In which Alison is taken to the Nemesis
The first thing I registered upon waking up was that I was lying on a cold metal floor. The second thing to register was the memory of the battle, and the image of Bumblebee being shocked and kicked into the bridge wreckage.
My eyes shot open and I sat up, but didn't really see anything around me. I just kept seeing Bee, the sparks, the rictus his frame went into, the horrible crash as he went over the edge. My hands covered my mouth, to hold back a scream or bile I wasn't sure. I couldn't save him. He was dead. He died for me. My worst fear. I loved him. He was gone. How could I face Mikaela? How could I face Optimus? Bee was dead. He was-
~ALISON!~
My mind came to a screeching halt as the AllSpark shouted in my head. Before it could pick up speed again, I got a feeling much like someone holding my shoulders and She spoke again.
~Bumblebee. Is. Alive. He did not enter the Well. He was knocked into stasis, but he did not die.~
I wanted to believe her words so much, but the edges of my panic started creeping in again, so she instructed me, ~Listen to my voice. Breath in. One, two, three, four. Hold. One, two, three. Breath out. One, two, three, four. Repeat. Breath in. One, two, three, four. Hold…~
I lowered my hands and breathed on Her command for five repeats, and the panic vanished. She reiterated, ~Bumblebee is alive. The Decepticon who pretended to be Asami only knocked him into stasis.~
I sighed in relief, and let the message sink in. Once it had, I considered the next important part of that battle. The 'Con who had been the Charger. How did they know about the time travel?
~I am unsure. If you wish to know, though, she is sitting across the room.~
She?
I opened my eyes and looked around me. The metal floor I woke up on was the floor of a cage. It was made of metal and glass, about half the size of my room in the officer's quarters, and was sitting on a table. In the center of the "front" wall of the cage was a door, which looked like a sliding variety and seemed to be sealed tight. The room itself was bare, just metal walls with a door off to my left that I could just catch out of the corner of my eye, the table, and a mecha in a chair across the room.
They - or she, if the AllSpark was right - was not one I immediately recognized, though she seemed naggingly familiar. She was on the larger size for a femme, about the size of Ironhide, but with enough of curve to her frame to be telling to those who knew what to look for. Her helm had black cables that reminded me of dreadlocks that just reached her shoulders. She showed no obvious weapons, though I could see silver marks on her servos and digits that made me think of electrodes. They stood out distinctly from her burgundy and black plating.
All those little details tripped my memory, from way back when Optimus first showed their history, of a femme standing at Megatron's side. She had also appeared in a few other pictures as we talked about the time after Unification, but never again as prominent.
The 'Con appeared to have been lost in thought until she noticed my attention. "You're awake. Good." She still spoke with Asami's voice. I pulled my lips back in a snarl and glared at her.
"What did you do to Asami?"
The 'Con tilted her helm slightly as she stood up from the chair. Her field I could feel the edges of, but it was neutral, not allowing me to get a read on her. "Nothing."
"What do you mean 'nothing'?" I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the dizziness that accompanied the motion. "You had to have done something! Where is she?"
"She's standing in front of you."
I drew in a sharp breath, taking a step back. But, she couldn't be Asami, Asami was… was born the year after NBE 3 disappeared.
She gave a single nod at my visible realization. "Holoavatars are quite effective tools for deep infiltration if willing to commit to the role."
"But- But how? How could you-" I choked on my words, not even sure what I wanted to ask. How could she remain hidden so long? How could she attack Bee? How could she betray me? Those and more bounced around my head. As my eyes started to water, I could only choke out "You've been a 'Con this whole time."
She nodded again.
"But… you fought with us against the 'Cons. You've helped kill one."
"A few actually. Necessary sacrifices for the mission."
A few? But… I recalled what she said at the warehouse. "Wreckage. You killed him, not the S7 device."
"He was a coward and a traitor, and would have sold me out for his freedom. He left me no choice."
"What about Leland? Did he find out, so you silenced him too?"
That got the first flare of any emotion from her field, a flash of anger she quickly clamped down on. She vented quietly and her voice was softer when she spoke. "I never harmed Leland. His death was solely the result of human actions."
"Then what about Kasumi?"
"She was never real, like Asami," the 'Con said. "Both were created for the purpose of infiltrating S7. It wasn't my intention to stay undercover for so long following Lord Megatron's release, but circumstances changed."
"Like what, COTA? Or me?"
Before she could answer, the door of the room opened, and Starscream stalked in. He shot a scowl at the other 'Con, who in turn looked thoroughly unimpressed, before he looked at me and smiled. "Good, you're awake." He leaned down over my cage, and I had to crane my neck to stare up at him. He had gotten his face plating fixed from my energon blast in January, and obviously his arm was functioning properly again, as he flexed it in front of the glass.
