Disclaimer: Well it's a bit on the late side, but I've managed to finish the newest chapter and the first of the year 2020, and I think this is the longest stretch of time I've taken to write anything. But I guess it's better than rushing it.

Of course, I don't own the rights to Transformers.

In all seriousness, my deepest sympathies to the family of Kobe and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant.

Chapter VII

After a long pause, Spike said,"Okay, I've known you guys for years, studied the history of your entire war with the Decepticons. I've lived through Unicron and Alpha Q and the Fallen and Thunderwing and even had to deal with a potential future with killer robots. But this is literally the first time I've ever heard of the Allspark."

"It's not all that surprising to be completely honest, Spike," Cerebros stated. "Over the eons, nearly any mention of the Allspark was lost to the stars. Most Cybertronians don't even believe it ever existed at all."

"But there it is in plain view, Cerebros. How could something so rarely mentioned be here in the Sol System?" Sideswipe asked.

"This is the first I've heard of it too, Sideswipe. I'm just as much out of the loop as Spike." Windblade said.

"I'm with Sideswipe. How exactly did the Allspark wind up in the Rings of Saturn?" Breakaway asked.

"It was sent here." Optimus Prime revealed.

After another hushed silence, Drift asked, "Who would send the Allspark all the way out here?"

Then Optimus Prime replied, "I did."

((Long before the Great War, Primus waged a seemingly conflict with Unicron. It only ended when Primus trapped himself and the Chaos Bringer within two barren asteroids. The tales go that when Unicron reshapes his prison into his planet form, Primus reshaped his prison into Cybertron. He then created the Thirteen Original Primes to combat Unicron. Primus used his very essence to give the Primes life; that essence was what became known as the Allspark.

Long after the Primes vanished, the Great War began. The Decepticons were ever relentless in their bid for ultimate control. I had only just taken on the mantle of leadership following the exile of Sentinel Prime. It soon became apparent that the Decepticons themselves wanted the Allspark to create a new world order. In a desperate bid to delay them, and perhaps due to my own reckless youth… I ordered that the Allspark be launched into the far reaches of space. Cybertron went dark and had been so ever since. Any mention of the Allspark was lost to myth…))

"…until now." Optimus Prime concluded.

After another long silence, Blitzwing said in a somewhat accusing tone, "So… Cybertron's the way it is because of you?"

Optimus Prime said nothing but Primal stepped in and replied, "Optimus did what he thought was right. We might not have the full details but I have to believe it was for the best of reasons."

"Best of reasons? Cybertron's dead because of him and that's all before Unicron came to rip the planet a new one." Blitzwing said, pointing his finger at Optimus Prime.

"Stand down, Blitzwing." Optimus Prime said.

"I still wear the Decepticon insignia in case you hadn't noticed. You've got no authority over me." Blitzwing claimed.

Primal stepped right in Blitzwing's face and boldly declared, "This is my ship, Blitzwing. I decide what goes on around here so you'd best keep your anger in check."

"Or what?"

"Or I might jettison you into an exploding star. Either that or I can feed you to the Dinobots. Take your pick." Primal said, and most of the Dinobots chuckled.

Blitzwing glared at Primal and then at the Dinobots, noting that Grimlock was the only one not laughing. "Whatever." Blitzwing said before he backed off.

As the tension died down, Optimus Prime said, "This discovery changes our current circumstances significantly. It is now abundantly clear that we must retrieve the Allspark while we can."

"What good will that do us, though?" Bulkhead asked.

"Yeah. Cybertron's been dead for a long time." Airazor added.

"Cybertron began its shut down when the Allspark was removed from the planet's core. Reconnecting it could potentially revitalize our home… and perhaps…" Optimus Prime trailed off.

"Perhaps what, Optimus?" Drift asked.

"This is only a theory and not one to be taken lightly nor can it be confirmed, but the Allspark could potentially resurrect the Transformers that have died in the war." Optimus Prime claimed.

"Seriously? So Depth Charge and Stratosphere could come back to life?" Airazor asked.

"No way that's even remotely possible." Roulette claimed with marked skepticism.

"I came back… sort of." Dark Steel claimed.

