Megatron has slipped down from his place clinging to the edge of a medial berth to kneeling on the floor, resting against it. He had insisted that they put Soundwave on the berth beside him, even though…
The warlord cringes, trying to hold himself together. He can’t bring himself to answer at the moment, text will have to suffice.
Smokescreen and Bumblebee escort Megatron to get repairs, hauling the corpse of the herald Soundwave with them. Prowl and the living Soundwave remain behind, with the reliquary.
Time to tend to their wounds—physical or psychological.
Soundwave, Prowl, Smokescreen and Bumblebee meet up to discuss how they’re going to combat Unicron. The plan is to have Bumblebee bridge into the atmosphere to scout for any obvious signs of Unicron on the surface, and then they’ll all bridge down and split up to hunt for him and his herald: Prowl solo, Soundwave solo, and Smokescreen & Bumblebee together. Anybody who runs into him comms the rest of the group, and then try to reliquary him or, if necessary, Matrix him.
Censere hums the rest quietly to himself as he works, tinkering with a few petals. He’s gotten behind in his work, but he still has time. He looks up from the fragile creation, out the window to where Bee rests amid the flowers, where Smokescreen watches the stars. They look so comfortable, nestled in among the warm echos of memory. The planet has been quiet for millenia, he’s grown used to being the only one filling the silence… but he’s going to miss these two when they find their way home.
He’s talking far more these last few days than he has in the last century. The questions keep being a surprise, but they’re nice all the same.
“That certainly is a lot, but I’ll do my best. Ahem.”
“The statues represent all of the mechs who were alive when I first began building here. If the base is empty, it means they’ve passed on. As for how you can get home… how did you get here, anyway? Bumblebee said it was some kind of portal, could you open it from here?”
“As for if he can’t be put back… His spark is weak, but perhaps you could see what a medic could do to supplement him. If he gets strong enough again, another body could be built for him, with a blank brainpan to imprint. He might lose some memories, but at least he would be able to walk again if something happens to his original frame.”
Wait- wait, so your Megatron is- your Megatron’s offlined, then? … Do you have any statues for bots from other universes? Do you have anything for Alpha Trion?
I don’t know if we could- Bee used this book, and somehow it got us here! We were gonna use a rope so I could pull Bee out, but we accidentally kept holding hands.
… Okay- so, so he could be okay, right? That’s good- do you think things will be okay on our Cybertron when we get back? I mean- I don’t know what Unicron could be doing, and I’m worried that nobody’s able to stop him- do you think it’ll be okay?
“Ah, no he isn’t, that’s the strange thing. Normally, I’m the one who shuts down the projectors when a mech dies, but I noticed that Megatron’s had gone out despite him being on the Lost Light, alive and… perhaps not well, but alive. When I went to go and repair it, I found your Megatron’s crystal atop his base.”
Oh goodness so many questions! Censere quite enjoyed having company who wanted to learn rather than take. “You’re the first mechs I’ve ever known from other universes; I don’t have any statues for you apart from your alternates, but our Alpha Trion’s is about three miles to the east of here. He too is very much alive.” He frowned a bit to hear that their method of travel seemed to have been left behind, and spent the rest of his time watching the faintly glowing spark crystal.
“The war against Unicron was before even my time, Smokescreen. There are many, most in fact, who doubt that he even exists at all. To us, he is the embodiment of chaos and malice, whether he is just a story or not. But if he is real in your world… even Primus needed the assistance of the Guiding Hand.” His plating bristled, causing the galaxies in his cape to swirl. “Ah… But he is using your Megatron as an avatar. He lacks the strength of his full form, that at least is in your favor.”
He’s talking far more these last few days than he has in the last century. The questions keep being a surprise, but they’re nice all the same.
“That certainly is a lot, but I’ll do my best. Ahem.”
“The statues represent all of the mechs who were alive when I first began building here. If the base is empty, it means they’ve passed on. As for how you can get home… how did you get here, anyway? Bumblebee said it was some kind of portal, could you open it from here?”
“As for if he can’t be put back… His spark is weak, but perhaps you could see what a medic could do to supplement him. If he gets strong enough again, another body could be built for him, with a blank brainpan to imprint. He might lose some memories, but at least he would be able to walk again if something happens to his original frame.”
You don’t know how big the multiverse gets, do you, Censere? (Bee rigs up a fast holo-projection.) Like this is my universe’s Megatron. But if he has a scar mark…
(Bee stands on tiptoe to put his hands on the sphere and speak to Megatron.) My lord? If you can hear me, it’s Bumblebee and Smokescreen’s got you and we’re working on getting you back to your body. We just- okay we have to get Unicron out of your frame and then… um…
… Smokescreen I don’t entirely know how to get back to where his body is…
We won’t tell anyone about this place, that’s a promise.
/Smokescreen’s poking at the crystal, curious, if concerned./
I gotta get it all in him? But with Unicron in there? How are we supposed to do that? “Hey Unicron, can you open your chest so we can sparkbond with you?” Do we have to deal with Unicron first?
It’s gotta be ours, right? I mean, what are the chances of a Megaspark showing up here with another Megatron dying at the same time?
Do you think we can ping someone for a bridge? Or- can you open a hole again? Maybe we’ll get back then?
Megatron- please, please be okay. I don’t want to lose any more bots I look up to.
It’s unclear whether or not Megatron can register anything in his current state, but the spark does flicker softly as it’s spoken to.
Meanwhile, the hologram has Censere enraptured. There really was such such incredible variance in their designs, he looks simpler and cleaner than any mech he’s seen! And yet this mech still held himself with the same power as their own Megatron had in the war. It simply was him. Looking closer at the two in this room with him, despite how strange they appeared, he found he could say the same for them. Fascinating.
