Chapter Seven: Fallout
As Steven lay in his small bed, he looked up at the ceiling of The Ark in a failed attempt to try and get some sleep. His mind was still wracked with the guilt over losing his dad and Connie as well being unable to stop the destruction of his hometown. He had to make this right, no matter what happened; he had to see this through to the very end.
After they made their exodus from the ruins of their home to The Ark, the people of the now destroyed Beach City where given their own space by the Autobot named Wheeljack. They were given make-shift beds, food and a place to stay until the threat of the Decepticons had ceased within the confines of of the alien bases closest.
While the now refugees of the fallen town were grateful to the Autobots for their help, they still where greatly saddened over the loss of their homes and places of work. Even though they were without a place to call home, the people of Beach City pulled through the dark times ahead as a group and made due with that they had. While the humans of the town where resting in The Ark, Garnet and the other Gems where working alongside the Autobots to try and figure out Megatron's endgame. Steven wanted to help, but Garnet insisted that he try to get some rest-which was escaping him.
While everyone else slept, Steven and Lion silently crept out of the room and into the main control room, where they found the boy's guardians and the alien machines looking over a massive computer. While the giant robots could merely stand beside the computer, the Gems were standing on its console in order to get a good view of the screen. Steven and Lion kept their distance as they overheard the two teams' conversation.
"Ugh, this is so boring!" Amethyst groaned "Can't we go out and find them ourselves?"
"The 'Cons could be hiding anywhere, Amethyst" Ironhide pointed out "We could look under every rock on the planet and still not find 'em"
"Jazz is right Prime, they could be anywhere" Prowl added as he looked over to his leader "If it's one thing the Decepticons are good at; it's hiding"
"We must remain vigilant, Prowl" Optimus encouraged "We have to hope that Megatron makes a mistake"
"Are you having any luck, Garnet?" Pearl asked her leader
"There's too many possible futures to predict" the fusion replied with a tinge of frustration at her efforts "Whatever the Decepticons are doing, it's creating a multitude of different timelines. There's too many for me to list off"
"Um, hey guys" Steven suddenly spoke up meekly
The group of united aliens turned around to see the young boy and his pet standing behind them, looking up at them with an expression of worry and exhaustion.
"Steven, you should be getting some sleep" Pearl insisted "We'll take of-"
"No, I wanna help!" Steven objected "Please! Even just a little bit; I'll do it if it means we can find Connie and my dad!"
Both the Gems and the Autobots looked among themselves with unease when suddenly Optimus approached Steven and proceeded to kneel down before him.
"Of course, Steven" he said as he lowered his hand in front of the half-Gem
Steven and Lion stepped onto the Primes hand, allowing him to carry them back to the computer and set them down on the consul. Steven gazed in awe at the giant system he and the Gems where now standing on.
"What is this thing, Optimus?" the boy asked
"This is Teletraan-one" Prime explained "It is our ship's main computer and is our key factor in our war against the Decepticons"
"And its been trying to pin-point where they are now" Pearl continued "but so far we've come up with nothing; even Garnet's future-vision can't seem to find them"
A spark of an idea struck Steven's mind. It was total long-shot to say the least, but maybe the Gems and the Autobot's could pull it off.
"What if we had a way to put Teletraan-one and Garnet's future-vision together?" he tentatively theorized "maybe together they can find out what Megatron's up to?"
"Say, that ain't a bad idea, kiddo" Wheeljack agreed "What do you think, Prime?"
"It could be possible, but it could also be dangerous" his leader replied with concern "We could inadvertently hurt Garnet if we tried something like that"
"I'm willing to take that risk" the leader of the Crystal Gems assured with a stern yet confident voice
Optimus nodded in understanding. The Decepticons had to be stopped, and the two teams knew that there would be certain risks that needed to be taken if they were to defeat Megatron and his soldiers.
"Very well then" Prime agreed "But how could we even attempt such a feat?"
