Chapter 5: Misunderstandings
"I don't understand. The crystals were here a while ago." Orion Eclipse said.
"You don't suppose that something happened here that made them disappear, right?" Anthony Carter asked. But Orion simply shook his head, and replied, "I don't think that any of your people would come up here for these crystals. They wouldn't even know what they are, or what to do with them."
"Well, even if they did, I don't see any forklifts around here. Or any signs of construction for excavation." Anthony said. "Let's keep looking."
Orion and Anthony began searching around the cave for the Energon crystals when they suddenly saw a strange glow that drew them deeper into the cave. Orion holds his human friend in his hand as the two investigators find out where that strange light is coming from. They soon reach the cave interior and discover something that they didn't expect to see: a massive sword in the stone.
"Woah!" Said the duo in complete awe. "What is that?" Orion asked. "I don't know. But I think it looks like...a sword in the stone." Anthony said. "Where on Earth did it come from?" Orion Eclipse asked.
"I'm not sure. I think we should check it out. It might be the robot equivalent of King Arthur's Excalibur." Anthony said to Orion. The Cybertronian stepped forward, drawing close to the big sword in the stone while holding Anthony in his hand. They suddenly heard voices and some heavy footfalls coming from the right. Ratchet, Ironhide, and Hot Rod appeared in the cave, having finally found the missing Cybertronian relic. But it seems it had been found first by Orion Eclipse and Anthony Carter.
When they both saw the Autobots, they were shocked. None of them who were present in the cave were prepared to see each other, and tensions were suddenly, yet steadily growing. After seeing them, however, Orion could feel as if the nightmare he had the other night was coming true. Things grew worse when Ratchet saw the Decepticon insignia on Orion Eclipse's chest. He and his comrades were shocked before Ratchet yelled as he pointed at the young bot.
"DECEPTICON!!!"
The Autobots aimed their weapons at Orion Eclipse, leaving both him and Anthony frozen in fear. Anthony didn't expect to see more of Orion's kind, and Orion Eclipse never even thought about seeing more giant robots other than himself. He didn't recognize the Autobots standing in front of them - but when he and his human friend saw them drawing their weapons, they were both intimidated. And they began to realize they were both in danger now.
"He's the only one here! And he's holding a human hostage. Hold your fire!" Ironhide said. The pair looked at each other with serious concern. Human hostage? Decepticon? What were these robots going on about? Before they could move, however, the Autobots primed their weapons at Orion so he won't get any ideas. "Stay where you are! Hot Rod, don't let him near the relic!" Ratchet ordered the young Autobot.
"I'll hold him down, you get the human to safety! Ironhide will get the relic!" Hot Rod told Ratchet. Orion and Anthony screamed in terror before they started to run away. The Autobots pursued them, and in an incredibly swift move, the young Autobot, Hot Rod tackled Orion Eclipse by the legs and tripped him. This caused him to launch Anthony into the air, forcing him to watch the human fall out of the young Cybertronian's arms before Ratchet caught the young human just in the nick of time.
"I gotcha! Don't worry, you're safe." Ratchet told Anthony as he held him. "Safe!? Safe from what!? Who are you!?" Anthony yelled. "What's going on!?" He said. "We are Autobots. We're protecting you from a Decepticon." Ratchet told Anthony. "Don't worry, I'm an Emergency vehicle." Anthony just gave him an expression of disbelief and confusion. "Autobot? Decepticon? The hell are those?" Before an answer could be given, Anthony watched in horror as Hot Rod apprehended Orion Eclipse while keeping him away from his human friend and the sword in the stone. "Who are you!?! Let me go!" Orion yelled.
