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imagine-the-energon · 10 months

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PRIME DIRECTIVES, CHAPTER 4

They had barely been able to get out of the Dam before it shut down, and she could see fire coming from the generator area.

“Shit,” she whispered, motioning to Morgan and Nathan. “Who do you think shot out the generators? Will it cause the cryostasis to fail?”

“Maybe if it were all of them, but just one looks damaged,” Morgan answered. “He might thaw a little, but he should stay here until the rest come for him.”

A dark blue Mustang sat in a pick-up stall, a man with blue hair looking anxiously between them and the generator. “There’s Overboard,” Nathan began to push them towards the said ex-Prime, and as they entered, she could see dozens of agents starting to flood the bridge. “Shit.”

“Car checks,” she murmured. “You’ve changed alt modes between the distraction and now, so you should be fine. Did you take the EM neutralizer?”

“Yes, but I don’t like it. It’s itchy,” he answered, and they were the next car.

Seymor Simmons was not a pleasant man to look at, but she grinned at him from the passenger seat. “Where are you coming from then?”

“We just got done with a tour,” she said. “We’re going to Vegas next. Can’t wait to see the ma-”

“Gambling,” the other three quickly interrupted, shooting her genuine scandalous looks. Simmons pursed his lips but also looked ready to laugh.

“Do you have proof of purchase for this car, as well as the tickets for the tour?”

Overboard offered up all of the documents, and one of the other agents took it for a few minutes before returning it with a nod, making Simmons sigh before stepping away, waving them forward.

“Well, enjoy your stay,”

-----------------------------------------------------

“You should’ve extracted the second you realized what His plan was,” Stormdrive all but screeched as the femme finished scanning her. “She’s absolutely doused in unstable radiation! It’s amazing that S7 didn’t sniff her out immediately.”

“I’m right here,” she muttered, glaring up at the femme, all the while holding a bucket in case she vomited again. “If we didn’t, the Allspark would’ve been destroyed.”

“And you wouldn’t be suffering from radiation sickness that we can’t treat unless we rob a hospital,” the femme countered.

“What do Megatron’s scans say?” Nathan interrupted, pinching his nose. “Please tell me you can gather some intel off of it.”

“Aside from his systems are absolutely wrecked by the constant sub-zero temperatures and his spark pulse is far too slow as a result? His EM field showed improvements the longer Riley had stayed near him. Three scans from different angles tell me nothing. I need a more in-depth scan,” she sounded ready to cry as she continued. “The fact that his EM field reacted to Riley shortly after transferring the Allspark, with the latent energy still enveloping her…”

“My theory has proof?” At her question, Stormdrive gave a single nod.

“It’s likely his EM field was corrupted by something, and when he became Lord Protector, the Allspark made that corruption go deeper into his processor banks.”

She closed her eyes, letting her head rest against one of the barn’s pillars. “I can’t exactly be with him for the next ten months to flush his field,” she whined. “And the day he unfreezes, he offlines.”

“So we’ll focus on cleansing his processor afterward,”

She felt sick again, and she could hear the various noises of concern and disgust as she heaved what little crackers and water she had gotten down back up. As she stopped, a sudden bout of dizziness hit her, causing her to moan before pitching forward, Morgan was barely able to catch her before she landed face-first in what the bucket used to hold.

“Let’s get you inside,” he soothed, pulling her onto her feet. The world spun with each step she took, until she finally had to pause, leaning against the hood of her car. “Tired? Headache?”

“Dizzy,” she murmured. “Hot. ‘M not feeling vomity anymore.”

“Is that a good sign? Storm, is not feeling sick good?”

She could feel Nathan trying to tug her away, but she closed her eyes, refusing to budge. After a few seconds, she felt considerably better. “I’m fine,” she murmured, trying to shake off their hands.

“You’re looking green again,” Morgan argued. “Let’s at least get you to some bushes.”

“No, I’m fine,” she insisted, physically shaking off their hands, the feeling of frustration slowly building up.

“Oh, for pit’s sake, just get in the house already. You’re swaying.”

“I said I’m fine,” she snapped, but they continued. She couldn’t describe how the more frustrated she got, the higher her fever spiked, or how she started to glow by faint Cybertronian runes seemingly tattooed into her skin appearing.

All she could describe was the sense of… of loneliness that filled her as she realized they weren’t listening to her. Their voices overlapped as she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, doing her best to ignore their raising voices. The mantra of I’m fine falling on deaf ears reminded her too much of her old life, of constantly lying through her teeth and putting on a smile.

Like her old life, it came crumbling down when they touched the back of her neck.

Her eyes flared open, and she slammed her hands on the car hood, snarling the same words she had been saying over and over again, except this time, what interrupted her was the sudden blast of energy that had the humans flying and hardlight forms flickering out of existence.

She lay there, stunned and staring at the sky as the others did the same, the birds slowly chirping again.

“What was that?” Nathan croaked out, prompting her to slowly sit up.

“I… I think it was energy build-up,” she answered in the same hoarse tone, horror leaking through her voice. “Oh god did I just…?”

“I sense a New Spark,” Overboard answered, stepping out of the barn. “Congratulations, Riley. It’s a Mechling.”

