Chapter 1: Another Transformation

A/N: Hello peoples of Fanfiction! Kinda a more mature Transformers fanfic that has been picking at my brain for a bit. We'll see what happens in Prime's Champion!

Transformer Terminology (won't use all of these in the chapter but it's useful reference):

Frame/Chassis = body

Strut = arm

Servo = hand

Digit = finger

Pede = foot

Optics = eyes

Faceplate = face

Denta = teeth

Femme = female/woman

Mech = male/man

Online = alive

Offline = dead


Location: Sea of Rust, Cybertron

Date: Unknown

"BEHOLD! THE AGE OF THE DECEPTICONS!" Megatron bellowed for all to hear.

He then faced Optimus and grinned evilly, before turning to the Omega Lock and activating it. A blue beam of pure cybermatter shot from the Omega Lock, making its way to the ruined building of the Iacon Hall of Records, the "city hall" of the capital of the Autobots during the war and vault of artifacts of the ancients, including the original Thirteen Primes, and weapons of mass destruction made by the Decepticons that were either stolen during stealth operations or found on battlefields after the battles had taken place.

Autobots, Humans, and Decepticons alike watched in awe as the building that was once a pride of Cybertron that was now surrounded by debris and was in shambles barely standing, was repaired and looked like it was brand new.

"By the Allspark!" Optimus Prime breathed

"Whoa!" Miko and Raf said, awed by the formerly ruined Hall of Records shining like a beacon of a new age for Cybertron.

"Instant home makeover." Miko added.

"Shiny." Knockout said.

A moment of silence ensued, all present either in awe of the Omega Lock's power or horrified that such power is in the hands of Megatron.

"You have what you want, Megatron." Optimus said, breaking the now tense silence permeating the area, "This conflict is between Autobots and Decepticons. Allow me to return the humans to Earth."

"Oh, I wouldn't recommend it." Megatron replied over his shoulder before turning to face his arch-enemy, who narrowed his eyes. "They'll be far safer here." He then looked at Starscream, "Is the Spacebridge locked on target?" he asked.

"Per your instructions Lord Megatron." Starscream said, bowing to the leader of the Decepticons.

"Excellent." Megatron said turning to the Autobots, "Why rule one world when I can rule two?"

A spacebridge portal then opened up directly above the Omega Lock, humming and spinning with green and white energy. Megatron turned back to the Omega Lock and activated it, causing a massive beam, encompassing nearly the entirety of the circle of cybermatter, to launch through the portal, coming out through the Spacebridge in high orbit of Earth, pointed directly at the planet.

"No." Optimus said in a defeated tone, knowing that neither he or the Autobots could do do anything to stop the beam without risking Earth and its people by trying to wrestle control of the Omega Lock from the Decepticons in the process.

"If the Omega Lock can restore Cybertron, it'll do the same to Earth, right?" Miko asked hopefully.

"No." Optimus answered, looking at Miko, "It will cyber-form your planet in favor of its new matrix, destroying all indigenous life in the process."

Miko's face took on a horrified expression, the reality of their situation hitting her like a wrecking ball.

"Such raw power!" Megatron exclaimed, bringing everyone's attention to him. He then looked at Optimus. "What should I call my new domain? 'New Kaon'? Or perhaps 'Gilded Earth'?"

Optimus's optics widened before looking at his human allies.

"No!" Jack yelled, pounding the glass pod that he was in.

"Leave our planet alone!" Miko yelled, but the only answer they received was evil, mocking laughter from Megatron, Knockout, and Starscream.

Optimus looked back at the Decepticons before narrowing his optics in determination. He had to save the Earth and its people, no matter the cost. Optimus suddenly transformed his hand into his sword and swung it at the nearest Vehicon trooper, sending it flying into Knockout, who was knocked off his pedes from the force and weight of the Vehicon's unexpected flight. Optimus ran over to the Star Saber, yanking it out of the ground and swinging it at the three Vehicons who chased him, knocking them back and offlining them from the energy wave created by his swing. He charged straight towards the Omega Lock control panel. Megatron drew the Dark Star Saber from his back and charged the Prime, locking blades with his old enemy before Optimus broke the lock and cut off the stolen arm of Liege Maximo that Megatron attached to himself to use relics of the Primes.

