Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Lion in Wait
- - -
She had arrived several cycles ago, completely out of the black. Obviously, an unauthorized Seeker suddenly appearing in Cybertronian airspace raised no small amount of alarms, and she was quickly apprehended. She claimed her name was Windblade, and her credentials, though outdated, were valid. Indeed, it seemed like she really was who she seemed to be. But the Decepticon High Council was never one to take chances.
They, like so many others, had only one question: why now? Why take so long to return home? She claimed that she had been trapped, locked in stasis, and had only been freed due to the device holding her being faulty. But a select few, Scalpel included, knew this had to be a lie. Why would the Autobots not intervene if a Decepticon was suddenly unleashed on the planet? She tried to claim that all of the Autobots had been eradicated, and she was alone, but Scalpel knew better. In the end, she had no choice but to confess: the Autobots had allowed her to leave.
Of course, everybody knew she was lying. Even with her ‘powers,’ there was no way she could have taken on a whole team of Autobots by herself. The fact that Scalpel had seen them no worse for wear only lent credence to this. And surely they would never have willingly allowed her to return to Cybertron to inform the populace of their existence. In the end, only one possibility was left: she was an Autobot spy. And was to be dealt with accordingly.
As glad as she was to be aiding the cause, Scalpel wished she could do so in a way that wasn’t so tedious. She paced back and forth in the darkened chamber, a cable leading from her head into a nearby machine. Another cable extended from that machine and into the head of Windblade, who was strapped down to a table, unresponsive. Cortical psychic patches like this allowed two Cybertronians to access each other’s memories, usually one-way, but that meant trudging through centuries of meaningless drivel. Did the cause really care about all the endless hours Windblade spent flying through space, admiring the fiftieth nebula she’d flown past that trip?
She was startled out of her rut as the door slid open, and a towering figure walked inside, their features obscured in shadow. “What are you doing !?” she hissed. “Do you usually just barge in on interrogations in progress!? Or did that not occur to you?”
“Because you seem like you’re making some great headway,” he replied sardonically. His voice was low and gravelly, matching his hulking frame, but it still carried a hint of youthful fire to it. “The bureaucrats upstairs are getting impatient. They say the whole reason they put you up to this was to get results quickly.”
Scalpel scoffed. “If they want results quickly, they’re more than welcome to come down here and root through her processor themselves…but don’t tell them I said that! I’ll find something soon, it’s just going to take a little more time!”
The figure was unimpressed. “Take all the time you need. Once we have a clear target, I’m sure those suits will be more than satisfied.” He took his leave, only to turn back halfway out the door. “Oh, did I forget to mention that? We’re shipping out once you find what you’re looking for. Can’t have those Autobots running around, can we?”
“What!? Why do I have to come with you!?” Scalpel shouted as he left. “It’s not like they’re gonna be a problem for much longer! Hey, get back here!”
A cortical psychic patch was meant to be administered with both parties in stasis lock. But because Scalpel did her best thinking while pacing, she opted to remain conscious as she delved into Windblade’s memories. But as a side effect of this, Windblade was still able to hear what was going on around her. She knew exactly what the Decepticons were planning.
She had to warn Steven.
- - -
“Let’s see…what about that old armory off the coast of Scotland?” said Magnus. “It won’t have much in the way of heavy weaponry, but anything helps.”
Elita shook her head. “No, that place was destroyed in a bombing run during the Highland Offensive. And even if it hadn’t been, I doubt a few suits of armor would do us much good.”
Within the Ark ’s computer room, everyone had gathered to talk strategy. However, without much knowledge on the Decepticons’ capabilities or battle plans, their conversation hadn’t really gone anywhere. They were mainly just brainstorming, without much care whether their ideas were viable or not.
“Hey, wait, I’ve got it!” said Sideswipe, jumping to his feet. “They want that factory I was made in, right? So how about we build an exact replica of the factory five miles up the road? They’ll never suspect a thing!”
Magnus and Elita were silent for a moment, before he turned to her. “Is it a bad sign that I’m willing to consider that?” he asked.
Unlike the others, even Sideswipe, Steven hadn’t really been contributing many ideas. Not for lack of trying, but he wasn’t as familiar with the war as they were. Maybe he should go about changing that one of these days. He was leaning against Lio, who was himself laying on the floor. “Hey, um, do you think maybe we should just destroy the factory?” he wondered. “I know you’re really connected to it, Sideswipe, but won’t they have no reason to come here if they can’t make any more Transformers?”
“No, I don’t think that would work,” said Elita. “Even if we do destroy it, there’s nothing to stop them from building another one. Not to mention that they probably have plenty of units at their disposal already. At most, it would only slow them down.”
“Still, slowing them down could be helpful,” Magnus pointed out. “I will add it to the list.” He turned to Teletraan, typing out ‘Destroy factory.’ This was the third item on their list, beneath ‘Sue for peace’ and ‘Pretend everyone is still here.’
Sideswipe nudged Magnus out of the way, taking control of the console. “Alright, you guys want a plan? Let me show ya how to make a plan! First, we’ll need to lay an ambush somewhere–any suggestions?”
“Sideswipe, if we had any ideas, we would have–”
He cut Elita off. “Ah-ah-ah! Don’t think, just say! First place that pops into your mind, lemme hear it!”
