FIVE: TO GO TO HEAVEN
--The past--
"Strange. Thought he'd last longer than that."
"Yeah," Needlenose said, looking down at the beaten Orion. "Guess the mouthplate is just for show."
Orion groaned as he struggled to get up only to be pressed back down by Horri-Bull's foot. Needlenose then get down to his knees and lifted Orion's chin up, forcing him to meet his optics.
"You know, you're not the only one with a brother on the other side," the Decepticon said. "My own brother is still with your Autobots. In fact, he's the reason I even joined the Decepticons in the first place. If he hadn't kicked me out, I'd have never met Horri-Bull here."
"What's... your point?" Orion grunted out.
"What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't let your family define who you are," Needlenose said. "My brother tried to use me to fulfill his own dreams, to hell with my own. I was nothing more than his lackey. Now though? I have absolutely nothing to do with him. I've even eschewed our House's name."
He let go of Orion's chin and struck him across the face, knocking his mouthplate loose.
"So don't think for a nanoklik that you can be a fearless hero just like your brother was, because let's face it, Pax: You're nothing. You will never amount to be anything more than a glorified cop. Zeta Prime's poster bot. Another cog in the--"
"We have to go!" Ferak came running into the room, a panicked look on his face. "Forget about Pax! Let's just go!"
"What about our reward?" Needlenose asked. "What, did Soundwave give you the cold shoulder?"
"Our call got intercepted somehow! The Autobots will be here any minute!" Ferak started to run for the door but stopped when he noticed Orion's trailer, which contained Hefter's body. His expression slowly became a pensive one.
"Unless... unless we stuffed him in there. Horri-Bull could haul him."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Ferak?" a voice called out, one which Orion recognized. "It's me, Jetfire. Sorry I'm--"
Ferak swung the door open and pulled Jetfire in. "What kept you?! You were supposed to be here hours ago!"
"Sorry," Jetfire said meekly, briefly glancing at a shocked Orion. "Ratchet kept--"
"Oh, forget it, I don't have time for your blasted excuses." Ferak pointed at Orion. "Get him out of here and take him to the Tyrest Spaceport. I'll be there shortly."
"Uh, us too, right?" Needlenose asked, exchanging a glance with Horri-Bull. "You're not going to just leave us for the Autobots, right?"
"Autobots?" Jetfire raised an optic. "Did you say Autobots?"
"There's no time to explain!" Ferak hissed. "Just take Pax and--"
"Oh!" Jetfire pointed a thumb to the door. "You mean those Autobots?"
Ferak blanched. "Those... Autobots?"
Smirking, Jetfire opened the door, revealing a team of seven Autobots standing outside, led by a white and black bot.
"Ferak of Tetrahex," Prowl called out. "You are under arrest."
Realizing there was no use in resisting, the three Decepticons held their hands up. Jetfire moved over to the battered Orion and helped him up.
"I hope you're grateful for this," Jetfire muttered to him. "I've just marked myself for death by doing this."
Orion said nothing, Needlenose's words still ringing in his mind....
--Now--
"You want to say something or should I?"
"Who says we have to say anything?"
"I just thought... since...."
"Be patient. Let him do his thing."
Doublecross and Twinferno watched as Optimus Prime paced back and forth in the same place. He had been doing this for nearly five hours; dawn was already beginning to break.
Optimus made an exasperated sound. "It's should be right here. It's supposed to be right here."
"What should be right here?" Twinferno asked, earning him a glare from Doublecross.
"I don't know," Optimus answered truthfully. "I just know something should be here. The voice called me to this exact spot."
"Uh... the voice?" Both heads glanced at each other. "What voice?"
"You wouldn't have heard it. I know how that may sound, but... it's just a Prime thing."
"Oh, we hear you," Twinferno said. "Don't worry. It's cool. We're all friends here."
Optimus sighed as he resumed pacing. He realized he wasn't getting anywhere by doing this... but what else could he do? There was nothing here -- at least not as far as he could see.
Optimus stopped at that thought. He looked down at the ground, standing in the exact spot the voice had summoned him to. After a moment, he straightened up, composed himself, and lifted his head to the sky.
"Titan!" he bellowed. "Your Prime demands your presence!"
Nothing happened. Doublecross snorted.
"I think he's lost it."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Optimus spun to the dragon and reached out to them.
"Grab my hand!" he ordered.
The dragon only had a second to do so before the both of them were teleported away. Around them, the barren land was instantly replaced by the appearance of a ruined city, encased in cavernous walls.
Worn down buildings that had been torn asunder loomed over them, but that was not what drew Optimus' attention immediately. No, what his optics first fell on were the thousands of corpses that littered the city.
Seeing this called to mind an event he had been made aware of during the Unicron crisis: the extermination of the Circle of Light at the hands of Galvatron's Terrorcon hordes. Of the hundreds of thousands of bots that had comprised the Circle of Light, only five had survived.
Since then, Dai Atlas had started to rebuild his order, but seeing so many dead still shook Optimus to his core, stirring feelings of guilt within him. Many times had he tried to make peace with Dai Atlas upon becoming Prime, to no avail. Even after Unicron's defeat, Atlas had wanted nothing to do with him or the Autobots.
As he continued to look upon the despairing sight, Twinferno tapped him on the shoulder.
"Prime?"
"Not now, Twinferno," Optimus murmured. "I need a moment."
"Yeah, I understand, but, ah, I don't think this guy's gonna allow you one."
Confused, Optimus turned around to see a tall bot standing behind him and the dragon. Colored in blue and white, the bot carried a pair of guns in his hands and bore an impassive expression on his face.
Inclining his head towards the two visitors, the mysterious bot said, "Hello, Optimus Prime."
Optimus frowned. "Do I know you?"
"Probably not. I don't expect you to know every Autobot that's been under your command. My name is Sixknight."
"Well then, it's an honor to meet you, Sixknight."
"The honor's all mine," Sixknight said. "It's not every day one gets to fight a Prime."
Optimus stepped back. "Oh, come on...."
Flashing a grin, Sixknight raised his guns and charged towards Optimus.
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