Chapter 8: Read Between the Lines
Fortress Maximus was one of the strongest Autobot war outposts on the planet as well as one of the largest Cybertronians to exist until he was permanently trapped in his tower-like mode and later died due to too much damage. It, for "he" is no longer living, now had everything, from the most advanced technology to the most powerful military weaponry. The Fortress even had a built-in Prison with top security and made escape practically impossible, both before and during the war.
The reason why it was "almost" unachievable was because Megatron once was captured and placed in the sentient being's Prison. He found a way to break out in less than twenty Earth minutes which was never revealed on how he did it. After his escape, inmates had high hopes they could do the same; none succeeded.
Like the Sentries on Moon Base One, Bumblebee learned of Maximus' great and compelling past, though it wasn't explained as much due to the Elders not wanting to poison younglings' minds with the notion of war at that time.
As the crew of the Ethiopia entered the dark battle-worn tower, several Elite Guardsmen, with their signature white and blue coloring, surrounded them, but unlike the disguised Metal Vehicon Heads, they did not point their weapons at the mechs. Unfortunately, they didn't do the same for Lyra and Captain Silos, who snarled as one poked him with the trooper's common Guard staff.
"Hey, hey, hey, put your weapons down! They're with us; both of them are not here to harm anybot," Wasp ordered which was obeyed immediately.
Silos, still on edge from the Guards' taunts, moved close to Rodimus with the spikes on his back raised like a scared cat's fur. Obviously, he wasn't a happy camper. Lyra crept towards Bumblebee and curled into a ball in between his pedes.
The Guards eventually escorted the group into the vast sentinel's chassis and into the Council's chambers, which was added to Maximus' frame after his death. Upon a high wall, Alpha Trion and his fellow Elders awaited peacefully, each crossed-legged and with closed optics bearing down on all who entered.
Among them, Yoketron, the famous martial artist of Cybertron, and Perceptor, who scrolled through a data pad fast. Both looked up to the arriving crew and kept straight, serious expressions when Jetfire and Jetstorm looked their way.
"Why, my sons, have you come here with two Metal Heads?" Alpha Trion suddenly asked, still in tranquility.
All seven of the mechs hesitated to answer, but thankfully, Alpha was a patient person. Finally, Rodimus stepped forward to the center podium and cleared his throat to let the Elders know he was about to speak.
"Sir, we've figured out who's behind the attack on Grimlock and the kidnapping of Optimus Prime. His name is Acheron. We were trapped underneath an old penthouse near Tyger Pax. Silos, here, helped us escape custody as well as Lyra."
A moment of silence drifted in the room before the old mech rose to his full height and opened his star-blue optics to gaze at the red and orange Prime. "This 'Acheron', is it? He has disgraced Cybertron for his actions against two leaders. Tell me, Young One, what does he plan on doing?"
Rodimus winced while the Elder said the traitor's name with a soothing, harmonic tone that did not mix well with saying the name. He peered up to meet Alpha Trion with his own eyes respectfully, not wanting to accidently make the old mech feel threatened by his presence.
"Sir, he's replaced Tigressa and has taken control of her army. Plus, we have reason to believe her siblings might be under the same influence that affected Blitzwing a while back. He intends to wipe out Cybertron and Earth's population for a twisted purpose. The Metal Heads are trying to fight and locate their leader, but she seems to have vanished. We believe Optimus, as well as Tigressa, is on Earth right now in the Metal Head Nest."
Alpha Trion's face turned grim at the new information, "He is treading on a weak bridge over a smelting pit. Does he not realize the danger he's put himself in? If he finds a way to conquer both our world and the human's, he will not be able to manage them both, nor will he have the ability to man the Metal Heads once they break free from the bonds that bind them to him."
"Yes, sir, but we also have come to realize he may be experimenting with other species, creating new breeds of Metal Head whom can only be controlled by him. We encountered one in the Sentry, and Bumblebee described it as a Cybertronian mix," Rodimus said shakily.
The Elder's reaction to this was still calm, but the others could tell he was shocked by this.
"And do you have any proof of this Cyber-Metal Head?"
"We did, sir, but before Acheron imprisoned us, he took its body. We luckily killed it and brought it with us on our ship right before we met him."