To Steven’s surprise, just as Sideswipe said that, a place did indeed pop into his head. “What about that cave with all those crystals on the ceiling? That might make a good place.” He didn’t remember much about the spot, but the sight of those crystals reflecting light along the cave walls was very sharp in his mind.
Rather than answer, or write it down, everyone simply looked at him quizzically. “Uh…could you maybe refresh my memory on that one?” said Sideswipe. “It’s not ringin’ any bells.”
“It isn’t? But it was right…” Steven paused. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t entirely sure where he remembered this cave from, or when he had seen it. And yet, it was right there in his mind, clear as day. It was just that any information surrounding it was nowhere to be found. “You know what I mean, don’t you, guys?”
“I’m not sure that I do,” Magnus said. “But perhaps Teletraan does. Sideswipe, could you search Teletraan’s database for any caves that might match the description?”
He nodded. “Teletraan, search your database for any caves that might have crystals in them.”
“Understood. Searching for all locations with the following keywords: cave, crystal.” Images flashed across his screen as he went through each of the locations that matched Steven’s vision. “Location found. The ruby crystal mines of Burma.” His screen showed a series of images of said mine, with splotches of the red jewel every so often.
It only took a glance for Steven to know that this wasn’t the source of the vivid image in his mind. “Nah, the crystals weren’t red, and there were way more of them. Do you have anything else?”
“Location found: Jasper, Nevada National Park.” The next image showed a series of large tunnels, the walls lined with the quartz that gave the park its name. But just as before, it wasn’t anything like Steven remembered.
“No, that isn’t it either. It’s like this big room, with a bunch of huge crystals coming down from the ceiling, and there’s some light coming in through a crack that shines all over the walls in all these colors, and…yeah, do you know what I mean?”
Teletraan searched some more, taking a little longer this time. “One location found: Sunbow Ravine.” This last picture showed a large canyon cutting through the badlands, lined with multicolored crystals. It was a cave, and the crystals were different colors, but it didn’t quite match what he remembered.
Steven hummed in disappointment. “If none of you know what I’m talking about, then how do I remember it?” he wondered aloud. “Did Dad take me there when I was a baby, and it’s burned into my brain now?”
“Beats me, but it’s probably for the best we’re not going there,” Sideswipe said, looking at the picture of the ravine. “After my last experience with korlonium, I’m in no hurry to be near more of the stuff….”
“That’s the most likely explanation,” Elita said. “Why don’t you go and ask Greg? We’ll stay here and continue working on strategy.”
As curious as Steven was, the identity of a strange cave didn’t seem like the top priority. “Nah, it’s fine, I’ll ask him later. If he took me there as a baby, it’s probably some special secret place or something, so I’m sure he’ll know all about it.” He went back to resting against his lion. “What about you, Lio? Do you know anything about Dad’s secret spot?”
The question had been largely facetious, but Lio seemed to respond to it anyway. He sat up, looking intently at the center of the room as his eyes lit up–literally. The light that shined out formed a shape, that of what looked to be a three-dimensional map of some kind. In the middle of the featureless white topography, a single red dot blinked.
It took a moment for everyone to overcome their surprise at this sudden development. “...Did anyone else know he could do that?” asked Magnus.
“I think it’s safe to say we barely know anything about Lio at this point,” said Elita, stepping closer to examine the hologram he was projecting. Lio remained perfectly still as his eyes projected the image, which she studied intently. “This definitely seems to be indicating some sort of location. Teletraan, does this match anything in your database?”
“Unknown–unable to examine projected image,” said Teletraan. “Please interface to download.”
Elita glanced over at Lio. “Um, go do that, then.” He remained still. “Lio? Interface with Teletraan’s main console, please?” Still, he was still.
“Here, let me try,” Steven said, approaching the lion. “Hey, Lio? Do you think you could show Teletraan what you’re showing us? That way, he can see if he knows where it is.”
Almost immediately, the hologram disappeared, and Lio strolled over to the console. He plugged his tail into a port, and after a moment, an image appeared on the screen. “The area indicated appears consistent with an uncharted island within the Caribbean,” Teletraan reported. “However, the location has seen only minimal presence of humans or Cybertronians. Nothing of significance seems to be located there.”
“And yet, Lio’s got a map of the place inside his head for some reason,” Sideswipe said. “What did you ask him about, again? If your dad had any secrets?”
“Yeah, I did,” said Steven, coming to a realization. “I meant my human dad, but what if Lio thought I meant my space dad? What if he’s leading us to somewhere Optimus kept some sort of secret?” Slowly but surely, his excitement grew. “We have to go check it out! It could be anything!”
None of them shared his enthusiasm, especially not Elita. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Steven, but none of us have ever been to that island,” she said. “I highly doubt he would have hidden anything there without telling us.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Magnus. “For as much as he trusted us, Optimus had plenty of things he preferred to keep private. He almost never talked about himself before he became a Prime, for instance.”
Elita dismissed this statement immediately. “True, but you’re forgetting, I was his primary confidant. He never kept any secrets from me, and he would have had no reason to. Besides, we don’t even know for certain that Lio belonged to him.”
“What, you don’t think the bot who looks just like Optimus had something to do with him?” said Sideswipe. “What other possibilities are there? Maybe he’s just some kinda superfan?”