"Quiet! You're not going anywhere, Decepticon! And we're sure as slag not gonna let you have the relic or that human!" Hot Rod told Orion. The bot just shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't understand. Why did you call me a Decepticon? What IS a Decepticon!?" Orion asked, feeling hurt, scared, and confused. "I said be quiet!" Hot Rod yelled as he hit Orion in the head, with Anthony crying out his name in dread, and anger at the mistreatment he was watching, as the fiery-tempered Autobot finished speaking, "You and your kind are a threat to all sentient beings! The fact that any of you are still around me makes my chassis shake with disgust."
"Aaaagh!" Orion gasped as he saw some of his own Energon on the ground. His optics widened as fear grabbed a hold of his spark, and made him fear for his life - and it also made him angry that these strangers, who knew nothing about him were accusing him of things he'd never done - that he'd never even considered doing. And it began to show how upset this was making as he said in a trembling, shuddering voice, "That's a lie...I..would...never harm anyone!", his voice raised as he began to cry. Not something any of the other bots was expecting from what was supposed to be a seasoned soldier of destruction. Somehow, they could feel his honesty and almost began to feel bad for him.
Until Ratchet snorted, believing this to be nothing more than an act to gain sympathy, and perhaps even escape.
"Puh-lease! Since when do Decepticons never want to hurt anyone!?" Ratchet asked. "All your kind EVER does is harm anyone they want! And if you think this little act is going to help you, Decepticon, then you're out of your-" CLANK! To his painful surprise, Anthony hit him in the chest with a crowbar he had somehow hidden on his person and yelled. "STOP HURTING MY FRIEND, YOU GIANT, METAL BASTARDS!" He then threw the boomerang at Hot Rod's optic, making a bullseye that caused the Autobot to scream in pain, before angrily exclaiming, "What the hell is wrong with you?! We're trying to protect you, human!" Anthony snorted. "How? By holding me and my best friend prisoner?! I don't know who you freaks are, but I swear that if you don't let us go now, I'll scrap every last one of you!"
"Anthony..." Orion said in a low, emotional voice which betrayed his appreciation towards his human friends' concern for him. But was jolted out of his thoughts by a shove in the back from the rambunctious Autobot in red and yellow. "Hate to break it to you, kid, but this Con's obviously been conning you into thinking he's your friend. Just like Decepticons are likely to do."
But Anthony wasn't going to put up with this prejudice, and he spat out, "How dare you?! You don't even know him!" Ratchet then suddenly began to glare in anger, before telling Ironhide to recover the relic, before turning to Anthony to state, "Know him?! We don't HAVE to know him! Decepticons are all the same: Sparkless, savage, life-threatening warmongerers incapable of any feeling but-"
"Shut up, you xenophobic slagheap!" Both Ironhide AND Hot Rod gasped in shock while Ratchet just stood there with an exasperated look of disbelief. "He's obviously the same as you, whatever you are, but based on what - that weird symbol on his chest - you automatically assume he's a threat! And that he was holding me, hostage, for no reason when he HAD no reason?! I don't know what Decepticons or Autobots really are," He glared with such hate at the bots who hurt Orion, and treated him this way, "but if the former is evil, then what makes what you're doing to a bot who isn't even fighting back any different from who I'm going to assume are the Decepticons?" A baited silence filled the air as Anthony stood there, unafraid to stand up for Orion, even in the face of these...alien robots. Orion, however, was not willing to endanger his friend any further. "Anthony, please! Don't make things worse! Whoever these robots are, they're after me and the sword in that rock." He was now pleading to his friend, "Please, don't give them a reason to hurt you!"
Anthony just looked back at Orion and gave him a reassuring smile and thumbs up. "It's okay, Orion. I won't let these giant scrap heaps hurt you, no matter what it takes." Orion smiled sadly at his human friend, proud of his bravery, but fearful of his life is in more danger than he.
The medical officer glared in contempt at the human, and Decepticon before he growled, and decided to wrap his hand around Anthony's body while Orion exclaimed fearfully as he cried out his name, before receiving another punch to the head. "Enough of this: Ironhide, grab the relic." Ratchet ordered in a cold, angered tone, before turning to look at the pair, and saying, "We'll bring these two back with us so we can force this Decepticon to undo whatever mind-altering program he's inflicted on this human."
