CHAPTER 22
Regeneration
On the Nemesis, Megatron was none too happy about the current situation. He had summoned all his elites - save for the Combaticons, as they were still roaming the Earth searching for their comrades - to the command center to deliver the bad news of the Autobots having invaded the warship and stolen, not only the two Omega Keys they had had, but also the Forge of Solus Prime.
Skywarp was especially displeased by the information. "My victory..." he whined. "My glory."
Thundercracker knocked his partner on the head. "We have bigger things to worry about than your glory, Skywarp!" he hissed.
"Indeed," Megatron grumbled, gaining the 'Cons' attention. "Now that the Omega Keys are in the Autobots' possession, they have the ability to restore Cybertron. Locating their base has become more important than ever before. We cannot allow Optimus Prime to restore Cybertron in his image."
"Why not?" Skywarp asked. "Who cares who restores Cybertron, as long as it gets restored?"
Megatron glared at the black Seeker. "You are naive, Skywarp," Megatron growled. "If Optimus Prime is the one to restore Cybertron, he will use it to his political advantage, and assert himself as Cybertron's savior. And then, all Decepticons will be marked as war criminals."
The Decepticons gasped and glanced at each other.
"We wouldn't be able to go home," Thundercracker mused. "We'd have to go into hiding forever."
"Which is why we must locate the Autobots' base, invade it and steal back the Omega Keys!" Megatron said.
"I don't think we need to do that."
Megatron's gaze went to Skywarp, as did everyone else's gazes. Skywarp looked around before returning his gaze to Megatron.
"And why not, Skywarp?" Megatron asked, curious to find out what the simpleminded fool was talking about.
"They're keys, right?" Skywarp pointed out and shrugged. "Keys open locks. So if they're Omega Keys, that must mean they go into some kind of Omega Lock, right?"
Megatron fell silent for a moment, contemplating Skywarp's theory. "And where would this so-called 'Omega Lock' be, if I may ask?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"On Cybertron, of course," Skywarp replied.
Everyone stared at Skywarp in disbelief, even Thundercracker. Skywarp again glanced around at the many stares and shrugged again.
"I mean, if those key things are supposed to restore Cybertron, then it makes sense if the lock thing is on Cybertron, right?"
The entire room was in silence, the Decepticons gazing from Skywarp to Megatron. Megatron stared at Skywarp in disbelief, speechless. Thundercracker gazed back at Skywarp and cracked a smile.
"Skywarp, I never tell you this enough," Thundercracker said, "but you are a fragging genius!"
Skywarp looked puzzled at his partner and Megatron. "I thought it was obvious..."
Megatron likewise cracked a toothy smile. "In that case, set course for the Space Bridge!" he ordered the pilots and turned to the big windows. "We will wait for the Autobots to arrive, and let them lead us to this 'Omega Lock'. And then, we shall take the glory away from them..."
"How do you know this?" Ratchet asked Optimus confused, after the latter had just revealed to them that the Omega Lock was located on Cybertron.
"Alpha Trion revealed its location to me during the message conveyed by the Star Saber," Optimus replied and turned to the GroundBridge with the Forge over his shoulder.
"And you didn't think to tell us?" Ratchet asked in disbelief.
Optimus briefly turned to look at the medic. "Alpha Trion did not wish it so," he simply replied and turned back.
The Autobots watched as Optimus set the Forge on the floor beside him, while he himself descended to the mechanisms under the floor.
"With the Forge of Solus Prime," Optimus continued, "we now possess the means of reaching Cybertron. I must work quickly. I doubt Megatron will give up his chance to restore Cybertron himself so easily. We must go while we still have a tactical advantage."
With that, Optimus grabbed the Forge and disappeared into the floor. A few seconds later, they heard loud banging noises coming from the floor.
Ratchet sighed and went to the medbay to continue his work on the Synthetic Energon formula in silence. The rest of the team settled onto boxes or leaned against the walls and railings, chatting while their leader and medic were working on their own things.
"Is it my imagination, or has Optimus been acting differently since that message from Alpha Trion?" Arcee asked the others some time later, while Optimus worked on the GroundBridge.
"Yeah, I think so too," Bumblebee bleeped in agreement.
"Yeah, he has been keeping things from us," Bulkhead said.
"Even Ratchet's out of the loop," Arcee said.
"Well, give me one good reason why Optimus couldn't trust his own teammates," Bulkhead continued. "Why he couldn't have told us about the Omega Lock."
"Because if he had," Smokescreen replied, "Megatron would've pulled it outta my head if Soundwave had succeeded in capturing me."
Starscream picked up one of the Omega Keys lying on the table and looked closer at it. "Perhaps instead of arguing over why the big guy didn't tell us about the Lock," the Seeker said, "maybe we should make a plan for what we're going to do in the event Megatron finds out about our little expedition before we can actually get to the Lock."
"Think Buckethead will be able to find out without the Keys or a sacred sword?" Arcee asked.
"Megatron has people to do that for him," Starscream replied, tracing the details of the Key with a claw. "More than Prime has, in any case. He has Soundwave, Knock Out and Thundercracker, all skilled scientists or intelligence officers, more than capable of finding out such secrets without the Star Saber."
"Then let's hope the 'Cons don't find out before we get to the Omega Lock," Bumblebee bleeped.
