Chapter 32-Event Horizon part 1

Before the civil war that brought about the fall of Cybertron, before the downfall of society and the revolution born from it, Cybertron was nonce the center of a vast empire that spanned thousands of worlds. Cybertron was at the peak of its power in a time of peace, an age of enlightenment, for every cybertronian sought to become stronger, better, to reach their limits and go beyond. It was a Golden Age.

Now all that remained were tattered ruins and a dead planet left to hang aimlessly in space. Forgotten and lost.

A lone mech drove through the battle scarred metallic plains of Cybertron's wilderness. His alt mode was a large white and blue truck that easily traversed the rugged landscape with ease.

The nameless warrior bore no signs of any faction. He was no Autobot or Decepticon, or even a member of the Order. He was born long before the division of his people. Only he remembered a time when the people of Cybertron were united.

After a couple more minutes of driving, the warrior slowed to a stop and transformed. His conversion from vehicle mode to robot mode was slow, almost painfully slow. His transformation was completed within a minute, and a tall warrior with pristine white armor stood in place.

His blue eyes stared up at the ruins of the city he once called home. The former capital of Iacon. The seat of his empire and the place where he remade Cybertron into a better society. He fell to his knees in despair at seeing the state of his beloved world.

Nova Prime let out a tragic scream and cried over the silent corpse of the once mighty Cybertron.

XXXXXX

News of Rodimus's rebellion against the ERD had spread and was practically front page news almost, as in running second to the fact that Karaba bombed the Golden Gate Bridge.

Commander Kati Sunderland was living with the Autobots for Rodimus's stunt, and at Lazer for inciting a riot. Demotion was a mercy compared to what she did to him.

There were numerous complaints to Optimus from various government officials for Rodimus's actions, including from the President. He left said complaints for Prowl to handle. Right now, he had more important things to worry about.

Optimus took a ground bridge to Rodimus's location, which was an old junkyard by the river that the Minicons had remade into a makeshift base/home. Rodimus was sitting on an old van looking out at the river when Optimus walked up to him.

"Hey, Optimus," Rodimus greeted him, giving a half-hearted wave. "Come to discipline me for saving lives?"

"Don't act like you're innocent, Rodimus. What you've done has put the Autobots under intense scrutiny from the government." Optimus said. "The last thing we need is for the humans to turn against us at this point in this war, especially when Megatron is using any sign of conflict between us to his advantage."

Rodimus frowned and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm…I'm sorry, Optimus, but someone had to take a stand. I don't know what Prowl told you (probably nothing good) but I didn't do this to be a hero. These people need someone to fight for them, and if their own people won't do that, then we have to step up. And so far, we've done an abysmal job of doing that."

He patted the derelict car next to him. "Have a seat. This is going to be a long talk."

Optimus cautiously sat down on the car, which caved in under his weight, and looked at Rodimus.

"It's obvious the Brotherhood is using the government's unfair treatment of espers to draw them all into their ranks. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. The government forces espers to register, cracks down on the rebels, imprisons them, causes them to hate humans and join Karaba, leading to attacks on humans, forcing the government to fight back harder, and the cycle continues." Rodimus explained. "And we're standing by because we can't interfere in what should be a human problem unless it involves saving lives. We've got to do something before this country tears itself apart in a race war."

"Sounds familiar." Optimus noted. "This situation…it reminds you of Nyon, doesn't it?"

Rodimus exhaled air through his nose and looked away. Long before the war, he had been born in the city-state of Nyon, a derelict city that had become a cesspool of criminals and outcasts thrown aside by Cybertronian society. When the Senate began torching Nyon for harboring Decepticon sympathizers under Zeta Prime's orders, it was Rodimus who was forced to make the call to destroy what was left of the city to protect the survivors he and Prime were escorting to safety.

Rodimus rarely talked about that point in his life, and Optimus knew not to bring it up. But he was starting to see the parallels between the lost people of Nyon and the espers of Terra.

"They're just like my people in Nyon, Optimus. They didn't choose to be dragged into this war. They were just caught up in this mess and are being treated like slag because they're a convenient target." Rodimus growled. "Don't you see, Megatron's doing the same thing he did back on Cybertron, using the government's actions against them to fuel his campaign."

"I know, and we're in danger of facing another event on the same scale as the Decimation of Nyon," Optimus sighed. "With the Brotherhood as the aggressors."

"Then you know what you have to do." Rodimus said.

"Rodimus, it's not that easy, and you know it." Optimus held up a hand to stop any protests. "Listen to me, Rodimus. Our treaty with the humans prevents us from getting involved with these kinds of situations. We're forced to remain neutral in this conflict between humans and espers unless we cause the whole situation to spiral out of control. If things got worse, then they'll evict us from Osean territory."

The two mechs sat in silence for a moment before Optimus got to his feet.

"I will talk with President Flagg about rescinding the registration act, and to have the ERD leave Esper Town alone. For the moment, you will stay here with Bulkhead and Armorhide to protect this area."

