would have predicted that I, the Liege Maximo, would be reduced to this? That I would enter the All Spark from such a Primus-forsaken planet?" he lamented.
"You volunteered, Maximo Prime," Prima reminded him.
The Liege Maximo turned, glaring at Prima angrily. "Not a soul has dared uttered my name since the creation of Cybertron, yet you use it so easily?"
"Do not forget that I was chosen to bear the Matrix of Leadership at the dawn of our race. Do not forget who was granted power beyond your own," Prima scolded.
The Liege Maximo, or Maximo Prime, fell silent. Prima turned to gaze out at the planet once more, as it grew ever larger and closer.
The planet's surface was mostly a blue compound of what the ship's computers found was hydrogen and oxygen, about seventy percent. But the remaining thirty percent were concentrated around a single point. A juvenile sea was slowly growing year by year at that central point, slowly filling with water and aquatic life. One discernible continent pulled itself southward, toward the planet's frigid pole. Two continents pulled to the left of the ocean, slowly parting themselves. Three more continents clashed with each other, pulling apart in place and colliding in others.
"Vector, land the ship to the right of the central ocean. If my scanners are correct, there is life there that we may prepare for our descendants' coming," Prima commanded.
Vector Prime nodded, and tapped a few icons on the glowing holographic monitor before him. Immediately, the nose of the ship swung to the right, and begin to rattle as the vessel entered the planet's atmosphere. A roar drowned out all other sound as the ship was engulfed in flames before shortly falling silent as the ship slowed.
Standing, watching the planet rush up to meet them, Prima felt his body lean forward slightly as the massive Cybertronian ship decelerated. Mountains and jungles below expanded rapidly, approaching the ship as if to greet the weary travelers at the end of their millions-of-years-long journey. The details seemed to balloon to Prima's optical sensors, and then, suddenly, the nose of the ship shifted upward, and the ship evened out, parallel to the planet's surface, slowing, slowing, slowing steadily.
Birds and other animals scattered, letting out frightened cries, as the craft maneuvered effortlessly, gliding nimbly over the terrain.
Prima's mouth curled into a genuinely pleased grin. He pointed ahead, indicating an open field littered with stones, each bearing the evidence of work. Primitive tools lay scattered haphazardly around the.
Vector Prime quickly entered the command, and the ship slowed to a stop in mid-air, before slowly descending to the ground. Skid-footed legs extended from the ship as it alighted, stabilizing it on the green grassy ground.
Prima turned toward the opening airlock door, and began toward it. Vector Prime tapped at the glowing monitor a few times, shutting the ship's engines down, before standing and following his leader. The Liege Maximo quickly followed in line. The three entered a corridor brightly lit with blue light pouring from glowing sapphires, before coming to the ship's main chamber.
Here, in this brown room lit with glowing quartz crystals, stood the unnamed Cybertronian. His massive, stoic figure gleamed gold and silver, as he stood, silent and still, awaiting his destiny.
"Are you ready my friend?" Prima asked, almost hesitantly.
"Since the dawn of our race, I have waited for this moment," the being replied. "Indeed, if it is time, I am prepared."
The dark-skinned, dark, long-haired being grunted. His toned boy seemed hesitant at this new development, and he waited patiently for any new developments. The light, warm breeze whispered through the emerald-green jungle, tugging at the fringes of his animal-hide coverings. He gripped the wooden spear in his hand tightly, whitening his knuckles. His palms were wet. A bead of sweat dripped from his pronounced brow.
He jumped slightly, startled, as the utterly enormous brown bird in the clearing let out an unearthly cry. Its belly erupted, skin peeling back and dangling to the ground like the ridges his kind use to climb cliff faces. Four towering animals stomped down the ridge to the ground, surveying the area.
The proto-human grunted again, and motioned with his head. Several others of his species appeared from their hiding places in the thick foliage, stepping tentatively out of the safety and cover of the jungle.
He held his spear at the ready, shaking in anticipation and fear of these giants. But these did not move with an air of malevolence- at least, not all of them did. One of them approached him regally, almost like a god, and he realized at once that this must be one of them. Immediately, he dropped his spear and fell face-down to the ground. He trembled.
The others mimicked his actions, dropping to the ground on their knees.
The green giant uttered something in an alien language and laughed. The one closest to the proto-human shot him a look, bringing him back under control. The yellow and blue behemoth knelt down before him, staring directly into his fearful eyes.
The giant held out his hand, palm-up, low to the ground, and flexed his fingers a few times. The proto-human stood, understanding, and stepped into the giant's hand. He wavered slightly as he felt himself rise into the air, until he stood eye-to-glowing-eye with the giant.
With the giant's other hand, he gestured to one of the others. The dark red and white giant covered in mysterious symbols complied, disappearing into the featherless bird for a moment before reappearing.
Vector Prime reverently bowed and extended his hand to Prima, palm upward. Above his palm floated, spinning slowly, a silver object, with two long, thin cylinders that tapered toward the center before increasing in radius toward the ends. From the outside of both cylinders extended a crescent, which tapered to a sharp point on both ends. At the center of the object, a greenish-blue crystal glowed.