"Indeed." Starscream picked up another Key and held the two Keys in his servos, gazing between them. "Individually these Omega Keys are useless," he said quietly, "yet together they have the power to restore Cybertron. Very fascinating..."
Starscream began tapping the Keys against each other in small clinks and clanks, scraping them against each other a bit.
"Hey, don't damage them," Bulkhead warned. "They're the future of Cybertron, not toys."
"Please, it's not like they're fragile or anything," Starscream said and beat the Keys a bit harder against each other, to prove his point.
Only, when he slammed the Keys against each other, a strange click sounded, a light appeared, and suddenly the two Keys in Starscream's servos were locked together. Starscream stared down at them in bewilderment. The others gasped at the action, making Ratchet look over.
"Hey, how'd you do that?" Smokescreen asked intrigued.
"I didn't do anything, they just..." Starscream said and let go of one. It stayed stuck to the other one. "Strange... can you get the others?"
Smokescreen went and got the other two Keys from the Autobots' own vault. He and Arcee each held one and moved them against the two locked Keys. Another click sounded, and suddenly the four Keys parted, floating in the air in front of them and displayed a blue hologram of what seemed to be Cybertron. On the northern hemisphere was a strange red symbol, almost as a ritual circle of sorts.
"Maybe it's the location of the Omega Lock," Ratchet remarked. "Fascinating."
"It looks like the Sea of Rust," Starscream observed. "At least now we know where we're going."
"Even if Megatron finds out about the Omega Lock in some way and that it's on Cybertron," Smokescreen said with a smile, "he doesn't know where on Cybertron it is."
"Which means we can get to it before he does," Arcee said and smiled as well. "And we win this war for good."
Meanwhile on the Nemesis, Megatron was giving Onslaught a comm. that they were going to Cybertron and that they wouldn't be able to pick up the Combaticons even if they found another of their members.
"I understand, sir," Onslaught's voice sounded over the comm. "We shall await your return. We will continue our search until we find either of our Fliers. Good luck, sir!"
With that, the comm. ended and the warship left Earth's atmosphere, to head for the dark side of the moon where the Space Bridge resided.
"Master," Dreadwing said, standing by Megatron's side in the command center. "While it makes sense that there would be an 'Omega Lock' for these Keys, and that it is on Cybertron, we still do not know where on Cybertron this relic is. How are we going to locate it?"
"I may have the solution to that, my liege," Thundercracker's voice sounded from behind them.
Megatron and Dreadwing both turned to look at Thundercracker, standing beside Skywarp, the unexpected genius of the day.
"Speak," Megatron ordered the blue Seeker.
Thundercracker bowed his head slightly in respect. "As you know, Skywarp and I used to be Trinemates with Starscream," Thundercracker explained. "What you may not know is that Seeker Trines usually create Trinebonds between the members, so that they can locate each other should they get seperated or split up. There exists such a bond between me and Skywarp, but our bond with Starscream still exists too."
"Meaning...?" Megatron urged.
"Meaning that while the bond isn't strong, it is strong enough that we may be able to locate Starscream even if he is currently an Autobot," Thundercracker explained. "And if Skywarp and I split up, we can cover more ground - and air, for that matter. If this so-called 'Omega Lock' is indeed on Cybertron, and what the Omega Keys are for, like Skywarp theorized, then the Autobots will most certainly be heading for Cybertron. And chances are Starscream will be with them, as he currently is their only means of air support."
"But the Autobots have no means of getting to-" Megatron stopped himself. "No wait, that brat stole the Forge of Solus Prime. Which means... Optimus can turn their GroundBridge into a Space Bridge, no doubt."
There was silence in the room for a while, with Thundercracker and Skywarp sharing glances before returning their gazes to their master.
"Very well, Thundercracker," Megatron said and folded his servos behind his back. "You and Skywarp shall search the planet for traces of Starscream. And when we find that traitor, we will also find his new playmates. And with them, the Omega Lock, and to that end, the restoration of Cybertron..."
Megatron chuckled at the idea. "Get ready you two," he ordered the Seekers. "We will arrive at the Space Bridge soon. Dreadwing," he turned to his First Lieutenant, "you are in command while we are gone."
"Understood, sir," Dreadwing said.
"Yet another stunning convergence of magic and science," Ratchet said with awe as Optimus had finished his work with the GroundBridge by noon. "Courtesy of the Ancients."
"And our leader," Smokescreen added.
"It's hard to believe," Bulkhead said. "A few swings with that hammer and bam!"
The Autobots gazed at the GroundBridge tunnel, which hadn't changed in appearance, but most certainly had received an upgrade.
"Our GroundBridge," Arcee remarked, "is now a Space Bridge."
The room began blinking green, making everyone in the command center perk to attention.
"Our sensors are detecting a massive Energon burst occuring outside Earth's atmosphere," Ratchet informed. "A surge of that kind could only mean one thing. Activation of another Space Bridge."
"Megatron has discovered the existence of the Omega Lock," Optimus concluded, "and that it is on Cybertron."
Ratchet turned back to the monitor. "It appears we have lost our advantage," he said quietly.
"But with Megatron unaware of its precise location," Optimus continued, "we still have a chance of getting there first. We must embark on this mission with every resource at our disposal."
