Hello readers! Here is a new chapter for everyone. I hope everyone is having a good summer break and good luck with those who are still having finals! Thanks for all the reviews and favorites!
I don't own Transformers Prime as the show is owned by Hasbro.
Ch. 18: Treasure Hunt
"Orion, have you progress with Project Iacon?" Megatron asked calmly.
"It seems I am a bit rustier than I thought." Orion lied.
"Might that have anything to do with the nature of your afterhours research? Did I fail to mention that we would be monitoring your activities?" Megatron said before he brought up the picture of Prime onto the screen.
"Why does history portray me siding with the autobot aggressors and why did Starscream call me a Prime? I must know. Who am I?" Orion pleaded.
"You are my clerk. Now get back to work and decode that database." Megatron ordered. Orion paused for a moment and Megatron knew something was coming.
"No I would rather erase my findings then make them available for your questionable use." He said before he quickly erased the files. Megatron glared at him with a sneer before Orion started to walk away. It was all coming at him too fast now. Just the other night they were lovers in bed and now they acted like enemies. He had to do something fast. He was forced to pause and turn around when he heard Megatron chuckle darkly. He pressed a different key and the same data came up again, much to Orion's dismay.
"Did you think we wouldn't be tracking and documenting every iota of your invaluable research?" He teased before Soundwave came in with some interesting data on the screen. "One of our Centuries was located on Cybertron?" Megatron gasped.
"You told me our planet was dead." Orion pleaded.
"That is beside the point. Guards!" He shouted before pulling out his blade and flashing it dangerously near Orion's neck cables. "You will finish Project Iacon by the time I return or I will carve out your spark before your very eyes." He growled.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Megatron quickly regrouped with Soundwave on the bridge.
"The activity log indicates my space bridge was set for Cybertron and remains open." He said curiously to himself. "The only possible reason the autobots would take such a risk would be to restore their precious Optimus Prime."
Xxxxxx
"So Vector Sigma is more than legend." Megaton announced, making Team Prime tense at his arrival. "You autobots have gone to impressive lengths to recover your leader be assured I shall never under estimate you again."
Xxxxxxx
Elisa flinched in her sleep when an angry roar sounded in her dreams. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned as she slowly stood up. Phoenix's words still stung her spark, but she made up her mind. She turned so her legs were dangling off the side of the berth. She took a deep breath and placed booth feet on the ground before she slowly stood up with a hand on the wall. The pain was terrible and it made her vision blurry, nearly black for the longest time before she finally took one step with her good leg. She took another deep breath and then another step with her bad leg. She let out a bitter cry before falling to her knees. She sobbed in pain as tears came down her face. It seemed to go on for the longest but finally the pain started to go away. She took another deep breath and stood up. She gritted her teeth and started to walk again with her claws digging into the wall.
It was a long and steady walk, but soon she started to get used to a heavy limp. Some of the troops tried to help her as she walked towards the bridge, but she declined. She was breathing heavily by the time she got to the bridge door. She slowly approached the door and it opened, but much to her relief no one was paying attention to her. She looked around in confusion at what was going on because the room was deathly silent. She looked over and saw her carrier just staring into the font wall. She bit her lip to keep from gasping when she saw his servos were bleeding. She hurried over to him as fast her leg would allow, but he paid her no mind as he didn't know it was her anyway.
"Carrier what happened?" Elisa asked with concern as she took his large servo into her hands.
"Elisa…wha-what are you doing out of the berth?" He gasped in shock. His optics were wide as he saw that Elisa was standing right in front of him. He looked Elisa over and saw her leg was shaking slightly. "Oh baby." He cried before he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He cried holding her tightly.
"Carrier what happened?" Elisa asked gently again looking at his servo.
"It's nothing baby. Nothing to worry about." He smiled gently before he picked her up and carried her into his room. Elisa noticed some claw marks on the walls and looked at him.
"What happened in here?" She asked.
"I…I got a little angry." He said quietly. Elisa wrapped her arms around his neck and started purring against his chestplates. Megatron clung to her tightly as he listened to the sound as he brought her to his quarters. Soon the stress started to get to him and he fell asleep before Elisa did. She looked at him and saw that he was asleep and she had to smile. She kissed his cheek before she too fell asleep against her Carrier.
