Hello, my favourite people!
REVIEW REPLIES!
Rachelle Prime The Epic Prime: I cant wait for chapter 4! I wonder when Im going to enter and how? See you later! *gives brownies* Straight out of the oven. Bye Ice! (BTW I liked you on FB)
I saw the like. Thanks! Oh! Here's some muffins! *hands muffins*
4elementsfan4621: Gah! I'm so sorry I didn't get to this sooner! I feel bad now D:
It's great so far do you know what episode it is after Orion Pax Part 3 it's Operation: Bumblebee you can find the snyopisis on the Transformers wikia website :D
Update soon :D
I saw that. Let's get through Orion Pax part 3 first, alright? Thanks for the review!
LadyAmazon: Everyone needs to hug and make up…like knock out and matilda!
But I'm very satisfied with how this turned out I give it four thumbs up!
Oh thank God! I was so sure I did that wrong. Thanks for the review!
storygirl99210: Okay, this chapter was awesome! I saw the episode last night! But I was worried when you didn't add in the part when Jack, Arcee and Talida go into space, but now I see why. Well, until next time!
That's happening this chapter because I want to keep this story fairly short because the writers decided to screw things up and not make the Autobots trying to get Optimus back a season-long storyline! GAH! STUPID WRITERS! Pretend I didn't say that. Thanks for the review!
mystic: great job with chapter 3 and cant wait for next Saturday for the next episode of transformers prime season 2 orion pax part 3
Amen! Thanks for the review!
Makkenna Witwicky: Great…again! Your welcome and once again…I can't wait for your weekend update! Do love Starscream as much as I do right now on TFP?
Starscream's pretty cool, I guess. Thanks for the review!
Sailor Shinzo: Since Orion/Optimus starting to remember his family, that's a good sign. Hope you update it soon.
Here ya go, Sailor! Thanks for the review!
Rachelle Prime The Epic Prime: OMG! Guess what? Did u know that for episode 4, Its about BumbleBee questioning his value to the team! I hope he doesn't leave! See yah later Ice!
And I was mad enough at the writers for making Optimus revert back to Orion Pax and join the Decepticons! Man! They have it out for us, mate! Thanks for the review!
Transformers: Prime rightfully belongs to Hasbro and The Hub.
© Talida Prime and other OCs rightfully belong to me unless I say otherwise.
Life is a Highway rightfully belongs to Tom Cochrane and his respective record label. (Even though I'm using Rascal Flatts' version.)
ENJOY!
"Whooo umm yeah…
Life's like a road that you travel on.
When there's one day here and the next day gone.
Sometimes you bend. Sometimes you stand.
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.
There's a world outside ev'ry darkened door.
Where blues won't haunt you anymore.
Where brave a free and lovers soar.
Come ride with me to the distant shore.
We won't hesitate…
To break down the garden gate…
There's not much time left today…
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long!
If you're going my way,
I wanna drive it all night long!"
Honestly, Orion Pax had no idea why he was here in the first place. Especially everything that had happened hours ago. And yet…here he was. Inside the brig of the Nemesis. Searching for Starscream.
"Optimus Prime?" Starscream exclaimed in disbelief as Orion walked inside.
Starscream wasn't chained to the wall and there wasn't anything holding him back. And yet…he was refusing the opportunity he had to attack and escape. Orion had heard about how Talida had shot him in the aft during his attempted escape. So he assumed that the bullet did more damage than first thought.
"I mean no harm," Orion reassured him.
"Then what are you doing here?" Starscream immediately began asking.
"Research. For Lord Megatron," Orion answered casually.
Starscream was confused. What exactly has he missed during his absence? Why was Optimus Prime calling himself Orion Pax and aligned with the Decepticons? Like Orion, he has so many questions swimming around that required answers. And he was determined to get them.
For everyone's sake.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Starscream demanded harshly.
"I do not understand," Orion confessed sheepishly, "And why do you call me Optimus Prime?"
"Why wouldn't I? The wound that little Prime inflicted on me has caused me to block out some…memories," Starscream sneered as he tried to find reasons as to why he didn't slit Talida's throat when he had the chance.
"Because my name is Orion Pax. I am far from being a Prime," Orion answered as he showed the purple Decepticon symbol contrasting against his scratched red paintjob on his shoulder.
"I called you Optimus Prime because you reminded me of someone I once knew. That's all," Starscream lied.
"Starscream, Lord Megatron told me you have been terminated," Orion admitted, shocking Starscream.