"I'm pretty sure those were very different circumstances." Roulette argued.

"Either way, we've got to retrieve the Allspark. Cheetor and Tigatron; can you get us closer to it?" Primal asked his two pilots.

"Not without getting thoroughly pulverized. The ship's too big and there's too much debris to properly maneuver around." Tigatron replied.

"I will go," Optimus Prime said. "I am the one who sent the Allspark off of Cybertron, so it is my duty to retrieve it."

"I don't see how that's a good idea." Cheetor claimed.

"Given the current situation, it's the only available course of action to be taken, Cheetor." Rhinox said.

Primal considered Rhinox's word before looking to Optimus Prime and saying to him, "Well if you're going out there, Optimus, I'm going with you."

"I can't asked you to do that, Primal." Optimus Prime said.

"You're not asking, I'm volunteering. Like you, I want to see Cybertron restored. My crew might not look it, but we've gotten tired of wandering the galaxy. It's time to go home and if there's really a chance that the Allspark could restore Cybertron, we should take it." Primal boldly declared.

Optimus Prime looked around at the Maximals as they in turn looked at Primal with hope in their optics. "Your crew clearly trusts you, Primal."

"And, I'd trust any one of them with my life. I owe it to them to get them home." Primal replied.

"Very well, Primal. You and I will depart to retrieve the Allspark." Optimus Prime said.

"Optimus," Windblade suddenly said. "With your permission, I'd like to accompany you."

"What're you doing, Windblade?" Sideswipe asked in surprise.

"I've been feeling like the odd bot out ever since I joined the team. I have to at least try to contribute in some way." Windblade explained.

"But you already did that." Sideswipe said.

"My future self did, but I'm still new here. So I have to do something to help." Windblade argued and turned to Optimus Prime. "Please, Optimus…"

Optimus considered it for a moment and replied, "Very well, Windblade."

"Anyone else?" Primal asked.

"I'll go too." Breakaway replies and stepped forward.

"Breakaway?" Dark Steel asked.

Breakaway took hold of Dark Steel by her arms and said, "I'll be okay." Dark Steel could only nod.

With that, Optimus Prime said, "Let's go. Cybertron's last hope is waiting for us."

From the cockpit of his ship, Lockdown watched the Alchemor open a lower ramp. He could see four figures standing on the ramp. Two of them were easily recognizable while the others weren't so recognized. Lockdown watched the four launches from the Alchemor, two of them assuming jet forms. The other two, Optimus Prime and Primal remained in their robot form. They used jet packs to propel themselves into the rocky debris that was part of Saturn's ring.

A message appeared on the screen: OPTIMUS PRIME AND PRIMAL MOVING TO SECURE ALLSPARK.

Lockdown studied the message closely before replying, "I'm moving into position behind the Alchemor. Be ready on my word."

Optimus Prime led his group through the vast field of rock that made up only a small portion of Saturn's ring. The group kept a tight formation given the reduced maneuverability. There were only a few near collisions with a random rocks but Optimus Prime kept his team safe. He looked ahead toward the possible location of the Allspark, spotting a bright flicker in the distance. Primal quickly noticed it as well and that was when he attempted contacting the Alchemor.

"Primal to Alchemor; Rhinox, do you read me?"

"Barely. The debris field's causing interference." Rhinox replied through garbled static.

"You're not kidding. We'll head back to the ship once we've got the Allspark." Primal replied back.

"I'll hold you to that. Rhinox out."

The team continued on through the field, even as there was steady increase in debris. It was starting to become increasingly difficult to avoid the incoming space rocks as they came. The team dispersed to decrease the chances of collision. Then one exceptionally large rock came floating right for them. It nearly hit Optimus Prime but he was able to deflect it with the Star Saber. The resultant extra debris that came sent the team dispersing further from each other.

Optimus Prime recovered and immediately scanned the field for his team. He quickly managed to make out Primal and Breakaway, but Windblade was nowhere to be seen. Primal gave him the all clear to continue on, and Optimus did so. As he was approaching the location of the Allspark, Windblade reappeared and joined him on the approach. Another large space rock came right for them, but this time, they were able to avoid it.

