29- Orion Pax (Part 3).
Sky and Arcee continued their way through Kaon until the key started to glow again.
"We must be close. This way." Sky deduced, but he stopped when he saw a giant statute of Megatron in front of them at the entrance of some kind of coliseum. "To…Megatron's domains?"
"The gladiatorial arena." Arcee recognized.
The two entered the arena until some kind of earthquake started. The ground started to crack as the key glowed even stronger. Suddenly, a giant structure emerged from the ground in front of them, some kind of entrance. When Sky approached it, the door glowed in blue and reveal a passage.
"This must be the entrance. But I don't get it: Vector Sigma's down here?" Sky asked confused.
"Kaon didn't always belong to the Decepticons. Megatron took it as their capital, apparently without ever realizing what lay beneath their feet." Arcee explained.
Suddenly, they heard a crumbling noise and looked up to the top of the entrance. They spotted some giant cybertronian creature: it had a long body, with some insect legs and other legs larger that acted as a tail, but its most terrifying aspect was its big insect mouth. The creature jumped down to attack, but Arcee grabbed Sky and jumped out of the way. She started to fire at the creature, but the shots seemed to not do even a single scratch. It recognized her symbol and tackled her against the wall.
"Arcee!"
Sky ignited his lightsaber and threw it at the creature, cutting one of its legs, which made it shriek in pain. It turned at the little boy, and once it spotted the key of Vector Sigma it turned its attention at him. It ran to attack him, but Sky managed to hold it away a little with the Force, until Arcee fired at it again jumping above it, getting its attention.
"We're being attacked by some kind of giant cybertronian large bug!" Sky reported to the team through com-link.
"A corrupted worm." Ratchet recognized.
"A what?" All the children asked.
"It comes from space slugs, part of Cybertron's natural defenses. But when the core was poisoned, the pollution caused one of them to mutate and acted wildly." Ratchet explained (the boss from the antepenultimate mission of War for Cybertron).
"I thought we finished it long ago, when Optimus and others traveled to the core." Arcee reminded.
"That one. But maybe when Megatron sent that dark energon meteor through the space bridge it may have caused its remains to reanimate. Or maybe it created another one." Ratchet theorized.
Arcee jumped onto higher ground continuing firing at the creature, but it fired a purple projectile from its mouth, but she jumped first and changed to her vehicle form, forcing the creature to chase her. She slid underneath the creature, returning back to robot form and continued shooting.
"Sky, go!" Arcee yelled.
"No! I can't leave you behind!"
"Without Arcee? She's his guide."
"No, senator Bonteri. Arcee is Sky's backup, the keycard is his guide. And the Force." Ratchet corrected.
Arcee managed to push back the creature with her shots. "Do it!"
"Listen to her, Sky. You've made it this far, Optimus is counting on you. You can do this. We know you can, because you're not alone. You have the Force with you."
Sky became inspired as he looked the key. "Roger that, mom. I'll be back for you!" He told to Arcee before heading to the entrance.
Vector Sigma's door started to close as Sky saw Arcee get tackled by the monster. Meanwhile, at the Nemesis…
"Orion, have you made progress with Project Iacon?" Megatron asked visiting him again.
"It seems I am a bit rustier than I thought."
"Might that have anything to do with the nature of your after-hours research. Did I fail to mention that we'd be tracking your activities?" Megatron revealed as he pressed a button, showing what Orion was doing.
"Why does history portray me siding with the Autobot aggressors? And why did Starscream call me a Prime? I must know, who am I?"
"You are my clerk. Now get back to work and decode that database."
Orion started to doubt about his old friend's intentions.
"No. I would rather erase my findings than making them available for your questionable use." Orion decided before pressing a button, which erased all the screen's data. He was about to leave when he heard Megatron laughing and pressing another button, making everything reappearing.
"Did you really think that we wouldn't be tracking and documenting every iota of your valuable research?" Megatron smirked.
In that moment, Soundwave entered the room showing on his screen a map of Cybertron with a strong signal emitting from one region.
"One of our sensors have detected movements, on Cybertron?" Megatron asked surprised.
