Chapter 34: Wrecking Ball
Review Replies
Godzillaboy2021: So Silas has actually become Nemesis Prime instead of building a video-game controlled replica of Optimus Prime, and he's building his own version of the Matrix of Leadership. If Megatron finds out about this, I think he'll finally get what he needs for a Matrix infused with Dark Energon, giving rise to the Dark Spark.
ThermalsniperN7: … That part about the Dark Spark is actually true, strangely enough.
Dragon Emperor0: That's assuming Cylas doesn't beat him to the punch.
Unity123: There could be a section in Vector Sigma, labeled as Archive 13 which houses all of the Thirteenth' Prime's secrets, including a direct encounter with Mata Nui via the Great Spirit Robot and the coordinates to all Cybertronian colonies and the Spherus Magna system, all of which heavily encrypted of course with a cipher only Primus and the Thirteenth knew.
Since you've already shown Genisys using at least Solar and Stasis. I know of two enemy races that could have Fallen upon Cybertron that may prove quite Vexing to both factions. Could show more unique Insecticons than just Hardshell.
There is little to no detail as to the Thirteenth outside of the Covenant of Primus and the theory that Optimus is his reincarnation. Archive 13 is your chance to expand that. Plus there had to be some way for the story expand into the Solis Magna system. Plus you can do whatever you want with Bota Magna, the jungle moon.
The Fallen, alien scavengers once blessed by the Traveler, would come across Cybertron on the way to the Sol System, finding a literal gold mine much like how the Devils did with SIVA in Rise of Iron. A few would be considered allies, led by a survivor from the extinct House of Stone. while most would attack on sight. Fits the bug enemy theme. Beat cases to have them associated with House Scar, Rain, Judgement, Taniks' crew, and the pirate Old Crews.
Vex are time traveling robots who seek to forge a timeline where they are the only species in existence. The Sol Primeval would be the best version of them to go for. I have a fair amount of Destiny knowledge, but MyNameIsByf would be the best source for lore, followed by Destinypedia.
As for the Insecticons, since the events of Dark Spark (the artifact currently in the movie universe), Shockwave had managed to recruit the bugs to the Decepticon cause. But one thing bugged me was the fact that they only had one unique entity, and it just had the same build as the others and war paint.
I want the Dinobots to have an equal opposing roster to balance them all out.
ThermalsniperN7: Okay, time for a breakdown. The idea of there being a mention of the Thirteenth Prime having a direct encounter with Mata Nui's Great Spirit robot body is fascinating. That could cause some interesting things to take place.
Dragon Emperor0: This could be useful for setting up the Metru Nui arc. So we'll put a pin in that. Next, the Fallen and Vex making their homes on Cybertron and perhaps one of its moons is very in character. We may actually include that in this chapter. Could be interesting.
ThermalsniperN7: We are well aware of who the Fallen and Vex are, since the two of us dabble in Destiny content.
Dragon Emperor0: That said: it's useful for those who aren't.
Captain Titus Invictus: Anyone else think it'd be all kinds of crazy if Tiberius ends up bringing Metroplex back?
ThermalsniperN7: … You just gave us an idea.
Dragon Emperor0: [Clicks Pen]
-Jasper, Nevada, Fort Benavides Army Base-
"So these are our environmental suits?" Raf asked as he, Jack and Sierra started putting on jumpsuits made of a thick rubber, almost latex-like material weaved with Kevlar and reinforced with steel and machinery, like some kind of pressure armor.
" things are meant to withstand radiation in space, so keeping you alive on another planet should be simple, especially if it has an atmosphere." Fowler nodded in reply.
"I still hate the idea of all of this…" June sighed.
"Not that I'm complaining…" Sierra sighed, pulling on her suit. "But does it have to be so skin tight?" She questioned, noting how it practically melded into her skin. "It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all." She admitted.
Her choice of words immediately caused Jack to look away while Miko chuckled.
"You won't hear me complaining." The rocker girl remarked.
Tiberius, meanwhile, wasn't paying attention to this, as he was more focused on the spare SR-71 Blackbird that was brought in when they arrived.
"… Hey Fowler. Where'd you guys say you found this thing?" He questioned.
"It got pulled from the Alaskan mountains last month. Why?" The agent asked in reply.
"No reason…" The blonde hummed before he radioed into the Autobot base. "Hey Ratchet, you mentioned having a colleague who you guys lost track of in a cold climate area when you guys first landed on earth, right?" He asked.
"Yes, Jetfire. He was a Decepticon Seeker and scientist who defected to the Autobots when the Trypticon base was taken. Why do you ask?" The medic wondered.
"No reason…" The boy replied as he signed off and walked towards the jet, and saw evidence of a Decepticon symbol being soldered off and replaced with an Autobot one. "Hey, Mrs. D, would you feel better if we had a chaperone with us?" He asked.
"Yes I would, in fact, but I know I can't go for obvious reasons." June admitted in reply.
"Then this might put your worries to rest." The gold haired boy smirked as he placed a hand on the jet and sent a jolt of electricity in the SR-71, causing it to start shuddering.
"What in blue blazes?!" Fowler gasped as the jet started transforming into a Cybertronian.
"Everyone." Tiberius grinned, completely unphased by what was happening. "I'd like to introduce you to Jetfire." He nodded.
Indeed, it was the lost Autobot that Ratchet spoke of.
But rather than being a red and white seeker that the medic had spoken so fondly of before, he was instead mostly black and red, and his body looked notably aged and wisened—like Ratchet somewhat—with his posture even now having a slight hunch as the bot stretched to stand up straight, allowing his likely stasis atrophied limbs to rest by using a landing gear as a cane.
"Agh… Okay, who woke me up?" He groaned.