She felt ready to cry as she stared at the seemingly normal car in front of her, waiting for it to transform with red optics. She could tell the others were too before Morgan let out a choked snort and stood.

“I don’t think it took,” he said slowly. “Would’ve modified already.”

For some reason, her heart broke at that and she turned towards Stormdrive for confirmation, who frowned. “The spark pulse is fluctuating, but otherwise within stable range for a Cold Construct.”

-----------------------------------------------------

She was aware that they should’ve been in Tranquility by the end of the week, but she couldn’t bring it in herself to leave the still motionless muscle car behind, and none of the ‘bots could currently tow anything. She could rent a truck that could, sure, but she wasn’t allowed to touch anything tech related until they were sure she wouldn’t make any more.

Arguably, the others should drive then, but they all had some excuse as to why they couldn’t do it. She didn’t trust a third party to drive him, which led to moving day.

She gently knocked on his hood. “Your systems are fully formed,” she said, more for herself. “You can’t spend all year sleeping.” When there was no response, she sighed. “C’mon kiddo. Are you pitching a fit because I was upset when I made you? I already said I was sorry.”

Stormdrive stepped out of the cabin in her hardlight form, her head tilted to the side. “I believe he… wants a designation.”

“He doesn’t have one already?” She asked, blinking.

“No. Often, our creators choose a designation, or it is encoded in our frame if we are Cold Forged.”

She suddenly felt shitty and turned back to the mech. “How about you transform and we’ll work on a name, ok?” For a split second, she swore his armor began to shift before settling back, making her sigh. “I’m not exactly a good person to get named by.”

“Perhaps some basic names?” Stormdrive suggested.

“Basic,” she sighed. “Something like, what? Sunjaw?”

“Usually just one,” she corrected. “Like Trident of Thunder,”

Instantly, she shook her head. “Those don’t feel right. Dynamo?” No, it still felt off.

“He’s colored like fire.” Storm mused. “Firewing, perhaps?”

“Definitely Fire, but ‘wing doesn’t seem right,” she agreed. “Are you sure you don’t want to transform and help us?”

Finally, there was a noise, a whine that sounded like someone was about to start crying as the car broke apart. She watched in amazement as the mech transformed, ending as his doors clicked across his chest, bright blue optics looking at her with a frown. Almost immediately, she noticed how tall he was. The tallest ‘bot she’s seen (aside from Megatron) was Velocity, who stood at 22 feet tall, yet he was definitely four or more feet taller than him. Maybe even taller than Optimus, but she was definitely sure he was smaller than the Decepticon leader.

“Primus, if he’s what you make when angry, what will you make when happy?” Storm joked. “We might have Titans again!”

“Was that a Clifford reference?”

The femme just smirked before walking around the mech, who shifted, side-eyeing her as best as he could. “He’s got a good arsenal too,” she announced. “I think you made yourself a guardian.”

“No!” she instantly denied, making the mech flinch. “Hey, no, don’t- I’m saying no because you were made literally this week. I’m going to be a really high-risk target, and I don’t want you in danger like that, ok?”

There was another whine, a bit lower, and she sighed, looking at Storm for help. “He wants to help,” she translated. “He thinks it hurts when you’re sad.”

“All kids think that,” she murmured. “Do you like the bit that we have so far? Fire?” The mech let out a warble before shrugging, making her let out a laugh. “I know it’s not complete, but it’s a start, right?” He nodded, making her smile. “Do you think you’re ok with following Storm to our new home for the next few months? I’ll be in the driver's seat to help.”

-----------------------------------------------------

She had a three-bedroom house that had a two-car garage attached, but a three-car in the backyard that had an open loft, so the ‘bots could transform in here. Well, maybe not all of them, but Prime’s alt mode would definitely fit.

She still had enough of a backyard that she could decorate it as she pleased. As it were, since Michael was enrolled, as was ‘Bee, they had to decorate their own rooms, though ‘Bee’s was more for display than use… Or it should’ve been, had he not discovered her switch and immediately begun playing on it.

“I only have one of those,” she said, building the desk as he lay on the bed, the switch above him as he mashed buttons. “If you break it, you’ll have to manually replace what you broke.”

He paused, looking between her and the console before signing out Common.

“Nope! It was released in 2016. So the tech for it hasn’t even been made yet. I have one, and I’m not sure if the others do, but again if you break it, I will cry. I’ve sunk at least a hundred hours into Breath of the Wild.”

He nodded as if agreeing before frowning and pointing at the desk before himself.

“If someone thinks you don’t live here, I could get in trouble,” she answered. “Plus a desk will help with schoolwork.” She then paused. “Ah, shit, I’m pretty sure you’re going to have a genealogy report in history. We’re going to have to figure something out about that.”

He frowned again, tilting his head before reaching for the notepad he had on the bedside table. What does that entail?

“Family history,” she answered. “Like a family tree or someone important in your family. Sam will do a report on Archibald, as an example.”

I never knew my creators, he wrote. And one of my adoptive sires tore my vocal banks out.

“Well… We’ll work on something. Maybe even get some of the other bots in on it.” He let out a silent laugh alongside her, but her heart hurt at the confirmation that Megatron had helped raise ‘Bee. “Have you decided what classes you’re going to take?”

Same as Michael, he wrote. The school said they’d let me.

