Hello!
Hope I didn't leave you guys hanging for too long. Life, among other things, decided to happen and keep me off this story for a while.
Sociopathy (look in the reviews connected to this fic; you'll find her) decided to give me a reason to nearly blow up, but I managed to reel myself back in and calm down. Take note: if anyone does end up running into that monster-critic, take warning: she does not hold back when she flames fics. She does have some fics on the site, but under a different name - why, I don't know. Maybe to separate the critic from the fun-loving author? It's a question that I haven't decided to ask.
If anyone's interested in reading Sociopathy's work and seeing where it is that she's coming from by way of experience, PM me, and I'll give you the other profile name that's under the critic's name. If I post it here, I'm afraid that she'll get a lot of hate mail...which, apparently, she likes.
She has also claimed that being a flamer is far more productive than encouraging criticism, but I just think that's a load of garbage.
So yank that hate mail down to a minimum and let's see what happens, because I think there are some people on this site who handle giving critiques in a much better fashion than she does - like Lord Kelvin on the Sonic the Hedgehog side of things. He was much more civil about my response to one of his reviews than Sociopathy was.
So Sociopathy, I appreciate you using your God-given right of free speech, but you're kind of invading on mine, so I'm going to ignore your advice to stop. Therefore, I'm going to keep going with my little experiment at a major OC-insert.
Now, with that out of the way...
Thanks to DragonChampion, halo is bad ass, Mars. , and TFAN Override for the Favorites and the Follows, and smokescreen14 and wordgeek1000 for the Follows!
And now for the reviews that weren't from monster critics:
Mars. : Wait no more!
wordgeek: I'm glad you like it! Here's the next chapter!
Orion childofcommander: Hello, veteran reader! I'm looking forward to reading your comments in future chapters - and I hope that this story is a bit of a new spin on what you've read before.
Here we go...let's see what you guys think of this chapter!
Chapter 2 - Rescue
Aria let out a groan as she came to, shaking her head in order to get rid of the headache she was suffering from. When that only made it worse, she resorted to rubbing her head with one hand while she tried to make some sense of where she was.
The rubbing stopped a second later when she realized with a jolt that she was sitting in what looked like a giant glass container...and everything outside of that area was completely made of metal and looked like they had been made for giants.
"A...a forge?" Aria asked somewhat groggily.
"Looks like it."
The nineteen-year-old turned her head and caught sight of Aaron sitting with his legs crossed next to her.
"What happened?" Aria asked, schooching across the metal base of the container to her older brother. "The last thing I remember is sitting in the basement."
"That's the last thing I remember, too," Aaron responded. He looked away from the outside and down at his sister. "It looks like we could have been abducted by aliens or something."
Aria's eyes widened when she heard this. "Aliens?! How is that even-" She made a strangled noise of shock. "Aliens aren't supposed to really exist! They're just science fiction! Why do you think I like reading that stuff?"
"Then where do you think we are?" Aaron motioned to the glass cylinder and the metal forge beyond the clear walls of their prison. "Because I really doubt that this is a dream."
Aria opened her mouth to utter a retort, but then she paused and looked out at the giant metal objects again. She closed her mouth and gained a nervous expression.
"If we've been abducted by aliens..." Aria started, "what happened to the others?"
"I don't know. It looks like there are other containers, but...they're empty." Aaron motioned to his right, and Aria peered around her brother in order to get a look at what he was talking about.
Sure enough, there were two other glass cylinders...and all of them were empty.
Aria swallowed. "That...doesn't bode well."
Aaron opened his mouth as though he was about to answer...but then he suddenly vanished in a flash of light, causing his younger sister to let out a yelp of alarm and jump back from where her brother had been a moment ago.
"Aaron?" Aria called out nervously, looking around. "Aaron!" She scrambled to her feet, panicking as she looked around through the glass of her prison, trying to see what might have taken her brother. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the 23-year-old.
Aria's breathing started to quicken. She had to find a way to get out of here - fast! Who knew what was going to happen to her next?!
"Calm yourself, daughter of Eve," a voice suddenly reverberated through the air. "Panic and fear will not get you anywhere."
