Chapter Text
System Restart Requested_
Command authorized_
Rebooting system...
Cyber-net online_
Intake system command code_228_
Reboot in-progress...
Optimus Prime awoke with a start, heaving with a sharp intake, dust and dirt filling his systems. He coughed harshly, groaning as he blinked his optics on, his vision smothered with alerts and notifications for seconds before they sent themselves away. His helm flew around, managing to have a small grasp of location through his blurry vision. The mech concluded he was in the rubble of some human building; support beams, drywall, along with twisted metal broken and fractured into awkward angles and tufts as it surrounded him, creating a cave of sorts. He sighed as he glanced at a mass of support beams resting on his legs and holding part of one of his arms, thankfully doing nothing but causing him slight discomfort and slight dents. As he soaked in his surroundings, he noted a break in the darkness; a hole between the debris, almost thirty feet up- and almost within his reach.
'Where am I'? He thought.
He narrowed his optics as he focused on his servo, trying to draw the dull numbness out of it. He regained feeling in it, glancing over at his other, it finally doing the same. Optimus shoved the beam off of his arm, the circulation of energon flow back through. With another intake, he sat up, careful not to hit his helm. His metallic muscles protested in response, his pain receptors screeching as he used his stiff muscles.
'How long have I been here?' He thought, starting to shift his legs as to get them loose. He was still for just a second, narrowing his optics as he thought. Optimus had not a clue how or why he was in his current situation, awaiting his Memory Core to reboot. Running an area scan, there didn't seem to be any Cybertronian signals, Autobot or otherwise. He figured, considering that he had to restart his systems and how his Memory Core had to reboot itself, he must've been there for a considerable amount of time. Upon taking that train of thought, he pondered on where the other Autobots were, how long was he out, what has the war come to while he was gone, are theY STILL ALIVE-
He vented quickly, shoving down his anxiety as he began tugging on his hindered legs- he had to get out. He shifted the smaller debris away from his lower limbs, raising the metal beams that had pinned him down. After nearly twenty minuets, Prime shakily stood, only managing to reach up towards the hole with one of his servos, careful not to cause more dents to his frame due to the outward sticking rubble. He pulled away at the mass of rocks, sand and dust dancing down to the cave as the opening became wider.
From what he could see, the sky had been tinted an artificial, glowing blue, almost like the area quarantined from the outside world with some sort of dome or shield. He took to second to think why it might be like that; possibly the government knew he was there and was holding his secret, or-
Memory Core rebooted_
His throat closed up as the recent events he had experienced flooded to the front of his helm.
"What do you mean, they 'tracked us here?"
Bulkhead's hurried question only added to the panic, the six Cybertronians' fear only growing as red lights flashed from the monitors. Optimus threw his gaze around at his comrades, fear and confusion etched into their metal completions. Arcee glanced at him, her optics narrowed in a questioning look as she turned back to the control center. The Prime watched as Ratchet pulled up an image of the Nemesis on the screeching crimson screen. Ratchet momentarily turned to them, optic ridges furrowed.
"It means that they tracked us here!" He spat, gesturing on screen. "After that stunt with Project Damocles and having Rafael take down the satellite in his home," He stressed, "They must've gotten the idea that our human comrades live in the same town, and thus-"
"It lead them straight to us!" Bumblebee beeped, his turquoise optics widening. The yellow and black scout
Smokescreen grit his denta. "That's something I think they were fishing for when they dug in my head," He recalled, pondering back to the time he had been linked in the Cordial Psychic Patch.
Jack leaned over the railing from where he was standing, speaking for the three indigenous life-forms. "Wait, what about Jasper? If they're this close, why haven't they attacked?"
Ratchet answered quickly. "They're passing right over it now," The medic reported, pulling up one of Jasper's street cameras. "They do not seem intent on harming the town, only destroying our base."
"So what do we do?" Miko asked, pulling on her pigtails. The others looked to Optimus, begging for an answer from their heroic leader.
Optimus was frozen on the spot, peds pasted onto the concrete floor beneath him. His mind was racing faster than he could comprehend, his panic outweighing his reasonable thoughts. He felt heavy, weighed down by the dramatic situation that would most likely finish with undesirable consequences. The Matrix was silent, no judgment forming from it's aura. The red and blue Autobot took another few seconds to calm himself, blinking his glowing optics multiple times before answering.
"Ratchet, groundbridge the humans into Jasper."
The human protests were immediate, the three ranging from sputtering gasps to shrieks (the later mostly from Miko.). Prime gave a stern glare at the wall as he avoided their gaze, balling his scarred servos into fists. He listened as the field medic sighed heavily, pressing a few buttons on the console before pulling on the 'bridge's levers.