Optimus kept running as if he never stopped to engage Megatron, deflecting energon blasts fired by the Vehicons and narrowly dodging the rocket sent by Starscream before using the small Seeker to launch himself in the air, bringing the Star Saber down with a yell, destroying the control panel, creating a massive explosion and wave of cybermatter that encompassed miles of desolate landscape.

Unprepared for the sudden explosion and shockwave of cybermatter, the Autobots were sent flying, taking the pods that contained their human friends with them. They landed on the hard metal surface of Cybertron, moaning. They got up before looking for Jack, Miko, and Raf. What they found filled Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Arcee with surprise and horror.

The force of the explosion must have broken the glass of the pods of the humans, allowing cybermatter to flood into the pods. Jack, Miko, and Raf were screaming in pain and agony from being transformed into cybertronians by the cybermatter. Blue energy coursed through their bodies, quickly turning their flesh into metal.

After a few moments, the transformations were complete, leaving newly created cybertronians in the place of humans.

|«π»|

Jack POV

I felt like my body was burning up and being turned into something else. The only thing that I can remember was my pod being thrown from Arcee's servos, the glass of my pod breaking, and light blue goop rushing into the hole of my pod, covering me in the process. When the burning lessened, I heard a voice in my head.

"The heart of a predacon is in your soul Jackson Darby. This shall be what you will become, a bastion of hope and freedom. So commands Primus, creator of the Primes and all Cybertronians."

The burning all over my body suddenly turned into a shock of electricity, making me scream, before suddenly vanishing. After it was over, I knew that I had little energy and when the darkness came, I didn't fight it, rather, I let it swallow me into the welcome embrace of rest. But before I completely lost consciousness, I heard another voice, but it was softer and seemed to be motherly.

"Go into the universe as a new being Durerus, the last of the Cybertronians created by the Thirteen, and protect those who we failed to protect. Help your friends and stop the Chaos Bringer's pawn from succeeding in his conquest." It said.

The last thing that I noticed about the voice before I fell into unconsciousness was that the voice was female.

|«π»|

As the smoke cleared, the Omega Lock was revealed to be in flaming ruins. The Vehicon troopers were nowhere in sight, blown away by the blast of the Omega Lock's destruction.

"Optimus, do you read?" Ratchet called, unknowingly breaking a somber silence that was created by the actions of a Prime in desperation to save a planet that allowed him and his soldiers to call it "home".

Optimus looked around and saw clean, near brand new landscape where the Sea of Rust was, an area of a planet that was ravaged by eons (thousands if not millions of years) of civil war restored partially by the wave of cybermatter that he unleashed by destroying the Omega Lock. He scanned the area further and saw his Autobots surrounding three unknown cybertronians.

"The three transformers before you are young and confused brother." a soft voice said in Optimus' helm, "Take care of them, for they were dragged into your war, they did not ask to be apart of it."

"Solus Prime." Optimus said in shock, for he had not heard her voice since he was made a Prime after journeying to the core of Cybertron, to Primus himself.

"Yes brother here I am, one last time. As Primus' last wish before falling into a deep slumber once again, we transformed the three before you so that they could survive the explosion you caused by destroying the Omega Lock. Protect them, for they will be vulnerable when they wake."

"I will see them protected Solus, this I swear upon all that I am." Optimus promised.

"Protect the last of those created by the Primes in this age Brother and we will speak again Optimus Prime, soon." Solus said before fading from his mind.

Optimus looked around again and saw the decepticons stirring. Suddenly remembering Ratchet's call, Optimus activated his comm system.

"Ratchet, please open a Spacebridge and prepare sickbay, we will need it."

He then walked over to Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen, who were studying their former human friends.

"Autobots, I will carry Jack, Bulkhead carry Miko, Bumblebee carry Raf. Arcee, cover us while we make for the Spacebridge." Optimus ordered before walking over to Jack's new form and gently picking it up. Arcee, Bulkhead, 'Bee, and Smokescreen seemed to snap out of a stupor and followed the Prime's orders. After a moment, a Spacebridge portal opened a few meters away.

