Chapter 21: The New Sparkling
"Galvatron?"
The sound of someone calling his name was what was brining him back from the AllSpark where he had been speaking with Primus. The next feeling it felt like he had walked into a human electric factory. His HUD warned him of a slight damage to his systems as something surged through them. The next thing his sensors picked up was something whacking his helm. For a brief second he thought he was back in the mines under Kaon. He dreaded having to online his optics and come faceplates with a Miner Guard.
"Galvatron!" the voice returned.
He didn't want to online his optics. He wanted to go back to the AllSpark. He shouldn't be alive after all that he had done. The lives that he had taken on Cybertron. He had killed and he had destroyed his home planet. He had tried to even take out the Prime, the very symbol of Primus during the Cybertronian War.
"Hey Galv, are you in there?" the voice spoke out again and this time the banging to his helm increased. The sound of metal and against metal pounding got louder as who ever was talking to him got concerned for him. Why should someone care for him? He was a monster! They should be concerned of him. He was the silver Warlord of Cybertron. He had crushed worlds and civilisations all across the universe in his search for power. He knew for a fact that there was still worlds out there that were governed by Decepticons that Galvatron had no need for them in the front lines when he had been Megatron. He knew that they still fought under the Decepticon way and they would not stop. The war would not stop. The war that he had started all those eons ago.
Nightshade. The name had come out of nowhere. The Dragonoid had been the first being that he had first meet in this dimension. She had been worried when he had first shown up and he could do nothing more than agree with her. She had kept him within her optics scanners at first. She didn't trust him and he agreed with her. He didn't trust himself when Primus had allowed him a second chance. But Nightshade had allowed him to have the second chance. It was something that he did not deserve. He had told Primus that he didn't deserve a second chance, but the Creator of the Cybertronians had told him that he needed the second chance if his Spark was to reconnect with the AllSpark after the damage that Unicron had done to his Spark the first time that he had tried to get to the Core of Cybertron.
He scanned his Spark to see that the wounds had mainly been healed after both Primus and Nightshade's Curse Breaker. Primus' influence had lessened as the more he fought alongside Nightshade. Nightshade's Curse Breaker was still in place, it would only be removed when Nightshade was sure that it was no longer needed. For now it was staying in place, but with Seth still running about and no doubt having made an alliance with Unicron. For whatever reasons as to why two Gods of Chaos from two different worlds and dimensions were working together it was beyond him and Nightshade. Nightshade's Cruse Breaker appeared in his virtual optics as a dark blue-green colour and it was a wall between the dark purple residue of Dark Energon and the possession of Unicron. Every time he looked at the Curse Breaker in his Spark he felt that Nightshade was close to him, even if she was not there.
His feelings had been changed over the past few months when it came to the Dragonoid. At first he treated her like he would a Predacon. He watched what he said when he was around them at first. He kept looking to see if there was any weaknesses he could see about the Dragonoid. He would have to keep reminding himself that Nightshade was not an enemy but an ally. He was no longer fighting in the war and he didn't need to keep one optic online when he was in recharge. He had learned quickly that he could rely on Nightshade not to stab him in the back. Slowly he started to see Nightshade as a friend like he did as Orion Pax. He and Nightshade had fought alongside each other as they fought against the Decepticons of her dimension and then to Unicron and Megatronus in his dimension.
The Battle for Cybertron had seen Autobots and Decepticons fighting side by side as they defended their world from Unicron again. Brotherly bonds that had been destroyed during the war had been restored as they all fought a common enemy. He and Nightshade had gotten a whole lot closer after he had freed her from Unicron's hold. When Nightshade was back to her full senses she was able to turn the tide of the battle against Unicron. He hoped to Primus and all the 13 original Primes that he would never have to cross blades with Shadowstalker again.
Shadowstalker was the opposite of Nightshade. Shadowstalker was everything that Nightshade hated and he had learned a lot about Nightshade in the few months. He had asked her a few times what it was like to be Shadowstalker but Nightshade had simple told him that he didn't want to talk about it and moved away from it. He had completely understood where Nightshade was coming from and had left it. He and Nightshade had both agreed that Shadowstalker was never going to make another appearance not even if she was needed.
