Chapter 18 – The Breaking Point
Outside the dark rocky mine, Ironhide keeps his gun aimed at the entrance and moves his head around to scan the area for Decepticons. Unknown to him, a large flash of green light streaks up behind him on the ground that quickly forms into the form of Optimus Prime as he transforms out of his cab mode and pounces on the ground fully changed. The tremor from his hard stamp shakes Ironhide a bit as he turns around to see the massive leader glaring at him with his hands clenched firmly on his sides.
"IRONHIDE!" the angry leader bellows at him. "Get back to HQ this instant! I'm through having to give you repeated orders that go ignored."
Ironhide was still a bit shaken from seeing and hearing Optimus appear so quickly, but then his look of surprise melted away and turned back to the mine keeping his gun on the entrance.
"Tough Prime...we're going to do this job right. If you haven't got the nerve to do this...then I guess we'll..."
"Be quiet, Soldier!" Optimus interrupts loudly. "This isn't some silly training mission that you can just do whatever you feel like doing. This is a war soldier...and when I give you a command, I expect you to follow it."
That did it for Ironhide; he scowled at the leader and yelled even louder at him. The time for dancing around the issue was over for him.
"That's right Optimus, it is a war! We need to do whatever it takes to finish this, instead of leaving Cybertron and looking for energy, we could have ended this whole nightmare in one finally push. But no...you'd rather let Megaton get away, help the humans, blah, blah, blah...there's a time for being a speech maker and time for doing some hard core action! So go away and a look pretty for the rest why don't yaw!"
Optimus Prime's eyes flared and his fist soon came straight at Ironhide's chin. The blow was so powerful it threw the Autobot right against the side of the mine and made him impact on the surface of it. Ironhide slumped down and held on to his chin in pain, looking up at Optimus Prime, he could see the leader was ready to give him another.
"Is that all you got..." the Autobot says to his leader. "Cause I got a score to settle with you over the deaths of our buddies on Cybertron."
"Damn you Ironhide...it's bad enough Megatron is trying everything in his power to end us all, but now you defy my commands and question my leadership as well. So you want to fight me? Come on then Ironhide. What are you waiting for? This is what you want isn't it? You want to beat into me and make me suffer for all those that died under my command don't you?"
Ironhide stands up and cracks his knuckles, "Ooooh do I."
"You want to blame me for everything that's happened, you want to take out all your anger so you can feel better about yourself..." Prime continues to say.
The gruff southern sounding robot lowers his fists as he tries to understand what Prime is getting at.
"Huh? That's not it at all..."
Prime lowers his guard down slightly and finishes his thought.
"Are you sure Ironhide? How many did you lose under your protection? Ten? Twenty? Fifty?"
"I...I...Don't remember...there were so many..." Ironhide's eyes become lost in thought as he tires to think.
Prime finally walks over to him and places his arms at his side.
"Ok Irohide...you want to hit me. Go ahead. I won't stop you...but I can tell you right now, it won't make up for all those that suffered and died because I had to make hard choices. Not even those that were lost under your command either."
Ironhide soon became overcome with sadness, his eyes widened as if the memories where too much to relive and dropped to the ground in anguish.
"I'm sorry Prime...I didn't mean to...Damn I'm such a fool. I guess this war has really got to me, it's been so long since we had some sign of hope...I guess I was just trying to justify all those deaths...so many good soldiers, so many friends. I'm so screwed up Prime."
As Prime towers over Ironhide, his eyes show his inner compassion and rest his right hand onto the somber Autobot sitting at his feet.
"No Ironhide...it's ok. I realize now you've been very frustrated about how things have been going...but we've got to stick together in these dark times my friend. Only together can we hope to win this war."
The robot smiles up at his leader and takes his awaiting hand to rise back up to his feet.
"You know...you didn't have to belt me so damn hard." he says to Prime with a smirk.
Prime laughs and taps Ironhide's head with his finger.
"Come on...one little blow to the noggin' like that shouldn't have hurt that dome of yours. I've seen you get much worst and still get up."
The two laugh as they bond once again, and then pulling up out of nowhere comes Jazz and Ratchet. Both flash out of their Trans-boost warp and quickly transform, both are taken back as they see Optimus and Ironhide laughing and shaking hands.
"What the-? Now ain't that somethin'? We drive like maniacs all the way here and there they are laughing it up." Jazz grumbles.
Ratchet smiles and pats him on the back.
"Look at it this way Jazz, at least we know everything is fine between them."
"Huh...maybe that's ok for you, I was looking to see a boxing match." Jazz snickers.
Optimus and Ironhide see the two of them and walk over to greet them both.
"What are you two doing here?" Prime says.
Ratchet nervously grins and points at Jazz.
"He made me do it."
Jazz smacks the medical bot's hand down and also speaks with some apprehension.
"Shut up man. Uh...well...you see Prime. I thought you were really going to murder these guys and well..."
"Never mind Jazz." Prime says shaking his head. "Now then, where are Cliffjumper and the others."
Ironhide looks back at the mine and sighs.
"Inside there. Look Prime, we had an idea to blow the Decepticons up while they're all crammed in ...so we built a bomb and..."
The leader raises his hand to signal the Autobot to stop talking and interrupts.
"Wait a minute. You did what?"
"Well, Cliffjumper was going to go in and try to take on Megs' himself...but then Bumblebee and Sparkplug thought it would be better to combine our explosives and crush them all."
Prime looks up at the mine.
"Not a bad idea...did you clear out the humans before they went in?"
Ironhide scratches his head.
"Uh...no. Didn't see any around here...I mean look." He says to the leader, pointing at all the equipment and vehicles lying about. "I think they all just up and ran when the Decepticons came in."
"Are you certain of that fact Ironhide?" Prime says with concern.
"Uh...no...Not really"
As Optimus starts to walk to the bottom area of the mine, the others follow him as he continues to talk.
"This is why I don't rush in when I'm not certain about the safety of the civilians. You men should have scanned the interior for life signs. We have no way of knowing if Megatron has taken them inside."
"Uh oh." Ironhide says as he stops dead in his tracks.
"Uh oh, what?" The leader asks him.
"Uh oh...we set the timer for only a few short seconds. If there are humans in there...."
