I'm sorry this is short, but I feel like it ended at a great spot. Working on another chapter now~
The rest of the day was spent resting. While Optimus and Megatron regained their strength, With Ratchet looking after them, Sam and Bumblebee worked together with Lennox and his team to try and figure out what to do next.
Sam explained most what was going on with Lennox, explaining that Megatron and Optimus were bonded. His team was allowed to hear what was going on, but they all agreed to keep that information among themselves.
Throughout the afternoon, the team found it was best to keep Sam well as he frequently had the urge to write out the symbols coming to him through his mind. He seemed to have a hard time writing on paper, the pens ripping through it in his struggle to write what he sees in the time he sees it.
After a few tries they ended up using permanent markers and large, thin boards for him to write on. They learned to keep at least two at a time on the tables where Sam worked, switching them out periodically as they were drawn on. There were also several replacement markers for whenever the marker Sam was using started to dry out.
Since the Symbols came to him in waves, the team helped him rest when he got the chance, catering to his needs as it seemed both physically and emotionally exhausting. Lennox kept a close eye on him, and Bumblebee never left his side, staying in the corner of the room, kneeling or in his car form as he watched his friend.
Lennox had his men collecting the boards and placing them along the walls of the next room over so that they could be viewed. He would also personally go to Sam and help make sure he was alright. Late in the night, long after the moon was high in the sky, Sam finally seemed to be able to take a break longer than 20 minutes.
"You alright, Sam?" Lennox asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a worried look.
Sam nodded and sighed. "I'm tired, but I feel better than how I have been lately, more relaxed." He said, sinking into a comfy office chair he was supplied with. "The more I write them out, the more I feel like I understand too, but as soon as I realize what it's trying to tell me I seem to forget it." He said, shaking his head.
Lennox gave a thoughtful look. "It looks like that…. Information within your mind seems to be settling down for the night. It's already been twice as long as your longest break so far." He said, smiling a little. "You really are something else, Samuel."
Sam scrunched his nose. "Don't say my full name. Only my parents ever call me by that; when they are upset with me." He said.
Lennox chuckled. "Alright then, Sam." He replied, before waving an arm. "Come on over here." He said, moving to a doorway. "We have chairs in this room too." He added.
Relieved that he could sit down when he got there, being quite tired, he turned to Bumblebee and smiled a little. "I'll be right back." He said, before following Lennox into the next room. As he entered, he gave a shocked look, turning around as he looked at boards all over the walls of the room. "Did I… Write all this?" he asked, moving to deftly sit down in another chair. It wasn't as comfy as the one he was supplied with earlier, but it was just as nice to sit down after having stood all afternoon.
The team all gave him their attention as he walked in, and Lennox nodded. "Yes. You seem as though you are in your own little world while you are doing these, I'm not surprised you are so tired or that it's hard for you to remember. I was hoping that perhaps you might be able to figure something out once you see them all together like this." He said.
Sam gave it all a tired look before pressing his hands to his head, letting them slide down his face. "Not to let you all down, but I need sleep." He said. "take down those boards, collect them and we will show them to Optimus tomorrow. We don't want anyone else finding these symbols." He said, standing to move back to the other room.
"Sam!" Lennox said, catching up to him as he moved out of the room. He paused as he saw how tired the boy was. "I had a room set up for you to rest in, I'll bring the blankets and such to the room Bumblebee is in though." He said, smiling softly.
Sam offered a grateful look and walked back into the room, sitting down next to Bumblebee and resting against the Autobot's leg. When the Lieutenant Major returned, Sam moved a little only to curl up on the mat they used to substitute a mattress and tugged the blanket over him. Bumblebee turned into his Vehicle form next to Sam and they rested for the night, Lennox turning the light off as he left the room.
The next morning, Megatron woke up with a groan, realizing he had fallen asleep that night after a conversation with Optimus he couldn't quite recall. He felt weak and made no move to get up, letting his mind catch up with him as the room came into focus.
It took him a moment before he realized that he was sleeping next to Optimus. Not just next to him but with Optimus snuggled up to him, and his arms wrapped securely around Optimus. With the way Optimus was practically laying on his arm, it would be difficult for him to detach himself without waking the Autobot.
After about an hour of waiting, Megatron grew restless and impatient. He glared at Optimus, ready to just get up and shake the him off his shoulder, but looking at the resting body, his glare softened for a moment and he groaned, glaring back up at the ceiling.
Thankfully, Optimus woke soon after that, moving away on his own as he got up. Megatron hurried and backed away as silently as he could, sitting against the back wall again as he watched Optimus. "Morning." He grumbled.
Optimus looked back and smiled a little. "Morning." He said back, his tone kinder than Megatron's.
The Decepticon looked away, glaring at the wall. He did not like the idea of affection. It was too odd for him; a feeling he's never experienced before. Thankfully he was spared the negative reaction was sure to come from his silence as there was a loud knocking at the door.