"That was close. Where's Primal and Breakaway?" Windblade asked.

"On route. We need to continue toward the Allspark." Optimus Prime said. He moved on but Windblade seemed to hesitate.

"Optimus, something's not right. I can't shake the feeling that we're not the only ones here." Windblade claimed.

"We cannot worry about that now, Windblade. Let's head for the Allspark while we can." Optimus Prime said.

Elsewhere within the rock field, Primal and Breakaway spotted Optimus Prime and Windblade continuing on. "Primal to Alchemor; Optimus Prime and Windblade are on route to the Allspark. We're moving to catch up," There was only silence from the other end and Primal said, "Alchemor, do you read me?"

"We've got to be out of range of the ship." Breakaway assumed, but Primal wasn't convinced.

"No, something's wrong. Optimus, if you can hear me, we're heading back to the Alchemor. Something isn't right." Then Primal and Breakaway started on their way back to the Alchemor.

Optimus Prime and Windblade continued on toward the approximate location of the Allspark. But both felt uneasy about the current situation. Primal had reported that he and Breakaway were heading back to the Alchemor, but Optimus himself couldn't reply back for some reason. It might have been the abundance of debris causing interference, but Optimus didn't so convinced of it. There was no way of knowing, so he and Windblade moved on.

They continued through the debris field and managed to push through. The debris seemed to thin out, making it just a little bit easier to move around. That was when they started to notice a faint glow that seemed oddly ethereal in nature. The closer to the glow they approached, the brighter it seemed to appear. Then as they drew closer, the glow became a near blinding light of bright blue. Windblade had to shield her optics, but Optimus Prime moved closer until he was within reach of his he target. The light dissipated until all that remained was the Allspark in all its splendor.

Windblade drew her hand away from her optics so she could get a full view of the fabled relic. "That's… the Allspark?"

Optimus Prime approached the Allspark and took hold of it. It almost seemed to react to him. "It has been eons since I sent it off Cybertron in a desperate gamble to end the war."

Windblade drew closer to the Allspark and to restrain herself from touching it. "Do you really think it can restore Cybertron?"

"We have to hope that it will, Windblade. Let's get back to the Alchemor." Optimus Prime said, and he took the Allspark in his hands and jetted back with Windblade in tow.

"Rhinox to Primal, come in. Rhinox to Primal, please respond…"

"Anything yet, Rhinox?" Drift asked.

"Nothing, and I had Night Scream boost the signal to try and get something." Rhinox explained.

"I've boosted the signal as high as it'll go and nothing came out of it. Either the signal is just not strong enough…" Night Scream said.

"…or something's jamming the signal. Maybe someone." Metalhawk claimed.

Rhinox and Drift considered the possibility and Drift turned to Airazor. "Airazor, get out there and see if you can do some recon."

Before Airazor could respond in any way, the entire bridge suddenly went dark. Then there was a rumble that felt like something hit the ship itself. The view screen opened and the crew was able to make out another ship. It was slightly smaller than the Alchemor, but that didn't seem to mattered as it fired a few shots at the Alchemor.

"Scrap, it's the Terminus." Rhinox said in annoyance.

"Wait, you know that ship?" Arcee asked.

"And who commands it. His name's Lockdown and he's been hunting us for a long stretch of time."

"You didn't think to tell us this earlier?" Sideswipe wondered.

"Hey, we thought we covered our tracks after entering the Sol System. But he's been shadowing us the whole time." Tigatron replied.

"We'll handle this." Grimlock said before he and his fellow Dinobots left the bridge.

Primal and Breakaway managed to get close enough to the Alchemor before Primal suddenly halted his approach. He held Breakaway back, motioning him to take cover behind one of the more stationary rocks in the debris field. From that hiding spot, Primal took in a good at the second ship that was shadowing the Alchemor. He easily recognized the second vessel as the Terminus. Breakaway, having spent time with the Maximals, knew the Terminus being there meant trouble.

"Is that Lockdown?" he asked.

"Yeah, and his being here complicates things."

"Optimus Prime to Primal, do you read me? We have the Allspark and are heading your way."

"Optimus, stay away. We've got a situation here." Primal replied.

