"Destiny… You cannot destroy my destiny."
-Unicron, Primax Cluster
"… and as it were a great mountain, raging with fire, arose from the sea."
-The Covenant of Primus, Primax Cluster
Rafael was falling. He had never fallen far before. Sometimes, as he drifted to sleep, he would have a sense of falling, and involuntarily jerk himself awake. In his dreams, sometimes he would fall from some ledge or railing, but he would always be saved in the nick of time. Sometimes, it would be by Optimus, other times by Arcee or Bulkhead. One time, it was Ratchet. But most of the time, it was Bumblebee. His guardian. His partner. His best friend.
Raf didn't think Bumblebee would be able to save him this time. Not unless the little yellow car grew a pair of wings and flew into the upper atmosphere to catch him, but at the speed he was going, that may not have been enough.
He had gone past the clouds now. He could see the ocean. Well that was nice. He'd splash like a cannon ball. Well no. from this height, it would be like hitting concrete. He'd give anything to be able to transform like the Autobots right about then. But the only vehicle that popped into his head was a NASA command module. Maybe part of him thought that was funny.
Oh. Look. An island. And he was heading straight for it. His own internal narration seemed pretty resigned right about then, which was probably why he didn't react when he saw the volcano right smack dab in the middle of it, which was belching just enough smoke to tell him that it would probably erupt any minute. He started counting the digits to pi to see how far he would get before he got splattered-slash-melted.
He hit the magma before he got to 6.
It didn't hurt. He literally didn't feel anything. He blinked and saw that this magma was… purple. And he was still falling through it. He kept falling for a quite a bit, now positive this was a dream. He breached the purple and now he was falling through solid rock. And the deeper he went, the stronger he felt, like he was going home.
Then it went dark. And then…
Eyes.
"His pulse rate is stabilizing!" a woman cried out. Was it his mother? The only way to tell was to open his eyes, and that seemed harder than it should have been, but he did anyway.
No. It wasn't his mother. It was Ms. Darby, Jack's mom. Jack was there too. And Miko, and behind them…
"Bee!" he murmured weakly.
"Yeah, Bee." The robot hummed in response, his relief obvious. Ratchet sighed in satisfaction, and Miko hugged him in his bed, though he couldn't exactly move to reciprocate.
"Optimus, we did it." The medical robot said to the monitor. The only responses were grunts and the sound of metal hitting metal. Whatever Optimus was doing, he clearly wasn't able to talk.
Raf slowly sat up and shook his head, when the voice spoke.
"My destiny. This isn't how it's supposed to end!"
And then another, more familiar one, yet more distant.
"On the contrary, Megatron… I could not have allowed this to end otherwise."
And then pain. A pain that started in his chest and shot up to his skull, pulsing faintly and slowly increasing in intensity.
"Bulkhead, you let Optimus face Megatron alone?" Arcee yelled, jerking Raf from his trance. Nobody was watching him now. They were watching Ratchet work on the base computer.
"I didn't have a choice." The wrecker explained.
"It could be a trap," Ratchet noted, "we need to get a fix on his location!" The Autobot began to work faster, and a minute later the console began to beep. "I've locked onto Optimus's signal… Wait. How is this possible?"
"What?" Arcee asked, "What is it?"
"We need to get Optimus out of there now!" Ratchet shouted, turning around and pushing past her to get to the Ground Bridge controls.
The headache reached its peak, pounding in his skull, but seemed to erupt in him, flaring up before vanishing, and in its place was… awareness. As if he had woken up from a really good sleep.
The Ground Bridge activated and Bulkhead charged through first. A few seconds after, Arcee flipped through the portal. Then Ratchet too. There was silence, and then Arcee and Ratchet came back through dragging Optimus Prime, badly beaten. Bulkhead jumped through immediately after, and Bumblebee closed the bridge. For a brief second before it closed, though, Raf could feel something on the other side. Something that was hostile, but at the same time familiar on an almost primal level.
"Easy Optimus," Ratchet muttered, "From the looks of things, you've been exposed to a massive amount of dark energon."
"I am not the only one…" He remarked, looking at Raf. The bots sat Optimus down next to him, and Raf didn't know how, but he could practically sense something different about the Autobot, like a corruption that was slowly fading.
The leader was clearly happy see him, but Ms. Darby clearly wasn't happy to see Optimus. Rafael barely got out a "hey" before she tore into the bot.
"He's lucky to be alive." She snapped. Optimus only looked away in shame.
"Megatron found more of the dark stuff?" Jack inquired.
"A volcano full." Arcee explained.
"The question is, 'how?'" Bulkhead added.
"No, the question is, 'what?'" Ratchet corrected. "As in, 'what in the world is the Blood of Unicron doing here on Earth?"