"I may have the solution, Optimus" the Autobot scientist said "Just give me an hour and we'll be kicking 'Con tailpipe in no time!"
With that, Wheeljack departed to his lab so that he may work in peace, leaving the others to wonder what exactly he had cooked up in his cybernetic mind. While the others were guessing what the Autobot's scientist was going to build, Steven could only fear and imagine what was happening to Connie and his father right now.
"...and that's what happened" Connie finished
The young girl let out a sigh in both both depression and exhaustion. For the past half-hour she had been telling Cliffjumper and Bumblebee the chain of events that lead to both her and Greg ending up as cell mates to the pair of giant robots. She told them of her time with Steven and the Crystal Gems, and of her near-death encounter with Soundwave and his minions; as well of the destruction of her home at the iron hands of Bruticus. Needless to say, they were in awe at her amazing tale.
"Wow..." Bumblebee said, flabbergasted by the story "That's...alot to take in"
"Welcome to my world" Greg offhandedly chimed in "I just learn to roll with the punches"
"So what about you guys?" the young girl inquired "I know you're with the Autobots, but how did you end up here?"
"For the past few weeks, the Decepticons had been looking a series of strange events" Cliffjumper began "Soon they discovered an alien energy signature and followed it back to its source"
"So Optimus sent us to spy on the 'Cons to find out what they were up to" Bumblebee continued "We followed them all the way to the Kindergarten, but then we were captured. The last thing I remember was being shot by Starscream's null-ray, and then the next thing I knew, Cliff and I woke up in here"
"Wait, strange events?" the young girl said in confusion as she backtracked "What do you mean?"
"It wasn't much at first, just some minor energy influxes here and there" the yellow-colored scout answered "But things got really weird when the ocean was being pulled into the sky. At first, we thought it was the 'Cons doing, but they were just as confused as we were"
"Lapis!" Connie nearly shouted in realization before explaining "She was another Gem that was trying to use the ocean to get back to her world. Steven helped her out and she put it back"
"Yeah, and it made for the best album cover ever" the former rock star added on before everyone gave him a 'really?' look "what? It did"
It was then that the young girl backtracked in the conversation once more on another major subject.
"We overheard Starscream talking to Megatron about the Kindergarten" Connie said "Do you know why they want it so badly?"
"The Gem Empire built those things for only one purpose" Cliffjumper answered with hint of dread in his voice "To create an army"
Connie and Greg gasped in horror as they suddenly realized what the Decepticons master plan was. If they where right, then Megatron was about to unleash hell on to the entire planet and there was no way they could warn either the Gems or the Autobots.
"We have to find a way out of here..." Connie muttered as the gears in her mind began to turn
"So what exactly are we look'in at here, Wheeljack?" Ironhide asked
As the robotic scientist had said; in no less then an hour, he returned from his workshop with what looked like a small square shaped helmet that looked like it designed to fit Garnet's head perfectly and had a cord sticking out the back of it in the palm of his giant hand.
"This, Ironhide, is our way of finding the Decepticons" Wheeljack informed him "Garnet puts the helmet on and we attach this cord into Teletraan-One. If I'm right, then her future-vision will boosted by Teletraan-One's systems and together they'll find wherever Megatron and his goons are hiding"
"What do you mean 'if you're right'?" Pearl commented sternly
"I, uh, didn't really have time to test this thing out" Wheeljack admitted sheepishly before bouncing back with confidence "But hey, there's an eighty-five percent chance this will work"
"And the other fifteen percent?" Prowl questioned suspiciously
"Uh...I'd rather not say" the scientist replied meekly
The two teams of aliens looked among themselves with worry. Was it worth risking one of their own to achieve victory? if they did that, then they would be no better then the very enemies they were trying to stop. Knowing that they wouldn't go through it, Garnet stepped forward.
"I'll do it" she said in a firm voice
Even though it was Steven who suggested this plan, he suddenly had second thoughts about the whole thing. He wanted to rescue those who he loved from danger, but if it meant putting another he cared for in the line of fire, then it wasn't worth the risk.
