Author's Notes: Hi everyone! Thanks for keeping up with reviews and not letting me forget this story. I've had a lot of writing work to do, with my main focus this month being on my Kindle Vella stories "Svetlana" and "Panhandling The Stars". I don't want to neglect my fanfics though, so for those of you waiting for your favorite stories to update please be patient. Also let me know when you really like something, because that helps me keep it in mind. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter of "I Owe You" :)
Chapter 18
Redemption of The Matrix
Part 1
"Stand down, Maximal!" Silverbolt ordered as he aimed his weapon at Bitten's helm.
Bitten had no weapons except for her voice, which she could have used in an instant. She didn't however. Instead, she merely stared up at the offending Predacon with large unreadable yellow optics.
Silverbolt looked ready to pull the trigger and take down Bitten, but then he heard a beeping noise and looked over to where Rhinox was laying hooked up to many machines; most of which were covered in purple dust particles.
"What is that?" Silverbolt asked curiously.
"His name is Rhinox," Bitten replied, ignoring the machines around him, "So, are you going to murder him?"
"What? No! It's not- It's not murder!" Silverbolt stammered defensively, "I am a Predacon, and you are Maximals! We are at war, and you are the enemy!"
"So? We are sentient beings, just like you," Bitten pointed out, "No matter how you justify it, killing a sentient being is still murder."
"Even in self defense?" Silverbolt argued.
"Self defense?" Bitten repeated as she cocked her helm to the side, "So, you feel threatened by an unarmed femme and a comatose mech?"
Silverbolt faltered in that moment. In his processor he knew she was right. He couldn't justify harming them, even if Megatron had told him they were the enemy. This femme wasn't hurting him, and the other Maximal, well…he was completely helpless.
With no other recourse that he could live with, Silverbolt dropped his weapon and held his arms up in surrender. He expected that the femme would capture him, maybe even torture him for information he didn't have. Well, he was ready. He would not die a monster, even if it meant submitting himself to their treachery.
"Would you like some tea?" Bitten asked, ignoring his stance.
"Tea?" Silverbolt asked, perplexed.
"It will take a moment to brew, but it is good for one's nerves," Bitten explained, "Rhinox likes my tea. I thought you might as well."
"Rhinox? The mech in that thing over there?" Silverbolt asked.
"Yes," Bitten replied, "I don't know what he is doing, but his consciousness has extended beyond the limits of his body. Please, sit down. It will be a while before the other Maximals return home, and I thought you might like to talk."
"Oh, so this is a form of interrogation," Silverbolt surmised.
"No. It is tea," Bitten corrected him.
Silverbolt didn't know what mind games this Maximal was playing, but he figured the best way to find out was to play along. Megatron had said the Maximals were evil. Silverbolt wondered if they were cunning too. Or, perhaps…they weren't evil at all, and Megatron was lying to him. It was a difficult puzzle for the newly-formed Predacon. After all, with no life experience he had no point of reference.
A few moments later, Bitten had brewed some mint tea and sat down across the conference table with Silverbolt to drink with him. Silverbolt felt uncomfortable drinking so close to what looked like a dead Maximal body, but Bitten assured him that Rhinox wouldn't wake up and disturb them. That was somehow more disturbing than it should have been.
"So, what do you want from me, Maximal?" Silverbolt demanded to know.
"You barged in on me," Bitten reminded him, "I was minding my own business."
"Oh," Was all Silverbolt could say in reply, "Well then…thank you for the tea."
"LOL!" Bitten squealed.
Silverbolt, having never heard that noise before, flinched in his seat.
"What was that?" Silverbolt exclaimed.
"It is how I laugh," Bitten explained, "When I was little, my voice was damaged. I was forced to…adapt to the situation."
"Little?" Silverbolt inquired, "Did you change size?"
"Unfortunately no," Bitten deadpanned, "You see, I am a much older model of Cybertronian than you are. I was supposed to grow larger when my frame upgraded. Ever since the Battle of The Combiners however, the sparkling stage has been removed from modern Cybertronians."
"I…don't know what any of that means," Silverbolt admitted.
"It means you were born an adult, and I wasn't," Bitten replied, "I used to be an infant, like the animals."
"Oh, I think I understand now," Silverbolt nodded, "Yes, the animals are fascinating to me."
"I love them too," Bitten said as she graced Silverbolt with a rare smile, "Silverbolt, I would ask a favor of you, since I did not kill you."