“The why’s don’t matter,” Elita replied, starting to sound a bit irritable. “What does matter is, whatever’s on that island has nothing to do with Optimus! So instead of wasting our time, we should focus on how we’re going to repel the Decepticons when they inevitably arrive.”
Magnus glanced at the image on-screen. “I’m not so sure, Elita. Optimus or not, Lio still had this spot logged in his databanks for a reason. It could be worth taking a closer look. Who knows, it might just give us the leg up on Scalpel!”
While Elita didn’t buy that for a second, she was reluctantly willing to investigate. “Oh, fine. Steven and I’ll go check it out, just to prove that there’s nothing there. In the meantime, you too keep thinking. There has to be something we’re missing.”
“Sounds like it’s off to adventure!” said Steven, climbing onto Lio’s back. “Hop on!” Elita did the same, somewhat hesitantly. “Hi-ho, Lio, away!” With that, the lion darted out of the Ark , rushing down the sand, before letting out a mighty roar. A groundbridge portal appeared before them, and they vanished into it, with it closing behind them.
“So,” said Sideswipe, “now what?”
Magnus went back a few pictures. “You know, korlonium is extremely volatile. If we’re careful, we may be able to fashion some into a rudimentary explosive. And with the sheer amount that can be found there, we might just have enough firepower to destroy an entire Decepticon fleet!”
A terrified Sideswipe drooped. “I was afraid you’d say that,” he mumbled, resigned.
- - -
Steven and Elita emerged from the portal, greeted by a wave of heat and humidity. Lio came to a stop, kicking up sand along the tropical beach where they had arrived. “This looks like the place,” said Elita as she hopped off.
“Really? How can you tell?” asked Steven. All he had seen of the island was Lio’s hologram and an aerial picture from Teletraan. He trusted Lio to take them to the right place, but he wouldn't have been able to tell it apart from any other jungle.
“Years of experience,” replied Elita with a hint of pride. “Back during the war, we had to identify targets by only the smallest bit of information. Not to gloat, but I was something of an expert tracker.”
Steven’s eyes glowed. “Wow, it’s a good thing we have you here with us!” he said. “Right, Lio?” Lio huffed, not really paying attention. “So, where to?”
Elita produced a tracker, and began scanning the area further in. “Well, the map Lio provided us with had a location marked somewhere near the center, so it stands to reason we should head there first. Assuming this map coincides with your memory of that crystal cave, we might be able to locate the source by calibrating my scanner to the crystals’ resonance. Now, do you have any idea what kind of crystals they are? …Steven?” She turned around to find that Steven and Lio were no longer standing behind her, with only the rustling of bushes to indicate where they had gone. She signed, catching up with them.
“Oh, hey Elita,” said Steven. “Lio seems to know the way. I guess he’s been there before. He has a map in his head, after all.”
“It appears so,” Elita mumbled, shooting an annoyed glance at Lio. Not only had that lion forced its way into their lives one day, and not only had it taken an instant liking to Steven, but not it was acting like it knew Optimus better than she did. Well, where was he back during the war, then? He couldn’t have known him all that well if he only showed up later.
The island wasn’t all that big, so a little while later, they reached the center. There was a gap in the trees, plus a small-ish rocky mound to one side. “Alright Lio, you know what to do!” said Steven.
But rather than doing anything, Lio simply sat down, raised his hind leg, and started licking. After a few seconds of this, Steven felt awkward, and got off. “Maybe he doesn’t know his way around as well as we thought,” said Elita, a hint of smugness in her voice.
“Yyyyyeah, maybe not,” said Steven, shielding his eyes. “So, what was your plan, with the calibrating the whatsit?”
Elita transformed, her canopy popping open. “Nevermind that. Hop in, we’ll survey the area from above.” Never one to turn down a ride in a chopper, Steven gladly climbed aboard. Lio went about his business as the two rose up into the sky for a bird’s eye view.
Staring out the window, Steven gazed in wonder at the island beneath them. “This place would make a great secret hideout!” he said. “No wonder Dad came here…allegedly.”
“It is the perfect size,” Elita admitted. “Even if we don’t find this cave, maybe setting up camp here might be nice. We could use it to hide from the Decepticons if things get bad enough.” Both of them hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but it never hurt to be prepared.
Fortunately, such a small island meant it didn’t take long to scan it from front to back. Unfortunately, nowhere did they find anything that looked like the entrance into a cave. They did, however, see something neither of them expected to. “Hey, where’s Lio going?” Steven wondered.
Lio was indeed heading towards the other side of the island. The way he was glancing around as he walked suggested he was searching for something. “Why don’t we follow him and find out?” Elita did just that, staying above Lio as he journeyed through the jungle.
He soon reached the other side of the island, where a lagoon was waiting at the edge. The water was crystal clear, contrasting with the darker water of the adjacent ocean. “Oh, he just wanted to go for a swim,” Steven said, as Lio stepped into the pool.
But swimming was not on Lio’s mind, at least not entirely. Instead, he strolled out to where the water was deeper, before diving beneath the surface. But thanks to how clear it was, they could see where he was going. He swam below the drop-off, before disappearing from view.
“Huh? Where’d he go?” Steven asked, already beginning to worry. “Hurry, we have to make sure he didn’t get dragged under!” Elita set down, upon which Steven leapt out of his seat and dove into the water, doggie-paddling out to where Lio had vanished.
