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CHAPTER XLI

Meanwhile, under the mountain, Galvatron and his party were still walking through the dark tunnel, following the light of their torches as it cut through the darkness and showed them the way.

But suddenly the entire area shook like an earthquake had hit, making the ceiling of the tunnel crumble as dislodged rocks fell down around the group.

"What in the All-Spark was that?" the Predacon Leader spat as he looked back at Lazerback, who gave him a confused expression in return.

"I do not know, my Lord. Sounds like something had impacted the mountain above us maybe." he replied in an unsure tone, which made Galvatron narrow his eyes at him before tapping his com-link.

"Rip-Claw, what in the scrap was that?" he spat in an impatient tone, before the sounds of fighting could be heard on the other end.

"Lord Galvatron, we have lost the Nemesis. Its been destroyed." the Femme replied in a shocked voice, making the Predacon Lord's eyes widen in response.

"What!"

"The Autobot's own Predacon just flew himself and Predaking into it's engines and caused it to explode, that's what we saw." she said back.

"Get Skystalker and Grimwing to head for the tunnel's opening." Galvatron replied with a worried tone, one that did not escape the attention of both Jack and Arcee. With the Prime smirking back to his spark-mate.

"Sounds like the Autobots are giving them a hard time." he whispered, gaining a nod from the Femme as they looked back at the Predacon leader, who was still on his com-link.

"Then you better send as many Terracons as you can to the mountain, because I have a feeling that the Autobots are on their way." he said back in an angry and commanding tone.

"Yes, my Lord, I will despatch a squad now." she replied before ending the link, as Galvatron looked back into the black of the tunnel ahead.

"Move!" he spat as they carried on.

After a few more minutes of walking through the darkness, Galvatron suddenly raised his arm and made the group stop again.

"We are here." was all he said as the beam of light shone upon a metallic wall which looked completely alien to the rest of the rock around them.

"What is it?" Lazerback asked as he joined his Lord's side, with the Predacon Leader walking up to the wall and touching it's smooth and cold surface with his hand.

"It is what I have been looking for…" he said in return before noticing what looked like hieroglyphics which covered it's entirety, but they could not have been engraved onto the metal surface as he would have felt it with his hand.

"That writing looks almost like Cybertronian?" the Lieutenant said with a curious look, earning a similar look from Galvatron.

"It's from the time of the Thirteen, and what is behind this wall will win us this war." he said before looking back at the Terracons standing around both Jack and Arcee.

"Find me a way in….now!" he ordered, gaining nods from the minions as they then spread out around the wall and began searching as the blue haired Femme looked between the wall and her spark-mate.

"Jack, do you know what this is?" she asked in a worried tone, but the Prime shook his head slightly.

"No I don't, but yet it does feel familiar to me." he replied in an almost cryptic voice, as unbeknownst to either him,Arcee or any of the enemies that were with them, a dim light began to shine just below his neck, under his shirt.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Meanwhile, Ser-Ket found herself in the middle of the battle, surrounded by Autobots and Predacons who were to busy fighting each other to notice. She had calmed down back into her normal frame of body and mind, and was now focused on getting away so she could try and find Quickstrike. But after witnessing that black dragon perform a kamikaze on the Nemesis, which was now a smouldering wreck. She could not help but wonder about the beast, as it looked really familiar to her.

'That looked like that black dragon from my dream.' she thought before suddenly being pulled out of her thoughts as her attention was drawn to Rip-Claw, who was leading several Terracons away from the battle.

'Where is she going?' the Femme thought before she suddenly felt a hand grab her shoulder, making her look back to see a beasted-out Vertabreak behind her.

"Ser-Ket, what the hell are you…." he started to ask before she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a throw, sending him flying as she made some space between them.

"Sorry, but I don't have time for questions."

The yellow armoured Predacon got back to his feet and activated his holo-blade, preparing for a fight as he stepped between the Femme and her sister.

"You're supposed to be under lock and key in Shockblast's lab, I guess I should put you back in there then." he replied, which made Ser-Ket shake her head in return.

"Leave me be, or suffer Shockblast's fate." she warned, but this just made the Con smirk back at her.

"I think I can handle you….since I am not exactly alone." Vertabreak replied as several Terracons surrounded him and the Femme.

"Really?" was all she said in return before then firing her pistols at each and every one of them, hitting them all directly between the eyes before their bodies fell to the ground like dominoes.

"What the?" he spat before growling back at Ser-Ket, who took on a more defensive stance as she readied herself for a fight.

"I think you will need to become beast-like if you want to beat me." Vertabreak then said as he raised his claws and prepared to attack, but the Femme merely smiled back at him confidently.

"I don't need to, certainly not against the likes of you." she replied with an unimpressed tone, earning a look of anger from the Predacon who narrowed his eyes at her before roaring and launching himself towards her.

Elsewhere, Alpha team had managed to keep themselves out of the continuing battle which had started to become less one sided, as the destruction of the Nemesis seemed to have had an effect on the Predacon ground-force.

This had given the Autobots more of a fighting chance, not that it mattered to Orion and his friends.

For that battle was to them was a distraction, something to keep the enemy busy while they attacked their leader.

And that was what they were going to do by chopping off the head of the Predaon war machine, and stopping them before they unleashed whatever horrible things was on this planet.

That was what Orion was thinking right now as he lead the others towards the lone mountain, which was now directly in front them. They all looked so small when compared to the giant rock formation, as the sun started to descend to the horizon behind it, casting it's shadow over the team as they could now see the entrance to the tunnel ahead of them.

"Is it me or has it just gotten a little cooler around here." Nightracer said as the sky over them began to change from blue to red as night started to descend over the planet.

"Yeah, certainly helps with setting the mood for this place doesn't it." Shen replied as Liara looked around the group with a puzzled expression, gaining Orion's attention as he looked back to her.

"Liara, what is it?" he asked before suddenly the Asari brought up a biotic barrier behind them.

"Watch out!" she shouted before an RPG came out of nowhere and hit the field, harmlessly exploding away from the team. But Orion noticed that Liara had been physically effected by the sudden attack as she grimaced, causing her barrier to begin cracking. So as the others took cover behind some nearby large rocks, he grabbed the Asari and pulled her down behind cover beside him, which made the barrier disappear while Shen took a peek though his sniper scope.

"What do you see?" the blue haired Bot asked while he checked his lover, who gave him an appreciative nod in return.

"I see a full squad of Terracons and a woman in light blue and red armour, she looks like thier Leader and is carrying the RPG." the Turian replied, earning an angered expression from Quickstrike which caught the others attention.

"What is it Quickstrike?" Nightracer asked him while Orion gave the Sniper a nod, which made him start firing back at the enemies and made them scatter behind cover.

"That's Rip-Claw, she was the bitch that tortured me back on Omicron and she claims to be Ser-Ket's Sister." he replied, his growing anger evident in his voice.

"You're kidding right. I don't see much of a family resemblance." Shen replied as he took a shot at the Femme, making her duck behind cover.

"Ser-Ket doesn't believe it either. But anyway, that bitch knows what has become of Ser-Ket...and I will beat it out of her." the blonde Bot said as he got ready to move, only for Orion to stop him by placing his hand on his shoulder.

"We are with you, Quickstrike, but to go out there now would be suicide." he said to his Cousin, earning a knowing nod from him.

"Then how should we go about this?" Quickstrike replied, which made Orion look around at the team.

"We have enough cover around us to keep them at bay, but..." he said back while looking at his Cousin.

"...we don't have the time for that, so Quickstrike and I will take them on. While the rest of you give us covering fire." he added while turning his attention to Shen, Nightracer and Liara, noticing the look of concern on his lover's face

"I am still feeling a little off from that RPG, I don't think I can create another barrier yet." she said with a regretful tone, but the young Darby smiled back at her as he handed his rifle to her.

"Don't worry, you can use this..." he replied as he equipped his pistol and began reaching over his shoulder.

"I have..." he added while grasping the hilt of the Star-Saber and pulling it free of it's holster.

"...this."

Quickstrike looked at the blade, before shaking his head in return.

"I forgot that you had that."

"I picked it up before meeting you in the shuttle, it was exactly where I left it." the blue haired Bot replied.

"On the crew deck where we got sucked out into space." Liara questioned, gaining a nod from her lover in return.

"Yep, the repair crew couldn't remove it. So they left there, wish they could have seen me pull it out of the deck with no problem."

"Hey guys, how about some help here?" Shen suddenly jumped in, regaining the others attention as he continued to fire at the enemy, taking down two of them as he spoke.

"Right, Quickstrike,...let's go." Orion said as he tapped his Cousin on the shoulder, both of them moving off.

"Good luck." Liara then said, making the young Darby look back with a loving expression.

"You too." he replied before the cousins moved away, using the large rocks as cover.

"Okay, covering fire." Nightracer said in a commanding tone as she, Shen and Liara began firing on the Terracons, causing them to halt their advance once again.

PRIME EFFECT 4

"What are you waiting for, get down there and kill them!" Rip-Claw spat as her Terracons took cover behind the nearby large rocks, just in time to miss the onslaught of bullets that the Autobots fired back.

"It's no use, Commander, they have a good defensive line over there. We cannot simply rush them, as they would most likely rip us apart." the Terracon beside her said back, earning an angry stare from the Femme as she grabbed him by the throat.

"Why are you hesitating, just beast out and rush them." she replied while tightening her grip around his neck, making him gasp for air.

"But….we….can't,,,,all….." the minion tried to say before his neck snapped in her hands, to which Rip-Claw merely dropped his body back to the ground uncaringly.

"Terracons….Terrorise!" she roared as the other soldiers looked back at her for a second before nodding back and roaring, as they engaged their beast-modes. Their bodies grew slightly larger and more muscular, while their overall looks became more ferocious. And then all of them charged towards the Autobots, unknowingly passing Orion and Quickstrike who were sneaking past while using the rock formations as cover.

"Err, they are charging right at us." Shen stated with a nervous tone growing in his voice while continuing to fire at them, only for the shots to the bodies only slowing them down and not stopping them for good.

"Aim for their heads then." Nightracer replied as she fired short bursts with her rifle, taking down two in quick success as blood spilled out of their head wounds. The Turian quickly nodded and re-corrected his aim, taking down three in just as many shots. Liara too killed one, but yet there were still six left and they were over the halfway point towards the group.

"They'll be on us in seconds." the young Vakarian said while gunning down another, as Liara looked down at the Femme's utility belt.

"I have an idea." she said in return as she took a hand off her rifle and grabbed a grenade from it, before then focusing her biotics so that her hand and the grenade began to glow with blue energy.

"What are you….?" Nightracer began to say before the Asari lobbed the explosive into the path of the charging Terracons, who took no notice of the glowing blue object before it suddenly exploded, filling the immediate area with an expanding blue light as every Terracon in range was suddenly catapulted into the air before landing hard on the rocks.

"How did you?" the Femme began to ask, only for Liara to cut her off.

"I charged the grenade with biotic energy, call it a 'lift grenade'."

"Great work, Liara, now let's take them down quickly!" Shen replied as the three of them then stood up and fired back while the enemy troops tried to recover.

Meanwhile, Rip-Claw looked on in complete disbelief as she watched her troops fighting the Autobots, her anger growing to boiling point at how their enemy was able to resist. But just then, the Predacon's attention was caught by a familiar scent.

"I recognise that smell…" she said aloud before quickly ducking under Quickstrike's attack as he swung his holo-blade at her and in one move, quickly turned around and punched him in the stomach, sending the Bot flying to the ground as she activated her beast mode. The Bot quickly recovered as he watched Rip-Claw transform before him, a confident smile appeared on her face as she looked down at him.

"Are you really that eager for another beating? I mean you didn't stand a chance against me the first time we met, and I do miss our little torture sessions." she said while flexing her claws, looking down at the Bot who activated his other holo-blade and took a defensive stance.

"That's not going to happen this time…" he said before launching himself at the Predacon, swinging his blades at her and making the Femme go on the defensive, as she dodged each and every one of the attacks before one sliced her cheek. But this just served to anger her more as Rip-Claw then went on the offensive and with one hit, broke through Quickstrike's attack and stunned him before grabbing him by the throat.

"You were saying?" she replied with a growl, while holding his head close to hers.

"…I…meant…because…" he tried to say while the Femme tightened her grip around his neck, which made her ease it slightly as a curious expression appeared on her face.

"Go on?"

"..because I didn't come alone." he then managed to say, making Rip-Claw's eyes widen in shock, before spinning around just in time to see a silver and blue armoured man with blue hair lunge a Cybertronian blade at her, which ran through her stomach and made the Predacon grimace and groan in pain as she dropped the blonde Bot.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" he said before nodding at his Cousin.

"Thanks, Orion."

"Don't mention it." the young Darby replied before pulling the Star-Saber back out, making Rip-Claw fall to one knee in front of them.

"Now, tell me what has happened to Ser-Ket and we will make this quick." Quickstrike then said in a serious and threatening tone as the Femme looked up at him with a disgusted expression.

"That's it? After everything I did to you at Omicron, the torture and murdering the people you knew, that wretch is the only thing on your mind?" she answered with a painful laugh, while holding a hand to her stab wound which was slowly bleeding out. The blonde Bot though let his anger get the better of him as he then grabbed her by the hair with one hand and held his holo-blade to her throat.

"WHERE IS SHE!" he spat while his eyes narrowed at her in an enraged stare, while she continued to laugh before spitting out a slither of blood.

"That traitorous wretch is dead, you hear me?" she said back with an almost gleeful tone.

"You lie!" Quickstrike quickly replied as Orion looked on, holding the Star-Saber ready as he watched as a worried expression grew on his face.

"She was being held prisoner on the Nemesis, now look at it and tell me that she survived that?" Rip-Claw answered back, which made Quickstrike glance over to Orion with disbelieving expression before looking back at the burning husk of the Predacon battleship.

"No, she can't be…." he said as the Femme observed his anguish, taking delight in it as she smiled.

"It's what she deserved. I just wish I could have seen her final moments."

This made the blonde Bot look back at her, his expression quickly changing back to enraged as his anger took control again, but the Predacon continued her taunting.

"She no doubt called your name."

So Quickstrike quickly held his holo-blade at the injured Con's neck again, looking completely ready to end her life.

"I will send you to the pit!" he spat, before she smiled back with a knowing expression and suddenly took the Cousins by surprise and in one quick motion, got to her feet and grabbed them both by their throats, making Orion drop the Star-Saber which fell to the ground below him.

