Chapter 15: Becoming an Autobot
Back on Cybertron, the Autobots have kept the Sword of Primus safe within their base at, Retoris before Ultra Magnus walks over to Ratchet who is busy working on his datapads while standing right next to his computer. Magnus wanted to know how Orion Eclipse, the young Decepticon amnesiac who had been lost on Earth for decades as a stranded Cybertronian, was fairing.
"Hello, Ratchet." Ultra Magnus greeted the old medic.
"Good evening, sir," said Ratchet. "How may I help you?" he asked.
"I'm here to ask about our new apprentice, Orion Eclipse. How is he doing so far?" the Autobot leader asked.
"Well...Orion is getting used to being on our planet. Yet, he still cannot stop thinking about Earth and how it seems to be his home ever since he somehow arrived on that planet filled with its inhabitants." Ratchet told Ultra Magnus.
"I see. Ironhide believes that the Sword of Primus is meant for the young bot to wield and to use it to light our darkest hour since we have a new enemy on our servos," said Ultra Magnus.
"Doomsayer may be an active threat now, but he is insane regardless of how much power he has now with the Blood of Unicron that he has managed to control and use as a weapon, but for now he and his followers are hiding somewhere. Either in outer space or other locations on Cybertron or in other worlds." Ratchet replied, "Who knows when the New Decepticons will strike next? Doomsayer would probably lure us into another one of his traps to interrogate us into revealing the location of Unicron's Anti-Spark."
"I just hope that what Optimus Prime said about Eclipse being our only chance at preventing a second great war is true. Because I don't want us to fall into obscurity or have the universe fall into chaos if Orion isn't the chosen one." Ultra Magnus said to Ratchet.
"Orion Eclipse is young and strong, just like Optimus was back when he was once known as Orion Pax. But I'm not sure if he is capable of helping us defeat what is supposedly a mad cult of Unicron-devil worshippers." Ratchet replied.
Meanwhile, Orion Eclipse was onto his final test course with Bumblebee and Hot Rod, for, in this case, it was a mission to find Energon in a huge mining cave and to bring it back with the Autobots back at their base. It was a bit hard at first, cause of the obstacles such as blasters and hidden trick traps, but the young mech was getting more aware of the traps and obstacles. "Come on Orion, you need to keep calm and try to think of your way out of this while keeping the team from danger," Orion told himself to not get clouded of his judgment.
While being aware of his surroundings, he soon saw Bumblebee and Hot Rod coming to see him. "Any luck in finding any Energon?" Asked Bumblebee when calling to the young mech ahead of the two. "Negative, but there is a lot of traps ahead, so watch your step guys." Orion replied. Bumblebee nodded as he and Hot Rod began to keep up. "Man, Orion Eclipse is getting better in his training. At this rate, he'll be ready in no time to soon join us." Hot Rod spoke as he watched Orion avoid any attacks of the obstacles. "Yes, but you cannot rush him into finishing his test, but let's make sure that he is more aware of his surroundings and be more at ease with everything we've told and taught him during these past few days and such in his training." Bumblebee then said to remind Hot Rod of what the Autobots helped the young mech go through in his training.
However, either one of them noticed that one of the obstacles was about to go haywire as something made it go into an unknown attacking frenzy. But while Orion was nearing the completion of his test, he suddenly heard something like a lot that snap and turned to notice one of the blasters from behind the two Autobots. What the heck?" That was all Orion said? Bumblebee hears the sound as well and quickly realized what was going to happen next, a malfunction of the blasters. "Whoa! Hot Rod, watch out!" He soured and in pushing the young Autobot out of the way.
Autobot apprentice, Orion Eclipse saw the blaster hitting everywhere and knew that Bumblebee and Hot Rod needed the save and fast. He then looked up to see a huge rock-like spike above the Autobots, and in suddenly seeing the blaster about to hit the rock, he was shocked and hurried to save Bumblebee and Hot Rod from becoming part of the well of Allspark too soon. "Hold on! I'm coming!" Orion shouted when he runs to save Bumblebee and Hot Rod from danger.
The young mech rushed to help Bumblebee and Hot Rod as he then blocks the blasters shot with one of the huge rocks like a shield and blasts it with his cannon blaster after sliding to grab the rock and to save Bumblebee and Hot Rod in time. Orion managed to then blast the spiked rock piece by piece to avoid having fallen on top of the mechs as it began to crack, ready to heading down their way, Orion quickly looks at the two Autobots behind him and shouted for them to get out of the way. "Run and hurry!" With no time to spare, the mechs ran fast to escape, they managed to escape just in a nick of time before the mechs could be impaled by the spiked rock from above their heads. They soon began to catch their breaths as they were in a clearing and in looking at each other. "Bumblebee? Are you and Hot Rod okay?" Asked Orion. "Yeah, that was close, thanks for the relief. I guess the wires must have gotten bad timing to malfunction the blasters. Better ask Arcee and Ironhide to give me a hand when we get back." Bumblebee then replied to Orion, smiling to see how fast he reacted to hurry and save his team.
