Chapter Ten
Dana was brushing up on Ratchet's lessons in how to read Cybertronian. Meanwhile Raf, Jack and Miko were scouring the alien conspiracy corner of the internet for signs of photographic or video proof of the Autobots' existence. After dozens of misses they actually found one.
"Uh- hold. The camera sure loves Bee." Jack said.
Miko leaned back. "What can you do? When you're a super star you're paparazzi bait."
Dana chuckled. "Yeah, it's hard to not notice a car with so much style."
"Wait- is that Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked from the nearby console where he was working.
"On a conspiracy website. Where users post evidence of close encounters." Raf confirmed, "But we have it under control Ratchet. We just scrub and replace Bee with-"
The chosen replacement was a gif of a cat with a space suit and a propeller hat. "Mars cat says take me to your feeder."
Dana loved when Raf used that one, it was adorable. To the humans' delight Ratchet found it amusing. The silly little gif managed to crack a grin from him.
"Ha." Ratchet seemed shocked he'd laughed and quickly stopped himself.
"Ratchet actually laughed?" Miko noted in surprise.
"Uh…" Ratchet's eyes darted, looking for an excuse or distraction.
"Heh. Um Optimus." Jack called, "You want to see something funny?"
Optimus was busy at work, as always. "No."
"Don't take it personally. Primes are built that way." Arcee claimed.
"Never seen Optimus laugh, cry or lose his cool." Bulkhead added.
"Oh, come on. Optimus might be serious and good at staying calm but he's not stoic." Dana argued.
"While Optimus certainly keeps his emotions in check I've known him far longer than any of you have." Ratchet cut in, "Dana's not wrong. And he was different before he was made a Prime."
"Optimus wasn't always a Prime?" Raf asked.
"Well, I've never heard any of you mention a second part to your name." Dana conceded, "Then it's a title or position?"
"Certainly. One Cybertron one isn't born into greatness one must earn it." Ratchet replied.
"So different how? We talking party animal?" Miko asked.
"No, no. Optimus was more like… Jack. And Dana when she's serious." Ratchet answered.
Dana blushed, caught off guard. "Flattery will get you places but I doubt all that like someone that amazing."
Jack was surprised too. "What? I'm nothing like Op-"
That was when a video call from Fowler came in. "Prime. Those tech heists my department's been tracking. We figured it was M.E.C.H on account of the stealth tactics. Until moments ago when a security feed at the Pennington Epps Particle captured this."
The image depicted a familiar bot who didn't show up in the field often.
"Soundwave." Jack noted.
"Raf can swap that out for you with a funny cat." Miko offered.
"The Con without a face made off with a cutting edge phase conductor." Fowler continued, "Here's a punch list of everything else we've confirmed stolen to date."
"Plasma injector, neutron shield, tesseract." Ratchet recited in puzzlement, "There's only one thing missing if they are intending to build a space bridge. An ample power source."
The very next day the Decepticons dropped the stealth and outright attacked the location of their latest target. Fowler offered to buy time until the Autobots arrived, but Optimus refused to risk the human soldiers' lives. The fighting was intense and there were more vehicons than usual, so Ratchet comlinked Bee to cut short an outing with Raf so he could provide backup. But a call for a ground bridge solely for Raf never came.
Then Optimus' call came. "Ratchet bridge us back now."
"Must have an Autobot down." Ratchet noted.
"Does he sound more severe than he usually is to anybody else?" Dana asked, "I think something is more wrong than usual."
The first through the ground bridge were Bumblebee and Arcee. Only, Arcee was cradling an alarmingly pale Raf in her arms. Neither bot could seem to take their eyes off of him. All three conscious humans approached the stairway.
"Raf?" Jack asked.
"No!" Miko said.
"What happened?" Ratchet asked, rushing to the pair to check on Raf.
"Megatron." Arcee said simply.
"Quickly into my laboratory." Ratchet ordered.
Without pause they rushed to get Raf laid out on a gurney and hooked up to a vital sign monitor.
"Uh. Rafael isn't responding. We must run diagnostics of his assemblage- uh vital statistics. Uh, my tools they're all wrong." Ratchet threw them in a fit of worried rage.
Bumblebee let out a distressed beep. Jack got out his phone.
"We need to call my mom." Jack said.
"Your mother may be a nurse but does she know anything about the affects of energon on the human body?" Ratchet asked pointedly.