Prime's eyes widen at the thought.
"Dear Primus! They'll all be killed! We haven't a moment to spare..."
The massive red robot transforms into his tractor-trailer mode and revs his engine.
"Wait Optimus...you won't fit in there in your transformed state. The mine shaft will be far too narrow.", Jazz screams at him over the sound of his engines.
Prime begins to drive up the narrow dirt path leading up to the entrance and shouts back at the concerned Autobot friend.
"I'll send in Roller. He's got the size and the speed to search out the others and lead them back out!"
As he continues to drive up the rocky slope, Ironhide looks at both Ratchet and Jazz.
"This is bad, they must have reached the area by now...there isn't time for this."
Inside the mineshafts, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper walk about in their robotic forms as they try to find the Decepticons. Sparkplug tries to keep to their pace, but having a smaller frame then them makes him pant as he starts to slow down.
"I..I can't keep this up..."
Bumblebee looks down at him and stops.
"Huh? Oh, sorry...guess we're moving too fast for ya."
Sparkplug crouches down and breathes for air.
"Just a little...I was a runner back in my youth...but I'm not built like that any more. Guess I'm showing my age."
Cliffjumper grumbles, "Enough with this chatter...let's keep it moving huh? We've got 'cons to bury here!"
Bumblebee is about to say something to Cliffjumper, who is being his usual rude self, when suddenly voices catch his ear and looks down the tunnel.
"Shhh! You hear that?"
Cliffjumper listens intensely too.
"Yeah...sounds like Megatron...."
Sparkplug musters up enough air to now rejoin them both, who now slowly sneak down the tunnel and where a soft white light is coming from. As they come to the edge of the archway, they all stick their heads around as if they were like a comedic troupe.
"Bingo", Cliffjumper whispers.
The inside of the hollowed out mineshaft is full of ruby gems glistening in the reflective light the Decepticons are using to illuminate the area. Megatron is proudly watching his men work as they dig and use their weapons to remove the crystals from the rock. Soundwave stands near the sliver polished leader with his chest plate scrolling the numbers of what they've collected so far.
"Excellent...the work has yielded more then enough.", Megatron chuckles. "These energon crystals will do wonders for our soldiers and give us the power to rule Cybertron forever."
Bumblebee scratches his head as he listens.
"Energon crystals? What? What are those?"
"Oh Bumblebee you knuckle head...", Cliffjumper says as he bonks his fist lightly on the yellow robot's noggin. "Didn't you study history?"
Bumblebee looks up at him slightly annoyed.
"As a matter of fact I didn't. Why? Should this be important or something?"
Sparkplug becomes angry at both of them, "Will you two pipe down! You'll get us noticed...come on, let's plant the bomb and get outta here!"
The two mini-Autobots nod at each other and help Sparkplug place the bomb near the arch. Sparkplug enters the countdown on the small electronic pad on the face of it and the timer begins to launch.
"That's it...come on...lets burn rubber guys!"
The three of them begin to walk fast, trying to let Sparkplug keep up and to not attract the Decepticons either, and soon get far enough up to where they are supposed to turn to the next tunnel to take them all out.
"Uh oh...", Bumblebee says as he looks down the four split tunnel entrances. "Do you remember which way we came in?"
Cliffjumper looks at the various ways to travel down as well and begins to sulk.
"Oh great! Just when this plan couldn't get anymore worst..."
Sparkplug has a look of confusion in his eyes and tries to remember.
"Damn...the clock is ticking and we can't remember which way we came in!"
Suddenly they all here Thundercracker and Skywarp again, the two Decepticons are laughing as they make their way back in the Autobots direction. Sparkplug runs over to one of the tunnels to his right and signals the others.
"Come on...hide over here. Once their gone we can figure it all out."
Cliffjumper tightens his knuckles and shakes his head.
"No. I'm through hiding and running from these guys. I want to put my fist right between their eyes."
Bumblebee groans and grabs the red robot.
"Oh come on..."
As they all bunch up inside the nearest man made hole, Bumblebee point his headlights away from the direction they just came from. His headlights are part of his feet, a kind of advantage to see where one is running. But as Thundercracker and Skywarp's voices become louder as they start to come past them. Sparkplug suddenly lets out a gasp that sounds of utter horror. Cliffjumper was about to scold the human for doing such a stupid thing, when he notices that the human is looking at something down the way. As both he and Bumblebee look, they too give a startling gaze of shock as they look on as well. Sparkplug looks as if he's going to throw up, and looks away. But as he opens his eyes in the other direction, he sees both Thundercracker and Skywarp staring at them all.
"Well, well, well...." Thundercacker says. "Looks like we found us a couple Autobots..."
"And a pretty pathetic human as well." Skywarp adds.
Cliffjumper and Bumblebee turn around to see the two Decepticons standing in the archway looking down at them. Both evil robots start to rub their fists and look at one another with smiles.
"Been a long time since I pounded me an Autobot...Guess I could do with a workout.", Thundercracker jokes.
Skywarp nods and laughs, "Yeah...these babies could use a snack before we go to the main course."
Cliffjumper couldn't keep his rage bottled up any longer, he screamed to the top of his lungs and pounced on Thundercracker like a crazed robot. Bumblebee lowered himself to the ground and swung his foot below Skywarp's legs, causing the Decepticon to fall to the ground. The two Decepticons viciously tried to battle the attacking foes, giving counter punches and what seemed like deadly wrestling moves. Sparkplug strolled out still bewilder by what he saw and then became struck with something else he forgot.
"Oh CRAP!" He shouted. "The timer!"
On the bomb's detonator, the digital numbers continued to scroll, until the last digit finally produced the triple zeros. There was a slight calm at first, as if all sound had been pulled in for a mere fraction of a second and then a massive white explosion appeared. The Decepticons inside the mine looked over at the blinding light as it enveloped them all. As Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were fighting, they noticed the light and fire heading their way; both they and the two Decepticon jets were shielding their eyes as it poured in. Bumblebee looked over at Sparkplug and jumped over.
"SPARKPLUG!!" he screamed as it came over them all.
Outside the mine, Prime opens up his back trailer and a small six-wheeled robot rover comes driving down off of it.
