[LOCATION - EARTH: OUTPOST OMEGA-1]
It's been a few days since we ran into Skyquake—and since D blew a hole in his room. Honestly? It's been hectic. Optimus gave him a stern talk, and I spent a while fixing up his quarters and sealing the hole outside the base so he could actually rest. I even decorated the place with Megatronus Prime memorabilia—what the humans would probably call merch. Figured it might stop him from firing his cannon indoors again.
I tried talking to D again about what happened, but he still wouldn't open up. He just stared ahead—quiet, distant. Whatever he saw, it messed with him. Badly.
I needed to understand. So, I went to Optimus and asked for access to the Autobot Archives. Full access.
He said no.
"It's restricted," he told me, that usual calm in his voice. "Some truths are better left buried."
I didn't back down. "Optimus, something in there made D lose control. He fired a cannon indoors. That's not him—at least, not anymore. I need to know what triggered that. If I'm going to be part of this team, I have to see what he saw."
He hesitated. I think he saw the same fire in me that he once had. Maybe he saw a bit of himself. Finally, he gave me a nod.
"Very well. But the truth is not a weapon—it is a burden. Do not carry it lightly."
I didn't answer. I just went straight to the database.
What I found… still sits in my spark like a weight. The Autobot Council. The corruption. The hypocrisy. Everything they did in the name of order—it wasn't order. It was control. It was oppression dressed up in speeches and banners.
And Megatron… back then, he wasn't a tyrant. He was a miner like me. A speaker. A revolutionary. I watched old footage of his rallies—raw, passionate, honest. His words lit a fire in people. In me. He stood for justice. For change. For freedom.
And then I watched it all twist. The ambition. The anger. The war. I watched him become the very thing he swore to destroy.
The truth? The Autobots failed. The Decepticons failed. The Council, Sentinel… all of them.
And now I understood what D saw. What he felt. And why he lost control.
I agree with him.
We both do.
---
[TIME SKIP – LATER THAT CYCLE]
I couldn't sit still after digging through the Archives. My processor was buzzing, my servos twitching. I needed something to break.
So I headed for the training chamber. Loaded up the sim. Target profile: Skyquake. Full hostility. No safety protocols.
The hard-light hologram materialized with a sneer. "Your resistance is illogical, Autobot. Submit, and be terminated."
"No speeches," I muttered, stepping forward. "I've heard enough of those."
It raised its cannon. I blitzed it first.
I slammed into its midsection and drove it backward into the far wall, fists already flying. Steel crashed against projected armor. Sparks burst with every blow.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE JUSTIFIED?!" I shouted, optics burning. "YOU WEAR A BADGE YOU DON'T DESERVE!"
The sim retaliated with a hard punch to my shoulder—barely registered. I ducked low and tackled it through a column. We hit the ground hard.
"YOU'RE NOT HIM! YOU'RE A DAMN ECHO!" I roared, lifting its head.
Its voice buzzed through glitching static: "Autobot... you are... defective..."
"I'LL SHOW YOU DEFECTIVE." I grabbed its helm in both hands.
"GIVE ME YOUR FACE."
With a twisting yank, I ripped the hard-light projection's faceplate clean off.
It spasmed, flickered, and collapsed in on itself. Not real. Just code. But it felt good.
Too good.
I turned and fired my ion blaster straight into the wall. The chamber erupted in a plume of flame and smoke. Metal groaned and alarms wailed.
Ratchet burst in, optics wide. "What in the name of Primus did you just do?!"
"Training malfunction," I muttered, still panting.
A moment later, D entered. He took one look at the charred crater in the wall and the smoldering platform, then met my optics.
"You done?"
I didn't answer.
He gave a small nod. "Yeah. Didn't think so."
---
[LOCATION – MEDBAY, SHORTLY AFTER]
D's getting his Autobot logo scorched onto him right now—Ratchet's idea, with Bumblebee helping hold him steady. He's not happy about it. At all.
The medbay doors were closed, but I caught a glimpse of him just before they sealed. He looked like he was about to punch the wall again. Or someone.
I waited outside until Bumblebee stepped out to grab a stabilizer tool. Slipped in quietly, caught Ratchet's eye. "Give us a second."
He sighed but nodded, heading out with Bee.
