Hi! We're starting to come down to the end here, guys - I estimate less than 10 chapters remain!
Gabby M (Guest) - I'm glad you liked the Ratchet Wrench bit! I read it to one of my friends, and he laughed his head off! And...um...your ideas... You're making it really hard to keep the spoilers to a minimum, you know that?
Anyway, onto the chapter!
Chapter 36
It didn't take Gear too long in order to figure out how to reverse the damage that had been done to Maria's eyes, and it wasn't too long afterward that she had joined with the others in the main area of the base.
"So, what now?" Maria asked as she came in from the med bay, followed closely by Gear and Ratchet - the medic wasn't about to let the two of them do the repair work without him nearby to observe (he would have said learn, but Maria doubted that the medic wanted to admit that).
"Now we wait," Arcee responded, looking somewhat unhappy at the idea.
"We will wait and see what sort of plan Brainiac may have in store," Optimus rumbled in agreement. "In the meantime, we will keep watch for any movements that the Decepticons may make in light of this event."
"Even if they have Megatron in the state that he is?" Matthew spoke up from the Ground Bridge terminal. Maria's older brother was the only human in the base, as Jack, Raf, and Miko had been called away on class field trips and weren't going to be back until that evening.
"I find it highly likely that he has already infected the Decepticons, and will attempt to continue the Energon and relic raids as normal," Optimus responded grimly.
"But...only three relics have really showed up," Maria pointed out. "And we have two of them, right? The Spark Extractor and the Phase Shifter?"
"Correct," Ratchet confirmed as he walked over to the computer terminals. "Although, considering how much of the database Optimus and Jazz have managed to decode, I would not be surprised if more artifacts start to make an appearance."
"Whoa, whoa, slow down for a minute," Gear suddenly spoke up. "I can't exactly say that I'm following."
"When war broke out on Cybertron, relics from the ancient past were jettisoned from the planet to keep them out of enemy reach," Optimus explained. "Some landed here, on Earth. As a result, Megatron has been attempting to find whatever relics there may be, so that he might be able to use them against us."
"Oh." Gear blinked a couple times before he frowned. "Then we'd better not let Brainiac get his hands on them, because who knows what could happen."
"So, how about we go out and look for them?" Smokescreen spoke up. "If anything, they'll give us an edge against the Decepticons in the long run, right?"
"I should think so," Maria commented from where she stood on the floor next to Gear. "But where would you recommend that we head to first? I mean, the Nemesis does have the Iacon database in it, and I wouldn't be surprised if they'd managed to decode some of that stuff while Megatron and Luthor announced their alliance."
Sideswipe snorted. "Like some stupid 'Cons could crack that code."
Optimus sent the red mech a meaningful look, then returned his attention to the others. "We will look for the remaining relics, but remain on your guard. Brainiac could have sent out more of his Vehicons to stop us."
"Den we jus' send out Ratchet an' have 'im knock deir blocks off wit' his wrench," Jazz commented, grinning.
"Wait - what?" Matthew looked over at the medic in confusion, but Ratchet simply rolled his optics and waved the stare off.
"I find it highly unlikely that I will be capable of assisting in the field, as it's more than likely that the fight was televised," Ratchet responded dryly. "If anything, Brainiac would have discovered the flaw in his design by now and discovered a way to ensure that my actions would be completely useless."
Matthew still looked confused; Maria snickered at the expression on her brother's face.
"You had to have been there," Maria told Matt.
Matthew frowned at his sister in return, then grumbled something under his breath while the Reploid looked at him in amusement.
"We will have to spread our resources in order to hunt down the remaining relics before Brainiac can proceed to get his hands on them," Optimus rumbled, bringing the conversation back to the task at hand. "Jazz, you will go with Bulkhead to these coordinates." He turned to the computer monitor and brought up a short line of Cybertronian code before Ratchet activated the Ground Bridge.
"Now?" Jazz asked, surprised.
"What better time would you have?" Ratchet snarked. "I certainly wouldn't want to wait until that virus finds something even worse than the Spark Extractor."
