Wazup y'all!
Been a while! I know it's been like three quarters of a year since I've even shown evidence of being alive... but rest assured, I surely am. School has been pretty rough and I needed to put writing aside for a while. I'm glad to be back and hopefully to stay depending on the changes in my schedule. I've actually been writing this chapter for a little over a week because I had to continue the plotline from scratch so it's all a work in progress, I really wanted to get this chapter posted ASAP.
As always if you have any questions about this chapter or any other feedback whether critical or positive, feel free to leave a review or PM me directly if you would like.
Please enjoy the long anticipated chapter four!
I walked through the seemingly infinite halls of the Autobot headquarters aimlessly. Synapsis was only now prepping the rest of the team for the mission, but I decided to have some time to myself for once.
The halls were constantly bustling with rushing bots, probably on their way to a new mission or to prepare for one in the training hall. All of their expressions were dull. Focused. Determined.
I eventually made it to the command deck. The same place I was promoted to the Wreckers. I followed the straight pathway a commander normally stands on to bark orders at the bots on the consoles. I followed the pathway all the way to the adjacent wall which was a giant viewing platform overlooking the north side of the entire city and its surroundings. I took a moment to take in the view. Thousands upon tens of thousands of lights, and beyond that: a wasteland. We were an oasis on a barren planet, how sad for a war to have this much collateral damage. However, as I should, I tried to remain optimistic. I imagined all the souls taking refuge here, whether innocent or not. I imagine the bar gets great business in such a dense population.
"Enjoying the view?" Magnus asked from behind me.
"I just wanted to take it in now in case I wouldn't get another opportunity in the future."
"It is quite remarkable, isn't it?" He mused as he approached the window to my right.
"Until I was brought here, I only imagined bunkers and outposts besides abandoned cities on this planet. But a metropolis like this was a very good surprise."
"As far as we know the enemy hasn't dared to come within 50 clicks of Metroplex City, rest assured you will have time to relax before the procedure."
"I'm not paranoid, but there's no harm in being cautious," I replied.
As my mind wandered after that, I recalled all the moments I entered a battle where I needed to be cautious in order to succeed. The mortar titans, my first battle against Devastator, even that horrible massacre when Senturion was sacrificed. I eventually had no sway in the inevitability of their deaths. Even still it cuts into me that something could've been done, just like Throttle had expressed.
Suddenly, with oddly convenient timing, I saw a flicker of light just outside the northern wall. As I tried to find the source, a flaming projectile shot through the window at lightning speed. Magnus grunted and dropped to the ground on his back, revealing a smoking hole in his chest. I fell to my knees and examined his wound. He grabbed my arm and wheezed, "Avenge us."
I then stood and looked out the window for the source of the gunshot once more, but all I saw was the city aflame, distant screams echoed from across what once was a fortress of solitude. Decepticon marauders circled the walls, shooting them down bit by bit. I then saw another projectile, but this one was much slower than before… and much larger. It was a very large Decepticon, leaping up toward me with a giant sword in hand. His torso and head were black and his limbs were each coloured differently: white, red, yellow and black. He then lifted his sword high as he rocketed toward the window, sending it down on my head as he crashed through the wall in a loud war cry.
I then fell out of my vision. Dazed, I caught my fall by putting my hand on the glass wall in front of me.
"Are you alright, soldier?" Magnus asked behind me, helping me stand up straight.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm-" And then I realised it. This has happened before. This was a vision of the future; the near future. Last time I had a vision about Senturion being killed prematurely, but I was able to save them the first time by shooting the sniper, which means I can change the future presented to me in my visions. I now know what I have to do.
Without any more hesitation, I lunged at Magnus, tackling him to the ground while screaming, "Everybody get down!"
Magnus was surprised of course, but he trusted that I might have seen something he did not. We lay on the ground for about an Astro-cycle before Magnus spoke up.
"Is there something you would like to share with me, Jaeger?"
I scrambled off of him.
"Uhh, sorry sir. I thought I saw something."
"Did it ever occur to you, cadet, that if anything was within a few clicks of this city that our ion cannons would notice before you did?" He sighed as he slowly stood.
It's true, our defence system is at peak quality. Why don't I remember it activating when we were being attacked in our visions? We must have been hacked, maybe they have someone on the inside… I hope my paranoia is incorrect.
"You trust me right?" I started.
"Of course."
"I have reason to believe there is going to be a catastrophic attack on Metroplex City. Don't ask me how I know, I just do." I stated confidently.
After a pause, Ultra Magnus nodded. He then converged orders to everyone through the comms ordering a blockade made behind the wall and positioning snipers around the tallest buildings in the city. I left the room and called my team to Synapsis' lab for a more specific briefing.
Once I entered the room, the team was talking seriously with each other. That's unusual for them.
"So you probably heard the news." I began as I entered the room.
"Devastator better not be at our doorstep. What is going on?" Interceptor asked in haste.
"We aren't prepared for this." Synapsis sighed in a facepalm.
"Firstly, it's not Devastator. However, we may need a combiner just in case." I suggested knowing full well what was coming.
"Uhh, there's no way. I still have tweaking to do on the system, unless you want us to follow in Senturion's footsteps, that's not gonna happen. And one more thing: what do you think is going to need a combiner to match if it isn't Devastator? What do you know, Jaeger?"
"I don't know. I just know that it's big and…"
"How do you know? What is your source?" He pestered, walking closer to me as the others stepped aside.
"It's complicated."
"I do complicated for a living."
"You'll think I'm crazy."
"You're not helping your case."
