Archive of Our Own

Orion Pax climbed the side of a tall and very large building, honestly praying for his life. 

“Come on,” he said to himself, “You can do this without dying. You’ve done that before.”

Orion had a broad shouldered frame, his shoulders red, servos, helm, shins, and pedes a dark blue. He had the regular Cybertronian sky blue optics, but they showed every little mischievous idea he had.

He grabbed onto a shiny gold edge and pulled himself up.

Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look dowwwwnnnn–

He looked down and gasped, “This is why I never look down, scraphead!”

The building he was climbing was stuck to the underground ceiling, and the drop to the bottom would kill him… But the view was gorgeous. Transformers were flying–or driving–to their destinations. The buildings that were coming from the ceiling and the ground were shining in all their glory.

Beautiful, he thought to himself, smiling, My home.

He hugged the wall and moved upwards, careful as to not fall down. Once he made it up to the top of the lower level, he knelt down next to a vent. Orion pulled out a drill and opened the vent. He climbed inside and crawled through the vents. He grabbed a broken wire and opened a vent underneath him, using the wire to slide down quietly into a giant room, landing in between two lasers.

The Archives, Orion Pax thought to himself.

He stepped over the lasers and went over to a shelf, looking through it.

“Okay,” he said to himself when he found what he was looking for, “Let’s see what we got here.”

He walked over to a viewing table, murmuring to himself as he looked through the datalogs he grabbed. 

“Seen it. Seen it, ah,” he said in achievement, “What’s this about?”

He plugged it into the receiver in the table, and a hologram popped up, video and audio glitching. He panicked and pressed some buttons, hoping it would turn off, but he eventually just took it out.

He looked around, So much for being quiet.

After a minute of making sure no one was coming, he blew on the datalog and put it back in, “Ah, here we go.”

It started talking and showed a hologram of the information, “At the dawn of time, there was our gracious and powerful creator: Primus.

“To protect our universe, he sacrificed his life force, transforming himself into our planet: Cybertron. From within Cybertron’s core, Primus birthed the first Transformers known as the Primes. The most powerful Transformers appointed to lead and protect future generations. To assist them, Primus created an entity of great power: The Matrix of Leadership–”

“The Matrix of Leadership,” Orion mumbled, “There it is. Okay. Good. Come on, keep going.”

“–With the Matrix in the Primes’ possession, Cybertron’s natural power source, Energon, flowed in abundance, sustaining life across the planet. For generations, there was peace and prosperity until the Matrix of Leadership was lost, causing Energon to no longer flow.”

The receiver turned off and Orion groaned.

“Why does every legend about the Matrix end right there?!” He exclaimed, sighing, “One of these–” He went through the datalogs, “–has to say what happened–”

“Halt!”

Well, scrap, he thought, turning around to see a drone recording him.

“Criminal, prepare to be detained!” the drone said, making him back up into a table.

“I–uh,” he stuttered, “Hey there…”

Out of self defense, he punched the drone, causing it to fall to the ground.

And then the alarms sounded.

Frag no, he thought, as he started to run.

He ran until he reached a door, but it opened and two mechs came in. He quietly turned left, hoping to avoid them, but they stopped him.

“Freeze!” one guard yelled.

“Get down!” the other yelled.

Orion turned around and slowly backed up. “Oh, hel-hello guys. I-I’m so glad you’re here.” Primus help me. “Which way is the exit? I must have taken a wrong turn.”

He looked around nervously, looking for a way out of this, but saw none. Just shelves and more shelves. 

“It’s that defective mining bot,” one said, “Or-eon Pix–”

“Orion Pax,” he corrected.

“Who cares!” the other exclaimed.

“We told you to never come back here!”

“Why are we all yelling guys?” Orion tried to ask. I am horrible at making distractions.

“I’m gonna smash you!”

Orion gulped, holding his hands up as the guards got closer, “Ho-hold on, whoa, whoa, hold on. No need for violence. How about this?” I hate this. “I run away; You chase me. We play that game, huh? Come on, you’re bigger, faster. It’ll be fun!”

“He doesn’t have a chance and he doesn’t have a cog! Let’s give him a head start!” One guard laughed.

Orion felt sorrow fill his processor. No need to repeat the obvious truth, slagger. 

“Why not? It’s not like he can transform!”

He wanted to punch the guards so bad, then an idea came to his processor.

“Oh yeah?” he said, “Well watch this–”

He mimicked transforming, pulling himself as close together as he could… and then he bolted. The guards yelled, “Get him!” and it could be heard, but he didn’t even look back. He jumped up and grabbed a vent, swinging forward to continue running as he heard the vent open and hit the guards. He took a sharp right and looked around.

I need something that could fly!

He saw two drones, one to his left, and one to his right. He went left and rammed into the drone, grabbing it. He ran and ran and saw a vent that led outside. He looked back at the guards who had transformed into air vehicles before he jumped out the vent. The ground came closer and closer as he tried to get the drone to fly, and when it did, he shot up into the air. Orion didn’t realize that he was in the way of the civilians flying until he hit one… and he slammed into a wall of a building. He slid down onto the slanted part and panicked.

“No, no, no, no!” Orion said, trying to stop before he reached the edge. 

He flew off and just barely grabbed onto the edge of another building, quickly pulling himself up as he heard and ran. He turned around while running on the roof. 

“So long suckers–”

He fell through the roof and landed on a table full of Energon, breaking the table. He looked around at the Cybertronians in the room who were staring him down before taking some Energon.

“Oh, Energon. Evening everyone! pardon me,” he said before running off.

He slid underneath things and ran past things, desperately trying to escape the guards, even pushing past some crowds. His instincts told him to jump off the ledge of the bridge he was on.

Uhhhhh…

There was no turning back once he jumped. Luckily there was a train underneath, which he landed on, thankfully. He pulled himself on top and ran towards the front of the train. Once the train was at the station, he quickly ran off.

By the Allspark, I escaped! he thought, smirking as he continued to run.

Then the guards transformed in front of him and blocked his path.

Scrap.

He caught his breath, “Oh-okay. H-hey fellas! Thanks for the head start! You wanna give me another one?”

One guard came closer, “YOU’RE DEAD!”

Orion laughed nervously, “I’ll take that as a no.”

He couldn’t help but sigh in relief as he saw a mech run with a cart run into the guards. The mech motioned for Orion to, “Get his aft over here.” He knew exactly who this was: D-16. D-16 had a gray, broad frame, built very strong. His optics were an unusual yellow, but he rocked the look.

He quickly snuck over and went inside the cart as D-16 put the stuff he ‘accidentally’ dropped back into the cart.

D-16 scoffed, “Hey, watch where you are going–”

“What did you say, no cog?!” One guard exclaimed.

“Sorry sir, but I did not mean you,” D-16 corrected, “I was referring to the bot who was behind you.”

Orion held back a laugh as he guessed what the guard’s faces were like. Probably angry. Very angry.

“Wh-what?!”

“Where’d he go?!”

“The filthy red and blue bot,” D-16 said.

Filthy?! I am not filthy!

“Has a big mouth, squeaky joints,” D-16 added, “Gives off a corroded metallic stench.”

Excuse me?!

“Where is he?!”

“He went that way,” D-16 said.

Orion scoffed, Corroded?! Now that is too far.

He felt D-16 roll the cart somewhere, and he felt a train start to move. After a while, he heard D-16 say, “Alright. All clear.”

Orion pushed the items off of himself, catching the one that nearly fell on the floor.

“H-hey, D? I may be a little rusty,” he admitted, “But corroded? That is too far!”

“Let me guess,” D-16 said, leaning against a window, “Kicked out of the Archives?”

“Y-yeah,” Orion chuckled, climbing out of the cart, “I had to jump out of a window this time, almost died… It was wild!”

“And digging through ancient data is worth dying for?” D argued, crossing his arms.

“Yes it is!” Orion answered, knocking over the cart accidentally.

The other mech groaned, rolling his optics, helping Orion up, “I need a new best friend.”

“If there are clues,” he said as he helped D-16 pick up the stuff, “in our recorded history that can help locate the Matrix of Leadership, they’re in the Archives. Trust me–”

“Sentinel Prime,” D-16 interrupted, “The Sentinel Prime is up on the surface right now risking his life for us in search of the Matrix!”

He pushed the cart back up, “That is exactly what I am doing! I am trying to help him!”
“Y-yeah,” D-16 sarcastically chuckling, brushing off some dirt from his shoulder, “Oh-oh-okay.”

“The sooner Energon flows again,” Orion concluded, sighing, “the sooner we won’t have to mine for it.”

“Don’t you wanna choose your own path?” he asked, looking solemn, “Do whatever you want?”

D-16 scoffed, “We’re miners. We mine, and that’s all.”

That’s all either of them have done. Mine Energon. That’s what most cogless bots do. Mine away to keep everyone alive. Nothing more.

“There’s gotta be something more I can do,” Orion Pax said, leaning on the cart. I can feel it.”

“Oh yeah?” D-16 asked, tilting his helm, “Like the time you had a feeling that you could transform without a cog?”

He looked away and grumbled, “You said you would never mention that again.”

“It took me three days to pry you open,” D-16 pointed out, “Your feelings get you in trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Just trust in Sentinel–”
“I do trust in Sentinel!” Orion corrected, sighing. “If we did have cogs–”

“I’d transform into a shovel and beat you,” D-16 concluded, leaning back against the window.

“I don’t like how fast you answered that, but listen, if you did beat me, I couldn’t give you this awesome Megatronus Prime thing I have here,” He mumbled, “And it’s cool, I’ll give it to someone else.”

He smirked as D-16’s expression turned suspicious, optics squinting.

“What Megatronus Prime thing?” D-16 asked, confused.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” he playfully lied, “Eh, you know it’s just a mint condition, Megatronus Prime decal, first edition.”

He held out the decal as the gray mech gasped, “...What?”

“I mean,” Orion said, “If you don’t want it, I can just throw it away–”

“Throw it away?!” D-16 asked, desperation in his voice, “No-wait-that’s not funny! Let me see!”

“Whoa,” he said, holding the decal out of reach, “H-hey, don’t grab! You’re going to crease it!”

He smiles as he puts the decal on D-16’s shoulder, feeling joy himself as he saw the joyful look on the mech’s faceplates, his derma curled up in a giddy grin.

“You know,” D-16 said, “Sentinel Prime says that Megatronus was–”

“Was the strongest Prime to ever live,” Orion finished for him, crossing his arms, “I know, buddy. It looks good on you.”

“It’s really cool,” D-16 said, looking at him in the optics, “Thanks.”

Orion nodded, holding out a fist, “Always got your back.”

“No matter what,” D-16 said, completing the fist bump.

~*~

The train soon reached the mines, and Orion met up with his team which luckily included D-16. They grabbed their jetpacks and flew with his team to their designated spot.

“Metal to the petal, drill bits!” 

Orion couldn’t help roll his optics at his team leader, Elita-One. She was very strict and always told everyone to follow protocol. How ironic.

“This is it!” Elite-One exclaimed, “How much Energon have you mined under my leadership?”

“So much, Elita-One!” Everyone answered.

Here we go again…

“And how perfect is my mining record?”

“So perfect, Elita-One!”

“We are a mere thirty units of Energon away from my promotion to supervisor!” Elita said excitedly, “Are you happy for me?”

“So happy, Elita-One!” 

Orion groaned as she said that. Does she know what ‘calm’ even means?

Yet… he can’t help but notice her excited look. The way she moved, and the way she looked, especially–

Why the frag am I looking there?! Orion asked himself, hoping no one noticed the blush on his face from embarrassment. And why am I thinking this?!

“Eli-I mean, Captain,” he said, walking up next to her, “You are looking especially shiny this morning, new polish?” He looked at D-16, but D rolled his optics.

“Orion Pax,” Elita said, “I am sorry that I somehow gave you the impression that we’re friends.”

“Apology accepted,” Orion said, watching his superior walk away. 

He can’t help but feel… dismayed.

D-16 walked up next to him and whispered, “Is that your way of flirting? Because if so, you’re not doing a great job.”

“Shut the frag up,” Orion whispered back, grabbing a laser to cut rock and, yet again, running to catch up with Elita. “Happy to take the lead today, Captain. I feel like I have enough power today to drill down and touch Primus myself–”

“You don’t have the touch or the power,” Elita said before running off again.

Orion sighed and grumbled, “Come on, I just wanted to–ah, you know what, nevermind.” By the Allspark, why won’t you notice me, you unfairly beautiful femme? “At least she is in a good mood today.”

“M-hm,” D-16 said, Orion blushing at his agreement.

He tried to turn the subject around, “You ready?”

“Always ready, let’s punch in.”

Orion couldn’t help but smile as they did their signature fist bump.

The caves were always moving on Cybertron, and each section only opened for a while, so they had to be quick, but careful. The team ran in, bracing the tunnel with supports. They all got to work, drill power on max, collecting as much Energon as they could.

