Sparks
Official Disclaimer: The Transformers ain't mine.
Author's Note: Oh ye of little faith...who are wonderful about reviewing anyways. Thank you all for your reviews, even the angry ones about not bringing Optimus back. It's nice to know people care about the big lug...
- Chapter Twelve: Mechs That Just Won't Stay Down -
Word got around the base quickly that the Allspark was rebuilding Optimus through Alex, and people came to gawk as Optimus' parts were arranged in the middle of the floor, the Allspark scurrying between them and the pile on the concrete slab via a ladder than had been provided. Adair tried to take some readings on the Allspark, but was brushed off, and when she tried to force the issue, the Autobots stopped her - the Allspark had apparently assured them when it had spoken through Cliffjumper that Alex's body would come to no harm. Adair didn't quite believe it, especially when someone pointed out that the Allspark wasn't stopping to eat or rest. The Allspark eventually got irritated enough with Adair that it first chucked a piece of tubing at the doctor's head, and when Adair continued to bother it, the Allspark grabbed the nearest Autobot and gave them a message to pass on. Sideswipe had the grace to look embaressed as he passed on the message once he woke up from the shock the Allspark had given him: the message was, essentially: 'fuck off or I'll start throwing heavier parts at you'.
The crowds of gawkers reduced as time went by and people became used to the fact that an Autobot was being rebuilt. It was still a rare sight for the memorial room to be empty during the day - one of the Autobots, at least, was always there, ready to scrounge up a replacement for some essential part that had been mangled beyond repair, supply a tool, or lift something. During the night, though, the Allspark was left alone to work, the only one moving in the base besides the night guards and the occasional scientist working late.
Eventually, of course, those that had flown in for Optimus' funeral had to go home, and most of the Autobots went with them. Only Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Wheeljack remained at the dam to watch the continuing reconstruction of Optimus. Sam wasn't too pleased - he'd had a gleeful moment thinking of driving past Trent in Bumblebee's new form - but he realized it would be a little hard to explain this change in his vehicle, so he had to go home with the tale that his Camaro was in the shop to be fixed. His parents, fortunately, had stopped asking about anything relating to his car about the time Sector Seven had kidnapped the entire family.
Naturally, of course, as soon as the Autobots left the dam, the Decepticons showed up again. It was doubtful that they were prepared for the ferocity and ruthlessness both Autobots and humans now displayed towards them, though. The first two to appear - Thundercracker and Skywarp - tried attacking Ironhide, but while they waited until Bluestreak was a good hour away, they hadn't counted on Will Lennox. The army captain had 'appropriated' some 105 shells and the appropriate firing mechanism for them, and had stored the whole kaboodle in the back of Ironhide. Between the barrage of human missiles and Ironhide's canons, the two jets barely escaped alive - and even then, they cheated, as Will said: Skywarp had to teleport out after Thundercracker shoved him into the line of fire so he himself could escape.
Cliffjumper was next on the Decepticon hit list, and this time, Starscream came personally, along with Dirge, Thrust, and Scorpinok. They'd apparently learned from Ironhide and Will, since they made sure Beth was no where near Cliffjumper when they attacked, but it didn't do them much good. Cliffjumper led them on a merry chase up to the next city, where Sideswipe and Sunstreaker just happened to be visiting, along with Bobby and Jorge. They met on the highway, the twins passing Cliffjumper on either side even as they transformed in time to grab either side of Scorpinok. In an echo of Megatron's actions with Jazz, the twins then ripped the smaller Decepticon in half, and then began tearing off pieces of Scorpinok and chucking them at the Decepticon jets. The pieces would, more often than not, explode in a hail of shrapnel in the face of whatever jet they were heading for as one of the three Autobots shot it with their canon. In addition to this, Bobby and Jorge managed to call in air support while causing a bit of damage themselves. In the end, only Starscream and Dirge escaped, both badly injured. Cliffjumper had the joy of doing in the grounded Thrust.
After that, the Decepticons lay low for awhile. Barricade was spotted by the twins, but he was clearly still injured, and ran instead of engaging the two Autobots. The ensuing chase went across four and a half states - one of which was Texas - before Barricade finally managed to escape.
