Hello everyone, I hope you're ready for a big chapter of fights, surprises and feels. Quick note, I did have to change a word in the last chapter. I meant to write hours instead of days when the Vehicons were getting their memories wiped. Fair warning, there is some sensitive material in this chapter regarding Mikos' childhood and I apologize for it. Enjoy!
On the distant planet of Cybertron, deep within its' new hiding place, the ancient supercomputer Vector Sigma reactivated. It had been watching events unfold through the various means at its' disposal, primarily through the eyes of its' host and influencing events where it could. Taking a moment to fully analyze all the events that had happened thus far, it concluded only one thing.
"It is time." The computer spoke. The orb of its' body began to glow and spin before releasing an encoded transmission in the form of a pulse that would reach its' recipients across the galaxies.
Its' work done; Vector Sigma went back into standby mode. All it could do now was wait.
(Near Vector Sigma, a Scraplet hive suddenly became a little more active.)
In the Autobot City med bay, Velocity was preparing for a rather delicate procedure.
"Alright Lightbright." The Camien doctor began, turning to the systems analyst on the operating table. "Now I know that Brainstorm was able to perfect the channeler key and siphoned some energy from the Enigma of Combination into it. But are you sure you want to do this?"
"That's the third time you asked me that Velocity. Yes!" Lightbright replied exasperatedly.
"Okay, okay." The medic replied. "I just wanted to remind you that once you activate this process, it'll be irreversible."
"I know." Lightbright replied seriously. The tone belying her usual personality. "But I'm willing to make that sacrifice for Sparkstalker, and there's no guarantee that Magnaboss will be on hand to help him when he shows up again." She explained. There was a beat of silence before Velocity nodded.
"I understand." She confirmed. Turning back to the nearby instrument panel, she reached for a switch.
"Commencing stasis lock, now." Velocity announced as she flipped the switch, knocking Lightbright unconscious. Giving one last look to her notes on spark symbiosis, she began the open spark surgery.
In the Maximal den, Raf was surrounded by the other Maximals as well as their Autobot partners and his brother Enrique. The poor Maximal had been borderline catatonic since his delve into Tankors' brain the day before. Finally, the young medic was ready to talk.
His revelation came as a complete shock.
"You mean the Vehicon generals are...us?" Miko asked incredulously.
"From a different timeline." Raf confirmed with a whisper. This got the attention of Heinrad and Rattrap. Giving each other a small nod, they exited the den as the discussion continued.
"Different? How?" Goldbug asked.
"They never got out of Darkmount." Raf continued. "In our timeline, when we were made into technorganic Maximals, we escaped while combined and met Wheeljack during our escape."
"I remember that." Wheeljack replied. "I just snapped my guards' neck and slipped my cuffs. I ran into you three after your escape."
"In their timeline, the group of Vehicons we fought afterwards managed to sneak up on us and shoot you through the chest from behind." Raf explained.
"Ohh, Jackie." Bulkhead whispered in grief.
"I'm right here Bulkie." Wheeljack reminded him. He honestly didn't know how to feel about the fact he was dead in another universe. Now, this dark timeline had his full attention.
"What happened after that Raf?" Jack asked. He took Mikos' hand in his and gave it a gentle affirming squeeze. A gesture she reciprocated.
"They got shoved into stasis pods after what happened in the lab." Raf continued. "At some point Unicrons' forces attacked Darkmount and found us, them." He corrected himself. "They got their sparks extracted and memories wiped. They've been serving Unicron ever since." He gave a heavy sigh before curling in on himself. Goldbug and Enrique hugged the young Maximal.
"But Tankor knows he's you now, right?" Sierra asked.
"Possibly." Raf admitted. "I don't think Tankor realized that those were his memories too until the very end." He added quietly.
"Wait." Enrique interrupted as he looked up at his brother. "If he does remember, and he convinced the other two, do you think they'll join us?"
"I doubt it." Fowler commented from a corner of the room. "First thing the Cons probably did was wipe that knowledge from the bruiser."
"Not helping dad." Mike threw in, stepping on his dads' foot.
"It might be a long shot." Vince began as he looked at Raf. "But do you think the gold disk thingy might have some info about them?" The rest of the room looked at him with varying levels of surprise.
"Why do you guys act surprised when I come up with good ideas?"
"The disk might have the answers we need." Arcee agreed. "I think it's still in the science lab." She looked to where Heinrad and Rattrap had been only to find them gone. Where could they have gotten to?
A couple of hallways over, Kibo and Gary were in a hushed debate.
"I'm just saying it's a possibility." Kibo argued with his cousin. "The three of them could be from our timeline."
"Are you sure?" Gary asked skeptically. "Or are you just hoping you can get your parents back?"
"It's possible that Tankor IS uncle Raf." Kibo countered, sidestepping Gary's insinuation. "We both know how powerful Unicron is. Is it really that big a stretch that he used all three to make a Vehicon combiner?"
"Okay, your dad maybe, but your mom died of." Gary argued only for Kibo to cut him off.
"It's still within the realm of possibility." Kibo stubbornly replied. "Look, let's just go to where we last had a read on them before they vanished. At the very least, we might find some clues. If we're lucky, we might find them."
"And what do we do if we find them?" Gary asked.
"I can use my powers to hold them in place and I was hoping you could use yours to give their brains a little reboot." There were several moments of silence as Gary looked at Kibo, down at the floor, and back at him again.
"Very big." Gary answered.
"Very big?"
"The size of those big Tanuki balls of yours." Gary replied with a smirk as Kibo spluttered. "I'm in. Their last coordinates were the old Omega one outpost."
"Irony." Kibo muttered to himself as he nodded towards the shuttle bay. Of course, it'd be where their family's adventures first started. "Let's go." They would 'borrow' one of the hover skiffs Perceptor invented to get around Autobot City to get to the outpost. Little did the two know that their decision would be the first domino in the series of events that revealed so many secrets.
As the two time traveling Maximals left Autobot City, the other Maximals found the Golden Disk. Inserting it into Teletraan-2, they watched as the hologram of the older Rhinox shimmered into view.
"You have further questions?" Old man Rhinox asked. There was a moment of hesitation before Fowler stepped forward.
"Rhinox, what can you tell us about the Vehicon generals?"
"I am sorry, but my responses are limited." Rhinox replied. "You must ask the right questions."
"Who are, Thrust, Jetstorm, and Tankor?" He tried again.
"I am sorry, but my responses are limited. You must ask the right questions."
"Maybe a broader spectrum question." Jack hedged. "Rhinox, can you give us a breakdown on Galvatrons' troops?"
"In addition to Shockwave and Tarantulas." Rhinox began. "He was able to convert the remaining Vehicons into a new type of Predacon. Finally, he was able to recover a team called the Combaticons who he used to hunt down and slaughter the Autobots across the galaxy as well as another group called the Horrorcons who've hunted us across Cybertron and Earth."
"It doesn't sound like Galvatron used them in the other timeline." Raf stated, looking down. "I guess Optimus' continued survival caused Galvatron to recruit them."
"So, we still don't know anything about them?" Miko groaned exasperatedly. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"Ah, have you figured it out then Miko?" Rhinox asked with a knowing look.