"Ok Roller..." Prime says to him in his transformed mode. "Go in and find the others. Understand...locate and retrieve. But no heroics."
The small dune buggy like vehicle could only give small bleeps and electronic whistles as a reply, Roller was more like a beloved pet to Optimus Prime then being a transformable robot like all of his kind is. Roller is merely a drone, but highly intelligent and very loyal to Prime. If it were to be compared to something, it most likely would be a dog. Lovable, loyal and an Autobot's best friend. The small land vehicle drove in, its built in headlights beamed inside the mineshaft and raced into the darkness. As Prime sat there waiting, he could feel the ground shaking and the rock face sliding off near him.
"What? What is happening??" The leader says in a worried voice.
Suddenly a massive explosion rips out of the shaft and the sheer force of the blast sends Optimus Prime rocketing off of the side of the mine and rolling him down the side of it. Still stuck in his rig mode, the Autobot flips uncontrollably smashing some of his windows and denting his metal framework. Jazz, Ratchet and Ironhide witness the huge blast and see their leader falling helplessly to his doom.
"PRIIIIIME!!!" Jazz screams out.
Crashing at the bottom of the steep rocky mine, Optimus finally lands topside of his tractor-trailer mode and shows no sign of movement after the dust slowly settles around him. The mountain implodes upon itself and sinks in like a massive sinkhole. The ground around the frightened Autobots splits into various cracks nearby, and as soon as the trembling stops, the rock mound that stood for thousands of years was now reduced to a pile of rubble. Ironhide and Ratchet quickly run over to the toppled leader and try to turn him over.
"Optimus! Optimus!! Say somethin'...anythin'?!" Ironhide says with a worried voice.
"Come on big guy..." the medical bot says to him as he tries to flip the leader upright. "Don't quit on us."
Jazz now runs over just as they finally get Prime on his wheels and looks at the badly beaten body of the brave leader.
"Damn man...this just can't be happening!"
"Ooohhh..." The low sounding moan rises from the damaged rig.
Jazz smiles and leans down at Prime.
"There you are...come man, talk to us buddy?"
"I feel..." Prime says in an injured tone. "I feel like someone put me in a cement mixer...with lots of heavy rocks."
Ratchet gives a sigh of relief, "Thank the matrix. Prime can you still transform? If you can't...well... I guess well have to tow you back to..."
"I'll give it a try.", Prime says interrupting Ratchet in mid-talk.
The sound of gears turning, metal scraping and the slow steady beat of his transformation makes the Autobots stand back with a look of concern. Jazz holds his fingers crossed for good luck and encourages the leader to finish.
"That's it...you're doing it...come on Prime! Transform!"
Optimus groans with pain as he slowly becomes partially complete, the final transformation of his hands, head and arms makes him sigh with joy, as he becomes the full robotic mode of himself. Stretching out his arms and twisting his neck, the Autobot leader looks at them all with a tired look on his face.
"What...what happened?", he asks.
Ironhide points to the mine that now lies in ruins and explains.
"The whole thing just exploded into a fiery ash! Boom! And then you got a jolt and tumbled down the side...I knew you were tough Optimus, but if I had any doubt before...well...consider me impressed."
Optimus Prime's eyes grew big as a thought strikes him.
"Roller!! Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Spakrplug!! Where are they?!"
The four Autobots rush over and begin to dig like they've never dug before. Boulders quickly get thrown over their shoulders as if it doesn't way anything to them, the speed and amount in which they work clears away a portion of the debris in front of them. Suddenly, a hand pops out of the rocky remains, a black robotic hand that struggles to wave to them all. Optimus rushes over and un-piles the rocks from the trapped figure. As he removes the last bit hiding the individual, he sees that it is Cliffjumper.
"Oooh, my aching head..." the mini red robot moans.
Prime and the others lift him up to his feet and brush some of the dirt off of his battered body.
"Cliffjumper? Are you alright?" Prime asks with concern.
The robot nods and smiles.
"A-OK...just tell Jazz to stop spinning around for a second."
The Autobots all look at each other in confusion and move the small robot out of the way as they continue to dig. The next one they find is Prime's beloved Roller. Turned on its side and moving it's wheels slowly as if it's still trying to drive.
"Roller...oh poor Roller.", Optimus sighs. "Tell me your not damaged too badly either little friend."
Ratchet picks up the small six-wheeled drone and looks at him carefully.
"He's not too bad, a few dents here and there, but I think he was spared the brunt of the blast."
"Down but not out, Roller is one tough lil' Autobot.", Jazz muses to the massive Autobot Leader.
Optimus takes Roller out of Ratchet's arms and brings him over to his waiting Trailer still sitting there. A simple command from the leader causes the trailer to open up.
"Activate mini station one."
The trailer splits open and unfolds to reveal a large gun turret and a robotic multi-armed crane that pops up from within. The sides have computers, a small repair bay and a ramp that looks like a car lift attached to pull any vehicle in. Laying the small drone in the repair bay side, the crane-robot begins to patch and seal the cracks and dents on Roller. Looking at the repairs being done to it, Prime looks down at Roller and gives a nod.
"Don't worry, you'll be good as new. At least until we can get you home."
Turning to Cliffjumper, who still looks shell shocked, he guides him over to the repair bay and plunks him down beside Roller.
"You too Cliffjumper. That hot head of yours needs to be looked after."
The dazed tiny mini red robot looks up at the leader and gives him a goofy grin. As soon as he gives him a thumbs up, the robot collapses as he shutsdown for repairs. As the group returns to unbury the debris, another black robotic hand pops out of the dirt. As they rush over and carefully dig around it, they see they have found Bumblebee who appears to be facing downward as they uncover him. The little robot moans as he tries to return to a conscious state. Optimus looks at Bumblebee as the robot turns to see his happy eyes gazing upon him.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm peachy Optimus..." The yellow bot says getting up. "But I think we may have a bigger problem with Sparkplug."
As Bumblebee rises up, Optimus sees that the mini Autobot tried to shield the fragile human from the blast. Unfortunately, the robot had nearly crushed the man to death. Sparkplug was battered from the rocks that flew at him and from the near fatal crushing weight from Bumblebee. Ratchet gasped in horror, as too did Prime. Together they lifted the broken man's body and while Ratchet transformed into his ambulance mode, Prime eased the human into the medical bot's opening back.