Then Orion heard a fellow miner call out, “I found a vein!”

The mine started to rumble.

“It’s unstable!”

“We have to go!”

“You with me, D?” Orion called out as they flew out of there.

“On your six! Keep going!” D-16 called back.

Orion narrowly avoided falling rocks as he flew as fast as he could, knowing that if any of them stayed in there, they’d die. 

Then he was hit.

Luckily only his jetpack broke, but he heard a scream from behind him. He looked back and saw his friend, Jazz, pinned by a rock.

Jazz is stuck! Orion announced over his comm-link, running to help him, Elita, we’ve got a trapped miner! I am falling back to assist!

Negative, she replied, Do not break protocol! Evacuate!

Orion looked at D-16, who was trying to help him move the rock, “Get out of here!”

“I’m not leaving you here,” D argued, “But we’re gonna need more lift!”

“It’s closing!” Jazz said in pain, “Just grab your pack and go!”

Orion gasped, “Yeah, good idea!”

He grabbed the jetpack and put it under the rock, turning it on, allowing for him to pull Jazz clear.

Pax, what is happening? Elita-One asked.

Nothing, Orion replied, Just normal protocol following stuff. It’s all good. 

Oh that’s not good.

The tunnel started closing on them.

Orion and D-16 grabbed Jazz and went as fast as they could. The rocks were closing in on them, but they were determined to make it out. When they see the opening about to close, they jump through.

Orion landed with a grunt on the floor, trying to catch his vents, feeling victorious. He had just saved comrade–

“What the frag, Pax?!”

Scrap.

“I told you to evacuate!” Elita yelled.

“I did, actually,” Orion said quietly, biting his lower derma.

“If I get fired because of you–”

“Oh, please,” Orion scoffed, “They’re not going to fire you–”

Darkwing, a guard that was stationed in the mines, came up behind Elita-One, “ELITA-ONE, YOU’RE FIRED!”

“What?!” Elita exclaimed, “Why?! I followed protocol to the letter!”

“That is true,” Orion said, “I was the one who broke the rules–”

“No one asked you!” Elita-One said, shoving him away.

Orion knew the conversation continued, but he could not hear it. He had just messed up, big time, and in front of his crush.

I just want to help…

“–Cogless bots with limited options!” he did hear Darkwing say.

He watched Elita-One walk away, but he tried to talk to her. “Elita, I’m sorry–”

“Next time,” she said, “Why don’t you stop and think before you ruin someone’s life.”

Orion watched her walk away, feeling distraught. He had just wanted to help. Wasn’t a bot's life more important than a promotion?

And I ruined my shot to get with Elita.

He turned to Darkwing, ignoring D-16’s protests, “Hey, Darkwing! I may not have a cog, but my digit can transform! I’ll give you a limited option.” 

The miner mimicked a transforming noise as he gave Darkwing the middle digit, but was surprised when D stopped Darkwing from punching him.

“Excuse me sir,” D-16 said. Orion felt glad he wasn’t getting punched– “Allow me.”

What?

Orion froze right before D-16 punched him in the faceplate, making him land hard on the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He groaned as he sat up, feeling no remorse when he saw D get punched by Darkwing.

“Really?” Orion asked once Darkwing walked away.

“Did you want Darkwing to knock out an optic?” D-16 asked, standing up to help Orion up.

“No,” Orion said, taking his hand. As he stood, he felt light-headed. He took a few deep vents before saying, “Not really.”

“But that really hurt–”

“What did you expect? He’s metal,” Orion mumbled.

“You are really out of line talking back to a superior,” D-16 added.

“Darkwing was out of line,” he argued, “He deserves it.”

She looked so… hurt.

“Aren’t you tired of being treated like we’re nothing?” 

“Darkwing had every right to hit me,” D-16 murmured, “I interfered.”

“I do appreciate you having my back,” Orion smiled, putting a servo on his shoulder. “I'm glad you were there with me to get punched in the face. It was fun.”

“Anytime–whoa, hey, you alright?” D-16 asked, noticing how he stumbled a little.

“No, yeah, yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, feeling dizzy, “M’fine.”

“You sure, Orion?...Orion…hello…”

Every sound started to blend together, his audials ringing, making it worse. His helm ached and his spark pounded. He felt nauseous. He knew D was calling out to him, but he couldn’t hear a thing.

Then the world went black.

~*~

Orion awoke with a groan. He slowly opened his optics to find that he was laying on a… a berth? How did he get here? He looked around, despite everything being slightly blurry, to recognize that an Energon transfusion line was connected to his shoulder. Everything ached. He tried to sit up, but something pushed him down.

“Ep, ep, ep, stay down,” he heard someone say, “I’m still running a few diagnostics on you.”

He shook his head and the blurriness cleared. He was in a medbay, laying on a medberth. He had never been in a medbay before. Orion looked to his left to see an orange and white mech standing at a desk, typing something into a computer.

“Wh-what happened?” Orion asked, still a bit disoriented.

“Your friend brought you in,” the mech said. 

I assume he’s a medic.

“You were in pretty bad shape,” the mech continued, “A dent to the faceplate, scratches all over, but you had the effect of contaminated Energon.”

The mech came over and helped Orion sit up, “Which I’ve only ever heard of, not seen. The Energon needed to affect you quickly needs to be able to travel through the frame within nano-seconds. Although I think it is much more common than I realize, since I only just became a medic a few solar cycles ago.”

“Explain in an actual language please,” Orion asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You had a virus that I haven’t seen yet, but it is apparently fatal in most Cybertronians when dealing with the Mines,” the medic concluded, “And because your friend brought you in so fast, you survived.”

He flinched as the medic took out the Energon infusion, “I thought the cog-less couldn’t be seen by medics.”

“Your friend snuck you in here and I agreed,” the medic said blatantly.

“Ohhhhh-kay,” he said, “Thank you?”

“I have a feeling this may not be the last time I get to see you,” the medic said, crossing his arms.

“That sounds like me,” he said, standing up and rolling out his shoulders, “Again, thank you…”

The medic sighed, “Ratchet.”

“Thank you, Ratchet,” Orion said, shaking his hand.

“Don’t be stupid again, Orion–”

“Did D tell you my name?”

“I have ways to look it up.”

“Oh.”

“Now get out, and don’t do something stupid. I do not want to have to deal with the consequences of me helping you.”

Orion quickly walked out, not wanting to annoy the medic further.

~*~

“You snuck me into a medbay?!” 

“Yes, I did,” D-16 said, leaning against his recharge station, “What else was I supposed to do?”

“You could have gotten in trouble!” Orion argued.

“Better than letting you die!”

Orion sighed, leaning against his own recharge station, “Thank you, I guess.”

“Anytime–”

Attention all sectors, a comm said, please stand by for a live transmission from Sentinel Prime. 

Orion and D-16 looked at each other before gathering around the hologram center where all the other miners were.

“He’s back?! Already?!” D-16 exclaimed.

“Maybe he found the Matrix,” Orion murmured, hoping that dream would come true.

“Is it on?” the hologram of Sentinel Prime asked, “Okay good. Thank you. Hello my friends!”

Primus bring prosperity.

“Hello Iacon City! Hello to our saviors; The industrious miners who toil selflessly to maintain our Energon reserves. I celebrate you!”

The miners cheered, and Orion looked at the image of Sentinel with hope.

“Humility and presence!” D-16 said to Orion, “That’s leadership! Nobody does it better!”

Orion gulped, and blushed, Elita is a close second–Why do I keep thinking that?! She is my–was my superior! 

But I want her, not just for beauty, but for who she is.

“Once again, I have narrowly returned with my fleet after another treacherous expedition across the desolate, dangerous surface of our planet. I departed with hopes of finding the Matrix of Leadership. The key to bringing balance to Cybertron.” 

Orion put a servo on D-16’s shoulder, hoping that the answer was positive.

“I regret to inform you that we have returned… empty-handed.”

Negative, again.

“This is a setback, but not failure. Rest assured, I will find the Matrix of Leadership so that Energon can flow again, but that is in the future.”

No, we should be focusing on that now.

“Right now, I think we all deserve a little fun! Tomorrow, there will be no work, all shifts off, because tomorrow is the Iacon 5000!”

The whole room erupted in cheers, but Orion felt like an outcast. Why did no one else think that finding the Matrix is the most important thing?

“My favorite event. A high octane race across all of Iacon City. Let’s all see which competitor can prove that they are more than meets the eye.”

Orion looked around, confused. The Matrix should be the main concern, not a stupid race!

But then he saw how excited his friend was, and sighed. He liked seeing everyone happy, and he wanted to keep it that way.

He had a “totally-not-stupid, Orion Pax” plan.

Later that orn, he tried to wake D-16 up once everyone else was deep in recharge.

“Pst,” he whispered, “D! Hey, D!”

He walked over and knocked on his helm. That got D-16 to wake up.

“Oh, good, you’re up,” he said, “I have an idea.”

Orion dragged D to the rooftop, and D-16 groaned.

“Whatever it is, it better be good,” the gray mech mumbled, sleep still present.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” Orion smiled, “Okay, listen, what if, what if, tomorrow, we ran in the Iacon 5000?”

D-16 blinked and started walking back inside, “What if I kill you for waking me up?”

“No, no, no, h-hear me out,” Orion argued, “We don’t even have to win–”

“That’s good because we wouldn’t.”

“But, but if we beat just one transformer, it proves that we are just as good as they are. Not only would we go down in history, but be the mining bots that did the impossible. We would show everyone that we’re capable of so much more!”

“Or we get publicly humiliated and then busted back to tier one.”

“Yeah, but at least we would have done something! You know?” Orion argued.

“Pax–”

“Come on, D–”

“Pax, we are mining bots who can’t transform,” D-16 said, putting a servo on Orion’s shoulder, “We can’t fly, we can’t roll. I’m sorry to crush your spirits, but we can’t race.”

“Alright fine,” Orion said, watching him walk back inside, “Maybe you’re right.”

He turned and looked at the Iacon 5000 symbol projected in the air. Why couldn’t anyone see what he was seeing? He just wanted to show everyone that freedom is the right to all sentient beings, but no one listens. He wanted to show that survival was more important than a race. He wanted to show that cog-less are Cybertronians too, and not some outcasts.

Someone please. If you are out there. Listen.

~*~

And listen Primus shall.

~*~

Orion walked next to D-16, heading towards the arena. He honestly dreaded this plan, but he’s been in near-death situations before. 

Why not do it again?

“The Iacon 5000 is finally here!” D said excitedly, a bounce in his step.

Here goes nothing. “Come on,” he said, motioning for him to follow, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Where are you going?” D-16 asked, looking longingly at the arena, “The stadium is that way!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but follow me.”

“Great, we’re going to be late now,” D said, catching up with Orion, “I wanted good seats.”

Orion smirked at what he said and led him into an alleyway full of pipes and tight spaces, shimmying through to get to the spot. Oh, you’ll get good seats.

“We came all this way to miss opening ceremony, just wonderful,” D-16 grumbled from behind him.

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing,” Orion answered, looking back at D with a mischievous grin.

They walked for a bit more before reaching a giant fan. It blew both of them almost off of their pedes. They quickly ran across.

“Get caught in one of those and you’ll get launched halfway across the city,” Orion chuckled, practically bouncing off the walls from how excited he was.

This is our chance to show that we are more than meets the eye.

“Okay, where are you taking me?” D-16 asked curiously.

“Don’t be a glitch,” Orion said as he climbed a ladder, “This will be totally worth it, trust me–”

“Hey, you don’t be a glitch!” D-16 argued, “Look, I know this is fun for you, like we joke around, but if you make me miss any part of the Iacon 5000, I swear I will melt your face right off…”

Orion watched as D-16’s faceplate turned from annoyance to shock. He had brought him to the inside of the beginning archway that all the racers had to go through. You could see the whole stadium through the glass.

At least he’s excited.

The announcer was talking, but Orion didn’t care.

“Look, look!” D-16 said excitedly, pointing at some racers, “There’s Thunderglide, and-and Behemoth! This is unbelievable! I feel like I’m in the race!”

Uh… about that.

D-16 looked at Orion, “You… did this for me?”

“No,” Orion shook his helm, “I did this for us.”

They fistbumped as usual, and Orion couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for what he had planned.

“Sentinel!” D-16 said in awe as Sentinel Prime swooped into the stadium, standing on a floating platform to give a speech.

“Yes!” Sentinel exclaimed, his voice booming, “It feels so good to be here with you all today!”

Orion looked at all the crowd cheering. Every single Cybertronian was there. He imagined himself in Sentinel’s spot, getting the cheers, showing that everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

And I’m going to prove them wrong.

“My friends,” Sentinel said solemnly, “My Cybertronian family. It has been precisely fifty vorns since the Quintessons attacked our home. Fifty vorns since we lost the Matrix of Leadership, and our Energon supply dried up.”

