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Joor-1 hour
"It's Ultra Magnus! Tell your men to stand down, he's one of ours! "Ratchet called from the other end of the communication link.
Fowler immediately did as advised and ordered the soldiers to drop their weapons, although many wanted to keep them raised because of their collective fear of the titan that stood before them. The military helicopter that Agent Fowler had been flying in touched down on the desert below. When the blades ceased moving, the government agent exited from his aircraft and approached the giant.
"At ease boys, this one's on our side. "Fowler said sternly to the soldiers before placing his focus on Ultra Magnus, "Greetings, I'm Special Agent William Fowler. "
"I am Ultra Magnus, former leader of the Wreckers. "the towering Autobot's vocalizer thundered, "I'm searching for the other Autobots stationed on this planet. "
"They're scattered around the states, and we're trying to wrangle them all up as best we can but there's only so much we can do. Do you need something from one of them? "Fowler asked.
"A close friend of mine was injured by the Decepticons and he is in dire need of a medic. He told me I could find Ratchet somewhere in this territory, and now I must find him quickly. Have you heard of him?"
Ratchet heard them on the other end of the line. Ultra Magnus was requesting for him to preform repairs on a friend of his? This would have been an honor, if it weren't for the fact that the medic had nearly nothing to work with in terms of parts and equipment. He felt sullen at the fact he may not be able to help Magnus' friend who was in need – Who was this friend anyway?
"Sir! "called one of the soldiers, "You might want to have a look at this! "
Straining metal noises filled the air as Ultra Magnus turned swiftly to look towards the entrance of his ship. Fowler moved around the Autobot's gigantic ped to see what this fuss was all about. Feeling of dread crept into the hearts of the humans when they all took a close look at the injured Prime, who had been attempting to walk out of the ship.
Ultra Magnus sped over to Optimus and steadied him while waves of worry coursed through their Sparks. Prime kept trying to walk forward, but to no avail as Magnus held him firmly in place beside him. When the sense of distress took hold of his Spark, he stopped resisting Magnus' iron grip and stayed on board the ship.
Ratchet had seen everything.
"Optimus… "he vented quietly.
The very sight of his Prime alive lifted a great deal of weight off of his shoulders, but that subtle feeling of euphoria was countered by the feeling of dread that came about when seeing Optimus' injuries. Ratchet's frame shuddered at the very thought of what they looked like up close, and the feeling of dysphoria tore through his own Spark when he realized there would be little he could do about them. Nonetheless, he would try. Without a single doubt he would try – for his Prime.
Magnus placed the Prime back where he had previously been within the ship, and told him that they would be getting help soon. Then the large Autobot returned to where Agent Fowler had been standing outside of his ship.
"I'll take you to where Ratchet is. Flying will be the quickest way, so follow my lead. "The agent instructed.
The Wrecker nodded and returned back into the controls of his craft while the agent and soldiers returned to their own means of transport. Azure optics were drawn to the direction of the Prime, taking in the sight once more and listening intently to the sound of his deepened venting.
"It's alright, Orion. We're almost there, just keep holding on."Magnus made an attempt to comfort his friend before taking off once again, and following the humans to more unknown territory.
Back in the outskirts of Jasper, Nevada, the Decepticons were still rejoicing their major victory over the Autobot scum. They took pride in their new base of operations, where every Steve, Frank and Isaac had a place to stay. Perhaps it was that battle that marked a turning point in favor of the Decepticons, and maybe this war would be over in no time. All Vehicons were all extremely giddy.
Megatron too was taking pride in his victory, but he didn't go so far as to consider this war over yet. No, it was still far from being over. This was just a single battle, and he knew how resilient the Autobots could be, especially Orion. Oh, he knew how difficult it was to actually kill Orion Pax; Megatron had leveled hundreds of Autobots before, but when it came to Optimus Prime, he found it a challenge to make him fall.
Now the Autobots were distributed across the continent and all the Decepticons could do was chase them around like a cat to a mouse. However, perhaps that tactic was unnecessary since Shockwave had been working busily in creating a monster that would do that job for them.
The beast had been brought to Megatron the day before after Knock Out had attached a new arm to his frame, a familiar red one at that. Shockwave had arrived to their location via Space Bridge and spoke highly of his new creation. At first, Megatron held very low expectations towards the beast which Shockwave boasted about.
Then he saw the mighty beast emerge from the Space Bridge, he couldn't help but be impressed by the sear size it. It been inspired by a creature written in human mythology, a beast of nightmares, and a fearless hunter that had the potential to slaughter all pathetic Autobots that stood in its way.
"Predaking will rid us of our little Autobot infestation, O one true Master. "Shockwave had said, "He will obey only the word of the Decepticons, and no one will sway him unlike the Dinobots. "
Now Predaking awaits his Master's orders in his lair below the fortress, his fangs barred and his vocalizer emitting a low, digital growl. His processor was filled with many sadistic thoughts of what to do with the Autobots, and the mere thoughts made his glossa flick over his lip components hungrily. He waited to be unleashed.
Megatron too waited high above where Predaking lied. Upon his mighty throne, Megatron was seated with Soundwave stationed right by his side. The leader of the Decepticons waited for Starscream to return with any news of Autobot activity, and this time he better not return empty-handed. Megatron had given the Seeker a new armada for a reason after all, and it was his turn to return his end of the bargain.