With three consecutive defeats, and the loss of two of their number, it wasn't all that surprising that the Decepticons took to guerilla tactics, appearing just long enough to take a few shots with their canons or fire a few missiles before retreating. It irritated the Autobots to no end, and the ones not holed up in Hoover Dam with the Allspark took to wandering along the highways on parallel courses, all but painting targets on their backs as they waited for the jets to attack. Ratchet tried to beat it into their CPUs that this was a Bad Idea, even getting Bumblebee as the possesser of the Matrix of Leadership to reinforce him, but the medic was ignored, especially since he'd fix his fellow Autobots no matter how many times they did it.
During their battles with the Decepticons, none of the Autobots forgot why they were fighting, or about the Allspark's project - their first action after finishing a fight was to head back to the dam, whether or not they were injured, where they'd go straight to the memorial room to see how things were going. Ratchet, exasperated after dragging one Autobot or another from the memorial room and having them leave behind a veritable lake of energon, lubricants, coolants, and various other fluids neccesary for a mechs survival, actually started leaving a few of his tools outside the room so he could start treating injured Autobots as they saw what new part of Optimus had been rebuilt since the last time they were there.
Eventually, of course, the Allspark finished rebuilding Optimus. It took several months, but finally the Allspark welded the last piece in place and stepped back. Bumblebee, the Autobot waiting in the Memorial room at that time, straightened as he watched the Allspark do a visual scan of the lifeless mechanical form in front of it before nodding in satisfaction.
"You're done?" the Autobot asked curiously, and the Allspark looked up at him and nodded, then made a shooing motion. "Alex - Allspark -" Bumblebee struggled with how to ask it not to reanimate Optimus' corpse with a different spark, but it seemed impatient, and put Alex's hand on his foot, sending a shock coursing through him. Bumblebee got the hint and left. The door shut behind him as he called Ratchet and Wheeljack, telling them that the Allspark was done. He turned to the door and saw blue arcs of electricity occasionally escaping at the edges, and his sensors told him the door was heating up.
"I hope Alex's body will survive this process." Ratchet said musingly as he arrived.
"Beth will rip us all apart piece by piece if it doesn't." Bumblebee said. "And she'll hide the pieces so the Allspark can't put us back together." There were murmurs of agreement from the other Autobots as they settled in to wait for whatever was happening on the other side of the door to finish. It took several hours for the electricity to stop and the door began to cool down, then another hour before the door swung open. The three Autobots stepped cautiously inside, their optics immediately drawn to the massive form of the rebuilt Autobot. He noticed them almost immediately, looking over at the three Autobots and smiling slightly.
"Hello old friends." The familiar blue optics slid over to Bumblebee, and he frowned before his optics flicked over to Wheeljack. "Wheeljack, have you been tinkering?" There was no denying the amused tone was pure Optimus, and silence fell as the three Autobots in the doorway stared in shock.
"What - but..." Wheeljack's spluttering broke the heavy silence, and the scientist finally looked over to Bumblebee helplessly.
"Optimus?" Bumblebee asked in stunned surprise.
"And friends, Bumblebee!" The three Autobots' heads whipped upwards so fast they almost snapped several cables in their necks. Standing on the platform above the main door, where the humans had stood when they'd supposedly laid Optimus' remains to rest...was Jazz. He waved cheerily at them.
"Uh..." even Bumblebee was at a loss for words this time. Then, from below him, a voice floated up, speaking in Cybertronian, and he looked down just as the Allspark finished talking and lapsed into pained coughing. It had explained to them several weeks ago that while it could speak through Alex's body, it was painful, and the damage caused took a few days to repair, so it prefered not to do so. Now, though, it apparently determined that talking was worth it to tell the Autobots that it was a part of the Matrix itself and therefor able to access the sparks intside.
"Unexpected." Wheeljack murmured.
"Why is Alexandra speaking Cybertronian?" Optimus asked with a frown, apparently choosing not to comment on what she'd said.
"She's not." Ratchet said with a sigh, and Optimus gave the medic a curious look, silently asking for an explanation. "Apparently the Allspark wasn't destroyed when Sam used it to destroy Megatron - it simply became disembodied. It wandered around the world for awhile until it found Alex, and at, uh, your funeral, Optimus, it...well, it possessed her, and then rebuilt you."
"And Jazz. In secret." Bumblebee said with amusement. "Which I believe is proof that Alex is still in there somewhere." Optimus gave the golden Autobot a sharp look.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"The Allspark wasn't exactly clear when we asked it if Alex was still alive. It said she was there, but hasn't elaborated, no matter how many times we ask." Bumblebee replied with a sigh. By his foot, the Allspark had finally recovered from it's coughing fit and looked up at Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Bumblebee. After a moment, it seemed to make a decision and headed over to Ratchet, placing Alex's hands on the medic's foot. Lightning arced across the Autobot's form, but he didn't stiffen as Cliffjumper did.