“So you’re going to be a band kid,” she muttered. “God help me.”

-----------------------------------------------------

Michael already knew how to play the trumpet, but Bumblebee spent too much time browsing the internet for memes, apparently, as he chose a trombone and just laughed when her face showed his dismay.

What was even worse was that he locked himself out of the datapacket that would’ve taught him how to play, which meant he actually had to learn like a human.

On a completely different note, Albert and Aaron, Alpha Trion and Alchemist respectfully, were able to infiltrate S7 and Gould Industry, so now they had a full scope of the Decepticons and Government activities. It was made slightly worse as Particle and Aeroblade, Prima and Amalgomous, were off planet attempting to scout Sentinel’s ship and then finding any signs or sightings of Quintessa.

This immediately put four of quite possibly their best scouts in immediate danger, as both Gould and S7 have proven they’re willing to end anything that stands in their own way, and if Sentinel was woken ahead of schedule, or if Quintessa was indeed real and brought to Earth, that meant Unicron would wake up far too soon.

Sitting in her study, she let out an aggravated noise and pulled on her hair for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. She could deal with this. She could handle this.

Her phone buzzed.

It was Optimus.

She stared at it, feeling herself slowly get flustered as she reached for the phone, taking another moment to try to calm herself before reading it. She needed to get over this crush of the Autobot leader if they were to work together. It wouldn't be fair to him for her to put him up on a high pedestal than he already was on.

[O. PAX]: [VIDEO ATTACHMENT]

[O. PAX]: Bumblebee has informed me that despite having achieved basic space travel, many humans have not yet seen footage of another planet. He also stated that you often stargaze.

[O. PAX]: I hope that this may satisfy any curiosities you may have.

She stared long and hard and the blank video image before slowly accepting the datapacket, letting the video play.

At first, she couldn’t quite comprehend what she was looking at. It was just a bunch of people laughing and walking around a strange, yet beautiful park. That was until she took a closer look. Cybertronians. The Towers of Iacon. She could see what seemed to be 6 various colored lights shooting up in the sky.

This was Cybertron before it fell.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: I… have no words. Your planet is very beautiful. I can understand how one can fight so long for its survival.

[O. PAX]: Your words are appreciated, but flawed. Cybertron is dead. Even if the Allspark was to be recovered without Decepticon intervention, there are other items required that are needed to ensure its survival.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: Tell us what you need.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: Please?

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imagine-the-energon · 10 months

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If the Autobots had to be a band instrument, what would they be and why?

#transformers #maccadam #mod o talks #y'all i need help trying to figure this out

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imagine-the-energon · 11 months

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PRIME DIRECTIVES, CHAPTER 3

She fiddled with her shirt sleeve as she sat on the porch, waiting for the yellow Camaro to finish pulling through the driveway.

It had been a week, and she was okay to move around the house so long as she didn’t harm herself. Which she wasn’t going to do, at all! She was rather happy with going over her documents and sorting through what she knew could wait, what she had to talk about with the others, and what had to be fixed immediately.

In her room, beside her bed, was a half-built cylinder composed of nanites from the six Cybertronians who were lingering somewhere in the forest. It was generating slowly, all of them expecting it to finish in roughly three or so months. And for some reason, it needed a vial of her blood, which hadn’t been a fun experience when she was stuck in bed, already feeling woozy every time she caught a glance at someone’s exposed chest and got an eyeful of the dissection scars.

So, yeah, she really didn’t want to be near the thing until it was time to get the Allspark in it so Alchemist and Amalgomist could find a safe place to put it until after Mission City.

“He is less than five miles away,” Stormdrive announced, shifting from where she was standing in her bipedal form, still smaller than the giant trees around the cabin. “Are you certain you wish to do this? You are still recovering.”

“I reached out to him,” she sighed. “And if it helps the timeline by getting him to Sam sooner, then we’ll have to take it. Besides, with the bank accounts Primus gave us, it’s safe to say we’ll be able to live anywhere and be set no matter what.”

“It’s good to know a god,” Nathan joked from beside her, making her roll her eyes.

“He’s, like, your father,” she frowned. “Doesn’t that make you a demi-god or something?”

“Most Primes are,” he shrugged. “Or, at least, that’s what their Caste wants you to believe. Sentinel was the worst at it. Optimus is the best example of a Prime without the divine heritage. But, yeah, we’re technically demi-gods.”

“And you and Storm…” she trailed off. “Like, siblings? Or?”

They both laughed. She felt ridiculous for asking it. “No, we were made to be a pair,” Stormdrive answered. “Us two are the only two not actually related to the other Thirteen. Well, aside from Morgan and Shadowburst.”

“Because they were made after, in the first wave.”

“Septimus mentored Sentinel before there was an… accident shortly after Sentinel no longer needed his advice.” Storm started, sounding hesitant.

“Convenient,” Nathan muttered. “When can we slag that piece of scrap metal?”

“2013 or 14,” she answered. “And I plan on going for him immediately, so he can’t get anyone killed.”

“That’s years away,” he protested, and she just shrugged.

“One mile,” Storm suddenly announced. “He believes that there were humans trying to find him, which is why he asked if he could still visit.”

“Sector Seven,” Ashley told her, getting a disgusted look from the femme as she stood. “Was he followed?”

