Authors note: I'm deciding what to update on my Fanfiction career. I don't need people asking or telling me what to update/publish

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, The Owl House or their characters

In the Autobot base, Ratchet was catching everyone up on the recent events from Unicron's awakening to Optimus' memory loss.

"In high sight, we accomplished what was required. With Unicron's awakening, extreme measures needed to be taken. Enemies became allies, allies became confidantes. And with the Matrix of Leadership, the Galaxy was saved. Though at an immeasurable, personal cost." Ratchet explained. "When Optimus surrendered the Matrix, he lost more than the collective wisdom of the Primes. He lost himself."

"That doesn't follow. Optimus knew Megatron." Arcee said in confusion.

"They were like BFFs." Bulkhead admitted.

"Or worst enemies forever." Bumblebee added.

"Those two were like ketchup and mustard, or ham and cheese." Cliffjumper commented while rubbing the back of his head.

"So, why would he just forget about what's been happening lately after he stopped Unicron?" Wheeljack questioned.

"If Optimus did not know his own name, perhaps it is because the title of Prime hasn't yet been granted to him." Ratchet theorised.

"Huh?" Fowler asked confusingly.

"Hasn't yet been granted to him?" Hunter repeated.

"I don't get it." Luz said.

"None of us do." Amity added.

"Can you please explain, Ratchet?" Willow asked.

"With the power of the Matrix no longer within him, it would stand to reason that Optimus has reverted to his pre-Prime state. The historical archivist, Orion Pax." Ratchet explained.

"You mean in his mind." Camila said.

"Are you telling me Prime thinks he's some kind of librarian, and a Decepticon?!" Fowler questioned in total disbelief.

(Linebreak)

On the Nemesis, Megatron was making a full announcement to his followers onboard the warship.

"Attention crew, our guest is currently in isolation to help ease his transition. But when Orion Pax emerges, he is to be showed every courtesy." Megatron told the Decepticons. "And the first to address him as Optimus Prime will have their voice box torn out."

"Lord Megatron, is it wise to allow an Autobot, current or former, full run of the premises?" Airachnid asked, approaching the Decepticon leader.

"Nothing happens aboard this ship without my knowledge. You would do well to remember that, Airachnid." Megatron replied. "But there's no need for concern. Orion does not possess the same fight Optimus is so renowned for."

"Then what use is he to our cause?" Airachnid questioned.

"Ah, rest assured. Orion Pax will earn his stripes." Megatron said with a smirk.

(Linebreak)

Speaking of Orion Pax, he was seen laying on a medical table as Knock Out was currently making a new improvement on him.

"Welcome back to the winning team." Knock Out said as he was done carving a Decepticon symbol on Orion's shoulder.

(Linebreak)

At the Autobot base, Team Prime was still discussing their current problem.

"Being a Decepticon is a choice, Agent Fowler. One that I have a hard time believing Optimus would make, at any point in his life." Ratchet said.

"So if he's riding with the Cons…" Jazz started.

"It's because Megatron's working some kind of voodoo." Arcee finished.

"If that's the case, bucket-head's probably telling him that we're all the bad guys." Wheeljack admitted.

"Orion Pax may not currently be an Autobot up here, but I must believe he will never stop being one in here." Ratchet said, pointing to his head and Spark. "We must locate him to know for certain."

"Hold up. I have a chip lodged in my behind that lets Uncle Sam know when I stop for donuts." Fowler commented. "Are you telling me you can't just track Prime?"

"Optimus' signal has not reappeared since he embarked for Earth's core." Ratchet answered, showing everyone that Optimus' signal had static on it. "But we must get to work finding him if we have any hope of initiating his contingency plan."

"Contingency plan?" Cliffjumper repeated.

"What contingency?" Bulkhead asked.

"Did he bother to explain any part of it to us?" Gus questioned.

"The keycard he gave me earlier." Luz realised, holding up the Key to Vector Sigma. "So, what does it do?"

It grants access to Vector Sigma, the repository of the wisdom of the Primes." Ratchet replied.

"Is that some sort of super computer?" Vee asked curiously.

