CHAPTER SIX
--Dead Universe--
To Optimus Prime, it seemed as if whenever he thought he couldn't be in more disbelief, something came up to prove him wrong.
"No," he murmured. "Impossible. You're a Prime? One of the first?"
"It's admittedly not that much of a special title, having used it before Alpha Prime started the practice of there being only one," Alpha Trion said. "But yes, I am one of the first Thirteen."
"But... how come you never told me?"
The old sage smiled. "Because up until my death, I never knew. When I first awoke as Alpha Trion, I was an amnesiac. I had wiped my memories of being Sigma Prime in order to protect secrets I couldn't let fall into the wrong hands, while preserving my place as the great historian."
"So when you died, all of those memories came back?"
"Precisely."
Optimus rubbed his forehead, probably not for the first time today. "Okay, I think this is starting to make sense... not much though. So then, why were you brought here into the Dead Universe instead of the AllSpark?"
Alpha Trion held his chin in his hand. "I... have my theories."
"I'm all ears."
"The Dead Universe, as you can see, is a desolate wasteland; effectively dead, as its name would suggest. As such... it would seem like the perfect place for a being that represents desolation and death to reside."
Optimus raised an optic ridge. "You don't mean... he's here, do you?"
"It would be a logical assumption."
Optimus shook his head. "No. That's one thing I can't believe. The Thirteen Primes, perhaps... but deities? Next you're going to tell me Primus is real."
Alpha Trion frowned slightly. "As a carrier of the Matrix, I would think you'd be a believer."
The Autobot leader sighed. "At this point, I don't know what to believe in anymore."
"At the very least, believe in yourself."
Optimus used over the words for a moment before turning back to Trion... only to find his mentor gone. In his place was a near-perfect replication of Optimus himself, albeit in black and gray.
Nemesis Prime.
"The question is: Can you?"
--Earth--
The Autobots dove for cover as the seven Dinobots charged towards them. As one of the massive creatures-- which resembled a three-horned Triceratops-- passed by, Sideswipe jumped at it and began shooting his blaster at its neck.
"Down, Dino! Down, boy!" he shouted.
Unaffected by the shots, the metal dinosaur growled. "Me, Slag, no pet! Me, Slag, crush you!"
"Oh yeah? Well-- wait, Slag?" Sideswipe suddenly wailed as the Triceratops swung its body and sent the red Autobot flying into a tree.
Sunstreaker ran to his brother's aid, only to be rammed into by a Stegosaurus. Arcee then came charging to take on the dinosaur only to be grabbed from above by a Pteranodon. The winged creature didn't get far with her though, for her arm blades caused enough harm for it to drop her to the ground.
As she landed, the Pteranodon transformed in mid-air and landed before her with two swords brandished. Despite the mech's monstrous appearance, with massive wings on his back and the halves of the Pteranodon head serving as shoulder-pads, something about him struck Arcee as familiar.
"Intruders have ruined everything," the Dinobot growled. "Me, Swoop, must get rid of intruders!"
"Swoop?" Arcee said. "Aren't you one of the Dynobots?"
"Yes! Me, Swoop, thought that was clear!"
"No, no, I mean Dynobots-- with a 'Y.'"
A confused look crossed Swoop's face. "You know of Dynobots?"
"Yes, I'm an Autobot-- we all are. We're not your enemies."
Swoop scowled. "You activate device. You must be enemies."
"It was an accident," Arcee insisted. "We didn't know what it was-- we couldn't even see it!"
The Dinobot seemed to consider this for a moment. Then, slowly and not without caution, he lowered his dual blades. "Not... enemies," he murmured. "Grimlock!"
One of the metal dinosaurs-- a massive Tyrannosaurus rex-- paused in its battle with Ironhide to look at Swoop. "What?" it growled.
"Not enemies!" Swoop cried. "Autobots! Accident! Friends!"
The T-Rex growled before changing shape. While most of his body was similarly monstrous like Swoop's, his head was unmistakeable as that of Grimlock, with his blue visor and fanged mouthplate.
"Friends, you say," the Dinobot leader grunted. "How you know they telling truth?"
"Come on, Grim!" Ironhide said. "Don't say you've forgotten me! We were on the Lightning Strike Coalition together!"
Grimlock regarded the veteran Autobot for a moment before snorting. "You said it stupid name."
Ironhide smirked. "Well, it was."
Seeing that their leader appeared to be on (relatively) good terms with the Autobots, the other five Dinobots transformed as well. Three of them, including the Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Apatosaurus-- were recognizable as Slag, Snarl, and Sludge. The other two-- a Velociraptor and a Spinosaurus respectively-- were not familiar to any of the Autobots and lacked the unified gray, gold, and red color scheme of the other Dinobots.
Looking up at the gathered Dinobots, Bumblebee said, "So, uh, what's the story here? How did you guys end up on Earth?"
Snarl grunted. "Long story. Not want to tell."
"Ooh! Swoop will tell! Swoop love telling stories!"
"Enough," Grimlock growled. "Me, Grimlock, tell it."
Finding a large rock, Grimlock set himself down on it while the six Autobots gathered around to hear his tale.
"A hundred and thirteen years ago, we Dynobots were captured and sent to Jungle Planet. There we got beast forms. Then, we activate space bridge and end up here."
"Not all of us," Slag interjected.
Grimlock glanced at him. "True. Me, Grimlock, sent back to Cybertron first but then got ship to find other Dinobots."
"So what about that thing?" Sideswipe asked, pointing a thumb at the invisible, beam-shooting device. "What is it?"
Grimlock's visor narrowed. "Not sure what it called, but we Dinobots somehow knew it had to be protected."
"So you were fighting us over this thing and you don't even know what the slag it is?" Ironhide rolled his optics. "Yeah, that makes perfect sense."
Snarl stomped forward to loom over the veteran Autobot menacingly. "You think it simple as that? You try being stuck on stupid planet for hundred years with nothing to do."
"And what is up with your syntax?" Sunstreaker asked. "You didn't talk like cavemen back on Cybertron-- well, except for Sludge, maybe."
"If I had to wager a guess, they haven't had much interaction with anyone but themselves since they arrived here, so their language is stunted," Arcee said.
"So what do we do now?" Bumblebee asked. "This thing shooting out energy probably isn't a good thing, is it?"
"Well, what else do you do when in doubt?" a voice called out.
Grimlock groaned. "Oh, spark...."
Crashing through the woods was a massive metal creature, carrying itself on four legs like a mammal, while flapping the wings of a prehistoric bird.
"Always have faith in the infinite wisdom of the stupendous SKY LYNX!"
Hound rubbed his head. "This is becoming a very odd day...."
Next chapter preview:
"I now find myself better fitted for the exclusive company of the titans."
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