PROLOGUE
Silence was something Rung was used to. It was what he preferred, most of the time; he wasn’t exactly one for parties or social gatherings or any of the sort. He imagined those sorts of things were enjoyable to those with friends or, really, anyone who remembered their existence. He didn’t have much luck in those fields, which was why he preferred to spend his free time alone with his model ships. Yes, he was grateful to have people like Skids or Ariel to keep him company at times, but he acknowledged that they had interests that didn’t involve him. And that was okay. He didn’t mind. He was used to it.
But the silence was different this time. Unsettling, even. For the first time ever, someone had deliberately sought him out (for something other than psychological issues) and told him that he had a purpose beyond serving as a mere therapist... only to then leave him in the dark, isolating him within this cold, dark cell. He had no idea who this “Grand Architect” was or why they had such an interest in him, but he had a gnawing feeling that it wasn’t for anything good. It was only typical, he thought, that people only remembered him when he served a specific purpose for them.
At the same time, he supposed he only had himself to blame. As long as he could remember, he had always wanted to help people; to listen to their grievances and help them solve their problems. It was what he was good at and thus it gave him purpose. Were it not for the reputation he ended up building, he was sure the Functionists would have found some reason or other to quietly “dispose” of him for not having an evident alt mode and therefore no purpose. In that event, he highly doubted anyone would have missed him. If he was of no use to anyone, what difference would it make that he was gone all of a sudden? Perhaps it was because of this reputation he had so desperately built that the Grand Architect had an interest in him rather than anyone else.
Not only that, but apparently therapy wasn’t the only thing he was good at. If Chief Justice Tyrest was to be believed (and Rung was very hesitant to go that far), Rung had at one point been the key to the cold construction process. The photonic crystals that he produced (an ability he was not aware of until now) had once been used to store spark energy which Nova Prime had derived from the Matrix of Leadership. Rung wasn’t sure how much truth there was to this claim -- he certainly had no memory of it. But at the same time... it would go to explain the crystals he had unexpectedly thrown up into his hand, as well as provide a possible reason for why the Grand Architect wanted him. But to what end? He supposed he was going to find out sooner rather than later... for better or for worse.
The sudden sound of approaching footsteps broke Rung from his thoughts. Lifting his head up, he saw a pair of Legislators walk up to the entrance to his cell, which was protected by a ray-shield. The two drones stood menacingly in front of his cell for a moment before stepping outside to reveal a green-plated bot with an almost regal design. Rung sighed heavily as he lowered his head back down.
“Tyrest.”
“You don’t seem pleased to see me,” Tyrest remarked, a smirk forming on his red face. “I thought you liked having people visit you.”
“Not like this,” Rung bitterly replied. “You have given me no reason to believe that the reason behind your visiting are in any way noble.”
“Why should they be? Perhaps I only came to see an old friend.”
“Friend?” Rung arched an eyebrow. “Since when were we ever ‘friends?’”
“Colleagues, then. We both served under Nova Prime, did we not?”
“Many served under Nova Prime. Galvatron, Jhiaxus, Straxus... do you consider them your friends?”
Tyrest chuckled. “No. I consider them dead.”
Rung exhaled again as he pinched the ridge between his bespectacled optics. “What do you want?”
Tyrest pressed a button on his staff and the ray-shield separating the two bots vanished. Motioning the two Legislators to stand guard, the former judge entered the cell and came to stand before Rung. A second press of the same button brought the ray-shield back. Tyrest loomed over the therapist for a pressing moment, yellow optics narrowed behind his red faceplate. Breaking the tense silence, he finally spoke.
“Tell me about yourself, Rung.”
Rung glanced up at him. “Pardon?”
“You’ve spent so long listening to other peoples’ life stories. It’s time someone listened to yours.”
Rung frowned. “I don’t have a story. I--”
“Oh, you and I both know how wrong that is.” A wicked grin graced the judge’s features. “Or would you like me to call up the crew of the Fateful Archetype and ask them what they think?”
At this, Rung felt his body involuntarily stiffen while Tyrest laughed.
“Oh, that’s right. I don’t think that’s an option these days, is it?”
Releasing another sigh, Rung lowered his head once more, resigning himself to this fate. “Where do you want me to start?”
“Where anyone’s story starts: From the beginning.”
From the beginning. “I’m not sure my mind can go back that far,” he murmured. “I remember being born from the Pious Pools, near the Vinvissius Canals. But beyond that...”
“Yes, that is the evil of information creep; you don’t think to remember certain details until you’ve realized that you’ve forgotten them,” Tyrest lamented. “But believe it or not, it is not incurable.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I can help you remember, Rung. I can help you remember everything about your past… and perhaps even more. I can help you finally find the purpose you have been longing for; the acknowledgment you have always wanted. All I need you to do for me... is to transform.”
Rung eyed the Chief Justice carefully. “And if I don’t?”
“Then we will find other means of making you do so,” Tyrest said. “I am offering you a chance to be an active participant in our endeavors, Rung. To be respected, remembered, and perhaps even revered.”
He knelt down in front of the psychiatrist, coming to be at eye level with him.
“Join us, Rung, and you will never be forgotten ever again.”
Rung was silent for a long time as he held Tyrest’s gaze. He ran the judge’s words through his processor, analyzing them one by one as he always did with the rants and diatribes he had been exposed to by his patients. As he did this, he studied Tyrest’s face closely, searching for any hint of ill intent or dubious ulterior motives. To his surprise... he found none. For once, the former Chief Justice of Cybertron was being honest with him. Whether this was a good sign or not, he wasn’t quite sure of yet.
In any case, he had already made up his mind. Breaking his gaze from Tyrest’s, Rung shifted his gaze back to his feet.
“No.”
Tyrest blinked, looking slightly surprised. “No?”
“I am well aware of your past actions, Tyrest,” Rung said firmly. “Whatever it is you and your new master have planned, I want no part in it.”
The judge scowled as he rose back up. “You will, even if we have to force you to.”
“I am aware of that. Regardless, I will not be a willing participant of your schemes.”
“So be it.” Tyrest pressed the switch on his staff again, causing the ray-shield to once again vanish. He turned on his heel and made for the exit. “We will not be speaking like this again.”
“I know,” Rung said quietly. The ray-shield returned as Tyrest and his two Legislators marched away, leaving him once again in silent isolation.
CONVERGENCE
Part 3: The Useless One
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