"Wait Garnet, you don't have to do this" Steven offered with pleading eyes "I already lost dad and Connie—I don't wanna lose you to!"
The leader of the Gems gently placed her hand on the boy's cheek, making him looking up at one of three people who raised him with a fear and sadness in his eyes, thinking this might be the last time he would see her alive if this attempted failed horribly.
"I'll be fine, Steven" she assured him in a soft and sincere tone "Trust me"
With a nod in understanding, Steven back away as Wheeljack approached the fusion and handed her the helmet to allow her to place it upon her head while he plugged the helmet's cord into a small input in Teletraan-One's consul. Garnet took in a deep breath and let out out a long, calming exhale; Gems didn't need to breath, but it was more to put her mind and her two inner-selves at ease for what they where about to undertake. With a simple thumbs up, she silently gave the robotic scientist the go-ahead to switch on the power to the helmet while everyone else waited for the outcome with fearful anticipation.
A rush of power surged through Garnet's mind as she opened herself up to Teletraan-One's systems. the with supercomputer's aid, the power of her future-vision was increased ten-fold. Instead of seeing a handful of possible outcomes, she could see thousands upon thousands of futures transpiring all at once. What Teletraan-One had turned the fusion into - god didn't even come close to describing what she was in this moment! Despite all of this power at her fingertips, the Crystal Gem had to keep her mind focused on one task: find the Decepticons.
Soon, her future-vision gave her the answer she was searching for. Garnet could see smoke and fire billowing up into the night's sky as Megatron and his soldiers gathered up cubes of Energon from the wreckage of some sort of facility. Getting the answer she needed, the fusion pulled off the helmet, allowing the others to breath a sigh of relief to see her unharmed.
"I know where they are" she informed them all
The team's mood changed from near hopelessness to joy. They now had a chance to win the day and it came them the moral they needed after such a devastating loss.
"Then lead the way, Garnet!" Optimus commanded in a powerful, yet hopeful voice
"CrystalBots, Roll Out!" Steven shouted, returning to his regular self
The Keystone nuclear power planet was a large facility that was located out in a remote field several miles away from any major cities. It was built not only to generate power for a majority of the cities within the state, but also helped to construct the raw materials made to create over a dozen nuclear missiles for the U.S during the Cold War. In that time, the staff of the power plant had always thought that the Soviet Union was the only enemy they would have to face, however, they sadly to not anticipate an enemy of a different sort.
When Megatron and his minions attacked the Keystone nuclear power plant, they struck like a furious lightning bolt. The Decepticon's blitzkrieg was fast and deadly and left not a single human left standing. Any of the earthlings they found where quickly turned to piles of ash that blew away upon the night's breeze. It wasn't so much as to keep their arrival a secret; so much as it was a sick sport for the warlord and his troops.
Once the little flesh-creatures were disposed of, the tyrant commanded Soundwave to create Energon cubes for Skywarp, Thundercracker, Blitzwing and Ramjet to fill up. They needed to be quick, for no doubt the Autobots and their new Gem allies would be hunting them after Starscream's blunder. Even though Megatron's victory was almost within his grasp, he had been here many times before; and like all those times before he had tasted defeat instead of the victory he so desperately craved. This time he would make sure that things would be different; and no one—neither Autobot nor Gem—was going to stop him.
"Energon collecting is nearly complete, Lord Megatron" Soundwave said to him
"Excellent, Soundwave" his master replied "Gather up the cubes and prepare to return to the Kindergarten"
The Decepticons began to gather up the cubes of their precious life-source for transport, ready to use its power to give life to the machine that would lead them to glory. As they where occupied with that task, Soundwave suddenly stopped in his tracks, getting the attention of his master and his cohorts.