Sam's voice reached through the barrier of the door. "Optimus!" he called out. "We need your help." He said. When Optimus opened the door, Sam looked to him and waved his hand. "I got most of the symbols written out. We need someone to help us make sense of them now." He said, pausing to looked to Megatron. He seemed hesitant before speaking up once more. "You can come too. We'll need all the help we can get."
The two leaders looked at each other, before following the boy out of the room. Bumblebee was waiting for them outside the room and the four of them moved to a room that was just as secluded as Optimus's.
As the Autobot seemed confused at the addition he never noticed, Lennox, who as waiting inside, spoke up. "We added this room since you took the old conference room. It's about the same as the one you claimed, but a bit more advanced since then." He explained.
Optimus looked around, before turning to them. "alright." He said simply, moving to kneel down and look at the symbols. Megatron mirrored his action next to him, scanning over the symbols.
Optimus started to look frustrated after a while, and noticing this, Megatron put a hand on the Autobot's shoulder. "Don't stress yourself. It's not going to make sense at first." He said slowly.
Optimus gave him a questioning look. "The… words here are like a code, simply because they are not complete. They are like fractures of words. Some more understandable than others." Megatron said. He reached out and moved them to the ground, then using a finger to slide them along the floor.
"Hopefully we can make more sense of them if we rearrange them." He said.
It took them a few minutes, but Optimus seemed to recognize a word, surprisingly before Megatron did. "Look there!" he said, moving two of the boards together. He paused and looked around before moving another board after it, the boards layering on top of each other as the words were put together. "It mentions an Energon source!"
"Energon? That's the stuff you all live off of, right? There is another source?" Lennox asked.
Sam gave a groan. "Our planet is an Energon magnet, isn't it?" he asked, agitation in his voice.
Megatron gave a chuckle. "That might not be so far from the truth…" he said, moving some other boards together, one of them being from the three Optimus put together. He pointed to it and looked to Optimus. "There's a comet called Kairon." He started, looking through the symbols. "it looks like…." He paused.
Optimus looked over Megatron's shoulder, focusing on the Cybertonian words. "That makes sense. Kairon, I've seen that word before." He said, moving things around again. "It looks like it's a comet that come around Cybertron. Every few thousand years or so." He said.
Megatron nodded. "I've heard of a comet like that. It's kind of like a sun or a star, but also like a spark." He paused. "Whatever it is, we could never get close to it. Our ships would lose control before we could get close, and send us off into space or crashing back into Cybertron." He said slowly. "Those who get to close to it personally have died."
Sam gave a look. "So it would be like the all spark, wouldn't it?" he spoke up. At the two bot's confused looks he elaborated. "Think about it. The All Spark was pure power. What I gained was mostly just knowledge of it." He said, looking to Megatron and putting his hands up defensively. "Not to bring up the past, but when I pushed the All Spark into your spark, you died upon an overload of power, right?"
Optimus looked to Megatron who seemed surprisingly calm. The Decepticon nodded slowly, and Optimus looked back to Sam. "That would explain why it was hard for anyone to get near it." He said softly.
Megatron nodded. "But if that is the case, what can we do?" he asked. It was to everyone's shock that he seemed genuinely worried.
Optimus gave another thoughtful look. "I feel it should be coming around Cybertron again soon." He said, looking to Megatron. "Perhaps you'd like to go to have a look?" he suggested.
"Hold on. I don't think it's a good idea to let him go up there." Lennox said. "Not that I don't trust him, or you, but I think it might be dangerous."
With a grave look, Optimus sighed. "Dangerous, but a risk I feel we must take. Living here, we will only live for so long before we begin to fall apart. Even with the Matrix, our bodies will slowly rust and fail us if we can't gather Energon in some way." He said. "I was not going to make a big deal of it, and deal with this issue later, but I feel this is something we simply cannot pass up."
Lennox clenched his jaw. "okay, but how are we going to even get you all up there? The only ship we know of that can carry you has been blown up." He said with a frown.
Megatron chuckled. "You don't need a ship to fly through space. Not for us. It works more efficiently and is faster and easier for us, but it's not necessary." He said. "My master was resting on a distant planet where Starscream and I would spawn hatchlings and raise them for battle. Starscream and I flew between here and there often." He said.
It took Megatron a moment before he realized why all the eyes were on him. Snarling he leaned back. "What, you think we didn't have a base of operations?" he said. "Of course, we had to take refuge on a distant, barren planet but-" he was cut off.
"Hatchlings?" Optimus asked.
Megatron blinked. "Yes." He said slowly.
"Are there still hatchlings there?" he asked.
Megatron looked thoughtful. "Probably. But they were last tended to since before my master returned to this planet. Last time I was there probably. That was right after my resurrection. That's…. what, 3 years ago now?" He replied.
"Three earth years…" Optimus repeated, looking down. "it'd be rare for them to survive that long…" he muttered.
Megatron's eyes widened, his hand moving to his chest and clenching. "What is this?" he asked, seeming shocked. He felt weird and couldn't explain it.
