Transformers: Gateway to New Beginnings

Chapter 11

WOOOOOOOO!!! WHO'S READY FOR DA 'END'? ALMOST. XD

   Windblade's wings twitched anxiously and she paced, before going into a corner and contacting the Skyblade's crew, letting them know of what had been going on during the time she was away, and to be ready in case of trouble.

   She looked up when Ratchet's computers got an alert, and he eagerly asked, "Optimus? Were you successful?"

   "Ratchet? It's June Darby, how are you?" the female voice said, and Windblade walked over, frowning slightly. Ratchet was slightly flustered in faint irritation and anxiousness to hear about the successful mission of the revival of Cybertron, and he spoke quickly, "Busy, Ms. Darby. I'm expecting urgent news from the Autobots."

   "Oh. Is Jack with them?" she asked anxiously, and Ratchet shared a confused gaze with Windblade before answering, "no, why?"

   "I haven't seen him all day, and he isn't returning my calls."

   "I will have Jack contact you immediately if I hear from him. Now if you'll excuse me I need to keep the comlines clear," Ratchet said, then abruptly hung up, and Windblade smacked him on the head, "you didn't have to be rude about it." 

   Her only answer was a glare from the grumpy medic before his attention was wholly on the monitors again. Minutes later, everything shook, and the monitors fritzed out.

   "Optimus, do you read? An unknown energy spike in Earth's atmosphere is crashing all my systems," Ratchet frantically typed on the keys, Windblade's wings twitching as he continued, "please tell me this is related to the activation of the Omega Lock..."

   "Ratchet..." Windblade perked up upon hearing the slightly staticky response from the Prime, "Please open a Spacebridge." 

   She frowned slightly as Ratchet turned to the controls, "He sounds tired, doc."

   Ratchet opened the bridge, and the Autobots walked through, holding containers with the three humans! Windblade's wings bolted up, and Ratchet looked as confused as she, "The Children?" he gave them an incredulous look, demanding, "what happened?"

   None of the bots answered the Medic, merely setting down the containers on the lower level of the humans' area. Windblade walked over to check the children's condition, concerned. 

   "Somebody say something!" he insisted. Bulkhead finally gave Ratchet an answer, "Optimus... destroyed the Omega Lock."

   "What?" Ratchet asked in disbelief, staring in shock at the Prime, "you did-" "What was necessary," Optimus interjected, "there was no time for another prolonged battle. Not with Earth in imminent danger." 

   Windblade's wings dropped in sorrow, and she gently helped the children out of the containers, saying nothing and only listening as Ratchet sparkbrokenly spoke with the returned warriors, "so you destroyed... the only device in any universe capable of restoring our home..?" he staggered back against his computers, "Optimus... we needed that..."

   "You weren't there, Doc. And it's not your place to second-guess a battlefield decision!" Smokescreen broke in, and Ratchet yelled, "It most certainly is! There had to be another way!"

   "I-it wasn't that simple, Ratchet," Jack spoke, standing with Miko and Raf, and the younger boy added, "Megatron was using the Omega Lock to attack the Earth!" "Optimus saved our planet!" Miko broke in.

   "What about our planet?!" Ratchet cried, "all of our struggles and Energon spilled, and countless sacrifices, for nothing?!"

   "Right decision or wrong, what's done is done," Arcee said, no one meeting the Medic's gaze, "and we have another problem on this world. The 'Cons just changed the rules when they put Jack, Miko, and Raf into play."

   The computer gave off a brief alarm, before Fowler's voice yelled, "PRIME! The Pentagon's preparing to go DEFCON One. I need to know what we're dealing with!" 

   The bots looked up at the monitors, confused as to what Agent Fowler was saying, and Optimus replied, "to what do you refer, Agent Fowler?"

   "Maybe you should step outside and see for yourselves," Fowler said, scowling. Without looking away from the monitors, Optimus spoke, "Ratchet. Watch the children." 

   The three kids looked at each other, while the Autobots went to the lift to the roof, Windblade slipping inside with them. Windblade gasped faintly upon the sight of the massive citadel staring down the base like a giant to a child, then stepped off the lift with the other Autobots as Fowler's helicopter circled and landed, the African American man running to hear what Optimus had to say, "Megatron has managed to accomplish the first phase of his cyberforming of Earth. The construction of his fortress."

   "In Jasper, Nevada. I don't get it," Agent Fowler said, frowning, the Autobots looking down at him as he continued, "I've already had the town evacuated, why here?" 

   Bumblebee suddenly pointed and beeped, "Look! Something's happening!"

   As they looked where the Scout pointed, the Nemesis flew down from the dark clouds in front of the Citadel, facing towards the base, and everything became clear: 

   "Because the Decepticons have discovered the location of our base," Optimus said gravely.