Hey guys! Welcome to chapter two. Thanks so much to everyone who followed! Welcome new readers : )
Starlight The Prime: thanks for your kind words! And role play sounds like fun, I'd love to hear more but my free time is few and far between so I might not have the time for it just yet.
Knockout Starscream: Hey there friend! Been awhile. I appreciate your dedication to reviews! I know I've been gone awhile so it's nice to see a familiar username!
Now, onto the chapter!
The proximity sensor went off and like clockwork, Kris shrunk back into the shadows of base.
He was used to Agent Fowler coming around by now, but it was the very early hours of the morning, still dark outside and Kris was not ready to face the day.
Agent Fowler was loud and he couldn't help but flinch in fear whenever the man spoke. He had only just warmed up to Jack, Raf and Miko and they'd been around for months. Luckily, Raf was quiet and nonthreatening and was an easy pathway to getting used to the other two.
"Prime!" The Agent yelled from his place on the catwalk.
"Where's Prime?" He asked Jazz, currently the only mech at base.
"He's out righ' now," Jazz said cautiously. The visored bot glanced at Kris in worry, but Kris gave him a nod to let his guardian know he was fine.
"Well when's he gonna be back," Fowler demanded.
"I don' know, he an th' others 'ave been tailin' the warship since everythin," Jazz paused trying to phrase the moment.
"Happened," he finished.
"Well the government wants to know why the hell there's a missing persons report in Jasper and whether or not it has something to do with you bots. Now if I go back to the Pentagon and tell em your god of chaos possessed the girl in question, they're gonna declare me crazy and you hostile," Fowler explained.
Kris felt a spike of worry at that. If the government went against the bots, they would try to take him away again.
"So don' tell 'em that?" Jazz deadpanned. The panic ebbed at his guardians relaxed response.
"Well what do I tell them?" Fowler asked.
"How'd a missin' persons report get filed anyway? Jade knows we're a secret don't she?" Jazz fired back.
"Apparently their step-aunt, a woman named Harper Sanchester, filed it as soon as Jade went home last night without her twin."
Kris tensed. He knew what that probably meant. More people around base. An involuntary shiver passed through him.
"I'll comm Prime," Jazz told the impatient Agent. The panic returned.
:Prime? It's Jazz:
:Yes Lieutenant?: Came the reply.
:The human twins' step-aunt filed a missin' persons, ya might wanna handle this:
:Understood. Sideswipe take point. Do not loose the warship:
Kris listened to their leader give out instructions and a moment later the ground bridge swirled to life and Optimus drove through.
"How's th' hunt goin?" Jazz asked.
"Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Ratchet have not been able to pinpoint Icelyn's new Dark Energon infected signature. It stands to reason that Megatron detected her signature first and is holding her captive aboard the Nemesis. The twins and Arcee remain in pursuit."
Kris shrunk further back into the dark hallway. He knew what was coming next.
"I understand that Jade and Icelyn's guardian has reported Icelyn missing," Optimus prompted. Kris watched in dismay as his guardian nodded.
"Harper Sanchester. I think we 'ought ta bring 'er here. Icelyn did say she didn't wanna lie to 'er and if we explain what's goin' on then maybe we stay off media radar," Jazz reasoned.
"Very well," Optimus rumbled. "It is my own fault that so many humans have been infected by our war. I will task myself with being the guardian of Harper Sanchester," Optimus announced, though it was only Jazz and Fowler in the room.
Kris had already slipped away, walking a well-worn path to his room.
Kris's room was part of Jazz's, a little metal loft that Ratchet constructed above Jazz's berth, built into the wall. He climbed the ladder to the trap door that allowed him entrance.
Kris didn't mind. There was absolutely no chance another human could be found back here and that was just how he liked it.
The loft had a bed and a nightstand and a closet, and it had a little door in the wall in which Fowler had managed to get a bathroom installed. The loft had a little railing which Kris had strung fairy lights to. Because the loft was built into the wall, a curtain could be hung from the ceiling of it to cover the opening.
