Chapter 6: The Matrix of Leadership
Kim slowly woke and blinked in confusion as she found herself in an unfamiliar place. Slowly, she sat up, letting the blanket slide back down to her lap as she took in her surroundings. She blinked when she heard soft grunting and gasping from her side, looked, and smiled at what she saw.
She let her feet drop to the floor and sat there watching Ron's three-year-old sister go through katas. Kim smiled as the girl's small fists pushed forward. The toddler then jumped into an attempted roundhouse kick that left her on her back with the air knocked out of her. She sat there on the ground and sniffled softly, which urged Kim to get up. "You ok, Han?"
Hana's head snapped up, and she stared at Kim before rubbing her face. "I'm ok…" She said, sitting up.
"Has Ron been training you?" Kim asked, smiling as she got down on her knees at Ron's baby sister's side.
"Ahuh…" Hana pushed, jumping back to her feet. "Brother says I could be as good as you someday."
"Nah, I doubt it," Kim frowned, glancing away from the girl for a moment. Hana just stared as her little heart began to break before Kim turned back with a wide grin on her face. "I bet you'll be even better!" Hana beamed.
"Want me to help you?"Kim asked, climbing back to her feet.
"Ahuh," Hana nodded enthusiastically.
"You're doing great," Kim praised, "Your movements are fluid and precise, but the roundhouse is still throwing you. You're stretching out too far, and it's throwing you off balance. When you do a roundhouse, think of snapping a whip. You don't extend it all the way out; just enough to cause damage. Like this…" Kim spun around, snapping her leg out into a roundhouse kick.
"Ok…" Hana nodded, taking a fighting stance before copying Kim's movement. She had to take a few steps back after landing but managed to stay on her feet.
"Much better, just keep practicing and you'll have it in no time," Kim smiled before having the little girl jump into her chest, hugging her tightly.
"I really missed you…" Hana whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
"I… really missed you, too," Kim replied, hugging the little girl and resting her cheek on her dark tresses.
"You're not gonna leave us again, are you?" Hana asked.
"I have… a lot of responsibilities, Hana…" Kim whispered, "But… I promise I won't stay gone as long as I was before."
"So, does that mean you and Brother are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend again?" She asked hopefully, lifting her head up to look Kim in the eye.
"Uh…" Kim was at a loss on that one.
"Are you?" Hana pressed, hope in her chestnut eyes.
"Better give her an answer, Kimmie," Anne smiled from the doorway.
"Uh… well, you see…" Kim floundered. "Why are you practicing in here anyway?" she asked, changing the subject, "Why not at your parents' apartment?"
"With Ron gone on a mission with Orion," Anne answered for the little girl. "I was giving her a few self-defense pointers like your Nana and I gave you when you were her age."
"Ah, makes sense," Kim nodded before her eyes widened. "Ron's on a mission?"
"Alert!" The voice of Blaster, the Autobots Communications Specialist, rang through the speakers of Metroplex. "Code Triage at the Shuttle Base, organic wounded. Repeat, Code Triage at the Shuttle Base, organic wounded. ASU medical team please report STAT!"
Kim and Anne looked at each other with a sudden feeling of absolute terror. "Ron!" They exclaimed together. Anne ordered Hana to stay put before the two women dashed out the door.
Anne and Kim arrived as Elita One in jet form and the Autobot shuttle appeared on the horizon. But as they approached, Anne's gaze narrowed. "What are you doing here?" She asked when she noticed the head of the Development team standing beside her husband with the medical team.
Dr. Vivian R. Porter blinked in confusion. "I'm here if they need Cyber-Human Development for help. It's still the United States of America, as in, you know, a free country, Annie," Vivian said with half-closed eyes and a smirk.
"No, this is the United States of MY Husband, as in, you know, Back Off, Viv." She said, wedging between them, and sending the younger blond a look that would cow many lesser women.
"Anne, that was rude," James whispered but took a step back when blue eyes turned a murderous gaze on him.
"I'm with the Medical team, and if Ron has been hurt, I don't want that woman in my way of saving his life," Anne replied hotly before she stomped toward where the rest of the medical team was setting up.
"What was that about?" James scratched his head, earning a curious gaze from his daughter. "What?"