“Steven, you can’t just run out into the water like that!” chided Elita, wading after him. “What if there’s a whirlpool? Or a shark?” Not that a shark would have much luck with Lio, even if he wasn’t made of metal, but still.
However, Steven’s single-minded focus was on making sure his friend was okay. “Don’t worry, Lio, I’ll save…you?” Upon reaching the spot where Lio had disappeared, he stopped in his tracks, peering beneath the waves. “Hang on, I think he found something!” He took a deep breath and dove beneath the waves.
Now it was Elita’s turn to get anxious. “Seriously? What happened to your sense of self-preservation!?” She rushed out to rescue him if needed, but thankfully he popped up shortly after. “Steven, I know that you’re eager, but what are you thinking !?”
“Don’t worry, there’s something down there!” Steven replied cheerfully. “I think it’s a cave or something. Let’s go see!” With that, he dove back down underwater. With a groan, Elita followed.
Indeed, there was a hole in the island’s side that Lio had disappeared into. Despite not knowing where it went, or even if there was breathable air within, Steven swam into the dark cavern, with Elita preparing to pull him to safety if need be. Luckily, only a short way in it was revealed that it led into an air pocket underneath the island. Steven and Elita surfaced into the cave to find Lio no worse for wear, and licking himself again.
“Woah…now this is a spot for a secret hideout!” Steven said excitedly, climbing out of the water. “Good find, boy! I guess you really have been here before, huh?”
Elita had a bad feeling about this place. Although there was no real reason for her to think so, she couldn't help but worry that this was all some sort of trap. “Stay close to me, Steven. There’s no telling what could be down here. Might even be a Predacon, or a secret Decepticon base.”
“Another one?” he asked. “But Lio wouldn’t have led us all the way out here if it was dangerous. Right, boy?” Lio continued to clean himself. “See, it’s all fine! Now let’s go, that secret cave has to be ahead!”
Much to Elita’s frustration, Steven insisted on rushing ahead. Lio lumbered after him, no doubt on a similar mission to hers. “Steven, you don’t even know where this place is,” she said. “At least let an expert tracker lead the way.”
He turned around. “Huh? But Lio’s gotta know how to find it. He got us here, didn’t he?”
“By sheer chance,” Elita replied, stepping into the lead. She crouched down to examine the ground, searching for minute traces that the untrained eye would overlook. “Hmm…traces of sea salt, but that’s to be expected. This cave looks natural, at least, so it might not be a secret base or Predacon lair, but we can’t rule anything out. That cave, can you remember any other details?”
Steven wracked his brain to try and picture the image as clear as he could. Despite how clear it had been in his mind not long ago, it already felt distant and fuzzy. Was it even his own memory to begin with? “Well, it was a big room, and there was a bunch of crystals in it. They kinda looked like a chandelier or something, right in the middle, hanging from the ceiling. And light was shining in, and the crystals reflected it all over the place in all sorts of colors! It was really pretty, I’m surprised none of you remembered it.”
Elita had to agree. Why did Steven know of this place when none of them did? “In any case, if there was light shining in, it had to be relatively close to the surface. We should start by heading up.” She found the path that best fit her plan, and began walking down it.
Steven glanced back at Lio. “Uh, but Lio’s heading that way,” he said. “Shouldn’t we follow him?”
“Trust me, Steven, I know what I’m doing,” Elita said. “Lio can go where he wants. We’ll meet back up with him once we complete our recon.”
Lio didn’t seem to be too bothered, as he simply followed after Elita, though Steven swore he saw him roll his eyes. “Okay then, you’re the boss!” He joined the procession, the three of them making their way deeper into the network of caverns.
Elita’s sharp eyes led them through the tunnels with ease–the only problem was, there didn’t seem to be anywhere to lead them to. Despite starting out heading upwards, the tunnel soon sloped back down, and any branching path they took only led them further underground. But she refused to give up, searching for any small hint that could lead them back on the right path.
Steven trusted Elita, and knew she was very good at what she did, but was beginning to think something was clouding her judgement. He didn’t want to say anything, since she clearly wanted to do this on her own, but she was getting more and more frustrated the longer this went on, though she tried to hide it. He also noticed Lio staring down certain passageways intently, only to follow her when she inevitably went down the wrong one.
“Just a little longer, we can’t be far now,” she said, continuing to forge ahead without looking back. “This island is only so big, so there can only be so many tunnels.”
Somehow, Steven was beginning to doubt that. “Maybe we should take a break or something?” he suggested. “It kinda feels like we’ve been going in circles…”
But Elita refused to even slow down. “No need to worry, just a little longer. Why don’t you hop on Lio if you’re getting tired?” Lio himself was starting to look tired, at least in the way he was holding himself.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Steven said. “I really think we should at least see where Lio wants to go. He’s been here before, and if Dad–”
“Steven, like I said, we still don’t know for sure that Lio belonged to Optimus,” Elita said, a little more annoyed. “And for that matter, we don’t even know that the cave you saw is down here.”
Steven blinked. “But then, where are we going?”
His question made Elita pause, but only for a moment. “Lio’s picture still pointed us here for a reason,” she said, forging ahead. “Even if he has nothing to do with Optimus, it could still be important. We have to find it.”
