Safe Guard
Tyler marched into the barn, moving towards the side compartment, peering into the dark space. He could make out the silhouette of the cot, with the sleeping figure of Jordan resting on top, his back turned to him.
His blood still burned with hate every time he laid eyes on his old friend. The urge to end his life right there was tempting. But he knew he had to put all temptations aside. He had more urgent matters to deal with.
Tyler reached over to the small light switch that was screwed onto one of the support beams, and flicked the switch. Light quickly filled the room, causing Jordan's body to lightly twitch from the sudden shock.
"Get up!" Tyler sneered, moving into the room.
Jordan gave a soft moan, his eyes slowly beginning to open, as he rolled over, slowly looking up at him.
"Five minutes." He groaned, digging his head into the pillow.
Tyler rolled his eyes then focused towards the cot. The thing suddenly disappeared, causing Jordan to fall to the ground with a bang.
"DAMMIT!" He yelled out angrily, as he got up off the old dusty floor. "Do you treat all of your guests this nice?" He snapped, as he dusted himself off.
"Only you Jordan." He replied, standing to the side, gesturing Jordan to walk out.
Jordan walked out, quietly grumbling to himself, as he went for the barn doors, with Tyler following close behind.
As soon as he walked out, he was greeted by the silhouette of night, with the crickets still chirping away.
"You woke me up in the middle of the night?" Jordan hissed, looking back towards Tyler.
"It isn't the middle of the night." He replied. "It is five thirty in the morning."
"May I ask why you dragged me out of bed in tis ungodly hour?"
Tyler said nothing for a moment, then gestured to the for him to follow.
"Let's walk."
Jordan walked by Tyler's side, as they slowly made their way out into the field. After a few minutes, Tyler stopped in his tracks, and turned towards Jordan.
"You probably realize why I brought you out here. Don't you?"
Jordan gave a small nod. "Because you want to see if I would take advantage of the two of us alone, and finish you off right now. You want to test my loyalty, to see if I really have changed."
"It is hard to believe there was a time I trusted you with my life. You do realize that even if you are telling the truth, it will never change the fact about what you did. I will never trust you again, with anything."
Jordan gave a nod. "I know in my case, I have lost people's ability to trust me for good."
Tyler ran his hand over his head,looking right at Jordan.
"But I need your honestly today. I need to know everything you know about Unicron. His weaknesses, his abilities, etc."
Jordan fell silent for a moment, looking down at the still wet ground.
"I know where his body lies. But engaging it would be suicide. You need to destroy the conduit."
"The conduit?" Tyler replied, sounding confused.
Jordan then pointed to Tyler's house. "Let's go inside. I'll explain everything."
"There." Jordan said, pointing to a cluster of stars on the TV screen. "His body lies within a asteroid in the cluster. Orbiting one of the stars."
Tyler studied the cluster, knowing exactly where they were.
"That is the Pleiades Cluster. It is over 400 light years away."
"Not too far in terms of distance." Jordan said grimly. "It took me only a few days to travel the distance."
"You mentioned something about a conduit. What did you mean by that?"
Jordan turned to Tyler, taking a deep breath.
"That asteroid, wasn't some sort of fragment of Unicron to create those copies. It was a carrier. It held a manifestation of Unicron, that is designed to feed off chaos and destruction. The strength it gathers from that it then given to his body, and will be used to reawaken him. I believe his plan is to invade earth with his army of darkness. Use the conduit to gather strength, and then reawaken and devour everything. If we can find the conduit, we can keep him from rising, and keep him locked in his slumber."
"Where do you think this conduit is?" Tyler asked.
Jordan took a moment, thinking about any possible place it could hide.
"My guess is that it is hiding in the adjacent forest next to the valley where you were attacked. That is the only possible place I can think of. It is completely free of humans, and the thick trees make it a perfect hiding place."
Tyler looked down at his watch, seeing it was almost seven. It wouldn't be long before everyone started to get up. He pondered over the choices. If there was any chance in topping Unicron in time, it was with the conduit.
"Up for some good old fashioned hunting?" He asked, looking to Jordan.
He smiled, his eyes beginning to glow a bright red. "Let's hunt some ancient ass."
Tyler then gestured towards the door. "Let's just sneak out before everyone wakes up."
Quietly, the two made their way for the door. They opened the door, quietly shutting it as they walked out. They both made their way to the centre of the yard, their whole bodies beginning to glow, turning into their robotic forms. Jordan inspected his right arm, as his hand transformed into the giant claw-like ray gun.
"Any advice?" Tyler asked, checking over his weapons.
"Move quick." Jordan replied. "The conduit was made to be tough and agile. It won't o down easy."
Tyler gave a nod, as the two of them readied themselves to transform.
"YOUR JUST LEAVING US!"