"That'd be me." Tiberius replied as he assumed his Arc-elemented B-52 robot form. "Name's Genisys." He replied. "I just revived you with an Energon infusion. But it looks like your body may have atrophied due to being in stasis for so long." He explained.
"It definitely feels that way…" The old flier groaned, feeling his atrophied limbs protest to any form of use. "Itchy, wretched, rusted, bah!" He groaned as he leaned on his cane. "Wait, what planet am I on?" He questioned.
"Earth." Genisys replied. "You've been sleeping for a long time." He added.
"Earth? Terrible name for a planet, might as well call it Dirt, planet Dirt." The old bot rambled, at least until Octavia stepped in.
"Excuse me, Jetfire?" She questioned.
"What?!" The seeker barked.
"Mind coming with us to Cybertron? It's our first visit, and we need someone to show us where we intend to go." She explained.
"Oh yeah? And what could a few fleshlings possibly want from Cybertron?" The old bot questioned, knowing they were after something.
"Alpha Trion." Jack interjected as he held up the key.
"Eh?" Jetfire uttered as he looked at the teen and saw the key he was holding. "Oh, by Alpha Trion's beard—I get it, now… Yeah, I can definitely help you out." He nodded in reply.
"Great!" Octavia smiled, bouncing slightly with a beaming expression on her face.
"She's a cheery one, ain't she?" The old bot questioned.
"Heh, that she is indeed." Genisys nodded.
(Later)
Later on, everyone was back at the main base and Jetfire was in the process of getting checked out by Ratchet while the others did their best to catch the older bot up and vice versa.
Apparently Jetfire had been launched to Earth by accident when the space bridge that shot the Ark and Nemesis out from Cybertron collapsed and landed on Earth during the Ice Age, helping explain why he seemed so much older than the others, he awakened earlier than them.
Right now…
"Wait, are you kidding me? Unicron's body is at the core of this planet?!" Jetfire nearly shouted in surprise as he was informed of that startling detail.
"Yep. And good news: he's gone." Tiberius nodded.
"How in the universe did you pull that off?" The old flier questioned.
"I had to sacrifice my spark when Primus himself took over my body, but I was able to come back with some paracausal items I acquired beforehand." The Bioformer replied.
"Paracausal? Only things I know of that nature are Primus, Unicron, and the only two other objects similar to them—the Traveler, and the Veil." Jetfire noted. "I came across figures with the latter before the end of the Golden Age, when a fleet of black, pyramidion ships were seen floating above a planet we later investigated." He explained.
"Yes, Antilla. The same word where the Rust Plague was found." Ratchet nodded.
"Well, I can tell you two things now." Tiberius began. "The first is that the Traveler is in this system, on the planet Mars. The second… Is that one of those pyramid ships is trapped deep inside Earth's moon." He continued, sighing at the pyramid ship portion.
"... Well, at least life in this solar system isn't dull." Jetfire grunted after a beat passed.
"Yep." Tiberius nodded as he became his Arc powered AC-130 form Robot form—his Alicorn form was Void powered despite its different color—and hefted the Forge of Solus Prime, before he started whamming on the Ground Bridge with it.
With every strike, it seemed to evolve in function. Ratchet, who was monitoring the Bioformer's work, was amazed and impressed by the results.
"You upgraded our Ground Bridge to include space travel?" The medic uttered.
"Well yeah, can't exactly fly to Cybertron, now can we?" The bot nodded as he assumed his AC-130 vehicle mode. "Alright everyone, load up as much cargo as we can carry. We're gonna be there for a few days." He told them.
"Good thing we packed as much as we could…" Jack muttered to his girlfriend, who nodded in agreement. Then they got to work and loaded up what they had brought to the base.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile in the MECH main base, Cylas watched as one of his Bioformer soldiers, Lt. Colonel Ratcliff, Cybertronian handle: Rattrap was in the process of scurrying onto Genisys' plane form in his rat alternate mode.
Surprisingly, he was able to do so without being detected.
"Good. He's made it on board." The man nodded in satisfaction.
"Quite fascinating how size and mass change can differ between transformations, isn't it." Starscream noted as Rattrap hunkered himself down underneath a seat that Raf was sitting on.
"…Flying out into open space in a propeller plane. Could they pick a more cliche way to die?" Rattrap muttered. "I'm calling it right now: We're all gonna die." He sighed with a tone of pessimism.
"Shut up, Rattrap." Lt. Transyl told the Bioformer spy.
"They clearly have a way to make it work, however." Their leader stated. "Otherwise they wouldn't bother with such an approach." He pointed out.
"Must've figured out how to upgrade their ground bridge into a space bridge." Starscream nodded as Genisys' bay door closed and they started lifting off into the portal.
"Either way, we'll have a long wait until they get back." Transyl stated.
"One can only hope that Rattrap survives the ordeal." Starscream mused.
(Elsewhere)
Right around the same time that Tiberius and the others left for Cybertron, meanwhile, on the Nemesis, Megatron was standing in Shockwave's on-ship laboratory as the two newly created Bioformers Galvatron and Tarn had finished development and were now ready for activation.
"Now, let us wake my children." The warlord intoned.
"Beginning the awakening process, Lord Megatron." Shockwave nodded as he put a command into his console.
The bio fluid slowly drained as the two bots were awakened, the canisters opened and caused them to drop to the ground, and slowly drag themselves to their feet.
Tarn's optics flashed red as his double barreled arm cannon shifted into a more comfortable side by side position, and Galvatron's optics flashed yellow as his own cannon locked in and came to life as he and his brother gasped to life while standing.
"Welcome to life, my sons." Megatron said to them, his voice causing them to focus on him.
The two Decepticons then knelt to their father.
