Author's Note: Important note, this chapter has no connection to the previous chapters of Remember Me. Instead, Changed Views takes place right after Timeframe...with a slight twist.
Jack, Raf and Miko had not managed to save all that had been lost. At least, that is what they had thought. Everything seemed to be the same as Optimus drove for a while, letting them relax and get used to the bond that was still active. Learning that they were not responsible for Ariel's death and in fact learning that she was alive, had been a relief. And not just alive, but that she was also Optimus's sparkmate was an incredible discovery, in Miko's opinion.
The view of the woods did not change and it was soothing to their tired minds. The thrum of Optimus's engine was relaxing and calmed their minds.
"I'm ready to return to normal," Miko muttered. Beside her, Jack and Raf nodded.
Normal would have to wait.
"What is Megatron doing here!?" Miko screamed, horrified. Jack had pushed her and Raf behind him, standing protectively in front of them. He could feel Optimus's alarm at their sudden fear and how the Prime tried to assure them that they were safe. But they were not safe. How had the Decepticon warlord managed to get into the Autobot base? Where were the others? Why were they not reacting?
"He lives here," a familiar voice said, as if it was obvious. The children looked up to see Arcee coming forward. "And what's going on around here? Optimus, Megatron and Ratchet were in such a tizzy when June called to tell us you were in Wisconsin."
"I would have gone with Optimus," Megatron said, coming forward, his expression apologetic. "But I was needed here to attend to other things."
"Were you guys trying to check out the Wisconsin cheese?" Bulkhead teased, coming forward to stand next to Megatron.
The children all gaped at what they saw. There was Megatron, in their base, acting as if everything was normal. Here he was, conversing with the Autobots like they weren't all hated enemies. Raf squeaked, tugging on Jack's arm, directing the older teen's attention to a figure on the far side of the room. There was Soundwave hunched over one of the computers, his servos typing so fast that they were a blur.
Two of the most feared Decepticons were in the Autobot base. So why in Primus's name was everything still standing and not in a smoking ruin of blaster shots?
Megatron knelt down, his blue optics gazing at them. Jack blinked, but couldn't help taking a step back as he bumped into Optimus's pede. Blue optics?
Megatron looked up at Optimus. "Do they remember?" he asked, his voice low.
Optimus nodded. "They do." He reached through the bond, and Jack latched onto it like a lifeline. Optimus would keep them safe, no matter what.
"Not enough," Miko said from where she was clutching Jack's shoulder. It was like being around Megatronus all over again on Cybertron. Before the war and before all the chaos. But this silver mech standing before them was not Megatronus, that much was clear. But he wasn't the Megatron they had known before. At least, that is what they had hoped. But the Autobots didn't seem alarmed by the warlords presence.
Jack could feel Optimus gently nudge him through the bond, his concern washing over them. "Lechnie," Optimus started. "What is it? What is wrong?"
Jack gave a start, his heart rate pounding rather quickly. Megatron frowned. "Are they alright?" he asked. He looked down at Jack. "You weren't harmed, were you?"
Megatron was concerned for them! He was actually, genuinely concerned for them. He searched the Decepticons face for any hints of deception, but saw none. But still, he was older than even Jack's great-grandparents, so he could have mastered the art of deception by now.
"I think," he started, his voice dry. He cleared his throat. "I think we need a new history lesson." He traded glances with Raf and Miko, all coming to the same conclusion.
So much had changed, yet so much had stayed the same.
"I think it would be best for you to start by telling us what happened during the time you three lived through," Megatron said.
"And I think it stands to reason that the Timeline you came from no longer exists," Optimus stated.
Miko blinked from the brief explanation they had received. "Whoa whoa, wait! So...there are no Autobots? How can that be?"
Megatron sighed, and Jack felt a twinge of pity. This had to be the second time he had to explain what was going on. But they needed to be thorough. And they refused to say anything that might reveal some...sensitive subjects.
"It would be best to start from the beginning," Megatron said, glancing at Optimus who nodded.
"We are currently on the run from the Elite, who are led by Sentinel, a Cybertronian who calls himself a Prime." The last part was said with a sneer and Jack felt a hint of fear worm its way in his heart as he caught a glimpse of the old Megatron; The Megatron he was familiar with. The Megatron he knew, or had known.
"There are many cells of Decepticons," he continued. "Some stationed on different worlds, like us. While some are still on Cybertron, trying to push back the Elite and make way for-"
"Wait!" Miko interrupted. "Cybertron is still alive?"
Megatron blinked. "Yes, why wouldn't it be?"
"Are you saying Cybertron was dead from the Time you came from?" Arcee demanded, stepping forward.