"All righ', all righ', I'm goin'." Jazz smirked at the medic before motioning for Bulkhead to follow after him. The two mechs soon disappeared into the green vortex, which closed up behind them.
"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, you two will accompany Bumblebee to this location," Optimus continued, brining up a different set of coordinates.
The twins looked at each other, Sideswipe giving his brother a large grin. Bumblebee, on the other hand, simply gave Optimus a nod before the trio started for the open Ground Bridge, disappearing in the swirling vortex.
"Arcee, you and Smokescreen will take this location."
For the third time, the Ground Bridge opened up, and the dark blue femme dashed through, Smokescreen on her heels with an eager grin on his face.
With seven Autobots gone in a matter of seconds, it left the base unusually empty...with just Optimus, Ratchet, and Gear, Maria, and Matt.
"And how many more have you managed to decode?" Ratchet asked, breaking the silence with no small amount of surprise in his voice.
"None, as of this moment," Optimus responded.
Maria blinked a couple times as she looked up at the red and blue Autobot. Optimus sounded...amused. She hadn't heard that emotion from him before.
Ratchet let out a sigh and muttered something under his breath that made him sound somewhat annoyed.
"In that case, why did you send Jazz out? You know he would be able to decode even more of the database even more quickly," the medic said in a louder volume.
"Jazz is not capable of remaining in front of a monitor for long, Ratchet," Optimus responded as he turned to face the computer system. "He would have begged me to allow him to leave to hunt for a relic, and I am not about to have him sneak out."
"You mean he'd do that?" Matthew asked. He leaned against the railing of the platform he was standing on.
"Indeed," Optimus responded.
Maria grinned, then activated her jet boosters to get her up from the ground and to the platform her brother was on. Gear followed after her using his own boosters. "Sounds like he's a bit of a handful."
"You have no idea," Ratchet muttered, scowling.
Oddly enough, at that exact same time, Inferno muttered the same thing at the back of Maria's mind. The echoing statements left Maria giggling a little bit.
"So...how well do you guys know Jazz?" Matthew asked, looking up at the two Autobots.
"Well enough," Ratchet huffed.
"We became acquainted with each other long before the war," Optimus explained. "Jazz often came to the Hall of Records for the sake of his investigations, and Ratchet worked in Iacon for a time."
"And my work kept me away from the two of you for good reason," Ratchet stated, wagging a digit in the Prime's direction. "I'm glad I was not pulled into as many of Jazz's little 'adventures' in Iacon as you were."
"Adventures?" Matthew repeated, looking up at the Autobots with interest. He exchanged looks with Maria, who had a surprised expression on her face. "I think that's something I'd like to hear about."
Ratchet snorted. "I highly doubt that-"
"Perhaps when we are not in so much danger," Optimus interrupted the medic calmly. If one looked closely at him, they would have seen a small spark of humor in his optics.
The statement got Ratchet to look at the Autobot leader in shock, while Maria and Matthew exchanged grins.
"O-Optimus, are you sure?" Ratchet asked, aghast. "What will the children-"
"I did not say that I would be informing Jack, Miko, and Raphael," Optimus responded.
The startled expression that came over Ratchet's face when he heard that made Maria snicker while Gear and Matthew looked at Optimus in alarm. It seemed that Optimus really did have a sense of humor under his armor!
Inferno gave a laugh at the back of Maria's mind. *I was starting to wonder. Since he's been hanging around Jazz for so long, he ought to have picked up something to keep himself sane*
Ratchet stared for a moment before he shook his helm at the lot of them, muttering something that sounded like he was planning on scanning Optimus later to make sure he didn't have a virus that was making him act like he used to.
Gear opened his mouth as though he was going to say something to add to the conversation, but he was quickly interrupted by a voice from the computer.
::Ratchet?:: Arcee's voice sounded urgent.
Ratchet quickly turned his attention to the computer and activated the comm-link. "What is it?"
::We've got Knock Out and Soundwave here, and they're asking to see Maria and Optimus::
Maria stiffened when she heard Arcee's statement, and she spared a glance in Optimus' direction. The Prime now looked extremely serious.
