Summery: The secret is out: Isabelle is Ariana and Justin's daughter. Not only that, but Death, her twin brother, is their son. Now Death struggles between good and evil, his family and his allegiance to Apocalypse, who has arrived on Earth.
Author's Note: First of all, "Shape of My Heart" is Backstreet Boy's and I'm not making any money from it, so don't sue me. Second, this is a warning: I swore I would keep these stories PG-13 and I hope this is but there's a seen in Chapter 8 that I would not recommend for younger readers. Enjoy.
Drifted Sparks Series
Part 8. Children of the Spark
By: Kayla Anasazi (a.k.a. Silver Spider)
Prologue
Ariana placed her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming in shock. Isabelle and Ian were her children? Hers and Justin's? She had suspected Isabelle was hiding something. Now she knew that Isabelle was not only her daughter and Ian's twin sister, but also a transformer. Though Ariana's never seen her robot form, she was sure Isabelle was a transformer. Ariana backed away from the door, and froze as she felt her flesh touch cold metal.
"Don't move, Maximal," War suggested. Ariana slowly put up her hands. She knew she couldn't win this one.
"Move," War pointed his staff in her back. Ariana did as she was told.
Chapter 1
Eric, Chris, Alex, and Jamie moved like stealth across the warehouse. Eric was sure that this was the place that Tarantulas had set up his lab and that Saber, or Gina, which was her human name, had given him the sample of the virus for safe keeping. Jamie walked in the back of the line, cautiously looking around for trouble. It was too quiet, and he knew it. The older boys were also looking around in concern.
"Where do you think it is?" Chris whispered to Eric.
"It's a virus," Eric said, "it has to have some kind of containment." He walked over to the med table which had a test tube rack, "this is it," he smiled.
"Shh," Jamie said suddenly, "someone's here."
"What?" Alex looked around, "how do you know?"
"I'm a bat, remember?" Jamie took a few steps back, "I have good hearing."
"Sheesh," Alex shrugged, "super human healing and excellent hearing? Someone's lucky."
"Okay," Eric took command, "I'll be bait. The rest of you transform, hide, and wait for my signal to attack." They agreed and hide. Nightscream flew onto the ceiling. Cheetor hid behind the door. Rattrap crawled under the table. The lights turned on when the door opened. Gina walked in with her hands on her hips.
"Well, Optimus Primal," she said in a smooth but cold voice, "what a surprise. Somehow, I just knew it was you. You do know you're setting yourself up to be killed? The other Predacons are going to be here within seconds."
"Then it'll be too late," Eric grinned, "because…"
"…we're here now," Cheetor walked into view. He pointed his gun at her head, "now tell us how to get out of here undetected, and maybe I wont blow your brains out."
"You wouldn't," she said bitterly, but she didn't sound so sure.
"Why not?" Rattrap shrugged.
"Let me put it in terms even you can understand," Nightscream spelled it out, "we Maximal, you Predacon. It's our job. Frankly, I'd prefer to be where the real action is, but mine is not to reason why."
"All right. There's a back exit in the south wall," Gina said reluctantly.
"I've got the sample," Eric said, "let's go." He nodded in Cheetor's direction and the other put down his gun.
"Don't try anything," he advised Gina.
"Wouldn't dream of it," she flashed a sly smile and backed up against the wall. Her right hand felt around until she felt a switch and flipped it. Instantly an alarm went off.
"What the…," Cheetor was on full alert as he heard the alarm.
"The Predacons are on their way," Eric guessed, "and if they get here, we'll be greatly outnumbered."
"Let's get outta here," Nightscream yelled over the alarm. He flew up to the ceiling, smashed the glass roof, and flew out. Eric transformed and followed Nightscream.
"Come on!" Cheetor yelled to Rattrap, "get on!" Rattrap jumped and landed on his back, "Hang on!" Cheetor ran past Gina, through the hallway, down the stairs past approaching Predacons, and finally through a smashed window. He landed on his feet in front of Optimus and Nightscream, who were waiting for them outside.
Chapter 2
War guided Ariana into a dark room. She guessed it was one of the twelfth grade classrooms since she has never been there. War told her to stand against the wall with her hands up. When her wrists touched the wall, they were held in place by strong metal bands. When she looked around she saw that she was not alone.
