Duty and Deceit
Chapter 48
One Shall Rise Part 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers.
Huge thanks to my amazing sister-beta enmused! As always, read, review, and enjoy, because your feedback truly is what keeps me going - the more the better! Also, feel free to check out my second story, A Race Through the Night, which is why this story is now updated every other week, rather than weekly. Thank-you all!
She stared up at the inky, moonless sky with a heavy sigh where she stood leaning against the railing on the roof. The highest point in the sector. Skyquake had promised he'd meet her here as soon as his shift finished. According to her rosters, his shift had finished a couple breems ago. And yet here she sat alone in the forgotten roof top with nothing but her wild imaginings of what he would say for company.
It is a dangerous thing when one's best friend refuses to answer when asked to confirm their friendship.
She'd asked him to reassure her that he wouldn't leave her alone when everyone else had. He'd evaded the question, pulling the classic 'I have a shift' excuse.
The door behind her hissed open, causing the spy to go stiff. Instinct said to whirl around with her dagger brandished, but she knew the mech's EM field and pede-fall by spark. She didn't have to look at him to know he was flustered, sheepish, and hesitant.
Finally she turned around, lowering her mask with a soft smile, "Hey, mech."
Skyquake smiled back at her, his smile somehow even weaker than hers. "Hey."
They both turned back to hanging on the rail, staring up blankly at the dark, unfriendly sky that had become normal for their drifting planet. She missed seeing the three moons in the night's sky. They had been a comfort to her. A constant, unchanging reminder of hope.
After nearly half a groon of the tensely awkward silence broken only by the sound of Skyquake's nervous shuffling, the femme spoke out quietly, "So."
"So..." The mech repeated slowly before flicking his wings in annoyance at himself. Turning to face her, he gestured for her to hold out her hands.
Doing as asked, she cocked an optic ridge at him in question as he pulled something from his subspace and slipped them onto her forearms, gently clasping them into place. "It isn't much, but..."
She looked down at the intricately designed gold filigree bracers with a smile tinged with sadness as her suspicions were confirmed by the gift. "They're beautiful, Sky..."
She sighed and shuttered her optics as she tilted her helm down, her finials flicking agitatedly before settling at a despondent angle. "You're leaving, aren't you."
"I've been chosen for a classified, long-term operation..." His expression was desperately, pleading for her to understand, even though he knew that she would. He had taught her well in the matter.
Duty was duty, and not a thing to be trifled with.
"Just answer me this, Skyquake, and answer me honestly." The Prussian blue femme said firmly, her jaw set, "Does this have to do with your twin?"
"No." He seemed hurt that she would think such a thing, but his answer came swift as ever, without a moment's hesitation. "Megatron called me in personally two quartex ago, informing that I'd been selected for this mission. It's- it's off-world, a-and I don't know how long I'll be gone..."
The dim night's light sparkled on the coolant in his optics, the sight of which frightened the young femme. Her optic ridges drawing up and together in distress, she looked down at her hands that the green fighter still held tightly in his grasp.
Coolant forming in her own golden optics, the femme's voice was hardly more than a whisper, "When?"
"The ship leaves first joor... Tomorrow."
At his words, the resolve the femme had held stubbornly on to crumbled and she fell against him sobbing as he wrapped his arms around her and began tentatively humming the childhood song her parents had sung with her so often. She'd taught it to him not long ago. As he hummed, she tried to force the familiar words from her mind, tried to ignore the message they held that seemed to tear her spark to shreds.
Ages come and ages go,
Sparks of loved ones,
Sparks of kin,
Never lost, they live within,
Each of our sparks!
"Sky..." She gazed up into her friend's ruby optics reproachfully through the mist of tears, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
His engine hitched in pain as his optics pleaded her forgiveness, "I didn't want to hurt you... I was waiting for the right time..."
"And the right time was the night before you leave?"
"I- I am a fool, Terabyte." Skyquake hugged her a little closer, staring out at the sky over her helm. "I'm so, so sorry..."
Previously on Duty and Deceit...
"Why'd you cover for me back there?"
The large green fighter shrugged, sitting back down on his berth. "If you were them, which of the two of us would you actually be relieved to see punished more? ... Yes, we were wrong. We were despicable. But we can strive to be better. We are in a place where we are encouraged to be better. And as long as every day, we're better people than we were the day before, we win."