"Do you know anything about the human body?" Jack countered, going back to his phone.
Ratchet's mouth fell open in surprise at Jack talking back to him. But the boy had a point, and nobody stopped him. Instead Ratchet simply turned to look at Raf.
"The weak will perish. Be strong Rafael." Ratchet said.
Dana had been puzzling why Ratchet's attempts to help were literally doing nothing. He'd managed to make sure Fowler didn't suffer long term harm after the Decepticons captured and tortured him, right? But it wasn't just any Decepticon, it was the leader himself, Megatron. Dana searched her mind for what she knew of him. Then something hit her.
"Ratchet, is Raf going to be okay?" Dana asked, "You've said that humans can't handle normal energon- Megatron has a known tendency towards the dark variety."
Ratchet looked towards her in shock before his expression turned contemplative.
"Hm… that would account for my scans not detecting normal energon…" Ratchet mused, "I've been going about this all wrong. Dana you're a genius!"
Ratchet began to scan Raf. "If dark energon is devouring Raf from the inside out we must expel it and fast- the only possible way I know.
"Wait, I don't understand. I thought you said energon was devastating on humans." Jack protested.
"Normally, yes. But I'm counting on the dark energon to meet it head on." Ratchet said, grabbing an empty jar, "I need energon."
Bumblebee was quick to volunteer to donate his own energon. Dana quietly mused that she could have offered the energon from the scraps she'd collected. But she didn't speak up, she was sure that having some small way to help would be the only thing keeping Bumblebee together.
Meanwhile Jack startled and tried to protest. "Wait, haven't you said energon is devastating for humans?"
"Under normal circumstances quite; you've seen it yourself after Agent Fowler's kidnapping debacle. But I am relying on the dark matter currently invading Rafael's body to meet it head on." Ratchet explained.
Ratchet moved fast to begin treatment. Not needed, Dana moved to where Bumblebee sat and patted his hand supportively.
"Remember Bee, h snuck up on you. Don't forget that this isn't your fault. And Raf's going to be fine and raring to play videogames with you in no time." Dana reassured quietly.
Bumblebee beeped at her questioningly.
"What, are you afraid of how he'll react?" Dana guessed, and Bumblebee nodded, "Well, you're Raf's best friend. He doesn't call you family for kicks, you know."
Bumblebee beeped at her again. "Any time, Bee. I'm always ready to be there for a friend or my family."
Finally June, Jack's mom arrived. June and Ratchet had a brief argument but with their combined specialties Raf was finally on the mend. Though June did seem to disapprove of going through with treatment before getting Raf stabilized. She quickly conceded when informed that nobody knew if Raf had that kind of time, though. By the time she was packing up her medical supplies and putting the bag back in her car Raf's complexion had finally returned to normal, the first visible sign of improvement.
"Ratchet how is Rafael?" Optimus asked over the comlink.
"He's slowly showing signs of improvement." Ratchet said.
"He's in good hands." Optimus reassured, catching the tone of uncertainty in Ratchet's voice.
Ratchet watched as June made a final check of Raf's vitals.
"Not mine, if Dana had not realized the issue so quickly I doubt I'd have realized how to treat him yet." Ratchet admitted, "Curse my Cybertronian pride. We've accepted the humans into our lives yet I bothered to learn so little of their science or medicine."
"Pull yourself together old friend. Rafael needs you as much as Dana has come to." Optimus advised.
"And I have come to need them." Ratchet admitted, watching Dana hugging Bumblebee's leg reassuringly as they waited for the yellow and black mech's charge to wake up.
"Lock on to my coordinates and activate the ground bridge." Optimus requested.
Ratchet was quick to oblige. Bulkhead returned alone, however struggling to carry the power source the Decepticons had stolen. Hurting Raf had been the last straw, and now Optimus was determined to end Megatron. As everyone waited Dana could practically see the wheels turning in June's head. She was worried the woman would make a hasty and possible foolish decision. She quietly took Bulkhead and Miko aside.
"Miko, get out your phone and get to the audio recording app." Dana requested as she got out her own phone.
"What's wrong, Dana?" Bulkhead asked.
"I always knew it was only a matter of time before bad luck or bad timing overcame you bots' strength and one of us got hurt." Dana admitted, "But I never thought to factor in Mrs. Darby."
"What about it, Dana?" Miko asked.
"Yeah, I'd have thought this was a lucky break." Bulkhead agreed.