"You are much tougher than we expected, human, but I wouldn't try any of your fancy tricks in there if I were you. The oxygen levels of the ship are much lower than the human requirement; any breaching of that cage, and you will in the least pass out, maybe even die before someone got to you."
Oddly, Starscream with his dramatics put me at ease. This was something familiar, something I could work with. "You can't kill me. If you'd wanted to, you'd have shot me at the warehouse when I was a fish in a barrel. You've been trying to capture me." I crossed my arms. "I would like to know why."
Starscream sneered. "In case you haven't noticed, you are the prisoner here. You do not get to make demands."
"I'm not demanding, I'm asking. I'm also asking if I can get some food. I don't know how long I was out, but I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starting to get hungry again." I gave him a faux-innocent smile and head tilt. "Also, my title is Bearer, and you should treat me with some more respect." I sank a little into the AllSpark's power, just enough he could see my eyes change color.
His engines rumbled and he loomed even more over me. "You would be wise to not antagonize me, Bearer. There are worse things than death, and I can think of a number to inflict on you."
"And I'll survive them all," I said. "So, what's the reason I'm here?"
Starscream pushed off the table to stand at his full height with a growl. "You'll find out soon enough." He turned. "Ebonspark, make sure she doesn't die before we reach the Nemesis. It would greatly displease our master if something happened before we arrived."
"Of course, Commander." The 'Con - Ebonspark, apparently - only gave the slightest dip of her helm, enough to say courtesy was acknowledged, but not a sign of true respect.
He stalked out, the door shutting behind him again.
"It's not wise to antagonize Starscream," Ebonspark said.
"He won't hurt me," I said, letting my eyes fade back to their normal hazel. "After all, your master will be displeased."
"Not all Decepticons serve the same masters."
She walked closer to me, and reached under the table. When she straightened, she held up a familiar looking duffel bag by its strap. "I'm going to open the cage. This room has the same oxygen levels as Earth's atmosphere, so you'll be fine, but Starscream is right about the rest of the ship, so don't get any ideas."
I frowned, but stayed put as she opened the door and set the bag inside. Once she closed it again, I cautiously moved towards it, and when I finally opened it, I nearly jumped back in surprise. Surrounded by packets of granola bars, dehydrated fruit, and other snack foods was Frenzy, staring up at me with dark optics, his helm attached to his body. "But- but he was at the warehouse, I saw him!"
"So did I. I used a proxy to stay by you while my primary holo snuck back in and took him. Once I had him stashed, I brought him down to base and repaired him as best I could. I tried to bring him online again-" she flexed her digits on a raised servo, "-but unfortunately that just wiped his external drives."
"And you want me to revive him?" I squinted at her suspiciously. "Why should I?"
"Because you owe me your Guardian's life."
My breath caught in my throat. "How did you know Bee is alive?"
"Because I intentionally only knocked him into stasis, and after I kicked him into the river, Starscream didn't bother to verify he was truly offlining. The rest of the Decepticons pulled back from the farm when you were captured, so Arcee would have reached him in time to prevent any permanent damage."
"Why would you do that?"
I noticed her flick her optics away. "Because killing him was unnecessary to complete my mission." She lifted her optics from her digits to meet my eyes with a level stare. "So I say that you owe me a life. Besides, would you rather have Soundwave upset over one of his symbiote's deaths, or happy he was revived?"
She had me on that last part. I'd antagonize Starscream all day long, but I would never want to try that on Soundwave. He was too dangerous.
I bowed my head with a sigh. "Alright." I dragged Frenzy out of the bag, and curiously he was not as heavy as I recalled, and set him on the floor next to me. I closed my eyes and turned inward. Okay, AllSpark, how do we do this?
~I'll guide you. It's similar to how we heal, but more.~
She stepped forward and opened our eyes, placing our hands on Frenzy's chest. They started to glow energon blue, and She spoke. "~Frenzy, Son, Brother, Symbiote, Collector of Knowledge. Come forth from My Well, and rejoin life. Your place is here, to renew your bonds, to observe and to share. Take my strength to make you whole, until your bonds are made anew.~"
She was right in saying it was similar, but more. Instead of pulses of power, I could almost feel tendrils of it, reaching down to Frenzy's spark chamber, and past it, searching. Finally, they latched onto something, and the pulses started. I couldn't help a gasp as it felt like they came directly from my heart and lungs, flowing down my arms into the tendrils, to the something. To Frenzy's spark. Each pulse, sent out on each of my heartbeats, made the spark more visible to my awareness, and the tendrils raised back up, letting go once it was settled back into the chamber. Two more large pulses left me, and my hands glowed brightly before fading, and the AllSpark retreated. I immediately slumped, exhausted, then found myself knocked back on my ass and barely got my arms over my face before Frenzy was on me.
