Note: This was an idea that actually occurred to me shortly after I watched Predacons Rising. I really didn't put much thought into it that time, but I filed it away in my brain for a later date. And here is that later date! I thought back to the episode where Optimus takes Alpha Trion's hand, but they don't show it to us. All they show is is optics dying out and the Forge creating Optimus 2.0. So, I was wondering, "What if something else happened in that time period?" And then, that one thought turned into a full-blown story that I just had to incorporate. So here we are now. Additional notes will be at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!
Inspired by: Imagine Dragons: Demons
Disclaimer: I only claim ownership to my OC's and any other non-canon material.
The Transformers® franchise is owned by Hasbro... Sadly.
*perks up* But you know how cool it would be if it was owned by me?
Legend
"Normal"
Thoughts/Sounds
"Phone/Abstract/Flashbacks/Other"
::Comm-Link::
:|: Scene Change :|:
Line breaks for a flashback = -o-o-o-o-o-o-
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The Stars We Choose
Chapter 1: The Big O
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"Come, Optimus."
Optimus walked towards the figure which emanated a bright light, and stared at it curiously. Could it be...? He voiced his question out loud, "Is it truly you, Alpha Trion?"
"I stand before you, my student. As such, it would seem that it is your time." The figure explained.
His eyes widened fractionally as he looked at his old mentor in worry.
"Why do you hesitate?"
Optimus looked down at his peds before making eye-contact with Alpha Trion and voicing his thoughts out loud. "I do not fear joining the Allspark, But, for the fate of the Matrix of Leadership."
"You know as well as I, a worthy candidate is near, one who will learn to be a Prime as you once did."
His eyes widened as his face set into a grim, thoughtful look.
"Take my hand, Optimus, and join me... Join me, with the Allspark." Alpha Trion urged.
His face set into a determined look and Optimus hesitantly made his way forward. His hand lingered into the air as Optimus gazed into Alpha Trion's bright eyes. Could he...
"Wait!"
Just as he was about to take Alpha Trion's outstretched servo, he was stopped by another voice. Alpha Trion and Optimus both looked at the newcomer (well... More like the small blob of light that appeared before them) in shock. The latter more than the former.
"Primus?" Optimus was shocked. There was no way...
"Yes. It is I, young one." Primus gently smiled (not that they could see) before continuing, "I have seen your capacity for leadership, and I must say, you are a great mech, young Orion..." He paused after he used his disciple's former name, letting the words sink in. "The others and I have come to a decision... You will live."
"I-" Optimus tried to voice his opinion and make sense of what was being told to him, but he was cut off by the deity.
"Do not worry, my child. You will see me again... Soon."
Optimus was forced to close his optics and shield them with his hand as he was overtaken by a bright flash.
And then...
It was gone.
And all he would remember would be meeting Alpha Trion.
Nothing less. Nothing more.
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:|: 7 months later... :|:
:|: Location: Cybertron :|:
"Above all, do not lament my absence, for in my spark, I know that this is not the end, but merely a new beginning. Simply put, another transformation."
He shot into the sky, the world becoming a blur around him. Optimus felt a slight brush from the Matrix as it reassured him, almost saying that everything would be alright. He knew he had to do this. To defeat Unicron, and bring new life to Cybertron, a sacrifice was necessary.
After all... The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
As he entered the Well, a bright light blinded him. Then, he felt... Nothing. He was floating, but the aura that surrounded him was one of comfort. The air was calm and serene.
He tried to online his optics, but he couldn't. It was as if that was taken away from him.
"Do not worry, my child. You are safe." The voice soothed the panicked Prime. It seemed familiar, somehow. He could not remember where he had heard that before, but he had.
"You are indeed correct. You have heard me before. And just like then, you can't see me." The voice gave a nearly inaudible sigh, but Optimus caught it. "It is a pain to see my creations fighting among themselves. Some for greed, others for revenge... Some because of their morals and others... Others, because you cannot escape from war. War catches up to you, no matter where you hide."
