Author's note: YES I know this chapter has undertones of that scene in Revenge of the Fallen but I tried to make it less, well - shit. I also tried to use it to fill in some gaps and as character development. By all means - judge away :-)
Chapter 81 – Revelations
Phoenix P.O.V
Home.
Such a simple word really that implied so much; comfort, security, love, connection. We were finally back home on Diego Garcia after what had felt like a lifetime being away. Prime had managed to convince Director Mearing that we would not be a security threat and that it might be in the best interests of all parties that we were out of the way of the public eye for the time being given the disaster that had befallen Chicago.
I think that fact that Mearing had been relived that the Autobots had come back to help them take a stand against the Decepticons and Sentinel, not to mention that Prime himself had dispatched of both Megatron and Sentinel, had helped greatly in swaying her mind. Whatever the case was, I was just thankful we were now back at our base – even if we were in the Med Bay!
''Alright you pair, we might as well get this over and done with,'' Rachet hoovered around in the background as he prepared the necessary tools and medication to perform his repairs on both Prime and I. He had already repaired Arcee, at Prime's instance, and seen to the minor repairs for the other functioning team members. Prime had wanted me to be seen to first, but I stubbornly refused opting to wait until he was repaired too. Prime and I were the last Autobots to be seen to.
As Prime's badly damaged frame lay on the gurney beside me, I could feel him begin to tense, though he tried to hide his fear from me. I had known for some time now that the seemingly invincible and incredibly brave Optimus Prime did indeed have one fear – the medical bay! Rachet had pointed this out when I first become a transformer and Prime had miraculously been restored to us after his battle in the forest with Megatron and the other Decepticons prior to defeating the Fallen.
Rachet had explained that Prime had been in and out of medical bays for the better part of his at least 9-million-year life span so, naturally, it was understandable he took a dislike to them and felt uncomfortable in them. I grabbed his servo as I lay on a gurney beside him. ''It's okay Prime, I'm right here. And I'll be right here when you wake up, you know I will be.'' I smiled warmly at him and squeezed his servo.
Prime turned his helm towards me and smiled weakly at me, ''I know Phoenix.'' He gave a rather undignified snort, ''I just wish that the only great length of time we seem to get to spend with each other lately wasn't spent in Medical Bays of all places!''
I laughed out loud, ''You know I hadn't thought of that! Well, not much longer now and, with a bit of luck, you and I should be able to avoid them for quite some time.'' I raised an optic ridge at him, ''Just don't go sacrificing yourself for the greater good so readily and we should be fine.''
Rachet gave a derisive laugh as he approached us, ''Phoenix, you'd have more chance of convincing a Decepticon to renounce their ways and join our side and for Director Mearing to suddenly develop a sense of humour than you would of stopping Prime from doing that. Then again, perhaps he might be more inclined to listen to you,'' and he smiled teasingly at us both.
''And there I was thinking now you were a Prime yourself you might have outgrown being impertinent towards me?'' Prime teased me.
''Never! If anything, I think it entitles me to get away with it more,'' I began to lean over to give him a quick kiss only to feel Rachet's servo on my shoulder.
''Uh none of that if you don't mind, I am about to perform surgery on you both, Prime or no Prime, it is important you don't strain yourself and you relax,'' Rachet warned me.
I felt a quick rush of annoyance and irritation wash over me as once again I was denied the chance to display my affections, however brief, to Optimus. ''Rachet, seriously, if you interfere one more time, it'll be YOU laying on one of these gurneys!'' I heard myself grind out rather tersely.
He removed his servo though his rule remained in place, ''I'm sorry Phoenix but it has to wait, we are ready now''. Dino had come in to assist Rachet given Jolt, who had usually assisted Rachet in the Med Bay when need, had sadly lost his spark in the battle.
I sighed out loud and I felt Prime squeeze my servo in a role reversal of comfort. ''Well, if you really wanted me to be relaxed you should have found a bigger gurney to accommodate the both of us together Rachet.''
Rachet simply laughed, ''Alright Dino, before she starts talking again.''
Before I could retaliate, I felt a small sting in the cabling in my neck as Dino administered the sedative required to ensure I was not awake for the extensive procedure. The last thing I heard as I began to drift off was the sound of Prime talking to Rachet.
''Have you found anything yet?'' Prime's deep voice rumbled quietly to his chief medic.
''Nothing yet Prime. We shall keep searching,'' Rachet's voice replied.
''Please do,'' Prime's deep voice was the last thing I heard as the darkness claimed me.
Bright. It was so bright. Blindingly so – ethereally so. I opened my optics expecting to see Rachet leaning over me, welcoming me back to the Med Bay as I awoke from the effects of the sedative.
