Transformers Dawn
Plague
Starscream walked slowly towards a construction site, carrying a big sheet of metal over his shoulder. Without flight, or remarkable strength, the only useful thing that Starscream was capable of doing was bringing material for the Autobots to work with, to repair buildings.
It was a slow process, since Starscream could only carry a small amount of material without wearing himself out in his fragile state. Starscream's ordeal with the Predacons had left a permanent mark on him. Alive but weakened, Starscream had very little hope to ever regain the strength he once had.
But instead of taking the tempting opportunity to let his spirits fall, Starscream rose above it and let his anger towards the Predacons give him strength. With the Predacons constantly on his mind, it helped Starscream somewhat to forget the loss of his wings and physical capabilities.
It could be said that the Predacons were strangely both the bane and solace in Starscream's life.
As Starscream walked towards the construction site, he tripped over an unknown object and dropped the sheet of metal on the ground, producing a loud clanging sound. Unharmed Starscream grumbled and got up. He stormed towards the direction of the offending object.
Although the Cybertronians had done their best efforts to dispose of infected bodies from the Cybonic plague during the Great War, one had gone unnoticed. Almost hidden out of sight, under a bent piece of metal, one of its legs had managed to protrude and cause Starscream to trip.
Consumed with rage Starscream took hold of the bent piece of metal and sent it flying into the air, revealing the Cybertronian corpse beneath it.
"The Cybonic plague…" Starscream remarked, his lips slowly spreading into a sinister smile, his discovery inspiring him with a malicious idea. His most clever idea yet!
"If I can't defeat those beasts with brute force, than a deadly illness should do the trick." Starscream reasoned.
It was the perfect opportunity. With so little choices available to him, all Starscream had to do was infect the Predacons with the infected energon and the virus would do all the work for him, with no one suspecting a thing.
"It's only a matter of distributing it." Starscream smiled.
He walked away from the body and picked up the fallen building material and continued towards his destination to resume his duties. Once that had been completed, he would be free to carry out his plan.
Rodimus stood on an outcrop somewhere on Cybertron, hand over his eyes to block out the sun's light, helping him to focus on the vast valley ahead of him.
"Rod, what are we doing here?" Quickslinger asked Rodimus impatiently.
They had been driving around Cybertron for half an hour to get to this place and Rodimus had given his friends very little explanation.
"We're here to see a Predacon." Rodimus replied patiently, as if it was perfectly clear. When he had given his friends no explanation.
"Can't you just look at one from a database?" Quickslinger pleaded.
Impatience was beginning to turn into anxiety and Quickslinger suddenly feared a Predacon actually showing up.
"It's not the same thing! I want to see a real one. It'll be exciting!" Rodimus turned around to face his friends.
"Yeah, when it kills you!" Skram quipped.
Rodimus glared at him, when suddenly he was startled by a loud noise. It was an explosion, followed by a faint hissing sound of gas spreading through the air and a screech of pain.
A large, dark shape then flew over the three Autobots, it was a Predacon. Energon leaked from its body, the speed at which it was flying sent energon splattering and the Predacon came crashing down into the valley. The contact of the Predacon's body upon the metal ground making a loud screeching sound.
The three Autobots ran away from the valley in fright, Rodimus rubbed one of his optics as he ran away. The Predacon's blood had landed in his optic and he was trying to rub out the irritant.
Seeing that his friends had transformed and were driving away, Rodimus stopped rubbing his optic and transformed into his vehicle mode. He accelerated and caught up with Quickslinger and Skram.
"Are you happy now?" Quickslinger asked Rodimus with an annoyed tone. Spark still racing, Quickslinger at least wanted to know whether all this trouble had been worth it.
"Yes I am." Rodimus answered obstinately.
After driving very fast for a few minutes, Rodimus was beginning to get tired and asked.
"Guys can we slow down? I'm tired."
"We can't! If we're late Smokescreen is going to make us run laps around Cybertron!" Skram answered.
Rodimus sighed quietly.
Rodimus continued to drive as fast as he could, struggling to keep up with is peers but his strength eventually reached his limits and he stopped driving completely. He abruptly transformed back into his robot mode and sprawled onto the ground.
"Rodimus!" Quickslinger exclaimed and rushed over to him. His optics were closed and his face was mottled with patches of dark grey rust.
"Skram call Smokescreen, tell him we need a medic and FAST!" Quickslinger living up to her name acted fast and ordered Skram to get some help.
"Ratchet we need you back on Cybertron now!"
Ratchet received this incoming transmission from Cybertron from Smokescreen back on Earth in the Autobot base.
"Why? What's happened?" Ratchet asked, alarmed by this sudden communication.
His stay on Earth had been relatively undisturbed and the Autobots had not called him in a while. To be called now, meant that something very serious had happened.
"There's a bot that caught the Cybonic plague!" Smokescreen cried out.
"By the All-Spark!" Ratchet exclaimed.
On the Nemesis, inside the laboratory Arcee watched as Ratchet scanned Rodimus' chassis with his red medical scanner and read his vital signs.
"He's barely been online a stellar cycle, such a young body is not going to have an immune system strong enough to fight the virus." Ratchet informed her.
"Do you think you'll be able to remember the entire formula for the cure?" Arcee asked.