"I kill you, human, I kill you dead!" His arms reached around trying to get to my throat, but I was able to hold him off with my arms and drew my knee up between us.
"Get off me, you freaking glitchhead!" I shoved him off me, kicking him away even as I scooted back across the floor. In a moment of deja vu, he sprang to his pedes and spread out his talon-tipped servos before starting to charge me. A dark servo reached between us and pulled Frenzy out of the cage before he got two steps.
"Frenzy, calm yourself," Ebonspark said in cybertronian, closing the cage door with her free servo while making sure the symbiote couldn't easily slip out of her grasp. "Alison just brought you back out of the Well, you should be grateful."
Frenzy cocked his helm, even as he pushed against the digits holding him up. "Only AllSpark has power to bring back sparks."
"That's me, you little glitch," I said, sitting up properly. "Bearer of the AllSpark, right here."
He cocked his helm the other way, and looked about to say something when Ebonspark interrupted. "Soundwave can explain everything to you when we reach the Nemesis, Frenzy." She looked down at me and switched to English. "I need to update Starscream on this… act of good will. There's Gatorade bottles at the bottom of the bag, I suggest you eat and drink to regain your energy. I don't know what Lord Megatron has planned for you, but I doubt it will be pleasant."
"Whatever it is, I'll handle it," I pushed myself to my feet and glared at her. "You helped teach me that much, at least."
I sensed the faintest ripple of her EMF, but it was not enough of one to detect what emotion it was supposed to show before she closed down on it again. She walked out of the room, ignoring Frenzy's jabber of questions that what I said had started. Only once the door closed behind her did I allow my legs to give out and drop me to the floor. If there was anything she was right about, I needed to eat and drink something, before I learned if Ratchet's hypothesis of the AllSpark cannibalizing my body without the right nutrients was true.
I crawled over to the duffle bag, and found as Ebonspark said, there was Gatorades filling out the bottom of the bag, as well as some regular water bottles, a couple milk bottles, some slightly bruised apples and slightly browning bananas, and a lot of different snack foods, from granola bars and dehydrated fruit to Uncrustables sandwiches and jerky. I jokingly wondered if she'd raided a gas station for them, before I realized she probably did just that. Any happiness I'd gained from that thought and from goading Starscream vanished, and I slumped.
I took one of the jerky packets, two sandwiches, a pack of trail mix, a banana, the bottles of milk, and one bottle of water out, then zipped up the bag. As I ate and drank, I tried to take stock of my situation. I was in a cage, in a room, on a Decepticon ship, heading to the Nemesis. I got here after Asami turned out to be Ebonspark, a Decepticon who's been in disguise as a human for years, somehow. Supplies, I have the clothes on my back, though my jeans now have a hole the size of my palm on my outer right thigh, and there are a couple of nicks on my striped shirt from fending off Frenzy. A patdown of my pockets revealed my phone and anything else I might have had stashed away were gone (Ebonspark's doing, I presumed), and my purse was nowhere to be seen; I doubted I'd ever see it again. A duffel bag of food, water and sports drink, though it wasn't the healthiest, and would not last me long with my metabolism. And that was it. I had nothing else useful.
I ended up sitting against one of the walls of the cage, one hand holding a bottle of water I was nursing, the other clasped tight around my dog tags. At least I still had those, and Bee's bracelet. With nothing better to do, I let my mind wander to what was happening back home. Perhaps the 'Cons all pulled out once Starscream confirmed they had me like Ebonspark had said, or maybe they stayed longer, to ensure there was no pursuit. Either way, the AllSpark had made no mention of Arcee or Barricade dying, so they would have rushed to Bumblebee. Cade would have fished him out of the river, and Arcee would have gotten him out of stasis, then they would go back to the farm.
My throat closed up as I thought of the battle that had happened. Did everyone get out okay? Did anyone die? If so, it was my fault. Maybe Bumblebee would argue against it, but he wasn't here to work his "no misplaced guilt" magic, and this was my fault, cause I was selfish and decided to leave the safety of base. Any injuries from it, any deaths, were all on my shoulders.