The Autobots spent the early afternoon getting ready to leave Cybertron. They went and got the relics they had acquired throughout the last few months, having fought the Decepticons fiercely over them: Bulkhead equipped himself with the Immobilizer; Bumblebee wielded the Polarity Gauntlet; Arcee fashioned herself with the Apex Armor; and Smokescreen, already wielding the Phase Shifter, went and fetched the Spark Extractor. They were all the relics the Autobots had at their disposal. It wasn't a lot - the Decepticons had secured the rest of the relics, while a few of them had been destroyed in the course of battle. But they were powerful, useful relics, sure to come in handy to the Autobots.
Starscream decided he didn't need a relic himself. Firstly there weren't any more that he could use, and secondly he felt better about relying on his own abilities now. His flight skills were as good as any of those old relics.
The Autobots had all gathered around the tunnel, which had now opened a blue Space Bridge portal, waiting for Optimus to arrive. He had retreated to the hallways with the Forge, and currently loud banging noises could be heard coming from the corridors.
"What's he forging now?" Bulkhead wondered.
Soon the banging noises stopped, and Bulkhead got his answer. Everyone looked back, as from the hallways stepped out Optimus, holding a long, shiny repaired Star Saber, the blade having been fixed at last. As the Autobot commander stepped into the command center with the mighty sword in servo, his fellow Autobots all gazed up at him in awe. Now they stood a chance against Megatron and his Dark Star Saber once again.
"Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost," Optimus declared and put the Star Saber in its hilt on his back.
As Optimus ran toward the portal and initiated truck mode - his Star Saber disappearing into his subspace - everyone else followed suit. Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Smokescreen initiated car mode, Arcee initiated bike mode, and Starscream initiated jet mode. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Starscream each kept an Omega Key within their cabins and cockpit. The relics had been tucked into the bots' subspaces as well.
"Cybertron, here we come!" Starscream cackled as they passed the portal.
Meanwhile at the dark side of the moon, the Nemesis had parked near the Space Bridge, which had been activated to allow Megatron, Thundercracker, Skywarp and a small army of Vehicon Fliers through.
"Remain behind and await my command," Megatron ordered Dreadwing, standing behind on the flight deck. "In the event we require reinforcements."
"As you wish, Lord Megatron," Dreadwing replied.
With that, Megatron initiated flight mode, his Dark Star Saber disappearing into his subspace as well, and led Thundercracker, Skywarp and the Vehicons through the Space Bridge.
"I really hope you're right about us being able to track down Starscream, Thunder," Skywarp said just before they entered the portal.
"I know I'm right, Warp," Thundercracker said as they went through the light tunnel. "Let's just hope we'll find them in time."
As the Autobots arrived on the other side of the portal, closing behind them almost immediately, they initiated bot mode, each grabbing a Key, and just stood for a moment, gazing at their surroundings.
Starscream's Spark started racing faster at the sight of their ruined world. The sky was dark and void of an atmosphere, the buildings of the city they found themselves in broken and rusty, a cool wind passing by, sending chills through their frames, and the otherwise ominous silence of the ruins.
"To think that we allowed the war to go this far," Starscream remarked. "Curse it all."
"Looks like Kaon," Arcee observed. "What do you think?"
"I think Kaon seems about right," Starscream replied. "Which means we have a long way to travel."
The Omega Keys back in the cabins and cockpit, the Autobots reverted back to alternate modes and began moving forward, heading north, to where the Omega Lock supposedly was. Starscream ascended to above the buildings for a better overview and to keep a lookout for the Grounders below.
As the Decepticons arrived on the other side of the portal, they too initiated bot mode to gaze at their surroundings, reviewing the horror of their war-ravaged world, and to determine where on Cybertron they had been sent to.
"Curse the Autobots," Skywarp grumbled. "Curse the destruction they caused our world."
"We'll give them the Pit when we find them," Thundercracker said in agreement.
"Seekers," Megatron said, directed to Thundercracker and Skywarp. "Seek!"
With the order given, Thundercracker and Skywarp reverted back to jet mode and split up, Skywarp going north and Thundercracker going west from their initial position. Megatron and the Vehicons transformed afterwards, scouting the city they had landed in on their own, searching for other life forms.
"We're coming for you, Starscream," Thundercracker said to the air. "And then it's all over!"
It was definitely Kaon they had arrived in. The city was huge. They spent at least an hour travelling among the buildings before they saw any sign of the city's borders. Starscream had to fly at a slow pace so the Autobots could follow his lead, as he could see their surroundings better than the rest of them. And they had to drive as fast as they could to follow the small grey jet in the sky, as even at a slow pace, he was still going faster than they did.
"I used to be the leader of an entire city-state," Starscream mused in self-pity over the comm. "The leader of an army of the best air warriors on Cybertron. Second-in-command of one of the two greatest forces of the war. And now, I have been reduced to a mere scout."
"Save the pity-party for later, Scream," Arcee replied. "We have more important things to worry about right now."
"I know, I know," Starscream replied, then seemed to stop midair, making the rest of the bots stop as well. "Wait, what's that?"
"You see something?" Arcee asked with antipication.
"There seems to be a dust storm coming our way, a few kliks north of our position. We should retreat into the ruins for cover and wait until it passes."
"We don't have time for this," Bulkhead argued. "It's just a dust storm. We'll just have to ride it out."