“I can’t say that I have personal experience with the gods, but if more than one being occupies a body, the stronger one will win out. For him to be accepted back into his frame, it needs to be otherwise empty. …I wish that I could offer more help to get it that way.”
He begins to wrack his brains. With his instruments, he can travel to any place and time, across the universe… but only within its confines, as far as he knows.
“Can you not simply leave the same way that you came?”
(Bee’s spark freezes when Censere steps back, and he comes back into himself too quickly. He overdid it, he knew it, he was here in his home and he’d just yelled at him and now he was nervous and going to run and they’d be left with nothing…)
(But instead, he leads them farther into the compound and past all those wonderful things they’re not allowed to touch. Bee’s hand is a little numb from squeezing Smokescreen’s so tightly.)
(When the little round crystal’s presented to him, he’s hopeful for a flash… and then remembers his grave, and Smokescreen’s alternate.)
(This… is their Megatron, right? The description sounds like his spark, but…)
Smokey… how do we tell for sure?
I’m sorry I yelled, Censere, we’re just… both scared. Really scared. And this is your first talk to the multiverse and I’m sorry it had to be at this really weird time, but… when Unicron’s taken care of and Megatron’s back to normal, I’ll send you pictures. I-it’s not like I can’t find you again…
/Smokescreen gives a relieved sigh, squeezing Bee’s servo to comfort him without really thinking about it./
Thank you, Censere- later on, I can tell you all about the multiverse, after we deal with this, I promise.
You know- yeah, are you sure this is the right spark? It seems like it could be his- but I’m not sure. There’s probably a mark where he was stabbed? But I don’t think the crystal would show that. And how do we let him out of the crystal? And- we should really see if there’s anything that could help his spark.
/Smokescreen reaches for the crystal, hoping to take a closer look at it./
Censere shakes his helm, raising a hand to stop the apologies. “I can understand your fears, believe me. And although you are some of the… only visitors I’ve ever had here, you are far from the most aggressive. So long as you don’t invite negative attention here, I wouldn’t mind your company again. For now, bring it back to the monitors.”
The spark is faint, hard to see inside the crystalline orb. He hands it over to Smokescreen, encouraging both to take a look before ushering them back to the control room.
“Stabbed…? There… does seem to be a patch of light on one side that’s anomalous, but if he was stabbed you absolutely cannot remove his spark from this crystal. I’m not even certain how it’s been kept this stable… If that is what happened to him, then this containment is the only thing keeping his spark lit. To restore him, you must implant the entire thing into his chamber. Perhaps then it will still have the energy left to power his frame… after Unicron leaves it, that is.” He has his doubts that it will work, but there seems to be something else afoot, and if anyone could cheat death, it would be the point-one-percenter.
“As for whether or not he is yours-” Censere typed in another set of codes and the main screen showed a split once more. On one side, the spark in their hands. On the other, a blocky alternate, sitting and reading something in the dark. “Our Megatron is right there. There should be no one else in the universe who shares his signature, and yet there he is, resting in that crystal.”
We can’t be looking in the wrong place! He’s got a grave right outside!
(Bee’s exaggerating, of course, for how long they ran to get here. But he angrily points at the door and lets himself steam up. He punctuates sentences with furious stomps and wild gesticulations, barely keeping his voice from cracking.) And we’re not leaving here without him! What do you think you’re going to do?! You think you’re gonna go back to wherever he is and tell him that his chance to go home was right at your door and you told ‘em to hide like cowards?! You think we threw ourselves into the vacuum of space on a hunch that we might find him to be told that THIS is where we stop!?
If ONE mech can’t stand up to Unicron- th-then FINE! Megatron alone won’t do it! WE’LL be there! And we’re either gonna stop the Unmaker or Megatron’s gonna snuff on his OWN terms, the way he’d want it!!!
/Smokescreen’s holding Bee’s arm, but isn’t trying to calm him down- it is really frustrating! They’re right here! Megatron’s gotta be here! He can’t understand why Censere would try to hide him./
Censere, why do you think I’m carrying around the matrix like this? Optimus- My Optimus died. And- and If worst comes to worst, Optimus last offered the matrix to me before he went offline- if Megatron couldn’t fight Unicron alone, or with just us, I’m ready to use it to try to stop Unicron.
But it’d be better if that doesn’t have to happen in the first place! If we’ve got the chance to fight Unicron, and get Megatron back in his body, we can’t just sit around and let our home be destroyed again!
If Megatron can get back in his body, we’ll be able to save him and Cybertron!
Please- please, just help us get to Megatron. I’m not about to see Cybertron go dark again.
“They’re not graves, they’re-” The minibot’s shouting stops him in his tracks, keeps his hand from making contact with the door. He was indignant and passionate, and despite being half his height, Censere felt he was in his face. He looked from Bee to Smokescreen, taking a step back from the both of them. They didn’t just need his help, they were desperate, and…
“…Alright, then. Follow me.”
The tall mech opened the door and calmly lead the pair back down the hall. He stopped before a section of wall between two doors and drew a symbol over it with his claws. It glowed for a moment, before separating and opening into a dark room, full of active stasis pods. Glancing behind him to ensure they were keeping their hands to themselves, Censere opened the nearest one, removing a round crystal that gives off a faint blue light.
“This appeared yesterday night, atop Megatron’s memorial. The spark contained inside is unlike any I’ve ever seen… it makes sense that he came from another universe. He is very weak…” Censere closed his optics, brushing reverently over the crystal with the backs of his digits before offering it to the pair.
Megatron's back up 