Chapter 8: Ancient Evil
"This is a real Titan." Windblade commented, as she walked along the deck of Metroplex, with Optimus Prime beside her. "Does it speak?"
"I do." Metroplex boomed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, cityspeaker. Give my regards to Caminus."
Optimus frowned as he looked at the femme.
"Cityspeaker?"
"Yes. I've been trained in the art of cityspeaking by the mistress of flame. Caminus is a damaged Titan. He can only speak through contact with his brain module." She explained, looking down at the energon River that flowed through Iacon.
"You seem to have many responsibilities for someone so young." Optimus noted.
"As do you." Windblade replied. "You are the youngest Prime of the new era. You should hear the stories that spread about you on Caminus."
"I am spoken of on Caminus?" Optimus asked with genuine curiosity. "It is many systems away."
"We worship Primes on Caminus, Optimus. And with all due respect, it's been a very long time since there was a Prime like you." She said, looking at his faceplate. "You were not born a Prime, nor were you in the lineage. You were a policeman, yes?"
"Yes." Optimus replied. "My name was Orion Pax. I was...smaller...back then."
"So they say." Windblade replied with a smile. "They also say that you were touched by the hand of Primus, and made a Prime by his will. It is...hard to believe, I am not as religious as most. But I respect their beliefs."
"You don't believe I was touched by the hand of Primus?" Optimus asked lightly.
Windblade looked out at the horizon.
"You tell me, Optimus Prime. Were you touched by the hand of Primus?"
Optimus followed her gaze, and leaned against the edge of the railing.
"It is...hard to explain." He replied. "I was near death...I had been betrayed by someone close to me..."
"Megatron." Windblade stated. "We've heard about him too."
"Indeed. I fell into the very energon river that runs below us. It carried me...deep into Cybertron." He paused, trailing off. "Perhaps we should discuss what you are here to discuss, yes?"
"No." Windblade replied. "Continue. I want to know who I'm dealing with. Whether you are someone I can trust."
Optimus sighed.
"Very well. I was awakened by...a voice."
"Whose voice?" Windblade asked.
"She identified herself as Solus Prime." Optimus replied, looking into Windblade's optics for signs of skepticism, and seeing it flicker across her face.
"She guided me to this." He continued, opening his chest, to reveal the matrix.
Windblade stared into it, optics wide with surprise.
"The matrix? It was said to be lost...so long ago."
"When I touched it, I was transformed into the mech you see now." Optimus finished. "You do not have to believe me if you wish. Maybe it was all a vision. Maybe it was an illusion. All I know is that I am no longer Orion Pax."
Windblade nodded.
"I...don't know what to say." She said, as he closed his chest around the matrix. "The matrix is an ancient artifact, legend claims it once chose Primes. So...I will trust you, Optimus Prime." She said with a smile, holding out a hand.
Optimus shook it.
"That is appreciated, Windblade. Now, what were you here to discuss?"
"I am here to discuss the ongoing conflict on your world." Windblade replied. "And to offer, at the request of the Mistress of flame, that we align ourselves with your autobots, and provide you support." She said, crossing her arms.
"You don't agree, do you?" Optimus asked.
"My feelings on the matter are irrelevant, I am merely here on behalf of the mistress..."
"You have asked me for my story, so that you can trust me. I wish to trust you, Windblade." Optimus coaxed. "Do you agree with the Mistress of Flame?"
Windblade sighed, then turned her head to look into Metroplex's hangar, where the autobots were still working on repairing Sky Lynx.
"I don't like war, Optimus." She replied. "I've seen what it does to other worlds. What it's done to Cybertron. An entire city turned into a field of rust..." She said with a shudder.
"And you're right." Optimus interrupted. "This war is an atrocity. That's why I cannot accept your aid."
Windblade paused, and frowned.
"Wait. What?"
"Everything you said is correct. Cybertron is being crushed by this war." Optimus said, straightening out. "But it is Cybertron's burden to bear, alone. I could not accept the deaths of Camien soldiers because of a war they had no hand in."
"I...wasn't expecting that." Windblade admitted.
"I feel we may be close to victory." Optimus said with confidence. "And once the decepticon threat is dealt with, I will gladly enter into an alliance with Caminus. But only once the threat is contained. Please deliver this message to the Mistress of Flame."
Windblade looked shell shocked by the Prime's words, but she nodded.
"I will...deliver your message. You are certain this is what you want, Prime?"
"I am." Optimus replied firmly. "Caminus will not pay for our...for my mistakes."
Windblade turned toward the shuttle. She paused, and turned around.
"Your mistakes?" She asked.
Optimus let out a low vent, feeling the tension wrack his frame.
"When I was Orion Pax...I was an idealist. I suppose I still am. But I had a friend. A fellow idealist, with more...radical methods than I."
"Megatron." Windblade finished. "He was your friend."
Optimus nodded, his head hung down.
"Tell me, Prime..." Windblade began, as she looked to her shuttle. She paused. "As an ambassador and leader on Caminus, I would do anything for my people." She looked Optimus in the optics. "If it comes to it, even with your history with Megatron...will you be able to do what is necessary?"