Rodimus smiled. "Thanks a lot, prime—"

"Do not mistake this as me overlooking your actions. There will be disciplinary action, just not right now." Optimus said sternly. Rodimus gulped and nodded. "I must go and try to fix the situation before Prowl loses his temper. I imagine being challenged by you of all people has put him in a bad mood."

"Like he's ever in a good mood to begin with." He snorted. "Thanks for hearing me out, Optimus. I know I might have made things worse for everyone, but I hope you'll at least consider changing things."

"Rodimus, I know you meant well, and there is truth to your words." Optimus began. "But even if I try to change things…I fear the damage is already done."

XXXXXX

A day had passed since the Neo Knights were captured and subsequently freed from the clutches of DNAgent. They had found a treasure trove of classified and encrypted information that basically doomed not just the company but their many partners as well in their illegal experimentation and weaponization of espers. With the Minicons' help, Sumeragi leaked the info to the government, and later public sources to spread the word of DNAgent's naughty deeds. Suffice to say, the President was absolutely livid.

But for Annie, the victory was bittersweet. She hadn't been the same since returning from the mission, and her bloody fight with Darren was fresh in her mind. She and Darren had fought plenty of times, as siblings often do, but this was absolutely the worse conflict they've ever had. What was even worse was that she had possibly scarred Darren for life.

"Annie?" Brittany entered their dorm room, where she saw Annie sitting by the window looking pale and sad. "How…How are you feeling?"

Annie didn't say anything. Brittany walked up to the bed and sat next to her, pulling her in to lean against her.

"He hates me, Brit." Annie whispered. "He really hates me."

"That's not true, Annie."

"You didn't see the way he looked at me, Brit. He was out for blood and not even Gina could stop him." Annie looked up at her with wet eyes. "I don't think I could've screwed up as much as I did yesterday. I don't think I can fix this."

"It'll be okay, Annie. Darren just needs some time by himself. A lot of time." Brittany said, planting a kiss on Annie's forehead. "Just hang in there, okay? Maybe one of your Autobot friends can help you."

"I doubt it. Darren hasn't spoken to anyone, not even High Wire, since we got back." Annie muttered.

Brittany didn't know what else to say. She didn't have any siblings, and she knew that after a fight like that, it'll take a long time for the twins to recover, if they ever will. "Just let things run their course, Annie. Whatever happens, I'm here for you."

Annie nodded and leaned up to give Brittany a kiss, making the girl blush. The werecheetah was still a bit new to the whole "liking girls" thing, but she quickly found herself really loving Annie's kisses.

"Thanks, Brit." Annie whispered. "I still feel like crap, but only a little less so thanks to you."

"Anytime, Annie." Brittany smiled.

XXXXXX

Gina stood outside Darren's room steeling herself for the unpleasant conversation they were going to have.

After escorting Annie outside the base to reunite with the Neo Knights, Gina had Sara go back in to retrieve Darren. He had lashed out at Sara even as she carried him outside and nearly attacked the Neo Knights several times before passing out from exhaustion and blood loss. Afterwards, he hadn't spoken to anyone even after he woke up in Omega One's medibay.

Gina knew that she was probably the last person he wanted to see, but she had to see how he was doing to at least give Annie some peace of mind.

"Darren?" Gina said softly, entering the medibay. She found Darren sitting in a bed near the back of the room, his head turned towards the Solivision monitor and hadn't turned to face her when she got close to his bed. That was already a bad sign and she hoped that it didn't signal how bad things were between them.

"Darren, are you okay?" Gina asked. It was a stupid question considering the injuries he's suffered, but she didn't know how to start things off for the most part. "Um, I heard from Longarm that you had slept—"

"Leave me alone."

Gina froze at the cold tone in Darren's voice. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You heard me." He said, still not looking at her. "Leave me alone."

Gina frowned. "Excuse me? Darren, I came to see how you were doing. You tried to kill Annie last time and you were unconscious for several hours. We were both worried about you."

"So now she actually cares about something other than herself? That's a surprise." He said with scorn.

"Darren, please be reasonable. Annie genuinely feels sorry for going behind your back."

"I don't care. Every time I think she's changed, she turns around and spits in my face. I'm done with her and her bullshit." Darren spat. "If she wants to get herself killed, that's fine. I'm over it."

"You don't mean that, Darren." Gina said softly.

Darren spun around and shot out of the bed in a flash, suddenly standing inches away from her. He was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was a large white bandage covering the left side of his jaw where Annie hit him.

"What do you know? You knew what she was doing. You knew and you kept it from me!" Darren shouted. "What if something happened? What if she screwed up and the heat came down on me and Debbie?"

"Annie is a big girl, Darren! She does what she does and she knew the consequences. All I could do was make sure she was safe." Gina replied. "Annie was just doing what she thought was right."

"Oh so now you're taking her side." He growled.

"I'm not taking anyone's side! I love you both, Darren, and seeing you two fight was an absolute nightmare!" Gina yelled.

"That didn't stop you from using me as a damn punching bag!" He shouted.

"I was stopping you from hurting you own sister. What did you expect me to do?"

"I expected you to be on my side. I trusted you and Annie, and you two went behind my back to cater to Annie's stupid fantasies."