Tyler and Jordan froze, as they turned to the house. They could see Sarah standing near the door in her robe, with the chipmunks standing near her feet, still in their pyjama's.
"Give us a moment Jordan." Tyler said, moving over to Sarah.
Jordan walked off, leaving Tyler alone with everyone else.
As he reached his family, he got down on one knee, looking down.
"I know what you are going to say." Tyler said. "And yes. There is no other choice."
"I don't have to remind you what a stupid choice this is." Sarah fired, glaring up at her husband.
"If we succeed, it may stop Unicron's rising." Tyler said, trying to support his decision.
"But Jordan could also stab you in the back. This whole thin could be a setup" Alvin added. "The two of you alone. I don't like it."
"I will be proceeding with vigilance the whole time. I will be ready if he does try anything."
He looked back to Sarah.
"You said you'd support me, no matter what may result from these powers. I am asking you, to support me now. It is the only choice we have. Unicron is growing stronger as each second passes. I can no longer afford to proceed with caution."
Tears started to fall down Sarah's cheeks. She walked up to Tyler, placing her hands on his foot.
"I just don't want anything to happen. Just promise me one thing." She raised her head, looking into his blue eyes. "Just return to me."
Tyler gave a small nod.
"I promise Sarah. I will return."
She wiped away a tear, as she slowly turned back into the house, walking back inside.
"We should come with you." Alvin said, looking up at Tyler.
He just slowly shook his head. "If anything were to happen to me, this universe can't afford to lose anymore of us. You and your brothers have to is for the best. Me and Jordan can handle this on our own." Alvin stared at Tyler. He didn't want toilet him go by himself, but he knew that there was no point in arguing with him.
"Just be safe." Alvin said, as they all turned back for the door.
As Brittany was about to walk in with the rest of the chipmunks, she heard Tyler's voice in her head, telling her to stay. She waited, as everyone jumped through the small pet door, then turned back to Tyler. He was on his feet, looking down at her.
"Brittany. Will you keep something for me?"
She slowly walked up to him, her neck on a wide angle to look up at him.
"Anything."
He then held his hand to his chest, as it began to open up. He got down on one knee, as a small spiral like object glowing bright blue in the centre emerged. He stared at it for a moment as it hovered in his hands, then extended arm to her. The object began to shrink as it moved over to her. By the time it reached her, it was hovering lightly in her paws, the soft blue light glowing gently in the centre. She stared at it in aww, remembering what it was.
"This is the matrix. Shouldn't you be giving this to Alvin?"
Tyler looked to his right for a moment, saying nothing for a few seconds before he slowly looked back to her.
"Perhaps. But I've been impressed by how much you have matured since we first met. As such, I feel you have earned the responsibility of safe guarding this important device, until I return."
Brittany looked back down at her paws, giving a slow nod. "Yeah. I promise I'll watch over this."
Tyler stood back up, walking over to the driveway. He gave her one final nod, before almost falling onto his stomach, transforming into the truck. He backed up to the the shed, driving partially inside, hooking up to a large trailer that sat on the inside. There was then a brief pause, before he drove back out, and down the driveway, with the trailer int tow.
Sarah and the chipmunks sat in the living room, watching TV. All of them too nervous or anxious to be paying attention. They were worried about Tyler. Unsure what would happen. Was Jordan going to make good on his promise, and help Tyler out? Or was he going to blind side him?
These question constantly repeated themselves in their heads.
Only briefly did they forget what was going on when Oracle entered the room, wearing some of Sarah's old clothes. She was wearing blue jeans, and a blue t-shirt with a pink zip up sweater over top.
"You look good." Sarah said quietly.
Oracle looked over herself. "Human clothing I always though had a certain uniqueness to it."
Everyone gave a light chuckle, as Oracle sat down in a arm chair.
As everyone turned back to the TV, a small buzz filled their ears. It was like the kind you hear when a speaker is turn up too loud.
"Where is that coming from?" Jeanette asked, as they glanced around the room.
Brittany listened closely, realizing it was closer to her, coming from the pillow that was right next to her.
"I think it is this." She replied, as she reached back, pulling the matrix out.
Both Alvin and Oracle froze at what they saw.
"Brittany. Why do you have the matrix?" Alvin asked, jumping over to where she sat.
"Tyler gave it to me. I don't know why. I think it would be better if you held onto it." She said, holding it out to him.
Alvin looked over to Oracle, his heart filling with dread.
"We need to find Tyler." He said, his voice close to a panic.
"Why?" Asked Sarah, beginning to sound anxious.
Alvin looked back at her, giving her a grim stare.
"There is only one reason why he would give the matrix to Brittany. Because he doesn't plan on coming back."
Don't worry. Not the next chapter, but the one after will more focus on the chipmunks.
Later :)