He looked solemnly up at Sentinel, feeling… angry that the Matrix hasn’t been found. But if anyone is going to find it, it’s Sentinel.

I want to help restore our home.

I will help find the Matrix of Leadership.

“Fifty vorns,” Sentinel continued, “since the battle that killed the other Primes.”

May they rest peacefully in the Allspark.

Sentinel looked around, “My brothers and sisters in arms. Today, we honor the Primes who gave their lives for ours, and we show them that the strength of Cybertron will never be diminished.

“RACERS! ON YOUR MARKS!”

Here goes nothing.

“I can’t believe we get to watch from the starting line, from the best seats in the house–why’d you bring jetpacks?” D-16 asked as Orion put one on his back.

“GET SET!”

“It’s time to show them we are more than meets the eye,” Orion answered, ignoring D’s groan.

When the race started, the floor beneath them dropped, causing them to land on the track. Racers flew, or drove, past them fast. He turned on his jetpack and grabbed D, flying as fast as he could, avoiding the transformers.

“Are you crazy?!” D-16 yelled over the noise.

“Sure feels like it!” He yelled back, turning on D-16’s jetpack.

Orion continued flying, taking in the cheering and the moment, changing history. The racers were quick, so he had to be quick.

Orion probably won’t forget this moment for a long time.

He took a sharp right and narrowly avoided being hit by a crashing transformer.

“If–ack!–we survive this,” D-16 yelled, looking him in the eye, “I’m gonna kill you!”

“I accept those terms!” Orion yelled back, focusing on not getting hit.

The race felt like it went on forever with how many twists and turns there were, but then things started shooting at them. Orion gasped as one was about to hit him, but D pushed him out of the way and the two fell onto the track and continued running.

“I owe you one!” Orion said.

“More like a thousand!” D-16 stated.

They continued to run, not looking back.

D-16 laughed, “I can’t believe we’re not in last plaAAAHHHH–”

The two of them screamed as they ran off a ledge, not expecting the track to end. Orion looked over at D-16 to see him get hit by Darkwing. He makes a move and grabs him by the arm, making sure that D wouldn’t get eliminated. The two of them landed on the continued track, sliding down a slanted part, getting their footing, and they continued their journey.

“We’re not fast enough!” D yelled.

“Improvise!”

He jumped onto a flying transformer and flew off. The transformer threw him off, and he grabbed onto another one, causing an explosion behind him. 

Orion looked back and called out, “SORRY!”

D-16 grabbed him and flew off using his jetpack.

An obstacle came up, changing shape.

“Time it just right, then jump!” Orion yelled.

The two of them jumped through,  Orion turning his head when he heard D-16 yell, “MOVE–AGH!”

A Cybertronian hit D-16, causing him to fly off the edge of the path. Orion ran over and grabbed his arm, pulling him up, continuing to run. Now, they were behind, so they stopped to catch their vents.

“We lost,” D-16 said.

Orion looked to his left and saw one of those fans, “Don’t say that yet.”

“Oh slag,” D-16 mumbled, seeing the fan.

The two of them jumped in the fan, the blast of when it turned on shooting them out. They flew through the air, both screaming like little sparklings. Coincidentally, they landed right on top of Darkwing, making him crash, but that put them back in the race.

“MINERS!” Darkwing screamed in anger.

“Great effort, Darkwing!” Orion yelled back, panting as he ran.

“That worked!” D-16 yelled, “That actually worked!”

“Is this the dumbest thing we’ve ever done?”

“Oh, yeah, it's up there!”

The two of them ran, noticing that only a few transformers went past them.

We’re in the top five!

The two of them saw the finish line, Orion silently celebrating, but he shouldn’t have. They ran right into another obstacle: One, of four, magnets. They luckily made it inbetween two of them.

“Wait!” Orion said, “Go, go, GO!”

The two of them ran when they saw that the magnets were off, hoping that they wouldn’t turn back on. Orion gasped as he got caught in the last magnet. He saw D-16 turn around, and he grabbed Orion and pulled him out.

“The two miners are now in first position!” 

WHAT DID THE ANNOUNCER JUST SAY?!

Something hit D, and he fell. Orion ran over to see if he was okay, concerned that his friend wasn’t standing up.

“Go, leave me!” D-16 said, refusing to let Orion help him up.

“No,” Orion said, “We do this together!

Orion slung one of D-16’s arms around his shoulder, and limped along. Then they were about to make it, but they were hit by another transformer, ultimately not getting first.

He and D-16 sat up, looking at each other, both catching their breath.

“Well,” Orion said, “Second place is still pretty–”

He shut up as soon as he saw at least fifteen go past.

“What was it you said about second?” D-16 asked.

“Nevermind,” Orion whispered, smiling as D-16 laughed.

At least it was fun while it lasted.

~*~

“Sooooo, how long do you think we’ll be here?” Orion asked D-16.

“I’m not talking to you,” D-16 grumbled, crossing his arms.

They sat in silence in a medbay, the guards taking them there. He was confused. Why were they in a medbay when the cog-less aren’t allowed? Sure, they both needed medical attention, but who would pay attention to them?

“You know what,” D-16 said, breaking the silence, “I can’t believe that you made me do that! We are so screwed!”

“I thought you weren’t talking to me,” he whispered, looking away.

“Hey, look, I know this is all a big joke to you,” his friend murmured.

It’s not. Please, I swear it’s not.

“But I was paying my dues,” D-16 continued, his voice getting a bit louder with his anger rising, “I was going places. And now they’re going to bust me down I-I don’t even know how many tiers!”

“I’m sorry, D,” Orion mumbled, “Come on, didn’t you feel it? Even for just a second? Didn’t you feel liberated? Didn’t you feel like you were something else? Like you could be more than what they say you are?”

“Yeah, I felt it,” D admitted, “I did, but it doesn’t matter! We’re going to get punished and demoted! Ugh, Sentinel Prime saw the whole thing!”

He looked at D sadly, I’m sorry. Truely. I didn’t know. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

“This is so embarrassing,” D-16 mumbled, putting his helm in his servos.

Orion looked at the door when he heard pitter-patter and froze. A spider-like femme was in the doorway. 

Who the frag is that?!

She walked in and leaned down, looking at them with her multiple eyes. Orion glanced at D, glad that they were at least both confused. She backed out of the room, standing right outside.

“It’s clear,” she said.

He gulped as he heard footsteps, but he couldn’t help his intake from dropping open when he saw who it was: Sentinel Prime.

He immediately stood up as a sign of respect. Holy scrap! Sentinel! The Sentinel Prime!

“Orion Pax,” Sentinel Prime said, putting his servos on his hip joints, “D-16. What you two did today was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen!”

Orion saw how distressed D-16 was, and said, “Sir, this is all my idea. We’re sorry–”

“I loved it!” Sentinel interrupted.

He looked at the Prime, shocked, “You did?”

“How could anyone not love it?” Sentinel asked, “You gave my best racers a real run for their money!”

As Sentinel knelt down, Orion sat back down, seeing that D-16 also sat back down.

“So, we’re not getting demoted?” D-16 clarified.

The Prime laughed, “Demoted?!”

Orion joined in the laughing, hoping it wasn’t awkward. Even the spider-femme joined in.

“The fact of the matter is we’re halfway into the first shift since the race ended,” Sentinel stated, “And that mining crew has already reached one-hundred-fifty percent quota. You inspired them to work harder!” Sentinel shook both of the miner’s servos.

“Sentinel Prime, sir,” Orion said, “We joined the race to show everyone our potential. That we bots can do more than just mine Energon–”

“Outstanding,” Sentinel said, standing back up, “I love a bot that can think for himself. Perhaps you two could tour the mines, speak to your brethren, and help them see their potential.”

Orion smiled, pride spreading through his systems, “Wow, great! That-That-That sounds incredible! I-I-I would love to–”

“Sir,” the femme said, “It’s time.”

“Ah, yes,” Sentinel said, glancing at the femme, “I’m sorry, friends. We’re preparing our next travel to the surface.” Prime leaned closer, lowering his voice, “But in the meantime, I’ve got a treat for you. Hang tight. Airachnid–” The leader turned to the spider, “Have someone escort these heroes to my personal service facilities after they get medical attention from one of my best medics.”

Orion felt proud as Sentinel walked towards the door.

“Best care in Iacon,” Sentinel added, “Until next time, legends!”

Both miners were giddy with joy. Orion looked at the door, longing for that moment to happen again.

“Sentinel Prime!” D-16 laughed, “The Sentinel Prime!”

“You still mad at me?” Orion asked.

“I am less mad at you,” D-16 answered, smiling.

“I’m telling you, D!” He said, playfully hitting him on the shoulder, “I got a feeling that everything is going to change! We’re going to go–”

“Nowhere until I fix your afts.”

They looked towards the door to see an orange and white medic standing there.

“Ratchet?!” Orion exclaimed.

“Like I said last cycle,” Ratchet said, “I knew I’d see you again.”

“Oh, so that’s your name,” D-16 mumbled, looking at him weirdly as the medic knelt down next to his leg, “Ow–Hey! Be careful!”

“You two clearly weren’t careful when you stupidly joined the race,” Ratchet stated, prodding at D’s leg.

Orion laughed nervously, “To be fair, it was my idea.”

Ratchet rolled his eyes, “Wasn’t a good one.”

“It did get us a visit from Sentinel,” he pointed out.

“Which I think is crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy–WHAT THE FRAG WAS THAT FOR?!” D-16 yelled as the medic put his dislocated leg back in place.

“I fixed it,” Ratchet said, “And now you’re free to walk on it again.”

D-16 stood up and put all his weight on the leg, “Oh, thanks.”

Ratchet looked at Orion, shrugging as he shook his head.

“I’m fine,” Orion said, “I don’t need it.”

Ratchet was about to walk out of the room when he turned around, “What you did may have been absolutely idiotic, but I admire your courage–”

“MINERS!”

Ratchet turned back around only to stumble back, narrowly avoiding being hit by the guard.

“Hiiiiiiiiiii, D-Darkwing,” D-16 said quietly.

Darkwing screamed as he grabbed all three of them, using propellers in his legs to fly away, taking them down multiple levels.

“Put me down!” Ratchet demanded, “I am a medic who has work to do!”

Darkwing tossed them down on the ground once they reached the desired level.

“Wait, wait!” D-16 said, pushing himself up, “You don’t understand! We were supposed to go to Sentinel Prime’s Service Pod!”

“You three bots aren’t going to see anyone ever again! I’ll make sure of it!” Darkwing yelled.

“I am not even with them!” Ratchet argued.

“You don’t have a cog!” Darkwing argued, “You aren’t a medic!”

Darkwing flew back up, leaving the three of them sitting in a room, with no other mechs, the door closing behind him.

“You’re making a mistake!” D-16 yelled after him, “Just ask Sentinel!”

The three of them sat there in shock, trying to take in what just happened.

“What. The. Slag,” Ratchet whispered, his intake hanging open.

“I hate that guy,” Orion mumbled, sitting up.

“Shouldn’t Darkwing know that Sentinel visited us?!” D complained, groaning in frustration.

“Wait, hold on,” he said, looking at the medic, “You don’t have a cog?!”

“No,” Ratchet said, “Why are you surprised?”

“I thought that all the cog-less had to mine,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his helm.

“And why did Sentinel call you his best medic if you were thrown down here?!” D-16 punched the floor.

“I know as much scrap as you do as to why we’re down here!” Ratchet argued, “And technically, Cybertronians with no cogs have to mine, but Sentinel came up and asked me to be a medic. I don’t know why he did, though!”

Orion looked around, noticing where they were. It was a small room with a conveyer belt, waste being dumped onto it, heading into an incinerator. 

“Well then, what do we do to get out of here?!” D-16 asked, “And where are we?!”

There was a plate on the wall, and Orion stood up and walked over to it.

“Sublevel fifty,” Orion read.

“Sublevel fifty?!” Ratchet groaned.

“I thought there were only forty?” D-16 asked no one, confused.

Orion squinted as he continued reading, “Watch the waste fall out the chute and into the incinerator. If any looks salvageable, take it off of the conveyor belt–this is a job?!”

He watched as the others stood up, D-16 looked visibly concerned and distressed. 

I did not mean for this to happen.

“So whoever is down here has to watch garbage burn,” Ratchet grumbled, “Just fantastic!”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t forced me to race with you!” D-16 accused, pointing at Orion.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen!” Orion exclaimed, gesturing to the room.

“Would you two stop arguing so that we can make a plan to get out of here?!” Ratchet demanded, servos on his hips.

“We’re stuck down here!” D-16 yelled, “Darkwing said so!”

Orion tuned out the rest of their argument, catching something out of the corner of his optics. He walked over to a piece of waste that was glowing blue. He picked it up and examined it as it started making noise.

“What is that?” Ratchet asked.

“Oh, please,” D-16 scoffed, “It’s waste. What’s so important about it?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered, “But the sound is coming from… here.”