"I didn't do anything to him!" Orion pleaded. "Let him go, please! Whatever's happening, leave him out of i—UAAGH!" This time, a hard punch to the torso from Hot Rod made Orion bend over in pain as he coughed up Energon. "ORION!!!" Anthony screamed in horror while struggling to break free.
Hot Rod then grabbed Orion by the back of his head, and in a threatening tone said, "That's my last warning, Decepticreep: make another sound, and I'll make sure you can never say anything again." The fear, and then silence, in Orion's face, satisfied Hot Rod, while he noticed Anthony glaring hatefully at the young Autobot. He couldn't understand why, or how this con had made such a loyal follower out of this human.
At all. No Decepticon could EVER be friends with another lifeform: they can't even be friends with each other, for Cybertron's sake! And for the human's sake, he hoped Ratchet was right about all this. The sooner they help him, and put this scum away, the safer all will be.
Ironhide went towards the Cybertronian sword in the stone soon after. And yet when he touched it, an immense power unleashed upon them, from the very sword itself. It shined like a bright, shimmering star, with the force of its power causing everyone in the cave to fall. Suddenly, everyone present could see strange, yet familiar figures coming from the light from the sword. To the Autobots' incredulousness, they were soon met by the ethereal spirits of the Thirteen Original Primes, including...Optimus Prime himself.
"Optimus!" Ratchet said in disbelief.
The Autobots gasped as they all recognized the spirit of their late leader while Orion Eclipse and Anthony Carter were still being held by them. When Orion Eclipse saw Optimus Prime's spirit, he somehow recognized him as the same red and blue figure that fought against an evil gray bulky robot in his dream. But he never knew who Optimus Prime actually was.
Both Orion and Anthony had no idea what was happening, but they knew that they were in trouble. Then the spirit of Optimus Prime began speaking to the Autobots. "Autobots, you have found The Sword of Primus—a sacred weapon which can only be wielded by one worthy of being the next Prime," Optimus said as his voice echoed in the cave.
"Optimus, is it really you?" Ironhide asked.
Anthony was speechless, and Orion was scared: almost like he was seeing a ghost. Hot Rod pinned the young Decepticon down, and forced him to bow before the spirit of Optimus Prime continued to speak.
"Be warned: the Decepticons have rallied to a new tyrannical leader. One who will stop at nothing to free Unicron the Chaos Bringer, and bring forth death and destruction on both Cybertron and Earth." Optimus Prime told the Autobots. Hot Rod, who didn't seem to fully register the warning unlike the others, grabbed Orion by the back of his head again so he would face the former leader, saying, "Optimus, we found a Decepticon scout. He was holding a human hostage." But Orion desperately shook his head in denial, pleading, "No, I wasn't! We were only visiting each other when we found the sword! Anthony's my friend," Orion said, with his voice breaking again as he begged, "Please, don't hurt us! We didn't do anything wrong! Anthony didn't do anything wrong! Do whatever sadistic things you want with me, but please let him go! He doesn't deserve to go through whatever you're planning to do to me."
This finally made Ratchet snap "Be quiet! How DARE you accuse US of doing something like that when it's YOUR kind that ends the lives of others with sadistic glee! We're keeping this young human safe from a Decepticon like you." Ratchet yelled at Orion Eclipse. But then Anthony yelled, "HE'S LYING! Orion didn't do anything to me, and he is not a threat like you Autobots are! He's never harmed, anyone!" He then looked into the benign gaze of Optimus as he pleaded, "Mister Prime, sir? Please, I know he looks dangerous because he obviously bears that symbol, but he's really kind and gentle." He said in a heartfelt tone that again touched Orion's spark as the human looked to him, and even made Optimus and the primes smile at the devotion and friendship of these two. "He's my friend: and if anyone doesn't deserve to be hurt, it's him."