"Yeah, have fun with that," Starscream replied and disappeared behind the buildings. "I've had enough storms for one lifetime!"
"Starscream!" Arcee snapped and revved up her engine.
"Starscream is right," Optimus said, to the others' surprise. "We should not put ourselves in unnecessary danger. We shall seek cover and wait for the storm to pass."
Arcee sighed but started driving again. "Fine," she said. "Let's meet up with Scream."
It didn't take them too long to find Starscream, having sought shelter behind what seemed to be a former academy. It had an intact enough back wall, as well as a thick western wall with a ceiling attached to it, seemingly a second floor. There was enough interior left that the bots could all hide behind the walls.
"Changed your minds, did you," Starscream observed and snickered at the sight of the Grounders reverting to bot mode and joining the Flier, who was holding an Omega Key in his right servo. "Good choice."
Arcee waved with her servos. "Hey, you probably know better than we do when it comes to getting caught in a storm," she said jokingly.
Starscream cringed and huffed. "You don't have to remind me," he snarled. "We should be safe here. It should arrive within a few cycles."
A few cycles was pretty spot-on. One moment, there was nothing but a gentle breeze, the next moment, a strong wind roared around the bots, the dust racing past the missing eastern wall of their cover. Fortunately the western and back walls, as well as the ceiling were strong enough to withstand the incredible force that the storm arrived with. Starscream had no doubt if they as much as stuck a servo out from their cover, that it might get blown off.
The Autobots all sat on the floor against the back wall, making as much space between them as they could, but they still ended up huddled pretty close together. Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Starscream looked around them with concern at the roar of the dust storm, gazing worried at the razor-sharp sand zooming past them to their left. Starscream, being a flight frame, knew very well not to underestimate the weather, but that one incident on Earth had just made the danger all the more evident to him. He swore he would never again underestimate the weather, be it Earth or Cybetronian.
Grounders tended to be tougher and were often better equipped at handling storms like these, but sometimes even mechs like Optimus and Bulkhead had to admit there was no use trying to challenge the forces of nature, whether organic or metal.
"Did you see how big the storm was?!" Smokescreen yelled over the storm.
"It seemed to be a medium!" Starscream yelled back, even though they were sitting right next to each other. "It should be over in ten or twenty cycles or so! Maybe longer!"
On the Decepticons' side, they too found themselves having to seek cover among the ruins as a medium-sized dust storm had suddenly appeared from the north.
"So inconvenient," Thundercracker raged, barely able to hear his own words as he hid himself alone in a former lobby. "We don't have time for a storm like this, the Autobots could have reached the Omega Lock already!"
Thundercracker gazed out at the raging sand sweeping across the streets with dangerously high speed. He too knew very well not to underestimate Cybertron's weather.
"You better be hiding from this storm too, Starscream," Thundercracker hissed. "At least Skywarp is safe in the north..."
Starscream felt pretty weird, sitting so tightly among the Autobots while a storm raged around them. He was sitting between Bulkhead and Smokescreen, who sat next to Arcee, who sat next to Bumblebee in the inner corner. Optimus sat on the other side of Bulkhead, closest to the outside, probably as some kind of excuse to shield his comrades from 'falling outside' or something silly like that. That seemed to be the same reason Bulkhead sat so close to the outside. Their bigger, stronger bodies with thicker armor were probably better suited to handle this kind of weather than the four sleeker, smaller bots, hiding in the cover of these two big mechs.
I never thought I would find myself huddled together with a bunch of Autobots, Starscream thought to himself, barely even able to hear his own thoughts, gazing between Bulkhead to his left and the smaller Grounders to his right. During a storm, no less. How did I get to this point...?
It ended up taking over an hour before the dust storm finally seemed to settle. The roar began quieting down just a slight bit, and the walls around them shook a bit less, the sand from the outside seeming to slow down just a little bit.
"It looks like it's beginning to clear up," Bulkhead observed, as the bots rose up to test if it was safe enough to come out now.
But the wind had barely settled down when someone from above yelled: "There they are!" and lasers began falling around them. They were under attack!
"Megatron has found us!" Optimus said as the bots ran out into the wind, running for more cover. "Initiate battle positions!"
Out on an open street, as the sand continued to blow around them, though in a more tolerable rate than earlier, Megatron and the Vehicons initiated bot mode and landed gracefully, having received a transmission from Thundercracker that the Autobots were in the area. Megatron gazed around as the blue Seeker descended and joined them.
"Where are they, Thundercracker?" Megatron growled at the Seeker.
"They were just here," Thundercracker hissed, more to himself than to Megatron. "They must have sought cover somewhere..."
Suddenly they heard laser shots from behind and turned around. Several Vehicons fell as the Autobot Smokescreen had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was firing at them.
"What? Where did he come from?" Megatron gasped.
Within a few nano-cycles, Smokescreen disappeared back into a wall, and was soon replaced by a large bunch of debris floating above the 'Cons in the air. The debris was surrounded by an orange aura of sorts. It was the work of the Polarity Gauntlet. Soon, the debris was slammed to the ground, crushing several Vehicons that didn't get out of the way in time.
Bumblebee ran off on a tall edge, catching Megatron's attention. He made a gesture with his servo. "Crush them!" the warlord shouted.
The troopers began shooting after Bumblebee, who initiated car mode and began driving along the edge of the ledge. Soon, they found themselves fired upon by Starscream, swooping in and providing air support.