"Justin! Martin!" Justin was chained to the wall to her left and Martin was chained to the wall in front of her, "they got you too! Wait, what are you doing here in the first place?"
"Originally, we were rescuing you and Isabelle," Martin replied, "but now I don't know how to get out ourselves."
"There's a lot you don't know," Ariana sighed, thinking about what she just heard about Ian and Isabelle. She looked up at Justin, Should I tell him now? She thought, no, not now. When we get out of here. She turned around when she heard the door open, and eyes widened when she saw Death guide Isabelle inside the room.
"Stay here," he told her and left, shutting the door behind himself. Isabelle let out a sigh and leaned against the wall, brushing back her long black hair.
"What in the name of the Matrix were you doing here?" Justin demanded, "have you any idea of how dangerous it is?"
"I'm sorry," Isabelle apologized, "I thought I could persuade Ian to leave the side of evil."
"Ian? Your brother, Ian?" Martin was puzzled, "Death is your brother?"
"Yes," Isabelle nodded, "he was brainwashed and changed into Death after he was kidnapped. I thought I could break the control Apocalypse has over him."
"Well you were wrong," Ariana said firmly, "I heard the conversation and it didn't sound too convincing."
"You…you heard the entire conversation?" Isabelle's eye's widened. Her fears were confirmed when Ariana nodded, "then you know that…"
"We'll discus it later," Ariana replied quickly, "Right now our main focus is to get out of here. Any ideas?" Everyone was silent for a moment, then Martin realized something.
"What about my eye laser?" he suggested, "I could transform and fire it across the room. If it's precise enough, it could break Ariana's wrist bands."
"It won't fry my hands or anything?" Ariana asked.
"I hope not."
"Alright, but be careful."
Martin nodded, "Dinobot, MAXIMIZE!"
He aimed his red eye laser. The barrel widened and narrowed to get precise focus. Then the laser fired. Ariana turned her face away to avoid being blinded by the intense light. She felt the area around her right wrist get heated and then heard the metal band break. She pulled back her wrist.
"I think I can take it from here," she twisted her other wrist around inside the band and with the aid of her freed hand, she was able to free herself completely, "there's a much faster way to do this. Blackarachnia, MAXIMIZE!"
With her wrist blades, Blackarachnia neatly sliced off the metal bands that held Justin, then she did the same for Dinobot.
Chapter 3
"What now?" Justin rubbed his sore wrists.
"We have to get out of here," Blackarachnia said, and changed back to Ariana, "they'll find out that we escaped and are likely to go after us. We have to get out and form a plan for a counter attack."
"An excellent strategy," Dinobot agreed, who also changed back to his human form, "unfortunately, more then half our team is on a separate mission."
"Wait," Isabelle got up, "they must have plans somewhere here. Something to tell us what will happen next."
"We can't afford being spotted," Justin said, "the horsemen are much more powerful then the three transforming humans here."
Four, Ariana thought, but again said nothing. They walked as quietly as they could to the computer room, where Ariana hoped to get into whatever files the horsemen had. She sat down in front of a screen and started typing.
"Here we go," she whispered after a few minutes, "they're plans are all typed up in here. There's a hit list starting with you," she told Isabelle, "and then the other Maximals and Predacons. They obviously don't want any interruptions to their plans. Wait a sec…"
"What is it?" Justin asked.
"It seems I've made a mistake," Ariana said, "they don't want to kill all the Maximals. Well, all but the two of us."
"Why?" Justin frowned.
Ariana thought for a moment, then it came to her, Because if Justin and I are dead, Death, or Ian, would have never been born. He's a valuable soldier to Apocalypse and Apocalypse obviously doesn't want to loose him. "I don't know," she lied and Isabelle knew it, "but whatever the reason for keeping us alive, the others are still in danger along with the entire planet. Wait…" she peered at the screen, "Oh by Primus," She placed her hand over her moth, "It says here that Apocalypse is coming."
"Here!?" Isabelle almost screamed, "to this place? To this time?"
"'Fraid so," Ariana nodded.
"We have to stop him," Isabelle turned to the teens, "If he attacks in this time, the future is doomed. I can't travel any further back in time, so I won't be able to warn any body."