"No wonder you like Ron so much…" Kim smiled at her father.
Kim's smile faded as the Shuttle and jet touched down, and the Autobots began helping wounded humans, mostly if not all Japanese, onto the assembled stretchers.
"Where's Ron Stoppable?" Anne asked as Arcee placed the wounded Hirotaka onto a stretcher.
"Ron? Oh, he's fine. He helped the uninjured onto Elita One," Orion spoke up as Kim joined them. "His friend Yori seemed quite dependent on him," he said, and the same murderous expression Anne had worn earlier now visited Kim's features.
As Anne checked out Hirotaka's wounds, Kim caught sight of Ron, and felt her fingernails dig into her palm as she saw Yori leaning INTO him, her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around hers, and both her hands in his free hand. Anne looked up at the low growl reverberating from her daughter, and then followed her line of sight. "You did say you wanted him to move on without you, didn't you, Kimmie?"
Kim's upper lip tightened as she glared daggers at the kunoichi. "I don't think I've seen him make a fifty-yard touchdown that fast, though."
Meanwhile, across from the stretchers, Ron led Yori away from the shuttles as Elita One transformed and went to see how she could help.
"He can't die, Ron-san…" Yori shook her head with tears streaking her face. "He can't…"
"He won't, Yori," Ron said, rubbing her shoulder and squeezing her hands. "He'll be ok. Mrs. Dr. P is helping. And I know for a fact she'll patch him right up."
"I can't lose him, Ron-san…" Yori whimpered. "He can't die… not before he even knows he's going to be a father…"
Ron froze and looked down on her in surprise; he was even more shocked when the usually proud ninja couldn't meet his eyes. "My plan was we were going to be married quickly… we had planned to tell Master Sensei we were sure and didn't want to waste resources or time… I… didn't want to hurt Sensei… I didn't want him to look on me with dishonor…" Yori sniffled slightly, trying to hide her tears by turning her face into Ron's shoulder. "I … I was going to tell Hiro-kun and Sensei the truth when the robots attacked… I guess that doesn't matter now…"
"Sensei would never look on you with anything but high honor," Ron squeezed her shoulder. "I know I do."
"How can you, after Hiro-kun and I did… the most dishonorable…" Yori shook her head.
"Well, I can't really talk…" Ron's cheeks colored. "Before Kim left for college, despite what Mr. Dr. P thinks, we… didn't exactly stay innocent… What matters is," Ron pressed, "Does he love you?" he asked, and Yori looked up, nodding yes without hesitation.
"Then, there's no reason to be afraid," Ron smiled, "You have a gift… a gift… some people won't be able to ever receive. Treasure it."
"You've become very wise, Stoppable-sensei," Yori smiled lovingly.
"I am what I is," Ron smiled, "And… if, on the off chance, Hirotaka gets dumb, just let me know," Ron winked and gave a thumbs-up. "The Monkey Master'll knock some sense into his fool head."
"You are a good man, Stoppable-Sensei," Yori said proudly, getting up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Possible-san is a very lucky woman."
"Yeah…" Ron said, softly glancing away.
"What's wrong?" Yori stepped away, gripping his arm, any grief she felt for her fallen love temporarily forced back by the both-welcome-and-unwelcome distraction. "What has she done?"
"It's not her fault," Ron said, scratching the back of his head, "Not entirely… it's just… it's really complicated…"
"Then, walk with me and explain it to me," Yori instructed, "It will likely be some time before news of Hiro-kun's condition will be revealed to me. I will need the distraction."
"Oh, boy…" Ron breathed, "Alright… it all happened back when she left for college overseas…"
---
Elita-One sighed as she watched the humans wheeling their wounded toward the human-sized hospital.
"Hello, Lita," Ultra Magnus said, walking up and wrapping his arms around the slightly smaller Autobot. "How'd it go?"
"There were a lot of humans murdered at that school by Blackout and Scorpinok," Elita whispered, leaning into the Autobot. "We almost had Autobot casualties... if it wasn't for Orion and Ron… Magnus, is this war ever going to end?"
"With Ron, we have one Prime on our side," Magnus said, taking half a step back from the fem. "And once we find the Matrix, its power will allow me to become a second one. Megatron will never be able to stand against the Autobots with two Primes."
