Chapter 11: Weapons
Eleonor felt a little nervous as she prepared the I.V. line. Of course it was a simple procedure, but with every optic on her, it was a little unsettling. Starscream, who also had some training in first aid, was helping her with the tasks that required more physical strenght, like pulling aside the armor plates and the thicker cables of the slumbering mech.
"I need some light." She said, looking inside the open chest of the Librarian. The room in which they were didn't have very potent lighting, and the interior of the mech was completely in the shadows.
Blitzwing approached and turned on several small spotlights that he had built-in in his chassis, effectively illuminating her work zone.
"OK, I can see the fuel tank." She murmured, as she grabbed the line and squirmed her way inside the mech's open chest. There, she opened a manual energon inlet, and hooked the I.V. line in it.
Climbing outside the chest, she opened the line valve and the energon started to flow from the cube to the mech's fuel tank. In a few minutes, the transfusion was complete, and Eleonor unhooked the lines. Then, connecting a datapad to one of the mech's medical ports, she ran a quick scan to check the health status of the slumbering mech. After all, he seemed to have been in stasis for a very long time, and it was possible that he had sustained damage due to aging in that time.
"What is his status?" Starscream asked, closing the chest of the Librarian.
"He definitely could use some maintenance. His circuits seem in bad shape and his joints are a little rusted, but he'll live." She replied, reviewing the diagnosis in the datapad. "However, he seems to have spent so much time in stasis, that his initializing circuits are having a hard time trying to reboot. I am going to manually force a jump-start." She added, and begun typing the necessary commands in the datapad, just as Ratchet had taught her.
Megatron had been inspecting her work, secretly marvelled by her precise movements and infinite care as she was handling the delicate inner parts of the sleeping Librarian. Medical mechs were always useful, and every team should have one. But they weren't abundant. It had been a lucky strike that his Second in Command's pet happened to have some basic medical training.
"Well, I've done everything I could. I think he should wake up at any time soon if-Woah!" But she couldn't finish the sentence, because the slumbering mech's body jerked beneath her as he on-lined, making Eleonor loose her balance. "Help!" She gasped as she felt the gravity claiming her.
Fortunately, she didn't make it too far, and her fall was stopped by the nearest servo. She let out a relieved sigh, looking down at the floor. The berth in which she had been working was quite high, and she could have been badly hurt.
"Woohoo! I gotcha, little nurse! Can I keep her? Can I?"
Eleonor looked up and discovered that his saviour had been the triple-changer, that happened to be the nearest mech. His LED screen-face was displaying a huge grin, as he rose her to optic level. The young woman flinched slightly at the sudden move, holding to a finger for balance.
Starscream's wings stiffened. His pet was in the servos of a potentially dangerous mech, who was also quite unstable due to his personality changes. Eleonor also knew this, and was frozen in place, trying to think of the best way to get out of the delicate predicament.
"Thank you, Blitzwing! You saved me!" Eleonor beamed. A response that none of the present mechs were expecting. Not even the triple-changer, because he was also stunned in silence for almost five seconds.
"Gou with your owner, zmall pest. I do not save puny zhings like yoo." Blitzwing's face-plates had changed to the red-visored one. He turned to Starscream and placed her a little harshly, but unharmed, in the seeker's servos.
The seeker released a metaphorical breath he didn't know he was holding, and kept his human close to his chest, protectively shielded within his servos.
"Where... am I?"
And with all the trouble, they had completely forgotten that the slumbering mech was no longer asleep.
The old mech straightened himself to a sitting position, all his joints cracking and hydraulics hissing in the process.
"Who are you?" He added, looking around him and taking in all the mechs that were surrounding him.
Megatron intervened at that moment, deciding that his subordinates had had enough diversions, and that it was time for serious business. He approached to the berth where the old mech was sitting, and crossed his strong arms over his broad chest-plates.
"I make the questions here." Megatron stated with a cold tone.
The old mech looked back at Megatron, and narrowed his optics, studying the Decepticon Leader for a long moment.
"You would do well in respecting your elders, youngling." He said suddenly, and not satisfied with glaring back at Megatron, he accompanied his reply with a smack in the Decepticon Leader's helm.
