Author's Note: Thanks to all those who reviewed this fic so far. Here is the fifth chapter of the story.
Disclaimer: You already know. Don't make me repeat myself.
Transformation
Chapter 5: Awakening
The Autobots turned, alarmed by the cry of anger and pain that Magnus let loose. Then they saw the badly-wounded form of Rodimus on the ground. Sparks were flying from the gaping hole in his chest, and fluids were flooding out of him. His brilliant red and orange color was fading to a dead gray shade. It was obvious that he was already too far gone for any medic to help him.
Galvatron laughed insanely. Then his laughter was cut off as blinding blue-white light erupted from inside Rodimus's chest. It engulfed him in light.
"The Matrix!" Magnus breathed.
Galvatron screamed in rage and lunged at the sphere of light. Magnus intercepted him, flattening him with a powerful right hook. Galvatron staggered and collapsed. Magnus towered over him, fist cocked to slam him again if he made one wrong move in the direction of the orb of blue-white light. Other Autobots converged on the city commander, batting Decepticons out of their way. They formed a protective circle around the brilliant orb of Matrix power.
"Destroy that sphere!" Galvatron screamed.
The Decepticons pounced on the Autobots, trying to get past them in order to destroy the sphere. The Autobots fought back, intent on protecting the sphere until they saw what would emerge. They managed to hold the Decepticons at bay until the sphere collapsed.
"Look!"
All eyes turned toward the sound of Hot Spot's voice. Even the Decepticons turned to see what had caused that outburst.
The light had vanished. In its place was a robot.
The bot was tall, taller than even Magnus, and very slender of build. His armor was light smoke-grey, handsomely patterned with jagged tiger stripes, alternating royal blue and vivid crimson in color. A long, thick silver-white braid hung out from behind him. His build was more humanlike, showing no signs of what his alternate mode might be. His features were very handsome. His armor appeared even more durable than anything any of the assembled Transformers had ever seen. He was unconscious.
"Wow," Blaster commented. "Cool."
"Nice look," Skydive agreed.
"Will he wake up soon?" Eject asked.
"I will make sure he doesn't wake up at all!" Galvatron lunged at the unconscious form of the reborn Prime.
Magnus yelled and moved to intercept him, but he was too slow. Galvatron pounced...
A striped arm shot out, catching him in mid-lunge and backhanding him so hard he flew backward and landed over 100 feet away. He staggered upright and stared as the new bot moved, shifting him weight onto his shoulderblades and then kicking out with his legs, flipping neatly to his feet. Narrow emerald eyes stared Galvatron down.
Ultra Rodimus straightened, flexing his hands. He looked down at himself, admiring his new build and paint job. He liked what he saw. Then he returned his gaze to Galvatron, and a wicked smile touched his face.
"Hello, Galvatron," he growled, his voice a deep bass rumble, deeper than it had been. "Wanna play?"
Galvatron screamed his rage and lunged at the Prime. Ultra Rodimus waited patiently, then lashed out with a powerful kick. Galvatron's chestplate crumpled from the impact. He went flying, landing heavily.
"Feel like trying again?"
"Decepticons attack!"
The Decepticon army charged him. The Autobots tensed to fight.
The battle was mostly hand-to-hand. Ultra Rodimus produced a massive double-bladed battleaxe and jumped in. There wasn't enough room for him to get a wide enough swing to sever torsos or cut Decepticons in half, but the wickedly sharp blades cut through arms and legs and necks, or bit deep into shoulders and backs. When his target was farther away, he pulled out a rifle and shot them down. The Autobots rallied and began pushing the Decepticons back. Wielding his massive axe, Ultra Rodimus was a force to be reckoned with, or avoided.
Eventually, even Galvatron could see that they were losing. He gritted his teeth.
"Decepticons, retreat!"
The Decepticons were eager to pull out. They extricated themselves from the battle and followed Galvatron away from Cybertron. The Autobot fliers chased them for a time to make sure they kept running, then circled around and returned to Cybertron.
"Now what?" Magnus wondered.
"Now I suspect that our resident medics and scientists are itching to get me into the city so that they can give me a full checkup," the striped Prime commented wryly, glancing over at the group, who were wringing their hands eagerly. "We'd better get unside before they start blowing circuits in their eagerness to see what makes me tick."
That statement was met with laughter and agreement. The Autobots began to swarm around the city, taking stock of the damage. The rest followed their reborn Prime inside.
