CHAPTER SIX
Earth, present day
Night had fallen and Sari was doing everything she could to stay awake.Clearly her being part-robot made no difference when it came to needing a regular night’s sleep, but she refused to so much as blink. She knew it was only a matter of time before the Decepticons — especially the giant scorpion robot who had captured her in the first place — would come after her again. They obviously wanted her for some reason, and she was not willing to find out why anytime soon.
Of course, doing so would probably allow her to answer all of the questions that were running through her mind right now. But even so, she knew her life was worth more than that. Besides, maybe it was for the best that those questions remained unanswered.
She looked down at her phone, which was hanging on a thread in terms of battery levels. Agent Fowler had called and told her that someone would pick her up at midnight. With only a few minutes to go, Sari could only hope that Fowler meant her midnight and not wherever he was in the world.
A cold breeze blew over her, prompting her to wrap herself tighter with an old blanket she had taken from the house. She sat on the porch to her old home, intently watching the street for any sign of approaching vehicles, whether it be her pick-up or Decepticons. It was a private neighborhood, so it naturally did not see a lot of activity.
Because of this, it was her immediate reaction to tense up when she spotted a red muscle car driving slowly up the street, its headlights glowing in the night. She highly doubt it belonged to Fowler or his agents, and she did not recognize it as any of the Autobots she had met over the past few weeks. That left only one option….
Rising to her feet, Sari tossed the blanket aside and quickly found a hiding spot on the porch, getting out of the muscle car’s line of sight. She listened as the car drew closer, and closer, before finally stopping right in front of the house. Sari waited a moment for the car to resume its drive, but it simply stayed there, its engine rumbling lowly.
Sari cursed to herself. There was no point in keeping this up. Emerging from her hiding spot, she stepped into clear view of the muscle car, which instantly brightened its lights and turned them on her.
As she shielded her eyes, Sari said, “All right. You’ve found me. What do you want?”
A dry chuckle came from the automobile. When it spoke, Sari knew she had heard the Decepticon’s voice before when she was first captured. “What do you think I want? I’m here to bring you home.”
“This is my home,” Sari retorted, gesturing at the house behind her. “I don’t want anything to do with you and your ‘friends.’”
“You cannot hide from your origins, little one. You were created by us. You belong with us.”
“I’m not sure where I belong, but it sure as hell isn’t with you,” Sari snapped.
“Scorponok did say young human adults were often rebellious,” the Decepticon remarked. “I suppose some disciplinary action is in order.”
With that, the muscle car dimmed its lights before changing shape. Arms sprouted from underneath its hood while its rear section took on the form of legs. As the red-armored Decepticon rose to its full height, Sari made a mental note of the “gadgets” she knew to be on her person. Wings on my back, swords in my arms….
Now in robot mode, Shatter looked down at Sari, her red optical sensors narrowing. “Now then, are you going to come quietly like a good girl or—”
Sari cut off the Decepticon as she jumped up and transformed into her newly discovered “robot mode.” As her helmet and mask fell over her head, she deployed her two arm blades and kept herself suspended in midair with her back thrusters. Shatter’s optics widened at the sight of a now fully armored Sari and took a single step back.
“That’s not right,” she muttered. “Scorponok said you had not yet discovered your true form.”
“Guess he was wrong,” Sari said before lunging at the Decepticon. She flew right past Shatter’s head, her blades grazing the larger robot’s face. Shatter let out a furious growl as she deployed a pair of arm guns, swinging herself around to aim them at Sari. The Decepticon unleashed a barrage of energy bolts, which Sari narrowly weaved through to avoid being hit. She then moved to strike Shatter again only for the Decepticon to grab her in midair.
“Impressive,” Shatter growled. “But now play time is over.”
Sari did not struggle. Instead, she gathered all of the power she could muster and released it in a burst of energy from her chest, blasting it through Shatter’s hand. The Decepticon howled from the pain while Sari flew out and away from the red warrior, hovering out of the femme’s reach.
“How were you able to find me so quickly?” Sari asked, readying herself for whatever move Shatter would make next.
Shatter glared up at her, mending her mangled hand. “Scorponok has his means. Besides, there were only so many other places you could have gone. It was fairly easy to narrow things down.”
“And just what is it Scorponok wants with me? Why did he create me?”
Shatter smirked. “Come with me, and you can ask him yourself.”
“Yeah, not happening.”
Turning around, Sari kicked on her thrusters and blasted away from the neighborhood, creating as much distance between her and the Decepticon as she could. Behind her, she heard Shatter transform again followed by the sound of jet engines roaring to life.
Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me, Sari thought just as a gray and red jet flew overhead. It immediately turned back around and advanced towards her. Sari moved to the side just as the jet came close and sliced her energy blade through Shatter’s right wing. As the Decepticon plummeted towards the ground, screaming curses, Sari pressed on ahead.
She had no clue where she was going, but she knew anywhere had to be better than here.
* * *
“That insolent fleshbag!”Shatter pounded the ground with her one good hand. Whether or not her outburst was noticed by the humans who dwelled nearby did not concern her. All she could think of at the moment was the disappointment her superiors would surely express for her failure to procure Sari Sumdac. That, and the inevitable gloating from a certain comrade….
Scowling to herself, Shatter raised a hand to her comm. “Dropkick, this is Shatter. I’ve lost the quarry.”
“You have?” Dropkick replied. “I didn’t even know you had her.”
“Well, I don’t anymore. Apparently she’s discovered her powers, among them the ability of flight. I have a vague idea on her trajectory; I’ll send you the coordinates now.”