Of course the hit had been only to prove his point, and had not physically harmed Megatron in any way. But it had been so long since anyone had dared to treat him with such disrespect, that the Decepticon Leader just stood there with a dumbfounded expression for a long moment, too shocked to speak.
Starscream's wings stiffened. Soundwave's visor flashed bright red in surprise. Shockwave's arm-gun twitched and whirled slightly. Blitzwing cringed involuntarily. Eleonor suppressed a gasp, staring at the scene between the seeker's servos. She had not understood a thing of what had been said, but the smack at the Decepticon Leader's helm had been in universal-language.
"Well, are you all going to stand there dumbfounded or are you going to help an old mech to stand?" The old mech grumbled and descended from the berth with difficulty, his joints creaking and hissing, protesting with the lack of usage. "By Primus, these younglings are worse mannered with each passing millenia! What did they teach you at the academy?" He stretched his aching back and took a couple of tentative steps, walking with a stoop.
Megatron, by that moment, had managed to come out of his stupor, and was now shaking with contained fury, barely suppressing the urge to blast the old mech with his fusion cannon.
"Do you have any idea of whom you are speaking to?" Inquired Megatron, and the tone of his voice was enough to make energon and blood froze in lines and veins. The old mech, however, seemed immune to this effects.
"Of course, you are Megatron. The founder of one of those two idiotic factions that are raising. I don't remember which one, though." He replied, waving a servo in the air with a dismissive gesture. Then, he paused for a couple of seconds, glancing up as if he was remembering something from a distant past. "Even before you could use your vocalizer, I had already heard..." He trailed off.
"What?"
"Ah, I have forgotten it." The old mech shrugged, with a weak chuckle.
An awkward silence engulfed the room and its occupants.
"Do you remember all that times that I have called you 'old senile rust bucket'?" Murmured Starscream, breaking the silence and glancing at his Leader with a deadpanned expression. "Well, I take them back."
Megatron growled dangerously at his Second in Command, but was interrupted by the old mech.
"And what senseless jargon are you speaking, sparkling?"
"Sparkling?" Repeated Starscream in shock. The senile mech had called Megatron 'youngling', and not satisfied with that, he dared to call him 'sparkling'! "I have not survived thousands of stellar cycles of war to be called a sparkling by a senile fool!" He screeched.
"War?" Repeated the old mech in shock. "What war?"
Megatron let out an aggravated sigh, starting to loose his patience. He was starting to think that all the trouble passed to reawaken this mech was going to be in vain.
"Answer my questions and I may consider enlightening you." He stated, making a huge effort in keeping his tone neutral.
"Such disrespect! Hmpf!" Huffed the old mech, shaking a fist into the air in a threatening manner. The Decepticon Leader, however, was now at a safe distance. And fortunately, the old stubborn mech realized that he was in no position to demand anything, and gave up. "Well, ask then, youngling."
Megatron suppressed a growl at been called 'youngling' again.
"Who are you?" The Decepticon Leader demanded to know.
"The Librarian." Replied easily the old mech.
"And what else?" Megatron was not satisfied with that answer.
"The Librarian of the Hall of Records." Insisted the old mech.
"The Librarian my aft!" Snarled Megatron, slamming a fist down the nearest berth, his patience lost at that point. "We have just reawakened you from stasis. You have been down here for thousands of stellar cycles. I don't know if you put yourself in stasis or if someone else did it for you, but I know one thing. You were hidden in a secret chamber in a hidden basement of this building. Hidden and forgotten through the Great War. So, that leads me to only one conclusion." He made a dramatic pause and approached to the old mech in an intimidating manner. "You are more than you let know, and you must hold some sensitive information." He smirked at the stunned expression that the old mech was giving him. "Am I wrong?"
The Librarian was in silence during a long minute, staring at Megatron with a blank expression.
"There has been a war while I was in stasis...?" Muttered the old mech in disbelief.
"That's the only thing you have heard from everything I've said?" Snarled Megatron and was about to grab the senile Librarian by his neck cables, but the seeker, reading his Leader's murderous glare, reacted first.