"No, no..." Terabyte shook her helm gently, resting a softly restraining hand on the child, who had moved to lead on to her parents. "I... I need me to be our little secret, okay Taia? Can you keep me a secret... for me?"
"I DON"T CARE about your math or your repercussions!" The medic bellowed, making the tiny femme's armor clamp down tight as she involuntarily cringed away from the brandished wrench that had seemed to materialize in Ratchet's hand. "You are a defector, whose calculations are flawed, and you would do well to shut your mouth and remember your place!"
"I'm sorry."
"I know." Terabyte replied just as quietly, her tone still icy and unforgiving. "I am not. This decision will not come without a price, and I dread the day that we learn what that price will be."
Terabyte knelt beside Raf's soft berth, watching him with gentle optics, surreptitiously running another scan over the boy. Stroking the boy's helm with one tender servo, the spy stood up and left the med-bay abruptly.
Your eyes are really, really sad way down.
She frowned minutely. The little girl had found her and recognized her instantly, though she'd only ever seen her alt-mode. Not to mention that she now had a completely different paint job than when the child had first met her. The Autobots were supposed to be a secret from the human populace, and yet she'd allowed herself to be located by yet another of the nosy little fleshlings.
Already they had made an exception for five humans, three of whom were children. That exception had put their lives at risk. Any human who had contact with Cybertronians was endangered. She had, unwillingly or not, put Taia's life at risk. As such, it was her duty to protect the young child.
Optimus would need to know about this strange child.
However, given that the Prime had directly ordered that they make no contact with humans, Terabyte couldn't help but fear what sort of reprimanding she would be given. For the time being though, her punishment depended upon Team Prime - which had just left - returning safely with the Prime.
Without the Prime to hold them all together and in line with the cause, the Autobots would be lost.
Just then the ground bridge burst open again to let in a limping leader and the other bots running with their blasters pointed at the closing portal.
Ratchet ran up instantly to begin running scans on the Prime with his scowl firmly in place as the Prime tried to wave him off, groaning as his many wounds protested.
"Easy, Optimus." The medic rumbled, helping Bumblebee and Arcee lower the mech down on the steel bench, "From the looks of things, you've been exposed to massive amounts of Dark Energon."
"I am not the only one." Optimus replied softly, watching Nurse Darby roll Raf in to see everyone.
"Hey." Raf said weakly, smiling up at the weakened Prime.
Nurse Darby scowled at the Matrix-bearer, disregarding greetings, rank, and respect - as allowed by her role as Medic - and choosing instead to glare at them all, "He's lucky to be alive, Optimus."
Terabyte's crimson optics narrowed as she returned to her place kneeling beside Raf. She couldn't agree with the human femme more, yet the piercingly accusatory glare that June directed at her was unnerving.
She wasn't just blaming Optimus for Raf's hurt, June was blaming all Cybertronians. She had a right to. To be perfectly honest, Terabyte suspected that the reason the Autobots were staying in hiding was very valid. Organizations like MECH were only the beginning. If the humans knew about their presence here, and that they were responsible for things like the destruction of Moscow, the bombings in Texas, the highway demolitions across the globe...
The humans had every right to hunt them down until all Cybertronians either left or perished.
They shouldn't have brought their war to this planet. They all should have stopped when Cybertron died. Was one planet's demise not enough for them?
Cybertronians as a race, Autobot and Decepticon, were fighting to avenge the wrongs that another did to avenge the wrongs of another. Their race was caught in a loop of vengeance. A loop that had been cycling over for six millenia.
Miko's next incredulous words tore Terabyte from her musings, "The Cons killed a Unicorn?"
Everyone in the room froze to stare at the girl standing at the bottom of the staircase. Terabyte briefly searched the term 'unicorn' on the internet and had to work hard not to laugh. As it were, she was very glad for her battle mask covering the amused grin that had slid onto her face.
The pink-haired girl blinked and then went on to describe the creature in question, making motions depicting each feature as she went, "White horse with a horn on its head?"
"Prances around all sparkly?" She wiggled her hands in emphasis of the 'sparkly'.
Ratchet, recovering first, corrected, "Uni-cron. An ancient evil whose fossilized blood comprises the matter we call Dark Energon. As legend would have it."
Nurse Darby, looking incredibly skeptical, leaned to one pede, her hand on her hip, "So you're saying this 'Unicron' is some sort of boogey-man?"