It was the safest space in the whole world.
Kris sat down on his bed and hugged his knees.
Jade and Icelyn had only just got here and now a third human was going to be coming to base. He was reaching his maximum levels of stress, that was for sure.
He just hoped that whoever Harper was – she wasn't anything like mother.
Optimus felt guilt churn in his tanks the entire drive to the little town of Jasper. He could just see the faintest hint of light on the horizon. In a few hours, the town would be buzzing with morning life.
When Sunstreaker had disappeared with Jade yesterday, he put the thought of them out of his mind, and turned his attention to researching the archives for any useful information or lore on Unicron.
He had forgotten entirely about their step-aunt Harper Sanchester, and the fact that she would be a concerned party in Icelyn's disappearance.
He was worried about what to say to the woman. Sure, explaining his existence was always a bit of an experience – but he had done it enough times that he was pretty much over delivering the news. Autonomous robotic etc. etc.
What he was truly worried about was explaining that he had let this woman's niece get possessed by one of the foes he was meant to defeat. A demon he was meant to protect the world from. That he had failed, and that someone she loved had paid the price.
He was more worried about that.
He pulled up to the little house that had the address Fowler had given him.
He was about to use his commlink to send a text to Jade's phone but before he could do anything, the front door flew open and Jade came running out.
"Did you find her?" She was shouting as she hurried over.
"JADE!" A stern voice yelled, and a second human came running out the door.
Harper Sanchester looked exhausted and completely wired at the same time – like she hadn't slept in day but she couldn't until Icelyn was safe at home. The guilt turned into a blade.
If she didn't look so deranged, Optimus would've thought she looked kind. Her face was heart shaped and her green eyes might've been wide and curious if they didn't have dark circles beneath them.
"Jade what's the matter with you. This town is dangerous you can't just run up to strangers. That could be how Icelyn went missing," Harper barked.
"It's okay Harper, this is one of my friends," Jade said enthusiastically.
In that moment, Optimus realized that maybe explaining things wouldn't be so difficult with Jade there with them. Jade had obviously trusted the bots from the beginning, and she clearly believed in their ability to rescue her sister.
Of course, Optimus had a suspicion that had something to do with the drive Sunstreaker had took her on. Whatever he said to the purple haired girl, he had gained her trust.
Harper knocked on the windshield, and Optimus tuned quickly back into the moment.
"Step out of the truck and tell me what you know about my niece," Harper said in that same stern – left no room for argument – voice.
Optimus contemplated his options before deciding that his holoform was going to be the best way to go. Further explanation could come when they were all safely back at base.
He activated his holoform with a little crackle of energy and opened the drivers side door.
As he came around the side of his grill, Jade took a cautious step back.
"It's me, Jade," he assured the girl. Recognization flooded the girls eyes along with a great deal of question.
"Okay buddy, who are you!" Harper shouted and Optimus froze at the very real blade suddenly at his neck.
Harper tensed as a tall, broad shoulder guy wearing a dark red leather jacket and jeans walked towards them. He had short brown hair, messily pushed up with stubble to match and electric blue eyes that seemed to pierce everything they looked at.
"Okay buddy, who are you!" Harper shouted and lifted the old antique sword that her brother had left her in his will.
She made a note that if she survived this ordeal she was going to get some good old fashioned pepper spray since it was one hundred percent more legal.
The point of the sword threatened the man's neck and he froze entirely.
"Who are you?" Harper repeated. She ignored Jade's pleas to stop. She was in full protect mode. The man rose his hands non-threateningly, but Harper kept the sword raised.
"Please, allow me to explain," he said in a deep even voice. His calm tone was almost enough to calm Harper, but she forced herself to stay suspicious. It was how she survived walking around LA by herself and she trusted the instinct to be suspicious more than anything.
"Start talking bud," she demanded.
"I know what happened to Icelyn, and I'd like to help you locate her," he said, voice still calm.
