Chapter 82 – Favoured by Primus
Prime P.O.V
Rachet and I looked at each other and then back at Phoenix, ''Try us,'' we said in unison.
Phoenix took an unnecessary breath before she began to talk, ''Well, while I was unconscious, I met Primus. He took me to the astral plane to shed some light on a few things that have happened in my life. He also explained why I have been apparently been chosen to be a Prime.''
Of all the things she could have said to us, that was not what I was expecting to come out of her dermas. Rachet and I simply stared at her blankly for a moment as we processed what she just said. Rachet started to laugh slightly and shake his helm as though Phoenix had just made a funny joke that he only now understood. ''Phoenix..'' I began to say but she continued.
''Look Prime and Rachet. I KNOW it sounds crazy; I get that, BUT it did happen. You said yourself you nearly lost me. I bet that was when he took me to the astral plane and when you said I suddenly came back to you, that was when he sent me back.'' She fixed me with a very serious stare. I shuttered my optics several times. Primus – our God – had not shown himself to anyone for millions of years. As amazing as Phoenix is, why would he speak to her? A quick stab of jealousy flared through me and I quickly fought it back. /If Primus DID appear to or talk to Phoenix, there must be a reason why he chose her/.
I felt myself sigh out loud, ''Okay Phoenix. I believe you, what did he say?'' She was the other half of my spark. To doubt her was to doubt myself. I had to believe her.
Rachet turned to me as though Phoenix weren't in the room and began to scoff, 'Prime, surely you don't…''
I raised a servo to silence him, fixing him with a very serious gaze. ''Rachet, in all the time we have known Phoenix, even when she was OC, did she ever give us cause to not believe her?'' I turned to face him.
Rachet paused for a moment, his dermas working as he tried to form an argument but soon afterwards, abandoned the idea. ''No, she has not.'' He had the decency to look contrite and gave Phoenix a quick smile. Though he did not say he believed her, his silence on the matter indicated his assent to continue.
Phoenix glowed at me, ''Thanks Prime! Primus was right – we really do balance each other out. We really are meant to be together.'' Her words, incredulous as they were, also gave me some hope and sent a wave of warmth throughout me. /If she really did meet Primus and HE approves, maybe everything will be okay for us both?/.
''Please, continue Phoenix, I am interested to know what the two of you spoke about.'' It was the truth.
Phoenix nodded, ''Well at first all I could see was brilliant light, blinding. It surrounded me everywhere. I was scared at first because I could not find you anywhere. Then a voice, deeper than yours Prime, spoke to me. He told me ''I would not find you here and that you were safe as was I.'' Her face was alight with awe and amazement. ''Naturally I wanted to know who I was talking to, where I was and how they knew about you, so I asked them. The voice chuckled at me and said, ''Very good, you are indeed worthy Phoenix.'' I was unsure what this meant so again, I questioned the voice. Asking, ''Worthy of what exactly?'' The voice had also failed to answer my other questions so I, ah, asked again a little more forcefully.'' Phoenix dipped her helm slightly, embarrassed that she had raised her voice to our deity.
''Yep, that sounds like something she would do. Come face to face with a deity and dare to argue with them,'' Rachet gave a snort of laughter.
Phoenix gave Rachet a baleful stare before continuing, ''Anyway, Primus went on to list some of my qualities, I won't bore you with the details but basically he said I was worthy of YOU Prime.'' She smiled at me brightly. ''Optimus, this may come as a shock to you, but YOU are Primus' most favoured Prime, he told me so himself.''
I felt myself start at her comments, a look of what I am sure was utter disbelief crossed my features and I felt my dermas fly open as I struggled to find the power of speech. ''Phoenix…I.''
She nodded her helm determinedly, ''It is true Optimus. Primus favours you above all other Primes,'' she brushed my cheek, ''and if you ask me, so he bloody well should.'' I felt myself blush at her comments and the thought of holding such a place of esteem with our God. I felt unworthy of both, though I admit a sense of pride began to radiate throughout me.
She turned to face Rachet then, dismissing my disbelief, ''He told me that he had been watching me for a while and even used my other name, Orianna Connors! Naturally I had trouble believing he knew such things, so He then saw fit to tell me who He was, that He was Primus, the creator-God of the Transformers and that He brought me to the astral plane to shed some light on recent events.''