"Then all we need to do is upload Optimus' memories back into him? That's great." Luz said, smiling hopefully. "So, which one of these is the ultimate Cybertronian computer? Is it that one? Or how about over there?"

"Vector Sigma is more than a super computer, Luz." Ratchet told her. "It is an ancient source of mystical power… on Cybertron."

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Megatron had escorted Orion Pax onto the main deck and they both approached the end, with Orion noticing some of the Vehicons were giving him some strange looks.

"You have been a captive of the Autobots and locked in stasis for quite some time, Orion. Long enough for us to be in exodus on another world." Megatron explained.

"Exodus? Why?" Orion asked.

"Because the warlord, Ratchet's, careless actions lead to this." Megatron answered, gesturing to the main screen.

When Orion looked at the screen, he gasped in horror to see Cybertron as the deceased planet it currently was.

"Cybertron." Optimus whispered in despair before he gained an angry expression, something Megatron was pleased to see.

(Linebreak)

"Luz Rosalyn Noceda, there is no way I'm going to let you travel to an alien planet." Camila declared sternly.

"In that case, I'll just go." Amity replied.

"You can't go there either, Amity." Luz said.

"She's right. Not when one of you can." Camila told the Autobots.

"Camila's right. Why send the girl to do a Bot's job?" Fowler questioned.

"Because only a Prime can access Vector Sigma. Or one chosen by a Prime." Ratchet explained. "Optimus gave the keycard to Luz. It is now imprinted with his unique bio signature."

"So, does that mean Luz is some sort of honorary Prime?" Willow questioned.

"Let's just say Luz is the only one who can return Optimus to the Autobot we knew." Ratchet said.

"But why would Optimus wilfully put a human at risk? My own hija?" Camila questioned.

"Mom, I've done a lot more dangerous things before." Luz protested.

"Maybe Optimus believes there's more to Luz than meets the eye." Arcee replied.

"She has done a lot of good stuff before. I guess it makes sense for Optimus to choose her." Hunter admitted.

"All of which is moot. The keycard is useless to us without a means of reaching Cybertron." Ratchet said with a disappointed frown. "Which we, at present, do not possess."

"Excuse me? You've got that." Gus reminded, gesturing to the Ground Bridge.

"Gus, the Ground Bridge barely got them into Earth's orbit, remember?" Vee replied.

"Yeah, but Ratchet built it. Maybe he could just give it an upgrade?" Gus suggested.

Ratchet was thought about this idea, having a small feeling it might be what they need to reach Cybertron and restore Orion Pax back into Optimus Prime. At the same time, Luz stared at the keycard with a doubtful expression on her face and as didn't fully believe she could fulfil Optimus' plan.

(Linebreak)

"I cannot believe Ratchet capable of such horrors." Optimus said sadly, looking over the remains of Cybertron.

"Yes. And to think the doctor of doom's mad quest for power continues." Megatron replied. "His marauders pursued us to this planet's orbit. We feel it's species are not ready to behold us. But we have resolved to protect this world from the same tragedy which was dealt to our own."

"One question, Megatron. Why are we called Decepticons?" Orion asked.

"Another craven Autobots scare tactic. The name was meant to demonise us. Instead, we wear it as a badge of honour. For us speaking the truth is a deception, then we are gladly guilty." Megatron explained, causing Optimus to nod. "Now please, Orion, there will be plenty of time for catching up. You must rest."

The Decepticon leader began to leave as Orion turned his attention back to the screen showing Cybertron.

"Megatron, I will do my part to stop Ratchet's unspeakable crimes of aggression." Orion announced, fighting his fist and holding it up. "This I vow, with all my Spark."

Megatron looked away and smirked to himself before he took his leave.

(Linebreak)

Later, the Decepticon leader was seen inside a room with only one light in it.

"It seems we have successfully achieved control of Orion's Spark. Now to put his mind to work." Megatron said before turning around to face Soundwave. "Have you sanitised the data core?"

Soundwave nodded in response, confirming that he had done as his leader as asked.

"Excellent. Our new archivist will require unlimited access to our files. It would be counterproductive for him to stumble upon any sensitive information." Megatron admitted.