"Why are you hanging around my nieces?" Harper said, trying to remain as suspicious as possible but failing miserably. The man seemed to have an aura of security. That's how they get you. Harper reminded herself.
"Your nieces have been under government protection this past weekend because they became knowledgeable of a secret operation here in Jasper Nevada, an operation which has many enemies," he explained slowly.
Harper lowered the tip marginally, but only because she was wildly confused
"Harper, it's true. Come back to base and everything will make sense," Jade spoke up from her left. Harper turned to the wild nineteen year old, both eyebrows raised.
Jade had the decency to look sheepish.
"We are still going to finish our conversation from earlier young lady," Harper said, pointing a intent finger at Jade. Her niece only looked down with a small nod.
"Please, allow me to explain everything," the man said again and opened the passenger door to the semi.
"You want me to get into a strange car with you? With my kid niece? Are you stupid or something?" Harper said, putting a hand on her hip and fixing the man with a disapproving look.
The man looked a little dumbfounded for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Would you like to drive?" He asked.
"Ha – well aren't you just – wait you're serious?" Harper asked noting no hint of a joke on the stranger's face.
"I will give you directions to our base, and you may drive us there," he offered.
Harper looked over at Jade but her niece just gave her a pleading look.
"Fine. But only because you are going to make sure Icelyn get's home safe," Harper told the man, pointing the sword at him one last time.
"Trust me, there is nothing of more importance to me," he said in a grave tone. Harper felt a shiver go down her spine. He sure was serious.
"Are you intent on keeping the weapon?" He asked as they walked around to the driver side door.
"Yes." Harper said flatly.
"Very well."
He opened the door for her to get in before walking around to the passenger side and helping Jade into the middle before climbing in himself.
Harper stood the sword up between her and Jade, handle up and started the truck. It roared to life with a powerful engine.
They pulled out of the neighborhood and the man gave her directions to the edge of the city.
They drove almost entirely in silence. It wasn't until they were out of the city limits that she got her first strange direction.
"Turn left."
"That's not a road."
"It will be fine. The truck can handle it," the man said and Harper saw Jade smile out of the corner of her eye. Huh.
Despite herself, Harper turned off the road and onto the cracked desert ground. The truck could in fact handle it.
"Head for the large rock formation," the man said, pointing to a very rectangular mesa in front of them.
"It is the disguise for our hidden base," he explained.
Harper was about ready to turn around, but Jade was sitting up in her seat and the man was looking at the rock intently. Curiosity got the better of her and she drove slowly towards the rock.
The closer they got, the slower Harper went, expecting something bad to happen. Finally she was about to pull to a stop when the rock face in front of her split open. She gave a little yelp of surprise and watched as two massive hanger doors revealed a tunnel.
"What," she breathed to herself.
"Please enter, before we are spotted," the man said. Harper hit the gas and drove through the curving tunnel.
When they arrived on the other side of the tunnel they were inside of a massive silo of sorts.
"Where are we?" Harper asked looking over at the man – but he was gone. There was a small fizzle of blue sparks where he'd been sitting.
"Where'd he go!" Harper shouted at Jade.
"Come on Harper," Jade said, and hopped out of the truck.
Harper stepped out of the truck searching for the mysterious man, but the base was deserted.
Suddenly, the sound of gears and metal turning erupted from behind her. She spun around in fear and her eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight before her.
It took a short moment for the truck to reconfigure itself and then a titan was standing before her. Her entire sense of reality danced teasingly in front of her. Are you dreaming? Are you crazy? Who's the say.
"Jade, what" she whispered in fear.
"The titan knelt down with a small object in his enormous hand.
"Your sword ma'am," he said in a rumbling tone and Harper realized the small object was not small at all, it was her bequeathed sword and it was dwarfed by his hands. She took it silently still staring with wide eyes. The voice was all too familiar though.
"You – you're the man. How are you him?" She said breathlessly.