"You told me our planet was dead." Orion recalled.
"That is beside the point, guards!" Megatron called as he pulled out his sword and threatened Orion, putting it near his neck. "You will finish Project Iacon by the time I return, or I will carve out your spark before your very eyes."
Back on Cybertron, Arcee continued shooting at the creature as it tried to smash her. She jumped above it and kicked its head. After dodging its hind legs, she climbed on top of a pillar and continued firing at it. Enough of playing around, the creature started to charge a lot of energy on its mouth and fired a purple beam of energy which hit Arcee. She felt to the floor unconscious, but instead of finish with her, the beast headed to the entrance and ripped the door before crawling inside, searching for Sky. Meanwhile, he walked through a tunnel, with the key's light showing him the path. Not far from him, a scraplet was attracted by the light. He felt that he wasn't alone in there, so he pulled out his lightsaber, just in case he needed it. And good point, because right behind him, hidden in the dark, there were a lot of scraplets. When he reached an intersection, Sky started to get nervous.
"What I do now? All ways look like the same, and the key seems to be glowing to all of them. Tell me, Optimus, which way is the right one? Where should I go? Did I…get lost?"
"Don't be afraid." A sweet, female voice said.
"Who said that? Who is there? Arcee?! Is that you?!"
He saw a familiar silhouette of light flying between the shadows.
"Isn't that…Morai?" He said confused. "What is she doing here on Cybertron? And how she could possible arrive here?"
"There is more in the Force than meets the eye, little Sky."
Then he felt a strange powerful presence next to him, and when he turned, he got surprised for what he saw: a tall young woman, as beautiful as any other, with white skin like emitting its own light and very long green hair and shiny green eyes. She was smiling at him.
"Hey, I saw you before, in my dreams. You were with my mother and masters Skywalker and Kenobi too."
"Indeed. I'm the reason your mother resurrected."
"You're the Daughter? From The Ones, the ancient Force gods from Mortis?" He asked, earning a nod from her. "But…I thought…well, everyone thinks you're gone."
"And I am, but not at all. In the very deep, nobody leaves at all."
"Morai. She is related to you?"
"She is an old friend of mine. We share a deep spiritual connection, in such a way that in the end she became part of my being."
"What are you doing here on Cybertron?"
"As a supreme being of good and light, I also had the ability to sense the condition of other beings similar to me, like Primus. That's how I felt his energy, the power of the matrix, being used against Unicron, and being no more. But it still present here, in the safe passage that he created."
"Vector Sigma. That's where I'm going, the reason why I'm here. I need to find it to restore the matrix and bring Optimus back. But I'm think I'm lost: every way looks exactly the same. And the key seems to not telling me which way is the right one."
"I know. That's why I'm here, your call for help summoned me here, to lend you guidance. The key may be the one which will take you to Vector Sigma, but it is not the only thing you must depend on. The Force can also help you to find the way."
"Yes, many people have told me that. And now I know I have not taken it seriously."
"Then now is the time to do it right. Clear your mind of worries, let your instinct guide you, and you will walk the right path."
Sky followed the Daughter's advice: he calmed down his mind and tried to feel any clue the Force could give him. After a few seconds, he decided which way he was going to take.
"This one. This is the path."
"Then proceed."
Sky started to walk, but he stopped and looked back at the Daughter. "You're not coming with me?"
"This is your task, I only came to give you the strength you needed."
"Will I see you again?"
The Daughter touched his face. "Maybe. Don't forget what I told you about Morai. If you meditate in her company, maybe we will meet again."
"Thank you." Sky said goodbye before he continued his way.
"May the Force be with you, future young Jedi."
And she disappeared. Meanwhile, Soundwave was showing another thing to Megatron.
"The activity log indicates my space bridge was set for Cybertron, and remains open. The only possible reason the Autobots would take such a risk would be to restore their precious Optimus Prime."
Meanwhile, Sky seemed to reach a dead end. Fortunately, the key glowed again, which made the door activated and opened. It revealed a huge chamber that had a bridge connecting with a circular platform in the middle.