(Linebreak)

The next morning, the Hexside Squad, minus Vee, were seen sitting outside their hangout shack and discussing alternative ways for them to hopefully get back to the Boiling Isles while their Palisman played amongst themselves. Flapjack, on the other hand, was inside the shack for something personal.

"So, how's about we try mixing a teleportation spell with some Energon?" Gus suggested. "I'm sure they'd make a strong enough portal back home."

"I'm not so sure about that, Gus. We're not too good with teleportation spells and the Energon would probably make it explode on us." Luz replied.

"We don't want that to happen." Hunter added.

"It was still a good idea to me." Gus sighed sadly.

Just then, the Hexside Squad heard some engines approaching and they all saw Arcee and Cliffjumper driving up to them in their vehicle modes.

"Hey, kids. Hope we're not interrupting your little discussion." Cliffjumper said.

"Not at all, Cliff." Amity said reassuringly as the two Autobots transformed. "We were pretty much out of ideas, anyway."

"Well, this place is looking pretty nice. You've all really turned it from an abandoned wreck into a cozy home." Arcee complemented as she looked over the shack.

"But, uh, that still kinda confuses us." Cliffjumper admitted with a disturbed expression, pointing to something on the door.

The Hexside Squad followed his gaze and they noticed he was pointing to the red Hooty painting they made on the door.

"Yeah. He still confuses us, too." Willow muttered.

"I guess you didn't have anything like Hooty on Cybertron?" Luz asked.

"Not at all." Arcee answered.

"I guess that makes you lucky, then." Amity admitted, lightly chuckling.

"So, have any of you found Optimus?" Hunter asked.

"Not today." Cliffjumper answered with a sigh.

"Not yet, anyway." Gus added. "Besides, Luz still has that keycard. She's the best chance we have at getting him back to his old self."

"Yeah. I'm basically his chosen one." Luz quipped with a small smile as she sounded a little bit unsure of herself, something that Arcee quickly noticed.

But as the Hexside Squad kept chatting with Arcee and Cliffjumper, none of them knew that they were being spied on by a pair of light-blue glowing eyes within the dark areas of the forest. Whatever was in there was very alive, but breathed at a slow pace.

"Filthy machines." A voice said, sounding male and very dark.

(Linebreak)

The Nemesis was still flying above the Earth's clouds as Megatron was walking down the halls with Thundercracker, Skywarp and Knock Out to discuss their next big plan.

"When we stormed the Iacon Hall of Records in the warning days of the War for Cybertron, we acquired highly classified files." Megatron explained. "Files written with Autobot codes, which we have been unable to decipher."

"Autobot codes which the Iacon archivist, Orion Pax, should have no trouble cracking." Thundercracker finished, having figured out Megatron's plan.

"That sounds like a perfect use of that big guy to me." Skywarp said.

"But considering what's at stake, shouldn't we beef up the security around here?" Knock Out questioned.

"Knock Out, I believe that Orion will perform most effectively if he does not feel threatened or confined in any way. However, it is no coincidence that Orion's workstation is located in direct proximity to the Energon storage vault." Megatron said, gesturing to their storage room closely down the left.

"Which is under constant surveillance." Knock Out realised with a smirk. "Well played."

"You always did have the greatest mind a leader could have, master." Thundercracker complemented.

(Linebreak)

In the Autobot base, Vee was reading a Spanish-learning book while sitting on a chair in her Basilisk form. Just then, the Basilisk girl heard some beeping and she turned to see Ratchet working at the Ground Bridge.

"Ratchet, are you upgrading the Ground Bridge?" Vee asked, earning his attention.

"Tinkering. No need to get anyone's hopes up just yet." Ratchet answered.

(Linebreak)

Back onboard the Nemesis, Orion was typing on a terminal in his workstation as a bunch of red Cybertronian writing was on the screen. Megatron then walked into the room.

"Orion, how fair's Project Iacon?" Megatron asked.

"I am a bit rusty, I fear. I've only managed to decode three entries." Orion said.

"And what do these entires comprise?" Megatron questioned.