"Galvatron, Tarn, you will be the agents of chaos who will upend the planet known as earth from the inside." The warlord told the two. "Now go. Find humans to take as disguises and return when you have made progress on your objective. Do not fail me." He ordered.
"Yes… Father…" The two rasped before two Vehicons came and escorted them out of the room.
"Is there something you need, Soundwave?" Megatron questioned, having heard the spy approach them moments earlier.
Soundwave responded by showing a video of a Decepticon with a familiar body shape fighting Wheeljack, then the same Decepticon's current location—then a notification of Jetfire reappearing and the Autobots using a Space Bridge.
"Dreadwing is on Earth? Jetfire still functions? … When did the Autobots get a S–" Megatron asked, before cutting himself off on the last one. There was only one way they'd be able to get a Space Bridge. "... They used the Forge of Solus Prime." He sighed. 'I really should've expected that.' He thought to himself.
"Shall I inform the crew to change course to retrieve Dreadwing?" Shockwave questioned.
"Do so, Shockwave. I will attempt to ascertain where the Autobots have gone." The warlord nodded.
"Understood." Shockwave nodded as he left to carry out his orders.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back at the Autobot base, Everyone was pleased to see Wheeljack again… well, except for Fowler, who had to clean up the mess the boy had made.
"Hey, where's those kids you guys hang out with?" Wheeljack questioned.
"They left for Cybertron sometime ago." Mathias chimed in.
"Wait, what? You let them go to Cybertron?!" The wrecker exclaimed in disbelief.
"Not unsupervised." Ratchet interjected. "Shortly before they left, they found Jetfire, so he went with them after a checkup." He explained.
"Jetfire? Well, at least him being functional is some good news." Wheeljack nodded. "I was on the trail of an old friend of ours as well when you found me, Seaspray." He explained.
"Seaspray? Ha! How is the old barnacle butt?" Bulkhead laughed.
"Not too good. Blown to pieces, actually." Wheeljack sighed in reply, causing Bulkhead to go quiet.
"Scrap." Ironhide growled.
"It seems that for every Autobot we gain, the Decepticons match, or take another." Elita sighed solemnly.
"That is often the price of war: You gain something or someone, but lose another." Serena nodded in agreement.
"That's why I'm gonna turn that con Dreadwing into Scrap…" Wheeljack growled, knocking his knuckles. "… You hear that?" He questioned, causing everyone to look at him.
(Later)
The Autobots all went to the top of the base, and arrived just in time to see the Traveler start to slowly descend from space into Earth's atmosphere—and possibly millions of small drones started flying out from the sphere and flying elsewhere.
"It's that thing from Mars!" Elita gasped.
"Why's it here?" Arcee wondered as some of the drones flew up to them.
They were rather small, being made up of eight shell pieces colored white and orange with a silver core and a blue optic. They scanned everyone in the group, causing them to adopt confused looks.
When the scanning was done, some of them left and went elsewhere. But those that stayed… They did something unexpected.
They opened up their shells, a blue energy radiating from them, and slammed them shut again. This action sent out a pulse of energy that caused those affected to become invigorated beyond their wildest dreams.
The ones that were affected were: Optimus, Elita, Bulkhead, Arcee, Ironhide, and Bumblebee.
"Hello." The drones said in different voices. "We're what's known as Ghosts." They told the bots.
"Well, technically now we're your Ghosts." Bumblebee's drone amended.
"And the moon sized orb you all came from?" Arcee questioned as she looked at her Ghost.
"Our "father," I guess you could say. He's known by a few names, two of which being The Gardener and our "mother" is the orb above you, The Traveler." The little drone added.
The bots then looked up at the orb as it started radiating light and allowing it to pulse throughout the entire planet.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back on the Nemesis…
"What in the galaxy…?" Knockout uttered in a bewildered tone as he looked at a monitor with Breakdown, both of them looking at the arrival of the Traveler.
"The Traveler." Megatron noted. "I heard the stories, but I never thought it was real." He uttered.
"Hm…" Breakdown hummed as he started thinking. "Lord Megatron, you mentioned that Primus snuffed out Unicron's spark by taking control of Genisys when he was still Creator, right?" He questioned.
"I did." The warlord confirmed.
"Do you think that event may have left a vacuum that prompted the Traveler to come to Earth?" He inquired.
"That… That could actually be possible." Megatron blinked, seeing the logic behind Breakdown's question.
It made sense; If a major power in the universe vanished, another force of similar scale would come to fill the vacuum left behind. It was very possible that the Traveler's arrival could've been catalyzed by the events of that fateful day Unicron was snuffed out for the rest of time.
"Wow, who knew the brute had brains as well as brawn?" Airachnid purred thoughtfully.
"Yes, it's quite surprising." Cold Blitzwing nodded.
"Breakdown may act the brute, but he's a maestro behind a rotary buffer." Knockout smirked.
"Indeed. Breakdown's inquiry holds logic to it." Shockwave nodded. He knew logic when he heard it.
"We'll need to keep an eye on this development." Megatron nodded. "Meanwhile…" He hummed as Dreadwing was led in. "Dreadwing." He acknowledged.
"Lord Megatron." The blue and gold brute said in a respectful tone.
"You were one of my most loyal soldiers. What brings you to Earth?" Megatron questioned.
"I seek to serve you, one true master, above all." Dreadwing replied. "But not only that, I also seek confirmation of the status of my twin, Skyquake." He continued.
"Unfortunately, he has been deceased for some time now. Taken offline by the Autobots." The warlord replied, sounding ever so slightly solemn about losing such a loyal soldier.
"Lord Megatron, your files may say that, but the split spark I share with my brother disagrees." Dreadwing stated. "While it is true he died– I know this because I felt it on the other side of the galaxy— I felt his half of our shared spark reignite recently." He continued, causing Megatron's optics to widen in surprise.
