Chapter 19
Father
Cybertron – Well of All Sparks, Cybertron's Core...
Three days later…
Stripes and his group walked on down to Cybertron's core. They were getting close, according to Arcee.
After another hour, they stopped at a sealed grate.
"From here, you will have to proceed alone." Megatron said.
"Wait… Why?" Stripes said.
"Beyond that gate is a sacred place, enforced by the will of Primus himself. That is a place we cannot go. Only you, a Prime, or a priest of Primus can step in there. Unfortunately, all of the priests were lost during the war and the last Prime is dead. So this is a place only you can tread. From here, your path is forged."
"Yeah… no pressure, man. Just our race and the fate of the universe at stake. You know, standard Cybertronian stuff." Rattrap said.
Stripes gulped. With that, he stepped in front of the grate. It parted, and revealed a path. Stripes took one last look at his group, specifically at Mia.
"Be brave." She whispered. "You can do this. We'll be here, waiting for you to return."
Stripes turned back towards the path, and started to walk. In the process, he almost tripped on a half-melted Decepticon that had tried to enter the core several centuries earlier as the grate closed behind him.
"Oh god..." He said, looking at the corpse. "What a nice, fun place of peace and love..."
He continued to walk, careful in his steps as he approached an unstable bridge. He carefully crossed the decaying bridge, and continued down the path as it got darker. Stripes was uneasy, but was not about to let his fear overtake him. He switched on his headlights and went to night vision.
A short time later, he saw a light down the path. It was coming towards him!
"Hello?" Stripes called down the path. He walked closer towards the light, as it came closer to him. Stripes then saw it was another Cybetronian! Stripes stopped, as he saw the other bot, which was taller than him by a full three meters! It glowed a neon blue, and looked transparent!
"We have been waiting for you, Son of Primus." The bot said. "I am Alpha Trion, the High Priest of Primus. Follow me, I am to take you to Primus himself."
With that, the both walked down the path towards another light.
"...Has he been expecting me?" Stripes asked, curious.
"Quite so. In fact, he's been looking forward to this moment since your conception." Alpha Trion answered.
"But how did he know that… that I would become a cybetronian, since I was human before?" Stripes asked, puzzled.
"Well, Cybertronians and Humans share a similar spirit. The Spark and the Soul are basically the same thing. All it takes is the proper transfer, and the soul can be interchanged between a Human and Cybertronian body. It's a long, complicated process, and we have more serious matters to attend to."
They continued to walk, until they reached the core itself. It was lit up a bright neon blue, just like Alpha Trion's ghost.
"You have returned to me, my son." A voice said, reverberating through the cavern.
"…Father?" Stripes asked, afraid. "So you are…?"
"I am Primus." The voice spoke, reverberating from the core. "I formed the very planet that the Cybertronian people walk upon, and return to, in hope of a better future. I am here to guide you along the path, to destroy Unicron the Chaos bringer, before he destroys the universe."
"But… How can I stop him?" Stripes asked, desperate for an answer. "I've only brought back Bumblebee, and it still left me weak… I cannot take on Unicron in this state, let alone save Cybertron… I don't know what to do, I'll never be able to stop him..."
The light from the core lit up, engulfing Stripes and Alpha Trion as Stripes crouched down, shielding himself from the light as wind whipped up in every direction.
"Who gave Cybertronians their power?!" Primus thundered. "Who made our people in the forms of the deaf?! The mute, the seeing and the blind?! Was it not I?! Now go!"
It was then that Stripes felt his body begin to float! He opened his eyes, and was surrounded by other sparks!
"Oh, my son. I will be with you when you face the chaos bringer. You will try to reason with him, but he will not listen." Primus spoke softly. "So I shall tether to you my power, and you will smite the Chaos Bringer with all my wonders..."
Stripes then saw his body glow the same neon blue as Primus himself. He felt an energy flow through the Matrix Blade, He drew it off his back, and saw it was ablaze with it's own light! He watched as the Eye of Primus floated up from his hand, and embedded itself into the hilt of the blade!
"Take the blade in your hand, Stripes." Primus said. "With it, you shall do my wonders, and slay the Chaos Bringer. You shall finally bring peace and prosperity to our people. I shall be with you, always..."
Stripes then floated down towards the ground, and stood there, holding the now awakened Matrix Blade.
He now knew what he needed to do. He now understood his destiny.