Xxxxxxxx
Elisa woke up when her Carrier stirred in his sleep. She looked up at him and he smiled down at her.
"Hello Elisa." He said gently.
"Carrier can you get your servos looked at please." She begged quickly seeing the dried up energon.
"Only if you will let Knockout check out your leg." He added.
"Deal."
He grumbled as he got caught but he helped Elisa to her feet and they slowly got over to the medical bay.
"Knockout can you look at Carrier's servo please?" Elisa asked kindly. His optics went wide when he saw Elis standing there.
"Ye-yes Elisa. Please sit down too." He said quickly giving her the nearest chair. Knockout quickly repaired his left servo before moving on to his right. When he started to work on them Phoenix walked in.
"What are you doing here?" Phoenix asked unamused.
"I walked here." Elisa said calmly.
"I doubt it. Carrier's here." She smirked back.
"She walked here Phoenix." Megatron stated firmly.
"I don't see Orion anywhere. So I take it you lost him?" She said bluntly. The glare he gave her confirmed Elisa's internal question. "So what now?" She demanded.
"Nothing that concerns you." He stated firmly.
"Whatever…figures." She said bitterly. "It's all Starscream's fault by the way." Phoenix said to Elisa. She looked at Phoenix confused and unsure of what to say. "He had to go and start blabbing his little mouth." She snapped.
"Phoenix get out now." Megatron growled deeply. She rolled her eyes before she left the room. Knockout silently continued to work on the injured servo. When he was done Megatron pointed to Elisa.
"Ok lift up the leg please." Knockout asked quickly. She did as she was told and Knockout looked over the brace. He saw that her leg was bleeding so he took the brace off and cleaned the wound. "The wound will keep bleeding as long as you keep walking Elisa. As long as you keep moving it will heal properly and the bleeding will stop on its own, but until that time you need to change the bandages every day." He explained.
"Thanks Knockout."
"Do you need some meds I know it has to hurt, plus that limp looks really terrible." He said with concern.
"No thank you. I'll be fine." She answered kindly. He looked over at Megatron who only nodded in agreement. Megatron stood up and helped Elisa to her feet before he they walked over to the bridge. "May I ask what happened?" She asked cautiously.
"Orion discovered our fabrications." He answered quietly.
"I'm sorry Carrier." Elisa said sincerely.
"However, some good came out it. Orion decrypted three coordinates for us before leaving. I am going to go and search the first set of coordinates momentarily with a mining crew." Megatron explained quickly.
"Would you like me to help?" She asked again with caution.
"It's too risky to have you on the field right now. I can't afford for you to get hurt again." Megatron said firmly.
"Ok Carrier. Good luck." She said with a squeeze of her hand.
Xxxxxxx
Even though everything felt normal again Optimus Prime didn't feel normal. He couldn't remember his time on the Nemesis and it bothered him to no end. Recharge was hardly peaceful that night. His dreams were filled with blurry images and distorted sounds. When he tried to dig deeper that was when the screaming started. Someone was screaming in pure agony and he remembered blood…too much blood. From a distance he saw a tiny figure wither in agony as it continued to bleed. He wanted to help, but he couldn't. It was as if he was frozen on the spot. He just could not move! Finally the figure looked at him and all he could see was two bright blue eyes filled with pain.
He gasped awake, breathing hard. His servo was shaking as he collected his thoughts. The only thing he could think of was that it was Elisa. Elisa was the only one on the Nemesis that had those bright blue eyes. She had been hurt in some way when he was there, but he couldn't remember what it was or why it had happened.
He wondered if she was alright.
Xxxxxxxx
Elisa jumped when Megatron slammed his servo onto the monitor desk.
"The spark extractor was in my grasp!" He snarled in anger. "I should have removed more than that scout's voicebox when I had the chance." Soundwave quickly came up to him showing the other two coordinates. "Indeed Soundwave, we still have two more sets of coordinates which Orion decrypted before departing our ranks. Let us see what other long lost treasures we might be reunited with."
"Carrier what are you looking for?" Elisa asked quietly.
"Something that could help us defeat the autobots." He answered.
"Were you talking about Bumblebee?"
"Unfortunately yes." He muttered. He remembered Tyger Pax and how the scout dangled from his claws. He refused to give the information so if he was going to silent about that then he might as well be silent forever.