"Ok, fine. The source is me… my mind anyway. I had a vision where a huge bot smashed into the command deck. I've had a vision only once before and it played out exactly like it would've, but instead, I prevented the worst. I have no explanation for it but I have learned to trust it."
Everyone in the room either had a permanent look of confusion, hilarity or straight-up exhaustion. All except for Synapsis.
"Is that so?" He asked in what almost seemed like a mocking tone.
"Yeah…"
After a moment of Synapsis simply staring knowingly at me, he simply stated, "Ok then. What do you want us to do?"
"As I said, we need a new combiner." I sighed.
"I'll see what I can do." He replied as he turned back to his lab.
"Alright then, the rest of you follow me to the blockade," I concluded. The others paused in confusion about what just happened but eventually followed.
We left the Autobot headquarters to the outer skirts of Metroplex City. The wall itself was just outside the perimeter of the city, the gap between the city and the wall was laced with large groups of Autobot soldiers organizing themselves into a defensive position behind the wall. Some held watch at the top of the wall. Ultra Magnus was barking orders at the army to formulate them properly. We approached him as a group with weapons in hand.
"Where should we go?" I asked him.
"Where is Synapsis?" He asked, ignoring my question.
"Ensuring we have a plan B," I replied.
"Are you certain it can be ready?"
"He'll do his best."
"That's enough. You four stay here with me, we will provide cover fire."
We lined up beside Magnus behind the army. I tossed Throttle my rifle since his pistols were fairly short range. I heard him mutter "hell yeah" after he caught it.
We waited for several Astro-cycles which turned into days. Then Ultra Magnus approached me.
"My patience is running thin." He stated sternly.
"I don't know when it will happen, I just know it will happen," I replied.
Magnus stared at me angrily.
"Everyone fall back for new orders." He barked into the comm.
I didn't bother replying with an argument. I knew I looked crazy and it would be anything but respectful to undermine a commander's orders. Magnus ordered some to stay behind the wall including the snipers, but 80 per cent of those he stationed earlier would be sent back out into the field.
"And you," he seethed at me after he was done with his instructions, "you four will be on standby. I want you out of my sight as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir," I replied, the others nodded in recognition.
"Someone's got a pipe up his aft," Junction muttered as we walked back to base.
"So what changed?" Interceptor continued.
We headed back to Synapsis' lab to check on his progress. To our surprise, there was an unfamiliar observer discussing the minute details of combining that we began to hear as we entered the room.
"I don't understand how you are able to quite literally create an entity simply for the sake of sparing the combatants. Does it die and revive itself after every combination and decombination?" The other bot persisted. He was about the same height as Synapsis but more slender and his voice was in a higher register in comparison.
"It's not as simple as that. It's more of a forced defence mechanism of the five minds of the components. The entity 'created' as the combiner's central intelligence is still a combination of the component's traits and emotions. But in order to spare their minds, they all collectively 'create' a new personality to take control so that they won't be mentally torn apart by each other. The new entity to become the combiner's mind technically doesn't even exist."
"Truly fascinating Synapsis. Perhaps I have taught you well after all."
"Was there doubt?" Throttle interrupted with a chuckle.
"I thought you were protecting the wall?" Synapsis asked, both of them turning to the rest of us.
"Orders change. Care to introduce us?" I asked.
"Ah, this is Perceptor. My former instructor."
"Greetings." Perceptor introduced.
We nodded.
"How's the combiner stuff coming?" Interceptor asked.
"With Perceptor's guidance, I think we will be ready shortly."
"Good. Ultra Magnus just called back most of the troops guarding the wall. We're gonna need a failsafe if something goes down." I added.
Suddenly, the alarms started blaring.
"What's going on?" I asked into the comm.
"Something tripped the perimeter. The ion cannons are down." A soldier reported.
"Snipers, you know what to do." Magnus cued in.
"What is it? Do you have a clear visual?" Interceptor asked.
"Negative. No shot." Another soldier cued in. Probably one of the snipers.
"We need that combiner, Vendetta." Magnus ordered.
"Already on it," Synapsis replied.
"I'm going to go check it out," I stated to those in the room with me.
Before they could object, I left the room in a hurry. I transformed and sped down the hallway for the command deck. Once I arrived, I saw several bots huddled over consoles around the room, scrambling to get the defence system online. Ultra Magnus stood in the centre of the room, barking orders at them. I transformed and ran toward the window.
"What are you doing here?" Magnus asked as I ran past him.
I got to the window and focused on the spot I saw the flicker in my vision.
"Sir, you need to leave," I said sternly, my sight not breaking from that point.
"I have duties here, some of which you are impeding right now, soldier." He growled.
"With all due respect Magnus, it was not a request." I finally turned to face him.
He stared at me in dumbfounding anger, I'm sure nobody has had the stones to order him around other than Optimus Prime himself.
Before he could refute me, I saw the flicker in my peripheral. As soon as I realised what it was, I screamed just as before, "Everybody get down!" As I tackled Magnus to the ground. The bullet whizzed over my head after crashing through the window, ricocheting off of the ceiling. Magnus pushed me off of him and ordered everyone to clear the room.
"Get to the lab! Now!" He yelled at me.
Suddenly, something huge shattered through the window behind him. It crouched low from its landing, its sword slamming into the ground after breaking through the glass. The giant stood tall, it was the combiner I saw in my vision. It saw Ultra Magnus and roared, swinging its sword at him. Magnus, while being puny in comparison, was still able to bob and weave out of the way of its slashes. He whipped out a rifle and began to fire back, which had little to no effect on it. As I was about to take out my own rifle, Magnus turned and shoved me hard enough to push me out of the room. He approached the doorway, gave me one last look, and shut the door between us.