"Wait, who's that on the Alchemor?" Breakaway asked, drawing Primal's attention to the Alchemor.

Standing atop the exterior of the Alchemor were the Dinobots, standing side by side and ready for battle. With Grimlock leading the way, the Dinobots launched off the ship and flew straight for the Terminus. They spread out into teams of two and started performing a series of hit and run strikes on the Terminus. The Terminus returned fire on the Dinobots but couldn't land a hit on the smaller targets. Then the Dinobots regrouped and combined into Volcanicus, surprising the still watching Breakaway and Primal. Volcanicus stepped up the attack, blasting the hull of the ship.

Inside the ship, Lockdown felt the jolts from Volcanicus. But he wasn't annoyed or even worried in the least. He pressed a button and a separate door opened. A shadowy group started to emerge, and Lockdown turned in his chair to study them. Then he looked back at the screen, watching Volcanicus continue his attack.

"You know what to do. Get to work." He said to the shadowy group.

One of the group grumbled, "Ai, captain."

Back on the Alchemor bridge, the Maximals and Autobots tried to get the systems back up and running. It appeared that Rhinox, Cheetor and Tigatron were making some headway. Spike was able to add some much needed support to their efforts. But just when it seemed that some systems were about to restart, they went back down. Then Spike noticed something odd. He started putting the pieces together.

"Guys, I don't think this was some kind of system failure." He said.

"Sabotage." Rhinox was able to surmise.

Before he could react, a sudden surge blanketed the entire bridge. The entire was affected by the surge and they dropped to the floor. Spike was also affected… but Sky-Byte and Waspinator were apparently unharmed. By the time the surge ended, the Autobots and Maximals were all seemingly knocked offline while Sky-Byte and Waspinator walked around the disabled crew.

"Waspinator do good, yes?"

Ignoring Waspinator, Sky-Byte instead contacted Lockdown. "Lockdown, the bridge is secure. We're prepping for extraction."

"Focus on the Maximals. I'll rendezvous with you soon." Lockdown replied.

"These not Maximals." Waspinator said, standing over the disabled frames of Drift and Bulkhead.

"Leave them. The Maximals are the priority." Sky-Byte said.

Waspinator grumbled as he moved from Drift and Bulkhead over to Dark Steel. "Is this one Maximal?"

"Maximals transform into animals, so if looks like it turns into an animal, take it." Sky-Byte replied.

Neither of the two robots were aware that Spike was still somewhat conscious enough to watch them, but he was unable to do much of anything as Sky-Byte and Waspinator started gathering up the Maximals. What do they want with the Maximals?

The Terminus started moving toward the disabled Alchemor despite the continuous attacks from Volcanicus. The combiner managed to rock the ship and cause it to list slightly to starboard. As the ship listed, Volcanicus backed off and flew opposite of the ship's position. Then he banked back around and flew toward the Terminus at full velocity. Then he was suddenly knocked off his collision course by something else.

Volcanicus spiraled into a stray space rock and fractured it, unknowingly sending chunks flinging where Primal and Breakaway were hiding. He did eventually recover in time to see the Terminus back on course. He made a move and was suddenly hit in the shoulder by a random blast. By the time Volcanicus was able to process what just happened, another blast hit him. Then the source revealed itself, and it was another combiner.

From their hiding place, a stunned Breakaway asked, "Uh, have you ever seen that one before, Primal?"

"No. That's a new one." Primal replied, and he was just as stunned as Breakaway.

Recovering from the ambush, a thoroughly angered Volcanicus snapped, "WHAT IN THE PIT ARE YOU?"

The new combiner appeared to be a mishmash of metal that had the telltale visage of an aquatic beast. It hoarsely growled, "WHAT... IN... THE PIT ARE YOU!"

Author's Note: So, I decided to put the full focus on the Autobots and their retrieval efforts of the Allspark as well as provide a break backstory of how the Allspark ened up in the Sol System. At the same time, Lockdown makes his move and unleash... well, take a guess while you drop a few reviews. See ya!

IN MEMORY

KOBE BRYANT
1978-2020

GIANNA MARIA-ONORE BRYANT
2006-2020