Gina felt helpless as she tried to form a response. She had never seen Darren so full of hate. It was heartbreaking to see him like this because of Annie. "Darren…she's my friend."

"So was I."

With that said, Darren went back to his bed and laid back down, not looking at her. Knowing that she was not welcome anymore, Gina wordlessly turned away and left the room, tears streaming down her face. She missed the tears also running down Darren's face as well.

XXXXXX

"Mr. President, we need to talk." Optimus said as he established a secure line with the President.

"Yes, we do need to talk, prime." President Flagg said. "And I hope it's about handing over that insubordinate Autobot of yours for proper punishment."

Optimus narrowed his eyes. "Whoever gave you that idea, Mr. President?"

"Prime, don't play games with me. Your Autobot took up arms against the ERD in clear defense of suspected terrorists—"

"Let me stop you right there, President Flagg." Optimus cut in. "I'm well aware of Rodimus's actions and rest assured I will be taking disciplinary action against him, but I must also mention that Rodimus was defending civilians from ERD troops firing upon them with live ammunition."

Flagg's jaw tensed. "Prime, General Lazer will be held accountable for his actions, but Esper Town is a clear and present threat to New York City and its people."

"So you would demonize every man, woman and child by race just like that?" Optimus accused.

"I'm not pointing a gun at these people, Prime, I'm securing our country's national security. You may not like the measures I'm taking, but I can't take any chances with these people. Any esper who refuses to register is a potential Karaba support that needs to be contained and monitored." Flagg said. "And I recall that the conditions treaty were clear that you Autobots would not get involved in matters not pertaining to the Decepticons."

"That was before the Decepticons jumpstarted Karaba's recruitment of more than half the unregistered espers you imprisoned." Optimus replied, not backing down. "I had a long talk with Rodimus and he made some good points. Your law drove the espers to find sanctuary with Karaba, if not to join this war as soldiers, then to be safe from people like DNAgent and the Human Front who hunt them down to either exploit or hurt them."

Flagg sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What do you want me to do, Prime? Repeal the bill? Do you know how long that'll take?"

"No, President Flagg, the damage is already done. We can't change anything after everything that's happened since then. All I ask is that you stop your witch hunt for espers in this country. These people are just caught in a conflict that has spiraled out of control." Optimus said. "Please make an effort to keep things from escalating further."

The president was silent for a moment before exhaling through his nose and giving Optimus a look. "I will order the ERD troops to withdraw from Esper Town, but they will remain under 24 hour surveillance to ensure Karaba doesn't make an appearance again." Flagg said. "And I will try to keep the ERD from becoming too aggressive with the espers across Osea, but that's all I can promise. Can you ensure that your Autobots won't get into fights with local authorities?"

"So long as innocent people are not in danger, Mr. President." Optimus said. "We can continue on from there."

XXXXXX

A few minutes later after hanging up on Optimus, President Flagg was contacted by another person he wasn't interested in talking to—Director Hollander.

"Now what does he want?" Flagg sighed and answered the call on the monitor in his office. The rough face of Hollander appeared on the screen.

"What do you want, Hollander?" Flagg asked. "You're calling at a bad time."

"I apologize for the abrupt call, Mr. President, but I wanted your approval on deploying the Taskforce." Hollander said. "It's come to my attention that the Autobots are beginning to step out of line. If you'll authorize it, I can have Skywatch—"

"You will take no action against them, Director." Flagg said with a glare. "I have enough on my plate with the Decepticons and Karaba, the last thing I need is you antagonizing the Autobots."

"But Mr. President, it's clear that the Autobots are no longer a viable solution to handling the Decepticons. Their recent failures coupled with the incident in Esper Town is only the start of more problems with them. Skywatch is more than equipped to keep them in line and handle the Decepticons running around our country."

President Flagg wasn't having it. "Do you think I'm a fool, Director?"

"Sir?" Hollander asked puzzled.

"You're not as subtle as you think you are, Hollander. Despite all that's happened with the Autobots, I still trust them more than I trust you." Flagg said. "Keep them in line? You mean like how you kept your own people in line when Horiuchi tried to enslave the Minicons, or how Maylander launched an attack on Atlantis and murdered hundreds of innocent people at the behest of one of your agents?"

"Sir, I—"

"Whether or not you had a hand in that is still in question, but I wouldn't put it past you. I know you're preparing Skywatch to act as some last line of defense for humanity, and I know that even if you aren't doing it, you'll gladly go behind my back thinking I haven't got a damn clue." He growled. "You're not the first person to think he can get one over on me, Hollander. And to be honest, you're the last person I'd trust to watch Skywatch with your track record. Lord knows what you did to have your name recommended."

Hollander's face was hard as stone, but his eyes betrayed his growing anger at being berated like this.

"You will not take action against the Autobots without explicit orders from me, Hollander. If I even get a hint about you going behind my back to do any covert operations or something along those lines, I'll shut Skywatch down and put you before a military tribunal." Flagg threatened. "I'm prepared for that case scenario, Hollander. Don't think I won't do it."

Hollander took a moment to gather himself before nodding. "I understand, sir."

