The earth. A small, blue planet, full of life, at the very rim of the galaxy, Just a blink old compared to time itself, floats peacefully in its own sun system. Not daring to dream of all the wonders out there. Because eons of lightyears away from it, Close to its center, it rests. in the ever-expanding emptiness of the universe. Where the single planets float in their orbit, drifting away further and further from eachother and make place for the void of space. Here, where tike started to count and room started to exist. Here, where space hasn't seen rallies, who birth new stars, in a long, long time. Here, where all you find are white dwarfs. Suns which imploded once and took their system and all of its life with into the death. White dwarfs, which mass is just as unbelievable as the emptiness on them.
Here, where life fled to the ever-expanding rim of the cosmos eons ago. Here it rests, a planet 50.000 times bigger than the earth's sun. incredibly gigantic for a simple, tiny human. The sun of earth could have been drowned in the long dried out seas of this planet. Or all of our own sun system's planets could have been buried in the many deep rifts. This plant's sheer mass held two giant moons, already planets for themselves, and a gigantic, but compared to him, small sun captured. The moons once got too close to it and couldn't free themselves form its gravity. But this sun was created just for this beautiful and mysterious planet. Created from a being with power that the human mind could not even grasp in its sheer volume.
But this planet was almost dead compared to earth. Because although it's smooth surface glistened like pure silver and its very own heart pounded stronger than ever, there simply was hardly any life on it. Uncountable cities lay lonely and deserted. The giant plains without any sort of life and its seas dried out and dead. There was nothing on this planet but still its life returned home. Returned to Cybertron.
The seeker avoided the hit from the Predacon with great difficulty and transformed into his jet mode. He fired up his engines with an outcry of horror and tried to escape. But the Predaking blocked his path with a spiteful smile. "what do you think..? should we play a little bit before we tear him to scrap metal?"
The question, directed to his lackeys, was no real one because they simply had no right to decide with him. He was the king. Yet they agreed rather cheerfully to his idea. "Always!" "Time to play, hehehe.." Predaking gave off a snarl and transformed, his two underlings following his lead and soon enough they chased after the fleeing seeker.
A small group met at the same time at a very far away place. The space shuttle they managed to capture at one point and which was not untouched from the last fight, was repaired very quickly to get as far away as soon as possible away from the place that brought them so much grief. Hours passed since then but the pain in their sparks wouldn't lessen. The long war was finaly over, the tyrant gone and no one knew where he left of to, and still they felt as if they could never again feel happiness.
Because the price for freedom and peace has just been to high and so they all sat in the recovery room, remaining silent. The energon in their cubes glowed helplessly and tried to make itself look drinkable with its pink glow. The silence in the was just suffocating. Normally that room was full of cheerful music, loud conversations and a lot of trouble. Cybertronians could only consume their energon in small rations and therefor mostly in sociable groups araud the room. In those times they not only got their share but also got social and made new contacts or played games, danced or discussed contracts.
But this group did nothing of the above. They were deep in their own minds, grieving for themselves. They could hear the Vehicons, doing their work in dull silence, outside the closed door when the gate suddenly opened. "Not this again!" Smokescreen snapped when he saw no one coming through the door. "Ever since we took over this damn ship it's been malfunctioning! Every once in a while a door suddenly opens on it's own or some systems go haywire. I get the feeling this ship is hauted!" "Stop talking this nonsense." the groups medic spoke up. "ghosts do not exist. It will most likely be a malfunction somewhere in the system. Just think about how old that ship is and how much it had to go through.."
"I don't give a scrap if this ship is old! It should stop with this shit or I will personally take care of its fragging systems!" The blue sports car hissed angrily. "At ease Soldier. We all grieve Optimus' death but this ship is not responsible and steaming off our anger on it will not help anyone." Ultra Magnus words were chosen carefully, one could see the deep sorrow and the boiling anger beneath the surface of the otherwise calm and collected commander. Anger on everyone and everything and on the world which took away their beloved leader. "Optimus said not to be sad about him and continue where we left off. But how should we do that.. without him..? How am I not going to be sad when I know that I will never see him again."
Sobbed the only femme in their small group, and tried to hide her tears. "Arcee!" Bulkhead leaned over and pulled the grieving femme in his strong arms. He had never before seen her this fragile and weak. The always strong and unbending femme. Never before had an opponent managed to bring her down on her knees no matter how hopeless the fight had been. She never gave up. But right now she was defeated, weak, allowed herself to show her true emotions. "optimus.." the small black and yellow scout whispered. He had been in some kind of trance since Optimus' heroic sacrifice, not saying a word and following the others without thinking or seeing. Ultra Magnus and Ratchet worried most about the smaller mech. Bumblebee had never before shown such a reaktion and both were not sure if the scout could get over the loss of his teacher and master.
