Oh my gosh guys, I'm SO sorry this took SO FREAKING LONG.
The old transformer dude was really hard to me to write. but I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Hopefully it with be worth it?
Sorry if there are a bunch of simple mistakes. I tried re-reading it a couple times but I just HAD to get this out!
After the quiet, and somewhat awkward ride back to Egypt, the three air ships landed and the squad of humans and autobots moved the old car out of the plane and carefully into the makeshift base.
The two leaders waited outside, staying in their alt forms and remaining quiet. While they literally cooled their jets, the rest of the team were running around frantically to get ready for another resurrection. There was chatter all around, where Sam, Simmons, and Mearing were all discussing various things about the current situation. Though due to Mearing's presence, it seemed more like an argument than anything else. As usual.
Eventually, the tense silence between them was broken. "What will you do after all this is over?" The voice was Megatron's, and as usual it was less than enthusiastic.
There was a shifting of some gears from Optimus before the former Decepticon leader was given a reply. "It's never over."
Megatron transformed back to his original shape and crossed his arms, regarding the jet next to him critically. "Well let's say it is. No more Decepticons or comets or massive scale threats to the humans. What then?" he asked.
Optimus shifted back as well to match megatron's state and carried a level look with him. "Then we just prepare for the next big attack. Whatever it is, there will always be one." He said, though with the way he shifted, it was obvious the conversation was making him uncomfortable.
Megatron was equally as obvious about his distaste for Optimus's answer. "That's not what I meant and you know it." He grumbled but let the topic drop. Not that he had much choice, as Lennox walked out of the base and stood before them calmly, waiting for a chance to address them.
"We have a temporary room set up for the resurrection. It's not as sturdy as we would like but it's the best we can do on short notice. We are now just waiting for you." He said in a respectful tone. "I believe they are expecting both of you." He added after a moment.
Optimus gave a silent nod to the human and moved to walk inside the base, Megatron following behind him slowly, keeping his distance. The sergeant took notice of their constantly changing and strange behavior, and shook his head with a sigh. He could tell there was some sort of tension between them that they needed to work out, but now was not really the time for it. Quietly, he simply followed them at a brisk pace, not wanting to think about what they would consider to be "stress relief".
Once inside, the two primes were guided to a room that was, by their standards, flimsy. Regardless, they walked into the room one after another and took up positions on either side of the black vehicle situated near the center of the room.
On one side of the room, several soldiers were lines up in front of 4 distinct figures. Sam, Lennox, Simmons, and Mearing were all present in the room. One could only guess there were more soldiers stationed immediately outside, as well as a few of the bots. Bumblebee was kneeling behind the humans, probably to protect Sam.
"Now then, since everyone is present I would like to make sure it is clear that if this gets… out of hand, we will not hesitate to defend ourselves and the base." Mearing stated, taking a step back as she looked up and spoke to the two leaders.
"Yes, but there will be no shooting until I deem it necessary." Sergeant Lennox added quickly, sending Mearing a warning look. The woman gave a displeased look in return, but gave a curt, tight lipped nod in reply.
Sam was the one to speak up next. "We've check it over for any indication of it being an Autobot or Decepticon, but there were no indications whatsoever." He informed, glancing between the two bots in front of him. They shared a glance and shifted uncomfortably, but remained in relative silence.
"Not to be a downer or anything, people, but there's a doomsday comet heading our way and time is of the essence!" Simmons spoke up, holding his hands up and waving them in a circular motion, trying to get things to proceed a little faster. "Perhaps we should get a move on?"
There was a shift in Optimus's stance before he regarded the humans in the room. "A general indicator of their alignment comes with the color of their eyes." Optimus said, before looking to the vehicle. It was a curious thing, since the spark would be in a strange, deeply shifted part of the mechanical body in this form. Still, after some thinking, he kneeled down to inspect the vehicle to see if there would be a simple way to go about reviving it.
Megatron nodded at what Optimus said. "It's not always a perfect indicator. Cybertronian Autobots have blue optics, and most Decepticons have red. It's a trait we can adjust, but for the most part it is hereditary." he explained, glancing at the humans and not wanting them to bother Optimus while he worked on reviving the old bot.
After a moment, Optimus turned back and looked between the humans and Megatron for a moment. "You guys might want to step back some, in case there's a shockwave or… an unpleasant awakening." He warned them.
Obediently, they took a few steps back, but kept themselves away from the wall where they may be cornered, and now were somewhat next to Bee, who sat tensely, waiting for what would happen.