Blood of Unicron…
"The 'Cons killed a unicorn?" Miko asked, amused. The Autobots all stared in confusion. "White horse with a horn on its head?" she explained. "Prances around all sparkly?"
"Unicron." Ratchet emphasized. "An ancient evil whose fossilized blood comprises the matter which we call dark energon…" He looked off to the side. "As legend would have it."
Dark Energon...
"So, you're saying this Unicron is some kind of boogeyman?" Ms. Darby suggested.
"Boogeyman?"
"Make-believe creepy guy who hides in your closet." Miko volunteered.
"No, Nurse Darby. Unicron is very real." Ratchet replied, and then paused to correct. "Was. That is…" Ratchet tried to explain, "While I do believe he once existed, I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which… harmed Raf."
"I've heard enough" she fumed, walking around to push Raf's bed. "Jack, please, help me get Raf into the car."
"What? You can't!" Bee buzzed.
"Mom, I thought he was doing better." Jack protested.
"Raf needs to be examined by real doctors, And Raf's family needs to know what happened." She turned to look at Ratchet. "His real family."
"Mom, Raf's family can't protect him. Not like they can." Jack retorted, pointing to the Autobots.
"June," Optimus spoke, slowly standing up; "It deeply grieves me that I have failed. But I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends… or any human, ever again."
Power…
"Optimus, they're children." She whispered. "They do not belong in your world." Her voice almost cracked. "They should be worrying about grades, prom dates, pimples! Not their own survival!"
Your world… Survival…
"Mom, dark energon is pouring out of the Earth." Jack pleaded. "It doesn't do that. This could be about everyone's survival, not just ours."
"You're coming with me. All three of you." She ordered. She looked up at the robots. "And they will not be coming back."
"I understand." Optimus conceded.
"That's it?" Miko demanded, "After all we've been through together? 'See ya'? What about our freedom to choose?"
"That may fly on their planet." June called, helping Raf into her car. "But not here on Earth. Get in."
Here on Earth…
"Do you really expect me to get into a non-transforming vehicle?" Miko smirked.
"Miko. I'm serious."
"You're not my mother." Miko answered, hands on her hips.
"Miko…" Bulkhead protested.
"Neither are you!" She snapped.
Raf closed his eyes and tried to tune out all of the voices. What was going on? Who was-?
The door slammed. Raf looked out and saw that the others were staying. June got into the car, and he saw Optimus gesture to Ratchet to activate the Ground Bridge.
"No thank you!" she barked, and the car drove out of the normal tunnel with an audible squeal of the tires. Raf turned around for one last look at Bumblebee, and sat back down, sobbing softly.
The sky was dark when the car exited the tunnel. Clouds swirled and Raf saw lightning flash. Raf tried to count the seconds in his head to drown out the voice. But it wouldn't stop. It wasn't even speaking, as much as it was… humming. Throbbing. Pulsing. Almost as if it were trying to warn him.
June gasped as lightning struck again, right next to the car. She swerved to the side, accelerating as more and more lightning hit the road. The car spun out of control, and they hit a telephone pole.
"Raf, are you ok?" she asked. He nodded in affirmation. A whistling noise could be heard outside of the car, and Raf saw a tornado touch down about 50 yards away, and slowly make its way towards them. "Oh come on!" she shouted, shifting into reverse and slamming down on the gas pedal. They seemed to be stuck, and the car began to lift off of the ground towards the twister. Raf felt the car jerk suddenly, and saw that Bumblebee had showed up and grabbed the car with one hand while gripping the pole with the other. Once again, he had saved him.
"Get on!" he hummed.
"Onto his hand!" Raf translated. He climbed out the window and onto the hood with June, and they made it onto his hand just as the car tore away from the rest of the hood and flew into the distance.
Bee transformed and dropped them into the passenger seat and raced back to base.
"Thank you." June gasped.
"Don't mention it." The car whirred in response.
Raf cradled his head, too frustrated to translate it. As they passed through the darkness of the tunnel, the first vision started.
A great mountain, raging with fire.
An explosion that shakes the world.
A purple glow, snaking like veins across the land.
Cracks in the façade.
Destruction.
"Raf. Raf!" Miko shouted.
"Wh-what?" Raf gasped, snapping out of his trance.
"You OK there?"
"Yeah I just… saw something scary."
"Yeah, we saw it on the monitors. The news stations are saying weather like that is happening all over the world!"
Rafael closed his eyes and tried to remember exactly what he saw. Already the memory was escaping like trying to hold sand. But the pulsing, the pounding was still there.
"What have you learned, Prime?" Agent Fowler demanded as he walked in through the helipad elevator door. "And you better not blow smoke up my oven!"
"We have learned this-" Ratchet pointed at the screen. "As with the so called magma from the volcano, these earthquakes originated far below the Earth's crust, from the very center of the Earth's core, in fact."
Core...