The low growls of the mighty beast lingered upwards where his Master waited intently, sounding as if he were asking to be let out. Megatron understood Predaking's impatient feelings, for he too longed to venture out and destroy the scattered Autobots. What fun it would be to chase them all down one by one and extinguish every Spark they possessed. The Decepticon's faceplate shifted into a devious smirk as he felt himself share sadistic plans with Predaking.
Soon Starscream returned with his silver fleet of Eradicons, and landing gracefully in front of his leader.
"We thought you'd never return, Starscream. "Megatron growled, "Have you anything to report at this moment? "
"As a matter of fact, Lord Megatron, I do. "Starscream spoke with his honeyed voice.
"Oh? Then let's hear it, Starscream. "
"While patrolling this evening, one of my Eradicons picked up a Cybertronian spacecraft on their radar which seemed to be headed southeast. We would have further investigated, but we decided it was best to contact you about this in person. "Starscream explained.
Megatron abruptly stood up from his throne menacingly which then cause the armada of Eradicons and Starscream to flinch. However, the Decepticon leader didn't scold them for not contacting him sooner. Instead, he saw this as an excellent opportunity. Red optics trailed over to Soundwave as that terrifying smirk carved itself back onto Megatron's faceplate.
"So, whoever this mysterious visitor is seems to be traveling southeast, yes? Soundwave, I'd like you to send Laserbeak to survey the land so that we may get an idea of where this visitor may have gone. "He said smoothly.
Soundwave proceeded to play a clip of a random Eradicon saying, "It will take some time."
"Don't fret, Soundwave. It will be for our benefit should we find where the Autobots have gone off to. Then perhaps we will finally get the chance to test Predaking against our foe. "
Down below, the sound of pleased growls filled the air.
Ultra Magnus had been waiting outside of Ratchet's makeshift medbay for three whole joors. Night was growing old, the moon had begun setting below the horizon, and the golden light of morning was pouring into the large hangar's windows.
When the two Autobots had arrived earlier, Ratchet had led him into that medbay while telling Magnus about their supply issue. After Magnus set Optimus down on the makeshift berth, he quickly retreated back to his ship and nearly tore it to shreds in search of something the medic could use. Luckily, there was a spare medkit beneath the console that Ultra Magnus had completely forgotten about. Inside of it was everything needed; a welder, cleaning solution and a few pieces of mesh to quickly patch up Optimus wounds.
Now all that Magnus could do was wait in the hangar while humans gathered around him to gawk at his size, and to get a look at his hammer. One or two of the younger-looking soldiers asked to hear one of Magnus' war stories. Although Magnus wasn't one for story-telling, he did oblige and proceeded to tell the humans about the war and his endeavors with his team of Wreckers. The humans simply listened and looked up at Ultra Magnus as if they were sparklings listening to a story before they would be sent off to recharge.
After another long joor of waiting, Ratchet finally emerged from the medbay looking like he could use a recharge himself.
"How is he? "Magnus asked.
"Stable." Replied Ratchet, "He lost enough energon to the point where I was very concerned for him. But he's survived far worse than this, so the both of us can now rest easily. "
Magnus would have left it at that, but something more was bothering him that he just had to get off of his chest.
"Ratchet, while I was traveling the galaxy I felt this strange sensation pulling at my Spark. I have no idea what this means, but it felt as though someone were calling out to me. This might not seem like much, I mean, it didn't seem like anything when I first felt it. But when I followed the tugging sensation, it led me here. It led me to your previous base where he had been buried alive. What does this mean to you?"
The medic was silent for a few long moments while he busily arranged his tools back into their proper place, and only when his task was completed did he look back at Ultra Magnus.
"Is it not possible that you two are related in some way and you were sensing one another through a bond? I've seen it happen with brothers like Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. The two of them can communicate and sense what the other is feeling, so perhaps you were connected through that familial bond. "Ratchet explained.
"But I thought I had closed off all of my familial bonds before the war ever started. "Magnus said as if thinking aloud.
"It's possible that something could have reestablished your bond. "Ratchet pointed at Optimus chest, "That relic works in mysterious ways, Ultra Magnus. It's possible that it wanted to reach out to you. I cannot fully explain this phenomenon, but perhaps it would be a good time to take advantage of it. If there's one thing I know for certain, it's that Optimus could use the comfort of a family member right now. Especially after everything that's happened. "
With those words, Ratchet left Ultra Magnus to get that well-deserved recharge, and now Magnus was alone with a resting Optimus. The former Wrecker strode over to his leader's side, keeping a silent vigil over this bot that was supposedly a family member, a possible brother at that. How could Ultra Magnus forget Orion Pax if he was indeed his brother? Surely he would have known at the mere sight of the librarian all those stellar cycles ago.
Magnus clamped his white servo to Optimus' black one yet again. He hoped that perhaps Optimus himself would have some kind of explanation for this when he awakens.
Orion, how is this possible?, Magnus thought to himself as the sound of ground-based vehicle engines roared from behind him.
Predaking is hungry, how long will it be until he's released?