Finally got another chapter done while rocking out to some music. This one we get the joy of spending some time with the 13 primes. This sets up what's going to happen this chapter and next. Something that Quintus Prime says might be confusing at first, but that has something huge to do with Sari's techno-organic origins, cookies to whoever figures out which line it is.
Walking Talking Lamborghini doesn't own transformers or any recognizable brands.
Chapter Six: Long Shot
Sari's POV
Dreamland
I'm standing in some misty place. I think it's a dream. Solus Prime and Micronus Prime stand ten feet away.
Wait- how do I know their names?
Onyx Prime, only Prime and first Cybertron to have beast mode, walks up behind them. How do I know all this?
"Are we going to talk as if we have nothing better to do? The children will wake soon, and we will miss the opportunity to tell them what they need to know."
"Onyx, you are the killer of all joy here." Solus shook her head good naturedly. The primes continued to converse, completely ignoring us.
I looked to my right and saw Annabelle. I pulled my sister in a hug.
"Hey, Sari!" She smiled. "Aren't the primes cool!"
"They sure are!" Sam quipped from behind us, Mikeala standing beside him.
"Sam, Mikeala?!" I exclaimed.
"Sari, Annabelle!?"
He hugged me tight and then gave Annabelle a big bear hug too. "You're here too?"
"Yeah, what are we doing here?"
"I don't know. I don't know who these guys are."
"That's Micronus Prime, the first minicon. Solus Prime, right there, is the first femme. She can forge anything just from raw elements. Onyx Prime is the first cybertronian to have a beast mode. That's Amalgamous Prime, he's a trickster."
"Probably Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's uncle." Sam snorted.
"You probably aren't wrong." I laughed before refocusing. "That's Vector Prime. He's really old and sometimes he's grumpy. He can warp time and space. There's Alpha Trion. He worked at Iacon's Hall of Records. He's pretty much a walking bookshelf. Alchemist Prime is right there, he can temporarily alter the properties of any object. He also mastered the chemistry of intoxicating beverages. That's Nexus Prime, he's like, the first combiner. He kinda likes Solus, and Liege Maximo and the Fallen hates him for it. That's Liege Maximo. He's not the best guy ever. He's likes to manipulate things. The other primes don't really want him talking to us. He's got a dark sense of humor. And Megatronus, now the Fallen, obviously isn't here. There's Quintus Prime. He's kinda an Idealist. He's got something called an Emberstone which can accelerate biological processes in base elements. And there's Prima, the very first transformer. He's called the warrior of light."
"How do you know all this?" Mikeala asked.
"I don't know?" I shrug.
"Aren't there supposed to be thirteen primes?" Sam asked.
"Yeah." I said.
"Then where's the thirteenth one?" He asked.
"Optimus Prime!" I hiss.
"Oh, why didn't I think of that?" He thought out loud.
I just shrugged. The primes turned to us. They look so much bigger when they're facing us. Annabelle inches closer to me and Sam grabs Mikeala's hand protectively.
"Boy," Prima chuckled. "You have seen us before. Why are you scared?"
"Are we dreaming?"
"Yes," Solus said. "It was the only way we could communicate with you for extended periods of time."
"Woah." Sam whispered.
"Speaking of which, we need you to listen to what we say." Alchemist Prime said.
"You and your guardians have special destinies forged to bring three worlds together." Onyx said. Firefly and Bumblebee in their bipedal forms appeared behind us as misty images. Annabelle is disappointed when she doesn't see Ironhide.
"Firefly!" I exclaim.
"Sari!" Firefly cried gleefully. Her and Bumblebee's images seemed to solidify.
"Where is Ironhide?" Annabelle stomped her foot. "He's my guardian."
"Vector!" Quintus Prime glared accusingly. "You said you would make sure you brought the ALL of the children's guardians here."
"He wasn't in recharge yet." The old prime shrugged. "Night watch, I assume."
Solus took a step forward and put a hand around my key. It began to glow blue. It stopped glowing when she let go and took a step back. Now the key had blue and gold accents.
"What did you do?"
"I upgraded it, of course." She smiled, before going serious. "You are going to need it."