"She's right," Justin agreed, "We have to get out of here and find a way to stop Apocalypse for good. If we don't stop him here, we wont get another chance."
Suddenly the building shook. The four looked up.
"That came from outside," Martin said, "there's a battle."
"Bet Optimus and the others decided to come and rescue us," Ariana quickly saved the information on a disk, "come on, let's join the party."
* * * * * * * * * *
Ariana, Justin, Isabelle, and Martin ran back up to the roof and looked up. There, in the sky, soared the four horsemen firing at the Maximals below.
"We have to get down there," Martin said, "Dinobot, MAXIMIZE!" He transformed and jumped down from the roof of the 4 story building. He landed on his feet, nearly missing stepping on Rattrap and left two deep dents in the cement.
"Hey, chopperface!" Rattrap yelled up at him, "be more careful next time! You could have squashed me flat."
"It would not have been a great loss," Dinobot assured him. Ignoring the rest of Rattrap's accusations, he aimed his eye laser at War and fired.
Chapter 4
"I'm up," Ariana said, "Blackarachnia, MAXIMIZE! I'll see you soon." She waved to Justin, and lifted herself using her telekinesis, moved off the roof area and down to the other Maximals.
"All right," Justin turned to Isabelle, "all the horsemen are out here, so you go back inside and wait. If…if something happens to us, run."
"But…" she protested.
"Silverbolt, MAXIMIZE!" He spread his wings and flew into the sky. Isabelle watched for a while, then did as he told her and ran to the door that lead back into the building. She stood in the doorway, watching the battle with horror.
* * * * * * * * * *
Optimus fired his weapon at Famine. She veered her metallic horse away from the line of fire, then returned fire with her staff, hitting Optimus in the chest. She turned when she felt slight mental kicks. Blackarachnia was obviously trying to attack her telepathically. Famine pointed her staff in Blackarachnia's direction. The green laser-light hit her in the abdominal and Blackarachnia fell backwards. She got back up on her feet and wiped the blood coming from her moth.
"That's it," she said, "time for some hand-to-hand combat."
* * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Spot!" Rattrap yelled as he zoomed of on his wheals trying to avoid Pestilence's shots, "a little help!"
"I'm trying," Cheetor took aim, but if anything, Pestilence was fast. His horse kept moving in every direction preventing Cheetor from getting a clear shot. Finally, he found the opportunity and fired, knocking Pestilence off his horse.
* * * * * * * * * *
Dinobot kept shooting his eye-laser at War, but to no avail. War dogged every shot, then took out his staff and fired a violet beam at Dinobot. It hit him and send him flying 30 feet until he hit a wall. He felt the back of his head, and when he looked at his hand, Martin saw that it was covered with blood.
"Oh slag," he whispered.
Mean time, Nightscream flew after War, but, as with Dinobot, War simply pushed him off. As Nightscream hit the ground his wings got caught on something and the leather-like material ripped.
"I'm grounded?" he looked at his wings, "oh man!" He turned around only to find himself face to face with War's staff. War fired a red light and Nightscream fell motionless to the ground.
* * * * * * * * * *
Blackarachnia used her telepathic abilities to levitate herself up to Famine's level. With one powerful punch, she knocked her to the ground. Famine looked up. Her face would have been blazed with anger, but she was designed to show no emotions. Optimus, got back on his feet and fired his main weapon system at the grounded Famine.
Her cold, metal body fell down with a thump on the cement. She didn't attack again.
Chapter 5
During all this time, Silverbolt and Death were battling in the air. Silverbolt's primary weapon was, as always, his wing missiles. Death had a similar weapon, but his wing blades didn't explode. Both transformers used there wings as a shield against the others attacks.
Death, he suddenly herd Apocalypse's voice in his mind, I will be arriving in your time shortly. Gather your solders and meet me at the following coordinates. Death saw a string of number before his closed eyes.
Very well, Death replied and stopped throwing attacking Silverbolt. "It was an honor to fight against you, Silverbolt. You are an excellent opponent and I look forward to completing the battle, but now I must take my leave." Horsemen, to me, he called out with his mind. War, Famine, and Pestilence all looked up from their various places on the battle field.