Optimus turned to look at him in worry, and the feeling suddenly faded. "What is it?" Optimus asked.
Megatron gave a frown. "It's… gone now." He muttered, relaxing.
There was a silent moment before Megatron shook himself. "anyway, we just need to change our form to fly and we'll be alright." He said, trying to return to the topic.
Everyone was tense for a moment before looking to Optimus. When the blue and red Autobot looked back, Megatron had a feeling he would be annoyed by the Autobot's response.
"I want to go to that planet." He said. "The one where the hatchlings are."
Megatron sighed, annoyed as predicted. He didn't want to return there.
"There may be some hatchlings left. It's not very likely, but if there is, if there is a chance that there are still hatchlings on that planet… we must go and find them!" he said.
"How… Heroic of you." Megatron said almost bitterly. With a shake of his head he turned to Optimus. "I don't suppose you will up and turn into a jet now, will you?" he asked sarcastically.
Optimus gave him a look. "You are the one who wanted to save our race." He started. "Now you are acting as though you could care less about our future! Our generation will not thrive forever. The hatchlings will be needed to continue in our footsteps." He said, standing.
Megatron sighed. "Alright, alright. We can go. I'll lead you there, but don't expect much." He said with a shrug.
Lennox moved forward. "Well what about the Comet?" he asked.
Optimus shook his head. "I do not think it is in need of any immediate action." He said. "But the longer we wait, the worse off ay surviving hatchlings will be."
Sam scowled. "I understand. But the symbols aren't going away. Once they were translated before, they receded to the back of my mind. It isn't happening this time." he said. "I think we may be in for some danger."
Optimus nodded. "I'll see what we can do." He said. "I'm sorry Sam but the hatchlings are my first priority right now."
Lennox put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "it's hard to understand for those who don't have children. Your child or not, if you are responsible for a child's life, you will do anything to make sure they are safe." He said, looking to Optimus. "We can only spare you and Megatron to go. Maybe one other, but the rest of us will be needed here in case any Decepticons attack or Sam's visions reveal something worse to be coming." He replied.
Sam nodded. "Alright. Besides, I'm starting to understand these more and more now." He said.
Optimus gave them both thankful look before turning to Megatron. "Let's find something that you can use to fly." He said with a smile.
Megatron smirked. "I'll need to be able to transform into it. I'll refuse to work with attachments." He said.
Shaking his head, Optimus chuckled. "We'll see what we can find."
It didn't take long before Megatron found a jet he liked and scanned it, changing forms rather quickly. Once battle to fly, he immediately took to the skies, flying around with amazing speed, before transforming and landing before Optimus.
"Looks like you're doing well." Optimus commented.
"I feel much better now that I can fly." Megatron replied, the jets on his back shifting some as though he were a human flexing his muscles.
With a shake of his head, Optimus waved his arm. "We'll leave in a few hours, alright?" he said, walking towards the base.
Megatron smirked. "Why not leave now? Weren't you the one to say that "The longer we wait, the worse off the hatchlings will be"?" he inquired.
Optimus gave him a look. "You seem eager to get off this planet."
"I'm eager to fly again without humans making a fuss over it." He replied.
With a chuckle Optimus nodded. "Alright. Let me grab my gear and we'll head out." He said.
Megatron placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'd really advise scanning a jet instead. It takes less energy and will get us there faster." He said, his tone serious.
Optimus gave a skeptical look, but obviously thought about it. He made a motion similar to clenching his jaw before nodding, seeing the Decepticon's logic in it. He looked through the jets and frowned lightly at them.
Megatron smirked, looking much closer to his older self now, and was wondering how Optimus would look with his alternate form being a Jet. He held onto his patience, watching as the Autobot leader moved through the various jets parked in the runway.
After what seemed like an eternity, Optimus seemed to settle on a jet that was a steel blue color, with a camo design on it. He scanned it and took its form, however he was a lot slower at adjusting to it than Megatron was. Regardless, he transformed back within a few minutes, turning to look to Megatron. "Alright. Let's go." He said.
Megatron was stunned silent. He was curious, yes, of how the Prime would look with the bodily features of a jet but he was completely taken by surprise, he had not expected him to be so… Handsome. He didn't realize he was staring at the Autobot until Optimus said his name. At this Megatron jumped and looked around before looking back at Optimus. "What?" good god he sounded like an idiot.
Optimus gave him a look but shook his head. "Shall we get going?" he asked.
It seemed the Autobot didn't notice his starting, or was sparing him the embarrassment. Either way, the Decepticon was thankful for having it not being mentioned and nodded. "You alright for flight? Need any pointers?" He asked, somewhat playfully.
Optimus looked at him quizzically before chuckling. "I think I'm fine." He replied, flaring the jets on his own back and starting them, getting himself off the ground. Megatron followed after him and together they changed forms, heading for the skies.
From the ground, Ratchet watched them from the entrance of the building, shaking his head. "and they don't even notice it yet…" he muttered. Turning around he walked back inside to inform every one of their departure.