"Everyone, I found it. I'm in Vector Sigma." He communicated to everyone.
"Sweet." Han said cheered.
"That's our pal." Aris added.
"That's our boy." Lux said to Ahsoka, who smiled relieved.
Sky crossed the bridge and walked to the center of the platform. A part of the floor glowed like the key, so he placed the key on it. The key started to change, turning at the same size it had when Optimus gave it to Sky, so he stepped back a little as the whole area started to glow. The floor where Sky was started to move, making him fall. Next, it started to rise, forcing him to jump off the platform. In front of him, the platform opened, revealing a huge shining core of energy floating on the air.
"Whoa. This is beautiful."
He observed that some lines of energy started to flow to the key.
"Commencing download. I think." He reported.
"Soon, Optimus." Ratchet said with hope.
Speaking about Orion, he was forced to continue his job by two Decepticon heavy soldiers who were watching him.
"No one told you to stop, Pax." One of them said walking toward him with his weapon ready.
But Orion did not continue, even when both Decepticons aimed their weapons at him. Instead, he turned at them.
"I believe Megatron intends to use whatever he finds in Project Iacon to harm the Autobots. Please, we can warn them." He said approaching them.
But one of the guards simply punched him on the torso and the back, making him to collapse on the ground, followed by a kick. He looked at them in shock, as they aimed their guns at him. Meanwhile, Sky continue watching how the matrix flowed back into the key from Vector Sigma. But it seemed to be a very long process.
"This is taking a while."
"Of course it is. We are talking about the collective wisdom of the Primes." Ratchet replied.
In that moment, Sky felt a familiar presence, but not welcome. Right behind him, the swarm of scraplets made their way into the chamber, eating metal on the way. Until they saw that the terminal where the key was downloading the matrix was full of tasty energy, which caused them to fly right at it with their jaws ready. Sky saw them coming, and instinctually he used the Force to contain them, but they were too many. After a minute, he got tired of containing them and the swarm made its way to the terminal. Sky had no choice but to turn on his lightsaber and cut as many scraplets as he could, but they were already attacking it.
"What is it, Sky?" Ratchet asked.
"Scraplets."
That made BB-8 hid behind R2 and 3PO.
"What's a scraplet?" Satine asked.
"Some kind of metal eating droids." Leia summarized.
"Why did it have to be scraplets?" Cliffjumper cursed.
"If they chew through Vector Sigma before the matrix is fully reloaded…" Ratchet started.
"So, Vector Sigma is more than legend." A familiar voice said behind them.
The Autobots saw Megatron emerging from a ground bridge, making them to put into battle positions.
"You Autobots have gone to impressive lengths to recover your leader. Be assured, I shall never underestimate you again. Now, I assume the one called Arcee will be stepping through that portal, with the reloaded Matrix of Leadership in hand." Megatron deduced.
"We hold the space bridge at all cost." Ratchet declared as all Autobot charged against Megatron, firing their weapons.
Megatron did the same, and punched Bulkhead so hard that sent him flying toward the space bridge, taking Cliffjumper with him. Ratchet tried to strike with his swords, but Megatron grabbed him by the head and threw him out of the structure. Bumblebee continued shooting at him as he ran around him, until Megatron intercepted him, grabbed him and threw him against the ground. He pulled out his sword with intention of finish Bee, but Cliffjumper tackled him first, trying to hop on his back, but Megatron managed to sake him off and threw him against a pillar of the structure.
"You're going down, Buckethead." Bulkhead said tackling him out of the space bridge.
At the same time, on Cybertron, Arcee was still laying on the floor, until a painful feeling brought her back online. She slowly sat up and saw what was the cause: there was a scraplet chewing her foot, which she eliminated easily.
"Sky?"
She spotted the entrance of Vector Sigma with a big hole. Knowing what could only cause that, she transformed and drove inside the tunnel. In Vector Sigma, Sky continued trying to dispose of the scraplets, but there were too many. And the damage they were inflicting on the terminal was starting to affect the matrix downloading process: the noise of the process was slowing down.