"Figured what out?" Miko asked.
From where he stood, Rafs' eyes widened in a panic as he looked at Enrique. Would his older self include a command to reveal Heinrad and Rattraps' identities? If he did, then this was going to be a mess of epic proportions.
"They didn't tell you yet, did they?" Rhinox asked Rhetorically.
"Who?" Jack asked, confused. Was the disk malfunctioning?
"Heinrad and Rattrap."
"Oh no." Came a faint whisper from the lab door. Looking at it, they saw June had arrived and was looking at the hologram of Rhinox wide eyed.
"Mom?" Jack asked, looking toward his mother. "What is he talking about?"
June looked around the lab, hoping to see her grandchildren and hopefully get their blessing about what she had a feeling was about to happen. Seeing that they weren't there, however, and realizing that the disk had already poured fuel onto the fire, she figured there was no point putting this off. She just hoped they would forgive her. Both her children AND grandchildren.
"Did you ever wonder who Rattrap and Heinrad are?" She asked. The other Maximals looked at each other. That seemed like an odd question. Come to think of it, they saw so little of the time travelers that they never got the chance to ask about them.
"We just know they're from an alternate future." Allison replied.
"I think Smokescreen once mentioned to me that they're second generation Maximals." Jack spoke to no one in particular. The statement hung in the air a moment before Fowlers' eyes widened in shock.
"You have got to be kidding me." He asked in surprise.
"What?" Sierra asked.
"We are the first generation of modern Maximals." Raf explained. "So, for them to be second generation." He let that statement hang in the air too and waited for the penny to drop.
Jacks' eyes widened in understanding before looking at his mother.
"Who is whose?" He asked.
"What do you mean Jack?" Miko asked, looking her boyfriend in the eye.
Looking at Miko, Jack couldn't help kicking himself a little mentally. Miko had shown him a picture of a Tanuki after they met Heinrad and told him it was from Japan. That should've been a big red flag for both of them.
"Our children." Jack answered. "Heinrad and Rattrap are our kids."
"More specifically." Raf added. "Heinrad is yours and Mikos' son. Rattrap is Vince and Sierras'."
"You knew!" Sierra borderline shrieked as Vince stared at them slack jawed.
"I only just found out." Raf admitted.
"And they asked me to keep it a secret." June added.
"I still think that's something you should've told us." Jack countered heatedly.
"Miko was one cranky pregnant lady." The hologram Rhinox quipped. "But if I'd laid an egg that big."
"Oh, shut up." Miko growled as she went over to Teletraan and ejected the golden disk. "But I agree, we should've been told about them." June stepped forward to comfort her children only for them to turn away from her.
"Could, could you give us some time mom?" Jack asked as kindly as he could. He was equal parts shocked, furious, and scared at the moment and didn't want to lash out at her. To say nothing of what Miko would be feeling.
"I, I understand." June replied sadly as she walked out of the lab.
Jack turned to Miko. "Miko, I." He was cut off as the femme in question grabbed his upper arms and teleported them out in a flash of burgundy. Whatever they had to say to each other, would be said in private.
In the corner, Arcees' brain was going a million miles a minute. Heinrad was Jack and Mikos' son? Then she remembered back to when the two time travelers first appeared. Rattrap had mentioned shaking hands with great aunt ar- before she cut him off. He must've meant her, their great aunt Arcee.
Something else occurred to her. Jack had gained his new body before Heinrad was conceived. Her jaw dropped. Then that made Heinrad Optimus Primes' grandson!
"Could you guys give me and Vinnie some privacy?" Sierra asked the room.
As the other Maximals and bots began to file out of the room, Arcee decided she'd better go find June. Transforming into her wolf mode, she quickly picked up her sisters' scent. She knew that this revelation was going to hurt, but it was necessary.
Once they were alone, Sierra looked at her still catatonic boyfriend. The red headed bat bot was still staring off into space with a glassy look.
"Vinnie? Vinnie!" Sierra tried to get his attention. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. This seemed to bring him to reality as he looked at his girlfriend.
"Oh god, we're parents." He whispered before his eyes widened. "Our kid grew up an orphan." He added with a whimper, tears forming in his eyes. He remembered how much it hurt to lose his dad. Especially since his mother cared more about her next drink than how he was coping with the loss.
"I know." She whispered to him. Transforming into her plant mode, she wrapped her vines around him in an all-encompassing hug. "I don't know what happened in his timeline, but it looks like they're here to stay." She nuzzled his forehead. "We can get to know him here and now."
"Then let's go find him." Vince whispered, tears still in his eyes. After being released from her vines and watching her transform, Vince wrapped his arms around Sierra. "I know I don't say it as much as I should, but I love you Sierra." He whispered.
"You don't have to say it, for me to know it." Sierra giggled. Turning around, she kissed Vince on the lips. "Come on, we have a son to introduce ourselves to."
In Mikos' quarters, she and Jack appeared in a flash. Releasing her boyfriend, Miko began to pace her room at a feverish pace.
"Miko." Jack began before said femme cut him off.
"Full disclosure, no I do not lay eggs."
"What? No I."
"I don't know what Raf was thinking." Miko continued as she paced. "Never pegged him as being a troll but."
"MIKO!" Jack yelled. "We have more important things to."
"I don't know how to be a mom!" Miko yelled back. There was a moment of silence before she continued. "You know my parents only ever pretended to love me. Hell, they had me taken apart last time I saw them. And that's not the worst." Miko suddenly clamped her hands over her mouth at the slip.
"Miko." Jack said, placing his hands on her shoulders. Miko turned away embarrassed. "What are you talking about." At her continued silence, he crouched down to look her in the eyes. "You can tell me." He reassured her.
Dropping her arms to her sides, Miko looked up at Jack.
"At one point in Japan, I was in a pretty dark place." Miko began with a sigh. This memory was going to hurt. "My...donors hadn't been home in over a month, and I had just gotten a scathing video message about how much of a disappointment I was." Sensing what might be coming, Jack wrapped his arms around her.
"I finally found the person I wanted to be, and they flat out hated it and me." Miko continued. "They said they had found a few possible husbands and were planning to send me to a school to 'reeducate' me."
"What did you do?" he asked gently.
"I, I planned to jump off the apartment balcony." She admitted quietly. "I didn't want to live like that. I was recording a video for my suicide note when I saw an email about the foreign exchange program. That's when I got the hairbrained idea to run away while in America."
"And the rest was history?" Jack asked, hugging her tightly. Feeling her nod against his chest. Took a deep breath of his own.
"I don't know how to be a dad either Miko." He began. "My father walked out on us, and I just acted horribly afterwards." Miko looked up at him with a confused expression. "I was a wild child when I was little. Broke almost everything I got my hands on. Then one day, I caused mom to have a breakdown." He admitted.
"Wow." Miko said stunned. She never knew Jack had been like that.
"It was bad." He continued. "She spent over an hour crying in her bed over everything. My dad being gone, her grandfather dying, my behavior and being a single mother. Something in me changed when I realized I caused that." Jack smiled. "I started by bringing her a sandwich and saying I was sorry. After that I just kept trying to be whatever she needed me to be."