"What is it, Soundwave?" his leader demanded
"Alert, Autobot and Gem presence detected rapidly approaching from the south" the communications officer informed him
"I say we take the cubes and split!" Thundercracker suggested hastily
The warlord's response to that suggestion was a raised head toward his minion. But then Megatron stopped midway to hit Thundercracker upside his head and lowered his hand as an idea wormed its way into his servos. He looked over to the now empty power planet with a sinister smile across his lips.
"Perhaps your right, Thundercracker, maybe we should 'spilt'" he darkly mused "Here's what we're going to do…"
As the Autobots and the Crystal Gems approached the now ruined power plant, they mentally prepared themselves for whatever they where about to run into once they arrived. Alongside the Autobots that had first encountered the Gems at Beach City, they where now joined by Wheeljack, Brawn and Hound.
"So does anybody actuality have a plan, or are we just winging it?" Amethyst as she rode inside of Jazz
"Yeah, we go in and we kick some 'Con tailpipe!" Brawn answered
"Easier said then done, Brawn" Jazz reasoned "The 'Cons may not know where coming, but that won't mean they wouldn't be expecting it"
"Jazz is right, even if we catch them off guard, that won't mean that'll be any easier to take down" Prowl added on as Pearl rode within him
"I still think we should've brought more back-up" Ironhide mentioned as Garnet sat in the driver seat of his vehicle mode
"We couldn't run the risk of spreading ourselves to thin, old friend" Optimus replied who had Steven riding within him "We'll just have to hope that we have enough forces to stop Megatron"
"Besides, nothing can stop the CystalBots!" Steven proclaimed, making his care givers collectively roll their eyes upon hearing that
As the team drove closer to the planet, they heard the low rumbling sound from the dark skies above them. The sound soon grew louder as Steven and the other Gem's poked their heads out of their respective partner's car windows in order to try and find the source of the ever loudening rumbling from above them. As the noise grew louder, Steven began to have an idea as to what exactly the sound was.
"That kind of sounds like…." He started before pieces it together in a gasp of realization "a jet engine!"
The second the half-Gem had said that, four multi-colored jets rocketed down from the clouds above and began to strafe the ground with a wave of laser fire. The Autobots luckily managed to serve and scatter out of the way of the hail of fire that rained down on them. The gems quickly exited their companion's bodies to allow them and the other heroic robots to transform and return fire while they summoned their weapons. The jets flew past them at break-neck speed before splitting into two different groups that went in opposite directions before coming around for another run.
This time, however, the Autobots and the Gems were ready for them. Together, the two united races unleashed a flurry of laser fire back at the Decepticons that they were forced to break off from their second strafe and fly high around the heroic machines and their allies. They had no place to seek cover should the jets make for another go around, so they had to form a protective circle with the Autobots out in front and the Gems in the center of it. They waited with dreaded anticipation for another strike, but nothing came. Suddenly, a single figure floated downward from the sky and landed several meters away from the group. Aside from Steven and Amethyst—everyone knew who this was.
"Megatron…" Optimus growled as his optics narrowed at him
"Prime" the leader of the Decepticons acknowledged with a wicked grin
"Wait, so you're Megatron?" Steven spoke up
"I am lord Megatron, yes" the warlord confirmed with disdain for the child in his voice
"Awesome! Imma deck you in the schonz!" the boy happily announced with a bright smile
"…what?" Megatron asked, clearly confused
The wicked robot had never encountered a flesh creature that had the audacity to speak to him in suck a manner—let a alone a human child for that matter. He was going to look forward to killing that boy in the near future. He then noticed two of the Crystal Gems standing alongside his enemies and was istantly reminded as to who they were.
"I remember you two…" he commented "You both served under Rose Quartz during the invasion? She wouldn't happen to be here, would she?"
"Rose is gone" the leader of the Gems answered coldly "But if she was here, then she would stop your plans like before"
"Stopped them?" Megatron mockingly asked "no, she jumped them further ahead! Had it not been for the Gem invasion of Cybertron, then I may have never gained the support I needed to form the Decepticons or have gained access to your warp cannon technology. So if anything, I should be thanking your precious leader—that is if she wasn't rusting in pieces!"
