Chapter 32: The Matrix
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"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
I had no choice, but to yell when I was suddenly launched multiple feet in the air. I closed my eyes and braced myself for impact against hard ground, but instead I landed in sand. Fortunately, I was okay, but one thing. I landed on my back which was now sore and when hit I hit the ground, my leg hit a rock under the sand.
It HURT!
I groaned in pain, holding my leg, trying to relieve some of the pain. It didn't work.
I turned to my left to see Bee land roughly on his back a few yards away. He let out a electronic squeal when he made an attempt to get back up, but failed.
I tried to get up and help him, but my leg didn't think so.
It felt like a bruise was on my leg, but I'm pretty sure a bone was fractured.
Yeah definitely.
I couldn't do anything, but stare at the blazing Sun in the sky. I don't know why, but it was unbelievably hot in this area. Wayyy hotter than back home. Which is a bad thing.
I don't do too well in the heat. I could last a while in the cold, but the heat. I can't do it.
"SAAAAM!" I heard 'Kaela yell in the distance. I tried to stand once again, instead I stumbled forward onto my knees, injuring my leg more. I released a small cry of pain and fell onto my stomach.
This is the worst! It's hot. Sand is everywhere. And I have a fractured leg. Perfect.
I then heard someone run over to me and place a hand on my back. ::Rise and awake....are you ok?::
"Meh." I mumbled in the sand.
I was carefully flipped over onto my back, meeting the bright optics of my brother. He transformed as his holoform appeared by my side. He looked over me in concern, before gently pulling me up into a sitting position by my arm. With his help, I tried to stand again, but I staggered forward into his arms, wincing in pain. Bee steadied me, helping me back onto my feet. I made myself look as if I was ok, but Bee noticed I was holding most of my weight on one leg. He pointed to my leg, questioning about it. I sighed and staggered back into his arms.
"Bee I'm fine."
He didn't listen. I was picked up and gently laid upon the sand. "I said I'm fine." I sat up only to be pushed back down. Bee inspected my leg carefully and lifted it up, causing me to whimper in pain. He immediately stopped his actions and slowly set my leg back down.
He transformed and was about to pick me up until I stopped him."No, I can do it."
Bee rolled his optics and scooped me up in his hands anyways. I thought about maximizing, but I knew that wasn't gonna do any good.
::You're hurt. It's an emergency! An emergency! We gotta find the others!::
"MIKALEA! BEEEE!"
::I'm coming...Sammy Pooh!::
We managed to find Sam who was yelling in pain, cause he broke his hand, then we met up with Mikaela and Leo by following their voices.
I'm sure my leg situation is worse than his broken hand.
"Where are we? Simmons!"
"Hey! Yeah?" Simmons called out. We found him near some big rocks. Big rocks that made up small mountains. The environment around us was....interesting. In my opinion.
"Hey, I think we're in Vegas!" Leo exclaimed.
Vegas? I've been to Vegas before, and it did not look like this.
The land was covered in sand and high mountains. It was a lot hotter here too. I'm not entirely sure what this place is.
We all met up on a mountain where Jetfire and Wheelie was standing.
"That really, really hurt. You're just lucky that I didn't get hurt. People could have gotten killed, okay? And if I would have gotten hurt, you would have heard from my at-"
"Oh, shut up. I told you I was opening a space bridge. It's the fastest way to travel to Egypt." Jetfire spat. I didn't hear anything about a space bridge. What's a space bridge? I didn't think Cybertronians could magically teleport you across the world.
Wait? Egypt?
"When did you..." Sam paused and stood up from Mikaela who was wrapping his hand in bandages. "When did you tell us? You didn't tell us anything. You didn't tell us anything. Why are we in Egypt?"
"How did we get in Egypt, so fast? Isn't that like...on another continent?"
"Well duh." Simmons answered. "Are you learning anything at school?"
Rude. I don't know if I should take that as an honest question or an insult.
"Don't you get snippy with me, fleshling! You were duly informed!" Jetfire growled, dropping down onto the mountain.
"Can you just stop for a second? Can you focus? Can you tell us why we're in Egypt so we can all have a little bit of semblance of peace of mind?"
Simmons pointed to Sam, agreeing with him. "This planet was visited by our race once before, by our earliest ancestors, a millennium ago. They were on an exploratory mission to harvest Energon, the lifeblood of our race. Without it, we'll all perish, oxidize and rust, like my wretched self! Do you have any idea what it's like to slowly fall apart and die?"
