CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
XXX
"We found it."
Jack could not get out of school fast enough, Miko and Rafael hot on his heels as they found their respective guardians. Each one peeled out of the parking lot, Ratchet opening the Groundbridge as soon as everyone confirmed they were not being followed, bringing them to base. Even Vince joined in, though Jack figured it was because he felt it necessary after their agreement. He was promised a reward to participate - and participate he would.
Jack still had yet to talk to Arcee about it, begging Vince to give him time to broach the subject with her. The bully was nearly as impatient as the mech Jack was protecting him from, though unlike Megatron, Vince did not scare Jack nearly as much. Yet he did have something over Jack, information that could destroy everything - because how could he possibly deny it?
Focus. Now is not the time to worry about that.
Agent Fowler was already there, June being bridged from home to join the rest of them. Jack felt his grip tighten on Arcee's handlebars as they entered the base, taking a deep breath as his eyes landed on the Autobot symbol.
This is for Optimus. It was always for Optimus.
Even if it might not be anymore.
Once he slid off of Arcee she transformed, Jack quickly making his way up to the computers where Agent Fowler was standing, his mother greeting him with a quiet hug. The air was buzzing with anticipatory energy, Ratchet gesturing to the monitors with little ceremony, a purple Decepticon signal pulsing on a map.
"The Decepticon Spacebridge is located here," he pointed. "Deep within an energon mine."
Arcee was quick to deduce why. "Right next to a raw fuel supply. Clever. What's our intel?"
The pause between the question and answer went unnoticed by no one, Ratchet and Bulkhead glancing at one another before the quick-thinking medic provided an answer.
"A . . . reliable source," he assured her.
The two-wheeler did not care for that answer, giving him a seriously? glare. She was not stupid, and did not like the dodginess of the answer. However, she trusted Ratchet, and now was not the time to argue over something trivial such as that, thus she allowed it to slide.
"So, do we have a consensus?" Ratchet turned to their human friends, his optics trailing over each one. If this mission was to work, no one could back out of it.
Especially not Jack, the only one who Optimus trusted - foolishly, perhaps - to carry the Key to Vector Sigma.
The human cringed, internally. Stop thinking like that. Focus on the now. What's at stake. You could get Optimus back. You will get Optimus back.
"Do we know if humans can even breathe in your atmosphere?" June demanded, still not on board with the idea of her son going to a distant planet.
Jack felt a lump form in his throat, because he knew the answer.
Amicus had died instantly, the moment his container was breached.
The guilt which settled in his gut was borderline overwhelming, but he had to ignore it for now. Now was not the time to dwell on such things, even as they persistently beat against his mind.
"I'll hook Jack up," Agent Fowler assured the nurse, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder that almost made him jump out of his skin. "State of art. I still have some connections at NASA."
Jack stared at the hand on his shoulder, its firm grasp almost accusatory, and he grit his teeth.
June looked at her son as the special agent slid his hand away, her mother-bear expression morphing to one of immense sadness.
"It's too dangerous," she said, still trying to argue despite seeing the clear resolution in her son's eyes.
"Mom, I know it's hard," Jack wanted to agree with her, but he knew, deep in his heart, that he needed to do this. "But Optimus risked his life to save our planet, and he's not even human. We owe it to him."
I owe it to him. To them.
"Jack may be the only one who can do this," Arcee stepped in, offering June her own promises, "but don't think for one second that I will allow him to do it unchaperoned."
June stared at the guardian, remembering the day she had saved her from Airachnid. When Arcee risked everything to save a woman - a human no less - she didn't even know. And from there, the two-wheeler had proved time and time again that she would do anything to protect Jack. She reassured June she no longer had to take care of Jack alone.
"Not everyone is destined for an ordinary life," Ratchet said solemnly, "Optimus Prime was, once, Orion Pax after all."
The woman looked back to her son, suppressing the tears which came to her eyes. He was growing up so fast.
"When you were little," she said, unable to help but reminisce on better times, "you always wanted to be an astronaut."
Jack gave her a small smile, hugging his mother. He buried his face in her shoulder, allowing his expression to drop briefly, and the feelings to wash over him.
He had hidden the Key to Vector Sigma from Megatron this entire time - and that was because he still clung onto the chance to save Optimus. Now was that chance, and he could not afford to spoil it.