The two others shared a look, after which Lio knelt down for Steven to climb onto his back. “But if you don’t know what it is, only that it could be important, why won’t you let Lio help? He had that hologram thing in his head, he’s definitely been here before, and he may or may not have met Dad before, so he has to know his way around pretty well.”
“Steven…I worked with your father for years.” She stopped moving, and Lio stopped in turn. “Not only does that mean I knew him better than anyone, but it means that I’ve been doing fieldwork just like this for centuries. I know how to navigate, not your pet lion. That thing just stumbled into your life one day, by random chance–meanwhile, I’ve been with Optimus from the beginning!” She was steadily becoming much more agitated.
“Hey, don’t call him a thing!” said Steven, reaching up to (try and) cover Lio’s ears, not that he minded. “True, he’s only been here for a couple of months, but that doesn’t mean he’s not my friend. And just because he knows where to go doesn’t mean you’re not any good…”
“I never said that I wasn’t,” Elita replied, “especially since Optimus shared everything with me. He kept his share of secrets, sure, but I was always his confidant.” Steven wasn’t sure how this related to what they had just been talking about. “If he had a lion, why wouldn’t I have known about it? Why wouldn’t he have mentioned that to me? And if he did, then…what other secrets could he have kept? And why?” Her frustration was soon replaced with quiet worry.
Noticing this, Steven did his best to comfort her. “Uh, hey, I’m sure there’s a good explanation,” he began. But he didn’t get the chance to continue, as Elita was still fired up.
“Even if there is, how are we going to find out!?” she shouted. “He’s gone! Dead and gone, and it’s all my fault! If I’d just made a little more of an effort, he wouldn’t have made the decision! And now, I can’t even find my way through a bunch of stupid tunnels to find some stupid crystals that a stupid lion showed us with his stupid face!” Steven flinched as she pulled out her blaster, repeatedly firing it into the walls. “I’m getting us out of here, even if I have to bring the whole thing down!”
It looked like that was exactly what she was doing. The ground started to rumble as the caverns grew more and more unstable. “Elita, stop!” cried Steven. “Cave-in!”
Too late did Elita realize her mistake, watching as the ceiling began to crumble and fall on top of them. “No…Steven!” She dashed towards him, but it all happened too fast. She wasn’t quick enough to stop a massive boulder from coming crashing down…but Lio was. In a flash, he transformed, holding up his shield to prevent the chunk of earth from crushing Steven.
He looked up at his rescuer. “Th-thanks,” he said, still a bit shaken. But the collapse was not over yet, as it looked like the entire chamber was about to come down. His mind still locked on his duty, Lio scooped Steven up in one arm before darting towards Elita. He tackled her out of the way of a falling piece of ceiling, holding up his shield as the rocks fell over them all. Finally, everything was still.
Though Steven was fairly sure he was still alive, it was too dark to see anything. “Elita? Lio? Are you okay?” he asked, coughing from the cloud of dust that filled the air.
Light then filled the air pocket, shining from Elita’s eyes. “I think so,” she breathed in relief–not for her own safety, but for his. “And Lio…Lio is fine too.” The lion had returned back to his beast form, continuing to lick himself.
“Why does he do that so much,” Steven mumbled, a little put-off. “Anyway, nobody’s hurt, so that’s good. But still, are you alright, Elita? Do you want to talk?”
“I’d…rather not,” she said, a little embarrassed. “Besides, right now we should focus on getting out of here.” It was a bit too cramped for her to walk, so she crawled over to the far side of the chamber (it was a very short trip), and began trying to dig some of the rocks out. “Now, if we could just–” But as soon as she moved the rocks away, more tumbled down to fill their place. “Argh, no good–the place is too unstable. If we’re not careful, it will just collapse again.”
Not exactly ideal. “Okay, so, maybe we can think of something else,” Steven said. “Um, could we dig a hole back to somewhere else? Or maybe you can use your propellers to create a big, um, wind thing, and blow all the rocks away! Or I could use some sort of big Matrix laser to blast our way out!”
Instead, Elita activated the communicator on her arm. “I think I’ll just contact Magnus and Sideswipe,” she said.
“That sounds simpler,” said Steven, nodding.
She pressed a few buttons, trying to get in touch with the Ark . “Teletraan, come on, this is Elita-1. Please respond.” But this was met with nothing but static. “Teletraan, Steven and I are trapped underground. We need immediate rescue from the others. Hello?” Still, nothing but static. “If anyone’s there, please say something!” But nobody was there. In frustration, she shut off the call, before curling up into a ball.
Steven had never seen Elita look so defeated before. Slowly, he approached, before gingerly patting her side. “Hey, don’t worry. Sideswipe and Magnus will realize we’ve been gone for a long time, and they’ll come looking for us.”
“That’s not the point,” Elita said softly. “The point is, I’m supposed to be better than this. I’m an elite Autobot commando, one of Optimus’ best, not some screw-up who gets jealous of lions and traps her friends in a cave! I’m…I’m supposed to be…” She trailed off, letting herself go limp. “Whatever I’m supposed to be, it’s not this.”
Rather than pulling himself closer to her, Steven simply lay down in the dirt next to her. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be, either,” he said. “Dad passed so many things on to me, and I can’t help but wonder if I really deserve any of them. I mean, sure, I’ve used the Matrix a few times, and I’ve helped you guys fight a few Predacons, but…is that really enough? What if I don’t live up to what Dad wanted me to be?”