"Yeah, but still that was too close, and for that, you did great in getting to us in time. That what being a member of the Autobot team is about, looking after your team while also keeping yourself aware of the reliefs around you during missions or to see how your team is doing on their tasks." Hot Rod soon said, while dusting himself from the dust of the rocks crumble in all. Orion soon smiles in relief and nodded to Hot Rod in seeing him being right with that. But soon, he noticed a dimmed blue light, in the far part of the tunnel in the direction leading to the right. Orion soon walks towards the light and turns the corner to see a huge stock of big blue crystals, in which to the young mech's surprise, was Energon. "Hey guys, I think I found something," Orion called to Bumblebee and Hot Rod.
In a little while, Orion was in helping Bumblebee and Hot Rod filling the last of the empty containers with the blue crystals as they soon became like an electric blue liquid. "Ooh, is that what the crystals—I mean, Energon look like when they're shaped like cubes?" Asked Orion, after correcting himself from the part of the Energon mistaken as crystals. "Yes, Orion. This is where we will keep the Energon in here and have brought it back while we carry the rest in crystal form back to the base with the ones in the cube containers. For you see, the Energon is not only how we survive and to give as our blood, to what humans say about it, but it also is like the food we drink to help us keep going." Explained Bumblebee, while showing Orion how the Energon worked for the Cybertronians like Autobots and Decepticons to survive and how they fill themselves up.
"Well now, we better get back with both filled containers of the Energon and the crystal form of them back to the base, because of that, you just completed your final test by the look of it, still let's give our report to Ultra Magnus and call for a ground bridge." Hot Rod said then doing a long triple check to see if the trio didn't forget any Energon that was in the cave. "Good idea." Agreed Bumblebee as he turns on his com-link to call Ratchet for the ground bridge. "Ratchet, are you there? We've gotten some Energon ready to return to the base, requesting for a ground bridge back to base please." "Of course, give me a moment to ready the ground bridge for you, Bumblebee." Ratchet replied to Bumblebee on the com-link. And within the moment, the ground bridge appeared and to then have Hot Rod, Bumblebee, and Orion Eclipse to load the Energon in cubes on a hover trailer to carry while carrying the crystal formed Energon in their hands and arms. "Do you think that Ultra Magnus will be okay with the report? I mean...I don't know what would've happened if...if the rock pillar would fall onto you and Hot Rod." Orion questioned in hopes that what he will report to Ultra Magnus will be a good report.
"Don't worry about that now, I think what you did earlier was very quick thinking and a very smart choice to save our lives. I thank you for that Orion." Bumblebee then said to encourage Orion as the three walked back to the base through the ground bridge. This made Orion smile to be in relief in hearing that. As hours had passed since the trip returned to the base and with Orion to give his report, the young mech began to await in his room to be called back by Ultra Magnus, he was in looking out the window to gaze at the view of the city the base was located in but yet, he was soon in thinking about Anthony and in hopes he was all right, but he soon looks to a mirror on his right and slowly walks to it. Orion stared at his reflection for a few long minutes before asking a question in hopes...Optimus Prime could maybe answer to him someday. "Optimus Prime, I don't know if you hear me to where you are, but please tell me of why you and the others think that I can help the Autobots and why you think...why I'm the chosen one, I'm still in confusion to that. I wish you were here to guide us and...and to help me remember my past. I would've like to meet you if you were still alive sir, but humans did say that you cannot change the past. However, maybe I can change that a little someday to prove that wrong."
Soon, he heard a knock on the door and steps back to let whomever it was in. "Come in." Said Orion, as saw Arcee coming in. "Hey there, you all right?" Arcee asked the young mech. Orion nodded with a smile. "I'm glad to see you doing good. Anyways, Ultra Magnus has informed me to bring you to see him and the others. Wanna come with me to see them?" Replied Arcee in then asking Orion to go with her. "Of course, lead the way please." Answered Orion, and so he followed her to lead him back to Ultra Magnus to meet up with him. In the time Orion arrived in the netting room of the base, he saw Ironhide, Ratchet, Knockout, Bumblebee, Hot Rod, and Ultra Magnus in the room with some kind of box on the table, leaving the young bit confused or uneasy about this. But Orion built the courage and took a deep breath to relax as he then stood in front of Ultra Magnus to salute him.