They knew how to fight, all of them did, Ratchet and Knock Out knew how to heal but none of them knew how to help their youngest team member. The small hope, time could heal the scars Optimus left behind, was all they had.
Wheeljack groaned and tipped the last bit of his energon in his mouth before slamming down the cube. "Thats all not fair! This slag eating asshole Megatron wanders happily over this planet and our boss had to die even tho we won the war! This is all some stupid, whipped slag with cream on top!" "You are right with that..." Knock Out nodded and swirled the energon lazily in his cube. "I haven't known Optimus like you did but I have to agree with him.."
After that silence got over all of them and they lowered their glances to the cubes still half full or still untouched on the table. Knock Out then took all his courage and stood up and said: "Guys, I know I have no right to. I am but a deserted enemy who made your life more difficult than it had been to begin with. But I want to bring a toast on our fallen hero." everyone concentrated their attention on the red sports car and medical assistant and when no protest came he continued. "I haven't known Optimus like you all did. But I can say with pride that I am more than glad to have known him. Never again will there be a leader or fighter even close to him. And most likely never again a leader with such nice rims..~" he managed to lift the brooding mood a little and one or another even laughed, if not too loud but they did. "For Optimus!" the mech shouted and the rest of the group lifted their cubes and followed suit. "FOR OPTIMUS!" it was enough to lighten the mood a bit and small conversations started up about their fallen hero and the war. Everyone tried to purge their sparks to the others, telling their true sorrow and trying to sooth the others with gentle words or a pad to the back of a team member. Just one of them kept starring into his still full cube of energon, not uttering a sound- Optimus' little scout. The pain and the loss made him swallow hard and his voicebox shorted out.
A sleeping soul woke up just hours before. To him it felt like he had slept for eons but it was just a few hours in reality. Dazed and without orientation he managed to crawl out of the core of Cybertron. Taking a small rest and watching the core lock itself up from the outside, he soon made his way to the surface of Cybertron. The tunnel seemed to have no end and the darkness around him was suffocating. He could feel the new body because of the cold bite into his not fully hardened metal, like a new born mech, a sparkling. What has happened? Why did he have a new body? And where was he.. or better yet: why had he been in Cybertron's core..?"
Light blended him and he shuttered his optics a bit. Like a puppet he tried to reach out to the weak light, which got stronger and stronger the higher he climbed. Until he suddenly reached the rim and pulled himself up onto the still cold surface of Cybertron. Now he also could see where the light came from. It was the planet's sun, rising in the east. It's warm rays expelled the last of the cold and darkness sitting in his struts and warmed him from the inside and he enjoyed the feeling for a moment with off lined optics, his faceplate towards the sun. never before had a sunrise activated such joy and euphoria. he looked around after the red of the rising sun turned into the bright light of day. He was in the middle of nowhere. Far away from any civilization and separated from the core. The single layers of Cybertron's structure closed behind him gradually.
Just as they had been waiting for him to get out before they locked the core away. He sat down at the rim with a sigh and took in his new frame for the first time. He knew he had a new body, although he could not remember his old body right now. This frame was rounder and smoother than his old one but still as sturdy and strong as his old one. Blue dominated it with fine silver highlights and decorated with red flames. There was not only a compromised jetpack, which he could unfold to its true size for flying, but also six smokestacks stuck out from his back and provided him better ability to vent to prevent overheating. On his once disproportionate chest were no windows.
He had a silver collar that reached down to his codpiece and was framed by coloured plates up to his upper arms. Red flames slithered down his chest and upper arms. Then a silver layer before his lower arms and hands were once again decorated with red flames. His legs were mostly blue with a few silver highlights until his feet were once again covered in the flames. His tires were almost entirely hidden beneath the metal on his lower legs and partly in his pedes giving the look of a sturdy heel. He carefully touched his faceplate with his now more delicate digits. But they were almost heavier armored than his old hands. His face had hardly changed.
He still had the smooth, even faceplates like before. But his battlemask and his headarmor had changed. Ridges of blue armor plates lapped over eachother from his forehead to his neck and two oval, stacked audials, even stronger than before, decorated his helm. His mask was made out of more plates which interlocked with the counterparts on the other side. An extra cooling system in it helped with keeping his head on a steady, none threatening temperature and prevented overheating. His frame was virtually a new generation of Cybertronians. Finer, faster, more precise and more stable altogether.
But all of this didn't help him with the questions of what had happened. Where was the ship? And more importantly, where were his comrades..?
Then he suddenly remembered. He had friends worrying about him. Friends who didn't know where he was. He had to contact them as soon as possible and tell them that he was fine and that they should pick him up from this place. Where ever this place was. "Bumblebee, Ratchet, Arcee! Do you copy? Ultra Magnus! Bulkhead, Wheeljack! This is Optimus! Knock Out, Smokescreen! I repeat, do you copy? I need your help! I do not know where I am right about now. I only know that I am close to Cybertron's sealed core. Can you pick me up or provide the coordinates of your current location so I can return to you..?" he was not entirely sure if his friends did in fact hear him.