"Autobots fall back to base." Optimus ordered, "We must make sure our allies will survive this day."

|«π»|

As the Autobots went through the Spacebridge, the decepticons got to their feet, moaning and looking around. Starscream noticed the closing Spacebridge and yelled, "Prime! He will pay for dooming Cybertron to remain a lifeless husk!"

Knockout walked up behind Starscream and said, "I guess we should cancel the 'welcome home' party."

Starscream growled, turned and backhanded Knockout, the force making him slide back a few meters.

"Attend to our master. He requires medical attention." Starscream ordered.

Knockout rushed over to Megatron, who was kneeling in pain. His arm was cut off at the elbow and his stolen hand was still attached to the Dark Star Saber, which was embedded in the now shining ground in the ruins of the Omega Lock.

Suddenly Megatron started laughing. He stood up while laughing, causing Starscream to look at him curiously.

"They can run, but they can never again run home." Megatron said darkly, confusing Starscream and Knockout.

|«π»|

Ratchet shut down the Spacebridge and turned around expecting injured Autobots. What he found however, was Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee carrying three unknown Cybertronians.

"What happened?" Ratchet demanded, "And who are they?"

He was met by grim faces and silence as the three carrying the unknowns put them in the medical bay.

Arcee walked over to the largest of the three and sat down next to him, eyes filled with worry.

"Somebody say something." Ratchet said, trying to find out what happened.

Bulkhead walked out of the medical bay and stopped in front of Ratchet.

"Optimus… destroyed the Omega Lock." Bulkhead revealed.

"What?!" Ratchet exclaimed, dumbstruck, "You did-"

"What was necessary." Optimus interrupted. "There was no time for another prolonged battle, not with Earth in imminent danger. Though the destruction of the Omega Lock had unforeseen consequences."

"So you destroyed the only device in any universe capable of restoring our home?" Ratchet asked sadly, "Optimus… we needed that."

Smokescreen came up to Ratchet and said, "You weren't there doc, and it's not your place to second guess a battlefield decision."

Ratchet's optics filled with anger. "It most certainly is!" he snapped, surprising Smokescreen and making him recoil a bit. "There had to be another way!" he said looking at Optimus hopefully.

Arcee answered his hidden question. "Right decision or wrong, what's done is done. And now we have another problem on this world. The Cons changed the rules when they brought Jack, Miko and Raf into play." Arcee said gesturing to the three now identified cybertronians.

Ratchet caught on quickly, his eyes widening in surprise. "By the Allspark," he gasped, "they are Jack Miko and Raf?" he asked, stunned. "How?" he demanded.

"When I destroyed the Omega Lock, a wave of pure cybermatter was unleashed following the explosion. Jack, Miko and Raf were captured by the Decepticons and placed in airtight glass pods. They were hostages that the Decepticons used to barter for the Omega Keys. Megatron issued an ultimatum, give him the keys or watch our human friends perish when the pods were opened." Optimus explained.

"We did the trade, only to be surrounded by vehicon troopers from a space bridge portal. Megatron activated the Omega Lock and, after restoring Iacon, turned the Omega Lock on Earth via a space bridge portal, cyberforming the planet." Arcee continued.

"I could not allow Earth to be cyberformed. I utilized the Star Saber to destroy the Omega Lock, causing an explosion to occur that broke the glass of the pods. The explosion was quickly followed by a wave of cybermatter from the Omega Lock, transforming or restoring everything in its path, including the humans. The three you see before us are our former human allies and they require assistance, your assistance old friend."

Ratchet nodded and started making sure that their transformed friends were not in danger.

"Prime!" Agent Flower's voice rang out in the base, "The Pentagon's preparing to go Defcon 1. I need to know what we're dealing with!"

Optimus walked up to the screen, "To what do you refer Agent Fowler?" he asked confused.

"Maybe you should step outside and see for yourselves." Fowler replied before cutting the call.

"Ratchet, make sure our friends are functional. Arcee, assist Ratchet with the children." Optimus ordered before moving for the elevator to the roof of their base. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen followed him, equally confused and curious.

Ratchet sighed, "How did the children end up in the clutches of the Decepticons Arcee?" he asked the femme beside him.