D didn't even look at me. Just stared ahead, arms folded.
"It's only temporary," I told him, quietly. "We'll get through this. One step at a time."
He didn't say anything, but his shoulders eased just slightly.
That was enough.
---
[LOCATION – EN ROUTE TO GRIFFIN ROCK HIGH, JASPER]
Bulkhead and I rolled out of the base, kicking up desert dust as we hit the road into town. The engine hum was steady, but not enough to drown out the tension sitting quietly in my mind. Bulkhead must've picked up on it, because he was the first to break the silence.
"So... does Dee always complain this much about a badge?"
"Not usually," I replied over the comms. "But he's being a big sparkling about it. He hates what the Decepticon symbol's become, and he sure doesn't trust the Autobot one either."
"But you two've been wearing it around the base lately. Doesn't seem like it bothers you."
"It does. I just hide it better." I paused, engine rumbling low as we slowed down toward town. "For D, it's different. That badge means something. Or it used to. He only ever wore Megatronus Prime's face. The old symbol, before all this faction crap. And now... that one's been twisted too."
"So Ratchet burned the 'bot logo on him anyway."
"He'll live."
"And probably file it under 'reasons I hate everything.'"
I couldn't help but chuckle. "Exactly."
We turned onto the street that ran alongside the school. Early afternoon sun glinted off our chassis as we pulled up near the curb, engine heat rising into the dry air.
"Think the kids'll notice he's got a brand-new badge seared into his chest?" Bulkhead asked.
"I'd be shocked if Miko *didn't* yell it across the parking lot."
[LOCATION – GRIFFIN ROCK HIGH, CURBSIDE]
The school bell rang a few minutes later. We stayed in alt-mode, engines idling low outside the curb. It didn't take long before the front doors swung open.
Raf was the first to spot us. He waved timidly. Jack gave a small nod and started walking over at a steady pace.
Miko? Miko *bolted.*
"Shotgun!" she yelled, sprinting full-speed across the sidewalk and nearly wiping out on the asphalt. She dove into Bulkhead's open side door like a soldier breaching a dropship.
"Miko!" Bulkhead groaned. "You're gonna break something one of these days—"
"Too late!" she grinned, already sprawled across the seat. "That was epic!"
Jack shook his head. "You say that every time."
Raf stood awkwardly beside me, backpack nearly as big as he was. I popped my passenger door open and projected a holo-hand to help him up.
"Appreciate it," he said softly, adjusting his glasses as he climbed in.
"Anytime, Raf."
Jack slid in beside him, nodding in thanks. "You picking us up more now?"
"Guess so," I replied as we pulled into the road. "Figured I'd give Arcee a break."
"You drive smoother than she does," Jack muttered.
"Hey, don't let her hear that," I said. "She'll take it personally and do donuts in your driveway."
That got a snort out of him.
The three of them chatted for a bit—classes, cafeteria disasters, some kid who apparently tried to microwave a spoon. Miko wouldn't stop laughing.
"It *exploded!*" she howled. "Mr. Parker screamed like a sparkling!"
"He's not wrong," Jack said. "It was like a fragging EMP."
"Language," Bulkhead warned over the comms.
"You said worse last week when you tripped over your own foot," Miko reminded him.
I didn't say much. Just listened and drove.
This world's messy. Still has crime. Still has chaos. But there's no Senate breathing down their necks. No caste assignments. No branding. It's flawed—but it breathes.
Maybe that's why I like it here.
Raf? Brilliant, just needs to believe in himself. Miko? Absolute chaos, but the good kind. The kind that keeps you from giving up.
And Jack…
Jack reminds me of me. Of D. He carries that weight in his eyes. He's serious. Quiet. But he'd throw himself into a warzone for someone he cares about.
Just like I would for D, and he would for me.
---
[LOCATION – OUTPOST OMEGA-1, RETURNING]
When we got back, the first thing I saw was D—standing stiffly near the medbay doors, arms folded, scowl locked in place.
Right in the center of his chest, scorched into the metal, was the Autobot insignia. Still fresh. Still steaming.
Optimus and Arcee stood nearby with a few fresh dents in their plating. Ratchet and Bumblebee were working at a console, but even Bee looked like he'd rather be somewhere else.
"Miss us, Doc Bot?" Miko asked cheerfully as she jumped out of Bulkhead.