"Did you really think that wound would be enough to stop me?" she asked while looking at both Autobots in her grip, which was tightening so much around their wind pipes that they were quickly gasping for air.

The Femme then slammed their heads together before dropping them back to the ground, observing the Bots as they tried to recover.

"I will send you to see Ser-Ket very soon…" Rip-Claw said to the blonde Bot, who was still on his back and holding his hand to his forehead as a cut bled from the area.

But she then turned her attention to the blue haired Bot who had managed to roll over onto his front and look back to the others, but his vision was blurring from suffering a concussion.

And he could just make out Liara and Nightracer as they were fighting hand to hand against two remaining Terracons, while Shen was lying on the floor.

"..but you look familiar to me." the Predacon added before kicking Orion in the side and making him roll onto his back again, before taking a deep sniff of the air over him.

"You smell like the Prime and that wretch of his. Well, that is a surprise." she said in delighted tone.

"Well, before I kill you, you should know that they are still alive…..well just…." she started to say, earning the Bot's attention as he looked back at her, his vision slowly starting to correct itself. But what he saw next was Rip-Claw pinning him down to the floor with her foot on his chest, slowly applying extra pressure on his armour as she tried to push her foot through his body and onto the ground beneath him.

"…but they will join you, as soon as Lord Galvatron gets whatever he wants from them." she taunted with a smile before raising her claws above her, readying herself for the killing blow.

"Rip-Claw, leave them alone!" a female voice suddenly shouted, earning both the Predacon's and Quickstrike's attention as it sounded so familiar to them.

The blonde Bot rolled over onto his stomach and looked up at the ridge to see the most beautiful sight he had seen in a good while, as standing there in yellow and green armour was Ser-Ket, who was aiming an avenger rifle directly at the surprised Rip-Claw.

"What? But you were on board…" was all the Femme could say as she stepped off the young Darby, as her former Sister cut her off.

"I managed to get off the ship before it was destroyed, killing Shockblast before doing so." she said which made the Predacon narrow her eyes back at her, making Ser-Ket smile.

"..And also Vertabreak on the way here."

"You really are not my ister any-more, are you? Since it is now so easy for you to kill your brethren." Rip-Claw spat as she left Orion and Quickstrike, walking towards the new arrival while the latter was still looking at his lover with a disbelieving expression.

"If I have learnt anything in thse last few days, it is that I am not related to you or any Predacon." Ser-Ket replied as she took a fighting stance and activated her holo-blades, gaining a smile from the Beastial Femme.

"You're going to fight me like that? Didn't you learn anything from our last encounter?"

"I did actually, but I am not about to lower myself to your standards to win a fight." the former Predacon answered, gaining an enraged roar from Rip-Claw who lunged at her.

Ser-Ket quickly dodged the attack before slicing at her adversary, cutting the Beastial across the chest.

"Arrragh!" the light blue and red armoured woman cried as blood began seeping from the wound, staining her armour. But even though she was still bleeding out from the gut wound Orion had given her, Rip-Claw let her growing anger continue to fuel her body.

The Femme looked down at the blood before returning her attention to her former sister, gritting her teeth as she narrowed her eyes,

"I will kill you!" she spat while lunging at Ser-Ket again and again, with the Femme dodging each attack. Using her smaller and more athletic figure to her advantage, as Rip-Claw now was far larger and slightly slower

'I can't let her hit me in her current state, or else it will knock me senseless like last time.' she thoughtwhile ducked under a swing of the Predacon's claws, following through with a roll to make some distance between them, ending up back on her feet as she turned to face her.

Meanwhile, Quickstrike had managed to get up onto never his knees as his head had finally stopped spinning, never taking his eyes off his lover as she fought their common enemy.

'Kick her ass Ser-Ket.' he thought as he watched her gain another strike on Rip-Claw, as she made another deep cut on the Predacon's chest-plate.

This further enraged the Beastial who then swung her right arm at her former Sister, which made her duck again.

But then the blonde Bot's eyes widened as he watched the Predacon swing an uppercut with his left arm, catching Ser-Ket by surprise as it made contact with her chin.

The strength of the hit took the Femme right off her feet and sent her flying back on to the ground hard.

"SER-KET!" He shouted in a panicked tone, earning the Beastial's attention as she looked over to him.

"Wait your turn." she taunted before looking back at her Ser-Ket, who was lying on her back and bleeding from her mouth.

But just as she was about to walk up to her, Rip-Claw suddenly stopped and looked between the two with a thoughtful expression, one that ended with a sinister smile.

"Actually, now that I think about it…" the Predacon started to say as she turned round and walked over to Quickstrike, as the Bot slowly got to his feet.

"..There will be nothing more painful for you, than to watch your Autobot die." she finished, as the blonde Man threw a punch at her that the Beastial easily blocked, before grabbing him by the throat yet again.

"No…" Ser-Ket cried weakly as she looked over to see her lover in the grips of her former Sister, who was intent on ending his life.

'I can't watch him die, I have to do something.' she thought, realising that just like Shockwave, there was only one way she could save him and their friends.

"You can close your eyes if you want, this will only hurt a lot." Rip-Claw said as she looked into the Bot's eyes while raising her free hand, readying her claws for one final blow.

But he just looked back at her with a defiant stare before his attention was suddenly caught by something behind her, making Rip-Claw turn around and see Ser-Ket getting to her feet whilst changing into her own Beastial form.

"Finally, I knew you still had some Predacon in you." the light blue and red armoured woman said in a delighted tone, while her former Sister narrowed her eyes at her and pointed a claw at her.

"You hurt him again…..and I will make you suffer." she growled while bearing her sharp teeth.

"What….like this?" Rip-Claw replied before throwing the Bot away, letting him land on one of the rock formations that littered the area.

"You Bitch!" Ser-Ket roared as she charged at the Predacon, who looked back just in time to see the Traitor tackle her to the ground.

The yellow and green armoured Femme than slashed continuously at Rip-Claw, spilling so much blood as she drove her claws deep into her adversary's chest.

The Predacon then replied by grabbing her enemy's right shoulder and digging her claws in deep, making Ser-Ket cry out in pain while blood spilled out of the wounds.

This made her pause as Rip-Claw then punched her in the face hard with her free hand, knocking the Femme off and back onto the ground. Ser-Ket tried to recover quickly, only for the Predacon to kick her in the face and and back to the ground.

And then she slashed at her former Sister's back, dragging her claws over the armour and cutting deep into her flesh.

This made the Femme grimace and yelp as she felt a sharp white hot pain in her back, but that was quickly replaced by even more agonising pain as Rip-Claw kicked her in the side several times.

Ser-Ket winced and gasped as it felt like her insides were being destroyed by the Predacon's continuous strikes, it only stopped when the former sister rolled over onto her back which only made the pain feel worse.

Rip-Claw looked down at her adversary, smiling down at the Femme as she withered in pain.

So she leaped onto Ser-Ket and pinned her to the spot, holding her arms in vice-like grips.

"You never had a chance, you traitorous wretch." the Predacon said while looking down at her with a self righteous stare, before she then looked over to the blonde Bot who was only just now beginning to recover as he tried to sit up, no matter how much pain he felt.

"Look at him Ser-Ket, at the Autobot you chose over us." she said with a venomous tone, making the former Predacon look over and lock her eyes onto Quickstrike's as the two just looked at each other.

"Do you realise how weak you have become, how his influence has changed you? When our Lord Galvatron re-awoke us, you were strong like the rest of us...like me..." Rip-Claw said as looked back down at the Femme with pity in her eyes.

"But that Autobot has poisoned your spark, ripping you from the rest of us...your family." she added before looking over at the two Terracons, taking not that hey had beaten the other Autobots as Liara and Nightracer joined their Turian friend on the ground. With the two Beastials staring down at them.

"You, soldier!" the Predacon called, gaining the attention of both as the looked over to her."

"Yes, you...come here." she said as she nodded to the Terracon standing on the right, with him nodding back in return before walking towards her as she looked back down at Ser-Ket.

"He has made you weak, of body and mind." she said, as her former Sister looked back with a pained and unsure expression.

"Don't listen to her, Ser-Ket." Quickstrike suddenly said, gaining the attention of both her and Rip-Claw. The former looking at him with a wide eyed stare, while the latter merely narrowed her eyes back before turning her attention to the Beastial that was approaching them.

"Restrain him." she said, gaining a nod from the Terracon while Ser-Ket quickly looked back at the Predacon with a shocked and despaired expression.

"He needs to die..." Rip-Claw then said with a cold malice to her voice as the Terracon then grabbed Quickstrike by his arms and twisted them behind his back, before lifting him onto his knees and stood over him.

"...and with his poisonous influence gone, the damage he has caused between us will heal. And you can once more be a Sister to me, ...and a Predacon again." Rip-Claw added as Ser-Ket kept her attention on Quickstrike, who struggled against the Terracon's hold, only for it to tighten it's grip and growl at him, making him stop and look back at her.

"Ser-Ket, you told me that you never really felt like you were a Predacon in your spark, that you were something else...arrrgh!" he then managed to say before the Beastial's tightened it's grip more, throwing him off his sentence in an attempt to shut him up.

But the Blonde Autobot kept his attention on his lover, looking at her with a determined and yet caring expression.

"...but I don't care what that is...because I love you regardless of any of it...arrrgh!" he cried again as the Terracon inflicted pain on him again.

"Let's silence him for good, kill him." Rip-Claw then said, which made Ser-Ket look directly at her former Sister with a dagger like stare as her beastial eyes narrowed. The Terracon nodded back before opening his jaws and lowering them toward the side of the Autobot's neck, readying itself for the kill.

Rip-Claw smiled as she watched, but that expression soon changed to one of confusion as she suddenly felt her hands moving off the floor with they were still gripping Ser-Ket's arms.

She looked down to see the Femme gritting her teeth, and growling deeply as she focused all her strength into her arms, lifting the Predacon away from her.

"Rip-Claw...Get OFF!" she roared before throwing her sister off herself, with the Predacon landing on the ground with a thud a few metres away, which made the Terracon stop and look back in surprise.

But Ser-Ket was quickly back on her feet before launching herself at him, ripping the Beastial from her Lover before sinking her teeth into the it's throat and tearing it out, spraying a blood-like liquid onto the floor.

Orion and the others watched with wide-eyed expressions as Ser-Ket turned her attention back to Rip-Claw, while the Terracon bled to death on the floor beside her.

"Rip-Claw, I never felt like I was one of you and certainly not like your Sister. But I know now without a doubt, that I am not nor will I ever be...a Predacon." she spat before launching herself at the surprised Femme, who tried to defend herself as the enraged Beastial lunged at her with her claws bared.

But Ser-Ket was too much for Rip-Claw, slashing at her arms and legs which made the Predacon fall to her knees in front of her.

"What...?" was all she could say back, while her former Sister looked down at her.

"What? I'll tell you 'what' I want right now. For you to shut up and die!" she spat while grabbing both sides of Rip-Claw's head with an extremely tight grip, that made the defeated Femme stare back with widened eyes and an expression of agony.

Ser-Ket then pulled the Predacon's head right off her body in one swift action, with blood spraying everywhere as Rip-Claw' spine dangled from the underside of the decapitated head.

"Wow." Orion said in a wide-eyed stare, as the former Predacon then held the head in one hand and roared at the top of her voice in to the heavens above them all.

It was at this moment, the only remaining Terracon suddenly fell to his knees and bowed his head in what could only be described as a submissive gesture.

"What the hell?" Shen said as he noticed this, while Liara and Nightracer getting back to their feet and joining his side.

Meanwhile, the Terracons battling the Autobots at the nearest edge of the massive ground-War then heard the roar, suddenly stopping what they were doing and looking over to the area it echoed from.

This finally gave those ISF soldiers, made up of numerous member species including Krogans, Turians and Asari the chance they needed, and they took it as one after another, the distracted enemies were taken down.

As that was happening, the younger Darby was still staring at Ser-Ket, his expression was one of both marvel and fear at the sheer ferocity and raw power that he had witnessed from both her and the now deceased enemy, who's head she was now holding in her hands.

But his attention suddenly changed to his cousin, who had got back to his feet and was now approaching Ser-Ket while still in her beastial form.

"Quickstrike?" he called over, only for the blonde Bot to wave him off.

"It's okay Orion." he said, as Ser-Ket turned her attention to him. But despite her almost monstrous appearance, she looked at him with an affectionate stare.

"Ser-Ket?"

"Are you alright?" she asked as he stood before her, with her larger and more muscular figure overshadowing him.

"Yes, thank you." Quickstrike replied as they pair looked into each other's eyes before leaning in close and touch their foreheads, with him gently stroking her cheek as she closed her eyes and enjoyed his touch.

"I thought I lost you." he said softly with relief in his voice as he let her sweet scent flow over him again, with her sighing sweetly in return.

"So did I." Ser-Ket replied before her eyes widened and she pulled away, turning from him with an ashamed reaction.

"What's wrong?" Quickstrike asked in a surprised tone, while everyone just stood and watched them.

"I don't want you to see me like this." the Femme replied, but then she again felt his touch, as the Bot cupped her face with his hand and gently brought her eyes to his again.

"As I said earlier, whether you're beast-like or not, I love you." the blonde Bot said back with a soft and affectionate tone, which made the former Predacon smile back slightly as a single tear ran down her cheek.

"I love you." she said as Quickstrike wiped the tear away before leaning in close, making her do the same until they kissed. And once again their sparks were ignited in the pleasure of being together again, and they wrapped their arms around each other and intensified their embrace.

And as it felt like time was slowing down around them, Ser-Ket calmed down and reverted to her normal athletic human-like figure, which allowed Quickstrike to fully wrap his arms around her.

"Hey, Guys." Shen then spoke, earning the pair's attention as they stopped and looked at him with what the others could only describe as an annoyed stare, which made the Turian feel slightly embarrassed.

"Thanks for the save, Ser-Ket." Orion then said with an appreciative smile, with the Femme giving a nod in return as she looked around at the others, all who had mirrored expressions to his own.

"Yes….its good to see you again." Liara added before Shen, who was still slightly embarrassed had now turned his attention to the submissive Terracon.

"What is it with this guy?"

This then made the rest of the team look in his direction as he kept his weapon aimed at the enemy, who was still on his knees with his head bowed. Ser-Ket let go of Quickstrike and began walking over to the Terracon, a knowing expression appeared on her face as she stopped directly in front of him.