Now that everything was set, Optimus opened the chest plates covering his spark, placing his hand on top of the matrix and guiding it out carefully. With a careful and purposeful motion, he moved it gently around to the car, having ot guide it down past the open hood and deeper into the car before it could even come close to the spark that was protected deep within the mechanics of the bot.
When the old car was revived, It's engine revved and it's lights flashed on. Everyone seemed to have baited breath as it revved it's engines, one, twice, and then a third time before it started to shift. This had Optimus leaning away to give the transforming vehicle some space.
There was a blast of energy that was outputted from the new bot as it was transforming, throwing the matrix away from its body, making it hit the ground with a metallic clang. Optimus didn't retrieve it, focusing solely on the old bot who seemed to have a bit of trouble putting it's parts into their proper places, and soon resembled a hunched over, but still distinctly bipedal design.
Megatron picked up the matrix from behind Optimus, and he could hear the tense sounds coming from the humans as he did so, but he simply held it and stayed a couple of steps behind Optimus, turning his attention to the new bot now.
Suddenly, the now-standing mech shifted before suddenly lunging at Optimus, tackling him over and pinning him to the ground. It pulled out a weapon after punching Optimus in the face and rose it's arm high to deliver the final blow.
Before anyone else had reacted though, Megatron screeched, low and metallic, but loud, and tackled the offending bot off of Optimus. He got sliced by the energon heated sword that the black bot was wielding, but he used the wound to his body to twist the sword, and with one hand he severed where it was connected with the black bot's arm.
"Stop!" Optimus called out, causing Megatron to freeze, though the bot he held under him still squirmed and attempted to get free.
Optimus walked over and kneeled down, looking at the bot in the eyes, pausing when he saw it had bright purple optics instead of red, or blue. The mech spat towards the two bots on top of him and finally got his voice online. "Ye better let me go now or I swear to all primus I'm gonna hand both o' yer afts to ya! What in the blickering blazes do ye even want ye scraps of junk metal?"
Optimus raised his hands in a calming motion and gave Megatron a look. "We aren't here to fight. Quite the opposite really." he explained in a level tone.
"What side are ye on then?" the mech asked, glaring at them.
The two primes looked at one another. "Autobots." Optimus answered, motioning for Megatron to move. "Will you give us your name?"
The former decepticon leader sneered and got off of the old bot, though he still seemed on edge about letting the mech stand. Despite this though, he pulled the sword from his shoulder and dropped it to the ground, wincing as pain circuted through his whole arm from the action.
"... I'm called Acrowheel." The black bot said after some time of consideration. "You don't look like autobots." he added warily, obviously on edge from the situation. And who could blame him?
"and you don't look like a proper cybertronian but here you all, rust and all." Megatron shot back snarkily.
The bot now known as Acrowheel looked at the former decepticon leader and studied him for a moment. "You….. are a decepticon. Of that I have no doubt. You look too much like… him." he growled.
Megatron's optics flashed as he seemed to realize something and he growled, turning away from the bot and towards optimus. "I'm leaving. Here." he said, thrusting the Matrix at the Autobot leader and leaving the room with an irritated atmosphere.
Optimus took the matrix with a worried glance at Megatron, but proceeded to return it to his spark chamber before looking at Acrowheel, his shoulders slumping. "I apologize for his behavior." he said quickly, before a grim outlook became present on his face. "And I apologize for having brought you here like this, but it appears I need your help. This planet needs your help." he added in a serious tone.
Acrowheel huffed. "What should I care? The fact that the war hasn't destroyed it yet is astonishing. The fleshlings yet live." he said.
"Excuse me!" Came a voice from below. Both of the bots looked down to see Sam standing there and looking to the older bot. "The comet Kairon, have you heard of it?" he asked.
The old bot let out a groan and shifted to kneel before the human, looking at him quizzically. "Aye, I've 'eard of it. How would a fleshling like ye know of it?" he asked right back.
Sam, to his credit, didn't flinch at all, and raised a hand to his head, tapping it with an irritated look. "The cube-that allspark. It was found, and since I touched a shard from when it was destroyed, I've been stuck with these… these symbols. Cyberglyphs. They're in my head and we have been trying to decipher them. It's the Language of the Primes, and I assumed a more… experienced bot like yourself would know them better than us." he explained.
"That didn't answer me question, boy. Well, I suppose it did- but why is Kairon relevant, eh? That comet ain't anywhere near this star system!" Arcowheel said, leaning closer to Sam. There was a whirring behind them as Bumblebee tensed, but Lennox raised a hand in warning, so the yellow bot stayed put.
