Chapter 28
In the hours that followed, the storms were spreading around the globe and getting worse. To make matters worse, everyone was now painfully clear of the fact that the Earth's core was in fact not magma, but Dark Energon. More specifically, Unicron the chaos bringer.
Optimus had left for a scouting run and now the entire team was standing around arguing about whether or not they should take Megatron up on his offer. And right now, the final argument was something Ratchet was not willing to gamble.
"Absolutely not! Ground bridging into space or onto moving trains is difficult enough! But a blind jump inside of a contention being? Besides that much exposure to Dark Energon will debilitate you, you haven't built an immunity like Megatron has."
"I hate to be the wet blanket right now Ratchet, but you're kind of making Megatron's argument for him." Raf spoke up.
"Precisely, another strong argument for soliciting my guidance."
And with the plan to use the Matrix of Leadership to force Unicron back into stasis and use the ground bridge to get there in place, everyone came back to the base less than pleased to know that for it to work, Megatron would have to be brought to the base.
"How can you even think about letting that monster anywhere near these children after what he did to Raf?" Angelica shouted in outrage.
"He will be closely monitored and only allowed to linger long enough to send us on our journey, no one moment more." Raf could feel her bond with Optimus again and his anger about what happened last time Megatron encountered his daughter. But she could also feel his reluctance but understanding that there wasn't much a choose if the Earth was going to be saved.
Raf wasn't happy any of this either. The very one who killed her mother and tried to kill her was the only hope her family had of saving the planet she had grown to call home. When she saw him come through the ground bridge portal, she felt her anger and frustration rage. And for a split second, she threw caution to the wind and ran out to confront the 'con leader.
"You…" Raf growled as Bumblebee and Arcee stepped between her and Megatron.
"Ah, you're looking much better than the last time we met little one. You are far more resilient than any Guardian I have ever met, even your mother. Truly, intriguing."
"Come on Raf, he isn't worth it." Jack said guiding her back to the hall.
Raf breathed to subside her anger but still felt angry about what Megatron did, both to her and her mother that she never got to know. She knew her mother would want her to, but she felt that there was nothing that he could do and no matter how much time may have passed, that she was ever going to forgive Megatron. As everyone else went down the hall, Optimus pulled her and Jack aside.
"Jack, will you keep something for me?"
"Of course, anything." Jack answered. Optimus handed something that looked like a key that shrank down to a size he could hold. "What is this?"
"It is the key to the ground bridge power supply."
"Shouldn't Ratchet have this?" Raf asked.
"Perhaps, but I have been impressed by how much you both have matured since we first met, which is why, I feel you both have earned the responsibility of safe guarding this important device, until I return. And Jack, promise me this, keep my daughter close, when it comes time for you to use this key."
"I won't let you down." Jack promised.
Both Jack and Raf looked at each other curious about the nature of his requests, but as he and the other bots were about to leave, they didn't have a lot of time to question him why. Instead they joined the others to see the bots off.
Raf and Bumblebee looked at each other with tears in her eyes, and she locked eyes with her father one more time before he disappeared through the portal.
Jack held Raf's hand and assured her that they would be alright. Raf wanted to believe him, but she couldn't shake the feeling that her father hadn't been entirely honest with her and Jack, that there was something he wanted to tell them, but couldn't with Megatron at the base, or to the others. And she had the feeling, it had something to with their plan to use the Matrix of Leadership to save the Earth.
Everyone was uneasy, because now all anyone could do was wait watch and listen for any sign that it was all over and if everything was alright. Raf and Angelica were particularly worried about Rodriguez Esquivel and the rest of their family.
"He's going to be alright honey." Angelica assured Raf rubbing her shoulder. "I'm sure he and all your siblings are in the storm cellar right now. They'll be okay." But Raf could hear the edge in her voice and knew she was just as worried as she was.
'Who wouldn't be?' Raf thought to herself.
Ratchet then went on to explain the history between her father and Megatron. Raf was stunned to know that Optimus and Megatron had both fallen in love with her mother, but Jaderinica had chosen her father and bonded with him, instead of Megatron and that just added to Megatron's spite for her father when he lost his ambitions against the council and her father back when he was still Orin Pax.
"Orin and Jaderinica had met long before the war and predating the alliance of Autobots and the Guardians. Jaderinica, as the future queen, was not permitted to leave the castle, but would sneak out Iacon, the hall of records. She was deeply fascinated with Cybertron's history and wished to know both sides of the history. So she would sneak out to the one place that held any account of history she would wish to know. One day, Orin caught her sneaking around and planned to turn her in, but she appealed to his love for Cybertron history and her fear of history repeating. Ratchet explained.