"Sparkplug...", Prime whispered in a somber tone.
The human fluttered his eyes and showed them he wasn't gone yet.
"Hey...how are you Prime? Sorry...sorry we didn't wait for ya."
"Shhh, easy now Sparkplug. Next time you guys get the urge to do this, you be sure to rig a smaller bomb, huh?"
The man tries to laugh at the leader's sense of humor, but the pain makes him cough and flinch in pain. As Ratchet closes his back door, Prime taps the top of ambulance's roof gently.
"Get him to Headquarters fast Ratchet...and don't stop for anything in- between. Just...just fix that brave man..."
Ratchet begins to drive away and shares Prime's concerned thought.
"Just watch me fly Prime."
The moment he gets a good distance away from the other Autobots, Ratchet Trans-boosts into overdrive and speeds with all haste to the Ark. Bumblebee stood there watching the human being taken away, and lower his head as if in shame. Optimus placed his hand on the small robot's shoulder and looked down at him.
"Ratchet will do all he can Bumblebee...it wasn't your fault."
"No..." The yellow bot says with sad eyes. "It was my fault. I should have never taken him here in the first place. How can I look Spike in the eyes after something like this? I nearly killed the man simply by trying to protect him. I've done it many times with other Autobot buddies, but I didn't even stop to think about how devastating it would be to someone like him."
Optimus continued to hold on to Bumblebee's shoulder with care.
"You did what any of us would have done...I'm sure even Sparkplug would have done the same to you if he could have. The blast would have surly killed the man instantly if you hadn't tried to protect him, his body might be broken, but I'm positive you made the right decision in those critical seconds."
Bumblebee slowly walks away, the leader's hand just slides off of him as he moves, and the tiny bot with his head hung low gives a sniffle and trails off in his voice as he responds to the leader.
"It still doesn't help. I could have murdered my best friends father...."
Jazz grabs Prime's arm as the massive Autobot tries to walk over to comfort the small yellow robot.
"Let be Prime...let him be. He just needs a moment to himself."
The leaders eyes lower and he shakes his head with pity.
"I know, I know...it's just not easy seeing him be exposed to this sort of thing."
Jazz lets go of the leader's arm and sighs.
"He had to grow up sooner or later Prime. You can't always keep him out of combat...let alone shield him from things that most of us have seen."
Optimus folds his arms together and lowers his head.
"All those years of combat...seeing friends die...good soldiers getting wounded...this is still the hardest thing for me to deal with, Jazz. No soldier truly gets over something like this...it cuts deep inside of us and leaves scares that no one can heal but time itself. Bumblebee is a good soldier and damn fine young Autobot, I just wanted him to stay safe and not have to witness such horrible things. He didn't deserve to have this happen to him..."
Bumblebee turns around quickly and looks as if he is about to cry. Having heard every word Prime and Jazz said, the anguish inside of him soon let loose.
"You know who also didn't deserve this?!" The small bot suddenly shouts out. "Those other humans...sweet Primus! Those poor helpless humans!! They're all dead...because of our stupid war!"
Ironhide sprints over and grabs hold of Bumblebee as he nearly drops to the ground in grief.
"Come on Bumblebee, take it easy...what are you yelling about? What humans?"
The yellow Autobot points with his finger in the direction of the mine ruins.
"In the caverns...we saw them...Cliffjumper, Sparkplug and I. Megatron...he...he..."
Prime kneels down to Bumblebee's eye level and stares straight at him.
"He did what Bumblebee? Tell us..."
The yellow Autobot looks up directly into Prime's eyes and shows his sorrow within them.
"The miners Optimus, He killed all of them. He tore them limb from limb and piled them into the cavern. Like spare parts...piled one on top of the other.... Oh sweet Primus! It was horrible!"
Optimus Prime rose up and looked back at the rocky filled crater.
"No..." He said in a quite defiant whisper. "Megatron, what have you done?"
Raising his fist and holding it tight, the transformer shook it with great anger.
"MEGATRON! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!"
Prime's scream echoed through the air and over the smoldering rock crater. Just then, a massive energy blast rips through the debris and the silver metal being raises up from the ground and into the air. Soon other Decepticons blast their way through and fly upwards to the sky, all looking badly damaged with blast marks on their bodies. Megatron flies high above and hovers over the Autobots looking shocked at his return.
"Done Prime?!" He shouts down. "I've done what I've always done. Nothing stands in my way for conquest, not Autobots, not even these weak flesh beings who dare to challenge us. Cybertron has always been the superior world Optimus, every other planet is ours to command and do as we see fit. This belongs to us! If not for you...then the true rulers of Cybertron, The Decepticon Empire!!"
Optimus screams at him with great anger, "You always destroy life Megatron! For you, death seems to be your only answer! I'm disgusted with your methods and beliefs, I'm through with your greed and ego, and most of all I'm through having to put up with the likes of you!!"
Prime brings up his gun from his hidden leg compartment it sits in and rapidly shoots at the evil leader who seems to be dodging his every shot.
"Pathetic Prime! A ship crashing into a volcano couldn't stop me, a bomb couldn't stop me, not even your new weakling friends could stop me with their useless weapon...and now...I know full well that YOU will never stop me!! I shall be the hand that conquers an entire Galaxy, and you will rot on this planet as the failed leader of a dead faction!!"
The Decepticon leader laughs away as he flies with the damaged armada, all of which seem to be slowly heading back to the Decepticon ship across the sea. Prime continues to blast away at him, and soon Ironhide and Jazz join in as they scream in anger at all the fleeing evil group. Two more blasts come out of the rock rubble, now both Thundercracker and Skywarp join Megatron as they fly up in their jet modes. As they pass by Optimus Prime and the others, they manage to send a couple of missiles at them, the impact hurls the bots to the ground and infuriates the Autobot leader even more. Quickly rising to his feet, Prime looks up and sees the Decepticon leader nearly out of his sight, the massive Autobot balls his fists up and screams with all his might at the evil transformer.
"MEEEGGGAAATTTROOONNN!!!!"