So he could read thoughts too? Optimus had a pretty solid idea on what or who this was. The way the Matrix kept reacting to the presence only confirmed his previous theories.
"My child, you have lead your Autobots to victory and... You have finally brought peace upon Cybertron. Greed had corrupt this planet. It had spread everywhere. But, now... A new era will begin upon Cybertron. It will return to it's former glory, all thanks to you."
Optimus felt the field around him fluctuate with warm gratitude. He sighed, his faceplates set into a thin frown. "Yet, there were some I wished I had brought back."
"You are referring to Megatron." The deity said. The way he said it, was as if he was saying that as if he was referring to the weather outside. "Optimus," The deity addressed, this time, using his new name. "Megatron has now realized what he has done wrong. Isn't that what you wished for?" The entity asked even though he knew what the answer was going to be.
"I just wished that..." Optimus stopped himself. What should he say? "That Megatron had not-"
"-Run off? You wished that you two could be friends again." The entity finished. It was more of a statement rather than a guess.
"Yes." Optimus truthfully admitted. He felt the field around him fluctuate in a thoughtful manner.
"Hmm... Would things be different if...?" The deity fell into a thoughtful look as he began mumbling to himself.
"I'm afraid, I do not understand."
Suddenly, the field around Optimus fluctuated in a serious manner. "Do you trust me?"
Optimus seemed to be caught off-guard by the sudden question. "I–"
"–Do you trust me?" There was a grim undertone beneath the question.
Optimus hesitated. He did trust him, but why would he ask that. He took a deep breath, "Yes. Yes, I do."
The aura around him relaxed slightly. "Tell me, Optimus. What if you were given the chance to see the world from a different perspective? What if you were the only one would could right the wrong. Would you do it?"
Optimus frowned. What if this was a trick? But, if someone needed him, then he would not deny help. What was Primus getting at? What did he mean by 'a different perspective?' Seeing as he was just beating around the bush, Optimus decided to answer the question, and ask one in return. "I would. But I–"
That is, until Primus interrupted him. "–That is all I ask." The voice seemed to relieved. " You have helped countless comrades who were in need. You have done well, young one. Yet, there is still one more. You are the only one who can help."
Optimus was about to question what was being implied when he felt a backlash of pain shoot through his spine. Just as quickly it had come, it was gone.
A bright flash emanated from the field as Optimus was surrounded by the flash of pain, again. He could only make out a few words the deity said to him. "... sorry...the only way...remember... I am always there..."
And then... The voice was gone.
There was no field.
No aura.
No feeling of a comforting presence.
Even the Matrix wasn't—Wait! Where was the Matrix? What happened to it? Was it gone, too?
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:|: Cold Springs High, Georgia :|:
"This is crazy!" Clio whisper-yelled from her seat next to one on her best friends; Avery Hills.
"Yeah, well... Mr. Evans doesn't really know what he's doing. He's a substitute for History. Come on, Clio. Let's be serious. We are supposed to be talking about Imperial Japan, not the present-day weather and the changes in the crops and climates."
Clio giggles before clearing her throat and turning her head back to her notebook and continued to doodle. Avery just shakes her head and turns her attention back to the substitute, intent on learning what else he would butcher up.
"... also, Japan is as big as California. California has many mountains just like Japan... Moving on, Ohio and Japan have many things in common. The number of earthquakes that Japan and Ohio have is devastating. The crops in Japan..."
Avery snorts. Oh yes, because California and Japan are the exact same size... Not. Clio looks over from her doodles and pushes her brown bangs from her face, "Um, Japan is smaller than California... And, why are we talking about how well the crops grow?."
Avery adjusts her seat as she covers up her laugh with a cough. "Just go with the flow." She lets her gaze roam over the classroom. The room was shaped like a rectangle. The back was where all the cabinets were, the front was where the document camera was placed with the presentation screen pulled down. There were at least eight tables, and all of them were arranged in a square. Two tables put together made a square, housing a total of four people at each table.