"I wish I knew Ratchet." Arcee answered shaking her head, "I wish I knew."

|«π»|

When the doors opened to a shadow, Bumblebee knew that something was wrong. He didn't know how bad that something was until he saw a cybertronian fortress in towering over him. He heard a helicopter that he knew was Agent Fowler's and he heard human footsteps, but he didn't take his eyes off of the tower until Optimus broke the silence looming over them all.

"Megatron has managed to accomplish the first phase of his cyber-forming of Earth: the construction of his fortress."

"In Jasper, Nevada?" Fowler asked, "I don't get it. I've already had the town evacuated. Why here?"

Bumblebee spoke up, pointing near the new fortress, "It's the Nemesis!" he exclaimed.

Not a moment after he said that, the Decepticon warship came down through the clouds and turned to face the Autobot base.

Optimus' processor ran through countless possibilities before coming to a dark, horrifying truth. "Because the Decepticons have discovered the location of our base." He said grimly.

Not a few moments later, Insecticons and new Decepticon Seekers charge the Autobots. Optimus reacts the quickest, grabbing the Star Saber on his back and swinging it, a massive wave of destructive energy came off the Star Saber, speeding towards the vanguard of Insecticons, who launched first. When the wave met the Insecticons, it was an energon bath. The thick armor of the Insecticons did nothing in the face of the wave. A massive explosion occured along the line of the Insecticons where the wave hit, leaving nothing but smoke and fire in its wake.

When the smoke cleared, all that remained of the vanguard was a few stragglers that were on the corners of the formation. The survivors didn't retreat however, nor did they land on the ground. They charged the Autobots, blasters firing as fast as they can, before landing in front of their enemies. In range of close combat, Optimus deployed a sword from one servo, the other servo putting the Star Saber onto the back of his chassis before shifting into his ion blaster. Bulkhead transformed both his servos, one into his wrecking ball, the other into his heavy blaster. Bumblebee transformed his servos into his dual plasma cannons and Smokescreen transformed his servos into medium energon blasters.

The Insecticons charged at the Autobots recklessly, trying to use their superior numbers to overwhelm the Autobots. At first, it didn't work, but the battle raged longer than expected by Megatron, who was watching intently from the top of the Nemesis, his arm still missing. But then again the Autobots were known for doing the unexpected.

After a few moments of fighting off the assault, the numbers finally beginning to overwhelm the four bots, Optimus ordered, "Autobots! Into the base!"

They fought a fighting retreat and were nearly all on the platform into the base when Bulkhead saw Fowler start up his chopper.

"Fowler! What are you doing?" Bulkhead demanded, stepping onto the platform.

"My job two-ton." Fowler replied, adrenaline getting into his system.

Before Bulkhead could retort, the platform lowered, closing the doors in the process, leaving Fowler to face the Insecticons and Decepticon Seekers alone.

|«π»|

Ratchet and Arcee were barely able to stabilise the trio in stasis when Optimus, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen came back.

"What's happening?" Ratchet demanded.

"The Decepticons are invading Jasper. They appear to have found the location of our base." Optimus replied.

"And Fowler thinks that he can hold them off." Bulkhead added sourly, not liking Fowler risking his life on a suicide mission.

Ratchet was about to reply when Fowler's voice cut in. "Prime! Reinforcements just arrived!"

Optimus shook his head before replying. "Agent Fowler, your military cannot hold off the-"

"Didn't think I was gonna let Team Prime have all the fun did you?" a familiar voice called, interrupting Optimus.

"It's Jackie!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

"Wheeljack? But how-" Ratchet asked, before being cut off by Wheeljack, who understood the question before he finished.

"Picked up a strange energy surge. Hope you don't mind the company."

Ratchet blinked, caught off guard. "No. It's just that after everything, well..."

"Same team Doc. Always will be." Wheeljack replied.

"Thank you for the help Wheeljack." Optimus said gratefully.

"No big deal Optimus," Wheeljack dismissed, "This is more fun than scouting the planet out anyway. I'll be here until I'm shot down or you're outta here."

Wheeljack then cut the connection to focus on the battle, leaving Team Prime to figure out what they were going to do next.

"Autobots, we must evacuate the base if we are to survive. Arcee, Smokescreen, take Jack. Bulkhead, take Miko. Bumblebee will take Raf, with Ratchet accompanying them." Optimus ordered.