Hollander hung up and Flagg leaned back in his seat. He had little patience for people like Hollander. Things were too delicate to let people still hung up about allying with aliens cloud their judgment and common sense. Right now he needed to focus on the clear and present threats endangering his nation, not internal squabbles between allied factions.

XXXXXX

"I wasn't expecting him to roast you like that." Harvey couldn't keep the grin off his face as he watched Hollander silently fume in his seat. "What did you do to make him dislike you like that?"

"I don't need your color commentary, Harvey." Hollander growled.

"Sorry, it was just amusing to see Flagg flex his military muscle on you. Must not have had a good impression on him." Harvey took a seat at his desk. "So now that the President has made his views on you and Skywatch very clear, what do you intend to do now?"

"Nothing, at least not without bringing the Army down on my head. Right now, we'll continue working on rebuilding Skywatch's arms division. The President may be willing to put our nation's future in the hands of aliens, but not me." Hollander said. "Skywatch will be ready to put them all down if necessary."

'He's a trooper.' Pisces thought. 'Though his arrogance will get him in trouble if he doesn't temper it. I still have need of him.'

"So long as you're careful, Director. We're all hanging on the edge, and it wouldn't do to incite internal conflict this late into the game."

"You worry about your problems, I'll worry about mine." Hollander said, giving Harvey a look.

Harvey smiled and raised his hands in surrender. "No offense intended, Director. Just looking out for a business partner."

Hollander watched Harvey leave and gave a slow exhale to calm himself. Looks like he couldn't count on the President's support. That's fine, he just had to make sure that other likeminded individuals helped him carry the weight of global safety on his shoulders.

XXXXXX

Thundercracker had forgotten how boring energon harvesting was with all the excitement these past few months. Supervising his comrades mine energon crystals was a seriously boring job. Though the transport of the energon crystals was made speedier with the help of Karaba's vehicle moving the crystals into the ground bridge.

Thundercracker was honestly surprised that Nightshade deemed him trustworthy enough to supervise energon mining operations. Something told him that aside from Dreadwing, he was the only other Seeker she could tolerate. Granted, it was not an exciting job, even more so that he didn't have Debra to talk to.

"Thundercracker!" A familiar high pitched voice called out to him. "Just the mech I wanted to see."

"Damn it." Thundercracker muttered. "What do you want, Starscream?"

Starscream, who had flown into the canyon without so much as a head's up to the other Cons, landed next to him with a frown. "What's with the rudeness, Thundercracker? Is that any way to treat your comrade?"

"You're only my comrade through name, Starscream. To me you're just a walking danger magnet with a death wish. We both know the only reason you're talking to me is because you want to drag me into another one of your stupid plans for dominance." Thundercracker drawled, turning to look at him. "Or to look at your reflection."

Starscream scowled at him. "It appears that being around those espers has increased your confidence."

Thundercracker crossed his arms and glared at the former Seeker commander. Starscream rolled his eyes.

"Oh fine, you're right. I did come to you for a reason, but not the reason you're thinking. I just wanted to know about something." Starscream stood close to Thundercracker, hands behind his back as if he were still a commander scrutinizing his troops. "It has come to my attention that you have been spending a lot of time with the espers, particularly Dreyas's youngest daughter."

"Yeah, what about it?" Thundercracker asked.

"Just wanted to be sure you were still with us." Starscream gave his fellow Seeker a look. "Don't get too attached to them. Remember that these people can easily become our enemies the moment Megatron screws this alliance up."

"I'm well aware of that, Starscream, thanks for stating the obvious." Thundercracker said and tried to walk past Starscream. "Now if you'll excuse me—"

Starscream's hand shot out and gripped Thundercracker's arm, stopping him. Thundercracker stared at the hand, then at its owner.

"You better take your hand off me, Starscream." He growled.

"The only reason I'm telling you this is because we are comrades, brothers. I'm just warning you that your little friend could easily stab you in the back when the tables turn." Starscream hissed.

"You mean like you?" Thundercracker replied. "Don't worry, Starscream, I'm keeping an eye out. Not just with Karaba but also with you. So you can take your false comradery and go bug someone dumb enough to actually believe you. Like Skywarp."

"You'll regret saying that, Thundercracker." Starscream growled.

"Tell me that when you're actually our leader again." Thundercracker replied uncaringly. He was done getting caught up in whatever slag Starscream had planned.

"Thundercracker, this is Dreadwing. Do you read me?" Said a void from his comm-link.

"I hear you, Dreadwing. What's up?"

"Have your team finish collecting the energon and return to base. Something's come up."

Thundercracker narrowed his eyes and against his better judgement, asked, "How bad is it?"

"Considering there is a ship in orbit that matches the profile of a starship that isn't supposed to exist anymore, I would say that the situation has the potential to be really, really bad."

XXXXXX

"Impossible." Ratchet said in shock.

He and the other Autobots were all recalled from their field missions on Optimus's orders. Teletran-1 had detected a large spacecraft emerging from fold space near the moon and steadily approaching Terra's orbit. Teletran-1 identified it as the Proudstar, which led to Ratchet's shocked reaction.

