XXX - Lock and Key

The others were debating how best to get to Cybertron in the near future when I walked in, Ultra Magnus exempted. I guessed that he was aboard his ship.

"… we turbocharge Maggie's ship and fly there–"

"Yes, we could fly there… if we wanted to while away millennia staring at the stars." I ruffled my newly-repaired wings, cutting Smokescreen off mid-sentence.

Arcee's optics fell onto them, "Subtle. Got any better ideas?"

"As I said previously, Megatron possesses a space bridge. So, we commandeer it."

"Like the last one?" Bulkhead affirmed.

I smirked wryly, "The very same."

"But we could barely hold it the last time, and this one's much bigger by the sound of it," Arcee began, "how do you expect us to hold this one?"

"We don't need to 'hold' it, just keep it open long enough to jump through. And I know just the bot who can help us with that."

"Isn't that what 'holding' means?" Smokescreen muttered sarcastically.

[Who?]

"Knock Out. He offered to be our inside mech in the Decepticons." I stated triumphantly.

"Oh, don't you just think of everything." Bulkhead replied haughtily.

"Actually, it was his idea." I corrected. "But we can contact him, and he can get the bridge open, or force some drones to do it."

"Are you certain this will work?" Optimus asked.

"No," I admitted, "but it's the best shot we have, should we not take it?"

[I'm in,] Bumblebee chirped, looking enthusiastic.

"So am I," Arcee and Smokescreen said in unison.

"Me too," Bulkhead jumped in.

We all looked to Ratchet. "By all means, we must do whatever it takes to restore our planet." The medic said resolutely.

Optimus smiled at him, "I could not have put it better, old friend. If you will contact Knock Out…" the medic nodded and went over to the console, opening his comm frequency. The Prime turned to the rest of us, "We shall reach Megatron's space bridge in the Iron Will. Each of you, retrieve the relics and anything of importance you can use in battle. Unless we fail to secure the bridge, we shall not return here."

Valor was already strapped to my back, so I went and grabbed two of the Omega Keys out of storage. Bumblebee got the other pair and tucked them in a gap between his door wings and back.

Not a minute later, we all were outside the Harbinger with the relics. Optimus had the Star Saber sheathed in its place on his back, as Valor was on mine. Arcee twirled the Immobilizer in a servo while wearing the Apex Amor, looking like she couldn't wait to test the pair out. Smokescreen examined the phase shifter on his wrist with reverence, activating and deactivating it while reaching his servo through his arm. Bumblebee held the Polarity Gauntlet, examining its surface while fiddline with some of its functions, slowly pulling the Immobilizer out of Arcee's grip when she wasn't looking. Bulkhead gripped the Spark Extractor as if it was a grenade lacking its pin. Ultra Magnus descended on the platform from the belly of his ship once again, holding what looked like an electric pulse cannon. We had opted to leave the energon harvester and shrink ray behind with Ratchet, because the three of them would be next to useless in battle.

"Autobots," Optimus declared, "our final hour has arrived."

I huffed, wings fluttering, "Well, when you put it like that…"

Ultra Magnus picked it up from there, frowning at me, "Do not show disrespect to your general, soldier."

My wings flared up, but Optimus, sensing that I was about to lash out, seized control of the conversation. "Ultra Magnus, we can excuse Seven. We all must work efficiently as a team in order to defeat the Decepticons, once and for all."

"And away we go," I muttered. We all clambered into the hold, and it was a tight squeeze indeed. The ship took off, Ultra Magnus at the controls, and we waved farewell to Ratchet, who remained at the Harbinger. He wasn't a warrior, and even he agreed that he would only get in the way in the thick of things on Cybertron. My tank suddenly dropped into my pedes as the thought finally hit me full-force. We're going home, back to Cybertron.

"I've never been to Cybertron," I suddenly blurted out, my wings pricking up. "I'm not even a year old and I've never been to Cybertron."

A few of the others looked briefly confused, but their faceplates cleared almost instantly. "You won't like the state it's in." Bulkhead said darkly.

"Do you forget that I possess all of Starscream's memories preceding my cloning? I remember what it was like, but never have exactly been there." I corrected awkwardly.

"Right…" the green mech said.

"What's it like?" Smokescreen asked, fingering the phase shifter.

"What, Cybertron, or having memories that are not my own?"

"The last one."

I passed one of the Omega Keys off to Bumblebee and he graciously accepted it. Smokescreen looked expectantly at me.

"They feel like they're my own; the line between Starscream and I was indistinct when he was functioning, still is…" I absentmindedly traced an outline on my thigh plating with the tip of a talon, collecting my thoughts before continuing, "but it usually doesn't bother me. If you were asking if it is confusing, then my answer would be yes, but only when I think on it."

The white mech took that in silence.

[Are we nearly there?] Bumblebee beeped, looking to the blue mech at the ship's controls.

"Nearly," Ultra Magnus assured him. Through the cockpit's thick glass, the Nemesis drifted into view.