"Tiny tremors," he continued. "rising and falling in a consistent pattern, almost like…"
Raf couldn't tell if Ratchet actually trailed off, because the pounding in his brain was practically deafening. He took a step back and sat on a couch while Bumblebee and the Darbys stepped forward to listen more closely.
Ratchet entered a few keystrokes into the computer, and a sound filled the base. The very same sound Raf could still hear inside him. There was no escape from its dreadful intensity; it was all he could do not to scream.
"A Cybertronian heartbeat? How is that possible?" Jack's voice sounded.
Cybertronian…
"A heart pumps blood." June continued, stating the obvious. "There's nothing inside the Earth to pump, except-"
"The Blood of Unicron." Another voice spoke. It was only when everybody turned to him that Raf realized that it was coming from him. In his own head… no, in his soul, he could hear the same voice continue:
"I Awaken."
Raf closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was no time to collapse again. He had to focus. The world could be in grave danger and he was having headaches and hallucinations. The others continued their conversation, but Raf could only focus for seconds at a time.
"-living down there? Inside our planet?"
"-rising darkness that the prophecy-"
"How do we stop this thing-"
"-was not foretold."
"-live inside our Earth's core and be-"
"-not unprecedented. Before the beginning, there was Primus,"
PRIMUS.
The word pierced through his brain like a fiery knife. The pain was silenced, but the voice… the feeling itself seemed to be angry inside his own head. It felt like a heatless flame had filled his skull, replacing the pain with focus again. the world itself took on a pale purple tint as he sat up to listen.
"There was also Unicron." Optimus continued. "One the incarnation of creation, the other, of destruction. For eons, they battled. The balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the 13-"
Silhouettes with pale blue eyes flashed through Raf's vision.
"-the original primes who preceded me, was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out. Primus became one with our planet, creating life through the Well of Allsparks, while Unicron was never to be heard from again… until now."
Now.
The burning in his eyes receded back into his brain, dwindling almost to the point of vanishing, but stayed as a small smolder in the back of his head. The pain did not return.
"Maybe we can find the hole this Uber-'Con left when he dug himself all the way down there and fill it full of explosives!" Fowler suggested.
"Agent Fowler, I do not believe that Earth became Unicron's home," Optimus said slowly, "but rather that with time and gravitational force, debris collected around the slumbering titan."
"Forming your Earth itself." Ratchet finished.
"And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull created by the planetary alignment!" Arcee realized.
"Okay, well, what happens now when Unicron wakes up from his billion-year nap?" Jack asked fearfully.
"Yeah, does he stretch and kapow?! Earth poufs to dust?" Miko joked, with appropriate hand motions.
Optimus was silent.
"You don't know, do you?" June mumbled.
"My guess is that Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it." Optimus acknowledged, "Nonetheless, we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens. The fate of your planet depends upon it."
The inner fire flared up, this time Raf felt it around his ears, and he could hear echoes of another conversation.
"Who would speak to me?" the first voice bellowed. It was the voice that Raf had been hearing all along, and it was deep and booming like rolling thunder.
"Your servant most humble, Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons, and your very herald, the one who wielded the dark energon which binds us to awaken you once again! The Prophecy has been fulfilled! It is only the beginning of what we shall accomplish together, for you shall rule this planet and those who walk upon it through me!"
"Prideful fool! How dare you think yourself capable of summoning my life force? I rise because I have deemed it my time!"
"Master, I did not mean to overstep-"
"Silence, worm! I have no need of your lowly assistance."
"Please, my lord! I exist only to serve you!"
The fire moved to Raf's nose, tickling him a bit, and the returned to his ears.
"What is this I sense?" The voice demanded. "The taint of Primus? Here?"
"That is Optimus, the last of the Primes. Our sworn enemy."
"You profess loyalty to me, yet allow a disciple of Primus to live?!"
"I will destroy him for you! His screams will be heard-"
"I grow weary of your prattle. Surely if you had the power to destroy this Prime, you would have done so already. I will deal with him myself."
With that, the flame returned again to its resting state. It moved to his heart, and Raf could feel its warmth pulse through his body once, and then return back to his head. When he blinked, he realized that he had passed out on the couch, and Optimus Prime was gone.
"Do you know me, follower of Primus?" The voice asked. This time, Raf could hear it for real, through the base speakers. Ratchet was listening to Prime's communicator.
"Unicron, the Chaos Bringer." Optimus answered. Just hearing it made Ratchet frown a bit more.
"Good…" the voice answered. The flame pulsed in seeming approval, and the sound of rocks falling could be heard in the background. "Now know me as Unicron, your destroyer!"
The sounds of a struggle could briefly be heard, and then Optimus spoke again. "I humbly request your ear, Lord Unicron."
"And what would a Prime be so compelled to say to me?"