"Lord Megatron says many things. Only some of which are true," Starscream growled.
"You do not suggest that our leader would speak falsehoods?" Orion all but exclaimed in disbelief.
"You truly are being kept in the dark, aren't you?" Starscream cackled.
If Orion didn't have questions and doubts before, he certainly has them now.
Just what is Starscream talking about when he said that Orion was being kept in the dark?
In the dark of what?
(theme starts here)
TRANSFORMERS PRIME
DEVELOPED FOR TELEVISION BY
Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
AND
Duane Capizzi
Jeff Kline
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Jeff Kline
"Through all these cities and all these towns.
It's in my blood and it's all around.
I love you now like I loved you then.
This is the road and these are the hands.
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights.
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights.
Knock me down. Get back up again.
You're in my blood. I'm not a lonely hand.
There's no load I can't hold!
Road so rough! This I know!
I'll be there when the light comes in!
Just tell 'em we're survivors!
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long!
If you're going my way,
I wanna drive it all night long!
Gimme gimme gimme gimme yeah!
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long!
If you're going my way,
I wanna drive it all night long!"
"You speak many riddles, Starscream. Please. Tell me what it is that you know," Orion pleaded him.
"And in return…," Starscream trailed off, leaving the sentence open.
"ORION! RETURN TO YOUR QUARTERS!"
Orion and Starscream turned to see that they had been caught in the act. After the Autobots had left the ship and Starscream was taken into custody, Megatron had ordered Orion to stay away from the brig so he would stay away from Starscream, which would make him stay away from the truth. However…Orion's curiosity got the better of him and he snuck away to see the disgraced Decepticon.
"Hold your fire!" Orion begged.
He didn't care if his aft felt like it spent megacycles in the smelting pits of Cybertron. He wasn't going to rot away in this pathetic brig for the remaining cycles he had left. Immediately, he transformed into his alternative mode and flew away at high speeds…well, speeds he could manage with his injury.
"Return to the lab and remain there," the drone instructed.
"But I-," Orion began protesting.
"Lord Megatron's orders," the drone cut him short before motioning another drone to come over, "Make sure Orion returns to his post and remains there."
Still protesting, Orion followed the drone that was to escort him to his workspace. His mind was filled with even more questions to add to his collection. What exactly is going on?
And is Starscream telling the truth?
The remaining drones followed Starscream through the ship. Other drones began assisting. But Starscream wasn't going to go down without a fight. Despite the white hot pain, Starscream transformed into his bipedal mode and destroyed a drone before returning to his vehicular mode. Using his missiles, he shot a hole through the wall. Despite the drones shooting at him, he made his escape…
Until he got shot in the aft again.
"WHAT? NO!" Starscream screamed as he spiraled towards the ground.
"Rafael, is the test subject ready?" Ratchet asked.
In response, Raf placed the remote control car on the ground and tested its functions. This could be one of their only chances of getting to Cybertron. So they had to get this right. Optimus was counting on them to bring him back.
"Check," Raf nodded, "Long range GPS activated."
"I have doubts that my recalibrations have successfully extended GroundBridge range. But there is only one way to find out," Ratchet remarked as he activated the GroundBridge.
Raf immediately drove the car down the GroundBridge tunnel. Both him and Ratchet were watching the car intensely. This has to work. It just has to work. If they failed, they were back to square one concerning the mission to send Jack, Arcee and Talida to Cybertron and potentially being back the leader they knew.
"Come on," Ratchet whispered.
All of there hopes and dreams were destroyed within mere moments. Electricity cackled around the black-and-green radio-controlled car and exploded. The GroundBridge automatically shut down before the eyes/optics of Raf and Ratchet. Both of them slumped slightly at the sight of failure before them.
"It was just the first try," Raf reminded Ratchet.
"No, Rafael. It was pure folly. A misguided act of desperation," Ratchet immediately corrected as he turned away from Raf, "It takes eons to master Space Bridge engineering. And no one is more accomplished than the Decepticons."
"You know, there's this thing in gym class where you have to climb a rope. All the way to the ceiling. It's really hard. And I've never been able to do it. But…when I told Bee about it and saw Talida do it, they believed in me. Which made me practice a ton. Almost as intensely as Talida when it comes to a school concert Jack secretly signs her up for. And finally, just a couple of weeks ago, I made it. To the top!" Raf recalled.