"What about me?" Sam asked.
"You already have what you need." Prima's deep voice rumbled. As he said this, the Matrix of Leadership materialized in his hands.
"Won't Prime need this?"
"He," Alpha Trion's deep laugh echoed. "Won't be missing it."
Quintus Prime looked me up and down. "We made the right choice."
"Your Emberstone was a good idea." Alchemist Prime nodded.
I have no clue what their talking about, and judging by Firefly, Sam and Bumblebee's faces, they don't get it either.
"I have a question." Bumblebee interrupted the Primes's speculating. "What are we doing here?"
"We need to tell them." Solus said. "Before they wake up," She pointed at us. "And before they come out of their recharge cycles." She then pointed to our guardians.
"Your destinies," Prima looked down at us all. "Have always been bridging three worlds together."
"Wait, Three?" 'Bee asked.
"Earth, Cybertron, and Antu." Firefly's optics widened.
"Your Link-Bond with Firefly is incomplete." Onyx said. "But not anymore."
Once he said this, a wave of emotions and memories washed over me like a movie. Firefly growing up as a sparkling, her 'teenage years' I guess, and up 'til now. I feel every emotion from every memory…
Polyhex Autobot Base, Cybertron during the war
Firefly giggled from behind a chair. A pair of green legs walk past. She scrambled out from behind and chased the down.
"Gotchu!" She tackled Ratchet's kneebolt. He smirked and then sat on the floor, picking her up.
"I have got you now." He smiled. "It's time to recharge."
"No!" She flailed as Ratchet carried her to her room and set her on the berth. "Can you tell me a story first?"
Ratchet picked up a datapad off the shelf and sat down next to Firefly. Arcee walked in and sat down on the other side of Firefly as she drifted off into recharge, not even hearing the story.
Streets of Iacon, Cybertron during the war
Firefly drove wildly down sidestreets, Bumblebee on her bumper with a message for Optimus. She had to get it to him. Suddenly they were stopped by Megatron. Once they both transformed, he grabbed Bumblebee by the neck and slammed him up against the wall.
"Tell me, what do the two of you have to tell Optimus?"
"How do you know?" Firefly gasped.
"Soundwave." The one-word explanation was enough. "Now, tell me."
"No." Bumblebee said. "We'll never tell you. I'll never talk."
"Allow me," Megatron snarled, ripping out Bumblebee's vocal processors. "To make that valid."
Megatron beat up both autobots before leaving. Firefly wrapped her arm around her sides, pressing a hand against the energon-leaking lines and crawled closer to Bee, who was completely unconscious.
"Bee," She whispered. "Please be ok."
Firefly looked up into the sky. "Please." She whispered almost pleadingly.
She cradled Bee's head in her lap and let out a sob, processor drifting to memories of her childhood friend. She was terrified of losing him.
Firefly was so focused on making sure 'Bee was alright that she didn't notice that someone was coming to rescue them until Ratchet and First Aid began running checks on both injured 'bots.
Dreamland
I just had my Guardian's whole life dumped in my head.
Every memory. Everything. I know everything that happened to her. I get the vague feeling she got the same treatment.
I feel a twinge of shock and surprise from Firefly.
"Well, now it's official." She raised an optic ridge.
I nod, vaguely remembering bonds that Links form. They are like guardian/charge bonds. But unlike a guardian/charge bond, the link and their 'linked one' can sense each other's emotions and have access to each other's memories, and in times of need, if one needs to, they can lean on the other's strength.
"We still have things to tell them, and you're wasting time with a link bond?" Liege Maximo barked.
"Liege, they will need it." Onyx chided him gently.
"Listen, and listen carefully." Nexus commented. "The Allspark cannot be truly destroyed. It's energy and shards which have been dispersed are waiting to be rebuilt- reformed. We have chosen certain mechs, femmes and primes for the quest, along the six of you."
At our sides, misty images of Optimus, Elita-1, Ratchet, Arcee, Ironhide, Chromia, and Jazz.
"Optimus Prime," Prima said. "The Prime who leads through victory and defeat."