"What?" Megatron exclaimed in shock, looking at Soundwave, who was now showing a video feed from Laserbeak—who had deployed shortly after seeing the Traveler—and played it back.
The recording showed a green and silver Ghost scanning Skyquake's grave and then flooding it with light, causing a Cybertronian hand to burst from the grave in response.
Then Skyquake pulled himself up from it, but he wasn't acting anything like he was before. He seemed lost and confused, which his body language showed.
"Send a team to retrieve him immediately!" Megatron immediately ordered.
"No! Delay that order!" Dreadwing barked, turning to Megatron. "For now, at least." He amended.
"And why should I delay Skyquake's retrieval?!" The warlord demanded.
"Forgive me for speaking so freely, my liege. But it is because I sense strong feelings of confusion and uncertainty from my brother through our spark." The loyalist explained. "If we were to go after him now, we could unwittingly cause him distress that could drive him away from us. It would be best if we allowed him to get a grip on himself before approaching him." He continued.
Megatron seemed taken aback for a moment before Shockwave came between them.
"If I may, Lord Megatron, Dreadwing's logic seems quite sound in this regard. There are far too many unknowns for us to be acting so quickly at the present moment." The scientist said.
"... How long do you propose we wait?" Megatron asked after a moment.
"As long as the stated feelings of my brother persist. If they lighten up or he follows the pull of his half of our split spark to me, I will be sure to inform you." Dreadwing replied.
"And I volunteer to be among the first to be present to bring our comrade back to our ranks." Lugnut, ever the reliable and loyal soldier, said as he stepped forward.
"Thank you, Lugnut. Your concern for my twin's wellbeing is much appreciated." Dreadwing nodded.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, on Cybertron…
"Okay! Everyone out!" Genisys exclaimed as the kids got out first and then Miko zoomed out as Octavia and transformed into her robot mode.
This allowed Genisys to assume his robot form, which, now that it could be looked at, actually didn't look too dissimilar to a larger version of the Aerial bot Silverbolt, if he transformed into a cargo plane.
"I almost forgot how terrible our homeworld looked." Jetfire sighed, clearly depressed.
"This place must've been a marvel to behold in its prime." Sierra commented as she looked around, seeing nothing but wartorn ruins.
"Like no other." The old seeker nodded in confirmation, and given that he had memories of Cyberton's pre-war state, he knew what he was talking about.
"The key's glowing. Vector Sigma must be this way." Jack said, pointing in the northern direction as Octavia transformed into her vehicle mode and Genisys became his Doom Turtle form, popping the hatch.
"Hop on/in." They said.
Jack ended up being the one riding Octavia while Raf and Sierra rode inside Genisys' tank form.
Needless to say, Jack felt a dual sense of awkwardness due to the fact that not only was he technically riding his friend's girlfriend, but he also kinda felt like he was guardian cheating on Arcee…
Yeah, it was weird.
"Alright, let's move!" Jetfire barked as he transformed into his SR-71 form and took to the sky, the others following him.
(Later)
Half an hour later, the group was about three quarters of the way to their destination. Genisys was glad he wasn't moving as slow as the OG Doom Turtle right now; His Cybertronian equivalent of an engine let him push up two thirty-five miles an hour.
Yeah, he refused to adhere to the original design.
"Alright, it should be across this bridge." Jack said as they reached a bridge that separated Iacon from Kaon.
Despite the war, the bridge was somehow still intact.
However, Jetfire spotted something amiss from the sky.
"Heads up, kids! I got a visual of something not quite right on the other side of the bridge!" He told them over the comms.
"What are you seeing?" Octavia questioned.
"They look like fortifications, but they're too small to be Cybertronian." The flier replied.
Minutes later, four armed, carapaced aliens in various banner colors came up and surrounded the two bots and children.
"By the Allspark, I know what those are! That's the Eliksni!" The jet exclaimed.
"What?" Genisys questioned as he discreetly looked around at the aliens surrounding them. He needed to be ready to shoot if they got hostile with them.
"Nomads, kid. Their homeworld doesn't exist anymore, so they scavenge just to get by." Jetfire told him. "Machinery is their specialty, so them being on Cybertron makes complete sense." He added in an understanding tone.
"Well they better stand down if they know what's good for them." The Bioformer said as Jack hopped off Octavia and allowed her to transform.
The femme then turned her arm into its cannon form, opting to use a small show of force rather than immediately resorting to bringing out the Requiem Blaster.
The scavengers immediately backed up a considerable bit, but still had their weapons trained on them.
It was then that Jetfire landed between them, attempting to defuse the situation.
It was then that the bot started speaking to the Eliksni in a language that the humans couldn't understand, but due to the fact that the Bioformers had universal translators, could.
Jetfire was explaining to the Eliksni why they were on the abandoned planet, how their mission was being done in hopes of one day restoring Cybertron to its former glory.
The Eliksni were skeptical, but at least had enough understanding to recognize the native dominant species of the planet they had arrived on.
So with that, they allowed the group to proceed.
"Alright. Let's keep moving." Jetfire nodded as everyone resumed their original positions and moved out.
(Elsewhere)
Megatron was standing on the bridge of the Nemesis, awaiting any sort of update on the various events that had transpired in recent days—when Soundwave arrived.
"Have anything to report, Soundwave?" He questioned.
Soundwave then displayed footage of a world that Megatron recognized all too well—it was the world where the Rust Plague was found—Antilla.
"Why are you showing me Antilla?" The warlord questioned with a frown of confusion.
Moments later, the image expanded to reveal that the planet was surrounded by what looked like massive—no, titanic—pyramidion ships, all black as absolute nothingness.