This made the soldier, bend down more as though he was frightened of her which did not go unnoticed by Orion and his Cousin.

"He's afraid of you." the blonde Bot stated, earning a nod from the Femme.

"He is, because I killed his Commander. So he now hopes that I will accept him as my minion."

"You mean its like with a group of animals, where the strongest leads the group. But if he/she is challenged and killed, then the others will follow the victor." Nightracer asked.

"Yes, exactly." the former Predacon replied.

"Then all we need to do now is kill Galvatron, which should then stop his Terracons and end this conflict completely." Orion said.

"That is correct, Orion…." Ser-Ket replied, though Shen sighed in return as he shook his head.

"Why do I feel a…..'but' coming on."

This earned another annoyed look from Nightracer, while Orion and Quickstrike ignored him and kept their attention on the latter's lover.

"It will not be easy." she said in a matter of fact-like tone, earning a nod from the young Darby.

"Yeah, I know. I fought him before."

"And he nearly killed you." Liara replied with a concerned voice, gaining his attention as he looked back and saw the growing worry in her eyes,

"I underestimated Galvatron before, allowed my anger to get the better of me. I will not make that mistake again." he said back, gaining nods from everyone including the Asari.

Though she looked a little more hesitant than the rest, though Orion tried to reassure her with a smile before turning his attention to Ser-Ket and the Terracon.

"Will he help us?" he asked as the Femme looked down at the submissive minion.

"Will you follow my orders?" she asked in a commanding tone, earning a nod from him as he continued to look a the ground.

"Yes, Commander. My life is yours to do as you wish." he replied.

"Then stand and fight with us." she said, which made the Terracon look up at her and stand back up, earning a smile from the blue haired Bot.

"Good, then let's get going. I just hope we are not too late." he said before the group started for the tunnel's entrance as Ser-Ket walked side by side with her lover.

"Quickstrike, while I was being held aboard the Nemesis, I found out some rather disturbing truths about my past…" she started to say, making the Bot stop himself and her before he put his hands on her shoulders in a supporting and caring gesture.

"Whatever it is, we can talk about it when this is done.." he began to say while looking into her eyes.

"..but no matter what it is, there is no way that it will change the way I feel about you…..okay?" he added in a soft and loving voice, which made the Femme sigh in return as she nodded back.

"Okay, thanks, Quickstrike." she said back.

"Come on, before the others think that we are falling behind." he said before holding out his hand to her, which the former Predacon took in her own as the pair carried on to the mountain to catch up with their friends.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Meanwhile, Galvatron was becoming more and more aggravated as he stood and watched Lazerback and the Terracons at his side, fumbling around the ancient wall as they searched for a way in.

"How much longer will this take? We have already been here far too long." the Predacon Lord said in an increasingly angry tone, which made his Lieutenant turn back to him.

"I apologise, my Lord, but there does not seem to be any way into it. The wall is without any gaps or cracks, as the surface is completely intact and without seals. Can't that blade you recovered from Scissio help in any way?"

Galvatron unsheathed the Chaos Edge from the back of his armour and held in before him, but the blade remained dark, not even remotely glowing like it had in the past.

"I do not believe that this will be of hel…" he started to say before finding himself stopping, as he felt a familiar presence surround him.

"Look at the Prime, Galvatron. He is the key." Unicron's voice spoke into his mind, making the Predacon Leader turn and look back at Jack.

"Bring the Prime to me." he ordered the two Terracons who restraining Jack, who both nodded before escorting him to their leader. Galvatron then looked the older Darby up and down, wondering what it could be that could help.

"I brought you here for a purpose, now what could it…." he said before his eyes suddenly focused on the dim light, which could just be seen under the Human's shirt. This made the Predacon Lord's eyes widen as a hopeful expression appeared on his face.

"Of course, your Matrix. Take it in your hands and approach that wall." he commanded while pointing at the metallic blockade ahead of them. But the Prime just stood there, looking back at him with a uncooperative stare.

"Fine, have it your way…." Galvatron replied as he walked past Jack and pointed the Chaos Edge right at Arcee's throat.

"..if you don't do as I say, I will kill your spark-mate. So that she can be reunited with those you have already lost."

"Jack…." the Femme managed to say as she felt the sharp tip of the blade touching the bare skin of her throat, but the Prime shook his head and reached down under his shirt and pulled out the glowing Matrix crystal.

"Alright, don't hurt her." he said in a reluctant tone, knowing that he already had lost his son and did not want to see his spark-mate killed. So he held the glowing crystal in his hand, which then mass shifted into the recognisable gold and silver relic with a bright shining crystal at its heart.

Jack then sighed before walking toward the ancient wall, with the Terracons and Lazerback stepping aside as he did so. And with every step closer he came, the matrix would shine that much brighter until the hieroglyphics on the wall began to glow brightly as he got closer.

"This is it." Galvatron stated with a dark smile as the mountain was suddenly hit by another tremor. Shaking their surroundings as Jack stopped right before the wall, which now had all of it's writing lit up. The older Darby then had a look of both complete understanding and dread, fully understanding what this could be.

'I know what this place is now, Primus forgive me.' he thought as a bright white light suddenly appeared from the top of the wall and went all the way down it's center to the ground in a straight line, before wall began to separate, revealing a blinding white light that enveloped the entire group and expanded through the tunnel.

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  • 3 weeks later...

CHAPTER XLII

When the light died down, everyone walked through the now open doorway and found themselves standing inside what looked like a massive domed hall, which was the size of at least ten combined football fields.

The interior had the same writing decorated on it's surface as it had on it's exterior, glowing with energy now as though the matrix had given it that sudden spark of power.

Galvatron marvelled at the sight now around him as took in every detail of the temple, with its massive curved ceiling overhead.

"This is incredible." he said as Lazerback raised his hand and pointed over to the very center of the hall, at the giant circular pattern on the floor which all of a sudden began to rise up out of the ground, in with a structure to it similar to an Aztec pyramid.

That was what Jack thought it looked like as he and Arcee watched alongside the Terracons, as the ground rose up to at least the half way point of the height of the entire temple.

The Femme could not believe what she was seeing, her eyes wide as she looked at it.

"Jack, that is amazing. You could fit Omega Supreme on that platform and still have room above him for more." she said before looking over at the Prime, who had a worried expression on his face.

"Jack? What is it you're not telling me?" she asked with a concerned tone, not noticing Galvatron now standing in front of the pair as she looked at the older Darby.

"It's because the Prime here knows what this place is. This 'Infinite Combinatoric'." he said, earning the Femme's attention while Jack just looked back at the Predacon Leader with a self righteous stare, though Galvatron just smirked back at him.

"It's a place that will give us Predacons our ultimate victory, and all we need is the Matrix of a Prime...namely your Spark-mate." the Predacon Leader added before looking over to Jack and motioning him to come forward, as a staircase appeared on the raise platform allowing access to its summit.

"After you, Prime."

The one-armed Man sighed as he took the lead of the group, with Galvatron and Arcee behind him.

Lazerback and the other Terracons followed them as the group began walking up the stairs towards the summit, as more of the temple started to life as Jack held the matrix in his hand.

The Autobot Leader was the first to step onto the summit of the circular platform, which itself was at least four football fields in width and length.

And the ceiling was still quite the distance overhead as Galvatron and Arcee joined him, with Lazerback and the soldiers remaining on the stairs.

The Predacon Leader looked over to the center of the platform, noticing a small glowing circle at the very center which began to pulse, and so made the older Darby's matrix pulse in unison.

"Now, Jackson Prime…." Galvatron said as he equipped the Chaos Edge and pointed at the platform's center.

"..you and I will walk together to that spot, where we will activate this temple and use it for the purpose it was built for."

But Jack just narrowed his eyes at the Predacon Lord, a knowing look on his face.

"Why? So you can resurrect Unicon, the Chaos Bringer."

This earned a shocked look from Arcee and all the Terracons, including Lazerback as they heard this.

"Unicron." the Femme gasped, not expecting to hear that name again after what had happened twenty-five years earlier.

"My Lord, what is the Prime on about?" his Lieutenant asked with a puzzled expression, which made Galvatron stare daggers back at Jack. But the older Darby just smirked at him.

"Didn't want them to know….did you." he said, making the Predacon Lord grit his teeth as he raised his arm in preparation to back hand the prisoner.

"Leave him alone!" a voice suddenly called out from the direction of the Temple's entrance, making Galvatron pause as he and everyone in the group looked down at the doorway to see another group standing just in front of it.

The Predacon's eyes narrowed as he recognised Orion and his friends, which made him grip the hilt of the Chaos Edge ever more tighter, while both Jack and Arcee's eyes widened as they saw their son standing there.

"By the All-Spark! Jack, Orion's alive!" the Femme said with a disbelieving expression, which quickly changed to a thankful smile that was mirrored on her Spark-mate's face too.

"And he is carrying the Star-Saber." he said in surprise as he looked at his Son, who had the ancient Autobot relic in his hand.

But the pair were the only ones in the group that were happy to see him, as the Terracons and Lazerback all aimed their weapons at the Alpha team.

"What the hell is Ser-Ket and one of our own doing with the Autbots?" the Lieutenant asked, though Galvatron did not answer as he simply looked down at the blue haired Bot, his anger building with every second that passed.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Orion looked up at the summit and saw that his parents were alive, though not well by the look of them, and this made his spark burn as Liara stood beside him.

"Mum,…Dad." he muttered as he looked up at them, gaining the Asari's attention.

"Your parents are right there, Orion. We can rescue them." she said in supportive tone, earning a nod from him in return.

"Yeah, and Galvatron is going to pay for what he has put them through." he said, earning a concerned look from his cousin who was on his other side with Ser-Ket.

"Don't forget the mission, Cuz." he said, earning a nod from the blue haired Bot.

"I know…" he replied before glancing at all his friends on either side of him.

"..so I am going straight for Galvatron." he added, gaining nods from the others as Ser-Ket looked over to him.

"We will cover you." she replied, before their attention was caught by the sight of the Predacon Lord pointing down at them as everything went quiet for a moment.

"Crush them!" he then spat, with his voice echoing through the vast temple, as his Terracons began to pull the triggers of their weapons.

"Lets Move!" Orion shouted in return as he and his team rushed at the pyramid, with Shen staying back to use his sniper-rifle on the enemies who returned fire, showering the Autobots in gun fire which impacted the ground around them causing sparks while the Alpha team continued to run an toward the raised platform.

More than half of the Terracons mirrored them as they ran down to the ground to meet their enemy and stop there advance, while the remaining Cons stayed on the high ground and fired covering shots.

But one after another was taken down by the Turian Sniper's weapons fire, as he could see his friends take on the Predacon soldier's before them.

Galvatron and Lazerback watched from the summit of the pyramid-like platform, with their Autobot prisoners keeping their attention on their son, who their saw charging toward their position with the Star-Saber in one hand and his pistol in the other, shooting down any Terracon who got in his way.

Though as he shot one in the leg, making it fall to it's knees so he could cleave it's head off in one move with his Saber, three more suddenly rushed him.

But before they could pounce, one of their number was suddenly covered in blue energy and then thrown into his comrades, knocking them down like bowling pins.

This made the blue-haired Bot glance back to see Liara, seeing the Asari hold up one Terracon with her biotics while stretching out her other hand toward him, a supportive smile on her face.

"Go get them, Orion." she shouted over, gaining a mirrored expression from him.

"Thanks, Liara." he said back in an affectionate tone before turning around to see another Terracon before him, so he cut it down and ran past.

Meanwhile, Quickstrike was busy taking down a enemy with two shots into it's legs, making it fall to it's knees before he slit it's throat with his holo-blade.

He then turned to his left to see Ser-Ket and her Terracon minion in it's beast mode as she kicked another enemy into it's hands, before lifting him into the air and tearing his stomach out as she shot another in the face with her pistol.

So he looked back to his right and saw his Cousin nearing the pyramid-like platform as another hulking Terracon stood in his way.

"Ser-Ket, over there!" Quickstrike shouted, gaining a nod from the Femme who gestured to her beastial friend who then threw the heavy body of it's kill at the oncoming Terracon, with it impacting the enemy and sending it crashing to the ground.

Orion looked back and gave a thumbs up to both his Cousin and the former Predacon as they then teamed up to fight another enemy that closed in on them.

Meanwhile, Nightracer was close to the blue haired Bot as she used he holo-Bo staff to trip up a Terracon, who fell onto it's back and then ran rammed it through the enemy's open mouth and out through the back of it's head.

"Nice kill." she heard Shen say through her com-link, earning a smile from the Femme as she pulled the staff back out and turned to look back at him, smacking another Terracon in the face and sending it onto it's back.

She then gave the Turian an appreciative smile, that he saw through the scope of his rifle before he then looked over to see two more enemies in front of blue haired friend, as he got even closer to the stairs.

Orion knew he was close as he charged at the two enemies that stood before him and the foot of the pyramid-like platform, so he spun the Star-Saber in his hand and fired his pistol at them both, hoping to hurt them enough for him to finish them up close.

But suddenly both their heads ruptured as a two bullets passed through them, spilling out blood as they fell down to the ground. So the younger Darby looked back to see his Turian friend and saluted him before running up the stairs.

"I've got you covered, Orion." Shen replied as he then shot down the last two remaining Terracons who stood on the slope either side of the Spectre, who then began running up the stairs while his friends were still tied up in fighting the remaining enemies, though Liara managed to catch a glance of her Lover while stopping another Con with her biotics.

'Good luck, my Love.' she thought before slamming it down onto the hard ground.

Both Jack and Arcee watched their son as he started up the stairs, and they could not help but smile as they felt nothing but pride for their child, though their attention was then cruelly snatched away as Galvatron grabbed both of them while he looked over to his Lieutenant.

"Lazerback, kill him!" he spat as he started to drag the parents towards the circular platform's center, gaining a nod from the Predacon who then looked back down the stairs at the young Bot.

He then roared as he let his body transform into it's beastial mode and launched himself at his enemy, bolting down the stairs at the Autobot.

But Orion was over a quarter of the way up the stairs when he noticed this, so he dropped his pistol and grasped the Star Saber's hilt with both hands and held it over his head, concentrating on it as the blade began to glow.

And just as Lazerback got close enough, he launched pounced at the blue haired Bot who then swung the Saber down in front of him and sliced the Predacon in half, killing him instantly as both his halves fell either side of the young Darby while continued running up the stairs unhindered.

