Angelbane belongs to Plenoptic, also the name Mayabane is just a mixture of Maya Fey's name and Angelbane's, just like I had done with all the characters.

Chapter 3

Before the rise of Bowsertron and the Decepticons, before my rise as a Prime, there was a time of peace led by Phoenix Prime.

"You know, Jump Pax, I really didn't need your help." grumbled a much younger Bowsertron.

Jump Pax was a much younger Mario Prime but instead of his optics being blue, he had gold optics and his metal mustache was reddish-brown instead of black. His air vents blew out a small blast of air when he listened to his closest friend complained about how he should have let him talk to the council alone. The young red and blue mech saw that the council was beginning to become very dismissive of Bowsertron's valid points due to the fact he made himself appear too aggressive so he took it upon himself to explain the points with a much calmer and more agreeable tone.

"Well it worked didn't it? If we manage to get the council on your side, it won't be long before you'll gain audience with Phoenix Prime himself." Jump Pax stated.

Bowsertron's optics that was blue in the past glanced over at his friend before releasing a chuckle with a small smile. He did have to admit he cared for the mech like a brother and was pleased that the young mech admired that he wanted to fight against the mistreatment toward the lower class. It disgusted him to see the government that reigns over all life on the planet only give energon and good jobs to Cybertronians that forked over enough credits while the rest was left to suffer. He knew that if he managed to seize a strong seat of power within Cybertron's government then he should be able to finally help the lower class.

But before the gray mech could say anything else, a loud beeping noise coming from his helm alerted him. His engine revved in annoyance as he pressed a button on his wrist, deactivating the small alarm.

"Sorry, Jump, but I got to get back to the coliseum; apparently I got some other gladiators challenging me to a fight. I have to battle if I want to keep the reputation I earned for myself otherwise Cybertronians might not be too keen to follow me. After all, no one wants a weak leader." he grumbled in slight annoyance.

Jump Pax nodded his head in understanding before watching his friend walk off. He was fixing to walk away too until he heard someone call out his name. The young mech turned around to be greeted by the sight of a femme with angelic white armor all over her chassis, black metallic hair flowing out from her white helm, and kind bright brown optics approaching him. Jump Pax almost felt his spark stop pulsing; he had recognized the femme from his and Bowsertron's meeting with the council. Without any hesitation he immediately bowed down on one knee-joint and lowered his helm.

"Empress Mayabane, it's such an honor to be in your presence." he said in a stern done, doing his best to hide the nervousness he truly felt.

Mayabane laughed before kneeling down where she was level with the mech and placed one of her servos underneath his chinplates before prompting him to tilt his helm up where he could stare at her, optic to optic.

"There's no need for the formalities, just call me Mayabane." she said with a small smile.

Jump Pax couldn't help but smile back, both partially out of kindness and nervousness as the white-armored femme took ahold of both of his servos and helped him stand back up.
Mayabane couldn't help but release a small laugh upon noticing how nervous the mech before her was. She could understand how shocking it is for a Cybertronian to be graced by the presence of the sparkmate to the reigning Prime, but she didn't want people to worship herself as a goddess, not like how her father wanted everyone to worship him like a god after he went mad. The femme shook her helm slightly and shuttered her optics for a few moments, wanting to banish all memories of the previous Prime known as Terra Prime.

Directing her attention back to the mech before her, Mayabane commented "I heard your friend's and yours speech speaking out against the mistreatment of the lower class. I have to say I held both of you mechs' words close to my spark. It is such a cruel thing to see Cybertronians treated so unfairly just because they do not contain wealth and it makes me happy to see that there's at least someone willing to take a stand against it. Reminds me much of my sparkmate Phoenix Prime."

"Well I think Bowsertron is more of a Prime than I ever would be." Jump Pax admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.

But much to the young mech's surprise, instead of the empress instantly replying she instead placed a servo against her chinplates in silence with a mischievous glint in her optics. Then without warning, Jump Pax's mouth dropped open when the femme offered him an invitation to meet with the Prime himself. While he was honored to receive an opportunity to speak with Phoenix, he refused to speak with him alone since he believed that Bowsertron should be there with him as well since he was the one that started the movement.

"That's very kind of you, but I would prefer if Bowsertron was with me when I go to see Phoenix Prime. Bowsertron is more of the driving force behind everything." Jump Pax finally replied.

Mayabane nodded her helm in understanding before gently patting one of her servos on top of the young mech's helm.

"Well I hope to see you and your friend soon. I have a feeling my sparkmate will like you." she stated with a smile.

The red and blue mech couldn't help but return the smile as he watched the white femme leave. Though unfortunately his happiness quickly turned into panic when it dawned him that he was late for work. Without a word he quickly dashed off, hoping his boss wouldn't be too angry at him for showing up late.