He turned his helm, watching as Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead, cooed the three into their servos, escorting them out of Autobot Outpost Omega One. He gave the humans a soft, pitying smile before they disappeared into the swirling multicolored portal. It stabbed his spark when the Cybertronians' footsteps clunked back into the room with a melancholy pace, the three's faceplates painted with agony.
"They're safe," Arcee muttered, grabbing her arm as she cast her glance away.
Optimus turned to Ratchet, his optic ridges narrowed. "Now, bridge the others-"
The base shook violently, rock and dust falling to the cement below as it absorbed another plasma blast. The screen blinked faster, red lights illuminating the dissolving area, attempting to alert the 'Bots about the obvious destruction of their home. The blast rattled the 'Bot's inside, tossing them back and forth while the six prepared to scatter. After it started to settle, the Prime regained his footing and flung around to face Ratchet.
"Quickly!" He yelled. His old friend slammed on the controls, opening another, last groundbridge to a random location. The Autobots glanced among each other, awaiting Optimus's exit commands.
He looked toward them, pointing to the swirling portal. "Go, I will insure that the Decepticons do not follow!"
"Optimus, without you, we have no chance of winning this war!" Arcee argued, announcing the other's thoughts.
He declined. "I will groundbridge myself out when it is lastly available and when you all are secure." He traveled to the nearby console, servo resting on the keys. "I must insure the Decepticon forces do not follow us. Now, go!"
After that, the memory cut short. 'I am in Autobot Outpost Omega One's ruins,' Optimus clenched his other servo into a fist, gritting his denta as he thought. 'I have to find the humans first - they, for certain, escaped the attack, which means that they will be easier to find. '
Hoisting himself further up, he pulled himself through the narrow crevice and into the majority of the wreckage. As he balanced himself onto stable footing, he realized that the remainders of the base were indeed shielded, cloaked underneath a camouflaged dome that must've been near invisible to the humans outside of it. Yet, in the interior, the once 'Home away from home' for the Autobots was downgraded into little more than scrap, the remaining pillars that once stood tall now corroded into rusting stanchions and the sturdy rock now only dust, pebbles and boulders. Only a few yards away from him must've been where the Command Centre once was, as the former ring that held the groundbridge still stood nearby. Oddly enough, security cameras were watching him, positioned from nearly every visual point around him.
Outside of the domed area was the old dirt road, yet now it seemed to be the size of one of Earth's 'highways.' Instead of the usual two-to-eighteen tire-ed, dull painted automobiles that nearly every human seemed to sport, each was now reminiscent of the more simple Cybertronian transport crafts; sleek, hovering crafts with mechanical components that shifted and moved, possibly for multiple variations of driving or storage.
'Odd. Truly some time must've passed if even the human's vehicles have upgraded to this point,' Optimus thought, glancing among the vehicles.
For the first time since he awoke, the Prime glanced at his battered frame. His legs and pegs were neatly laced in symmetrical dents, his armor shoved tightly against him. His torso and arms much the same, shoulders near nonexistent, the windows on his chest all but obliterated, his helm's casing not in much better shape. Optimus was lathered in scrapes and scars, a surprising amount of few open wounds; he assumed that, over time and being in stasis, his systems must've sealed themselves up.
Internal damage 11%
Energon levels 20%
Optimus shoved the updates out of his vision, barely acknowledging his steadily decreasing levels. Turning to the road, the red and blue mech awaited for a proper sized vehicle, scanning it quickly and transforming accordingly. Although most of his dents were automatically buffed out, the multitude of scratches polished away, and his wheels now nonexistent, Optimus's systems' damage went up by nearly 17%, internalizing his wounds. He transformed, his new alt. mode still somewhat reminiscent of his previous one; the futuristic Semi-truck drove over the wreckage and out of the dome, flashing his lights and pulling onto the road, toward town.
It almost amazed the Prime how much the dirt town had evolved; what once was a collection of fast food restaurants and suburban homes now owned towering business buildings, shops, and condos that littered the vast network of streets which seemed to resemble an Earth 'Ant Farm'. The familiar path to the Darby's' house was now near unrecognizable, the neat, unfair portions of 'All-American-Suburban' houses now replaced with different varieties of shapes and designs, some shaped like the head of an arrow, windows curved to the shape of the house, the doors molded into the curving frames. Others were simple, rectangular in shape with cylindrical windows, yet when someone entered, the whole residence seemed to shift, adjusting to the life form.
'This all seems very Cybertronian,' The Prime mused, almost uncomfortable by it. 'What have the humans done to achieve this new lifestyle?'
He swung into the driveway of the Honorary Prime, flickering his scarcely used hologram on. This house, unlike the others, remained mainly the same, retaining the box-like figure, another area for the garage, the roof still- well, a roof- yet it was all metallic, looking as if it had been bathed in cyber-matter and repainted pastel green.
He honked his horn, the hologram leaning out of the window as he awaited a response.
