Chapter 10: Enemies and Humans
Back in the Autobots base in Retoris, Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and the Vehicons returned back from the Badlands through the ground/space bridge before Ratchet noticed the damage they had received from the new enemy.
"Ultra Magnus! What happened?!" Ratchet asked, worriedly.
"Doomsayer happened," said Ultra Magnus. "He tricked us into thinking he and the Decepticons were located in the Badlands, but it turned out to be a death trap," he told Ratchet. "Ratchet, can you call Knockout and ask him to heal one of our Vehicons?" Arcee asked the medic. "We'll do all we can. Were you ambushed?" Ratchet asked. "Yes, we were ambushed. The New Decepticons we encountered were...monstrous!" said Bulkhead.
"We saw one rip the head off of a Vehicon. It was larger than it, stronger, and even faster, and more violent!" Wheeljack added.
Ratchet summoned Knockout before the two Autobot medics tended to one of the wounded Vehicons and they even checked on Ultra Magnus and his Autobot soldiers. The red Autobot medic, Knockout, tended to Arcee's scars to see if she needed to be healed. He scanned her entire body for any damage and for the record she was okay, just shocked and barely hurt from what she and the Autobots experienced in the Badlands where they thought to have entered Doomsayer's lair.
"So, what's the damage, Doctor?" Arcee asked Knockout.
"Well, you're not injured, just barely hurt from what happened in the Badlands." Knockout told the blue and pink femme bot. "You might have a few scars, but we'll fix that," he promised. "Some scars never heal, Knockout. We retreated to an abandoned building where we saw...him." Arcee said.
"Him?" Knockout asked.
"Doomsayer," Arcee said to Knockout. "We saw him and his armada. We were surrounded by his New Decepticons and then we saw the Dark Energon flowing through him when he struck Starscream with its dark energy. It was like the time Unicron possessed Megatron's body when we fought him," she explained.
Knockout made a look on his face that showed he was extremely anxious and scared of the fact that Doomsayer has returned from his exile. This made Arcee confused before she asked, "Knockout? Are you okay?" Knockout snapped out of it before he looked at his patient, "It's nothing. Flashback." he said before he continued tending to Arcee's minor wounds.
Meanwhile, Orion Eclipse was taking a tour around the Autobot base with Springer and Hot Rod. They brought him to the archives where they begin to teach Orion everything he wished to learn more about Cybertron. Something that distracted the young bot was the last time he spent on Earth while he was with his human friend, Anthony. Orion wished that the Autobots would trust him to leave Cybertron and return home to Earth in Idaho so that he would find Anthony and let him know that he's alright.
"Orion, are you paying attention?" said Springer.
"Hmm?" Orion Eclipse looked up before he answered, "Oh! Sorry, Springer. I got a little distracted; I was lost in thought." he said. "That's okay, just try to stay focused on your research," Springer told Orion.
"Yes, Springer," Orion Eclipse replied. "What's on your mind today, Orion?" Hot Rod asked. Orion Eclipse paused before he sighed sadly, "I'm just...thinking about my friend." he said. "You mean your human friend, Anthony?" Hot Rod asked.
"Yes, I miss him. Anthony was the human who...who got to know me the last time we met each other." Orion began. "Anthony taught me how to skip rocks and he told me that he was very skilled at sneaking out of places. He was also lucky to bring weapons with him and I didn't even notice that he brought a crowbar with him, not to mention a hammer," he said.
"We promise that you will see your friend again, Orion. But for now, you're an amnesiac who needs help and we Autobots can give you that help until we can trust you to go wherever you like." Springer told Orion Eclipse.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Jonathan Dave Carter and his step-son, Anthony Carter, drove back from the mini-hotel and they were done with their family road trip. Once they drove back home to Boise, Idaho, they parked their car at their apartment building. Jonathan didn't know this, but Anthony had snuck out of the mini-hotel the other night to spend some quality time with his new friend, Orion Eclipse, who happens to be a giant robot from another planet. Anthony is still upset that his friend had to be taken away by the three Autobots who attacked him, but he refused to show his anger in front of his family. Inside the house, Anthony's mother, Katherine Carter, was making dinner when she welcomed both her son and her new husband back home.
Later after dinner, Anthony Carter went upstairs to his bedroom where he looked at his cellphone to find an image he took of Orion Eclipse just so he can remember him. He then starts whispering to Orion's image on the cellphone as if he were actually talking to him.
"I sure do miss you, Orion," said Anthony. "But hopefully those robot bastards will allow you to come back to Earth," he said before he heard someone knocking on the door. "Anthony." Katherine Carter said behind the door to Anthony's room. "Yes, Mom?" asked Anthony.
"Is everything alright? May I come in?" the mother asked.
"Uh, er, sure. Just a second." Anthony replied before putting away his cellphone.
After hiding his cellphone, Katherine opens the door, and then she steps into her son's bedroom to check on Anthony.
"So, how was your road trip with Jonathan?" Katherine asked. "It was good," said Anthony. "Is that true? Because Jonathan told me that you were upset for some reason. Is something troubling you? Did you got into a fight with someone?" Katherine asked.