Without hesitation, I transformed and sped back to the lab.
I skidded into the lab hard enough to make me begin to flip sideways, transforming in the process.
"We need that combiner now!" I cried out as I got my footing.
"I need you at the controls," Synapsis stated to Perceptor as he opened the door to the lower level.
"Whatever you need." He replied as he began pulling up different screens with statistics.
"Everyone else, this way." Synapsis directed in haste.
The five of us shuffled down a large staircase to the blast chamber. The same place Senturion combined for the first time.
"Let's hope this works the first time," Interceptor muttered to himself.
"We'll be fine. We have to be." Junction replied.
We organized ourselves in the centre of the room. Junction and Interceptor up front, myself in the middle, and Throttle and Synapsis behind me.
"Whenever you're ready." Perceptor's voice echoed through the microphone. I looked up to see him at the very top of the room behind the lab window.
"Let's do this." Interceptor mused.
"After you." Junction mused in reply.
Interceptor hovered into the air with his rocket boots into a flip, transforming mid-air. Once he landed, his parts began to pack together into a more solid form. Junction slammed his fists into the ground and rolled forward into his leg form. I then jumped high, transforming mid-air. As I connected to Junction and Interceptor, I felt their presence within me. Once I finished shifting into place, I felt Throttle and Synapsis' presence as well. Then everything started to fade away…
… (1)
My head hurts.
What's going on? Where am I?
What is this place? There's nobody here.
Wait… up there.
"Who are you!?" I cried out.
"I am Perceptor. And who might you be?"
"Don't play games! Where am I?"
"You are in the Autobot headquarters. We are currently under attack."
"By who?"
"We were hoping you knew."
"I…" I grabbed my head trying to remember.
"There was… a combiner."
"Oh, dear. Well if that's the case you should go as soon as possible."
"But…"
"Your questions can be answered later, soldier. Right now we need you to protect us."
I'm so confused. What is going on?
I heard something behind me. A door.
I walked through the door. I followed the hallway to another hallway. There are loud noises here. An alarm.
I began to run. I heard screaming.
I saw someone crash into a wall. I ran toward him. He was dead.
I looked down the hallway he came from and saw someone the same size as me. He was killing the smaller people.
"Hey!" I called out.
He stopped and turned to me.
"Stop killing people!" I yelled at him.
He growled and started to charge at me.
What do I do?
He balled up his hand and it started getting really close to my face.
It hurt.
I took a couple of steps back and wiped the pain off my face.
He was about to hit me again, but I moved out of the way. He pulled out a long sharp sword and slashed at me but I deflected it with my arm. It still hurt.
This is starting to make me mad. I punched him as hard as I could in his face. He slammed into the wall behind him, groaning.
He got out of the wall, sparks were flying out of it. He looked back up at me and started to charge again. I dodged the first punch, then the second. Then he grabbed his sword off the floor and swiped it at me, barely slicing part of my chest. I tried dodging his next punch but he still caught my chin, making me turn the other way. Then he grabbed me and slammed me into the wall. After I dropped back to the floor and I put my back to the wall to face him again, he started punching me in the abdomen over and over. Once he felt like that was enough he went for a massive punch to the face.
"Stop." I caught his punch.
He tried to pull back but I wouldn't let go. Suddenly, he split into two people. The second figure was see-through, like a ghost. It kicked me in the chest, but I didn't feel it. In fact, it went through me a little bit. Then the bot I was fighting was starting to do the same moves as the ghost. I let go of his hand and dashed to the left, his ped slamming into the wall where I would've been if I didn't move. How did I do that?
He pulled his ped out of the wall and faced me again, even angrier than before. The ghost appeared again, charging at me full speed. I charged back. I saw the ghost try to punch me in the face again. This time I dodged the real bot and punched him hard enough to slam him into the ground. The ghost tried grabbing my leg. I moved out of the way and grabbed his arm, throwing him at the wall. This is interesting. Am I seeing his moves before he makes them?
He faced me again and gave me a confused look. I held my fists up. His ghost appeared so quickly I couldn't tell what had happened at first. Then he slashed me quickly with his sword. It hit my chest hard. I cried out in pain. He then sent an uppercut under my chin, making me take a few steps back, clutching my chest.
He sent two jabs to my face and chest and then swept my legs, making me crash into the ground. I groaned from the impact. Instead of killing me, he slowly crouched over me.
"You are weak." He growled.
"I know," I muttered.
"Not just you. Your faction is weak."
"Who are you?"
"I am Menasor. The second combiner."
"Why won't you kill me?"
"This attack was not to finish you. No, not yet." He snarled, "Megatron has been watching, he has plans for you. Consider this a warning. You will not win, run while you still can."
Then he stood and walked through a large hole in the wall. I flopped onto my front and crawled after him. He was standing in a large room without a large broken window. I just saw him as he jumped through it.
I struggled to stand, I clutched the gaping wound on my chest from Menasor's sword. I only now noticed all the bodies around me.
I began to hear many footsteps approaching. A bigger small person came around the corner with lots of other small people behind him. He was red and blue.
"Are you alright?" He asked me. I simply showed him my wound.
"Get him to medbay." He ordered the other soldiers. They told me to follow them.
We entered a large white room, they told me to lie down on the floor. There were lots of sparks flying off my chest when they were working on it. Eventually, the blue and red bot approached me again.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes."
"Where is the bot you were fighting."
"Menasor. He ran away."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
He sighed.
"Many people died today."
"I know. I tried to save them."
"You will have your chance to avenge them."
Avenge… hmm.
"What is your name?"
"What is a name?"
"A designation. Something people know you as. Something that represents you."
