Tipping Point Chapter 12, a transformers/beast wars fanfic

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Before we get to the next part: I was asked several times to post a list of my stories according to the timeline I write them in. Well, I'm nearing the 100th story, so it would be a long list, and it's really a lot easier for you to hop over my website and look at them there :)

Since FFNet won't let me post a link, just go to my profile page on FFNet and follow the homepage link there. Scroll to the Transformers Movie logo and click. Really, really easy. And voila, everything in the correct order!

Tony Stark had spent the last two weeks allocating resources to figuring out how to burst a bubble. A reality bubble. Like everyone involved in that mission he knew it wasn't easy, maybe even impossible, and it was dangerous. He had even flown along with the Ghost-3 and Bowman's crew to get a real look at Cybertron, and he had been awed and deeply touched, saddened and angered, and he had been confused.

This was it. This was where the mechs came from, but then again it wasn't. He had spent hours talking all of it through with Perceptor and Hook, and he understood that while Cybertron was really here, it wasn't more than an image. Still, it was hard to grasp.

Cybertron didn't influence gravity fields. It didn't change the solar system. No asteroids or meteors were drawn to it. It was clearly there, it was physical in a way that it severely hurt or could even destroy what came too close to the reality bubble, but then the laws of physics stopped and things were rather strange.

Back on Earth he wasn't too surprised to find an Audi R8 parked among the many sports cars in his collection.

"Hey, Roddy," he greeted the new Prime.

The car transformed and the familiar mech smiled a little. "Hello, Tony."

"Got some time off?"

"In a way. Optimus told me to take some."

Stark grinned. "And you came here?"

"And I came here. How was your trip?"

"Weird and enlightening. You've got a great planet, Roddy. Impressive. Though a bit on the surreal side at the moment."

"Seems like it. No one is any closer to solving this and I somehow doubt there is a solution."

Tony regarded his tall friend with a frown. "Giving up on your own home?"

"No. Just realistic. And if I understand Perceptor correctly, this isn't Cybertron as we know. It's… an image. Reality trapped in a bubble."

"Still it's there."

Rodimus nodded and sat down, watching Tony fiddle with the computers. It was familiar, it was known, it was even needed.

"No one's giving up, Roddy," Tony said, voice very serious, after a while.

"I know."

"But hiding the prolonged existence of a new planet in the solar system might prove a bit difficult."

It got Tony a nod. "All of us are aware of it. Optimus has talked to heads of state and everyone is ready."

"Ready for fear, paranoia and aggression?"

Rodimus' optics flared a little. "I have faith that not all of humanity will hate us. It will take a while, but I'm certain your kind can accept us."

Tony regarded him silently. He knew what humanity was capable of. In the long past of many nations one sub-group had tried always to wipe out or suppress another, be it for belief, ethnic background, religion, heritage, gender, or just because someone had looked wrong at another guy or girl. Wars had been waged over minor matters. So if a race of giant, alien robots revealed themselves… yeah, there would be upheavals and fear.

"Let's burn that bridge when we get there," he only said, smiling tightly.

Until then he would use his influence and his company, as well as those he had bought or taken over, to help one way or the other. Many nation leaders knew about the Autobots already, about the war, about the danger. For close to fifteen years now the alien visitors had lived among them. For a lot longer the US had had Sector Seven take care of the knowledge.

Maybe it would take another twenty to thirty years for the truth to come out fully.

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Sam had needed distance and Bumblebee had let his partner drive wherever he wanted. Emotions at the base were still high and with so much going on, with mechs coming and going, the technopath had been rather stressed. While Sam insisted he needed to train in this, too, Ratchet had been close to ordered him away. Sam had been thrown into the proverbial melting pot of emotions of all kinds and despite his past training and his strong shields, he couldn't handle it for a prolonged time.

So he had packed a bag and just driven off. At the end of the day they were in a small town in the middle of nowhere called Lost. It was a fitting name. A lot of stores had gone out of business and aside from a café and a mini-mart only a hardware store had survived. Sam found a Bed & Breakfast, which hadn't been hard since it was the only one and the hotel outside of Lost no longer existed. Margaret rented him a clean room with en suite facilities, and she even gave him a hand drawn map of what to see in the area.

"Ever since the highway was built and the coal mine was closed we don't get too many visitors," the elderly woman told him. "The bridge that leads here needs repairs and was closed, so cars only get here by taking the scenic route through Westville and Coales. No one does that."

Sam had taken the map and he and Bumblebee had gone sight-seeing. It had been relaxing and fun.