"I apologize for deceiving you. I did not want to cause alarm. This is my true form, the human was a form of solid light called a holoform. We use them to help blend in," he explained, still kneeling.
"So," Harper began.
"We are autonomous robotic,"
"No, stop! I don't care what's going on here or what you are." She then muttered to herself. "Lord know's I can't handle that right now," before continuing.
"No offense, but what happened to my niece. You said you knew where she was," Harper said.
The metal titan looked taken by surprise but he nodded.
"An ancient entity from our planet called Unicron, has taken over Icelyn's mind. I believe that the leader of the Decepticons, an opposing faction, has taken her hostage because he is a follower of Unicron," the mech said.
"So how do we get her back?" Harper asked, setting her jaw determinedly to get a handle on the panic.
"My team is currently searching as we speak, and a small stealth team is following Megatron's warship."
"Megatron is the Decepticon leader?" She asked.
"Yes," he replied. Harper placed a hand to her chest.
"What can I do?"
"For now, I believe it would be best if you remained here."
"I can't just do nothing," Harper said sharply.
"I understand your concern, but I cannot allow more humans to be endangered at this moment," Optimus explained.
"I understand your concern but that's my niece, and I'm responsible for her. Please – let me go with you," Harper pleaded, fixing him with her green-eyed stare.
Optimus regarded the human femme with thoughtfully narrowed eyes. Before he could give a response however, Sideswipe was on the comms.
:Bad news boss. Warship went dark:
"What happened?" Optimus asked his red front liner.
:A storm rolled in and we lost visual. Unless you can break their shielding, it's as good as gone:
"Sideswipe, have stealth team return to base."
:Copy that:
"Return?" Harper asked, looking at the lead mech with worry.
"We must regroup and form a new plan. If we cannot locate Icelyn, we may be more successful in freeing her by other methods," Optimus decided.
"Other methods?" Harper asked. Jade piped up from where she was worriedly watching the conversation between the autobot leader and her spitfire aunt.
"Like a more mythological method?" She asked. Optimus pondered this for a moment.
"Perhaps," he agreed, the gears on the outside of his head turning cautiously. Ratchet looked over after activating the ground bridge for the others.
"Unicron is an ancient power Optimus, it would require an equally ancient power to stop him. Besides, even if we possessed the means to defeat him, there's no telling what would happen to Icelyn in the process," the doctor reasoned.
"You can't hurt her," Harper demanded. The ground bridge closed and suddenly everyone was gathering around where Optimus and Harper were still standing in the center of base.
"No one is hurting Icelyn," Sideswipe spoke up in a agreement.
"Shouldn't we be more worried about her hurting us," Sunstreaker pointed out under his breath. Though, it was more to disagree with his twin than to bring a decent point to the conversation.
"I do not intend on anyone getting hurt," Optimus promised.
"Cept' Unicron," Jazz said aside. Optimus shot his lieutenant a deadpan look to which the smaller mech shrugged.
"Optimus, I hate to break up the planning party but Jack just texted," Arcee spoke up.
"Ratchet, can you bridge them to base?" Optimus asked. The medic muttered something about opening a ground bridge in a populated area, but obliged.
A moment later, three kids ran through the swirling vortex.
"How many children have you drafted," Harper said dryly. Optimus looked sheepish, and made a sound akin to clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Have you found her!" The girl shouted.
"No Miko, we have not located Icelyn," Optimus said with great sorrow. Harper at least respected that he clearly cared.
Suddenly, Jazz walked over to Optimus and said something in a series of strange sounds, which Harper had to assume was their native tongue.
Optimus nodded slowly and Jazz walked towards a tunnel leading deeper into base. He knelt down and scooped something out of the shadows.
As it turns out, it was another child. Harper wasn't sure why she was surprised. These alien mechs were running a glorified daycare center. The young kid shot her an extremely nervous glance to which she smiled kindly.
He looked quickly away as Jazz brought him to Optimus.