This bewildered the Autobots, and made Ratchet lift Anthony to his optics, as he said contemptibly, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you actually have feelings of friendship for this monster." Growling again in hate for this xenophobic Autobot, he pulled out a hidden tool he had also been keeping on him just in case. "He's no monster, robot: YOU ARE!" He then stabbed the end of his house-hammer in-between Ratchet's servos and made the Autobot drop him as he cried out in stinging pain. Anthony rushed over to where he had seen his crowbar go, which thankfully wasn't fair, and grabbed it with a dive before holding it and his hammer in a defensive way as he approached Hot Rod - who was growing unnerved by the raw anger in the human's eyes as he approached. He wanted to shoot the ground before him so he'd back off, but he'd risk harming him: and Autobots don't harm humans deliberately. This gave Anthony plenty of leeway to make a convincing threat. "So again, I don't care how big you are: let go of my friend, you hot-headed punk, or I'll make sure your eye gets permanently blinded - or I rip it out of your head." That declaration made the Autobots, and even Orion, feel surprisingly uneasy with the level of hostile intent surrounding him. At this point, it was a question of whether this human really WAS under mind control, or not. But that just left the alternative, and none in the group but Orion could understand. "This is really weird. How can a teenage human be friends with a Decepticon?" Ironhide thought in confusion. "It just doesn't make a lick of sense."
"Of course it does!" Ratchet angrily exclaimed. "He's as crazy as a hyperactive Turbo Fox! I thought there must be some manner of mind control involved, but I was wrong: this human is out of his mind, and refuses to listen to reason! Best we inoculate him, and take this wretched Decepticon to prison on Cybertron!" He glares at Orion, frightening him. "Then we'll make him tell us the truth, even if we have to FORCE it out of him!" Ironhide was finally beginning to worry about his Autobot companion and his stability. "Ratchet, can you PLEASE dial it down? You're taking this way too far, now, and it's worrisome. Look at the bot, for Primus' sake!" He points to Orion, still terrified beyond belief. "Has the peacetime made you forget everything Optimus told us about enemy protocol? Even if he is a Decepticon, he's still our prisoner. And deserves to be treated as such. Torturing him for somethin' he probably didn't do makes us no different from the Cons. And coming from me - the Autobot who loves bustin' Deceptichops - that's saying something."
"Oh, it's saying something, alright." Ratchet said in a neutral voice before he raised it again. "That you have no idea what you're talking about! A Decepticon is a Decepticon: they do not deserve to be treated with any form of courtesy, OR decency! And this one?" His gaze hardens as he stares at Orion. "There's something familiar about him that brings out the serrated blades that open old wounds. Every time I LOOK at him, I get reminded of all the terrible things: the lives lost, the destruction wrought, and the Energon spilled. I don't know why he brings these feelings out, but I say he should be treated no differently from any other Decepticon: and locked up in a cell for the rest of his wasted life!" Orion and Anthony gasped in horrific fright, as the so-called Decepticon feared the idea of being locked away in a place far away from his home here on earth, but with Anthony still readying to help Orion even if he WAS outmatched. However, before anything else, the only being of rational, unbiased thought made his presence reiterated as he stomped his foot on the ground, and caused a blast of wind to disorient the group. Then made a command that halted all thoughts of hostility, and action.