Aria jumped when she heard the voice, and her searching started to become more frantic. "Where are you?! Who are you?! What-"
"Calm yourself. Your brother, sister, and friends are safe. They are simply being transferred into new forms so that their Sparks do not fade so early on in life."
Aria blinked confused. "New forms..." Her eyes widened a moment later. "Sparks?! Like a Transformer's soul?!"
"Indeed. And you, young one, will soon join them. Do not fear for them or for yourself. One of my brethren has already rescued you from one death. I am not about to let you find yourself in such danger again so easily. Rest now, and we will explain more when we speak face-to-face."
Aria felt something wash over her that seemed to force her body to relax somehow. She tried to fight it, attempting to stay awake, but the force was too strong, and the girl's vision faded.
Just before Aria fully blacked out, she felt as though she was floating, and she thought that she saw a kind, gentle face, looking in on her...
Space Break
The Thirteenth Prime pulled away from the Energon-filled container, watching as the glowing, soft red orb within it stopped pulsing so rapidly. He waited for a moment longer, observing the slow pulse of the Spark before he turned his attention to the others nearby.
"She will not fade out of fear," he promised the older, purple and gold mech standing at the entrance to the room. "It seems that she knows something of us, however. She recognized the term 'Spark' nearly instantly."
The other mech nodded in response to the unspoken question. "It seems that her home dimension is aware of us, but unable to come into contact with us through normal means. Her kind seems to be the only one that is truly sentient in that dimension. I would have explored more, but I feared becoming trapped in that dimension and time."
There came a feminine snort from nearby, and a purplish helm was lifted as the sounded of pounding metal came to a stop. "Vector Prime? Fearing becoming trapped in a dimension? That I find difficult to believe." The pounding started up again, keeping a strange rhythm that neither Vector, nor the Thirteenth could quite follow.
"You do not yet know what is to happen in the future," Vector Prime responded shortly. "I know that this is not my home dimension, but I thought it to be among the better places to come for the sake of these mere sparklings."
The Thirteenth Prime and the femme at the forge exchanged glances when they heard this, and fixed Vector with curious expressions.
"Please, do not ask," Vector responded shortly. "This is a matter that I cannot disclose without fear of accidentally disrupting something here that Primus might dislike."
The two other Primes considered this for a moment, then nodded.
"It is likely that Alpha Trion knows more of what is to pass than the rest of us," the Thirteenth Prime commented. "I have yet to ask what he foresees for us beyond our recent defeat of Unicron."
"Things could go very differently here than they have in other worlds," Vector Prime responded. "I have seen so many different timelines that it is a wonder that I was able to find this one for the sake of the children that I had rescued." He motioned to the one Spark that still remained in the Energon bath, pulsing softly.
" 'Children'...that word still feels strange for me to say."
"Not for me." The femme at the forge stopped hammering, then put down her hammer. "I consider all of my creations my children - even if they are weapons that were designed to bring down our creator's worst enemy." The femme picked up a pair of tongs, and walked over to the pulsing Spark, dipping the tongs into the Energon bath and easily bringing the little pulsing thing out. Then she walked back into her forge, disappearing mostly from Vector's line of sight.
"I would not think that you would have ever thought of them otherwise, Solus," Vector commented in response.
Solus chuckled. "I am very protective of my children, and for good reason, considering that some of you do not seem to be able to take care of them very well - or yourselves, for that matter." She glanced over at Vector with a playful smirk. "You look like you could use a tune-up. You'd think that your version of me would have made sure that you take better care of yourself."
She turned back to her work, not seeing Vector's optics flicker with a different emotion before electricity began to fly. The Thirteenth, however, did take notice.
"You seem troubled," the mech noted, eyeing Vector with a curious expression. "Are you concerned for the Sparks that you brought here?"
"No; I know that they are in good servos. However, I can't help but wonder what has been done here, in this dimension." Vector motioned to the forge around them. "You said you had defeated Unicron, correct?"
The Thirteenth Prime nodded. "Those of us that remain have been attempting to do what we can to recover. Alpha Trion says that more of us will be coming soon, but I do not know what exactly he means."
Vector ignored the second half of that statement. "Those of you that remain? From what I recall, all of us survived the battle against Unicron."