"I'm getting to that. Miko, start recording… now." Dana said as she started her own recording app at the same time as Miko did hers, "The bottom line is this. If I ever get hurt because of anything Cybertronian related and Ratchet says human medicine and science can't do anything for me, don't let anybody take me away from the base. I'm an adult, so as long as you've got proof June technically won't have any ground to stand on if she tries to force the issue. If she does Miko and the Autobots have my full permission to use any force necessary short of harm to keep her from taking me away."
With that the girls stopped recording.
"What gives? I thought you liked helicopter mom more than I did." Miko asked.
"When she's worried she's short sighted. I won't die from something treatable because she thought she knew better about bot related matters than the Autobots' medic and science officer." Dana explained.
Finally Raf woke up. Everybody gathered around the gurney to check on Raf.
"Bee." Raf said quietly as Miko and Dana hugged him.
"Optimus we did it." Ratchet reported.
Finally Arcee paid attention to the rest of the situation. "Bulkhead you let Optimus face Megatron alone?"
"I didn't have a choice." Bulkhead explained.
"Depending on how things go I don't know how badly he actually needs backup right now, even against Megatron." Dana mused, "Quiet people and especially kind people tend to be the last you want to piss off. It's outside forces interfering with the inevitable showdown that we need to worry about."
"It could be a trap. We need to get a fix on his current location." Ratchet pointed out, moving to the computer, "I'm locked onto Optimus' signal. Wait… how is this possible?"
"What? What is it?" Arcee asked.
"Let me guess- something that could count as outside interference?" Dana guessed.
"We need to get Optimus out of there, now." Ratchet demanded.
When Ratchet opened the ground bridge he followed Bulkhead and Arcee. When the three of them got back Bulkhead and Ratchet were helping Optimus walk.
"Easy, Optimus. From the looks of things you've been exposed to a massive amount of dark energon." Ratchet said.
"I am not the only one." Optimus pointed out, looking to where June was making sure one more time that Raf was really okay.
Ratchet sat Optimus down. Dana had grabbed the human sized ones she kept on base so she'd have an easier time helping Ratchet while the Autobots were retrieving their leader and rushed to Optimus' side. The big bot was looking at Raf from his spot next to the gurney the human boy was on, a grim yet relieved expression on his face.
Raf looked at Optimus, a tired smile on his face. "Hey."
June looked at Optimus with a sever expression. Dana could already feel a headache forming. Whatever was going on was about more than them.
"He's lucky to be alive." June said, clearly containing her fury.
"What matters is that he's okay now. This is not the time, Mrs. Darby." Dana cut in from where she was already working on Optimus' injuries.
Jack and Miko made their way down the stairs.
"Megatron found more of the dark stuff?" Jack asked.
"A volcano full." Arcee said.
"The question is how." Bulkhead added.
"No. The question is 'what'." Ratchet cut in, "As in what in the world is the blood of Unicron doing here on Earth?"
"Normally your reaction would be the only thing keeping me from guessing the same as the normal stuff but volcanoes are supposed to contain lava." Dana conceded.
Miko was caught up on something none of the humans understood.
"The Cons killed a unicorn?" the bots looked at Miko blankly and she elaborated, "White horse with a horn on its head. Prances around all sparkly."
"Unicron, an ancient whose fossilized blood comprises the matter which we call dark energon." Ratchet elaborated, "As legend would have it."
"So you're saying this Unicron is some kind of boogeyman?" June asked.
"Make believe creepy guy who hides in your closet." Miko explained.
"No Nurse Darby. Unicron is very real." Ratchet explained, "… Was. That is… while I do believe he once existed I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which harmed Raf."
June was through being patient. "I've heard enough. Jack, please. Help me get Raf into the car."
Bumblebee said something, probably a protest judging by the worried tone. Dana stood by Bumblebee on this. If a dark substance legend theorized was the blood of a devil-like figure the last thing any of the humans connected to Team Prime wanted was to be on their own.
"Mom, I thought he was doing better." Jack protested as he followed June.
"Raf needs to be examined by real doctors and Raf's family needs to know what's happened." June claimed, "His real family."
"Mom Raf's family can't protect him." Jack pointed out, gesturing to the Autobots, "Not like they can."
Optimus stood up. "June. It deeply grieves me that I have failed, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends or any human ever again."
