Optimus part Twenty One

The Autobots were not sure what to make of this discovery. They all remained on the overlook, staring at the titan below. The behemoth was larger, upon first inspection, than even Jetfire. “Exactly what,” Optimus slowly raised his hands, than quickly extended them downwards. “The artic hell IS that thing?” “Is it Primus?” Road Rage asked. “Don’t be stupid.” Ironhide said. “It’s obviously the Chaos Bringer, Unicron.” “You’re both wrong and need to be quiet,” Botanica said. “Optimus, I need to tell you something.” Optimus and Botanica moved back into the tunnel to carry out their conversation in private. Road Rage looked to Jetfire. She realised he was completely still, eyes fixed on the giant. “Hey Jetfire, you okay?” She asked. Ironhide also noticed he was acting bizarre. He placed a hand on Jetfire’s arm to get his attention, and realised the elderly robot was shaking. Jetfire stepped forward towards the ledge. “Hey, hey!” Ironhide tried to hold him back, but Jetfire merely kept walking, right off the edge. The old man fell fifty feet to the ground below, tripping and falling on his face. Road Rage and Ironhide winced. Optimus ran up from behind, followed shortly by Botanica. “What the hell?” He said. “I literally turn my back for two seconds!” “He just walked right off!” Road Rage tried to explain, but they were distracted by the sound of Jetfire rambling to himself. Optimus grabbed his tow hook and hooked it over the concrete edge, rappelling down. Ironhide and Road Rage grabbed the line and slid down after, Botanica following. Jetfire was already up, trudging towards the giant robot. It was even bigger up close, as Optimus quickly found out as he placed himself between Jetfire and it. “Jetfire! What are you-” Optimus asked. Jetfire kept rambling. “I did it… I found you… they didn’t want me to do this…” Jetfire murmured as he walked slowly. Optimus tried to hold him back physically, but was merely pushed along to concrete floor, sparks kicking up from his feet. “They didn’t tell me. They didn’t tell me anything! They didn’t…” Jetfire continued. He stopped about five feet from the giant, Optimus turned to look at it up close. It was massive. Thick, angular legs firmly planted it on wide, two-toed feet. It’s torso was squat with a rounded chest decorated with some sort of interlocking canopy design loosely resembling an animal face. It’s shoulders were wide with large pads, it’s forearms were cylindrical and ended in large claws wrapped around balled fists. The head was small, the face drenched in shadow, but Optimus could see it had a large swept fin and forehead chevron on it‘s skull. What he assumed to be part of the apparatus holding the behemoth was actually a large pair of delta-shaped wings. Optimus had no idea what this robot was, but he knew they shouldn’t be messing with it. Jetfire had stopped, and was acting strangely lucid. “You…” He said. Jetfire stared into it’s shadowed face. A flood of memories came back. He remembered back to Cybertron. To the first, and last, global civil war. The world blurred into what looked like a balcony of a large tower. He no longer stood before the titanic mechanoid, but instead before another large robot. This one was thick. It’s arms alone were twice as wide as it’s head. It was dull red and dark sand blue. It’s green eyes squinted. “You understand what I’m asking of you?” Primal Prime said. Jetfire knew him well. “Completely.” Jetfire responded. “My life is yours to spend. I owe you that much for sparing my life.” Primal Prime nodded his head on his incredibly thick neck. He raised a massive blue hand and placed it on Jetfire’s shoulder. It literally felt like the weight of the world. “I know you are not like Obsidian and his ilk. And know I do not ask this of you lightly.” Primal Prime leaned on the edge of the balcony. “You need only tell me of where I shall find this mighty warrior.” Jetfire stood perfectly still in respect. Primal Prime’s face was like solid stone as he looked to Jetfire. He held out his hand and a mini holographic star map emitted from his palm. “You shall journey to this system and seek out the blue planet six macro units from the star at it’s core. He will be there. He will be waiting.” “I shall retrieve him.” Jetfire bowed. “And if you cannot, you must make sure he never again threatens our people.” Primal Prime closed his fist, the map disappeared. “I want you to know you were not my first choice. I do not wish for you to consider this mission an honour. It could very well be you demise.” “I understand,” Jetfire said. He stood straighter than ever. He made certain to hide his emotions, but obviously not well enough. Primal Prime reacted to his posture change and extended a massive hand to Jetfire. Jetfire accepted it and they shook. As he watched his hand bob up and down he was phased back into reality, the imagery of the two joined hands replaced by the incessant snapping of Optimus’ fingers. “Thought we lost you for a second, buddy.” Optimus said. “What got into you?” “This!” Jetfire’s expression shifted to a mad gaze. “This is why I’m here! Why we’re all here!” He looked at the robot again. “We have to get it out of here. We need to-” Jetfire was cut of by his head spontaneously combusting. Optimus reeled back as flames engulfed the elderly robot, who frantically tried to pat the flames down. Botanica acted fast and deployed a nozzle from her wrist that dispensed a foam, quelling the blaze. Optimus turned back to where they had entered. A sleek jet-black truck sat perched above, a large artillery cannon, still smoking, sat on it’s bed. The Autobots heard a cry from overhead and Strika fell into their midst, knocking all but Jetfire and Ironhide aside. Ironhide tackled the Decepticon and drove her into a small