“He claims to have lost them after 12 cycles,”

She frowned. “How much Earth time is that?”

Storm gave her a saddened look. “Roughly 12 hours. It should’ve normally taken six.”

“He was trying to lose them. He must be tired,” she sighed.

Not even a second later, a familiar, beat-up yellow Camaro came down the lane, with no driver in sight. The Autobot came to a halt as she started to walk down the steps, and the second her foot hit the ground, he was transformed and staring at the three of them, blue eyes wide as his doorwings twitched.

“Hello there- little lady,” he said towards her, making her let out a laugh.

“Hello,” she echoed. “We… we need to talk for a bit. And, Bumblebee, it’s really important that what we’re about to tell you, you don’t tell anyone else.”

He glanced over at Storm, who had the same seldom expression and nodded. He then looked around as the others entered the clearing, recognition on his face before he glanced back down at her.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Riley, and I work for someone called “The Informant”. They have the power to help stop the war, but they can’t do it alone, so they recruited us to help them.”

“The Informant- Dangerous?”

It was weird, hearing her voice, but she shook her head. “They want to ensure Cybertronians survive as a species, and this war is preventing that. They don’t want to fight.”

“They would be considered a NAIL,” Stormdrive butted in. “They don’t care about factions. They just want the fighting to stop.”

Bumblebee looked over the femme before glancing down at her. “What are- your words- human?”

—————————————-

It took a lot to get Bumblebee to promise them he wouldn’t tell Optimus unless he had just cause to, and even then she wasn’t completely sure what he meant by “just cause”. As it were, they didn’t tell him anything about the Allspark or the Matrix, only that the Informant was looking for them and would be able to get confirmed locations within a year. She was their contact, and she wanted to help as much as possible. In return, he’d help get them in with the Autobots.

Which meant between planning on how to get to the Allspark, they also now had to house hunt for a place that was close enough to the Witwickyes, it wouldn’t seem odd that she reached out. Hmm, well, Micronus was technically the same age as Sam in this new life, and even though he could easily test out of it… hopefully he wouldn’t be too angry.

She sat down on one of the couches in the barn that the bots used with a huff, Nathan glancing up from where he was fiddling with some phone components. “Still thinking about what to do?” he asked, and she just nodded with a grimace.

“One thing at a time,” she finally said. “First thing’s first: The Allspark. It’s top priority that it’s moved vessels before it’s destroyed in Mission City.”

“And have you figured out how yet?” He asked, causing her to give a so-so motion.

“They’re obsessed with Cybertronians,” she started, voice soft. “If we create a diversion and cause most of them to leave for capture, we could most likely slip in and out without much issue.”

“But that puts the others at risk,” he cautioned, making her nod.

“They’re aware that cold is a weakness through Megatron. Is there any way they could get at least some temporary cold upgrades?”

Nathan barked out a laugh. “We’re not some type of-”

“Machine to upgrade?” she finished, smirking at how he flushed. “I’m not trying to imply that, but anything to give them an edge, we should take.”

“Quinn might be able to tell someone what to make,” he mused. “If he could find a way, it would be him. Pray he never meets Brainstorm.”

“Ha, or Wheeljack. The universe would explode.”

—————————————-

Bumblebee was… certainly something. He was definitely a child at heart, especially as she pinned down that he was the equivalent of 17, and would be for another 50 or so years. It made sense as to why he bonded with Sam so easily, and as she sat on the couch in the barn, introducing him to the world of video games, she wondered if they could use this to their advantage.

“We could enroll you and Michael in school,” she mused, making his hardlight form tilt his head towards her, otherwise enthralled by Mario Kart: Double Dash. “It’s normal for some to not be able to speak in humanity, through birth or,” she let her eyes flick to his throat, where the scar tissue could vaguely be seen. “Traumatic response. And then Morgan can get a job as an interpreter, and that’s three of us in school to get close to Witwicky.”

Bee paused the game, turning to her, eyebrows furrowed before she watched his hands slowly form words and desperately wished she paid more attention when her sister tried to teach her the language. He signed something again, but this time, she watched as he raised his pinkie before making an L shape and the pinkie again, followed by a V and a nearly closed fist.

“You… like? ASL?” she asked, getting a smile and a nod. “I’m glad. There are a lot of uses for it outside of just talking. Speaking of talking…” she trailed off, staring at him as he lowered his hands. “You said you’d contact Optimus about us so the others wouldn’t be blindsided. That was a few days ago ‘Bee, and you still haven’t done it.”

Suddenly, his form disappeared in a flash of static, making her sigh and pull out her phone.

“I’ll do it then!” She called out before lowering her voice to a mutter. “I hope Optimus grounds him.”

—————————————-

10:46 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: B told me you were running low on Energon. There’s a deposit beside my place that can be refined into cubes by the time you get here.

10:50 AM [O.PAX]: I apologize, I do not believe we have been introduced.

10:53 AM [SECURED PHONE 1:] Shit, he hasn’t briefed you yet? Please don’t be angry at him. I have a datapacket that has information. You can run it for viruses or whatever, but you’ll understand when you read it.

11:20 AM [O. PAX]: You offer this information freely?

11:21 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: As freely as I can. There’s some things even I don’t know, and then there’s stuff I have to keep secret. I wish you and your team no ill will, Prime.