"What's she doing?" Wheeljack asked Ratchet curiously.
"Uh -" Ratchet seemed unable to say anymore.
"She's fixing him." Jazz supplied from his perch, and at the curious looks of the other Autobots, he motioned in Ratchet's direction. "I can see a few dents he's had for...well, ever, disappearing." Even as Jazz finished saying that, the Allspark withdrew from Ratchet and went to Wheeljack, who stiffened in a similar manner.
"That was...a unique experience." Ratchet said once he was freed from the Allspark. "I believe half my programs have been re-written." The other Autobots exchanged glances. "Oh, don't worry, it's nothing drastic, she just seems to have cleaned up the code a bit." Jazz shook his head.
"That's weird." he said. At the other Autobots' feet, the Allspark apparently finished with Wheeljack and drew away, then ambled over to Bumblebee. The Autobot stiffened in anticipation, but the Allspark only frowned up at him for a moment before heading off.
"I guess you don't rate." Jazz said with amusement.
"It's probably because he hasn't taken any damage since he got his new form." Ratchet mused.
"Yeah, speaking of that new form..." Jazz trailed off expectantly.
"The Matrix." Optimus explained for the golden bot, who nodded. "I had thought it was destroyed, as well. Even if it hadn't - no offence, Bumblebee - but you would have been the last I expected to take it on."
"Ah, Alexandra is at fault for that, as well." Ratchet said with a sigh. "The casing of the Matrix was destroyed, so far as we can tell. The energy that actually forms the Matrix, however, went into Alexandra. But for whatever reason, the Matrix did not sit well with her - it was killing her - so she found the nearest Autobot to give it to, which just happened to be Bumblebee."
"We haven't figured out how to get it out yet, otherwise I'd give it back." Bumblebee supplied. Optimus tilted his head slightly to one side, then locked optics with the golden Autobot. The light from the two pairs of optics seemed to connect, and then, as the other Autobots watched, Bumblebee began to fold into himself, taking on his old form again, while something passed from him to Optimus. Then, once Bumblebee looked like his old self again, the connection between him and Optimus was broken, and the two Autobots staggered back.
"That is how you get it out." Optimus said with a small smile.
"And what exactly was 'that'?" Ratchet asked with a frown. Optimus seemed ready to reply, then frowned, seeming a bit confused.
"It's...difficult to explain." he said.
"I'm sure." Ratchet said dryly. Further conversation was halted as Adair suddenly hurried into the room. Glancing up and spotting Optimus, she froze.
"Oh, she's finished. That explains why she's wandering about." the doctor said.
"Wandering, doctor?" Optimus asked curiously. Adair paused, frowning up at Optimus, then looked uncertainly up at Ratchet and Wheeljack, at which point she spotted Jazz, who waved cheerfully.
"The Allspark was able to restore both of them completely, sparks included." Ratchet told the doctor gently.
"So you're really -" Adair trailed off as she looked over at Optimus, and he nodded. She frowned slightly, then looked back up. This time, her gaze caught on Bumblebee. "And now you're normal again! What has Alex been doing down here?!" Adair said with annoyance.
"Alex has been doing nothing." Wheeljack pointed out, and the doctor rolled her eyes.
"You know what I meant." she said. "Whoever it is that just walked past me in the hallway a few minutes ago."
"Yes, you said she was wandering?" Ratchet asked curiously.
"Maybe not wandering - she was too focused for that. She looked like she had a destination in mind, and didn't even threaten to throw something at me when I tried to talk to her." Adair replied. "Do any of you know where she might be going?" The Autobots exchanged glances, frowning.
"Maybe..." Ratchet considered, glancing over at Wheeljack.
"The closest Autobot is several hundred miles away." the scientist pointed out.
"And she doesn't have to eat or rest." Ratchet replied, and Wheeljack blinked.
"Point." he said, then looked down to Adair. "The Allspark is likely going in search of the next closest Autobot in order to fix them."
"Fix them? I thought Ratchet..." Adair trailed off in confusion.
"I fix everything that is necessary, but residue, small dents, or the like I leave to the individual Autobot to fix. I also don't touch CPU programming. The Allspark just fixed all the minor little problems with Wheeljack and I, as well as cleaning up some of our programming code."