It wasn't long till Jump Pax finally made it to work which was an Energon Storage Warehouse. His cooling vents constantly blew out air to try to cool down his heated engine that was caused from him running all the way to work. He rested his servos on his knee joints as he tried to calm down his revved engine.

"Jump Pax, there you are! I can't believe you're late for work again!" a female voice yelled.

The mech's gold optics glanced up to see a younger Peach-One except she had gold optics as well instead of blue, red metal hair instead of blonde that was hooked up like a ponytail behind her round pink helm, pink hip plating and boots instead of red, and her arms, servos, and midriff were colored light-pink instead of white. Jump Pax flashed the femme an embarrassed grin as he slowly stood back up.

"Oh hey, Toadstool, didn't think you would notice my entrance." he said with a nervous laugh.

Toadstool narrowed her optic ridges as she placed her servos on her hips plating.

"Pax, it's kind of hard not to hear your air vents blowing extremely loudly. It would be a miracle from the Matrix for no one to notice your late entrance." she pointed out.

The red and blue mech grunted in annoyance before he got to work on stacking some energon cubes. He knew his boss wouldn't be so keen with him showing up late for work in favor of helping Bowsertron with his uprising against the Cybertronian government. Neither his boss nor his co-workers were very pleased when it came to Bowsertron's motives all because of the fact he was a gladiator; they didn't see how anything good would come from a mech that is willing spill energon just for the sake of entertainment. The only one that seemed to sympathize with him was none other than his girlfriend Toadstool.

The pink femme gently cycled air through her vents before placing her servo on Jump Pax's back.

"I know you're really worried about the treatment of the lower class." she started in a quiet tone, "But you need to know it's not you that the others don't trust but rather Bowsertron. He has a noble cause but I can't help but feel that something is off with him, like there's something dark lurking inside of his spark."

The young mech immediately stopped his task and turned around to find himself staring into Toadstool's concerned optics. Without a word he gently pulled her into a hug and had her chinplates rest on top of his shoulder. The two were unable to find any words to say each other as they remained in their embrace, unsure of what the future may hold.

I should have known that day was a sign of dark things yet to come.

Jump Pax mindlessly examined his blue gauntlets as he sat in a room with a single chair across from him. He didn't know why but he had been summoned by the council and they wouldn't reveal to him the reason why. Hoping that they had taken Bowsertron's ideals into consideration, he had agreed to the meeting. Jump Pax cycled air through his vents out of boredom, unsure of how long the council had left him sitting in the room. But his boredom ceased to exist when much to his surprise the door to the room slid open. The young mech's mouth hung ajar as his optics stared in disbelief, there before him was Phoenix Prime who was a mech with dark blue armor on his chestplates, shoulders, helm, and gauntlets, while his legs, arms, and servos were black.

"So you're the one known as Jump Pax, my sparkmate spoke fondly about you and your speech." the Prime commented as he pulled up a chair.

Unable to come up with any words, Jump Pax only numbly nodded his helm to answer.
Phoenix raised an optic ridge at this response; his blue optics carefully studying the mech before him. While on the outside he saw a meek and nervous young mech, on the inside he sensed the slumbering will of a great leader and warrior within his spark. Phoenix knew instantly from years of experience that this meant that Jump Pax was special to the Matrix of Leadership, meaning he would need to keep a close eye on him.

Deciding to push out those thoughts for now, Phoenix asked "So tell me, Jump Pax. Exactly why are you helping with the Decepticon movement?"

"Decepticons?" the young mech replied in confusion, having never heard of the name.

The Prime noted this before explaining "I suppose your friend, Bowsertron hasn't told you yet. Decepticons is a name that Bowsertron decided to call himself and his followers. He said the name was to represent how he plans to expose the deception of Cybertronian government so everyone would see how they make empty promises and deceive their people."

Jump Pax was silent upon discovering this knowledge. He felt a little betrayed that his best friend hadn't discussed with him about the strange label he had placed upon the movement. He didn't see any reason for he and the others following Bowsertron to be called Decepticons since he considered it as something that seemed to separate them in a group, much like the government did with the classes. While Jump Pax still had faith in his friend to follow through with his beliefs and bring order to Cybertron, he refused to call himself a Decepticon like Bowsertron wanted.

Realizing he had been quiet for too long from how the Prime before him kept staring at him with his boot slightly tapping the ground with impatience, Jump Pax immediately spoke up "I only want to help those in need. I hope you don't think that automatically makes me a Decepticon."

Phoenix chuckled slightly before replying "No, Jump Pax, I don't think that makes you a Decepticon. It just makes you a kind mech. If anything you strike me more as an Autobot."

"Autobots? How many labels is everyone creating these days? What's next, Aerialbots?" the red and blue mech commented with a frown.