Leaving Eleonor over the berth, Starscream quickly reached for his Leader, grasping one of his arms to stop him.
"Don't do it! He may yet be of use! Calm down!" The seeker exclaimed in alarm, sinking his clawed feet in the floor, but even like that, Megatron managed to drag him a couple of steps.
"Release me! I'm going to strangle him!"
Eleonor, meanwhile, was squirming on her spot over the berth, sick with worry. It was difficult to understand the conversation going around her in cybertronian, but from the few things said in English and the witnessed events, she could conclude that Megatron was extremely displeased with the old mech.
The Librarian, for his part, seemed to have realized the danger of infuriating the huge silver mech that was trying to question him, and recoiled in time to avoid been hit. And at that time, he noticed the young woman standing on the berth.
"What in Primus' name..." He murmured, locking his optics on her and forgetting again about the struggle between the Decepticon Leader and his Second in Command. Eleonor looked back at him. The look on his old face-plates was not one of disgust or fear. It was one of amazement. "...are you...?" He took a step closer to the berth.
But only a step was all he could move before a huge arm-gun was aimed at him, almost at point-blank range, huge weapon capacitors whining ominously, a cold single optic fixated on him.
Starscream and Megatron froze in the middle of their struggle and looked back at Shockwave. The usually tranquil cyclops mech was as loyal as deadly, but he rarely acted without command and definitely, he never lost his temper.
"What is this? The 'let us ignore our Leader's orders' day?" Megatron snarled in frustration.
"I know who you are." Stated Shockwave, his voice as cold as calm, his gaze still locked on the old mech. "When we were making the energon transfusion to bring you out of stasis I took a look at your internals. Your signs of aging, the stress of the joints and the small bits of rust... are like nothing I've seen before. Your alloys are different from ours. And I have only seen that kind of alloys once before." He made a dramatic pause. "When I descended into Cybertron's core to study it."
Starscream approached the berth and picked his human, to keep her from potential danger. He didn't know what the cyclops mech had in mind.
"Not only you are older than the War... you are almost as old as our planet." Continued Shockwave. "But what finally made up my mind... was the moment when you saw her." He pointed to the human in Starscream's servos. "Your optics betrayed you. They showed amazement and fascination, but also a glint of recognizing... You were not very surprised to see her." The Librarian stopped looking at Shockwave and risked a glance at the human. "You have seen this species before, even though you didn't know what they were at the moment. Am I wrong, Alpha Trion?"
The Librarian looked intently at the human, who was holding tightly to a claw, while the seeker kept her protected in his servos. She was looking back at him, unafraid, but warily.
"Yes, I have." He gave up with a sigh. "And yes, I was once known as Alpha Trion. But that was a long time ago."
Megatron, in the meanwhile, had managed to regain his composure, and his enrage was starting to subside. And he was certainly pleased with Shockwave's processor quickness and his observation abilities.
"Does this mean that we can finally speak without hiding things? In a civilized manner, without shooting our heads off?" Starscream asked in annoyance. "By Primus... I've never thought I'd say that..." He added, muttering to himself.
The old mech nodded slowly, and Shockwave moved away his arm-gun, relaxing his stance slightly.
"At long last!" Megatron exclaimed, approaching in a little less intimidating way, but still annoyed at the Librarian.
"So... how do you call this species?" Asked the ancient Prime.
"They call themselves humans." Explained the seeker.
Eleonor perked up, recognizing the cybertronian word for 'humans', and knew they were speaking about her. That, and the fact that all optics were on her at the moment. She felt even smaller under the intent gaze of the huge mechs.
"Can it understand us?"
"Only a few words. But their language is very simple. I can send you a data burst with everything you need to know." Suggested Starscream, and he did it. It took only a few minutes for the ancient Prime to review it.
Megatron was still a little displeased with been kept waiting. Patience had never been one of his best qualities. But he agreed with the idea of teaching the human language to the Librarian. After all, the human female had proven herself useful several times, and if this mech was indeed Alpha Trion, the one who wrote the Covenant of Primus, having them speaking together could reveal more important information.