"Dead and void of life," Jack said, looking up, disbelief evident on his face. "And from what we remembered, there were a team of Autobots stationed here." Miko glanced at him, noting how he left out the part about the Decepticons. The bad ones who enjoyed squishing humans.
"Well there are no Autobots," Megatron started after a moment. "Just the Elite and Decepticons."
"The Elite are the current government ruling over Cybertron," Optimus explained.
"More like a tyranny," Bulkhead muttered.
"And it is the Decepticons sworn duty to see to it that a just rule is restored to Cybertron," Optimus continued, unfazed.
"With the rightful Prime at the head of the Council," Megatron said.
Miko frowned. "I'm guessing that's you?" she pointed at Optimus.
"When it was revealed that Optimus was the rightful Prime, a fact that threatened the power of the Council," Arcee said. "He and all associated with him were branded as traitors. While some saw Optimus as a beacon of hope, a way to rid Cybertron of the corrupt government, others saw him as a threat and the reason for their oppression."
"Or just another one of them," Bulkhead said.
"Them?" Raf questioned.
"An opportunist," Megatron explained. "Someone who would do nothing to help the people but save themselves."
Optimus took in a breath. "Over the centuries, the Decepticons and Elite have been waged in a war for Cybertron. Diplomacy has ceased to work."
Megatron nodded. "As we have come to learn."
"Why are you called Decepticons?" Jack asked suddenly.
"It is the name Sentinel has branded us with to demonize our cause and those who join us," Megatron said, straightening up with a grin. "But instead, we wear it as a badge of honor."
Optimus frowned, cocking his helm. "I am curious, what was your world like? You have yet to explain what you lived through."
The two youngest children glanced at Jack, letting him take the lead on this one. He sighed, his brain running on overdrive. "Well," he started, wondering how to start. "Optimus Prime leads a...small team on earth called the Autobots. But Cybertron is dead and unable to hold life. We've never heard of Sentinel Prime though, or of an active Council."
Megatron frowned. "Then who are we fighting against?"
Jack winced at the 'we.' There was no 'we,' not when it came to Optimus and Megatron.
"It's Starscream, isn't it?" Arcee growled suddenly.
Jack looked up, startled but grateful for the interruption. "Starscream?"
"One of the commanders who is currently hunting us," Optimus said grimly.
"Oh," Jack said. At that moment, Raf let out a small yawn, trying to cover his tiredness with his hands.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly, his face turning red.
Optimus smiled. "That is alright young one. It makes sense that you would be quite tired after what you have been through."
"Should we take them home?" Bumblebee asked, stepping forward.
Raf stumbled back with a squeak while Jack and Miko's eyes widened. "You can talk!" Miko blurted out.
Bumblebee frowned, taken aback. He opened his mouth, but closed it once more, looking at his companions in confusion.
"Sorry," Jack stuttered. "Uh, last time, Bumblebee couldn't...talk."
Optimus blinked in alarm. "What happened?"
Jack hesitated a bit too long, allowing Miko to jump in. "During the war, he was captured and tortured for information." At that, an uneasy silence fell, and the children could not bring themselves to meet Megatron's gaze who had glanced at the yellow scout in concern.
"We can stay here a bit longer," Jack said suddenly. "Seeing you all is...a relief." And that was the truth. It was so good to see Arcee again, his partner brought a sense of normalcy to him. Plus, it might be good to talk to her and figure out what was really going on. He had no doubt that Raf and Miko would be doing the same with their guardians.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Arcee asked when he approached her.
He shrugged. "It's an adjustment." He looked up at her hesitantly, meeting her understanding optics.
"As it is for me," she said. "What would you like to know?" she asked, settling down on the ground so he didn't have to keep looking up at her.
"Everything," Jack confessed, sitting next to her. "Everything is so different."
"How so?" she asked.
"Well," he paused. "For one thing, Optimus just led a team made up of you, Bee, Bulkhead and Ratchet."
She frowned. "Megatron and Soundwave weren't here?"
"Not exactly," he said quickly. "Not like this." He racked his brain for a different topic to jump on. "What about Cliffjumper?" he blurted out, before wincing. That was not the best subject to bring up. Never mention a lost loved one, ever. Though Arcee never really talked about her fallen partners, he could still tell that they were special to her and that she was still haunted by their deaths.
Arcee grimaced, a flicker of pain crossing her features. "Arcee," he started, placing a hand on her servo. "Forget I said that. I shouldn't have-"
"It's alright," she said quickly. "He...Starscream killed him."
He looked down, still ashamed of what he had said. "Oh."
"Is that what happened?" Arcee asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. You found out when he tried to join the team."
She frowned. "Join the us? Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," he said. "But…" He trailed off. "Hang on. You mean he didn't try to join the Autobots-I mean, the Decepticons?" Man, was that going to take some time getting used too!