Outside the dark rocky mine, Ironhide keeps his gun aimed at the entrance and moves his head around to scan the area for Decepticons. Unknown to him, a large flash of green light streaks up behind him on the ground that quickly forms into the form of Optimus Prime as he transforms out of his cab mode and pounces on the ground fully changed. The tremor from his hard stamp shakes Ironhide a bit as he turns around to see the massive leader glaring at him with his hands clenched firmly on his sides.
"IRONHIDE!" the angry leader bellows at him. "Get back to HQ this instant! I'm through having to give you repeated orders that go ignored."
Ironhide was still a bit shaken from seeing and hearing Optimus appear so quickly, but then his look of surprise melted away and turned back to the mine keeping his gun on the entrance.
"Tough Prime...we're going to do this job right. If you haven't got the nerve to do this...then I guess we'll..."
"Be quiet, Soldier!" Optimus interrupts loudly. "This isn't some silly training mission that you can just do whatever you feel like doing. This is a war soldier...and when I give you a command, I expect you to follow it."
That did it for Ironhide; he scowled at the leader and yelled even louder at him. The time for dancing around the issue was over for him.
"That's right Optimus, it is a war! We need to do whatever it takes to finish this, instead of leaving Cybertron and looking for energy, we could have ended this whole nightmare in one finally push. But no...you'd rather let Megaton get away, help the humans, blah, blah, blah...there's a time for being a speech maker and time for doing some hard core action! So go away and a look pretty for the rest why don't yaw!"
Optimus Prime's eyes flared and his fist soon came straight at Ironhide's chin. The blow was so powerful it threw the Autobot right against the side of the mine and made him impact on the surface of it. Ironhide slumped down and held on to his chin in pain, looking up at Optimus Prime, he could see the leader was ready to give him another.
"Is that all you got..." the Autobot says to his leader. "Cause I got a score to settle with you over the deaths of our buddies on Cybertron."
"Damn you Ironhide...it's bad enough Megatron is trying everything in his power to end us all, but now you defy my commands and question my leadership as well. So you want to fight me? Come on then Ironhide. What are you waiting for? This is what you want isn't it? You want to beat into me and make me suffer for all those that died under my command don't you?"
Ironhide stands up and cracks his knuckles, "Ooooh do I."
"You want to blame me for everything that's happened, you want to take out all your anger so you can feel better about yourself..." Prime continues to say.
The gruff southern sounding robot lowers his fists as he tries to understand what Prime is getting at.
"Huh? That's not it at all..."
Prime lowers his guard down slightly and finishes his thought.
"Are you sure Ironhide? How many did you lose under your protection? Ten? Twenty? Fifty?"
"I...I...Don't remember...there were so many..." Ironhide's eyes become lost in thought as he tires to think.
Prime finally walks over to him and places his arms at his side.
"Ok Irohide...you want to hit me. Go ahead. I won't stop you...but I can tell you right now, it won't make up for all those that suffered and died because I had to make hard choices. Not even those that were lost under your command either."
Ironhide soon became overcome with sadness, his eyes widened as if the memories where too much to relive and dropped to the ground in anguish.
"I'm sorry Prime...I didn't mean to...Damn I'm such a fool. I guess this war has really got to me, it's been so long since we had some sign of hope...I guess I was just trying to justify all those deaths...so many good soldiers, so many friends. I'm so screwed up Prime."
As Prime towers over Ironhide, his eyes show his inner compassion and rest his right hand onto the somber Autobot sitting at his feet.
"No Ironhide...it's ok. I realize now you've been very frustrated about how things have been going...but we've got to stick together in these dark times my friend. Only together can we hope to win this war."
The robot smiles up at his leader and takes his awaiting hand to rise back up to his feet.
"You know...you didn't have to belt me so damn hard." he says to Prime with a smirk.
Prime laughs and taps Ironhide's head with his finger.
"Come on...one little blow to the noggin' like that shouldn't have hurt that dome of yours. I've seen you get much worst and still get up."
The two laugh as they bond once again, and then pulling up out of nowhere comes Jazz and Ratchet. Both flash out of their Trans-boost warp and quickly transform, both are taken back as they see Optimus and Ironhide laughing and shaking hands.
"What the-? Now ain't that somethin'? We drive like maniacs all the way here and there they are laughing it up." Jazz grumbles.
Ratchet smiles and pats him on the back.
"Look at it this way Jazz, at least we know everything is fine between them."
"Huh...maybe that's ok for you, I was looking to see a boxing match." Jazz snickers.
Optimus and Ironhide see the two of them and walk over to greet them both.
"What are you two doing here?" Prime says.
Ratchet nervously grins and points at Jazz.
"He made me do it."
Jazz smacks the medical bot's hand down and also speaks with some apprehension.
"Shut up man. Uh...well...you see Prime. I thought you were really going to murder these guys and well..."
"Never mind Jazz." Prime says shaking his head. "Now then, where are Cliffjumper and the others."
Ironhide looks back at the mine and sighs.
"Inside there. Look Prime, we had an idea to blow the Decepticons up while they're all crammed in ...so we built a bomb and..."
The leader raises his hand to signal the Autobot to stop talking and interrupts.
"Wait a minute. You did what?"
"Well, Cliffjumper was going to go in and try to take on Megs' himself...but then Bumblebee and Sparkplug thought it would be better to combine our explosives and crush them all."
Prime looks up at the mine.
"Not a bad idea...did you clear out the humans before they went in?"
Ironhide scratches his head.
"Uh...no. Didn't see any around here...I mean look." He says to the leader, pointing at all the equipment and vehicles lying about. "I think they all just up and ran when the Decepticons came in."
"Are you certain of that fact Ironhide?" Prime says with concern.
"Uh...no...Not really"
As Optimus starts to walk to the bottom area of the mine, the others follow him as he continues to talk.
"This is why I don't rush in when I'm not certain about the safety of the civilians. You men should have scanned the interior for life signs. We have no way of knowing if Megatron has taken them inside."
"Uh oh." Ironhide says as he stops dead in his tracks.
"Uh oh, what?" The leader asks him.
"Uh oh...we set the timer for only a few short seconds. If there are humans in there...."