"You didn't kill me?" Silverbolt guffawed, "You seriously think you could have killed me? You are defenseless!"
Bitten didn't reply to what he said, at least not with words. Instead, she got up, went over to the nearest window, and screamed for half a second. It shattered the window into thousands of little pieces, and Bitten turned back to stare at a dumbfounded Silverbolt.
"Now, about that favor…" Bitten said again.
"…What do you want?" Silverbolt gulped.
"I know you are at war, and that Megatron insists that you murder my comrades," Bitten said stoically, "But I would ask you…please, do not kill Dinobot. He and I are newly bonded, and we have no offspring. If you kill him, I will have to murder you, and I don't want to do that. I have never killed a sentient being in my life, and I would hate for you to be my first, given how pleasant you have been thus far."
"I've never killed anyone either," Silverbolt confessed, "I'll…I'll do my best. Which one is Dinobot?"
"He is a brown and blue mech with a reptilian raptor alt mode," Bitten explained, "He was once a Predacon, but has now become a Maximal. Megatron hates him, so it will be a challenge to keep your promise to me."
"He used to be a Predacon?" Silverbolt asked intently, "You mean it's possible to switch sides?"
"Yes," Bitten replied.
"Well why did this Dinobot person switch?" Silverbolt inquired, growing more excited by the idea.
"I know the reason, but cannot tell you," Bitten replied.
"Why not?" Silverbolt asked.
"Because I only know his motivations through our bond," Bitten told him, "Dinobot is a very private person, but he trusted me with his memories and emotional core. Therefore, I must keep these things in confidence."
"I understand," Silverbolt said solemnly, "You are a femme of honor."
"Funny, that is what Dinobot told me once," Bitten said, managing another half smile.
"I want to thank you," Silverbolt said, "You've given me a lot to think about."
With those words Silverbolt flew away through the same hole in the roof he crashed through. As his wings flapped in the air he looked down at Bitten, and then at Rhinox, before flying toward the fray of battle. Bitten watched him go, with only one thought on her processor…
I really should have asked him to patch that hole…
Was this physical space, cyber space, or the matrix? Rhinox's spark could no longer make out the difference between the three, and yet he soldiered on. He had to find Primal, and soon.
His theory was that Optimus Primal was not yet truly dead, but rather his spark had continued on in space without his body. A spark could survive for a short while in the cold vacuum of space, but if Rhinox didn't find it soon then all of his efforts would be for nothing. Primal would die, and Rhinox himself would die too.
He knew the risk he was taking with his life, and yet he felt everything would be worth it to save his friend and leader. They had worked together too long, seen too much, and shared too much sorrow for Rhinox to just give up on him.
They had seen their scientific advisory board go from a benevolent force of research to a mad laboratory filled with experiments that sickened their cores. They had watched extremist groups of Predacons terrorize civilians, blow up key Maximal buildings, and worm they way into Tripredacus discourse. They had survived with their team on this new hostile world with Megatron and his evil minions. Their lives were filled with adversity, but also filled with hope. Hope for Cybertron, hope for the Maximals, and on some level even hope for the Predacons.
Time no longer seemed to have meaning, and yet he still felt the relief of finally finding Optimus amid a sea of blackness. Was it a second, a minute, or a lifetime? He could no longer tell, and in this void it hardly mattered.
Rhinox. What are you doing here? Optimus asked him in concern. Have the Predacons defeated us?
No, Optimus. Rhinox replied. I have sent my spark to find yours. I am here to guide you home.
My spark feels…different. Optimus confided. I think it fused with something that exploded on my shuttle. I don't know what I will look like if I try to take a protoform.
It doesn't matter. Rhinox assured him. We need you, Optimus. We cannot allow Megatron to have this victory. Not like this. Not now.
Well, then…that's just Prime.
Dinobot had never felt so humiliated. Not only was his gun out of charge, but now the only way to escape Predacon gunfire was to ride on…eugh, it was too horrible to even think!
"Have you ever considered shavin' off a few kilos?" Rattrap asked as rolled across some rocks.
"Silence, rodent!" Dinobot snapped from his place…on top of Rattrap's alt mode, "To think a warrior such as myself is reduced to…rat patrol."
"Hey, you just charge up that peashooter of yours, and leave the drivin' to us," Rattrap quipped, enjoying Dinobot's discomfort.