Our master, Apocalypse will soon arrive. We must greet him at the appointed location. The Maximals are of no concern. We will have another chance to battle them. Follow me.
The other three horsemen called out to the three metallic horses. A great cloud of dust rose into the air as the horsemen took off. All the Maximals covered their faces and looked away. When the dust settled, all that could be seen of their enemies were four dots in the sky.
"Hmm," Silverbolt watched them for a moment, "they're heading South-West," he lowed himself to the ground, "there's an area of abandoned wheelhouses in that direction. Perhaps, they are headed there." Everyone changed into their human form.
"Forget the horsemen," Chris said, "we've got a few injuries here." They walked over to where Martin and Jamie were lying on the ground. The back of Martins head was covered in blood. It stained his dirty blond hair and ran down the back of his gray T-shirt. Jamie didn't look any better. His arms were covered in blood as well. The area around his chest and abdominal had a heavy burn, caused by War's staff. Ariana and Eric were in better condition, but both had burns from Famine's staff.
"What now?" Ariana asked as she helped her brother up. Jamie was obviously in a lot of pain, but he tried not to show it.
"I'm afraid at least some of us have to follow the horsemen," Eric replied. He and Chris were helping Martin, "we have to know what they're planing."
"I might know," came a soft voice from the direction of the building. Everyone turned and saw Isabelle, "I was able to intersect Death's transmission to his companions. He said…he said that Apocalypse was coming."
"What?" Eric, Chris, and Alex said in one voice.
"Yes, that would make sense," Ariana agreed, "remember what we saw in the computer? That's the only reason they would just get up and walk away."
"All right," Eric concluded, "then it's more important then ever to find out their next move, but with Apocalypse's arrival it's also more dangerous. Justin, I trust your tracking skills and your stealth so you will be one of the ones to go."
"Me too," Ariana said, "I'll go too."
"But you're injured."
"Not that badly," she said, "the rest of you should tend to your wounds and make a plan of attack. Justin and I will go and find out as much as we can. Jamie," she turned to her brother, "if I don't get back past nine, you and Isabelle have to spend the night at Rafe's house."
"As you whish," Eric sighed, "but be careful. Do not, under any circumstances, engage the enemy. They are much more powerful then you are. Your job is get there, get the information, and get out without being spotted. Good luck."
Chapter 6
The horsemen entered the old warehouse through an opening in the roof and settled their horses on the empty floor. Death stood in front, with his hands crossed behind his back. He looked up as he sensed a familiar presence.
* * * * * * * * * *
Silverbolt landed gently on a balcony inside the building, caring Blackarachnia in his arms. Both changed into their human forms and stood upright on the metal balcony, and looked at what was happening bellow.
* * * * * * * * * *
There was an explosion of bright light as a rift in time opened. The four horsemen stood up right as they prepared to greet Apocalypse. At first, nothing could be seen, then an enormous transformer stepped out into view. He was roughly the size of an Autobot, with broad chest plate and shoulders. His belt had a large "A" on it. He looked around the room at his horsemen.
"Welcome to the 21st century, Master," Death bowed. The other horsemen did the same.
"Report," Apocalypse demanded.
"We have battled and severally injured several Maximals," Death said, "unfortunately, we have not yet recovered the girl."
"You had to fight the Maximals?" Apocalypse repeated, "that means the girl has already informed them of the future. She's expendable now that she has informed others. What about my virus? Were you able to retrieve the sample."
"No. The Maximals took it from the Predacons. It is currently in Primal's possession."
"Get it back," Apocalypse ordered, "then my rain over this time can begin," Apocalypse looked up at the balcony, "there are intruders here," Justin and Ariana gasped. They bolted up from their positions on the balcony.
"Destroy them!" Apocalypse's voice projected over the entire area. War, Famine, and Pestilence obeyed and shot their staffs at the two Maximals. Death hesitated a bit. Unfortunately, it didn't help. Ariana and Justin didn't react fast enough. War's staff hit Ariana in the already raw flesh of her abdominal. She fell back and her face twisted in pain. For a split second, she felt a pang of fear. But not for herself. For Justin.