"Where else do you want to go?" the mech asked as they enjoyed the solitude.

Sam shrugged. "No idea. Just… drive. Until we get a call that you are needed, I think we have a lot of time on our hands. And I never really just… went wherever the road took me."

"Sounds good," Bumblebee agreed. "I'd like to get to know more of your planet."

"This is only a small part, Bee."

"It's still your planet."

Sam patted the hood and slid off it. "Let's see what they have for dinner at the café. And tomorrow we'll find some off-the-track town or place that no one's seen in decades."

Bumblebee chuckled. "Sounds like fun."

An alarm rang through the base. It wasn't one that announced an incoming enemy, or an immediate explosion. It was a summoning; an urgent summoning.

"Ratchet?" Optimus demanded as he strode into the main control room.

The medic looked harried and his optics flared with the upheaval inside him. "Something's happening to Cybertron, Prime," he replied tersely. "Blaster has a live feed and Perceptor has sounded the alarm."

On the large screen the image of Cybertron could be seen. The milky reality bubble was changing color and some kind of lightning bolts were racing over it.

"What is this?" Jazz asked, confused.

He and Barricade had joined the small group of alerted soldiers and Autobots. Lennox was there, as was Epps.

"We don't know," Scrapper answered and his face popped up in a smaller window on the screen. "Energy readings are off the chart."

"It can't be the space bridge. It was destroyed when Soundwave brought Cybertron here," Perceptor added.

The bubble seemed to pulse and quiver.

"This is not good," Will murmured.

Prime only nodded.

"Energy spikes are increasing at impossible numbers," Perceptor called. "The maximum curves are way off the chart."

Small bursts of explosions could be seen.

"That's the rest of the space bridge going off," Ratchet told them. "Whatever is happening to the reality bubble, it's quite aggressive."

There was a squeal of alarm and something bright flashed over the screen, then klaxons sounded through the speakers.

The intensity of the light increased and the maelstrom twisted completely out of shape.

"Scrapper, report!" Optimus called.

There was no reply and the images from the Ark were grainy, but finally they stabilized.

"We have lost contact to all satellites," the Constructicon leader said, leaning over the camera that relayed his image. "There has been a massive energy surge. We're trying to establish contact to Steeljaw or Eject, but haven't been able to."

Jazz immediately went to a small terminal and called on Blaster, but the communications specialist couldn't help them either. He was frantically trying to contact his symbiotes.

"I have a weak signal from Eject," Blaster finally said, voice laced heavily with worry. "But nothing on Steeljaw."

"Understood."

"Prime, this is Prowl. We're on our way," the tactician could be heard. "Our sensors aren't picking up a lot so far, mostly energy interference and spikes of radiation. Visual is not yet possible."

And suddenly there was a grainy image that cleared up more and more. Optimus leaned heavily onto the table, fingers clenching around the edge of the table top.

"No…"

"Radiation is still high," Scrapper said, a voice in the background. "Energy displacement was massive, but not from space bridge teleportation. This wasn't an artificial wormhole or anything."

"What was it?" Optimus asked levelly.

"I can't say, Prime. My best guess?" The red optics were filled with fear. "The reality bubble collapsed in on itself. It was a possibility since the bubble construct was too unstable. Soundwave forced space to bend to his will, but he had never perfected the space bridge technology. This was the result."

"Cybertron… collapsed?" Ratchet exclaimed.

"Possible," Perceptor spoke up. "Or it was pulled back to its original position. There's also a good likelihood that it ended up somewhere else completely. Or is now stuck between realities or dimensions."

Everyone looked aghast.

"Prowl, return to the Ark," Optimus ordered. "Refuel, choose a crew and return to Cybertron."

Prowl nodded. "Understood."

"Scrapper, I want the Spook outfitted with whatever is necessary to scan for Cybertron. If the collapse brought it close to the original position I want to know."

Scrapper nodded. "Will do, Prime. We'll be ready when she comes in."

Optimus turned to face his men. No words were spoken; all were simply trying to work through the shock of what had happened.

"We'll know more the moment Prowl has reached the coordinates," Optimus finally said. The silence had lasted only ten seconds. It had felt like an eternity.

"If Soundwave is responsible for Cybertron's destruction, I'll dismember him wire by chip by bolt," Ironhide growled, optics flashing.

"Even if Cybertron isn't back at its original coordinates it might still be whole somewhere else," Ratchet said.

"Unless we find it, we might never know," Prime added.