He was nowhere to be seen.
I blinked my optics several times to adjust to the increased luminosity. And found that I was not laying down on the gurney, but kneeling. /How on Cybertron did I get here? Did I fall off the gurney at some stage?/. I cast my optics around wildly, trying to find the form of Optimus who should have been right beside me, but he was nowhere to be seen.
I felt my spark skip a few pulses and speed up. That familiar constricting feeling in my chest began to assail me as it always did when I was worried about Prime.
''You will not find him here with you Phoenix, but rest assured Optimus Prime is safe, as are you.'' A voice unlike any I have ever heard echoed around me. It was as deep as the deepest ocean, as warm as a Summer's day and as wise as the cosmos itself.
I held a forearm up to cover my optics and for protection. ''Wh… who… are you? Where am I?'' I tentatively asked, 'How do you know whom I seek?'' I lowered my arm and looked around, determined to find who addressed me, me desire to know and my intense need to protect Optimus helping to banish any need to protect myself. I did not unsheathe my weapons. I would not show aggression unless provoked. Peace was the Autobot way.
I heard a deep chuckle, though it contained no malice. ''Very good, you are indeed worthy Phoenix.''
I started to rise to my pedes, ''Worthy of what exactly? I queried the light that surrounded me. ''And once again I ask, WHO are you, WHERE am I and HOW did you know whom I referred to? Answer me please!'' I challenged, my voice rising in irritation and frustration.
It almost sounded as though the presence smiled at me, if that were even possible. ''My dear Phoenix. Always impatient, unafraid of letting your emotions show, quick to anger but quick to forgive. Impetuous yet wise, brave yet vulnerable..''
I couldn't help but interrupt the presence at that point, ''Shall we add, 'So curious yet so annoyed,'' to this helpful list?''
Another chuckle, ''Not to mention irreverent yet capable of great respect. My dear Phoenix, in answer to the first question you just asked me, you are indeed worthy - of my most favoured Prime, Optimus.''
I gave a slight start at this ''beings'' mention of Prime so casually and that fact that he was his ''favourite.'' I said nothing though as I wanted answers and it sounded as though it was finally going to give me some.
''I have been watching you for a while now Phoenix, who was once Orianna Connors or OC.'' I felt my dermas fly open in shock.
''How the hell do you..'' I could not finish the sentence.
Again, a chuckle. I failed to see what was so amusing. ''I know a great many things my newest child. Nothing escapes my attention. In answer to your second and third questions, I am Primus, the creator-God of the Transformers and I have brought you here to the astral plane as I believe it is time to shed some light on recent events.''
I felt myself baulk and a strangled, disbelieving cry escaped my dermas, ''The Primus? The actual bloody Primus? You cannot be for bloody real! I am hallucinating or having a really vivid dream or something.'' A concerning thought suddenly coalesced in my processor, ''Wait…Am I dead? If I am on the astral plane am I about to enter the Well of the Allsparks? Can I even do that?" Prime! What about Prime? I CAN'T leave him, I need him!'' I felt the panic begin to rise though I fought to keep it at bay.
I felt a blanket of calm descend upon me, as though two enormous servos wrapped about me willing me gently to be still. ''Be still my young child, all is well. I am indeed who I say I am, and you are not dead. Prime is waiting for you when you awake.'' I felt myself relax somewhat, though I was still on edge. /This is just too much!/.
The deep voice continued. ''I know how lonely you have been in your life, how you have longed for, prayed for someone to come along who would love you just as you would them. I know about your gift you have had since birth and how it has brought both sadness and happiness to your life.''
I felt myself begin to sink to my knees in shock. /HOW. THE. HELL./. ''I have watched as you have felt drawn to Optimus, sought his attention and his affections as you saw in him a soul as lonely and worthy of love as your own. I have seen how you have fought for him and his team, your loyalty to my dear Autobot children never wavering. I have watched as you patiently, carefully and lovingly encouraged Optimus to open his spark again. I watched in great sorrow and sadness as Optimus sacrificed himself to save the other human Sam Witwicky, whom I have been watching and whose destiny was entwined with that of Optimus'.''
At this I closed my optics and felt a shudder run through me and a sob left my dermas. The voice seemed to wrap around me offering comfort and strength, ''My dear Phoenix, I know how keenly you felt his loss, how you feel it still and that the thought of being separated from him tears you apart.''