"What about you Optimus?" Ratchet asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"I will stay behind and ensure that the Decepticons do not follow." Optimus replied, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"I'll man the Spacebridge, split us up a fair amount." Ratchet murmured as the bots complied with their orders.

The three 'bots walker into the medical area slowly, knowing that they

Bulkhead picked Miko up as carefully as he could, being the most clumsy of the Autobots, that was saying something, and walked over to Ratchet. Ratchet put in the coordinates and looked at Bulkhead before nodding once.

"See you soon Jackie, I got a surprise for you." Bulkhead said before walking through the bridge.

"See you soon Bulk!" Wheeljack replied, but his voice was strained, probably from the battle.

Bumblebee picked Raf up into his arms as if he were a fragile Protoform (meaning very carefully) and walked over to Ratchet and Optimus. Ratchet randomized the coordinates and put his servo out to Optimus, who grasped it with his own.

"I never thought it would end like this." Ratchet said sadly, "Until we meet again Optimus."

"Until we meet again old friend." Optimus replied before looking at Bumblebee and Raf in his arms.

"Take care of him Bumblebee." he rumbled, knowing that he probably wouldn't see them again.

Bumblebee nodded, "He'll be safe Optimus, I swear it upon my own spark." he said in beeps and whirs.

Together with Ratchet, they walked through the bridge, never looking back. If they did, they'd see something that Ratchet would definitely want to see.

Smokescreen carefully hefted Jack over his shoulder, knowing that he couldn't run carrying him "bridal style" as the humans called it. Arcee made sure that he had a good grip on her partner before nodding slightly. They made their way over to Optimus, who randomized the coordinates, which would take them somewhere in the plains of Montana, and activated the Spacebridge. Optimus walked over to Smokescreen and opened a hidden compartment in his frame. He reached in and took out the Key to Vector Sigma, glowing a bright white instead of light blue. He looked over Jack before pressing on a part of his frame, revealing a similar compartment to Optimus' before putting the key into it.

"Arcee." Optimus called, bringing the femme's attention to him. He kneeled down to her level and gestured her over. Curious, she walked over with a questioning look on her faceplate.

"Did you see a symbol on Jack's strut?" he asked.

Arcee shook her head no and glanced a Jack's strut, seeing the symbol, before looking at Optimus curiously.

Optimus closed his optics briefly before speaking, "That symbol is that of Onyx Prime's, meaning that he was blessed by Onyx Prime, the creator of the Predacons. The Key will activate the blessing when he is ready, or if it is an emergency, but he must keep it with him. It is something that cannot fall into Megatron's servos."

"I understand Optimus, and I'll keep this to myself for now. No one else needs to know about it." Arcee said seriously, having an idea of the consequences of the Key being found by the Decepticons.

Optimus nodded and activated the Spacebridge one last time, randomizing the coordinates so that they would be seperate from the others, before gesturing for them to go through the portal. They did as he asked, leaving him all alone in the base.

Once they were through, he grabbed the Star Saber off of his back, activating it which created a bright blue glow and cosmic hum, and brought it up to destroy the bridge controls. He swung without a moment's hesitation, right as the base exploded, coming down right on top of him.

|«π»|

Megatron was proud of his eyes and ears, also known as Soundwave, for finding the Autobot base. He could finally destroy the consistent thorns in his side after years of trying after being on this planet. His plan was simple, drive the Autobots into their base and destroy the base, with them in it, with the Nemesis. What he didn't really account for was that Wrecker pest Wheeljack to arrive with his ship. Thankfully, for once, Starscream was useful and shot him down. His frame would be recovered later, and if he was still online it would be a bonus as he could be interrogated for any useful information.

His ship moved over the Autobot base, a weapon deploying from its underside as it did. This weapon was the main weapon of the Nemesis, the pinnacle of Decepticon engineering to make it so small. This weapon was made to be a destroyer of fortresses, and when it fired it lived up to that reputation, completely leveling the Autobots base.

Megatron smiled victoriously. His bitter enemies, the Autobots, were no more.


A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I thought that this would be a good place to end it. This was an idea of mine that has been taking up my time along with getting another chapter of a story on Hunter Dracon's profile called "Ars Nova: Lesson of Free Will". The next update will be awhile before it come due to school starting back up after the holidays.