nearby structure. The black truck shuddered, it’s cannon telescoped into itself, the cab jolted and lifted off it’s frame, splitting. The entire vehicle briefly resembled a jigsaw puzzle before elegantly and forcefully reforming into Scourge. The dark warrior unsheathed a massive transparent ruby broadsword and leapt down to face Optimus. “Nice pink knife.” Optimus scoffed. “Impudent whelp,” Scourge chuckled as if witnessing a child’s antics. “This is the Sword of Fury. Forged of rare, nigh-indestructible crystals from-” “Sorry man, I was just being a jerk. I actually don’t care.” Concrete ripped as Optimus sprinted towards Scourge. Scourge swung his blade, but Optimus dived. The blade scraped against his back as it narrowly avoided cutting Optimus down the center. Optimus rolled to his feet, but Scourge had already followed through and hit optimus with the flat side of his sword. Optimus grabbed his face as he tried to stop his head from shaking like a cymbal. Scourge struck Optimus’ knee with his left arm, the spikes along his gauntlet shredding the armour plates of his calve. Optimus, still dazed from the sword hit, didn’t register the pain in time to stop him from grabbing Scourge by the shoulders and slamming their foreheads together. They both reeled back in pain. Optimus clutched his head and he writhed on his back, realising the stupidity of head butting right after receiving such a painful blow to the skull. Scourge shook his vision clear and, no longer amused, swung with the intent to dismember. Optimus barely dodged the swipes meant for his limbs as Scourge’s blade merely made short work on the concrete beneath him. “Does your cowardice know no end?” Scourge stomped his foot on optimus’ chest to stop him from moving. “Face the void with some shred of dignity?” Scourge prepared to deal the final blow. As the tip hovered over Optimus’ face, he saw his expression mirrored in the edge. Optimus grabbed Scourge’s pinning leg with his left hand, and with his right grabbed the sword. He quickly pushed Scourge off before he could react and scampered away. Optimus clutched his hand. A deep gash from touching the sword revealed the inner workings of his hand through his palm. Optimus converted to truck mode and drove to one of the ramps that led back up the room. Scourge sheathed his weapon and followed suit, his tires squealing as he pursued his quarry. Below Ironhide and Road Rage wrestled with Strika. She was incredibly strong, and as Ironhide locked grips with her in a deadly game of mercy, Road Rage held onto her back, trying to distract the giant. Strika pushed Ironhide away long enough to leap backwards, crushing Road rage against the wall. She tumbled off as Ironhide recovered and charged. His bravado was met with a plasma-enhanced disk cast from Strika’s palm. Road Rage picked herself up in time to see Botanica helping Jetfire. The elderly robot groan as he lazily tossed on the ground, still stunned from Scourge’s incendiary attack. Road Rage’s gaze then shifted towards the giant robot the two parties fought over. She stared at it’s darkened face and felt what could only be described as a massive weight off her shoulders. She felt care free, yet compelled to get closer. Trancelike, she slowly walked towards the titan. As the sound of battle raged behind her Road Rage, upon reaching it, began to climb the robot. This was witnessed by Optimus, who stopped at the mouth of the tunnel overlooking the room below. He transformed and turned, Scourge stood behind him, sword already drawn. “You have nowhere left to run, Optimus.” Scourge said. “If you submit your life quietly I may spare future generations the tale of your cowardice.” “You know, Scourge,” Optimus pointed to him. “I’m starting to think you don’t like me. Was it the pink sword remark?” “Your incompetence is more than enough fuel for my ire. Not helped is the similar stupidity among my own who refer to me as a mere imitation of you.” “Ha! That’s rich. Let me guess, it was the dude with four eyes? He’s a dumb-” Optimus was struck by a backhand swipe from Scourge. “Silence! Your very voice is an insult to me.” Scourge kicked Optimus over. He held the tip of his blade to Optimus’ throat. “Perhaps it’s time I rendered this a non-issue.” Optimus stared at the blade once more, but a reflection in the sword reminded Optimus of Road Rage’s bizarre behaviour below. He turned his head to see she gripped the chevron on the robot’s forehead and hung in front of it’s face. This act caught the attention of not only Scourge as well, but the others below. Jetfire, finally recovered from his injury, stood up as fast as he could. “No!” Jetfire screamed. “Don’t!” His words were not heard by Road Rage. Still entranced, she touched the reflective jewel that sat in the middle of the robots forehead. A dull thud reverberated throughout the cavernous room. Everything was still and quiet. Road Rage’s grip gave out and she fell to the ground below, Botanica sliding in to catch her. An instant later the robot’s eyes flickered briefly before warming to a burning red-orange. It’s face was illuminated, revealing a mouth guard in the shape of a stylised maw. Silence filled the air for a moment before a monotone voice like distant thunder rumbled out of the giant mechanoid. “System restart successful. Survey scan complete. Eons of unrest, cannot sway my devotion, for time is patient.” “What?” Optimus asked from across the room. “I, however, am not.” The robot said. Forks of lightning shot out of it’s body, arching to the far walls. Everyone was immobilised. Optimus and Scourge were knocked off the overlook. The room was bathed in a blue tint as a swirl of energy collected around the robot, and within an instant, it, the Transformers, and the entire chamber they were in, disappeared.