Prime's eyes widen at the thought.
"Dear Primus! They'll all be killed! We haven't a moment to spare..."
The massive red robot transforms into his tractor-trailer mode and revs his engine.
"Wait Optimus...you won't fit in there in your transformed state. The mine shaft will be far too narrow.", Jazz screams at him over the sound of his engines.
Prime begins to drive up the narrow dirt path leading up to the entrance and shouts back at the concerned Autobot friend.
"I'll send in Roller. He's got the size and the speed to search out the others and lead them back out!"
As he continues to drive up the rocky slope, Ironhide looks at both Ratchet and Jazz.
"This is bad, they must have reached the area by now...there isn't time for this."
Inside the mineshafts, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper walk about in their robotic forms as they try to find the Decepticons. Sparkplug tries to keep to their pace, but having a smaller frame then them makes him pant as he starts to slow down.
"I..I can't keep this up..."
Bumblebee looks down at him and stops.
"Huh? Oh, sorry...guess we're moving too fast for ya."
Sparkplug crouches down and breathes for air.
"Just a little...I was a runner back in my youth...but I'm not built like that any more. Guess I'm showing my age."
Cliffjumper grumbles, "Enough with this chatter...let's keep it moving huh? We've got 'cons to bury here!"
Bumblebee is about to say something to Cliffjumper, who is being his usual rude self, when suddenly voices catch his ear and looks down the tunnel.
"Shhh! You hear that?"
Cliffjumper listens intensely too.
"Yeah...sounds like Megatron...."
Sparkplug musters up enough air to now rejoin them both, who now slowly sneak down the tunnel and where a soft white light is coming from. As they come to the edge of the archway, they all stick their heads around as if they were like a comedic troupe.
"Bingo", Cliffjumper whispers.
The inside of the hollowed out mineshaft is full of ruby gems glistening in the reflective light the Decepticons are using to illuminate the area. Megatron is proudly watching his men work as they dig and use their weapons to remove the crystals from the rock. Soundwave stands near the sliver polished leader with his chest plate scrolling the numbers of what they've collected so far.
"Excellent...the work has yielded more then enough.", Megatron chuckles. "These energon crystals will do wonders for our soldiers and give us the power to rule Cybertron forever."
Bumblebee scratches his head as he listens.
"Energon crystals? What? What are those?"
"Oh Bumblebee you knuckle head...", Cliffjumper says as he bonks his fist lightly on the yellow robot's noggin. "Didn't you study history?"
Bumblebee looks up at him slightly annoyed.
"As a matter of fact I didn't. Why? Should this be important or something?"
Sparkplug becomes angry at both of them, "Will you two pipe down! You'll get us noticed...come on, let's plant the bomb and get outta here!"
The two mini-Autobots nod at each other and help Sparkplug place the bomb near the arch. Sparkplug enters the countdown on the small electronic pad on the face of it and the timer begins to launch.
"That's it...come on...lets burn rubber guys!"
The three of them begin to walk fast, trying to let Sparkplug keep up and to not attract the Decepticons either, and soon get far enough up to where they are supposed to turn to the next tunnel to take them all out.
"Uh oh...", Bumblebee says as he looks down the four split tunnel entrances. "Do you remember which way we came in?"
Cliffjumper looks at the various ways to travel down as well and begins to sulk.
"Oh great! Just when this plan couldn't get anymore worst..."
Sparkplug has a look of confusion in his eyes and tries to remember.
"Damn...the clock is ticking and we can't remember which way we came in!"
Suddenly they all here Thundercracker and Skywarp again, the two Decepticons are laughing as they make their way back in the Autobots direction. Sparkplug runs over to one of the tunnels to his right and signals the others.
"Come on...hide over here. Once their gone we can figure it all out."
Cliffjumper tightens his knuckles and shakes his head.
"No. I'm through hiding and running from these guys. I want to put my fist right between their eyes."
Bumblebee groans and grabs the red robot.
"Oh come on..."
As they all bunch up inside the nearest man made hole, Bumblebee point his headlights away from the direction they just came from. His headlights are part of his feet, a kind of advantage to see where one is running. But as Thundercracker and Skywarp's voices become louder as they start to come past them. Sparkplug suddenly lets out a gasp that sounds of utter horror. Cliffjumper was about to scold the human for doing such a stupid thing, when he notices that the human is looking at something down the way. As both he and Bumblebee look, they too give a startling gaze of shock as they look on as well. Sparkplug looks as if he's going to throw up, and looks away. But as he opens his eyes in the other direction, he sees both Thundercracker and Skywarp staring at them all.
"Well, well, well...." Thundercacker says. "Looks like we found us a couple Autobots..."
"And a pretty pathetic human as well." Skywarp adds.
Cliffjumper and Bumblebee turn around to see the two Decepticons standing in the archway looking down at them. Both evil robots start to rub their fists and look at one another with smiles.
"Been a long time since I pounded me an Autobot...Guess I could do with a workout.", Thundercracker jokes.
Skywarp nods and laughs, "Yeah...these babies could use a snack before we go to the main course."
Cliffjumper couldn't keep his rage bottled up any longer, he screamed to the top of his lungs and pounced on Thundercracker like a crazed robot. Bumblebee lowered himself to the ground and swung his foot below Skywarp's legs, causing the Decepticon to fall to the ground. The two Decepticons viciously tried to battle the attacking foes, giving counter punches and what seemed like deadly wrestling moves. Sparkplug strolled out still bewilder by what he saw and then became struck with something else he forgot.
"Oh CRAP!" He shouted. "The timer!"
On the bomb's detonator, the digital numbers continued to scroll, until the last digit finally produced the triple zeros. There was a slight calm at first, as if all sound had been pulled in for a mere fraction of a second and then a massive white explosion appeared. The Decepticons inside the mine looked over at the blinding light as it enveloped them all. As Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were fighting, they noticed the light and fire heading their way; both they and the two Decepticon jets were shielding their eyes as it poured in. Bumblebee looked over at Sparkplug and jumped over.
"SPARKPLUG!!" he screamed as it came over them all.
Outside the mine, Prime opens up his back trailer and a small six-wheeled robot rover comes driving down off of it.