"Well, then I am… an Avenger."
"Good choice." He mused.
"And who are you?" I asked.
"I am Optimus Prime. Leader of the Autobot faction."
"What is a faction?"
"I see we have a lot to cover, don't we?"
… (1)
I only saw fire. I could see nothing other than fire and the thousands of bodies it fed on. Suddenly, I felt myself falling. Everything was so blurry, I could only see another figure about as large as I am falling with me. Then everything slowly went black.
I woke up with a jolt. I was on a gurney among the rest of the Vendetta team standing around, Synapsis and Perceptor bustling at a console, but now they all have their attention on me. As soon as I sat up, Synapsis approached me and forced my head back down on the gurney.
"Ouch."
"Cry me a river." He muttered as he removed some sort of wire helmet from my head.
"What happened?" I asked after a moment.
"Avenger happened." Throttle replied.
"Who?"
"The combiner. He fought well. Very well." Synapsis added.
"I think I'm in a little too much pain if we fought that well."
"Well yeah he did get his aft handed to him but he developed a very interesting skill."
"How do you know? I don't even remember anything." Interceptor cued in.
"It will take some getting used to, the other combiner team had no memory of the first combination either, but for some convenient reason I do." Synapsis proclaimed.
"Go on. I need details." Junction emplored excitedly.
"Somehow, Avenger has created the ability to… drumroll please… see into the future."
"Excuse me?" Throttle asked.
"When fighting, he could see Menasor's moves before he made them and countered most of them out of instinct. Even with absolutely zero fighting experience, he was able to execute some really effective hits because of this."
"Menasor?"
"Oh yeah, he's the new Decepticon combiner."
"There's more than one now?" Throttle exclaimed.
"Unfortunately."
"Well, that's just dandy." Junction sighed.
"Anyway, it seems that somehow Jaeger's lunacy has been transferred to the combined consciousness." Synapsis continued.
"You mean the whole vision thing?" Interceptor asked.
"It did turn out to be true, didn't it?" I defended.
"Yes, it did, which is fascinating in itself. So I decided to attempt a diagnosis."
"Any results?" I asked.
"Let me put it this way. You, my friend, are one of the most gifted Cybertronians since the original 13."
"That's a stretch." Throttle cued in.
"Jaeger has developed a condition only theorised amongst scientists before the war. It is called disassociative identity disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder." (2)
"To put it in simple terms, it means that Jaeger's body is host to two separate people. Jaeger is the host personality, which is why you see him the most. But his second personality is more of a mystery." Perceptor continued.
"Wait, Jaeger has always been Jaeger. He never switches to another person." Interceptor asked.
"This is true. That is because this second personality never takes control of Jaeger's body, but it only surfaces in Jaeger's perspective after experiencing an anxiety-inducing moment. Jaeger, what were the circumstances when you got your first vision?" Synapsis asked.
"We were on the transport to the battle where we needed to protect Senturion. I could only think of the worst-case scenarios before we got dropped. I guess that's what sparked it." I replied.
"And the second time?" Perceptor asked.
"I was reflecting on the stressful moments of my life. The state we are in as a faction."
"And now you have had a third not too long ago, correct?" Synapsis asked.
"Wha- how did you know?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"We injected you with a stress-inducing serum used for interrogation while you were unconscious to test our theory. Turns out it was correct." He mused.
"Any new attacks or deaths this time?" Throttle asked.
"I'm not sure. It was very blurry. Probably because I was still passed out."
"That's the thing, you weren't," Interceptor replied.
"What?"
"Your optics were open. You were awake. Then you suddenly jolted up." Throttle added.
"Your second personality was awake. You were disassociating." Synapsis clarified.
"This is kind of creeping me out," I admitted.
"Don't worry, this is the point." Synapsis continued. "Since Avenger has developed these psychic qualities, we have reason to believe that your second personality has manifested himself in the combined form. Your second personality is Avenger."
"But I thought you said the combiner's mind wasn't actually a new entity but a defence mechanism of our collective minds or something?" Interceptor asked.
"It seems that during combination, Avenger's defence mechanism was to finally take the front in the combined form, sparing the rest of us mental torment."
"How nice of him." Throttle mused.
"Is it possible for it to ever take control of my body when I'm on my own?" I asked.
"No, it simply does not have the ability. You are the host conscious, he can only speak to you through visions." Perceptor clarified.
"I don't know if I should be impressed or concerned."
"You should be very happy. Purely from Avenger's existence as the main combiner conscious and the fact that the component minds are not at risk, he has involuntarily solved every potential risk or threat to combination as a whole. Avenger is the perfect combiner." Synapsis scoffed in disbelief.
"Well then what are we waiting for? What's stopping us from squaring off with Devastator right now?" Throttle exclaimed in anticipation.
"The fact that Avenger has no fighting experience. Yes, even still he has an extreme advantage, but he doesn't know how to properly defend himself. Avenger must be trained before he touches a battlefield."
"Hold on," Junction chimed in, "Senturion didn't have any experience either and he almost finished the job with Devastator."
"Yes, but Senturion's mind was the combination of his components. Avenger, while still being influenced by us to a degree, does not transfer our skills into combined mode completely since he technically isn't us. He learned how to punch from Menasor and that's about it." Synapsis explained.
"Well then let's teach him," I stated.
"Let's wait for now, you took a beating in particular." He replied.
"I can walk it off." I groaned as I attempted to sit up again.
"Sure, mate." Junction mused as he pushed my head back down on the gurney. "You'll be out of here soon, don't worry."
"Just give me an adrenaline shot. I need to at least see the state of the city." I persisted.