Ratchet didn't even look up. "Shouldn't you three be in school?"
"School's done—it's the weekend," Miko replied with a grin. "We've got the whole two days to spend with you."
Jack walked up to Arcee, arching a brow. "Didn't expect to carpool today. What gives?"
"Tag team," she said, folding her arms. "My turn for exploration duty."
"Arctic duty?" Jack asked, mock-offended. "On a weekend?"
"You could always come with," she teased.
"Yeah, I think I'll stay indoors where it's warm."
Miko wandered right up to D, completely undeterred, and jabbed a finger at his chest. "New look, huh?"
D's optics narrowed into a glare that could've melted half of Cybertron. Just for a second, his optics flashed red—a flicker of something dark, hot, and buried. No one noticed it.
Except me.
And Optimus.
I walked forward, keeping my tone easy. "You tried to run, didn't you?"
He didn't answer. Just folded his arms tighter.
I glanced at Arcee, then at Optimus, then back at him. "Yeah… but you gave it your best shot."
His optics flicked toward me. Still quiet.
"And hey—remember what I said," I added, lowering my voice so only he could hear. "It's temporary. Just for this mission. When you're back... swing by my room. Got something for you."
He didn't respond with words. Just a small nod. Barely visible. But it was there.
Raf stepped beside Optimus, looking up with wide, curious eyes. "You're really going to the Arctic? I've always wanted to see snow."
"You would not enjoy these conditions," Optimus said, soft but firm. "But I will bring you back a snowball."
That made Raf smile.
And with that, the three of them—Optimus, Arcee, and D—stepped onto the GroundBridge platform.
It opened with a flash of green light and a cold breeze rolling through the base.
Then they were gone.
---
[LOCATION – OUTPOST OMEGA-1, MINUTES LATER]
The GroundBridge closed with a low, mechanical sigh. Cold air still lingered in the bay, like the last breath of something waiting to go wrong.
Ratchet turned back to his console, muttering to himself as he tapped at the interface. "Power fluctuation on reentry… shouldn't be happening."
Bumblebee warbled something uncertain.
I was about to ask what was going on when Raf stepped forward, crouching beside one of the wall panels.
"Uh… Orion?" he called. "What's this thing?"
I turned—and froze.
Sitting in Raf's hands was a small, round, metallic creature. Buglike. Rust-ringed jaws. Dormant… for now.
"Raf," I said carefully, stepping forward, "put that down. Slowly. And back away."
Miko blinked. "What is it? A pet?"
Ratchet's head shot up.
"SCRAPLET!"
Everyone jumped. Even Bulkhead took a step back.
"They're dangerous," Ratchet snapped, storming toward us. "Highly aggressive, metallic-eating parasites. Swarm behavior. They—"
Too late.
The thing in Raf's hand twitched.
"Raf, down! Now!" I shouted, drawing my Ion Blaster.
Raf dropped it just as it lunged, jaws open wide. I fired. Once. Twice. Ten times. Until molten metal was all that was left.
The kids stared.
I stepped over what remained and looked toward the GroundBridge. The flickering power readouts. The strange cold.
"Ratchet," I said slowly, "they came from the pod in the Arctic, didn't they?"
He was already scanning. "The energy signatures match. They must've stowed away in the ice. Dormant until we thawed them."
Bulkhead looked around. "That one wasn't alone, was it?"
"No," Ratchet muttered grimly. "There are more. Thousands more."
---
[POV – BULKHEAD | LOCATION – ENGINEERING BAY]
"Alright, Miko—stay close. No hero stuff, got it?"
"Define hero stuff," she shot back, gripping the fire extinguisher like a baseball bat.
We moved into the lower engineering corridors. The lights were flickering, metal creaked underfoot, and something about the air felt… wrong. Too still.
I kept my servos tight, optics scanning every shadow. My vents were already cycling too fast.
"You okay, big guy?" Miko asked quietly.
"Scraplets," I muttered. "I've seen what they do. Back in the Rust Sea, during the war. Lost three Wreckers on a deep salvage run. They tore through them—fuse by fuse. I watched one guy get peeled apart from the inside."
She went silent. That was rare.
"Wish Jackie was here," I added, voice low. "He'd have cleared this place out with a single sonic grenade and a grin."