"Sorry." Jack apologized after a moment. "I know it's nothing compared to what you went through."
"Neither of us has an idea what we're doing do we?" Miko finished, holding Jack tightly. A few minutes passed before either of them spoke again.
"I want to meet our son." Miko whispered and smiled as Jack hugged her tighter.
"Me too." Jack replied. "We can figure this parenting thing out together." He added as he pulled back. Leaning forward again, Jack and Miko kissed each other deeply. When it ended, the two uttered the same sentence.
"I love you."
In the Maximals' den, Arcee finally caught up with June. Said spider femme was currently at the table, going through the photo albums admiring the pictures of her and Jack from when he'd been a little boy.
"June?"
"You can come here Arcee." She replied. "I felt you coming."
Still in wolf mode. Arcee trotted up to the table before transforming and joining her sister. Looking at the album, she saw a picture of her and a young Jack smiling at the camera on what looked like Christmas morning. In contrast, next to it, was Jack crying in the lap of an admitiddly creepy looking Easter Bunny.
"I always hoped to one day add photos of grandchildren." June sighed to herself.
"And you will." Arcee assured her. "I'm sure once Jack and Miko have gotten over the shock, they'll forgive the secrets." Honestly, she didn't know who she was trying to reassure, June or herself.
"June." Arcee began. "There's something I need to." She was cut off as Allison galloped into the room in beast mode.
"Have you seen Rattrap or Heinrad anywhere?" She asked.
"Weren't they with us earlier?" Arcee asked.
"They were when Raf told us about the generals." Allison explained as she transformed back to bot mode. "Now we can't find them anywhere."
(In a rundown bar in Iacon, a lone bartender paused polishing a glass for a moment as he heard the message. Giving a sigh and a smile, he began to prepare for company)
Within the Decepticon fortress that was once Las Vegas, Thrust Jetstorm and Tankor were trying to make sense of their case of missing time.
"I just can't figure it out." Jetstorm complained to the other two, her mask showing an annoyed emoticon. "One second, we're fighting the critters, next we're waking up in that old wreck with Tankor.
"To say nothing of the fact that we did recover in that time." Thrust added. "Perhaps we learned something integral in that time?" Tankor simply shrugged his shoulders, he had no idea what had happened either. He went from being stuck in a holding cell to being on the ground somewhere else.
"Maybe it had something to do with that one Maximal with the clock in it." Thrust continued, replaying his memory of their battle in his mind. "I did sense tachyons when he warped." He gave Jetstorm a smirk. "Really sent you for a loop if I remember correctly."
"You don't." Jetstorm pouted, an embarrassed emoticon replacing the annoyed one before switching to a happy face. "And I think I just had an idea." She added.
"What?" Thrust asked.
"Riddle me this." Jetstorm began as she began to pace in the air. "What do you get when you combine a remote-controlled spacebridge and the proper equipment to warp time?"
"A portal to anywhere, or any when." Thrust answered before his optics widened. "And with a little creative ingenuity, a potential ticket back to our home universe."
"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner." Jetstorm laughed before Tankor growled a counterargument. Specifically, what would there be to stop this Unicron from pulling them back here.
"We'll just have to suck it up and talk to our Unicron." Thrust replied. While they didn't like it, they'd at most be asked to do the occasional favor for him as opposed to all the dirty work with this one.
"Let me just set the scanner array to seek out tachyons and see what we come up with." Jetstorm spoke as she accessed the systems from a nearby terminal. "As backwater as this planet is, there can't be that many sources." A few moments later a nearby tachyon source was found, but not at Autobot City.
"Irony." Thrust groaned. It was the same place they'd woken up in. He thought for a moment before looking at Tankor.
"How do you feel about dusting off your acting chops?"
(Somewhere in Alpha Centauri, a group of five bots heard Vector Sigmas' call. Gathering up the relics they'd retrieved (The Leigian Darts, Emberstone and Triptych Mask) they recombined into Nexus Prime and headed for Cybertron.)
In the now abandoned wreckage of Autobot Outpost Omega One, Heinrad and Rattrap were now looking around the ruined bunker for clues to either prove or disprove the theory of Tankor (and by extension the other generals) being from their timeline. Albeit the two of them felt that they were on hallowed ground, since this was where their parents' adventures with the Autobots first began.
"How sure are we that they were here?" Heinrad asked as he examined the gutted control console Ratchet used to use.
"Does this answer your question?" Rattrap asked, holding up the remains of the cortical psychic patch.
"Yeah." Heinrad answered. Looking at a nearby wall, he found more evidence. "And this does too." Following his cousins' line of sight, Rattrap saw the words burned into the wall.
"Ruin Max?"
"I wonder what that means?" Heinrad asked.
"Either way." Rattrap began. "They ain't here, and I don't think they are coming back." He jumped as a spacebridge portal opened behind them. "Somehow, I don't think that's HQ telling us to come back." The suspicion was confirmed when Tankor exited the portal. "We're all gonna die."
"Shut up, Rattrap." Heinrad hissed back. He prepared to use his powers to enable a getaway before the tank Vehicon general put his hands up in surrender and shook his head.
"You're not going to attack us?" He asked. Tankor made a horrific grinding noise as he shook his head, then gave them a sheepish expression as if realizing they couldn't understand him.
"I think we need to stick to yes or no answers here bud." Rattrap commented. "Do you know who we are?" At this, Tankor gave a rapid nod and motioned a hug. "Do you know who you are?" At another rapid nod, Heinrad couldn't help himself.
"Uncle Raf?" He whispered. There was a moment's silence before Tankor nodded and knelt his arms out. Unable to help themselves, the two Maximals surged forward and hugged the larger mech, allowing him to hug them as well.
The moment lasted a little bit before Tankor let go and stood up. He gave a waving motion of his hand to the still active portal and Thrust and Jetstorm emerged before it winked out of existence.
"Hey you two." Thrust whispered.
"Raf told us everything." Jetstorm confirmed.
"So, you both know too?" Heinrad asked, hope filling his voice. Was it possible for him to have his mom and dad back?
"We didn't quite believe him at first." Jetstorm began. "But the more we thought about it, the more it made some sense."
"We've always had these gaps in our memories." Thrust continued. "And reactions to things that we don't know where they come from."
Heinrad swallowed. He wasn't sure if they truly remembered, or simply realized something was wrong, but maybe it would be a start. And he swore that he would be there to help them every step of the way.
"Alright, we'll take you three back to Autobot City with us. I'm sure Ratchet can help you three." He began.
"Hey, before we go." Thrust said as he knelt. "Got time for a quick hug from your old man?" Blinking back tears, Heinrad stepped up to Thrust, only for the Vehicon to deploy a chain to wrap him up.
"What the!" He exclaimed. A yell of surprise drew his attention to Rattrap who'd just been hoisted up by Tankor. Before he could do anything more, the tank general backhanded the Maximals' head, knocking him out.
"Can't believe you fell for that." Thrust sighed. He and Jetstorm had been listening in on the conversation back in Vegas and had ad-libbed the entire encounter just to get close enough. He primed up his stun gun and aimed it at Heinrad.