"Orion's getting reckless," Elita said suddenly. "He's so desperate to prove his loyalty… he wants to prove he's not going to be like his brother."
"Megatron followed a similar path," Magnus stated.
"Don't you even go there," Elita ordered with narrowed optics.
"I don't want to fight," Magnus held up his hands.
"Then, don't you start thinking Orion will become a Decepticon," She said forcefully, "because I know he'd never, ever do that. I know it in my Spark."
"Elita…" Magnus said, taking her hands in his. "You have no idea how wonderful you are, do you? You have the strongest spirit of any being on Earth or Cybertron…"
"Flattery won't get your bumper out of the mud pit, Magnus," Elita smirked but grew solemn when she noticed his nervousness.
"We've been together for several years now, you know?" Magnus said, locking his gaze with hers. "Your loyalty, strength, and spirit keeps me in wonder whenever we're together… and I feel… I feel I'm ready for the next step… Elita-One… Ariel … will you… will you be my Sparkmate?"
Elita gasped in shock, and, had the couple not been so engrossed in each other, they would have heard another gasp from around the corner behind them. "Magnus… this is so sudden… I… I don't… this isn't a rejection; I just… I can't give you an answer out of the blue… I need… I need time to think and process this…" She said, reaching up to touch his face. "It's very sudden…"
"I understand, and I even expected as much…" He smiled back. "Take as much time as you need."
"Thank you," Elita hugged the Autobot Commander.
"I love you, Elita," he whispered to her.
"I love you, too," She replied, breaking the hug; neither noticed Orion walking away in dejection.
---
"You were not overestimating when you said it was complicated…" Yori widened her eyes as Ron finished his tale.
"Told ya," Ron smiled softly.
"Ron! There ya are!" Bumblebee said as he sped toward them, transforming as he skidded to a stop. "We've been looking all over."
"What's wrong?" Ron asked.
"Got a message from Ironhide back at Japan," Bumblebee stated, "seems Prowl found something and got hurt. You and Orion are going with us to check it out."
"Decepticons?" Ron asked as Bumblebee transformed again, opening his doors for the two.
"Dunno, one way to find out, eh?" he asked as Ron and Yori climbed in.
"Didn't we just get back?" Ron asked as they came to a stop at the shuttle.
"I'm afraid we have to return quickly," Ultra Magnus said as he and Elita stood by the ramp. "Prowl has been hurt, so Ratchet, myself, Elita One, Ronicus Prime, Orion Pax, Kim Possible and her Racers will be going on this mission to investigate what he found and more importantly what on earth could maul a full-sized Voyager Autobot."
"Then let's roll," Ron nodded.
"You are the human known as Yori Katsumoto?" Ratchet asked turning to the young woman with Ron.
"That is my name, honorable Autobot," Yori bowed.
"Dr. Possible sent a message for you," Ratchet stated, "She wanted me to tell you that Hirotaka made it through surgery fine and is expected to make a full recovery. He's asking for you, too."
Yori beamed with joy and shouted happily before she gathered herself. "Forgive my outburst… I… I'll go see to Hirotaka now. Arigato gozaimasu, Ratchet-san."
"Tell him, Yori," Ron ordered as he hugged her. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Yori smiled before running toward the hospital.
Yori then turned to Kim. "Possible-san," Yori said, and the redhead flushed when she realized she was caught glaring. "When you return from this mission, I wish to have a word with you."
"Sure," Kim nodded awkwardly, and the two shared an icy glare before Yori turned and ran toward the hospital.
Ron waved after her before turning toward Orion, who had a downcast look to him. "You ok, OP?"
"It's nothing, Ron," Orion said, transforming into his truck form. Ron just shrugged and climbed into the driver's seat.
"If it actually becomes something, and you wanna talk," Ron said, patting the wheel, "I'm here, pal."
---
The trip to Japan was uneventful as was the drive through the forest toward the base of Mt. Yamanouchi.
"'Bout blinking time!" Ironhide shook his fist at the Autobots as they transformed and approached the two.
"Prowl… Ratchet!" Elita gasped at her friend. "Prowl… Is he…?"