Famine and Pestilence directed their fire at Justin. The two beams hit Justin's shoulder ripping his flesh right down to his powerful mussels. The wound started oozing blood. The other beam tore through his shirt, burning his chest.
"We must flee," he scrambled up on his feet. With one hand over his wounded shoulder, he transformed, helped Ariana to her feet, and with her in his arms, flew out of the opening in the roof.
The horsemen secede fire and turned to Apocalypse for further directions. He didn't look happy. His gaze was directed at Death.
"You did not attack," he said, "why?"
Chapter 7
"Death, I'd like to speak with you privately," Apocalypse waved his hand and the other three horsemen left, "I want to know why you did not attack the Maximal intruders."
"There was no need," Death lied, "my partners already had it under control."
"You know about their connection to you," Apocalypse continued, "but this must not affect your actions. Is that understood?"
Death took a deep breath. His mind shifted away from the war and back to his child hood.
Flashback,
"It's too bad mom and dad won't let us transform," 7-year-old Ian Carter set by the lake and threw a stone in.
"At least we get to hear stories," his twin sister, Isabelle replied, "remember the one about that time Optimus became Optimal Optimus?"
"Or the ones when Rattrap sneaked into the Pred base," Ian laughed," yeah, I remember."
"Hey," Isabelle got an idea, "what do you think you'd look like?"
"Don't know," her brother shrugged, "but dad told me what my transformer name would be."
"Really? What?"
"He said my name was going to be Archangel."
End of Flashback,
"No," he looked up, "not any more. I'm no longer part of your command, Apocalypse."
"What?" Apocalypse didn't expect this.
"You've controlled my life for long enough," a light pulsated from his chest, "forced my hand against millions of people. No longer, Apocalypse. I'm not Death anymore," the light enveloped him, "I am Archangel." His eyes shined. Physically, he looked the same, but now there was a certain inner light to him, that separated him from his past form.
"You'll pay for this betrayal!" Apocalypse promised.
Archangel didn't listen. He bolted up and through the roof. Apocalypse was completely stunned. How would this betrayal affect his plans?
* * * * * * * * * *
The storm was raging outside. The sun had set so Silverbolt was having trouble seeing where he was going. Plus, there was the thunder, lightning, and worst of all, the pounding rain. His body ached all over, but he didn't care. His goal was to pass through the storm and get Ariana to a safe, dry place. Remembering that no one would be at her home, he headed in that direction.
Fortunately, her bedroom window was open. Silverbolt flew in, lowered Ariana back on her feet, and changed back to Justin. The pain in his chest and shoulder finally got to him, and he groaned and fell on his knees. Ariana held one hand over her abdominal in pain.
"Wait here," she said, "I'll go get the med-kit." Justin was too weak to argue. He sat down on her bed and pealed away the remainder of his burnt shirt. Ariana stopped in the doorway and glanced back. Primus, he has a nice body, she thought, then blushed slightly and headed down the stairs. They were lucky, her mother kept a med-kit in the kitchen cupboard. Ariana took out a roll of bandages and a bottle of iodine and headed back upstairs.
Chapter 8
"Sorry if this hurts," she said as she bandaged Justin's chest, "but it'll help." She finished the bandage and tied it. Then she took out the iodine, pored it on a small cotton ball, and pressed it against his shoulder.
Justin screamed in pain, "By the Matrix! What is that?!"
"Poison," he pulled back, instinctively, but Ariana laughed, "only if you drink it," she finished, "iodine is highly poisons if you drink it but it's an antiseptic, helps close wounds…"
"…and stings like the Inferno!" Justin winced.
Ariana raised an eyebrow, "Wow, I've never heard those words come out of your mouth."
"I apologize," he said, "it's just that…" he stuttered.
"Baby, please try to forgive me
Stay here, don't put out the glow
Hold me now, don't bother
If every minute it makes me weaker
You can save me from the man that I've become, oh yeah,"
"What?" Ariana touched his face.
"Back in that warehouse," he confessed, "I felt…I felt like I was going to loose you." A single tear ran down his face.
"Me…me too," Ariana was almost crying, "and it scared me so much. We…we can never be sure of what's going to happen." She brought her face closer to his and kissed him, full on the lips.