"Wow." Quickstrike said as he caught the moment while looking up at his Cousin, who then reached the top of the stairs,

"Galvatron!" Orion shouted as he ran towards the Predacon Leader, who turned round and looked at him with a disbelieving stare which quickly changed as he smirked back.

"Very well…" he replied while casually pushing both Jack and Arcee to the ground either side of him and re-equipping the Chaos Edge, taking a defensive stance as the Bot got closer.

"…show me what you've got boy." he added as Orion began to swing the Star-Saber at Galvatron's head, as the Con quickly brought his blade up to block it.

But just as both swords were about to touch, suddenly the entire Temple became enveloped in a plasma storm. Green and Orange energy bolts shot through the structure and hit every single person currently engaged in battle, knocking down Liara, Quickstrike, Ser-Ket, Nightracer and Shen as well as any Terracons still standing.

They all cried out in pain as the energy hit them and passed through their bodies, causing them to fall to the ground and spasm with wide-eyed stares as they saw the storm rage around them.

At the summit of the pyramid-like platform, Jack and Arcee were on their knees when they saw the colourful bolts of energy suddenly envelope themselves and Orion and Galvatron.

But only the two combatants were struck by the bolts, earning similar reactions as the pair fell to their knees and dropped their blades.

Both the Prime and his Spark-mate watched in both surprise and disbelief as the storm continually hit their son and the Predacon leader, it was as if it was intentionally taking pleasure in causing them pain with each bolt.

But the storm was not confined to the interior of the temple as it completely surrounded the planet Virmire in all its entirety, its bolts of energy quickly bringing an end to battle both on the ground and the one in orbit as the lightning hit each and every ship on both sides, as well as the troops on the ground.

But while his friends had been quickly subdued by the bolts of energy, Orion gritted his teeth and tried to get onto his knees while reaching over to the Star-Saber, and Galvatron did the same as he kept his attention on the young Bot.

"You're…not…going...to have…this day,…Galvatron." the Spectre managed to say without biting his tongue as he gripped the hilt of his weapon, but just as he tried to get back to his feet which was extra difficult because all of his being felt as if it was on fire.

He was suddenly hit by another bolt of energy.

"Arrrragh!" he screamed before falling down onto his back, earning a look of anger and regret from Galvatron as he gripped the hilt of the Chaos Edge and got to his knees.

"No….I….will….not…be...denied!" he spat while holding the blade up in the air as if he was ready to strike, but it was for nothing as another green and orange bolt of energy struck it, passing the energy down into the Predacon Leader and cause him to seize up.

"Nooooo!" he cried before falling back onto the floor, leaving Jack and Arcee as the only two people unaffected, like they were of no interest to it.

"Orion!" Arcee shouted in a concerned tone while attempting to move to her injured Son's side, as he lied on the floor motionless. But Jack stopped her, as he suddenly saw two pairs of bright lights looking down at them from just below the ceiling.

One pair was orange and the other was green.

"They look like optics." the Prime said aloud in a fearful and yet curious tone, earning his spark-mate's attention as well as those of the lights, which appeared to look down at them.

"Fleshings, your fighting here has ended!" a female voice suddenly boomed from the green optics, which could be heard not only in the temple but all over the planet.

Orion managed to open his eyes despite the pain, and looked up at the optics staring down at them.

"We only have one question before we destroy you?" a male voice spoke angrily from the orange pair of eyes, which appeared to narrow as they looked down at them.

"What have you done to our 'brothers'?" he asked before everything suddenly went dark around the Bot as though unconsciousness had taken him.

PRIME EFFECT 4

All of a sudden, the fire and pain that Orion had felt encompass every fibre of his being was gone and replaced by a calmness that felt alien to him.

The Bot found it difficult to describe, but he felt as though he was either floating with his arms and legs stretch out in the middle of a lake, or floating in mid-air.

"It is time for you to open your eyes." the female voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere, breaking the Spectre's calmness and making him open his eyes.

"What the?" he said in a confused tone as he quickly rose up to his feet, finding that there was nothing but darkness around him.

"Orion!" a familiar voice suddenly spoke, making the blue haired Bot spin around to see Liara standing there looking just as lost as he was.

"Liara." he replied as the pair quickly pulled each other into an hug, taking what little comfort they could in the fact that they were real.

"I was in so much pain, more than I thought possible." the Asari said, gaining a nod from Orion as he held her close.

"Me too." the Bot said back as she then looked over his shoulder with a wide-eyed expression.

"Orion, your parents." she said, making him pull back and turn around to see both Jack and Arcee standing there.

"Mum! Dad!" he exclaimed as he then left Liara and ran over to his parents, his lover watching him with a thankful smile as he first hug his Mother.

"Orion, thank the All-Spark your alright." the Femme replied before pulling away so that he could then do the same to his Father, which earned a surprised but loving expression from Jack as they hugged.

"It's good to see you, Orion." he said back with a proud tone to his voice.

"You too, Dad." the Bot replied before they separated, which let their Son see the damage that had been done to his Father.

"Wait…are you?" he started to say, as concern filled his voice as he looked down at the stump which was all that was left of Jack's arm.

"I'm okay…but we have bigger problems right now." he replied as he looked around at the darkness surrounding them.

"Who is this, Orion? She looks familiar." Arcee then asked as she looked at Liara with a curious expression, which made the blue haired Bot gesture to the Asari to join his side.

"This is Liara, we are…" he began to say before his father suddenly cut him, unintentionally so.

"I feel like I have been here before, or at least somewhere similar." he said aloud, gaining curious looks from the others.

"What do you mean, Dad?" Orion replied, trying to refocus on the matter on hand as now was not the time to introduce his parents to his girlfriend, while his Mother gave Liara a reassuring and yet perceptive smile.

"Well, last time, the surroundings were crystallized and not in this state of darkness." the Prime said back, gaining a nod from his Spark-mate.

"You mean when you spoke to…" she started to say before another voice spat at them from behind.

"You Bastards!"

Everyone spun around to see Galvatron standing behind Orion and before anyone could react, the Predacon Lord thrust his fist into the Bot's chest.

"Orion!" Liara cried out, as she was found wrong footed and unable to help. But in that instance, everyone including the new arrival had looks of confusion on their faces as Galvatron's fist had passed right through the Autobot Spectre as though he was a hologram or a ghost.

"What in the pit!" he spat as he pulled his fist back out and stepped back from the blue haired Bot.

"There will be no violence committed for as long as you are in this place." the disembodied female voice suddenly spoke out, as the two pairs of green and orange balls of light appeared overhead, looking down upon the group.

"No one tells me what to do!" Galvatron spat before the orange pair of eyes narrowed at him angrily.

"You will do exactly what we tell you to do, Abomination." he spat back, gaining curious looks from both Jack and his Son as that last part of the voice's sentence did not go unnoticed by the pair. But then a look of understanding suddenly appeared on the Prime's face as he took a step forward, looking up at the lights as Arcee gave him a worried expression of her own.

"Jack, be careful." she said, but her spark-mate ignored her as he stood under the glowing eyes.

"You're Aeons, aren't you?" he asked with an insightful tone.

"You know of our kind?" the female voice spoke back from the green orbs.

"Yes, I knew Primus." the Prime replied, which made the orange eyes narrow as they stared daggers back at him.

"And you killed him, didn't you?" the male voice spat, making Jack take a step backwards, taken aback by what was just said.

"No, I didn't." he replied.

"Do not lie to us! We heard our 'brothers' screams and travelled here to this galaxy, following what remained of their individual life-forces. And what do we find, that you carry the last of Primus around your neck, and that which is left of Unicron has been blended with the life-force of this abomination here." the male voice continued to rage, making everyone look at Galvatron who just stared angrily back but remained quiet.

"What do they mean….abomination?" Liara asked, before Jack looked at the Predacon Leader.

"He's a clone. A clone of Megatron. That's it, isn't it." he said, making Galvatron grit his teeth and narrow his eyes at the Prime.

"You and your entire Predacon army, except for the Mercs of course,….are clones." he continued, making their adversary step towards them and point his finger with a building anger in his spark.

"Clone or not, I have taken a hold of my own destiny and shaped it in a way that Megatron never did." he spat back.

"And you did this with Unicron whispering in your mind, we can him even now." the female voice spoke from the green lights, while the orange ones floated down to eye level with Jack and Galvatron.

"They have yet to answer our question, what happened to our Brothers?"

"And we will tell you, but first who are you?" Jack replied.

"My name is Garuda and this is Vok." the female voice replied as the lights remained over head.

"We are Aeons as you have already guessed. And we are here to find out what happened to our brothers Primus and Unicron, since this galaxy was under their joint guardianship." she added, gaining a nod from Jack as the others listened though Galvatron looked as if he had heard enough.

"Yes, and we find their last embers here at this mechanism which is of our technology." Vok said in return, earning a curious look from Orion.

"What does this place do exactly?" He asked and before the Aeons could speak, his Father stepped in.

"Orion, from what I can gather..." he started while holding the Matrix in his hand.

"...this place or 'Infinite Combinatoric' as Galvatron called it, was built by Solus Prime using knowledge given to her by Primus. It's exact purpose is to resurrect a deceased Aeon using a remaining piece of it's CNA, or that of a sibling or a family member." the Prime replied.

"That is correct." Vok said, regaining the two Darby's attention.

"You know of us through the knowledge that this piece of Primus has granted you." he added as his orange glowing eyes focused on the Matrix, gaining a nod from the Autobot Leader.

"Yes, it carries the knowledge and wisdom of not only Primus, but also that of his Primes."

"Primes? We do not know of that term." Garuda replied with a curious tone.

"Then perhaps you should see for yourself then." Jack said back as he held up the matrix for the Aeons to see, but then Galvatron suddenly stepped forward and held up his arms.

"Please, mighty Aeons, do not fall for this Autobot trick. They wish to deceive you from what is really happening here." he said, gaining the attention of both pairs of lights as they looked at him.

"Then by all means speak and enlighten us, prove that you are more than an Abomination." Vok replied, which made the Predacon Leader smirk a little as he glanced over to Jack.

"As you already know, I carry the remaining slither of Unicron's essence within my spark. I am doing this not because it just happened to be, but because it is my destiny to do so. To bring the Aeon back to life after his own brother and those that followed him brutally ended his life, just when he was about to bring great change to the galaxy."

"That's a lie!" Orion spat, which made his Father old out his hand to him in a restraining-like fashion. Though all this did was make Galvatron smile back at the blue haired Bot before returning his attention to the Aeons above him.

"I am here to use this temple to revive Unicron, and for that I require the last part of his traitorous brother's spark...that Matrix." the Predacon Leader added as he pointed to the glowing crystal relic in Jack's hand.

"But even if what you say is true, none of it makes sense." Garuda replied with an unconvinced tone.

"Our way has always been to watch over and nurture life in the galaxies, not to make any changes to it. That has never been our way, ever since the great tragedy..." she started to say before trailing off, which Orion noticed and looked curiously at.

'What great tragedy?' he thought while Vok looked down at them.

"But we did arrive here to find the two parties fighting over this place, perhaps what the Abomination says is true. That Unicron was betrayed by Primus, they did not always see eye to eye on all matters."

"When do we ever make decisions without knowing both sides of the story first Vok?" Guaruda said back, with everyone below them just listening and waiting.

"Of course you are right, Garuda. We need to know the exact details."

Then both Aeons turned to the two leaders, Garuda with Jack, while Vok looked at Galvatron.

"Will you let me see our fallen brother's memories please?" the female asked, earning a nod from the Prime in return.

"Of course." he said back, before holding out the Matrix to her.

"I am going to enter your spark and witness Unicron's memories. You will feel some discomfort." Vok said to the Predacon Lord, who nodded and held his out his hands T his sides.

"If that is what you require, then do it."

Then both sets of lights merged into two separate energy streams, with the green one flying into the Matrix crystal and the orange one flew directly into the center of Galvatron's chest, which made him grimace and spasm for a long moment.

The Aeons minds mixed into the two remnants of their brothers, their thoughts and memories joining until everything was revealed to them.

Images and sounds flowed over the minds of both Karuda and Vok, enlightening them on the eons that had passed between the two Brothers.

And a long moment later and it was over as both Aeons remerging from both the Matrix and Galvatron, with the Predacon stumbling backwards a little as he readjusted himself.

"We have seen enough, and find that there is only one option for you to take." Garuda said as she and Vok looked back down at the group, earning looks of trepidation from Liara, Arcee and Orion while Jack simply remained calm.

"And what is that?" he replied with a curious tone, gaining a similar look fro Galvatron as he kept his attention between the Prime and the Aeons.

"Your sides have fought over this place for the right to use it, we have decided that your battle should continue." Vok said back, earning a smile from the Predacon Leader.

"Excellent, I shall have more troops here momentarily…" he said while raising his hand to his ear-piece, only for the green lights to shine down on him brighter.

"You will find that impossible, nor is it necessary." the female Aeon replied, gaining an angered and confused expression from him.

"What do you mean?"

"We have already neutralised the forces of both your sides and we are now communing with you via your minds, which we have joined temporarily." Vok carried on, as Orion looked at his parents and Liara, before turning his attention back to the Aeons.

'I wondered why the others aren't here?' he thought.

"We can hear everything you can think of.' the Aeon added, making the blue haired Bot stare back with a wide-eyed stare of surprise.

"Oh..okay, so…?"

"They were not necessary for this conversation…as you called it, so they are all left unconscious. The ones called Jackson Prime and Galvatron were chosen because they are the bearers of the remaining life-forces of our brothers, you yourself were chosen because you wish to save the Prime and stop your enemy. The Females called Liara and Arcee were chosen because of how important they are to you and him." Karuda said, gaining curious looks from Orion's parents, making them look between their Son and the Asari.

"Yes, Liara is very important to me…" he said back in both an affectionate and determined tone, which made Liara smile back as she watched him.

"…so know that we know why we are here, what happens now?" he continued.

"Your conflict will be concluded, but the only combatants will be Primus and Unicron's bearers, in a fight to the death." Vok replied, which made Orion, Arcee and Liara stare back in a wide-eyed look of shock before turning their attention to the Prime, who nodded in return as a content expression appeared on his face.

"….Very well.

Galvatron simply smiled, as though he knew that his victory had just all but been garenteed, though Orion quickly walked in front of his Dad and held his hands up to the Aeons.