Synapsis sighed for a moment. "You're a stubborn piece of scrap, aren't you?" He plunged a familiar green syringe into my arm. I winced at first but the pain completely subsided. I stood with ease and immediately high-tailed it to the command deck again. There were bots everywhere either being wheeled around by medics or cleaning up dead corpses. The walls were anything but familiar now, filled with dents and holes and vacant wires, all being showered from sparks. I turned the corner to what once was the doorway to the command deck, but is now also a gaping hole. All I could see now were the flames on the other side of the broken glass.
"There were at least a dozen tanks." A familiar voice grunted from behind me.
I turned to see Ultra Magnus, clutching a tattered arm.
"They infiltrated the city, trying to burn it down. They nearly succeeded. We flooded them out with our own forces, no prisoners. 40 per cent of our soldiers are gone. They're still trying to put out the fire."
"How are you alive?" I asked.
"What do you think I am? Some newbie?" He painfully chuckled. "At least he's gone."
"We fought them off with the rest, there were so many of them." Interceptor joined in from behind us. "If Avenger was at his best, they wouldn't dare attack us."
"He did well today." Magnus mused.
I nodded. Then I sighed in grief.
"40 per cent?" I muttered.
"Don't worry boy. We have tricks up our sleeve if need be." He smiled knowingly.
"I need some good news." I sighed.
"Resources are scarce, but soon enough we will build a vessel to find a new planet for a peaceful civilization to start a new life on. We're calling it the Ark. "
"That sounds nice," I replied, staring out past the flames.
We stared out at the wasteland for a few Astro-cycles before someone entered the room.
"Magnus, thank Primus you're alright." Optimus sighed behind us.
"I've been through worse." He replied.
"You three follow me. We have some discussing to do."
Without a second thought myself, Ultra Magnus and Interceptor followed him down the busted-up corridor to a lower level of the base. This room was packed full of several familiar Autobots. Besides the rest of Vendetta, I recognized the entire Wrecker team, our air force and other high-ranking military officials. A large circular table sat in the centre of the room, a hologram picturing Metroplex city's state above it. We gathered around it as Optimus began to speak.
"I believe I have devised a plan to counter the devastating attack we have all just experienced." He started. "As you know, Devastator and this new Menasor combiner are currently Megatron's most powerful assets as far as we know. With those two on a battlefield, the Decepticons have even more of an advantage against us. This is why we began our own combiner program. While it may currently be a work in progress, I believe it will have rich results. In the meantime, it has come to our attention that Avenger needs to develop some skills before risking his life in war. This is what I propose. You all are familiar with our ancestors, the original 13. Each of the original 13 had a relic, articaft if you will. That arfifact was merely an extension of their power. Nexus Prime, the Prime of combination, possessed the Enigma of Combination. That artifact was rumoured to have the ability to bond several Cybertronians together into a combiner and even strengthen the mental bond of a pre-existing combiner's components. Devastator is the first of his kind as an experimental combiner with six components. But this makes him slow and apparently, remarkably stupid. If Avenger gains Nexus' power, nothing will be able to match him. He will have the opportunity to fulfil his namesake." (3)
"Do we know the artifact's location?" Warpath asked from the adjacent side of the table to Optimus.
"The Enigma's mere existence is subjective. How could we possibly have information on its whereabouts?" Percpetor cued in.
"There have been… rumours," Optimus replied.
"And how reliable do you presume these rumours to be?" Perceptor continued sceptically.
"Unfortunately Perceptor, we don't have any other choice."
"We lost 40 per cent of our brothers and sisters today." I stated grimly, whether I was permitted to speak or not, "Despite the doubts any of you may have, we owe it to our fellow Autobots who gave their lives so that we may see another day to at least try. For their sakes."
The entire room was silent, all eyes on me.
"Well spoken, Jaeger." Optimus mused.
"Now hold on a minute." A slim green bot spoke up, "So you expect us to think you can just pick up and leave on a search among the stars for who knows how long away from the real fight?"
"It is true, Crosshairs, that we cannot predict how long it will take to find the artifact, but it is imperative as Jaeger made evident that we make the attempt. If we stay here, we put up even more risk for our race to be wiped off the face of the universe." Optimus replied.
Crosshairs just threw his servos in the air with a scoff.
"I will travel with the away team. I will place Ultra Magnus in my stead as the leader of the Autobot regime."
Most of the room clapped.
"For the rest of you, I wish you well. Fight well and trust in each other. We will return soon."
And with that, he left the room. My team and I instinctively followed.
"So uhhh, what's this rumour you mentioned?" Interceptor asked.
"I doubt we have a starship capable of travelling the entire galaxy…" Synapsis muttered.
"Yeah, and even if we did, what about fuel?" Throttle continued.
Optimus stopped in his tracks and turned back to us.
"Who wants a drink?" He mused slowly.
"Oh thank Primus! I thought you'd never ask." Junction laughed.
We followed him outside the building. Once we started approaching the outer wall we started getting curious.
"Erm… last time I checked the bar was inside the base," Junction mentioned.
Optimus remained silent as he walked on ahead of us. Once he eventually transformed, we automatically followed suit. We rumbled along the wasteland for a while before approaching Iacon. Naturally, we were unsettled as Decepticons were known to crawl through every crack in this city like insects.
We transformed just outside the city, Optimus running to one of the perimeter buildings. He stood against the wall peering around the corner as we held back behind him.
"Follow me." He directed.
We sprinted between buildings as quietly as possible. The deeper we entered the city, the more Decepticons roaming the streets were visible. Eventually, we approached the wide circular base of a tower. A long bridge connected it to the part of the city we stood on. This bridge had no cover, we would be seen almost instantly.