I drew my knees up on that depressing thought, curling up tight and wrapping my arm around them. For moment, flashes of dead relatives passed my minds eye; Aunt Josephine, Uncle Sparkplug, Sam, Spike, Laura, Nick, and Mikey, Janet and baby Ben. I shuddered before forcibly pushing the images away. Let alone what was happening behind me, but what was waiting ahead was terrifying. I was being taken to the Nemesis. Starscream didn't specify which one, but I had a feeling it was not going to be the one on Mars. That would be too easy. No, I was going to the Nemesis crashed on some distant moon, with the evilest being in the entirety of Tyran living there. There he was probably going to have Megatron and Scalpel perform their "delicate work" to try and pry the location of the Matrix out of my head. Oh sure, Sam in the movie was just going to have his brain dissected, but he didn't have full access to the AllSpark like I do. Could the AllSpark live on if I got lobotomized?
~Alison, stop,~ She finally said to me. ~Wallowing is not going to help you.~
But, what can I do? I asked her. I have no weapons except my powers, which are fairly limited on the offensive angle. If I leave this room, I'll likely suffocate, and even if I survived out there to find some way off the ship, I have no idea how to even get back home. It's either a quick, senseless death now, or a long torturous one later.
~Are you my Bearer, that you give up so easily?~ I could almost feel the AllSpark press her hands onto my shoulders, and I couldn't help looking up. In my mind's eye, I could almost see her before me, giving me a stern but loving look. ~Disadvantaged you may be, you have a determination and courage that few others do. You will survive this, not from my intervention, but from your own will to live.~
Her belief in me actually made me smile slightly, and I remembered a quote from a video game. 'I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.'
~Yes. Your fires will sustain you, even if I can not be with you.~
Before I could question her on what that meant, the door opened again, and Ebonspark stepped in, Frenzy now sitting fairly passively on her shoulder.
"We're landing," she said, coming over and picking up the cage. "It'd be wise for you to keep quiet unless spoken to. Do not antagonize anyone if you value your life."
"And if I decided not to?" I put my half-empty water bottle in the duffel and stood up. I wasn't going to meet whatever waited for me cowering.
"Then I am not responsible for what happens after that."
Sure you aren't, I thought as we left the room, and walked down a few hallways until we reached either a cargo bay or an airlock, where it seemed most of the Decepticons had gathered to disembark. As Ebonspark walked through the crowd, they all looked at me, a few of them jeering. At the door, Starscream was waiting, a scowl on his face when he saw us.
"Punctual, as ever," he said.
"Belaboring the obvious, as ever, Commander," Ebonspark said, stepping into place a pace behind and to his left.
Before he could say anything in reply, the doors started to open and he looked to me instead. "Let's see what our master has in store for you." Before the ramp even touched the ground, he was walking, Ebonspark only two steps behind.
We didn't land right next to the Nemesis, as I thought we might have, but rather about a hundred meters away from the ship. And I had to say, while the movie shots were cool, they did not do it justice. The Nemesis was a wreck, but the ship was still massive. The places where the hull had been torn open were repaired, and I could also see newly constructed tunnels extending from the sides, with doors that opened on the inside of the "V". Not far from one of these doors, Megatron stood, Soundwave just behind him to his right, and two or three other mechs I couldn't identify behind him. I didn't waste time trying to either, too focused on Megatron. He looked completely recovered from Mission City and his years of cryostasis.
Starscream stopped and bowed to Megatron. "My lord, as ordered, I have captured- What are you doing?" The last was growled as Ebonspark stepped past Starscream and knelt before Megatron, close enough I could feel his EM field, which had the edges of surprise to the satisfaction that filled it.
"Lord Megatron." Her EM field released just slightly, enough that she projected respect and subservience.
"Ebonspark. I was not aware you were on Earth." Megatron said, his optics looking over my head to study her.
"I was deep undercover, seeking a way to free you and the AllSpark from the humans. After the battle against the Autobots, I joined their human allies, gathering information and by chance found an opportunity to get close to the Bearer of the AllSpark." She held up my cage, like - no, as - an offering. "This allowed me to capture her, once we were away from the protection of the Autobots."
Megatron turned his gaze from Ebonspark to me, and I couldn't help the shiver that rippled down my spine, even as I gritted my teeth and glared up at him. It wasn't quite as bad as being under his gaze at Mission City, but only in that he wasn't trying to kill me that very moment. Again, I tapped just enough into the AllSpark's power to make my eyes glow. Then a noise to my left distracted us, and we both looked over to see Frenzy climbing up Ebonspark's arm, chittering and waving at Soundwave.
Soundwave looked like his ROTF frame, silver with thin blue biolights running over him, and two satellite panels coming off the back of his shoulders. From behind one of them, another silver minicon popped up and started running down Soundwave's arm as he extended it to Frenzy. Rumble reached out to his brother and hauled him onto their host, chittering at each other.
Soundwave raised the two up to his chest, and tilted his helm slightly. "Frenzy: deactivated in battle." There was a hint of question in his monotone voice.