"Sorry Carrier, I didn't mean to upset you." She said quietly breaking his thoughts.
"I'm not upset Elisa. However I wish to speak to you about Phoenix." He said seriously.
"What about her?" She said with hesitance.
"Did she upset you the other day?" Elisa looked away from him as her twins bitter words rose into her head all over again.
"No Carrier." She lied.
"You don't have to lie to me." He said gently bringing her face up to his own.
"It's really nothing to worry about Carrier." Elisa insisted.
"I know she hurt your feelings the other and that's why you started walking so soon. Isn't little one? Megatron whispered.
"I…I didn't want to disappoint anyone." She pleaded.
"I'm not disappointed in you. In fact I am very proud of you because of the strength you have shown." He smiled before he kissed her forehead. "You know you can always talk to me right?" She nodded yes in understanding. He kissed her again before he walked out of the bridge and headed towards the medical bay.
"Figure it out yourself!" Phoenix's angry voice called out from Soundwave.
"Soundwave stop he doesn't need to worry about this. He has his own things to worry about." She insisted. Soundwave didn't say anything for the longest time and he finally gave up and went back to his post.
Xxxxxxxxx
"Aaah excellent work Knockout." Megatron said happily as he returned with the artifact.
"I live to serve Lord Megatron, but what exactly is it?" Knockout asked confused. Megatron only smirked before he fired at him. Elisa gasped and a few troops dove out of the way as Knockout tried to block it. Suddenly a giant energon shield emerged and blocked the shot before it disappeared again.
"Now you know." Megatron stated. Elisa let out a sigh of relief.
"I think I leaked a little transmission fluid." Knockout gasped. Phoenix burst out laughing as Knockout quickly left the room.
"You seriously can't let Knockout have the shield." Phoenix said after he had gone.
"Why not?" Megatron asked calmly.
"He'll break it." She protested.
"It's not a weapon of mass destruction."
"Like the spark extractor." She muttered. Megatron frowned, but didn't say anything. "You should let Arachnid and I get the next device for you Carrier."
"Out of the question."
"Why not?!" Phoenix whined.
"How about the fact that Arachnid tried to leave Earth when Carrier was battling Unicron?" Elisa snapped. Phoenix gritted her teeth before answering.
"Well if it wasn't for your precious little seeker than we wouldn't be in this predicament." Phoenix snapped. Megatron watched in caution and in silence for the moment.
"He didn't know-"
"Because he left!" Phoenix finished for her.
"I know that Phoenix." Elisa insisted.
"Starscream caused too many problems and he tried to kill Carrier on more than one occasion. He should be left to rot out there." Phoenix spat.
"He helped me when you and Carrier were gone all those years. I can't just throw him away like scrap." Elisa pleaded.
"I can." Phoenix stated firmly.
"You never liked him anyway. You hated him all your life."
"Of course I do. I always have and I always will." Phoenix spat back.
"Well you're just as bad as he is then because you didn't care when Carrier lost brainwave activity when he was in stasis." Elisa shot back.
"You take that back right now you little liar." Phoenix growled.
"I'm not lying. You told me yourself that during your travels with Carrier all he thought about was himself and his right to rule. Don't you dare say that you didn't!" Elisa shouted.
"That's enough." Megatron insisted, but the two femmes ignored him.
"I didn't say anything like that. Take it back right now." Phoenix growled.
"No! I'm not lying. You're just as bad as Starscream is." Elisa snapped.
"Take it back you CRIPPLE!" Phoenix roared.
"Phoenix enough." Megatron snapped.
"TRAITOR!" Elisa roared back. Before Megatron could react Phoenix charged at Elisa and tackled her to the ground.
"Elisa! Phoenix! Stop!" Megatron shouted as he tried to separate them. Phoenix punched Elisa hard in her temple, causing her to become temporarily dazed, which allowed Phoenix to land several hits in her bad leg. Elisa screamed in pain as Phoenix was ripped off of her by Megatron. Reacting fast he threw her towards the door as she easily landed on her feet. Phoenix growled deeply glaring at Elisa. "Phoenix that is enough! Soundwave escort her to her quarters and don't let her leave." He ordered.
"What? You're joking right." Phoenix smirked. A tentacle wrapped around her arm and pushed her forward to show that this was no joke. When she left the room Megatron looked down at Elisa and saw her leg was bleeding.