But he did want to wait before repeating his S.O.S. That his massage truly did arrive and caused some confusion and endless joy, he did not know. Just when he wanted to repeat his massage, his oldest friends voice greeted him, his voice somersaulting with joy. "No problem, Optimus. We're on ourt way. Do not move an inch. We'll be there in a second!" he had never heard Ratchet so exuberant. Was he gone for so long..? What had happened during his absence? Were they separated in the last fight and had to declare him dead..? But he didn't have to worry about this for the time being. A portal opened high in the air and the giant warship floated through. Its heavy engines making the very air around it throb. It haven't even landed right when a small black and yellow blur shot from the deck and careered towards him at top speed.
Bumblebee transformed just before the small car crashed into him with its neck breaking speed and threw himself in the bigger mechs arms. Optimus was just able to hold himself upright so he wouldn't fall on his back with the force 'Bee slammed into him. "Bumblebee!" the stormy greeting was inappropriate but it mattered little right now as Bumblebee hid his faceplate in Optimus' midsection. The little scouts optics were overflowing with tears and they streaked down his face without any hindrance. "Ratchet, Arcee! What happened..?" he asked his friends which just transformed into their bipedal form. "Optimus!" the two wheeler shouted and threw herself in his arms, pressing close to the larger mech. "We were so worried to never see you again!" Bulkhead shouted and hugged him as well, if not a bit tighter than the Prime could manage. All of his friends and even his SIC and Knock Out came to him and gave him a gentle yet sincere hug.
Some of them held back their tears with great difficulty. "Ratchet.. what just happened. Why is everyone so happy to see me..?" the Prime tried again and this time he got his answer. "Oh Optimus. That is a long, long story.. come with us and get yourself a cube of energon. Then I'll explain everything to you with all its details.." "Why doesn't he remember what happened?" Wheeljack asked the medic. "I suspect that the allspark read over his memories and that he therefore has some gaps in it. But I think that problem will be solved in a few hours." Knock Out threw in as they walked along towards the ship. He turend and walked backwards and grinned up to Optimus. "Oh and by the way: hot Upgrade..~ if you ever need someone to buff it out for you, you know who to ask..~" he winked up at the larger bot and then quickly engaged a conversation with Wheeljack to cover his blush.
The purple tank walked with heavy pedes over the cold plains, towards the sunset. He would have been driving was it not for the damage he received during the battle against all those dead Predacons. Something was jammed and he did not dare to try again since the last time brought him a lot of pain. A well known whirring noise caught his attention and he let out a frustrated groan when he saw what was hurtling towards him. Was it not enough that he saved his life once? Did he have to annoy him again? Shockwave inwardly regretted this very much and he swore himself to never do such an mistake again. "Shockwave!" Starscream shouted and ran towards him after transforming. It looked like Unicron himself was behind him.
An angry roar told him this threat was not that much better. The seeker hid, shaking with fear and his optics wide, behind Shockwave and pleaded for him to help the silver mech. "Please help me, Shockwave! They want to tear me apart!" "Oh who would have thought.." Sarcasm was not his first choice to reply but he could make an exception for Starscream. The three predacons landed in front off him with a heavy thud and let the earth beneath their paws shake and quiver. "Step aside, Shockwave. All we desire is Starscream.." Perdaking spoke to his creator. The dragon was a bit angry at the cons since the giant drake knew that the deceptions lured the Autobots into a trap to destroy his brethren. To add to Shockwaves anger it also included him. But he did try it anyway.
"What you are planning makes little to no sense. Do not waste your strength on Starscream. He is not worth it." A disapproving "HEY!" sounded from behind the purple tank. "Who is not worth tearing ME apart is still my decision to make! And this oversized air polluter is definitely worth it.. I will enjoy tearing each cable form within him with great joy..~" the Predacon growled gloatingly. "this is not only unnecessary but also illogical." Shockwave said flatly and provoked the Predacon so even more, even he did not intend to. "Oh yeah?! I dont think so!" he roared and spat a fire surge towards Shockwave. The single opticed mech reacted more out of reflex than anything else: he fired a load of plasma into the flames. The suction of his specialized laser canon sucked the flames like a funnel inwards and away from him. But Unfortunately the shot went through and hit the Predacon. Angry and blind with pure rage the Drake roared and Shockwave noticed that only escaping could save their lifes now. "Starscream, RUN!" "what?!" confused but driven by sheer fright the seeker hurried after him. "I thought you had them under control?!" "not entirely. Predacons are very emotional and hard to control. I already predicted that something like this could happen." "WHAT?! How could you create such a beats then?!" "the strategic advantage ruled over anything else. Now follow me. We can get rid of them in the old tunnel system." they both ran as fast as their legs could carry them but the three Predacons were close on their heels.