"And it isn't a trap?" Ratchet asked sharply, frowning.
::Doesn't seem like it. Knock Out doesn't have green optics::
There was an indignant yell on Arcee's end of the comm-link.
"Gear."
The Dakota teen looked up at Optimus. "Y-yeah?"
"Is it possible that you might be able to sense Brainiac's presence, as you have come into contact with him before?"
Gear looked nervous at the idea; Maria could see the the little robot Gear always had on his back shifting in response to the emotion. "Backpack probably could find his frequency, but there's a chance I could end up getting controlled by him again."
"I would not put you into that state of danger unless you felt that you were prepared to do what I asked of you," Optimus responded.
"And I can help keep him off your back, I think," Maria spoke up quickly as a thought occurred to her. "I can shift my Buster to a stun mode that relies on electricity. Maybe that could do something like what Static does."
"Why didn't you mention that earlier?" Gear demanded, giving Maria a look of annoyance.
"You never asked." Maria shrugged.
"Or you forgot," Matthew intoned, grinning.
Maria shot her brother a glare in response to the statement, and he glanced away, acting like he hadn't said anything.
The Reploid gave a sigh and looked back at Gear. "Do you think it'll work?"
"Er, well...we won't know until we try, now will we?" Gear shrugged, then looked back up at Optimus. "We may as well go now before they do anything."
Optimus gave a nod in agreement. "Arcee, what are your coordinates?"
The femme on the other end gave the Prime their location, and Ratchet powered up the Ground Bridge with a worried glance in Optimus' direction. The medic said nothing, however, as Maria, Optimus, and Gear stepped through...and exited in a forested area near a giant mound of rock.
Standing directly in front of them were Arcee and Smokescreen - the mech had his blasters out and looked like he was ready to shoot - and Knock Out and Soundwave, who didn't look like they were planning on attacking. At all.
In fact, the red mech had his servos up and looked a little nervous. That is, until Knock Out caught sight of Maria, Gear, and Optimus walking through the Ground Bridge.
"About time you got here," Knock Out stated in relief. "I was starting to wonder if Soundwave was leading me on a wild goose chase."
"Why did you ask for us, Knock Out?" Optimus asked, optics narrowed slightly at the two of them.
"Better not be a trap," Maria stated, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked up at the two Cons.
"Not...a trap." Soundwave spat Maria's words back at her, startling the Reploid. "Something's up with-Lord Megatron."
"Slendermech here said that there's some kind of virus in our illustrious leader," Knock Out commented snidely, jabbing a digit in Soundwave's direction. "And he said that you knew something about it."
Optimus's optics narrowed further. "Gear?"
"Backpack's not picking up anything," Gear responded. He let out a sigh of relief. "Maybe Brainiac didn't think that these two were of any use to him."
"Well, Soundwave was able to catch on pretty quickly what was up, so it's obvious that he's underestimating them," Maria commented in reply, glancing over at Gear.
Knock Out looked somewhat confused. "I'm sorry, what?"
"If Megatron got possessed, there was a chance that Brainiac could have gotten to you two, too." Maria looked back and forth between Soundwave and Knock Out. "If Backpack isn't getting possessed right now, then that probably means that he hasn't gotten to you two. Yet."
That last word got Knock Out to look somewhat disturbed. "Yet?"
"There's really no telling with that computer virus," Maria continued. "Brainiac has some pretty powerful mind-control technology in his programming, and as of this point in time, the only person who's been immune to his control is the Dakota teen Static, thanks to the electric field he releases. I don't know if the same can be said for the rest of us."
"Systems adapt," Soundwave said in Maria's voice, sounding serious. It took the Reploid a moment to remember when she said that.
Gear gave Maria a curious look when the Reploid stiffened a little. "What is he talking about?"
"What are you getting at, Soundwave?" Maria asked, ignoring the Dakota teen's question.
"Armor-changed. Programming-adaption."
"A what?" Smokescreen asked, sounding somewhat confused.
Arcee, on the other hand, spared a glance back at Maria, who was also frowning in confusion for a moment before understanding and recognition crossed her features.