"…WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH GYM CLASS?" Ratchet boomed. (Me: Do you NOT see the hidden message in Raf's story? Ratchet: Not yet… Me: And he wonders why I keep on calling him impossible. And…whoopsie! I forgot to mention this in my opening author's note! For this chapter, I'm rewriting Orion Pax Part 2. But I swear for the remainder of the story… Completely original. There may even be some time travelling in here too… ;) Now, my dear fellow Autobots… ROLL OUT! Ratchet: OPTIMUS PRIME! HOW COME ICEGIRL GETS TO STEAL YOUR CATCHPHRASES AND I DON'T? Me: Oh sweet Primus…)
"I-I was just-," Raf stuttered, "I'll give you some alone time."
Because he knew that if Talida was in this situation, she would just walk away. That was something she always said to him from time to time.
"There are some moments that when the going gets rough, you keep on fighting. But there are going to be times when you have to just walk away."
He immediately put those words to heart. Even though Talida had to step up after what happened in Unicron, she always had time to give Raf advice on any of his problems. That hasn't changed. And it never will. Because if they didn't have each other as well as Jack and Miko…
They were lost.
But as he left, he didn't fail to notice Ratchet whispering to himself,
"Optimus, I am so sorry."
Orion continued to work on Project Iacon at his workstation. But his mind and spark wasn't fully into the project. His mind was on something else. And that something else is what happened hours ago. How Talida was nearly killed. How he had seen the Autobots for the first time. That kiss he shared with Arcee…
Sweet Primus. Just thinking about it makes his processors and spark go wild!
"Orion," Megatron started, disturbing Orion from his work and thoughts, "I never had the chance to apologize to you for the recent commotion. And the experience you had to endure with my former second-in-command and my niece. You weren't in any way harmed, were you?"
"No, Lord Megatron. My main concern was for Talida's safety," Orion answered truthfully before asking, "But why did you tell me Starscream was dead?"
"Because he is dead to our cause! Starscream was my most trusted lieutenant. Until he turned traitor and joined the Autobots," Megatron lied, "Never before have I witnessed a more profound act of deceit! He did not do us anything troubling to you?"
"Besides forcing me to do his dirty work by threatening harm to Talida's safety, no," Orion shook his head.
"Good. Perhaps it is best to forget the entire incident and return to your project," Megatron advised breezily before proceeding to walk away.
"As you wish, my lord," Orion nodded before the doors to his workstation closed.
As soon as the doors slammed shut, Megatron's smile was replaced with a sneer. Orion was beginning to get on his nerves. More of Optimus crept through everyday. And Starscream using his teenage daughter against him made it worse. He was slowly beginning to realize and regain the leader he's destined to be. And if Optimus came back and realized what was happening, he would try to stop his plans and everything would return to the way it was before with the Autobots winning nearly every battle they have with the Decepticons.
Well…not this time!
"Orion was never in depth in the art of deception," Megatron recalled.
"You say that as though you're surprised, father," Malita observed.
"I made the mistake of not terminating Starscream when I had the opportunity. A mistake I do not intend to make again!" Megatron proclaimed.
Back at Autobot Outpost Omega One, the GroundBridge was activated again. However, Ratchet and Raf weren't testing Ratchet's latest calibrations. Instead, Bulkhead was returning to base after his latest recon assignment. Everyone excluding the humans and Ratchet were assigned quadrants to investigate in their quest for the Decepticon Space Bridge. Even Arcee despite her pregnancy and Talida despite the asthma attacks she's been having since her encounter with Starscream.
"No sign of Energon spikes," Bulkhead reported grimly, "Arcee, Bee or Talida find the Space Bridge?"
"They haven't yet reported back," Ratchet answered sadly.
"Ratchet, are you alright?" Bulkhead asked worriedly.
"Hmmm? Yes. Yes. Let's get you to the next quadrant," Ratchet responded abruptly before a series of beeps from the console distracted his thoughts.
"What is it?" Bulkhead demanded.
"A high-frequency signal. With an imbedded message. For me!" Ratchet exclaimed in surprise.
"Optimus?" Bulkhead asked hopefully as Ratchet went to read the message.
"Starscream!" Ratchet corrected before reading, "I have obtained information regarding your leader. Bring medical kit. Come alone."
In a remote mountainside forest similar to the place where Arcee, Jack and Talida encountered Airachnid after so long, Starscream slumped against the rocks. His leg and aft severely leaking Energon onto the hard dirt ground below. There was no denying that he was in pain. It was clearly written on his face. With the way he sat. The way he breathed. The pain was written all over him.