"No… No no no…!" Megatron gasped, and anyone close by would swear they heard a twinge of actual fear in his tone. "Impossible!" He uttered.
"Lord Megatron?" Airachnid questioned. "Is something wrong?" She questioned.
The warlord merely pointed at what Soundwave was displaying, and Airachnid immediately caught on.
"Oh dear, not good…" She gulped.
The pyramidions in question were the Black Fleet, one of the few things that actually scared even Megatron. It was said that they were the ones that caused the Rust Plague, but no one was certain if it was true or not.
They were a force unlike any other, even the Quintisons that subjugated the Cybertronians, children of one of the primes, feared this fleet.
Their emergence did not bode well.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back on Cybertron, Jack had finally led the others to where the Key led him, and now they watched as a cavern opened and led down under Kaon.
"I come from a land down under!" Octavia's radio suddenly blurted before she cut it off.
"Sorry." She whispered meekly. "Couldn't resist." She admitted.
"Only you wouldn't be able to resist." Sierra quipped with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I gotta second that." Genisys admitted with his own chuckle.
The group then descended into the catacombs with Jetfire standing watch, and as they arrived at the main chamber, something rose from the floor.
Based on what they were looking at, it seemed to be a pedestal of obvious Cybertronian origin. There was definitely more to what they were looking at, however.
"Okay, go ahead and put the key in, I'll start scanning it with the Creation Lathe." Genisys told Jack while Octavia stood watch. Sierra and Raf stood off to the side and watched.
"Got it." Jack nodded as he inserted the key, and the mechanisms went to work.
However, as the machine started working and Genisys started scanning, Octavia noticed that something was crawling around the walls.
It looked like a robotic bug of sorts, colored green, silver and yellow. The pincers it had were pretty obvious.
"Shit—it's an Insecticon!" The Femme exclaimed as the beast let out a shriek and lunged at her, only for her to blast it back with the requiem blaster—which awoke a swarm of scraplets—who immediately started devouring the con.
"Well…" Sierra gulped as she covered Raf's eyes as the con fell into the abyss and the scraplets followed. "Better him than us, right?" She chuckled nervously.
Everyone let out nervous chuckles and unbeknownst to them, Genisys wasn't the only one who was scanning Vector Sigma.
Rattrap was discreetly scanning it as well. When he got back with the data, MECH would be able to produce its own functional Matrix.
After everything was done, Jack and Genisys packed up the key and lathe respectively before they all left the catacombs together, meeting up with Jetfire.
"Hey Jetfire, you received any distress calls yet?" Octavia asked as they got back to the surface while Genisys assumed his Mammoth Tank mode and she assumed her motorcycle mode.
"Only one, and it's Autobot, thankfully. I'll send you the location." Jetfire replied as he sent the coordinates of the distress call.
"Let's go, then." Genisys nodded as everyone loaded up.
(Timeskip)
It was the next day and after having failed to take out Optimus, Bulkhead and Wheeljack by himself for his twin's first death, Dreadwing was now attempting to search for Skyquake with Blitzwing, Lugnut and Breakdown accompanying him.
"Do you really think he's gotten a hold of himself for us to try getting him to join us now?" Breakdown questioned as he looked at Dreadwing.
"Yes. His previously strong feelings have diminished enough for me to sense that now is the best time." The blue and gold soldier nodded in reply, understanding why Breakdown was asking.
"Oh! Can I give a hug? Hug's always make me feel better! Hahahaha!" Random Blitzwing cackled.
"No… No you cannot." Dreadwing deadpanned. He wouldn't even allow it anyways.
His brother was already confused as it was, the last thing he needed was too early an introduction to Blitzwing's antics.
"I would be more than willing to provide our comrade with any substance he may require, the doctor made sure I loaded my cargo bay with energon cubes." Lugnut stated, referring to Knockout.
"Good. He may very well need some since he hasn't sought out Energon since his rebirth." The blue and gold twin nodded in approval, glad they had Energon on hand.
After a bit, they arrived at the cave Skyquake had taken refuge in.
"Who's there?" Skyquake's voice called out in a warning tone from around a corner.
"It is me, brother. Dreadwing." The con replied, approaching his twin. "Do you not recognize your twin, my sibling?" He asked.
"I… I feel a pull toward you that I cannot explain." Skyquake admitted in reply as he came around the corner. He hadn't changed at all, in terms of appearance (even after Starscream attempted to turn him into a zombie), and his Ghost partner was floating right next to his head.
"Vhat is that little drone hovering beside you?" Cold inquired, studying the drone analytically.
"I'm a Ghost." The drone replied. "More specifically I'm his Ghost. I raised him as my Guardian because I found him worthy of wielding the Traveler's light." It explained.
"His name is Skyquake." Dreadwing corrected. "And who are you to desecrate his resting place in order to raise him in such a manner?" He growled, only for Skyquake to get between the two.
"Please, Brother, if I may still call you that." The seeker interjected softly. "Talon meant you no disrespect. He merely meant to explain the situation." He told his twin.
"But he–" Dreadwing tried to protest.
"Don't." The reborn seeker shut his brother down firmly, clearly not allowing this topic to continue. "Please. Views of sacrilege aside, you cannot deny that we've been given a second chance." He said, approaching Dreadwing slowly. "I do not wish to waste it arguing." He told his sibling.
"He's got a point. Even if his grave was desecrated, this is still a second chance." Breakdown stated.
"Wait… Skyquake, do you remember anything from before you died?" Cold questioned.
"... No. My memory of my previous life is gone." The reanimated seeker sighed in reply.
"A momentary setback." Dreadwing nodded, now understanding the situation further. "Come. Lord Megatron is likely expecting us back." The con stated, gesturing for his brother to follow.