Ratchet ran to the damaged Autobot and looked him over. "He's alive but barely. Whatever did this tore him up but good…" Ratchet shook his head. "I have better supplies at the shuttle…" He said, transforming into an extra large Ambulance.
Ironhide carefully laid Prowl in the back and shut the door. "I'll get him stabilized and come back to help." Ratchet stated.
"Alright," Ultra Magnus nodded, glancing around as Ratchet drove off back toward the shuttle. "It looks like he was thrown from that direction…" Magnus said, following the angle of impact back toward the cliff.
Kim walked over and glanced over the edge. "Be careful, Kim, don't get too close to the edge" Magnus warned as she looked down.
"Hey, there's something down under this cliff," Kim said, turning back toward the Autobots but gasped when the rocks she was standing on began to give way. She screamed out as she started to fall and grunted when a pair of strong arms grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back.
"You ok?" Ron asked as he held her body tight to his, his hands on her lower back and hers on his chest.
"Yeah…" Kim breathed as she realized just how close their faces were, even though he was a few inches taller than her.
They stayed in that position for several moments before Bumblebee cleared his throat, causing the two to break the embrace awkwardly.
"Looks like we're climbing down," Magnus said as they approached. Kim quickly transformed into her Cybertronian form as Orion walked up and held out a hand to Ron.
"Up you get," He said, offering to pick the human up.
"Thanks, OP, but the Ronman gots this," Ron smiled before doing a back flip off the cliff.
"RON!" Kim screamed, running to the edge, only to see him sitting lotus style at the bottom, looking back up.
Kim and Elita were the first two down after Ron, as they were flyers, while the rest of the Autobots had to scale the side of the thirty-foot cliff.
As soon as Kim touched down, she stomped up to the seated ninja. "You JERK!" Kim screamed, her synthetic voice not disguising the anger one bit. "You scared the HELL out of me! Don't you ever do something that stupid again! What were you thinking!? Were you EVEN thinking?"
"Oh, sorry, were you saying something, KP?" Ron opened his eyes and looked up at the Pretender. "I was meditating."
"Why, you…" Kim growled and started to attack when Elita grabbed her.
"Mission first," Elita instructed, "Once we're back home and off-duty, you can kill him to your Spark's content."
"That was impressive, Ron," Orion smiled, and Elita stiffened. "You're going to have to show me how to pull that move."
"Like Hell!" Elita bellowed and started to stomp toward Orion till Kim got in her way.
"Mission first, once we're back home and off-duty you can kill him to your Spark's content." Kim smirked up at the Ultra-class Autobot.
"Great Primus…" Ultra Magnus said as he approached the weathered ship. "It's the Ark…"
"It can't be," Orion said as they gathered around the barely recognizable starship.
"I don't remember Noah making it out of metal…" Ron commented, earning a glare from Kim.
"This was the ship used by Optimus Primal and his commando unit," Magnus stated. "It was a prototype high-speed transport, originally designed to get the Autobots away from Cybertron and the Decepticons. It was powered by untested black-hole-generator engines. Around six hundred years ago, Optimus Primal, and his honor guard made up of Grimlock's Special Forces unit, made a trial run. Megatron attacked, and the ship was lost, along with everyone on board, including Megatron and Primal."
"But how is this possible?" Orion shook his head, "This looks like it's been here for at least ten times that long…"
"In the testing period of the Ark, there were some temporal disruptions when using the black-hole drive," Elita spoke up. "It could be that… when they jumped, it created a time warp that made them flow backwards in time instead of forward… ending up thousands of years in Earth's past." She shook her head, "But that's just theory… I was just a sparkling when the Ark left Cybertron."
"What was that?" Ron perked up, looking around.
"What was what?" Bumblebee asked.
"Felt like a mini-earthquake…" Ron said, "No… something's coming…"
"Decepticons?" Ultra Magnus asked, drawing his blaster.
"Unknown," Elita said, drawing her own weapon.
"You guys get inside and see what's left," Ron said, drawing the Lotus Blade. "Orion and I'll watch your backs."
"I don't like this…" Elita narrowed her optics.
"Ron's right, the sooner we get in there, the sooner we can get out," Magnus stated, "Be safe," he ordered before he blasted the rear hatch's ramp, making it fall open with a loud clang.