A flash of light went to blind his red optics. He looked up and saw a GroundBridge. At first, he thought it was the Decepticons ready to drag him back into his cell. However, he didn't see a Decepticon. Instead, he saw Ratchet. Starscream's hope soared slightly. Ratchet got his message. Then…he saw Bulkhead follow him through the portal.
"I told you to come alone!" Starscream screeched.
"And since when do we listen to you?" Bulkhead asked as he unfolded his hammer.
"Where is Optimus?" Ratchet demanded.
Sure. It's only been a few hours since their last encounter aboard the Nemesis. But knowing Megatron, there could have been so much change in those small hours.
"Patch me up and perhaps I'll tell you," Starscream retorted before growling, "Have sympathy! I'm leaking here!"
"Then I suggest that you speak quickly!" Ratchet threatened dangerously, "Has Optimus been harmed in any way?"
"He's fine! Fine! Can't you see I'm the one that's been harmed?" Starscream demanded impatiently.
"WHERE IS HE?" Bulkhead boomed.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK? YOU SAW HIM HOURS AGO! He's still on Megatron's warship!" Starscream retorted.
"Which is located WHERE?" Ratchet exclaimed impatiently.
"Now, who knows? It's a ship! It moves! It took me months to track! Only to be thrown into a cell and fired upon!" Starscream grumbled.
"You wouldn't have gone through the trouble to call me here unless you have information to trade. Real information!" Ratchet pointed out.
"Very well. Your beloved leader may have lost his senses. But not concerning who his family is. He goes by the name Orion Pax now. And it seems Megatron has lead him to believe he's a Decepticon," Starscream reported.
"Tell us something we don't know," Bulkhead scoffed.
"WHAT? How could you possibly know that?" Starscream demanded in disbelief.
"We're wasting our time," Ratchet decided as they went to walk back through the portal.
"WAIT! THAT'S ALL I HAVE! REALLY!" Starscream called out desperately, "YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!"
"Unless you know where Megatron's hiding his Space Bridge, you can stay here and rust," Bulkhead growled.
"Space Bridge? DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THEY ACTUALLY FINISHED BUILDING IT WITHOUT MY SUPERVISION?" Starscream exclaimed in disbelief, earning the attention of Ratchet and Bulkhead as he smugly showed his wounds, "It hurts most right here, Doctor…"
"The Decepticon Space Bridge is located right here," Ratchet reported to the others, "Deep within an Energon mine."
"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply," Arcee pointed out.
"Genius," Talida complimented before asking, "What's your Intel?"
"A….reliable source," Ratchet hesitantly answered, "So do we have a consensus?"
"Do we even know if people can breathe in your atmosphere?" June immediately asked.
"I'll hook Jack and Talida up. Completely state of the art. I still have connections at NASA," Fowler boasted proudly.
"No need, Fowler. I've actually been working on something," Talida confessed as she joined Jack, June, Miko, Raf and Fowler and held up two wristwatches, "Sure. They may look like regular watches. But it's been programmed to help me and Jack adjust to Cybertron's atmosphere. I tested these myself. They're good to go."
"It's too dangerous!" June protested.
"Mum, I know that this is hard. But Optimus risked his life to save our planet. And he's not even human. We owe it to him," Jack retorted.
"Jack and Talida may be the only ones to do this, June. But I don't want you to think for one moment that I'll allow them to travel to Cybertron alone," Arcee piped in.
"Arcee, you have to go anyway. You are the only person aside from Optimus, Rayna and Alpha Trion that knows where Vector Sigma is located. And how to get there," Ratchet proclaimed.
"Optimus and Rayna never told me," Arcee protested.
"When you and Optimus married and bonded sparks nearly three months ago, he entrusted the information concerning the whereabouts of Vector Sigma to you. Just in case an event such as this were to happen during your marriage. Normally, I would pull medical rank over you if you went to go due to your pregnancy. But the information he entrusted to you is something you can't give away. As long as you take the necessary measures to protect yourself, Jack, Talida and Cayden, I will allow you to go on this mission," Ratchet explained, "Also, not everyone is destined for a normal life. Optimus was once Orion Pax after all."
"When you two were little, you always wanted to be some kind of superhero," June recalled.