"Galvatron!"
Nightshade. She had been in the room with him when Primus had pulled him into the AllSpark to warn him that something much bigger than Unicron. He had called it the Chaos Wars, but Nightshade and UNIT was calling it the Seth Wars. He had downloaded a data pad from UNIT when he had the chance and got enough information about Seth from both common knowledge about Seth the Ancient Egyptian God of Chaos. He knew that he would be at Nightshade's side and he knew that Optimus from this dimension would be standing at her side as the Avengers fought their greatest foe.
Slowly his optics began to online and the world slowly came back. His other sensors slowly came back online and he found himself lying face down on the ground. He detected something pulsing with energy beside him and he knew that it was Nightshade. He scanned the area for any of the other Avengers to see that they had all gone. No doubt they were heading to the museum in New York City. His optics moved towards where Nightshade was standing to see her sharp metal claws. He could just make out her tail that was swinging side to side. Pulling in air through his vents he pushed himself up with his servos and arms. It didn't take him long to stand tall and towering above Nightshade.
"How long was I out?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his helm.
"Around ten minutes! What happened?" she asked as she looked at Galvatron. Her emerald optics never left him as if she was afraid that he would go back into a stasis lock.
Galvatron looked up at the ceiling high above his helm and then back down to Nightshade. Since she had changed from Shadowstalker and back to herself there had been a few changes that had been happening to her appearance. It had started with her tail. Where there had once been a spike had been transformed into a tail fin that was very much like the fins of a Seekers jet form. She had been clumsy with them to start with, but now she was a master with flying with them. She found that she needed to twist them to make a turn in the air before she moved her wings. The next thing that had gone through an upgrade was her wings themselves. When folded up they looked like an extra pair of arms much like an Insectinoid. The next thing that had changed was her horns that had grew out of the back of her head know started to come out of her by wrapping around her eye socket and had taken the colour blue. The final change that had happened was her optics. What had once been red optics had changed into a piecing emerald.
These changes had been slow to begin with that Galvatron had not notice that Nightshade was going through an upgrade until the changes were right before his optics. It was so small that not even Nightshade had noticed the changes herself.
"Primus wanted to tell me that there is something big coming and we need to be ready for it!" he replied. He really didn't remember what Primus had told him. He just remembered the main message of what he was telling him.
Nightshade nodded her horned head in understanding. Her optics were shuttered for a brief second before they onlined again. "Galvatron I have been called to back to the Ark! I need to go there before I go to New York City!" she said to Galvatron.
"What's happened?" Galvatron asked as he watched Nightshade start to walk away from him. Her metal claws clicking against the metal ground of the New Avengers Facility. Her tail swung side to side and already her tail fin was twitching as she prepared to take to the sky. Without a second thought he followed her. He could sense that there was a reason why Nightshade had been summoned to the Ark. There was a part of him that he wanted to know why she had been summoned. The last time they had been in the Ark was when Galvatron had first met this dimensions version of him. Megatron was everything that he had once been when he had taken that name. He had remembered the fight between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Decepticons had viewed him as a traitor while the Autobots didn't know how to view them. He was glad that Nightshade had a strong alliance with Optimus Prime that he was treated as an ally and not a Prisoner of War.
Nightshade stopped so suddenly that Galvatron did not notice it until it was too late. His massive pede slammed into the ground just an inch away from the edge of her tail fin. Galvatron winched at how close he was to the delicate structure. He had been told by Nightshade that they were just as sensitive as the doorwings of a Paraxian if not more. They had found out by a mistake on both parts a few hours ago when he had just been a few feet away from Nightshade and he had taken a step away from her the fin reacted followed by her leaping into the air to get away from the new sensors she was getting use to. His optics rolled down to the ground to see how close his pede was to Nightshade's tail fin.