11:21: AM [O. PAX]: Are you able to get Archibald Witwicky’s glasses?

11:22 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: Maybe? Even if I get the glasses, the decepticons are going to go after Sam, even if they know he doesn’t have them, ‘cause he’ll be a link to you.

11:22 AM [SECURED PHONE 1]: There’s… also something you should know. About Megatron and the Allspark.

—————————————-

Bumblebee still got in trouble, but more for not contacting them about allies sooner than revealing himself to an unknown. He left to go with Quinn and Shadowburst to scout Tranquility for houses and then to enroll him and Michael into the local school, which he was… strangely excited for. It was then she realized he probably missed moments like that, if he ever had them to begin with.

While they were gone, the rest schemed of Sector 7, Megatron, and the Allspark. Of how they were going to get into the facility, and how they were going to get out. How they were going to transfer the Allspark without anyone noticing, and how they were going to do an in-depth scan of Megatron without alerting his systems.

In the end, they agreed that she would sneak into the Hoover Dam with Morgan and Nathan while Stormdrive and Overboard distracted Sector 7. In her bag would be the small cylinder made of pure Cybertronian ores and ever-evolving nanites.

She was aware of the looks the other two were giving her as she handed them the lab coats and clipboards and did her best to ignore them. It was easy to get away from the tour group, and even easier to get into S7 territory.

Of course, it might have something to do with the two Primes triggering every alarm they could for NBE activity. They had roughly six months before the other Autobots would be in position for them to come down to Earth, and any change as drastic as tipping Sector 7 off would ruin all of their plans in one fell swoop.

She was mapping out escape plans when they rounded the corner and found herself frozen and the sight of the near sixty-foot cube that was crackling with energy. Suddenly, the cylinder in her bag felt too small.

“Ash?” Nathan murmured, pulling her from her thoughts.

“I knew it was going to be big,” she whispered back. “Can the container hold all of that energy?”

“Energy?” Morgan echoed. “What energy?”

“There’s… there’s literal lightning coming off of the cube! You mean to say that…” she trailed off, looking between their twin horrified looks. “Only I can see it.”

And it was only then, that after almost four months of planning, did it sink in.

“Purity,” she whispered. “I was never supposed to be a Cybertronian… I was supposed to be the Allspark’s next vessel. I am supposed to be it.” The mention of conduciveness made sense now. “Did you know? Any of you?”

“No,” Nathan immediately answered, looking as sick as she felt. “We would’ve protested if we knew. The Allspark isn’t supposed to be housed in a living being. The consequences alone-”

“We can argue over this later,” Morgan cut in. “We don’t have enough time to just stand here and do nothing while Stormdrive and Overboard are giving us a distraction.”

“You’re right,” she murmured, moving forward, her legs feeling like they were trying to give out from underneath her. They had clipboards with papers, but as she glanced at them again, only hers had the transfer information. Their badges were scanned and they were waved through.

They separated, Ash going to the very top where she could see the energy gathering the most. The second she touched it, it was like the world had been whisked away. It was just her and the cube.

Hello Purity.

Hello Knowledge, she thought back, fighting off a shudder as the information the hundreds of previous vessels had run through her. This is what Sam had to deal with? All those equations and schematics? All the voices in their heads?

You’re late.

I was sidetracked.

Are you going to aid them all, or aid the one?

She paused at this, fingers almost lifting away. What am I supposed to do? Even with the information you are giving me, it’s only half of what I already know. What is true? What is false?

What is greater, the will to hate, or the will to have peace?

She knew the answer as the informational flow stopped, causing her to come back, shaking her head and blinking rapidly. She looked at the checkerboard, which had what looked to be some filled-out paperwork and clipped the pen back into place.

The descent down was slow, and when she got to Nathan and Morgan, it took everything not to collapse.

“She’s burning up,” Nathan hissed once he checked her over. “We need to find a new vessel.”

“No,” she blurted out. “We need to-” she cut herself off, standing up a bit straighter as a few scientists walked past them. “We still need to scan Megatron. I’ll be fine until we get back to the cabin.”

“But-” Nathan started, but she shook his arm off, ignoring her shaking legs.

“Megatron, now.” she hissed, a wave of heat flaring with her irritation, and the two men inhaled sharply.

“Ok, just… calm down,” Morgan soothed. “Your eyes went white and glowed.” She wanted to do nothing more than to tear his head off at telling him to calm down, but instead took a deep breath and continued walking until she found herself stopped again, the sudden chill making her want to cry for the warlord.

At first, she thought that he was gray, like in the movies, but upon a closer look, she realized it was the ice making him appear lighter than he was. She could see that the bottom of his feet was nearly pitch black, and the further up she went, the closer he got to whatever was keeping him frozen, the more silver he got.

“Thermoregulating armor?” she whispered, and one of the scientists looked at her from his station.

“Maybe. We’ve been trying to study it for years, but there are these things that immediately seal the pieces we try to cut off,” He shrugged before noticing the scanner in her hand. “What’s that?”

“A scanner,” she answered. “Banachek was the one who ordered its creation. We think it might be able to cut through the radiation NBE-1 is giving off.” They would have no idea it was a basic medical scanner that was able to pass through EM fields.