"The Bearer was convinced to bring his spark back from the Well," Ebonspark said. "Unfortunately the other fallen Decepticons were dismantled for parts by the Autobots after Starscream's failed attack on the facility they were stored in. Frenzy was the only one I was able to save."
"Rise, Ebonspark," Megatron said, the surprise in his field replaced with pride. "You have done well, and your absence is forgiven."
"Thank you, my lord." Ebonspark stood, adjusting her hold on the cage so it was more stable.
Megatron looked to Starscream, who was barely containing a sneer. "Take your mechs to medbay, and prepare a report on your mission. Ebonspark, come with me. Bring the Bearer." He turned and started walking along the side of the tunnel, Soundwave and Ebonspark both following a step behind him.
As we walked, I could see the Nemesis had apparently split into three parts when it crashed, and each was now connected by the tunnels to make a triangle, with Starscream's ship and a couple others parked inside it. Seeing the tunnels made me think the Constructicons were probably here, and Megatron had kept them busy. We were nearly to the second part of the Nemesis when Megatron turned and led the way into the tunnel. Inside, it was fairly dark, only thin runners of emergency lights in the corners being on, and not all of them were. Considering the 'Cons had infrared vision, it wasn't an issue for them, but for me, it threw everything into muted shades and shadows.
As we turned left, Megatron finally spoke again. "You know, I can not thank you enough, Bearer."
That caught me off guard, and I looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
"For taking the AllSpark into yourself. I heard Optimus's shouts during the battle, calling for you to push the AllSpark into his spark. Such a deed would have killed him, and deprived me of the chance to end him myself. As well, you could have done the same to me, and killed me. Both those cases would have destroyed the AllSpark's vessel entirely, leaving Her disembodied, Her power dispersed and transformed in a way that we could not gather together again." A set of doors blocked our path, and Megatron turned his helm to look at me, his smile and EM turning predatory. "As well, afterwards your first actions not only spared me pain from your pathetic human weapons, they provided me a source of energon."
I felt my blood run cold at the way he said it. "That energon was for the hatchlings, to save their lives!"
"And it has been used to that effect. But the energon you provided can also be used for my mechs as well." The doors opened, and Megatron strode in. "After all, are we not all Children of the AllSpark?"
The room we entered looked almost like a common room, if a very, very bare one. A couple dozen 'Cons were in the room, with others coming in from three other doors to join the crowd. Just to the left of us was a small dias with a throne-like chair, which Megatron stepped up onto, Soundwave and Ebonspark waiting on the side. All chatter stopped at the sight of their leader, and the next few minutes were quiet except for the opening and closing of doors and the shuffling of the crowd making room for the new mecha.
The last of the mecha to arrive was Starscream, being teleported in by a seeker who had to be Skywarp. Once he was, Megatron let the quiet go on for another minute, before letting his stoney face morph into a smile. "Deceptions, we have won a great victory today. First, we see the return of a loyal officer." He motioned for Ebonspark to join him on the dias, which she did. "Ebonspark infiltrated the very human organization that held me, to free me at the right opportunity. Circumstances prevented her from completing that self-appointed mission, but that then allowed her to bring us this success."
He held his servo out and Ebonspark set my cage in it. Megatron held me aloft and I barely managed to keep myself standing from the sudden movement. "She gained the trust of the Bearer of the AllSpark, and used it to capture her."
It was quiet for a moment, then the Decepticons erupted into cheers, the noise almost deafening as it echoed off the room's walls. After a minute Megatron raised his other servo and the 'Cons started to settle down. "This is indeed a joyous moment, but do not celebrate too soon. This is still part one of our victory." He placed me back into Ebonspark's servos, and turned to the crowd. "Once we have extracted the location of the Matrix of Leadership from her, we will still need to retrieve it, and to defend the Star Harvester from any attempts to stop its activation. Only when it has drained Earth's sun of all its energy, and the planet is plunged into darkness, only when we have enslaved the humans to be our labor force, only when we have broken the backs of the Autobots, and only when Cybertron is full of light and life again, then we will rejoice, and our celebrations will last an entire vorn!"
The 'Cons cheered even louder at that, a few raising cubes of energon in the air, others their fists. A chant started somehow, "For Megatron! For Cybertron! For the Cause!" The last most confused me, cause "The Cause" was not something I would have applied to the Decepticons of the movies.
Megatron basked in the revelry for a minute, then folded his arms behind his back. "Now, everyone return to your posts. This victory does not excuse anyone from their duties." He stepped off the platform and nodded to Soundwave. "Except you. You are excused, to finish your repairs to Frenzy."
Soundwave shook his helm. "Soundwave: needed to monitor communications. Autobots: Will act irrational in search of Bearer."