"Oh." Adair said after a pause. "So are you just going to let her walk to the next Autobot, then?"
"No." Optimus answered for the other Autobots. "I shall give her a ride. The rest of you can fill me - and Jazz - in through the communications network as I go."
"Perhaps you should take someone with you, in case the Decepticons decide to attack again?" Ratchet suggested.
"I'll go." Bumblebee offered immediately, and Optimus nodded, then jerked back suddenly as Jazz swung down from his perch, landing between Optimus and the other Autobots.
"Me too." Jazz said with a grin. Optimus arched an eyebrow and looked at Ratchet, who shrugged.
"You were both dead. If I'm going to let one of you go, I may as well let both of you." the medic said, then turned and left the room, muttering under his breath about mechs returning from the dead and making his job obsolete as he went.
"Right then. Let's get going, shall we?" Jazz suggested, and Optimus nodded. Wheeljack and Adair stepped aside to let the other three bots past, then followed them out to the main exit from the dam. Jazz was looking around, taking in his surroundings, the entire time, and Bumblebee began explaining to the other bot in low tones, and then over the communications network as they left the dam and headed up to the road. They reached the top just as the Allspark emerged, and Optimus took a moment to have a good look at her. She looked like the same Alexandra he was used to, albeit in army fatigues and with glowing blue eyes. Her steps were brisk, and it was clear from the look on her face that she had a destination in mind that she would not stray from - but when Optimus transformed and drove up beside her, the Allspark detoured into his cab without a pause. Then Optimus was subjected to the curious sensation of having the Allspark literally take over his systems that were needed for driving and opperate them herself. Behind him, Jazz and Bumblebee - still talking privately - transformed and fell in behind him.
Optimus remained silent, letting the Allspark drive, as Ratchet filled him in on what had happened since he'd died. Once Ratchet was finished, Optimus promptly contacted the rest of the Autobots and made it an outright order that they stop making targets of themselves. Naturally, this resulted in shocked silence as the rest of the Autobots tried to figure out what the heck was going on, and after Ratchet withdrew from the conversation with an irritable sigh, Wheeljack was left to explain that Optimus, the real Optimus, was back.
Wheeljack also neglected to mention Jazz, so there was another confused moment a half hour later when the silver bot decided to say hello. Optimus was already out of Nevada before the Autobots comm chatter died down to unnecisary banter between the twins and Jazz, and he felt safe in tuning it out in favour of trying to speak to the Allspark. He found himself uncertain where to begin, however.
"Thank you." he settled on, and was surprised to get an amused snort, so like Alexandra that for a moment he wondered if the Allspark was gone, leaving only his friend again. But no, Alex's eyes still glowed blue, and the Allspark was still controlling part of his systems, driving him. There was a pause. "I understand that you can only communicate vocally or through an Autobot. Are you unable to access Alexandra's ability to speak through our communications network?" Honest surprise from the Allspark on Alexandra's face, then a frown.
"I was unaware this ability existed." the voice spoke Cybertronian, had no gender, and echoed almost painfully through him, but it didn't come from Alexandra's mouth, and didn't leave Optimus with an overloaded system needing to reboot.
"It is a new ability, even to Alexandra." Optimus replied carefully - he wasn't quite sure who to tell his communications protocols to contact, the Allspark or Alexandra, but the vague 'that person there' (as Jazz called them) first contact protocols, used when speaking to a mech one didn't know the name of, seemed to work. "We believe it came about when she was exposed to a spark."
"Indeed. It is that very event that made my existance in this form possible." the Allspark replied, sounding thoughtful. "It is intriguing that other side effects exist besides allowing this body to handle being a channel for myself and the Matrix."
"Indeed." Optimus said. "While we are on the topic of the body you now inhabit, however, my fellow Autobots have raised some questions about it's true owner, and I would not mind knowing the answers myself."
"The one you call Alexandra is here, unharmed." the Allspark said dismissively.
"Is it possible to speak with her?" Optimus asked.
"Unfortunately, no." the Allspark replied without elaboration. "We approach our first destination." It was the obvious end of the conversation, and Optimus gave a mental sigh before turning his attention to their location. What he found was alarming - the nearest Autobot were those left back at the dam, and the closest Cybertronian signal was on Decepticon frequencies. Optimus tried to speak to the Allspark, to warn it, but it didn't listen, instead bringing him to a halt and climbing down out of the cab. Optimus transformed, as did Jazz and Bumblebee behind him, and the three Autobots watched the Allspark head for the side of the road, where she began pushing through the brush along the edges. They weren't in a forest - it was still much too arid for that - but the bushes were growing high on either side, high enough to hide any of the Decepticons known to be on earth currently.