"ENOUGH!!!" Optimus' voice, followed by his mystic demonstration of power, made the Autobots, and the duo of friends stop. Then he saw the shamed expression on the former leader of the Autobots as he looked upon them all. His focus is on Hot Rod and Ratchet more than the others. "Is this what my sacrifice has brought forth? An era of peace that slowly narrows down the same path which birthed our ancient enemies, because of a lack of desire for true Equality, and harmony on Cybertron?" To Hot Rod, "Letting history shape our view of existence to the point we torture those we capture and abuse them as true Decepticons did in the times of war? Such is NOT the Autobot way, nor should it ever be." Hot Rod looked away, feeling shame welling in his spark as he realized that Optimus was right: he was acting just like a Decepticon towards a Decepticon who was acting more like an Autobot, for Primus's sake! It was bizarre, but it made the truth no less hard to accept. Though Optimus was even more disappointed in his oldest friend. "And you, my old friend: do you still harbor bitter hatred towards all who bear the sigil of the Decepticons? Blaming the few for the deeds of the majority responsible? I had thought you had grown past such emotions, but...it seems I was wrong. You have forgotten the virtues the Autobots stood for: including the belief that even Decepticons could find peace, and turn from the path of evil. Such beings exist out there, as I have seen. But the past cannot blind you to this reality, that even Decepticons and Autobots have the capacity for good and evil."
"The past ALWAYS MATTERS!!!" Ratchet actually screamed: but this was more in frustration, anger, sadness, and shame in the presence of his dear friend. "I haven't forgotten all that you've tried to teach us, Optimus, but... how can you expect any of us to forgive so easily? The only Decepticons whoever showed this potential you speak of for their own ends!" He then points an accusing finger at the still terrified Orion. "Why should we believe this one to be any different?"
"Maybe because he hasn't done anything to prove he's the monster you make him out to be, you bigoted rustbucket?" Anthony asked Rhetorically, earning another glare from the medic before Optimus drew everyone's attention. "Autobots! Whatever the circumstances, I bid you be kind towards Orion Eclipse," he said to Ratchet, Ironhide, and Hot Rod, still confused and baffled by everything that's happening. "This young Cybertronian holds no memory of his past, nor the knowledge of the Great War on Cybertron. Even the memory of his family has all but disappeared." He said sympathetically. "Whatever you believed is wrong, and antiquated. Orion is your only hope in standing against the new rising Darkness that threatens all that there is. You must trust him. You must help him. Help him find who he truly is so he may be the kind of warrior who will be the key to saving Earth, and Cybertron."
Now, all hostility had died, and was replaced with a dreaded confusion. "What do you mean? Optimus, if what you're saying to us is true then...what else should we do?" Ratchet asked. Now happy that his friend was listening to reason, he relayed his instruction to all. "Return the young human to his family first. And then bring the lost warrior in your midst back to base on Cybertron. Though he bears the sigil, Orion Eclipse is not a true Decepticon. His spark is pure, and his spirit is of noble will. He will require ALL of our help to fulfill his destiny when the time comes." He looks at Anthony with a proud smile. "Especially from those who are closest to his heart, and care for him dearly. And rest assured, Anthony, that Orion will NOT be put in harm's way, or mistreated again by Autobot hands." He gives a certain Autobot pair a stern look. "This I swear as a Prime." Anthony was surprised Optimus knew his name, just as he knew Orion's - but then he chalked it up to him clearly being some kind of holy spirit for the transformers, considering he came out of what would be revealed to indeed be the equivalent of the sword of Pendragon. "Take the Sword of Primus with you, as well. Its power will remain dormant once we depart for the Allspark from whence the Primes came: just as it has for eons since coming to this world. But one day, an Autobot will rise from our ranks...and use the power of the Sword to light our darkest hour. Until the day, till all are one." Those were Optimus' final words before he began to fade into the light.
"Optimus, wait! Who's the new Decepticon Leader?! Please, give us his name!" Hot Rod asked, almost desperate to know who this new Decepticon overlord that ushered a warning from the Primes themselves because of the threat he posed really was. Optimus Prime didn't answer, though, as he and the Thirteen disappeared into the light from the Sword of Primus before it too faded - now it was simply a sword in a stone. The Autobots, along with Anthony Carter and Orion Eclipse, had no idea what to make of this. But Ratchet sighed in surrender as he decided that it was best for them to do as their Long-Past Leader says. On the other hand, Orion was feeling so shocked, and afraid, and confused by what he just saw that it overwhelmed his senses and became too much for this poor soul to bear. Due to the anxiety, fear, and confusion that struck him all at once, he lost consciousness and went into stasis. "Orion? ORION!!" Came the fading voice of Anthony, who dropped his make-shift weapons, and ran over to the so-called Decepticon as his optics began to close. He smiled, just a little, knowing that despite all this, Anthony was still there for him: as any best friend would. The teenaged human was the last thing Orion would see as everything around him inside the cold cave faded to black.