"Here." Lugnut said as he opened up his cargo compartment and pulled out an Energon cube. "You must be craving sustenance, comrade." He added.
"Thank you." The seeker nodded as he struck a hole in the cube and began to drink the liquid inside the cubes. "Ahhhh…" He sighed with a faint smile on his face.
(Elsewhere)
Back on Cybertron…
"The Sea of Rust." Genisys said as they arrived at the destination. "You're sure that the signal is coming from here?" He questioned.
"I honestly don't like it here, either, but I'm more concerned about how our fully human members will handle this place." Jetfire sighed in reply.
"We're wearing environmental suits, so we'll be fine. Rust shouldn't get through these." Raf chimed in.
"Good news! I'm already picking up where the signal is coming from!" Octavia exclaimed. "Follow me!" She said as she went into a wheelie and zoomed into the distance, forcing Jack to hold on for dear life.
"Miko, whoa! Easy girl! Slow down!" The teen exclaimed as they disappeared in a cloud of dust and sixty miles an hour.
"Hey, slow down!" Genisys called as he gunned it as best he could after his lover.
"Kids these days…" Jetfire sighed as he decided to take it slow.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back at base, Earth was indeed abuzz about the Traveler's sudden arrival on Earth, so much so that it even overshadowed the alignment that occurred only a couple months prior.
The news couldn't stop rambling about the "alien sphere" that had appeared and settled above Jasper, and there were already conspiracies that it was here to conquer humanity. Beyond that, those that had been chosen by the officially dubbed Ghosts had started showing signs of paracausal powers.
Mercifully, there were no dangerous incidents, but that was subject to change.
Additionally the Traveler seemed to share many secrets for medicine and so many other advancements that bettered the world in weeks that would have taken centuries otherwise, it was truly remarkable.
But back with the Autobots, they were less concerned with the Traveler herself and more with her children, the Ghosts.
Mainly because they were trying to get to know their new paracausal companions, one of the most notable pairs being Arcee and her Ghost, Haytham.
The two were looking out over the base's rocky top, in the direction of the mine where Cliffjumper's formerly Terrorcon corpse was finally laid to rest.
There was a long silence between the two before either of them spoke.
"… I know that I may not have any knowledge of what loss feels like in comparison to you or the others. But, I do know that in the best of cases, those who we've lost, never want their absences to cause us pain." Haytham mused with a hum, recalling the brothers and sisters who he'd seen pass during their mother's journey to the Sol system. "So I fail to see how holding on to that pain does either party any particular favors." He pointed out, his shell twitching thoughtfully as he turned to face his Cybertronian Guardian, who didn't meet his gaze.
"I… I just don't know how to move on." The two wheeler sighed as she kept making her way to Cliffjumper's resting place. "I've lost two partners. Both their killers still function. And both times that I've tried to get revenge I either ended almost driving the one person closest to a partner I've had away, or ruined my team's chances of winning this war anytime soon." She sighed.
"That is a conundrum, you're right." Haytham nodded as they reached the resting place—and found that it was now completely upended.
"Please don't be Dark Energon again…" The femme groaned pleadingly.
"It could be that another Ghost raised him." Haytham offered in an attempt to ease her worries.
"Wait, you guys can do that?" Arcee questioned.
"Only if we find them worthy and compatible with us." The Ghost confirmed. "Paracausality has a lot of things going for it." He added.
"Why hasn't he approached us, then?" The femme questioned.
"Because an unfortunate side effect of being reborn in Light is losing all memory of your past life." Haytham sighed in reply. "Your old partner might be trying to get a grip on what's happening with him." He added.
"So it's not unlike a bot's Spark returning to the Allspark…" Arcee sighed as she looked up at the sky, wondering if Cliff was doing the same. "Don't worry, partner. I'll find you." She muttered.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with the Cybertron search party, Genisys and the others were now searching the origin point of the Autobot distress signal—which seemed to be the ruins of what looked like a large laboratory complex that had been taken over by an Insecticon Hive—and then overrun with some other kind of mechanical structures, which seemed to be flowing with oceans of white liquid that looked like a combination of milk and sea water.
"What is all this?" Jack wondered as he looked at the liquid.
"A bad sign, that's what." Jetfire replied as he analyzed the liquid. "This is radiolaria. There's only one machine race on record that uses this stuff: The Vex." He stated.
"What the heck is a Vex?" Octavia questioned as everyone hopped out so the robots could transform.
"The radiolarian microorganisms in the fluid. They pilot frames. They're nearly indestructible, supremely intelligent, able to create unbelievably accurate and complex simulations of infinite possibilities, alter time itself in their domain, and they can teleport." The old seeker explained.
"Great…" Genisys groaned.
They carefully made their way through the facility, making sure to avoid the pools of radiolaria. After getting through a few rooms, they found a conflux of light streams.
"That must be where the Autobots who sent the signal are hulled up. All of the remaining power's being routed to this quadrant." Genisys noted.
"What about that conflux? Is it interfering with anything?" Raf wondered as he looked at the pillar of energy.
"Not sure. Let me have a look." Jetfire replied as he started scanning the conflux.
However…
"It's an ambush! Kids, get to cover!" The seeker yelled in alarm as small storm clouds appeared, and out from them came the brass clad frames of the Vex.
"Crap!" Sierra yelped as she dragged Raf to cover, Jack following quickly.
"Now it's time to put these bots on ice!" Genisys exclaimed as he assumed his Doom Turtle tank mode and started blasting at the Vex frames with Stasis ice blasts.
This allowed Octavia to blast them apart with sound blasts from her Resonance Cannon—causing the robots to either shatter like glass or short circuit.