“Can’t you go after her?”
“I’ve been… temporarily grounded,” Shatter muttered. “You’ll have to go after her while I get myself fixed or call for pick-up.”
“If you say so.” There was an undeniable hint of amusement in Dropkick’s tone, which only further vexed Shatter. “Try not to feel too down about your… predicament.”
“Oh, I won’t. And try not to get wrapped up in any chains, comrade.”
The connection was dropped before Shatter could even finish her sentence.
Cybertron
“Star Saber and his crew are taking off.” The disapproval in Dai Atlas’ voice did not go unnoticed by Elita-One’s audio receptors. “There goes at least over a hundred bots that we could have used by our side.”“I understand your frustration,” Elita replied, walking alongside her fellow councilor down the hallways of the High Council Pavilion. “But Star Saber made a sound argument for his case. Rescuing Rung is as high a priority as dealing with the Decepticons on Earth.”
Dai Atlas grunted. “Still, did he need to bring so many with him? Surely thirty or so bots would have been enough….”
“I believe most of them were voluntary. Many of the bots who have served on the Lost Light have been through so much together. Even I was there for many of their early adventures. It only makes sense that they would want to band together to save one of their own.”
“I suppose.” While Dai Atlas did not sound certain in his response, he let the matter drop and changed the subject. “Speaking of Earth, however, has a decision been made on how we are going to proceed?”
Elita nodded. “We have regathered and expanded Earthforce’s ranks. With a Titan like Metroplex, we will be able to carry larger numbers and match the Decepticons in force should they decide to utilize Trypticon.”
Dai Atlas raised an optic ridge. “Isn’t Metroplex offline?”
“Wheeljack thinks he can modify Metroplex’s transformation cog so that it can be triggered remotely and allow us to ‘pilot’ him, as he puts it.”
Dai Atlas frowned. “I’m not sure how I feel about the prospect of controlling a dead bot’s body….”
Elita sighed. “I have my own misgivings about it. But we’ve all agreed to only resort to such measures if it comes to that, which it hopefully won’t.”
The two of them eventually reached the door to the main Council Chambers. The High Council itself was no longer much of one; Starscream and Shockwave had departed with the rest of the Decepticons at the summoning of Megatron, as had Obsidian and Strika. Knock Out had stayed behind, though more out of fear than loyalty, while the Devisien councilors Fireshot and Vanquish seemed to be on the fence about their allegiance. Elita didn’t have much faith that the Council of Worlds would remain for much longer, though she hoped that history would prove her wrong.
As Elita moved her hand to the control panel, Dai Atlas said, “How many have signed up to join this Earthforce?”
“I’ve been told it’s reached the triple digits,” Elita replied. “At least as many that are on Star Saber’s crew.”
“Impressive. I can only hope that it will be enough.”
“So do I.” Elita pressed the panel and the door slid open. The two bots stepped in to find their fellow remaining councilors waiting for them… as well as a tall, red and blue robot standing in the center of the room. While the appearance was unmistakably that of Optimus Prime, his build was larger and bulkier than what Elita was familiar with. A golden star adorned his chest piece while his atennae extended higher and wider than was usual. It was evidently a huge upgrade from the body he had been utilizing ever since the defeat of Thunderwing.
“Orion?” Elita said carefully. “I… I wasn’t expecting you here.”
“Indeed,” Dai Atlas said. “You also look… different.”
Orion Pax chuckled. “I apologize for startling you. I though the two of you would have already been here.”
“Yes,” Knock Out said wryly. “Both of you are fashionably late.”
“My apologies. I was busy with organizing the new Earthforce unit.” Elita turned her attention back to Orion. “I take it you saw Wheeljack recently?”
Orion nodded. “He calls this the ‘Star Convoy’ armor. He said it was originally intended for use by the Convoy Corps during the Destructon campaign but was put aside after they were defeated.”
“Ah.” Dai Atlas perked up at this. “I take it you are joining us in our fight.”
“If the Council will have me, then yes.”
“Of course we will,” Elita said, stepping up to her sparkmate. “With Rodimus still missing, we need a Prime now more than ever to lead us.”
Orion inclined his head. “I am not a Prime anymore, Elita. Not without the Matrix—”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the Matrix,” Dai Atlas interjected. “Before you, all Primes had been carrying a replica of the Matrix. Nominus, Guardian, Sentinel—”
Knock Out raised his hand. “To be fair, a majority of those Primes were less than stellar role models.”
“…but we still considered them Primes. Even Sentinel Prime, though he ended up showing his true colors, led us to victory during the first war against the Decepticons. Did he actually carry the Matrix? No. But we were victorious all the same. Regardless of how things turned out, we were at peace for a solid millennium.”
Orion opened his mouth to speak but was silenced when Elita rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Look,” she said, “there’s not much point in trying to argue with us. There are more important matters at hand, and we’re going to need someone to lead us through them.”
Orion held her gaze for a moment before slowly nodded. “Very well,” he said gravely. “If the worlds of both Cybertron and Earth require the aid of Optimus Prime once more… then who am I to refuse the call?”
Knock Out groaned. “Please tell me you don’t always talk like this….”
“It’s more pleasing to the ears than listening to you gripe,” quipped Airazor.
Optimus Prime glanced at the two councilors before looking back at Elita. “So, what’s the first order of business?”
“Well….” Elita smiled. “Right now, there are about 100 or so bots waiting for you take charge.”
“Then let us not keep them waiting.”
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