XXX
Within the hour Agent Fowler had a state-of-the-art spacesuit sent directly to Jasper, Nevada, which he obtained swiftly via Groundbridge. Jack had no idea who he called and who was on the other side to give him the sensitive equipment, yet it was all packaged neatly and ready for use, the Agent looking far from worried about clueing anybody in to the Autobot existence.
Once they were ready, Ratchet relayed the plan.
The easy part would be to Groundbridge in and take command of the Spacebridge, as the Autobots were used to utilizing stealth, and they had the advantage of Ratchet jamming their communications. The one issue with that would be, in turn, the Autobots could not send updates to their human comrades to assure them things were going to plan - not until they shut off the jammer, anyways. Still, it was either that or the odds became four-thousand to one in an instant, with Vehicons swarming the Decepticon Spacebridge and annihilating the Autobot infiltrators.
From there, they would have to ensure any action they performed was as quiet as possible. They ran the risk of alerting Soundwave - the ever watchful optic of the Decepticons - to their activities, however if the Spacebridge was still doing test runs, then surely a surge would go unnoticed. Nevertheless, it would be extraordinarily difficult.
"If Rafael can make it to the top of the rope in gym class," Ratchet finished, sounding confident. "Then we can do this."
"What does gym class have to do anything?" Miko asked, completely bewildered by the reference. "And if Ratchet gets to go on a commando-raid, then so do I!" She declared, clearly ready to rock n' roll.
"Miko, you are to remain with Rafael to monitor the Spacebridge and communications hub," Ratchet's optics flickered up. "With Agent Fowler and . . . Vince."
The redhead watched in amusement as the girl growled in anger.
"Can't go to Cybertron, can't storm the Decepticon Spacebridge," she muttered more under her breath, storming away from the edge angrily and bypassing the bully to pout on the couch. Vince rolled his eyes, finding this whole thing pretty dramatic.
It couldn't be that exciting, could it?
"Son, let's suit up," Agent Fowler told Jack. The junior hesitated for only a moment, then after a deep breath he nodded, following the Agent to a back room.
Though he was given plenty of privacy, the agent helped him figure out how to slide into the multiple layers. Jack cringed when he noticed the fading marks of a bite on his shoulder whilst sliding into the first jumpsuit, realizing his skin was even sprinkled with a few bruises he had otherwise not paid attention to, having accumulated them throughout the week.
Don't think about him. Think about the mission ahead.
He took a moment to compose himself, then slid on the actual spacesuit over his body, zipping it up after some wrestling around with the darn thing. There were so many zippers, clasps, and the neck piece itself was complicated enough. Of course, this was to ensure the helmet fit snugly and had no leaks, the pair of them testing the entire contraption to ensure it was not damaged in the slightest. Agent Fowler stood back while Jack practiced taking slow breaths, a proud grin on his face.
"You look like a true space explorer," he complimented.
"Thanks. It's kind of suffocating," Jack said, "but I'm guessing it's survival first, comfort second."
That earned him a chuckle. "Yes. That's why there's extra padding on the butt."
Jack had no idea if he was joking or not, but he snorted anyways, taking the helmet off just as they practiced, feeling a bit better.
"You ready?"
He looked at the Agent, taking a deep breath. This was just a mission to get the Key. What the Autobots did after that, how they got Orion Pax . . . Megatron would have no idea he was involved. He could keep this secret. He had to.
"As I'll ever be," he said.
The Agent escorted him back to the main communications hub, Jack practicing how he was going to walk in the bulky thing. It was not too bad, but he had to remember that Cybertron's gravity was different than Earth's - probably stronger, given it was a larger planet.
He passed by Vince, earning a sneer.
"Looking cute, Darby."
"Shut up, Vince," he hissed under his breath, the exchange going completely unnoticed by anyone else.
Agent Fowler stood just behind Rafael, looking over his shoulder as they waited with tense shoulders for the Autobots to report back. June chewed on one of her fingernails, an old habit she thought she had kicked many years ago. Miko paced restlessly, leaving Vince leaning against the railing while Jack waited at the ladder leading down from the hub to the Groundbridge. He hoped he was still in shape enough to make an indeterminate trek through a foreign planet. Granted, Arcee would be there, but still . . .
After several long minutes, a beep informed them someone was checking in.
"We have secured the Spacebridge." Ratchet's voice echoed through the comlink.
"That's your cue, son," Agent Fowler informed Jack, the older teenager nodded before he descended the ladder. Once he reached the bottom he took a few steps before carefully placing his helmet on, securing it in place just as Agent Fowler had demonstrated.
