Disclaimer: I've found interesting the fact that every chapter, except the prologue, was titled with a line from the original movie. Honestly, I don't why I went that route but I haven't hear any complaints and it actually works so I'll keep running with it.

Like always, I don't own Transformers.

Chapter XX

Location: Quintessa

The cell doors slid open and the Allicons shoved their Autobot captives inside. Hotrod and Kup were thrown into one cell, while Elita One was sent into an adjacent cell. The violet restraints that kept the Autobots under control vanished and Hotrod made a break for the exit, only for the Allicons to close and lock it down. Elita One looked through a barred view point. She could clearly see the Quintesson Judge and the Bailiff conversing about something; probably about what to do with their newest inmates. Kup glanced over and saw the look of rage in her optics. Elita righted herself just in time to see Hotrod reaching for the bars of his and Kup's cell.

"I wouldn't touch those, kid." she said.

"I guess that'd make you the expert, huh?" Hotrod stated, earning a sharp glare from Elita One.

Kup gazed at Elita once again, and saw that the look in her optics hadn't changed. "You've dealt with these guys before, didn't you," he said, to which Elita nodded. "What happened?"

Elita rotated around and leaned up against the wall farthest from he bars. "About fifteen stellar cycles ago, my team and I escaped Cybertron. Our ship was damaged and we crashed on what we thought at the time was an uninhabited planet. There were four of us then, including Moonracer along with Chromia, Firestar and myself; while we were trying to find a way off world, the Allicons captured us and dragged us to their masters."

"The multi faced mutants?" Hotrod repeated Elita One's previous description of the Quintessons.

"I have other, less flattering nicknames for them, but yeah. And there's more than one of them. Why we haven't seen them is beyond me," Elita was quiet for a moment and then continued. "All I know is how much I hate them."

"That hatred can't be just from being imprisoned," Kup reasoned. "What'd they do to you, lass?"

Elita One fell silent, as if the thought of her treatment over the stellar cycles weighed down on her. "These Quintessons; they seem to know or want to know more about us than we do of them. I don't know for sure. I do know that they conducted numerous experiments on us; tortured and brutalized us and in the process, killing Moonracer. After a couple stellar cycles, we tried to escape, but only I got free. But not before they screwed up my personality component."

"So that why you don't like me," Hotrod said. "And here, I thought it was personal."

"It could be if you keep it up, kid."

"Elita, you got out, but what about Chromia or Firestar?" Kup asked in a serious tone.

For the third time, Elita One fell silent. "I don't know. I didn't have chance to go back for them."

"You abandoned them," Hotrod said incredulously. "You didn't even try to rescue them."

"I wasn't in a position to mount a rescue," Elita snapped. "For fifteen stellar cycles, I was trapped on this planet trying to survive. I didn't know whether or not my friends were offline. And then you show up and we all get captured. This wouldn't have happened if Optimus Prime were here. He'd get us out of this otherwise fine mess. Where is he anyway?"

Kup and Hotrod turned away without saying a word, but then Kup turned back to Elita One. "Elita, Optimus Prime is…"

"He's what, Kup?"

Kup choked. "He's dead. Optimus is dead."

Elita One glared blankly at Kup for what felt like an eternity, then muttered, "You're lying, Kup. Optimus… He can't be dead. He can't be…"

"Well, he is." Hotrod said as he slumped up against the wall.

"How? Tell me what happened. How did he die," Elita asked and noticed Kup's reluctance to speak. "Tell me!"

"He died…" Hotrod suddenly and solemnly said. "…Saving my life."

Elita was left astonished and then chuckled to herself. "Same old Optimus, putting himself on the line for others. I guess he saw something special in you, kid."

"Yeah, lucky me!"

Hotrod was lying and he knew it. He done it plenty of times and most of those times, it didn't bother him. This time was different. Elita One obviously had a history with Optimus Prime, that much Hotrod could gather despite having never met Elita. That alone made Hotrod regret not telling her the whole story. Why Kup didn't spill the details, the real circumstances surrounding Prime's death, further confused Hotrod. A faint clanging sound alerted the trio to another presence. It seemed to have come from a third cell. Hotrod went to arm up, momentarily forgetting than his weapons, as well as Kup's and Elita One's, were disabled.

"Who's there," a raspy voice whispered, and soon its owner slowly appeared from the shadow. "Are you…are you rescuers?"

"Not exactly," Hotrod noticed a striking resemblance between this bot and the one that was fed to the Sharkicons. "Hey, I saw another bot who looked almost you."

The bot hung his head sorrowfully. "That was Arblus. He and I were the last survivors of the planet Lithone. My name is Krenix, and I assume you are Autobots."