I stepped forwards, "Allow me to scope things out, after all, I do transform into a jet–with an exceptional sense of style, I might add." I smirked, looking to the Prime for approval.

"No, remain here." Ultra Magnus commanded, a note of mistrust still barbing his tone.

Optimus looked at me sympathetically, "You may scout out the Nemesis, as long as you return as soon as possible with as much information as you can gather. That is, if the space bridge does not open before then."

I beamed at the Prime and shouldered my way out of the group of bots, tucking my wings against my back to squeeze between them. Ultra Magnus reluctantly opened the hatch in the back, and I jumped out. I shuttered my optics and fell in my bot mode for a few beautiful seconds, then transformed and looped upwards. I shot past the Iron Will―Magnus' ship―and flew beneath the Decepticon warship, weaving in and out of its offline cannons and the cameras' blind spots.

I could just feel the blue mech's glare on my tail fins. "Knock Out, ready that space bridge," I commed.

He replied a second later with a crackle of static, "Way ahead of you." Far ahead of me—hidden in part by the planet's moon—the space bridge flashed to life, more than large enough to admit our ship plus ten of the Nemesis.

"Go!" I barked into a comm on all the Autobots' frequencies, save for Ultra Magnus'. I didn't have his.

The ship swerved behind me, shooting over to the bridge behind the Moon. But the Nemesis had started to move as well, engines humming to life. Megatron was surely flying into a rage, seeing his enemies about to make it to Cybertron. He would pursue us, no doubt about it. I was happy I wasn't up there right now, it was sure to be chaos.

I blasted my thruster and shot after our ship, skimming just below Mach one. I shot past the ship, seeing a few stunned, upturned faceplates. I transformed and landed on the edge of the space bridge's frame, waving them on with my Key. They flew through the space bridge and I followed, transforming once again. The Nemesis was right behind me, and I could practically feel Megatron's scarlet optics boring into me with a newfound hatred. Just before the vortex enveloped me, I wondered if Knock Out had replaced his arm yet.

Cybertron was worse than I remembered. I watched the deteriorating landscape blur by beneath me as I followed the Autobots' ship. Dull, rusty buildings squatted far beneath me, crumbling into the streets. Taller, spindly skyscrapers with sharp spires protruded like splinters in the ragged landscape, some looking like one good gust would finish them.

We finally landed at a strange object in the middle of the Sea of Rust. Everyone exited the ship, save for Ultra Magnus, who remained inside in case we needed to make a quick escape. Like everything there, it was unremarkable, large, blocky object. "Our head start won't last long," Arcee said, walking over to inspect it.

"Are you sure this is the right spot?" Smokescreen asked dubiously, "I mean," he gestured at it, "it's not much." He was right, the object was small, maybe half the height of Optimus, the same width.

Optimus swept some grit off of the top of the object, revealing the Autobot insignia, engraved into the metal.

"This is the place," Bulkhead confirmed, his tone sounding grim.

The Prime touched two fingers to the comm unit on the side of his helm, "Ratchet, we have located the Omega Lock."

The medic sighed in relief, "At last."

Optimus hung up, facing us somberly. "According to Alpha Trion, the Omega Lock is a conduit to the very Allspark itself."

[I shouldn't have an honor like this…] Bumblebee chirped, pulling the two Keys out of the plating between his door wings with the servo that wasn't holding the third, having set the Polarity Gauntlet down briefly.

"Nor should I." I said, offering it up to the Prime.

All the others were surprised I said that, to say the least. Optimus spoke up again, "Keep it, Seven. You have earned it."

I held it higher, "I insist." But then the Key started glowing with an amber light and began to shake in my grasp. Bumblebee, hardly able to manage three of them, passed two off, one to Bulkhead, and the other to Arcee, because they were nearest him. Immediately, the Lock started to glow and a loud, bass rumble filled the air. The Nemesis floated over our helms, defying gravity, suddenly blocking the starlight from above.

Forgetting that I had offered the Key to the Prime in the first place, my servo fell to my side as we watched four pillars ascent from the rusty ground around us in slack-jawed wonder.

"Not much, heh…" I trailed off, too awed to properly mock Smokescreen. The pillars continued to rise, and even with my respectable twenty-five foot stature, I was feeling rather small indeed.

The pillars' ascent ceased, and then a circular ring began to slide out from the four. I stared up through the center of it, and the Key I held began to shake more violently. I hurriedly passed it off to Optimus, who took it out of reflex. The four bots holding the Omega Keys stepped forwards and were about to slide them into the Omega Lock when Megatron himself dropped out of the sky, followed by Soundwave and swarms of drones and Insecticons.

He transformed and landed heavily, striding over to us just as the four were about to insert the Keys into their places. The warlord cracked his neck cables from side to side, already powering up his fusion cannon. The four bots hurriedly shoved the Keys into their slots, then drew their own weapons, facing the warlord.

