Ok here is the next chapter.
Just to clarify, the character Lazer-Wave who appeared last chapter is NOT Shockwave. While Laserwave is Shockwaves Japanese name, I simply used it for a character whose body I based on Transformers: Animated Shockwave, who is a separate character entirely. Shout out to J the Abarekiller for pointing this out. Thank you.
Chapter 9: Things Get Personal
The void was large, darkened except for the sole light illuminating the massive robot, with its arms and legs chained to the ceiling and floor respectively. A mysterious black smoke was what filled the air of this void.
The robot grunted and slowly opened his optics, his vision attempting to adjust to the surroundings.
"Is this…the Well of AllSparks…?"
A voice seemed to rasp from nowhere and everywhere at once. "No."
"Where am I? Who are you?"
"I suppose it would not hurt to tell you. My name is Sideways."
"Where are you?"
"I have a proposition for you. Times are coming: dark times, chaotic times, times where things will change."
The massive robot struggled against the chains, trying to get free.
"Many will die, but some will live. I am offering you the chance to live through these times."
"And why would I wish to live through these times?"
"You are the last Prime; the last of the holders of the Matrix of Leadership, the collective wisdom of the Primes, the first 13 Cybertronians. Think of it. If you accept my offer, the Primes will live on, survive through these times into the new age. Optimus Prime, if you accept my offer, YOU will survive."
Optimus glared into the smoke.
"I do not know you, or what your agenda is, or what that agenda entails. But my intention was clear when I returned the AllSpark to Cybertron's core. The Age of Primes has ended. And I have no intention of following someone who will not show himself or explain anything."
A sound resonated through the smoke, sounding somewhat like a thoughtful 'hm.'
"Very well."
Ayano Keiko crouched behind a dumpster in a city alley, shaking as she held her breath, trying her best not to make a sound. At the entrance to the alley, a large shadow appeared.
'What is this? Why is this happening?'
Headlights suddenly illuminated the alley, and the sound of a revving engine growled through the air, as a large jeep slowly began creeping into the alley, as if stalking prey.
'What is that thing? Why did it start following me? Why didn't it have a driver?'
Suddenly, the jeep stopped moving forward, and quickly reversed out. Keiko cautiously peeked out from behind the dumpster.
And a blinding light flashed, enveloping her…
"My answer is once again no, especially given what you have told me."
"Optimus Prime…why do you continue refuse? I do not have to extend this offer, but I am willing to go out of my way for you."
"Why are you interested in allowing me to live?" Optimus deflected, "Your master always sought to exterminate life, why is there this offer to preserve mine?"
"Because, Optimus Prime, I am tired. My master is tired. We are ALL tired. We are tired of this pointless cycle, this destiny of destruction, the inevitable conflict that will eventually emerge again.
Nagata Shinichi sighed as he waited in the deserted subway station. It was late, and as a result, most of the station staff and passengers had gone home. Here he was, alone, waiting to catch a late-night train back home, and mulling over what had happened recently.
First, he gets involved in this mission to save someone, REALLY save someone, from which he takes a penalizing death. Then all of this is suddenly revealed to be some part of some big conspiracy that gets ALO taken down. And after that, this new thing called the World Seed is introduced, and ALO along with the VR industry in general, was revitalized. And over the past few months, he had seen very little of Suguha. When he did manage to talk to her, she was always avoiding telling him what she was doing, as if she was hiding something.
Yeah, it had been a hectic few months.
Shinichi closed his eyes.
He cared about Suguha, he really did. But she had seemed so distant lately, and it worried him.
'I don't know if Kirigaya feels that way about me, but she's my friend…and she's definitely hiding something.'
Inhaling deeply, Shinichi opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling of the station.
'Damn it! I want to be there for her, I want to be her friend. I wish I knew what was going on, why she's been so secretive. I wish I knew what was happening.' He thought to himself as he heard a train approaching.
'I wish I could help her out.'
And then, as the train passed, something from out of the darkness grabbed him…
"What do you mean?" Optimus asked.
"Prime, have you ever considered why Cybertronians come into conflict so often? Have you wondered why it is always so difficult to forge a lasting and stable peace?"
Optimus didn't respond, so the voice continued.