"Yeah, I'm Kup and this is Hotrod. The femme over there is Elita One." Kup stated. "Wait, did you say Lithone," Krenix nodded to this. "Thought so, I've been there before."

"Is there anyplace you haven't been?" Hotrod asked.

"Seen it and done it all, lad," Kup said and turned to Krenix. "You said you and your friend were the last survivors of Lithone. What happened?"

Krenix started to tremble before he uttered a single word. "Unicron."

Hotrod and Kup exchange looks of utter skepticism while Elita One interjected. "Unicron? Are you serious?"

"I agree that it sound improbable, but I know what I saw," Krenix said. "The Great Destroyer. The Chaos Bringer in physical form."

Kup shook his in skepticism. "Can't be; Unicron only existed in the ancient texts in the Hall of Records in Iacon. He was never real."

"Kup," Hotrod said. "He's telling the truth."

"What're you talkin' about, lad?"

"Earlier today when I found those runes, I had some kind of vision." Hotrod explained even as he was still piecing it all together.

"A vision of what?" Elita asked.

"I saw two figures in a galaxy, organics maybe but ethereal, kind of like gods, fighting each other," Hotrod explained further. "And everything around them, planets, stars and whatever else was destroyed."

"The ancient battle on Unicron and Primus, at the very beginning of time and space." Krenix concluded to a nod from Hotrod.

"Kid, you're describing two mythical beings in a battle that never happened." Elita One said.

Hotrod turned sharply at Elita One. "I know what I saw, even if it sounds like I had a bad dream. I saw Primus fighting Unicron and the whole galaxy was being destroyed because of it."

"It's a legend in every sense of the word that goes back to the beginning of everything we know," Krenix said. "Allow me to elaborate…"

((Long before the universe was as we know it, there was only the void. In this void roamed a god-like creature of darkness and chaos; Unicron. Unicron existed for one, only one sole purpose; to consume everything in his path. And he did. Unicron consumed and devoured the entire universe, every newborn planet and star, every passing comet and even that which existed between Space itself. By doing this, Unicron sought to reshape the universe in his image; a featureless black void of nothingness, and once he'd succeeded, Unicron entered into a prolonged period of hibernation.

But Unicron wasn't quite as thorough in his universe consumption as he'd thought. There existed still, a small area of Space and from it, a new universe was created to replace the old. Unicron awakened to find himself in this new universe and as before, he began to consume it. But there was another who challenged Unicron; a guardian of light and order; Primus.

The forthcoming conflict was fierce, brutal and all consuming. Primus and Unicron fought tooth and nail with a relentless fury unheard of. After a long and vicious struggle, Unicron was proving to be the greater of the two. Primus came to realize that their conflict was destroying the very universe he'd created and sought to protect. In desperation, Primus pulled Unicron into the astral plane, a realm of existence between existing universes. Here, Primus fared little better against his foe. So, Primus was forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. He entombed himself and Unicron into two barren asteroids. This last act of defiance against Unicron supposedly ensured the safety of the universe.

But this was not to be the end of Unicron. For the coming millennia, he reshaped his prison to suit his needs, become a mechanical roaming planet that could change its form into a gargantuan monstrosity. In this terrifying new form, Unicron restarted his one goal of destruction anew. Primus realized this, but feared that if he assumed a similar form, it would only continue the conflict in Unicron's favor. So, Primus forever reshaped his asteroid into the world we know now as Cybertron. With the last of his influence, Primus created a race of autonomous robotic organisms that could, like Unicron, change form at will. It was the hope of Primus that these being, these Cybertronians, his children…

Even then, it would be a long and arduous task. The first on these beings were known as the Thirteen Primes. Together, they ushered in the first Golden Age of Cybertron. But Unicron's dark influence was still felt throughout the universe. This compelled one of the Primes, the one forever known as The Fallen, to betray and murder his brothers in the name of Unicron. Soon after, brother turned on brother, allies became enemies. Still there was hope. Primus had left a piece of himself behind to be held by the Chosen One; he who would lead the Cybertronian race against Unicron should he ever return. Which it would now seem, he has.))

"Hence…" Krenix concluded. "…the origins of the Transformers."

Hotrod and Kup exchanged glances that bordered on disbelief. The texts they've had to have read in the Hall of Records at one point or another, the supposed origins of the species was slapping them in the face. Like any and every other Transformer born of Cybertron, they believed it all to be nothing but stories. Kup and to a larger extent, Elita One, likely still believed it all to be the stuff of myth. Hotrod seemed now to know better. Because he'd seen it, vision that Krenix had so vividly described.