"No, no, no, no, no, don't quit now!"
Then, he heard a noise coming from the entrance.
"Arcee."
But it was not his Autobot partner, because it was too big. It was the corrupted worm, which managed to make its way into Vector Sigma. It stood in front of Sky.
"Back off, monster!" Sky warned, but the creature didn't listen as it continued advancing.
Sky decided to try to scare the creature by launching a storm of Force lightning at the creature's head. It made a little damage, but it didn't stop it. But when the beast was about to strike, suddenly it stopped. Sky could sense that it was afraid, but not because of him, of the scraplets. That gave him an idea. He picked up one of the scraplets and put it aside, looking at the giant creature.
"Look, that's some giant tasty meal, isn't it?" Sky asked, earning a nod from the scraplet. "Go and get it!"
He threw the scraplet at the worm, which started to attack the creature's face. Sky decided to use a Force ability to connect with the scraplets, which looked at him confused.
"Hey guys, dinner is ready!" He shouted pointing at the creature.
And all scraplets swarmed at it. The monster managed to squash the first scraplet, but it didn't saw the rest of the swarm heading right at it. The corrupted worm roared in pain as the scraplets were eating it alive. They practically disassembled it before falling to a certain death into the deeps, with the scraplets behind it's remains. With that solved, Sky noticed that the terminal beeped, signaling that the process was complete. And just how it came, Vector Sigma disappeared, allowing Sky to take the key, once again to his size. He started to head to the exit when Arcee arrived and transformed.
"I have the matrix." He said showing the key, now with a little different glow.
"Let's roll." Arcee said.
Back at the space bridge, Megatron was finishing his fight with Bulkhead, by grabbing him by the wrecking ball and throwing him against a boulder. Now all the Autobots unconscious on the floor, Megatron turned his attention at the space bridge portal. Meanwhile, Orion Pax was being kicked constantly by his captors.
"You have to admit: it's a privilege to stomp the former leader of the Autobots." One of the soldiers said.
At hearing that, Orion finally realized that what he found was true, he was an Autobot. The Decepticons continued to beat him.
"No, please. Stop, enough." He pleaded, until his hands turned into his cannons, which surprised both him and the Decepticons. "I'm…armed?"
The Decepticons pulled out their weapons and fired at him, so Orion did the same. And he succeeded in hitting them first. At the same time, Arcee and Sky were heading back to the portal which they came first.
"We're almost there." Sky saw.
"Ratchet, we have the matrix. We're coming through." Arcee announced, but no one responded.
Sky jumped out of Arcee before she changed back to robot form.
"Ratchet?" She called again as both partners stood in front of the portal.
"Arcee wait, something is wrong here, I can feel it." Sky said.
"You're right. I know you maybe can't, but have you an idea of what could happened back there?"
"I think I know it. I feel a dark and evil presence there. It must be him."
Sky was right: right at the other side of the portal, Megatron was waiting with his sword ready.
"Come Arcee, so that I might end the lineage of the Primes for all times."
"I cannot allow that to happen, Megatron." Orion Pax declared as he walked out of a ground bridge, surprising him.
"And why should you care, Orion Pax? You are no Prime."
"That may be true, or yet another deception, but this much I do know: my sympathies lie with the Autobots, and you are not one of us."
Orion pulled out his swords and charged against Megatron, who blocked the attack easily and punched him hard at the torso, making Orion fall to his knees.
"Your spark may be in the right place, Orion." Megatron said before hitting him in the back of his head, making him to collapse on the ground. "But you have much to learn before you can hope to ever again stand your ground against me. A moment sadly which should never come."
Megatron pulled out his sword and raised it to finish with his former rival once and for all, but Arcee passed through the space bridge at high speed, changed to robot form and tackled Megatron from the back, sending him flying across the platform. As they fought, Orion saw Sky coming through the portal, who approached him.
"Oh, hello, little one." Orion saluted, and widened his eyes as he showed him the key. "Are you certain I am worthy?"
"You have no idea. Please, remember which is your rightful place here and come back with us. Remember who you are." Sky answered as he aimed the key at Orion's chest.
