Chapter One-Hundred and Thirty-Eight

Reluctant Alliance

Back in the silo, the Knights, the Hamato Clan and Fowler had been listening in on the conversation between Optimus and Megatron and after hearing Megatron's proposal for an alliance, everyone was reeling.

"He's seriously proposing an alliance?" Jack asked.

"Sounds like it!" Sharky said.

"Well he can shove that!" Percy growled.

"I agree!" Kate said "Whose to say he won't betray us!"

"Exactly!" Sarah chimed in.

"No way we should trust that fucker!" Pandora shouted.

"Pandora!" Raphael and Monalisa exclaimed yet Pandora didn't listen.

"After what he did to Kemeko!"

"I agree!" Leonardo said as he stood next to Kemeko's trolley and held her hand "I won't let that Monster near my Lotus!"

"Everyone! Quiet!" Sephie barked over at those protesting then looked to the screens.

"Tyroth! Honey!"

"I Know!" Tyroth's voice was heard, "Just…hold fire for a moment."

"Wait what?" Loki exclaimed "Dad, you're not…"

"Shhh!" Sephie placed a hand on Loki's mouth "Don't bother your father…"

"Optimus!" Arcee protested on the other side of the com-link "Even if we survive the jump, how are we to stop Unicron?"

"With the Matrix of Leadership."

Everyone blinked as they heard Optimus say that and they looked confused until Fowler spoke up before anyone else could.

"What is that?"

"A vessel of pure energy." Ratchet reported "The collected wisdom of the Primes."

"The What?" Michelangelo asked.

"Wisdom of the Primes." Donatello repeated.

"Hey hold up!" Jack said "Do we have time for a scavenger hunt?"

"Yeah!" Raphael joined "I mean where's the Big guy supposed to find this Matrix?"

"Optimus does not need to find it." Ratchet said looking over at the wolf and turtle, "he carries it, within him!" he brought his servo up to his chest and tapped it.

Everyone was amazed as they heard that, but before they could say anything else, Megatron was heard on the other side and they went silent, and Kemeko hugged her father tightly.

"It was the combined power of the Primes that defeated Unicron so long ago, the very reason now he seeks to destroy you."

"It would follow that unleashing the power of the Matrix directly into Unicron's spark would return him to stasis." Optimus was heard.

"Hold on!" Freya spoke up "If everything goes right, Unicron's gonna stay down there?"

"Yeah!" Pandora chimed in "Can't we siphon him out somehow?"

"He's not in the Earth's core Geisha." Donatello said.

"He is the Earth's core!" Loki finished.

"Donatello and Loki are correct." Ratchet said darkly "Tampering with your core could affect the magnetic pulls, trigger the very cataclysmic events we are attempting to remedy, tragically Unicron is your planet's very seed! Always has been, and always must be…."

"Whoa…" Jake said "Our Earth's Seed is an actual devil?"
"It is yeah….." Amber said clinging onto Jake who wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

The Chicago Knights and Hamato Clan looked at each other in worry, Sephie looked faint again as she went pale.

Fowler was speechless as he listened.

Back with the Autobots and Megatron, Optimus was still looking at Megatron and studying him as if trying to figure out if he was being genuine or not.

Tyroth was still glaring at the Warlord with his blazing eyes, he was still thinking about when Megatron attacked him and his kids, and of course he was still furious about Kemeko being infected with the dark energon.

"Optimus?" he whispered to the Prime "You're not serious about letting him join us are you?" he pointed at Megatron who looked rather taken aback as if to say 'I'm Standing right here!'.

Optimus looked at the Dragon on his shoulder, but before he could say anything else, the rocks that were once the giant golem of Unicron began to move and everyone watched as they moved to the fallen golem and it started to get up like a monster rising from the deep!

"Uh oh!" Ironhide muttered.

"We got another one!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

Optimus and glared up at the rising Golem and commed Ratchet.

"Ratchet! Send a Ground-Bridge!"

No sooner did he give the order than the swirling vortex appeared, Bulkhead, Ironhide, Bumblebee and Arcee were about to run into but they paused.

"Wait!" Arcee said "We're opening up a direct path to our base with Megatron standing right there!" she pointed at the warlord.

"And seriously." Bulkhead joined in "He's gonna risk his own spark to save us?"

"I'd sooner throw myself into the Pit than believe that!" Ironhide snapped.

Megatron laughed cruelly.

"Hardly my nature." he said then looked up at the golem that towered above him and Optimus.

"Consider my offer, I shall keep it busy!" he turned away then transformed into his jet form and flew up again towards the Golem.

The Autobots watched him fly up and start firing at the Golem then turned and fled through the ground-bridge, Optimus hung back a little then he too followed the others back into the silo, Tyroth still on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, up on the Nemesis, Airachnid stood in the main control room of the Warship looking at Soundwave who stood there silent and his screen for a face was blank.

It had been a long time since Megatron had gone out to try and speak with Unicron, and the warlord hadn't given any word to where he was or when or if he was coming back.

The longer Airachnid waited, the more her dark mind began to wonder and she started to have a few ideas of her own, and how she could manipulate the Decepticons to turn to her.

Putting on her best stoic face, she looked to Soundwave.

"No word yet from Lord Megatron?" she asked.

Yet Soundwave stood silent and didn't turn to her.