"Looking back on the things I've done,
I was trying to be someone
I played my part
And kept you in the dark,
Now let me show you the shape of my heart,"
"Wait," Justin pulled back, "we shouldn't…"
"Don't," she said in an exhausted voice, "just kiss me."
"Sadness is beautiful
Loneliness is tragical
So help me I can't win this war, on no
touch me now, don't bother
If every second it makes me weaker
You can save me from the man that I've become, oh yeah,"
He kissed her, tentatively at first, then with more and more passion. She answered back, as he held her in his arms. They loved each other with all their life and spark. But the war, that has now gone beyond the boundaries of all time and space, seemed to last forever. Both knew that to survive, they would have to hold on to each other. Just hold on.
"I'm here with my confession
Got nothing to hide no more
I don't know where to start
but to show you the shape of my heart,"
Chapter 9
It must have been a nightmare. A terrible nightmare. Ariana saw herself standing in a very different place. It looked like Cybertron, but somehow she knew it wasn't. The place was covered by eternal night and rundown buildings were everywhere. She walked through the street looking around.
"Is this a dream?" she asked out-loud, not really expecting an answer. But it did come.
"Partially," came a smooth, female voice. Ariana looked forward as a bright light appeared in the air. There, in front of her, stood a human shaped figure, glomming a silver color
"Oracle!" Ariana gasped.
"Yes," the Oracle said, "welcome to the future."
"Are we really in the future?"
"Really? No," the Oracle said, "In the future? Well, that depends on your point of view. This is the year, 2022. I suppose this is the future for you. This is what it looks like after Apocalypse."
"It's terrible," Ariana looked around again.
"Please do not interrupt me," the Oracle said, "I have limited time and I must explain. What you are seeing is a possible future, not certain. You see, Megatron was right; the future can be changed. But this situation is different then just destroying a key figure in history, like Optimus Prime. Apocalypse is one for all time and space, as well as eternal. He is evil."
"How can we fight him if he's immortal?"
"Destroying something is not the only way to eliminate it," said the Oracle, "remember: only the one with the oldest spark can raise a hand against He-Who-Can-Never-Die, and by doing so, end his rain of terror."
"What?" Ariana frowned, but the Oracle was already gone.
* * * * * * * * * *
As a lightening bolt crashed outside her window, Ariana jolted out of bed, panting. Pulling up the covers up to her shoulders, she sat and tried to compose her thoughts. Was it all just a dream? she thought, no, it was a vision. The Oracle always sends its warnings in the forms of vision. She leaned into bed.
She felt different now. It seemed like there was another presence inside her mind. A familiar and welcomed presence.
Justin? she asked telepathically.
Yes, beloved, he answered, it's me.
I thought this only worked for full transformers, she said, how can we be talking?
Our sparks are now connected, he explained, we can feel each others feelings: saddens, fear, love, hate…
And read each others thoughts, she finished, dose that mean…
"That I know about Isabelle and Ian?" he said out loud, "yes, I do," Ariana didn't know what to say, "it's okay, I'm not angry. Partially, because I had a feeling there was something else Isabelle wasn't telling us."
"I'm sorry," Ariana laid her head on his chest, "so are we going to stay here all day?"
"I whish," Justin shook his head, "no, we can't."
"Oh why not? Oh yeah, the stupid war," she answered her own question, "well, paradise never lasts forever."
Chapter 10
Noon, Rafe's house,
"Where were the two of you?" Eric demanded.
"We…we followed the horsemen to the warehouse," Ariana explained, "then when Apocalypse showed up…"
"Apocalypse?" Isabelle's eyes widened, "he's here? In this place? In this time?"
" `Fraid so," Ariana nodded, "that's the bad news."
"You mean there's actually good news for once?" Alex asked, sarcastically.
"Two actually," she replied, "one is that they're no longer after you," she told Isabelle, "you're off the hook."
"Off the hook nothing," Chris contradicted, "they wanna destroy the world, remember?"
"The second good news is that I got a tip on how to stop them."
"Really?" Jamie's eyes lit up, "how?"
"Well, I had a vision from the Oracle. It said that Apocalypse can't be destroyed but we could get rid of him. The Oracle's words were 'only the one with the oldest spark can raise a hand against He-Who-Can-Never-Die, and by doing so, end his rain of terror' whatever that means."