"What's the plan?" I asked.
"We need a distraction…" Optimus trailed off.
"Oh please pick me. Please please pleeeeease." Throttle whispered to himself.
"Do you have something to share, Throttle?"
"Uhhh, I think a visual presentation would be more effective." He stated finishing it off with a very wide smile.
Optimus sighed, "Very well."
Before he could even get the words out of his mouth Throttle let out a "Yessss" Before transforming and speeding off to the right.
"This can only end well," Synapsis muttered.
I watched as Throttle sped off over the edge of a small cliff out of view, it did not take long before we started hearing explosions.
"He's so gonna die." Interceptor sighed.
I saw a light emanating from a building below the bridge, and a small explosion followed quickly. More fire began to spread around that area.
"I think they're distracted now." Throttle said from behind us, making us jump from his sudden appearance.
"You- how-" Interceptor sputtered.
"It's called c4. It make the cool boom booms." He said with a very wide smile as before.
"Great. Now he's a pyromaniac." Synapsis quipped.
"Only slightly, I just discovered the stuff." He admitted.
"Focus, Autobots. Our window is closing." Optimus hushed as he dashed toward the bridge.
We followed in tow. I watched the chaos spread below us as Decepticons rushed to put out the flames, some even firing ammunition into the fire in case the source of it was still there.
We approached a dome-like structure on the other side of the bridge, its doorway was about twice my height. Optimus ran to a keypad beside it and quickly typed in a code. The door hissed and slowly opened, revealing a vibrant, yet empty, bar. The contrast compared to the ruins outside the building was remarkable as if we went back in time to before the great war. There was absolutely no one inside besides a barkeep cleaning mugs at the bar on the far side of the room.
"I see a familiar face! Is that you, Optimus?" The burly bot called out.
"Greetings, Maccadam," Optimus replied.
"Good to see you again, pal." He mused, "What can I do for you boys?"
"A round of haymakers if you will." Junction mused, flopping onto the barstool.
"Comin' right up." He replied after adjusting his large goggles.
He expertly flipped six mugs onto the counter, pouring the exact same amount of an Energon cocktail into each of them. After he filled each one, he slid them down the bar to each of us.
Junction snatched up his mug in a second, bottoms up immediately.
"Uh, I'm good. I don't drink." Synapsis admitted as his mug reached him. Junction slammed his empty mug on the table and grabbed Synapsis' mug without hesitation.
"Wow… I- That's impressive." Synapsis muttered as Junction slammed the second mug on the bar.
"Practice makes perfect." He belched.
Optimus and I respectfully took small sips of the liquid so as not to be intoxicated, I admit it was a little odd seeing the Prime without his faceplate.
Throttle, however, in the spirit of competition, attempted to down his mug as fast as Junction did. It did not end well for him. As he was mid-chug, he spat out some of the drink back into the mug, probably from a sensory overload. He was already drunk.
"S-someone explain to me *belch* how this lump of lard is able to d-down TWO MUGS of this stuff…" He wobbled in his seat, "I can't even-" Then he promptly crashed to the floor. The rest of us didn't even bother catching him and instead resorted to uncontrolled snickering, other than Optimus of course.
"I would pay money to see that again." Interceptor mused after downing his mug.
"So I'm gonna guess you guys aren't only here for a round." Maccadam presumed.
"I need your help, brother," Optimus admitted.
"Anything for an old friend like you." He replied knowingly.
"I have reason to believe you know the location of the Enigma of combination."
"The Enigma of combination… isn't that a myth?" He asked.
Optimus simply stared back with little expression.
Maccadam looked at each of us and pressed a button under the bar which promptly closed the door behind us.
"Is he locking us in?" Synapsis whispered to me.
"I SurrEnDER!" Throttle exclaimed from below before falling back to the floor.
"The Enigma is off-world. Way off world. It's on a planet with dangerous inhabitants, entirely organic." Maccadam stated.
"Do you have the means to send us there?" Optimus asked.
"It's been a while, but yeah. I think I do." He sighed.
"It would be greatly appreciated."
"Here goes nothin'." He muttered to himself as he grabbed a couple of bottles of ail and smashed them on the counter.
"Hey! That's good mead!" Junction exclaimed.
"You'll like it even more after this," Maccadam replied as he dipped his servos into the puddle.
He started to swirl the liquid around slightly and then began to lift his servos. The liquid slowly began to rise with him, droplets separating from the puddle as if it was in zero gravity.
"WITCHCRAFT!" Throttle exclaimed, limply whipping out a pistol. Junction punched him out without breaking sight on the puddle.
As the liquid rose, Maccadam's goggles began to glow. Suddenly, once all the liquid was floating around his hands, he threw all of it at the wall to our right, making a wide splash. The liquid swirled faster and faster on the wall until a beam of light shot out from it. A small explosion from the wall occurred. Once the dust cleared, the splash on the wall revealed itself to now be some kind of portal. (4)
"Ooh, pretty colours." Throttle slurred.
"Take this, it'll make you feel better." Maccadam mused, giving Throttle a mug with a black liquid in it.
Throttle slammed the mug, but as soon as he finished it he began to vomit profusely.
"Yeah... don't ask what's in it." He quipped.
He then looked at the rest of us and asked, "Are you sure you want to make this trip? I'd hate to lose a loyal customer." He chuckled wryly.
"We'll be fine. Thank you, brother." Optimus replied, taking Maccadam's servo in his in a handshake.
As Throttle hobbled through the portal with Interceptor in tow, the front door to the bar opened. A large bot with a black faction insignia burst through the doorway. He was mostly light blue with black and red accents.