She had turned back to me. I still felt numb. Phoenix ploughed on undeterred by our silent reactions. ''Well, just like you both did I had a hard time believing I was talking to THE ACTUAL PRIMUS, then I was worried I had somehow died and was separated from you Optimus,'' she reached out for me and took my servo in hers as she continued to speak. ''But HE reassured me I was alive and would be returned to you shortly. He went on to tell me all about my life, like how He knew about my gift and how I had been so lonely and wanted someone in my life to love me like I wanted to love them,'' she dipped her helm and looked shyly away for a moment, her servo never leaving mine, which gave me comfort. ''He told me about how I had fought bravely and loyally for the Autobots and how I had grown to care deeply for you Prime.'' A flicker of sadness darkened her optics at her next words, ''He even told me how he had watched in sorrow and sadness as you sacrificed yourself for Sam.'' I squeezed her servo even as I felt a shudder run through me as I recalled that terrible moment, when I thought I had failed everyone and left Phoenix all alone.
Phoenix seemed to consider her words carefully for a moment before she spoke again, ''He knew how losing you affected me, still affects me and that you need me just as much as I need you.'' She raised her optics to mine as if seeking my response to this.
I nodded my helm, ''indeed Phoenix, I do, very much.'' I could not bring myself to say anymore at the moment.
She smiled radiantly at me again. ''He also told me Prime that we balance each other out. We give each other 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, all that she said seemed so – unbelievable and yet, at the same time, totally believable.
Phoenix once again fixed both Rachet and I with a very serious stare. ''You know how none of us could work out WHY I survived the Allspark and the Transformation process?'' Phoenix turned her optics to Rachet specifically as he had been the one to be truly perplexed by the whole process.
Rachet nodded and spoke for the first time in a while, ''I still am. I don't know how or why that happened.''
Phoenix smiled at him teasingly, ''Would you like to know?''
Rachet began to nod, very slightly, ''I would, very much.''
Phoenix nodded, ''Well, turns out I touched that shard because Primus called to me. I survived because Primus favoured me. I transformed so I could fulfill my destiny.'' At her words both Rachet and I flinched and gave a gasp. It seemed arrogant for someone to say Primus favoured them. Yet Phoenix was anything but arrogant. Why would she say such a thing unless it was true?
''And that's not all,'' I snapped my helm back towards her, ''that day, He gave me my second gift, the gift of pyrokinesis and the ability to transform so I could become The Phoenix, and like my name sake, rise from the ashes of my past to embrace my future.'' Again, Phoenix seemed to carefully chose her words as he continued, 'Primus, He told me I became the Phoenix because like YOU Prime, I bring hope to those who have lost theirs, courage in the place of fear, faith and resolve when only doubt and uncertainty surround and…'' she seemed to pause for a moment as if carefully thinking of what to say next, ''that's part of the reason why he gave me the chance to become The Phoenix.'' She looked between the two of us as her words settled on our audials.
After a moment Rachet spoke up looking truly shocked, ''Amazing! That would certainly explain why you survived the process then. But, it you still haven't told us why you now have the symbol of the Prime on you. You said part of the reason before,'' I also turned questioning optics towards her, eager to know the answer, though I thought my processor might explode with all I had had to disseminate.
Phoenix smiled, ''Ten points to the medic! I am getting to that now. Well, like you Rachet, I wanted to know why I had these markings and how there could be two Primes at once, especially since Optimus told me about the Convent of Primus and how there was the decree of only ever being one Prime at a time on Cybertron AND seeing as Optimus is so amazing,'' I felt myself blush and heat up at her comments yet again.
Phoenix folded her arms over her chest and gave a small laugh. ''It would seem your God has a sense of humour. When I asked him about how there could be two Primes at once with that rule in place he simply laughed and said, ''You and Optimus are not ON Cybertron. The rule pertaining to one Prime would not seem to apply here, would it?''
Rachet and I both looked at each other, our dermas slightly parted in shock at this new morsel of information about our God seeming to have a sense of humour and the fact we had overlooked such a simple loophole and possible explanation for this turn of events.
A perplexed look descended on Phoenix's features as she spoke about the last piece of the puzzle. ''It also turns out that Primus bestowed this title upon me, as a gift for me, for all of his children and for YOU Optimus – Primus' favoured Prime, as a necessary protection and means of support for what remains of our race and Earth.'' She paused a moment before continuing. ''He said, 'a great darkness is coming and if we are to stand any chance of defeating it, I must accept my destiny and my title and stand with you Optimus to defeat it'. He also gave me this little riddle which I still don't get, perhaps you could shed some light on it?''