"It's somehow gotten off track." Sam continued. "We weren't able to decipher all of the glyphs- the symbols, but what we do know is that Kairon is heading towards this planet. It's about to enter this star system and if we don't do anything, everything is going to die."
An old, wheezing laugh came from the black bot in front of him. "If it's Kairon then ye all're gonna die anyways. Nothin ye can do. Not human, Nor Cybertonian can stop the darn thing. What a way to end the war- wiping both out with an inevitable doom." he said, leaning back and sitting on the ground, laughing some more.
"Arcowheel, we've thought to use the tools left by our ancestors to take it out. To harvest it the way that our ancestors used to harvest the sun." Optimus explained.
The old bot huffed another old laugh. "Ye can't do that without the matrix, which has been lost to us. And even then, only a prime can truely power one of those wretched machines."
Optimus nodded. "We have both of those. Forgive my rudeness, I have not introduced myself. I am Optimus Prime, and I am in possession of the Matrix. That is how you are standing here, today." he explained.
Arcowheel looked to Optimus with a shocked expression before an even heartier laugh came upon him. "By the primes, ye've got it then. What else would ye need old scrap like me for then, eh? Ye got all ye need. Sounds like ye already know where the machine is, too." he said, seeming amused by the situation now.
"This is why we needed your help." Sam spoke up again, looking up at the older bot. "We can only do so much on our own, but the machine's been damaged, and we don't know how to fix it. I might be able to help, but I can't read the language of the Primes on my own, and time is against us." he called up. "Can you help us?"
There was a silence for a moment before Arcowheel shifted and stood up again. "Aye, I can read it. But I have one question first." he said, focusing his attention to Optimus. "Why is there a decepticon here? This ain't enough to stop the war, even for a little bit, ye know it as well as I. That mech was a decepticon, as much a decepticon as any mech can be." he asked, staring at Optimus warily.
Optimus squared his shoulders. "Megatron is no longer a part of the decepticons and we've been keeping a close eye on him. His good behavior allow him to stay alive with us." Optimus said carefully.
Arcowheel narrowed his optics at Optimus. "Ye'r lie'n." he growled. "He ain't ever gonna stop being a decepticon. I saw it. In his eyes, his frame- his spark. He's a fallen! Ye can't trust anyone in that family!" he said.
There was a tense silence before Optimus nodded. "You're right. He is a Decepticon among decepticons. But what his ancestors did does not define him. What he has done in the past doesn't define him, nor anyone. He's done well, and he can continue to do well!" Optimus said back.
Arcowheel barked a laugh. "What of when he slips up, aye? He'll turn his back on ye- None of the fallen can feel. They've got it programmed out, ye see? Nah, you'll see it yourself." he said back.
"Woah, woah! Hold it, please!" Lennox said, having stepped forward and moving between the two bots. "I don't really know what's going on here but can we have this verbal battle later? Right now we have some lives to save, including yours." he called out, before glancing at Optimus. "And Optimus, bud, I think uh- Ratchet wanted to talk to you? Perhaps you should go contact him!" he said, looking nervously between the two.
There was a tense silence, but it was broken by Arcowheel. "What should I do in the meantime, then?" he asked.
Sam spoke up. "You can help us rebuild the machine. We can do all the labor, we just need to know what to do." he said, before turning. "Bee, can ya help me lead him out?" he asked.
Bumblebee made an affirmative sound and stood up, picking Sam up and letting the human sit on his shoulder. Said human made a motion with his arm to prompt Arcowheel to follow, and it seemed to work because the black bot was already tailing it after them. Optimus the room shortly after.
"Did Ratchet actually need to talk to him?" Simmons asked in a hushed tone, looking at Sargent Lennox curiously.
Lennox shook his head. "no, but they needed a distraction. Besides, I don't think a call between them would hurt." he replied, glancing at the door. "But I worry for the sake of him and Megatron." he added.
"Well whatever the case, we must make sure that both Megatron and the new one- Acrowheel or whatever, have eyes on them at all times. we can not take chances and I have even more doubts than before about that decepticon now." Mearing intervened, looking at the two men sternly. With a dismissive wave she told the soldiers in the room to go back to their duties.
There was a sigh from both men, one of agitation and one not quite so much, as they watched the woman briskly leave the room.