The Prime couldn't help but laugh at the young mech's comment; he admired how Jump Pax seemed to value the sacred phrase uttered throughout all of Cybertron and that was "Till all are One." He could tell that the mech didn't see high class or low class, or even the recent development of Autobots and Decepticons; instead he saw everyone as an equal that all deserved to be treated with respect.

"Kind of reminds me of myself when I was younger." Phoenix mentally noted with a small smile.

That was when he knew that from that moment, Jump Pax was just the mech he had been searching for. With a loud blast of air he slowly got out of his chair and walked over to the mech sitting before him.

"Jump Pax, I'm impressed that a mech your age could hold such wisdom and be able to see the value in all life. It's those kind of aspects that a leader needs." he started in a stern tone, "I've been receiving messages from the Matrix, telling me that it is time I find and start training my successor. After Mayabane told me about how you managed to sway the council with your speech, I had to meet you myself to finally confirm my decision. Jump Pax, I want to take you under my wing as the next Prime."

"The next Prime?!" the young mech exclaimed loudly as he stumbled out of the chair he was sitting in.

His logic processors repeatedly kept trying to process the words but each time he was met with disbelief. He wasn't convinced that he had the makings of a Prime and even so he believed it should be Bowsertron who should be offered the position of Prime, not him.

"I-I-I can't accept." he stuttered nervously while rapidly shaking his helm, "It's Bowsertron who you should be talking to right now. This whole movement wouldn't exist if it weren't him! For Primus' sake I'm just an Energon Stocker."

Phoenix Prime said nothing as he held out his servo to the young mech, allowing him to grasp it and pull him back up.

"I understand you want to remain loyal to your friend. But from what I've examined, Bowsertron seems to lack the patience and calm mind to guide Cybertron. He can indeed be a strong leader but without those two elements it would only guide him to failure. Tell me, Jump Pax, had you not spoken up during the meeting with the council, do you think they would have understood what Bowsertron was trying to do?" he replied.

Jump Pax remained silent as he stuttered his optics. He hated to admit but it was true that if he hadn't stepped in when he did, the council would had most likely ignored their points due to the gray mech speaking out with such hatred and anger toward them. If he truly wanted to help give equal rights to the lower class then he needed to take some control away from the one he considered like his brother. With a loud exhale from his vents, the young mech reactivated his optics which were now filled with determination and partially regret.

"Alright." he spoke up with his voice only cracking slightly, "I will accept the training to become the next Prime."

For many vorns I trained under Phoenix Prime and over time both he and Mayabane became like parents to me. But then one orn, my choice had finally came back to haunt me.

Toadstool laughed as gently shoved Jump Pax away from her while she was typing in lockdown codes for one of the energon storage buildings. The femme could tell her boyfriend wanted to spend some time with her based on the constant grin he wore on his face and the fact she had to keep pushing him away whenever he tried to hug her against his chassis.

"Hey, training with Phoenix Prime was pretty tiring today. A mech that works this hard deserves to get a little special time with his femme." Jump Pax smirked.

"Well you'll have to wait till I finish locking everything up, don't want anyone stealing the stock or otherwise we'll both be in trouble with the boss." Toadstool smirked back.

The two laughed until they heard a loud crash not too far from them. Immediately the two of them fell silent as Jump Pax gestured with his servos for Toadstool to follow him. Without a word the two quietly and cautiously followed the direction of the sound. It wasn't long till they reached one of the storage buildings where the metal doors had been blasted open. Wanting to make sure his girlfriend was safe, Jump Pax held out his servos in front of the femme to silently tell her to stay before pressing his back to the wall and sneaking along the shadows. He remained hidden as entered the storage room and hid behind some nearby energon crates. But once he peered over them, he was horrified at the scene that lay before him.

Bowsertron was commanding different mechs to steal the energon supplies from warehouse. He now bore the purple Decepticon insignia on his chest and his optics were blood red instead of their normal blue.
Jump Pax was so stunned by this that he had failed to see a certain blue and white mech sneaking up behind him.

"Well looks like we got ourselves a little intruder!" Vectorwave commented with a dark grin.

Before Jump Pax could even react, the blue Decepticon had already grabbed him by the neck and tossed him before Bowsertron's boots. The red and blue mech groaned as he slowly lifted up his helm to see his once close friend glaring at him with both hatred and angry. Without warning Jump Pax cried out painfully as Bowsertron grabbed and lifted him by his neck. He clenched his denta tightly when he felt the gray mech had begun to dig his razor sharp claws into his throat, creating small holes.

"Well if it isn't Phoenix Prime's little henchbot. So tell me, how has it been like since turning your back on the Decepticon cause and licking the boots of that Ridleycron spawn?" the Decepticon leader snarled as he tightened his grip.