Avery narrowed her chocolate-brown eyes with an angry stare as they stopped on a person squirming in their chair with their hand raised high in the air. It was the number one, prissy, popular, jerk-of-all-jerks, teacher's pet, Tiffany Wells. She was one of the most despised person in the entire school. The only reason everyone acted all nice around her was because her father was in the School Board Committee. Well... Everyone except Avery. She treated Tiffany like she should be treated. It wasn't a surprise that Tiffany was number one, on Avery's most-hated-list.
"I'm gonna bail." Avery angrily shut her laptop as she put it in her bag.
"Hey! Wait!" In her small panic attack, Clio accidentally flung her pencil and hit the guy next to her. "Oh—sorry." She turns her attention back to Avery, "You can't just leave!"
Avery rolls her eyes as she adjusts the shoulder straps of her backpack. "Of course we can. We're seniors. As long as we keep our grades up, we can leave any time we want."
Clio throws her hands in the air as she whispers, "No, I meant you can't leave me in here!" She motions to the substitute with her hand, "With him!"
Avery looks at Mr. Evans (who was too enthralled in his "teaching" to notice the argument), then at Tiffany and gave a sigh. Clio, following her gaze to Tiffany, seemed to catch where this was going at. She calmed down and let go of Avery's wrist. "Just... Be okay. Alright?" Clio knew Avery had a habit of driving fast when she was angry.
"Right." Avery quietly makes her way through the front of the classroom and out the door.
Mr. Evans gives a quick glance where Clio was sitting to make sure that the students on the right side were still paying attention. Just as he's about to turn his attention back to the student who asked him a question, he realizes something. Then, he asked the one question Clio had been anticipating for: "Did someone just leave the classroom?"
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Avery throws her backpack in the backseat of the Ford Focus as she gets into the driver's side and furiously slams the door shut. She gives a irritable huff as she puts the key in the ignition and puts the car in gear. She maneuvered around the parking out and out onto the open road. The main road wasn't really busy in the afternoon as most people would either be at work, school or home.
Tiffany Wells. Why was it, that she always reminded Avery of Brian. Maybe it was the way she was squirming in her seat with her hand raised high in the air... Avery knew Brian had a habit of doing that in school when the teacher had something wrong, and he had moved forward to correct them. But, when the teacher would ignore him, he would start to get restless and squirm in his seat. He hated it when people got their facts wrong.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"No! Optimus and Megatron can't dance together! They are enemies, they hate each other!" The older boy snatched the two toys away from the little girl's hands.
"So? That 'oesn't mean 'dey can't dance!" Her little arms tried to reach for the two toys, but they were too high in the air for her to grasp.
"Yeah, it does! They are robots fighting a war, not dancing!" The boy lifted the toys higher in the air to stop the girl from reaching them.
The girl let her arms droop to her side as she called for her only savior. "Daddy! Bwain 'on't let me pway wit' Ot'mus and Mwegatwon!"
A man hurried into the room and lifted the girl into the air. "Don't worry, princess. Daddy's here. Shhh..." He tried to soothe her as she kept on flailing her arms around. He turned into the direction of the older boy and fixed him with a stern gaze, "Brian, be nice to your sister."
The boy just huffed and went back to playing with his toys. The dad turned his attention back to the younger girl. "Don't worry, princess. I'll take you to the store and we'll buy hundreds of these. You can play with the all you want." He adjusted her on his waist and strapped an arm around her back to keep her from falling. "Come on, let's see what's your mother is making. Maybe, we can sneak out a brownie or-"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Oh sh–" Avery quickly slammed on the brakes to avoid colliding with the man. Friction began to create as the tires struggled to stop against the gravel. She should have kept her attention on the road instead of letting it drift into her thoughts. She knew it was too late when she hit the brakes, but she still pressed on, hoping that some invisible force would stop her car from colliding into the man.
It seemed her wish was somewhat granted as the car did stop... After it hit the man. Not even realizing that she had left the key in the ignition, Avery quickly hurried to the man and started to bawl out her apology to him. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean—I wasn't paying attention. I was lost in my own thoughts!" She nervously ran her fingers through her hair, "I promise I will pay better attention next ti—Are you okay? You're not hurt are you? I'll call an ambulance." She pulled out a phone from her front pocket as she fumbled with it, trying to dial the numbers.