"Megatron," Optimus growled.

The tyrant spread his servos, a malicious sneer on his faceplates. "Sorry to disappoint. Cybertron shall have its rightful ruler, this I vow."

"Good luck with that," I sneered right back, itching to whip out Valor. "How is your arm?"

"Ah, better than yours will be, my dear Seven." He raised his sword, baring his sharp denta in a twisted grin.

Smokescreen grinned, looking more than ready to fight and activated the phase shifter. "Boy, we sure are going to be sore tomorrow!"

With a roar, both sides surged towards each other. I saw Ultra Magnus running over to us from his ship, joining the fray. We Autobots were vastly outnumbered, but our toys made up for it. Megatron and Optimus sought each other out in the center of the raging battle, viciously, deftly trying to get the upper hand by dealing crushing blows and sweeps of their swords. It was clear that Megatron's gladiatorial blade was far from being the Star Saber's equal, and he knew it too, judging by the deep snarl fixed into his faceplates.

I drew my own and began cutting down Vehicons mixed with the occasional Insecticon while trying to keep an optic on the others. Fortunately for us, we had all refueled at the Harbinger before setting out, we needed plenty of energy and stamina. I quickly parted an Insecticon's helm from the rest of its chassis with a sweep of Valor, but every time I slew one of the troops, three more seemed to take their place. In the action, I was being swept away from the others in the staggering flow of chassis. I leapt upwards and blasted my thruster, boosting my leap as I soared over the helms of the drones and Insecticons while incapacitating as many of them as I could with my scarlet blade.

I landed hard but rolled and came up fast, narrowly dodging a swipe from Arcee, encased in the Apex Armor and looking quite formidable, holding the Immobilizer in her other servo. "Watch it!" She exclaimed, and forged off in the opposite direction, stepping on adversaries that couldn't dive out of the way fast enough. I let out a sigh of relief I hadn't realized I'd been holding, and sprang to my pedes, but cringed at the sickening crunches of metal coming from beneath the armor's pedes. But I couldn't dwell on it, drones were converging on me again. I twirled Valor around in a series of difficult, flashy maneuvers, telling them to back off.

They hesitated for a moment and Bumblebee materialized next to me, baring the Polarity Gauntlet. He activated it and held it up high, and all the Decepticon troops flew into the air. He pressed a button on the side of the amber hologram erected around his forearm, and they were shot far off into the distance as if from a cannon. I fired one of my precious missiles into the fray, felling almost a dozen. I grinned, feeling energon surging through my veins while my spark tried to beat its way out of my chest. I was loving this, the rest of the universe was washed-out and dreary compared to my heightened senses in the madness of battle. All my systems were in overdrive.

I cut into their ranks again, barely taking time to distinguish friend from foe until Ultra Magnus deflected Valor on the barrel of his electric rifle. My wings flared up in surprise and I shouted "Sorry!" at him before diving back in. At least, I tried to. An Insecticon took advantage of my momentary distraction and landed a heavy punch on my side. I staggered and Valor fell out of my grasp, more from surprise than pain. Ignoring my sword, I lunged at him viciously and sunk my talons into his chest plate, picturing CYLAS' mangled chassis in his place. I retrieved Valor and watched the battle, panting. Arcee, still in the Apex Armor, shot droves of Decepticon troops with the Immobilizer, who were so tightly packed it was impossible to miss. Bumblebee dispatched troops quickly as well with the help of the Polarity Gauntlet. Magnetics are a force to be reckoned with, I thought as he used the device to squeeze a horde of Vehicons together, then blasted them apart. I grinned savagely as they ripped through their own ranks. Smokescreen was turning the phase shifter on and off, sliding through the ground and surprising drones and Insecticons alike. Ultra Magnus was duking it out with Soundwave, an unlikely pair if I ever saw one. Optimus and Megatron were still fighting, of course, each sporting a few injuries, but were very evenly matched an a way that almost was creepy. It was like they knew exactly what the other was going to do well before they did it.

High above us in the inside of the metal circle the Omega Lock had formed, there was a strange, electric blue liquid. I would've thought it was energon if it wasn't giving off a profuse amount of bright light, and the fact that it was floating on its own was a pretty good indicator too. It cast rippling shadows down onto the bots, giving the appearance that we were fighting in a massive undersea room with a glass roof. At night to boot, thanks to the 'Con warship above us.

I was about to launch back into the chaotic sea of chassis, ignoring my exhaustion, when Bulkhead surfaced on the other side of the battle. He held the Spark Extractor high above his helm. Not many seemed to notice. Optimus glanced in his direction, perhaps seeing a glimmer of silver in the corner of his vision.

"MOVE!" the green mech boomed, waving a servo at us to get out of the way. The other Autobots heard him, then saw what he was about to do. Unfortunately, so did the majority of the Decepticons. There was a lull in the battle for a second, and then he activated the Spark Extractor, "doomsday device," hurling it into the air.