"Elita-1," Solus said. "The femme commander who commands her team with strength and compassion."
"Ironhide," Vector Prime grumbled. "The loyal mech sworn to protect Prime."
Annabelle put her hands on her hips and glared at the old mech.
"Who is also Annabelle's guardian." Vector added with a smile at my Three-year-old sister.
"Chromia," Alchemist raised an optic ridge. "The femme warrior who defends those who cannot."
"Ratchet," Quintus Prime said. "The medic whose battle is different than a warrior's."
"Arcee," Nexus Prime nodded. "The femme who looks for a bright side, even when it is hard." Nexus glanced at Solus and flashed her a shy smile. She smiled back warmly.
"And Jazz," Amaglamous Prime smirked. "The crafty mech with a knack for getting out of tough spots."
"Remember this," Vector Prime raised his chin, looking like a hero on a history book page, and turned his gaze to Firefly and Bumblebee. "Love is a powerful thing, capable of healing and breaking sparks."
Solus spoke up. "And be wary of false hope. It is not all what it may seem."
Suddenly, the misty bots solidify. But before anything more can be said. The whole scene disappears.
All of us are in a field. Annabelle looks around for Ironhide and runs right up to the big mech. Firefly, in her link form, stands up on her fours. Her link form looks a lot like a horse, every time I look, I think that. I can feel a thrilling sense of excitement from her. She trots forward with a big grin.
"So, how about that?" She says in a way that makes me laugh.
"I don't know."
"Heh, neither do I." She snorted.
Optimus knelt down and picked up a glowing cerulean blue shard with dark blue alien markings.
"I thought the Allspark shards were a different color." Sam said.
"I theorize that the primes may have changed the color of the shards when they scattered the shards." Optimus said.
"How can they even do that? And instead of scattering the shards all over the freaken place, why didn't they just give them to us?!" Sam fumed.
"The Primes can affect things within their realm," Optimus soothed. "The Allspark has always been intertwined and interconnected with the Primes. And perhaps, they didn't simply just leave the shards easily within our reach to keep them from falling into the wrong hands."
I was paying attention, but Firefly clearly isn't, because she's standing on a hill and shouts.
"I can see a train!"
"Firefly!" I call, traipsing through the tall grass. "Whatchya doing over there?"
"Look!" She pointed her nose.
Low and behold, a big red and black diesel engine is hauling US steel on flatbed train cars. The reason I can tell its US steel is because there's American flags imprinted on the beams. We must be in the West.
"Woah." I whispered.
"It like one of the old wild west movies you showed me. We're out on a prairie and there's a train." My guardian enthusiastically booped her head up and down. She's like a sister to me, I love her (Platonically).
"Oh yeah," I nodded.
The others talk about what we are going to do next.
"We should leave!" Ironhide growled. "This whole quest is probably pointless."
"And lose the one chance we may have to rebuild the Allspark and perhaps Cybertron?" Ratchet demanded.
"It's bolt-brained to get our hopes up to start," The black mech snarled. "After the fragging primes warned us slagging not to!"
Before any more can be said between the two brothers, Optimus pulls apart the fighting mechs.
"Back down, both of you," He warned. "Save it for the decepticons."
Ratchet turns away slightly and Ironhide backs up a step. That's about as much backing down that they're gonna do.
What Ratchet said gets me thinking. If the autobots rebuild the Allspark, would they leave and go back to Cybertron?
I selfishly hope it doesn't happen like that, because then I would might never see Firefly and the other 'bots again.
"Ratchet, can your sensors detect Allspark shard energies?" Optimus asked.
"Stand by," Ratchet responded. His whole frame went rigid. "The nearest fragment is 261 miles away on Kiowa Peak in Colorado." He stated in a very matter-of-fact tone.
Firefly transformed. "I can get there fastest."
"Can I come?" I pipe up.
"I want to go too!" Annabelle squeaked.
"I do not wish to split up." Optimus said.
"Optimus," My guardian spoke up. "But I can't exactly drive down the road anymore,"
"I have a plan, don't worry."