After a few hours of unconsciousness in an uncontrolled stasis mode, Orion Eclipse slowly opened his optics with tiredness that was hard to handle, as he groggily regained his senses - only to find himself alone inside a large prison cell. The young Cybertronians optics zipped wide open in fright, and he felt as if he woke up from one nightmare, only to end up in a new one that was this big, metal box. But what happened inside that cave where he and Anthony Carter found that mysterious sword in the stone was so real. Orion looked at his right arm and was surprised to see that his fusion cannon was missing. It was as if someone had removed it from his forearm, with him having no idea how that was possible since he thought it was an actual part of his body. Not only that, but Orion was wearing stasis cuffs like a common criminal - maybe even worse if he was bound, and locked away. Panic began to stir inside of Orion's internal systems as he then realized he had been captured by the three robots he encountered with Anthony.
"Where am I?! What is this place?!" Orion said, panicked. "Hello?! Is anybody here? Anthony, where are you?! Anthony?!!" he cried out desperately, hoping Anthony would answer him. Instead, someone else responded to him. "Calm down, stranger." Hot Rod said. "At that volume, you're liable to wake up a horde of Terrorcons." Orion Eclipse looked around until his optics saw the young Autobot looking at him through the window to his prison cell. Orion screams before he falls backward, and he struggles to break himself free from the stasis cuffs. "You're that robot who attacked me! Who are you!? What did you do to my cannon?!" Orion yelled, feeling his fear being replaced by anger. "Where is Anthony? What did you do to him!?" he demanded.
"Easy! Just calm down. The boy is safe; Ratchet drove him back to his stepfather and we brought you here on Cybertron. Though it took a while before the kid actually got in: he really doesn't seem to like Ratchet much." Hot Rod told Orion before he explained, "We removed your weapon while you were unconscious so that you wouldn't try to escape, and then we had our other medic, Knockout, take a look at you. He told us that you were infused with Dark Energon. So we did all we could to remove it before it would make you unstable and dangerous." Orion Eclipse was confused by all of this. He didn't know what the Autobot was talking about, so he asked him some questions, "Wh...What are you saying? What's Cybertron? What is Dark Energon? Who's Knockout? Where did you put my cannon!?" he asked all scared and confused.
Hot Rod was about to proceed when Ironhide stepped in. "Hot Rod, is the young bot awake?" he asked. Hot Rod nodded to his comrade. "Yes, Ironhide. He just gained consciousness after being in stasis for over eight hours," he told Ironhide.
"I still can't believe that this poor lonely Decepticon was a victim of Dark Energon," Ironhide said.
"Thank Primus that it didn't turn our guest into a Terrorcon...or worse." Hot Rod replied.
"I don't understand. What's a Decepticon?!" Orion Eclipse asked.
"You aren't serious. You really don't know what a Decepticon is?" Hot Rod said in confusion.
"No, I don't! I don't even know what an Autobot is! All I know is that I was hanging out with my best friend, who I let visit me while I refueled on those glowing crystals that kept me nourished, only to find some magic sword in a stone, a bunch of psychotic robots taking me, and Anthony prisoner - and repeatedly abusing me when I wasn't even resisting capture," hearing that made Hot Rod look away in shame, which made Orion glad he seemed to regret brutalizing him just for his own sense of superiority, "while being accused of thing I didn't do, and that none of you could prove I did until I was visited by the ghosts of what I can best describe as robot gods! Next thing I know, I'm locked in this cage, and shackled, with my fusion cannon gone! So please excuse my harshness when I say that I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND HERE!!!" Orion replied in rage, and fear. The display actually put the two Autobots on edge, until something came to mind. "Well, Optimus Prime did tell us that this stranger lost his memories," Ironhide mentioned. "Who is Optimus Prime?" Orion Eclipse thought, still confused.