"I make this appeal not for myself, but for this planet which you constitute, and the beings who inhabit it. Humankind relies upon you for life, sustenance. Your resurrection will only result in the destruction of a species which evolved from the seeds of your very greatness."
"So this humankind of which you speak… You consider them my progeny?"
"Indeed."
There was a pause.
The burning filled his head again, and this time, it was painful again. It felt as if it was snaking through every fissure, every empty space and burning through thirteen years of feelings and memories. Raf found himself picturing the world and everything he knew about it. He saw the things he had learned about in class or read once in a book but couldn't usually remember. He saw all of the old war documentaries that he stayed up late watching. He saw the inner workings of all the appliances that he had taken apart for fun, and the schematics of all the things he had looked up on the internet out of curiosity.
Then he saw his family. He saw his friends. He saw the bullies in school. He saw his mother's birthday, and he saw his grandfather's funeral. He screamed and clutched his head as every waking second of his life seemed to be consumed by the fire before it reached earlier that day, when he was riding in Bumblebee and was shot with a blast by Megatron. And then it stopped. The fire seemed… happy for once, and Raf felt a wave of relief, which he now remembered was serotonin, flow through him. He almost wanted to do that again.
"I see… How did your prophecy speak? 'The weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness'? Perhaps what does not kill these parasites will make them stronger! If they are weak, then they too shall perish by my wrathful hand!"
More sounds of combat were heard.
"The Line of Primes has grown weak in my absence. And thus, you shall fall."
"That outcome is inevitable. But not on this day!"
The sounds of blaster fire and crumbling rock filled the room again. The inner fire sputtered for a second, but returned within moments.
"Yes, disciple of Primus, on this very day," the voice could be heard in Raf's head as well now, "For Unicron may be one, but we all are Unicron!" The words echoed and surged with power, and when "Unicron is power incarnate, and you, the last of the Primes, shall perish!"
"Optimus, we're on our way!" Ratchet shouted into the com-link.
"Negative. Unicron cannot be defeated by sheer force. He wants me, Ratchet. This fight will be mine alone."
Ratchet eyed the com screen for a minute with a hand on the Ground Bridge controls, and listened to the struggle. From the sounds of it, Optimus wasn't exactly winning. Ratchet closed his eyes and pulled the lever, activating the Ground Bridge. The three other Autobots charged through to save the Prime.
As soon as the bridge opened, Raf could feel the presence on the other side of it. Multiple forces, malevolent and frightening, all of them calling to him, like when you were in a really tall building and had the inexplicable urge to jump out. He almost wanted to jump through the Bridge just so feel it up close, because he was getting a bit of a rush just from there.
"Wait, no! Keep it open!" Raf shouted as Ratchet prepared to close the Ground Bridge.
"What is it, Raf?"
Ratchet wouldn't understand. "Just… what if they need to make a quick escape? You might as well leave it for them to come back through."
Ratchet gave him an "I doubt that" look, but when he saw the desperation on Raf's face, he shrugged and kept the lever on.
The entities on the other side of the portal were constantly vanishing, but each time, more took their place, rising harder and stronger.
"Ratchet!" Arcee's voice came through, "We're not going to be taking the Ground Bridge back! You can- oh, scrap!"
Raf felt the entities fade away to one, which grew stronger than all of the rest combined, and nearly overwhelmed him before Ratchet closed the Ground Bridge. From the sounds of the comm, they were fighting something enormous and weren't putting much of a dent in it. Bulkhead and Bumblebee's vitals took a hit and the GPS showed them get flung out almost an entire football field's distance. Arcee was hit next, and Optimus was alone in facing… whatever it was.
"I am this world's past and its future. And as of this moment, all Primes are simply past."
Then the sound of blaster fire, and another explosion. Raf could actually feel the base shake.
"What is it? What happened?" Ratchet shouted at the screen.
"I happened." The gravelly voice of Megatron declared.
"Whoah, King 'Con is there?" Miko asked excitedly.
"He has aligned himself with Unicron." Ratchet muttered gravely.
"Don't be so sure. Megatron just saved Optimus' tailpipe." Arcee noted into the comm.
"It is rather ironic, considering our last encounter." Megatron admitted. "If memory serves, you were desperately trying to extinguish my spark."
"That option remains very much in play." Optimus noted.
"I would expect nothing less." Megatron laughed. "However, I have a proposal. Join me in defeating our shared enemy: Unicron, the Chaos Bringer."
Raf didn't know why, but that made his heart jump. Like his body wanted to respond: "No." at every level.
"Hah, absurd." Ratchet scoffed. "Unicron is evil incarnate. If Megatron was to take any side, why would it be ours?"
"Because Megatron's pride would never allow anyone other than himself to rule this planet." Optimus replied solemnly.
"You know me all too well, Optimus."
"You lead an army of 'Cons." Bulkhead noted. "Why come to us?"