Optimus's plane was hooking up to a flat-bed, having Firefly stand on it with a tarp draped over her. Some of the edges are clipped to the trailer to keep it from flying away. I ride with Ironhide and Annabelle.
Ratchet's POV
The foothills of Kiowa Peak, Colorado
I transform beside Arcee as the others stop close by. Firefly leaps off her flat-bed trailer with excitement as Sari hops out of Ironhide's door and squeals with eagerness.
I met Arcee's brilliant blue gaze. She smiles lightly. "She's come along way, hasn't she?"
I nod. "Yes, she has."
But I still see the little sparkling that Firefly was not all that long ago bouncing around my med-bay asking if I would play with her.
How do you just let that go?
I feel Arcee intertwine her digits with mine and I grasp her servo tightly. What I ever did to deserve her as my sparkmate, I'll never know. I wouldn't change it for the universe.
"Can I go get the shard pleaseee?" Firefly begged Optimus. She had sad optics reminiscent of a puppy, her wings were down, as were her antennas. I know how she learned that. When she was a sparkling, she always gave me that look. I... admittedly was the weak link. I gave in. A lot.
"Firefly, I do not want to separate."
"But whyyy?" She whined.
"I have a feeling nothing good will become of it." Optimus turned to everyone. "We will leave immediately."
The peak is 13000 feet, and the shard is on the top. We start the hike up the mountain.
About halfway through, everyone seems to have something to complain about.
"My feet hurt!" Sari whined.
"My ankle struts are sore!" Bumblebee complained.
"Mah helm hurts!" Jazz joins the complaining voices.
"My feet have blisters!" Sam hissed.
"My socks are itchy!" Annabelle said in a whiny voice.
Hiking up a mountain is something that should not be done with sparklings.
"My armor plating is too hot!" Ironhide grumbled.
Or my temperamental brother.
"Why don't you ride on my back?" Firefly asks Sari. She is in her link form.
"I got off your back because my butt hurt! You might look like a horse but you're not as comfortable to ride as a horse." She nagged.
"Yeah, your life's too good." Firefly said in a smart-aft voice. "Got someone who'd willingly carry you up the mountain, who's also your best friend and is one of the coolest best friends you could have, have a special key that can do all sorts of neat things, and you know more about classified aliens than most people on the planet. Got it rough."
Once we are at the top of the peak, I use my scanners to find the shard. Kneeling down, I find it under a root protruding from the ground from an old tree.
"Optimus," I call. "I found the shard."
He trudged through the tall grass as I picked the shard up and handed it to him. Behind him, Sari is chasing Firefly around. In her link form, she easily outruns Sari.
"Come back!" Sari called.
"Come get me!" Firefly sassed.
Sari shook her head and ran after the young link. "Come on Firefly, you know you can outrun and outfly me anyday."
"Aside the fact that humans can't fly?" She quips in a way that reminds of something I would say.
"Sometimes," Arcee glances at me. "She sounds just like you."
"I could say the same to you," I smile and pull her close, pressing my helm to hers.
"I guess so," She laughed in a way that soothed my anxious spark. "My mech in shining armor."
"Firefly!" Sari called again once Firefly ducked out of reach. "This isn't fair!"
"It wouldn't be fair if I was chasing you either."
"Fair point." She said before lunging for Firefly. She missed and tumbled toward the edge.
"Sari!" Firefly exclaimed when Sari fell off the edge. Firefly leapt off the cliff, and transformed to her bipedal form. She activated her thrusters to get to Sari faster. The poor kid fell through trees growing on the cliff's edge. Firefly caught her about ten feet from the ground.
Firefly turned in midair and flew back up, landing back on solid ground with Sari. She gently set her down. Sari wasn't looking at anyone, her gaze was fixed on her arm, eyes wide.
Gears and circuitry were visible where her skin had been rubbed away from hitting the trees.
What the frag was going on?
Oh, a cliff hanger. Things are looking too up for the characters that I threw a wrench into their plans. Ratchet would understand the wrench-throwing part.
Second, I think next chapter we will spend a bit more time in Ratchet's POV. He gets to figure out what 'happened' to Sari and he'll get to butt heads with Lockdown! I didn't forget about him!