"The way we see it, Cybertronians are MEANT to fight each other. They exist BECAUSE there is conflict. Cybertronians were inevitably created for war, forged to fight if you will. They are destined to fight each other, to fight until they die, and the will cycle begin anew. It is what that saying you cling to truly means, that saying ''Till all are one.' It means that you will continue to fight, continue to kill, continue to die, until you have all become one with your AllSpark!"
"That is not true!" Optimus responded.
"If it is not true, then why is your history littered with conflict? Why is there so much corruption, injustice, and death? Be it through an unjust government system or any number of Great Wars, there was always conflict in your history, since before your history even began. Think of Megatronus Prime and the Liege Maximo, evil that was among the very first of your kind. The Thirteen that were created to help Primus defeat Unicron!"
Optimus fought to find a response, but none came.
"My organization simply seeks to end this viscous cycle; to wipe the board clean and start anew. To end a doomed, flawed destiny; a cruel fate from which there is no escape."
There was a pause.
"Think of this: if you were to accept my offer, you would be able to survive, and carry on into a new, blank era! You could bring your views, on equality, on justice, on right and wrong. And you could build the ideal Cybertron you sought to create! You could build Cybertron the way YOU saw it! Start anew with a way that would not lead to an inevitable cycle of destruction and death! You can break the cycle! You can create a perfect Cyberton!"
A long, pained pause passed, before Optimus finally responded.
"I will not join you."
"Hm, very well. I had hoped to earn your cooperation willingly."
Suddenly, the smoke in the room began to shift, and a gaseous liquid began to form on Optimus' limbs. Optimus began to struggle as hew felt pressure from where the liquid was covering, as it began to climb up his limbs.
"What…?"
"Like I said, I did not have to go out of my way to convince you to join us. We did not even expect to recover you from the Well of AllSparks…"
Optimus screamed as the pressure turned to pain, the gaseous liquid spreading over his torso, seeping into him.
"…but now that you are here, your use as an asset is too important to simply toss away."
Optimus' screams gradually lowered as the liquid consumed Optimus' head, his optics changing from blue to magenta…
…
…Rebooting…
"…"
Soundwave groaned as he slowly powered back up, his vision slowly returning. The first thing he noticed was that his left arm socket hurt like slag, the second was that his left arm was missing entirely. He was leaning against a wall in what appeared to be another kind of warehouse.
"You're up. Good."
Soundwave turned his head when heard the comment, noticing Asuna, who was wrapped in a blanket and holding a steaming mug, sitting on the stairs of a gantry, watching over him. Immediately, the previous events replayed in his mind.
"Where are we?" Soundwave finally asked.
"A storage facility," Asuna answered, "Agent Fowler told us it was someplace called California. Given your actions, injuries, as well as the limited number of equipment, they decided to let you sit here unrestrained. For now."
"Laserbeak!" Soundwave suddenly remembered, struggling to look around for the drone. To Soundwave's relief, Laserbeak sat over in a corner, currently powered down.
"Why?"
Soundwave turned to the voice of Asuna, who was staring up at him.
"Elaborate."
"Why did you protect me? You've saved me twice now…"
"You are under my command. You are my responsibility, I will not let anything happen to you."
Asuna smirked to herself. That response could be considered cold. But she felt there was more to it.
For one thing, this whole 'squad' thing wasn't even official.
For another thing, he had saved her even before she knew him.
And the fact that he said he would not let anything happen to her…
"You know, you are a bit like Kirito…"
"…How so?"
Asuna chuckled. "You're both so crap at expressing yourself."
"…"
"But…I think you do care."
"…"
Asuna looked up at his faceplate, straight into his optics.
"Thank you for saving my life."
Fowler sighed.
"Now, I know this is a lot to take in…"
"I don't think we agree on the scope of 'a lot.'" Parker mused.
Parker and Soong were seated in an office off the top gantry of the warehouse, with Agent Fowler sitting across a desk in front of them. Parker was staring at Fowler and Soong had his forehead in his hands, both having been told the circumstances behind the recent events.
Soong exhaled.
"We weren't even supposed to be here… We were only here by chance…"
"Well, I for one am glad that you were here."