"I don't know how you thought I was your father, but it's a good thing I'm not." Firing his stun gun, Thrust watched as Heinrad fell unconscious.
"Oh, I don't know." Jetstorm quipped as she began setting up the remote space bridge. "It seems like he inherited your brains."
"Hey."
(In a distant galaxy, the Requiem Blaster ceased spinning aimlessly through the void. Positioning itself, the artefact of Megatronus Prime, began its' trip back home.)
Back in Vegas, Nemesis Prime felt a shift in his forces. More specifically, he felt that the three generals were suddenly further away than he expected them to be. His feeling was confirmed when Galvatron stepped back into the control center.
"Where are Thrust Jetstorm and Tankor?" He griped. "We need more Vehicon drones, and I cannot find them anywhere."
"They have planned a ruse of their own to betray me and flee." Nemesis growled.
"I shall take the Combaticons and retrieve them." Galvatron offered. Maybe he could get in on that plan himself. A surge of pain ripped through his head at the thought as Nemesis glared at him. He'd sensed the plan the moment he thought of it.
"No." Nemesis Prime replied. "You must finish preparations for your mission to Cybertron. While we are hindered by Tarantulas being indisposed for a few days, I fully expect you to leave on schedule." He added. "I shall retrieve them."
"By yourself?" Galvatron asked. "Surely the two of us together would be."
"Do not test my patience now my anti-prime." Nemesis Prime growled. "We are closing in on both victory and my freedom. Once Tarantulas has recovered, he will devote his full efforts into finishing the dark energon seeders after he recovers Shockwave. You shall assist me in stalling if not destroying those who'd thwart us but to do that, we need those resources you offered."
"Yes, master." Galvatron replied. The word tasted bitter on his tongue. "But how do you intend to bring them back alone?"
Nemesis' optics flashed briefly before a roar was heard from several floors down.
"I shall take Deathsaur as backup, in addition, Tarantulas finished the addition to this body's alternate mode before his 'accident'." He gestured to a video screen that showed what looked like a truck trailer on tank treads in Nemesis Primes' colors. There were two large laser cannons on swivel turrets on the back of the trailer, in addition, there were a pair of missile pods mounted to the sides near where Nemesis Primes' truck mode would connect to it.
"I see. I wish you luck then." Galvatron groused.
"Luck is unnecessary." Nemesis Prime replied as he transformed into truck mode and drove out.
(In a U.S. Army salvage yard, what looked like a failed experimental tank suddenly took off through the back fence before transforming into a jet and taking to the sky.)
In a conference room inside Fortress Maximus, Optimus Prime was discussing the current situation with Ultra Magnus and Rodimus.
"So Galvatron is keeping those space bridges open over the world capitols then." Magnus began. The portals he'd opened to force the Autobots to retreat were still active, ready to drop a nuclear bomb whenever he desired.
"Unfortunately, yes." Rodimus confirmed. "I was asked not to return to the United Nations for fear that it'd look like the humans were helping us." The various world governments were now so afraid of Galvatron, they were treating them like they were nuclear waste. There, but potentially deadly.
"If we cannot count on assistance from the humans." Optimus continued. "Then we shall have to look elsewhere for assistance against Galvatron." He spoke. "Even with the reinforcements we've retrieved from across the galaxy, we are still outnumbered four to one."
"Considering that the Decepticons now have access to a legitimately unending supply of Vehicon drones. That may be problematic." Ultra Magnus countered. Silently, he was planning on how to break the news of Project: Cerebros to Optimus.
"Perhapse, we need to consult the golden disk again." Rodimus suggested. "It gave us the location of all the lost Autobots, maybe there's more usable data."
"That." Optimus replied. "Is a viable option. I shall access the disk to see what." He was cut off by a knock at the door.
"Come in." Rodimus called, causing Magnus to give him an annoyed look. The door opened revealing both Arcee and June.
"Sirs'" Arcee saluted. "Sorry to bother you but we cannot find Heinrad or Rattrap anywhere in Autobot City."
The three mechs looked at each other. This was problematic. While the golden disk was their primary source of future knowledge, the two Maximal time travelers were just as valuable. Ultra Magnus was well ahead of them.
"Blaster, begin a search for the Maximals Heinrad and Rattrap, scan for tachyon frequencies." He ordered into the comms.
"On the case ace." Blaster replied.
"Arcee!" Jack yelled as he ran up to his mother and aunt in beast mode, Miko flapping along behind him. "Is there any news?" Miko asked as the two transformed.
"I've got them." Blaster called from Ultra Magnus' comms. "Man, oh man, this is bad. They're in the old outpost and I'm picking up dark energon signatures there too."
"The Vehicon generals." Jack whispered, wide eyed. "Those two knew they were us and jumped to the wrong conclusion."
"Excuse me?" Optimus asked. This was news to him. Then again, between the battle of Las Vegas, Thrust and Jetstorm breaking into Fortress Maximus and the wreckage of Nemesis Prime being stolen all in the same day, it shouldn't've surprised him that something slipped through the cracks. He just wished it hadn't been this.
"Jetstorm Tankor and Thrust are versions of Miko Raf and Jack respectively from another universe." June supplied. Worry for her grandchildren suddenly surged within her. "We're going after them."
Jack activated his comms. "All Maximals to the spacebridge."
"We can't." Ultra Magnus replied sadly.
"What do you mean?" Miko and June replied at the same time.
"Due to current tensions and the fear of a nuclear disaster." Rodimus began. "I don't like it, but we are under orders not to use the spacebridge anywhere on Earth."
"So that's it then?!" Miko yelled. "No, I am not leaving our son in the hands of our twisted doubles. I'll teleport us all there if I gotta." With that she took off down the hall, Jack following behind her.
Optimus looked at Arcee and June. "Their son?" He asked.
Arcee swallowed. "Actually." She began. "I need to talk with you two about something pertaining to that."
As Arcee began her conversation with June, Miko and Jack were running through the halls.
"I can't believe we can't use the spacebridge." Miko grumbled.
"We may have an alternative." A voice called from behind them. A moment later, Allison and Slash the Dinobot caught up to them, running in beast mode to keep up. "Brainstorm has been working on something." Slash added. "Everyone meet up at the hangar."
Moments later, the foursome met up with Vince, Sierra, Raf and both Fowlers outside the hangar alongside Depth Charge.
"You mean to tell me that Brainstorm has been making a spaceship for us?" Raf asked.
"Yes." Slash replied. "He called it The Axalon. He turned Lockdowns' ship into one that is Maximal friendly."
"Then what are we still standing around for?" Miko spat as she ran for the door to the ship. Ordinarily, she'd be hyped that they now had a spaceship to use. Now, however, she was more worried about her son. Idly, she wondered if this was how June felt when they went out without her.
After boarding and finding the power switch, however, the Maximals realized one problem.
"Does anyone know how to fly this thing?" Vince asked as he looked at the controls. While some of the controls were in English, most of them were unlabeled. "It doesn't look like Brainy had time to finish it yet."