"Unbelievable," was about all Kup could say. Still he looked directly at Krenix. "You're Cybertronian, aren't you?"

"I was," Krenix said. "Until the day the Great War began. And I firmly believe the stories of the Transformer's origins to be true."

"Wait a nanosecond," Elita One called out from her cell. "You mentioned that Primus left a piece of himself behind, to be carried by he who would lead the Transformer race, and to use it to…"

"…To light our darkest hour!" Hotrod finished.

Elita One looked at Hotrod, shocked. "Yeah!"

Hotrod fell silent and went deep into thought. And then realization set in. "The Matrix."

"Ultra Magnus has it." Kup concluded. "Optimus Prime passed it to him before he died."

"It's not quite that simple," Krenix concluded. "The Matrix is part of Primus himself. It cannot simply be passed from one Cybertronian, one Autobot to another. A keeper is not named, but chosen by the Matrix itself."

"Ultra Magnus was only named the leader by Optimus Prime, but not chosen by the Matrix." Hotrod said with certainty.

"What're you getting at, kid?" Elita asked.

"I'm saying that Ultra Magnus isn't supposed to have the Matrix," Hotrod said. "He's not the Chosen One."

Elita One was just a hair more intrigued, and confused. "Then who is?"

Before Hotrod could answer the question, the door leading into Krenix's cell slid open. Then a group of burly mechanoids brandishing massive battle axes rushed in. Krenix tried to escape and then tried to fight, but he was quickly overpowered. The Guardsman dragged Krenix away despite his pleas of being the last survivor of Lithone. The Bailiff hovered at the cell door with an evil grin and his tendrils whipping about. From their cell, Kup was forced to hold Hotrod back as Krenix was being taken away. Hotrod got loose regardless and made a grab for one of the Guardsman. In doing so, he touched the bars and was jolt with an electrical current and fell right back into Kup's arms. The Guardsman disappeared beyond the door, while the Bailiff gleefully faced the Autobots.

"Soon, you too shall receive your sentence." he said before the cell door slammed shut.

"You okay, Hotrod?" Kup asked.

Hotrod pulled away and snapped, "I'm fine."

"Look at this," Elita said from her cell, staring out the barred up window. "They're setting him up over the pit."

Hotrod and Kup looked out the view point of their cell into the courtyard. The Guardsman hauled Krenix to the end of the platform and then left him there, with one of the Guardsman remaining. The platform was lowered until it settled about halfway above the water surface. Krenix could clearly see scored of dorsal fins swirling around. The telltale sign of the ravenous Sharkticons, all them waiting for their next meal. Hotrod and Kup could now clearly see the Quintesson Judge appearing atop the podium. Of the five faces, the only recognizable face was that of Death's Head. The other four, not even Elita One could know.

"We, the Imperial Quintesson Magistrate, call this court to order," The Quintesson Judge, for it was of five individual personalities, said. "This Lithonian stands accused of the crime of trespassing on the planet Quintessa. How do you plead?"

"I plead nothing to the likes of you, monster." Krenix defiantly said.

"Be silent, Lithonian," the Bailiff said aloud. "Has the Imperial Quintesson Magistrate reached a verdict?"

The Quintesson Judge switched faces, to a seemingly grinning face. "We have."

"Guilty or innocent!" the Bailiff said.

On to another face, this one frowning, the Judge said, "For the crime of trespassing, we find the…"

"If you intend to kill me then just get it over with," Krenix defiantly shouted. "But spare me this mockery of justice."

There was a brief pause, and then the Bailiff said, "I shall repeat; guilty or innocent."

The Quintesson Judge switched face yet again, going right to the face of Death. "Innocent!"

Like clockwork, the platform dropped from underneath Krenix and he himself plummeted into the pit. After a heavy splash down, Krenix remained briefly submerged. But once he resurfaced, that was it for him. The Sharkticons swarmed him without a moment's hesitation. Hotrod, Kup and Elita One could watch as the Sharkticons devoured Krenix, some tearing at his torso, other pulling on his severed limb in a Tug-a-War. It was horrible to witness. Elita One turned away from the sight of it. She started to wonder if that was the fate of her allies. Soon after, Kup started to look away but noticed that Hotrod hadn't done the same.

"He didn't stand a chance, did he Kup?" he quietly asked.

Kup only shook his head in agreement. "Not the end I'd wish for, lad."

Hotrod fell silent, even pressing his head against the wall in frustration. Then his blue optics pulsed. "We've got to get out of here."