"Greetings, human being." Saluted the ancient Prime, as gently as he could, leaning closer. The new language still felt a little awkward in his vocalizer. Eleonor looked at him, and then back at Starscream. The seeker nodded reassuringly, indicating that no harm would come to her with him keeping a close watch.
"Hello, Sir." She saluted timidly, as Starscream deposited her on the berth again.
"What is your designation, and where do you come from?" He wanted to know. He spoke slowly and his voice had a regal tone that reminded her of Optimus.
"My... designation is Eleonor. And I come from a planet called Earth, many light years from here."
"And what are you doing here, so far from your home?"
"I was invited to come here. I try to help in every way I can." She replied, humbly. The old Prime nodded slowly.
"Do you know who I am?"
"No, Sir."
"People just call me the Librarian. But a long time ago, I was known as Alpha Trion."
Eleonor's eyes widened. She remembered clearly everything they had discovered at the golden cave. In front of her was one of the original Thirteen Primes. So ancient and so powerful that he should probably be the closest to a god that she would ever met.
"You wrote the Covenant of Primus." She said in disbelief, and wondered if she should be bowing in respect.
"Yes I did. Have you seen it?"
"Yes, we have recently discovered it... There were some things written in the Covenant that foreboded a great danger in the future. But there were also some things that we did not quite understand completely. That's why we are here, at the Hall of Records. We were looking for more useful information to help us unveiling the mysteries." She explained.
"I see that you care for the well been of your people as well as that of other sentient beings." He concluded, looking back at Megatron. The Decepticon Leader, for his part, tried very hard to suppress an optic from twitching. "In that case... I shall help you in every way I can." Added the ancient Prime. "You may ask what you wish to know." He finished with a solemn expression.
Megatron cycled air slowly through his vents, putting his thoughts in order and trying to calm down completely before speaking. And he found that he didn't really know where to begin with. They had discovered many things lately that needed to be explained. But first things first, there was one priority above all the things he wanted to ask.
"The covenant mentioned a 'great evil' in a more or less distant future. And that it could be defeated only with two specific weapons: a sword and a cannon of some kind... The text was quite vague." Megatron explained. "I want to know what those weapons are exactly and where to find them."
"Direct to the point." Smiled the ancient Prime with benevolence. "Those weapons you speak of, are the Star Saber and the Requiem Blaster."
An awkward silence fell upon the room for some seconds.
"I thought what those were only sparkling-tales." Megatron murmured.
"Yeah, and the Covenant. Until yesterday." Starscream sneered.
"There are a lot of things that you don't know." Said the Librarian. "Important things. But I kept them in secret. Hidden from the rest of our world." He added, shaking his helm with regret, a sorrowful look in his optics.
"Why?"
"Because in the wrong servos, that information would have caused great destruction." Replied the ancient Prime, his shoulders dropping. "The Requiem Blaster could level mountains with a single shot. And the Star Saber... we had to destroy it soon after we created it."
"Hold on a nanoklik." Intervened Starscream. "One of the weapons we are looking for was destroyed? And soon after creating it? Why would you do that?"
"Because that blade... was powerful enough to actually destroy stars with one blow... It was too dangerous." Explained the ancient Prime.
"So, what hope do we have now that the blade was destroyed?" Starscream huffed.
"Well, it was not actually destroyed..." Confessed the old mech. "It was split apart in five pieces, and scattered across the galaxies." Starscream face-palmed at that point. "The only thing that you must do now is search for the pieces and forge it back again." He concluded, as if it was an easy task. Megatron couldn't stop an undignified sigh scape his vents.
"Do we even have a clue of where to start searching?" Asked the Decepticon Leader, suppressing a groan.
"Of course. Each fragment will take you to the next one. And the first one is here, in Cybertron." Replied Alpha Trion, and Megatron felt slightly relieved. Only slightly.
"Where?" The huge silver mech demanded to know.
"Protected by Vector Sigma."
"WHAT?" Snarled the Decepticon Leader.
"Protected by Vector Sigma, I said. Do your audio receptors work fine? I thought that the senile one was me..." Repeated the ancient Prime. "You have the Key, don't you?" He added, his expression darkening with concern.