Slowly, Elita turned to face him. “Today, it’s become clear to me that there are things about Optimus Prime that even I didn’t know. But one thing I know, for certain, is that he would be incredibly proud of you, Steven. Optimus may have been a warrior and a commander, but he was a leader above all else. He only fought when he had to, and did everything he could to keep his soldiers together. When I look at you…I see him. Not just in the compassion in your eyes, but in the way you step in to solve any conflict, and throw yourself at anyone’s problems. You’re him, Steven. You’re more than enough. Because you’re you.”
Though he was smiling, Steven could feel himself tearing up. “T-thanks, Elita,” he said, wiping his eyes. “I think I needed to hear that. And…and you’re enough, too. More than enough. I couldn't ask for a better…whatever our relationship is, than you. And I just know that my dad felt the same way.”
Finally, Elita began to smile. “I needed to hear that, too,” she said. She reached out a hand, placing it on Steven’s head. He reached up as well to place his hand on hers. “What did we do to deserve you?”
“Nothing–like you said, I‘ll always be here to help,” Steven replied. The two of them both looked up at the ceiling, which was twinkling from the light from Elita’s eyes. “At least it’s pretty while we’re waiting for Sideswipe and Magnus, right?”
Elita looked closer at the sparkly display. “Yeah, it is…” But her mind was focused on something else. Sparkly rocks were fairly common, but she felt like she had seen something like this before. “Steven? Does this look familiar to you?”
“Hmm? Familiar how?” he asked. “Oh! You mean the room full of crystals! I mean, sure, they shone in the light kinda like this, but it looked a lot different.”
“Different, huh?” Elita glanced around the room, illuminating several crevices and holes with her beams. She paid attention to the intensity of the shimmering until she found what she was searching for, digging under some of the rocks. “Different like this?”
She held out her hand, showing Steven a few small crystal fragments, each one only the size of her finger–which was a bit larger than any of Steven’s fingers, but still not very big. “Hey…these look like the crystals in that cave!” he said, recognizing them immediately. “Does that mean we’re nearby?”
“It might,” she said, “but look closer. Notice the specific colors. Doesn’t it remind you of something else?”
Steven blinked.
“Right, well…if my hunch is correct, these crystals contain trace amounts of korlonium!”
Again, Steven blinked.
“Korlonium is highly explosive. It’s actually very lucky I wasn’t aiming at a vein of it when I…well, you know.” She cleared her throat, embarrassed. “Anyway, if we can gather enough of it, I might just have an idea on how to get out of this mess!”
“Great! Did you hear that, Lio? We’re getting out of here!” The lion didn’t seem all that interested, but looked attentive anyway. “Come on, boy, dig! Dig up all the shinies you can!”
And so, the team effort began, with all three of them rooting around for any bits of korlonium they could find, no matter how small. It took a while, as most of them were no larger than a human fist, if that, but they eventually managed to rustle up a sizable pile of the crystals. Gingerly, Elita found a feasible spot to prepare their escape route, slotting the crystals into various nooks and crannies among the rubble. Now, all that remained was to survive the blast.
As Elita carefully aimed her blaster at the collection, the trio cluttered together on the other side of the chamber. “Now Steven, I want you to get behind me,” she said, her motherly tone returning. “The blast won’t be all that big, most likely, but korlonium is unstable enough that I don’t want to take any chances.” Steven hid himself behind her, peeking out just enough to see the fireworks.
Lio was looking at her intently as she prepared to fire. Before she could, the silence was broken by a sudden noise. It gave both of them a start, but it was only Lio transforming. He knelt down, holding his shield out to protect them all. “Hey, good thinking, buddy!” Steven said. “Alright, Elita, fire when ready! …Elita?”
It had been established long ago that Lio had a face that looked almost exactly like Optimus, that much Elita had accepted. Since lots of Cybertronians looked the same, she had been willing to chalk it up to coincidence. But seeing him valiantly defending them from harm, it reminded her so much of those days when the two of them were taking on the Decepticons together. She could almost imagine that they were back together again.
Eventually, she managed to shake herself out of her daydream. “Right, right, escaping, of course. Everybody brace yourselves, here goes nothing!” Her blaster peered out from behind the shield just enough to get a clear shot. She aimed right at the crystals, and with a single twitch of her servo, fired a single shot.
The resulting explosion wasn’t nearly as loud as Steven was anticipating, but was certainly bright. He had to shield his eyes from the flash as bits of rock were thrown in every direction, though thankfully Lio managed to block most of them. A few seconds later, the dust had settled, and the fact that the cave hadn’t collapsed further was a good sign. But what was an even better sign was how the blockage had been cleared. “Look at that! Elita, you did it!”
Slowly, a proud smile crossed her face. “I…I did, didn’t I?” She lowered her weapon as the three of them emerged from the tomb of collapsed rocks and into the slight light the rest of the cave offered. “Now then…should we get back to the reason we’re here?”
“Let’s do it!” Steven replied. “Lio? All you!”
Lio casually sniffed the ground, finding his way back on track. He led the way down one of the multiple tunnels, the other two following him without question. In no time at all, he was making his way through the cave at a jaunty pace, no more obstacles in their way.