"After him!" Megatron ordered Thundercracker, who had already initiated jet mode and set off towards his former Trine Commander.
While Thundercracker and Starscream kept each other busy, Bulkhead came sneaking into the battlefield from another ledge, activating the Immobilizer and stunning several Vehicons, before jumping off and charging into the battlefield. He was soon joined by Bumblebee who reverted back to bot mode, and the two mechs started firing their lasers at the 'Cons. From an even higher ledge, Arcee fired a few lasers before jumping off and encasing herself in the Apex Armor, slamming onto the ground and joining the other mechs, including Smokescreen ascending from the ground, charging at the army of Vehicons who continued firing their poorly aimed lasers at the attackers.
"Take the Keys!" Megatron yelled, as the storm around them continued to blow, though at a less dangerous rate than before.
In the sky, Starscream tried to deliver air support but found it increasingly harder, both due to the storm that hadn't settled down completely yet, but also due to that annoying Thundercracker who kept chasing after him.
"Get out of my tailpipe, you miserable moron!" Starscream hissed at the blue Seeker who kept firing at the other.
"Give me your Key!" Thundercracker yelled. "I know you have one of them!"
"Never! Just let us reach the Omega Lock so we can restore Cybertron!"
"So there is an Omega Lock, huh? Skywarp was right after all!"
"What do you mean 'Skywarp was right'?" Starscream shrieked as they turned, trying to aim at Thundercracker. "You don't mean to tell me that simpleminded idiot found out about the Lock?"
"We've all been underestimating him," Thundercracker replied and dodged two of Starscream's lasers. "He's smarter than we thought! Even I was surprised that he figured it out all by himself while the rest of us couldn't even figure out what the Keys were or what they did!"
"Goes to show Megatron is surrounded by morons!" Starscream yelled and fired one of his missiles.
Thundercracker sped up and did a quick turn to shoot a laser at the missile, causing it to explode. He emerged from the cloud and fired back at Starscream, who dodged and flew past the bigger Seeker before the two turned around and faced each other again.
"Starscream, this is ridiculous!" Thundercracker shouted. "Leave those damn Autobots and come back to the Decepticons with me and Skywarp!"
"And why would I do that?!" Starscream screamed and brushed past Thundercracker yet again, both their firing having ceased, now more focused on their conversation and handling the storm around them.
"Because we need you!"
Starscream gave up his flying and instead descended to the top of a tall building, reverting to bot mode. Thundercracker soon descended to the same rooftop and reverted to bot mode as well. The two Seekers stared at each other, seemingly pausing their fight.
"Megatron doesn't need me," Starscream protested. "He's got Dreadwing."
"I'm not talking about Megatron," Thundercracker clarified.
"Well, why don't you Trine up with Dreadwing then, instead of hoping I will return and what not?"
"Because he isn't you," Thundercracker said. "We can't stand that mech. And he doesn't respect us."
"I don't repect you either, and we can't stand each other either," Starscream pointed out, crossing his arms.
"But we know each other," Thundercracker said. "Primus, Starscream, we've been at this war for millions of years. For millions of years we've been in the same Trine. And now you suddenly decided you wanted to side with the Autobots instead?! I just don't understand how any of this scrap could have happened!"
"It wasn't my choice," Starscream admitted. "I was betrayed! I had sworn my allegiance to Megatron, only for him to send that wretch Airachnid to trap me and leave me at the mercy of the Autobots!"
Silence fell between them for a moment, while the storm continued to rage around them.
"That's when I decided I had had enough," Starscream continued. "I've had enough of Megatron. I've had enough of the Decepticons. I've had enough of always being treated like garbage!"
Thundercracker squinted and crossed his own arms. "You treat others like garbage too," he countered.
"I have changed," Starscream protested. "At least I'm trying to. Nobody's perfect. But I refuse to let Megatron treat me like a punching bag any longer. I thought you, of all bots, would understand that."
"Don't get me wrong, Starscream, I do understand why you decided to leave Megatron," Thundercracker said. "I was surprised it took you so long to do it, actually. What I don't understand is why you abandoned me and Skywarp, while you went off to join with the enemy."
Starscream looked puzzled at his former Trinemate. "What do you mean 'abandoned'? You disappeared when we came to Earth."
"After you left us to go back to Cybertron and play with Shockwave."
Starscream cringed by the name. "It wasn't a request," Starscream defended, "it was an order. And I wasn't the only one to leave you behind on the Harbinger, the whole crew of the Nemesis did so too. Heck, even Megatron did! At least we had that Red Energon to hyper-warp us to the other side of the galaxy in a short amount of time and back again."
"You still left us behind though."
"By the AllSpark," Starscream hissed. "You are such a Sparkling!"
Thundercracker's wings hiked at the insult. "What did you call me?!" he hissed back.
"You're so childish," Starscream snarled. "You know I had to go, yet still you blame me for leaving you?! You blame me, even after everything I have been through for you, after everything I have done for the Seekers!"
"You doomed the Seekers from the moment you began contacting Megatron in the first place!"
Starscream's own wings hiked and he let out a rattling snarl, which led to a coughing attack. Thundercracker didn't fail to notice this.
"Don't you dare blame me for what happened to the Seekers!" Starscream shrieked as he got the coughing under control and spread his claws. "You take it back!"
