During the cataclysm during the planetary alignment, Arion was back in the Rocky's with his mother. She was huddled up by the fire of their cabin with a blanket covering her. He knew his mother was afraid of the sounds of thunder and strong winds. He thought wrong when he wanted to take his mother on a hike during his break using his winnings from a recent tournament.
"I'm sorry mom," he said. "I didn't expect things to be this bad when I took you here for vacation."
The mother smiled warmly at her son and gestured her to sit next to her. "Did I ever tell you that you are so much like your father?" she asked.
He took a seat and leaned on her. "Always," he said. "You've been telling that since my first fight."
"You father was a man who never give up on a fight," she said in reminiscence. "He had been fighting."
Arion was silent for a few moment and turned to his mother. "Was it because you two always fought that he left?" he asked softly.
"What? No! He's not that kind of man. Your father would never fight me, he fought for me. Pathetic don't you think?"
"Ma! You're not pathetic. You're the best! You even knocked out Creepy Joe a few blocks away."
She pinched Arion's cheek. "I learnt that from your father. I would rather have you not be in any fighting at all, just because I was so afraid of you getting hurt. You know you took a couple of classes behind my back."
"I wanted to defend myself," Arion defended. "Honest. Cory was being rude to me in school."
"The boy was rude," he said. "I can tell you're behind him being locked up behind bars."
"If I can't punch him in the face, I can rat him out for working with Creepy Joe for selling drugs. Recorded everything he says and gave it to the cops."
"And that's how you're like me," she pointed out. "That's how I will handle a nuisance like him. I would tell your father if a man harasses me. People know that he was the best fighter in the arena back in the day."
"Dad was an arena fighter?"
"Oh he was," he said. "One of the best. The arena was like one of those UFC fights."
"Can we talk more about dad?" he asked. "You never told me about him much over the years. I'm old enough."
His mother huffed. "I guess you're old enough," she said ruffling his dark hair. "You see, your father was a miner back in the day. Back then his bosses treated him like trash. Didn't even bothered calling him his name, just his worker number. He got fed up being treated like this and fought with them a lot."
"Can't he just quit?"
"I wished he could. If he left, he didn't know where to go and what to do. All he knows is fight and mine. He later involved himself with street fighting. That's how we met. I was being harassed by men and he srapped them for me. Of course, I treated him in return for the favour. I used to work at a nearby gas station nearby, so I met those kinds of men. I had to replace the guy's shift since he was injured after a bad fight that broke during his last shift. That's how we fell in love. Sure, he had a crude sense of humor but I love hearing him talk."
"Go on," her son encouraged.
"He came over each time I took a late shift. One day he just up and left the mine and joined the nearby underground fighting ring. You cannot believe how badly I for him. I even quit my job to work as a general assistant in the nearby clinic to patch him up each time he would come back from a fight."
"General assistant?"
"The person that does all the paperwork and man the front desk and all," she said. "I wasn't qualified as a nurse, but they do need someone to keep record of things. I would always take any extra disinfectants, bandages and gauze like that to use it on your dad. I knew how to cook the books so they won't notice any missing. You father was always worried about me when if I will be fired from the job but I assured him that I can't be fired. He moved up in the world, fighting in the professional levels. He would always take me out on trips like you are doing now every time he win a big fight. He even bought a large house for us. Proposed and married me long the road. It was a private affair, his best friends, Wayne and Orion ware there too. With all that glitz and glory, he never forgot his roots and would often give out grand speeches in public."
"I take that from him, that's you always say," Arion noted. "Did you name me after Orion?"
"Yes," his mother said. "Orion was like a brother to him. He would've been your godfather if they didn't have a falling out. Your dad later left the fighting arena to become a politician. He and Orion were rose up in popularity with their ideals. They were so popular, that the council was brought them in for a public hearing. This was when they split apart. Your father, a brash man, has demanded the council to be taken away and be locked up forever as they had promoted severe inequality among the masses. This didn't sit well with Orion and they had a falling out. That splintered their followers and after a chain of events, a war started."
"A war?" Arion asked. "Where? When?"
"Not here," she told him grimly. "Not on this planet even."
"What?"
His mother than stood up and went to her room. Minutes later she came out holding an elaborate metal plaque. It was a family treasure she told him once. She sat next to him again.
"This is a data repository," she said. "Think of it as a like one of those e-readers you have."
She placed her hand on the repository and it showed a hologram of a planet. Unlike any other planet he have seen. It was metal and was covered in blue grids. "This is Cybertron," she said. "Our home world." She then passed her hand through it and a hologram of a pair of robots took its place. One was large and looked like a gladiator in gunmetal grey while the other was more feminine than the other one in seafoam green. They look like they were in love.
"Who are they?" Arion asked.