When he turned around Rafael was sliding down the ladder, his mom, Agent Fowler, and Miko already waiting for him. Vince just leaned on the railing, giving the junior one last snarky kissy face and a wink.
Jack wanted to smack the ever-loving daylights out of him.
"Be safe," his mother begged him, placing her hands on either side of his helmet.
He smiled again, trying to reassure his mother that everything was going to be okay.
"I will. Promise," he gently held one of her hands, his friends watching as he slowly turned around and headed into the portal.
Arcee was waiting for him on the other side, her servos on her hips as she smiled down at him. The Groundbridge closed behind her partner - there was no going back now.
"Ready?" She asked him.
He paused, taking out the Key to Vector Sigma, the object stored in one of the many velcro pockets on his legs. He held it up, gazing into the glowing light.
"Let's do this."
His guardian smiled proudly, Ratchet interrupting their moment to ensure they were all on the same page.
"I will be leaving the Spacebridge open, not only to minimize the distance for communications, but so you may locate it again once you have found Vector Sigma."
"Find?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Why not just bridge us to the Big V?"
Ratchet shook his helm. "The location of Vector Sigma is shrouded in mystery, Jack. It is said the path of the Primes leads there; we must believe Optimus will guide you."
Jack looked at the Key, its pulsating light appearing to agree with the medic. The young man had his doubts, however it was far too late to be turning back now. And if the Autobots had faith in this key, then surely he could too.
Without further ado Ratchet turned back to the Spacebridge controls, his precise digits typing in the coordinates for Cybertron. Jack took a breath, his anxiety not going unnoticed by the ever watchful optic of Arcee.
"Don't worry, Spacebridging is a lot like Groundbridging," she assured him.
Blue eyes centered on the portal array as he waited for it to power up, recognizing some of the basic elements of a Groundbridge which the Spacebridge shared. It made sense, he supposed, given how confident Ratchet had been at first when Miko suggested to "turbo-charge" the Groundbridge. Their sciences were cousins.
The portal burst to life, Jack suddenly feeling woozy as the powerful effects of the bridge almost seemed to tug at him, the droning of the swirling green gateway flooding his eardrums.
"Just a little more intense!" Arcee shouted over the noise, her optics sparkling. Jack chuckled a little - a little more intense was an understatement, to say the least.
He stepped toward the portal, hearing every cycle of the spacesuit's air systems whilst his blood pounded through his ears. Traveling across the world was one thing - this time, Jack was going to a completely different planet.
Cybertron.
The Spacebridge was a bit nauseating, his experience with Groundbriding proving helpful as the intense effects were negated. Arriving on the other side without feeling the need to puke in his helmet was reassuring, Jack taking a long moment to take in his surroundings.
Cybertron was dark, the scars of battle almost perfectly preserved due to its natural lack of weather systems. Broken and decrepit buildings littered the landscape, a sad shadow of what Jack could only imagine had once been great. There was nothing identifiable to tell them where they were, however he assumed Ratchet had bridged them into "safe" Autobot territory. Not even a gust of wind blew through, everything eerily silent.
Turning to his partner, Jack recognized the sad expression on her face instantly. "Arcee?"
Her optics swept across the landscape slowly, her gaze eventually dropping to look at the broken road laid out before them.
"This isn't how I wanted you to see my home," she said softly, sorrow coating every syllable. "During the war, we fought to preserve what we could, to protect every precious square foot the Decepticons couldn't touch. But once the dust settled . . . there wasn't much left to save."
Jack felt his heart falter, looking back over Cybertron solemnly. This had been their home, a place that had once meant peace and happiness. When Megatronus rose up, he had wanted to change Cybertron for the better.
Instead, Megatron had destroyed the very thing he had sought to save.
Icy claws ran down his back. And yet even that had not discouraged him from his goal; instead, it had driven him to another planet, one which he intended to rule as well, at any cost. Even if he destroyed it too.
"We should get going. Which way, partner?" Arcee was the one who broke the mourning silence, prompting Jack to pull the Key from his pocket and hold it out, waiting for . . . something.
Indeed, as he moved it around it flashed brightly, the light dying when it was not pointed in the right direction. Jack settled on where it glowed the brightest, nodding to his partner.
"This way."
Not needing any more encouragement Arcee transformed, Jack sliding onto her saddle. Taking a deep breath he gripped her handlebars, trusting his partner to navigate through the destruction which had once been her home.