"Because this particular endeavor requires something beyond the realm of my command: the power of a Prime."
"Then I guess we don't need you." Bulkhead said dismissively.
"On the contrary, Optimus may be the only one who can defeat Unicron, but I remain the only one who can guide you to him. Unicron's lifeblood runs through me. Only I can hear his thoughts, anticipate his movements. Optimus, our past alliances - Autobot, Decepticon - no longer matter, not while Unicron lives."
The fire in Raf's mind twisted itself into a ball and seemed to scream it's disapproval into his skull. Loud, though not painful, this time.
Ratchet slammed his fists into the computer. "The past always matters!"
"A truce between Autobot and Decepticon. How long do you expect us to believe that will last?" Optimus questioned.
Megatron's smile was practically audible. "Only as long as it's mutually beneficial."
"And when our proposed shared mission is complete?"
"I will conquer this Earth my way."
"Brutal honesty from a Decepticon?" Arcee mused.
"Aligning with the lesser of two evils is still siding with evil." Ratchet insisted.
"Do you think you've witnessed the full power of Unicron?" Megatron snapped. "Those foot soldiers were nothing more than a taste. Unicron has yet to fully awaken. With each passing moment, the "Bringer of Chaos" evolves, mutating Earth from the inside out. What we have witnessed until now is but a prelude of the utter devastation his rising will wreak upon your world."
Raf knew that Megatron was right. The same feeling he had near the Ground Bridge seemed to be practically ambient. He was surprised that nobody else had commented on it.
"Like your quest for power destroyed Cybertron?" Arcee accused.
"Make no mistake. This time, there will be a planet left for me to rule."
"Even if we agree, Unicron's all the way down at the center of the Earth." Bulkhead argued. "How are we supposed to get there - drive?"
"There is only one way." Optimus began.
"Absolutely not!" Ratchet fumed, "Ground-Bridging into space or onto moving trains is difficult enough. But plotting a blind jump inside of a sentient being?! Besides, direct exposure to that much Dark Energon will debilitate you. You haven't built up an immunity like Megatron has."
Raf began to feel faint. He looked at his arms and saw that his veins had begun to take a hue that slightly more purple than usual.
"Yet another strong argument for soliciting my guidance." Megatron chimed.
"You can provide Unicron's exact coordinates?" Optimus inquired.
"If you transport us to this planet's core, I can lead you directly into Unicron's spark. The very heart of his darkness."
"Optimus, even if we survive the jump, how are we supposed to stop Unicron?" Arcee demanded.
Optimus didn't speak for a moment. "With the Matrix of Leadership."
"What is that?" Agent Fowler asked.
"A vessel of pure energy, the collective wisdom of the Primes." Ratchet explained.
"Do we have time for a scavenger hunt? I mean, where's Optimus supposed to find this Matrix?" Jack wondered.
"Optimus does not need to find it." Ratchet pounded his chest. "He carries it within him."
"It was the combined power of the Primes that defeated Unicron so long ago," Megatron continued, "the very reason he now seeks to destroy you."
"It would follow that unleashing the power of the Matrix directly into Unicron's spark would return him to stasis." Optimus finished.
The flame reached his Raf's eyes again. He tried to rub it out, but it stayed, and nobody seemed to notice.
"Hold on," Miko interrupted, "if 'everything goes right,' Unicron's gonna stay down there?"
"Yeah. Can't we siphon him out somehow?" Jack suggested.
No. Not in. Is.
"He's not in the Earth's core, Jack." Rafael said fearfully, "He is the Earth's core."
"Rafael is correct." Ratchet admitted, "Tampering with your core could affect the magnetic poles, trigger the very cataclysmic events we are attempting to remedy. Tragically, Unicron is your planet's very seed. Always has been and always must be."
Always.
A rumbling sound could be heard on the comm again, and it was echoed inside Raf.
"…Ratchet, set the ground bridge." Optimus prime said, slightly rushed.
Ratchet pulled the lever. The presence Raf felt on the other side was overwhelming. Like a burning wind suddenly appearing on a winter morning. He felt his skin tingle and he took an involuntary step forward towards it. If he could see up close just what…
"Wait." Arcee said, "We're opening up a direct path into our base with Megatron standing right there?"
Bulkhead agreed. "And seriously, he's gonna risk his own spark to save us?
"Hardly my nature." Megatron laughed. "Consider my offer. I shall keep it busy."
The bots jumped through and Ratchet closed the bridge again. Raf blinked and looked at his hands and realized that he was reaching out to the wormhole.
"I know that desperate times call for desperate measures," Ratchet argued, "but bringing Megatron here?"
"How can you even think about letting that monster near these children after what he did to Raf?" June demanded, pulling him back.
Fool. Not to. For.
"He will be closely monitored and only allowed to linger long enough to send us on our journey." Optimus promised. "Not one moment more."