"They were logged by Autobot archivists during the war, after I entered stasis. My only knowledge of their contents so far is that they are coordinates. Targeting locations on this very planet." Orion explained, showing some locations of Earth on a hologram. "I surmise that they could indicate hiding places for vessels, shuttled from Cybertron for safekeeping."

"Such as historical documents or cultural artefacts?" Megatron asked as he approached the hologram of Earth.

"My greatest fear would be weapons of mass destruction, hidden away for later use." Orion answered.

"All the more reason it is essential that we do everything in our power to keep said vessels from Autobot reach. We are fortunate to have you on our side, Orion Pax." Megatron said as he walked back to the exit.

"Lord Megatron, I am puzzled by one particular finding. I have discovered several historic references to Starscream as your Second-In-Command." Orion admitted, displaying the absent air commander on-screen. "Yet I have not seen him aboard the ship."

"Sadly, Commander Starscream is dead." Megatron replied simply before he left.

As Megatron walked away, Thundercracker and Skywarp were shown to have been listening from outside and hid from the side door.

"I have to admit, I think Lord Megatron is right." Thundercracker admitted. "Those Autobots probably deactivated Starscream since he's not been around for a long time."

"You're overthinking it, Thundercracker. Starscream definitely turned his back on us and he's serving himself now." Skywarp replied with a scowl. "The only thing he ever cared about was himself."

"Whatever you say. The only thing I care about right now is which one of us Megatron will choose to become the new leader of air forces." Thundercracker said.

"Let me guess, it's going to be you because you're the more strategic Seeker?" Skywarp asked sarcastically.

"Probably. I know Megatron won't promote you since you're more of a klutz than me." Thundercracker replied smugly, earning an annoyed growl from his partner.

At the same time, Megatron returned to the main deck where Soundwave was working at the main terminal.

"Orion asks many questions. A valuable trait in an archivist, but not in a Decepticon." Megatron said. "It is a matter of time before he unravels our fabrications, and his innate sense from right to wrong rises to the surface. My only hope is that Orion will complete Project Iacon before I am forced to destroy him… once and for all."

(Linebreak)

At the Autobot base, Ratchet was still working on upgrading the Ground Bridge as he uses a blowtorch on the main controls. But then, the main console activated and a call from Agent Fowler came in.

"Ratchet! You awake?" Fowler asked in desperateness. "This is an emergency!"

"Agent Fowler, is it Optimus?" Ratchet asked.

"It's Cons, and they're busting into the same military research lab they hit last week." Fowler explained as the other Autobots heard this and approached the main console.

"They must be after another power source." Bumblebee guessed.

"For another Space Bridge." Bulkhead added.

"For all we know, Optimus is riding with them." Cliffjumper told his team.

"This is our chance to get him back." Jazz proclaimed.

"Roll out." Ratchet ordered, activating the Ground Bridge.

(Linebreak)

At the military lab, Knock Out, Breakdown and Wildrider were fired upon by a bunch of military tanks as the muscular Decepticon was carrying the power source.

"Sometimes, I wish Megatron had left this planet of fleshlings to get destroyed by Unicron." Wildrider admitted with a scowl before he and his teammates fired their own weapons, taking out their enemies.

But then, they heard a Ground Bridge open up behind them and they turned around to see the Autobots emerging out of it.

"Drop the power source!" Wheeljack ordered, rushing towards the Cons with his team.

"Aren't you missing someone?" Knock Out asked smugly as the Autobots brought out their weapons.

However, some Vehicon air troops flew down in their Vehicle modes and they began firing at the Autobots, causing them to fire at them instead and get distracted.

"Ready for that Bridge!" Knock Out stated on the com-link.

The Decepticon Ground Bridge then appeared and Breakdown immediately ran into it with the power source.

"Time to go, Knocks!" Wildrider announced before he ran into the green vortex.

"We'll be sure to tell the big O you said hello!" Knock Out told the Autobots with a salute, following his teammates.

Arcee immediately transformed into her vehicle mode and drove straight at the Ground Bridge.

"Arcee!" Bulkhead called out.

The remaining Vehicon flyer tried to shoot Arcee, but she proved too fast and successfully made it into the Ground Bridge before it could close up.