"Maccadam, my man. We just had the greatest run in a long ti– What is going on in here!?" He exclaimed whipping out a rifle.
"Sorry! Bar's closed!" Maccadam exclaimed as he somehow slammed a large chunk of the wall telepathically into him, sandwiching the bot against the adjacent wall. (4)
"My cover's been blown. Time to go." He rambled.
The rest of my team and Optimus dived through the portal with me at the end. I got through just before the rest of the bot's squad broke through the barrier of shrapnel Maccadam was using to block the door.
I fell through a realm of blue and green, constantly falling. Eventually, I saw a doorway of light below me, getting rapidly larger as I quickly approached.
I slammed to the ground. I groaned as I began to prop myself up. I grunted in disgust as the grimy dirt of this planet seeped in between my joints. I squinted from the amount of light in this place. The ground was an odd brown colour with some sort of plantation surrounding the area with sunlight shining through its green appendages.
However, I was alone. The rest of my team was nowhere in sight. I walked along the uncomfortably squishy terrain in search of them, that is until I heard a familiar scream.
I dashed toward the source of the noise, ploughing through foliage left and right. I broke into a clearing with my entire team. Throttle was in the centre stuck in some more squishy terrain screaming in the process while everyone else was dying of laughter.
"I'm sinking! GET ME OUT!" He shrieked.
"Ok, ok." Interceptor wheezed. He transformed and hovered above him, dropping a cable.
Throttle grabbed onto it. "Pull me out!"
Interceptor, still laughing, strained. As he pulled, Throttle eventually slipped off the rope and faceplanted in more of the sinking dirt. A muffled scream could be heard from Throttle's buried face. That is when I started laughing too.
Interceptor started laughing so hard he actually crashed into the ground.
"I'm sorry." He wheezed after transforming, "I can't…"
"I vote to leave him like this." Synapsis chuckled.
"I vote to push him deeper, just to scare him of course," Junction added.
Optimus then deployed his axe without warning.
"...was it something I said?" Synapsis muttered.
Optimus then carefully scooped up Throttle from the front and easily pulled him out of the muck.
"Let's keep moving." He ordered.
Throttle dropped to the ground in what I assume to be shock, panting with a permanent wide-eyed expression.
"You… are so… dead." He growled, staring straight at Interceptor, still barely containing himself.
As we walked, I began to hear noises in the distance.
"Do you have any information on the inhabitants of this planet?" I asked Synapsis.
"I'll let you know when I see one." He replied.
It did not take long for the noises to become louder. This time, we heard a roar. Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking around for the source of the noise.
"I think you're about to get your chance." Interceptor quipped.
Suddenly, a large creature emerged slowly from the foliage ahead. It was brown with large hind legs, very small front arms and a large head adorning several sharp teeth.
"At ease. It may pass us by." Optimus directed.
"I think the roaring and the fact it's coming closer say otherwise." Throttle muttered.
Suddenly it let out another roar. We all deployed our weapon of choice. Once it charged, everyone dived out of the way. Of course, I did not catch onto this and took the brunt of the creature's charge. The creature shoved me over onto my back. As I was on the ground, it tried to attack me with a bite, but I punched it out of the way. As it recoiled, I scrambled to my peds, preparing for the next attack. It growled and observed me further before charging again. I simply dodged out of the way this time, landing my own blow on its side as it passed. It crashed onto its side. Once it managed to stand up again, it roared at me and ran into the foliage.
"So uh, I think they're aggressive," Synapsis stated sarcastically.
"That'll be a good story for when we get home." Junction mused, patting my shoulder, "I can see it now, Jaeger brutally dismembering the two ferocious beasts."
"That's not how I remember it," Interceptor replied.
"Eh, a little exaggeration couldn't hurt. Who knows, a hundred vorns from now younglings could be fantasising about the great Jaeger obliterating an army of beasts as large as Titans!" Junction laughed.
"No wonder your stories are so believable, Junction." Throttle mused.
"Let's keep moving," Optimus ordered.
We followed him through more dense forests of plantation for several Astro-cycles. Eventually, we made it to a clearing where a large mountain could be seen ahead, its peak was flat.
"Fascinating…" Synapsis muttered to himself as he typed into a screen on his arm.
"What is it?" I asked.
"This mountain ahead of us appears to be host to a large pocket of molten rock. In fact, this pocket has a life cycle. Eventually, it will erupt, spraying molten rock and gas everywhere. Although…"
"Go on." Optimus emplored.
"There's a high amount of radiation in the centre of it. Molten rock doesn't do that."
"Then let's investigate," I stated.
We climbed to the peak of the mountain. Its peak was flat as I noticed earlier, like a large crater. Synapsis approached the centre of the crater and stated, "The source of the radiation is directly below me."
"How are supposed to get to it? Metal does not bode well with molten liquid." Interceptor asked.
"You're sure it's directly below you?" Optimus clarified.
"I'm certain. Why?" Synapsis replied.
"You can cut a hole into it, correct?"
"Uhh… I think so. It wouldn't set it off but it would let out a lot of pressure within the bubble of molten rock. It would take a lot more pressure to actually make it explo-"
"Step aside." Optimus interrupted as he took Synapsis' place in the centre of the crater.
"Cut a hole below me."
"I don't know, Optimus. I'd really prefer it if the leader of the Autobots didn't become a smouldering ember." Synapsis protested.
"It was not a request," Optimus growled.
"Alright then." He sighed, engaging a laser cutter from his arm, tracing a circle around Optimus slowly. Once he connected the circle, Optimus dropped into a hole filled with smoke. I dived toward the hole to see if Optimus was alive, but I just managed to catch a glimpse of him plummeting into a lake of orange molten liquid.