"Carrier I'm sorry!" She cried. "I wasn't lying. I wasn't lying." She sobbed into his chest.
"I know baby. I know." Megatron whispered as he held her close. He picked her up and carried her over to the medical bay.
"What happened?" Breakdown gasped as he saw them come in first.
"Elisa and Phoenix got into a fight."
"Are you…oh my!" Knockout gasped as he saw her leg. Megatron laid her down on the medical bay and Knockout took off her brace making her flinch. "That's a cheap shot." Knockout muttered as he worked.
"Get her to her room when you're done. I have business to attend to." Megatron frowned as he left. Knockout watched him leave and when he looked back at Elisa, her face was away from him as she silently cried in bitterness. Soundwave stood stationed at Phoenix's door as instructed. "Remain here." He ordered before he went in.
"You've always taken her side. She's your favorite." Phoenix spat.
"I have never taken sides between you two." Megatron said calmly. "I don't have favorites either."
"Don't lie. She's your favorite because she'll bow to your every whim just like Orion Pax did." She said angrily.
"Phoenix I've had enough of this nonsense. Elisa is your sister and I know that even after this is all over she will still love you."
"That's her problem. She's weak."
"It's what a sister does Phoenix. She'll always love you even if you don't." Megatron said accusingly.
"Like you know what love is." She spat at him.
"Just because I don't know what it is exactly doesn't mean I don't feel it." Megatron snapped back. "I am doing all of this for you and your sister!"
"No you're not. You're doing it for yourself!"
"When I am gone I want to know that you and Elisa are safe and that no one will hurt either of you. I want both of you to have a happy life in the end. I am doing this for you! Because I love you!" He shouted. Phoenix stepped back from him, unsure of what to say. "And just so we are clear if you call Elisa a cripple again I WILL throw you in the brig." He growled before he left. "I don't want her leaving the ship." Megatron ordered Soundwave. He took the order in his usual silence before he went to Elisa's room. When he arrived Breakdown and Knockout were comforting her and being playful. The instant he saw her, the anger in his spark just melted away as if nothing happened and he had to smile to himself.
"Feel better pretty girl." Knockout said with a wink.
"Knockout I have a set of coordinates for you and Breakdown to attend to. Check with Soundwave." He said quickly.
"As you wish Lord Megatron." Knockout said before they both left.
"They're such a cute couple Carrier." Elisa smiled.
"Are you alright?" He asked sitting down next to her on the berth.
"I'll be fine." She said gently.
"I love you both. You know that right?" He asked with concern.
"I know. I love you too Carrier."
Xxxxxxxxx
He smashed on the cube three times, but nothing happened.
"Hmmmm it doesn't look like a Fortress Maximus grade nucleon shock cannon." Knockout said curiously.
"It is as I suspected, without the power of a Prime to activate it the Forge is merely another addition to our tool chest. One that we must none the less keep far as possible from the reach of a Prime." Megatron said bitterly as he glared at the ancient relic. The Forge of Solous Prime. An ancient relic of ancient times with the power to make anything from raw materials such as energon. However, it could only be used by a Prime and Megatron glared at the relic bitterly as he thought of the power that should have been his long ago.
He should have been Prime.
Not Orion.
Huffing in annoyance Megatron set the Forge aside and retreated to the bridge. Phoenix was off sulking somewhere as Soundwave told him. He thought back to the times when he and Phoenix were traveling through space. She accepted any challenge he gave her in training although teaching anything else was difficult. He didn't understand, he led her and she followed why the change. The only possible reason he could think of was how he hid Magma and his two sons from her. He thought she had gotten over that.
Or maybe it was something else entirely.
Xxxxxxx
Elisa felt a surge of power brought onto the ship. It wasn't deadly like dark energon, but warm and welcoming, something positive and strong. She soon located the source and gasped when she saw the mystical Forge. It was a beautiful golden color that was surrounded by sparkling energy that only she saw. She reached out to the energy and gasped when it embraced her and sent a safe and reassuring feeling down her body. She slowly reached out and placed a hand on the golden handle when it suddenly seemed to come to life in her hand. She placed her other hand around it and gasped as gears turned and glowed blue with energy. She smiled to herself and let go and the gears stopped turning.
She hoped it would come to good use some day.