But, before she could hit call, she was stopped by a hand. The man took the phone out of her hands—which were shaking—and put it on the hood of the car. "Calm down." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder as he got up. From this point on, Avery could see that the man towered over her—quite literally—and looked like he could break a baseball bat with only one bare hand. "It it only a mesh wound." He unconsciously let a hand roam over a part of his forehead as he dabbed it with two of his fingers. He pulled back and saw that they were covered with some blood. "I will live."
"But I–" Avery tried to protest, but she was cut off by the man.
"–I assure you, I am fine. I have suffered worse. This is nothing." The man let go of her shoulder as he gave her phone back to her. "Now, I believe this is yours."
"The man" was wearing a blue leather jacket with a red button-up shirt. He was wearing dark blue ripped jeans with brown boots. His eyes were a deep blue and he had some stubble on his chin. His black hair was disheveled, clearly showing that he was under stress, but the look suited him. He looked like he was from the military. Now that she thought about it, it seemed that Avery had seen him before. His voice sound familiar too... Where have I heard it before? Where...?
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Autobots, roll out!"
The little girl clapped her hands excitedly as her favorite show came on. Her older brother leaned in closer to hear what was being said and shushed the little girl. The girl quieted down and sat down beside the boy, enthralled by the transformation. She squealed excitedly as her favorite character came on screen, "I like 'im!" She turned to her brother, eyes filled with curiosity and asked, "Who he?"
The boy gave an irritated sigh as he turned up the volume to listen to what was being said. "How can you like him if you don't even know his name?" After a moment of silence between the two, he quietly answered the question. "Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."
"Who yours?"
The boy looked back to the girl. "You mean who's my favorite character?" The girl nodded. "Optimus Prime..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Avery broke out of her thoughts as she recognized his voice. "Optimus Prime..." she murmured.
The man's head snapped towards her so fast that it looked like a blur. His eyes grew dark as he heard what she said. "What?"
Avery turned her attention back to him and started stuttering, " Um—uh—Nothing! Nothing at all. I... I was just thinking of a voice actor."
The man narrowed his eyes, "Really? Might I ask whom?"
I don't know of anyone who exactly sound like Peter Cullen OR Optimus. I don't even think there is anyone besides Peter Cullen who can do a perfect imitation of Optimus Prime's voice! Well... Except for him and this guy. Could it be... "Peter Cullen." she answered, carefully taking note of his facial expressions.
"I... I have not heard of him." he admitted.
"Oh... Well, anyways, I might as well drop you off home. An apology for almost running you over." Avery replied as she pocketed her phone. He couldn't be Optimus Prime... Could he?
"I..." he started, but suddenly stopped. What was he supposed to tell her? "I live in Jasper, Nevada."
Avery's eyes widened. Jasper? That place doesn't even exist! Isn't that the place where the new Transformers cartoon took place. What was it called? Transformers: Prime? She quickly changed her expression to one of shock (even though she was shocked) and preceded to improvise. "Really? That's like a million miles away from here. How did you end up here then?"
Now it was his turn to be surprised. Optimus had thought that he was close enough to the place, but he had been mistaken. "I do not know..."
Whelp, that's not what I was expecting. If it really is him, then I don't want anything to do with him. Goddamnit, why did you have to tell me that, Dad? Help a person in need, no matter who they are...Blah blah blah. I'm just gonna have to blow it to him... Now what was that agent's name... Frowner? No, Fowler! Agent Fowler! This time, Avery cleared her throat and spoke in a louder voice, "Optimus Prime." Now THAT definitely got the man's attention. He spun his head towards her and narrowed his eyes. Avery carefully looked at the man, her suspicion had been confirmed. I better be getting a goddamn Oscar for this. She took a deep breath and put on her best acting voice, "Relax... I am working under Fowler. I know who you guys are and where you come from." She took another deep breath. Time for the million-dollar question, "How did you end up like this?" she motioned to his body with her hands.