"OK. Optimus Prime," Orion spoke aloud before typing in the necessary commands, "Oh. Optimus Prime. Leader of the Autobot invaders. I reminded Starscream of him? And Megatron said Ratchet was the Autobot leader. Someone is not telling the truth."
"We will GroundBridge directly into the Autobot mine. And make our way to the Space Bridge chamber, neutralizing any Decepticon enforcements we encounter," Ratchet began laying out the plan, "Once we secure the Space Bridge, we'll send for Jack and Talida. Stealth must be an absolute priority. We will most certainly be outnumbered. And if any Decepticon should transmit an alert to their warship…"
"The odds become 400 to one," Bulkhead finished for Ratchet.
"Scrambling communications upon entry will provide an edge on this regard," Ratchet added.
"Taking the bridge will be the easy part. You three need to hold it long enough for Jack, Talida and me to get to Cybertron and back," Arcee pointed out, new determination filling her voice.
"Rafael climbed to the top of the rope in gym class. We can do anything," Ratchet retorted.
"What does gym class have to do with anything?" Miko asked, "And if Ratchet gets to go on a commando raid, I'm going to."
"No you're not!" Jack and Talida immediately objected.
"Miko, you will help Rafael operate our GroundBridge and manage the communications op," Ratchet decided.
Miko groaned before stalking away mumbling to herself, "Can't go to Cybertron. Can't storm the Decepticon Space Bridge."
"Be thankful you're not," Talida retorted, "This is pretty dangerous stuff, Miko. Trust me. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have Jack and Arcee come along at all. But it's up to all three of us. We HAVE to go. You don't. It's safer this way. Besides, much as Jack is my half-brother and I love him, I don't want to deal with him if you got injured."
Miko rolled her eyes. Jack did tend to overreact at times. But his heart's in the right place. With a smile, Miko walked over to join Raf at the control systems.
"And Nurse Darby, you will stand by in case of an emergency," Ratchet finished allocating the jobs.
"Jack, Talida," Fowler started, earning their attention, "It's time to get ready."
Inside the mine, a GroundBridge portal was shining brightly and wide open. If any of the Decepticon drones noticed and decided to investigate, they would've wandered their way inside Autobot Outpost Omega One. Fortunately for the Autobots, no Decepticon drone noticed and dared to sneak a peak. As soon as Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Arcee stepped out of the portal, the door closed.
"Clear," Bulkhead observed.
"Clear," Arcee echoed.
The Decepticon drones stood near one of the many drills that stood in the mine. They didn't notice Arcee standing on top of the drill they were guarding to obtain a better view. When she had that view, she jumped in front of a drone. With her arm blades, she destroyed the drone preparing to attack behind her. His companion unfolded his arm cannon and the familiar whirrs could be heard as it charged itself. The gun was aimed at Arcee. But before it could shoot, Bumblebee rammed it into the drill and smashed it completely.
"Command, this is Space Bridge Control! We are under attack! Command! Do you read?"
Another drone tried to contact the warship to alert Megatron of the Autobot invasion. The scrambler Ratchet had activated before walking through the portal was successfully doing its job. The drone was having trouble contacting the Nemesis. But it didn't mean that the drone was going to give up without a fight. When the drone turned around, Bulkhead whacked him with his hammer hand. The drone fell to the floor offline.
"Shhh," Ratchet hissed.
Together, the four Autobots ran towards the lift, which immediately went down. Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Ratchet defeated the drones on the first level. Now, there was only one more wave of drones standing in their way of commandeering the Space Bridge. And they immediately met one as soon as the elevator arrived on the designated level.
"Going down," Bulkhead smirked as he smashed the drone's head.
Without think twice, they immediately took off running at high speeds. With everything that was at stake, they couldn't afford to stop and fall back. They had to keep moving forward. This could be their only chance to do this. They couldn't afford any mistakes. Immediately, they divided in two and hid behind rocks. Ratchet teamed up with Bumblebee and Arcee hid behind a rock with Bulkhead. Together, they observed the action and situation that was laid out before them. And…it was something that surprised them.
"By the AllSpark!" Ratchet gasped.
There wasn't that many drones there. But there was enough to make a significance. But that wasn't the aspect that surprised the Autobots. Oh no. What surprised them was the Space Bridge. It was bigger than the last Space Bridge. There was no denying that. It was situated against the rock wall of the mine. There was a walkway leading towards the portal whenever it was activated. Decepticon drones – though small in quantity – keep it under constant surveillance. Much like they do with the brig, the Energon Storage Vault and Orion's workstation back onboard the Nemesis.