The ride was done mostly in silence, Jack occasionally procuring the Key to continue pointing them in the right direction. As they passed through various buildings and infrastructures he tried to get his bearings, looking around as if he was going to recognize anything about this place.
He wondered where Iacon was, assuming that was the direction they were headed in. It would make sense that Vector Sigma lied there, chills returning when he realized that was also where Sentinel Zeta's palace had been.
It's where Amicus lived. And where he died.
Shuddering, Jack wondered if he was willing to even pass by such an eventful place. He grimaced at the idea of Megatron finding out . . . it was bad enough Jack was on Cybertron - if the mech was superstitious in any capacity, he would certainly flip his lid at the idea of Jack being in close proximity to Amicus' final resting place.
He pulled out the Key as they began approaching what was obviously a bridge, the device glowing as brightly as ever. "Straight ahead."
"Kaon?" Arcee asked in complete bewilderment.
"The Decepticon capital?" Jack's jaw dropped, looking up to see the looming structure of what he now deduced to be the Decepticon HQ. It's menacing spires were nearly concealed by the darkness of the sky above them, Jack able to make out an intact statue of Megatron settled above the entrance.
Just that alone made his anxiety spike, Arcee slowing down before they started across the bridge. Wordlessly her partner slid off, her transformation sequence noticeably quieter.
"We have to go on foot from here," she said, even her voice now much lower in volume. "We don't want to attract unwanted attention."
Jack chewed his lip. "Decepticons?"
"No." His partner looked towards the entrance of evil, her optics narrowed in a glare. "Vermin."
XXX
Orion Pax was too clever by half.
Megatron genuinely believed it to be a pity that the archivist's curiosity had gotten the better of him, breaking through even the most complex of encryptions to discover he was actually Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobot cause. Once his initial attempts to dismiss Orion's concerns lead to the data clerk deleting his progress - which, of course, was saved by Soundwave and therefore of no consequence - his patience had run out. The librarian would finish Project Iacon, or he would suffer immeasurable pain.
Megatron glared at the Nemesis screens, servos folded behind his back. It was such a shame, though he supposed Orion's spark had always been in the right place. Not with the Decepticons, and certainly not with Megatron's.
The tyrant did not know which one angered him more.
Soundwave interrupted his master's musings with a report, the Decepticon leader taking a moment to actually comprehend what the spymaster was showing him, realizing the delay in his computation.
"One of our sentries has been activated on Cybertron?" His optics narrowed. "When?"
The data across Soundwave's visor answered his question easily - it had been less than fifteen Earth minutes since the report was delivered to the TIC's CPU. It had been an Insecticon egg, and even more mysterious was its location: Kaon. A city-state Megatron had not visited in a long, long time.
"Autobot, or Decepticon?"
More information popped up. The sentry had not been intentionally activated, and judging by how it was on the offensive they could deduce it was either a case of mistaken identity or, more likely, an Autobot which had accidentally tripped the alert system. As the Insecticon was nothing more than a drone, the equivalent to an animal, it could not send coherent, detailed reports about the type of enemy it was engaging. Furthermore, due to the sheer planetal distance, its report had residual static which left parts of it questionable at best.
"So, there are still Autobots on Cybertron," Megatron mused darkly, "perhaps we should pay them a visit. What is the status on our Spacebridge?"
Soundwave took a moment to bring up the most recent report, immediately noticing a hole where one of the regular reports was supposed to show up. Without sparing a second he pulled more data, Megatron watching as his visor lit up. Breakdown might have okayed the lack of a report, but that did not account for why their Spacebridge was open. Judging by the timestamp of activation, it had been open for a long time, and was remaining as much.
The dictator growled. "The Autobots have found a way to infiltrate our Spacebridge and have set its course for Cybertron. The only reason they would ever dare take such a risk would be to restore their precious Optimus Prime."
The communications officer could concur with such a theory, the Spacebridge data log disappearing and instead becoming replaced with Groundbridge schematics.
"I will deal with this issue myself," Megatron left no room for argument, and though his confidence could easily be misconstrued as brazeness, Soundwave knew better. His master could certainly handle the Autobot threat. "So that I may once and for all destroy any chance of Optimus Prime ever returning to power!"
With a silent nod to indicate he understood, Soundwave activated their Groundbridge.