Ironhide and Hot Rod talk to each other while Orion ponders the situation before they hear someone coming. Ultra Magnus, once chief lieutenant of Optimus Prime, now the leader of the Autobots, walked in to check on the strange Decepticon loner along with Knockout, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee. "So this is the one you told us about." He asked Ratchet in a commanding tone of voice. "Yes, Ultra Magnus, sir." Ratchet answered. "We found him with a human in a cave that housed the Sword of Primus."
"So that he could make off with it, using said human as a hostage?" Knockout asked, earning a look from everyone. "What? I'm an ex-con. It's what I would have done in the old days. And since this fellow's a Decepticon, as any bot can plainly see, why should we assume anything else."
"Because we read the room wrong." Hot Rod spoke up, but standing at attention when Magnus looked at him. "Uh, sir. We assumed that's what he was doing, but...we were proven wrong by none other than the last prime, himself." Thie made all but the three Autobots Orion recognized look surprised. "Optimus?" Asked the yellow bot, Bumblebee. "You actually saw Optimus in that cave?" Ironhide cleared his throat to get attention. "And apparently the other Thirteen Original Primes, too. He warned us that The Decepticons were back, and under the command of someone that might be more dangerous than Megatron." He then glanced and pointed a thumb at the still startled Orion, who was now intimidated by the larger crowd in front of him. "And Orion here? He's one of the means we're gonna survive the Decepticon's resurgence...and the Con who apparently works for the Chaos Bringer, himself."
"An actual Herald of Unicron?" The big green Autobot, Bulkhead, inquired. "Guess Megatron didn't fit the profile, after all." The small, blue, and pink fembot, Arcee, clicked her tongue before saying, "Why would he, Bulk? He was Unicron's enemy turned spark - or ANTI-Spark retainer before we dealt with Unicron for good." She then raised a servo to her chin. "Still, if Unicron had a servant working for him all this time, without any of us realizing it, then this could be really bad news for everyone. Not just Cybertron: but Earth is probably on the line, as well."
"Wait," Orion spoke up in a steady, yet still nervous tone. "Then what that spirit in the sword said is true? My home...and my friend, Anthony, are in danger? And it's because of these "Decepticons" I keep hearing about?" Suddenly, Ultra Magnus stepped up to the entrance of Orion's cell, just standing only a few inches taller, yet still striking a very strong, and imposing figure. "And yet you keep speaking as though you are not one of them when that badge you wear states otherwise?" Orion looked down to his chest, rubbing his hand over it. He never really thought much about it until this day came about. Now he realized it stood for an oppressive, evil force hell-bent on ruling all. And it made him disgusted. "Why should what is branded to my body define me?" He asked in a harsh whisper before he glared at the Autobots. "You think that just because I have this symbol, that automatically makes me one of them? Do you think you "Autobots" know who I am? You think I'm nothing but a dangerous monster despite what the ghost of your past leader said?!" He exclaimed in anger.
"Now hang on, son." Ironhide stepped in, trying to defuse the growing tension. "Even though some bots are too stubborn to admit it," he glanced at Ratchet who only scoffed, "I think I speak for all of us when I say we were wrong to treat you like that and accuse you without any kind of facts."
"And yet THIS is how you make up for it?" Orion asked, pointing out the cuffs on his wrists and the prison cell itself. "You say that, but you still think I'm nothing but one of those... Decepticons I keep hearing about." Arcee stepped forward. "Hate to break it to you, but - you ARE a Decepticon." Orion scoffed. "Why? Because the brand on my chest that I'm stuck with says so?