Maria's POV
Wait a sec..."Programming adaption?"
It took me a moment to figure out what exactly Soundwave was pointing out. My eyes widened in recognition when I finally did.
The Con was talking about my Protocol!
I looked up at Optimus. "Remember what we talked about in base when you got your memories back? When I uploaded the Iacon database into the computers?"
Optimus looked down at me with a slight frown before his optic ridges rose up a little out of recognition. He returned his gaze to Soundwave, and I found myself wondering what exactly was there behind the Slendermech's mask.
Hey, you know...Knock Out's terminology actually sounded a little familiar...
*Your parents called him that* Inferno commented at the back of my mind.
Oh. Just one more connection to the past that I didn't remember.
"And you believe that Maria's Protocol will protect her from Brainiac," Optimus stated, bringing me back to the present.
Arcee and Smokescreen exchanged glances. The mech looked confused, but the femme's expression clearly read "We'll tell you later."
Soundwave gave a silent nod.
"While that is an interesting idea, I'm not planning on testing that anytime soon," I stated pointedly, frowning at Soundwave. "Not when there's a chance that Brainiac could force me to kill myself like he's tried with the others he's mind-controlled."
Gear gave a shudder next to me, looking a little unsteady on his legs for a moment.
"Kill yourself?" Knock Out repeated. "Are you saying that this Brainiac is going to do that to Megatron?"
"After he effectively destroys Earth." I paused for a moment, then added, "Maybe Cybertron, too, while he's at it."
"Cybertron is dead," Soundwave said to me in Optimus' voice. Though this version sounded a little younger...a little less inexperienced...
...ah. He heard Orion Pax say that when we had been caught red-handed downloading the Iacon database. That makes sense.
"That's not going to stop him from blowing it up," I responded. "Or turning it into computer data with no chance of reversing the process."
Knock Out looked really nervous, now. "And what are you planning on doing about it? It's not like we can just waltz up to Megatron and ask Brainiac to leave him nicely, right?"
I nodded in confirmation; Gear's nod at the same time was extremely vigorous. "We have to find a way to not only remove Brainiac, but also destroy him. Otherwise, who knows what kinds of trouble he's going to cause in the future for the Justice League and for you guys."
"Are you worried about us?" Knock Out asked.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," were the first words that popped out of my mouth. "Brainiac's a mutual enemy; I'm not about to let him have his way with your leader only to destroy the entire universe."
Okay...that did not sound right in my mouth. Oh, well. Hopefully it got the point across.
"Starscream," Soundwave stated in Megatron's growl.
"Who?" Gear asked.
"Con who can transform into a plane," I explained to the Dakota teen. "I've only run into him once, but I think he has a healthy fear of Matthew because of his Aura ability."
Understanding flashed across Gear's face.
"Starscream-rogue," Soundwave continued. "Could become-captured-by-the wrong people."
"What are you suggesting, Soundwave?" Optimus asked.
"Find him."
Smokescreen let out a short laugh. "Find him? Are you insane? He'd probably sooner try to kill us than work with us."
"He wants to kill-Lord Megatron. He won't let someone else finish the job. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Oh, spit my words right back at us. But Soundwave did kind of have a point.
"Where do you expect us to find him?" I asked.
There was a beep from Soundwave, and a schematic of the Con appeared on his visor, followed by a gridded sphere, on which a dot was blinking resolutely.
"A tracking device," Optimus noted. "Megatron's doing? Or yours?"
"Megatron's. Before-Brainiac."
"Why?" Arcee demanded in a low growl.
"I do not want that Seeker to ever catch me off guard," Megatron's voice growled at us from Soundwave.
"Paranoid much?" Gear asked.
"Starscream isn't someone who you'd want to trust, fleshy," Knock Out commented, wagging a digit at Gear.
"He killed Cliffjumper," Arcee snarled. "I'm not about to trust him."
"I'm not asking you to trust him; I'm just asking you to work with him."
"No thanks."
Now, I was really confused. Cliffjumper? I hadn't heard that name before.
