CHAPTER TWO
-Earth, 1901-
Abraham Dante was never one for myths. He had heard plenty of stories about vampires and werewolves and the like, but even as a child he saw them as utter nonsense. However, there was one his father used to tell that always kept him up at night.
The Scorponok.
It had been in the October of 1864. Abraham's grandfather had been exploring out in the country late at night. The shaking of the earth attracted his attention to a giant shape emerging behind a hill. The shape was that of a giant scorpion.
Running faster than a roadrunner, Eugene Dante had went to warn the townspeople of what he had seen. But when a group of twenty men went to investigate in the same area he had been to, the Scorponok was nowhere to be seen.
Abraham had never been able to ask his grandfather about how he had come up with the name before he died. But the tale had nonetheless spurred him to go hunting for the monster on the October of nearly every year. His wife called it a wild goose chase. He called it his dream.
The moon shone brightly as he cautiously traversed the hill country. The night was silent save for the chirping of crickets and rustling of bushes. His trusted rifle in hand, Abraham kept his eyes on the hill he was now approaching; the same hill where-
There was a shaking of the earth. Abraham's heart quickened its pace as he saw a large shape emerge from behind the hill; first a tail, then a pair of massive claws....
The Scorponok came into view.
He screamed.
-The Ark-
"Okay... I know this is called the Water Planet and all... but how can any Cybertronian colonists be living here?"
Jazz couldn't help but agree with Sideswipe as they began to approach Aquatron. Consisting of all sea and no land, he had to wonder how any Transformer could live there without getting a major case of rust.
"Perceptor, are you picking up any spark signatures?" he asked the scientist.
"Around one million," Perceptor replied. "Strange, though; that would imply the presence of cities, but I'm not detecting any."
"Maybe they're underwater," Bumblebee suggested.
"I'm not sure any Cybertronian would be able to withstand that much water long enough to build them," Perceptor murmured. "Unless they were already there to begin with...."
"So how are we gonna get down there?" Ironhide asked. "No place to land the ship or even a shuttle...."
"We have some Mobile Autobot Repair Bays in the cargo hold," Ratchet said. "We could drop down on those."
Jazz nodded. "Then we'll use those. Sideswipe, bring the Ark down low enough for us to drop off."
* * *
"Optronix a Decepticon? You a Prime?" Roller laughed as he carried a heavy crate. "That's some dream, Orion. Almost sounds like one of Dion's fantasy stories."
"Um, yeah," Optimus said, smiling weakly. He was still struggling to accept the fact that his entire life had just been a dream, that he had been a dock worker all along, and this his name was again Orion Pax instead of Optimus Prime.
It couldn't have all been a dream, he thought. In fact, this right now feels more like a dream. What's going on...?
"Hey, Orion!" Optimus turned at the sound of Dion's voice. The orange and blue mech was standing besides a slender, magenta-colored fembot, who struck Optimus as familiar....
"How about less daydreaming and more working?" Dion said. "Elita and I can't move these crates ourselves."
"Elita?" Optimus almost did not recognize her; lacking the additional, weathered armor she had added during the war, she looked happier, more peaceful and... beautiful.
He shook his head. It's an illusion. This isn't real.
Nonetheless, he stepped forward and went to join the pair. He would play along with this false reality for now, if only so he could get some answers.
* * *
Seventy-eight percent.
Xeros frowned at this drop in percentage. The subject's disbelief within the virtual reality was slowly but surely increasing. This would not do, and Inquirata would not be pleased, but given his stubborn personality, he would refuse to see the virtual setting changed. However, Inquirata was not currently present....
Throwing cautious glances around him, Xeros moved to the console that connected Optimus Prime to the falsehood reality and began to alter its coding.
* * *
"Orion, look out!"
Optimus heard Roller's cry but was unable to turn around in time as something heavy hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold.
When he finally came to, he was in the Ark's medibay, with Ratchet, Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Jazz standing over him.
"He's coming to!" Bumblebee said excitedly.
"About blasted time," Ironhide muttered.
Optimus Prime groaned as he slowly sat up. "Ugh... what's going on? First I was captured, then-"
"Yeah, about that." Ratchet smiled weakly. "You've been in stasis lock for seven orbital cycles."
Optimus' optics widened. That was more than half a year. "It... doesn't feel like it's been that long."
"Time passes differently for the comatose person than from the point of view of others."
"But if it makes you feel any better, we've accomplished quite a bit while you were out," Ironhide said.
"Like what?" Optimus asked.
Jazz smiled. "We've won the war."
Optimus' optics dilated even further. "What...?"
"Yeah, we kind of went against your orders. After Lockdown captured you, we went back to Cybertron, gathered Magnus and the others, and launched an all-out assault on New Kaon. Now Megatron and all of his Decepticons are being cozy at Garrus-9."
Optimus was speechless for a moment, taken aback by this news. When he found his voice, he said, "But... the AllSpark. Cybertron...."
"Don't worry, Prime," Ratchet said. "We are continuing the quest, though its now easier without the 'Cons to get in our way."
Optimus shook his head in wonder. Nearly a thousand years of strife, ended in mere months. A feeling of pride surged through him as he regarded his comrades.
"Thank you, for going on in my absence."
Jazz grinned. "Hey, it's what you would have wanted. What else could we have done?"
"We're still celebrating in the lobby room," Bumblebee said. "Care to join us?"
Optimus smiled. "Gladly."
* * *
One hundred percent.
Xeros smiled in satisfaction. Sometime it was for the best that the assistant was left with most of the work, if only to correct the mistakes the boss had made....
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