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Optimus Prime was in a fury: not only had these Decepticons taken his child; but they also rigged two buildings in different ways that caused the death of all inside them as a distraction: oh yes the first Decepticon to enter his crosshairs was going to meet the maker
"Would anyone care to explain how they got through the radar and the security patrols?" he asked his staff
No one was game to answer; even Rodimus was quiet and that took some doing. However before Prime could start ranting, one of the Autobot's spies walked in
"Sir. I believe I know who carried out last night's atrocities" he said
"Well, do enlighten us" Prime said and sat down
The spy, named Undercover placed a small hologram projector on the table and activated it: the Decepticon Infiltration Unit appeared
"I was reviewing a security tape of the commerce area and I saw this character here" he said and pointed to Counter Strike
"And these five are?" Ultra Magnus asked
"These five are the ones who managed to evade our security, break into two of the most secure buildings on Cybertron, rig them, and get Sharon" he said
Mutters of horror and shock spread across the room: five Decepticons managed to cause all this and no one picked up on them
"That doesn't explain how they did it" Rodimus pointed out
"Indeed. These five are the Decepticon Army's best infiltrators: the best in their respective fields: demolitions; sabotage; assassination; infiltration transport and deep infiltration missions" Undercover explained
"And" Magnus prompted
"Well, we can guarantee that the building that lies in rubble was rigged by this character here: Nitron Charge, an expert on anything that goes ka-boom" he pointed to said Decepticon
"The security building's malfunction will be the handiwork of Slipstream; this little bastard can hack anything known to man or beast and create total havoc with it" he pointed to Slipstream
"What about how they got it?" Rodimus asked
"That will be Nightflight, a large stealth bomber/transport plane" he said and moved on to the next one
"Now, Sharon's abductor was someone with almost no flaws in their skills: that will be Counter Strike: he's led several raids on Autobot facilities and each time he has been in and out before suspicions were raised" he told them of the infiltrator's history
"He is also obviously responsible for Sunstreaker, Goldbug and the two security guard's deaths" Undercover skipped over the subject as best he could
"And last but not least is the bot responsible for the three dead Security Units: meet Dead Centre, the chief assassin of the Decepticon army" Undercover finished and handed out data pads with all the relevant information on the group to all the seated Autobots
Optimus Prime looked at each holo image and burned the face of each member of this team into his memory banks: may Primus take mercy on them if he got his hands on them. He then stood up from his seat and the head of the table, and for the first time, the Autobots saw how big their leader was; and they also saw for the first time that the hands that signed treaties for peace were connected to the powerful arms of war: Prime was no stranger to combat, but what the others did not know was that he was also no stranger to vengeance.
"All stop. This has the highest priority. Find these five, find Sharon. That is what this army will live and breathe on until she is found. All levels of force authorised for use" he said quietly, but that voice held more rage, more anger than a primal scream
Then Optimus began convulsing and holding his head and he fell over
"Medic!" Rodimus cried out as Ultra Magnus went to help his fallen leader
Before Rodimus could go over and assist his friend; he was hit with a wave of something from the Matrix: a message from Alpha Trion
"Rodimus, you must not allow Prime's secondary protocol to activate, if it does. It will spell doom for almost all of our kind" the message was quick and simple
[What in the world is that: Secondary Protocol?] Rodimus wondered as he assisted Magnus in putting Prime on a stretcher
Once he was wheeled out; Rodimus turned to the men
"Okay; you heard the big man's orders. Get to it!" he snapped, getting their attention
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Sharon opened her eyes and looked around: she was in a dingy cell in a place she didn't recognise and her immediate memory was foggy
"What happened, am I on Earth?" she asked aloud
"No" a raspy metallic voice answered her question; she looked up and saw a Transformer; he bore the Decepticon symbol
"I must say that team did a marvellous job of capturing you, and as a very nice added bonus: hundreds of dead Autobots" she looked up to his face and shook in fear:
Galvatron
"Oh no" she whimpered
"Yes, my dear. You are on Char and you are my prisoner" the Decepticon leader gloated as he looked down on the smaller human being
Sharon scuttled into a corner and tried to block the voice out but it was no use: its malicious owner wasn't going to give up so easily and clanked over to her and stared her in the face: his red optics glowed with the madness Galvatron was reputed to have: and it stood out
"Your presence was request so that I might finally bring down Optimus Prime, once and for all" Galvatron cackled and left the room
Sharon took the time to look around the cell: it was a dank and barren, but due to the lava that ran all over Char only a few feet below the surface, the cell was warm and made of steel rather than stone, like some cells she had seen on Earth
[No rats at least] she thought and saw there was a large foam slab in one corner
Sighing she went over and lay down on it but no sleep would come to her: for red eyes haunted her dreams and mind all night
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Rodimus looked in utter disbelief at his leader: he was in a coma some thought at first but his brain was still buzzing with activity and he occasionally said something incoherent. It was as Rodimus walked in that the unbelievable thing happened: Optimus lifted his left arm and slammed the table he was on; then the whole arm changed:
It went black and grew a pauldron on the arm that went out to the side: it had an intricate pattern in ancient Cybertronian glyphs went across the limb, even to the tips of the fingers. Then the most frightening part: a long curved blade emerged from the elbow, nearly going past the shoulder in length
"What madness is this?" Rodimus was now very scared and he called Ratchet
The doctor took one look at Prime and knew what was going on
"Oh Primus, it can't be, please no" he prayed and begged at once
"What?" Rodimus asked
Ratchet looked at him, really bore into him and asked him a question
"Have you ever heard the legend of the Dark Prime?" Ratchet hissed
"No" Rodimus asked
Ratchet handed Rodimus a data pad and told him to check the reference in there. He then left with out another word. A confused Rodimus looked at the data pad and after deciding he could not help his friend by staying; he retreated to his own quarters to privately go over what Ratchet gave him.