"Optimus, they're children. They do not belong in your world." June claimed, "They should be worrying about grades, prom dates, pimples. Not their own survival."
"Mom, dark energon is pouring out of the Earth. It doesn't do that. This could be about everyone's survival not just ours." Jack pointed out.
"You're coming with me all four of you." June demanded, "And they will not be coming back."
"I understand." Optimus said.
"That's it?" Miko asked indignantly as she rushed to Optimus, "After all we've been through together 'See ya'? What about our freedom to choose?"
"That may fly on their planet but not here on Earth." June claimed as Raf climbed into the back of her car, "Get in."
"Do you really expect me to ride in a non transforming vehicle?" Miko asked, not moving.
"Miko I'm serious." June said.
"You're not my mother." Miko reminded, hands on her hips.
"Miko." Bulkhead scolded.
"Neither are you." Miko said sharply.
"Well I am yours. Let's go Jack." June said.
"She is your mom." Arcee conceded.
Jack thought it over a moment. "I'm staying. I'm sorry."
June looked angry for a moment and moved to return to her car. But Dana had moved behind her.
"I hope you're happy, insulting our bonds with the Autobots and putting yourself and Raf in danger." Dana said, "You're letting your worry cloud your judgement. This is reckless, Mrs. Darby. This has the potential to be so much worse than the stunts Miko pulls. I'm begging you, if you insist on being stupid at least let Raf stay."
June looked taken aback for a moment. Dana even hoped she'd give in and leave Raf there. But instead June just steeled herself, glared and made her way to her car. Raf's and Bumblebee's distressed expressions after she closed the door by his seat were heart breaking.
"Ratchet, activate the ground bridge." Optimus requested.
"No thank you." June said, driving away.
Bumblebee stepped towards the car. Dana could just see Raf still watching them through the windshield. Dana swore Bumblebee might start crying, and she bet Raf was already crying. She put an arm around Bumblebee's leg reassuringly. He picked her up and brought her to his chest, silently accepting the solace. Before anyone could react further to what happened Fowler called.
"Prime, do you copy?" Fowler asked.
"I hear you agent Fowler." Optimus assured.
"Been watching the new? Mother nature's got a twitch in her britches." Fowler reported.
"We know about the volcano." Optimus replied.
"And the quakes?" Fowler said, "Seven major tumblers of the exact same magnitude at the exact same time as the volcanic eruption all over the globe on different tectonic plates, in theory unrelated if they hadn't happened-"
"At the exact same time." Ratchet finished.
That was when Miko turned pointed out a story on the news. It reported just how bad things really were. Multiple types of natural disasters of various kinds, all at the same time. Tornadoes, tsunamis, you name it.
"Don't tell me the Cons built a weather machine." Fowler guessed.
"One that powerful? Highly unlikely." Ratchet said.
"I do not believe the appearance of dark energon at this time to be coincidental." Optimus said.
As the others were talking Dana and Bumblebee exchanged a look. She nodded her head toward the exit tunnel June had recently driven down.
"Go." she whispered, "There's no way there isn't trouble. I don't care what June says or thinks, she never had a right to take Raf from you against his will."
Bumblebee beeped something that sounded like an agreement and put Dana down on the upper level. Then he raced away. When the call was done Dana got Optimus to sit back down to finish her abandoned repair work.
"Do you know where Bumblebee went, Dana?" Optimus asked as he watched her work.
"Where do you think? He's off to make sure June's decision doesn't get her and Raf killed by this freak weather." Dana said softly, "Just like I bet you would for any of us. For what little it's worth I'm sorry she said those things."
Optimus looked at Dana searchingly. "I simply feel honored and relieved that the three of you chose to remain."
With a sigh Dana finished and put her tools away. "Thank the stars the damage seems basically superficial. I wish I could get ahold of more equipment, I'd be able to touch up everyone' paint jobs."
Optimus smiled, he didn't interact with the humans much but it warmed him down to his very spark watching the oldest of the four's never ending quest to help the best she could. "Thank you for the repairs and all of your other hard work, Dana. Your often appear as headstrong as Miko, but your protective streak and compassion are admirable."
Dana blushed, flustered despite herself. Why did compliments from Optimus have such a huge effect on her? Sure she admired Optimus and he was amazing but sometimes she felt a little ridiculous. Was this what hero worship was like?