"He off-world?"
"Yeah. Scouting supply routes near the Perseus Belt. Said he'd be gone 'til next cycle."
"We'll hold it down 'til then," Miko said, nodding. "Wrecker style."
I gave a small chuckle. "That's the spirit."
Then we heard it—metal on metal. Fast. Hungry.
I raised my arm cannon.
"Here we go."
---
[POV – BUMBLEBEE | LOCATION – MEDBAY TUNNELS]
The hallway was tight. Claustrophobic. Raf's footsteps were light, but every echo bounced back twice as loud.
I scanned the shadows. Constant. Quiet. Clicks echoed from the ventilation shafts—subtle, sharp.
Raf pointed toward the bulkhead junction. "Medbay conduits pull heat. If they're anywhere, they'll be near the vents."
I chirped once—good thinking.
Still, my spark pounded. The memory of Praxus flashed again. The shelter. The screams. The metal being eaten alive.
I stopped, locking up for half a second. Fuel lines. Sparks. Someone I couldn't save—
"Bee?" Raf asked, his voice quieter now. "You okay?"
I nodded quickly, forced a stabilizing vent cycle.
Raf offered a small smile. "Don't worry, Bee—we'll be fine."
Then a high-pitched clatter came from the shaft behind us—followed by a sudden loud screech.
We both jumped and shouted—
"AAAAAAHHH—"
And then paused.
Orion and Jack stepped around the corner, looking unimpressed.
"You two good?" Orion asked.
I buzzed something like: Completely tactical response. With Raf translating.
"Sounded tactical to me," Jack added, smirking.
---
[POV – ORION | LOCATION – UPPER MAINTENANCE WALKWAYS]
Jack and I moved along the upper catwalks, footsteps light, optics sharp. The lights below flickered in uneven pulses, shadows creeping like they were alive.
"Does it always feel this haunted when the power's out?" Jack asked.
"Only when something's crawling in the walls."
He shot me a sideways glance. "You're really nailing the 'comforting teammate' vibe right now."
I smirked. "I try."
Somewhere ahead, metal clanged and scraped—a slow grind like teeth on steel. Jack's hand tightened on the extinguisher.
"Scraplets existed on my Cybertron," I said quietly. "They nested in the deeper mine tunnels. Could strip a miner clean of cybermatter in nanoseconds if you didn't carry a freeze-gas canister."
"So... your Cybertron—it wasn't like the one our Autobots came from, was it?" Jack asked.
"No. It was different. From what I've seen in the Archives… maybe they were the same once. But over time, ecologically, our worlds must've split off eons ago. Different surface life. Wild zones. But at the core? They were still Cybertron."
Jack was quiet for a few steps. Then:
"Most of the bots I've met only talk about the war. It's… kind of nice hearing what came before it. Or at least, what it *could've* been."
I nodded. "There was more to our world than just battles and banners. There were flocks of migratory transports in the sky. Cyber-deer grazing the high plains. Plasma-fed rivers that ran through silver canyons."
He blinked. "That actually sounds—"
"Alive," I finished. "Cybertron used to *feel* alive."
Another noise echoed—closer this time. Grinding, clicking.
"And now?" Jack asked.
I checked the vent above us, pulse steady, optics narrowing.
"I've read what happened to *their* Cybertron. How it fell."
A pause.
"But mine... mine still has a chance."
My voice dropped low — quiet, but ironclad.
"And I intend to keep it alive. No matter what I have to become to do it."
---
[POV – OMNISCIENT | LOCATION – OUTPOST OMEGA-1, ALL ZONES]
It started with a tremor.
The lights across the base dimmed, flickered, and then—went dark.
A shriek echoed through the ventilation shafts, metal on metal, growing louder as the Scraplets came alive.
From engineering to medbay, from the tunnels to the catwalks—they poured out like liquid teeth.
---
[POV – BULKHEAD]
"Miko, behind you!"
She swung the extinguisher with everything she had, slamming one mid-air. Another latched onto my leg—I ripped it off and crushed it in my fist, energon spraying like sparks.
"They're everywhere!"
---
[POV – BUMBLEBEE]
Raf was down on one knee, spraying a vent with cold mist. I roasted the opening with a plasma burst. Scraplets inside howled and twisted, half-melted.