Ironhide snarled and turned around, stalking away.

Optimus gazed at the empty screen, feeling his own spark constrict with the prospect of truly having lost their home. Of course, the chances of reviving their dying world had been minimal, but as long as Cybertron had been there, there had been hope.

Soundwave's meddling might have destroyed even that now.

Blaster let his two symbiotes rejoin him, feeling the tiny mechs connect with his support systems, and he immediately ran a check on them. Steeljaw was fine, though a bit low on energon, but Eject had been hit with quite a blast and needed extensive recharge. He downloaded their recordings – visual data, scans and readings – and sent them to the Ark. The others were still at their positions and he reassured them that their brothers were fine. It calmed the busy symbiote frequencies a little and Blaster initiated the recharge cycle for Eject.

Watching the small mech, a part of him in so many ways, Blaster let some of his worry go. He had been afraid of losing Eject and he was simply glad he hadn't.

The others echoed the sentiment. They were all interconnected and they would all feel the loss. It was bad enough that they had lost Cybertron once again.

First to the war and Megatron's madness; then to the reality bubble.

::Do you think it survived?:: Rewind asked.

::I don't know. I hope and pray::

It was all they could do.

Bumblebee had returned to base, but Sam had asked to be dropped off at his parents. The events as of late had him want to be with his family for a while, and his parents had been curious as to what had happened. He had told them everything and both Ron and Judy had been shocked and sad.

"Losing your planet once more," his mother said, shaking her head. "It is so sad. And it must be painful. How is Bumblebee?"

Sam smiled, warmed a little by his mother's concern. "He's okay. I mean, it's not like Cybertron exploded into a million pieces. It was never really here, just… encased in a reality bubble."

"It was here," Ron simply said. "It was here for all of them to see it and now there's the distinct possibility it's gone for good. This is hard on everyone."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Still, there's hope."

His mother nodded, but his father didn't look convinced.

Bumblebee didn't return until the next morning with the news of the Spook's mission.

"What if this Soundwave character screwed everything up some more and your planet is gone?" Ron asked as he stood in the garage with the yellow Camaro.

Bumblebee made an unhappy sound. "We have to accept it. We'll be truly without a home then."

"Your planet was dead. It's what you told me."

"I think we all had hopes that one day we might find a way to revive it."

Ron nodded slowly. "And now even that is gone."

"Yes."

"Poor baby," Judy spoke up, looking very empathetic.

"Don't hug the car, Judy," Ron told her with a sigh.

She shot him a dark look and Sam hid a grin. He felt Bumblebee's amusement overshadow the feeling of loss that was permeating the Autobot's spark.

"If my son can hug his car, so can I," Judy stated, but she only placed a motherly hand on Bumblebee's hood.

"Thank you," Bumblebee said politely.

Sam grinned more.

"And you know that our garage is your garage," she went on. "This is your home and you're always welcome here."

"Judy," Ron groaned.

"Thank you, Judy," the mech repeated.

Sam bit back a laugh. "Mom…"

"What?" she challenged. "This is your home, and Bumblebee's. Losing your whole homeworld is bad enough. A person needs somewhere to come home to."

"I appreciate it," Bumblebee said warmly.

She patted the hood again. "Just you remember it, Bee."

Sam felt Bumblebee's love for his parents and he reflected it. He loved them very much and he had never felt this belonging more strongly than now. They had accepted Bumblebee, they had accepted his choices, they had welcomed Bumblebee as his partner.

"How about a barbecue?" Ron offered, spreading his hands.

"Now?" Sam blurted.

"This weekend. Invite your friends."

Sam exchanged a bemused look with his mother, then shrugged.

::Bee, I think you should call Ironhide and Will. I'll see if Trent's free.::

Bumblebee radiated amusement and agreed.

Ron clapped his hands. "Well, that's settled then. Judy, let's go over to Stew and order the best beef and pork he has."

Judy sighed, shook her head, gave her son a smile, then hurried after her husband as Ron detailed just what he wanted to throw onto the grill.

::It'll be fun:: Bumblebee told him, smiling.

"Yeah," Sam agreed, grinning.

And it was a way to unwind, to forget, to be among friends.

The Spook sat in the middle of space, surrounded by nothingness. A tiny sun reflected off the hull. It was a lot farther away than Earth's sun was from the only inhabited planet of the solar system, but it had also never been needed to give life to a planet. Cybertron's sun had shed enough light for the mechanoid life forms on the planet's surface.