"Ratchet, how is this possible?" Optimus asked.

"I...I don't know, Optimus. I though the Proudstar was lost." Ratchet said, completely stumped.

"Incoming call, Prime." Hound said. "It's from Colonel Barnett."

"Put him through."

Barnett's appeared on the monitor looking very tense. "Prime, what's going on? Our satellites just detected a ship as large as the Ark popping up in our atmosphere."

"I'm as confused as you are, Colonel." Optimus said. "That ship is the Proudstar. It's an exploration vessel commanded by Nova Prime, Cybertron's first Prime."

"Nova Prime was at the forefront of founding modern cybertronian civilization and creating Cybertron's vast interstellar network during the Golden Age, but he and his crew vanished while exploring an uncharted region of space." Ratchet said. "We believed the entire crew of the Proudstar to have perished long ago, but apparently we were wrong."

"What's it doing here now?" Barnett asked.

"That's what we're planning to find out." Optimus said. "Hound, try to—"

"Wait." Barnett looked at something off screen. "Something's happening with all the monitors and televisions over here."

XXXXXX

"What the hell is this?" Annie asked.

She and Brittany were watching TV in their dorm room when their program suddenly turned to static before revealing a dark blue and white metal face on the screen. Annie instantly recognized it as a cybertronian.

"Who is that?" Brittany asked.

"I have no idea. But he kinda looks like Optimus." Annie noted.

Before they could say anything, the cybertronian on the screen began to speak. "Greetings people of Terra. I am Nova Prime, progenitor of the mighty Cybertronian Empire."

XXXXXX

Aboard the Proudstar, the one known as Nova Prime broadcasted his message to every piece of technology connected to social media. Televisions, phones, radios, computers, anything that could spread his words was instantly hacked into and used to ensure that literally every single human on this planet knew who he was and why he was here.

"I come from a world far from this planet. A world that was once the heart of a mighty empire that I made through sacrifice and pain. An empire that was brought down by the greed of false Primes and fools who thought themselves kings." Nova began. "For too long I have been trapped in a dark limbo, but now that I have returned, I intend to set things straight. I call upon the instigators of this war, Optimus Prime and the so-called warlord Megatron, to meet with me on the Proudstar. It's time this farce of a war that has decimated our people end today and we cybertronians unite to rebuild our civilization."

Nova's turned intense as he ended his speech ominously. "You're welcome to refuse my invitation, but please know that I will use force to retrieve you. Any hostile action from the human nations will be met with deadly force. And you won't like my definition of force. You have 24 hours."

XXXXXX

Megatron's expression was unreadable as the message ended. Next to him, Starscream crossed his arms and frowned.

"Primes," Starscream huffed. "Do they always have to be so dramatic?"

"Shut up, Starscream." Nightshade turned to Megatron "Megatron, what's the plan?"

"Whoa there, hold up!" Shockblast exclaimed. "We're just gonna gloss over the fact that Nova Prime is alive? Is no one gonna ask how the hell is that possible?"

"How he lives is of little concern right now." Dreadwing said. "It's his reasons for being here that are concerning."

"How about we ask our fearless leader about our next move?" Starscream said. "Well, Megatron? Are we going to grace Nova Prime with our presence?"

"Don't be an idiot, Starscream." Megatron said. Nightshade smirked at Starscream's insulted face.

"What do you intend to do, my lord?" Dreadwing asked.

Let the two Primes meet on their own. If Nova is really seriously, then we'll strike him down the same way we did Zeta and Sentinel." Megatron grinned. "The universe must be smiling down upon me to offer a third Prime for me to kill."

"Let's just hope this one isn't as hard to kill as Optimus." Shockblast whispered to Wreckage.

XXXXXX

Back at the Ark, the Autobots were having a similar discussion, though Optimus's decision was definitely different than Megatron's.

"You're not actually going to see him alone, are you, Optimus?" Ratchet admonished. "It's too dangerous!"

"I have to agree with doc bot on this one, Optimus. Nova Prime doesn't sound very happy with Autobots or Decepticons right now." Jazz said.

"Gee, I wonder why." Skyfire muttered before Lifeline nudged her in the side.

"If I don't meet with Nova, then he might resort to using more drastic measures to draw us out." Optimus said. "And I'm sure the humans have different opinions on how to go about this."

"Who cares about what the humans think?" Sunstreaker said. "Those savages would sell out their own countries to save their own skin!"

"That's enough, Sunstreaker." Prowl scolded and turned back to Prime. "I know nothing we say can change your mind, we have few other options that don't end up with casualties. Just please execute caution, Prime."

"I will, Prowl. If we're lucky, Nova Prime may be willing to answer a few questions of our own." Optimus walked over to the door. "If it appears that the Proudstar will attack, have the Ark hit it with everything its got."

"Yes, Prime." Prowl said, inwardly pleased that Optimus had the foresight to be ready to fight if things escalated.

"Good luck, Optimus." Ironhide said. "Watch yourself."

"I will, old friend." Optimus promised.