"Boogey-man?"
"Creepy guy who hides in your closet?" Miko prompted helpfully. Her expression suggested she was quite enjoying the discussion.
She scowled, sensing something in the medic woman's posture and tone that she was about ready to make her end-game play. The woman was still plainly shaken up over the experience of saving Raf, and even more plainly dissatisfied with the medical care they were able to provide him. Terabyte watched on in silence, wanting to know how the Autobots would deal with the woman. She should have warned them of the precarious situation, but she didn't.
It was not her place to judge how they dealt with those under their charge. And at this point, she wasn't entirely convinced that the woman wasn't right to want to get away from them and their war. War was no place for children.
She of all bots would know.
"No, Nurse Darby." Ratchet said grimly, "Unicron is very real. Was..." The medic paused and glared at an empty point of space for a moment before starting over, "That is, well, I do believe he once existed... I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial essence is what harmed Raf."
"That would, however, appear to be the most viable theory at present!" Jetfire put in cheerfully from where he remained in the medical bay, running tests of some sort or other on Raf's blood.
"I've heard enough." June declared firmly, pushing Raf's berth towards her car, "Jack, help me get Raf into the car."
The eldest human boy looked hesitant, glancing up at Ratchet with concern, "Mom, I thought you said he was doing better."
She simply glared up at the red and white medic, saying harshly, "Raf needs to be examined by real doctors. And Raf's family needs to know what's happened." The nurse swung her icy glower over Terabyte, Bumblebee, and Optimus, "His real family."
Terabyte went stiff under the woman's gaze, her spark twinging at the sting of her words. Jack put a hand up to his mother's shoulder, his gray blue eyes pleading, "Mom, his family can't protect Raf. Not like they can."
Because we've done such an amazing job of that so far, the midnight navy femme thought darkly, nodding slightly to the woman to show her support of the decision. Humans were too soft, too fragile, to be kept among them. Even in peaceful times, the sheer size difference would pose a high risk. But this was too much. They had pushed too far, bringing these fleshling sparklings into their war.
"June," Optimus rumbled, groaning faintly as he shakily rose to his pedes, limping over to where the woman had pushed Raf's cart. "It deeply grieves me that I have failed. But I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends and any other human ever again."
"What if that isn't enough?" Terabyte asked quietly, not expecting anyone to be listening to her.
The woman in mint colored clothing met her ruby optics with something close to a grateful respect before she turned to the Prime, "Optimus, they are children. They do not belong in your world. They should be worrying about grades, prom dates, pimples - not their own survival!"
"Mom, Dark Energon is pouring out of the center of the Earth." Jack protested, "It doesn't do that."
"Well apparently it is does." Terabyte muttered snarkily, her attempt to restrain herself only partially successful.
The news report in the back ground continued to list all the different catastrophes across the globe, all involving earthquakes and mysterious appearances of what they were calling radioactive amethyst. The news reporters' voices were only growing more frightened as the hours went by.
"This could be about everyone's survival, Mom. Not just ours." The tall, dark-haired boy concluded firmly, willing his carrier to understand.
"You're coming with me," June replied adamantly, leaving no room for debate, "All three of you." Glaring at the all Cybertronians present again, she clarified, "And they are not coming back."
Optimus' cobalt optics were tinged with sadness and regret, but he nodded regally. "I understand and respect your decision Nurse Darby."
She watched with soft optics as they loaded Raf into the car along with the rest of the medical supplies June had brought to help save Raf's life.
Miko glared up at Optimus indignantly, "So that's it? After all we've been through: 'See ya'? What about our freedom to choose?"
"That may fly on their planet, but not here on Earth." Jack's mother stated decisively, "Get in."
The Asian girl scoffed, crossing her arms defiantly, "Do you really expect me to ride in a non-transforming vehicle?"
"Miko, I'm serious."
"So am I." The girl retorted bluntly. "You're not my mother."
"Miko..." Bulkhead started to say, only to be interrupted by an annoyed look from his charge as she cut him off with a sharp, "Neither are you!"
June looked like she wanted to object, but knew that she had no power over the rebellious foster girl. Finally she growled lightly and glared at her son, "Well I am yours. Let's go, Jack."
He glanced up at his guardian with a conflicted expression on his face, depicting the internal war going on. Arcee looked shattered as she muttered, "She is your mom."