As Optimus left the room, his shoulders tense, he saw something from the corner of his eye and froze dead still. "Megatron." He said, barely a greeting to the bot who was hiding along the wall down the hallways, opposite of where Sam, Bee, and Acrowheel were headed. He could still hear the humans talking inside, so he knew that Megatron must have heard everything that was said before.
"Optimus." Megatron said back, looking off to the side with his arms crossed. "... He was right."
Optimus blinked. "What do you mean?"
There was a tense shift in Megatron's stance as he turned back to regard Optimus head on. "Acrowheel was right. I'm a fallen, and I don't have feelings, and I will slip up. I don't understand you, prime. You treat me like an ally but you can never fully trust me. They will never trust me. I will always be a decepticon." he said bitterly.
Optimus watched him for a moment, and felt a pang in his chest. He could see optimus shift, as though he were in pain, and after a moment, he felt his body shift in a similar motion as he felt it too.
Suddenly it clicked.
Optimus' expression hardened and he walked forward, his stride purposeful and predatory as he neared Megatron. The other bot didn't so much as flinch at the aggressive approach, but stared definitely back at him, only jerking out of his position when Optimus grabbed his arm and started dragging him through the base. "Come with me."
"Primus dammit, Optimus, what are you doing?" Megatron asked irritably as he was practically dragged away, squirming his arm as he was forced to walk after the other prime. He had to adjust himself to walk somewhat normally behind the other prime, being led out of the base until they were a clear few kilometers away, at the edge of another rock structure. "What in the universe are you doing?!" Megatron growled out angrily.
When Megatron looked into Optimus's eyes he suddenly had a loss for words, seeing a look that held such intensity of the kind he hasn't seen since they were battling- a look he swore that Optimus only wore for him.
There was a tense silence before Optimus sighed and closed his eyes, his head bowed. Megatron was about to prompt him again when he once again felt the strange energy causing him pain near his spark, and pulled free hand to his chest as though to grab whatever was causing the pain.
"So that's it then. That's what has been happening." Optimus finally said, opening his eyes and looking at Megatron. "I didn't understand it before because I wasn't receiving anything from it. But now I think I get it."
The former decepticon leader glared at Optimus. "Start making sense or I'll rip one of your arms off." he growled.
Optimus reached over and placed a hand over Megatron's spark. "Regardless of who you are and what you were born as, you forget that we've been connected. We are spark-mates, remember? What you are feeling, is feeling. You don't understand it, and I… I don't understand not having it. But it is there and we are connected with it." he said.
Megatron raised an arm and gripped Optimus' shoulder, his fingers digging in far too harshly, but he made no further actions on his threat of 'ripping his arm off'. "Are you telling me that I'm feeling emotions because you feel them?" he asked.
Optimus nodded. "That is precisely it. It's a two-way bond, but only you have been receiving the feelings because I was the only one who could, at the time, produce the feelings. But in doing so, you learn what these feelings are, and can feel them again, on your own." he explained, before bowing his head. "We've been at odds with one another so much, I feel the only thing I've been able to send to you was pain and sorrow. I don't want that to be the case." he explained.
Megatron sighed, piecing together the information. "That is not true." he said quietly, looking away stubbornly. "It felt nice to fly with you. That was probably you, and then us… or something." he added.
Optimus smiled, and the hugged Megatron, who stiffened up and tensed as though to attack. "What-"
"I know that this is hard, and that it might even be wrong. But I… I'm going to admit that I really enjoy having you in my life, friend or foe, you give my life meaning." Optimus said, his voice soft. "I think, if everything was over with, I'd like to spend some time to just be together. No more autobots, or decepticons. No responsibilities, and no humans to tell us otherwise. Just a time where we can spend time together."
There was a moment of silence before Megatron sighed and wrapped his arms around Optimus. While he was not a fan of the gesture, nor would he admit anything, it did feel nice and he had to agree with what Optimus said.
He looked down. "Your purpose was always to stop me from whatever I tried to do, wasn't it? but when that ended, you lost it, didn't you? That purpose..." he asked softly. Before he even got an answer, though he could already tell it was 'yes', he continued. "Well, I lost my purpose when I failed to bring Cybertron here, and everything I worked for failed. But then…. you gave it back to me."
There was a silence, and Optimus wanted to inquire just what the bot meant,just to hear it aloud, but he somehow knew it wouldn't be said. He could feel the irregular thrumming from Megatron's spark, even through both their chest-plates, and he could just tell what it meant, and it… was nice.
"Thank you." Optimus said, smiling at Megatron. It was a confession, even if it wasn't straightforward. And it meant a lot to Optimus.