"Because WE say so, Decepticon." Ultra Magnus spoke. "Even if what Ratchet and the others said is true, the fact of the matter is that you are an unknown factor. A Decepticon we know nothing about, and cannot simply trust because of what our...fallen leader supposedly said. Your kind is a threat to all life, and until we can ascertain your loyalties, we cannot risk you being free for any reason." A baited silence filled the air as Magnus and Orion stared into each other's optics. Like the two were trying to find a weak spot, and exploit it to assert dominion over the other. What they got instead...was a small fit of laughter from the young transformer. "And what, may I ask, is so funny, Decepticon?" Magnus asked sternly.
"The fact that Autobots are bigoted hypocrites."
Everyone gasped from that statement, with Bulkhead actually getting mad, stepping forward, and angrily asking, "What did you say punk?!" But Orion wasn't intimidated by them anymore. He refused to let them push him around anymore. "You hear me. You are all nothing but a bunch of hypocritical scrap heads who let past grudges cloud your judgment." Magnus readied to speak again, but Orion exclaimed, "NO! This is the part where I talk, and all of YOU listen. You're hypocrites because you act on the base mindset of "Ugh! He got a Decepticon Badge! He is evil! Get him!"," Orion said in a fake zombie voice, making the group weirded out. "You attacked me, assaulted me, belittled me, and now you've caged me like an animal when Optimus Prime, who you all said was your leader, said you need me to stop this new Decepticon resurgence before they destroy everything we hold dear. The Earth is my home, and I am NOT going to let it fall to them, no matter what."
Ratchet scoffed. "Puh-lease. As much as I trust in Optimus' wisdom, even I can admit he was too soft for his own good and saw the better in other things even though it never existed. As far as we know, you could be one of these new Decepticons sent to earth to find Cybertronian weapons. We are not all naive like that."
"No, apparently." Orion admitted, before adding, "Just completely stupid, and brain dead for ignoring "facts" stated from the one being out of apparently Thirteen who knows the truth." This made Ratchet do a double-take, and he growled indignantly as Orion continued. "And the fact is...I. Am. An amnesiac. I have no memory of who I was before I came to Earth, and made it my home. Autobots, Decepticons, Cybertron, Primus, Unicron, Relics, and all that? Because you all like to be so vague, I have no idea what any of that means. I never knew what any of that was for the decades I spent living alone on Earth. All I had was...my name, and this symbol I knew nothing about, except that it's part of me. Everything before Earth doesn't exist, as Optimus Prime himself verified." He then looked at them with disdain. "And yet you ignore what three Autobots saw with their own optics, and heard with their own Audio Receptors just because I'm a Decepticon? You really would let old grudges motivate you to defy your own leader, who warned you of the REAL threat out there while you were busy assaulting me for no reason?! How pathetic are you?!"
"Watch it, punk!" Bulkhead warned. "If you knew exactly what we've been through - what the Decepticons did for over four million years - then maybe you'd understand...but you don't!" Orion nodded in agreement. "Yeah! I DON'T know! I don't know anything about this planet which I was apparently created on, or my life leading up to my arrival on Earth! Don't you get it?! You're treating me for things I had no part of as far as I know, and you hate me just because of THIS!" He points to his chest. "You're supposed to be some kind of heroes, aren't you? Well...what hero doesn't even give the benefit of a doubt to someone who is clearly in need of it?" He then began to feel emotional. "I shouldn't even be here: I'm supposed to be home, having fun with Anthony as I've been doing for the last few days I've known him. But instead... I get kidnapped by aliens who accuse me of things I didn't do, and who now hold me, prisoner, without any real cause." He then gave them all an accusational look as he asked them a rather startling question that shook their resolve.
"Doesn't that sound like something a Decepticon would do?"