The other two-wheeler's words elicited a reaction quite opposite to what she meant. Jack set his jaw and said quietly, not looking at his carrier, "I'm staying... I'm sorry."
His mother seemed to wilt at his words, betrayal shining in her hazel eyes as she shut Raf's door and got in the car, starting the engine quickly. Watching the woman with a sorrowful gaze, Optimus said, "Ratchet, activate the ground bridge."
Already rolling off towards the tunnel, the nurse replied with an angry, yet polite, "No, thank-you."
Terabyte sighed deeply, glancing at the two depressed human children left behind before straightening stiffly and bowing slightly to the Prime as she turned on her heel and strode down the hall towards the mess hall. She was not needed here, and frankly, she did not want to be here any longer than she was needed.
Stopping in the mess hall, the femme prepared three cubes of Energon; one large, one medium, and one small. Then she headed towards the brig with swift pede-fall, her mask up and armor flared more than normal in agitation.
It would seem that she would spending much of her spare time with their detained warriors.
She swung into the brig and pulled down the force field with a rapid dance of her servos. She shifted nervously when she noticed the posturing of the two mechs inside. Taking a skillfully silent step forward, the femme's optic ridges pulled together in curiosity before her optics brightened in a pleased surprise.
Seated across from one another on the larger of the two berths, Skyquake and Cliffjumper sat fully focused on the game they were playing. There were four levels to the crystal board, each one divided into a grid. On each level were several holographic images, and at the base of the board was a keyboard for each player.
The rules to the game were quite similar to the human game of chess, only far more complex, and with parts that resembled many other games, and parts that were distinctly Cybertronian only.
She cocked her helm and involuntarily drew nearer to observe, jumping back in shock when Skyquake suddenly roared, slamming his hand on his knee. Across from him, Cliffjumper grinned victoriously, "That, my friend, is what is I like to call getting Cliffjumped."
"That play should have been suicide!" The green jet protested angrily, though his expression and restrained laughter gave away the falsity of it.
Cliffjumper wiggled his optic ridges, still grinning smugly, "I know. But you're the one who now owes me twenty credits."
Skyquake flicked the red mech a couple of credits with a begrudging grumble, "Not like they're actually useful anyway."
As he tossed the last of the credits over, Terabyte almost instinctively reached out and snatched them from the air seconds before Cliffjumper could. Examining the shiny surface for a moment, she moved to drop them in the red mech's hand.
"Keep 'em, Short Stuff." Cliffjumper said with a disturbingly eager grin. "You'll need them for when I stomp you guys next round."
She cocked her helm in silent question.
"Technically, it's a two-player game, but you can team up with big, green, and ugly over here." He only grinned wider at Skyquake's indignant rumble, "After all, we need to even the odds before your mech-friend runs out of credits."
Terabyte smirked, wriggling onto the berth beside Skyquake and examining the restarted board with all the pieces laid out in their starting positions. She'd only ever played once before, with her mentor, Makeshift. Only he had been cheating the whole time, and no amount of protesting would make him stop. Which was why after that game - which had left her broke and likely would have left her hungry if it weren't for Skyquake - she hadn't played the game again.
"I don't know... He may be better off without me." She grinned up at the green jet, though her mask remained in its place.
"Never." He said seriously before smiling casually and continuing, "If nothing else, you'll spare me having no one but this grinning glitch for company."
She shrugged lightly, "Your loss. However, I feel compelled to remind you that last time I played this game, you ended up buying my meals for a quartex afterwards."
Skyquake pulled on an expression of shock, "I did? Since I normally bought most of your meals anyway, I must not have noticed!"
Terabyte grinned, tossing him a reproachful look as her engine let out an offended rumble, "I object to that statement. I object with great objection."
They finally made a small move and watched the board intently as Cliffjumper made his play. Three breems later the red Autobot, who was winning substantially enough to take time to talk, asked seriously, "So what was going on out there, TB? We heard a lot of bridging, running, and shouting."
She ignored the question for a while, absent-mindedly slapping Skyquake's hand away as he went to make a really poor move. The answer to that question was so convoluted and long.
"Long or short version?"
"Long." Cliffjumper and Skyquake both said instantly and simultaneously, the red mech finishing, "It isn't like we have anything better to do till someone tells us to do something."