Slowly, they parted from their hug and Megatron glanced back at the base. "They'll need our help."
Optimus nodded. "We should go back." he said, but neither of them made the first move to walk back. This moment, where they were away from those troubles, and they could just be two mechs, not leaders or aliens. They didn't want it to end.
but of course it had to end.
A crash on the pyramid brought them back to reality. A few quick strides and a look at the base showed them that there was a major demolition happening to the bricks of the pyramid, and potentially to the machine itself.
With a sigh, Optimus seemed to have returned to his leader frame of mind and started to return to the base, quickly locating the source of the explosion and having to throw sideswipe out of the base for a bit for his recklessness.
There were a few hours after Optimus located Sam and Acrowheel, they got to work and actually made a lot of good progress on the machine, digging it out a little further from the pyramid, finding parts that were blasted off and welding it all back together.
Meanwhile, Megatron went to tend to the wound on his shoulder from the resurrection he was at, and spent most of the day hidden away in a room.
When night fell, Optimus finally remembered the call he was supposed to make to Ratchet, but in hindsight, he could tell it was just an excuse the sergeant made to distract him from the argument he was having with Acrowheel. Still, he dialed up the number on his communicator as he went to one of the temporary bays for the night.
"-zzzzzccchchhh- Optimus?"
"Hey Ratchet, calling for an update, if you will."
"Ah, good to hear from you, old friend. It's doing well, and seems to be nearly ready to leave it's current confines. Any idea what you're going to do with it after it reaches that stage?"
"hmm, no, but I'll figure something out. It's healthy, right?"
"Yes, healthy as far as I can tell. Hasn't developed any CNA yet, I don't think. Should be soon though. According to my records that's how it should be."
"Been doing some research then, have you?" Optimus mused.
"heh, yeah, figured it would be best. How've you been holding up?"
"Hm, we revived an old mech, probably an old seeker, to help us fix the machine. it's coming along a lot faster now because of him, but altogether it's been pretty slow. I hope the comet won't be here before we can use it."
"Hm, yes, quite the dilemma. I'm sure you can figure it out. Anyone get hurt yet?"
"Sideswipe blew up a corner of the pyramid, thankfully doing minimal damage to the machine but earning himself a time-out."
There was a laughter on the other end. "Few others but sideswipe, huh?"
"Few others." Optimus agreed.
"What about Megatron?"
"He's… making it through. It's difficult for him."
"Did you two come to terms yet?"
"What do you mean?"
There was a pause. "Well, you two depend on one another to live. I've known you for so many years, Optimus. It's not hard to see. Not for me. You two gravitate towards each other. It's no surprise you've become spark-bonded." he explained.
There was a long silence, but Optimus finally relented. "Yes, that- we've talked about it. I think he's coming to terms with it. I… Think I already have for myself."
"Good." Ratchet said, sounding pleased. "Now get that comet destroyed so you guys can actually enjoy life longer than a few weeks, yeah?"
There was another chuckle, this time from Optimus. "Sounds good. Thank you. Goodbye Ratchet."
The communication ended, and Optimus sighed in relief. It was now rather quiet, and he longed to be in his alt form, despite it no longer being the flaming red and blue truck he was so well known for around his companions.
He tried to rest, but something just felt off. Even as he sat in the small room that was made for him, he just felt restless, and like he needed to do… something. Still, he tried to avoid it just so he could rest some.
An hour had passed, and Optimus was still irritable and restless. Eventually, he groaned and made his way out of the temporary room, walking down the "halls" of the temporary base until he found a room that appeared to be more secure than most others, and had several guards stationed outside it.
Each of them saluted Optimus and greeted him, and he acknowledged them in return, but was more interested in the room, and more importantly, what was inside.
There were no questions as he moved his way through the door, and thus seeing Megatron sitting in one corner, looking just as irritated and uncomfortable as Optimus felt. When the Autobot Prime walked in, Megatron looked up and seemed to relax somewhat, helping Optimus relax as well.
They were both silent as Optimus walked over and sat down next to Megatron, leaning against the wall the same as Megatron was, and closing his optics.
Megatron looked at Optimus, watching him as he rest and slowly closed his eyes. This was somehow more peaceful, and he felt it was easier to rest now.
He idly wondered if Optimus was resting easier now too.
Well there's probably only one chapter left for this! or two. Lets see how long it takes to take out that comet!
and if it ends too soon for you guys, I might make a sequel or something. I'm sure plenty are wondering what's gonna happen with that hatchling!