"Thank you, Starscream," Arcee remarked, causing Bulkhead to look at her in alarm, "Who else would it be?"
The drill flying high in the air hurtling towards them surprised the drones. No matter how many lasers they fired, they couldn't stop their own drill. Some were crushed upon impact. As soon as they saw the four Autobots running towards them, it was guns blazing. Bulkhead and Arcee had the drones defeated in moments. Leaving Ratchet free to observe the technology and figure out how to use it.
"A masterpiece of engineering," Ratchet sighed dreamily.
"Operational?" Arcee asked, hoping it was. She didn't risk her life as well as the life of her unborn child just to find out that the Space Bridge wasn't operational.
"Fully," Ratchet nodded.
"Perimeter secured," Bulkhead reported.
"Now the scary part," Arcee remarked.
"I'm shutting down the scrambler in order to contact base and maintain communication for the remainder of the mission," Ratchet declared, "Strike Team to base. Objective secured."
"That's your cue," Fowler said to Jack and Talida.
Jack and Talida nodded at Fowler. Jack climbed down the ladder first. Talida immediately followed. Together, the two stood before the entrance of the activated GroundBridge. Talida immediately began adjusting the watch on Jack's wrist, setting it to activate the moment the stepped through the Space Bridge onto Cybertron. Jack did the same to Talida's watch, having been taught how to during their preparations. Then they turned to the others that were watching them.
"Bring me back a souvenir," Raf requested as he hugged Talida.
"So what happens when you have to go to the bathroom?" Miko couldn't help but ask.
Jack couldn't help but laugh at that as he quickly kissed her and held her close. If something went wrong during the mission, this could be the last time he would see her. Suddenly, he took a velvet box out of his pocket and placed it in her hands.
"Look after it for me until I get back?" Jack requested.
"I will," she nodded.
"Come on. How about a group hug?" Talida suggested.
Immediately, the four shared a group hug. Holding each other tight. Not wanting to let go. Eventually, June cleared her throat and the four broke the hug slowly.
"Safe journey, you two," Fowler bided.
"Just go already?" June begged as she hugged her two teenage children, "Optimus needs you."
Jack and Talida slowly backed away from the tight hug June was giving them. Immediately, they saluted at the friends and family they were leaving behind. Fowler returned the salute, Miko and Raf smiled and gave them a thumbs up and June blew them a kiss. Nodding at each other, Jack and Talida turned their backs. Before Miko, Raf, June and Fowler could comprehend, they were gone in a flash of light.
They didn't even look back.
Inside the mine, Jack and Talida walked through the open GroundBridge portal. Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Ratchet were waiting for them patiently. When they walked through, the portal closed behind them and Arcee stepped forward. She needed to double check something.
"Locking onto Cybertron," Ratchet proclaimed.
"You ready?" Arcee asked them.
Jack removed the key from his pocket. Optimus had entrusted this to him for this. It was almost as if he knew that this was going to happen after defeating Unicron. Then he glanced at Talida, who grabbed his free hand. He squeezed his hand before finally facing Arcee.
"Let's do this," Jack and Talida nodded.
"I'll leave the Space Bridge portal open in order to eliminate any communication lag over the great distance and make it easier for you to locate when you return," Ratchet promised them.
"Easier to locate?" Talida echoed in confusion.
"Can't Arcee just tell you where the Big V is and you can just bridge us straight there?" Jack questioned.
"Arcee is bound to secrecy by her spark bond with Optimus. She's not allowed to share the information Optimus entrusted her with. But we must trust that through the share via spark bond, Optimus is guiding us," Ratchet answered as he turned back towards the Space Bridge controls.
"Don't worry. Space Bridging is just like GroundBridging," Arcee reassured them.
Then Ratchet activated the Space Bridge. The portal was bigger than one of a GroundBridge. Louder too. Jack and Talida immediately turned to Arcee as if to say, 'Are you sure this is like GroundBridging?'
"Just a little more intense!" Arcee shouted over the noise.
Together, the three walked towards the portal.
Megatron was not kidding when he told Orion that Cybertron was now dead. There was no evidence of life left. Everyone had evacuated…except for someone. Anyway, Arcee, Jack and Talida stepped through the portal on the lifeless planet. They took in everything. Every piece of building that was destroyed. The roads covered in ruins. How everything was so dark. Slowly, they took their first steps on the planet that was abandoned for so long.