Overhead Waspinator tried to shoot them down, but Rattrap expertly dodged every shot. The melee was so chaotic that it was hard to tell who was firing at who anymore. Cheetor shot down a fuzor, Megatron and Inferno somehow literally swapped helms for a minute, and Tarantulas was unconscious under a rock. Overall a typical fight, but this time they had more than a typical takeover to worry about. If Rhinox was disconnected from his weird new device, he was done for.
Rattrap decided the best tactic was to drive toward Cheetor so they could form a larger group. Slag, he loved having wheels! No wonder their ancestors chose vehicle modes so often. He had never felt so free.
When Rattrap and Dinobot made it to Cheetor's location, they could see he was already holding a fuzor at blade-point. It was the wolf-dog creature, and he seemed to have surrendered.
"About time you guys got here," Cheetor smirked.
"Yeah well, we'd have been here quicker if Dinobutt wasn't such a porker," Rattrap jabbed.
"Worst ride of my life!" Dinobot griped.
Dinobot…Silverbolt remembered that name from the femme's conversation with him a moment prior. So, this was the former Predacon. He didn't seem to get along with the Maximals, and yet there was a certain fraternal familiarity among them that the Predacons didn't share.
"So, what do we do with tall, dark, and ugly here?" Cheetor asked about the Predacon.
"You might as well destroy me," Silverbolt replied with resignation, "Go on, do it!"
Dinobot, upon hearing his cue, lifted his blade; ready to strike. As he swung down however, Rattrap and Cheetor used their own blades to block him and nonchalantly said "Nah!"
Dinobot looked affronted, and Silverbolt looked confused.
"Typical Maximal sentiment," Dinobot spat in disgust.
"Yeah, whatever Chopperface," Rattrap shrugged it off, "Just get Bowser boy to the CR chamber, pronto. Cheetor, you hold off the Preds. I'm gonna check on Rhinox."
Dinobot, seeing his chance for battle thwarted, unceremoniously lifted Silverbolt up by the scruff and shoved him forward. Silverbolt complied, still unsure of what just happened. Were the Maximals really this merciful? If so, then he had clearly joined the wrong team.
When the group returned to base, Dinobot literally threw Silverbolt into the CR chamber and slammed the door shut. Rattrap quickly checked on Rhinox, only to see Bitten was staring at the machine's readings without doing anything.
"It says the spark has returned to his body," Rattrap said with relief, but then he turned to Bitten and shouted, "Why ain't you unpluggin' him?"
"I don't know how," Bitten replied.
"Of course…" Rattrap sighed sharply.
Rattrap then pushed the buttons in the proper sequence to get Rhinox to come online. A moment later, the lumbering mech groaned and sat upright. Everyone was happy to see he was okay, though none of them showed it in a conventional way. Dinobot guarded the prisoner so Silverbolt couldn't break out and hurt Rhinox, Bitten stared at Rhinox, and Rattrap scowled at him disapprovingly for doing something so stupid.
"Where have you been, Rhinox?" Rattrap snapped.
"Where all are one," Rhinox replied cryptically.
Rattrap raised a brow ridge at this answer, but a crash in the protoform room distracted him from this train of thought.
"What the-?" Rattrap yelped.
"There's no time to explain," Rhinox told him as he stood up, "Just know that I have succeeded."
Before Rattrap could ask further questions, Cheetor's face appeared on the ship's visual comm system.
"Guys, the Preds are breaking through our defenses!" Cheetor warned them, "We don't have much time before they overrun the ship!"
"Oh, great. We're all gonna die," Rattrap moaned.
"It happens," Rhinox said stoically, "But miracles happen too."
Unfortunately for him, that sentence was punctuated by the windows breaking as the Predacons fired everything they had at the Axelon. The Maximals readied their weapons and began to fire, ready to make their last stand there. Bitten, unable to use her scream powers from such a distance, could do nothing more than watch as her bond mate and friends defended their home.
The Predacons fired, and the Maximals fired. All seemed lost as the ship rocked and rattled from the force of each impact. Bitten held herself and closed her optics, ready for the end. Even amid the gunfire however, her kangaroo ears picked up the sound of footsteps that didn't belong to anyone on the ship. One pair was Silverbolt, but the other was unrecognizable. Had the fuzors decided to ambush them?
When she turned and faced what could have been their end, she was instead greeted with a miracle.