My vents hissed. One latched onto my arm. I slammed it into a wall so hard it cracked.
---
[POV – ORION]
"Fall back to the command level!" I yelled to Jack.
He ran beside me, eyes wide but focused.
"How many?!" he shouted.
"All of them," I said. "Every last one that was frozen in the Arctic."
---
[POV – RATCHET]
Sparks burst from the main console. "System core breach in progress. I can't stop it!"
Bulkhead's voice came through the intercom. "We need a plan, now!"
---
[POV – ORION]
I skidded into the command bay, chest heaving. "We don't stop them here, we lose the base. And then we lose Optimus and the others."
Jack pulled the remaining extinguishers. "So what do we do?"
I turned toward the GroundBridge controls. "We hold the line. And we send them back to the ice."
---
[POV – ORION | LOCATION – COMMAND DECK]
"We don't stop them here, we lose the base." I locked optics with Ratchet. "And then we lose Optimus, Arcee And D."
I didn't mean to say it aloud.
D.
For a second, the room fell away. I wasn't in Omega-1. I was standing in a dark mine shaft back home—watching D take a blast to the chest for me.
No more noise. No more light. Just the weight of a world I couldn't protect.
My knees nearly gave out. My hands trembled—when did they start trembling?
"Orion—?" Jack's voice snapped me back.
No.
No.
Not again.
Not him.
Not this time.
"Ratchet! Power to the GroundBridge. Now."
"That's suicide!" he snapped.
"Just do it."
I took off running before he could argue.
---
[POV – RATCHET | GROUNDBRIDGE CONTROL STATION]
I watched Orion go. Every instinct screamed to stop him. But something in his optics… there was no reaching him. Not now.
"Cover him!" I barked. "Bulkhead, Bee—form up! Jack, guard the left flank!"
The base shook. Scraplets flooded the corridor behind Orion like a tidal wave of screaming metal. He didn't stop. He ran toward them.
One latched onto his side. He ripped it off with a snarl. Another struck his leg. He didn't even stumble.
By the time he reached the platform, he was streaked with molten scrapes and fractured armor—but still moving. Still standing.
Then he turned to face me.
"NOW!"
I slammed the lever. The vortex roared open behind him.
I saw what he did next—and it chilled my spark.
He drew a blade. And cut himself.
His Cybermatter hit the air—and the Scraplets went feral.
They screamed like addicts denied a fix. The swarm turned on itself trying to reach him first.
"Primus…" I whispered.
Orion held his ground, eyes steady, as the horde lunged.
Then he stepped back into the storm.
---
[POV – D-16 | LOCATION – ARCTIC CAVERN]
The Arctic was cold enough to freeze us, which is surprising. Maybe I should upgrade my frame; I don't want to freeze in the Arctic.
Arcee was already slumping—stasis creeping in around her spark. Her frame trembled with each vent cycle.
I didn't look at her when she whispered, "Back when we first met… I shouldn't have fired at you."
"No," I said flatly. "You shouldn't have."
A long silence. Then:
"But you did what you were taught to do. Shoot first. Ask questions later."
She winced—just barely. I pulled her closer too me. Not for comfort or sentimentality I love the human dictionary. Just to keep her systems warm enough to hold out for the GroundBridge.
Across from me, Optimus Prime sat like a statue. Quiet. Controlled. I hated how familiar he was like a copy of my broth... friend yes friend.
"You know," I muttered, "when I first saw you... I though it must of been a prank a Primus awful prank from."
He looked up slowly. "Orion."
"Yeah. My Orion. Before all this. Before we ended up here we should of been making our way back to Iacon to show what Sentinel the betrayer did."
"And now?"
"You speak like him... if someone carved out the laughter and left nothing else but an old bot with regret."
"You sound like someone who still believes he can change fate."
"You sound like someone who gave up trying."
That hit something. His optics narrowed slightly.
"Let me guess," I said, "Your Council named you a Prime, and that was it? The big moment? Suddenly, you're a Prime, and he's not? And boom you start the biggest war your Cybertron ever knew or experienced because of a lovers spat."
Optimus said nothing.
I leaned forward, not rising, just staring him down through the frost.