"What do you have to share, Kris?" Optimus asked extremely gently. Kris put a hand to his chest.
"The matrix," the boy whispered. "Primus."
He pointed at Jade. Optimus tilted his head, trying to understand what the kid was getting at.
"Primus," the boy repeated pointing firmly at Jade.
Optimus nodded slowly, and the the glass windshields on his chassis shifted apart to reveal a glowing blue orb inside of a golden metal device in his chest where his heart might be.
As he did so, Jade suddenly rose off the ground, eyes glowing such a bright blue it was nearly white.
Harper let out a little scream of surprise and was about to run over to Jade but a hand stopped her. She looked back to see the oldest boy.
"It's okay," he promised. He was so sincere the Harper did stop for a moment and watch what was transpiring in front of her.
Jade's entire body emitting a blinding light and then a moment later she was already sinking back to the floor.
Her sky blue eyes blinked blearily and then she sat up slowly.
"What – just happened?" She asked.
"The power of the matrix," Optimus mused, as his chest cavity sealed itself back up.
"The power of the what?" Jade asked.
"The Matrix of Leadership. It has bestowed it's power – the collective wisdom of the Prime's – to you. By…mistake," Optimus said slowly.
"How does that even happen on accident?" Sunstreaker drawled. "You would think the collective wisdom of the primes would be smart enough not to drop its contents on some random organic."
"Hey, how do we know it was an accident," Jade shot back at the golden front liner. Sunstreaker responded by looking her up and down skeptically. Ratchet took this as his cue to explain.
"Unicron is Primus's ancient foe. The matrix is the power of Primus passed down through generations, a remnant of the god's magic and thus a way to defeat Unicron. However, as we all saw yesterday, Unicron deflected the matrix's attack and all of that power was deflected directly onto Jade. The power of the matrix is energy, and requires a vessel to exist. It would stand to reason that the vessel is now Jade."
"So, I have the super weapon that's going to save my sister?" Jade asked.
"On the contrary, I don't believe all of it was transferred. Optimus clearly still has a working matrix," Ratchet pointed out.
"So, I borrowed some of his god juice?" Jade rephrased, to which most of the bots made a strange face.
"Radical!" Miko shouted.
"No, not radical," Ratchet snapped.
"Uh, Jade basically got superpowers," Miko argued.
"No. Jade is now responsible for a small fraction of ancient magic and now must play a role in defeating Unicron," Ratchet said.
"Uh, why? Optimus still has most of the 'god juice'," Miko quipped.
"Yeah, why?" Harper seconded.
"Because Miss Sanchester," Optimus spoke up this time. "It will require one hundred percent of the matrix's power to defeat Unicron."
"Okay," Jade said firmly, and all eyes turned to her.
"She's my twin. I'm glad I play a role. What do I have to do?"
"For the moment, nothing," Ratchet said.
"What? But I thought you said –"
"Our first step must be locating Unicron," Ratchet pointed out.
"Oh."
"Hang on, you're plan is to find Icelyn and then just shoot her with this matrix magic and hope for the best?" Harper demanded.
"If we had a means of locating Unicron's physical form, that would be a safer option," Arcee agreed.
"I thought the earth was Unicron's physical form," Miko said.
"But, we can't destroy earth," Raf said in a small voice.
"And we won't," Optimus agreed firmly, assuring the small boy.
"What if we do defeat Unicron though. Icelyn's still aboard that warship. Once Unicron no longer possesses her body, there's no telling what Megatron will do to her," Sideswipe blurted out suddenly.
"Ah, well there is telling. He'll kill her. Probably slowly," Sunstreaker said in a flat tone. Sideswipe glared at his brother.
"While Megatron is cruel, he is not above strategy. He will more likely use Icelyn as a bargaining tool, which will give us time to rescue her," Optimus decided.
"That doesn't sound like a great option," Harper disagreed.
"Miss Sanchester, I do not like leaving her aboard the warship anymore than you, but I fear Unicron will subject her to worse while her body is under his control."