*An Autobot who used to work with Jazz, if I remember correctly* Inferno commented at the back of my mind. *The fact that he's offlined...something big must have happened to him*
"We will decide on what to do with Starscream if and when we find him," Optimus rumbled. "I doubt that Brainiac is going to consider him much of a threat, as I doubt that the two have met face-to-face as of yet."
"Considering that the last time I saw him was right after Unicron was put back under," I muttered, frowning a little at the memory of the Seeker barging into the room where Orion Pax and I had been working. "He probably has his proverbial ear to the ground right now, so we could end up running into him sooner or later."
Arcee didn't necessarily look to happy about that, but I don't think that, at this point, there was too much she could do to protest what was going on around us.
"Truce?" Soundwave asked. "For as long-as is-necessary."
I took that to mean that, as soon as we got Megatron back, the war was going to get started all over again.
"Agreed," Optimus responded, nodding gravely. "Brainiac must be stopped at all costs. Use of the relics might provide us with an edge that he will not expect."
"Speaking of which..." Knock Out walked forward, using a servo to push down Smokescreen's blasters. The Autobot looked reluctant to let the red Con do that, but he didn't protest. "That relic you're looking for around here isn't going to be too easy to get."
"What do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Knock Out hesitated for a moment. "Ever heard of the fleshy's legend of a sword stuck in a rock?"
Sword stuck in a rock? Why is Knock Out talking about the legend of King Arthur?
"What about it?" Arcee asked shortly.
"See for yourself." Knock Out jabbed a digit in the direction of the giant mound of rock. "It's stuck in there."
The Autobots looked at each other. Smokescreen dismissed his blasters and moved around the two Cons, glaring at them before moving over to the large rock and disappearing around behind it.
"There better not be a trap," Arcee muttered.
"Not-a trap," Soundwave spat the statement back at Arcee. "We-came-alone."
Smokescreen dashed back around the rock, looking like he had just seen a ghost.
"Optimus!" he yelped. "You'll never believe what is stuck in there! It's the Star Saber!"
The what?
At the back of my mind, Inferno sucked in a breath. *By the AllSpark...*
Optimus started to move, causing Gear and I to jump when his foot went over our heads as he started for the mound of rock. Arcee and the Cons moved out of his way, not really looking like they were planning on stopping him.
"So, what's the Star Saber?" Gear asked as Optimus moved out of sight.
"It's a relic from Cybertron," Arcee stated, glancing down at him. She quickly returned her gaze to Knock Out and Soundwave, as though daring them to try something.
"It's a weapon that was used by one of the Thirteen," Smokescreen added, awe clearly in his voice. "Prima."
We found a relic that was that old? Whoa.
I was about to ask about what it looked like when I ended up getting my answer in the most epic way to pile out a sword: the pile of rock that the Star Saber as stuck in as very neatly cut in half by a large, blue energy beam of some kind.
*Alpha Trion's beard, what was that?!*
"What just happened?" I asked aloud, thrown off a little. A mountain was just cut in half! What kind of weapon does that?!
I ended up getting my answer when a certain Prime walked back around the mountain again...holding a giant sword that looked like it was as tall as he was. The weapon clearly looked like it was Cybertronian.
"That is a big sword," Gear stated, gaping at the Star Saber. My jaw was dropped, too, but when I heard Gear speak, I shut my mouth again.
"It must have been made for a pretty big Cybertronian, then," I commented in reply, watching as Optimus approached us. "And Optimus has it..."
Soundwave and Knock Out watched as Optimus walked back to us. Knock Out looked especially nervous when he saw how big the Star Saber was in Optimus' hands. I was really tempted to snicker and think that the Cons were so dead, but then I remembered that we had just agreed to a truce.
Man...I wonder how the others are going to react to this...and what exactly we're going to do with these two so that we might be able to take down Megatron.
"Ratchet, open the Ground Bridge," Optimus stated in all serious. "We are returning with a relic, as well as two allies in the fight against Brainiac."
Since I was connected to the comm frequency, I could hear Ratchet splutter on the other end.
Yeah, the other Autobots probably weren't going to like this at first...
Yup. Soundwave's pretty smart, isn't he?
See you guys next week!