"So, what do you think it is?" Kim asked as she stood beside Ron.
"I dunno, but it's definitely something big… KP? What the… why aren't you with the others?" Ron sent his purple-and-black armored friend a shocked look.
"And let you have all the fun? As if," She shrugged with a smile. "Besides, Yori seemed miffed; I'd hate to have to tell her that her boyfriend got hurt being brave and stupid."
"Here they come…" Orion said, lifting his rifle. "And… not what I expected…" he said as a towering, metallic tyrannosaurus and a slightly smaller triceratops stomped out of the bushes and eyed the three.
The tyrannosaurus roared, releasing a torrent of flames from its mouth before turning to growl at the group.
"That would be so cool if it wasn't gonna kill us…" Ron said, and Kim giggled slightly beside him.
"I'll take the big one; you two take Horns," Orion said before running toward the towering robotic lizard.
Orion fired his cannon, but it went flying away with a swipe of the dino's tail. Orion took a hop back as the monstrosity dove toward him to bite. "You need a Tic Tac," Orion quipped, wrapping his arms around its neck and holding on for dear life as the monstrosity roared and twisted to try to get the Autobot off.
"Get the feeling I'm going to have to take this up a notch…" Ron said as he began to glow blue, but before either he or Kim could attack, a missile struck right behind them, sending them both flying through the air.
"Ouch… what was… great, we got a third one!" Kim said, looking up to see a robotic pterodactyl flying overheard. "Ron?" She looked up, and her optics widened when she saw him lying on the ground with his eyes closed.
"Ron!" Kim yelled, quickly crawling to his side. "Ron! Ron! Are you ok? Ron, wake up!" She said, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw he was breathing, merely knocked unconscious.
The relief was short-lived when she heard a high pitched cry, and turned to see the triceratops brushing its front paw against the ground and shaking its head.
"Ron… wake up… really need you to go mystic monkey… please and thank you…" She said, eyeing the monster worriedly while shaking her friend.
She saw the robotic dinosaur start charging them and covered Ron with herself. It was happening way too fast. It wasn't supposed to end like this, not for him. She didn't matter, but Ron still had a chance for happiness; he still had a future. All she could think about was protecting him. She closed her optics and held him tightly, trying to shield his body with her own. She focused all her thoughts on protecting him. He had to survive, even if she didn't.
"Ron! Kim!" Orion called helplessly; in his current position, he could do little more than hold on to the dinosaur and watch as the other made to trample them.
Sometimes when your hopes have all been shattered
And there's nowhere to turn
You wonder how you keep going
With her mind focused on protecting the man in her arms, she suddenly opened her eyes wide in shock. Was it God? Was it Primus? Maybe Ron's own power affecting her body? Was it simply Kim's will to save the man she loved? Whatever it was, it caused her already transformed body to transform yet again. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch echoed through the air as Kim felt her body shift and change, breaking apart and sliding around Ron, Two becoming One.
Think of all the things that really mattered
And the chances you've earned
The fire in your heart is growing
She snapped back into place, forming gauntlets around his wrists and hands, boots, and the majority forming large shoulder pads and a cuirass, finally snapping a helmet over his head, similar to Kim's but with spikes instead of the completely smooth surface. But the most astounding part of their combining was that it was not only physical but mental. The moment their bodies combined, their minds touched and, for the time, thought and functioned as one.
You can fly, if you try leaving the past behind
Heaven only knows what you might find
A pair of brown-and-green speckled eyes opened, and Ron stood up to face the oncoming attacker. "Alright, big boy," Ron said with his voice joined by Kim's as a faceguard snapped into place over Ron's mouth and nose. "Let's dance."
"That's new…" Orion said before he finally was thrown by the Tyrannosaurus.
Ron caught the monster by its the front horn, and used the momentum to toss himself up onto its back. "Orion! Get ready!" they called out. "We've got an idea!"
"I'm working on it," Orion said, rolling out of the way of a stomp from the Tyrannosaurus, "And that's really creepy!"