He left the room and walked down the hall towards his confrontation with the living legend who ushered Cybertron into the Golden Age. By all rights, he shouldn't be too nervous to meet his one true predecessor face to face. So why did he feel so ill at ease?

And why wasn't the Matrix responding to the appearance of its former bearer?

XXXXXX

Optimus, along with a small group of Autobots (Ironhide, Jazz, Hound and Trailbreaker) bridged to the meeting point where Optimus was to be picked up. It was in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, far from civilization. The military had drones watching the area in case anything happened so they could be ready.

"Prime, I see a ship incoming." Ironhide said.

Up in the sky a dark shape descended from orbit. The spacecraft was half the size of a standard Ark-Class ship, but it looked more suited for space combat than simple exploration. Older mechs like Ironhide could easily tell that the design was archaic by modern standards, and probably moved like a turtle in real combat.

Optimus watched the ship touch down just a few feet away from them. He tensed up a bit when the landing hatch slide open and two figures walked out.

The first one was a dark brown femme with dark yellow eyes and a sleek, streamlined frame that showed bits of an aerial alt mode. Her face was dark grey, her lips blood red and her eyes scanned each of the Autobots first before settling on Prime.

Her companion was someone more familiar to them. He was a much taller mech with light violet armor with a lot of sharp angles along his back, head and shoulders, with a pair of short folded up wings on his back. His face was steel grey, his eyes bright yellow and his facial features hard plated, like a Nipponese Oni mask.

"I recognize that guy." Ironhide whispered to Optimus. "That's Cyclonus, Galvatron's second in command."

The pair stopped before the group and the femme nodded to Optimus.

"Greetings, Optimus Prime. My name is Fatale, and this is Cyclonus. We are glad you decided to meet with us." Fatale said cordially. "Lord Nova is very interested to speak with you in person."

"I'm sure he is." Optimus said. "Is there anything else I need to know before we leave?"

"Only that you are allowed to bring along another person, to make yourself feel at ease of course." She said.

"I'm comin' along." Ironhide stepped forward. He gave Optimus a look to say that his decision was final and that was that. Optimus nodded and looked to Fatale.

"We're ready." He said. Fatale smiled.

"Good. Let us be on our way."

Fatale and Cyclonus led Optimus and Ironhide back into their shuttle. Jazz, Hound and trailbreaker watched the ship lift off the ground and fly into the cloudless sky.

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say I have a bad feeling about this." Jazz said to his friends.

XXXXXX

The flight to the Proudstar was silent and tense. Optimus and Ironhide sat facing Fatale as Cyclonus piloted the ship into orbit. The nonchalant attitude exhibited by Fatale did little to ease Prime's growing worries. He could tell that both of them were skilled warriors.

"You look tense." Fatale said. "There is nothing to be worried about, Optimus. Lord Nova simply wants to talk."

"You'll have to forgive me, Fatale. Just recently I've learned things about Nova that are rather…unflattering." Optimus said.

"Oh? You must have some rather biased accounts of our exploits." Fatale smiled. That smile made Optimus feel like a mouse caught in a trap. "Who might have informed you about us?"

"Omega Supreme." Ironhide said curtly.

Optimus caught a very brief flash of emotion come across Fatale's face. A sneer at the mention of Omega Supreme. It was gone in the blink of an eye, but that reaction was all Optimus needed to confirm his suspicions about the relationship between Nova and Omega Supreme.

"I see." Fatale said in a tight face. "Well, Omega Supreme is an…unenlightened individual who cares naught for the distant past that he thinks is still relevant. Listening to him will only bring ruin upon yourself."

Optimus wondered if Fatale wanted to say something more scathing about Omega Supreme behind that false smile.

"We are here."

Optimus and Ironhide looked out the viewport and saw a massive white and blue ship hovering in place between Terra and Luna. It was about the same size as the Ark, and while there were many similarities between them, this ship was a bit sleeker, made to look impressive at first glance like a newly built supercarrier. Any weapons it had were hidden to maintain a peaceful façade until the last possible moment.

This was the legendary Proudstar.

XXXXXX

It felt less like walking through the halls of a ship and more like walking towards a throne room. Optimus and Ironhide followed Fatale through the corridors of the Proudstar, and they've yet to see any other member of Nova's crew. That alone was highly suspicious, but Optimus and Ironhide said nothing.

She led them to the bridge, where Nova was waiting. The door slid open and Fatale stepped inside.

"My lord, I've brought Optimus Prime and his friend." She said.

"Send them in."

Fatale ushered the two Autobots inside and remained outside to give them privacy. Optimus's gaze immediately settled onto the tall figure standing in the middle of the bridge.

Nova Prime looked every bit the warrior the stories portrayed him as. He was as tall as Optimus and had pristine white armor with wing extensions on his back, and a face plate that was also reminiscent of Optimus's, only with an indigo mouth plate and yellow eyes. On his waist was a sword hilt, but oddly enough there was no visible blade.

"Optimus Prime," Nova Prime said the name as if he were testing the name. "Yes, you certainly look like a Prime. The Matrix has touched your body—altered it, yes?"