"I-It isn't like that. I-I was on-only trying t-t-to help y-you." Jump Pax choked out, his voice box struggling to work due the crushing being placed upon it.

"Help me?! You didn't help me! You betrayed me! I could have led Cybertron to prosperity as Prime but you stole that from me!" Bowsertron yelled in anger, "I treated you like a brother and you repay me by trying to claim everything as your own, just like the Cybertronian Government."

But unknown to either of the mechs, Toadstool quietly snuck into the warehouse after she grew worried from how long her boyfriend was gone. She carefully hid behind one of the nearby pillars, watching the scene unfold before her. She was stunned when she heard Bowsertron accuse Jump Pax of turning his back on helping the lower class when she knew that the only reason he accepted training as the next Prime was so he could help Bowsertron out with his movement.

"Well none of that matters now since you'll pay the price for your treachery, traitor." the gray mech snarled.

Toadstool gasped and her optics widened when she saw Bowsertron throw down the young mech and began charging the fusion canon on his arm. Without any seconds thoughts she immediately darted toward the two mechs as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Jump Pax!" she screamed just as Bowsertron fired his canon.

Jump Pax stared in horror as his girlfriend shoved him out of the way, only to get hit by the blast herself. His spark nearly stopped pulsing as he watched the femme cry out in pain before lifelessly collapsing on the ground with burnt and melted metal on her torso. He didn't waste any time running over to the femme and cradling her chassis in his arms. He constantly pleaded for her to wake up but her optics did not reactivate. Jump Pax clenched his teeth in rage as coolant began to leak from his optics. He didn't lift his helm until he heard the sound of something charging up. When he looked up he saw that Bowsertron had his Fusion Canon charged and aimed at him.

"Such a shame she got hit and she was such a beautiful femme too. Send Toadstool my greetings in the AllSpark." the gray mech commented with his optics narrowed.

With that said Bowsertron fired his canon, hitting Jump Pax directly in the chest.
The red and blue mech cried out as his chassis collapsed on the ground next to his lifeless girlfriend's. His audio receptors couldn't hear any sounds and his programs were beginning to rapidly shut off, one by one. He took one last look at the gray mech before his optics deactivated and his world went black. But before his conscious slipped away, he could have swore that he felt two pairs of servos gently grab ahold of him and lift him off the ground.

The young mech had no idea how long it seemed his processors were offline until he heard a voice call out "Mario, please reactivate your optics."

He didn't know who the voice belonged to but he decided to obey. When he followed the command he was greeted with the sight of a worried Mayabane standing over him while next to her was a mech with gold optics, a red torso and arms, blue shoulder armor, gauntlets, and boots, a blonde metal beard and mustache, a blue helm with a red brow, and finally white legs and servos.

"Ah good, you're functioning properly. Good to see you online, Mario Prime." the bearded mech stated.

The young mech was confused before replying "Mario isn't my name and I'm not a Prime, Phoenix is."

Upon hearing her sparkmate's name, Mayabane began to cry as she clutched her one of her servos above her chestplates where her spark rested. She didn't say a word as she reached over and picked up a round orange orb that had black handle bars and glowed blue off of the table. Her spark continued to ache in pain as she held out the object before the young mech and allowed his to grasp it within his servos.

"Mario..." the bearded mech started with a frown on his face as he rested his servo upon Mayabane's shoulder, "Both you and the femme were badly damaged from Bowsertron's attack. I had no choice but to rebuild both of your chassis completely in order to save you, hence why you are no longer Jump Pax and the femme now goes by the name Peach-One. But while I was doing this, Bowsertron laid siege on the council hall with his Decepticon army. Phoenix Prime tried to stop him but in the end he took a fusion cannon straight to the spark to protect some bystanders that were almost caught in the crossfire. Phoenix Prime is now one with the AllSpark and he left you Mario as our new Prime."

Mario was speechless, now understanding why Mayabane was painfully clutching at her chestplates. He had heard when a sparkmate loses their other half that they would experience immense pain and misery before eventually their spark would lose their strength and cease pulsing. In an attempt to help comfort his motherly figure, he slowly sat up, placed the object he now knew was the Matrix of Leadership next to him on the berth, and pulled her into a hug as she sobbed into his shoulder. He remained silent as he thought about all that has happened, Bowsertron had tried to offline him and his girlfriend while he had successfully offlined Phoenix and now was waging a war against Phoenix's Autobots. He knew that the Autobots would turn toward him to lead and he would be forced to defeat the mech he had once called a friend. He released a shaky blast of air from his vents as he shuttered his optics and coolant starting leaking from them once more.

Though Bowsertron was the one who had decided to walk down this murderous path of war, sometimes I can't help but feel that I'm at fault as well.