Rafe narrowed her eyes, The oldest spark, I wonder if that means…
"So who has the oldest spark?" Martin asked.
"I can say who doesn't," Eric said, "Jamie, Chris, Ariana, Justin, Alex…"
Isabelle, Ariana thought, and Justin picked it up.
Don't tell them yet, he advised, they have enough to worry about.
"What about Chopperface?" Alex nodded at Martin.
"That's what I'm wondering about," Eric said.
"It's not me," Martin shook his head, "It could have been if I was the original Dinobot, but I'm not."
"So it's Big Bot," Chris concluded.
"Looks like it," Eric agreed, "did your dream say anything else?"
"That's it," Ariana shook her head, "I don't have the slightest clue of how to do it."
"I do," a different voice interrupted. Everyone looked at the figure standing near the window.
"Ian!" Isabelle's eyes widened.
"Yes," he agreed, "it's me. It's really me this time."
"Wow," she, as well as everyone else, was at a lost for words, "how did you get away from Apocalypse?"
"It doesn't matter," Ian replied coldly, "there's only one thing I want: revenge."
Chapter 11
Isabelle was astonished, "Revenge?" she echoed her twin brother's words, "Ian, I understand that you feel angry at Apocalypse, but revenge is a path of self-destruction. We will defeat Apocalypse, but we'll do it together."
"No," Ian retorted, "he's mine."
"Boy, a Depth Charge number 2," Alex whispered to Chris.
"If your mind is so set on revenge," Justin folded his arms across his bandaged chest, "why do you need us?"
"I don't," Ian said simply, "all I need is the time travel device around Isabelle's wrist." He pointed at the watch like object.
"Why?" Isabelle frowned, "you can't use it to go any further into the past. It only takes you to an extent of 22 years."
"At a time," Ian corrected her, "if you make enough trips, you can go all the way to the begging of time and space."
"The Big Bang," Chris said.
"Whatever, I need to go back to 3,000 B.C. to the time when Apocalypse's Latherus Chamber was built."
"Latherus Chamber?" Martin frowned.
"Yes," Ian nodded, "even though Apocalypse is one for all space and time, he still needs to return to his Latherus Chamber every 500 years to recharge."
"What happens if he doesn't?" Eric asked.
"He'll sees to exist," Ian said, "and a different, more powerful evil will replace him."
"But if what you say is true," Rafe cleared up, "destroying the chamber right at the time of its birth will result in Apocalypse's doom and be replaced by something even more powerful."
"I don't plan to destroy the chamber," Ian said, "just to trap him in it. And I'm going alone."
"No, your not," Ariana said firmly, "it's a good plan, but it's too much for you to pull off on your own. We're going with you."
"We are?" Alex and Chris echoed.
"Yes, we are," Eric got up, "you don't have a say in this, Ian. If you want to come, you can come, but if what the Oracle said was true, you can't achieve victory without me."
"I don't care what an ancient computer program said," Ian snapped back, "I don't need your help."
"Famous last words, kid," Martin said, "Eric is right: we should all go. Except for Rachel and Rafe, of course."
"I need to come," Rafe said, unexpectedly.
"Too risky," Eric explained, "you're not a transformer, Mr. Carter. You have no way of defending yourself. Now, we have 24 hours to get ready. Let's move it people. Ian, I'd like to speak with you."
"Sorry," Ian retorted, "not in the mood."
"That was not a request," Eric said sharply, "it was a command."
"I don't take orders from you, Primal," Ian stormed out the door.
"And you two are twins?" Alex looked at Isabelle, "how'd you get a guy like that for a brother?"
Isabelle sighed, "He was never like that."
"Oh well I suppose he had the same sunny disposition as chopperface over there!" Alex yelled.
"Shut up!" Ariana told him, "it's not her fault so just leave her alone." Alex muttered something under his breath, got up, and walked away.
Chapter 12
As everyone left, Ariana stood at the door waiting for Isabelle and Jamie. Jamie ran in front of everyone, excited about the trip to the past. Isabelle walked quietly next to Ariana.
"Do they know?" she finally asked.
"Not everyone," Ariana replied, "but Justin does."