The Thirteenth Prime frowned. "Then it seems that your path deviates from ours. Megatronus sacrificed himself in order to ensure that Unicron would fall. It is because of him that we were able to cast our enemy out."
Vector's optic ridges shot up when he heard this, and he looked over at Solus, who appeared to be too into her work to notice. "Then our paths are different. Megatronus...survived the battle against Unicron in my dimension. However, I'm afraid that things were not so easy after that..."
"You do not need to tell us; your future is not ours." The Thirteenth Prime put a servo on Vector's shoulder. "However, I am still curious as to what you wish to do with the six Sparks once Solus has finished with giving them forms."
Vector gave a sigh. "They will have to be taken to a dimension that will be closer to their present age than this time period; however, which dimension specifically is somewhat difficult to tell. I have yet to make a full decision on the matter."
"Maybe you ought to talk to Trion about it," Solus suggested, coming over to the two mechs. "What with that book of his, he'll probably be able to figure something out for your six little friends."
Vector considered this, wondering for a moment whether he should take the femme's advice or not, as this dimension was not necessarily his own. However, Alpha Trion would more than likely be willing to assist him.
"Is there any place that Alpha Trion may be hiding?" Vector finally inquired, looking over at Solus with a curious expression.
The Maker of the Thirteen chuckled at the question. "Where else but the newly built Hall of Records? He asked me to build it for him some time ago, and he's made it his home ever since the day I finished. Come on; it's not too far from here." She made her way to the exit from her forge, then transformed into a two-wheeled vehicle mode and sped off.
The Thirteenth Prime and Vector exchanged glances for a moment before they, too, left Solus' forge and transformed into their vehicle modes: a ground mode and an aerial one. They caught up with Solus easily and remained beside her until they reached a domed building in the distance. Just the sight of it caused Vector's Spark to ache.
It had been many giga-cycles since he had last laid his optics on this place...and it would probably be many more before he would again in his dimension. His duties had now brought him far from Cybertron...
The trio of Primes landed outside of the entrance to the Hall of Records, and Vector was not surprised to see the bearded mech standing at the entrance. It appeared as though he was waiting for something.
"So, this is the mech from the alternate dimension?" Alpha Trion asked when the three had transformed. He looked at the Thirteenth Prime with an expectant expression.
"He is," the Prime confirmed, nodding. "I can assume that you already know who he is."
"Yes; Vector Prime." Alpha Trion walked over to Vector, eyeing him with a curious expression. "It seems that you have aged much, for a mech who can control how quickly time flows around him."
"If I stopped myself from aging, then I would have stopped my motion completely," Vector replied. "And where would I be then?"
A smirk made its way across the Archivist's face. "Indeed. I can only assume that you are here on personal business, then? Something about six Sparks and a new home for them."
Something on Vector's faceplate must have shown his surprise, because Trion gave a laugh.
"Oh, don't look at me like that! I was simply reading ahead a little bit. Please; come inside. We can talk much more easily in a more private setting, I believe."
Vector stepped into the Hall of Records and instantly noticed that, while the building was large, the Archivist had clearly taken his time in furnishing the place for one mech and a few guests. While there were stairs that led to other areas, as of that moment, Trion had his desk right in the middle of the main entryway. Bookshelves had already been set up, but there were only one or two bound volumes sitting there. It made the time-traveling, dimension-jumping Prime wonder what else it was that the Archivist was expecting by way of written works in the future.
"So, six organic creatures with their life sources turned into Sparks and given Cybertronian forms," Alpha Trion commented, moving over to his desk. He sat down and opened the large volume that was sitting there. "And you are wondering where exactly to send them."
"They cannot return to their home," Vector stated. "They are dead in that universe, and our kind does not exist there in these forms." He pulled five small objects out of his subspace and placed them on Trion's desk. "I took the liberty of scanning these. They are written works of events that take place in the dimension that I refer to as my home."
"Indeed?" Trion looked interested in the microscopic books and what looked like a miniature datapad with buttons, but he pulled his attention away from them. "So, they are aware of our existence without having seen us. That is indeed interesting."
"Which makes my dilemma all the more difficult, as I do not truly know which dimension would best suit them."