Harper swallowed as a silence filled the room. No one wanted to say it aloud but it rung through her mind.
Is there even going to be an Icelyn to save when this is through?
Icelyn tried to scream, but it was like she was in suspended animation. She could see everything she did, but could not get even a single facial muscle to respond to her will.
"Stop struggling child of the earth. You are an instrument of my will and nothing more," the deep voice boomed, echoing in her skull like someone filled her head with surround sound.
I am Icelyn Sanchester. She thought to herself.
"You are no one."
I am Icelyn Sanchester.
If she concentrated hard enough, she could get her own thoughts to be as loud as the voice, proving that she still did have some control.
"Mighty Unicron, I have followed your ways. Subjected myself to your blood. I have been waiting for your arrival so you might bless me with powers to rival the Prime's."
Megatron stood before her. She knew it was him because he had announced it loudly as soon as she awoke on the warship.
It seemed that Unicron's power took an extreme toll on her body and after the light show back at base, her body had simply shut down out on the highway.
When she woke, Megatron and his Decepticons had been there and she was miles in the sky.
"You think yourself worthy of my power. Filthy Cybertronian. Creature of Primus. You will die with the rest of your kind," Icelyn yelled at the warlord.
Sorry Megatron, Hopefully this doesn't cause any bad blood. She thought to herself. Nothing like pissing off a sadistic warlord because an even more sadistic god was using your tiny body to scream at him.
"I do not understand, you do not wish to rule Cybertron?" Megatron asked, taking a step back.
"Rule it! I wish to destroy it! For Cybertron is Primus and Primus is my sworn enemy."
Icelyn grimaced.
"Well if you have come to destroy us, you should have picked a better instrument for destruction," Megaton snarled, and a wicked blade slid out from atop his massive fusion canon.
Yup. I'm going to die. Icelyn thought.
"FOOL! The Prime is the only one who can kill me and he is unable to destroy this tiny earth creature which I possess," Icelyn heard herself yell.
"I have no such compunction," Megatron said in a deathly quiet tone. Icelyn tried to tense up and prepare for the inevitable blade through her chest but it never came.
Instead, Megatron's massive clawed servo snatched her out of the air where Unicron had her floating.
Icelyn felt a swell of fury from Unicron and for a brief moment, in Unicron's blind rage he released a minor amount of control over her.
Megatron sprinted with her down the hall and into a storage room with a massive pod in the corner. A red mech with gleaming armor jumped as they burst in.
"Lord Megatron!" The mech explained. "How did your audience with Unicron –"
Megatron threw him out of the way and typed in a code so the pod door slid open. He tossed Icelyn inside.
Unicron of course, made her float immediately. She felt herself turn around and her hand flew out like she was some possessed Jedi Knight.
Megatron was frozen where he stood, purple magic strangling him, and Icelyn felt her eyes narrow angrily.
"Optimus will defeat you," Megatron choked out. Another burst of anger from Unicron and Icelyn took that moment to release Megatron from Unicron's grip.
Upon seeing his power failing, Unicron's anger grew, and with it, Icelyn's control.
She floated to the ground and forced herself into the pod.
Megatron looked at her confused.
"Human?" He asked, raising an optic ridge.
"What are you waiting for!" She cried, pushing against the pods walls to keep herself inside of it.
Megatron punched in the code to shut the stasis pod door and the last thing Icelyn saw before she was thrown into a frozen sleep was Megatron gazing at her in an almost impressed sort of way.
Knockout stared wide eyed at the human femme that Megatron had just trapped in a stasis pod. She had been frozen in a position of great struggle, her ice blue eyes narrowed in a fierce look.
"What happened my liege?" Knockout asked his leader, who was also staring at the stasis pod.
"We're going to kill Unicron," Megatron growled back, and without another word he turned and stomped out of the medbay.
Knockout blinked in confusion. For the past few months Megatron had been experimenting with Dark Energon and now he had done a one eighty on his entire agenda.