The Dinobot Swoop was smart enough to know he was on unknown territory. He, like his fellow Dinobots, was as alien to this planet as he was more native to Earth. Leave it to Grimlock to wander off from the wreckage of the crashed shuttle. Naturally, the Dinobots would follow Grimlock without a second thought, if they ever had one of those. Swoop was, by virtue of being the only flyer, tasked to search from the skies above the strange world for their Autobot wards. Thus far, he didn't see any sign of Hotrod or Kup or Breakaway. Dissatisfied with the results of his search, Swoop returned to the surface. The rest of the Dinobots wandered about aimlessly, with Grimlock ahead of the pack. Slag and Snarl flanked their leader, Sludge at the rear and Quickstrike, ever untrustworthy, was dead center when Swoop arrived and assumed his proto form.

"Swoop say, he no see nothing." he announced.

Grimlock growled slightly be confidently said, "Grimlock positive, Autobots close. We keep looking."

"Quickstrike say, Grimlock lost and he knows it." said the ever angry Raptor.

Grimlock turned and glared menacingly at the smaller Dinobot. "Grimlock, want Quickstrike to say that again."

Defiant against his much larger leader, Quickstrike said, "Grimlock lost. Not know where he's going. Quickstrike should lead."

"No," Slag shouted and stood beside Grimlock. Snarl did the same. "Grimlock, leader of Dinobots, even though he sometimes full of beryllium bologna."

"Hey!" Grimlock shouted at Slag.

"Snarl, never liked Quickstrike. Snarl, make cesium salami of Quickstrike."

"Quickstrike, like to see Snarl try."

"This not good!" Sludge absentmindedly said.

"No, but fun to watch." Swoop said with a hint of amusement.

Just as the Dinobots looked ready to duke it out… "Friends find, look behind!"

Grimlock picked up the unusually pitched voice, as did the rest of the group. "Who say that?" Grimlock looked around for the source of the voice, and he didn't see the tiny survivalist that was not sitting on Sludge's head.

"Friends find, look behind!"

Sludge only now realized the runt's presence. "Sludge, have little bot on his head."

Grimlock soon noticed the survivalist. "Who you?"

"Wheelie is my name, survival is my game. You go the wrong way, you fool I say."

"You call Grimlock fool?"

The Minibot called Wheelie started to smile. "I kid you not, no fool you not."

Sludge actually started to chuckle. "Wheelie funny! Sludge like him."

"Little Minibot, help Dinobots find friends?" Grimlock asked.

Wheelie shrugged. "Sure can do, just take me with you."

"Quickstrike, not want to baby-sit Minibot," Quickstrike said. "Quickstrike, eat Minibot first."

Grimlock stomped the ground directly in front of Quickstrike. "Quickstrike not eat Wheelie. Grimlock is leader of Dinobots. Grimlock say, Wheelie find friends."

Quickstrike wasn't much for listening, to Grimlock or anybody else. He was about ready to pounce on Wheelie when the Dinobots heard a loud boom. Whatever caused the boom was coming toward the motley crew, and fast. The Dinobots readied themselves, especially when the object approaching appeared to be an Earth styled jet. Instinctively, the Dinobots thought it was a lone Decepticon approaching. Until Swoop recognized the make of the jet. And the Autobot insignia. The jet slowed and quickly transformed, ultimately confirming that it was Breakaway.

"Finally found you nimrods," Breakaway humorously said. "Wow, I guess I owe that girl in a big way."

"What girl?" Snarl asked.

"Um… look Hotrod sent me to look for you guys," Breakaway explained. "Now that I have, we should try to find Hotrod and Kup."

"Excuse me!"

Breakaway was spooked before he noticed Wheelie sitting on Sludge's head. "Where'd you come from?"

"All over and over and over! I'm Wheelie and I survive here a long time. Don't mind my speech, I just like to rhyme."

"So I see," Breakaway with a small chuckle. "Can you help us find our friends?"

"Sure," Wheelie said and dropped to the ground and started onward in the opposite direction of where the Dinobots had been going. "Wheelie knows the way, no help you find friends today."

The Dinobots and Breakaway followed, and Grimlock humorously quipped, "Grimlock say, we on our way."

Author's note: Personally, I never liked Wheelie. That's just me. That said, The big difference between this chapter and the movie is... Wait for it!

The origin of Unicron. I remember the cartoon origin and how downright corny and stupid it was. We all remember it. So, I went with the comic origin, seeing as it was monumentally more popular. I even threw in some mention of the Thirteen Primes and the Fallen.

Also, we explored the reason behind Elita One's hatred of the Quintessons. Pretty cool, huh?

Let me know what you think so far.