He stuck a digit in a hole and a tiny circle fell out of it. It glowed blue and activated.

It was a hologram.

“Qu-Qu-Quintesson ambush!” the hologram said, “Call-alling the high g-guard for im-mmediate support! I-Immediate support!”

“Whoa,” Ratchet vented.

“That’s… that’s Alpha Trion,” Orion gasped, leaning closer, intrigued.

“One of the Primes?” D-16 murmured.

“Repeat! Zeta Prime has fallen!”

“It’s an S.O.S. message,” he mumbled.

“Down here?” Ratchet asked, “Why?”

“Protect the Matrix! S-S-Sen-Sending location coordin-nates!”

The hologram turned into a map of the surface of Cybertron, a red dotted line with an X at the end covered a bunch of the map.

“By the Allspark…” Ratchet whispered, trailing off.

“Those are coordinates on the surface,” Orion mumbled, confused.

How did this get down here?

“What’s at the coordinates?” D-16 asked.

“This…” he said, trying to think of an answer.

Holy Primus!

“This could be where the Primes died in the Quintesson war,” he concluded, looking at the other miner and the medic, “Which means, this is where we could find the Matrix of Leadership.”

“What are you talking about?” D-16 asked, looking at Pax with concern, “It’s an old beacon inside waste. Garbage.”

“Or,” Orion said with hope, “It’s a clue of how we could find the Matrix–”

“No way,” Ratchet denied, shaking his helm profusely, “There’s no way. Absolutely not. Do you hear yourself? I can check your audials for your aft.”

“Do you even understand what the word garbage means?” D scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Hey, D, come on,” Orion said, ignoring the medic’s insult, “This could be our chance to show everyone that we are not–”

“You already tried to show everyone in the race you tricked me into running, which got us stuck down here in this waste hole with this medic who we only just met last orn!” D-16 huffed.

“I’m just putting my theory out there,” Orion mumbled, holding his hands up in defeat.

“There is a reason no one goes to that slagging awful surface,” Ratchet pointed out.

“Yeah, it’s dangerous!” D-16 yelled, walking away to who knows where despite being trapped inside the room, “I am waiting right here until Sentinel finds us.”

“Oh, okay,” Orion said sarcastically, “Yeah. Mmm. Well, we’ll just stay here forever. Stuck watching trash get smelted. You good with that, doc?”

“Don’t call me doc!” Ratchet growled, glaring at Orion.

The three of them stood there in awkward silence until Orion said, “Hey, D? What do you think Sentinel’s reaction would be when we personally handed him the Matrix of Leadership? That you found?”

“Okay, stop, I know what you’re trying to do,” D-16 groaned, “...And it’s definitely working, I’m in.”

“Oh my Primus, you two are fools,” Ratchet whined, leaning against a wall, “Fine, I’ll come too, because you will clearly need a medic on standby when you foolishly injure yourselves.”

Orion smiled, excited that they might get to help find the Matrix.

“My favorite event,” the hologram of Sentinel Prime said, “A high octane race across all of Iacon City. Let’s all see which competitor can prove that they are more than meets the eye.”

Let’s show them that we no-cogs are more than meets the eye.

“So,” Orion said, “Any ideas on how we get out of here?”

~*~

Orion gagged, almost purging, as he climbed out of the chute. Ratchet’s stellar idea was to climb up the waste chute forty nine sublevels, hoping that they’d make it out. They eventually did, but it was definitely not the most pleasant experience. Once they made it out and onto a ceiling scaffolding, they were greeted by a train station.

“Waste disposal trains,” Ratchet mumbled, “Only ones that go to the surface.”

“But they don’t allow passengers,” D-16 added, “The trains are autonomous.”

“It’s also perfect,” Orion said, motioning for them to follow, “We’ll be safe inside the train.”

The three amigos made it across the scaffolding, landing on top of the train that the workers were loading.

He couldn’t help but feel nervous. They were going to retrieve a mystical artifact that could restore their whole planet. Just a very normal, simple task.

Calm down, Orion! It’ll be fine!

They were able to open a hatch and climb inside the train. The inside was quite spacious with at least thirty containers of waste.

“That’s the last one!” A worker yelled, exiting the train, “Send her off!”

The three of them jumped down, hiding behind a crate. Orion looked at the door to the train, wondering why it wasn’t closing…

Elita-One brought another crate through the door.

“Orion!” D whisper-yelled, “Stop it! Come back to the present!”

Primus, she’s beautiful.

“Orion Pax, get down, now!” Ratchet pushed him behind the crate, out of view.

Orion was about to argue, but he saw Elita go to close the hatch they had opened, his faceplate warm, likely the result of him blushing like mad.

“Thanks for being an idiot, whoever you are,” Elita said, looking around, “Turning you in will definitely get me promoted back up a rank or two.”

“GOT HER!” D-16 yelled, pushing her into a wall. 

She was quick though, spinning on the ground to trip D and topple him over. Ratchet went over to help D-16 up, but was thrown against a wall.

“Elita, stop!” Orion demanded, dodging a punch.

“Orion?” she asked, confused.

“Hold on, let me UGH!” She punched him in the face.

“Security, sound the alarm!” She yelled, running towards the door, but it closed as soon as she got close. She groaned and ran into another cart of the train.

“She’s headed for the engine!” D-16 yelled.

“Don’t worry, I got this!” he said confidently, running after her.

He ran and ran, despite how fast she bolted, “Hold on! Let me explain! We’re on a mission!”

“So am I!” Elita-One replied, “To ruin your life!”

Orion gasped as the train floor tilted. It was going up. He groaned as he fell and landed on top of Ratchet and D-16.

“Elita, wait!” he pleaded, “We found a message! We know where–ACK!”

The three of them jumped out of the way of a crate that was supposed to land on top of them. They climbed up the crates and out the hatch she opened. Orion almost fell out of the hatch when he looked down, gulping down the nausea. He grabbed onto the side–well–technically top of the train and continued climbing after his former-superior. The train flattened out, and they all almost fell off, but he used that moment to grab onto her pede. She was about to punch him, but she froze as the surface was revealed.

“Primus,” Ratchet whispered.

The surface was beautiful. The rocks moved and changed, the sky filled with stars, the way the light shone on everything. Orion wished he had seen this sooner… but he was glad that the four of them weren’t fighting and they were just enjoying the view.

“The surface,” D-16 mumbled.

“It’s… beautiful,” Elita murmured.

Orion looked at her and smiled, Not as beautiful as you. “Elita, listen to me.” He waited until she was looking at him to continue, “We know where the Matrix of Leadership is–”

“Oh, sure,” she groaned, “And I’m really a Prime, I just prefer loading crates of toxic–whoa.”

Orion opened up the map that the three of them had found at sublevel fifty, grinning as Elita’s intake dropped.

“Where did you get this?” Elita asked, curiously.

“From waste,” Ratchet said, “Orion’s idea.”

“It was not my intent to get us stuck down there,” Orion mumbled, embarrassed and blushing.

“Yet, you made Darkwing mad!” D-16 argued.

“What?” she asked, looking at them like they were insane.

He sighed, “Look, Sentinel told us he was going to the surface, and then we found this message. We figured we could hand it to him, or scout the location ourselves. Whichever comes first.” Orion took a deep vent before continuing, “This is too important to wait. It will change all of our lives.”

Elita took a deep vent, contemplating, before shaking her head, “No, no, no, no, I’m not going to get demoted again because of you. I’m turning this rig around and–”

“Hey, hey! Guys, guys,” D-16 said, and they all looked at him, “What is that? And is it getting bigger?”

Something was coming for the train, and Orion froze. 

The rock formation that was changing was coming straight for us!

They all started running towards the front of the train as fast as they could to get away from the impending threat, but they were ultimately slower. There was a hatch they reached, but it closed on them, leaving them on the roof. The train started tilting and almost coming off of the tracks.

“Now I know why no one comes to the surface!” D-16 complained.

Orion desperately grabbed onto the railing on the edge of the train, hoping that he had a good grip strength. They were thrown in every direction, but he kept holding on. The train flipped upside and he lost grip. He screamed as the ground grew closer.

Then everything yet again went black

~*~

Orion groaned as his systems came online, opening his optics. He slowly pushed himself to sit up, and he noticed a broken device on the ground. Beside him, Ratchet woke up, rubbing the back of his head. The medic’s faceplates turned devastated as he saw the device.

“I needed that,” Ratchet grumbled, taking the device and chucking the remnants as far as he could.

“At least we survived,” Orion mumbled, glad that he saw D-16 waking up.

He walked over to Elita’s unconscious body and shook it. “Elita.”

Elita opened her optics, blinking them.

“Elita, are you ok–”

He groaned as Elita punched him in the face, making him fall on the ground, “Please stop punching me in the face!”

He watched Elita struggle to get up, then panic, “Where’s the train?!”

“Relax,” he said, still sitting on the ground, “Okay, here it comes.”

And the train did come, but instead of taking a left towards them, it took a right.

“And there it goes,” Orion said, standing up, “Okay, I was wrong about that, it was going the other way–”
Elita screamed in frustration, honestly scaring Orion a little.

“You… okay?” Orion asked timidly.

“Okay?! OKAY?!” Elita-One asked, stomping towards him, “I just got stuck on a train because of you and almost got myself killed!”

Orion blushed at how close she got. He resisted the urge to just kiss her right then and there.

She stomped over to a rock and started punching it.

“Okay,” he said, opening the map, “So–uh–I think this is us, and if we follow the path–” His optics widened as she stole the map. 

“Now you listen to me Mr. Zero-Seconds-Since-My-Last-Accident!” She exclaimed, pointing a digit at his chassis, “I’ll go on your little quest because I don’t have a choice! But I carry the map. I navigate. If this leads to nothing, then I am dragging you and those two idiots back to Iacon City and to the first supervisor depot we see. At which point, you will explain everything that’s happened using words that reflect me in a very positive light! Got it?!”

Orion panicked a little with how close their faceplates were, “Y-yeah, okay. Deal. A-alright.”

“Let’s go!” she called, walking off with the map.

Orion watched as she left, feeling confused, excited, nervous, and embarrassed. Why do I feel this way?!

He watched as Ratchet caught up with her, ultimately already gaining her trust. 

He wanted that trust.

Orion slowly started walking to catch up, D-16 walking beside him.

“You good there, buddy?” D-16 asked him, waving a servo in front of him, “You there? Because you are blushing like mad–”

“Shut. Up,” Orion said through gritted teeth, blushing like mad.

“No, I’m being serious, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but hey,” he said, changing the topic, “You were just thinking about what you say when you hand the Matrix to Sentinel, weren’t you?”

He noticed the pause before D answered, “I can’t help it!”

“D, we’re really doing this,” Orion said proudly.

“I’m so glad I’m out here with you,” D smiled, “This was a great idea.”

They walked for multiple groons, giving Orion the time to think about everything.

If they succeeded, the planet could be restored to its former glory. If they failed… Elita could turn them in and they’d be stuck doing waste management.

I want Elita, though.

“Hey, I found more of… whatever it is,” D-16 said.

Orion ran his hands along a long green strand of… “Looks like some sort of… nature?”

“So are they,” Elita said, pointing out some sort of animal.

The animals were gathered around eating some of the weird nature things, some stopping to look at them.

A big boom could be heard, and something attached to the animal’s helms turned red.

“What was that?” Elita asked.

Orion watched the ground start to shake and the animals start to run, “Ummmmm, this is not right. We should go.”

“Well no scrap!” Ratchet muttered as they started to run, following the animals.

They ran and ran until they came upon a ruin of some sort.

“What exactly are we running from?” D-16 asked, looking around.

They hid behind a wall and looked up when they heard something. That ‘something’ was a ship, flying in the air.

“What is that?” Ratchet whispered.

“Oh no,” Orion said, “It’s a Quintesson ship!”

“What?!” Elita exclaimed.

“What the frag do we do?!” the medic murmured.

“Shhhh, quiet!” Orion ordered.

An animal ran by them, and was immediately blasted into oblivion. A red laser came down from the ship, scanning the ground.

“It’s scanning for life forms,” Orion mumbled, “Move! MOVE!”

They quickly ran, stopping to hide behind walls as the laser moved past them. Ratchet stumbled over a rock, and Orion quickly helped him up. Because of this, Elita and D-16 had already made it to a safe spot where they would not be spotted, but the medic and miner were still running. He looked up and saw a little ledge above and quickly grabbed Ratchet, causing him to almost fall. The medic couldn’t stand up without being caught by the laser, so Orion had to hold him up. It was a tense few nano-klicks while the laser passed. 

Ratchet looked at Orion and nodded, a hint of a small smile on his derma, “Thanks…”

“You’re welcome,” Orion nodded, smiling back.

The two watched as the ship retreated, heading away from the ruins and disappearing into the fog, the others joining them.

“What were they searching for?” Elita asked, as confused as the rest of them were.

“Someone to hug, Elita, how should we know?!” D-16 responded sarcastically.