Raf was looking at a holographic display. "We may not have to." He announced. Activating a command, a hologram projector emerged from the ceiling and scanned all aboard before a young Maximal sized dark-haired girl in what looked like an acid green Japanese policewoman's' uniform. A Maximal symbol took the place of a badge on both her shirt and cap. Opening her blue eyes, she greeted the assembled Maximals.
"Greetings, I am the Tactical Artificial Intelligence program of the starship Axalon." She began. "For the sake of simplicity however, you may call me T-AI."
"Okay, she's cute." Allison muttered to herself. Not quietly enough since Slash smacked her backside with her tail half a second later.
"TA-I, we have an emergency." Jack began. "We have two Maximals captured and in need of rescuing, can you fly us there?"
"Maximal commander Jack 'Leobolt' Darby recognized." TA-I replied. "I understand, I simply require coordinates to begin." There was a moment of silence as while they knew where the old base was, they didn't know the exact coordinates.
"I know the way." Depthcharge announced. "Can this ship follow me?"
"Affirmative." TA-I announced.
"Great, now how do we open the hangar door? I doubt the bots would let out." Miko asked. She didn't think she could teleport the whole ship and still be able to fight afterwards either. There was a moment of silence before Raf spoke up again.
"TA-I, can you put full power to the front shields and hit the thrusters?" He asked.
"I see what you're thinking cutie, and I like it." TA-I replied, giving Raf a wink that made him blush and sink down in his chair as a couple of the other Maximals chuckled at his expense. Apparently, TA-I was a little more advanced than they thought.
"I'll lead the way once you're clear!" Depthcharge called as he transformed into flight mode. Jack nodded at him as the ship door closed. As the ship lifted off and the shield engaged, he looked out the front view port.
"Maximals, MAXIMIZE!"
"So, to summarize." Optimus began. After the bombshell revelation that Arcee had dropped on him and June, he felt the need to review this new information and make sure. "When Jack was holding my spark in his body after the loss of the previous base, his CNA was rewritten in accordance with my own."
"Not so much rewritten as enhanced." Arcee countered. Technically her CNA was rewritten, Jack only had Optimus CNA added to his.
"Which in effect makes Jack Optimus' son as much as my own." June added wide-eyed. "And that in effect makes Heinrad OUR grandson."
"I will need you to fully explain that to me later June." Optimus added. The fact that the time traveler Maximals were children of the children he knew was slightly disconcerting. "But what I'd like to know soldier." Prime continued giving Arcee a pointed look that made her want shrink into nothingness. "Is why you kept this from us?"
"It was my decision Optimus." Ratchet explained, making June and Arcee jump as he walked up to them. He'd been enroute between the med bay and lab when he heard the last few minutes of conversation. "Arcee found out by accident."
"Why did you keep this from me Ratchet?" Optimus asked sternly. The fact that he didn't refer to the doctor as 'old friend' was a testament to how angry he was.
"Because Orion." Ratchet shot back, using Optimus' original name. "Like I told Arcee, I'm not blind. The way you care for nurse Darby is different than what you feel for everyone else, the kids included." He looked at Prime square in the optic. "In fact, I've only ever seen you care for one other like that."
"Don't you dare bring Elita into this."
"You threw yourself into the role of Optimus Prime so utterly it's become unhealthy." Ratchet countered. "You've almost completely lost touch with the person who became Prime. You may be our leader, but you're also a sentient being. And frankly your affection for nurse Darby is mentally the healthiest thing you've done in literally millions of years."
There was a moment of silence in the hallway while Ratchets' words settled in.
"My honest opinion Optimus." Ratchet added, giving June a nod. "Nurture this new family of yours, allow it to grow and help remind you of what you're fighting for. Because as you used to always say."
"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." Optimus finished. It'd been a long time since he spoke those words.
"And that includes you." Ratchet finished with a rare smile.
The moment was ruined slightly as a loud bang shook the base.
"By the Allspark."
"What the scrap was that?"
"Magnus, report." Optimus called.
"Sir, the Maximals have stolen a ship from the hangar." Ultra Magnus responded. "I believe they are attempting a rescue mission themselves."
Optimus swore to himself. Regardless of the circumstances, Jack really did take after him sometimes.
"Understood commander." He replied. "Arcee Kumara and I shall set out at once." With that, the three took off toward the nearest exit. Clearing the building, Arcee transformed into her motorcycle mode.
"I can make it there in under ten minutes at top speed, but what about?" She was cut off as Optimus scooped Kumara up in bridal carry and took off flying with his passenger.
"That's one way to do it."
(In the vault of Fortress Maximus, the Forge Hammer, Chimera Stone and Enigma of Combination flashed briefly in anticipation of what was to come.)
Consciousness returned slowly to one Kibo "Heinrad" Darby. Attempting to open his eyes, he felt like the room was spinning. Eventually, the spinning colors formed the face mask of Jetstorm leaning over him. A grin emoticon was lit up on it as she spoke.
"Wakey, wakey." Jetstorm taunted. "I thought you'd want to be conscious before we began instead of being rudely awoken." Looking down, Kibo realized he was bolted to a wall with several cables running from his chest to a small remote spacebridge.
"Yeah." Garrison "Rattrap" Raider spat. He was bolted and connected right next to his cousin. "Cuz you're just so generous like that you slagging scrap heap."
"And you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Thrust asked as Tankor chuckled.
"Don't you even you mother fragger!" Kibo yelled. He couldn't believe it, he let them play him like a fiddle and now it had hurt both him and Gary.
"Oh, don't worry." Jetstorm sighed. "We'll be out of your hair soon enough. With a little help from you two of course."
"Oh yeah?" Gary sniped. "And what makes you think we'll help ya?"
"Easy." Thrust answered as he stepped up to the Maximals. "You're going to be the one controlling the bridge after we activate it with your friend." He explained. "If you don't do it right, or try to sabotage it, the resulting energy discharge will blow the whole mesa to pebbles."
"We'll regenerate." Jetstorm added. "But you won't." With that, she activated the bridge and immediately Kibo felt pain as temporal energy was being pulled from him. "Best get to work mousey, this'll take a while to build up."
The group were caught off guard as the mesa began to shake.
"What in the?" Thrust yelled before a flash of burgundy lit up the room.
"Get away from our kids!" Wingsaber yelled as she flung a kunai at Jetstorm, embedding it in her mask. A moment later, the feather exploded, taking the mask and part of her head with it. As the light faded, the forms of Leobolt, Rhinox, Nightscream, Botanica, Mach Hoof, Depthcharge and Slash were revealed.
"We will not let you stop us from returning home!" Thrust yelled as he deployed his dark energon hook and chains. On either side of him, Tankor and now healed Jetstorm stood to defend the portal now swirling into existence.
The Maximals charged the Vehicons, and the fight began.
Depthcharge transformed back into his flight mode and attempted to go over the generals only for Jetstorm to fly straight up and grab him by the tail. Giving him a spin, she threw him back towards Mach Hoof and Slash who barely dodged him in time.
Once clear of their friend, Slash transformed back into beast mode while Mach Hoof drew up a nucleon charge and fired on the jet general while Slash leapt for Tankors' head. Unfortunately, the tank general spotted her and caught her mid leap, throwing her towards the meat grinder in his abdomen. She was saved by a vine from Botanica pulling her out of the behemoths' grip. All the while the old base was still being bombarded.