"I won't take back the truth!"
Starscream let out a shriek and charged forward, swiping with his claws at Thundercracker, who jumped back and struggled to keep balance, standing right by the edge. He looked briefly down behind him before turning his gaze back to the raging Starscream in front of him.
"You know what," Thundercracker said. "We don't have time for this. There's an Omega Lock we need to find."
With that, Thundercracker let himself fall from the rooftop and did a few backflips before initiating jet mode, blasting off into the sky with a boom, leaving behind the smaller, fuming Seeker.
Starscream went to the edge and looked down at the battlefield below. It seemed the Autobots had fled the scene, and Megatron had thrown his Dark Star Saber into what seemed to be the Spark Extractor, activated and forming a blue force field that kept expanding, taking down pretty much the rest of the Vehicon army, leaving Megatron as the only survivor.
Starscream let out a huff and jumped off the building as well, reverting to jet mode and set off to find his comrades.
Thundercracker continued to fume as he turned and kept track of Starscream's position. He was still mad at his former commander, but he couldn't go back on his orders. He had to follow Starscream, for the Decepticons' sake. And for the remaining Seekers' sake as well.
"Skywarp, come in," Thundercracker called on the comm. "Do you read me?"
"I hear you, TC, what's up?" Skywarp answered the comm.
"I've found Starscream and engaged him in battle," Thundercracker replied. "He got away, but I'm following him. Get to my position and help me send our signals to Lord Megatron. We're heading for the Omega Lock!"
"Got'cha, on my way!"
While waiting for his Trinemate to arrive, Thundercracker opened another comm. to Megatron.
"Lord Megatron, I am in pursuit of Starscream," Thundercracker said. "Skywarp is currently converting to my position. I-"
"Continue following him," Megatron interrupted over the comm. "I will follow you. We have lost the army, but I have just received a message from Dreadwing that we have a way to get the Autobots to surrender the Keys to us."
Thundercracker perked by the information but made sure to stay on Starscream's track. "I will look forward to your company, master," Thundercracker said and ended the comm.
It took Starscream less than ten cycles to locate his fellow Autobots on the ground. They had exited the city and were travelling across the Sea of Rust, finally having traversed to the northern hemisphere. He sped up and descended to meet up with them.
"Hey there," Starscream said as he slowed down, flying just a few meters above the Grounders. "Missed me?"
"Good to see you're okay," Arcee commented.
"The Omega Lock is just a few kliks north of here," Optimus informed the Seeker. "We will arrive soon."
"Finally," Starscream replied and ascended further to scout over the vast flat landscape. "Yep, I see something far ahead! Mind if I go on ahead?"
"You have permission," Optimus replied over the comm.
With that, Starscream sped up and flew out of the storm, now reduced to a mere dust breeze. It took less than a cycle for him to get to their destination. He reverted to bot mode just a dozen meters above ground and landed gracefully on his pedes. He rose up and gazed at the object in front of him.
"This is the Omega Lock?" he mused to himself. "It's... smaller than I thought it'd be."
It was barely half his height. It was a bit wide, maybe big enough that he could just lie down on top of it and spread out his arms, legs and wings, but that was pretty much it. The Omega Lock was just as rusty and dusty as the rest of Cybertron currently was.
A few cycles later, he heard the rumble of engines and turned around to see the other Autobots having arrived. They reverted to bot mode a few dozen meters away as they caught sight of their Seeker and began walking towards him and the Lock. They brought out the relics and Omega Keys from their subspaces, as did Starscream his own Key.
The bots briefly acknowledged Starscream's presence, as the latter stepped back a bit to let the others take a look at the Lock.
"Doesn't look like much," Bulkhead commented at the Lock's rusty, small appearance.
Optimus wiped a bit of dust off a small flat space on the object, revealing a strange black symbol.
"Ratchet," Optimus reported over the comm. "We have located the Omega Lock."
Ratchet's sigh could be heard from over the comm. "At last."
"According to Alpha Trion," Optimus began, "the Omega Lock is a conduit to the very AllSpark itself."
Smokescreen went over to Optimus and shyly held his Key behind his head. "Optimus, an honor like this shouldn't belong to me," the youngster said and tried to hand over the Key to Optimus.
But as he held forth the Key, it began glowing, the two mechs staring at it with intrigue. It wasn't the only one; the other three Keys in the servos of Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Starscream began glowing too, and vibrated a slight bit, as if they were coming to life.
Suddenly, lights appeared on the Omega Lock, and the ground began trembling around them. The same, strange ritual circle from the hologram appeared along the ground, from the Omega Lock and spreading outwards, but in white rather than in red.
In a several hundred meters radius, the ground around them began transforming and descending several places, while four gigantic pillars appeared in four different corners at the outer end of the circle; north, south, west and east. The pillars themselves began transforming, and two protrusions appeared from each pillar, meeting with the other protrusions to form a gigantic ring above them.
As the circle was complete and the Lock's transformation was finished, a large bluish green energy lake appeared on the inside of the ring above them. It glowed with a soothing light, emitting large amounts of energy and giving the feeling of something alive being inside the lake.
This was the Omega Lock.
Starscream stared at the glowing light in awe and intrigue, and watched the ground around him reflecting the light of the Lock, almost looking like it was raining on it.