"You bastard!" Pearl shouted in rage as she attempted to lunge at the giant robot, only to be stopped by Garnet
"Why did you wreck our home, y'a jerk?!" Amethyst demanded
"I needed you out of the way, of course" the tyrant answered simply, getting back on track "And this time neither you nor the Autobots will be able stop me! Soon I shall have a new army to command and with it, I will rule the very galaxy itself!"
"Enough talk; let's get 'em!" Ironhide proclaimed
"Oh by all means attack me, but I don't think you have the time" Megatron informed them with a sly smirk
"Uh, we kinda do" Amethyst pointed
It was then that a flash of a possible future suddenly exploded within Garnet's mind. The fusion saw a massive mushroom cloud rising high into the sky as a sea of nuclear flames washed over the far reaches of Keystone, killing everything in its path.
"No. We don't" Garnet corrected stoically "He's ridged the entire power plant to explode"
A collective gasp of horror escaped the united hero's mouths while Megatron himself could only smile at that.
"And the diodes tumble…" he said sinisterly "the Gem is correct, I have set charges all over the power plant that are set to go off in less then thirty earth minutes. So the choice is simple: stop me and my Decepticons from escaping with the Energon, or try to disarm the bombs"
"Your insane, Megatron!" Optimus shouted in a mixture of shock and rage
"You're a few centuries to late to be asking that question" his former friend replied as he started to rise into the air "the clock is ticking Prime, make your choice"
With that, Optimus and the others watched as Megatron fly into the sky with the rest of his cohorts following close behind him with Energon cubes stored within their jet forms, all the while the warlord laughed in triumph. The Autobot leader didn't have to say a word to the others, for both teams already knew what choice to make. The Autobots quickly turned into their vehicle forms while the Gems all climbed into Optimus's trailer before they raced off toward the power plant at full speed.
Once they reached the plant, the two aliens groups spilt up into teams of two and searched every inch of the facility. For what seemed like ever, they scoured the entire area from the control room right down to the restrooms, but found not so much as a single explosive. After nearly twenty minutes of searching, they met up in the center of the facility.
"We've searched every last inch of this place and still not a trace of a single bomb!" Hound said
"Maybe Megatron was yanking our chains to try and slow us down?" Jazz mentioned
"No. He was telling the truth" Garnet corrected in panic "I can still see the future of the power plant blowing up"
"If that's true then we have less then ten minutes to find those bombs!" Wheeljack answered
"But where else could they be?!" Pearl said in a panic
While the group tried to solve this problem, Steven once again had another thought race through his mind. Maybe both Jazz and Garnet where right. Perhaps Megatron was lying—but not about placing the bombs, but the number of bombs he had placed.
"Maybe instead of a bunch of bombs, we should be looking for just one?" Steven surmised aloud
"Steven may be right—everyone, keep searching!" Optimus commanded
"Wait a minute Optimus, what if instead of leaving a bomb; he made a bomb instead?" Wheeljack theorized
"But what could you use to make a bomb out of all this junk?" Amethyst blew off until it finally set in as to where they were "oh yeah, the reactor core…The Reactor Core?!"
"Megatron must've tampered with it to make cause a meltdown!" Prowl shouted in horror
"Wheeljack, scan this entire area for where the core is kept now!" Prime quickly ordered
No sooner had he said that had that the Autobot scientist began scanning the area for any traces of highly concentrated places of radiation. Within seconds of scanning he picked up a massive amount of what he was looking for in the in one the towers on the edge of the facility.
"It's over there, Optimus!" he said, pointing to the tower as he did
In seconds, Optimus transformed back into his vehicle form and drove off toward the tower. As Steven watched the truck drive toward danger, he couldn't help as though know that whatever Prime was about to do it wouldn't be enough to save both everyone here and all of Keystone. It was in that moment that the half-Gem gathered up his courage and ran up behind Prime and grabbed onto the tailgate of the robot's trailer.