"This is insane" he said after a few paragraphs
The Dark Prime was a legendary warrior of Cybertron. Although he is said to have many forms, the most commonly agreed on form is that of the Prime he emerges from with minor alterations. It is also said that the Dark Prime isn't some phantom or evil ghost but a living part of all Primes: they say he resides in the Matrix and slowly emerges from it: then comes the disturbing part of his transformation: it is said that the Matrix becomes his mind: so instead of having to access all the information of the past: he has it in his head as if they are his own memories
The Dark Prime is also reputed for having an almost god-like level of power. Speed; strength, ferocity and skills beyond that of most Primes: his emergence caused the phrase 'Secondary Protocol' to be coined. He only shows when his host is weakened, either emotionally or physically, so in effect he is likened to a back up program that gives new power, usually of rage to the Prime in question. The term itself fell into use to describe someone when he or she goes out of control, e.g.
'Whoa, no need to engage Secondary Protocol there'
Rodimus couldn't believe what he was reading: Optimus Prime, the one said by many as the most sane and rational of all Primes in history was becoming a Dark Prime. He wasn't going to allow this madness to continue. Without thinking straight, he marched back down to Optimus's room and he was dismayed: Optimus's upper torso had become black: it differed from his normal body by the top of his chest (where the truck cab windows were) had peaked and become pointed: it also had more of the strange glyphs
"Right, this is going to stop. Now" Rodimus said and went over and grasped his friend's hand and initiated a Matrix Link so that hopefully the two of them could speak
Rodimus felt his head go airy for a second and then he opened his eyes and saw he was in a white expanse and before him stood two beings: Optimus Prime and, the other one Rodimus devised was the Dark Prime. He was much taller than Optimus was and in his hands he held a large sword that bore the crest of the Matrix on its blade. A long red cloak adorned his back
"Welcome, Rodimus Prime" the Dark Prime said: his voice was deep but not the malicious kind
Rodimus was taken off guard by the welcome and more so by the sound of the Dark Prime's voice
"I trust you here to see about the welfare of your leader and friend, Optimus Prime?" he asked
"Yes" Rodimus replied
"Good. I see why you were the other chosen one. You have a lot of love and concern for your leader" he said
"All Autobots do" he retorted
"I know, but he is lonely and tired. Life thus far for him has been one long standing war. When I emerge I am going to put a stop to it once and for all" Dark Prime said and lifted his sword up.
Rodimus saw that although the side antennas stuck out to the side at extreme angles, the only major difference (aside from the colours), between the Dark Prime's head and Optimus's own was the single large horn in the centre of the head
"You aren't evil then?" Rodimus asked
At this the Dark Prime let out a loud and hearty laugh, almost friendly sounding too
"No, I am simply a being manifested from the emotions of my bearer. Some have been good while others have tried to embrace the dark side of life using me" he paused and looked at Optimus
"He is one who is using me to end a war. A deed neither good nor evil. But merely necessity" Dark Prime looked at the withering visage of his host and almost looked sad
"It is a shame that all the good must perish" he said
Rodimus felt like he'd been stabbed through the Energon pump when Dark Prime said that and grabbed the larger apparition and shook him
"What do you mean?" he cried out
Dark Prime lowered his gaze and spoke again in a solemn voice
"It is time you left this place, Rodimus Prime" he said
"What?" Rodimus was so confused by the new developments; that he started to act irrationally
"BE GONE!" Dark Prime commanded and brought his sword down, blade tip first into the ground
********************
On the outside, Rodimus was flung from the bedside to the wall, almost 35 feet away by and energy discharge emanating from Optimus Prime. Defeated; he decided to read the last line of the information regarding the Dark Prime
Rodimus Prime, leader of the Autobots for a time, warrior and all around hero then broke down
…'Dark Prime in all his appearances has caused the death of his host' was the final line on the mysterious being.
*********************
A/N: Sorry that this chapter is shorter than the previous two (but hey, Thomas Harris has a couple of chapters in 'The Silence of the Lambs which are only two pages long). But everything I wanted to achieve in a chapter was achieved here
And in regards to one reviewer commenting that Optimus Prime was acting OOC, to quote Jules Winnfield 'Well allow me to retort': Optimus Prime is acting that way because someone has just threatened him with war and in a more subtle way, his child; no one will have a sense of humour or diplomacy about that.