"And N-Sync will be able to handle it in your stead. I do not wish for my third in command to risk his health when it is a simple matter to give him recovery time."
Soundwave glanced at Rumble and Frenzy, sitting on his shoulder and still chittering and holding onto each other. He bowed to Megatron. "Thank you, my lord."
Megatron nodded in return, then looked to Ebonspark and me. "Come. I must present the Bearer to someone."
We left out of the same hall we had entered by, and continued down past the outside door. It was silent for a minute, then Ebonspark surprised me by speaking.
"It is good to see you well, Lord Megatron."
"And it is good to have you at my side once again, Ebonspark." Megatron smiled. "I trust you were able to uncover much information from the Autobots and the humans."
Ebonspark bowed her helm slightly. "I have not lost my touch, my lord. I made myself one of Sector Seven's premiere agents, and worked my way into many of their secrets. I was prepared to do the same in their new organization COTA, when I overheard a conversation and seized an opportunity. Upon becoming the personal trainer of the Bearer, few ever questioned my presence in Headquarters."
I wanted to yell something at her, but I couldn't think of what to say. Instead, I settled for a scowl, as my EM field radiated with my anger. I could feel a hint of amusement in Megatron's field in return, while Ebonspark still kept hers tightly latched.
"As expected of my most capable officer. Your information will be invaluable in our efforts to destroy the Autobots. Perhaps even for our final victory?"
"I believe it so. I sought what information I could without drawing suspicion. Unfortunately, I gained nothing in regards to the Matrix or the Harvester."
Wait, what? I barely held myself back from whirling around in surprise. She did know. That was brought up in some of our inner circle meetings, not the exact locations, but how it could be found. Why was she lying?
"Still, you've served exceptionally well. With you back at my side, our plans will be seen through."
As we approached the end of the hall, the atmosphere grew oppressive, with almost a physical pressure. I looked to see if the 'Cons were affected too, and once again felt nothing from Ebonspark, but Megatron… The difference was subtle, if I hadn't been so close, or looking for it, I would not have noticed how his frame lowered and his EM field retreated slightly. He still read as powerful, but there was a definite sense that he was deferring to something, to someone.
Megatron stopped at the doors, turning and holding his servo out. "I will take the Bearer in. Wait here until I return."
Ebonspark nodded, passing my cage over, and Megatron took me through the doors.
The tension I had felt in the hall practically tripled when we entered the chamber. A powerful EM field, telling me to get on my knees and grovel. I kept my feet through sheer will, and Megatron's posture lowered just the barest hint more. The room was vast, only dimly lit by some small scattered emergency lights and the faint light filtering in from some skylights, but my focus went to the throne and its nest of cables. Sitting there, like a spider in its web, plating glowing with the infernal fires he stored in his body, was the Fallen.
He was reclined on his throne, cables draped and latched onto his frame like the roots of a tree, but he sat up when Megatron knelt several feet from the throne, holding my cage up.
"My master, the Bearer of the AllSpark has been captured."
The lighting made it hard to see, his face cast in shadow, but I could feel the Fallen smile in his EM field. "Excellent, my apprentice. Bring her to me. Let me see the insect who thinks it has the right to carry my mother's power."
Megatron carried me over, and I found myself tapping into even more of the AllSpark's power to just remain standing. A seed of anger popped up, and I latched onto it. "I am no insect." My words automatically came out cybertronian, so connected to Her I was.
"Perhaps not, but you are still a vile human." The Fallen leaned forward, trying to loom over me. "How could a creature like you think you were worthy to even touch the AllSpark, let alone take Her power."
"I didn't think I ~she was,~" I snapped, the AllSpark stepping forth and taking over. "~I chose her to be my Bearer, because I saw in her heart she wishes for what I wish. Peace among my children.~"
"How can there be peace when you are still so weak, Mother? Your power, diminished so that this low creature can contain you."
"~Alison is no lower than any of my creations. She, and humanity, are as worthy of life as any cybertronian.~"
"They imprisoned you!" The Fallen slammed his fist into the arm of his throne, and only the AllSpark's control kept me from jumping. "Tortured you, killed your children! And you would let them live, despite this?"
"~The innocent many should not be punished for the crimes of the few. To turn it back on us, then our entire species should be killed for the deaths caused by our war.~" I made a mental shudder at the memory of exactly that happening in the movie timeline.
"A war fought for you, Mother. I only ever acted upon your direction. It was you who first supported my efforts to take the energy of stars, no matter the cost."
Is that true? I asked Her in our head. Our EM field shifted slightly, from strong defiance to regret and sorrow.