I felt myself nod almost imperceptibly to this disembodied voice that seemed to know the deepest parts of my soul. ''Rest assured Optimus feels the same way for you. He needs you just as much you need him. Together you balance each other out, strength when the other is weak, calm when the other is angry, reason when the other is shrouded in doubt, forgiveness and compassion when there is blame and self-recrimination.'' I felt my chest rise and fall with the strength of my emotions as I struggled to take this in. The voice ''smiled'' again and seemed to draw nearer. ''It is for this reason my Dear Phoenix, that the Allspark called to you.''
My helm snapped up and my optics went wide. ''Yes. You have wondered why what happened to you that day years ago, happened and how you survived.'' Again, I nodded silently, and I felt the whisper of a touch graze my cheek, but I did not recoil in fear, it was comforting. ''You touched that shard because I called to you. You survived because I favoured you. You transformed so you could fulfill your destiny. That day I gave you your second gift so you could become The Phoenix, and like your name sake, rise from the ashes of your past to embrace your future.''
I closed my optics as I knelt on the ground and then tilted my helm towards the sound of the voice, a smile of gratitude spreading across my dermas. ''You see my Phoenix, like the Prime you have grown to love, you bring hope to those who have lost theirs, courage in the place of fear, faith and resolve when only doubt and uncertainty surround and the warmth of love to a spark that had grown cold and scared of letting another in.''
I opened my optics and though immense gratitude filled my spark, I still had one question to ask the benevolent deity. ''If I may be so bold as to ask Primus, the markings that have shown up on my body, Optimus says they mean I am a Prime though according to Optimus, it is decreed in the Covenant of Primus that Cybertron can only have one Prime at time. Is this true? And if so why? Why have I been given this title when there already exists a Prime and one as amazing as Optimus?'' I rose to my pedes again, a renewed strength filling me as I pursued this final kernel of truth.
Again, the voice seemed to chuckle, ''You may be so bold Phoenix,'' before growing serious, ''What Optimus says is indeed true. There can only be one Prime at a time on Cybertron.''
I felt my knees buckling again, though I remained upright, my optical ridge furrowing in confusion as I tried to reconcile this information with recent events. ''But Primus, Sentinel Prime existed while Optimus lived just now. With all due respect, how can what you say be true?''
The equivalent of a sigh flowed over me, and I felt myself, or my consciousness blush, ''because my dear child, Sentinel Prime upon leaving Cybertron and laying dormant in the Ark for all that time, relinquished his role of Prime. Optimus, with some trepidation not knowing his own worth, took up leadership of the Autobots in Sentinel's stead. So, you see, Sentinel was no longer truly a Prime.'' The voice grew sadder, ''and as you saw, he lost his way, his actions alone making him undeserving of the title.'' Again, that voice seemed filled with sadness and regret.
I felt myself nodding in understanding.
''Besides My Phoenix,'' as changeable as the air the voice now contained a ''smile,'' as it addressed me. ''You and Optimus are not ON Cybertron. The rule pertaining to one Prime would not seem to apply here, would it?''
I felt myself blush a little at this obvious loophole. ''Umm, no I guess not Primus.'' Once again, I had the temerity to question the deity. ''But Primus, why now? Why not millennia ago when Optimus could have done with some support and someone to shoulder the weight of responsibility you knew he carried alone?'' Though it was not intended, a subtle tone of reproach permeated my words.
A sound like gentle, rolling thunder echoed around me as Primus laughed. ''Such a loyal and worthy spark for my Optimus. I have indeed made the right choice. Phoenix, I have bestowed this title upon you, as a gift for you, for all of my children and my favoured Prime - Optimus, as a necessary protection and means of support for what remains of my race and the planet that has offered protection and a home for them.''
Though I desperately wanted to question the God, I had learned to hold my glossa until all explanations were complete. Primus intoned gravely, ''A great darkness is coming and if you are to stand any chance of defeating it, you must accept your destiny as The Phoenix and your newly bestowed title of Prime and stand with Optimus to defeat it.''
I felt my optic ridge furrow further in confusion and some concern, ''What? What do you mean a great darkness?''
The voice of Primus boomed around me once more;
''Two halves to make a whole,
Two battered sparks become one soul.
Where there was one, there shall now be two.
Two Primes bound by fate, to see their people through.
You must stand together, despite the trial that awaits
For if you break ties, the impending darkness will seal all fates.
I shook my helm, a quizzical look clouding my features, ''but what is this darkness? What trial? When will it come? What do you mean by ''break ties"? Is Optimus going to die again? Am I?'' Once again, I felt a swell of fear rise within me along with uncertainty. /Why did Primus choose me? Who am I to carry out this task? I don't even seem to understand the bloody instructions!/.