Instead of a human rushing out of the silver door, out floated a compact robot of sorts, no bigger than he could remember Rafael being. The small humanoid beep twice at the truck, before folding it's hands politely.
"Hello. Who are you?" It asked, the legless creation tilting it's head at Optimus.
He gave himself a second to think before answering. 'Use your real designation- if Jackson is indeed here, there is no reason to hide.' He allowed the hologram to answer for him, "My name is Optimus Prime. Who lives here?"
The robot beeped again, most likely transmitting his statement to the homeowners inside of the mechanical house. It opened it's mouth to speak, but closed it again, turning back to the Prime to speak. "My Masters will be here in just a second to greet y-"
The door was flung open, the human owner, Optimus assumed, who then sprinted towards the Prime. The man then stood breathlessly before the truck, his cool azure eyes wide and his fists clenching and unclenching. It took Optimus nearly fifteen seconds to recognize the human- Raven black hair had turned a metallic silver and shadowed grey, slinky and slender into thin and muscular, youthful undertones into that of a veteran who had seen countless battles. Prime wondered what this familiar man might have gone through, who he had seen and killed-
But his breath caught, his cooling fans kicking on as he finally realized that it had been his war.
"Jack?"
"N-never."
Arcee's frame was layered with another round of wounds as Starscream plunged his claw-like servo into her chassis. It wasn't like she wasn't used to this; the pain, the agony of being tortured endlessly was now the new normal. It was almost disturbing how it barely fazed her, the energon now dropping down her side that had been patched nearly countless times. She exhaled slowly, grunting as the other Second in Command retracted his grip. She swung from her spot, the cuffs that were attached to her wrists levitating her off the ground.
A vehicon offered him a rag-thing, Starscream wiping the spilled blue fuel off of his servo. "It's so much easier for the both of us if you'd just give me what I need!" He screeched, balling his fists as he shoved the energon-stained rag back.
Arcee couched harshly, looking away as her rough, static-filled voice responded. "S-sorry, but I think I'll pass."
She had to remind herself what they were pressing for today- 'I've already lost track of how long I've been here? I'm losing my processor-'The location of the last Autobot energon store-house on one of Cybertron's moons. She scoffed when the 'Screamer' pressed for it. 'I don't know why the frag they'd want something so unimportant to their massive reserve,' she thought as Starscream growled, turning around to the table of torture devices she'd grown overly accustomed with. 'Haven't they taken enough of our fuel?'
He snatched a scalpel, clenching it tightly as he sauntered back to the femme. She eyed the blade for but a few seconds; it was the one that had slashed through every limb, sliced bits off of her winglets, opened her torso and tore through the mechanical flesh that was on her back. She turned away, regretting showing even a smidge of weakness but all the while struggling not to shudder. The Decepticon grabbed her helm and aimed the scalpel at her throat, threatening to cut through the multiple wires that made up her neck.
"Now," He drawled, "Will you assist me in acquiring the information I need, or will you have to endure another round of torture?"
She waited a few seconds before responding. "Alright." She lied, knowing that her punishment would now be worse. "I'll spill."
The seeker sighed happily, his digits curling unevenly around the blade as he pulled it behind his back. "It's about time, Arcee. It's taken two lunar cycles for you wretched Autobots to even say anything. Optimus Prime must've been a truly manipulative leader for such... disgusting loyalty."
Arcee's systems nearly back-fired on her; it certainly wasn't the first time she'd been insulted about her faction, (it seemed an unspoken insult just being held captive in The Decepticon citadel, mocked by thousands of soldiers constantly) but this was different. The femme wasn't sure if she was more exhausted that she had been previously, the fact that it was close to that time of 'year' when their base was destroyed, or if she was losing it, but something inside her snapped.
She swung forward, kicking the stiletto-heeled mech in the neck and digging the back of her ped into his wiring. Energon sprayed her foot as he cried out, Arcee then using the other free appendage to throw an incoming vehicon away from her by kicking its helm off with a balanced blow. Starscream squealed, breaking the femme's ped out of his wiring. Arcee reacted by pulling it towards her, the 'Con along with it. She pulled her knee up quickly, her sharpened armor jabbing underneath his chin and throwing him away from her. She cried out as the move was finished, the new wound in her side and one inflicted a solar cycle before on her lower back being tore further open.
'Screamer moaned as he got up, cursing frenetically under his ragged breath. He held onto his metallic jaw, panting as he stood. "I believe that will earn you double punishment!" He spun to the table of interrogation tools, grabbing something as he mused to the near-by clone.
The Autobot SIC sighed to herself as she gave her attacker a last glance before off-lining her optics, leaving her movements to that in her mind.
'Optimus, if you're out there,' She thought as she heard Starscream's peds' click rhythmically against the floor, 'We've been here for too long, given up more secrets than we like. Where are you?'