~It is,~ She admitted, before speaking out loud. "~That was long ago. I had forgotten the lessons your Father had taught me. I only remembered the Quintessons, and their cruelty. A year ago, if Megatron and I had been freed and came here, I might have even agreed with you.~" She walked up to the glass at the front of the cage, our EM field shifting to pleading. "~But I have seen Alison's heart, and through her eyes, I've seen the good and bad of humanity. Some humans are black as the void, with no wish or desire to improve. Others strive to be white as snow, and some achieve it, while others - many others - find themselves a shade of gray. No different than any cybertronian who has found their way to my presence. For all their physical differences, our hearts and sparks are one and the same.~"
The Fallen frowned and reached out, his servo trailing down the side of the cage in almost a caress. "It seems the humans have done more damage to you than I had believed, Mother. And the unprotected travel through space could not have helped." Was that… sadness in his EM field? "This does not need to be difficult. I just need to know where my brothers hid the Matrix, and I can restore you to your former glory."
"~I have no wish to return to that state.~" Another shift, anger and sorrow covered by determination. "~I will not tell you where the Matrix is. The Star Harvester should never be activated again.~"
The Fallen scowled, and his EM field returned to the oppressive dominance that demanded all bow before him. "Then I shall learn if from your Bearer. Humans are small, and fragile, it will not take long to make her speak."
The AllSpark did not flinch, but she retreated, and I latched onto my own anger and determination again to stand against his field. "Do your worst. No matter what torture you put me through, I will never tell you where the Matrix is."
"You will, willingly or not."
That was all the warning I had before the most splitting migraine I had ever experienced erupted in my head. It was like a chisel was being driven through my skull while, at the same time, something was prying the two halves apart to look inside. I collapsed to my knees, clutching my head, and I felt the AllSpark draw further back, so I could barely even sense Her. When I tried to reach for Her, She actually pushed me back, like She didn't want me close.
Then images flashed before my eyes. The Fallen, an army of cybertronians, a great metal structure being constructed. The Star Harvester, the greatest technological marvel ever seen on Earth before or since. But the key to activate it was stolen, by traitorous brothers. They sealed it in a vessel, and then hid it away. The Matrix of Leadership. Wasn't that hidden in-
NO!
I tried to rip my mind away from the images, but they were too strong to push away entirely. The Matrix of Leadership. I thought about its properties. In the Tyran universe, it held the key to the Star Harvester, and the energy of it could bring deactivated bots back from the dead, or pull them out of stasis. Some said it housed the spirits of the Primes who previously wielded it, who would whisper and offer advice to the current Bearer. It had been passed through several hands over the years, but the main two users of it were Optimus Prime, given it either after being reformatted from Orion Pax, or being reformatted by it. Next was Hot Rod, who would become Rodimus Prime after taking the Matrix. Sometimes it was more or less permanent, like G1, others it was temporary like in the IDW comics. Now IDW, that was fun. Mainly More Than Meets The Eye, I mean, Transformers are drunk and sad and fall in love in space? What's not to love in a summary like that? I especially-
A wave of power flowed through me, and the chisel and prybar in my head vanished, leaving a heavy throbbing and a rush of nausea. I bent over and vomited up everything I had eaten into the floor of my cage. It thankfully was not much, but my sleeve cuffs got splattered, and I crawled away as quickly as I could to keep it off my pants.
Then I toppled over, as my cage was suddenly jerked around. I looked up to see the Fallen had taken my cage and was holding me close to his face. "What was that?"
I blinked once, twice, then I realized what he said, and smiled. "Wouldn't you like to find out."
The Fallen growled. "Whatever tricks you try, you will not stop me." And the chisel and prybar returned.
The Matrix of Leadership- Was used by Rodimus to stop Tyrest's kill switch from killing all the cold constructed transformers, because their sparks were created from its core. Oh man, Optimus did not like that when he heard about it, but hey, save over half the planet or allow genocide, right? And then Rodimus also admitted to the Overlord business, that was so freaking sucky that he let Drift take the blame, even if Drift volunteered to do so. Though given his and Megatron's history, maybe it was a good thing they weren't on the ship together. Things were already tense enough on there. I mean, how many people were trying to spy on his session with Rung? Hmm, I wonder if Rung is here in this world? It'd be nice to have an actual therapist, cause everybody's gonna need therapy once this war is done-
The wave returned, and banished the chisel and prybar again. The throbbing returned, and I gagged on bile as my stomach tried to evacuate through my mouth. I gasped past it, gulping down breaths of air and tried to reach for the power again, but it was gone before I could. I pushed myself up on shaking arms, The Fallen's EM field thick around me. It felt like trying to move through syrup.
"You have many secrets, human," The Fallen said. "I wonder how many I can pry from you before you give me what I want."