Optimus carefully scrutinized the woman before evading her question. "I was not aware that Agent Fowler had another person working with him."
Shit! That was NOT the question I was expecting! Okay, calm yourself, Avery. Rule number one: Keep calm. Think, Avery, think! When was the last movie released? When...? Oh yeah, in October! Thank you, Zoey! All those hours of watching that tv show with an eight year old finally paid off! Avery cleared her throat, "...It was after you bots left for Cybertron–He needed another person in for all the paperwork and stuff so he hired me."
Optimus gave a skeptical look. "Paperwork?"
Avery gulped, she needed to think of something fast! "Uhhh—The Pentagon wanted the full story."
Avery was getting nervous. Acting was never really her forte, and she sucked at improvising. And with Optimus glaring at her like he was staring through her very soul, it wouldn't be too long before she starting sweating bullets. "I see..." he replied, eyes boring into her own.
Avery bit her lip as she asked her question again. "So? What happened? I mean, weren't you supposed to be a thirty-foot tall giant robot?"
Optimus finally averted his gaze from her and decided to settle staring at the ground. "I do not know... I woke up in this body with no memory of how I got here." He looked back up at Avery, "Perhaps, you wouldn't mind giving me sanctuary till we can find the cause of this? After all, you are working with Agent Fowler."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"I hate you! I hate you, Optimus Prime! It's because of you! All because of you!" The teenage girl threw the toy on the ground and stomped on it.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Avery was just about to make some excuse and downright refuse. If this was really Optimus Prime, then Avery wanted nothing to do with him. Before she could do anything else, Avery was met with a tackle behind her. "SURPRISE GLOMP!"
Avery stumbled a few steps forward and fell on the ground before she was bombarded by the very question she had been trying to avoid from another person. "Who's this? A relative of yours?" Clio asked as she got up from the ground and dusted off her clothes, but not before eyeing the man up and down.
"What? No—Wait—Yes." Avery gave Optimus a short glance before turning her attention back to the newcomer. "He's... My uncle! Yeah, that's right! He's my uncle!" It sounded as if Avery was trying to assure herself that he was her uncle, instead of answering the question. Avery grit her teeth. She hated doing this, but she would have to. "Clio, meet my uncle, Peter Hill. Uncle Pete, meet Clio."
Optimus was the first one to make the move as he offered a hand and introduced himself, "Greetings, it's a pleasure to meet one of Avery's friends."Clio takes the offered hand and shakes it.
She turns back to Avery, "I take it, he's staying with you?"
Avery panics. She couldn't say no, could she? Avery did not want THE Optimus Prime staying with her, but she would have to. Oh, she was so not looking forward to the next few days—weeks—months—years. She could only mentally whimper at that thought. Avery could only manage to ground out two sentences. "Uh, yeah. He's staying with me. For now."
Sensing the need to back out when she needed to, Clio slowly started walking backwards to where her car was parked. "Well, enjoy your little get-together. I have to go to basketball practice." She made a gesture with one of her her hands, "Call me!"
"Will do!" Avery yells. As soon as Clio is out of sight, she turns back to Optimus and notices his puzzled expression.
"Peter?" he asks, dubiously.
"Hey! It's the first name that came to my mind!" Avery yells defensively. "I'm horrible at improvising!"
"So, I suppose I will have to play the role of your 'Uncle Pete' now?"
"Well, I couldn't tell her that you were a giant robot from outer space, now could I?" Avery starts to make her way to her car as she gets up from the ground.
"What are you doing?" Optimus asks.
"Going home." As much as Avery hated this, she knew she was going to have to maintain the facade. She turns back to Optimus, "You coming?"