"The one in green is me," his mother admitted. Shifting a hand to her Cybertronian form. "This his how I originally look. Before I became Sheila Westly, I was Shieldea. Your father? He was D-51, later taking the name Megatronus as he became a gladiator, then Megatron as became more into politics."
"Who's Wayne and Orion then?" Arion asked. "What's my real name then?"
She then navigated through the plaque and two holograms were shown. One was a purple and dark blue mech and the other was a red and blue. "Wayne was a mech called Soundwave. He is your father's closest friend since they fought in the arena. Orion was Orion Pax. He was chosen by the council, later given Primus' blessing and became Optimus Prime. Arion, what's your full name?"
"Arion Quin Westly," he said.
"Arion Quin is your true name," she said. "I named you because Arion is sounds close to Orion but different. Quin is due to you being born on the fifth day of the week."
Then the ground shook violently. Arion and Sheila stood. "We need to get out!" he said. "Get anything you need. I'll start the car!"
She nodded and ran to their room to pack important items. Arion rushed to out to start the car. His mother came in several minutes later and they sped away. As they drove off, their cabin was then swallowed by a sinkhole. Out of said sinkhole rose a giant. It resembled one of those robots that is mother showed him.
"Mom!" he shouted in panic. "That's the same thing you showed me."
"I see it!" she yelled. "It may look like a Cybertronian but it's obviously not! We're in in human form, it will hopefully ignore us. Keep driving!"
Sadly her plan did not work. The giant saw their car and began running after it.
"It's coming!" Arion said panic. "It's hot on our train."
The chase was on. The giant was quickly catching up to them. Arion was putting the pedal to the metal as he tried out running the giant. Sheila turned to keep her eyes on it. The chase lasted for nearly an hour and it was slowly catching up. Sheila took a deep breath and unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Mom!" Arion yelled. "What are you doing?"
"Keeping you safe," she said. "It sensed me shifting to my real form. It's after me. Don't stop the car, and I love you Arion Quin. From Cybertron and back." She kissed him on the cheek and unlocked the door.
She opened it and jumped out, shifting to Shieldea as she landed on the ground. She later stood in all her 30-foot glory. A seafoam femme now armed with blades on each arm. Arion break to a halting stop. "Go!" she shouted to Arion.
"I can't leave you," he yelled.
"Please," she said. "It's the last thing I wish for."
"No!"
"Leave now!" Shieldea demanded. "That is an order!"
Arion reluctantly left and sped away from her. He looked at his rear-view window that she faced the giant.
"A creation of Primus," it spoke. "Be proud as you will be the first one to fall by my hands, Iapetus Prime!"
"I don't care of it's by your or Optimus," she challenged. "I will not let you near him!"
They exchanged more words that he cannot hear over the roar of the engine. Later they began to battle. Arion can feel the tremors for the fight in he his steering wheel and saw Shieldea holding her own in a fight with Iapetus Prime. War cries were heard from his widow. The battle wasn't long and he heard screams from his mother and a roar of pain form Iapetus. From his rear-view he saw blades piercing through their chests. Iapetus's blade in his mother's, and his mother's in Iapetus's chest.
"You may die won now Shieldea," he taunted. "But you have ultimately lost as I will return from this as I am a creation of Unicron to kill a Prime. Out of generosity, I shall spare your pet."
"May you're your final death be cursed to the worst Pit!" she spat. Iapetus pulled his blade from her chest and crumbled to dust. Shieldea later rusted and crumbled into dust. Arion quickly turned back and rushed to where his mother turned to dust.
Upon arriving, he only saw dust and several pieces of metal that was seafoam green and grey. He took out small plastic bags and collected all the metal shards he could and any dust he can fit into the bags. He cried as he had to pick up any dust his mother left as most had been carried by the wind.
"I swear," he told himself. "I will avenge you mom. One way or another I will get my revenge on him for killing you."
Once he collected all he could, he sped off and went to the nearest town to report the calamity and his mother missing. It would just be too suspicious for his mother dead and just told them to that she was lost during the storm.
Once the astral event was over and the calamity calmed down, he was forced to return alone, with only the dust and metal bits of his mother with him.
=∑=
On the Nemesis, Megatron suddenly stumbled in the control chamber. Soundwave caught him before the he fell. Megatron stood up shakily and turn to thank his spymaster. Dreadwing came in and saw his lord seem to be shaken.
"What is the matter Lord Megatron?" the seeker asked.
"It seems that my sparkmate has passed," he said. "Violently. She died fighting."
Both Soundwave and Dreadwing lowered their heads in solemness. They both knew the lady of the Decepticons.
"A great spark was lost this day," he said. "Please my lord, take time off to mourn your sparkmate and let your spark recover from the lost."
Megatronnodded and left for his personal chambers. Once arriving to his personalchambers, he fell to his knees and hands. Cooling fluid fell from his face."Shieldea," he said in a cracked voice. "Whoever has taken your spark, I swearI shall take theirs."