We all waited for a moment, crowded around the hole. Suddenly, a bright glow appeared from the same spot Optimus entered, approaching rapidly. We all jumped out of the way as the light fired up past the hole, smoke travelling behind it. Optimus landed hard behind us, glowing from the heat. He slowly rose from his crouch, beginning to get his colour back as he cooled. He slowly walked towards us with something in hand, he dropped it on the ground in front of us. It was a black shape of some sort, like two square pyramids connected together at the base.
"That's it? We came all this way for some sort of box?" Throttle protested.
Synapsis approached it in curiosity. Once he touched it, it suddenly shifted. Part of it split off, and then the rest of its shell followed. Its points split and separated slightly, revealing a small red orb in the centre. It glowed and even began to levitate. A red glow emanated and flickered from the orb, almost as if it was looking at us.
"The Enigma is thousands of vorns old." Optimus began, "Its power will be the beginning of a new era. May Nexus bless you with the strength to save the Autobots, and all Cybertronians."
We all looked at each other, and on cue combined into Avenger.
…
I knew what needed to be done.
"Take your place, Avenger," Optimus said as he made the Enigma rise toward me.
It grew brighter and brighter as I got closer to it, eventually the light blinded me.
I'm… not on the mountain anymore. This looks like… a city. Everything is a different shade of red. I walked the streets of this red city, looking for any way out. Then I saw someone ahead of me, he was my size. It must be a Decepticon, there's nobody on our side that's as big as me. I charged, ready to fight. But then he spoke.
"Halt, warrior." His voice was echoey. I obeyed him.
"Who are you?" I asked. He was a combiner like me, but he was not a Decepticon.
"I am a remnant of what once was. I am Nexus Prime."
"I have heard of you, you are the first combiner."
"I am. I must congratulate you on finding my relic." He mused.
"I didn't, my other self did."
"All the same, you are here now, seeking power to fight for your cause. I will help you."
"If you're a Prime… then how are you alive?" I asked.
"Technically, I am not. I was killed in a multi-dimensional mission against a foe that does not yet exist in this timeline. (5) That is how my relic ended up on this planet. I wanted part of me to remain, however, to guide the next generation of combiners. I have made my own mistakes before, I would strive to prevent my offspring from committing the same sins. I will provide you with the wisdom to fight skillfully and the discernment for strategy, skills not many of your siblings have. With this my purpose will be complete, I trust that you will lead the good to a brighter future."
"Thank you."
With that, the crimson world around me began to brighten. Nexus, with an almost proud look on his face, slowly began to dissipate into the light before my eyes.
I woke up on the planet we found the enigma on, I was on one knee.
The Enigma shifted back into its compressed form. I slowly stood and examined my surroundings. I looked into the hole in the ground and saw the smoke slowly seeping through. It contains carbon dioxide and particulate matter… How do I know that? The Enigma must have provided me with Synapsis' intelligence, perhaps the rumours of it bonding the link between the components were true.
"Are you alright, Avenger?" Optimus asked.
"Better than ever." I mused.
"Good. We should be heading back home now."
I followed him down the mountain as a new portal appeared ahead of us.
Now I'm finally able to take in my surroundings. I can think clearly. I can understand my movement and our situation, why I'm here and why I am needed. Before it always felt like I was in the backseat but now… I am much stronger.
As we approached the portal from a distance, a large green Decepticon, oddly larger than I was, stumbled through.
"Hey!" His deep voice cried out.
"You must be the famed Devastator." I mused.
"You… corruptor. You stole our brother." He growled.
"On the contrary, however, I would assume any attempt at convincing you otherwise is an exercise in futility." Heh, big words.
"Shut up. Now you die." He grumbled as he charged right for me.
"Very well," I replied as I began to charge as well.
The behemoth ahead of me stomped over as if in slow motion considering how large he was, crushing plants and leaving massive footprints in his wake. I leapt into the air, one arm high for a heavy blow, he replied with a roar and a huge uppercut as we clashed with the power of both factions, sending out a massive shockwave that clearcut all plantation around us.
(1) These three dots normally indicate a passage of time, but in this specific case, it is a change in perspective. If it's ever not blatantly obvious it's one or the other, I'll point it out.
(2) This is a real condition among humans. I decided it would be an interesting idea for Jaeger as you will see develop in this chapter and more to come.
(3) Now you're probably thinking, I thought that didn't matter since Avenger is separate to the components? Why do they need a strengthened mental bond if there is no mental bond? Well, to put it simply, I wanted a way to make Avenger still have qualities of his components, it will be explained further in the future.
(4) So if you didn't know already, Maccadam is Alchemist Prime in hiding. In my research it said that he is very in tune with the natural forces of the universe, which led me to stipulate he had universe-bending powers, allowing him to create a portal. This also means that since he is in touch with the natural world, he could alter or manipulate the elements. To put it bluntly, Maccadam is basically the Avatar from atla with the ability to jump planets. He makes a kick-ass drink too.
(5) This isn't actually the fate of Nexus in the aligned continuity, actually it's vague enough on tfwiki that he could still be alive. This was his death (sorta) in the idw comics (I think). But since I'm not certain about any of that and don't really have the patience to read up on an entire section of lore, I'm chalking it down to "it didn't happen in this universe, therefore anything goes."
Whew! So glad that's finally done. Now I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty when the next chapter will be out as I haven't even started it yet, but rest assured I won't leave you hanging and stop posting for months. If something comes up, I will post an update on my profile stating if I'll be gone for a bit and when I predict I will be able to continue writing. It should be under Announcements or Vendetta News. See you in the next one!