It wasn't the first time the Decepticon leader dabbled in chaos, but this was by far the weirdest plan that hadn't panned out.
Specifically because they had a god trapped in the body of a human femme in stasis aboard the ship.
Knockout wondered how that had happened. Humans were a rather strange and almost disturbing organic species, but they were the dominant species on Earth – Earth which was actually Unicron. So maybe humans were to Unicron what Cybertronians were to Primus.
He promised himself that if he got the chance, he would study the species more in depth after this.
"Knocks?" A deep voice came from the door.
"Breakdown, boy am I glad you showed up. Check it out. The chaos bringer," Knockout said, gesturing to the pod.
Breakdown came over and inspected the human girl.
"Is this some sort of a joke?" His thickheaded partner asked.
"No Breakdown, our Lord was just in here imprisoning her. Unicron took over her mind," Knockout said, wiggling a through digits in the air. Breakdown raised an optic ridge.
"I miss fighting on Cybertron. It was all about who to punch, not which gods to mess with," Breakdown pointed out.
"I'm sure it's all part of the plan big guy," Knockout assured him. Though, Megatron's plans strayed further from logic and sense every day. Knockout was beginning to think bigger players like Shockwave and the rest of the seeker trine kept the mad warlord on track. A lone Megatron seemed to be an equation for outlandish outcomes.
"Right. The plan. Remind me what that was," Breakdown joked.
"Tsk now. Don't let Soundwave hear you."
"Yeah yeah, eyes and ears will tattle."
Knockout shot his partner a look, but he was inclined to agree with the off-roader.
Nowadays it seemed like Megatron's goals were more personal than they were for the greater good of all Decepticons and Knockout wasn't sure where he and Breakdown fit into that particular equation at all.
Optimus was more than hesitant to bring Megatron to base, but his enemy had answers that he was struggling to come up with and Icelyn's fate was at stake.
"Optimus you cannot possibly be thinking of bringing Megatron here," Ratchet scolded.
"We have exhausted all other options. Have the children hide out of sight," Optimus said firmly.
There was a chorus of complaints but the kid's respective bots made sure they were sent to the tunnel leading further into base.
Optimus turned to Harper.
"You need to join them," he said gently.
"With respect, I want to hear what he has to say too. If there's any chance his plan will bring Icelyn back I at least want to know what it is," she said stubbornly.
Optimus was not about to try to argue with the protective femme again so he inclined his head in agreement.
"Ratchet, open a ground bridge," he said in a grave tone.
Optimus knelt down to Harper once more as the vortex swirled to life.
"At least reside on the catwalk where I can protect you better," he suggested. She nodded and he offered her a servo.
She looked hesitant, but a figure was already coming through the bridge so she climbed on and placed a tiny hand on the side of his finger for support.
Optimus lifted her slowly to the catwalk where she delicately hopped off. He gave her a tense nod before turning to face his old brother in arms, turned enemy. His Autobots raised there weapons.
Megatron came through the bridge with the usual level of suave and smugness.
"So this is where the magic happens," he mused gazing around.
"Quaint."
"Tell us of your plan Megatron, so we can be on our way," Optimus demanded. Megatron chuckled.
"Unicron needs to be destroyed. The real Unicron. Not the body of your poor little human pet. If the femme is killed, the chaos bringer will simply find another body to possess. We must destroy Unicron with the power of the matrix, as I'm sure you've surmised. I can lead you to his very spark and you will strike the blow," the warlord explained.
"You will return Icelyn to us unharmed," Optimus demanded, his optics narrowing. While part of him felt right at home planning missions with Megatron again, the rest of him was on high alert.
"My only interest is in destroying Unicron," Megatron disagreed.
"I will not destroy him unless you promise Icelyn's safe return," Optimus argued.
"You're in no position to bargain Optimus. You need to kill Unicron to save this Icelyn to begin with," Megatron snapped. He was right of course, but Optimus was determined to get the blonde twin back.