Anthony paused as he remembered the Autobots and how they were cruel towards Orion Eclipse, which made his blood boil with anger before he answered his mother, "Yes. I got into a fight with someone but it wasn't Jonathan, it was someone else." he said. Katherine was now feeling concerned for her son, so she closes the door, and then she sits right next to Anthony to listen to his story. "Who was it?" she asked.
"A trio of bullies. I saw them attack my new friend, Orion, and I tried to protect him while they were holding me." Anthony told his mom. "When did this happened? Did you dial 911?" Katherine asked. "It happened only a long time ago. I did call for help, got my friend taken to the hospital while the three goons ran for their lives," Anthony lied. "That's funny. Jonathan told me that you were helping out an amnesiac who was lost in the woods while the two of you were on a road trip and his name was also Orion." Katherine said.
Anthony gasped before his mother asked him, "Anthony, I can't help but notice that you've been keeping secrets. Who is this Orion? How old is he? Where and when did you guys meet?"
"Honey!" Jonathan Dave Carter called from downstairs.
"What?" Katherine responded to her husband. "Is there anything I should add to the grocery list?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes, just give me a moment to talk to Anthony, please," Katherine replied.
Anthony Carter was feeling nervous before he realized that he could no longer keep the truth away from his family. He knew that he mentioned the name 'Orion' twice this weekend and his parents noticed that he was upset but they have no idea why. So, Anthony took a deep breath before he decided to finally tell the truth to his family, with his mom being the first to hear it.
"Mom? I have a confession to make." Anthony began. "Orion is...not human."
"What do you mean, Anthony? Have you been making things up this whole time?" Katherine asked.
"No, mom. It's just that...Jonathan and I were staying at a mini-hotel and I went out for a stroll before I met a giant robot in the woods...and his name is Orion Eclipse. He's an amnesiac and he is also my friend who happens to be from another planet called, Cyber-something." Anthony said to his mother.
Katherine Carter looked surprised to see her son say something like this. But then, she continued to hear Anthony's story about his unusual friendship.
"I snuck out of the mini-hotel at night to meet with Orion Eclipse. He and I got to spend quality time together, I taught him how to skip some rocks, and then he brought me to his place in the mountains. I brought a coat and some supplies with me before Orion even brought me to his cave. Mom, I swear I'm not making this up. I actually befriended a giant robot!" Anthony said.
Katherine raised her hand, telling her son to stop for a moment before she told him, "Anthony, I think I know what you're talking about." Anthony looked surprised and confused, "You do?" he asked.
Katherine nodded before she answered, "You probably don't know this, but your step-father used to work for a special agent at Jasper, Nevada named, William Fowler, and he actually told me stories about giant robots. I didn't believe him at first on our first date, but Jonathan showed me actual footage of these metal giants that were called Autobots and Decepticons." she said.
"Why didn't you tell me? Tell me, what the heck is an Autobot or a Decepticon?" Anthony asked.
"Well, from what your step-father told me, the Autobots were a race of good robots who came from a planet called, Cybertron, and they came to our world to learn from it and to protect it from their enemy known as the Decepticons. So, what happened when you befriended this Orion Eclipse character? Was he an Autobot or a Decepticon?" asked Katherine.
"To be honest, I wasn't sure what he was. He said that he couldn't remember where he came from or how he came to our world, but when Orion Eclipse brought me to the mountains, we were searching for these crystals that were basically his food supply, but then we followed a bright light and we found a massive sword in the stone." Anthony told his mother before he continued, "Then suddenly, we were attacked by these three giant robots who called themselves, 'Autobots' and when they saw Orion, they called him a 'Decepticon' and they stupidly thought that he was holding me hostage. I tried to defend Orion when those metal bastards attacked him and I even tried reasoning with them that my friend was innocent. Then suddenly, one of the Autobots touched that sword in the stone, and we saw something that I could best describe as holy robot spirits and one of them, in particular, was Optimus Prime who happens to be the late leader of the Autobots. Prime told the Autobots who attacked Orion Eclipse that there was a new threat against both their planet and our planet and then he promised me that Orion would not be harmed by those metal jerks once they bring him back to their base on Cybertron and I think he said something about Eclipse being the Autobots' one last hope at defeating their enemies. After the spirits that came from the sword faded out, Orion Eclipse fainted and I tried to wake him up, and then those Autobot jerks decided to bring me back to the mini-hotel. I resisted when that brute, Ratchet, told me to go inside of him as an Emergency vehicle as he calls himself, but he and his goons insisted that I return to my step-father and that I should pretend like nothing ever happened and that I never left the hotel." Anthony finished his story.
"Anthony," Katherine said. "I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I can't believe that you actually sneak out of the mini-hotel to visit your robot friend, but still, I'm shocked that you encountered some giant robots! You could've been hurt! What were you thinking?! Why didn't you bring Jonathan with you?" she asked in actual shock.
Jonathan Dave Carter could hear his wife and stepson talking to each other upstairs and he can hear their voices that sounded either shocked or upset.