"What's gonna stop the 'Con from calling in an air strike if he knows where you live?" Agent Fowler pointed out.
"By Ground-Bridging Megatron here, he will be unable to get a fix on our coordinates."
"Optimus, what's gonna happen to you when all your Matrix energy is released?" Jack asked.
"The power within the Matrix has not previously been utilized in this particular manner." Optimus admitted.
"But you have an idea, don't you?"
Danger.
"Autobots," Optimus turned, ignoring the question. "If humankind is to be saved, I have no choice but to proceed. But you do."
"Well, I don't know about humankind, but I'm willing to do it for Miko." Bulkhead declared.
"For Jack." Arcee agreed.
"For Raf." Bumblebee buzzed.
The fire in his head coiled itself around his heart and gave it a squeeze.
"Megatron, we are sending transport." Optimus said into the comlink.
"You can always be relied upon to listen to reason, Optimus." Megatron beamed.
Ratchet made a wretching sound and pulled the Ground Bridge lever.
Come.
Optimus gestured for the humans to move into the other room. When Miko wouldn't go, Ratchet began pushing her. Raf slowly walked away from the portal, never looking away.
"No fair! I've never seen him!" Miko protested. "Why do we have to hide?"
"Because I said so!" Ratchet commanded.
The portal flashed, and Megatron strode through into the base. A titan among titans, standing a full head above the other giant robots Raf knew. And in him, Raf could sense it. The same spark. No… Not just a fire. An inferno.
"So, this is where the magic happens." Megatron smirked, clearly disappointed. "Quaint."
Raf ran out from the hallway to confront him.
"Raf, no!" Ms. Darby said, reaching out too late to stop him.
"You!" He stammered. Not quite sure what to say to the mechanical space giant he had begun to antagonize. "What…"
"Ah!" Megatron's smirk spread into a toothy, almost shark like grin when he saw the human, and his chest piece pulsed in agreement, "You're looking much better than the last time we met, little one." He reached out one of his fingers to touch the boy, and Raf could almost feel something pulling him to it like a wire before Arcee stepped between them, blasters pointed at Megatron.
"Humans…" Megatron smiled as he pulled back his hand. "Fascinating."
Raf was struggling to hold back tears. The flame seemed to consume his body in that moment, and for an instant Raf began to wonder how much the grey tyrant would be smiling with his chest cavity torn open and hollowed out.
"Come on, Raf." Jack said, reaching out to pull him back. "He isn't worth it." Jack's hands were only on him for a second before he pulled them away, as if he had received a static shock. Jack looked at his hands in confusion for a moment before Raf turned around and sulked back to the hallway.
"And you." Megatron regarded Jack, "I never forget a face, even that of a human."
"You double-cross anyone, mine is the face you'll never forget." Miko shouted, before being pulled back by Agent Fowler. "Never!"
"Ratchet, obtain the destination coordinates from our guest." Optimus ordered, before turning to follow the humans. He crouched down behind them once they were out of sight of the main room. "Jack… Will you keep something for me?"
"Sure. What is it?"
Raf turned around to look as Optimus pulled out a flat, glowing blue computer chip of some kind. If seemed to fold in on itself multiple times before inexplicably becoming the size of Jack's hand.
THE KEY.
"It is the key to the ground bridge power supply." Optimus answered.
"Okay, but shouldn't Ratchet have this?" Jack questioned.
"Perhaps." Optimus acknowledged. "But I've been impressed by how much you have matured since we first met. As such, I feel you have earned the responsibility of safeguarding this important device until I return."
"I won't let you down." Jack declared, as Optimus walked back to the other Cybertronians.
"Locked and ready." Ratchet said, pulling the Ground Bridge lever.
Raf had read about black holes before. Objects so massive, with a gravitational pull so great, that not even light could escape it. As the fire pushed against the front of his forehead, and his legs began to involuntarily walk towards whatever was on the other side, Raf wondered if a human sufficiently distant from one would feel like he did at that moment.
Megatron stood to the side of the portal, gesturing towards its entrance to the Autobots, as if he were a trained servant. And as everybody watched his eyes, Raf found himself on the Colossus's foot. Part of his brain was screaming at him that this was a horrible idea, but the rest didn't care. He had to follow.
"You first." Arcee pointed to the portal.
Megatron feigned a bow, not even slightly approaching the height of the motorcycle-bot. "As you wish." He turned and hopped through the portal, while the Autobots turned around to regard their human friends.
Once he was through, Megatron looked around the massive, spherical cavern he was in, and looked down at the catwalk he was standing on.
"If you are going to hitch a ride without the Autobots knowing," Megatron said, reaching down to his foot and grabbing Raf by the shirt, "my back is not the best hiding location." He craned his neck and dropped him into his chest cavity. "Enjoy the ride, little one. See where the quest for knowledge takes you."