Soong and Parker looked up at Agent Fowler in surprise.
"You both saved that girl, Asuna Yuuki. I am tremendously grateful." Fowler smiled.
The two stared.
Parker smiled slowly.
"Well damn, we're heroes." Soong put in.
"Where is this place?" Raf thought out loud as he and Miko looked around at what was stored in the warehouse.
It all looked Cybertronian, with energon cubes, some full and some empty, stacked against one wall, and what appeared to be lumps of tan clay in a corner. There were turned off Cybertronian computers, GroundBridge parts, and a lot of things that the Humans did not recognize, stacked throughout the warehouse.
"A storage facility," Ratchet replied, not looking up from the work he was performing on Wheeljack, "When we first arrived on Earth, our ship had crash-landed, and was rendered inoperable. While we set up a main base in the missile silo, excess parts and equipment were stored here. It is how Unit E was able to be set up so quickly after our first base was destroyed; we had back-up computers and GroundBridge parts that could be moved to Hangar E."
"Huh, makes sense," remarked Raf.
Miko interrupted, pointing to the clay-like things, "Hey Ratchet, what are those?"
Ratchet suddenly seemed to freeze up, and even Wheeljack looked solemn.
"Living metal, the material from which Cybertronians are formed. The bunch you see there was part of the medical supplies, intended for use if anyone needed to regenerate." Ratchet informed, "It is extremely hard to come by since Cybertron went dark, so we were intending to use it only in extreme circumstances."
"Couldn't you just have repaired Ultra Magnus' hand with that stuff?"
"Like I said, hard to come by, and used only in EXTREME circumstances."
"I think the doc means," Wheeljack interjected, "That it was to be rationed only if the injuries were way more brutal."
"Makes sense," Raf mused, "it must have been difficult, trying to decide the right time to use it."
Ratchet nodded solemnly.
Suddenly, what appeared to be the sound of jet engines outside alerted everyone that something was coming.
Arcee and Bumblebee, who were standing guard at the entrance of the warehouse, activated their cannons, with Arcee shouting a warning. Quickly, Wheeljack and Ratchet finished off what they were doing, and headed to the front of the warehouse. Fowler hurried from the office as well, mobilizing the Human military guard that had been stationed there.
Soong suddenly burst from the office, clearly panicked.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHAT'S HAPPENING? TWICE IN THE SAME GODDAMN DAY!"
The Autobots positioned themselves at the entrance to the warehouse, activating their weapons just in case. From above, what appeared to be a type of purple bomber, an F-18 fighter jet, and a strange red jet that vaguely resembled a Sukhoi Su-35 began to descend. In addition, a large double-barreled tank rumbled up, flanked by a grey and olive jeep.
As they neared, several began to transform.
(I'm just going to name them here, without going through a lot of introduction dialogue. This won't become a habit.)
"Hardtop, transform!" the jeep bellowed, transforming into a bulky robot holding a machine gun.
"Warwing, transform!" the F-18 smoothly stated, transforming into a green and grey robot with a cone-shaped head, landing on his feet smoothly.
"Ulchtar, transform!" the red jet shouted, transforming into a red robot, with what appeared to be a racecar-shaped shield attached to his left arm, as he too landed on his feet smoothly.
"Bludgeon, TRANSFORM!" The tank roared, as it transformed into a large green and orange robot with what appeared to be a skull for a face.
"THEY'RE DECEPTICONS!" Wheeljack shouted, as he pulled his two swords from his back. Bumblebee and Arcee began charging their blasters, and Ratchet transformed his arms into scalpel-like blades. In response, Hardtop brought up his machine gun, two cannons moved from Ulchtar's back onto his shoulders, and a wrist mounted gun morphed onto Warwing's right arm. Before pandemonium could begin, however, Bludgeon held up his hand.
"STOP! DON'T FIRE!"
"You're Bludgeon!" Wheeljack called, "The leader of the Mayhem Attack Squad! The master of Metallikato!"
"I see my reputation precedes me." Bludgeon answered.
"Reputation? You mean the butcher of the city of Orga? Not exactly a reputation to be proud of!"
"Long time, eh 'Bee?" Hardtop taunted.
"Who're…Hardtop!" Bumblebee replied, suddenly recognizing an old rival.