She looked up at him and did not spare a glance down at her tail fin. There was no point the sensors in her tail fin told her processor how close his pede was and that it was in danger of getting damaged by the large silver and black Mech. "Optimus has been speaking with his command staff about what they should do with Spike! They want me to help them come to the final decision of what should be done with the boy!" she explained to him.
"And what do you think should be done, Nightshade?" Galvatron asked her. He arched an optic ridge when Nightshade looked back down at the ground before looking back up at him. "You know a lot about humans! You know them better than I do and I am sure you know them more than Optimus makes it seem that he does!" he finished when those emerald optics looked back at him. He felt that he was looking at someone else rather than Nightshade. He had become so use to seeing red optics when he looked at Nightshade. He knew that he would have to get use to the emerald optics, as that was who she was now. He snarled inward at what Unicron had done to him and those around him.
Nightshade bowed her head. "Galvatron let me explain what happens when a human body is badly damaged!" she started to explain. "When a human body is badly damaged it will shut down as the pain is just to great for it to handle! What I think Optimus should do is to allow the humans to look after their own!"
"Nightshade!" came the Moonray's voice from all around them like a ghost playing with its next victims. The Moonray along with JARVIS and FRIDAY had been working together in running the New Avengers Facility.
"What is it Moonray?" Nightshade asked the AI that she had been working with for many years. The AI that had helped her during the Time War and when she had first crash landed on Earth all those years ago. The Moonray had stayed with her through all the good and the bad.
"I have received a message for Galvatron's dimension that has been rerouted to myself!" the Moonray responded. Its voice bounced off of all the walls in the room that Galvatron had gone into a stasis lock as he spoke with Primus.
Nightshade looked over at Galvatron. The large silver and black Mech was staring at the blue optic that was placed on the wall that gave all humans along with Nightshade and Galvatron to have something to look at when they were speaking to the Moonray. "Galvatron do you want the Moonray to send the message to your private HUD?" she asked him. She titled her head to the side as she got a better look at the large Mech.
"No its okay. The Moonray can speak it out aloud!" he said Nightshade but he was still looking at the blue light in the wall.
The Moonray was silent for a second. No doubt it was gathering all the information from the message that had come through from the dimension that Galvatron was from. "Optimus Prime from Galvatron's dimension has requested both Galvatron and Nightshade to get to Cybertron to talk about the Battle for Cybertron that had happened between the Cybertronians and Unicron with his Terracon army as I believe the Mechs and Femmes are calling them!" the Moonray said to both Nightshade and Galvatron. It did not mind that there was humans walking about but the humans had a thing to stay well away from Galvatron. SHEILD and UNIT had both had bad experiences with Decepticons raiding power plants and then the Autobots showing up causing more damage. They still viewed Galvatron as if he was still Megatron, and Galvatron did not blame them. he had caused great damage to the Earth in his dimension, but that had mainly been labs and military bases. "Optimus wishes to speak to both of you about the battle and where Unicron is at the moment! He also wishes to discus about the planets that are under Decepticon control and wants to know what should be done with them on getting all Cybertronians to know that the war is over!" the Moonray finished.
"We'll go to my dimension once we speak with the Optimus of your dimension and get all the messes sorted out!" Galvatron snarled. He was angry at himself. He was angry at all the insane Mechs that he had placed in control of these planets as Mechs and Femmes left Cybertron to get away from the War only to find themselves in a Hell that they had not seen coming. They were not soldiers or warriors and he had sent former Gladiators to these planets to govern over them. He would make sure that those worlds would be saved.
"Moonray open a Ground Bridge to the Ark!" Nightshade's voice spoke up and the next thing he knew was he was being swallowed up by the blue vortex.
00000oooooo00000
"How is he?" Nightshade asked as she walked into the med bay of the Ark. Her metal claws clicked against the metal floor of the med bay as she followed after Optimus Prime. All her scratches that she had gathered from her fight from in Sokovia against Ultron and his drones appeared under the golden glow of the med bays golden lights. They had already started to repair themselves and soon there would not even be a mark from her fight against the rouge AI and his mindless drones. Her red optics focused on the red and blue Mech who had greeted her as soon as she had landed outside of the massive Cybertronian ship that was embed in dormant volcano. Optimus had nodded his helm towards Galvatron who was following her like a lost puppy. In the short time that she had first meet Galvatron she was use to him being around her. There had been a few times that she could not help but watch him from the corner of her optics as if he was just waiting to make his move against them.