She sighed, having figured that they would say as much. She passed them their Energon cubes and started replaying everything that had occurred since that morning. She told them about the prophecy and her reaction to it, then explained how she'd left the base to clear her helm in the forest.
She left out the part about Taia.
Then she went on to tell how she'd seen Megatron and run over to find the Dark Energon readings, and how when she'd come back Optimus had been gone fighting Megatron. Her tone went icy as she related how they had struggled to save Raf's life, then how she and Ratchet had fought over the boy's treatment.
Finally she finished with how June had taken Raf away, meanwhile the planet they were on was shattering as the titan beneath awoke.
By the time she was finished, Terabyte had gone perfectly, painfully stiff as she stubbornly continued the game that none of them really felt like playing any longer. Throwing back the last of her Energon, the spy leapt to her pedes in an abrupt motion, nearly disrupting the game board.
"As much as I would like to remain here, pretending that I do not have duties to perform, I must now take my leave." She said formally, bowing slightly to the two mechs and making her swift exit, her jaw clenched tightly.
Once in the hallway and out of the two prisoners' audial range, Terabyte sifted through the internet records for half a klick before getting the information she was after. Pressing two servos to the base of her right finial in a gesture she had inadvertently picked up from the Autobots, she spoke quietly in another adopted gesture of consideration.
"Hello, is this the fem- child Taia's caretaker?" Terabyte asked - barely avoiding calling Taia a femmeling - when her call was answered by a stressed-sounding woman, adding politely, "This is Ms. Byte speaking."
"Yes, Ah'm Taia's fosta momma... Who are you? Wha do you want with us?" The woman's oddly accented voice sounded unusually frightened and angry. Most likely by the news reports declaring that their whole planet was coming apart at the seams.
"As I stated previously, my name is Tera Byte," She purposefully split her name so as to resemble the humans' designation patterns. As she continued the conversation, the spy silently slipped into an empty cargo-hold, incidentally the one containing the empty Scraplet pod they had encountered several quartex ago. "I work for your planet's government, and I only wish to ensure your protection. Did the child return home safely?"
The woman hesitated before replying, "Yes... Whaddya mean our planet's gova'ment? You're anotha one o' them ain't you?" Her tone grew bolder and accusatory, "Wha do you want wi' ma Taia? We don't want none o' your brand o' protection Ms. Byte. So you can just tell you boss to fly away home to whateva rock you lot come from, y'hear?"
Terabyte ignored the woman's sudden anger, her optic ridges furrowing in despairing concern, "Another one of us.. Ma'am have you been contacted prior to my call? Did the caller leave any form of identification?"
"You bet 'e left i-dent-ific-ation!" The woman replied tetchily, "Metal-man near well broke ma poor ole ears shoutin' 'bout his Decrepits or whateva it was 'e called 'em. Threatened ta blow ma house to Cybaton if Ah din't give 'im ma Taia."
Her crimson optics widened, her processors' fearful jumping to conclusions leading her to leave off correcting the woman in favor of asking, "You did not heed his demands?"
The woman let out an offended huff, "Ah don't know 'bout family on your planet, but here, we got standards. And tha means there ain't no way Ah'm gonna give anybody ma Taia. Especially if they gonna threaten ma family's safety."
"He did not attempt to take her by force?" Terabyte questioned dubiously.
"Well yeah 'e did, but Ah gave the bully what-for till he wen' flyin' off in tha desert."
She scowled. How on Earth did a human scare off a Decepticon?
"Ah ain't got neighbors out here," The woman replied to the statement she had unknowingly spoken aloud, "So Ah got ma'self some protection. Good ole Lassie packs a mean punch. Screamy din't think Ah was no ordin'ry puny fleshlin' after havin' words with 'er."
In spite of herself, Terabyte smirked behind her mask. She liked this woman. She had... 'spunk' as Miko would say. So Starscream had come out of hiding since going rogue, and he had been sent back into exile after a failed attempt to capture a human sparkling.
"You... and Lassie, have my gratitude, Caretaker of Taia." She said, still smirking at the mental image her processors had construed of this woman chasing Starscream with a cannon, scolding him like an unruly youngling all the while. Tracking the call with a speed that attested to vorns of practice, the femme asked for politeness' sake, "May I ask where you are located, ma'am?"