"How did you…?" Optimus blinked, remembering how the Matrix reformatted his broken body upon touching it.

"I can sense it, Optimus. All those who were touched by the Matrix know its glow, its voice." Nova said, walking up to Optimus. "It's good to see you in person, Optimus Prime. I've heard a lot of things about you."

"Good, I hope." Optimus remarked.

Nova sent him a wry look but said nothing.

"Nova Prime, I came as you have requested, to talk, but I must mention that your sudden appearance and message has unsettled the native beings on this planet."

"Natives," Nova hummed. "And I'm supposed to care about these natives…why?"

Optimus felt Ironhide tense up behind him. "Nova, I know you have a…low opinion of other races, but I only ask—"

"Optimus, please," Nova held up a hand. "Let's not waste time talking about less creatures. I came to you about the crisis endangering our people. This war."

'And now it begins.' Optimus thought with growing dread. "I'm sure you know enough to have your own thoughts about it."

"Yes, ranging from the defilement of my title to the war that has turned out homeworld into a wasteland." Nova said. "Yes, there is much we have to talk about."

Nova began to walk forward. "I asked you and Megatron to come here so we could talk about how to end this senseless war and focus on keeping our race from falling into extinction. Which poses a problem as Megatron has not arrived yet."

"Yeah, Buckethead has a grudge against Primes." Ironhide said.

"No matter," Nova shrugged. "I'll deal with him and his band of rebels soon enough."

Optimus didn't like the sound of that." This war was the result of false Primes abusing their power. Megatron's motives were pure but he was pushed too far and became the despot he is now."

"And you?" Nova asked. "What's your excuse?"

"My excuse?" Optimus growled. "I was trying to stop this war from starting."

"And you failed. Now the most glorious race in the galaxy is on the galactic endangered species list, and you spend your days trading blows with a mech who sees himself as some new age Galvatron." Nova replied dryly. "Tell me I'm wrong, Optimus."

"If you want to play that game, then what about you?" Ironhide growled. "You were planning to launch a war of conquest against the entire galaxy! What makes you any different from Megatron?"

Nova threw Ironhide a scathing glare. "It seems we will have to talk in private, Optimus. You will understand my position if you see through my eyes."

Before Optimus could react, Nova reached out and grabbed his arm. He felt the Matrix suddenly come to life in his chest like a supernova. He heard Ironhide call out his name before everything went dark.

XXXXXX

While this was happening, a cloaked shuttle had deployed from the Proudstar and was making its way to Terra. Inside the ship was a mech who was all too eager to see what the Decepticon warlord had to offer. He was hungry for battle with the mech who inherited Megatronus's name.

Galvatron was hungry for war.

XXXXXX

Optimus's eyes shot open and he scrambled to get to his feet. He looked around and found himself standing in the middle of a barren wasteland, under a dark sky where two moons hovered above him—Epistemus and Solomus. This was Cybertron.

"Welcome to Cybertron, Optimus Prime."

Optimus spun around and saw Nova standing behind him.

"Where are we, Nova? What have you done?" Optimus demanded.

"I brought you into my mind. This was made possible thanks to our shared connection to the Matrix, though I can already feel it trying to expel me." Nova said. "Probably because of this."

Nova's chest plate glowed with a dark purple energy that flowed throughout his body. Optimus took a step back from the oppressive aura it emanated.

"I do not know what happened to my crew and I after our ship entered that black hole in the Benzuli Expanse. When I awoke, we found ourselves floating in a void. There was no light, no stars, no planets, no galaxies…nothing. Everything was gone, eroded to such a point that not even stardust remained, as if the universe was snuffed out before it had a chance to flourish." Nova explained, his tone soft. "It was a stillborn universe…a dead universe."

"Only one entity lived in this roiling mass of chaos and silence. It had no shape or form, but we could feel it infecting our bodies and minds. Galvatron called it D-Void, the horror that swallowed up the universe and festered in its own chaos." Nova looked at Optimus, the glow in his chest fading. "You've had an encounter with my lover, Ember. She too had been tainted by D-Void, but had fallen through the same hole we entered."

"I know. She was purified by a host of aliens called Dolems. Ember attempted to use a planet to open a gateway to the Dead Universe to use its power to cause another Big Bang." Optimus said. "She nearly killed us all."

"Had Ember not be cleansed, her body would have crumbled to dust within minutes. Those who have been infected by D-Void cannot survive outside the Dead Universe. I was doomed to live there for eternity, unable to die…until I discovered this!"

Nova's chest plate opened up to reveal a pulsating crystalline orb that looked like a mutated version of the Matrix. It was dark purple and glowed brilliantly within Nova's chest.

"The Heart of Darkness, a fragment of D-Void itself, torn from its abstract avarice with my own two hands!" He bellowed. "It is with this power that my comrades and I were able to walk within this reality, and it shall be with this power that I unite our people and revive the Cybertronian Empire!"

"No, you can't!" Optimus shouted. "It's because of imperialism that caused the downfall of our world."

"It was the fault of greedy politicians and facists raping the name of Prime that our world has fallen!" Nova roared.