"Ok Roller..." Prime says to him in his transformed mode. "Go in and find the others. Understand...locate and retrieve. But no heroics."
The small dune buggy like vehicle could only give small bleeps and electronic whistles as a reply, Roller was more like a beloved pet to Optimus Prime then being a transformable robot like all of his kind is. Roller is merely a drone, but highly intelligent and very loyal to Prime. If it were to be compared to something, it most likely would be a dog. Lovable, loyal and an Autobot's best friend. The small land vehicle drove in, its built in headlights beamed inside the mineshaft and raced into the darkness. As Prime sat there waiting, he could feel the ground shaking and the rock face sliding off near him.
"What? What is happening??" The leader says in a worried voice.
Suddenly a massive explosion rips out of the shaft and the sheer force of the blast sends Optimus Prime rocketing off of the side of the mine and rolling him down the side of it. Still stuck in his rig mode, the Autobot flips uncontrollably smashing some of his windows and denting his metal framework. Jazz, Ratchet and Ironhide witness the huge blast and see their leader falling helplessly to his doom.
"PRIIIIIME!!!" Jazz screams out.
Crashing at the bottom of the steep rocky mine, Optimus finally lands topside of his tractor-trailer mode and shows no sign of movement after the dust slowly settles around him. The mountain implodes upon itself and sinks in like a massive sinkhole. The ground around the frightened Autobots splits into various cracks nearby, and as soon as the trembling stops, the rock mound that stood for thousands of years was now reduced to a pile of rubble. Ironhide and Ratchet quickly run over to the toppled leader and try to turn him over.
"Optimus! Optimus!! Say somethin'...anythin'?!" Ironhide says with a worried voice.
"Come on big guy..." the medical bot says to him as he tries to flip the leader upright. "Don't quit on us."
Jazz now runs over just as they finally get Prime on his wheels and looks at the badly beaten body of the brave leader.
"Damn man...this just can't be happening!"
"Ooohhh..." The low sounding moan rises from the damaged rig.
Jazz smiles and leans down at Prime.
"There you are...come man, talk to us buddy?"
"I feel..." Prime says in an injured tone. "I feel like someone put me in a cement mixer...with lots of heavy rocks."
Ratchet gives a sigh of relief, "Thank the matrix. Prime can you still transform? If you can't...well... I guess well have to tow you back to..."
"I'll give it a try.", Prime says interrupting Ratchet in mid-talk.
The sound of gears turning, metal scraping and the slow steady beat of his transformation makes the Autobots stand back with a look of concern. Jazz holds his fingers crossed for good luck and encourages the leader to finish.
"That's it...you're doing it...come on Prime! Transform!"
Optimus groans with pain as he slowly becomes partially complete, the final transformation of his hands, head and arms makes him sigh with joy, as he becomes the full robotic mode of himself. Stretching out his arms and twisting his neck, the Autobot leader looks at them all with a tired look on his face.
"What...what happened?", he asks.
Ironhide points to the mine that now lies in ruins and explains.
"The whole thing just exploded into a fiery ash! Boom! And then you got a jolt and tumbled down the side...I knew you were tough Optimus, but if I had any doubt before...well...consider me impressed."
Optimus Prime's eyes grew big as a thought strikes him.
"Roller!! Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Spakrplug!! Where are they?!"
The four Autobots rush over and begin to dig like they've never dug before. Boulders quickly get thrown over their shoulders as if it doesn't way anything to them, the speed and amount in which they work clears away a portion of the debris in front of them. Suddenly, a hand pops out of the rocky remains, a black robotic hand that struggles to wave to them all. Optimus rushes over and un-piles the rocks from the trapped figure. As he removes the last bit hiding the individual, he sees that it is Cliffjumper.
"Oooh, my aching head..." the mini red robot moans.
Prime and the others lift him up to his feet and brush some of the dirt off of his battered body.
"Cliffjumper? Are you alright?" Prime asks with concern.
The robot nods and smiles.
"A-OK...just tell Jazz to stop spinning around for a second."
The Autobots all look at each other in confusion and move the small robot out of the way as they continue to dig. The next one they find is Prime's beloved Roller. Turned on its side and moving it's wheels slowly as if it's still trying to drive.
"Roller...oh poor Roller.", Optimus sighs. "Tell me your not damaged too badly either little friend."
Ratchet picks up the small six-wheeled drone and looks at him carefully.
"He's not too bad, a few dents here and there, but I think he was spared the brunt of the blast."
"Down but not out, Roller is one tough lil' Autobot.", Jazz muses to the massive Autobot Leader.
Optimus takes Roller out of Ratchet's arms and brings him over to his waiting Trailer still sitting there. A simple command from the leader causes the trailer to open up.
"Activate mini station one."
The trailer splits open and unfolds to reveal a large gun turret and a robotic multi-armed crane that pops up from within. The sides have computers, a small repair bay and a ramp that looks like a car lift attached to pull any vehicle in. Laying the small drone in the repair bay side, the crane-robot begins to patch and seal the cracks and dents on Roller. Looking at the repairs being done to it, Prime looks down at Roller and gives a nod.
"Don't worry, you'll be good as new. At least until we can get you home."
Turning to Cliffjumper, who still looks shell shocked, he guides him over to the repair bay and plunks him down beside Roller.
"You too Cliffjumper. That hot head of yours needs to be looked after."
The dazed tiny mini red robot looks up at the leader and gives him a goofy grin. As soon as he gives him a thumbs up, the robot collapses as he shutsdown for repairs. As the group returns to unbury the debris, another black robotic hand pops out of the dirt. As they rush over and carefully dig around it, they see they have found Bumblebee who appears to be facing downward as they uncover him. The little robot moans as he tries to return to a conscious state. Optimus looks at Bumblebee as the robot turns to see his happy eyes gazing upon him.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm peachy Optimus..." The yellow bot says getting up. "But I think we may have a bigger problem with Sparkplug."
As Bumblebee rises up, Optimus sees that the mini Autobot tried to shield the fragile human from the blast. Unfortunately, the robot had nearly crushed the man to death. Sparkplug was battered from the rocks that flew at him and from the near fatal crushing weight from Bumblebee. Ratchet gasped in horror, as too did Prime. Together they lifted the broken man's body and while Ratchet transformed into his ambulance mode, Prime eased the human into the medical bot's opening back.