“Well, hope it works,” he said, waving her forward, and the three moved as one, Ash once again at the top of the scaffolding while the other two were at the other ends, their own scanners in hand.

She found herself unable to look away from his face, that sick feeling coming back tenfold as she saw the barely alight red optics almost… staring at her. “You’ll be free from this soon, Megatronus,” she promised quietly, lowering the scanner to point toward his spark chamber. She saw the Cybertronian scrolling by as the readings were taken, but her focus was on the pulse-rate of his spark, which was slow, but trying to speed up the longer the scan went.

The device gave a tiny beep before shutting off, and she stepped back, the feeling of being watched still coming from the mech in front of her. His optics were flicking, and she took a risk, reaching out and hovering, not quite touching him as her fingers screamed at the cold he was radiating.

“Peace will come soon,” she promised again. “Don’t forget why you approached the Senate originally.”

Nathan cleared his throat and she pulled her hand back, walking away as the first alarm began to ring.

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imagine-the-energon · 11 months

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#mod o talks #the failed fix it fic

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imagine-the-energon · 11 months

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So chapter 3 is done, and chapter 4 is almost halfway there. Do y'all want me to go ahead and post 3, followed by 4, or do a bigger post with both?

#mod o talks #the failed fix it fic

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imagine-the-energon · 1 year

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PRIME DIRECTIVES, CHAPTER 2

When she woke up, it was in her bed, under the covers but wearing nothing, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be embarrassed as she looked at the two people in the room with her. One was a latino man, roughly her age, with a giant, fresh scar running across the right side of his mouth. His eyes were blue and glowing in the dim light as he quietly argued with another man. The second one had pale skin, bright red hair, and glowing blue eyes as well, and she could see that both of them were wearing button-up shirts with only half of the buttons done, showing off the Y stitches.

Their words felt muffled as she struggled to listen in on what they were saying. “We can’t just leave her alone Nexus.,” the redhead said.

“I know, Quintus, but you saw that paperwork. We need to get the Allspark out of it’s previous vessel before it gets destroyed.”

Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton, and her tongue was made of lead as she went to talk. “Wha… wha’ ‘app’n?”

The two men jumped up, all but running across the room to sit on either side of her bed. “You’re awake,” Nexus breathed, making her squint at him. “How do you feel?”

“She-et,” she muttered, her arms heavy as she kept the blanket on her chest while Quintus helped her sit up.

“You tore your stitches,” he told her. “If you hadn’t texted us, we would’ve done the same. Solus says you’ll heal fine.”

She squinted at them a bit more. Nexus. Solus. Quintus. “‘ime,” she muttered.

“Well, you remember, so that’s good,” Nexus quipped before sighing. “You’re going to have to be on bedrest until your incision heals.

“O’hers?”

“Still a bit out,” Quintus told her, holding up a cup of water that had a bendy straw in it. “We happened to be the closest. Mortilus and Onyx are the furthest away in Maine.”

“Were are-?” She started to ask before coughing and taking a drink.

“About 100 miles north of Tranquility,” Nexus answered. “And 250 miles from Mission City.”

She nodded. “Dam?”

“Damn?”

She shook her head. “Allspa’k. Dam. Hoo’er.”

“Hover Dam,” Nexus translated, and she nodded frantically, making her head spin. “300 miles.”

She shut her eyes, nodding as she took the information in. So close, yet so far away. She wondered, how far away was Diego Garcia? She was 100 miles from Tranquility, would she see the Autobots landing, or would she be too far away?

Would she even still be alive to see it?

She hadn’t been lying when she said she most likely wouldn’t survive if it was before Mission City, especially this… what year was it? She glanced around the room, noting the calendar that said it was March 23rd, 2006. Which meant there was anywhere from 12 to 18 months until the Autobots got there, as she was pretty certain the movie either happened before, during, or after Spring Break, or a few weeks into school.

“We should probably let you get some sleep,” Quintus said, causing her to jolt from her thoughts.

“Yes, the others will want to know you’re awake,” Nexus stood before offering her phone. She took it, seeing the 100+ messages with a grimace as the two went downstairs, the front door opening a second later.

She was going to just turn the screen off, but something on her nightstand caught her eye, causing her to look at it. It was the smaller folder, and from it, she could see part of a numerical code peeking out.

Glancing it over, it looked like just a bunch of normal names if you had no context, but as soon as she got to one name in particular, her heart stopped.

Pax, Orion.

Scanning through the list of names at a desperate pace, she realized-

Samson, Sean.

Samson, Shane

Hatch, Jack

Hyde, Aaron

Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Ratchet, Ironhide. Their “human” names.

“Holy shit,” she murmured before fumbling for her phone, noting the full signal strength. Who could she test it on?

Brown, Ben.

Bumblebee.

She quickly entered the 25 digits before sending a quick, hello?

She leaned back, keeping her eyes set on the three dots that were popping up. What did it look like for him? Was it a text message? Or was there a false voice messaging him saying hello?

[B. BROWN]: Hello! I think I lost your number. New phone.

She bit her lip trying to hold back a laugh at the unintentional ‘new phone who dis’.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: Riley? Riley Jaseen? Did I get the wrong number? I thought I was texting B’, but if that’s not you, then sorry!

[B. BROWN]: Riley… human?