"Orin too feared of Cybertron's corruption and inequality. He soon became her confidant and guide through history. Together, they learned of Cybertron's past and together they both grew worried of the present corruption in high places and inequality among the masses. They became inspired by the words of a gladiator who had named himself after one of the thirteen original primes, Megatronus. Megatronus proposed his idea of a just society and demanded that all Cybertronians be treated as equals. This gladiator turned revolutionary quickly gathered a loyal following, Soundwave chief among them.
"Orin and Jaderinica began corresponding with Megatronus who came to be something of a mentor to the both of them. As the time they spent together grew more and more so did Orin's feelings for the young Guardian princess, soon to be queen. But he was not alone in his feelings. Megatronus too, began to fall in love with Jaderinica but neither knew of each other's feeling for her.
"In time, the three of them soon brought down the walls separating the Guardians and Cybertronians and Cybertron was soon a coexisting planet. Guardians and Cybertronians now lived side by side and treated each other with the respect each gave to the other. Jaderinica's dream had come true. Before Cybertron's high counsel was joined with the most trusted of the Guardian's high court, the previous queen Aurora among them.
"Having successfully brought the Guardians and Cybertronians together, Megatronus soon felt that his vision for Cybertron's future was just that much closer. As Megatronus left the gladiatorial arena for the political, he saw fit to shorten his name. Before long Megatron appeared before Cybertron's newly allianced high council to propose his vision of a just society, and it was here that he began to show his true colors, proclaiming the need to overthrow the old guard with force, and arrogantly demanding to be named the next prime.
But Orin did not believe in violence as a means to achieve peace. The sparks and minds were so moved by Orin's words because here for the first time since Cybertron's golden age stood someone worthy of being a prime, even the queen, the grand-daughter of the first Guardian queen who ruled Cybertron alongside Primus in the beginning Cybertron's history, was convinced. But that honor could be given by earning the legendary Matrix of Leadership. It here that Jaderinica began to show who it was she truly felt she should be with, and she chose Orin.
"His ambitions throated, and his affections for Jaderinica rejected, Megatron spitefully severed all ties with her, Orin and the council and came to wage war on all who opposed him through his growing army of followers which he named Decepticons. He vowed to claim the Matrix for himself where ever it might lie. War slowly consumed the planet, poisoning the planet to its core. Orin and Jaderinica, now crowned the new queen after her mother's death, journeyed there hoping to reverse the ailing affects and it was here that they found themselves before the spark of very life giver, Primus himself.
"Primus sensed the innate nobility within Orin and bestowed to him the Matrix of Leadership. It was thus that a surprised and humbled Orin Pax, came to be Optimus, the last of the primes. And it was here that Primus now acknowledged an equally surprised Jaderinica as the new true queen and gave a symbol of that power, that only she herself and Optimus knew about."
"So Optimus got the Matrix from Cybertron's core and now he's going to give it to Earth's?" Miko asked.
"What's to stop Megatron from claiming the Matrix for himself this time around?" Jack asked.
"Only his greater ambition to save this planet so that he may in turn conquer it as he so compellingly argued, provided the lord of the Decepticons can ever be fully trusted." Ratchet said bringing that rather bitter sweet fact to everyone's mind.
Raf wasn't sure how she should feel at this point. She now knew of the history between her parents, and Megatron, but her mother was dead and her father was now miles down deep inside the earth with the very one who betrayed him from the beginning to try and save a planet he planned to grind under his thumb later on. All she could do was wonder if she would ever see any of the team, especially Bumblebee and her father, again. She kept her fingers crossed and her mind full of hope and faith. As time passed, everyone grew more and more antsy.
"Communications are down as expected, but we've lost their signals." Ratchet said monitoring the screens.
"Doesn't that mean…" Raf asked feeling very worried.
"Usually, but a more likely explanation would be these electronic anomalies."
"So if we can't track them and they can't contact us…"
"…how are we going to know when their ready for pick up?" Miko finished for her.
Ratchet turned his attention to Jack who was fiddling with the key Optimus had given him. "Where did you get that?"
"Optimus gave to me and Raf. Honestly, I don't know why he gave us the key to the ground bridge power supply."
"Jack, there is no key to the ground bridge."
"Then, what is this?"
"That is the key to Vector Sigma."
"The what?" Raf asked sharing a confused look with Jack.
"You both were given one of Cybertron's most important relics."
"We shouldn't have this." Raf said as Jack tried to give it to Ratchet.
"Optimus entrusted it to you two."
"But that doesn't make any sense, why?" Jack asked.
"Because he doesn't plan on coming back." Ratchet answered bringing that frightening realization to Raf and Jack.
'Father, please, you gotta come back. Our team, our family needs you. I need you.' Raf pleaded in her mind.