With this, Starscream thought with a beating Spark, Cybertron will be restored, and I can return Vos to its former glory. I can see Jetfire again...
But barely did they have a chance to truly admire the wonder of the Lock as the sound of a large jet approaching caught their attention. They looked to the side and saw Megatron's figure coming in and transforming to bot mode, slowly walking towards them.
Optimus drew forth the Star Saber, and he and the Autobots charged, ready to take on Megatron, seemingly alone. As the warlord didn't seem to be about to engage in battle, however, the bots ceased their charging but stood ready with their weapons and relics, Arcee in the Apex Armor and Starscream aiming his missiles at his former master.
"Autobots," Megatron said, as Thundercracker and Skywarp descended and landed on either side of him, apparently not alone after all. "I would suggest that you put a halt to your task and hand over those Keys."
Thundercracker and Skywarp, standing on either side of Megatron, crossed their arms and snickered maliciously. The sight disgusted Starscream, already aiming his missiles at his Trinemates now instead.
"And why would we do that?" Smokescreen asked, as the three Decepticons, while powerful, were still outnumbered and outmatched by the Autobots and their relics.
Megatron didn't say anything, neither did the two Seekers. Instead, a green portal appeared behind him, and Thundercracker stepped over to Skywarp, to let the Autobots see who was coming from the portal.
It was Dreadwing, Soundwave and Knock Out. They all seemed to be holding something, something that looked like canisters of some sorts. It looked like there was something inside. As they got closer, the Autobots quickly realized it wasn't something inside the canisters, but rather someone.
"So that I may hand over the humans," Megatron replied with a malicious smile.
The Autobots stared on in disbelief. Jack, Miko and Raf had all been captured and put into pods, Jack held by Dreadwing, Miko held by Knock Out, and Raf held by Soundwave. Starscream stiffened at the sight. They had found the kids. The kids which they hadn't seen in two days. When had they been captured? While the Autobots had been busy collecting Keys? While they were searching for the Omega Lock?
"And if we refuse?" Optimus dared ask.
Megatron stepped forward, approaching his arch-nemesis with calm. "Then I will have no choice but to open the pods," Megatron said and leaned in close to Optimus' face, almost touching him, "exposing your pets to Cybertron's toxic atmosphere. And then we can all watch them instantly perish. Together."
Optimus stared deeply into Megatron's optics, contemplating their situation. The Autobots had the Keys, the means to reviving Cybertron and to allow their species to live in peace at last, without having to live under Megatron's toxic influence. They also had plenty of powerful relics to use against Megatron and easily win in a fight.
On the other hand, Optimus did not want Megatron to harm the humans, the ones that had lived among them for many months now. Cybertron may be thrown right into a dystopia upon its restoration, but they could always find a way to fight back Megatron when they had the chance. These humans could not be replaced. They only had this one life, however short it may be for them.
Miko kicked the glass of the pod a bit, in a weak attempt to get out. "Not how I wanted to spend my first trip to Cybertron," she said quietly.
"Dreadwing," Megatron ordered.
Dreadwing didn't say anything. He just lifted his pod and began scraping his claws against the glass while glaring, making Jack inside cringe.
"Go ahead," Jack said daringly. "The Autobots were prepared to sacrifice themselves for my planet. I'll do the same for theirs."
"Me too, creepy," Miko said and glared at Knock Out.
Rafael gazed anxiously up at Soundwave and gulped. "Mhm," he hummed unconvincingly.
"Perhaps we should obliege them?" Megatron said in almost a question, while looking back at Optimus, still pointing the Star Saber at the warlord, with a toothy smirk.
"If my decision dooms the future of the Autobot cause on Cybertron, so be it," Optimus said. "But I will never forsake our human allies."
With that, Optimus planted the Star Saber into the ground in front of him and stepped backwards, rejoining his comrades by the Omega Lock.
Arcee sighed and deactivated the Apex Armor, then threw it on the ground near the Star Saber. Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Smokescreen likewise threw the Immobilizer, Polarity Gauntlet and Phase Shifter on the ground, giving up their weapons. Starscream merely lowered his arms, having no weapons to give up, and knowing Megatron knew he would not use his missiles against him. He snarled at the warlord. All just to save a couple of humans.
Granted, he didn't hold anything against the humans, but it was still annoying having to give up and let Megatron win, simply because such small, insignificant fleshlings were in danger.
"Now, if you please," Megatron demanded and held forth his Prime arm's servo. "The Omega Keys."
The Autobots glared at the warlord, each clutching their Key, each staring at the trapped humans.
"One at a time," Megatron said.
Knock Out stepped forward with Miko as the first one. He wagged a digit at Bulkhead. "You first, big boy," he teased.
Starscream looked at the other bots' expressions. Bulkhead looked hesitant down at his Key, then at Optimus, who nodded, encouraging him to do it. Bulkhead stepped forward and slowly approached Knock Out, who held out an impatient servo.
"If I don't get the girl, I'll make you eat this Key," Bulkhead growled as he handed over the Omega Key to Knock Out.
"You're welcome," Knock Out said in a silky voice and let Bulkhead take the pod with Miko inside. The Wrecker snarled as he turned back to the others.
"Get scrapped," Miko snapped at Knock Out as the latter likewise turned back to his fellow Decepticons.