Prowl stood behind Sideswipe and Jolt, gazing at the image on the forward view screen. Or lack thereof.

"We've reached Cybertron's coordinates," Jolt said, rather superfluously.

"Yeah," Sideswipe murmured. "And it's not here."

Prowl was silent, blue optics fixed on where he knew his home world should be.

It wasn't.

"Deploy the probes," he ordered.

Jolt did and dozens of SI satellites swarmed from the belly of the shuttle, immediately taking readings. All was collected by the Spook for later evaluation.

"So if it isn't here," Sideswipe mused, "we got only a few possibilities left, right?"

Prowl refused to answer. He didn't want to ponder possibilities. He would leave that to the scientists like Perceptor or Hook. Right now he was solely focused on his task; it also stopped him from thinking about the worst-case scenario.

The probes came back an hour later. Scans indicated not the slightest blip from their home planet. It had disappeared from its old position and there was nothing that indicated where the space bridge might have transported it.

Prowl felt his spark grow heavy with the implications. He reached for the comm. and sent a heavily encoded message to Nevada, to Optimus Prime.

Optimus wasn't alone as he stood outside the base, gazing at the sky above. At his side stood the younger Prime, optics dimmed, his expression speaking of the same shock Optimus felt. They had received the encoded message and they knew what it meant: Cybertron was lost. Whether it was lost forever somewhere in the vastness of space or completely because the space bridge had destroyed it or it might have ended up between dimensional folds – or even another reality -- couldn't be determined. But now Earth was truly their only home.

He felt the pulse of the other Prime's spark, a curious effect he had noticed for a little while now. Maybe it had to do with the closeness of their sparks because of their shared heritage. Rodimus' past had just caught up with his present, with Hot Rod, and he was still partially reeling from the changes. Optimus had helped him as best as he could, but he also needed the younger mech to function as a Prime.

And he did. Remarkably well, too.

Optimus gazed at the smaller mech. Rodimus had wordlessly kept him company in his until then lonely vigil and they hadn't talked at all.

Another pulse had Optimus meet the blue optics.

"You feel it, too, hm?" Rodimus asked.

"Yes, Rodimus. I believe it to be a side effect of our heritage."

The younger mech chuckled. "Probably. There were thirteen once, right? And they were all connected. We're what's left of a Dynasty."

Optimus nodded. "We and Will Lennox and Sam Witwicky. To a degree, even Tony Stark."

"Don't tell Tony."

"You didn't?" the larger mech rumbled, amusement swinging in his voice."

"Hell, no!" Rodimus laughed. "He's a smug bastard already."

It got him a chuckle.

"Do you feel a connection to Lennox or Sam?" Rodimus asked.

"I connected to Will," Optimus answered. "After that I never noticed any pulses. Sam has a different connection to all of us, but not me specifically."

"So it's a Cybertronian thing?"

"I believe it's because of our sparks."

Rodimus gazed at the darkness again, very well able to see by employing different kinds of sensory equipment.

"I never noticed anything before."

"Maybe it wasn't time."

He glanced at the older Prime again and nearly laughed. Yeah. Right. Not the time. They had to lose the Allspark first, kill Megatron, strand all across the universe… and now probably lose their homeworld on top of it. Yeah. It hadn't been time.

He knew they all played a role. He was a Prime by heritage, by birth. He belonged to an ancient Dynasty that had passed on something to him. The Allspark had been lost, but the heritage of that had been dispersed not only into the universe, but also into Lennox. He possessed the genetic matrix of Cybertron. It was currently useless, but it wasn't lost.

"You think Cybertron is gone?"

Optimus gave a soft, slightly rattling sigh. "I hope not, but unless Prowl can find a trace, we have to believe it lost."

"And the Decepticons?"

"Soundwave made a giant miscalculation. He will lose support and loyalty. Starscream has nothing to lose and nothing to gain. We don't know where he is, what he might plan. We'll keep our optics and audios open."

The Constructicons were currently using the two Ghosts to get to the remains of the space bridge to haul what was left back to the Ark to study it. Hook and Perceptor were already itching to get a first look at what Soundwave had created.

All of it would take time and Rodimus hoped they had time. They needed it.

"I think I'll take a drive around," the younger Prime finally said, making a vague gesture. "Take my mind off things."

Optimus smiled. "I'll see you at the base," he answered, sounding almost casual.

Rodimus grinned, gave him an equally casual salute, and then transformed.

It was pure chance that he found himself in Malibu, Point Dume, by sunrise.
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fin for this one

Merry Christmas everyone!