Alpha Trion stayed silent. One of the other Elders, Botanica, stood up and reached the Head Elder's stand, asking permission to speak. The old mech backed away from the spotlight and let the femme enter.
"Rodimus Prime and crew, I feel you may have suffered some space madness during your time away. How do we know you're telling the truth when you have no evidence to support your findings and recent stockade venture?"
Trying not to yell at the persistent Elder femme, Rodimus lightly growled, "Because we have been forced to reckon with a horrible ordeal, one of which I do not expect anybody to believe or take into consideration. We know what we witnessed and heard; I know that this madman will do whatever it takes to bring down our newly reformed empire, one bot at a time no matter how long it takes. If you still question my words, then I do not blame you, for no one can truly know what happened unless they were there."
Botanica glared deadly at the young mech but did not reply. As she turned to her fellow Elders, much to her dislike, she could see in their optics they trusted him, even Yoketron and Preceptor. With a scowl, she left the platform and returned to her spot among the others.
"Since the Council apparently heeds your message in your honor, we will help you chase down this new found threat. As for you, Captain, I have heard a great deal about you, both good and bad, and I do not know whether to help you or capture you for your crimes against Cybertron. However, if Rodimus and his team trust you then it has to be for a respectable reason.
"Despite my instincts screaming at me to arrest you, we will accept your aid in our new struggle any way we can get it. We shall help you find Tigressa and restore order to your species, but the minute you defy our cause before and during our rescue of your leader, you will be terminated. Am I understood, Ceros?"
The Captain nodded quickly in respect. Alpha Trion smiled gently and turned away from them after he uttered, "Good luck to you, my children. You'll need it."
Optimus could feel Demon's movements through his own frame. The dragon was running at a high speed on all fours and he was sitting on the techno-organic's back like a jockey on a horse.
Although the dragon didn't mind, hence why he allowed the Prime to ride him in the first place, Optimus felt a little awkward on Demon. Riding your friend around like an animal didn't seem right, but he still accepted the dragon's offer of faster transportation.
They had broken out of the Nest quite some time ago with his brothers herding behind him. Now they were surrounded by the luscious green plant life of Earth heading towards Primus knows where. The only thing that really mattered to Optimus and Demon was to get off the planet.
Demon wasn't concerned about his four sisters, excluding Tigressa and Firefox, for he found they had escaped shortly before he left by tricking the Metal Heads by unreasonable methods. The girls were clever, he had to give them that, but what they did, he didn't want to know.
Through the forest and rocky terrains, neither Optimus nor Demon spoke a word but the Prime knew wherever he was going must have meant something to the dragon.
After an hour of travel, Demon slowed to a jogging pace and acknowledged the scenery that held a river, a waterfall, the vast jungle surrounding it, and a cliff where the water rushed off of. The other dragons laid down among the grass in peace. Not wanting to give the dragon any more strain on his spine where he sat and where the spikes had graciously disappeared for him, he got off the mech in awe at the beautiful sight before him.
"Why are we here, Prince?"
Demon winced at the title but answered, "This was one of Tigressa's hidden nests that were abandoned years ago. Majorities of the Metal Head species don't even remember their locations; I, however, never forgot."
Still striding on all fours, the dragon reached the waterfall and steadily walked through it. Optimus followed but was greeted by Demon's form shaking off the remaining water. Despite that, he gazed at the cavern's metal covered room.
The dark pit was soon lit by the light of the technology that resided in it. The cave's low hanging structures had Energon veins set up around them while multiple consoles littered the walls, each reporting its own unique data back to the large mech.
"If you're wondering why all this is still here, I sort of reused it for my own personal lab during my twin's time on Earth but she returned a few times to ask about my recent projects I've been trying to achieve. The last time she came back was less than two weeks ago, but she sounded off like she was in a rush to get somewhere…or to escape from someone," Demon said while typing a new report into the system.
Optimus raised a brow, "A rush, huh? What did you say to her?"
The dragon hesitated, "I didn't; I only gave her what she asked and she left immediately after. Of course, I regret not asking her what the problem was, but I never thought I would see Tigressa in such a horrendous, scared mood. It was unlike her."
"And that's when she disappeared and you became Slave #1 to Acheron."
"Sort of, but I wasn't the first person to fall under his hypnosis. That award goes to Blossom. However, I am still unaware on Tigressa's whereabouts. Maybe she logged it somewhere for me to find. I'm already scanning for any recent logs."