"Well, considering that you came here rather than any other dimension, I should think that you would send them to a dimension that would be similar to this. Considering, after all, that they have these written works on your dimension."
Vector nodded. "I considered that. However, there is potential proof that they know more about us than from just what they have read. I investigated their belongings for the short time that I was there-"
Solus snorted, but was ignored as the Prime continued.
"-and I discovered that they had visual recordings of multiple dimensions. I do not know which specific dimension it would be that they might prefer."
"Well, then it might be prudent that we ask them what they prefer." Alpha Trion rose to his feet. "It has been some time since I last took my wheels for a spin. Perhaps we ought to return to your forge, Solus. I have a feeling that those six are going to be wanting explanations before you send them to their new home, Vector."
Vector blinked a couple times, watching as Trion stepped out of the Hall of Records before he grabbed the small items of the Archivist's desk and subspaced them again. He, Solus, and the Thirteenth Prime were quick to follow after him, taking their alternate forms and heading back the way they had come.
"So, tell me, Vector, how many mechs and how many femmes?" Trion inquired, touching the traveler's wingtip with his own. The fact that this version of the Archivist even used his alt form - and that it was actually a flier's, no less - was surprising and intriguing for Vector.
"Three mechs and three femmes," Vector responded. "I tend to believe that they are siblings, like ourselves."
"And yet not, because they were not created by Primus," Trion commented.
"Correct. I highly doubt that they are as mature, either, as the last one Solus transferred was in quite a panic until she was calmed by our brother's presence." Vector pointed a wing down in the Thirteenth's direction.
"Considering the information that I managed to glean from the written works, I can say that I am not surprised. Our brother has affected your dimension quite thoroughly."
There came a curious rumble from the aforementioned Thirteenth Prime, but he said nothing.
"It might be best if he did not reveal himself to them, as we do not know what kind of reaction might result," Trion continued. "I find it highly likely that at least one of them will be aware of his presence, but I doubt that it would be beneficial for them to meet him at this point in time."
"What do you mean, Trion?" Solus asked from below.
"If Vector is going to send these six into a time period that is similar to their own, yet within the dimensions that house us, then I find it highly likely that they are already aware of our number - and, to that extent, where it is that we are in their time. As a result, they may recognize us and accidentally inform some of us what exactly it is that we may end up facing in the future. And this pertains to you two most of all. If we are to have our path remain on its original course, we cannot allow the little ones to learn of who all is present."
"I understand," the Thirteenth Prime rumbled in response. "I shall remain outside of the forge unless otherwise needed."
"I am not going to be leaving my forge open for you two and those six to mess things up!" Solus retorted. "If they've decided to mess with anything, I'm going to weld them all to their berths to make sure they don't make anything worse."
Vector Prime felt a twinge of sadness when he discovered that he had actually been missing Solus' temper.
When they arrived at the forge, the Solus led Trion and Vector inside, leaving the Thirteenth standing guard outside the building. The Maker of the Primes led the two mechs over to a small room at the back of the forge.
"These are they?" Trion asked, looking over the six presently prone forms lying on the six berths.
Solus gave a nod. "Looks like they need a little jolt of Energon to wake them up. You two mechs ready?" When the two mechs gave a nod, she dashed over to a lever on the other side of the room and yanked it down. In mere nanoklicks, Energon lightning came zapping into the room, attracted to the prone forms lying on the berths.
Solus pushed the switch back to its original position after half a klik, then leaned against the wall behind her, watching the six forms in case they needed another jolt.
Luckily, that was not the case, as all six of them started to sit up at once. The reactions that followed, however, were a mix - and all completely unexpected for Solus and Trion.
I had so much fun writing from the perspectives of the Primes - especially since I know about the Covenant of Primus and who is what Prime. They all have their own characters, and that is most certainly awesome, because Aligned is the first continuity that has all Thirteen Primes officially ironed out for us. :)
I don't know if anyone among you knows who the Thirteenth Prime is...so I just left him alone with that title rather than giving him his actual name. I felt that it was kinda more fun that way. ;)
So, let me know what you guys think, because we're going to be getting the former-humans' reaction to all of this in the next chapter!
See you then!