Optimus's sighed rumbled through the ground and up her metal claws that she could feel all of her joints vibrating. "That bad?" she asked tilting her horned head in question towards the large med bed that was holding a small form. She could see all the medical equipment that she had brought in over the years as Spike Witwicky kept getting in dangerous situation that only the Autobots could heal. Wounds that the Autobots had never seen before and where still learning about.
"He has his bad days and then there's days that he is up and talking! Sparkplug has been sent home due to his worries for his son! He's slowly killing himself with worry" Optimus explained as he looked at the small creature that lay sleeping on the med bay. Spike looked so small compared to the large medical equipment that surrounded him. His blue optics could not leave the small body that was just lying there. Spike had fallen asleep a few hours ago when his body screamed in pain. His screaming had caused great distress for Bumblebee that Hound and Jazz had to take the small minibot away from the med bay as Optimus called Nightshade. Nightshade had helped them in bringing Spike back to the Ark after the Decepticons had gotten their servos on their human ally. That had been a close call when they found out that Shockwave had come to earth and was interrogating Spike as he prepared on of his many experiments.
Optimus trusted Nightshade with his Spark. The Dragonoid had proven to be a liable ally of the Autobots over the many years that they had known each other. "I saw Sparkplug when I came in! I could see within the worry something else! Fear" he heard Nightshade say as she walked into his view. The clicking of her metal claws was heard above the beeping in the med bay. He could see in the corner of his optics Ratchet and Wheeljack arguing about something like they usual do on a daily basis.
"Optimus, what is going on? There's a reason that you called me here? Isn't there?" she asked. She could feel her optics narrowing as she tried to get the Prime to tell her what was going on. She could see Galvatron looking from her to Optimus Prime.
Again Optimus sighed. "We need to start thinking about possibilities that we can not save Spike! We know that someone was going to need to tell Sparkplug what we are planning to do!" he said to Nightshade and took a step back as her plating bristled like that of a wolf.
"I am not going to tell him, Optimus! If you are planning on switching the life supports you tell him!" she snapped as she allowed her elements to slowly take control. Black lightning danced around her and snapped towards the Autobot leader. "If that is why you called me here then I am just going to be an observer at best! I have other things that I need to worry about!" she snapped towards Optimus. She couldn't help it as her teeth slid down from their hiding place in her mandibles. She was ready to beat some sense into Optimus and she was sure that Ratchet would agree with her.
"Don't worry Nightshade! I fully intend to tell Sparkplug what we are planning to do! But I called you and Galvatron-" Optimus said looking at the large black and red Mech who stood beside Nightshade "-to give us a second and third opinion about our plans!" he said as he looked back at Nightshade.
Nightshade was so close to beating Optimus up that it took Galvatron's servo on her wing to prevent her from whacking her claws against his helm.
"What do you have in mind, Prime?" Galvatron asked. He knew Nightshade well enough to know that one wrong word and Optimus would be on the med bed next to the sleeping human. He had seen the damage that Nightshade had caused to the Terracons and the forces of Megatronus on his Cybertron. Her claws, teeth and even her elemental attacks where nothing to laugh at. He felt that he should do the speaking before Nightshade and Optimus started to go for each others throats, as the humans said. He did not want to see Nightshade being flung into the brig because she allowed her anger to get the best of her. He did not step away when Optimus looked at him. He could have sworn to he and this Optimus knew each other, but this was an Optimus from a different dimension. This was the version of his best friend that Nightshade knew a lot better than anyone else.