I finally found my voice, ''I shall try. What was it?''
Phoenix furrowed her brow as she tried to recall the words,
''Two halves to make a whole,
two battered sparks become one soul.
Where there was one, there shall now be two.
Two Primes joined 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.
When she had finished speaking, she cast a quizzical look at us both. ''Any ideas?''
I shook my helm, a confused look clouding my features as I replayed the words over in my processor, ''What darkness? What trial? And the whole comment on ''break ties" is unsettling I must confess.'' /Does it mean Phoenix will die or leave me or I her? Surely not, not if all she has said about Primus favouring me – us – is true?/.
Phoenix spoke once more, ''Well that was pretty well all He said then except to say it was time for him to go and for me to return to you Prime. He told me ''just heed my words and my warning, that I am more than I believe I am and all will be well. Trust me''. Phoenix paused for a moment before she let a huge smile spread across her face, ''He called me – Phoenix Prime. I kind of like it.'' Though she seemed somewhat embarrassed by this elevated titled she had been bestowed, she also seemed proud. And why shouldn't she be? It was indeed a great favour bestowed upon her.
I smiled at her warmly, ''I like it too – it suits you.'' I paused a moment before trying it out myself. ''Phoenix Prime.'' Phoenix ducked her helm for a moment before raising it, her beautiful face alight with pleasure and happiness.
Rachet had seemed to not hear us as he had been considering Phoenix's words carefully. ''A great darkness is coming? That does sound rather ominous doesn't it.'' He gave aloud sigh, ''With most of our information and history still being pieced together from what Sam and you obtained from the shard pieces, or just plain lost, I am sorry to say it may take a while to work out what this darkness could be. Maybe it is something we have faced before and there is a clue that may help us face this unknown threat?'' Rachet turned questioning and concerned optics towards me.
I nodded, ''I agree Rachet. It does not sound good. Hopefully, we may have some respite before it is upon us. We only just saw off the last threat!'' I could not help keeping the weary and slightly exasperated tone out of my voice. ''I give you full permission to scour the archives to ascertain what this threat may be Rachet. Enlist one of the others to help you if needs be. Perhaps Arcee seeing as she should be on light duties for a while as she recovers?''
Rachet smiled, ''Yeah, she'll love that.'' He turned optics filled with humour towards me, ''You know Prime, a former data clerk would be preferable in this situation as I am sure they could sift through the zettabytes of data much faster than a medic and soldier.''
I gave a low chuckle of amusement at the ploy Rachet had tried to use, ''Perhaps they would Rachet, however, as you well know, that former data clerk also happens to be your Prime and a Prime much in need of some rest and some time alone with,'' at this I paused momentarily. /What WAS Phoenix to me officially, we had not discussed this yet?/.
I felt her optics burning into me, eager to hear me finish the sentence. ''His special significant other.'' /YOU suck Optimus, truly you do/. I felt myself cringe at my own ineptitude. I could hear Phoenix sigh next to me and Rachet raised an optic ridge at me.
''Well, I guess you have a point.'' The medic smiled wryly at me. ''Perhaps, during this time of rest and relaxation you might like to set aside a portion of it to discuss with Phoenix exactly what the status of your new relationship is for you both and for everyone else, if only to avoid any future embarrassment such as that.''
Phoenix spoke up, ''Oh believe me that will be on the list Rachet, and fairly high up I would imagine,'' though I could detect disappointment and a small amount of hurt from her, Phoenix still had a playful tone in her voice.
I nodded rising to my pedes, ''Indeed. Now, if you will excuse us both Rachet, Phoenix and I would very much like to begin said time alone immediately.'' I turned my helm towards her and smiled, her optics brightened, ''I believe we have waited long enough for some quality time alone and so; we shall take it.''
I offered my arm to her, which she gladly took, smiling at me as she also rose to her pedes. ''Please inform Jazz he is in command of the Autobots until further notice.'' I began to lead Phoenix out of the Med Bay, perhaps more hastily than necessary. ''And Rachet,'' I cast back at him, ''We are NOT to be disturbed unless it is of the utmost importance.''
I heard my old friend give a laugh as we began to exit the med bay and head back to our quarters. ''Understood Prime, utmost importance. Like end of the world, great darkness approaching or life altering and affecting events. Check.''
The sound of his laughter was drowned out by the med bay doors slamming shut and the look of pure joy my Phoenix Prime was giving me as we walked arm in arm towards some quality time - alone.