There was a gentle and knowing chuckle, ''You will my Phoenix, in time all will become clear. Just heed my words and my warning and all will be well. You are more than you believe yourself to be. Trust me.'' I felt myself sigh in resignation. ''I must leave now. It is time for you to return to our dear Optimus. Farewell my Phoenix.''
I cast my optics about a final time, hoping futilely to catch a glimpse of Primus himself. My dermas began to move before I registered what I was about to say, ''Thank you Primus. You have demonstrated kindness to me beyond measure and more than I surely deserve. I will do my best to ensure I am worthy of both you and Optimus. Though I do not truly understand what you have revealed to me, I shall do my best to heed your advice and your warning and bring what you say to fruition. You have my word – as a Prime.'' It felt strange to say the name in reference to myself but at the same time it felt right and, if what Primus said was true, then I had to start seeing myself in this light.
A final chuckle echoed around me as I felt myself being pulled away from this place of blinding light and truth back into darkness, ''Of that I have no doubt – Phoenix Prime.''
All at once I felt my optics open once again. A sense of Deja vu enveloped me as my optics were greeted by a bright light, though not nearly as bright as before. I blinked several times to adjust. A warmth that had previously cocooned me, began to fade and I gave an involuntary shudder at its loss.
''Phoenix? Are you alright?'' A familiar rumbling voice caressed my audials and a pair of concerned azure optics gazed into my own as the visage of Optimus loomed into sight. I felt my dermas erupt into a smile and my servos reached out to touch him, capturing his face. /He IS alright, he is alive!/.
''Optimus! I missed you, it is so good to see you again,'' I tried to sit up to embrace him, but Prime's strong servos shot out to stop me. /Clearly Rachet repaired his arm/.
''Easy Phoenix! You are recovering from your repairs. You were under for some time. Rachet encountered some difficulties.'' His voice dropped, ''we nearly lost you.'' He leaned down slowly and placed his helm against mine gently, sighing, ''but you came back to me, you are safe, that's all that matters.''
I shuttered my optics for a moment, even as I reveled in his touch, /Astral plane, nearly lost me?/. I kissed his helm, ''Always Prime, I will always come back to you.'' At his knowing '''look'' he cast me, the recollection of his death and subsequent revival tore through me. I added contritely, ''IF possible.''
He pulled away from me to look at my face, cradling it gently in his servos, before bending down to capture my dermas in a soft and gentle kiss. I felt fire burn through me at his touch. /How I have missed this!/. All too quickly Prime pulled away from me and I heard myself give a plaintive moan.
''Phoenix, you must rest. There will be time for that later, I promise,'' Prime chuckled at me. His laugh, it sounded so familiar, not as deep though. /Who did he remind me of?/.
I allowed the corner of my dermas to turn up in a smirk, ''You sound like our favourite medic,'' I teased, ''say, where is Rachet anyway?''
''Right here, and thanks for the compliment Phoenix,'' the yellow and silver form of the medic appeared out of nowhere to stand behind Prime. He folded his arms across his chest and gave me a reproachful look, ''Once again, you gave us both a bit of a scare. You seem hell bent on ensuring our sparks cease functioning or at the very least, are damaged.''
I dipped my helm in apology, ''I'm sorry Rachet and Prime, truly I am. It's not like it is on purpose or anything, trust me.''
''Of course not Phoenix, we know that,'' and he cast a glance back at Rachet who merely shrugged his shoulders. ''Anyway, you're back safe and sound to us.'' Prime reached out and stroked his digits over my face, tracing something. ''Now you are awake again, and after we have rested for a bit, we shall continue to investigate why this symbol of the Primes showed up in the first place!''
I felt my dermas flew open in shocked and excited recollection, ''I remember!'' Prime and Rachet stared at me with confused expressions.
''Remember what Phoenix? You've been sedated for quite a few joors now,'' Optimus sounded somewhat concerned.
Undeterred I continued, ''Prime, Rachet! About that, I think I can shed some light on it.''
Rachet, gave a smirk, ''Oh really, how? 'Cause you have been unconscious for the better part of a day. When did you have time to pop out and do some research?'' He gave a snort of derision.
Prime gave him a stern look before returning his gaze to me, ''Phoenix, I am unsure what you mean and how you might be able to shed some light on it, but by all means tell us what you know.''
I started to sit up, as I felt my strength return to me, ignoring the initial pleas of both Prime and Rachet, ''Honestly, I feel fine, better than fine.'' I moved to sit up on the gurney and swung my pedes around to hang off the side, facing them both. I felt a huge smile spread across my face, ''you are likely not going to believe what happened to me, but I hope you do, 'cause I believe it.''
Prime and Rachet looked at each other and then back at me, ''Try us,'' they both said in unison.