"He does?" Isabelle's eyes widened.
"Yes," Ariana said calmly, "from my experience, it's not right to keep a parent from his child. We'll continue this conversation at home."
* * * * * * * * * *
"I just don't know what to do about Ian," Isabelle paced in Ariana's room, "he seems so angry at Apocalypse, at us, at the whole world."
"He doesn't trust himself," Ariana explained, "and he's looking for someone to blame."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know what he's going through," Ariana sighed, "look, I don't know if I told you this in the future or not, but I was not always a Maximal," Isabelle frowned, and Ariana saw that she didn't understand, "during the first half of the Beast Wars, I was a Predacon. Not by choice, mind you, but never the less I was."
"I never heard of this," Isabelle admitted.
"I'm sorry," Ariana said, "I'm sure Justin and I thought it was for your own good, but there's another part to this story. You see, after the Beast Wars, when we returned to Cybertron, Justin's spark was abducted and he became Jetstorm, a very evil Vehicon, but again, not by choice. When he finally regained his Maximal identity, he had changed so much. He was bitter and very angry. He didn't trust himself anymore and blamed Megatron for everything."
"What happened?"
"Well, as you can see Justin is back to normal. Ian seems to act the same way."
"But he'll return to normal, right?" Isabelle said hopefully, "if dad…I mean Justin did."
"It's not that simple," Ariana replied, "Ian has the blood of billions on his hands, and he knows it. This goes far beyond not knowing who he is."
"But it wasn't his fault," Isabelle protested.
"You know that and I know that," Ariana told the younger girl, "but do you really think Ian believes it?" Isabelle shook her head, "someone needs to talk to him, convince him of that."
"And that someone is me," Isabelle took in a deep breath, "alright, I'll go find him."
"Good luck," Ariana said, "this is going to take a lot of strength."
"Thank you," Isabelle replied.
Epilogue
Ian stood at on the roof of the school building, his vision focused on the sky. The more he watched it, the more hurt he felt. He had killed so many people, just by flying through that sky. It hurt him deep down to the core of his spark and his human heart. He knew that he attacked his own parents and twin sister, and for that he was sorry beyond words.
"Hello," came a soft voice. Ian turned and saw his sister enter the roof, "how are you doing?"
"I felt better," he admitted, "I keep thinking how different the past is, how clear the sky looks."
"I know," Isabelle leaned on the rails next to him, "I thought the same thing when I first entered this time. You know, they say it was even more beautiful 4 million years ago, during the Beast Wars. The moon was huge and bright. Remember when we were little, and Dad told us of his days as a Maximal warrior?"
"And the dramatic rescues," Ian added, "of course I remember. I whish…I whish this could all change. All the killing and suffering Apocalypse forced upon me, I whish I could take it all back."
"We're not perfect," Isabelle assured him, "it wasn't your fault. Apocalypse brainwashed you."
"I should have resisted him harder," Ian shook his head, "how can you ever trust me again? How can Mom and Dad?"
"Because they know what you're going through."
"They couldn't"
"They do," Isabelle insisted, "Look, they never told you this, but…well they were on the wrong side once."
"What?" Ian's eye's widened, "when?"
"Well, Mom was a Predacon for a good part of the Beast Wars, and Dad was a Vehicon for the first half of the Techno-Organic War."
"Why have they never told us?"
"Because they hated those times," she replied, "Just like in your case, it wasn't their fault. They were forced into positions of evil. You see, Ian, they do understand and so do I. I'm your twin sister."
"You have no idea," Ian shook his head, "if you only knew the destruction I caused, all the pain, you'd…"
"No, Ian," she said firmly, "it's you who doesn't understand. I do know what you did because you did all those things to me. But you're still my brother, my beloved twin and I can forgive you. So can Mom, Dad, and the other Maximals. The question is: Are you willing to forgive yourself and let this go?"
Ian was silent for a moment, "I need time," he finally said, "perhaps some day in the far future, we can be a family again. Until then, good-bye. Archangel MAXIMIZE!" He transformed, opened his wings, and took off. Isabelle watched as he disappeared into the evening sky.
"Good-bye, my brother" she said sadly, "I hope to see you again soon."
To be continued in Part 9. "Blood-Red Sky"…