“What do you think we’ll find?” Steven asked, as they followed Lio to their destination. “I mean, I can guess, but I wonder why it’s only now we’re being brought back here?”
“‘Back?’” said Elita. “I don’t think either of us have ever been here before. Lio clearly has, though, and I can only imagine where he’s leading us.”
“But I have to have been here before,” continued Steven. “Those exploding crystals look just like the ones in that cave I remember. How could I remember something if I’ve never seen it?” He went silent for a moment, lost in thought. “I had to have been here as a baby, right? Dad must’ve brought me when I was really little.”
Somehow, Elita doubted that. “Not sure what he’d be doing in a place like this,” she said. “Not to mention how he’s never brought it up before.”
“Hang on, look!” cried Steven, pointing ahead. “I think that’s sunlight! We’re almost out!” He dashed forward, overtaking Lio as he ran towards the shining glow. Elita followed, his excitement infectious.
They had expected to end up in some sort of hidden clearing elsewhere on the island, but what they found instead was even more incredible. As soon as they ran into the light, they couldn’t believe what they saw. It was not sunlight they had seen, at least not directly. Because rather than outside, they found themselves in a gigantic underground chamber. The room was almost the size of a cathedral, and from the ceiling descended a truly huge mass of crystals, like a glimmering chandelier. Light filtered in, probably through cracks at the surface, resulting in a mesmerizing display of colors dancing along the walls. Neither of them could speak, transfixed by the beauty.
Eventually, Steven managed to regain the ability to express himself. “This…this is the place,” he whispered. “The place in my memories. It’s real.”
“It certainly is,” said Elita, holding out her arms and watching the light cascade over her. “But what is this place?” She turned to Lio. “You’ve been here before. I don’t suppose you have another hologram to explain it?”
As it turned out, he certainly did. As if by second nature, Lio made his way to a specific spot in the room, sitting down and focusing his gaze towards the middle. His eyes glowed, and from them appeared an image of…
“Dad?” Steven said, going completely still. Optimus Prime now appeared to be sitting beneath the crystalline formation, gazing up at it. Despite knowing he was only a recording, Steven wanted desperately to walk up to him and wrap his arms around his father, and tell him how much he missed him, despite them never meeting.
Elita was similarly transfixed by his sudden appearance. “Orion?” she asked quietly, reaching a hand towards his likeness.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” That voice. Deep as the sea, yet gentle as a pond. They both immediately knew who it belonged to. “I found myself here in this cave by pure chance while I was investigating a potential pre-war supply cache. It turned out to be a false alarm, but what I found instead was so much more valuable. The way the lights cascade over the walls…in all my time on this planet, I have seen only a few things more breathtaking.
And yet, despite its beauty, it is incredibly fragile.” Optimus stood up, still gazing at the crystalline formation. “With the trace amount of korlonium these crystals contain, one disturbance, and it could be gone forever. So beautiful, yet so fragile…few things can sum up this world so well.
And much like this cavern, it was mere chance that brought me to Earth. I came here like so many others, and chose to stay, of my own free will. Free will…it is a gift so many of us take for granted. It is the gift that I give to you, Steven.”
Steven gasped upon hearing his name. The hologram of Optimus walked over to the cave’s entrance, where another object became visible in the recording. It was a circular pod, no larger than Steven himself, with some sort of window on the front. Somehow, despite never seeing it before, Steven knew exactly what–or who–was inside. Because it was him.
“Although we will never be able to behold this place’s beauty together, I wanted to bring you here in person, just one time.” He lifted up the pod, holding it up to witness the splendor. “Perhaps, somewhere deep in your subconscious, you will remember this moment. One of the only we got to spend together. In some small way, it will be like remembering me.”
He set the pod back down, walking back over to the center of the room. He crouched down, right near where Steven was standing. Despite being years apart, the two of them seemed to lock eyes.
“I wish I could share this with you. WIth everyone. But there is not enough time. Instead, I can only immortalize this moment within my companion. Now that you have found him, and now that he has brought you here, I can finally tell you this. Steven…in order for you to live…I must die. You have everything you need, but a spark. And so, I will give you mine, so that you may live. So that you may feel. So that you can experience life all your own, to know the joys of freedom and choice.
When you receive this message, know that I love you, my son, and I always will. In all my years on Cybertron, Earth, and beyond, from a humble records clerk to leader of the Autobots, you are my greatest accomplishment. I am Optimus Prime, and I give you this directive, Steven: experience . Know the joys and sorrows that living will bring, hold close to you the family and friends you are sure to come to love, just as I do. And tell them…
Tell Magnus that although he may struggle, he is an exceptional leader. Tell Sideswipe that he is loved, not for his origins, but for his character. Tell your father that he is a true friend, loyal and compassionate as they come–a true Autobot. And Elita…Ariel…tell her that she will always be my angel.” He seemed to look up to where she was standing, the faintest glint of tears in both of their eyes.
“Look after them, Steven.” He then turned to Lio. “Thank you, my friend. End recording.” Lio’s eyes returned to normal, and the image of Optimus disappeared. Steven and Elita were simply left there to process what they had seen. It wasn’t until Steven felt something fall onto his shirt that he realized tears were streaming down his face. As though in shock, he simply reached up to feel them, wiping his eyes.