Not a half-second was wasted as Megatron made his way through, the energon in his veins buzzing with anticipation. The Autobots were intelligent, yes, and he could begrudgingly respect them for that. But they were not smart enough, and that is where they would always fall short.
"-chew through Vector Sigma before the Matrix fully reloads-" he recognized Ratchet's voice, immediately concluding exactly why they had taken such a high-stakes gamble and gone to Cybertron.
"So, Vector Sigma is more than legend," he surmised, the Groundbridge closing behind him and leaving the Decepticon to deal with the trio before him. "You Autobots have gone to impressive lengths to recover your leader. Be assured, I shall never underestimate you again."
Their defensive stances did not go unnoticed by the practiced gladiator, whose own armor was clamped down in anticipation for a fight. Once he realized his optics did not deceive him, he flashed the Autobots a ferocious grin.
"Now, I assume the one called Arcee will be stepping through that portal with a reloaded Matrix of Leadership in hand," he guessed, fairly certain the pathetic group had not added another to their ranks.
Ratchet, ever the knight in shining armor, stepped in front of the swirling portal, baring his blunt denta.
"We hold the Spacebridge at all costs!" He snarled, the three charging forward in an impressive display of camaraderie.
Megatron had taken on more intimidating opponents.
Bulkhead swung first, his large body an easy target and exposing plenty of weak points. Megatron ducked, fist colliding with a vulnerable cluster of wires poorly protected by armor. The Wrecker collapsed like a ton of boulders, Megatron twisting as twin blades came for his helm, even the feisty medic getting involved. He was pleasantly surprised, as usually Ratchet remained in the background - yet this planet had brought out the fight in Prime's watchdog.
He was, perhaps, the easiest to dispatch, Megatron's massive servo gripping his helm and throwing him across the Spacebridge without a scratch to be had on his silver plating. Without even a moment to breathe it was the scout's turn, the wisest of the bunch using his cannons to attack Megatron at a distance. He sneered at the bug, allowing the shots to smack his shielding, leaving his armor undamaged. Charging forward he lunged, Bumblebee trying to jump out of his reach a millisecond too late.
Gripping his shoulder Megatron threw him into the ground, unsheathing his sword as the scout rolled to a pitiful stop. He was going to do more than damage the scout's little voicebox, red optics zeroed in on his spark. Ratchet, ever protective of his former patients, threw himself into the tyrant, latching onto his sword arm tightly.
Instinct, tapered and refined by the pits of Kaon, prompted Megatron to throw himself forward and bring them both into a roll, using his momentum to summersault. Throwing Ratchet up and over he slammed the medical build into the nearest pillar, charging forward to finish the job.
"You're going down, Buckethead!" Bulkhead's entire weight smacked into Megatron from behind, sending them both toppling over the edge of the Spacebridge array. The tyrant snarled, the pair rolling as Bulkhead intentionally used himself to pin Megatron into the Earthen wall, one of his maces flying towards the Decepticon's helm.
Megatron dodged, his fist brutally uppercutting into Bulkhead's chin, knocking him off and giving the warlord half a second to remove himself from the compromising position.
Bumblebee came back again, shooting rapidly with the intent of running down Megatron's shielding, dodging the first punch toward his frame. Ratchet came down from above, Megatron growling as his vision was obscured by white and orange.
Servos latched onto armor, denting it with ease as he threw Ratchet into Bumblebee, both Autobots crumpling to the ground. Not about to leave anything unfinished, he grabbed both mechs by their helms and rammed them into the ground once, twice, going for a third when Bulkhead's pedesteps alerted him to the mech still up for a fight.
Both mechs were both roughly in the same weight class, however Bulkhead was likely the heaviest of the two, and Megatron had much more experience on how to throw his weight around. Sure, Bulkhead could easily defeat most enemies by sitting on them, however that only won so many fights - and it was assuming his opponents were not smarter than him.
Megatron feinted left, twisting right as the obvious trick sent Bulkhead flying in that direction, using his miscalculation to get behind the Wrecker and slam his fist into the back of his helm, dropping him for good.
His work complete, Megatron refocused on his original goal: the Spacebridge, and the femme who would be coming through it. Stalking back up to the portal he carefully waited, certain it would not be long before she inadvertently made her way through. He knew enough about the femme to know she was not as moronic as her mech counterparts, and could possibly figure out something was wrong based upon a number of factors. However, she would come through eventually, one way or another. She would have to if she wanted any chance of returning the Prime.