"I found the trail of the signal, come on!" Jetfire exclaimed as he trudged forward, came in hand towards where the power was being routed.
The three humans, wanting to be as safe as possible, decided that they would be riding in Tiberius for the time being. There would be no telling if there was more Vex along the way.
Upon reaching the area in question, Jetfire immediately broke down the door and this caused the five bots on the other side of the door to freak out and immediately draw their weapons, ready to attack.
"Hands in the air, 'Cons!" One of the bots barked.
"Wait… Swoop? Is that you?" Jetfire questioned, blinking his optics.
"… Jetfire?" The Dinobot questioned, now realizing who just busted down their door.
"What the-? You guys are still alive? How?" The seeker questioned, wobbling over to them as the two Bioformers followed in vehicle mode.
"Well, it wasn't easy. Surviving has been a mission all on its own with Cybertron in its current state." Snarl stated as he walked up to the flier.
"Who're those two?" Slug questioned, pointing at Octavia and Genisys as the two let their friends hop out so they could transform.
"Octavia, Genisys, these are the Dinobots. Dinobots, meet Genisys Prime, and Octavia." Jetfire told his old allies.
"A new Prime?" Swoop blinked as he and the other Dinobots got closer.
Now that they got a good look at them, Octavia and Genisys could see that they had components resembling dinosaurs. Swoop had a modified flier configuration resembling a Pterodactyl, Slug had a Triceratops configuration and the last they figured was Snarl, who had a Stegosaurus configuration.
"Born in the last moments of Primus before the core went offline fully." Genisys nodded in reply.
"Wait… Where's Grimlock?" Jetfire questioned, looking around but failed to see the Dinobot in question.
"He's trying to search for more Energon to help heal Sludge." Snarl explained, gesturing to a stasis locked bot who was on life support and in stasis lock.
"Even after we managed to stabilize him, we haven't been able to revive him due to his body needing to be completely rebuilt, the lack of ready energon doesn't help things." Slug continued.
"We tried rebuilding him using the design Shockwave had in mind for him, but it's so full of science jargon that we can't make heads or tails of it!" Swoop added in exasperation.
"Show me the design. I'm a scientist myself, so I can probably help out." Genisys requested.
"Okay, if you say so." Snarl nodded as he showed Genisys the design.
"A Brontosaurus alternate mode, alright. I can work with that." The Bioformer nodded as he reached for his storage inventory and pulled out the Forge, which he'd shrunk down for easy storage.
"Wait, is that what I think it is?" Swoop asked, looking at the forging tool.
"Yep, and I'm gonna use it to help make this whole process easier." The Bioformer nodded in reply. "Now to scan his original body so that I can reformat his limbs around the new design…" He hummed as he used the Creation lathe and Mask of Creation to make a mental image and then start crafting the pieces needed. "Alright, now to disassemble his original body…" He hummed as he did so as carefully as possible. "And finally, forging." He nodded, growing his hammer before he started swinging it.
(Later)
About an hour of forging later, Genisys eventually finished reformatting Sludge's body for reassembly, right as Grimlock came back—seeing his friend now disassembled by a bot he didn't know.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The destructive Autobot yelled angrily, deploying his sword.
"Whoa, Grimlock, easy!" Swoop yelped, getting in his way. "This guy's trying to help Sludge by repairing him! He's just about done!" He explained rapidly.
Genisys seemed too preoccupied with saving Sludge's life to even be remotely distracted by what was going on, as he started reassembling Sludge's newly formatted body and started using some energon he had on hand to get him back on track.
"… Okay, where's his Spark?" The Bioformer questioned.
"Don't worry, I got you." Snarl said as he opened Sludge's spark chamber.
"All right, placing the memory core back in…" Genisys hummed. "Next, energon infusion…" He continued. "And now—jumpstart!" He exclaimed as he became his arc powered B-52 mode and then gathered up Arc lighting and proceeded to zap Sludge's body with it like Palpatine did Darth Vader.
After a few seconds, he stopped and waited for Sludge to get up.
He was still for a few moments, but then he began to stir before his optics snapped open and he shot up.
"It's alive! Alive!" Genisys cackled as lightning crackled around him. "… I always wanted to say that!" He grinned.
"Stay back, you bugs!" He yelled in panic before registering where he was. "Wait… This isn't the hive I was in before…" He blinked.
"Welcome back, Sludge." Swoop said as he helped his teammate to his feet.
"So…" Sierra chimed in, causing everyone to look at her. "Don't suppose you guys are looking for somewhere else to stay?" The redhead asked.
"Honestly, anywhere is better than here. There's hardly any Energon left out there." Slug shrugged in reply.
"Good, cuz you're coming with us." Octavia told them.
"First though, we need to make a quick stop on Cybertron's moons." Genisys told them. I want to see if there are any Minicons in need of rescue." He explained.
"A few Minicons would be great to have around for help." Grimlock nodded. He knew how helpful those little guys were.
"Alright then. Let's go." The Bioformer nodded.
(Timeskip)
It was the final day of the trip to Cybertron, and now they were on the planet's second moon, since the first moon seemed to have no activity from Minicons.
And as they searched for the small bots, Octavia would occasionally find data discs which Genisys held onto.
"Weird. You'd think there would be some form of activity from them." Sierra commented as she looked around through some binoculars.
"They're probably trying to conserve energon." Octavia stated as she picked up another disc and handed it to her sparkmate.
"Or some might've made it off-world." Genisys nodded, right as his gaze drifted to a set of shapes that were heading right for them, eight in all. "Wait, what are those? Active minicons?" He asked, pointing at them.
"Well whatever they are—they're heading right for us!" Octavia exclaimed as the figures got closer.
From what they could tell, there were four ground and air types each. When they got closer, they started to slow down until they stopped, their appearances becoming clear.