(Linebreak)

Arcee drove straight past Knock Out, Breakdown and Wildrider and drove through an open door before turning left in an attempt to find Orion on the Nemesis.

"Scrap." The three Decepticons said simultaneously.

Arcee kept driving her way throughout the Nemesis before she came up to three Vehicons, causing them to immediately fire their blasters at the female Autobot. Arcee manoeuvred her way around the shots and transformed, leaping over a Vehicon and shooting him down. She kicked another Vehicon into the wall and then knocked the last one to the ground, pinning him down.

"Where's Optimus?! Answer me!" Arcee demanded, pulling out his wrist blade.

Before the Vehicon could reply, more troops showed up and shot at her. Arcee used the other Vehicon as a shield before swiftly taking down the other three with his skills and weaponry before leaping up, transforming and driving down the corridors to continue her search for Optimus.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Soundwave was displaying Arcee on the ship's security cameras through his screen face, which Megatron didn't take kindly to.

"What?" Megatron asked surprisingly.

"Arcee." Airachnid realised before activating her spider form. "Allow me to welcome her aboard."

"As if that'll happen." Brawl retorted, getting beside her and pulling out his hammer. "I'll scrap that two-wheeler, myself."

"No!" Megatron stated. "If Orion so much as lays eyes on another Autobot, let alone be allowed to witness it's destruction, everything he currently believes will be called into question. Soundwave, see to it that Arcee is escorted off this ship, immediately."

Soundwave nodded to his leader, knowing just how to get rid of Arcee and keep Orion from crossing paths with her.

(Linebreak)

At the same time, Orion was still working at his workstation before he heard some blaster noises outside. Those noises where Vehicons firing at Arcee, who drove right through them and continued her search. Orion exited his room to see that the Vehicons were racing down the corridor.

"Orion, please return to your station. Lord Megatron's orders." One Vehicon said before leaving with his comrade.

Orion's curiosity got the better of him and he walked out his station to see what was going on. As Arcee was still driving down the ship, Soundwave arrived at the end of the corridor and waited for her to come to him. As soon as Arcee spotted the communication Decepticon, she accelerated towards him and Soundwave simply stood where he was, while Orion was beginning to approach them from the right. Soundwave's face then displayed some schematics and a location on Earth as Arcee jumped straight at him in vehicle mode, only for a Ground Bridge to suddenly appear in front of Soundwave and send her somewhere else. Soundwave then closes the bridge as Orion showed up behind him.

"I heard a commotion." Orion said. "Is everything alright?"

Soundwave simply looked at him and said nothing before he took his leave.

(Linebreak)

In the Antarctic, the Decepticon Ground Bridge appeared in it and Arcee drove out before transforming, looking around the frozen wasteland.

"What the… NOOOOOOOOO!" Arcee yelled.

(Linebreak)

Once Arcee was brought back to base, Ratchet was busy fixing her up while the Hexside Squad watching from the side.

"You weren't able to determine the Decepticons' location? Or if Optimus was even aboard the ship?" Ratchet asked desperately.

"I… couldn't confirm." Arcee answered.

"Then we're nowhere closer to finding him." Jazz sighed in disappointment.

Out of frustration, Bulkhead slammed his fist onto one of Ratchet's tools.

"Bulkhead!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"What?! You needed that?! The only thing I need is our head honcho back!" Bulkhead stated angrily, slamming his fists together.

"It wasn't your fault, Arcee." Luz said assuringly, trying to make her Autobot Guardian feel better.

"If any of us needed rescuing, Optimus would have found a way. I didn't, simple as that." Arcee replied.

"Ratchet! What happened out there? Reports indicate at least a dozen men wounded. The heats on me to provide some explanation. You Bots better get your act together or the Pentagon's gonna make me shut down your base!" Fowler told the Autobots on the communicator before shutting off.

"So, they'd basically be kicking you all out of the only Earth home you have." Gus said with his arms crossed.

"Where would you even go?" Vee questioned.

"Who knows? Maybe they'll ship us out to some island! Or fire us into space, wouldn't that be a welcome relief?!" Ratchet said sarcastically.