"Take me instead," Sideswipe suddenly piped up. All eyes turned to him.
"What a brave volunteer you are," Megatron sneered at the cherry mech. Sideswipe only glared.
"You're not going anywhere," Sunstreaker began, but stopped. Optimus assumed they were discussing something over their bond,
"Anywhere without me," Sunstreaker finished.
"Take us both in exchange for the femme," Sideswipe told Megatron.
"Sideswipe," Optimus warned. He wasn't sure what the twins were thinking but trading themselves in for Icelyn was hardly a solution. They would just end up having to rescue the terror twins instead of the human twin.
"Optimus, please," Sideswipe said in a calm tone. Much calmer than any tone Optimus had ever heard him use. That meant the red mech was extremely serious, and Sideswipe didn't do serious.
"I accept," Megatron agreed with a wicked grin. Optimus felt his spark summersault nervously and he could've cut the tension in the air with his blades.
"Megatron, quit delaying our departure. Enter the coordinates to Unicron," Optimus demanded, shooting the terror twins a nervous glance, which was returned with determination.
Before anyone could say anything else, another voice entered the conversation.
"If you don't give me my sister back, I will figure out a way to kill you," Jade was shouting from the ground.
Megatron raised his optic ridges in surprise.
"Well aren't you a spitting image of the human I have frozen back at home," Megatron chuckled.
"No shit dipshit. We're twins," Jade snarked. Megatron's optic ridges dropped into a deadpan look.
"Unfortunate that you are the lesser of the two. Even so, I never forget a face human," he muttered.
"YOU DOUBLE CROSS ANYONE!" Miko was out now.
"MINE IS THE FACE YOU'LL NEVER FORGET!" She screamed.
Optimus was about to die of embarrassment. If Megatron thought he didn't have a handle on the humans running around before, he certainly did now.
Megatron shot him a dry look and Optimus just pointed almost violently at the ground bridge control, begging the warlord to leave.
"NEVERRRRRRRRRRR!"
Miko was a girl possessed.
Optimus couldn't scream out loud, but his processor sure was screaming internally.
Luckily, Agent Fowler came to the rescue a moment later, grabbing the screaming girl around the waist and pulling her back into the shadows from whence she came.
Optimus let out a sigh of relief.
Megatron walked over and input the coordinates.
"Jade," Optimus called to the punk haired girl.
"I'm ready," she said, walking over with a determined look.
"Me too," Harper said from the catwalk.
"Miss Sanchester, I am afraid –"
"How many times are we going to do this?" She cut him off. Optimus regarded her with worry, but he didn't want to just abuse his power to tell her what to do. Especially when it was her family that he had gotten into this mess.
"Remain with me at all times," Optimus instructed. She nodded in agreement.
"The humans will slow us down," Megatron drawled, eyeing Jade with a certain level of annoyance.
"The humans are coming, and that is final," Optimus said in a tone that left no room for argument. Megatron rolled his optics as the bridge jumped to life.
Megatron stepped through, and the rest of Team Prime, minus the kids, Ratchet and Fowler, followed him.
"It's no fair Jade gets to go with the bots," Miko said crossing her arms when the ground bridge closed.
"Maybe if you didn't primal scream at the Lord of the Decepticons, Optimus might believe you're more responsible," Jack deadpanned.
"Dude," Miko complained. Jack shrugged.
"Do you think they'll really be able to do this?" Raf asked quietly.
Kris walked up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"They'll come back," the younger boy promised.
"The voice in my head said they would."
Well there you go, round two is done. I just finished this and it's like 1:22 am so I'm gonna post in the morning and you're seeing this now so it's not like you had to wait til morning for the update cuz y'all's didn't know it was ready.
Hoo boy. Time for bed.
PLEASE REVIEW! Like, if you want to. Or don't, if you don't want to. BUT it has been known to make me write faster ;)
Keep Writing Keep Reading, Nova Out ;)