Optimus sighed once again. He knew too well that Nightshade was no doubt about to launch into her Undead side when she heard the different plans that they had come up with. "This has been discussed with all my officers and we are just waiting to see what the opinion is from you and Nightshade!" he said looking at Galvatron. He felt at the moment that Galvatron was the best person to speak to to keep a safety wall between him and Nightshade.
"Why do you need our opinions?" Galvatron asked. There had been many times during the war when he had come to see what Shockwave was doing to see that his scientist was just waiting for him to give the word for the go ahead as he at the time use to say 'tamper with the natural order'. That had seen the return of the Predacons in his universe. He hoped that these scientists would not cause any harm to the human. He had changed a lot since he was freed from Unicron's hold.
Optimus stepped closer to the med bed and Galvatron followed him. Nightshade was not for following them instead she was watching the Chief Medical Officer and the mad Scientist who like to blow everything up. Her optics never left the small device that Wheeljack was holding. The device that Ratchet was trying to take away from him and was failing as the smaller Mech kept dancing around the much larger white and red Mech. She decided to listen to what Optimus was saying before she decided to take action.
"We have a few options that like I said we have a few options that we need to discuss before I tell Sparkplug!" Optimus said still looking at Galvatron. He heard Nightshade's metal claws clicking against the metal floor of the med bay. He could feel Nightshade glaring at her he took in a lot of air to cool his system. "The first option that we have discussed is that we keep Spike connected to the life supports like he is just now!" he explained. He was still not braving to look at Nightshade in case she decided to bring her claws across his faceplates.
Galvatron took a step back and looked at the small figure on the large orange metal bed. His optics widened as he began to process what Optimus was saying. "That means that the human would not be able to leave the Ark! He will be cut off from the rest of his world! He will be stuck in this room and as far as the life supports will allow him to go!" he roared at Optimus. He could see that the Prime had tensed up at his words and could see his Energon Axe beginning to form.
"Optimus!" Nightshade said in a warning tone that caused the red and blue Mech to look down at the silver and black Dragonoid. "That is not fair for the boy! You have to understand this from our point of view! Spike will be forced to remain in the dark or within the walls of the Ark! He will have to watch as his people changes and evolves while he is forced to remain within these walls!" Nightshade explained to the leader of the Autobots. "He will go insane within these walls Optimus! If that happens it would be better to switch off the life supports to save his mind falling apart!" she finished explaining to him.
Galvatron nodded his helm in agreement with what Nightshade was saying. He looked back at Optimus.
"Thank you for your insight! The second option is an implant that allows an Autobot keep an eye on his vitals and also keep him company! So in a way the Autobot becomes a portable version of the life supports!" Optimus said the second option for what they were planning to help Spike their way. He could see that Nightshade was about to prevent him from saying anything else and take Spike somewhere where he could be able to seek human medical care.
"What happens if the Autobot gets wounded in a fight? What happens if the Decepticons find out about this and use this to their advantage on this? What happens if once again Spike feels like all of the Autobots are hanging down his neck? He'll want to get away just to feel human once in awhile!" Nightshade said. She had become the only alien in this room who knew about human psychology to help with this.
Optimus rumbled again. Another idea that had been shot down by Nightshade. He knew that she was only trying to help, but she was thinking long term while many of the Autobots just wanted Spike to no longer be in pain. He could see her points and he knew that Galvatron would be agreeing with her. The two of them were close. That happened with many Autobots. Fighting side by side in many fights causes a bond to form between soldiers. It allowed them to fight a lot better but it was also dangerous when one of them got wounded in the war.
"What's the final option?" Galvatron asked as Nightshade focused her attention onbthe bickering scientist and medic. The next thing she was away from Optimus side. A shadow moving closer to the two Mechs who had no clue that she was right on top of them.
The sudden roar and the crackling of black lightning was what forced both Optimus and Galvatron to look away from the med berth and towards the scientist and medic. The two Mechs were twitching on the ground as black sparks continued to snap at their circuits. Standing above them was Nightshade who held something in her claws. The device looked like a rifle but Galvatron had a feeling that it was not a weapon of war. Not with the way that Nightshade was reacting.