"I don't blame Fowler. Optimus would've evacuated all humans from the area before engaging the Cons." Cliffjumper admitted.

"That's the first thing he would've done." Bumblebee added.

"We don't actually know what Optimus would've done because he's not here!" Bulkhead stated.

"You're pretty good at stating the obvious, Bulk." Wheeljack retorted. "Anything else you'd like to mention that we already know?"

"Nothing I can say in front of the children." Bulkhead answered.

"Everyone just stop!" Amity ordered, earning the Bots' attention. "None of this is gonna help us get Optimus back!"

"Aren't we overlooking one positive?" Hunter asked. "Nobody's talking about what the Decepticons got their claws on?"

"Yes, we've managed to allow them to finally acquire a power source for their Space Bridge!" Ratchet reminded.

"And how exactly would that be a positive?" Arcee questioned.

"We let them finish building their Space Bridge." Amity answered.

"Why? So they could bring more zombies back from Cybertron?" Bulkhead asked rhetorically.

"No, so we can commandeer it and use it to send Luz to Cybertron." Vee explained.

"Wait, seriously? I don't know about that, you guys." Luz admitted, still not sure about her part in restoring Optimus' mind.

"What other plans do we have? Besides, it's a pretty good one." Gus replied.

"I'm actually with Luz on this one, kiddos." Jazz said, shaking his head a little bit.

"Nobody says it's gonna be easy, but you've seized a Space Bridge before." Amity told the Autobots.

"We blew one up." Wheeljack corrected. "That's a whole lot different than the six of us seizing and holding one."

"Not to mention we need to find out where it is." Bumblebee admitted.

"Bee's right, we'd have to find the thing first." Cliffjumper said in agreement.

"But since it's a Space Bridge, shouldn't it be way up there?" Willow asked while pointing upwards, meaning that she was talking about actual space.

"The term space refers to it's transport, not it's physical location! And we've been monitoring Earth's orbit since the last one! We'd know if it were there." Ratchet stated.

"So the Space Bridge could be somewhere right here on Earth." Hunter theorised.

"Like trying to find a servo in a scrapyard." Jazz commented.

"That might be true, but at least it means you don't have to take another big risk in Ground Bridging yourselves into orbit." Luz replied, trying to keep the Autobots on the bright side.

"Then maybe we better start looking." Arcee said.

"We'll split up into teams of two. I'll go with Arcee, Bumblebee will be with Jazz and Bulkhead can be paired up with Wheeljack." Cliffjumper explained.

"But the fact remains, we do not know what the Decepticons have in store for Optimus. Or if he's truly safe from harm." Ratchet said, still worried for his lost leader.

(Linebreak)

In the Earth's sky, several Vehicon flyers were making their way back to the Nemesis after a short recon mission, not knowing that a certain air commander was tailing them from behind. The Vehicons made it into the Nemesis' main hanger and transformed before walking inside, while Starscream quietly transformed behind them and smirked to himself.

Once he got inside, Starscream carefully manoeuvred his way through the Nemesis without any of his former comrades seeing him. Starscream soon peeked out of a wall and spotted two Vehicons guarding the room he was searching for. The Vehicons heard footsteps and quickly drew out their blasters, seeing Starscream approaching them.

"Starscream!" A Vehicon said.

"That's Commander Starscream. What's your malfunction?" Starscream questioned with a frown. "Lower those weapons, immediately."

"I'm sorry, sir, but Lord Megatron ordered that you'd be taken into custody should you ever return to the Nemesis." The second Vehicon told him.

"What? Clearly, there has been a mistake." Starscream replied nervously, until he suddenly killed both Vehicons in the blink of an eye with his claws as one of them shot a light above.

Seeing no one else was around, Starscream walked into the room and later came out with four Energon cubes. But then, he heard footsteps approaching from behind and groaned frustratingly before sprinting ahead to find somewhere to temporarily hide. Starscream found a nearby door and opened it up before walking into a secure room, only to become shocked when he saw Orion Pax working at his station in front of him.

"No! Optimus Prime?!" Starscream asked astonishingly before dropping the Energon cubes and aiming his wrist missiles, much to Orion's surprise and confusion.

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