Megatron let himself drop onto a nearby chair. A very undignified gesture for the Decepticon Leader.
"You don't have the Key." The old mech stated with sadness, as realization hit him.
Eleonor, who had been silently listening to the conversation going around her, tilted her head to a side with a puzzled expression. She didn't know what Vector Sigma was, and much less that Key they were mentioning. But she was not about to interrupt Megatron or Alpha Trion with petty questions. She would save them for later.
"And the Requiem Blaster?" Megatron asked, changing the subject.
"In the same place where the Covenant of Primus is located." Replied the ancient Prime.
"...Well, at least that one is easy. We'll leave that for the last one. For now, my main concern is the Star Saber, because it will take longer to recover." Said Megatron, before falling in a long thoughtful silence.
"There are a lot of things that you must learn yet to fully understand the nature of this weapons, young Megatron." Said the Librarian, after a while.
"I am not young." Growled the Decepticon Leader with a warning tone.
"Everything is young compared to me." The old mech shrugged. "And I hate to reiterate myself, but you must listen to what I have to say."
Megatron narrowed his optics. He was the Leader of the Decepticon cause. The High Lord Protector. Maximum authority on Cybertron. He shouldn't take orders from anyone. However, in front of him was now an Ancient Prime. One of the original Thirteen. And the feat he had ahead was going to be very difficult.
Leader or not, he was in no position to disregard any advice.
"Speak then."
Alpha Trion nodded slowly, and took a seat in another chair, his joints creaking and whining in protest.
"In the beginning, there was Primus. Almost as old as the Universe itself. Good and benevolent. He was light and he was life." He started his narration. "But where light exists, there is always shadow. And where life grows, there is also death." He paused. "Thus, was then when Unicron appeared. Unicron was evil and twisted. Shadow and death. His only purpose, to destroy everything in his path." The ancient prime ran a servo down his long beard-like face-plates. "Primus and Unicron fought against each other for eons. None of them getting the upper hand in that battle, because their power was exactly the same."
The Decepticon Leader nodded, motioning for the Librarian to go on with his story.
"That was until Primus did something that Unicron could not do. He created life. He created us, the original Thirteen Primes. His direct descendants. Each one of us with very special talents." He paused and glanced at the young woman. "One us, Solus Prime, was what you may call, a female. She was smaller than the rest of us, but she was kind and noble, with a strong sense of justice. She found joy in creation, that's why we called her the Maker. And her special talent was weaponsmithing. She was the one who created the Requiem Blaster and forged the Star Saber." He explained. "It was thanks to those weapons that we were finally able to defeat Unicron, and banish him into the confines of the Universe."
"But those weapons were too powerful, and great power can corrupt the sparks of the most noble mechs. That's why we decided to hide the Requiem Blaster and split the Star Saber apart, scattering his fragments into the galaxies. We could not risk them to fall into the wrong servos."
"I... understand." Murmured Megatron, remembering the past. Should he had found any of those weapons while been maddened by the Fallen, he could have extinguished his own race and sliced Cybertron in half.
"The Requiem Blaster is hidden in the same place as the Covenant of Primus, as I have already told you." The Librarian continued. "With the Star Saber it was a little more complicated. We split it apart in five pieces, as I said before, and..." He trailed off. "Have I already told you about Nexus Prime?"
Everymech shook their helms.
"Nexus Prime was another one of the original Thirteen. He was an honorable good-natured warrior. And his special talent was that he was the first and greatest combiner."
"One of the original Primes was a combiner?" Exclaimed Starscream.
"Yes. And we entrusted him with the pieces of the Star Saber. Nexus Prime divided his body into his five components, each one of them guarding a fragment of the Saber, and they parted from Cybertron, scattering into the galaxies. Only one of them remained here. And he should still be hidden and protected by Vector Sigma. But you'll need the Key to retrieve it."
Megatron was quiet for some minutes, until Shockwave broke the silence.
"So, this 'darkness' that the Covenant of Primus speaks of... the 'evil' that will arrive in a distant future..." The cyclops mech quietly started to say.