"Nova, we are no different from any other species in the universe. There is nothing special about us that puts us above them."

"That kind of thinking is what led to the decline of our race. You and Megatron…you two caused all of this." Nova held his arms out to the battle scarred cybertronian wastes. "The fault of this war's chaos lies with you as much as it does with Megatron!"

The world spun around Optimus and he found himself standing right outside the boundaries of the city of Iacon, now in ruins thanks to Thunderwing unholy assault.

"After emerging from the Benzuli Expanse, I came to Cybertron only to find my world, my home, dead and rusting in silence. Forgotten and forsaken by her children. Where you are standing now is where I fell to my knees in despair after realizing that everything I built, everything that I fought and sacrificed for was gone forever." He whispered.

He reappeared in front of Optimus. "I cried that da, Optimus. I cried for the ruins of my empire and the deaths of my people." He said. "And when my sadness fell away, I felt rage. Rage against the people who perverted my ideals and brought my world to ruin…rage against you."

The world shifted again and now Optimus was standing in the middle of a lush green forest on Terra.

"But now I have a chance to ensure that Cybertron will live again, and I people will thrive in a new empire." Nova said. "And all I need to do is stamp out the weeds—you and Megatron."

A massive object appeared in the sky. Optimus couldn't see it, but its shape was familiar. The objected fired a massive blue beam down into the air and a shockwave rippled through the ground. Dust filled Prime's vision and he stumbled back from the strong wings. When the dust cleared, the forest was gone and the sky was dark with black clouds.

But the most horrifying thing he realized was that he was standing amidst a field of human bones. Human skeletons littered the ground around him, the remains of men, women and children.

"I will rebuild our civilization. This world you waste your time protecting will be the heart of my new empire as I fix the damage your war has caused." Nova revealed.

"No, I will not allow our people's legacy to be of conquest and genocide!" Optimus roared.

"My legacy will be bringing our people into a new Golden Age. One free of factions and divisions. True unity, with all as one." Nova glared at Optimus. "But your legacy, Optimus? It will be having a hand in Cybertron's destruction, and the death of future generations!"

"No!" Optimus took a step forward, but his feet were restrained by bony hands. He struggled but found himself slowly sinking into the ground as Nova stood over him. "I won't allow this. I will not be a part of this madness!"

"Then what can you be a part of?" Asked Nova.

Optimus tried to reach for Nova, but the skeletal hands pulled him deeper into the ground. Their bony fingers covered his body, reaching for his face and eyes.

"NOVA!"

XXXXXX

Optimus awoke in Ironhide's arms and saw Nova standing there with Fatale, Cyclonus and the rest of the crew, among them legendary warlords Straxus and Grindcore. Ironhide was pressed up against the main console, training his guns on them.

"Prime, you awake yet?" Ironhide asked, not taking his eyes off their enemies. "What happened?"

Optimus got to his feet and reached back to draw his ion rifle. "You will not have Terra!" He said with a shocking amount of venom.

"I will have a lot of work to do after I kill you. The damage you and your gladiator friend had caused was extensive, but no irreversible." Nova said. "I do what I must for my people, Optimus. That is a simple truth you have failed to understand. The fact that you fight me now proves that you are not worthy of your title."

"And you are not savior. Our people will have a home again, Nova, but not one built on the corpses of innocent people." Optimus vowed and took aim at the window. "Hang on to me, Ironhide!"

He fired three shots and blew out the window, causing them to be sucked out into space. The protective shutters closed right behind them as they were flung out into space.

Now floating aimlessly in the void, Optimus and Ironhide held onto each other as the sergeant pressed his autobrand.

"Base, we need a ground bridge, stat!" He yelled.

A ground bridge appeared within their general vicinity and Optimus fired his ion rifle to propel them into the portal. It was fortunate they were close enough to the bridge, because the Proudstar was already making its move on them.

XXXXXX

Optimus and Ironhide crashed into the Ark's shuttle bay. The other Autobots crowded around them, helping them to their feet.

"Are you two alright?" Ratchet asked. "What happened?"

"We need to arm ourselves, Ratchet." Optimus said. "Nova intends to wipe both us and the Decepticons out before waging war on Terra!"

"Son of a glitch." Skyfire hissed.

"We must act fast before they try anything. I'm sure they're going to be gunning for us any second now." Hound said.

"Too late for that." Tomahawk ran into the room with a grim look. "I just got word that a ship was seen entering Terra's orbit while you were gone. It wasn't heading for us, but I think I have an idea where it was going."

"Megatron." Optimus growled. "It's already starting. Nova's making his big push…and we're going to push back."

Merry Christmas everyone! As a special little treat, I will be posting both parts of the Event Horizon arc today, so stay tuned for part 2. Fatale is based off an alien of the same name from the Marvel G1 comics as a person Nightbeat meets. I originally wanted to include Kadmos (G1 Star Saber) in Nova's crew, but decided to leave him be for future books. Next chapter Nova Prime unveils his dark plan for Terra and the Autobots are in a race against time to save the planet from total annihilation. Be sure to check out the official Transformers Titan website on WordPress. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.