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The car ride home was eerily quiet. Both occupants lost in their own thoughts, none of them willing to talk to each other. Optimus was reminiscing his initial reaction when he woke up in a human body about an hour ago, whereas, Avery was trying to control her speed from not going over forty-five because she had the very person she loathed, sitting in her car and possibly staying with her for who-knows how much time? Her hands clenched the steering wheel, while her jaw was shut tight, trying to block her rage from being visible.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Why did you have to like Optimus Prime, Brian? Why?" The now-teenage girl grabbed the closest thing to her (which happened to be a vase) and threw it at the wall with all her might. The vase shattered and broke into tiny pieces now laying on the ground. "I hate you Optimus Prime! I hate you Brian, for leaving! I hate you! I hate you!" The girl crushed the piece of paper in her hands and threw it on the ground.
A woman came in the room, holding her arms out. "Princess-"
The girl sharply turned around and refused her mother's embrace. "-Don't call me that! Dad called me that..." She grabbed her bag and left the room, slamming the door shut.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Fifty. Sixty. Seventy. The needle on the speedometer quickly climbed up as the scenery became a blur around them. She had it! If Avery had her way, she would have thrown Optimus Prime out of her car by now. But, as it was, she didn't have her way. Clio had come and interfered at the last moment, and now, Avery had to keep up the act if she didn't want to tell the whole world that Transformers were real. Or, if she didn't want to tell Optimus that he was in a reality where he was fiction.
Optimus looked over from the window and saw the look on Avery's face. He knew something was fishy when Avery had supplied him with the excuse that she worked under Agent Fowler. She looked to be in high school. And by his knowledge of Earth, Optimus knew that their agency never hired anyone under 21. Deciding to see if she really worked under Agent Fowler, he asked a question, he knew no one would be able to respond to unless they really worked with the Agent. He cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the emotionally-distressed teen. "You work under Agent Fowler, correct?"
Avery clenched her jaw. She was getting frustrated with him. Why was it that she was the one stuck in this mess? Couldn't it have been someone else? "Yes. Correct." she answered stoically.
Optimus examined her very closely, "So, Agent Fowler has debriefed you on everything that has happened?"
"Yes."
Optimus visibly straightened, "Then, perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me who was the first new Autobot Wrecker we encountered?"
Avery froze. She racked her memory to find that episode, but she was drawing a blank. God, she knew she should have watched that episode when Zoey insisted she should, but Avery had downright refused. She didn't want anything to do with Transformers after... After Brian. So, Avery had just said that Zoey should watch the episode alone, whereas, she should go to the kitchen and make cookies.
"Um..." Avery suppressed the urge to slam her head on the steering wheel repeatedly. Curse her stupidity! "Smokescreen...?" she responded feebly. They had arrived at the apartment complex, and Avery had just cut the engine.
Optimus gazed at her intensely. Blue eyes glowing a bright eerie blue. Getting nervous, Avery tried to change the subject, "It looks like we're here." She fumbled with the door. "Might as well get out." she offered a feeble smile as she moved to get out of the car and away from him as soon as possible. But, before she could step out onto the ground, Optimus grabbed her wrist and forced her to fall back into the seat. "Hey! Watch it!" She struggled against his grasp, but his grip was made of iron. "Let go! You're hurting me!"
Not even letting his grip waver, Optimus stared into her eyes. "If you were really working under Agent Fowler, then you would know that Wheeljack was the new Autobot Wrecker we had encountered. Smokescreen was in the Elite Guard and he came later." Avery didn't give up and struggled against his grip. Optimus let his grip loosen a little, but he still didn't let go of her wrist. "So tell me, who are you and how do you know about us?"
Avery's eyes went wide. This was the very question she had been dreading to answer.
A/N: I know that Optimus is gentle and would never hurt a human, but you gotta keep in mind that he's really confused and distressed because he's in the body of a human. He doesn't even remember the talk he had with Primus. He's angry, confused, and wants to be back in his own body again. Now... Avery and Optimus gotta learn to cope with each other! This should be fun! *rubs hands together* One more thing, I based Mr. Evans off a substitute I did have, and it was in History. Our whole table was passing each other weird looks and trying to control our laughter while he was butchering stuff up. It was hilarious.
Also, a big thanks to Smokescreen The Femme and Shadow Katakura for help with the title. Their opinion really mattered.
Please R & R!