“I am not waiting around to find out,” Ratchet said.

“This way, we’re close!” Elita said as they ran off.

Why would the Quintessons be here after fifty cycles?!

They were walking for another groon or so before more nature things started to pop up. It was beautiful. They climbed up a cliff to see a cave entrance that had spikes all around it like a derma.

“A cave with dentra,” D-16 mumbled, “Nothing scary about that.”

Elita looked at the map one more time, then threw it back to Orion. He looked at the map once he caught it, and blushed.

They walked into the cave, the miners turning on their headlights, seeing that the cave had a ton of nature things. 

He couldn’t help but love the beauty of it all.

As beautiful, if not less beautiful, than Elita.

They ventured deeper, crawling under a rock, to reveal a big, open space, his intake dropping at the sight of what was there.

“By the Allspark,” Ratchet whispered.

“I don’t believe it,” Elita murmured.

The dead frames of the Primes. The thirteen original Primes.

They walked around for a bit, looking at everything. Orion looked around in horror. Just seeing the mere horror that had happened made him want to purge. 

And the Quintessons were back.

Orion walked over to one frame and recognized it immediately, “Zeta Prime.”

He looked at it and froze. Zeta’s chassis was open.

“The Matrix,” he whispered, kneeling down, “It’s… gone.”

“Let’s keep looking,” Elita reassured.

Orion looked at her and didn’t care if he was blushing. He was very much in love.

They split up, but the more he looked around, the more depressed he was.

It’s gone. I can’t believe it. Gone.

He turned around as soon as he heard a buzzing sound. Orion saw a faint glow of blue inside some rocks. He walked closer, examining before calling out to the others. They took the rocks off and gasped.

It was Alpha Trion.

~*~

“He’s powered down,” Ratchet said after a closer look, “But… his spark is still lit.”

Elita took out an Energon cube and handed it to Orion, nodding in approval. He cautiously opened Alpha Trion’s intake and put the cube in. Trion started to shake and sparks came off of him. As soon as his optics turned on, his voice box glitched, making him yell out things that the other couldn’t understand. He fell forward onto the ground, yelling, “Message report–”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Orion said, gingerly stepping forward, “It’s okay! It’s okay. You’re safe. The war is over.”

Alpha Trion looked at the four of them before looking over at Zeta Prime’s dead frame. He stood up shakily and stumbled over to the frame. He put a servo on Zeta Prime’s helm, saying, “I failed you, Old Friend. You deserved so much better than this… end.”

There is no way I am actually witnessing this.

“No,” Orion said, “You didn’t fail. We heard your message. We’ve come to find the Matrix–”

“Your transformation cogs,” Alpha Trion interjected, “What… happened to you? Who are you?”

D-16 stepped forward, “We’re cogless miners. From Iacon.”

“Miners. Why?” Trion whispered to himself.

“We’ve had to drill for Energon ever since it stopped flowing,” Elita answered.

“Impossible,” Trion said, looking down at Zeta.

“That’s why we’re here,” Orion murmured, “To fix things. If we find the Matrix of Leadership and get it to Sentinel Prime, he can–”

“SENTINEL!” Trion yelled, glaring at Orion, “is no Prime.”

“What?!” Elita exclaimed.

“He’s broken,” Ratchet finally said, “Fan-fragging-tastic.”

“What are you talking about?” Orion asked, a little offended, “Why would you say that?”

“Sentinel Prime is our protector!” D-16 argued, “He has been saving us from the Quintessons ever since the–”

“You have not been saved!” Trion spat angrily, “You’ve been living a lie. I saw the truth with my own optics. Come, I will show you.”

The four looked at each other before following. Orion looked confusingly at Alpha Trion as he put his servo on the ground.

“For thousands of stellar cycles,” Alpha Trion said, the rocks starting to fly around him, “The war with the Quintessons had been a brutal conflict.”

The rocks formed the scene that Alpha Trion was describing:

“Until Sentinel, the principal aide to the Primes intercepted an enemy transmission. There was going to be a secret gathering of all Quintesson commanders. Their elimination could end the war. It was a mission so important that we, Primes, took it on ourselves. We agreed to meet Sentinel with his sensitive intel in secret, here, in this cave. But we were not alone. We were outnumbered by the Quintessons, but stood as one. Our victory was near. Until we were betrayed.”

Orion looked around, horrified at the scene. This wasn’t how the story goes!

“But Sentinel never understood the true power of what he desired. The Matrix of Leadership can only be wielded by one that Primus himself deems worthy. Sentinel most certainly was not.”

The rocks froze and fell to the ground, leaving all of them standing there in shock and disbelief.
“Wait, wait, wait, hold on,” Orion said, feeling dizzy and falling to his knees, “You’re saying that the Matrix of Leadership just… vanished?”

“No,” D-16 mumbled, “No, no, no, that is impossible! I don’t believe it!”

“Why would Sentinel do that?” Elita asked.

“To make a bargain,” Alpha Trion answered.

“A bargain?” Ratchet asked, “Who the slag would he need to bargain his aft with?”

The cave rumbled and everyone looked up.

Alpha Trion hummed in sadness, “With the new rulers of Cybertron.”

~*~

Orion felt dread as the four of them climbed out of the cave to see what was happening outside. He had a bad feeling about this. And to think that their leader is a liar… He gasped as he knelt down and saw into a valley. 

“Quintessons,” he whispered, forcing himself to not think about the worst possibilities.

There were about twenty ships, all around the valley, waiting–or that’s what it looked like–but for what? He tilted his helm upwards once he heard the rumble of the ship they encountered earlier. It flew over them and docked right in the valley. Waiting for that.

“He’s here,” D-16 said, motioning towards the left, “Sentinel’s here.”

Sentinel flew in from the left, followed by a crew of guards. They landed right in front of the ship, but that didn’t concern Orion. He was concerned about the two trains that had parked on either side of the Quintesson ship.

Why would he need those?

The ship opened and a ton of Quintesson guards came out, lining the path. The leader of the Quintessons came down the path, tentacles as gross as they’ve been in the legends, stopping right in front of the Prime. He looked in disgust as Sentinel and the bots he came with knelt down in front of the alien.

NO, NO, NO! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS NIGHTMARE!

The train’s roofs opened, revealing thousands of crates. Giant wires came out of the ship and stationed themselves floating above the trains. They glowed, making the crates float.

“I’ve loaded those crates,” Elita said, “Those are filled with contaminated metal.”

“I don’t understand,” Ratchet mumbled, “What would the Quintessons want with scrap?”

“That’s not waste,” D-16 said, “That’s… our Energon!”

The crates opened, revealing cubes upon cubes of Energon. The crates lowered back onto the trains while the cubes were sucked into the ship’s tentacle wire things.

“TRAITOR!” D yelled, trying to stand.

“D, no,” Orion said, forbidding him from standing.

He could barely hear what Sentinel was saying, but he did see the Quintesson pick him up by the arms and legs, almost ripping his limbs off. The Prime looked… terrified. The alien growled at him, steam touching their leader’s faceplates. Sentinel was dropped and stood before turning around, and said the only thing Orion could actually hear:

“Triple time every mining shift! No miner gets a break until I get my Energon!”

Sentinel and his team transformed and flew away. The Quintesson ship closed and took off. 

Orion tapped D-16 on the back and climbed back into the cave. He shook his head as he realized everything that Sentinel had ever done for Cybertron. It was all a lie.

“Now you have seen the truth,” Alpha Trion said as they entered the cave again.

He looked around at his comrades, seeing that all of them were as confused as he was. All of them were sitting on rocks, with D-16 not facing any of them.

“Everyorn,” D-16 whispered, “Every single cycle of my life has been a lie.”

Orion shook his head, walking over and punching a rock, “Oh my Primus, I knew it. Deep down I’ve always felt that something was off.”

“He deceived… everyone,” D-16 mumbled.

“Sentinel bought himself power,” Elita said, “And then put us to work, paying off his debt.”

“I can’t believe it,” Ratchet murmured, “I mean, I just saw that scrap go down, but I-I can’t believe it.”

“Sentinel lied.. To my face,” D-16 said, his voice raising slightly.

“Of all the sham, how could we have been so gullible?” Orion asked, mostly to himself, “This–This is going to change everything–”

He shut up and looked at D-16, who was crushing a piece of rock with his pede.

“You just had to do it, didn’t you?” D-16 asked accusingly.

“Me?” Orion retorted, confused, “What did I do?!”

“You just had to go to the surface!” D-16 practically yelled, “Had to enter the Iacon 5000! You just had to break protocol!”

Orion scoffed, “Who cares about protocol–”

“I DO!” D-16 yelled, standing up and turning around, “I CARE! BECAUSE NOTHING BAD HAPPENS WHEN YOU STAY ON PROTOCOL!”

“Sentinel Prime has been forcing us to work in the mines until our gears strip,” Orion grumbled, “And all the while he’s been giving Energon away to our greatest enemies–”

“Ugh! What do you think he’s going to do to us when he finds out that we know?!”

“I’m not thinking about what he’s going to do; I’m thinking about what we’re going to do–”

“Well, that’s the whole thing! YOU’RE NEVER THINKING ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE! JUST YOURSELF! FANTASTIC! ANOTHER ORION PAX ‘MASTER’ PLAN! I can’t wait to hear this!”

Orion felt guilty. This was all of his fault. They’d still be living fine if he hadn’t gone and messed things up.

Then again, Cybertron would probably be dead if I didn’t break protocol.

“Don’t you want to stop him?” Orion asked.

“NO, I WANT TO KILL HIM!”

The room went silent in shock. Orion opened his intake to talk, but nothing came out. The anger in his friend’s optics honestly scared him.

D-16 took a vent before continuing, “I want to put Sentinel in chains and march him through the mines so everyone can see him for the false Prime that he is! I want him to suffer, and to die in darkness! But we all know that it doesn’t matter what I want, right Pax?”

He forgot how to vent. All he could focus on was the words that had just come out of his friend’s intake.

“The fact is,” D-16 said, anger still very obvious, “We’re just cog-less bots, right?”

Orion avoided making optic contact with him, trying to not panic. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryi’msorryi’msorryi’msorry–

D-16 chuckled, “Limited options… And now–now we have none!”

He was about to reply when Alpha Trion spoke up, “No son or daughter of Cybertron is born without a cog–”

“Oh, yeah,” D-16 said sarcastically, “I’ve been with myself since I came online, and this slot–” he pointed to his chest, “–has always been empty!”

“What are you saying, Alpha Trion?” Elita asked.

“That Sentinel is a fragging slagger that needs to go die in the pits,” Ratchet cursed.

“He removed your cogs before you came online,” Trion murmured, looking each one of them in the optics.

“We were born with transformation cogs?” Orion asked quietly, trying to confirm, “But he–”

“He took them from us,” D finished for him.

Alpha Trion stood, towering over all of them, “What defines a transformer is not the cog in his chassis, but the spark that resides in their core. A spark that gives you the will to make your world better.”

He couldn’t help but notice how Trion looked directly at him, and he couldn’t help but feel determined, yet he did not know towards what he felt determined.

“My fellow Primes had that spark,” Trion said, kneeling down, “That spark of hope, courage, bravery.

“And I see that spark in you.”

He put his servo on the ground and rocks started flying again, “Take their cogs–”

He can’t be serious.

“–and access your full potential!”

Four cogs rose from Alchemists’s, Micronus’s, Onyx’s, and Prima’s frames, each one flying towards Alpha Trion and circling him.

Primus, he’s serious.

“Warriors of noble spirit,” Trion murmured, “Loyalty. Strength. Their uniqueness enhanced by these!”

Orion watched in awe as the cogs flew towards them: Onyx to D-16, Alchemist to Elita-One, Micronus to Ratchet, and Prima to him. His chassis opened when it sensed the cog, allowing the cog to connect with him. His frame buzzed and shifted, levitating in the air, molding the cog with him.

“They were one,” Alpha Trion said, “You are one! All are one!”

Orion landed on the ground and looked at his new frame in wonder. He looked basically the same with a few minor adjustments like the smokestacks on his back.

Smokestacks?! What do I transform into?!

“W-w-we have–” Orion stuttered, unable to form words, “You g-gave us–”

“The ability to change your world,” Trion said, looking directly at him, “How you chose to use that power is up to you.”

Orion looked around at the others, all smiling and laughing in joy.

“Holy scrap!” Ratchet laughed.

“No way we can actually transform!” Elita exclaimed.

D-16 smirked, “I guess we can–”

The cave shook around them and everyone froze.

Alpha Trion nodded solemnly, ‘They’ve found us.”

“OH, YES!” D-16 yelled, “TIME TO FIGHT BACK!”

“No!” Alpha Trion exclaimed, “You must return to Iacon City and alert everyone.”

Orion watched as tiny dust particles flew into the air, creating a sphere. 

“Embedded in this are the records I have shown you, use it to reveal the truth,” Alpha Trion said, the sphere moving and condensing into the little circle that held the map.