He paused for a second before speaking again, "Huh, that's odd."
"What is?" Optimus replied curiously.
"The newest posts were made directly before and after my last encounter with my sister, but every time I try to activate one of them, it messes up the system like a virus wanting to break through."
The Prime took over the panel and typed a bunch of codes into the computer's mainframe until it released its hold on the messages. Both mechs began reading the first communication sent and were shocked at their findings.
Demon,
I need your help. I'm too frightened to speak to you in person so I decided to contact you via text. Things are turning bad back at the Nest; a Cybertronian has just talked to me recently but I do not like him. My crew is becoming startled by something and most are on edge with him around. I can't shake the feeling something's terribly wrong with him. I wish for you to contact Optimus, much to my disliking. I fear whatever it is he wants will not bode well with my leadership.
Tigressa
Demon growled at the mentioning of the Cybertronian scum who had the nerve to go to the Nest. Obviously, that was Acheron, but it spooked him on how Tigressa practically knew she wouldn't be in power anymore. She knew that her number was up.
The second message made him whimper in sadness:
Demon, my brother,
I'm afraid things have taken a turn for the worst. My army is hunting me and I don't have much time. That Cybertronian taken control of my babies and I've grown weak from his recent attack on me. He challenged me to a dominance duel that was strictly based on claws and dentas only, but the bastard cheated and activated his guns and shot me multiple times in my chassis.
I've lost a lot of blood now and I hope you can find me before time runs out. I will be near the Russian volcano, Zhupanovsky, for now. Please come find me.
This time, she didn't even bother texting her name to prove it was her, but Demon didn't seem to care. The only thing on his mind was his twin was in danger and on the verge of dying.
"Optimus, do you think you can reach Ratchet and Bumblebee from here?"
Optimus didn't wait for the question to be finished and quickly navigated through the system. "Time to find out," he said with determination present in his vocals.
Rodimus and Captain Silos were conversing with each other, most likely about the homeland differences between Cybertron, Kanji, and Rozaria. Those two seemed inseparable and formed a great friendship in such a small amount of time. It was impressive.
Bumblebee had fixed the Ethiopia and knew it was ready to fly once again. Suddenly, his comm. link acted up, frantically vibrating his helm with its usual sound effect. ::Bumblebee here::
::Bumblebee, this is Optimus. We're on Earth and we know where Tigressa is and who's behind the recent attacks::
::You're alright! And you found where Tigressa is!? Sweet! As for our new Metal Head Leader, we know who he is. Acheron captured us and placed us in an underground prison until one of Tigressa's Metal Head friends decided to help us break out. We've just convinced the Council to help the Metal Heads restore Tigressa to her rightful throne. We're ready to go back to Earth::
::Great, Demon and I may need help, for Tigressa's location may have been discovered by Acheron and her recent message we've found stored in our friend's files indicates she is in need of medical assistance. Can you bring Ratchet or Knockout with you?::
::I'll see what I can do. Don't worry, Optimus, we'll be there in less than a joor::
::Thank you, Dearest Warrior::
With that, the comm. link conversation ended. Instantly, Bumblebee ordered Rodimus to contact both the medics. Captain Silos didn't need to be told his order to get what the warrior wanted.
After a few minutes, both medics were at the ship's dock with a few extra soldiers: Arcee, Blackout, and Sideswipe. Bumblebee could tell Ratchet brought them because he didn't want to lose Optimus in case there was an ambush at the coordinates that was the volcano.
"Are you sure you want to bring them; I highly doubt anything's going to happen to us, Ratchet," Bumblebee argued.
The old medic glared at the mech, "Zep-ep-ep, I don't want to hear it! I'm not taking any chances. I have never trusted a Metal Head before and I'm not letting my judgment become clouded by any presumption by a metal Captain that Tigressa is alone on that mountain. Besides, I also don't want to treat any severe injuries on you if we do encounter the possessed Metal Heads on Zhupanovsky!"
Bumblebee groaned silently at the red and white bot who ignored him as he entered the ship. The warrior knew without Ratchet, he wouldn't have made it to this day, but boy did he hate the mech's grumpy persona and stubbornness from time to time. He could tell the ride back to Earth was going to be Hell.