"Thanks." She greeted before transforming again and deciding to stick to her pistols. Together, she and Mach Hoof took aim at Jetstorm and fired only for the femme to dodge before returning fire with her own guns.
"Rhinox, Maximize!" Said Maximal yelled as he unleashed a torrent of energy bullets at his twisted double. The blasts did little more than antagonize the mech however as he immediately returned fire with his cannon.
"Leobolt, Maximize!" Suddenly the blast from Tankors' cannon as well as several blasts From Jetstorm were drawn to the Maximal commander before swirling around his body and coalescing into a single stream of energy which he directed at Thrust. The car general took the blast to his right shoulder as well as a sonic blast from Nightscream before finally deciding to take things up a notch.
"Initiate battle protocol." Thrust yelled as he dodged a wild swing of Wingsabers' katanas. The three generals transformed into their vehicle modes before combining. Seeing what was happening, Leobolt, Wingsaber, and Rhinox decided to follow suit.
"RUINATION, AWAKENS!" The Vehicon combiner bellowed, still standing between the Maximals and their allies. Raising their arm cannon, Ruination fired, forcing the newly formed Magnaboss to block it with their broadsword.
"And Ruination shall be turned to scrap." Magnaboss taunted. "Find a way to free Heinrad and Rattrap, we'll handle them." They ordered.
Using the distraction, Ruination fired several dark energon hooks from their grinder, which Magnaboss caught with their sword before allowing the chains to retract with it. The result, the sword now blocked the grinder, and part of the Vehicon combiners vision as the blade handle was right in their face. Magnaboss smirked at the sight.
"We're going to take this outside." They replied as the base shook again. Charging forth, the Maximal combiner dodged a poorly aimed blast from Ruinations' cannon and grabbed their arm. Giving the Vehicon combiner a spin, Magnaboss threw them against the weakening wall of the outpost, smashing them through it to the outside.
As Magnaboss followed Ruination out the hole in the wall, the remaining Maximals made a dash over to Heinrad and Rattrap. The spacebridge portal they were connected to was now sizably bigger and the landscape of a ruined planet was beginning to take shape.
"Hang on you two!" Slash called as she pulled out a small vibro-knife and began cutting away at Heinrads' bonds. A cry from the two rent the air as the portal began to change again.
"Rattrap, sweetheart, what's happening?" Botanica asked as she held her son's face, surprising him.
"You know?" He asked through the pain.
"Yes." Nightscream added before using a focused sound blast on the shackle holding his sons' left hand to the wall. Once it was free he smiled at him. "We know and we're here for you." He winced a bit as the portal took on a grey tone. "Do you all hear that?"
"And your parents are fighting to protect you Heinrad." Allison comforted the distressed Maximal next to her nephew. Any further words were halted when the now fully grey portal ejected a second spacebridge portal, causing them both to explode outward, taking the remote array with it.
"Botanica, Maximize!" The moment said maximal called on her power, a thick wall of greenery grew out of the ground, shielding the Maximals and Dinobot from the explosion. As the vines withered away, they observed a tall slender mech that they hadn't seen in months. The resonance blaster still in his hand.
"Soundwave?" Slash gasped before training her pistols on the communications officer. The movement was copied by the Maximals in a condition to do so while stepping between him and the captives.
In a surprise move, the Decepticon turned away from them and transformed into his surveillance drone mode and took off out the hole Magnaboss made earlier.
"Okay." Nightscream began quirking a brow. "That happened."
"Forget him." Slash said, returning to her work. "Let's get them down so we can get out."
While the other Maximals and Slash were focused on their rescue mission, Survive and Cheetor were working with TA-I to lay cover fire to keep the Vehicons distracted. The Axalon had made three passes over the old outpost already and were just coming around for a fourth when an alarm sounded.
"Uh oh." TA-I exclaimed as she looked at the two remaining Maximals. "We have a hostile incoming!"
Looking out the viewport, Survive barely got a visual of a flying Deathsaur before he sped under the ship. Half a second later there was a small explosion as the ships' engines sputtered and died.
"Primary engine failure." TA-I called as the Axalon slowed and began to lose height. "I'm unable to effect automated repair while flying. I'll attempt to land using the emergency thrustors." Their freefall suddenly slowed to the point where it felt more like they were in a fast-moving elevator.
The relief was short lived however as Deathsaur came around again once the ship hit eighty feet and slashed the line to the thrustors, causing the Axalon to fall the rest of the way before landing in the Nevada soil. There was a hiss as the ships' door opened. Survive and Cheetor shakily got back on their feet.
"You two go." TA-I yelled. "I'll initiate repairs while you check on the others." Nodding, the two drew their weapons and exited the ship.
Only to walk right into Nemesis Prime in vehicle mode.
"Optimus?" Cheetor asked.
"No." Survive answered, aiming his rifle. "Not Optimus."
Nemesis scowled. So, these were the Maximals of this timeline. Hardly a challenge. Separating from his new trailer, he transformed and took aim at the slightly dazed Maximals. Deathsaur landed next to him and gave a roar.
"Deathsaur. End these abominations while I retrieve my generals." Nemesis Prime ordered as his optics flashed. As the mutated Decepticon stepped forward, he suddenly found his right foot webbed to the ground. Giving a confused snort, he looked up at where the web came from only for a large green and white femme to slam her foot into his neck, knocking him into the sand.
Looking up. Nemesis saw that Optimus Prime had entered the fray at last. Perhaps if he was fortunate enough, he'd be able to end the threat to his proper return here and now.
Transforming back into his black truck mode, Nemesis Prime reconnected with his trailer and began to combine with it.
A waist with a pair of legs folded downward lifting the entire truck and trailer into the air, the treads becoming the shins. From there, two large arms unfolded from the top of the trailer and into places with the missile pods coming to rest on its shoulders as the cannons settled in on his forearms. Then, the cab that was Nemesis itself seemed to retract into the body as his legs became wrapped in the larger torso and the engine folded down to bring it flush with the chest. Finally, as a set of wings formed from the trailer paneling, a new head emerged that combined Optimus Primes head shape, but with a helm akin to Unicron. Horns and all.
As Optimus Prime landed, he beheld the improved Nemesis Prime. When he first fought the man made mecha, he barely won. Now that he could feel it was being possessed by Unicron, he could tell it would be a fight to stay alive.
"Optimus Prime." Nemesis began as he trained his guns on his opponent. "Come to die."
"Not so long as my spark still pulses." Optimus responded, drawing his gatling gun
"That can be arranged." Nemesis grinned. He then charged forth, unleashing dark energon infused missiles from his shoulders.
Taking to the air, Optimus allowed the rockets to follow him before banking right and allowing them to fly right into a nearby mesa. His victory was short lived however as Nemesis Prime flew up after him, cannons blazing. Diving down to let his doppelganger by, Optimus was caught unaware as Nemesis both somersaulted in midair and deployed a teal colored energon axe from his right wrist, slashing his flight rig and sending him spiraling out of control towards the ground below.