A short time later Optimus and Ratchet were studying readings of the weather anomalies trying to figure things out. That was when Bumblebee returned and his passenger door opened to reveal Raf.
"We're back." Raf greeted as he hopped out and June exited the driver's side.
"And we are glad." Ratchet said.
Bumblebee transformed out of his alt mode. As Jack checked on his mother Dana rushed to Raf. After glancing him over to make sure he wasn't visibly injured she pulled him into a hug.
"Welcome back buddy. I'm sorry I couldn't keep her from making you leave." Dana whispered.
Raf returned her embrace. "Don't worry about it, I appreciate that you tried."
Meanwhile Jack and June fumbled through making up. Finally June pulled Jack into her own hug.
"I know. But you're grounded till you're thirty." June finished when she pulled away, "Twenty five."
Meanwhile the news was still playing. "World leaders are classifying these bizarre weather patterns as a global emergency."
"Global?!" June exclaimed in surprise.
Dana shot her a deadpan expression that screamed 'I told you so.' "Jack and I both tried to warn you, Mrs. Darby."
"-and scientists believe the phenomena to be somehow related to the current planetary alignment."
That was when Fowler showed up in person.
"What have you learned Prime? And you better not blow smoke up my-" Fowler noticed June and cut himself short, "Oven. Wa ha. Ms. Darby. What a nice surprise."
Dana raised an eyebrow.
"Special Agent Fowler." June greeted.
"We have learned this- as with the so called magma from the volcano these earthquakes originated far below the Earth's crust. From the very center of the Earth's core in fact." Ratchet reported.
"Quakes don't start there." Fowler pointed out, "Do they?"
"Tiny tremors rising and falling in a consistent pattern." Ratchet noted, "Almost like… By the Allspark. If I convert these data points to audio files…"
"What? What is it?" Fowler asked.
"Listen." Ratchet instructed.
The sound was similar to a heartbeat but the rhythm was off. But it wasn't unfamiliar. Dana had heard it before- when she fixed up Ratchet after the synth en incident.
"That's… isn't that the rhythm of your sparks?" Dana noted, voicing her realization.
"Spark? You mean that's a Cybertronian heartbeat?" Jack asked.
"How is that possible? A heart pumps blood." June protested, "There's nothing inside the Earth to pump except-"
That led everyone to a grim realization.
"The blood of Unicron." Raf said.
"Okay hold on. Something's living down there inside our planet?" Miko asked from Bulkhead's shoulder.
"I fear that the Earth's very core is not comprised of magma as your science has suggested but of dark energon." Optimus theorized.
"And if we're hearing a spark then Unicron is the rising darkness that the prophecy foretold." Ratchet added.
Fowler got straight to the point. "So how do we stop this thing from rising?"
"That I'm afraid was not foretold." Optimus admitted.
"How can something be in our Earth's core and be alive?" June asked.
"Such a thing is not precedented. Before the beginning there was Primus and there was Unicron." Optimus said, "One the incarnation of creation, the other of destruction. For eons Primus and Unicron battled, the balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the Thirteen, the original Primes that preceded me was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out. Primus became one with the very core of our planet, creating life through the well of Allsparks. While Unicron was never to be heard from again… until now."
"Maybe we can find the hole this uber Con left when he dug himself all the way down there and fill it full of explosives." Fowler suggested.
"That would take weeks, maybe months." Dana pointed out.
"Agent Fowler I do not believe that Earth became Unicron's home but rather that with time and gravitational force debris collected around the slumbering titan-"
"Forming your Earth itself." Ratchet finished, ever on the same mind track as Optimus.
"And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull created by the planetary alignment." Arcee guessed, catching on.
"Okay well what happens now when Unicron wakes up from his billion year nap?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, does he stretch and ka-pow, Earth poofs to dust?" Miko chimed in.
Optimus was silent. Dana didn't know if the news was grim or if he was thinking. Her guess was both.
"You don't know do you?" June realized.
"My guess is Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it. Nonetheless we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens. The fate of your planet depends upon it." Optimus said at last.
That couldn't possibly be good. Not only did this scenario scream apocalypse but the big bad responsible didn't actually have a properly physical form that could be disposed of anymore. Pushing aside the nagging feeling that a villainous being without a proper body sounded strangely familiar, Dana prayed to Earth deities she didn't even know if she believed in and Primus to give the Autobots just the slightest boost of luck to help things turn out okay without casualties.
End of Chapter