"No, wait. You can't choose my Dad." the Bot said, stealing the thunder from his Mother who no doubt was about to say the same thing.

"Orion…" Jack replied as he placed his hand on his Son's shoulder, gaining his attention as the blue haired Bot turned and looked at him with a worried and concerned expression.

"It's okay, this is my job…remember?"

"No. You are in condition to take on Galvatron in a fight to the death…" he started to say with his voice heavy with emotion, before turning back to the Aeons.

"…you can't ask or tell him to do this."

"If he is their choice, who are we to question?" the Predacon Leader cut in, gaining a narrowed eye stare from the Bot, who clenched his fists tightly.

"Nobody asked you." the blue-haired young Man said back, while the green lights focused on him.

"But Jackson Prime is the bearer of Primus, who would you have take his place?" Garuda replied, which all of a sudden brought a thoughtful expression to Orion's face as he looked ahead.

"Orion…?" Jack asked as he attempted to gain his son's attention, but Liara saw the look on her lover's face and began to shake her head slightly as though she knew what he was thinking.

"I'll take his place." the Spectre said, earning wide-eyed looks from all there including Galvatron, though his was more of surprise than the trepidation that was clearly written on the faces of the Asari and his Mother.

"Are you sure?" Vok said back in a questioning tone.

"Orion,…..no." the blue-skinned woman said in a quiet and fearful voice as she moved to his side, while Arcee looked at Jack to do something. But as Orion turned round to face his parents with a content and determined look on his face.

"I won't let you fight and die in a battle you had no chance of winning…" he said as he glanced at where his Father's lost arm used to be, before his eyes then met Jack's as the Prime stared back with an look of understanding on his face.

"..I have to do this. I mean, I can carry the Star-Saber after all. That has to mean something?" the Bot added, gaining a nod from the older Darby.

"Alright." he said while smiling proudly at his son, as he placed his remaining hand on the younger Bot's shoulder.

The young blue-haired Man then looked at his Mother, who looked as though she was fighting to keep the tears at bay as her eyes began to well up.

"You look after yourself out there, you hear me? Don't even give 'him' an inch." the Femme said, her voice full of emotion as she gestured toward the Predacon Leader who had crossed his arms while waiting for the fight to start.

"I promise." Orion said before he and his mother then hugged, the blue haired woman holding him tightly as though she never wanted to let him go.

"I love you, Orion."

"I love you and Dad." he said before glancing to his Father, who nodded back."

"Same here, Son."

The Spectre then let go of his mother and turned to face Liara who had a single tear running down her cheek, so he stepped in close and wiped it off with a finger.

"Orion…" she started to say as he leaned in close, until their foreheads almost touched.

"Ssshh, it's going to be alright, Liara." he replied in an attempt to calm her down, though she simply looked him in the eye with a disbelieving stare.

"The last time you faced Galvatron…..he almost killed you."

The Bot's parents watched as their son and his lover talked while the Aeons remained overhead and watched them all.

"I already said I won't make the same mistakes as last time. Do you trust me?" Orion asked in a quietly confident and calm tone, earning a nod from the Asari who looked down, only for him to gently lift her face back to his with a finger on her chin so that their eyes met each other again.

"So trust me now." he added before gently pressing his lips against hers in a kiss, which made Arcee's widen a little as she watched before the pair pulled back enough to look at each other again.

"I'll be back before you know it." he added with a lop-sided grin, one which made Liara smile back gently before he turned and faced the Aeons.

"I am ready." he said in a calm and accepting tone, while ignoring the smirk that Galvatron was giving him from a few feet away,

"So you will fight for Primus, while Galvatron fights for Unicron." Vok then said, earning a nod from both Men.

"Yes," they answered in unison, while the Bot's parents stepped beside his Lover and watched.

"We will power up the 'Infinite Combinatoric' in preparation for the victor." the male Aeon continued as Garuda looked down at the two men.

"Let the fight begin." Garuda added before everyone was suddenly enveloped in a blinding white light.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Orion opened his eyes to find himself standing at the outer edge of the pyramid-like platform, and immediately his attention was caught by the sight of the Temple around him, which was suddenly alive as energy vibrated through it's walls and up into the ceiling.

But as his eyes followed the energy up, they widened as he found that the ceiling was no longer there.

In fact, the mountain which had been overhead was now broken up into large chunks that were floating in the air above, being held up by the bolts of energy shooting out of the walls of the temple.

"Wow…" he whispered in disbelief as he then saw the Matrix floating at the very center of where the ceiling used to be, being held in place by four beams of energy which were being emitted by the four quadrent points of the structure.

It appeared to be powering the temple, which looked more like a giant mechnism now then it had before, but then he was pulled out from his thoughts as he looked down from the platform to see Liara and his Parents alongside the others, who were watching from the safety of the ground.

He nodded at them before turning back round and looking over at the center of the circular platform, slowly walking toward it as he glanced up to see the cloud building over the floating mountain chucks and energy bolts that ran through them.

The night had fallen over their side of Virmire and yet he could just make out both the green and orange sets of glowing eyes, knowing fully well that the Aeons were still watching.

"Orion!" a voice suddenly called from the other side of the arena, which made the Bot look in that direction to see Galvatron standing there with his Chaos Edge in hand.

"So all that stands between myself and Unicron…is you. This is going to be too easy." the Predacon Leader taunted, though the blue-haired Bot simply stared back as he unsheathed the Star-Saber from the back of his armour, holding it at his side.

"No. It will certainly not be easy, Galvatron. You are going to pay for every atrocity you have committed, that is a promise." he replied in a determined and yet calm manner, which made Galvatron's smirk grow a little wider in return.

"Then by all means….give me your best shot,…Boy!" he spat back before holding his blade with both hands and running at the Bot, making Orion hold his blade just behind him as he did the same.

He quickly ran out of the view of his friends and family who watched from below, earning a fearful sigh from Liara, who might have said a prayer for her lover had she been religious.

But as the Combatants charged at each other, quickly lessening the distance between them as they sprinted.

Galvatron quickly moved his blade behind him in preperation to swing it at his foe, but Orion just kept his own ready behind him as they both entered attacking range.

This made the Predacon swing his weapon at him, only for the blue haired Spectre to suddenly dive into a roll as the blade cut through the air above him.

"What!" Galvatron spat as Orion quickly sprung back to his feet and spun around with his blade, making his adversary quickly bring up the Chaos Edge to block it.

The two then clashed their swords several times, causing small red and blue sparks with each hit before the Autobot deflected one hit and punched the Predacon Leader in the face, making him step back slightly.

So Orion smirked as he then concentrated and spun around on the spot, making the Star-Saber glow blue before he then hit Galvatron square in the chest and sent him flying through the air to the far side of the platform.

The Predacon hit the floor hard and felt a burning pain under the chest-plate of his armour, making him grit his teeth as he forced himself back to his knees.

'What in the pit was that?' he thought before suddenly feeling the need to look up and saw Orion swinging his glowing Saber down upon him, so quickly brought his own up in time for their blades to clash, which resulted in a blue energy wave expanding out from the pair and quickly absorbed by the walls of the temple.

Galvatron then pushed the Spectre back, forcing him to stumble slightly as the Predacon got back to his feet.

Then both Bot and Con then charged into each other again, duelling with their blades for another long moment before the Predacon managed to kick Orion in the chest and send him onto his back a few yards away.

"Lets see how you like it!" Galvatron spat before he held up the Chaos Edge, which began to glow red as the blue haired Bot got back to his feet.

"Take this!" he roared as he swung the blade around and unleashed an energy wave that hurtled toward the Autobot, but Orion quickly raised the Star-Saber over his head as it glowed a bright blue again while he focused and brought it down just in time to cut the wave in half, passing by him harmlessly.

As the energy hit the walls behind him and again was absorbed into the mechanism, the blue-haired Bot suddenly felt weak as though that one action with the blade had drained him somehow.

But before he could process any of it, Galvatron was suddenly right in front of him and punched the Spectre hard in the chest which knocked the Autobot to the ground hard, making him drop the Star-Saber which clanged loudly as it followed suit.

"You are putting up a better fight than last time, Boy." the Predacon Leader then said as he stood over the young Darby, looking down at him with what almost looked like respect.

"But you must have known that you did not stand a chance against me, so…yield and I can promise you a swift death?" he added, gaining Orion's attention as he looked up at his adversary.

"What? So that you can bring back Unicron and unleash Chaos over the galaxy…..never!" he spat, making the Predacon Lord stare back with a surprised but angering expression.

"I will never yield to you. Not now or ever." he added as he raised himself onto his knees, while Galvatron glared down at him.

"Have it your way then, but know that I will make everyone you care for suffer terribly before I kill them…" he replied with a knowing look, which the Spectre could guess who he meant.

'My family and friends…..and Liara!' he thought, which made his spark burn with anger as he looked into the red eyes of his enemy.

"….starting with you!" Galvatron continued before thrusting the Chaos Edge down at Orion, who just managed to move aside just enough for the blade to miss him and embed it self into the ground.

This made the Predacon's face suddenly show a shocked expression as he tried to pull the sword from the ground, but it was quite deep as Orion calmly got back to his feet and looked back at him with a slight smile.

"My turn…" he started to say before placing one foot onto the Chaos Edge and used it to launch himself into the air and jump kick the Predacon Lord in the face, making him stumble back as the blue-haired Bot landed and took up a fighting stance as he remembered the martial arts training that he had learnt from Master Prowl.

"Why you little…"Galvatron started to say in a enraged tone before he was suddenly stopped by a fist to the face, as Orion took advantage of the situation and launched himself at the Predacon. This made his adversary recoil but then the blue-haired Bot punched him in the stomach and again in the face, making Galvatron spit out some blood as he stumbled back again before the Spectre then hit him with a roundhouse kick to the same spot, which knocked him to the ground.

Then as the Predacon Leader attempted to get back to his feet, while his bruised face stung from multiple hits, Orion quickly picked up the Star-Saber and began to charge it again.

"..you will pay for…." the Clone began to slur before his sight focused enough to see Orion charging at him with the bright blue Saber, but could not move fast enough as the Autobot slashed him again, sending the Predacon flying back across the arena and hit the ground hard on the other side.

Orion then stood on his side of the platform where his family and friends could see him as they looked up from their position at its base, while he watched Galvatron pick himself up yet again.

"Galvatron, you can end this quickly if you just use my power and your beast mode together." Unicron's voice suddenly spoke, echoing in the Predacon Leader's mind as he looked at his enemy.

'Very well.' he thought before he suddenly roared to the heavens as his body began to deform and change right in front of the Autobot's eyes, which widened as he took note of what was happening.

'Oh shit..' he thought while down on the ground floor, Ser-Ket could not help but recognise the roar that echoed throughout the Temple, earning a worried look from the Femme which was noticed by Arcee and Liara.

"Oh no." the Asari whispered as she clenched her hands in worry.

"I will have your spark!" Galvatron then spat as he in his beastial-form charged at Orion, with the Choas Edge in one hand and his other being extremely sharp claws.

This made Orion dive into a roll as he got out of the way, just as the Predacon was about to strike which just angered his enemy even more as he turned around.

"Fight me!" he roared while lunging with the Chaos Edge, which the blue-haired Bot managed to deflect with his own Saber.

But Galvatron then swiped the Autobot's chest plate, cutting through it and ripping some flesh which made the Bot grimace.

Even as the sharp burning pain throbbed in the wounds, the Spectre stood his ground and managed to block another attack from the enraged Predacon Lord as he deflected the Chaos Edge and also his claws in quick motion.

But the young Darby had now found himself on the constant defensive, as Galvatron just kept coming.

And with each and every attack, he began to glow with a purple hue which just seemed to make him stronger as each of his blows and strikes felt like a wrecking ball.

Despite his best efforts, Orion was being quickly weakening from the heavy hits and strikes that Galvatron was dealing to him, despite deflecting each and every one of them, for it felt like each successful block was tiring him some more.

"He is nearly beaten, finish him, my Herald,….now!" the Chaos Bringer said with a joyous tone as the Predacon Leader managed to slash the Bot's cheek, spilling blood as he was forced to stumble back into view of his friends and family.

They saw him stumble and this made everyone's eyes widen as they helplessly watched the Predacon then hit Orion in the chest with his fist, making Orion nearly keel over.

"Orion!" Liara and Arcee shouted in unified horror as the Bot stopped himself from falling by using the Star-Saber as a stop-gap.

Galvatron smirked as he then prepared to hit the young Darby again, who looked virtually beaten as he breathed heavily.

But just as he threw his punch, the Spectre suddenly brought his remaining strength to bare and swung the Star-Saber up, slashing the Predacon across his chest.

This action brought cheers from his Parents and friends who were watching from behind him as well as a cry of pain from Galvatron, who was now bleeding from a wound across his chest.

"Enough!" the Clone then cried out as he clenched his fist and back-handed the Bot so hard, it spun him around to face his friends and family who looked back in horror as he dropped the Star-Saber, which fell down the side of the pyramid-like structure with several clang-like sounds.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they then witnessed Galvatron raise the Chaos Edge up behind the Bot and thrust it through his back, making it burst through his chest as the blue-haired Spectre then cried out as his nervous system was overloaded by a white hot pain that was too much for him to take.

"You lose!" Galvatron spat as he then twist the blade while it was in the Autobot's chest, making the blood pour out more which made Orion look down at the sword which was sticking out of his chest.

His eyes widened at the shock of it before he started to feel extremely weak as everything around him started to darken as the last of his life bled away. But as darkness began to take him, the last sound he heard was Liara screaming his name and then everything went silent.

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CHAPTER XLIII

Liara stared up at the summit of the pyramid-like platform, her eyes wide and full of grief as she saw Orion Darby, her friend, her Lover being run through by Galvatron's blade. And at that very moment, all sound around her was drowned out by the beating of her own heart.

She did not even register her own scream as she cried out Orion's name and apart from the feeling her same heart being ripped from her body, the Asari felt numb all over. She suddenly tried to move toward the platform, but was stopped as both Quickstrike and Shen had grabbed her arms and held her back.

"Liara, you can't help..." the blonde Bot said whilst a tear ran down his face, his voice full of emotion.

"He's right." the Turian replied in a mirrored tone , as Nightracer and Ser-Ket just looked on in complete shock.

Jack meanwhile was holding an inconsolable Arcee, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she sobbed into his shoulder. He too had tears running down his cheeks as he looked up at the Predacon Leader, a look of pure hate and grief in his stare to which their enemy only smirked back before sliding the Chaos Edge back out of the blue haired Bot, letting his limp body fall back onto the platform's cold metallic floor.