Three of them took the form of dragons, one two winged and two legged like a Wyvern, one with four legs and no wings, and another with wings and four legs.
The one with no legs was blue and yellow with an icy thagomizer on its tail and a row of spikes on its head.
The one with four legs and wings was red and purple with back spikes and a long tail.
And the wyvern one looked like it was covered in spikes and was also red and purple.
There were also two bird-like minicons.
One was colored pink, lime green and turquoise. It was structured in a way similar to an owl and had turbine engines in its wings.
The other resembled a hawk that was colored blue and yellow. Oddly enough, it looked like it could handle an aquatic environment.
Next was a bat Minicon that was pink and black with a rocket propeller on its back.
And lastly were two humanoid Minicons, one with a flaming head, lanky arms, claws and a tail. The other was a white and blue almost ninja-like bot.
"Huh. I was wondering if we were gonna find any activity here." Genisys hummed as the owl, hawk, wingless dragon and four legged and winged on stood in front of him while the birds flapped in front of him.
"Are you here to help us leave?" The owl Minicon asked in a small female voice.
"Yeah. Anywhere is better than here." The gold Bioformer nodded in reply, letting the owl perch on his offered outstretched arm.
"I could use some Minicons myself." Octavia nodded as the bat, wyvern and two humanoid Minicons approached her.
"I'm Sonar." The hawk Minicon said, landing on Genisys' shoulder. "The pink one is Radar, and the two below you are Frostbite and Heatstroke." He added.
"Glad to have you guys aboard." Genisys smiled. "Name's Genisys Prime, by the way." He added.
"My name is Dragstrip." The ninja Minicon said with a bow to Octavia. "These are Burnout, Firebomb and Batbomb." He stated, gesturing to the other bots.
"Octavia's the name, sound is my game." Octavia grinned as she showed off her resonance blasters.
"Nice." Burnout smirked.
"Well, we better blow this joint." Genisys said as he assumed his AC-130 form. "Alright everyone, pile in!" He told them.
"Finally! Home, here we come!" Jack exclaimed, eager to get back home after the ordeals they had all gone through.
"Ratchet, open up the space bridge! We're coming home!" Genisys called as the portal opened.
(Timeskip)
It was a few weeks later and Tiberius was now putting the finishing touches on the base's exact copy of Vector Sigma while the Dinobots and Minicons finally got settled in.
But little did the Autobots know that both Rattrap and the discs Tiberius had brought back, had all disappeared…
(Elsewhere)
Out on a cliff in the middle of the desert, several Minicons were now standing in a circle, waiting for their signal to be received.
One was a black jaguar shaped Minicon, another was a pink bat, two were humanoid and another was a gold and black condor.
After some waiting, the Nemesis arrived to pick them up. The minicons all gleefully boarded the ship, eager to reunite with their master.
"Well, this is a very unexpected surprise. How did all of you manage to get to Earth?" Megatron asked with a hum.
The Bat Minicon simply plopped on its back on the ground, as if to nonverbally say that it was a long story.
"Decepticons, forever!" Ravage cackled as he and the others immediately rushed towards Soundwave and reattached to him.
Despite showing no emotion, Soundwave was greatly pleased to have his long thought deceased minicons back.
"Decepticons forever, indeed." Megatron nodded in satisfaction. "Come, Soundwave. I think our dearly missed comrades are in desperate need of medical attention." He grinned.
Soundwave simply nodded as he followed Megatron to the medical room. He was eager to get his companions back into fighting shape.
ThermalsniperN7: Wow, a lot happened this chapter. We got Tiberius finding Jetfire, a galactic trip to Cybertron, the recovery of the Dinobots (including Sludge), the Eliksni and Vex from Destiny (appropriately) being on Cybertron, the list goes on. MECH even sent one of their own to copy Vector Sigma, so that's gonna cause questions later for the heroes.
Dragon Emperor0: The latter of those will become very important when Nemesis Prime makes his official debut. And it looks like the Traveler has taken a cue and decided to release the Ghosts early. That may really come in handy for when the Black Fleet arrives.
ThermalsniperN7: Speaking of the Black Fleet, Megatron actually looked spooked when he saw Soundwave's footage of them. Guess even he has fears of his own. Also, to address what I get the feeling is gonna be an issue: Yes, we're having the Ghosts pick out people who haven't died yet. If this were a post apocalyptic setting, then there would be a ton of dead bodies for Ghosts to pick from. In this setting, they have live people to pick from. Optimus getting a Ghost was a complete no-brainer, given how he is.
Dragon Emperor0: Additionally I'm thinking of also dedicating an entire arc to the creation of Rasputin and the Exos here in the story at some point. But it'll have to wait for us to decide on when and how. Beyond that, the next two chapters will be one's finishing off show events and gearing up for the first big original story arc since the one in Japan. Hope you guys are excited.
ThermalsniperN7: We also hope our fellow Guardians reading this find the idea of the Eliksni being on Cybertron appropriate. Seriously, a place like Cybertron is a technological paradise for people like them. All that hyper-advanced tech, left over from war; Just imagine what the Splicers would be able to make with enough understanding!
Dragon Emperor0: Or hack into… Jesus Christ, I shudder to imagine the absolute Gremlin levels of chaos they could cause if they managed to hack into the Omega Lock… Oh Primus, I think I just jinxed it.
ThermalsniperN7: Oh hang me, I hope not. Anyway, we also got to see this story's main couple get their own minicons… Or is it minibots, in this context? … Meh, whatever. The point is that they can rival Soundwave, now.
Dragon Emperor0: And I think Tiberius just unintentionally learned ways he can counter Insecticons and Predacon… Uh oh. Anyway, guys, see you all next time.