"We'll never become what you two are. You two destroyed Cybertron—our home—for what? Power? Because the Matrix that you somehow got told you to? Because you two couldn't sit down and talk you destroyed our home the both of you are pathetic Prime."
He didn't flinch. "The Matrix did not give me power. It gave me responsibility to Cybertron and it's people that is what Primus entrusted me to do."
"And you burned the planet with it," I growled. "I've seen enough in this timeline to know where your war went. Autobots. Decepticons. Your fight turned the surface to ash then you both destroyed any hope of Cybertron didn't you.."
"And what would you have done differently?"
I didn't rise. I didn't need to. My voice was low, cold, certain.
"I would've finished off your Council. Every single one. I would've never negotiated. Never hesitated."
"And become Megatron?"
I stopped.
The name felt wrong in my ears.
"I am commanded by nobody."
Optimus watched me for a moment. Then said, softly: "He said that too."
My optics narrowed.
"Then maybe that's where the similarity ends. Orion and I will never become like the both of you you're both pathetic."
We stared across the frozen silence.
And then, for a moment... the war faded.
Two bots. Two ghosts.
"Orion believes in you," I said. "For whatever that's worth."
Optimus nodded once. "Then maybe... we deserve another chance."
A faint hum pierced the wind.
I turned.
"That's—"
"GroundBridge," Optimus confirmed.
A blinding green light exploded through the blizzard.
And there he was. Orion. Torn, scorched, bleeding—but standing like a wall.
"GET OF THE WAY!"
I grabbed Arcee and and jumped to the side.
Optimus followed suit as the horde of Scraplets by Primus fly out of the groundbridge and freeze.
And together, after I picked up Orion we left this hell hole behind.
---
[POV – ORION | LOCATION – AUTOBOT BASE: MEDBAY, POST-RESCUE]
The lights were low, and the medbay hummed with repair diagnostics and recharging pulses. My frame felt heavy—like my joints were half-melted, half-frozen.
I opened my optics slowly. The ceiling above me was cracked metal. Familiar. Home.
"Finally," I heard D mutter.
My systems were stabilizing. Energon pressure low, but holding. I'd lost a lot.
Across the medbay, Arcee lay in recharge. Her frame was frost-burned, patches of armor still blackened from the Arctic storm. Next to her, Prime—Optimus—hooked up to a regeneration unit. Silent. Still.
I turned my head slightly. D-16 was sitting nearby, one arm patched, the other flexing like he'd argued with the med-drones.
Ratchet hovered nearby, his tone sharp and hands moving fast. "Energon pressure was down 40%. Circuits nearly crystallized from exposure. And you! You shouldn't even be conscious yet."
"I'm stubborn," I rasped.
Jack, Raf, and Miko were standing just outside the medbay threshold, quiet for once. Watching.
D leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His expression was unreadable—caught between frustration and relief."We made it," I said.
He didn't respond at first. Just stared. Then:
"Barely. You energon-dripping maniac."
I smirked. "You're welcome."
"You better not make a habit of this," Ratchet growled.
"No promises."
Miko let out a breath. "You all look like death warmed over."
"That's because we were frozen," D said dryly.
I looked over at Optimus, still silent, still recovering. And for just a moment, in that half-lit, half-shattered room.
---
[POV – OPTIMUS | LOCATION – AUTOBOT BASE: MEDBAY, OBSERVATION MODE]
Systems still rebooting. Neural relays slow. But my optics, dim though they were, remained open.
I heard everything.
D's growl. Orion's stubborn rasp. Ratchet's frustrated pacing.
And behind it all… the quiet hum of survival.
They were alive.
Arcee stirred across from me, circuits stabilizing. D sat slouched, but alert. And Orion—he still had that fire. Even now. Especially now.
I remembered a time long ago, before the war, when Megatronus and I stood side by side. When we dreamed of tearing down the corrupt and rebuilding something brighter.
And now I saw a shadow of that time… not in Megatron, but in D.
He hadn't fallen yet. He might never.
Perhaps in another life, I could've pulled Megatron back from the edge. Perhaps in this one, I could help prevent D from reaching it.
He believed he was nothing like me.
But that belief… that fight… that was something I once had too.
I closed my optics. Just for a moment. And silently hoped, for all our sakes, that he never lost it.
(Written by Dev21 and ShatteredBuckethead94)