"I win!" he then roared up at the heavens while walking toward the center of the platform, before pointing his sword up at what he seeked, knowing that the Aeons were watching.

"Now if you would be so kind, give me the Matrix!" he added with an evil smile, which was met by the glowing Autobot Relic suddenly floating down to him very slowly. But Galvatron just stared at it with a gleeful hunger as he held his outstretched hand to it, eager to feel it in his grasp.

'At last, our destiny is in our hands Unicron.' he thought feverishly, as he felt the Chaos Bringer's presence once more.

"Yes, my Herald, the age of Chaos is upon us." he replied in a hopeful tone.

Meanwhile Liara had just witnessed her Lover's body casually dropped to the floor by the Predacon Leader, before he walked out of sight. This combined with been held back by her friends finally pushing her over the edge of grief and into anger.

"Let go of me!" she spat as her biotics flared, covering her body in a blue glow which gave both Quickstrike and Shen a painful shock.

"Oww!" they said in unison as they released the Asari who bolted up the stairs to the pyramid-like structure's summit, not giving a damn that she had just hurt her friends.

This had gained the attention of both Jack and Arcee, with the Femme looking up at the summit before her desperate expression returned as she faced her Spark-mate.

"I…want to see him." she asked in an almost pleading like tone, as more tears ran down her already soaked cheeks.

"Alright." the Prime replied as the pair began to walk over to the pyramid, before he looked back at the others.

"Stay here." he said, earning understanding looks from all but Nightracer, who had a mirrored look to her former Lover's Mother.

"Please…stay." he added, gaining a nod from the Femme as she looked down at the ground.

'I know Nightracer and Orion were close, but this is diff…..' he tried to think, but found his thoughts wavering as his own grief threatened to overwhelm him completely. So he looked away from the others and instead helped Arcee up the stairs.

As the pair ascended up the stairs towards the summit, the trepidation of knowing what they were about to see when they reached the top hung over them, making their spark/heart sink further into the despair. But they continued upwards, for they had to see their Son with their own eyes, no matter how painful it would be.

When they reached the summit, Jack could see Galvatron near the arena's center with his hand outstretched towards the Matrix which was descending towards him. But then the Prime's attention fell to the body lying only a metre or two away, earning a gasp from Arcee who started to sob again as she turned and pressed her face into his chest. Jack though kept his eyes on the body of his dead son, as another tear ran down his face.

"Oh Jack…tell me… it isn't… so." the Femme stammered between sobs, but all he could do was hold her as he watched Liara on her knees and leaning over Orion's body.

"This isn't how it's supposed to end?" he muttered faintly.

Liara lifted Orion's upper half of his body from the ground and pulled it into an embrace, his limp head resting on her shoulder as she wept freely.

"You can't be dead, you just can't. I don't believe it, not after…." she said in a grief-stricken tone, as her tears continued to flow.

"…you said you had a destiny, how can this happen if it was true," she added as she then lay her head on his and just held his body close, feeling how cold his skin was to touch.

"I need you my love." she whispered.

Orion opened his eyes to find himself staring at what looked like a beautiful night sky, one without a cloud in sight as the thousands of stars that filled it were shining back brightly.

'Okay, that's pretty and all. But where did the temple go?' he thought to himself before getting into a sitting position and noticing that the ground beneath him looked and felt like crystal. The Bot then continued to look around to see that his entire surroundings, including the mountains in the distance were all crystalline in their look. It all looked so beautiful to Orion, but then his thoughts were suddenly drawn back to himself as he instantly remembered what had happened only a moment earlier, quickly placing his hand on his chest to feel the wound that Galvatron had caused him by running the Chaos Edge through the Bot's chest.

'What the?' the young Darby thought as he ran his fingers over the spot on his chest, but found nothing. The chest-plate of his armour had the damage, but his skin underneath was perfectly fine.

'How is that possible?' he thought with a confused expression as he stared down at his chest, only for his mind to come up blank. So he got to his feet and took a better look at his surroundings, but everything was crystalline as far as the eye could see.

"Where am I?" he said in worried and confused tone.

"You are with us." a deep commanding and yet noble voice spoke, which made the Bot turn around to see that he was no longer standing there alone. For thirteen giant beings stood there before him, all of them looked like the Cybertronians he had learnt about as a child. The same ones that his own Mother used to look like before taking on humanoid form with the Pretender Tech. Each one of these thirteen looked to be wearing some sort of armour, though they all looked different from one another. One Cybertronian floated above the others while surrounded by an energy field, while another had a pair of wings on their back. But they all stared down at Orion with their blue optics, making him feel more than a little nervous as they towered over him.

'They are the Thirteen.' he thought as one of them, a Bot who had blue coloured legs and a red torso stepped toward him and knelt on one knee. His armour looked more like the exterior of one of Earth's large ground vehicles, and Orion's eyes widened as he recognised who it was.

"Your Optimus Prime." he gasped, gaining a nod from the former Autobot Leader as he looked down at the young Darby.

"Yes. And you are Orion Darby, Son of my good friend Jackson Prime. The rest of the Thirteen and I have watched you for your entire life, observing the decisions and choices you have made."

This made Orion gulp as he looked up at the Prime and listened, feeling the optics of the others watching him as he stood there.

"You have been watching me, why?"

"Because before Primus sacrificed himself to defeat Unicron and his Reapers, he chose two people who would succeed your Father as the next Primes. And the first was to be you."

The blue haired Bot could have sworn that his spark stopped beating for a moment after hearing that sentence, taking a deep breath as his mind began to fill with questions.

"Me, I don't understand. I mean…I guess I kind of do, since I can hold Star-Saber, but….why me?" he asked in a humbling tone, but Optimus just looked back at him with a knowing smile.

"I know you feel that you are not worthy of being a Prime, neither your Father or I wished for such a fate either for ourselves either. But it is the choices made on our journey through life that shaped who and what we are. And like us, you have shown that you are courageous and willing to sacrifice yourself for the protection of all. These are the traits of a Prime, making you worthy to carry on our legacy."

The young Bot nodded back as he gave the Prime a serious look, pushing aside the doubts that had plagued him though out his life.

"Very well, I will accept this honour with all that I am." he answered in stoic tone, earning a nod from Optimus and the others.

"You will now become the new Leader of the Autobots, you shall continue to lead and protect this galaxy in Primus's name, though that is not all that you must do, but there is not enough time to explain that. So wake up now and take the Matrix in your hands….and rise…..Orion Prime." the older Bot said, while a bright light started to surround Orion, blinding him as everything went white.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Back in the temple, Liara continued to hold Orion close before she suddenly felt his chest rise and fall, making her eyes widen as the Bot suddenly opened his eyes and take a breath.

"Orion!" he gasped as she pulled away just enough to look at him, gaining his attention as he looked into her eyes. Arcee and Jack both looked down at the pair, complete surprise and relief on their faces as they saw their son.

"Hi." Orion said, almost making the Asari and his Parents mouths drop in return.

"Hi." she said back in total surprise before pulling him back into a warm embrace, the blue haired Bot returning it in kind as Jack smiled back at Arcee. But before any more could be said, the younger Darby pulled away from his Lover, who noticed his expression becoming more serious.

"I have a job to do." he said in a cryptic manner, which made her and Arcee look back with a slightly confuse stare. But Jack knew what he meant as the two gave each other a knowing look as his Son got back to his feet. Everyone watching from the ground saw this and breathed a collective sigh of relief as they looked up and saw this.

Meanwhile Galvatron was completely oblivious to what was happening behind him, as his attention was focused on the Matrix as it descended towards him.

"At long las..." he started to say as the Matrix was just inches from his grasp, when it suddenly changed direction and floated past him.

"What?" he spat in confusion as he turned around, his eyes following it like a Hawk. That was when he spotted Orion, who was standing at the platform edge with his hand outstretched towards the relic as it moved towards him.

"Impossible!" the Predacon Leader exclaimed as he unsheathed the Chaos Edge and started running at the Bot.

"Guys stand back." Orion then said, earning a nod from Liara and his Parents who backed away as they watched him. But just as the Matrix came within his grasp, Galvatron leaped and swung his blade down at him.

"No!" he exclaimed in desperation as he brought the blade down on him, but just as the Chaos Edge came within a centimetre of the Autobot. The Matrix floated into his hand, causing Orion to become engulfed in a blinding white energy, one that knocked the Predacon Lord onto his back with a grunt as he dropped the Chaos Edge.

But no one else was even slightly interested as they were all focused on the blue haired Bot, who they could barely see through the blinding white light that had surrounded him, making them shield their eyes with their hands. Liara through keep her fingers separated just enough to peek through despite the light's strength, and could just make out the silhouette of her Lover while noticing that the armour that he was wearing was being transformed.

And then in the blink of an eye the light vanished, and there standing before them all was Orion in a familiar and yet new version of the Prime armour. It had a dark navy blue colour, and was still very sleek and lightweight in it's design. The recognisable red stripes with their thick silver outlines remained, still running down his arms from the new more sleeker shoulder guards all the way to his gloves. And on center of his chest plate was the Silver Autobot insignia with Red outline.

"Wow." the Asari said, as she and the others looked back at him in awe. The blue haired Prime then held out his hand to the Star-Saber, and the sword suddenly rose off the ground and into his grasp, with his grip tightening around it's hilt as it's blade began to glow a bright blue. He then turned his attention to Galvatron, staring at him with a stoic expression as the Predacon Leader got back to his feet.

"This is the end of the road for you Galvatron." Orion said, earning a hateful glare from his adversary as he picked up his blade.

"I killed you once…boy, Prime or not…I will do it again!" the Predacon Lord spat as he lunged at the new Prime, who deflected the attack with the Star-Saber. And for a long moment, the two clashed their blades multiple times. Though this time, Orion was the more focused and controlled one as his adversary was becoming more desperate. But then Galvatron attacked with a an overhead strike, which the young Darby stopped by raising his weapon up to block it before following through with a kick to the Predacon's stomach, making him stumble backwards as he grunted.

Everyone watched as the clone recovered and attacked the Prime again, their blue and red blades clashing several more times before the young Darby spin kicked Galvatron in the face, sending him down to the ground hard,

"It is over….surrender." the blue haired Bot said in a serious tone, but the Predacon shook his head as he got up again and charged at him.

"Never!" he exclaimed in a fanatical tone as he attacked with both his claws on one hand, and the Chaos Edge in the other. But Orion was way ahead of him as he dodged one attack and deflected another, before spinning around and unleashing an energy wave that hit Galvatron and sent him flying across the arena.

"That's our son, Jack." Arcee said in a proud tone and smile, earning a mirrored look and nod from the older Darby as they and Liara watched Orion walk over to the Predacon, who was again picking himself off the ground.

"This was my destiny!" the Clone spat as he thrust the Chaos Edge at the Prime, but the blue haired Bot dodged it as he threw the Star-Saber in the air and grabbed Galvatron's attacking arm and twisted it, making him drop the blade before the Prime then back-handed him with his free hand. The Predacon was spun around by the force of the hit, while Orion reached up and catched his own Saber again after it fell back toward him, before looking back at his adversary.

"You don't get it Galvatron…" he replied as the clone turned back round and stared daggers back at him before leaping back at him with claws bared, roaring as he did so. But Orion in a calm and professional manner, thrust the Star-Saber forward and impaled the Predacon Lord through his chest, making him spit up blood as he had a shocked expression on his face. Jack, Arcee and Liara had similar expressions on their faces as the others joined them from the ground floor, watching as Orion had given Galvatron the killing blow.

But even with an audience watching, the new Prime just looked the Clone in his eyes with a stoic and honest expression.

"…you never had a destiny." he added before twisting the blade while it was in Predacon's chest, making him grimace in pain as he looked down at it.

"And you have something that doesn't belong to you…." the Prime then said, which then caught Galvatron's attention as he looked back with a worried expression.

"….time to give it back." the blue haired Bot finished before ripping the blade from the Clone's chest, making his blood spray out and pour down his chest as he cried out in pain, before falling to his knees in front of Orion.

Then as everyone watched, a purple glowing swirl of energy began to seep out of the Predacon's chest, making all but the new Prime stare back with widened eyes.

"That's Unicron!" Jack said as the remnant started to float up towards the floating parts of the mountain, which were being held up there by the bolts energy striking them from the temple. And for one instance, the entire group could swear something from the energy.

"Noooooo!" the remnant cried out as it suddenly stopped between the two Aeons, before finally fading to nothing in the light shone from their glowing eyes.

"No…Unicron, that was my….des..tiny.!" Galvatron managed to say with a defeated expression before his eyes glazed over, his body then went limp and slumped to the ground in a heap.

"Farewell Galvatron." Orion said with a stoic tone as he looked down at the corpse, and breathed a sigh of relief.

'It is finally over.' he thought before simply blinking, to which his eyes then widened in surprise. For he was no longer standing in the Infinite Combinatoric, but was back in the crystalline world and surrounded by the beauty and marvel of the glacier like mountains and vista.

PRIME EFFECT 4

"Optimus?" he called out while looking at his surroundings, but there was no answer as the Bot could see that he was alone. All he could hear was the sound of a breeze blowing through the air around him.

"Where is Optimus?" he said to himself, before another voice spoke behind him.

"Optimus was here?"

The blue haired Bot turned around to see his Dad standing there, looking back at him with a curious expression.

"Dad?"

"Yeah its me…" the older Darby replied as he looked around at their surroundings with a smile, marvelling at the sight once more.

"…you know, I always knew I would see this place one more time." he added, which made his Son look back with a questioning expression.

"What do you mean by that?"

But before the former Prime could answer, both their attention was diverted to two bright orbs of light that suddenly appeared on their right side.

"So it is done, the remnant of our Brother has chosen his next Disciple." Vok spoke as his orange orb shifted into the form of a humanoid, though one that looked more like a Cybertronian. He had orange and black robes with armoured shoulders and fore-arms, as well as armoured boots. His optics were bright orange and he also had a small metallic beard, which he stroked as he looked at Orion.

"Yes, everything now is exactly as Primus wanted. Just like we witnessed in his thoughts and memories." Garuda replied as her green orb shifted into a wise and noble looking femme, with green and silver armoured robes covering her athletic figure. Her optics were a bright green, which gave the Father and Son a curious stare while they looked confused at each other.