The creature in Prima's hand fell to its knees in awe once more at this sight, and with his other hand, Prima took the Creation Matrix from his brother. He held it clearly in sight of the creature, which could only tremble in sheer awe-inspired fear.
Satisfied, Prima returned the Creation Matrix to Vector Prime's hand, and the entire ship began to change, reshaping itself into a more streamlined shape against the ground. Now it stood like a dome above the field, with the only entrance now smaller than the gold and silver giant, which took its place in front of the entryway.
Prima overturned his hand, but the proto-human found that he didn't simply fall to the ground. Instead, he descended slowly, gently to the grassy field. He again fell to his face, afraid to bring his eyes to meet the gaze of the magnificent, regal giant before him.
Prima turned back toward the ship, leading his two brothers toward the entrance. The stoic nameless being stepped aside, allowing Prima, Vector Prime, and the Liege Maximo entrance, before retaking his position.
In its transformed state, the chamber now possessed two lengthy cylinders; one hung down from the ceiling, the other reaching up toward its counterpart from the floor, but forever unable to join it. The lower cylinder reached twenty feet into the air before abruptly coming to an end, leaving a gap of four feet between it and the higher. Cautiously, Vector Prime lifted the Creation Matrix to its roost, gently placing it in the gap and retracting his hands.
The Creation Matrix hovered serenely above the surface of the lower cylinder, bathing the room in its blue-green light.
"Now..." Prima whispered, almost sadly. "It is time for the final phase. This universe is prepared as instructed; it is time to move on."
With that, the three Cybertronians formed a triangle around the cylinders, with Prima at the head and Vector Prime and the Liege Maximo forming the legs. They joined hands solemnly, and the room slowly began to spin around them, growing ever faster, until the three seemed as one being, rotating in a massive blur around the Creation Matrix, before disappearing.
"So you see, class," the speaker continued, "Atlantis is a very real possibility."
Every student in the class uttered a groan. Spike Witwicky's head sank further down into his palm, and he barely mustered the energy to keep his eyes open. Next to him, Carly yawned, clapping her hand over her open mouth.
"When we consider the fact that almost every known ancient civilization has a story similar to the legend of Atlantis, along with the fact that each version of these stories can be cross-checked and verified to be nearly-identical, it is amazing that anybody could possibly doubt the plausibility of the story," the speaker concluded. "Any questions?"
"Why did I sign up for this class?" Spike muttered sarcastically.
"Why did we stay in it?" Carly responded quietly.
They glanced at each other and smiled, before returning their gazes to the speaker at the front of the darkened classroom, silhouetted by the reflection of underwater ruins on the overhead projector screen.
A girl's hand meandered into the air near the far wall. "Yes, you there," the speaker said, pointing to her.
"Umm... what about that... power source or whatever?" she asked groggily.
"Simple really. The same reason for the cataclysm that sank Atlantis." The speaker grinned goofily. "Aliens."
An audible sigh echoed throughout the classroom.
"Any more questions?"
Not a single hand was raised this time. The speaker shifted his eyes, scanning over the classroom repeatedly. "No? Okay, then, I'll turn it over to Ali- I mean, Ms. Baker." The speaker lifted a remote control and clicked a button, deactivating the projector.
Ms. Baker, a young woman who couldn't have been older than twenty-five, stood, just as the bell rang. The students stood sleepily and began shuffling out of the classroom.
"Okay, remember, students, Mrs. Goodwin will be back tomorrow! And the test is still on!" The students within earshot groaned.
Spike's hand fell lazily to his side, and he squinted as he exited the room, half-blinded by the bright morning sunlight. He felt a hand dropped and curl around his own; he looked to his side, waiting for his eyes to adjust, and found Carly staring back at him.
She giggled. "You make me feel so pretty when you look at me like that," she said, half-jokingly.
Spike smiled back at her. Suddenly, heavy arms draped around the both of them. Their eyes shifted to see the speaker's face inches from their own. "Pretty cool, eh?"
"Oh, that was painful," Spike answered.
The speaker's arms fell to his side, thick leather jacket waving with the impact. "I know, Spike, I know."
The three continued on down the hall for a moment. "By the way, you signed up for and stayed in this class because Optimus asked. He really wants to know if anything in Earth legend could possibly be the Creation Matrix."
"We know, Roller," Carly said. "It was sarcasm."
Roller hesitated in his disguise. "Right. Right."
"Besides, it's not like anybody actually knows where the Creation Matrix is, right?" Spike said.
"You're right, Spike. You're right," Roller admitted.
Spike and Carly turned into the main second-floor lobby, situated around the ornate main stairway, toward the next hall over, which ran parallel to the previous one. Roller patted them both on the back.
"Well, gotta go, kids. The Boss-bot wants everybody on our dodgeball team for a training session, if you know what I mean," he said. He waved, and turned toward the stairs, and soon disappeared amongst the migrating students.
"So Opti- err, Boss-bot really thinks the Creation Matrix could be, like, the Baghdad Battery or something?" Spike said aloud as they passed a row of lockers.
"Guess so," Carly said. They turned down the next hall. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"
Spike nodded and smiled. Carly turned and slipped quietly down a side stairwell, and also disappeared amongst the ocean of students.
"Eighteen months," he beamed. "A year and a half."