Optimus narrowed his optics.
"My history with Megatron no longer matters." He replied. "He has left a trail of death and destruction in his path. I will do anything I have to do, to defend Cybertron from him."
Windblade turned and walked to her shuttle.
"I like you Optimus. You're more open than most politicians I deal with."
"We are both younger than most politicians." Optimus replied. "We just haven't learned to lie yet."
Windblade chuckled.
"I suppose we're both in over our heads." She said as she walked up the ramp. "Good luck with your war, Optimus Prime. I wish you a swift victory, and perhaps, a long lasting alliance. Till all are one."
Optimus nodded.
"Till all are one." He echoed.
His comm buzzed, as the shuttle took off.
"Optimus? It's Perceptor. You need to get to the laboratory immediately. I know what Megatron is after."
Prowl and Arcee were already in the lab. So was an impatient looking Ratchet.
"Is there a reason I have to be here?" Ratchet asked. "I'm still tending to Sky Lynx."
"Trust me doctor, you will want to be here for this." Perceptor replied.
Optimus walked in, to see Perceptor and Wheeljack standing in front of their large monitor.
They had a hologram of the manganese mountains projected in front of them.
"What do you have?" Optimus asked.
Wheeljack and Perceptor exchanged looks.
"You start, you're the Chief science officer." Wheeljack said with a wave of his hand.
"Now is not the time for pettiness. But very well." Perceptor replied. "Optimus, the drone picked up a...tremendous, almost absurd buildup of dark energon under the mountains. And I think we have a clue as to why...Wheeljack, if you would?"
Wheeljack walked over and played the drone's audio recording.
An intense, pounding sound filled the room.
"Ah, what the frag?!" Arcee exclaimed, covering her audios, as Prowl flinched in reaction to the loud noise filling the room.
Ratchet's optics widened. He walked up to the monitor.
"Are you certain this wasn't just the drone getting too close to one of the mechs?" He asked.
"This reading was taken at ten meters beneath the surface of the mountain, with full audio amplification from the drone." Perceptor replied. "The amplification was pointed downward."
Optimus looked to Ratchet.
"What is that sound?" He asked.
Ratchet looked back at him, audios still listening.
"It sounds like a spark beat, Optimus. But no regular spark beat. Like a...a collection of sparks beating as one."
"Or..." Wheeljack said, raising a finger. "One giant spark."
"You're saying there's something alive under that mountain?" Prowl asked. "Something pumping out dark energon?"
"Then Megatron has an unlimited supply of dark energon." Arcee said, looking at Optimus. "We have to disrupt the mining."
"What if he's not after the dark energon?" Ratchet asked. "Look, I'm not a soldier, I'm not a scientist the same way they are but...what if the dark energon is just part of it? What if they're trying to dig up whatever's down there?"
"Well we need to find out what's down there then." Arcee replied.
"What kind of creature would make a spark sound like that, and produce that much dark energon?" Optimus asked as he put his hand under his chin.
The intercom in the room let out a whistling sound, and the autobots all looked around in confusion.
Machinery whirred to life in front of them, and a hologram materialized, stepping down to face them.
A scaled down hologram of Metroplex, in his robot form.
"I know what is buried under the Manganese mountains." He stated, looking directly at Optimus.
The autobots exchanged looks, attention focused on the scaled down Titan.
"Well don't leave us in suspense here." Arcee urged.
Metroplex nodded.
"He is a relic of an ancient time in Cybertron's history. He proved a formidable enemy to me in those olden days...his name is Trypticon."
A chill went up the spines of the autobots as his name was spoken.
"The old Titan?" Prowl asked. "From those historical datalogs?"
"The same." Metroplex replied. "If Megatron is attempting to resurrect Trypticon..." he trailed off, a look of horror on his face. "You must stop him, Optimus Prime. At any cost. If Trypticon is awakened...all of Cybertron shall pay the price."
Megatron walked along the interior of the crevice, as more decepticon reinforcements flew in.
He looked down at his burned frame, still feeling the rage festering inside him.
He needed to release it, and soon.
"Shockwave, how far have we gotten?" He demanded. "What depth?"
"We've passed fifty meters, lord Megatron." Shockwave replied. "We should begin to see signs of it at any moment."
The ground beneath them began to shake, and then, as decepticons ran for cover, a large section of it collapsed, pulling in a pair of drilling machines, which plummeted down.
"Unfortunate." Bludgeon muttered.
Megatron walked past him, toward the edge of the collapse.
A giant hole had opened up below them.
"Megatron, do not step too close..." Shockwave began.
Megatron gave him a hard glare, then turned back to the hole.
And looked down.
The drilling machines had smashed off of a giant bulkhead below.
A giant grey bulkhead, with a purple glass slit running along its surface.
Megatron narrowed his optics, as a grin spread across his face.
It wasn't a slit.
It was an optic.
He was staring into a giant purple optic.
"Hello Trypticon." Megatron hissed.