Chapter 12: Beginner's Luck
"I think you should go back to sleep, now." Bumblebee suggested. "Wait, aren't you going to explain more about Altair Comet and Elita One?" Orion Eclipse said. "I'm sorry, but we can't know for sure if they're still online." Bumblebee replied.
"Online?" Orion Eclipse asked, confused. "That's our way of saying that a Cybertronian is alive. If their spark has been extinguished and they're offline, that means they're dead." Bumblebee explained. "Oh. Well, I think I feel more comfortable going back to sleep, now." Orion Eclipse said. "So when do I get to go back to Earth?" he asked.
"I'll ask Ultra Magnus about that. But for now, we need to find out more about you to help you regain your lost memories." Bumblebee said. "Okay, Bee. Goodnight." Orion Eclipse replied.
"Goodnight, Orion." Bumblebee said before leaving the young bot's room.
Once the Autobot lieutenant closed the door, Orion goes back to sleep before he starts thinking of the name, Altair Comet, before he decides to wait until he can ask more about Optimus Prime's daughter and his conjunx-endura. The next day, Orion Eclipse was still fast asleep in his room and this time he had no nightmares, no dreams, and no visions of his forgotten past. Instead, the young Cybertronian had a nice rest for once in his lifetime. Orion was feeling comfortable in his sleep when someone knocked on his door, waking him up and startling him.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." It was Hot Rod.
Orion Eclipse groaned in a tired tone of voice. "Can I have just one more minute, please?" he said. "Aw, come on, Big O. Ironhide wants to teach you how to be a Cybertronian like us," Hot Rod insisted.
Orion chuckled before he got up from his berth. "Okay, okay, Hothead. I'm coming out," he said. "My name is Hot Rod." the young Autobot corrected. "And the name is Orion Eclipse, you firecracker." Orion teased.
"Haha, very funny," said Hot Rod.
Orion Eclipse walked out of his quarters before he followed Hot Rod outside of the Autobots base to find Ironhide so that Orion would begin his first lesson of training such as learning how to get a vehicle mode, how to fight to protect himself and others, and how to talk and act like a Cybertronian. Ironhide smiles at Orion Eclipse and Hot Rod before he greets them.
"Good morning, young mechs," Ironhide said. "Hello, Ironhide." Hot Rod greeted. "Hi." Orion Eclipse said shyly. "Did you sleep well, Orion?" Ironhide asked.
"Um, yeah. I think so. I've got a few questions and I was hoping you would answer them." Orion told the old Autobot. "All of your questions will be answered. But for now, let us begin your first level of training," said Ironhide. Orion Eclipse and Hot Rod followed Ironhide to the Training Grounds where they're about to begin the first step of being a Cybertronian with Orion as the apprentice and Ironhide his teacher and Hot Rod his assistant. "Okay. Now, today I'm going to teach you how to fight." Ironhide began.
"I don't wanna hurt anyone," Orion said. "Come on, kid. Do you remember how Hot Rod punched you in the head? Well, now's your chance to hit him hard for what he did." Ironhide insisted.
"What?! But—but we just made amends, didn't we?" Hot Rod asked in total surprise. "Yes, but if you're going to go up against the Decepticons, the first thing you wanna learn is to engage in a real fight," Ironhide told the young Autobot.
"I don't know about this. I've never fought anyone before." Orion Eclipse said.
"Come on, Eclipse. Do you remember how angry you were when you woke up inside a large prison cell? With your fusion cannon missing and that you were wearing stasis cuffs?" Hot Rod reminded the Decepticon loner.
Orion began to feel his Energon boiling with anger as he remembered the things that Hot Rod did like attacking him in front of his human friend, Anthony Carter, accusing him of crimes he never committed, and treating him like dirt. Orion began to clench his fists before he yelled in anger as Hot Rod is ready to feel the same pain he caused Orion. But, instead of hitting the young Autobot...Orion Eclipse punched a hole through a wall, much to the Autobots' surprise.
"Woah!" Hot Rod said, his optics wide open with surprise.
"That's for beating me in front of my best friend, you son of a bitch!" Orion Eclipse cussed.
"Watch your language, kid," said Ironhide. "You just punched a hole through a wall!"
Orion Eclipse opened his optics before he could see his fist against a metal wall and yet he couldn't feel any pain for some odd reason. "I did?" Orion said before looking at his first to see if there was any damage. To his relief, it wasn't bruised and now he and his mentors are impressed with his strength.
"You're such a strong bot, Orion." Hot Rod complimented. "Thanks. I've been working out." Orion Eclipse said, feeling flattered.
"How or where did you learn how to punch like that?" Hot Rod asked.
"I don't know. I think I've been watching too many action movies where the main protagonist punches a hole through a brick wall or something." Orion guessed.
"Well, you'll need to learn how to fight and to transform into your own vehicle mode if you are to help us defeat Doomsayer and protect Earth which you've considered to be your home," Ironhide said. "Earth IS my home. Humanity may have feared me, sure, but I cannot allow that Decepticon warmonger to destroy them." Orion declared.
A training montage begins as Orion Eclipse learns how to fight, how to defend himself, how to use his weapons and tools, and how to transform into his own vehicle mode. Orion Eclipse scanned a Cybertronian Jet and made it his own vehicle mode and then he asked if there's an Autobot who can fly like an airplane and who can teach him how to fly.
That's when the Autobots introduced Orion Eclipse to Jetfire—a mech who was once a Decepticon soldier before he strayed from Megatron's path and became an Autobot. Jetfire began to relate to Orion Eclipse as he is a Decepticon loner and amnesiac while Jetfire himself is an Ex-Decepticon like Knockout and an Autobot seeker. Jetfire began to teach Orion how to master his own ability to fly before he took him out for a test drive.
"Okay, Orion. Remember the first steps I told you." Jetfire told his pupil. "don't know if I can do it, Jetfire. I'm really scared." Orion Eclipse said nervously.
"It's okay to be afraid at first, but soon you will master the ability to fly like a jet," Jetfire promised.
Orion Eclipse then had an idea that occurred in his brain, that if he were to transform into a jet, then perhaps he can fly out into space where he can see the galaxy for the first time and maybe even take a look at Cybertron itself. Or even better, he can finally leave the Autobots who abducted him and return to Earth and find his human friend, Anthony. Orion Eclipse and Jetfire stood at the top of a tall building and the young bot looked down from above before he began to feel scared. He knew that he was afraid of heights back on Earth, but on an alien planet? Now that's worst than ever!
"I know how you feel about it. But here's what you have to do: transform into a jet and fly." Jetfire told his pupil.
"But I...I can't fly." Orion Eclipse replied with fear in his spark. "Just repeat after me," Jetfire said before transforming himself into a jet and taking a spin into the air before he turns back into his robot form. "Okay, now you try."
Orion Eclipse used his T-cog to transform himself into a Cybertronian jet before he slowly began to hover off the ground. Then he moved around before he went up into the air and made a backflip as he transformed back into his robot form. He repeated after Jetfire and his jet transformation before he slowly got the hang of it. "Okay, Orion. Now let's see if you can fly." Jetfire told his pupil. "But what if I fall to my death?" Orion Eclipse said.
"I won't let you fall. You are not going to die." Jetfire promised him. "Trust me, you can do it. We believe in you." He said. Orion Eclipse took a deep sigh and he closed his optics before he transformed into a jet and began to fly above the Ex-Decepticon.