It had been a very long time ago that Ratchet had seen the chemical formula of the cure and with no easily accessible records, Ratchet would have to depend on his memory alone to save Rodimus' life.
"Yes, but if the worse should happen, I will need your help to locate Megatron." Ratchet told her.
"Well let's hope it doesn't come to that." Arcee said bitterly.
Although his desire for war was gone and Megatron was on relatively good terms with the Autobots, Arcee still held a grudge against him for all harm he had caused.
Rodimus lay still on the medical berth, his face mottled with rust with dark veins spread across his face. The light in Rodimus' optics flickered on and off, producing a sputtering sound. He groaned and closed his optics to rest.
Rodimus drifted off into recharge, but after a short while found himself in a dark and unknown place, the only light source, a glimmering light in the centre.
It was the Well of All-Sparks and Rodimus was hovering above it, like a spirit.
"Am I one with the All-Spark?" Rodimus said out loud. His voice echoing in the hollow place.
A tall figure then emerged from the darkness and approached Rodimus.
Rodimus gasped from the surprise and staggered backwards.
"Do not be alarmed, my name is Optimus Prime." Optimus calmly said, trying to reassure Rodimus.
"What the frag is going on?!" Rodimus demanded to know.
Rodimus was very scared and confused at the same time, he was in the Well of All-Sparks, potentially about to go off-line and a bot he had never met before had told him not to be alarmed.
"You are dreaming, you have contracted the Cybonic plague. My old friend is doing everything in his power to save you, but your body is struggling to survive." Optimus informed him.
"Ratchet…"
"You remember." Optimus smiled.
"How is that possible?" Rodimus asked.
"When I sacrificed my spark for the good of Cybertron, my spark was reborn. But the spark of which I speak of was not solely mine. Although my essence and memories remained, I shared this spark with another. That being is you." Optimus explained.
"Me?! Why me? Why did you choose my spark?" Rodimus asked in disbelief.
He wasn't important, why would a Prime want to share his spark? Rodimus thought.
"Although the age of Primes is over and the Matrix of leadership is lost to us, my spark was drawn to one who possesses the attributes of a true leader. You may not be a Prime, but the actions you have demonstrated prove that you are a Prime in spirit." Optimus told him.
"Why are you here?" Rodimus asked curiously.
If Optimus truly was sharing his spark, why did he not make his presence known earlier?
"Because you are dying and I am here to ensure that you do not. You must fight against this virus, because I sense that there will be dark times ahead of us and Cybertron will one day need a Prime to lead them." Optimus informed Rodimus of his purpose.
"I'm not ready for this! I can't lead Cybertron, I'm just a rookie!" Rodimus depreciated his abilities.
"You may be correct, but you are wise beyond your years and the wisdom I have learned in my lifetime lives within your spark." Optimus revealed to him.
"What's going to happen to you when I wake up?" Rodimus asked with a hint of sadness.
For the first time in his life someone had recognized his true potential and had treated him with such kindness, that Rodimus was sad to think that he may leave him.
"I will stay dormant in your spark and I will arise only in times of greatest need. Your spark is your own and I am not here to share your life, but to guide you through it." Optimus placed a hand on Rodimus' shoulder and told him gently.
"What about your friends, do I tell them?" Rodimus asked.
With the knowledge that he now possessed the memories and spirit of Optimus Prime. Rodimus anticipated that new problems would present themselves, if he was ever to meet any of his acquaintances.
"I have faith that you will make the right choice Rodimus, whether you reveal it to them or not, but be gentle with Ratchet. It will be hardest for him to take it." Optimus Prime advised him.
"Don't worry, I will." Rodimus assured him.
The Well of All-Sparks then faded away, as Rodimus woke up and opened his optics.
"He's coming back online." Rodimus heard Arcee say.
Once Ratchet determined that his patient was fully awake, he told him. "We nearly lost you, but you pulled through."
"That's because you always were such a capable physician." Rodimus answered him.
"You must be mistaken, I've never treated you before." Ratchet pointed out.
"Forget I said anything Doc." Rodimus smiled innocently and dismissed what he had said with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, yes of course." Ratchet said quickly, feeling a little unsettled by what Rodimus had said and walked away from Rodimus, followed by Arcee.
"That poor kid can never catch a break. Is he going to be OK?" Arcee asked.
"His condition is stable and he'll make a full recovery. Wait! What did you say before that?!"
"Oh! I met him last week, when Bulkhead and I were taking a break. He nearly joined Primus when he jumped on top of a grenade his friends accidentally activated. Bulkhead lobbed it away just in time though" Arcee told Ratchet of her previous encounter.
"Really?" Ratchet said quietly as he pondered over what Arcee had said.
"Remind of you anyone?" Arcee said with a knowing smile.
"I can think of one bot…" Ratchet replied with an equally knowing tone.
Ratchet looked back at Rodimus and wondered, was he the reincarnation of Optimus' spark in a new form?
Ratchet could not figure it out. But Ratchet had a suspicion that whatever it was, that he was about to discover, would be very enlightening.
Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed reading my story. Please let me know what you thought of it. Thank you.
Instead of a classic reincarnation I decided to make Optimus' reincarnation differ and make it so that Optimus can communicate with Rodimus like Alpha Trion did with Optimus.
Up next a certain eight legged foe, makes a return...