"Uh, excuse me. But what are you talking about?" the blue haired Prime asked, which made Jack shake his head in return.

'My Son needs to learn to be more respectful around the Aeons.' he thought, whilst Vok looked back at Orion.

"This insolence must be a trait of the young, and if you had not already impressed what remains of Primus, I would seriously consider punishing you for that disrespect."

"But Orion Prime does have a legitimate question Vok, one that we can answer." the female Aeon replied, before looking back at the blue haired Bot.

"You must understand Orion, before we came here. We have not had seen either Primus or Unicron, not since before what was left of our species separated to watch over our chosen galaxies."

Both Jack and his Son stood and listened as Garuda continued, ignoring the unsure stare coming from Vok.

"When we reached into the remnants of both, we saw everything that they had done since they had taken to watching over the Milky Way...as you call it. We saw their disagreements that led to Unicron taking it upon himself to rid the galaxy of the weak, what he turned himself into to achieve it. And we saw Primus's solution, the creation of the Cybertronians and their Primes. We witnessed their war and the creation of the Reapers and everything else that happened up to this very point, including Primus's pain at watching his creations fight while Unicron's Reapers obeyed him, doing exactly what he had commanded them too. For a while it looked as through he was correct, with his Reapers wiping out the weak whilst assimilating the strong into their numbers every hundred thousand years. Because Primus's idea of free will and cooperation was failing as his Cybertronians continued to war with each other..." she said while turning her attention to the horizon.

"...but that changed when his creations brought their conflict to a small unassuming planet, called Earth." Garuda finished, allowing Vok to take a step toward both Jack and Orion.

"Here a chaotic young organic species, one of many that Unicron would have wiped out in a spark-beat, was pulled into the Cybertronians conflict. But having learnt so much from their own Wars and bloody history, helped to end the eons long feud and bring Primus's children back together. And then the new friends and allies went out into he galaxy and helped the rest of its inhabitants cooperate with each other, just as our Brother would have wanted. And he saw great potential in Humanity for the continuing legacy of the Primes." Vok said before looking at Jack.

"That is why he chose you to be the first of a new generation of his disciples, because you were the best of your generation." he continued as Garuda looked at Orion.

"Once we saw all of this, we knew that we could not interfere. That we had to let the Matrix choose it's next bearer, and so we let you and the abomination called Galvatron fight. Because we knew that you would be the eventual victor, succeeding your Father in the process." she said, earning a nod from Orion in return.

"I see, but how did you know that I would defeat Galvatron. I mean he killed me."

"He did so by using the power that Unicron had given him, but you fought him regardless. Willing to put your life on the line to protect others, exactly as Primus would. This along with your natural ability to lead others made you the right choice to become a Prime, just as he had foreseen." Garuda replied, earning a nod from Jack as he stepped beside his Son proudly.

"I too had seen that in you Son, throughout your life. With how you were always the leader amongst your friends when you were younger, the many occasions you ended up being in charge as an adult. And yet you walked away from every chance of promotion given to you, well...before the Normandy."

Orion though turned to his Dad, giving him a curious look.

"But Dad, there is more to it. I mean its like you already knew what my life was going to turn out like?" he said, but the older Darby shook his head in return.

"I..always had a feeling that you were meant for more than you were aiming for Orion, that's part of being a Parent." he said back in a hopeful tone.

"Orion, what your Father does or does not know is not for him to reveal. Because no one can know what their destiny is going to be, for they have to experience it for themselves." Vok said in return, while Jack looked over to the nearby glacial mountains with a thoughtful expression.

'It was more than just a feeling I had though, but I can't for the life of me remember.' he thought as the blue haired Prime kept his attention on the Aeons.

"Alright, so you ended up believing in me like Primus did. But how did you know I would win?" he asked.

"Well with the power that we Aeons possess.." Vok began to say, earning a regretful look from Garuda.

"Power that we paid a heavy price to obtain." she replied, earning a thoughtful nod from the male Aeon.

"Yes, but still. We now exist as beings of energy, with the ability to transcend space and time. After we viewed our Brothers memories, we took a look into the future….both the imminent and far." Vok added, earning an understanding nod from the Prime.

"So, you saw that I would be brought back and so just let fate play it's hand."

"Yes." Garuda replied.

"Okay, so what happens now?" Orion then asked.

"Now you are the Leader of the Autobots, it is your duty and calling to continue to help shape the future of this galaxy. But.." Garuda began to explain, gaining a curious look from Orion.

"But?" he asked.

"..we have also seen what Primus was planning for when he created the Primes, for it was not just to defeat his Brother Unicron and lead the others." the female Aeon added.

"It was also to prepare for the return of a threat that we Aeons have long since believed was gone, but Primus knew better for he had seen it within Unicron's behaviour." Vok carried on, as both Primes listened intently.

"What is that?" Orion asked.

"It is a very powerful force that once threatened not only the galaxy, but the entire universe itself." the orange Aeon added in a cryptic tone as a sudden gust of wind blew through the area they were standing in, earning an uncomfortable look from the younger Darby.

"Well that's ominous." he said before returning his attention back to the Aeons.

"This dark force is the result of a mistake that we made long before we took on these forms, it is the reason we chose to watch over the galaxies of this universe." Garuda replied.

"You mean in how you obtained this power that you now have?" Jack asked with a curious tone, earning a nod from her.

"Yes, that is correct. You certainly are an inquisitive creature, Orion Prime." Garuda said back.

"It is not yet time for everything to be revealed to you, though all we can say is that we made ourselves silent guardians to the universe. In an effort to make up for the damage that we had done." she added as look of regret appeared on her face.

"But it seems that we have still failed in that regards, for we did not foresee this great darkness's return.

"But Primus has, and his solution is you and the 'Trinity of Primes'." Vok then said as he looked directly at Orion, who just stared back at them with a curious expression.

"I saw that in the Convent of Primus, what is that?" he asked, but both Aeons gave him a knowing look in return.

"As we said before Prime, you cannot know all that is meant to be and what will be." Garuda replied, gaining an understanding look from the blue haired Bot as he sighed.

"Yes I know, I have to experience it."

"Now it is time for you to return to your plane of existence Orion, but you visit this place and see us again when the Trinity is called upon. We cannot tell when that will be or more about what you will face, but we believe that you will be ready when the time comes. For with you becoming a Prime, you have already begun to connect the Trinity together." Vok then said, earning a nod from Orion before he suddenly felt everything around start to fade away.

"Until we meet again." Garuda said, and then the new Prime was gone. Now only Jack was left, standing with the two Aeons.

"For you though Jackson Prime, we can tell you that this is the last time that you will see this place." Vok said, earning a nod from the older Darby before he took another look at his crystalline surroundings.

"I don't know why, but I had a feeling that this might be it." he replied with a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"We know you do not truly remember what has already transpired, but we have seen the future and can tell you that your part in this is now over." Garuda replied.

"So you have you seen how this will all end?" the former Prime asked, giving them a curious expression.

"We have seen to a point, time is forever fluid. But you have done exactly as you were meant to, so you can now go back and enjoy the rest of your life…you have earned it." the female Aeon continued, to which Jack gave them a thankful smile and nodded back before giving the place one last look, another disappointed expression appearing on his face.

"What is it?" Vok asked, curious to why the Human was looking around.

"I just thought that I might have seen Optimus one last time, since I know that he and others exist in this plane."

"Your friend and Mentor will always be with you Jackson Prime, but now it is time for you to leave."

"Okay, so….Goodbye." Jack replied with a wave, earning a nod from both Aeons as everything slowly went white around him.

"Farewell." Garuda replied as they faded into the bright white light as it enveloped the older Darby.

PRIME EFFECT 4 - Epilogue

Suddenly Orion found himself standing over Galvatron's corpse like nothing had happened, which made him take a breath and sheathing the Star-Saber on his back before looking up to see his Dad standing just away from him, an extremely proud look on his face as he smile and nodded to him. Jack then looked to his Son's right, making the blue haired Bot turn and see his Mother smiling at him as she walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him in a loving embrace before he could even react.

"By the All-Spark, Orion I am so proud of you." Arcee said as she hugged him tightly, earning an embarrassed but mirrored smile back as he returned the hug.

"Sorry to scare you like that." he replied while noticing Quickstrike, Ser-Ket and the others smiling back at him as his Mother pulled away enough to look her Son in the eyes with a knowing expression.

"You would think I'd be more used to this by now, like Father like Son." she said back with a smile before her attention was drawn to over the new Prime's shoulder, making her let go of him and step back.

"Anyway, I believe there is someone who wants to see you." Arcee said before gesturing to him, which made Orion turn around and see Liara standing there just away from him. His eyes widened as he instantly left his Mother's side and walked over to the Asari, while Arcee just sighed as Jack stepped beside her and took her hand in his, earning a happy smile from her before they watched their Son go to reunite with his Asari lover who was walking towards him too.

"Orion." Liara said as they stopped right in front of each other, earning a smile from the Bot as she looked him up and down.

"Yeah." he replied while she placed a hand on the chest-plate of his Prime armour, and looked up into his eyes with a relieved expression.

"I thought I lost you earlier.." she said, which made Orion take her hand in his as he looked her in her blue eyes.

"I'm sorry about that, I promise it won't happen again." he replied with a lop-sided grin, which made the Asari smile back as she pulled him into an embrace.

"Yeah…like you can make that promise, come here." she said back with tinge of a joking tone in her voice as the two embraced.

"I love you." Liara then said as they held each other close, making the Bot's spark heat up as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you too." he replied before they then kissed, both losing themselves in the moment as they pressed their lips together.

But then the moment was spoilt as Orion's com-link activated, making the Bot pull away and tap his ear-piece.

"Orion, this is General Obsidian. I don't know what you guys did in there, but you should come and see this." the voice on the other end said, making the Prime look at everyone else.

"What is it Cuz?" Quickstrike asked as the others joined the pair.

"Time we left, Autobots…lets roll." he then said in a commanding tone, which gained nods from the rest of the team. But Jack and Arcee just gave each other knowing smiles as they followed their Son and Liara down the stairs and back to the ground.

"What about this temple…and the Chaos Edge over there?" Nightracer asked, which made the blue haired Prime place his hand on the center of his chest plate as he felt the matrix underneath.

"I'll have the fleet bomb this location from orbit and completely destroy it, I have a feeling that is what Primus would want." he replied, earning a confused look from Liara as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you sure that is good idea Orion, I mean the historical importance of this place alone…" she began to say, only for the Bot to cut her off with an understanding look.

"I know, but once this place is gone. There will be no chance that anyone could ever again attempt to resurrect Unicron, we should make sure of that."

"I agree with Orion." Jack seconded as he and Arcee stood beside him and Liara, earning a nod from the Asari in return.

"That does make sense." she replied, which made the younger Darby turn and give her a slight smile.

"Yeah, but before we do though. I will have the Normandy take thorough scans of this temple, so that we at least have something of it on file to be studied."

This made the Asari look a little less disappointed, before smiling back and gently squeezing his hand in her own affectionately.

Oh...by the way." the blue haired Prime said as he looked over to his parents, like something important had just came to mind.

"Mum, Dad, this is Liara T'Soni….. sorry for the delay." he said with a slightly embarrassed tone and look, but his parents just smiled back as they left the temple and walked back up the tunnel.

"No need to apologise Orion." Jack said back whilst gently shaking his head.

"Yes, the end of the galaxy totally gets you out of jail when it comes to introducing your girlfriend to us." Arcee added with a lopsided grin, before holding a hand out to the Asari.

"It's very nice to meet you Liara, welcome to the family. Though we have met before haven't we?" the Femme asked, earning a nod from Liara.

"Yes, we previously met back during the Reaper War, on Thessia when we worked together. It is an honour to meet you again."

This earned a smile from both his Parents, as Arcee suddenly left Jack and walked along-side the Asari.

"Liara, since this is a long tunnel. I thought we could have a chat as we walk it, get to know each other a bit more." she said in a friendly manner, which made her smile and nod back.

"Sure, I would like that."

Then both women began to walk away from Orion, which made him stare back with a confused look while his Father joined his left and his Cousin on his right.

"Bad move Cuz, if you think that having your Ex hanging out with Liara was trouble, now she's making friends with your Mother." Quickstrike said with a grin on his face, earning a nod from Jack.

"Yeah, Quickstrike is right there..." his Dad said as they watched the women ahead.

"Same thing happened to me when your Mother and Grandmother were friends." he added as Orion watched while Arcee said something to Liara that he could not make out, but then the Asari burst into an uncontrolled laughter. This made the Bot's spark sink a little, as he could only guess what his Mother had just said.

"Oh great," was all he could say as the group continued back up through the tunnel towards the light.

PRIME EFFECT 4

After leaving the remains of the mountain and walking back past the smouldering wreck of the Nemesis while moonlight shone down from the clear night sky, which was full of twinkling stars too. Liara, Arcee and even Nightracer were talking and laughing as they walked together, while Orion, Jack and Shen followed as the Father and Son had unsure looks on their faces. Meanwhile Quickstrike and Ser-Ket were lingering just a bit further back as a curious expression was on the Femme's face.

"I guess once your Mother wakes from her coma, I will be getting this treatment that Liara is receiving now from Orion's Mother and Ex?" she asked, earning a nod from the blonde Bot as they walked hand in hand.

"Yeah, I was told she should be waking up any day now. But thinking about what I said earlier now. I probably shouldn't have taken the micky out of Orion now." he replied with a slight smile, while the former Predacon looked at him with an unsure expression.

"I wonder how she will react to the fact that I was among the enemy ranks and had a part to play in…." she started to say, making Quickstrike look directly at her with a caring but serious stare.

"I have already said that will not matter, you were not physically a part of the attack. You and the other Predacons were pretty much brain-washed to follow Galvatron…who turned out to be nothing more than a Clone. You even questioned the tactics and needless slaughter, the fact that you turned away from them and helped us to end this war…" he said as they stopped and he held her hands in his, while looking into her eyes.

"…that is what it important, not the least that you saved my life. That is what my Mother will care about, so please stop worrying about it." he said, earning a sigh from the Femme who nodded back.

"Alright, but there is something about me that you should know. Something I found out while I was being held prisoner aboard the Nemesis."

Quickstrike just looked at her with an affectionate smile, as he remembered that she had tried to tell him this earlier only for him to stop her. It was true that whatever had happened in her past was not going to change what he thought of her now. But if she needed to get it off her chest, he wasn't going to stop her anymore.