"Sparkplug...", Prime whispered in a somber tone.
The human fluttered his eyes and showed them he wasn't gone yet.
"Hey...how are you Prime? Sorry...sorry we didn't wait for ya."
"Shhh, easy now Sparkplug. Next time you guys get the urge to do this, you be sure to rig a smaller bomb, huh?"
The man tries to laugh at the leader's sense of humor, but the pain makes him cough and flinch in pain. As Ratchet closes his back door, Prime taps the top of ambulance's roof gently.
"Get him to Headquarters fast Ratchet...and don't stop for anything in- between. Just...just fix that brave man..."
Ratchet begins to drive away and shares Prime's concerned thought.
"Just watch me fly Prime."
The moment he gets a good distance away from the other Autobots, Ratchet Trans-boosts into overdrive and speeds with all haste to the Ark. Bumblebee stood there watching the human being taken away, and lower his head as if in shame. Optimus placed his hand on the small robot's shoulder and looked down at him.
"Ratchet will do all he can Bumblebee...it wasn't your fault."
"No..." The yellow bot says with sad eyes. "It was my fault. I should have never taken him here in the first place. How can I look Spike in the eyes after something like this? I nearly killed the man simply by trying to protect him. I've done it many times with other Autobot buddies, but I didn't even stop to think about how devastating it would be to someone like him."
Optimus continued to hold on to Bumblebee's shoulder with care.
"You did what any of us would have done...I'm sure even Sparkplug would have done the same to you if he could have. The blast would have surly killed the man instantly if you hadn't tried to protect him, his body might be broken, but I'm positive you made the right decision in those critical seconds."
Bumblebee slowly walks away, the leader's hand just slides off of him as he moves, and the tiny bot with his head hung low gives a sniffle and trails off in his voice as he responds to the leader.
"It still doesn't help. I could have murdered my best friends father...."
Jazz grabs Prime's arm as the massive Autobot tries to walk over to comfort the small yellow robot.
"Let be Prime...let him be. He just needs a moment to himself."
The leaders eyes lower and he shakes his head with pity.
"I know, I know...it's just not easy seeing him be exposed to this sort of thing."
Jazz lets go of the leader's arm and sighs.
"He had to grow up sooner or later Prime. You can't always keep him out of combat...let alone shield him from things that most of us have seen."
Optimus folds his arms together and lowers his head.
"All those years of combat...seeing friends die...good soldiers getting wounded...this is still the hardest thing for me to deal with, Jazz. No soldier truly gets over something like this...it cuts deep inside of us and leaves scares that no one can heal but time itself. Bumblebee is a good soldier and damn fine young Autobot, I just wanted him to stay safe and not have to witness such horrible things. He didn't deserve to have this happen to him..."
Bumblebee turns around quickly and looks as if he is about to cry. Having heard every word Prime and Jazz said, the anguish inside of him soon let loose.
"You know who also didn't deserve this?!" The small bot suddenly shouts out. "Those other humans...sweet Primus! Those poor helpless humans!! They're all dead...because of our stupid war!"
Ironhide sprints over and grabs hold of Bumblebee as he nearly drops to the ground in grief.
"Come on Bumblebee, take it easy...what are you yelling about? What humans?"
The yellow Autobot points with his finger in the direction of the mine ruins.
"In the caverns...we saw them...Cliffjumper, Sparkplug and I. Megatron...he...he..."
Prime kneels down to Bumblebee's eye level and stares straight at him.
"He did what Bumblebee? Tell us..."
The yellow Autobot looks up directly into Prime's eyes and shows his sorrow within them.
"The miners Optimus, He killed all of them. He tore them limb from limb and piled them into the cavern. Like spare parts...piled one on top of the other.... Oh sweet Primus! It was horrible!"
Optimus Prime rose up and looked back at the rocky filled crater.
"No..." He said in a quite defiant whisper. "Megatron, what have you done?"
Raising his fist and holding it tight, the transformer shook it with great anger.
"MEGATRON! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!"
Prime's scream echoed through the air and over the smoldering rock crater. Just then, a massive energy blast rips through the debris and the silver metal being raises up from the ground and into the air. Soon other Decepticons blast their way through and fly upwards to the sky, all looking badly damaged with blast marks on their bodies. Megatron flies high above and hovers over the Autobots looking shocked at his return.
"Done Prime?!" He shouts down. "I've done what I've always done. Nothing stands in my way for conquest, not Autobots, not even these weak flesh beings who dare to challenge us. Cybertron has always been the superior world Optimus, every other planet is ours to command and do as we see fit. This belongs to us! If not for you...then the true rulers of Cybertron, The Decepticon Empire!!"
Optimus screams at him with great anger, "You always destroy life Megatron! For you, death seems to be your only answer! I'm disgusted with your methods and beliefs, I'm through with your greed and ego, and most of all I'm through having to put up with the likes of you!!"
Prime brings up his gun from his hidden leg compartment it sits in and rapidly shoots at the evil leader who seems to be dodging his every shot.
"Pathetic Prime! A ship crashing into a volcano couldn't stop me, a bomb couldn't stop me, not even your new weakling friends could stop me with their useless weapon...and now...I know full well that YOU will never stop me!! I shall be the hand that conquers an entire Galaxy, and you will rot on this planet as the failed leader of a dead faction!!"
The Decepticon leader laughs away as he flies with the damaged armada, all of which seem to be slowly heading back to the Decepticon ship across the sea. Prime continues to blast away at him, and soon Ironhide and Jazz join in as they scream in anger at all the fleeing evil group. Two more blasts come out of the rock rubble, now both Thundercracker and Skywarp join Megatron as they fly up in their jet modes. As they pass by Optimus Prime and the others, they manage to send a couple of missiles at them, the impact hurls the bots to the ground and infuriates the Autobot leader even more. Quickly rising to his feet, Prime looks up and sees the Decepticon leader nearly out of his sight, the massive Autobot balls his fists up and screams with all his might at the evil transformer.
"MEEEGGGAAATTTROOONNN!!!!"