Orion nodded confidently, “We will.”

Alpha Trion led them over to a tunnel, purring a giant servo on Orion’s shoulder–well–it wasn’t as giant anymore now that the cog made him taller,  “This tunnel leads to the mountains. Cybertron’s future is in your servos.”

They started running down the tunnel, but Orion stopped and turned around, “Wait!”

Alpha Trion looked at him.

“We can’t just leave you here!” Orion exclaimed.

“Your fight will come, my friend,” Alpha Trion said, walking closer, “Primus has a purpose for us all.”

Orion looked at him, not caring that his faceplate looked terrified.

“This fight,” Alpha Trion said quietly, looking around the cave, “This fight is mine. Now go!”

He nodded, still not wanting to leave him, but obeying and catching up with his newly-cogged comrades. Orion looked back when he heard an explosion, and saw Trion transform into a large animal.

“Orion, come on!” Ratchet exclaimed, “We have to go!”

Orion continued running, ignoring the gunfire he heard. 

Primus be with him.

“I still think we have better odds fighting than running!” D-16 yelled.

“Yeah, but we have cogs!” Elita said, “We can transform now!”

“Okay,” Orion murmured, “Everyone ready?”

“I was born ready!” Elita answered.

“Pits yeah!” Ratchet exclaimed.

“Alright!” Orion yelled, “On three: one–AGHHH!”

~*~

“A CLIFF!” Ratchet screamed as they fell through the air, “THERE JUST HAD TO BE A FRAGGING CLIFF!”

They fell and rolled down the side of the mountain, running as they regained footing. Orion gasped as he saw a bullet fly past him. He looked back and saw some of Sentinel’s guards flying after them and chasing them.

“HOW DO WE USE THESE THINGS?!” D-16 yelled.

“I DON’T KNOW! JUST… TRY!” Orion yelled back.

He grunted as he pulled his arms as close as he could, concentrating on trying to transform. His frame started shifting.

“HAH HAH! IT’S WORKING!” Orion yelled, “IT’S WORKING–My helm! MY HELM!”

His helm got stuck inside his chassis, making him unable to see. He stumbled, trying not to fall over as he called for help. Orion heard D-16 yell something about ‘not being faster’, but with his helm being trapped, he couldn’t hear scrap. He heard the others yelling something, but had no idea what it was. Explosions and gunshots could be heard. 

He groaned as his helm popped back out, probably having a dent, but gasped as he saw three guards landed in front of them, shooting more bullets. He ran and jumped off of a sturdy nature thing… and transformed into a truck-like vehicle mode, accidentally hitting a guard.

Orion stopped himself after driving off of a cliff and landing with style, transforming back into his bot-mode, laughing his helm off. He looked at the others, who transformed back.

“We’re alive!” Ratchet said, who had the vehicle mode of an ambulance, “Thank Primus!”

“That was incredible!” Elita-One exclaimed as she transformed from a motorcycle back into herself, smiling at Orion.

Orion blushed, looking away. He couldn’t help the smile that formed on his derma. Primus, she’s not beautiful, she’s divine.

He couldn’t help but notice that D-16 wasn’t there, “Hey, where’s–whoa.”

A guard had apparently been behind him, ready to kill, but a bullet hit the guard, killing him.

D-16 rolled towards them as a tank and transformed, laughing, “Y-yes! Hah hah!”

Orion walked over, “Hey, whoa buddy, you okay?”

“I’m great!” D-16 exclaimed, “Are you kidding me?! We can transform! We transform!”

“Oh, hey, I know, I know,” Orion said, sharing his excitement.

“Come on,” D-16 said, putting an arm around his shoulders, “We’re wasting time. We have to get back to Iacon.”

Orion nodded, opening the map, “Looks like the fastest way back to Iacon is–”

“Here, I got this,” D-16 said, taking the map and walking away.

“Whoa, hey, what are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, yeah, but be careful–”

“I got it.”

“Our proof is inside, and–and you’re spilling it everywhere–”

D-16 stopped walking and slowly turned around, anger in his optics, “I said, I. Got. It.”

Orion looked at him confused and concerned. Why was his friend reacting like that? “Okay,” he mumbled quietly.

“Follow me,” D said, turning back around and walking again.

Elita followed him, but Orion stayed behind for a minute, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Ratchet walked up next to him, “He seems more irritated.”

“Yeah…” Orion whispered, his voice trailing off. 

What happened to his optics?

D-16’s optics had changed from yellow to orange when he had gotten angrier, and it confused Orion. Something had changed within his friend, and he did not like it.

“Are you alright, Orion?” Ratchet asked, putting a servo on his shoulder.

“W-what?” Orion asked, the medic’s voice pulling him out of his thoughts, “Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

“You seem bothered by D-16’s rage,” the medic pointed out.

“I’m… confused,” Orion admitted, “He’s never acted like this before, and I don’t know if I should be concerned.”

“You probably should be,” Ratchet answered, “Just be aware of your surroundings when talking to him. He seems like the kind of mech to physically retaliate when angry.”

“D would never hurt anyone!” Orion argued, looking at Ratchet, “Or… I hope he isn’t consumed by his anger and chooses to use his spark for evil.”

Ratchet sighed, “He may be digging a hole he cannot escape, but if he can be saved, we will save him.”

Orion smiled, “If you say so.”

“Now come on before the slaggers get out of sight,” Ratchet said, walking off towards the other two.

Orion called out, running after him, “Hey, wait for me!”

They drove until the sun had set, D-16 leading the way. They drove in silence, leaving Orion alone with his thoughts. He had so many questions as to why his friend had acted out like that.

They all transformed back into their mech forms, and Orion took the moment to run up to D-16.

“Hey, buddy,” Orion said quietly.

“Oh,” D said, glancing at him for a moment before putting his optics back on the road, “Hey.”

“You’ve… been a little quiet,” he murmured, hoping the concern was as clear as day in his voice, “Y-you alright?”

“All I can think about is Sentinel’s smirking face,” D admitted, his fists clenching, “He must pay for what he has done. Someone has to do something.”

He continued quietly, “We are. With Alpha’s proof inside that device, we show everyone the truth–”

“You honestly believe it will be that easy?” D examined the device that held the proof and the map, “Iacon doesn’t want to hear the truth. They worship Sentinel! There has got to be a better way to bring him down.”

He out a servo on his shoulder, “We just have to trust that everyone will believe what we show them–”

“I trusted Sentinel! With everything!” D grumbled, his voice rising slightly, “I will never trust a so-called leader ever again.”

Orion’s optics widened, reality setting in on how hurt his friend really was. 

“There is only one bot I know I can–”

Orion looked at D-16 in shock as D-16 was hit by a stun-gun, making him convulse on the ground. He was about to go over and check on D when he was also hit. The pain was unbearable as he convulsed on the ground.

And for the third time, everything went black.

~*~

Orion gasped as he was tased, quickly sitting up. He slowly kneeled as he looked around. There were a ton of transformers pointing guns at him. He looked to his side and saw the others. They were in some sort of ship ruin that was turned into some sort of base. He looked up and saw transformers positioned at the top of the ruins, looking down on him. There were at least a hundred of them there. 

“Now, are you spies? Or just incompetent lackeys?!”

Orion looked ahead to see a transformer sitting on a makeshift throne. Their voice was very high pitched, but it was someone he did not recognize. To the left of the throne there was a blue mech and to the right was a purple one.

“We’re not spies,” Orion said, holding his servos up.

“But he is incompetent,” Elita added.

He looked at her and scoffed, Just because you look and are amazing, does not give you the right to make fun of me!

“Scanning electrical impulses,” the blue mech said, his voice very monotone, a servo touching his own helm, “He speaks the truth.”

“That just means he believes himself like any spy would!” the mech on the throne exclaimed, resting his helm on his servo.

Ratchet protested, but his intake was covered, “MMMMM-MMMMM! MMMMM! MMMMMMMMMM! MMMMMMMM!”

“Uh, why is he gagged?” Elita-One asked, pointing at the medic.

“He wouldn’t stop cussing us out!” the purple mech yelled.

“Even when he was unconscious?”

“ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WAS UNCONSCIOUS!”

“Enough!” the transformer on the throne commanded, “Two options for you: One, we slowly dismantle each of you one bolt and screw at a time and really make sure you feel it, or two, in exchange for a quick death, you give us intel on the Energon trains, access to the mines, or anything else that could hurt your boss, Sentinel Prime!”

“Who even are you guys?” Elita asked.

Ratchet ripped off his gag, “How the frag do you not know?! Their afts are the Cybertronian High Guard!”

The purple mech groaned, “AGHHHHH, I TOLD YOU IT WASN’T TIGHT ENOUGH!”

“Yeah,” Orion mumbled, “I read about you in the Archives. You are the most legendary warriors in all of Cybertron!”

Ratchet pointed at the purple mech, “That slagger is Shockwave, the blue glitch is Soundwave, and the annoying aft squeaker sitting on the throne is Starscream–”

“SILENCE!” Starscream screamed, stomping his pede, “The orange fragger is correct. We were once the High Guard. We witnessed Sentinel’s betrayal, saw the Primes fall. Since that day we’ve been fighting from the shadows, doing whatever we can to sabotage Sentinel.”

“That’s great!” Orion said, standing up, “We’re–whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Three of the High Guard transformed their servos into guns and pointed it at him.

“Okay, okay! We’re good! Everyone relax!” Orion muttered, “I’m just saying, we’re allies. We were on our way back to Iacon, and now with your help we can unify Cybertron against Sentinel Prime–”

“The idea of a unified Cybertron is a myth,” Starscream interjected, “All that counts is the strength of one bot over another!”

The High Guard erupted into cheers, and Orion looked around in disgust. It is not a myth! We can make it a truth!

“Hey! What’re you doing?!” Starscream yelled.

Orion turned around to see D-16 just walking away. 

Oh no.

D-16 stopped in his tracks, turning around, “I’ll tell you what I’m not doing: I’m not cowering in some busted ship playing king of the throne. I’m not pretending like I’m making a difference by throwing one punch and then running away to hide!”

Starscream walked slowly down the steps of his throne, glaring at D-16.

“I found out that Sentinel is rotten today, and I’m going to make him pay for it! Today!” D exclaimed. 

Orion felt like he was going to purge, so he looked away.

“You think you can insult me and just walk away?” Starscream asked quietly, getting close to D-16, “No one leaves unless I say so.”

“Is that right?” D-16 chuckled, “Well how can you say so with my helm in your dentra?”

Orion whipped his helm around when he heard this and saw D-16 use his helm to smack Starscream in the dentra like his friend had said, “D!”

Starscream jumped in the air and tried to knock D-16 over, but was ultimately pushed back. The High Guard started cheering for Starscream to murder D-16. The High Guard leader grabbed his friend by the neck and flew him into a wall, punching him in the gut.

Orion felt dizzy as he watched, liquid turning in his tank as he tried not to purge. STOP IT! STOP IT! This was definitely not what Alpha Trion wanted.

D-16 transformed one leg into a tread of a wheel, kicking Starscream away. Starscream landed on the ground with a grunt, D-16 landing right in front of him. D-16 punched him in the face.

“HIT ME!” Starscream screamed, “DO IT!”

Orion flinched everytime his friend punched Starscream. He saw Shockwave about to stop it, but Soundwave stopped him. He shook his head as D-16 looked around at the High Guard cheering his name.

STOP IT! PLEASE STOP IT! STOP! STOP! STOP! PLEASE! NO! THIS WAS NOT WHAT ALPHA TRION INTENDED! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!

“YOU WANT TO SEE THE STRENGTH OF ONE BOT OVER ANOTHER?!” D-16 screamed, “HUH?!”

D-16 grabbed Starscream’s neck and squeezed as hard as he could.

“Is ThAt AlL YoU GoT?!” Starscream questioned, his voice box glitching, making his voice higher pitched.

D-16 pulled his arm back, about to punch him, but instead, his arm transformed and he gained a cannon attached to his arm. He pointed the cannon at Starscream’s helm, ready to shoot.

Orion, horrified, had his intake open in fear and his optics wide. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please no, NO, NO, NO, NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO–

“Stop, D-16, he is not the enemy!” Ratchet called out.

D-16 thought about it before pulling his arm away. “BEAR WITNESS!” He yelled, “THIS–THIS IS THE LAST TIME I SHOW MERCY!”

Orion felt liquid slosh around in his tank, ready to come out at any minute, his vents quickened in fear, processor screaming at him.

You caused this. You caused him to feel this way. You forced him to save you from the guards when escaping the Archives. You ran in the Iacon 5000. You went looking for the Matrix. You forced him to be your friend. THIS IS YOUR FAULT!

“DECIDE! RIGHT NOW!” D-16 continued, “YOU CAN STAY HERE IN HIDING, BOWING BEFORE YOUR PATHETIC LEADER! OR FOLLOW ME AS WE MARCH ON IACON AND I TAKE DOWN SENTINEL ONCE AND FOR ALL!”