"Come, Arcee," he goaded softly, grinning as he unsheathed his sword. "So that I might end the lineage of the Primes for all of time."
"I cannot allow you to do that, Megatron."
He turned, noting the open Groundbridge's noise had been concealed by the roar of the Spacebridge. "And why should you care, Orion Pax?" The mockery was laced with his twisted amusement - amusement at Orion thinking he could stand up to him. "You are no Prime."
Orion's servo clenched into a fist. "That may be true, or another deception, but this much I do know: my sympathies lie with the Autobots, and you are not one of us!"
The natural grace of Optimus Prime was in the movements, however as Orion Pax called upon his swords and charged forward, Megatron could see the hesitation and uncertainty in his muscle cables as plain as day. Orion had no idea what he was doing, only attempting to stop Megatron with his meager weaponry before the warlord could complete his mission.
Despite his EM field pulled in tight, Orion's intent was broadcasted in the very obvious pull back of his arm, intending to stab straight into Megatron. Had he been a Prime, Megatron would have immediately assumed it was a bluff, however he was confident this was nothing short of a poorly executed jab.
His fist surged forward, Orion not getting within an inch of his armor as reinforced knuckles connected with the softer plating of his abdomen, purging all of the air from his vents and radiating intense pain along his receptors. He dropped like a rock, Megatron both amused and annoyed by how pathetic he looked.
"Your spark might be in the right place, Orion," he admitted, backhanding the mech and sending him fully collapsed into the ground. "But you have much to learn before you can hope to ever stand your ground against me."
Power surged through his muscle cables. Here, for perhaps the first time in a long time, his shot was clear. Orion Pax could not defend himself even if he wanted to. Though he was arguably still useful alive, Megatron was done - Soundwave could surely decode the rest of the Iacon file using the data Pax already produced, and the warlord could see clearly now that no matter what he was told, Orion would always stand against him. The friend he thought he had been was nothing but a lie, a fabrication the data clerk had used to develop his own following and seize the power right from under Megatron.
Power which rightfully had belonged to him.
He unsheathed his sword again, its blade glinting harshly in the light of the Spacebridge.
"A moment which, sadly, will never come," raising the weapon, he prepared to finally execute the last of the Primes.
"No!" Arcee's scream carried through the portal, the two-wheeler transforming and planting both of her feet into his back, her power easily carrying them both back into the main hub of the Spacebridge array.
The pair went tumbling, Megatron catching himself on his servos and lunging towards her, the slick two-wheeler sliding underneath him instead. She leapt up and planted her pede on his back once again, however this time he kept his footing, spinning with incredible speed and backhanding her out of the air. Arcee grunted in pain, servos transforming into guns the second she regained her balance.
Taking Megatron by surprise had been her biggest advantage, and now she had to avoid the claws which could easily rip her in half. Resorting to evasive maneuvers she shot at the tyrant, jumping out of the way before he could get too close, using Earth's decreased gravity to bounce around and stay out of reach. Intending to wear down Megatron's shielding she continued opening fire, yet the shots did little to deter him when he surged forward, servo snatching her out of the air.
Size difference was always something Arcee had been painfully aware of, as she was the smallest of many mechs and femmes, a build specifically designed for espionage and saboteur work. This was made only more apparent as Megatron's massive servo wrapped around her easily, slamming her into the pillar as his face became way too close to her own.
"So nice of you to join us for our little reunion," the dictator hissed at her, his red optics searing through her armor effortlessly. Arcee grit her denta, refusing to be intimidated. "Now, if you please, the Matrix!"
One of the few things Arcee had told herself was her main mission was to keep Megatron distracted enough to give Jack enough time to transfer the contents of the Matrix to Optimus Prime. So she mentally berated herself when she broke that vital rule and glanced over to her partner.
Megatron followed her gaze, realizing Orion Pax had risen to a kneeling position, but even worse was the stream of light which was beamed straight into the mech's spark, and the small figure which held the artifact from which it originated.
Jack.
XXX
A/N: Just as an FYI, I hate writing out episodes from the show; it can be difficult getting the dialogue and scenes correct, and it's just boring to me because there is no creative stimulation involved. So, don't expect there to be many chapters following the show outside of casual mentions or a brief summary where I can help it. I know some people balk at the idea of a story following the show's timeline and playing out events we already know happened, so this is just a reassurance that I am aware of this and share the same sympathies, and only use them as a very very last resort or to further the plot when needed. I hope you all continue to enjoy!