A stream of light came from the key and entered Orion's chest. That made his chest to open and show the Matrix of Leadership. Arcee continued her fight with Megatron shooting at him, until he grabbed her with just one hand and pushed her against a pillar.
"How nice of you to join our little reunion. Now if you please, the matrix!" Megatron demanded.
Megatron heard the sound of the key's effect and looked back, and widened his eyes in surprise. He released Arcee and ran back at them. Ratchet, who was already back, tried to intercept him, but Megatron saw him coming and simply pushed him out of the way. Once the stream of energy was gone, the key floated in the air and Orion grabbed it as his chest closed. Sky saw Megatron coming at them.
"Oh no, you don't."
Sky stood between them and unleashed a storm of Force lightning at Megatron. That caught him off guard, making him scream in pain because of the electricity. The effect was so powerful that he fell to his knees, but he managed to get back on his feet, resisting the lightning's effect and fired his fusion cannon, forcing Sky to get out of the way jumping. Next, with his sword ready, jumped and tried to strike against his rival.
"NO!" Sky shouted.
But Orion managed to catch his sword with both hands.
"Megatron." Orion said, covering his face with his battle mask. Megatron's face showed nervousness, he knew what that meant: He was no longer Orion Pax, the Prime was back. "Be gone!"
Optimus started punching Megatron on the face multiple times, something the Autobots witnessed as they recovered. Before Megatron could counter, Sky turned on his lightsaber and threw it against him, which was the last thing he saw before it hit him on the face, making him scream in great pain. That allowed Optimus to finish with a powerful uppercut that sent Megatron flying against the wall.
"Great move, Sky!" Arcee congratulated.
"Ratchet, how we did arrive here?" Optimus asked as the Autobots gathered next to their leader.
"Long story, old friend."
"Base to Arcee, we're reading six Autobot life signals down there. Is Prime with you?" Anakin asked.
"And Sky." She answered.
"Yes!" The children cheered.
Everyone was relieved, but not as much as Sky's parents, who sighed with relief knowing that their son was okay. Not the same for Megatron, now with an ugly cut on his face, angrier than never. He growled as he tried to get on to the space bridge as the Autobots fired at him. In that moment, a ground bridge appeared next to them.
"It's ours!" Arcee spotted.
"Autobots, fall back!" Optimus ordered.
Megatron charged against them, only to be knocked down by Sky when he launched him more lightning. Next, Arcee grabbed him and jumped into the portal in first place, followed by Ratchet.
"This time, he's coming with us." Bulkhead declared before he and Bumblebee jumped into the portal.
"See ya, Buckethead." Cliff saluted before following the team.
Megatron continued firing until Optimus jumped into the portal before it closed. Megatron roared in fury so loud that echoed around the cave. Everyone waited for the team's return at base. Arcee and Sky, who took his helmet off, were the first ones.
"Sky!" His parents cried before running up to their son and hug him.
The rest of the Autobots arrived too, each of them greeting with their human partner. Then everyone looked back to see Optimus walk through the ground bridge before it closed.
"Optimus?"
"Hello, Leia." He said smiling.
"Whoa." Luke breathed in relief.
"He's back." Aris added.
"The big guy remembers us! Whooohooo!" Han yelled happy.
"Although it seems there is much I do not remember." Optimus said looking at his Decepticon emblem.
"Optimus, it has truly been our darkest hour, but know this. From every indication, your spark never ceased being that of an Autobot." Ratchet remarked
"And of course, you can always count on your Autobots to bring you back home." Cliff added.
"Indeed. I am grateful with all of you for what have you done." Optimus expressed.
"It was Sky the one who made it possible making you back, by wandering into the most unknown ground for him in order to reach Vector Sigma and recover the Matrix of Leadership." Ratchet said pointing at the little boy.
"Thank you, Sky. I knew my fate was much well-guarded in your hands."
"Thank you, Optimus. Thank you everyone, for believing in me. I'll never doubt myself, ever again." Sky proclaimed as the entire team gathered around their leader to welcome him back.