I carefully shifted myself in Bee's hand, trying to shield myself from the blazing Sun as I listened.
"Let's not get episodic, okay? Old-timer? Beginning. Middle. End. Facts. Details. Condense. Plot. Tell it." Simmons demanded.
"Somewhere buried in this desert, our ancestors built a great machine. It harvests Energon... by destroying suns." Jetfire stated.
"Destroy Suns?" Sam questioned.
"You mean blow them up?"
"Yes. You see, in the beginning, there were seven Primes, our original leaders. And they set out into the universe, seeking distant suns to harvest. The Primes set out with one rule. Never destroy a planet with life. Until one of them tried to defy this rule. And his name forevermore was... the Fallen." Jetfire then projected an image from his hand. "He despised the human race and he wanted to kill you all by turning on that machine. The only way to activate it is with a legendary key called the Matrix of Leadership."
There was a...crescent sorta shaped object shown in the image. Then a Cybertronian with red optics and a extremely long head took it from the others who were considered the seven original Primes. A battle raged between them and the Fallen was defeated.
"A great battle took place over possession of the Matrix. The Fallen was stronger than his brothers, so they had no choice but to steal... and hide it from him. In the ultimate sacrifice, they gave their lives to seal the Matrix away in a tomb made of their very own bodies, a tomb we cannot find. Somewhere, buried in this desert, that- deadly machine remains. The Fallen knows where it is and if he finds the tomb of the Primes, your world will be no more."
I'm curious about this Matrix. If it holds that much energy to harvest Suns....then maybe..it could have to power to bring the dead back to life, specifically Cybertronian lives. Maybe we could use it to bring my dad back online.
"Okay, so how do we stop him?"
"Only a Prime can defeat the Fallen." Jetfire responded to Mikaela.
"Optimus Prime?" Sam proposed.
"So, you've met a Prime? Why, you must have met a great descendant. Is he alive, here on this planet?"
"He sacrificed himself to save me." Sam said quietly. Just the thought of his death made my heart break. "So, he's dead. Without a Prime, it's impossible. No one else could stop the Fallen." Jetfire said.
"Excuse me...Mr. Jetfire." I spoke up from Bee's hand.
"Huh? What is it, youngling?"
"I have a question. If the energy from the Matrix could be used to power a machine to harvest Suns, could it be possible that same energy could be used to reactivate Optimus and bring him back to life?"
I remembered to never reveal that I'm my dad's daughter so easily before making sure I fully trust someone. Hey, the red optics still creep me out.
"Hey! I was gonna ask that."
"It was never designed for that purpose, but it's an energy like no other."
"So then how do you get us to the Matrix before the Decepticons get to me?" Sam asked.
Or me.
"Follow your mind, your map, your symbols. What you carved in the sand, it's your clue. When dawn alights the Dagger's Tip, three kings will reveal the doorway! Find the doorway! Go now! Go!" Jetfire ordered.
"Okay, we'll all go." Simmons said, walking down the rocks.
"That was my mission. It's your mission now. Go before the Decepticons find me and find you."
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"Okay, here's what my CIA contact says. Ancient Sumerians used to call the Gulf of Aqaba the "Dagger's Tip.". Simmons stated.
"That's the Dagger's Tip."
"Ow...easy Kaela." I hissed in pain as she tied a thin cloth around my leg.
"Sorry. I'm tryna be as gentle as possible."
"It's part of the Red Sea. Divides Egypt and Jordan like the tip of a blade. 29.5 degrees north, 35 east. Here it is."
I paid no attention to the men in front who were going on babbling on about the Red Sea and the Dagger's tip. Whatever that is. I wasn't paying full attention to Jetfire.
"First thing we've got to do is get Optimus to the Dagger's Tip."
"How are we gonna get him halfway around the world?" Leo questioned from the back.
"I'm gonna make a call." Sam stated.
"Umm..Sam...aren't you..."I paused when my ears picked up the sounds of distant sirens that were getting increasingly loud. I turned and gasped at the sight of police cars behind us. "Guys, we got cops on our tail!"
"Crap."
"I can't go to prison, guys." Leo panicked.
"Sam, we got to get off this road and lay low."
"Come on, Bee!" Bee went full speed and drove into a small town, turning sharp corners to juke the cops. We rushed out of Bee once he transformed. Sam was carrying me in his arms while Bee and the twins climbed on the side of a house. Sam puffed his cheeks, while blowing air out as he gently laid me down on a part the ledge.
"Geez you're heavy for small child!"
