They were all listening to the television, Mazikeen staring at Ratchet from the corner of her eye,
"More than sixty volcanoes are erupting worldwide, and downtown Honolulu is under six inches of snow! Scientists continue to devise that there are connections between unprecedented natural disasters with the planetary alignment, which-"
She sighed as the television cut out. June smiled nervously,
"So, who wants to play a game?"
Miko frowned and crossed her arms as Jack and Raf did the same. Mazikeen only stood up and walked away. Fowler growls,
"That tears it!"
June frowned,
"Where are you going?"
" I can't just sit on my hands when the world spins out of control."
Ratchet crossed his arms,
"And what exactly is that you intend to do?"
"Anything! Hook up with my boys at the Pentagon, figure out a way to bury that monster for good!"
Ratchet narrowed his optics,
"In the event, Optimus can't?"
Fowler glared at him,
"Don't you mean Optimus and Megatron?"
Mazikeen sighed,
"Well, with Optimus and Megatron together again-"
Ratchet's optics widened, and Fowler stared at stared at Mazikeen in shock,
"Woah, hold up, what do you mean again?"
Miko nodded,
"Optimus was a 'Con?"
Raf frowned,
"Megatron was an Autobot?"
Ratchet shook his head,
"No, on either count. But, there was a time, back on Cybertron, in the twilight hours of the Golden Age, when Optimus and Megatron were not sworn enemies. Do you recall when I mentioned that Optimus wasn't always a Prime? Well, he wasn't always Optimus, either. He was once a clerk, in the Iacon Hall of Records, named Orion Pax. But as he learned more about Cybertron's past, he grew increasingly concerned about the present corruption in high places, an inequality among the masses. Orion became inspired by the words and ideas of a gladiator...... One who had named himself after one of the thirteen original Primes: Megatronus. Megatronus vowed to challenge Cyberton's leadership and demand that all Cybertronians be treated as equals. This gladiator turned revolutionary, Megatronus rapidly gained a loyal following, Soundwave chief among them. Orion began corresponding with Megatronus, who came to be something of a mentor to him. As Megatronus left the gladiatorial arena for the political, he saw fit to shorten his name. Before long, Megatron appeared before the High Council to propose his vision for a just society. And it was here that he began to reveal his true colors: Proclaiming the need to overthrow the old Guard with force and arrogantly demanding to be named the next Prime. But, Orion did not believe in violence as a means of achieving justice. The sparks and minds of the Council were moved by Orion's words. Here, for the first time since Cybertron's Golden age, stood someone worthy of being a Prime. But that honor could only truly be achieved by earning the legendary Matrix of leadership. His ambitions thwarted, Megatron spitefully severed all ties with Orion and the Council and came to wage war on all who opposed him through his growing army of followers, which he named "Decepticons". He vowed to claim the Matrix for himself, wherever it might lie. In time, warfare consumed Cybertron, poisoning the planet to its core. Orion journeyed there, hoping to reverse the ill effects, and found himself before the very Spark of our life-giver: Primus himself. The ailing Primus sensed the innate nobility within Orion and bestowed the Matrix upon him. It was thus, that the surprised and humbled Orion Pax, came to be Optimus: The Last of the Primes."
Miko frowned,
"So, Optimus got a Matrix from Cybertron's core, and now he's gonna give it to Earth?"
Jack crossed his arms,
"What's to stop Megatron from just claiming the Matrix for himself this time around?"
Ratchet sighed,
"Only his greater desire to save this planet so that he may, in turn, conquer it. As he so compellingly argued. Provided the Lord of the Decepticons can EVER be fully trusted."
Raf frowned,
"What about that talk about a Herald of Primus?"
Ratchet sighed,
"I have no idea, that stumps me,"
Mazikeen looked away as she crossed her arms,
"Ratchet?"
Ratchet looked over at her,
"Yes, Mazikeen?"
They were interrupted by a beeping. Ratchet immediately went back to the machines,
"Communication links are down as expected. But we've lost their signal."
Raf frowned,
"Doesn't that mean,"
"Usually. But a more likely explanation would be the severe interference caused by these electromagnetic anomalies."
Miko frowned,
"But...how are they going to contact us to get them home?"
Mazikeen frowned. They heard Jack thumping something against a metal. Ratchet looked at him, and his optics widened,
"Where did you get that?"
Jack shrugged,
"Optimus. Honestly, I don't know why he gave me the key to the ground-bridge power supply."
Ratchet shook his head,
"Jack...... There's no key to the ground-bridge.
"Well then...... What IS this?"
Ratchet frowned,
"That is the key to Vector Sigma."
"The what?!"
Mazikeen's eyes widened,
"Jack, you are holding one of Cybertron's most important relics."
Jack's eyes widened, and he tried giving it to Ratchet,
"I-I shouldn't have this."
Ratchet shook his head,
"Optimus entrusted it to you, Jack."
"But that doesn't make any sense. Why?"
Ratchet looked down, and Mazikeen sighed,
"Because he doesn't plan on coming back."
Ratchet nodded his head,
"That is, unfortunately, true."
Mazikeen shook her head and smirked,
"But, he is,"
They all looked at her in confusion. Ratchet frowned,
"How can you be certain?"
Mazikeen chuckled and crossed her arms again,
"I am here for a reason. I figured that reason out, remember?"
Ratchet frowned,
"B-"
They yelled out her name as she disappeared in a blinding light. Phoenix screamed,
"NO! MAZIKEEN!"
She tried flying to her, but when the light went away, she was gone. Miko's eyes widened,
"Maze?!"
Ratchet sighed,
"She went home,"
Phoenix shook her head,
"Impossible. She would have needed me. The teleportation knows that she can not fly. Every time we are teleported, we are in the air and falling down. She is still in this Universe. The only question is where,"
𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧
Mazikeen opened her eyes to see Optimus and Megatron. She winced as she saw the essence of Unicron,
"The Herald of Primus has come,"
Mazikeen stepped up, and Optimus looked at her with wide optics,
"Mazikeen,"
Mazikeen waved her hand at him,
"Hey, buddy, leave this to me,"
Megatron growled,
"You will fall,"
Mazikeen shook her head,
"Oh, Buckethead. You don't know me, buddy, and you don't know who I am. You don't know what I can do,"
"You cannot defeat me, disciples of Primus! I have transcended my physical being! By my will alone, all upon this world shall fall into chaos!"
She raised a hand, and with Unicron in him, Megatron screamed as he went into stasis. She kept walking up and stood next to Optimus. He looked down at her,
"Who are you?"
Mazikeen felt her eyes start glowing, and her body responded as she looked up at Optimus,
"Optimus Prime. I am the power of the AllSpark. I am the true Herald of Primus."
She raised her hands, and a shield appeared around them. Optimus turned back to Unicron as he felt Mazikeen's power wrap around them,
"Matrix of Leadership, I call upon you!"
He opened his chassis and unleashed his power as Mazikeen raised her hand, and a beam of pure light was unleashed from it.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO,"
They watched as Unicron's spark went back into stasis. Mazikeen smiled,
"We did it."
Optimus nodded,
"That we did,"
He turned and was about to speak, but he was caught off guard when Mazikeen collapsed,
"MAZIKEEN!"
He knelt down by her and looked up as he heard running,
"Optimus!"
He heard gasps and looked over to see Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Wheeljack's optics on the human in his servo,
"Quickly, get Ratchet to get us out of here,"
Arcee glanced at Megatron's body,
"What about him?"
"Leave him. We have more important matters to attend to,"