In the repair bay, Ultra Rodimus lay back on one of the tables while the medics and scientists ran scan after scan, comparing notes and combining their data. Ultra Rodimus waited patiently for them to finish.
"I'm amazed by how patient he is," Magnus commented. "Rodimus Prime was never this patient. He hated checkups."
"All Primes hate checkups," Kup responded. "All but this one, apparently."
"I noticed. He's a lot calmer than Rodimus was in this situation."
"What do you make of what he told us? About what happened to him while he was with the Matrix? Do you think what he said is true?"
"It's the only thing that could explain his transformation. That light was coming from the Matrix. I think he's telling the truth. Otherwise his transformation would not have occurred. So I believe him."
Ultra Rodimus sat up. "Finished?"
"For the moment. We will need time to examine the data, and we may need to collect additional readings. Please do not go too far," Perceptor requested.
The reborn Prime considered that, then lay back on the table, crossing his arms behind his head. Magnus walked over to him.
"So you have a new name?"
"Yeah. Ultra Rodimus Prime."
"Bit of a tongue-twister," Magnus noted. "How about just Ultra Rodimus?"
"Sounds fine to me." Ultra Rodimus batted a strand of hair out of his face. Magnus touched the thick braid dangling over the edge of the table, then looked over at First Aid.
"What purpose does this serve?" he asked.
First Aid looked up. "It doesn't. As far as I can tell, it's just...there. It doesn't seem to have any specific purpose. It's made up of a complex mixture of organic and mechanical components, something the likes of which I've never seen before. It's fascinating. He might need a little help dealing with it, though."
Spike, standing on top of the monitor beside the table, tilted his head. "My wife Carly can give him some pointers on how to handle his hair. Women are always fussing with it, so if you need advice about what to do with it, ask a woman. I can ask her if she'd like to help."
"That would be very helpful."
Magnus lifted Spike down from the monitor. Spike thanked him and headed out of the repair bay, he walked in the direction of the comm center. Magnus lifted the tight braid, fiddling with the end of it. Ultra Rodimus watched.
"This substance is mind-boggling," Perceptor commented, and Magnus looked up.
"What substance?" he asked.
The scientist turned. "The metal that makes up his exo-armor. It is a mixture of the more common metals we use combined with something I cannot identify. The molecular structure is entirely unfamiliar to me. I was not aware such an alloy existed."
Ultra Rodimus turned to look at him. "Tell me everything you can about it. I'm interested in finding out what this new body is capable of. Remember, I'm the one who has to trust the most in its abilities and strengths. I'd like to know what it can and can't tolerate. That way I won't get into something that's beyond my capacity to handle."
First Aid nodded. "Good point. At least this version of you has sone common sense."
Ultra Rodimus snorted and bounced a discarded armor fragment off of the side of First Aid's head.
Charr:
Galvatron was pacing furiously, watched nervously by the other Decepticons. Many of them were in Trypticon's repair bay, having severed limbs reattached or gaping wounds closed. Some were so badly wounded that it would take days or weeks for repairs on them to be completed.
"We were almost victorious!" Galvatron hissed.
"And then the Prime was reborn and stomped all over us," Scourge grumbled under his breath, and Cyclonus nodded.
"I will find a way to destroy this new Prime!" the insane Decepticon screamed.
"It will take several weeks until all the Decepticons are ready to battle again, my lord," Cyclonus cautioned. "Until all the warriors are repaired, we will not be able to survive another counterattack of that magnitude."
He barely ducked the cannon fire that Galvatron aimed at his head.
Someone chuckled in the shadows.
Galvatron turned to find the unseen bot. "Who goes there?"
"Someone who can help," was the response.
"Identify yourself!" Galvatron roared.
"My name is Sixshot." A tall blue and white warrior stepped out of the shadows. "I am universally feared by any robot bearing the Autobot insignia. I can help you kill the Prime."
The insane leader studied Sixshot carefully. "What makes you so sure you can take him on?"
"I have yet to meet an Autobot who can withstand my strength. He will fall before me."
Galvatron laughed. It was an ugly sound. "Then you will tear him apart when next we face him in battle!"
Sixshot smiled. Galvatron laughed harder. The other Decepticons looked at Sixshot and shuddered, then began planning the next battle in their minds. They wanted revenge for what the Prime had done to them.
To be continued...
Five chapters down, who knows how many more to go. If you wanna know what happens next, you know what to do!