Landing on all fours, Optimus shook the cobwebs from his head. He hadn't expected that. Hearing a thud, he turned his head to see Nemesis had landed and was striding towards him, axe raised. Getting back to his feet, Optimus activated his own orange energon axe and met Nemesis' blade head on.
Kicking his opponent in the abdomen, Optimus went to bring his blade down on Nemesis' head, only for his evil double to catch it with his own and bring his left forearm down on Primes' throat.
"Optimus Prime, Maximize!" Optimus yelled, catching Nemesis off guard. The surprise was enough for a gale force wind from the Primes' midsection to force the double backwards and off him. On Optimus' midsection, the four rotating micro wind generators that had been hidden in his lion mane folded back into it.
"Impressive." Nemesis Prime growled. "Unfortunately, it won't save you."
The side of the old outpost blew out as Ruination was thrown through the wall. As the Vehicon combiner finally removed Magnaboss' broadsword from their grinder, said combiner followed and fired on them, using the time they gained to reclaim their blade.
No one noticed Soundwave fly out of the base and over the horizon.
"Ruination, cease your foolishness and get over here." Nemesis Prime ordered. "We shall discuss your disloyalty later." He growled as the combiner came over to him. Moments later, Deathsaur had taken up his other side and the trio stared down both Optimus Prime and the Maximals.
For a moment, it seemed like a standoff.
"Till all are gone!" Nemesis Prime yelled, thrusting his axe forward.
The battle began once more.
Nemesis and Optimus Prime locked axes again as Magnaboss, Kumara and the recently arrived Arcee attempted to contain Ruination. Everyone else was focused on trying to bring down Deathsaur.
"Cheetor, Maximize!" A moment later a cyclone of sand enveloped Deathsaur for a moment before a nucleon pulse exploded outward, incapacitating the speedster.
"Mach Hoof, Maximize!" The unicorn Maximal called as she sent a large bolt towards the mutated cryptologist, hoping to stun him. This proved to be in vain however as the other nucleon infused being absorbed the blast and kept on absorbing until the Maximal lost enough energy to force her back into beast mode. Slash attempted to leap onto him as a distraction, but was caught and flung into the oncoming Depthcharge, sending him spiraling into the sand.
Nearby, Arcee attempted to fire on Ruinations head and force them out of combination. The combiner saw this, however, and fired their plasma cannon into the sand, blinding her long enough for a second shot to render her unconscious.
From where he and the Prime were locked. Nemesis laughed.
"Look at them Optimus Prime." He taunted. "Your followers are falling one by one, and you are unable to help them!" Ducking down, Nemesis slashed his opponents' leg, hobbling him.
"Deathsaur, finish this!"
With a roar in reply, Deathsaur glowed purple and prepared to unleash an area wide burst of nucleon strong enough to fry the circuits of all combatants. He stopped, however, at the sound of an engine. It sounded familiar to him, like he'd heard it before but couldn't quite place who it belonged to. Turning to the source, he saw a grey compact car with aqua pinstriping.
"I'M COMMING SPARKY!" Lightbright screamed as she sped towards her corrupted love. Using the downed Depthcharge as a ramp (and silently reminding herself to apologize later) she launched herself towards him and transformed, activating the channeler key.
The short femme transformed again, not into a car, but what looked like an oval shaped engine that suddenly began to glow greenish white as it slammed into Deathsaurs' changing chest. The sound of an engine revving as loud as it could filled the area as the green glow surged through her into the Decepticon, overpowering the purple glow and restoring the mind of the cryptologist.
Finally, Deathsaur transformed.
His dino head turned upside down before his elongated neck folded backwards and rested flush with his spine as his wings folded down into a kind of cape. As his claws retracted into his waist, his beast legs ratcheted up and deployed hands, becoming a new pair of arms as his haunches split and became legs for a new bot mode. Finally, a pale white head with a red visor and beaked blue helm emerged as the tail unfolded into a type of shield and settled on his right arm.
"Deathsaur?" Nemesis Prime asked. He hadn't foreseen this possibility.
"Lightbright?" Optimus asked, worried about the Camien hacker. Then another thought occurred to him. "Sparkstalker?"
"I am Sparkstalker." The former Firecon began.
"And I am Lightbright." Said femmes voice added. It seemed to be coming from the new mechs' chest.
"Together however." The two voices were speaking in synch now. "We ARE Deathsaur." They finished, glaring at Nemesis Prime.
"No!" Nemesis yelled. "You WILL obey me."
"I freed my Sparky knockoff prime." Lightbright snarked.
"No longer shall I wear your shackles." Sparkstalker added. The shield on their right arm folded into a kind of rail gun as nucleon began crackling through it. They took aim at Nemesis Prime.
"Now it is OUR turn, to rattle YOUR bones!" Deathsaur fired a concentrated beam of nucleon at Nemesis Prime, the force of the impact knocked the avatar of Unicron backwards several feet. Optimus looked at Deathsaur.
"Can you keep him busy while I help magnaboss?"
"Fine by us Prime." Deathsaur answered before fixing Nemesis Prime with another glare. "We have plenty of grievances to air." As Optimus went to aid the Maximals, they peppered Nemesis with several lower powered blasts.
Across the battlefield, Ruination saw Deathsaur turn on Nemesis Prime. While they agreed the betrayal couldn't've happened to a more deserving being, they were now horrifically outgunned without their beast machine super soldier. They attempted to fire their hooks at Magnaboss again only for Optimus Prime to grab the chains and rip them out of the grinder with a kick to the chest.
While Optimus felt bad about it, considering who he now knew these three to be, he would not allow them to cause further harm. Under his mask, he smiled slightly. Especially to his children and grandchildren. Looking at Magnaboss, he gave a nod before gesturing to the regenerating Vehicon combiner.
Maybe they could be saved.
"Magnaboss, Maximize!" The Maximal combiner called, charging their blade and preparing to purify their doubles.
Seeing what was about to happen, Nemesis Prime charged forth past Deathsaur and Optimus and grabbed Ruination by the arm.
"Your reckoning shall come one day soon Prime." Nemesis threatened before the two blurred and disappeared.
Optimus shook his head before turning to check that everyone was all right. Aside from the still weak time travelers, there didn't seem to be any grievous injuries.
"I know we all have much to talk about." He began. "However, I think it would be best if we return to Autobot City for these conversations. Agreed?"
"Let's go." Jack answered. "To the Axalon."
"Let's roll for home." Optimus added.
A couple hundred miles away, Soundwave transformed and came to a rest outside an abandoned warehouse. Opening the door, the Decepticon communications officer slipped inside and sat down on the ground.
The time he'd spent in the space between spaces that was called the shadowzone was enlightening to say the least. While unable to interact with the physical world, he quickly discovered that his spacebridge portals behaved quite differently there. Using them, he found he was able to traverse time and bear witness to its' stories. He and Laserbeak saw everything from the birth of the universe to its' cataclysmic end.
Most importantly though, Soundwave saw the imminent return of Unicron and his own role in those events. For a moment, he considered sending Megatron and Shockwave a message, alerting them that he was free. But he knew the temptation to alter the future would be too great, and to do so, may bring about worse outcomes. Namely, a victory for Unicron.
Centering himself, Soundwave entered a meditative state, and waited for his time to act.