Next up, Soundwave stepped forward with Rafael in his pod. Bumblebee approached the intelligence officer, holding his Key with both servos. Rafael looked concerned up at the silent mech, but was relieved as the Decepticon calmly accepted Bumblebee's Key and handed over the pod in return with no fuss. Bumblebee did growl with buzzing and beeping before turning back to his friends, however, having secured Raf.
Now that was just Jack left, but two Omega Keys. How would this turn out?
"If this human was important enough to entrust with the Matrix of Leadership," Megatron said, having taken this into account, "he's worth two Omega Keys."
Starscream gazed down at the Key in his servo and glanced at Arcee, staring at him with anticipation. Starscream sighed and handed over his Key to Arcee, who nodded in thanks and stepped forward alongside Smokescreen, both determined to get their shared human partner back safely.
Dreadwing placed the pod containing Jack on the ground and held forth his servos, his expression blank as always. "No tricks," he ensured and demanded.
Arcee and Smokescreen both handed over their Keys into Dreadwing's servos at the same time, who stepped back to his fellow Decepticons and allowed Arcee to kneel down and see that Jack was indeed safe.
Just then, however, a portal opened to their right, and out stepped numerous Vehicon Fliers with their blasters ready, prompting Arcee to grab Jack's pod and retreat to the others with Smokescreen. Soon, the Decepticons had the Autobots surrounded. The former had full rights to the Omega Lock now.
"Now bear witness as a new era dawns on Cybertron," Megatron said, having received one of Dreadwing's Keys, and inserted it into one of the Lock's openings. Afterwards, Dreadwing, Soundwave and Knock Out each inserted their own Omega Keys, now causing the Omega Lock to shine a bright white light which then turned into the same blue hologram of Cybertron as earlier, but this time with several holographic buttons of sorts, including a red one that looked like the Omega Lock's personal symbol.
Thundercracker and Skywarp stepped closer to get a better look at the hologram. From the ground by the Omega Lock, a white energy pulse surged up the pillars and around the ring, getting ready to be activated.
"Behold!" Megatron bellowed. "The age of the Decepticons!"
Megatron pressed the big red holographic button, and one of the sockets on the ring began glowing and fired off a bluish white laser at one of the ruined structures in the city of Kaon. Everyone gazed in its direction. They gasped as they watched the laser began magically lifting the rubble and arranging it in the order it originally had been in.
A few seconds later the laser disappeared and the building was left in a bright light before fading away. As the light faded, the bots gasped as the building before them had been completely restored to its original state - whole, shiny, clean and silver, not rusty like it had been before. It was completely misplaced among the rusty ruins around it.
"By the AllSpark..." Optimus said in awe.
"Wow..." Bumblebee bleeped.
"Wow," Starscream said.
"Wow," Raf remarked.
"Wow," Miko gasped. "Instant home makeover."
"Shiny," Knock Out said intrigued.
"Amazing," Thundercracker remarked.
Optimus turned his gaze away from the shiny, restored building to the Decepticons. "You have what you want, Megatron," Optimus said. "This conflict is between Autobots and Decepticons. Allow me to return the humans to Earth."
Megatron turned to look at Optimus. "Oh, I wouldn't recommend it," Megatron replied and turned all the way around. "They'll be far safer here."
Optimus stared at Megatron in disbelief, realizing what he meant.
"Is the Space Bridge locked on target?" Megatron asked Dreadwing next to him.
"Affirmative, Lord Megatron," Dreadwing responded.
"Excellent," Megatron replied and returned his gaze to Optimus with a toothy grin. "Why rule only one world, when I could rule two?"
Above the Omega Lock, a large Space Bridge portal opened up. Megatron turned to the Lock and pressed the red button. The ring sent off a massive bluish white blast into the portal above, locked onto planet Earth.
"No..." Optimus sighed with disbelief.
Miko turned in her pod to look at Optimus. "If the Omega Lock can restore Cybertron, it'll do the same to Earth," Miko asked and put her hands on the glass. "Right?"
"No," Optimus repeated darkly. "It will cyberform your planet in favor of its new matrix, destroying all indigenous life in the process."
The humans gasped and glanced worried at each other, then at the blast and the portal above, then at Megatron and the Decepticons at the Omega Lock.
"Such raw power..." Megatron said with intrigue. "What shall I call my new domain? New Kaon? Or perhaps Gilded Earth?"
Starscream stared from Megatron to the Omega Lock, to Thundercracker and Skywarp who both laughed along with their leader and fellow elites, to the energy lake above and the Space Bridge portal. His gaze fell on Optimus to his left, likewise staring on with a conflicted mind. His gaze fell to the humans to his right, banging against the glass while screaming at Megatron to stop and leave their planet alone.
Starscream's gaze fell on Arcee. Suddenly, all sound surrounding him seemed to disappear, all the laughter, screaming, pulsing, all sounds aside from his own beating Spark ceased to exist. A strange calm fell over him.
"Arcee," he whispered. "I have something important to tell you, just in case we don't make it out of here alive."
Arcee side-glanced the Seeker with a questionable look. "This isn't the right time to-"
"Megatron did not terminate Cliffjumper," Starscream interrupted her. "I did."
Arcee's expression fell, her gaze fully locked on Starscream. "...What...?" her response was barely a whisper.
Starscream's next words were barely audible.
"I... killed... Cliffjumper..."