She shook her helm. "No. As far as we can tell, he's still commander of the Justice." Jack could only guess that the Justice was much like a warship, like the Nemesis.
"Then how did you guys get the information about the space bridge to get to Vector Sigma?" he asked. "Or did that not happen?"
"No, it still happened. Dreadwing is our spy and feeds us information." She sighed. "I have to be honest, this is going to take some time getting used to." Her optics flickered. "You don't remember anything?"
Jack didn't miss the flicker of hurt in her voice. "Well, I don't know," he confessed. He smiled at her. "Why don't we start with how we met and see how much has changed?"
"So," Raf started. "What exactly do you do?"
Soundwave did not even glance at him. "I run the security scans."
Raf perked up. "Really? How about the Iacon database?"
Bumblebee chuckled. "You two are going to really get into these boring conversations."
Raf couldn't help it when the words came out of his mouth. "We do this a lot?" The thought of him conversing with Soundwave was so...odd.
Bumblebee looked at him, startled. "Wait, this is all new?"
Raf hesitated, aware that Soundwave was watching him. "Well, Soundwave wasn't really on the team."
"Oh," there was a twinge of disappointment in the scout and Raf felt a stab of guilt. A piece of him was missing, memories of what they had built. It was beyond his reach to fix, but he still could not help but feel like it was his fault. Seeing Bumblebee talk though, it brought a small measure of comfort.
"Go for a drive," Soundwave ordered suddenly.
Bumblebee perked up. "Good idea Soundy!"
Raf blinked. "Soundy?"
"Yeah, it's the nickname you helped me come up with."
"Go for a drive." This time, Soundwave firmly pushed them away.
"I feel like my head is going to explode!" Miko exclaimed, flopping down on Jack's bed.
Raf nodded, clambering up beside her. "Me too," he confessed.
"We'll just have to be careful," Jack said, glancing out his window to see Bulkhead and Bumblebee's alt forms parked at the curb. Arcee was in the garage, as usual. He was relieved to find out that not much had changed. Aside from the a few alterations what with the arrival of Megatron and Soundwave, everything was somewhat similar. He tried not to pry too much into what was going on, as he didn't want Arcee to get suspicious. But Miko had no problem with prying.
"So apparently, when Optimus used the Matrix to get rid of Unicron," Miko said, rolling over. "And instead of taking him away to the Nemesis, he simply dragged him back to base where they all worked out a plan to activate the Key to Vector Sigma."
"Then Dreadwing leaked information to them about the location to the Space Bridge," Raf finished.
Miko nodded. "Exactly."
Jack pursed his lips as he sat down at his desk. "We should make a list of the Decepticons we know and find out if anything about them is different. That way we can subtly ask about them later without betraying who they used to be before we...changed everything."
Raf hummed thoughtfully as Miko jotted down the names of the Decepticons they used to know, which was not much. "We actually did it," he said.
Jack looked up. "What?"
"We actually saved Cybertron," he said excitedly. "Not in the way we wanted to, but they still have a home to go back to. Bumblebee has his voice back because he never lost it, and Megatron and Optimus' friendship seems as strong as ever."
A smile crossed Miko's features. "Yeah, we really did." She met Jack's gaze, smiling. He felt a sense of peace come over him with the fact that they actually did some good. They accomplished what they had set out to do and all they had been through was worth it.
"Okay," Miko said, sitting up. "We have Megatron and Soundwave, who we know are on our side along with Dreadwing. We know Screamer's a bad guy. But what about Knockout and Breakdown?
"We'll have to subtly ask," Jack said. He stared at Miko. "Key word, 'subtly'."
"I can be subtle," Miko defended.
"Sure," Jack grinned. He then frowned, something nagging at the back of his mind. He felt like there was something missing, something he was not seeing. He ran the history lesson he had received in his mind. There was the battle in space during the time they had first meet the Cybertronians. Along with the awakening of Unicron with the Dark Energon and-
He stopped. The Dark Energon. No one had mentioned the Dark Energon at all. He knew before they had gone back in Time that Megatron had somehow been able to find Dark Energon and tried to bring back Cybertrons undead. But in this new and changed Time, no one had mentioned the Dark Energon. "Did Bulkhead and Bumblebee say anything about Dark Energon?" Jack asked suddenly, looking up.
Both Raf and Miko frowned. "Um, no," Raf said. "They didn't."
"Is that a bad thing?" Miko asked.
Jack frowned uncertainty. "I'm not sure," he said. "But I feel like it would be a good idea to give them a heads up."
"But leave out the whole part about Megatron," Miko said.