"You may if you like, but Ah ain't gonna tell you." The woman said matter-of-factly. "See here, young lady, Ah don't care who you are, or what you're capable of, but you ain't gonna intimidate with you big-alien superiority act. Ah'm gonna protect ma own family, an' Ah don't wanna have nothin to do with any o' you folks."
"Ma'am, I am not denying your will to protect your family, but you are in danger. The mech who threatened you is a rogue, however, if the Decepticons learn that you and Taia have come into contact with our kind, they will not hesitate to destroy you, or worse."
She memorized the coordinates and glanced outside the cargo bay to make sure that no one was coming.
"From what Ah can tell, i's your fault these folks are causin' trouble for us in the first place, so Ah really don't think we need any more o' your help." The woman paused thoughtfully, "Ah ain't gonna tell nobody what we know - ain't like they'd believe a lonely ole woman an' her eight year old kid rantin' 'bout giant alien ro-butts n'any case. You keep 'em away from us on your end, Ah'll keep 'em away on my end. But you stay away from ma girl, alright?"
Terabyte sighed heavily, "If only it were so easy, ma'am. I never intended to make contact with your charge; she found me on her own. The only time I had met her prior to today, I was disguised as an earth transport vehicle. There is no way that she ought to have been able to recognize me. My paint job had even changed since she first saw me."
"Well, tha' does sound like ma Taia. Always discoverin' things that she ain't s'posed to notice. She's got insight, that kid does. Some sorta sixth sense in that blond lil head o' hers."
She rubbed one finial absently, the sensors still sore from the shrill scream of the modified CR chamber. The girl's insightful comments were still echoing in her mind. Sixth sense indeed.
"Yes, I had experienced as much." She frowned, "Are you certain that you do not wish for protection?"
"Yes."
The spy nodded in acknowledgement. Not that she would listen to the woman, she would simply provide her protection more indirectly. The security systems on this planet were severely deficient, embarrassing to an agent of her skill. However, it did make her job of modifying government satellites to inform her the moment any Decepticon came within five miles of their dwelling. Removing any records of the family's home from the internet was a simple enough task. It would be an inconvenience to them if they wanted to ship something directly to their home, but they would be safe.
"I respect your decision." She said quietly, her left finial twitching faintly. "I wish you luck, Caretaker of Taia, and I will do all in my power to ensure that no harm comes to either of you. Farewell."
"'Preciate your concern for ma girl, Ms. Byte. Shows you're a good person, or alien or whateva, shows you got a heart in that cold steel frame o' yours." The woman replied softly, seeming to have recognized the urgent worry in her tone for what it was, "Ah can't expec' you to be able to do nothing if Taia seeks you out again, but Ah won't soon forget your promise, an' you don't wanna know what Ah'll do to you if you break it."
A light click signified that the woman had decided their conversation was at an end.
Terabyte straightened stiffly and bowed her helm slightly in a habitual ending to the conversation, stalking out of the cargo hold with a contemplative scowl. The doors had hardly swooshed closed behind her when the femme jumped in fright, nearly slamming her face straight into a bright yellow shoulder plate.
"Bumblebee!" She exclaimed in shock before smoothly regaining enough of her composure to tilt her helm respectfully, though no words worth voicing came to her processors.
"Terabyte." The gold scout replied with a small smirk to let her know that he'd noticed her surprise, his tone-less destroyed voice was suspiciously free of inflectional clicks and bleeps. "Talking to someone?"
She resisted the urge to take in a nervous vent as she internally floundered for a moment before saying crisply, "Negative, sir. Over the vorns, talking to myself became habitual. I apologize if this may have raised suspicion."
He let out an unconvinced whirl, crossing his arms and leaning back watching her carefully with his huge, pale blue optics.
Her armor flared in and out once in an agitated motion, opting for a subject change to hopefully throw the mech off, "Have you heard from Raf since Jack's mother took him to the humans' medical ward?"
The scout beeped a quick affirmative, still watching her with trained suspicion. "Pretty intense conversation with yourself."
"Do you ever feel like you just need to talk to your creators?" She asked abruptly, averting her gaze shyly. She was a spy, she lied for a living - back when they still got paid in more than Energon. "I came out here for that reason. I assumed that you would think it strange, a war-hardened ex-Con talking to her decavorn-since-deceased creators."