"Tell me that this is some form of joke that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had come up with?" Nightshade demanded as she thrusted the rifle into Optimus's servos. "Tell me that you are not planning on doing that!" she demanded as she stepped over the two down Mechs. Her sharp metal claws scrapped against the metal floor of the med bay as she did so causing a moan of alarm from the small form on the bed.
"It's a last resort Nightshade!" Optimus spoke up as he took the device away from Nightshade. He did not want her to damage the device that had taken Wheeljack months to create after the whole Autobot X fiasco. "Trust me Nightshade that I was not happy with this choice but there is nothing else that we can do! It will give him a second chance!" he argued to Nightshade.
Nightshade snorted towards Optimus Prime. "You can allow me to take him to a human hospital! There he can have medical care from healers who know human biology!" Nightshade argued right back at him. She had to step aside so she could still glare at Optimus Prime as Galvatron had stepped in between her and Optimus. "Optimus you can't do this to the boy!"
Optimus took a step closer to Nightshade. This was his base. He knew he had called Nightshade and Galvatron to help them decide with out side opinion. He needed to put his pede down and tell Nightshade that he had come to a decision. He knew that Nightshade would not like it, but he just needed to tell her and hopefully get her on her side. "Nightshade please listen to me! If we do this we will be able to protect Spike a lot more than what we are doing at the moment! It will also be the start of the next generation of Cybertronians! If we do this Nightshade I need to you to inform your human allies at the United Nations that Spike Witwicky is dead!" he ordered her in his baritone voice that he knew that no one could disagree about.
Nightshade took a step back as Galvatron grabbed Optimus by his shoulders and smashed him into the closest wall he could find. "Galvatron let him go!" Nightshade shouted as she tried to get closer to the two Mechs but Ratchet had placed a hand her wings causing the young Dragonoid to remain in her place.
"Nightshade no!" the old Medic shouted at Nightshade. He and Nightshade could only watch as the leader of the Autobots and the former leader of the Decepticons from another dimension shout and argue like children in the school playground.
Galvatron leaned in closer to the Optimus's battle mask. His red optics narrowed into slits as he stared in Optimus's blue optics. "Why would you ever consider that? What happens if your Megatron figures it out at what you have done he could use it to transform the human population to create a new army of Decepticons!" he snapped not even getting away from Optimus as he felt his anger growing. "Are you that desperate?" he snapped towards Optimus. He would never have thought that Optimus would do such a thing. He had thought that was something he would order Shockwave to do on the three human allies of his dimension.
Optimus rumbled another sigh as his optics moved over to Nightshade and Ratchet. "I have no other choice! I have am tired of watching the Mechs and Femmes who look up to me and who I have promised to protect get wounded! This is the only way for!" he said to Galvatron who slowly backed away. He then turned his attention to Nightshade. "I spoke with Sparkplug about this and he feels it is the best thing! Hide Spike in plain sight as Cybertronian and enemies would never think twice about seeking revenge on!" he said to the Dragonoid.
Nightshade could only stare. Everyone in the Ark was ready to do this. They didn't know how Spike would react. Looking at the ground and at her clawed feet she thought about the positives about this. There wasn't many positives but if Optimus was ready to take responsibility then who was she to argue. "Okay Optimus! Go with it! Just be ready to accept whatever consequences that come your way!"
Optimus nodded his helm and gave the rifle back to Wheeljack who was keeping as far as possible from Galvatron. Optimus turned to speak to Nightshade to see that she had walked up to med berth and was watching Wheeljack aim the rifle at the small body. In a blinding light that engufled the entire med bay Nightshade and Galvatron vanished. The blue swirling vortex snapping shut just as the light died down and a small black and white Sparkling lay curled up on the med berth in deep recharge.
This chapter is leading to a side story that I have been planning for a while but I don't know where it will be getting started in that I am still focusing on the Infinity Avengers series main stories. I know for sure that I will be adding more chapters to Redemption of a Fallen Warrior and just expanding on the universe as I do like to write about Galvatron and Nightshade.