[SECURED PHONE 1]: I mean, last I checked, yes??? You have to be B’, he was always saying shit like that.

She wanted to say more, but the phone vibrated, showing a new message from COMM 3.

[SECURED COMM 3]: Sleep before I send Nexus up there to drug you again.

“Solus,” she muttered before sending a ‘k’ and sending Bumblebee one last message.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: I gotta go. Turns out that getting hit with a semi-truck is “potentially deadly” and “life-altering”. Plus my stitches itch.

Perhaps it was a bit mean to slam him with a “here’s a human you’ve never met but you don’t know that, oh, and also, they’re very injured!” card and just ignore him to sleep. But, then again, she really didn’t want someone coming up here again until she was dressed.

He could be ignored for a few hours.

Over the next few weeks, she met the rest, but the two that remained through the waves were Solus and Nexus. It made sense, as both had been registered and practicing nurses before their respective murders.

Her phone was also buzzing, as she found a steady friendship with Bumblebee, who had a holoform of a teenager with dark skin, and big blue eyes framed by black curls with yellow streaks in them. She only knew this as he had wanted a photo of the view from her cabin, and she wanted to see the bottom of the Grand Canyon, which is where he had been camped for the past month or so.

It was stupid, but she immediately offered for him to stay with her, as she “couldn’t let a teenager be homeless in good conscious”, and, well… from what she could tell, he didn’t exactly protest the teenager bit, just that he wasn’t technically homeless as his camero was his home.

And then the idiot sends her an image of his alt-form, symbol included.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: Hey, what’s that symbol on the side? And the steering wheel?

[B. BROWN]: Oh, my father made those. Well, I think the term is godfather? He looked after me when my father was busy.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: Do you know if he made any others? ‘Cause that symbol looks familiar…

She bit her lip, sitting on the couch outside, wondering if she had said the right thing. Stomdrive saw her expression and sighed, moving to sit beside her in her own holoform, or, rather, hardlight form as it was apparently called.

“Still texting the youngling?” She asked, and Ashley absently nodded.

“He sent me a selfie,” she showed the picture, and the female prime sighed again. “I may have messed up…”

“I have the faction symbol,” Stormdrive said, shaking her head. “And I’ve accepted my new name and frame perfectly well.” And for the most part, she had. Since being named after the Thirteen tended to end poorly, those who were Cybertronians chose new names. Solus kept the S, changing to Stormdrive, an autobot forger who had been ambushed by the DJD killed to get to her Conjunx. She vaguely knew the connection that Conjunx and Sparkmates were one in the name, so she just nodded, having already talked to Nexus (now Nathan Blaire), who was going to be open about remembering Lunardrift’s life, even if it made him seem crazy.

“Wouldn’t they list you as offline?” she asked, dragging herself from her thoughts as her phone buzzed, unsure if she wanted to look at what he had just asked.

“There’s been a few times an Autobot has escaped the DJD.” Stormdrive shrugged, a completely human motion. “I can say I’ve been in stasis and recovering until my nanites healed enough for me to online.”

“Have fun with Ratchet,” she snorted, finally opening the message.

[B. BROWN]: are you sure you’re not mistaken? It’s not common.

She glanced at Solus, who sighed but nodded. Grimacing, she took a photo of the female prime’s alt mode, the grey and blue pattern shining in the sun, the Autobot emblem sitting just above the back wheel hub.

[SECURED PHONE 1]: Considering I’m literally staring at it…

[B. BROWN]: What is your designation?!

[SECURED PHONE 1]: I’m human. I have friends who aren’t. She calls herself Stormdrive? She’s been with me for a few years now.

There was nothing to describe the lack of messages aside from stunned silence before the femme beside her startled before going crosseyed and grimacing. “The mechling found my comm,” she said. “I have a helmache now.”

“I’d say take some Advil but that won’t work,” she huffed. “What is he saying?”

“Asking if I’m really online. He was just out of the youngling phase when the war kicked out of its lull,” she answered, making her blink.

“It was in a lull?”

Stormdrive nodded. “I keep forgetting you don’t know much despite your information. As you know, Cybertron was created by Primus, and he created my caste to defeat Unicron then protect him as he went into his Eternal Slumber. We did our best to ensure everyone was equal, but after the Quintessons stole our sparks, the Caste system was made. It had horrid laws and made it near impossible to bond out of castes. One such law was if a family was in great debt and they had sparked twins, they could give one away to the pits of Kaon to pay off their debts.

“The Pax family unit was in debt, despite being a higher cast. They had twin mechs, and the collectors came even before their protoforms were fully formed. They didn’t even let them choose and took the closest one, who was almost complete. They were left with one, whom they called Orion.” Stormdrive paused, and Ashley felt sick.

“So Megatron and Optimus are actually brothers?” she asked mutely. “It wasn’t a one-off line?”

Stormdrive shook her head, shifting in her seat. “No. Optimus’s creators died before he was 10 vorns old. Alpha Trion took him in and taught him how to keep Iacon’s databases. He formed an easy friendship with a senator, Shockwave, and when he was 49 vorns, Megatron was already the top gladiator in the pits. Megatron wanted to get rid of the castes, and Orion and Shockwave agreed. Alongside another gladiator, Soundwave, Shockwave’s brother, they met up and began planning.”