Dare - dare to believe you can survive
You hold the future in your hand
Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive
It's time to take a stand
And you can win, if you dare
"Alright, ugly," Orion said, catching the giant by the nose and lower jaw as it lunged at him. "I'm getting tired of this…"
Everybody's trying to break your spirit
Keeping you down
Seems like it's been forever
"Orion, behind you!" Ron called out, and his Autobot guardian planted his feet firmly, pulled with all his might, and then swung the much-larger robot like a bat, smacking the Pterodactyl like a ball.
"Home run," Orion said, letting the larger Tyrannosaurus tumble across the ground.
But there's another voice if you'll just hear it
Saying it's the last round
Looks like it's now or never
"Time to end this rodeo," Ron said as a cable slipped out from his wrist, wrapping it around the Triceratops's neck as it ran and jumped, trying to buck him off his back. "Goodnight, big guy," he said, firing the other end into the rock as they ran past. He jumped off just as the cable tightened, jerking its legs out from under it. "No big," he said, planting his fists on his hips and looking over his handiwork.
Out of the darkness you stumble into the light
Fighting for the things you know are right
Ron drew the Lotus blade and felt its energy flow through him before turning to finish the fight. "Oh, man…" his eyes widened when he saw the crest on the tricaritops' chest. "Orion! These guys are Autobots!"
"What? That's just prime…" Orion said as the Tyrannosaurus got back on its feet, seething at him. "Uh… Ba weep grana weep ninni bon?"
"Orion! That won't work without an energon goodie!" Ron called back, Kim's voice a little more prevalent.
"Alright, old-fashioned way, then," Orion said, planting his feet and waiting for it to attack.
Dare - dare to believe you can survive
The power is there at your command
Dare - dare to keep all of your dreams alive
It's time to take a stand
And you can win, if you dare…
Orion grabbed the attacking Autobot by the head, "This is going to hurt you more than me, but I'm still sorry…" he said, pushing down on its jaw, and snapping it out of socket.
"OW!!" The Tyrannosaurus squalled out, backing away. It quickly transformed into a towering Autobot, slightly taller than Ultra Magnus. "You broke Grimlock's jaw!"
The other two attackers quickly transformed as well and joined the tyrannosaurus. "Me Grimlock waited thousand years for worthy Autobot of Matrix of Leadership. Some worthy humans come, but never Autobot. Grimlock say you worthy."
"Grimlock… you're Primal's second in command," Orion said as Ron stepped up beside him.
"Primal fell defeating Megatron. Grimlock and Dinobots brought Primal back to Jasper, but unable to save. Matrix awaits next chosen one," Grimlock stated. "We Dinobots guard Ark ever since Primal die."
"You worthy to enter, so Grimlock willing to let friends entering Ark slide. What names?" the Dinobot asked.
"I am Orion Pax." Orion introduced.
"And my name is K-R… Ro-Ki… uh…" Ron blinked in confusion. "Uh…"
"Better transform before you give yourselves headaches…" Orion rubbed his head.
"Good idea," Ron nodded, and the armor unsnapped and reformed into Kim's robot form, then back into her human form. "Oh, wow…" Ron and Kim both stumbled down to sit roughly. "That… was almost as good as sex…" he then turned to see Kim staring at him in what could only be described as terror.
"KP…" Ron started, reaching out to touch her arm, but she pulled away as if his touch would burn.
"I'll… I'll go back and wait at the shuttle…" She said, avoiding his gaze.
"Kim!" Ron called out as she got up and ran.
"Give her some time," Orion said comfortingly.
"We… I… we shared so much just then… everything…" Ron shook his head.
"All the more reason for you two to give each other some space." Orion said, motioning for the Dinobots to lead the way. "Now, let's go catch up with the others."
Orion and Ron found the others at the large sealed door leading to the command bridge of the Ark. "What are you doing?" Ron asked.
"We're going to blow the door," Bumblebee stated. "Where's Kim?"
"She went back to the shuttle," Orion spoke up, "she's… not feeling well."
"That's too bad; she always liked the fireworks," Bumblebee shook his head sadly.
"We have an easier way to get in actually…" Orion said, glancing back down the shadowy hall.
"Commander Grimlock?" Ultra Magnus gapped when Grimlock stepped out of the shadows with Swoop and Slag flanking him.