"Is it just me, or is th'only signal -" Jazz quiet comment was stopped as the Allspark pulled back a piece of brush to reveal the black side-panel of a car with white lettering. The car's engine roared to life almost immediately upon it's side being revealed, but before it could move, the Allspark brought both hands down on it, and energy crackled around it. The brush covering the rest of Barricade smoldered and then caught fire, and Jazz and Bumblebee stepped forward to brush the burning foliage aside and stamp out the fire so it didn't spread or harm Alex. They'd only just finished putting out the fire when the Allspark drew back, and Barricade transformed.
The Decepticon stared down at Alex for a moment, and then his optics slid up to see two supposedly dead Autobots and another that had nearly killed him twice. Optimus had always thought Barricade was one of the smarter Decepticons, so he wasn't really surprised when the police car whirled and started running, transforming as he went. Unfortunately, as much as Optimus didn't like unnecesary fights, the last thing they needed was for Barricade to tell the other Decepticons that the Allspark was back, in the form of a human.
"Get him!" Optimus ordered, and was about to follow his own order when a shock ran up his leg, and he looked down to see the Allspark looking at him impatiently. Optimus glanced back up, where Jazz and Bumblebee were already transformed and chasing after Barricade, then frowned down at the Allspark again. The Allspark narrowed her eyes at him, and Optimus glared back. She didn't seem to notice, reaching out and sending another shock up Optimus' leg. When he still didn't transform, she turned and started marching down the highway.
With a sigh as he realized he wasn't going to win, Optimus transformed and came up alongside the Allspark, who clambered in and took control again, pushing him to his top speed. They drove in uneasy silence, Optimus listening to the communications network as Jazz and Bumblebee tried to catch Barricade, but ended up losing him - the Decepticon had chosen a fast car, and while neither a Solstice nor a Camaro were exactly slow, they weren't fast enough to keep up like Lambourghinis. With the chase over, Jazz and Bumblebee started heading back to Optimus, and then the Autobot leader returned his attention to the Allspark. It seemed to know when it had his attention, as it spoke to him almost immediately.
"You are not pleased I repaired that one." the Allspark seemed honestly puzzled.
"He was a Decepticon." Optimus replied curtly.
"...please explain." the Allspark said, and Optimus paused in surprise.
"The Decepticons are a faction of our race that developed on Cybertron. They wish to destroy this world, and others like it, so that they may gather enough power to rule the galaxy." Optimus explained as simply as he could. "I am the leader of the opposing faction, the Autobots, who seek to preserve life and freedom." There was silence, and then suddenly the Allspark withdrew from his systems, and Optimus almost swerved off the road before he caught himself. He continued on down the highway towards the next closest Autobot to those in the dam - Cliffjumper - but his attention was mostly focused within his cab, to the Allspark, who seemed to be thinking hard.
"The Matrix, and by extension I myself, recognize only sparks, not their individual leanings and beliefs." it said finally. "We were...unaware of any split between you. Truthfully, it does not affect us."
"And why do you believe your previous form was destroyed?" Optimus asked promptly. The Allspark looked surprised. "In order to rule, the Decepticons wanted control of you, so they could make themselves an army. The Autobots tried to protect you for as long as possible, but eventually we had to send you out into space, away from Cybertron, in the hopes of finishing our war fairly. Unfortunately, the leader of the Decepticons would not let you be, and went out in search, so we had to, as well. While we searched, we came to realize that part of the reason the war was still happening was because you still existed. It was determined that, should we find you, you must be destroyed. With you gone, it would be a simple war of principles." Silence.
"You are saying that I am the cause of your war." the Allspark said after several moments.
"No, but you are partly the reason it continues. Without the driving goal of finding you so the war could be ended forever, the Decepticons might have made peace or turned on their leaders long ago." Optimus replied. "Though who knows, perhaps they would have continued anyways - many of them are set in their ideas." The Allspark nodded thoughtfully.
"I must think on this." it said, and then slumped back into Optimus' seat, eyes closing. Optimus watched for a moment, then returned his attention to the road, and their destination.