Elita similarly wasn’t sure how to react. All that happened was she simply sat down, looking up as the crystals continued to decorate the room with their dazzling colors. She then noticed that Steven had joined her, sitting on her knee.
Lio then decided he would join them as well, curling up beside the pair for a well-deserved rest. And so, with nothing to say, Elita and Steven just watched as the colors swirled along the walls, enjoying each other’s company. Both of them smiled, simply taking in what Optimus’ secret spot had to offer.
- - -
“Hey, it’s us!” Steven announced, as he, Elita, and Lio returned to the Ark . “How’d everything go back here?”
Both Magnus and Sideswipe looked like they had a rough day, both covered in burns and scratch marks. Sideswipe was, for reasons Steven wasn’t sure he wanted to ask about, wearing a Transformer-sized kilt. “...Take a guess,” he mumbled.
“We tried to figure out a way to weaponize the korlonium in Sunbow Ravine, or at least work it into some sort of trap. As you can imagine, it did not work as intended–or maybe it worked a bit too well. So we checked out the armory in Scotland instead.”
“It was empty, in case you were wondering,” Sideswipe said.
That explained the kilt. Wait, no it didn’t. “Well, we had a run-in with korlonium ourselves,” said Elita, sharing a knowing look with Steven. “Thankfully, it all worked out.”
“Oh, that reminds me–did you end up finding the place in Steven’s vision?” asked Magnus.
Steven turned around to look at Lio, who had curled up for a nap. “We sure did, and then some!” he said. “In fact, I think we need to have a family vacation, all six of us. That’s something everybody needs to see. And we could all stand to learn that…that maybe, we’re enough, just as we are.”
“Sounds like it was a very transformative trip,” said Sideswipe. “Y’know, I learned something too. See, just because two people come from vastly different backgrounds, and one of them may or may not be a giant robot, doesn’t mean that–” He was interrupted when Teletraan beeped, indicating a message had been received. “Oh, hand on. It’s for…Steven?”
“A message for me? It’s probably from Connie, then.” Steven went over to the console to see what it said. He felt a chill run down his spine when he saw that the sender was unknown. A wave of familiarity washed over him when he saw that the message was also three words:
>They are coming.
None of the others took the message very well either. “‘They are coming?’ I hope that doesn’t mean who I think it means,” Sideswipe said.
But there wasn’t much hope of that being the case. “Windblade,” Steven said softly. “She’s warning me. The Decepticons…Scalpel must have called for backup.” He turned to look at the others, a grave expression on his face. “How much longer do we have?”
“I…I don’t know,” breathed Elita. She instinctively took a few steps back, clearly on the verge of terror. “This…this can’t be…”
“But it is,” said Magnus. “We knew this day would come. We have for some time now. We just need to come up with a plan before they arrive.”
“And what kind of a plan would that be?” asked Sideswipe. “Because your last plan ended with us getting exploded, and then with me in a dress!” He tore off his oversized kilt. “What can we even do!? Isn’t Cybertron supposed to be this ultra-powerful, unstoppable empire?”
“They were, back in the day, but…it’s been thousands of years,” Elita said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as much as the others. “We have no idea what’s been happening there. For all we know, they could be a shadow of what they once were.”
“Not likely, considering what we’ve seen Scalpel is capable of,” Magnus replied. “There’s no telling what they’re going to bring. What sort of force they will deem necessary to deal with us.”
“So, we’re boned, then, is what you’re saying,” said Sideswipe. “Welp…should we get ready to evacuate Beach City?”
For the last few weeks, Steven had been living in constant fear of what Cybertron could do. The kind of power they held. But now that he had seen firsthand the sort of sacrifices his dad had made, he felt some of that fear evaporate. Walking away from the console as the others continued to frantically argue, he assumed his full Transformer height. “No.” All three of them stopped and turned towards him. “No, we’re not going to run, and we’re not going to hide. That’s what they expect us to do. That’s what they want us to do. And that’s exactly why we have to stand and fight.”
Looking down, Steven realized he was holding his axe, his hand tightly gripping its hilt. He didn’t remember summoning it, but decided to roll with it anyway.
“Whatever happens next, whatever and whoever they send after us, we’ll resist them with all of our might. Even if we’re outmatched, which, let’s be honest, we probably will be, we’ll protect our home. Because we are the Autobots!” He raised his axe triumphantly over his head.
His speech had lit a fire within the others, slowly growing in intensity. “This planet’s where I was born–it’s my entire life,” Sideswipe said. “Optimus took me in when nobody else could. You’d better believe I’m gonna fight like Pit to protect his legacy.”
“He gave us the freedom to exist, to live,” said Magnus. “This world represents so much more, not just to us, but to all of those who call it home. If the Decepticons want to take that away, they’ll have to go through us.” He stepped forward, chest out.
A wistful look crossed Elita’s face. “Laying low was fine, for a while,” she said. “We thought we could live in peace, safe from the past. But if the Decepticons want war, that’s exactly what they’re going to get. Autobots?” She put her hand in the center.
Magnus, Sideswipe, and Steven placed their hands on top of hers. And then…” Roll out!” Each of them shouted, raising their hands to the heavens. Even Lio let out a triumphant roar. In that moment, each one of them could feel the spirit of Optimus Prime within them, surging through their very sparks. It was as though he was still with them, fighting by their side.
Whatever came next, whatever the Decepticons could muster, they would face it together.