Orion could see all the High Guard crowding around his friend, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. All he could hear was his own irratic venting and his processor screaming at him.

YOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULT–

He looked up to the sky and saw some Cybertronians flying in, shooting and flash bombing him, the explosion sending him flying backwards. He groaned and stood up.

“Orion, come on!”

He turned to see Ratchet holding out a servo. He took his servo and transformed. The rest was a blur of him and Ratchet shooting some mechs. He couldn’t tell what was happening. All he knew was that he was having a very hard time venting.

And then he saw one of Sentinel’s guards point a gun at Elita.

“ELITA, GET DOWN!”

He saw how Elita looked at him before he transformed and drove into the guard. Orion transformed midair, hitting a wall of a cliff and falling to the ground. The cliff collapsed and rock fell on top of him. He panicked and tried to get the rocks off, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t vent. He couldn’t vent.

Elita is probably dead now because of you. You killed her. And everyone else. D-16 is mad at you. You caused this. Disappointment. 

You're just Primus’ mistake that should have never been forged.

Orion had no idea how long he was stuck under the rocks, but he eventually saw Ratchet take the rocks off of him.

“Orion, are you alright?”

Orion looked at him, but everything blurred around him. He needed to vent badly, but he felt like he was being suffocated. He was vaguely aware of Ratchet kneeling down and talking to him, but it was too loud. Everything was too loud.

THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!

YOU CAUSED THIS!

ALL BECAUSE YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF!

Orion flinched as he felt something touch his shaking servo, a faint yelp escaping his intake. 

HE’S GONNA HURT YOU! 

HE’LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE!

He felt his servo be moved to touch something, that something rising and falling beneath it. Orion tried to pull away, but then he felt a sparkbeat too. He slowly started to try and mimic the object, his venting slowly evening out, everything quieting down, his vision regained, yet the shaking remained.

“That’s it,” Ratchet whispered, “Just vent. It’s okay. Sentinel’s guards aren’t here. You’re safe.”

He looked around, fully expecting to be ambushed, but it was just the two of them. 

“Orion, look at me,” Ratchet murmured, “Just focus on my venting. Everything’s alright. You’re safe.”

Safe.

Orion looked anywhere but the medic, trying to look for the others. His panic rose as he couldn’t see where they went. 

Where is D and Elita?!

He didn’t realize his vents had quickened again until arms wrapped around him, moving his helm to lean against a chassis. He panicked at first and tried to pull away, but calmed down the more he listened to the sparkbeat. Leaning into the calming embrace, he closed his optics, willing his own sparkbeat to stop pounding.

“It’s alright,” Ratchet mumbled, rubbing his backplates, “You’re alright.”

Orion had to reset his voice box five times before he was able to whisper, his voice raspy, “M’s-s-sorry–”

“Don’t be,” Ratchet said, “I don’t blame you for panicking. Scrap, I was even panicking slightly.”

Orion looked down at his shaking servos. So many thoughts were running through his processor, and he didn’t know what to think of it all.

After he calmed down some more he pulled away from the embrace and asked, “Wh-where are the others?”

“Sentinel’s troops took as many as they could carry,” Ratchet replied solemnly, “They got D-16, Elita, and about half of the relatively annoying nutjobs that are probably high on Engex guard.”

The two of them sat there in silence until Orion grabbed the divide that held the map and the proof. It had been cracked in the battle, spilling the proof. He chucked the device in anger, sighing as he thought over what they should do.

“D was right,” Orion whispered, “About everything.”

Ratchet looked at him, “What do you mean?”

“Just look at it!” Orion exclaimed, frustrated, “Look around! This is a disaster! It’s all my fault. I should’ve stayed on protocol–”

“It’s not your fault,” Ratchet said, concerned.

“Yes it is!” Orion argued, “If I had just not saved Jazz, or not forced D-16 to race in the Iacon 5000, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Sentinel wouldn’t have Elita and D! For all we know, Sentinel could’ve killed them!”

Ratchet sighed, putting a servo on his shoulder, “Listen to me, I really want you to hear this. Are you listening?”

Orion reluctantly met his gaze.

“I am better than you,” Ratchet said.

He just looked at Ratchet confused, “Yeah, okay, I’m hearing you.”

“I am better than you in every way except that you have hope,” Ratchet smiled, “You always have. Elita told me about how you saved Jazz at the mines–she admires you for it–You snuck up to the surface to find the Matrix of Leadership–”

“Oh, well how’d that work out?” Orion asked sarcastically.

“My point is,” Ratchet added, “Is that your instincts tell you to break protocol for a reason. This blind optimism that you have is why you make such bold and courageous choices that are also extremely stupid.”

He gulped down his sadness, allowing confusion to take hold, “First time giving a pep talk?”

“You’re inspiring,” the medic praised, “You can envision a better future that no one else can see, and if we ever want to see Elita-One or D-16 again, that–that is the Orion Pax that we need right now. Listen to me: We can do this.”

Orion thought about it for a moment before sighing. He thought about their next move, and gasped, “Those Energon trains will be heading back to Iacon… If–If we intercepted one–”

“Frag yes,” Ratchet encouraged, helping him to his pedes, “We can reroute it. What else do we need?”

Orion looked around, his optics landing on the other half of the High Guard he didn’t even notice were there, “Well, my bold instincts tell me we have to recruit some “drunk” nutjobs.”

Ratchet groaned, “I was afraid you’d say that.”
“I thought you just said that it was good for me to follow my instincts?”

“They put a gag on me!”

“They may be able to help.”

“Ugh, fine.”

They walked over, and Orion gulped. The High Guard was way more intimidating than they first seemed.

“Uh,” Orion cleared his voice, “Shockwave, Soundwave, you in the back.”

All the High Guard turned to look at him, and he gulped.

This could be interesting.

“In order to save our captured friends, we have to act now–”

“How about,” Shockwave grumbled, walking towards him, “I blast you back to Iacon–AUGH! OH, HE PUNCHED ME IN THE EYE!”

Orion glared at Ratchet as he brushed off his servos. 

“Deserved,” Ratchet mumbled, “So everyone shut up! All of you! And listen to him!”

Orion took a deep vent, calming himself, before continuing, “Most likely, our friends are being held captive at the top of Sentinel's tower. A surprise attack would give us the chance to rescue them.”

“Impossible,” Soundwave denied, his monotone voice sending shivers down Orion’s spinal strut, “We do not have enough soldiers, or a way inside.”

“Ratchet will get us in,” Orion clarified, nodding at the medic, “And I will get more troops.”

“Why should we follow you?” Shockwave sneered.

Ratchet pounded his servos together, ready to punch him again.

“We will follow you!” Shockwave replied out of fear.

“Attention High Guard,” Soundwave commanded, “Prepare for battle. What is our first move?”

Uhhhhhhhh…

“We roll out,” Orion said, nodding to reassure himself.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“Louder,” Ratchet whispered.

Orion nodded, “WE TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT!”

~*~

Orion gulped as he looked down at Iacon. “Ohhh-kay,” he whispered.

He hated heights, and he couldn’t even see the bottom of where the buildings started. He backed up slightly, panicking a bit, but then he remembered who he was doing this for.

Ratchet.

Elita-One.

D-16.

Cybertron.

He took a deep vent before plunging into Iacon, using his smokestacks as jets to fly himself down. Orion transformed as he landed on a road, driving as fast as he could towards the miner’s dormitories. He walked in, ignoring the stares he received from the miners.

“You can’t be serious!” he heard a miner yell, “We just worked twenty-two shifts without a break! These miners need rest and time to repair–”

“SENTINEL PRIME WANTS MORE ENERGON!”

Ugh, not Darkwing!

“SO GET BACK IN THE MINES BEFORE I MAKE YOU GET BACK IN THERE–”

Orion grabbed Darkwing’s arm, preventing him from punching the miner.

Karma’s a glitch.

He then proceeded to punch him in the faceplate, sending him flying backwards into a wall. Orion ignored the whispers as he walked into the next room, looking around at his fellow miners who were gathered around him.

“Orion?” 

He turned around to see Jazz standing there, “Jazz.”

“Is it really you?”

Orion gulped, nodding, “Yeah, I know I–uh–look a little… different.”

Very different in fact. He had to crane his helm to look down at his cog-less friends.

“Little?” Jazz asked, “There is nothing little about you.”

“H-how is this possible?” a miner said, the mech whom Orion recognized as Ironhide, a miner who worked on the same team as him.

“Sentinel had said you had died from your race injuries,” a femme murmured.

Orion froze, his vents hitching.

Another lie. Another fragging lie.

“Sentinel is a liar,” Orion confessed, kneeling down to see his friends at optic level, frowning as he heard the whispers of confusion, “Look, I know how this will sound coming from me. I was never the most…focused miner, but as you can see everything is different now.”

Orion looked around at the miner’s faceplates, seeing their intakes drop as he opened his chassis to show them the cog he received, swallowing his fear.

For Cybertron.

“I went to the surface,” Orion continued, “And I learned the truth. My friends, we were all born with transformation cogs, and then Sentinel… he stole them from us! He took away our ability to make our own decisions! Stole our freedom.”

He closed his optics and took a deep vent, steadying his racing spark, “But now, I’m offering you your first real choice: You can work a twenty-third shift and work yourself to death, or fight back against Sentinel with me. Right now.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” a miner asked hesitantly.

“We can’t fight. We don’t have cogs!” a femme argued.

Orion looked at the ground remembering what Alpha Trion had said, slowly repeating it, “What defines a transformer is not the cog in its chassis, but the spark that resides in their core. A spark that gives you the will to make your world better, and that spark, Sentinel can never take from us.”

“There’s not enough of us,” Jazz mumbled, “We need an army.”

He smiled, putting a servo on Jazz’s shoulder, “And we have one. Ratchet, the cog-less medic who came to the surface and also received a cog, is bringing troops. We are not alone in this.”

“If we want to be in control of our own destiny we have to fight for it! Now is the time for us to stand up!” he exclaimed, standing up and looking around proudly, “For ourselves! Stand up for this injustice! I promise you, this fight will be worth it. Follow me! Nothing can stop us when we stand together! Together as one!”

He looked around, pride swelling within him. Maybe they had a shot at beating the false Prime.

Ratchet, Orion called out through his comm-link, It’s time.

You got it,  the medic replied.

Till all are one.

He led the miners to get jetpacks, arming them with anything mining tools they could find. Then, they ran outside into the chaos.

The High Guard were fighting Sentinel’s guards, trying to clear a path for the Energon train that Ratchet was driving. They clearly needed help. Orion led the miners into battle, making Sentinel’s guards drop out of the sky.

“Metal to the petal miners!” Orion yelled, “Let’s break some protocol!”

The air fight was brutal. Orion was guilty that he was possibly killing some of Sentinel’s guards. He gasped as he was pinned against the glass of the train by Airachnid. He turned his helm from side to side, avoiding her spider legs from killing him. He punched her in the face, but her helm literally turned around, opening and revealing hundreds of optics.

“Whoa, that’s intense,” Orion mumbled, looking at her in fear.

“YOU CAN’T WIN, MINER!” She screamed, “I SEE EVERYTHING!”

Orion looked around her, smirking, “Yes, you do. Except the tower we are about to crash into.”

He kicked Airachnid off, and punched the glass, jumping inside the train to survive the impact into Sentinel Prime’s tower. As soon as the train stopped moving, Orion jumped out to see D-16 in cuffs, about to be shot by one of Sentinel’s guards.

“Hey!” he yelled, jumping into the air. He transformed his arm into a gun and shot at the guard, ultimately killing the guard.

Orion ran over to D-16 and helped him up, “What has he done to you?”

“This is nothing compared to what I am going to do to Sentinel!” D-16 growled, looking for Sentinel.

He looked at him concerned. What was he planning?

Orion ordered, Soundwave, free the prisoners!

Soundwave flew into the tower, sending frequencies to unlock the cuffs.

He put a servo on D’s shoulder, “I know how to stop him. Airachnid is the answer–”

“I’m doing this my way!” D-16 interjected, running off.

Orion groaned, panicking slightly.

He is going to kill him.

He looked around the room to see Ratchet and Elita-One join the fight. Where was D? Where was he?

Orion groaned as an explosion hit him from behind, slowly sitting up. He ran and grabbed a gun from the floor, hiding behind a wrecked wall for coverage.

“YOU LITTLE TWITS!” Sentinel’s voice boomed, “DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD KNOCK DOWN EVERYTHING I HAVE BUILT?!”

“It’s over Sentinel!” Orion yelled back, “You can’t escape the truth!”

“WHAT TRUTH?! THAT I PLUCKED THE COGS FROM YOUR NEWBORN CHASSIS’?! FORCED YOU TO MINE SO THAT I COULD PAY OFF THE QUINTESSONS AND LIVE LIKE A KING?! NONE OF THAT MATTERS BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS WHAT I MAKE IT!”