"It appears our leader has abandoned us while this world erupts in chaos!" she gestured to the screens where she like Ratchet could see the many extreme weather patterns affecting the different parts of the planet.

"I believe we must consider the possibility of a future without Megatron."

The Spider-Bot smiled a secret evil smile.

There was a reason she left the Decepticons and that reason still stood that she enjoyed not having a boss around to tell her what to do, but with Megatron seemingly gone, Airachnid began to wonder if there was a way that she could pull the strings around here, yet she would need to try and convince the other soldiers.

Back at the Silo, Optimus and the Autobots had made their way back through the ground-bridge and Optimus along with Tyroth filled everyone in on what happened to which everyone was shocked and horrified.

"Optimus!" Ratchet exclaimed "I know that desperate times call for desperate measures but bringing Megatron here?"

"Bringing him here?!" many voices cried at the same time from the mutants and humans.

"Over my dead body!" Pandora shrieked.

"My ass he's coming here!" Casey shouted.

"How can you even thing about letting that Monster in here, after what he did to Kemeko?" Dahlia shouted furiously.

Optimus felt bad as he looked at the mutants and humans he vowed to protect but given the circumstances, he didn't see any other way of stopping this world crisis.

"He will be closely monitored." the Prime reassured them "And only allowed to linger long enough to send us on our journey! Not one moment more." he added fervently.

Splinter and George looked up at the Prime and they nodded.

"We believe you Optimus." Splinter said "But we will keep our distance from him whilst you prepare."

"Hold up gramps!" Fowler interrupted the rat as he glared up at Optimus.

'What's going to stop the Con from calling in an Airstrike if he knows where you live?"

"By Ground-Bridging Megatron here, he will be unable to get a fix on our co-ordinates." Optimus replied.

"Well that's comforting." Sephie said "I think."

"Optimus." Leonardo said "What's gonna happen to you when all your Matrix energy is released?"

"That's a good question Leo." Tyroth said looking up at Optimus from the platform.

"The Power of the matrix has not previously been utilized in this particular manner." The Prime said.

Leonardo and Tyroth looked at each other then at Optimus.

"But you have an idea don't you?" Leonardo asked in a hopeful voice.

Yet Optimus was silent.

Tyroth narrowed his eyes and Leonardo looked to the dragon.

"He does right?" he asked yet he jumped when Optimus spoke up.

"Autobots, if Human, or mutant kind is to be saved, I have no choice but to proceed."

He then turned to his soldiers.

"But you do!" he said.

The Autobots were silent, letting their boss's words sink in, as were the humans and mutants, they looked at each other, then Bulkhead spoke.

"Well, I don't know about human kind." he said in an honest tone "But I'm willing to do it, for our friends! For the girls!" he smiled at Pandora and Kemeko who smiled.

"For Raph and Mona!" Arcee chimed in making the couple blush and smile feeling rather proud that Arcee regarded them as close friends.

"I also." Ratchet said "For Donatello, and young Loki." he said making the young Geckoling and Donatello blush and grin.

Bumblebee bleeped in agreement as he looked at Pandora and Kemeko.

"For all of you guys!" Ironhide said.

The mutants all smiled up at the autobots then Tyroth turned to them.

"Okay guys." he said "We better move away from the main silo."

"But dad!" Loki said.

"No buts!" Tyroth said in a serious tone.

James and Dahlia were the first to act and started to wheel the medical trolleys of Kemeko and Culpepper.

As that happened, Culpepper groaned and opened his eyes.

"Huh?" he moaned "What's going on? What did I miss?"

"Eric!"

The young man's eyes shot open when he heard Fowler's voice from the side.

"Huh?" he looked over to see Agent Fowler stand next to his trolley "Boss?"

"Hey kid!" Fowler said "Are you alright?"

"I think so." Culpepper replied "Got a good knock to my head…"

"I can see that." Fowler said as he walked along the trolley as James pushed it with help from Donatello.

"What in the blazes were you doing out there?" he demanded.

"I didn't know it would happen." Culpepper said "Pandora and I were at the Drive in theatre a few hours before the tornado's hit, and we were driving back!"

"You were at the Drive in with Pandora?" Agent Fowler demanded narrowing his eyes.

"We were hanging out!" Culpepper said "I'm off duty!"

Fowler was about to speak but he was interuppted as a certain Hyrid hurried over.

"You're awake!" Pandora's voice was heard as she went over to the trolley and Culpepper turned to the hybrid.

"Hey!" he said with a warm smile.

"Wow's your head?" Pandora asked reaching out to touch his forehead.

"I'm okay." Culpepper reassured the Hybrid touching her arm and making her blush "I'll live! Just got a bit of a head ache though!"

Pandora smiled again, her cheeks pink and Fowler frowned as he observed.

"What happened out there?" he thought, yet he couldn't dwell on it as Tyroth beckoned everyone to the side of the silo which lead to the living quarters of the Autobots as well as the mutants.

His first priority was making sure everyone was safe and let the Autobots do their job in stopping the crisis, even if it did mean an unlikely and reluctant alliance with Megatron.

"I hope Prime knows what he's doing." he thought, "The fate of my planet depends on this going to plan!"

Looks like Optimus has no choice in this situation, but the fate of Earth depends on him siding with Megatron to stop Unicron once and for all, much to the displeasure of everyone else.