"Yes, it speaks of Unicron." Intervened the old Prime.
"But I thought you said that Unicron was defeated that time, with the Star Saber and the Requiem Blaster." Retorted Starscream.
"Defeated, yes. Destroyed, no. He is too powerful to be utterly destroyed. That's why we hid the weapons, but didn't destroy them completely. Unicron can be banished for eons, but he will always come back eventually, and you should be prepared." Explained the Librarian with a grim expression. "Because it is your destiny. Believe it or not, the cybertronian race was created to be guardians and protectors of the balance of this Universe."
"Us? Protectors?" Megatron sneered. "Don't make me laugh." He rose from his chair. "You don't know me. I have destroyed more things than I have saved. I have extinguished thousands of lives and tortured even more. I almost condemned Cybertron to die with the lost of the Allspark! I even tried to destroy that human race that you told us to care about in the Covenant! To destroy their planet... Even this human female that you see there." He pointed to Eleonor with a servo. "I tried to kill her when the only thing she ever did was to help us." He shook his helm. "I am no protector of anything."
Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave and Blitzwing were taken aback by the sudden confession of their Leader. Specially with the remorseful tone that he had used.
Alpha Trion, on the other hand, kept staring at Megatron with a stern expression for a long moment.
"And now, however, the only things I can see here are loyal soldiers that are willing to serve their master and lead him through the correct path, even when that means to disobey his orders momentarily. And a fragile human being that doesn't even flinch when you are near her." Replied the ancient Prime, his expression softening. "Even our planet is no longer dying."
Megatron froze, fleetingly stunned by the words of the old mech. Turning back, he stared at his soldiers right into their optics. They were looking back at him with a resolute expression. Even the small human seemed ready for anything he commanded.
"Who said you would be alone in this task?" Alpha Trion smiled warmly.
"Do you remember when I told you about not backstabbing you as long as our objectives were aligned? Well, that offer still stands." Smirked Starscream.
"Cybertronian race survival: top priority." Stated Soundwave, his visor flashing brightly with resolve.
"Logic dictates to protect what is rightfully ours." Agreed Shockwave.
"Zhis is still confusing... But one zhing zhat is very clear to me is zhat I don't like zhe idea of zhis... Unicron destroying our home and killing us." Said Blitzwing quietly with his blue face-plates set in a grim expression. "So I vill do vhat eet is necessary to send zhat glitched bastard back to zhe Pit from vhere he shouldn't have get out!" He added, his face-plates turning to the red-visored one. "And zhen ve vill make a party to celebrate eet! Ha, ha, ha!" Chimed in the LED jack-o-lantern face, displaying a wide grin.
"And I know I am just a small human... but if there is any way I can help, I would be glad to do it." Finished Eleonor with a shy smile.
The Decepticon Leader regarded his subordinates in silence for a long moment, and felt a strange feeling of pride warm his cold spark. He was not a Prime, but his soldiers were willing to follow him anywhere. Even if that meant to fight against Unicron himself.
"And you, old mech. Are you willing to help too?" Asked Megatron.
"I am too old for fighting... But I can still be helpful with my knowledge."
"Very well then." Megatron smirked. "There are a lot of things that we need to do, and I will require help. It won't be easy, but we are going to succeed."
The old Librarian looked at megatron in approval and smiled for himself.
"So, where is the Key to Vector Sigma?" Starscream asked, remembering the first thing they needed to look for.
Megatron vented a sigh and his shoulders dropped very slightly.
"Optimus has it." Groaned the Decepticon Leader.
"What?"
"We are going to need to go back to Earth and... ask for his help..." Sighed Megatron, still disbelieving his own words.
"WHAT!"
"I said that it was not going to be easy."
[A/N]: Sorry for the delay! My muse was on winter vacations, but now, she's back. And this chapter was really difficult to write. I hope I managed to keep everyone more or less in character. And the plot thickens! What do you think about the adventure they have ahead? And they will be visiting the Autobots! Which Decepticons do you think that should compose the team that will accompany Megatron back to Earth? I think he should pick the most tranquil mechs, so that they cause the minimal trouble. Let me know what you think, please!