"I…I can't believe it!" Jack gasped, "I'm actually on another planet!"
"We did it!" Talida cheered as Jack and Talida embraced each other tightly, "Arcee, this is incredible!"
That was when they noticed how quiet she had been since they stepped on Cybertron. They turned to face her and found out why she was so quiet. Sadness. This is the first time she had been back to Cybertron since the mass evacuation. When she came back to Cybertron, she wanted the entire planet to be restored. The war to be over. For her to be able to have a peaceful life with her family. However, fate had other plans. Instead, she came back with the war still ongoing. The planet wasn't restored to its former beauty. It was all…the same.
"Arcee?" Jack and Talida pressed.
"This isn't how I wanted you to see my home," Arcee confessed as she wiped some tears.
"We're…we're sorry," Jack whispered as they settled a hand on her leg.
"In the fog of war, its hard to see beyond the next leg of the mission. Beyond the next punch in a fight. We did everything to save Cybertron. But when the fog finally lifted, there wasn't much left to save," Arcee recalled in sadness while placing a soft hand on her stomach.
"Arcee, Jack, Talida, do you copy?"
Ratchet's voice over their commlink broke the reflective mood hanging in the air. They began remembering why they had come back to Cybertron to begin with. Newfound determination kicked in as they remembered what they had to do.
"Rodger. We're on Cybertron!"
"WHOO HOO!" Miko cheered as she and Raf shared a high-five.
"YES!" Fowler yelled as he punched his fist in the air before hugging June's shoulders.
"Thank Goodness," June sighed in relief.
"Just keep the sightseeing to a minimum, huh?" Bulkhead joked.
"Indeed. We don't know if your journey ahead is 5 klicks or 5000," Ratchet piped in.
"Understood," Arcee nodded, "We're out."
"OK. How do we get there?" Talida asked.
"Ratchet said you know the way and can take us there," Jack recalled.
"If I know where to start," Arcee retorted.
"Great. We have no idea where to start," Talida grumbled, "We might as well drive into a smelting pit."
"Wait! The key card!" Jack suddenly cried as he pulled the glowing card out of his pocket, "It'll tell us where to start."
Slowly, Jack moved around in a circle. The card made a high-pitched humming noise as he did. When he pointed it in various directions, nothing happened. However, when he pointed the key card to a specific road, the humming got louder and the glowing became brighter. He moved it away…then moved it back. Arcee gasped as information filled her head. She slowly remembered the way. With help from both the key card and the spark bond with Optimus.
"I know the way!" Arcee exclaimed.
As soon as those words left her mouth plates, Arcee transformed into her vehicular mode and activated her engine. Immediately, Jack and Talida hopped on and slid their helmets on their heads. As soon as they were ready, Arcee took off.
"This could be a while," Bulkhead remarked.
"Space Bridge Control. Do you read me?"
They just gained a new problem. Breakdown was radioing them demanding a progress report.
"Space Bridge Control. This is Breakdown. Your status report is overdue," Breakdown pointed out.
"Scrap!" Bulkhead whispered before clearing his throat and going to answer.
"No, Bulkhead! He'll recognize your voice!" Ratchet stopped him.
"I could make it lower. Higher?" Bulkhead offered.
"He would recognize mine as well," Ratchet sighed.
They then turned to face Bumblebee, hoping he would answer the call. Then they remembered. Megatron crushed his vocal processors in Typer Pax when they ejected the AllSpark into space. It's official. They are screwed.
"Come in, Space Bridge Control! Don't make me come down there and dent some engine blocks!"
"Somebody say something! Pronto!"
Fowler's voice breaking through the commlink suddenly gave Ratchet an idea. Breakdown would recognize the voices of Bulkhead and Ratchet and Bumblebee's bleeps. But he wouldn't recognize Fowler's voice. He would be given an earful from Fowler when all of this is over. But too much is at stake.
"Rafael, patch in Agent Fowler!" Ratchet suddenly requested, surprising Fowler.
"You have one nanocycle to respond before I-," Breakdown's threat was cut short.
"This is Space Bridge Control. Situation: normal."
"Normal?" Breakdown repeated in confusion, "You sure about that?"
"We were just…calibrating the sub-systems and, we, uh, had a surge. But it's fine now. How are you?" Fowler asked.