The other Autobots emerged from the portal, with Bumblebee lagging behind them. They regarded their new surroundings with awe. The sound of the heartbeat reverberated off of the walls, within Megatron's hollow chest, and inside Raf's skull.
"So, how long before Unicron knows we're here?" Arcee asked.
"Make no mistake," Raf muttered in unison with Megatron, "He already does."
A purple glow, snaking like veins across the land.
A Face of Darkness.
Cracks in the façade.
Destruction.
Raf opened his eyes again, trying to recover from the blinding light of the vision. Barely able to move in his makeshift hiding spot, he adjusted himself and to his left saw a purple crystal, glowing with energy, pulsing light throughout the rest of Megatron's body. At the place it touched, Megatron's internals looked… corrupted, even considering the robot's jagged, fractal aesthetic. Raf backed away from it as far as he could, which was, in the cramped space, about a foot away. He pushed against the opposite wall with his feet to stabilize himself, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the glow.
"Unicron grows ever stronger." Megatron whispered. His body jerked, and Raf realized that the robot had collapsed to the ground and was standing up, having had the same vision he had.
Raf stayed silent as his ride kept walking.
"Unicron's spark is near." Megatron announced to the group behind him.
Inside, Raf could feel the pull from outside of the chest cavity. Between that and the crystal inside Megatron, the pulsing in his brain had reached a steady vibration, impossible to ignore no matter what he tried to think about.
Megatron stepped forward a bit more, Raf guessed he didn't move more than a few yards before he stopped again, and turned around sharply. "He's preparing to expel us." He warned the Autobots. Raf's eyed widened as the servo behind him adjusted 90 degrees and warmed up, and he realized that he was leaning on Megatron's fusion cannon accelerator when the sounds of blaster fire echoed around him. With each adjustment in aim bumping his shoulder against the walls, Raf consoled himself for the next 30 seconds with the knowledge that Megatron seemed to prefer standing still and shooting at things with his arm cannon.
Raf was wrong. Horribly, painfully wrong. Megatron, it seemed, was quite the martial artist, because whatever he was fighting out there, he jumping, ducking, twisting, and kicking it. Raf felt like he would vomit and… good lord, did Megatron just do a backflip? It was when Megatron backed into something though, that Raf was sent flying into the crystal, and lost consciousness.
"Megatron. Do as I command. Destroy the Prime!"
Raf's eyes shot open. The voice. It wasn't speaking to him for once. The crystal was shining bright like a crazy diamond, and its energy glowed throughout Megatron's circuits, so Raf could actually see. He used the opportunity to check himself for bruises.
He was fine, not at all like he had just taken a ride through the galaxy's most malevolent washing machine. How could that-
And the glow returned to normal, and Megatron was fighting again, and screaming in agony. The part of Raf that wasn't terrified wondered if he was doing this on purpose, or if Megatron had forgotten about his little passenger.
"Unicron's spark lies just beyond!" Megatron growled.
"How do we get inside?" he heard Optimus ask.
"By fooling Unicron's defenses into believing we're not a threat."
The crystal glowed again, and with it, so did Raf. The fire in him roared in approval. Whatever it was pulling him to, he was so close that he could practically taste it. His entire circulatory system was visible through his pale skin, its purple glow forming an aura over him. He banged at Megatron's chest cavity. He wanted, more than anything, to claw his way out and see what lay beyond. It was right there. He just needed to see it.
A door of some kind opened, and Megatron ran through it. Raf could feel the rage of a thousand white hot blinding suns of hateful fury out there.
"Optimus. I feel as though I have not been entirely honest with you." Megatron said.
"What do you mean, Megatron?" Optimus demanded.
"I may have brought along an uninvited guest for our rendezvous with destiny. A friend of yours, I believe."
"What?!"
Megatron's chest cavity folded open, revealing his dark energon shard… and Raf. He pulled Raf out and placed him down. Raf looked up at Optimus, and then to the massive purple sun in the center of the room. He looked back at Optimus, mouthed, "I'm sorry", and broke into a dead sprint towards the center of the room. He had to know. He had to feel it.
"Rafael, don't!" Optimus shouted before a band of energy arced from the massive anti-spark and struck him, bringing him to the ground. "Megatron…" he sputtered. "Why?"
"You do not give the human enough credit. It was he who came with me, and I do not believe even he knows why."
Raf was close now, and he reached out his hand to touch it, and he could swear he saw a hand reach out to touch him as well before the world went black.
"Rafael…"
Rafael was floating, suspended in warmth and safety given physical form. Inky blackness stretch infinitely before him and a purple sun that he dared not look at raged behind him. He could stay there forever. Was he dead?
"Welcome, Rafael."
Raf turned around and saw the face of pure evil staring back at him.
"Who are you?" Raf asked, floating towards it.