"Good luck with that," I said, wiping my mouth with a relatively splatter free part of my sleeve. "I can do this all day." Thank you, Steve Rogers, for the brilliant one liner.
The Fallen growled and lowered my cage. Megatron took it back. "Have someone take her to her cell, then return and attend to me. Bring her again at the start of day cycle."
"Yes, my master." Megatron stood, bowed, then walked out of the room. The further from the Fallen we got, the easier I found it to breath, and my own EM field spilled forth, raw and tender, as I clutched at my dog tags like a lifeline. In the hall, Ebonspark was waiting right where we had left her. Megatron handed my cage over to her.
"Take the Bearer to her cell, then wait for me in my office. You can give me your full debrief then."
"Yes, my lord." Ebonspark bowed and turned away, and the only sign of Megatron leaving was the sound of the door closing behind him.
I slumped, but looked up at Ebonspark. "Did you see that?" I asked, my voice cracking and hoarse, the throbbing behind my eyes lessening, but still noticeable and making me glad for the dim lighting of the base. "You saw how he changed, in just moments. This is evidence, proof that he is-"
"Shut up!" Ebonspark snapped and glared down at me, with such intensity I actually flinched back. I had forgotten for a moment, this wasn't Asami. Maybe it never had been. But I know what I saw there. Megatron had bowed before the Fallen far too easily to be natural. The mech in there was not the one from Mission City.
As Ebonspark carried me through the base, down the opposite corridor to how we came, I tentatively reached back into my mind. AllSpark?
~I am here, little one.~ And She stepped forth again, and I felt Her mental arms wrap around me. ~I'm so sorry, but I had to retreat. My son… he has grown strong. Stronger than I am now. I can push him from your mind, but I have to catch him by surprise, and cannot be next to you. It will get harder each time.~
I understand. I'll have to do my best to throw him out myself then. Is it too late to learn Occlumency?
~It can not hurt to try.~ I felt another caress from the AllSpark, and She sighed. ~I am so sorry for this, little one. I never thought… I knew my son had fallen, but I had not known it was this far. Even in my true form, I would not be able to stop him.~
He said you were the one to push him down the path of taking whatever star he wished.
~He was the one who discovered how to gather the energy for me. I was so proud of him, unknowingly addicted to the power, and I let him know how much it meant to me. He vowed to keep me so powerful, and created his first army. You knew them as Decepticons too, but their true name was The Spoken.~
Before she could say more, Ebonspark broke the silence outside my head by saying, "We're here."
I looked up, and saw what Megatron had meant by my cell. It was a nook in the wall, set at head height for the average cybertronian, but not parallel to the floor, as I just realized the floor was slanting upward from the way we came. The front was a glass wall, with a door similar to the one on my cage, and a small glass room just beyond that. An airlock, I guessed. I could see a few things inside - a bed, a wooden screen, a table - before Ebonspark pressed the door of the cage against the door of the cell. The two pieces of metal linked together with a click, and ten seconds later, the cell door and outer cage door opened.
I didn't really have much of a choice, so I grabbed the duffel bag and stepped into the airlock. Once I was in, the door sealed behind me and Ebonspark pulled the cage away. Another ten seconds later, the inner door opened, and I walked into the cell, the door closing behind me.
"A guard will be by shortly." Ebonspark said. "I'd try to make yourself comfortable. You'll be here for a while." She then turned to walk away.
"Wait!" I called out, and she stopped. "Answer me one thing. Was anything about Asami real?"
Ebonspark did not say anything at first. "Does the answer really matter?" Then she left, and I was alone.
I was alone, in the Decepticon base, as far from any Autobots or friends as possible.
I dropped the duffel on the ground, sank to my knees, and finally cried.
AN: So, what'd ya'll think?
Yes, the truth is revealed; Asami was always a cybertronian, using her holoavatar to blend in. A few of you guessed she might be the Pretender, and you were close, but not quite. If anyone can find a piece of the foreshadowing of this in the story, you get an internet cookie (and maybe a sneak peek to next week's chapter)
So what'd you think of Alison's first day as a prisoner? Was the Fallen menacing enough? Does Megatron's characterization make sense? What do you think will happen to Alison during her stay on the Nemesis? Let me know in the reviews!
Also, if this chapter made you sad and you want some fluff, you might want to check out my newest Transformers Prime fic, Father of the Spark
When Optimus gave up the Matrix to stop Unicron's awakening, Primus sent his spark to a human body, where he fell in love and started a family. Little did he know, he had already met them, years into the future.
Guest Review Replies
Guest 1 (CH 36): Wait till you meet Oscar in RWBY
I'll keep that in mind.
I'll see you all next week, same 'Bot Time, same 'Bot Channel!