Raf nodded. "I feel like I'm walking around on eggshells. It's like if we even mention anything about what used to be that it might trigger something."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Jack answered as he left his room with Raf and Miko following. He entered his garage, turning on the light to see Arcee in her motorcycle form. "Hey partner," he greeted, taking a step back to allow her to transform.
"Hey," she greeted. "More questions?"
"Just one," he answered. "Has there been any sightings of Dark Energon?"
Arcee blinked, alarmed. "Dark Energon only showed up when Unicron awoke, and that had been when it was spewing out of the center of the earth."
Jack frowned. "So you never faced any threat with the undead Cybertron or the undead Skyquake and the-"
"Wait," Arcee interrupted, holding her servos up. "Go back. Skyquake?"
Jack blinked. "Uh, yeah. Skyquake. Why?"
"Jack," she said, her voice growing with excitement. "Skyquake has been missing for more than several eons! Are you saying you know where he is?"
Jack took a step back. "Um, maybe?"
"That's fantastic!" she exclaimed, transforming back into her motorcycle form. "Get on, we need to inform Optimus right away."
Jack hesitated, but only for a moment. What else could he really do? "We're coming with you," Miko declared, opening the garage and running out to their guardians.
"Woah, what's with you Arcee?" Jack chuckled nervously as his partner increased her speed to the base.
"The fact that there may be a chance to find Skyquake is amazing, Jack," she said in a rush. "While it will be another mole in the Elite, it will reunite Dreadwing with his twin, something that no one should be deprived from." In less than the next few moments later, they arrived at base and came to a screeching halt. "What is this?" Ratchet sputtered, coming forward. "I had thought that the children should be at home by now."
"Ratchet," Arcee started. "The kids might know where Skyquake is!"
Ratchet blinked. "They do?"
"Well, we might have an idea," Jack started nervously, starting to doubt himself.
"Then do your best, Jack," Optimus said, coming forward. "Anything you can lend us will be most useful."
"The arrival of a fellow Decepticon is most welcoming," Megatron commented.
The slow travel up the stairs to the landing seemed to stretch on forever for some reason. A pit of worry formed in Jack's stomach, and he could not shake the feeling away. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. How do you start with an explanation you didn't even know how to explain? "Remember when we were working on our science projects?" Jack asked suddenly. "That was the day when Skyquake first emerged. I think you guys got an exposed energon alert."
Megatron frowned. "And where did this energy signature come from?"
"I...can't be sure," Jack shook his head in frustration. He hadn't been paying attention at the time and now he wished he had.
"The Grand Canyon!" Raf shouted suddenly.
Everyone looked at him. "What?" Bumblebee asked.
"It was in the Grand Canyon," Raf explained, turning to look at Jack and Miko. "Guys, remember when we were stuck in the Shadow Zone? I remember the coordinates were set for the Grand Canyon which was the same location for Skyquake's grave-"
"Skyquake's grave?" Megatron interrupted.
Silence fell on the whole group as all optics were trained on the children. "What happened?" Bulkhead asked.
Raf shrank back, ducking his head at the sudden attention. Jack placed a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "He was killed not long before he was awoken," Jack said.
"Who woke him up?" Optimus asked.
"Starscream," Jack said, though his gaze shifted to Soundwave as well. The silent Decepticon was involved somehow, that much Jack knew.
"Of course," Arcee hissed.
"What of the leader of this other faction?" a sudden voice asked.
The children froze when Soundwave stepped forward, his deep voice penetrating the room. "What?" Jack squeaked, hating how his voice trembled.
"In your brief explanations," Soundwave said. "You were quite clear in portraying Optimus Prime as the leader of these Autobots and while you mentioned Arcee, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Bulkhead, you failed to say anything about Megatron or myself."
"Because you guys probably were not around," Arcee said, shifting defensively.
"And yet when they came to base, their reactions suggested that they knew Megatron. Conclusion: one of fear."
Optimus stiffened up and Jack closed his eyes. Of course the Prime would have been able to feel their fear, just as he could feel it now.
"To locate a being in stasis would require a level of surveillance, one that so few posses." Soundwave was now standing in front of the children, his masked face staring at them. "One that I posses."
"Fine," Bulkhead huffed. "Then if you're suggesting that you were the one to have found Skyquake, then Starscream just showed up too…" He trailed off.
"Vanquished two of the most skilled Cybertronians compared to him?" Soundwave suggested, cocking his helm to Bulkhead who was now looking uncertain.
"What are you saying?" Arcee demanded.
"That we need a more thorough explanation," Soundwave said, inclining his helm to the now frozen children.
"Jack?" Arcee asked, looking at her partner. But the boy could only stare at Optimus, who was gazing at him in concern. He reached out to him through the bond, seeking to offer comfort, but Jack shrank away from the mental touch. It was all unraveling, it was all coming undone.