"Silence!" Bludgeon bellowed.
"Bludgeon." Arce called, "I don't know what you're doing but the war is over. Whatever your plan is, we can resolve it peacefully."
"My thoughts exactly," The skull-faced robot responded. "I have merely come for someone. Surrender him, and we shall take our leave WIHTOUT violence."
"You're here for someone?" Arcee responded, immediately suspecting it was going to be Soundwave.
"Yes," Bludgeon responded, "I am here for the Human Kirigaya Kazuto."
What?
"Wait…they want Kirito!?" Asuna shouted, as she jumped up and fled down the stairs of the gantry, Soundwave's masked face following her.
"Never heard of him!" Arcee responded.
"Don't try that with me," Bludgeon responded, "I know you have him here, and I know who he is. I know he was involved with this 'SAO incident,' and I know he was the one who deployed the World Seed."
Kazuto had been hiding in the back of the warehouse with Suguha, Miko and Raf, with several Human soldiers taking up positions to protect them.
Kazuto's eyes widened in shock when he heard.
'How could he know that?"
"I know a lot of things," Bludgeon continued, "Lugnut, deploy them."
The purple bomber, which had held position above the confrontation, began to descend, with the back ramp opening. 4 scared and helpless Humans were almost immediately launched onto the ground from the bomber, as the bomber proceeded to transform into a large bulky robot with claws for hands, and a head with one large optic and four smaller optics.
"Here," Bludgeon continued, as he raised his sword in front of the Humans, "I have some Humans. Tsuboi Ryoutarou, Shinozaki Rika, Ayano Keiko, and Nagata Shinichi. Also known as Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, and Recon."
'WHAT!' was all that went through Kazuto's mind.
Suguhas eyes widened. They had Shinichi too?
Kazuto scrambled from his hiding place, shoving past the soldiers before they had the chance to grab him.
"Kirigaya Kazuto," Bludgeon called, "I have an ultimatum. If you do not come out and surrender yourself to us, I WILL execute these Humans.
Keiko and Rika screamed, clutching each other. Shinichi was too afraid to move a muscle, while Klein stood in front of the three, glaring up at their captors.
"No!" Wheeljack shouted, and he charged toward the Decepticons.
He was stopped by a bolt that appeared out of seemingly nowhere hitting the ground in front of him.
Hardtop laughed. "Not a good move. Nice shot, Sharpshot."
"I aim to please." A new voice smugly stated.
Two more Decepticons emerged from the outsides of the warehouse. One of them, a grey and orange robot with a sniper rifle, and a blue robot that had markings of what appeared to be a red face on his chest.
"You're surrounded. 'Bludgeon stated, "You're outnumbered and outgunned. If a battle ensues, we will kill everyone, Humans included." A pause. "Kirigaya Kazuto, this is my only offer. Come quietly, and I shall leave in peace. If you do not, we will simply take you by force."
Kazuto, who was hiding behind some energon crates near the entrance to the warehouse, fell to the floor as he let the information sink in. He had to make a choice.
Hardtop laughed out loud, while Lugnut growled, and Ulchtar stood silently. Warwings mouth twitched, and Sharpshot grinned as he aimed his sniper rifle at Wheeljack, and the blue robot stepped forward.
"C'mon, I don't want to get innocent people involved…"
That voice…
It couldn't be…
"…but I have my orders. If you don't come quietly, you gotta' get ready to crumble before…"
"RUMBLE!"
Everyone was caught off guard as Soundwave, gasping and desperate, shoved his way passed the defending Autobots out of the warehouse until he was staring the blue robot, who had also frozen.
"Commander S-s-Soundwave?"
There was a sound, and a device detached from Rumble's shoulder, transforming into a Human-sized black jaguar, who stared up at Soundwave, not moving an inch.
Soundwave finally managed to respond.
"Ravage…Rumble…"
A/N: Well now, what do we have here?
I originally intended to write abduction scenes for Rika/Lisbeth AND Ryoutaro/Klein, but I decided to cut them for time. ANd I was having a hard time writing them.
As always, please read and let me know what you think!
If you have any questions, let me know in the reviews, and I'll try to respond to them if possible.