"I… am Unicron."
"Why are you doing this to me?" Raf demanded.
"I have summoned you here for a purpose."
"A… purpose?"
"Yes. It pleases me to see that my children possess such an insatiable curiosity."
"What do you want from me?"
"This is my command: you are to destroy the Prime, and the Matrix of Leadership. It is the one thing… the only thing… that stands in my way."
Raf's eyed the thing, confused. "Are you crazy? How would I do that? Why would I do that? He's my friend, I would never betray him! He and the Autobots are my family!"
"You exaggerate."
"The point is that I won't do it! You plan to destroy us all, and he and the Matrix will save me!"
"The point is, you are a fool. You will do this because, according to the disciple of Primus, you and your brethren are my progeny. Even now my blood flows through your feeble veins. You will do this because my Chaos is the foundation of the free will and life that you so enjoy. And you will do this because I have commanded it. And you must obey."
"Why should I?" Raf demanded of the primordial god of chaos and destruction. "Give me a good reason or… or leave me alone!"
"Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. But very well. I will spare your people, and all of the other organisms that call my body their home. I will empower you and your species against all manner of threats that may befall them."
"I'm not a monster like you. I won't just turn my back on my friends because a stranger offered me superpowers. Just wait, we'll stop you and… and…"
"And nothing. You belong to me now."
"You're pure evil. I'll never help you!"
"Perhaps I misjudged you and your people." Unicron's face declared, his eyes glowing red. "Proceed, on your way to oblivion."
Nothing happened. Unicron's face winced in pain and twisted in rage.
"Megatron… you absolute fool!" Unicron roared. "If I desire my will to be done, I will do it myself. And just in case…" Unicron's maw opened and stream of purple and green flame shot forth, coiling around Raf before focusing in and plunging in his chest. Raf felt like every cell in his body was ready to explode. When the stream stopped, he was completely engulfed in it. The face closed its eyes and its brow furrowed as if it were concentrating elsewhere. The endless void began to crackle with energy and distort around them both, and in the distance, infinitely far away, a point of blue light appeared. It pierced through the purple veil and shot past Raf directly into Unicron's forehead. The beam focused on his forehead for five seconds before it cut, but the damage was done. Multiple cracks began to appear on Unicron's face and spread throughout his body, glowing with more blue energy. Raf shielded his eyes and the Chaos Bringer exploded with a brilliant flash of blue and purple light, blasting Raf backwards through the abyss…
And into the cold hard ground of the original chamber. He slammed onto his shoulder, and heard his arm snap over the sounds of crackling energy and robotic movement.
"Ouch." He mumbled, and rolled onto his back. Looking off to the side, he saw Optimus lying on the ground, his internals smoking. For a second his heart skipped and he wondered if his defiance was pointless, but he sighed in relief when he saw the Prime cough, which was weird considering his lack of a respiratory system, and push onto his knees.
The fear came back when he saw Megatron groan, cradle his forehead, and stand up.
"Teamwork… humph." The Decepticon scoffed as he readied his blade and strode over to Optimus. "It is a shame about your human friend, Optimus. I had honestly expected something interesting to happen."
Optimus blinked and looked up at Megatron as he readied to stab him. "Where are we, Megatronus?" He asked, confused.
Megatron's eyes widened for a moment, and smiled. He retracted his blade and stuck out his hand to pull Optimus up. "Don't you remember, old friend?"
There was a crash on the other side of the room. Raf groaned and rotated his head again to see what it was. The other three Autobots had broken through the door.
"Optimus, are you okay?" Bulkhead shouted across the room.
"Why did he call me that?" Optimus asked Megatron.
"What did you do to him?" Arcee demanded.
"Who are they?" Optimus asked again, still confused.
"Rafael!" Bumblebee beeped, noticing the injured boy in the middle of the room. "How did you-"
A Ground Bridge portal opened behind Megatron and Optimus.
"Our mortal enemies!" Megatron declared, seizing the opportunity. He nudged Optimus towards the portal. "We're outnumbered! Go! I'll cover you!" He began firing at the Autobots, who ducked out of the way of his blasts. Bumblebee sprinted for Raf and scooped him up. This was exactly as painful as one would imagine it to be, as his giant metal hands were not particularly designed to delicately lift injured human children. Megatron scowled and ran through the portal, which closed behind him. Arcee swiped at the spot where it was and growled in frustration.
"Raf… What are you doing here?" Bee buzzed.
"No questions," Raf groaned, "coma time now." And he closed his eyes and welcomed the sweet embrace of the cousin of death.
AN: Why yes, a great deal of dialogue did come directly from the episode in question. This will change as the timeline diverges. Which it will. Immensely. Since I've already written up to chapter 11, I feel comfortable releasing new chapters each week on Sunday afternoons. Reviews and predictions are always appreciated.