Sentinel flew up into the air, sending missiles flying at them.

He drove away, narrowly escaping being hit. He transformed back into his mech form and saw Elita-One and Ratchet pull up beside him.

“He’s too strong!” Elita exclaimed.

“I have a plan,” Orion answered, “We need Airachnid.”

“Airachnid?!” Elita yelled.
“We need her memory.”

“Where the frag is she?!” Ratchet grumbled.

Airachnid flew in from behind and grabbed Elita-One, flying out the window.

“Well, that makes this easier,” Ratchet murmured.

Elita, do not break her, Orion commanded, Bring her to the broadcast station. We’ll meet you there.

The medic and the miner ran as fast as they could, transforming to drive away, avoiding guards. Orion’s processor kept running through the possibilities of what could go wrong, but he pushed those thoughts aside.

They made it to the broadcast station, quickly running inside. Elita eventually brought Airachnid inside.

“Uh, you’re not supposed to be in here,” a mech who ran the station said.

Ratchet grumbled, “Shut up before I do so myself.”

Orion ignored that and went to a table in the middle, pressing some buttons. He turned on the broadcast system and Elita pushed Airachnid onto it. The spider-like femme groaned, a hologram of her memories of Sentinel Prime coming out of her processor, broadcasting to all of Iacon.

“That’s why after I killed him, I took his cog for myself. What truth?! That I plucked the cog from your newborn chassis?! Forced you to mine so that I could pay off the Quintessons and live like a king! I’m working my miners as hard as I can! I swear, I will get you the rest!”

“Pax,” Elita-One murmured, “We did it.”

Orion smiled at her, but gasped as he looked out the window, “D!”

D-16 was fighting Sentinel while falling to the ground, punching the fake Prime.

The three of them ran outside to see the city in chaos. Everyone was running away from the spot where those two had landed. D-16 was shooting at Sentinel and trying to kill him.

No, no, no, no.

Orion ran over and pushed D to the ground, stopping him from killing their ‘leader’.

“What are you doing?!” D-16 exclaimed, standing back up.

“It’s over, D,” He reassured, standing up with him, “Everyone in Iacon knows the truth.”

“SO DO I!” his friend yelled, “HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM US! I HAVE TO DO THIS!”

“No, you don’t,” he said quietly, “Rebuilding Iacon cannot begin with an execution.”

“He deserves to die! Can’t you see that?!”

“We’re better than this. Don’t be like Sentinel!”

Orion looked in his friend’s optics and saw someone he couldn’t recognize anymore. He saw fear and rage boiling inside. His spark broke as D-16 spoke:

“Pax, you need to move out of my way before I move you myself.”

“D, listen–”

He groaned as D-16 punched him in the faceplate, sending him crashing to the ground. His friend kicked him in the stomach, pushing him away from Sentinel. Orion sat up and gasped. He had no time to think before he acted.

He ran in front of D-16, taking the shot instead of Sentinel. His left arm was completely torn off, creating a giant hole in his chassis. Orion flew backwards from the impact, the pain unlike anything he has felt before. He barely felt D-16 grab him, making sure he didn’t fall off the edge, but he didn’t pull him up.

“No,” D-16 mumbled, “NO, NO, NO, NO! Why?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! WHY?!”

He remembered what had happened a few days earlier.

He jumped onto a flying transformer and flew off. The transformer threw him off, and he grabbed onto another one, causing an explosion behind him. 

Orion looked back and called out, “SORRY!”

D-16 grabbed him and flew off using his jetpack.

An obstacle came up, changing shape.

“Time it just right, then jump!” Orion yelled.

The two of them jumped through,  Orion turning his head when he heard D-16 yell, “MOVE–AGH!”

A Cybertronian hit D-16, causing him to fly off the edge of the path. Orion ran over and grabbed his arm, pulling him up, continuing to run. Now, they were behind, so they stopped to catch their vents.

And now the tables have turned.

“D,” Orion whispered, looking up at him, pleading, begging, “N-no.”

He saw how his friend looked away, but was devastated when D-16 looked back at him, his optics red.

D-16 scoffed, “I’m done saving you.”

Orion watched as D-16 dropped him, the ground growing further and further away. The pain of his injuries and sadness overwhelmed him.

He had failed and there was nothing he could do.

He closed his optics accepting his fate.

I’m sorry, D-16. I’m sorry.

~*~

“THE AGE OF PRIMES HAS ENDED!” D-16 yelled, holding up Megatronus Prime’s cog that he had grabbed from Sentinel’s dead frame, “NO MORE FALSE PROPHETS!”

“Orion Pax,” Alpha Trion said.

“FOLLOW ME, AND YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN BE DECEIVED! RISE UP!”

“Your sacrifice for the greater good has proven you worthy in the optics of Primus. He entrusts in you the future of Cybertron.”

“I WILL LEAD US ALL INTO THE FUTURE!”

“And the Matrix of Leadership!”

“I… AM… MEGATRON! ARISE!”

“Arise…Optimus Prime.”

Orion’s–Optimus’s optics opened, the Matrix’s power surging through him. He launched himself up, heading back from the core to Iacon. He shot out into the sky and landed on the ground near D-16, glaring at the mech whom he once considered a friend.

“Impossible,” D-16–Megatron whispered, anger surging through, “Primus gave you the Matrix!”

Primus dee

med you worthy, the Matrix practically spoke in Optimus’s processor. He was not expecting the ancient relic to speak to him, Do not listen to him.

Optimus shook his head, “We could have built the future together.”

“I’ll build it myself,” Megatron growled, “After I tear down everyone IN MY WAY!”

Optimus watched as Megatron ran at him, battle mask activated by the Matrix.

Dodge! the Matrix ordered.

He fought gracefully, listening to the Matrix’s advice, avoiding and countering his old friend’s moves. The Matrix gave him many weapons, even though he did not trust himself with most of them due to accidents that had happened in the mines.

He groaned as he was slammed into the ground, unable to get up due to the way Megatron had pinned him, throwing punch after punch, letting his anger out on Optimus.

Do not forget your objective.

The Matrix of Leadership started glowing in his chassis, and Optimus looked at his left servo. It started glowing blue and a shockwave blew Megatron back.

And his servo transformed into Zeta Prime’s axe.

HOLY SCRAP!

Optimus stood up, ready to attack, running towards Megatron and swinging his arm. Some High Guard members flew at him, but he defeated them easily. The axe spun, blocking Megatron’s shots. He grabbed his friend’s left arm, cutting off his cannon on the right arm, making Megatron fly backwards and land on the ground.

End him, the Matrix of Leadership said, Ruthlessness is mercy.

No, Optimus told it, Freedom is the right to all sentient beings.

Optimus walked over and looked down at him, sadness filling him, “We were given the power to change our world, and you chose to destroy it. Just like Sentinel. You have betrayed Cybertron and its citizens.”

He took a deep vent, deactivating his battle mask, “And you betrayed… me.”

He stood there as Megatron stood up, waiting for him to speak. His old friend said nothing and just glared at him.

I’m sorry.

“Go,” Optimus commanded, repeating the Matrix’s advice, “Take the High Guard, and leave. You are… banished from Iacon.”

He hated the look of shock on Megatron’s face, but as the rage settled in, Optimus knew that his friend was long gone.

“It didn’t have to end this way,” he said quietly.

He couldn’t help but flinch as Megatron said, “This isn’t over, Prime.”

Optimus watched as Megatron drove away with the High Guard, heading towards the surface. He sighed, thinking over what went wrong, and if he could have saved Megatron.

If he could have saved D-16.

The line between friend and enemy is not as clear as I once believed… and once it is crossed, there is no going back.

The Matrix hummed, Because some transformations are permanent.

He thought back to when he first met D-16, how cheerful he used to be.

Orion walked through the new dorms and saw a grey mech putting up a decal on their recharge stations.

“Oh, Megatronus Prime, nice,” he said, walking over.

“Yeah, he’s my hero,” the grey mech replied, “The greatest–

“Prime to ever live,” Orion finished for him.

The two laughed, and the grey mech looked at him, shaking his servo, “I’m D-16.”

“Orion Pax.”

“You… ever mine Energon before?”

“No, you?”

“No, but I hear it’s dangerous.”

“I’ll tell you what: You watch my back, and I’ll promise to watch yours.”

“Alright, thanks Pax.”

They fist bumped, becoming great friends.

Optimus sighed, But it is no longer you I see, D. I see some sort of corrupt monster.

He looked to his side and saw that Elita-One and Ratchet stood beside him.

“A new beginning for Cybertron,” he whispered.

“And a new leader,” Ratchet said, smiling at him.

“Yes, about that,” Optimus murmured, turning to look at him, “I could use some help from a bot who is better than me in every way.”

“Who, me?” Ratchet scoffed, “Oh no. I have a pretty sweet gig as a permanent resident.”

“Well,” Optimus chuckled, “Sentinel did owe you a raise. How’s… Superior Medic sound?”

“How about Chief Medical Officer?”

Optimus smiled, “Even better.”

He looked at Elita and blushed, “And I’m sorry Elita, but I cannot allow you to go back to waste management. I know we haven’t gotten along, but I may need a commander by my side.”

Ratchet snorted, grinning at the new Prime, “I’ll give you two a minute.”

Optimus gulped as the medic walked away, leaving him with his crush. “Elita, I–”

“Orion, look–Wait, you go first,” Elita-One said.

He took a deep vent before saying, “Elita, I’m so so so so so sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I never meant for you to be sent down to waste management, or not get the promotion you wanted. I wished that none of this had ever happened. I… I hated seeing how Darkwing treated you. No one should ever be treated like that. And I’ve realized that–that I–uh–I–um–”

Primus, why am I so flustered?!

Elita smiled, putting a servo on his arm, “I don’t blame you for trying to save Jazz. It was a courageous move, one that I would have never made. You’ve shown me that some protocols are just plain stupid, as are you.”

Optimus would’ve been mad, but he got even more flustered when Elita grabbed his servo, holding it.

OH MY PRIMUS, SHE’S HOLDING MY SERVO! WHAT THE FRAG?!

This is not how a Prime should act, the Matrix said.

Well the last Prime made slavery legal, so I guess times are changing, Optimus scoffed.

“I’ll gladly take that promotion and fight for Cybertron besides you, Optimus Prime,” Elita said, chuckling, “But remember this: I still think you are a buffoon.”

Optimus froze as Elita pulled him down, planting a light kiss on his derma. His faceplate heated up, and he couldn’t help but grin, “Wh-what?”

“As commander, I won’t be able to do much about your stupidity,” Elita laughed, “But as your partner, I may be able to keep you in check.”

“Partner?” Optimus mumbled, grinning so hard he thought his faceplate would fall off.

“Orion, did you really think that I didn’t notice you gawking at me?” Elita asked, “And when you kept complimenting me? I’ve… grown to appreciate you. B-But only if you want this!”

Optimus chuckled, interlocking their digits, “I… I’d l-love it.”

Optimus tensed as Elita kissed him again, but he kissed back, servo wrapping behind her helm. He practically melted into the kiss, his dream coming true.

The two of them laughed as their forehelms touched.

“I never thought the Matrix would ever be found,” she whispered, “But I can see why Primus gave it to you.”

“I love you, Elita,” Optimus smiled, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Orion,” Elita replied.

“Alright, you two can get a room later,” the medic grumbled, pushing the two apart.

Optimus smiled as Elita punched Ratchet. He loved Elita so much that he would lay down his life for her.

“WHY WOULD YOU PUNCH ME?!” Ratchet exclaimed.

“YOU INTERRUPTED MY MOMENT WITH ORION!”

“WHY DOES THAT MATTER?! I’M SURE YOU’LL HAVE TIME WITH HIM LATER!”

Optimus looked down at his chassis when the Matrix started glowing.

“Okay, that’s new,” Ratchet mumbled.

“What is happening?”  Elita asked.

Show all mechs and femmes that Cybertron can prosper again! the Matrix commanded.

He met his friend’s–his lover’s–gaze before his chassis opened. He held the Matrix high in the air, more Cybertronians gathering around to see the ancient item.

Everyone cheered as Energon started flowing again.

Prime put the Matrix back in his chassis and looked around.

We did it. We actually did it.

Optimus watched as the cogs that were stolen flew towards the miners.

“Transformers!” Optimus said, his voice booming, “Would you like to learn how to transform?!”

He led them to the surface, showing them how to transform. Everyone was a bit shaky, but they got the hang of it.

Ratchet and Elita pulled up next to Optimus, the three of them leading all of Cybertron on a joy ride.

And now we stand here together, as one. Proving we all have the power to transform, to become who we were destined to be, to right wrongs, to make our world better.

Because here, freedom and autonomy is the right to all sentient beings! 

Here all are truly Autobots!

This message is a warning to all Quintessons. If you dare return to Cybertron, the Autobots will be waiting! I will be waiting!

I am Optimus Prime!