"Oh." Bumblebee whirred in sympathetic understanding. The scout glanced away, rubbing his elbow awkwardly, "No, that's cool. I mean not cool at all, but I... Praxus. So, I get where you're coming from at least." He gave her a friendly smile and shrugged, "If you ever... Uh... want to talk about it... I'm open. It really helped me; talking about it, rather than just simmering in anger."
"Talk? About what?" Terabyte snorted derisively, not needing to fake her reaction, "It isn't like I can just forgive what the Wreckers did. No offense intended, sir, but I will be perfectly willing to talk, even let you attempt to counsel me. After I have Ultra Magnus' spark fading in my hands. Not before."
Bumblebee frowned as he tried to think of a response to such a blunt statement. She didn't give him time to as she walked away with her helm held high. She clenched her jaws tightly in anger.
At least the mech would no doubt have forgotten about his initial suspicions.
She stepped into the main chamber, her cool composure once again firmly set in place. The whole room pulsed loudly and steadily, barraging her audial sensors with the distinctly amplified sound of a spark pulse. Wincing at the intensity of the sound, she tuned down her audial sensors.
"A Cybertronian heartbeat?" Jack asked incredulously, glancing around as though awaiting some form of correction.
"How is that possible?" A familiar woman's voice questioned calmly, making Terabyte smile softly with relief. June and Raf had come back. And they were both safe. "A heart pumps blood. There's nothing in the Earth to pump."
The dark-armored femme shifted into a stiff 'at-ease' position, stating quietly, "Except Dark Energon... 'The Blood of Unicron'." Turning to Ratchet, Terabyte carefully held her growing fear out of her calm voice, "The legends of Primus and Unicron appear to ring true. And it would appear that by them, our worlds' fates are intertwined."
"Whoa. Hang on." Miko interrupted, the normally unflappable girl's voice wavering, "You mean something's living down there: inside our planet?"
"I fear that the Earth's very core is comprised - not of magma, as your science has suggested - but of Dark Energon." Ratchet replied solemnly, his tone, as ever, taking on a flair for the dramatic.
"And if we're hearing a spark, then Unicron is the rising darkness the prophecy foretold." Optimus concluded.
Arcee stopped drumming her fingers on her hip for a moment, raising an optic ridge, "So, how do we stop this thing from rising?"
"That, I am afraid, was not foretold."
Terabyte scowled at the Prime's - if she didn't know better - attempt at dry humor. She looked around briefly for Raf before pointing out coolly, "Foretold or not, either we stop Unicron's awakening, or this planet suffers an even worse fate than Cybertron."
Jack flicked a hand up like a school child, "Um... How can something be in our Earth's core and... and be alive?"
"Such a thing is not unprecedented." Optimus replied, his tone deepening as he began retelling the ancient legends that comprised every youngling's first lesson in history.
"Before the beginning... there was Primus. And there was Unicron. One: the incarnation of creation, the other: of destruction. For eons, Primus and Unicron battled, the balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the Thirteen - the original Primes who preceded me - was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out. Primus became one with the very core of our planet, creating life through the Well of Allsparks - accessed by Vector Sigma - while Unicron was never to be heard from again... until now."
A new voice - startling Terabyte slightly - suggested crudely, "Maybe we could find the hole this 'Uber-Con' left when he dug himself all the way down there and fill it full of explosives."
"Agent Fowler," The Prime said wearily, "I do not believe the Earth became Unicron's home, but rather that with time and gravitational force, debris collected around the slumbering titan."
"Forming the Earth itself around his frame." She finished at barely more than an awed whisper.
"And the Titan now awakes due to the magnetic pull created in this extraordinary planetary alignment foretold in Cybertronian lore!" Jetfire piped in cheerfully. The white mech seemed so excited by everything that was occurring, despite the impending doom that these 'fascinating' occurrences meant.
"Okay..." Jack started slowly, his fleshy face squinching up in concentration, "So what happens when Unicron wakes up from his billion-year nap?"
"Yeah!" Miko agreed instantly, "Does he stretch and - kapow! - Earth poufs to dust?"
At the mutually worried glance the Prime and Ratchet shared, June frowned up at them, "You don't know, do you?"
Terabyte's engine hummed thoughtfully, "My guess would be that Unicron has at this point in time, transcended physical form."
Nodding in agreement, Optimus went on, "Nonetheless, we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens..."
He finished grimly, "The fate of your planet depends upon it."