"Steven!" his guardians shouted in shocked unison
But it was too late; Optimus was already to far ahead for them to catch up to him. Within minutes, the heroic robot reached the tower that held the core and by his guess, he estimated that he had only five minutes left to dispose of the core before it meltdown. As he changed back into his robotic self, Steven hopped off of the trailer and ran up to Prime's side; much to the Autobot's surprise.
"Go Steven!" he told the boy
"But I can help!" Steven defended
"There's no time! You need to get out of here—now!" Optimus shouted
The Autobot leader then plunged his fist into the side of the tower and ripped out the reactor core, knowing that he had just sped up the time-table of its meltdown, he had to make a choice right then and there.
"I'm going to take this as far as I can away from here before it explodes" he quickly yet calmly explained to the boy "I need you to go back to the others and tell them to leave here and seek cover from the blast"
"But you'll be killed!" the boy objected
The Prime knelt down and gently placed his finger on the half-Gem's shoulder as way of assuring him that everything would be alright.
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" the machine told him softly "If I am to become one with the Matrix today so that others may see tomorrow, then it is a price I shall gladly pay"
"I'm not gonna let you die, Optimus!" Steven protested
Once again, another idea emerged in the young hero's mind, and just like the pervious ones—it wouldn't be a long shot, and it may be one neither of them would walk away from. But as the Prime had just said 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'.
By the time the other Autobots and the rest of the Gems had reached the tower, they saw a faint glimpse of Optimus's vehicle mode driving off in the direction of the rising sun. The trio of Crystal Gems frantically searched the surrounding area for their child, but her was no where to be found.
"We have to go after them!" Pearl said in frenzy before looking at the robots "Can one of you reach him?!"
"There's no time before—"Wheeljack attempted to say
Just then, a bright flash of blinding white light flash outward from where Optimus currently was, blocking out the horizon for several seconds as a loud booming sound echoed throughout the entire area for miles on end. The light was then followed by huge gust of wind that nearly knocked over both groups of aliens as it sped past them. After what seemed like forever, the white died off, revealing a smoking crater off in the far distant as the sun lowly rose over it.
Pearl fell to her knees as the tears flowed down from down from here eyes. She had lost her again, she had lost her Rose once more and now there was nothing left but ashes of her beloved leader. She felt as helpless and alone as she did when Rose first passed on so that Steven may live, but now Steven was...gone, and nothing she could say or do could bring him back.
Garnet stood still, but it was evident from her shaking fists that her entire body was wracked with sadness and fury like never before. Suddenly, in a fit of raw anger, the fusion summoned her gauntlets had began to pummel the side of the tower that held the core until it tumbled down in a pile of rubble which she then proceeded to smash as she screamed into the heavens above, as if her rage-filled cries would frighten whatever divine being into giving her boy back to her.
Amethyst was in stunned silence at the scene before her. She felt sad, angry, hurt and guilt-ridden all at once. True, she was used to those feelings, but watching the child whom she helped raise be killed right in front of her made those very same feelings hurt worse a thousand times more.
The Gems weren't the only ones feeling despondent; the Autobots were also in state of shock and despair at the sight of their leader whom they had faithfully followed since the start of the war on Cybertron and watch taken away from them without so much as a goodbye. Even through the darkest of hours, Optimus always lightened the way and lead his troops to victory, but in one brief moment, that light was snuffed out. Now the Decepticons were on the verge of winning the century's long war and the Autobots were without a leader.
No one said a word—no one wanted to. It all happened so fast that it almost felt like it was something they imagined. But the proof was there for all to see.
Optimus Prime and Steven Universe were dead…
A/N: I know it was recently revealed that Ruby and Sapphire met under different circumstances, but this story was out long before the fourth Steven Bomb came out. I did consider changing it, but I decided against it. in any case, I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter (despite the feels) and sorry for the long hiatus