"Here I am sir. You wished to see me?" Orion asked the Autobot leader. "Yes, I have. I was giving the full report for what you told me earlier and in hearing that you risked your spark to save Bumblebee and Hot Rod from an unexpected haywire attack from one of our blasters during your test. And for that, it may have been calling them for what humans call it: A close shave to count the risk in saving lives. Is that very true?" Questioned Ultra Magnus. Orion gulped a little while hearing Ultra Magnus spoke and nodded. "Yes sir, if I haven't gotten to Bumblebee and Hot Rod in time, I was afraid of losing two very good friends and failing my mission. Yet I had to do it while in searching for Energon sir, it was could take in apprentice lives and getting them to safety in the process. And it's the truth, sir. Still, if I have failed my test, I am truly sorry Ultra Magnus, sir." Everyone was a bit surprised of hearing Orion say that to Ultra Magnus, but not as surprised as the leader was in seeing the young apprentice think he failed by one accident. But soon made Ultra Magnus smile and place his hand on Orion's hand to then speak to him. " I don't believe that you've failed at all Orion. It was an accident that you oversaw and in that sudden thinking, you chose to help Bumblebee and Hot Rod to escape their unexpected turn of fate. And for that...I'm impressed and very proud of you."
Orion looked up to Ultra Magnus, blinking in surprise. He soon saw Ultra Magnus reach the box and then open it to reveal, a real Autobot symbol that was proof of him completing his final test and in a very good report as well. Ultra Magnus then presents the symbol of Orion as he then gave his graduation speech to the young mech. "For this, and to complete your final test, I am very proud and pleased for how far you've come, Orion Eclipse. And so for this, I congratulate you and officially honor you with this symbol of the Autobots. We are grateful that you with us now, and we welcome you in open arms."
This left Orion speechless as he felt surprised in holding the box with his new symbol in his hands. It soon made the young apprentice smile and also most form tears of relief in his eyes. "Thank you, sir," Orion said to Ultra Magnus to quickly dry his tears. "You've done an excellent performance kid, I'm most proud of you. And your mission in finding the Energon with Bumblebee and Hot Rod, took a lot of courage and team support to help get through the obstacles without losing your focus." Said Ironhide in giving the young mech a proud smile and some pats on his shoulder. Soon Ratchet walked to Orion in placing both hands on his shoulders. "I would say that it be very close, but despite the circumstances and other tasks that'd got in your way, you've managed to pull it through with the others to help you as they've helped you out of trouble in return." "I would agree, but you shouldn't go rushing into things that might make you jumpy. However, you've done very well in the end, and so to this, we are all awfully glad you've joined the winning team. Congratulations, Orion." Knockout then spoke in crossing his arms and in smiling at the young mech, leaving him to then nod to the ex-Decepticon medic.
Arcee then looked to Orion in her warm smile and to give her speech to him. "I would agree, and to that, I should inform Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Smokescreen the good news of this when they get back." Orion nods to her to agree with that. But he soon saw Bumblebee and Hot Rod walk to him in giving their congratulations to Orion too. "You'd done good, to tell the truth, I could say that you have done your best to help us in finding the Energon during the course in all. And for that, you have my full respect. Great work, Orion." Said Bumblebee in giving Orion a comforting smile with also giving him a handshake.
Hot Rod then gave Orion a proud smile with a thumbs up to him for being very proud too. "Same here, also to that, thanks for the save earlier when one of the obstacles almost cursed me and Bee, you'd cane to helping us out of that mess. So we both owe you one in that." He told Orion in good confidence in the young bot. Orion could've more proud of his actions but he was mostly happy to be with the Autobots as they were his teammates and to finally have their support, trust, and their confidence to help him out of trouble and to help him regain more of his memories. But he soon heard Ultra Magnus speak to him once everyone was soon silent and to listen to him as well.
"Now Orion, as one of us Autobots now, there is something I wish to ask you of. Since we are in the battle against the new Decepticons and their leader Doomsayer, you also know that they will pose a threat to Cybertron and Earth. We also know of what happened for what he will do if he will be to hurt the humans and your friends, so to this in our most time of need in the battle ahead. Will you promise to help us to put an end to Doomsayer and his followers, to help us keep earth and the humans safe from the new Decepticons, and to prevent Unicron from ever returning to life to try to destroy Cybertron, Earth, and to take the vessel of the Cybertronians and Primus himself?" Orion began to think about this for a very long moment, but he knew Ultra Magnus was right because he didn't want his human friend Anthony to end up a prisoner to the Decepticons or worse. Orion then looks up to Ultra Magnus and nods in making his choice.
"I won't let you down, sir," Orion replied as he promised Ultra Magnus that he will help him and the Autobots protect Earth and Cybertron from the New Decepticons. This made the Autobots glad and happy to hear Orion answer Ultra Magnus and in seeing that there is a huge hope of light for the Autobots, now with Orion an Autobot and their new teammate, the Autobots were prepared and more than ready for anything to come in their way.