Then he remembered what he asked. Everyone's eyes widened in horror. Everyone was praying that Breakdown wouldn't figure out that something was up and come down to Space Bridge Control. If he did…well, back to square one. And Jack, Arcee and Talida could wind up stranded on Cybertron with no way back. But surprisingly…
"Uh, uh…never better. I know it's thankless down there. Keep up the good work, huh?"
"Will do. Control out," Fowler nodded before disconnecting the communications feed and letting out a huge sigh of relief.
"Why would the Decepticon archives be so heavily encrypted?" Orion asked himself.
He then went back to work decrypting the Decepticon archives. Needless to say, his curiosity was bordering on desperation. He needed to know more about him. He needed to know more about Optimus Prime. Why Starscream said he reminded him of him. And the way Talida acted around him. He saw a picture of Optimus Prime heavily encrypted. His optics narrowed in determination as he went to decrypt the codes shrouding Optimus' picture. But when he did…he couldn't believe it.
"How could I possibly be Optimus Prime?" Orion gasped.
"Even our encryptions couldn't keep him from the truth," Malita sighed.
"Orion has much to accomplish. And he will stay the course. But if I must inflict great pain to ensure the completion of Project Iacon…," Megatron trailed off.
Malita knew what it meant for Orion. He was going to be tortured to finish the project. Honestly, she was happy that he was closer to learning the truth. Yes. Happy. She couldn't believe that they were actually doing this to the Autobots. Sure. She has always wanted to destroy them. But now…
She wasn't sure what she wanted.
Did she want to destroy the Autobots?
Or join them?
Jack and Talida rode Arcee like the wind as they raced through Cybertron. Avoiding rubble and anything that would stop them from reaching Vector Sigma. All was quiet. Nothing jumped out ready to attack them. Arcee still knew the way. However, eventually, Talida realized where Arcee was taking them.
"Oh great," Talida mumbled.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked worriedly.
"We're heading towards Kaon," Talida answered.
"The Decepticon capital. Swell," Jack remarked sarcastically.
"We're on foot from here," Arcee declared as she came to a stop.
Jack and Talida glanced at the tall building standing before them. Decepticon headquarters. Slowly, Jack and Talida dismounted and removed their helmets. Arcee immediately transformed into her bipedal mode…with pained optics. Talida was going to ask what was wrong. Then she saw the stairs and just knew.
This is where Arcee lost Shanahan.
"Don't want engine noise to attract the wrong kind of attention," Arcee remarked as she pointed her gun at various locations, her soldier instincts kicking in.
"'Cons?" Jack guessed.
"Vermin," Arcee corrected, "This way."
Still holding the gun in front of her, Arcee walked onto the bridge. Jack and Talida glanced at each other. They figured out that this is where Shanahan got killed. So they were worried about how she would cope with this part of the mission. Then, Talida took out her gun and handed it to Jack.
"You need it more than I do," Talida said to him as she activated her powers.
Slowly and carefully, they followed Arcee onto the footbridge towards the building.
What they didn't know was that something was happening underneath their very feet. One of the hubs transformed and revealed a creature. An Insecticon, it seems. (AN: I have no idea what that thing is just like the rest of you guys. For now, I'm assuming its an Insecticon until told otherwise. ROLL OUT!) The snarling creature dangled before reaching for the underfoot of the bridge. The crawling was slow at first…then it gradually went faster. He was seeking prey. And that prey…
Was Jack, Arcee and Talida on top of the bridge.
To be continued…
"There was the distance between you and I…
(Between you and I…)
A misunderstanding once.
But now, we look it in the eye…
Ooooooh… Yeah!
There ain't no load that I can't hold!
Road so rough! This I know!
I'll be there when the light comes in!
Just tell 'em we're survivors!
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long!
If you're going my way,
I wanna drive it all night long!
Gimme gimme gimme gimme yeah!
Life is a highway! (Life is a highway!)
I wanna ride it all night long! (Ooooooooh… Yeah!)
If you're going my way, (If you're going my way!)
I wanna drive it all night long!
Gimme gimme gimme gimme yeah!
Life is a highway!
I wanna ride it all night long! (Yeah! I wanna ride it all night long! Baby!)
If you're going my way, (If you're going my way!)
I wanna drive it all night long!
All night long…"
Phew! I've been working on this all day so I could get this up for you guys! As you guys know from Love and Forever, my grandpa passed away on Monday. And I'm flying down to Sydney tomorrow for the funeral. So….I'm gonna be late with watching the next episode.
BYE! AND PLEASE REVIEW!