After returning to Autobot City (and Ultra Magnus reprimanding the Maximals for the damage to the hangar) the bulk of the Maximals split off to rest after the days' events. G.B. Blackrock however (after forcing the details about the entire ordeal out of Ultra Magnus) Decided to take his children and grandchild as well as his daughters love interests for a private dinner and family meeting. Afterwards, he planned to give the bat bot and Dinobot the shovel talk.
This left Optimus alone with Arcee, June, Jack, Kibo and Miko. He and June had just finished explaining the full extent of what had happened to Jack and himself that fateful day. Kibo however, didn't seem phased by the information.
"You already knew Heinrad?" Jack asked his son. He still wasn't sure how he was going to get used to having a son his age.
"Kibo." The time traveling Maximal corrected his father, causing Miko to gasp. "My name is Kibo Orion Darby. Gary (Rattrap to you) and I picked codenames for ourselves like you all did."
"Hope." Miko whispered, drawing the others' attention. "Kibo translates into hope in English."
"Your hope for the future." Kibo replied with a sad smile. "I never knew you in my timeline, you died not long after I was born." This information caused Miko to wrap her son in a bone crushing hug that Jack soon joined in on.
"Well, you're gonna get to know us now." She replied firmly. "I am SO going to corrupt the hell out of you."
"C'mon Miko." Jack smirked. "Take it easy on him. I mean, he already has your propensity for taking dumb risks."
"At least I didn't inherit yours and grandpas' catnip problem." Kibo quipped, causing his mother, grandmother and great aunt to laugh as his dad and grandpa looked embarrassed.
"Are you sure you're okay Jack?" Optimus asked, trying to hide his embarrassment. The knowledge that he had essentially become Jacks' genetic parent didn't seem to bother him as much as he thought it would. As if reading his mind, the young Maximal smiled at him.
"Never better." Jack answered. "I never really knew my father."
"Neither did I." June muttered to herself.
"But I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to replace him." Optimus continued.
"Can't replace what I never knew." Jack countered, releasing his hold on his son and girlfriend to look at Optimus. "Frankly, you've been a better role model than most anyone in my life. And what is a good father but?"
"A good role model." Optimus finished with a smile. This was such an alien feeling to him. Alien, but welcome. Looking at June, he remembered both Ratchets' words and the promise he made to June not too long ago. If this was what he had to look forward to after the war, then he would fight for it to come to pass and that he was there to meet it.
Back in Vegas, Nemesis Prime and Ruination blurred back into existence in the control center before the latter separated back into the generals. Usually, he wouldn't teleport with passengers while using an avatar, but he couldn't trust that Galvatron would be able to send a spacebridge in time. Or that he would send one at all in a bid to eliminate his competition.
Speaking of.
"Ah, back are we." Galvatron gloated in his usual oily voice.
"Do not toy with me Galvatron." Nemesis Prime warned.
"Toy with you? I wouldn't dream of it." The Predacon leader continued. "After all, you did retrieve your generals. However, as Deathsaur is no longer with you I'd assume you weren't as successful as you'd hoped." He added snidely.
Any further taunts were cut off as both Galvatron and the Generals began experiencing waves of pure agony.
"Enough." Nemesis Prime yelled as the foursome writhed on the floor. "I grow tired of your collective insubordination." With a nod of his head, his underling's pain ceased immediately.
"Now, listen to me closely." Nemesis continued with a glare. "The repairs to Trypticon should be complete in the next few days. Tarantulas should be fully regenerated in less than forty-eight hours. Once he has completed the dark energon seeders, we shall make our final move to free me from my confinement."
"In the meantime." He continued, turning to look at the generals. "You three are to generate enough Vehicon drones to overpower whatever paltry resistance this world and the Autobots can offer."
He turned to Galvatron.
"And you, my Anti-Prime, shall go to Cybertron." Nemesis Prime added. "There you shall use our forces to-."
"Enslave the two remaining Titans." Galvatron finished as he caught his breath. "So as to fully overwhelm Autobot City."
"As we agreed." Nemesis Prime nodded. "In addition, I want you to ensure that there will be no reinforcements for the Prime to call upon once our siege begins."
"As you wish, master." Galvatron bowed before leaving. And perhaps he could create a few surprises of his own to allow him to regain control of the situation.
"So, let me see if I understand this." Ultra Magnus began as he looked at Lightbright and Sparkstalker. "You, Lightbright, figured out a way to free Sparkstalker by turning your spark into one half of a binary fusion reaction involving dark energon?"
"Correct." Lightbright added as she sat on a medical table in the lab next to Sparkstalker. The two had separated to give Magnus the full report of what had occurred. "From studying both a sample of dark energon and the purified energon, I figured out how to prime my spark to restore Sparky's."
"And Velocity performed the procedure on you, and you used a sample of the Enigma of Combinations' energy as a catalyst, correct?" Magnus asked.
"Yes, albeit there are some side effects." Lightbright replied. "Due to the nature of the process, I must bond with Sparkstalker at least once a day to ensure the dark energon in his body remains dormant. In addition." She added with a heavy sigh. "The purification altered my spark in a way that I can no longer survive longer than a day without the supplemental energy he provides."
"I'm so sorry sweet byte." Sparkstalker replied, placing a hand on her arm.
"Don't be." She answered. "You willingly sacrificed yourself to save me. Sacrificing a bit of my freedom for yours is a fair trade." She looked back at Magnus. "Besides, my acting as his 'Symbicon' is the only way we can use our full power as Deathsaur."
"And Galvatron has one less weapon to use against us."
They were cut off as the perimeter alarm sounded.
"Blaster, Kup, report." Magnus called, activating a communications hub in the wall of the science lab.
"We got one bot at the front gate." Kup answered as the two appeared on screen.
"And you're not gonna believe who it is." Blaster added. "Switching over to the security feed now."
"Show us." Came Optimus Primes' voice, making the other three jump as they hadn't heard him come in. The screen showing the two bots blurred a second before it showed the main entrance to Autobot City. In front of it was a very familiar purple and tan Decepticon.
"Elloooo?" A familiar black and orange Jack O lantern face asked. "Did zomeone order a pizza?"
"What the scrap is Blitzwing doing here?" Sparkstalker asked no one in particular. He never saw the crazy triple changer during hie entire time in captivity.
Before he could offer a reason, Optimus Prime felt the presence of Vector Sigma in the back of his mind. The ancient supercomputer only had one thing to offer him.
"It is time."
A/N: We're making the turn into the home stretch now! The end of the story is in sight albeit it is still some chapters out. Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
I thought adding TA-I from RID 2001 would be a nice addition for the Axalon. I just had to put her in Maximal green instead of Autobot red. Okay, I am considering her as a possible crush for Raf. Strange, but then again, I like the unconventional.
Deathsaur being a fusion of Sparkstalker and Lightbright is also a way of paying homage to Tigerhawk from Beast Wars. The term Symbicon came about after watching a Chris McFeely video on YouTube (great series, I definitely recommend it) mentioning that the Japanese "Breast Force" could benefit from rebranding.
Next Chapter: Cybertron bound.
Until then, please fave, follow, and review.