"Dude. 58 pounds?" I arched a brow at him while he looked away in embarrassment.
"Guys quiet. They're coming!"
We watched as the police cars zoomed right past us as they continued their search.
"Man, stupid cops! Ah-ha-ha!"
I looked up to see Bee hanging on the side of the house while he held Skids upside down by his foot, Wheelie stood on Mudflap's shoulder as Mudflap hung beside them.
"This is what's called blending in like a ninja."
"Shut up or I'll blend my fist in your face."
"They're gone." Mikaela said, taking off the cover that was wrapped around her head.
Sam jumped down from the ledge and ran to a phone.
"Okay, we're running out of time. I gotta make the call to Lennox-." He started to dial a number until I stopped him..
"Uh Sam. Aren't you a wanted fugitive? If you call they could track your voice." I pointed out.
"Yeah the kid is right. You're on the Worldwide Wanted List. Try calling one base, they'll track you here in seconds. CIA is all over this place!" Simmons said, dropping down from the ledge.
"You're right. You're gonna call." Sam said, holding the phone out towards him.
"Oh. Okay. That's a good idea." Simmons agreed, sarcasm clear in his voice. "All right." Sam started dialing in the number. "I mean, I just had my mind on other things-"
Sam mumbled something that I couldn't hear due to loud sirens in the background.
"-like winding up in an Egyptian prison." Simmons finished.
He tapped his foot impatiently as the phone rang. After a few seconds someone finally answered. "Hey. Can one of you help me down please?"
Kaela came over and helped me down. She walked over to Sam and Simmons with me in her arms held as a baby on hip, something that I hated, but couldn't complain. I asked her to move a bit closer to the phone. This way I could hear the conversation between the two.
"Lennox, I'm with the kid. The kid. You know, the one with the attitude, right? We need the truck. The truck. We got a possible resurrection going on over here. You're not gonna believe where we are.
Code Tut, as in King Tutankhamen. Back of a one dollar bill. Coordinates for airdrop, 29.5 north, 34.88 east. Write it down. Write it."
I heard voices in the background, before he hung up. Suddenly a man with a white cover over his face approached us. "Heat comes."
"Whoa, wait, who are you?" Sam shrieked, backing away.
"Wait! It's me! Leo! Me! Leo! Leo! Leo! Cops are coming right now. We need to go!" Leo said urgently, snatching the cover off his face. "Bee!" Sam called the 'bots on the roof.
Bee jumped down with the twins and transformed.
"Move, move, move, move. Let's go."
We all rushed in Bee and headed out the small town.
"Okay, let's go over it again."
"When the dawn alights-" Sam and Simmons repeated in unison.
"the Dagger's Tip,"
"the Three Kings-"
"will reveal the doorway." Sam completed.
"That's what he said. You know what that means?" Simmons asked.
"No, what does it mean?"
"I have no idea." He admitted.
"Oh my God. Oh my God. Checkpoint. Checkpoint. I don't have my passport."
I looked up, spotting the guards and the gates blocking our way. I heard Leo's breathing increase once we stopped at the gate. "Pass-port!" A man shouted, walking down the steps, talking in his language which I believe was Egyptian. "They got cameras at the top." Sam whispered. "All right, chill. This is espionage now. I can handle it. These are my people."
"Yeah." Wheelie chuckled.
"I'm one-thirty-sixth Arab."
"Oh great, a frickin' munchkin. Little people are mean. Tell him he's tall." Wheelie joked, crouching down by our feet.
"Huh?"
The guard walked around to Simmons side and spoke more Egyptian. "Ashu-fanah... The Dagger's... Tip? Right? Egypt, Jordan. We want to go there. Me and my family. This is my family. This is my son, my other son, my daughter, yeah and that's my youngest daughter. We're tourists, from New York."
Leo and Kaela gave their best innocent smiles.
"New York?"
"Yes, Yes."
"Fifty kilometers." The guard smiled, gesturing for the other guard to raise the gate. "You look like the guy that runs my falafel stand. Thank
you very much."
"New York!" The guard cheered.
Simmons gave the guard once last smile once they allowed Bee to drive through.
"Hey, good job on the acting skills."
"Yeah, congrats, you want an award?" Wheelie muttered, hopping into Kaela's lap.
"I'd say I deserve one." Simmons laughed.
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I know this chapter isn't anything related to Christmas, but this can be a Christmas gift.
Merry Christmas Everyone!❤️🎄 🎁
Thank you all for the love and support!