“The senate chose Orion to be next Prime, I know that much,” she said. “But they weren’t there to argue about picking a prime. They were there to get rid of the castes.”

Stormdrive nodded, looking equally disgusted and sick as the human felt. “It took them all by surprise enough that they forgot until some 40 vorns later. Megatron felt betrayed, especially since the other three had all said he was the one leading the movement. Shockwave tried to still help both of them before something happened, an accident of some type, that left him a disconnected husk of what he used to be. Soundwave was firmly with Megatron on how quickly the castes should be dismantled, while Optimus wanted the integration to be slow. The war wasn’t immediate, and even though the first portion was only 40 vorns, it was still 40 vorns too long.”

She shifted, leaning forward a bit. “What caused the lull?”

“The senate, the fourth faction in a war,” the femme answered. “They weren’t NAILs, but they definitely weren’t Autobot or Decepticon. They held the moons, and when it became apparent we weren’t paying enough attention to them, they bombed Uraya.”

She tilted her head. “That’s a city on Cybertron,” she knew that much. “What’s so significant about it?”

“It’s where the younglings were kept. It was the one thing both sides agreed on: don’t bring the little ones in on it. So when the senate bombed the city, they killed almost all of the younglings. Bumblebee was the only survivor from the clutch we pulled him from. Optimus took him in, Ultra Magnus being his godfather. The recovery teams were searching through the collector’s databanks, trying to find the original family units when they came across the datapackets for the Pax family.

“Neither faction could believe it at first, but then they did Spark Testing and Bond Stressing, and, well, the results spoke for themselves. They aren’t just twins. They’re Split-Sparked.”

Ashley closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. “Jesus Christ,” she muttered. “So what, they feel it when the other dies?”

“Yes,” Storm answered. “They can also talk to one another, no matter the distance. There’s the awkward parts of romantic partners, but-”

“Oh please don’t tell me they’re involved with each other,” she balked, making the femme bust out into laughter.

“Oh, no! You know what split sparks are!”

“Two bodies, one soul,” she answered. “So they’re one spark in two frames. They… share a partner?”

“Only if it’s serious,” she soothed. “Besides, Primes aren’t allowed to have Conjunxs. Part of the stupid castes that they were trying to get rid of.”

She did her best to push down disappointment (so what if she had a crush on Optimus? She didn’t exactly have a chance with him) and nodded. “So they raised Bumblebee?”

“The beginning of the lull,” she confirmed. “Sentinel Prime assigned them to be Caretakers of the Allspark. One led the scientists, and the other lead the guards. When it came time to transfer the Allspark’s vessel, nothing happened. It usually happens if there isn’t a suitable vessel anywhere nearby, so there wasn’t much fuss about it. But something happened to Megatron during those next mega-cycles that… I wish we call could’ve seen before now.”

“He got corrupted?” She found herself asking. “‘Cause the Allspark right now makes Cybertronians who attack on sight. Could he have been affected when the cube didn’t switch vessels?”

Storm paused, blinking rapidly before cursing. “I didn’t think of that,” she answered. “Would there be any way to clear it?”

Death , she thought, but that wouldn’t make sense… right? As he had died and came back two years later, angrier than before. “My first thought is death, using the Allspark to resurrect, but that would have to be with a new vessel, which we’ve yet to start working on. The second option is the Matrix of Leadership, but,”

“That alone won’t have the power to bring back a full spark,” Storm cut in. “It would bring back a partial one. You’d…”

“Have to use both at the same time,” she finished. “Damnit.”

“I know where the Matrix is,” the femme murmured, and she forced herself not to flinch at the reminder that sealing it had been what had originally killed the Cybertronian. “It’s safer where it is.”

“But Megatron-”

“We need to confirm he’s being corrupted before trying anything,” her tone was strict, but softened as she continued. “Megatron didn’t try to harm Optimus or Bumblebee until Tyger Pax. With your theory, the corrupted Allspark would’ve done anything not to be sent away. Since Bumblebee was the one manning the controls, he was the main target. Luckily, he had been trained by him to some extent. Instead of killing him, he was rendered mute.”

“Megatron followed the Allspark off of Cybertron, and a few weeks after that, Sentinel’s ship was “lost to space”,” she made the quotations, getting a nod. “And that leads us to here.”

It changed so much but left so many questions unanswered.

Her phone gave a sharp buzz.

[B. BROWN]: Is the offer for me to stay with you still there?

#reblurb #I forgot to queue this oop

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imagine-the-energon · 1 year

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Ah shit I have to figure out how to block anons now. This is the first time this has happened :/

#mod o talks #Ao3 comment bots

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imagine-the-energon · 1 year

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I just realized I actually... will have to write The Argument rather than just allude to it oh god. I vaguely know what the argument will be about, but I'm unsure of how it starts, or what's actually said, only how it ends.

#What is the worst thing Optimus can say to a human who is doing their best to make things right?#And what is the worst thing said human can say to a demi-god who has lost almost everything he has ever cared for?#mod o talks #maccadam #the failed fix it fic

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imagine-the-energon · 1 year

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I'm debating on making a visible playlist so y'all know what songs I tend to listen to when I write cause some of them are... not what you think.

#mod o talks #writing playlist