Grimlock walked past the Autobots and placed his palm over the scanner which instantly came to life, making the large door slide open. The darkened hall was instantly lit with a light blue glow. Magnus and Elita started to lead the way in, but Grimlock bumped Magnus back, holding out his twin barrel blaster. "The worthy first."
"Ok, who's supposed to be worthy?" Bumblebee asked.
Grimlock nodded toward Orion and Ron. Bumblebee snorted and then yelped when the twin barrels were suddenly in his face. "The worthy will be treated with respect," Grimlock snarled.
"Right, sorry …" Bumblebee whimpered, and after a moment, Grimlock lowered his gun.
"That's it… that's the Matrix…" Ron said, feeling the same power he felt since he was fifteen, only a hundred times more intense, coming from the center of the room.
"Ah, you finally found us," a white and black Autobot stepped out of the shadows. "I hope Grimlock and his boys didn't do much damage; they get pretty protective, for obvious reasons. The name's Jasper, but my homies call me Jazz."
"How long have you been here?" Magnus asked.
"Primus if I know, been going in extra long stasis with the Dinobots standing guard since Primal took down Megs," Jazz shrugged.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Megatron's back," Magnus informed. "And he's reorganized the Decepticons here on Earth."
"Crap in a bloody hat," Jazz shook his head. "That definitely sucks. Sounds like you need this now more than ever," he said, stepping aside to show the body of Optimus Primal and, in his hands, a large artifact made up of a golden sphere housing a glowing blue diamond, with a pair of large handles coming off either side.
Ultra Magnus stepped forward and stood before the legendary commander's body. "The Matrix of Leadership… the legends says this will light our darkest hour…" Magnus said as he tentatively reached for it.
Ultra Magnus gently placed his hands on the handles and lifted the Matrix from Primal's hands, held it into the air and… nothing happened. The glow of the crystal even dimmed a little.
"You no Prime," Grimlock stated.
"I don't understand…" Magnus narrowed his optics in thought. He suddenly jerked and gasped as a blade cut through his shoulder.
"Of course you don't understand, Magnus, that shouldn't be a surprise," Megatron said as he lifted the Autobot into the air. "My Matrix, please?"
Megatron grabbed the Matrix out of Magnus's hands, and then tossed him into the Racers. "Magnus!" Elita gasped as she went to his side.
"And it's in my hands at last…" Megatron sighed, holding the Matrix before him. "Better late than never."
"No you don't, Megatron!" Orion called out, diving at the Decepticon, his fingers briefly brushing the Matrix. The second his fingers made contact, the Matrix began to glow brightly, but only till he broke contact. Also, much to the amazement of the Autobots and Megatron, Orion grew slightly in height and bulk.
"Interesting…" Megatron said before activating his fusion cannon. "Goodbye, Autobots," he said, firing a blast toward the ship's core. He smirked as the ship began to shake, then transformed into his jet form and rocketed away.
"He ruptured the fusion core," Jazz gasped, "we gotta jet!"
Grimlock quickly grabbed Optimus Primal's remains as the Autobots transformed and began to escape.
"Ron, we have to roll," Orion said as he quickly transformed into a Dodge Ram with the same paint job as his Dakota form.
"Go, go, go!" Ron said as he jumped into the bed of the truck.
The Autobots and Dinobots barely made it out of the Ark to safety as the core ruptured and caused the ship to explode violently.
"Alright… Megatron has the Matrix, and Magnus got hurt… I think that counts as a point for the Decepticons…" Ron said, glancing over to see Elita flying with Magnus held in her arms. "Or would that be two points?"
"It's not over yet," Orion growled out as his engine roared. "We're just getting started."
To be continued…
Song Credits: "Dare" by Stan Bush
Preview of next chapter.
"No, no, please, no!" She cried as she ran to his side. She felt her insides dying as she ran out on the battlefield. He couldn't be dead. They had gone through too much together. There was too much left to say and do. She carefully rolled him over onto his back and couldn't fight back the sob at seeing the physical damage done to his body. "Please, don't leave me… wake up. You have to wake up! Wake up, damn it, WAKE UP!"
Ratchet went down to one knee beside them, looking over the body in her arms. With a saddened expression and shake of the head, he looked at her. "I'm sorry… he's gone."
Coming soon: Chapter 7: No Sacrifice, No Victory.