"What is it?" he asked in a gentle tone.

"I found out that I am not a Predacon since I was not cloned like the others, I was in fact originally a Decepticon…" she said before stopping abruptly with that final word, gaining a curious look from her lover.

"A Decepticon….but who?"

"Her name was Strika." the Femme replied, as the blonde Bot recognised that name as his expression changed to a thoughtful one.

"I remember reading about her in history class when I was kid, she was considered a monster who disappeared early in the civil War."

Ser-Ket took a breath and sighed before looking to the ground as he said that line, making the Autobot realise what he had said as he gently raised her face back to his with a finger under her chin.

"I am sorry Ser-Ket, but she is not you. Not even by a long shot."

"I know…" she started to say as a single tear ran down her chin, to which Quickstrike wiped it away with a finger gently.

"…I only had a glimpse of her memories and while they did feel familiar, they ultimately appalled me and I think I know why." she added, which made the Bot stare back curiously as he listened.

"Shockwave told me that the Decepticon I was had volunteered to have her CNA spliced with that of a Predacon, in the hopes of creating a hybrid of sorts. But he later found that the sample was not Predacon, but was from 'another faction'." she continued.

"Another Faction? You mean Maximal?" Quickstrike then said with a knowing look, which earned a confused expression from the Femme.

"Maximal?"

"When you let yourself get captured, so we could escape from Omicron,.." the blonde Bot said, trying to not remember the pain he felt in that moment.

"…you told us to go to Cybertron, well we did and found what we thought was a Predacon down in the mines under Shockwave's facility. Except he was not one of them at all."

"What was he?" she only asked in return, keeping her eyes focused on her Lover as she listened intently.

"He called himself a Maximal, an enemy of the Predacons and his name was Onyx Primal."

This made Ser-Ket's eyes widen as though something had switched on in her mind.

"Was he that big black dragon that I saw fly into the Nemesis with Predaking?"

"Yes, he sacrificed himself to give us the opening we needed to get to the mountain." the blonde Bot said with a sad tone as he remembered his friend, the Femme noticed this and gently squeezed the Bot's hand affectionately.

"I am sorry Quickstrike, but if had not done so, then we may not be here now. I understand why he did this, for I did it myself…and I would do it again." she replied, earning a nod from him.

"Yeah…" he replied as a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"…Remember when we were on Omicron, and you told me about your dreams."

"Yes I remember, I thought they might have been memories…." she started to answer as she thought about it.

"…in fact, when I saw Onyx Primal as you call him. I felt that I had seen him before."

Quickstrike then gave his lover a knowing look in return.

"Perhaps you did..." he said back with a slight smile.

"…I mean since your CNA is not Predacon but in fact Maximal, then that means you are actually the latter, I think that explains a lot." he finished as he put his arms around his lover and embraced her, with Ser-Ket doing the same as she enjoyed being in his arms.

"Okay, your right. I don't have anything to worry about." she confessed with smile as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I told you." he replied with a lopsided smile as they leaned in close.

"I love you Quickstrike." the Femme said in a soft voice, which made the Bot's spark tingle in return.

"I love you." he replied as they almost kissed.

"Hey guys, you should see this." Shen then shouted back, snapping the pair out of their moment as they looked back at the Turian who was waving them over to him and the others.

What it is,,,it?" Quickstrike asked as he Ser-Ket rejoined the others, but stopped with wide-eyed looks at what they and the rest of the group could see. For in front of them was the remaining soldiers of the Autobots and the Terracon forces of the now defeated Predacons.

"What are they doing?" Jack asked they all looked upon the enemy troops, who were down on one knee with their heads bowed while the remaining ISF soldiers stood there in confused surprise.

"Take the words right out of my mouth.." Orion replied before his attention turned to General Obsidian, who was walking up to them and looking the blue haired Bot up and down curiously.

"So Spectre Darby, I assume that you are the new Prime?" he asked, gaining a nod from both him and his Father.

"That is correct General, my son now carries the Matrix and succeeds me as Leader of the Autobots." Jack replied proudly.

"Well congratulations…sir…" Obsidian said back with a nod, before looking back out at the Terracons.

"..but I assume you noticed this." he added.

"Yeah, what are they doing?" the Prime replied in return with a curious tone.

"Well, they just stopped fighting and knelt all of a sudden. Their ships even stopped fighting up in orbit over the planet." the General explained, earning a curious look from Shen.

"What, even the mercenary cruisers?"

"No, the former Omega ships retreated as soon as the Predacons own ships stopped. I don't know what to do with them, should we just shoot them?" Obsidian asked, which made Ser-Ket step toward him and Orion.

"No, there is no need for that." she replied, making everyone look back at her.

"Who is this?" the Autobot asked.

"This is Ser-Ket, she is a former Predacon who turned against Galvatron and helped us defeat him both here and back on Omicron." the young Darby said back with respect in his voice as he gave her a smile.

"I see, well can you explain what they are doing?" Obisdian then asked, with the Femme looking between him and Orion.

"They have surrendered because you have killed Galvatron, they are now awaiting your orders." she replied, gaining a thoughtful look from Liara.

"Just like you said earlier, when that Terracon joined us after Rip-Claw was killed."

"Exactly Liara..." Ser-Ket replied before looking back at the Prime.

"...The Terracons are nothing more than weapons. They have sentience, but are completely loyal to their Alpha, which now is you….Orion Prime."

This made Orion take a breath as he thought on what she just said, while Shen and Quickstrike made their voices heard.

"They could come in handy, might not want to just off them like that." the blonde Bot said, gaining a nod from their Turian friend.

"Yeah, they are nearly unstoppable too."

The blue haired bot gave them both an appreciative nod, before looking back at his Dad and the General.

"I will support any decision you make Prime." Obsidian then said, so Orion looked back at the Terracons with a thoughtful expression before a slight smile graced his face.

"Okay…" he replied before walking between his team and the remaining armies, with the Autobots recognising his Prime armour and saluting him in return. While the Terracons all just stood and looked at him in a synchronised movement. And suddenly the Bot felt a little out of his element as he felt everyone's eyes on him, but he looked back at his friends and family who all gave him encouraging smiles back.

'Okay, lets do this.' he thought as he activated his holo-tool and synced his com-link to the Predacon ships in orbit, before looking back at the Terracons.

"My name is Orion Prime and I am the new Leader of the Autobots. I defeated and killed the one you called Galvatron, and now I want to know what you will do now that your Master is gone." he said in a stoic and commanding tone, one that Jack and Arcee were rather proud of as they watched.

"We are here to serve you, our new Master." they replied in unison, which gave chills to Orion's friends as they watched him.

"Very well, and you will follow any order given in my name?" he asked, and they all nodded again in unison.

"Yes."

"In that case, Ser-Ket will lead you….in my name." the blue haired Bot said as he pointed up at the Femme, who looked back with a surprised expression as the Terracons turned to face her.

"Ser-Ket will be your Commander, and I assure you that she speaks for myself. Will you follow her in my name?" Orion continued as he looked back at the beastial troops.

"Yes, we will." they replied as the Prime gestured for her to join him, making the Femme leave Quickstrike's side and walk down to him. And as she did so, the Terracons suddenly dropped to one knee and bowed their heads again.

"Commander!" they replied, earning a shocked nod from Ser-Ket before she turned her attention to the young Darby.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't think of anyone more qualified to lead these soldiers." he replied while looking at her stoically.

"But I am not a Predacon." she replied, earning a smile from Orion.

"Then that makes you a Maximal, doesn't it." he said with a knowing tone and look, which made her eyes widen more.

"How did you….did you hear us?" she asked in shock, thinking that he had somehow heard her and Quickstrike's conversation, but he simply shook his head in return as he continued smiling.

"No I didn't. But after working with a Maximal, you remind me more of him than any of the Predacons I have met."

This made Ser-Ket smile back as she sighed in return.

"Well I guess I am a Maximal."

"Good, so will you lead these troops for me? I am counting on you." he replied, gaining a nod from the Femme.

"Yes, I will." she said, which made the Prime smile back.

"Then by all means, command your troops."

Ser-Ket then faced the Terracons, who were looking at her and waiting for what they should do next.

"Terracons, stand down and revert." the Femme commanded, and the soldiers nodded back before shrinking back down to their human-like forms.

Prime, I have the Apollo on my Com-link and they report that the Predacon ships have received and acknowledged Ser-Ket's order." Obsidian stated, earning Orion's and Ser-Ket's attention.

"Good, now let's get everyone on the transports and back up to the fleet. And once everyone is on board, have the ships target and destroy this temple." the blue haired Bot said as he pointed at the Infinite Combinatoric in the near distance, earning a nod from the General.

"I will inform Admiral Hackett of your orders sir, again...congratulations." he then said before saluting Orion and walking back to his troops.

"Okay Autobots, we are leaving. Let's move out." he commanded as he joined them.

"Terracons, please follow the Autobots back to the transports. Thank you." Ser-Ket added, gaining nods from her new troops as they bowed to her before turning around and following the rest away, leaving her and Orion as the rest of their friends joined them.

"I think you going to be fine as the new Prime, Orion." Quickstrike said as he patted his Cousin on the shoulder.

"Yeah, that armour suits you." Nightracer added, earning a smile from the Bot as he looked first at his parents who looked back proudly and then finally to Liara.

"Thanks, now let's go home." he said before tapping his com-link.

"Orion to Normandy."

"This is Rodimus, I hear congratulations are in order." the Commander said back.

"You have heard already?" the young Darby asked with a slightly disbelieving tone to his voice.

"Yes we have, and I can't think of anyone more deserving, well done." he said back.

"Thank you Rodimus, now could you send us down a shuttle please and give the temple a full detailed scan with our sensors?"

"I'll have Jetstorm do it right now and as for the shuttle, it is already on the way. I'll see you in a few minutes, Normandy out." the Commander replied before ending the link, leaving Orion and the group to watch as the Autobot transports began lifting off the ground and flying back up into the sky.

PRIME EFFECT 4

It had been almost forty minutes since their shuttle had docked with the Normandy as it continued to orbit Virmire with the rest of the fleet, and Orion, Rodimus and Jack had gone to the Communications room to speak with Autobot Command. This left everyone else to talk amongst themselves in the CIC, while they waited for the others to return. Liara was talking with Arcee and Red-Alert, while Nightracer and Shen spoke with Quickstrike and Ser-Ket. The blonde Bot was looking very happy as he deactivated his holo-tool and returning his attention to the others.

"I have just been communicating with my Mum, she is now awake and waiting to see me." he said with a happy relief in his voice, which made Arcee turn and look at him with an equally relieved face.

"My Sister's okay, thank the Allspark. That is great news." she said in an ecstatic tone, earning an appreciative nod from him in return.

"Mum is looking forward to seeing all of us…." he started to say before returning his attention back to Ser-Ket.

"…especially you Ser-Ket." he added with a loving smile, which made the Femme mirror his expression in return.

"I am looking forward to meeting her too." she replied as she took his hand and gently squeezed it affectionately.

"So Liara, I hope you and Orion will be able to stay with us at the house for the next few days?" Arcee asked as she returned her attention to the Asari, earning a nod from her.

"Of course, I'd love too. And I know Orion would want to spend some time with you both as well."

This made the Femme smile back before everyone's attention was drawn to the elevator as its doors opened and out came Jack and Rodimus, with the Autobot still in his hover-chair.

"Where's Orion?" Liara asked with a curious tone, gaining the former Prime's attention.

"He is just finishing his conversation with the Federation Senate and Autobot Command, and should be down in a few minutes."

"And we have been given confirmation from the Apollo that the Infinite Combinatoric has been destroyed, but not before we took some very detailed scans of the temple." Rodimus added, as the Turian looked at the pair.

"So now that Orion is in charge of the Autobots, I guess that means he has a choice of which ship he wants as his flagship?" Shen then asked with a knowing look, earning everyone's attention.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he waited for the next Battleship class to be built, I am sure they will still build one after the Nemesis." Red-Alert replied, though Nightracer shook her head in return.

"I don't know, I think he might prefer the one he has already." she said with a knowing tone to her voice, earning nods from Liara, Quickstrike and Arcee. Which in turn made Jack smile.

"He has chosen the Normandy, and Autobot command acknowledged this." the Prime said, making Shen look at Rodimus with a puzzled expression.

"What's going to happen to you then, sir?"

"I will be staying on as Orion's XO, he requested so." the Commander replied.

"Really Rodimus, I thought you might have now settled for a desk job now?" Quickstrike teased, earning a smirk from the Elite Spectre as he looked up at him.

"Why, because I am in this hover-chair still? I'll be out of it in another few days, and I will never go for a desk job anyway." he said, earning a smile from Jack.

"Besides, I wasn't going to turn my back on my friend. He needs my help and I am happy to oblige him." Rodimus continued.

"Plus Orion is a young Prime, younger than I was when I took on the role. It makes sense for him to have his mentor by his side still." the former Prime added, while Arcee smiled at Rodimus.

"I am glad that Orion will be able to count on you to help him still." she said, earning a nod from the Commander as he smiled back appreciatively.

"My experience and knowledge have and always shall be at his disposal." he replied, which gained a knowing smile from Quickstrike.

"As will we as his close friends and colleagues," he said, which made everyone smile as Rodimus then turned and faced the crew members currently working around the team.

"Anyway….Orion's already given the rest of the fleet the order to leave for Earth, and they are waiting on us to lead the way so…" he said as he tapped his com-link and synced it for the entire ship.

"…Everyone to their stations and prepare to leave orbit." he said, which made the entire crew focus on their individual tasks as the CIC became abuzz with activity while the Commander than tapped his com-link again as he looked toward the Cockpit.

"Jetstorm, prep the hyper-drive and set it's course for the nearest space-bridge. We will be leading the fleet straight home, no jumping ahead with ours." he said, earning a curious look from the gang around him.

"Can't say I am used to moving that slow." Shen replied, gaining Rodimus's attention just as the elevator doors opened to reveal Orion.

"Prime on deck." one of the crewmen said as the Prime stepped into the CIC, quickly acknowledging him before joining the others.

"That's because it will be morale boosting for the folks back home to see the entire fleet return in triumph with our victory over the Predacons, the celebrations are already being planned for our arrival in just over fifteen hours time." he said, earning welcoming nods from his friends and family as Rodimus then motioned him to the galaxy map stand.

"The CIC is yours Prime."

Orion nodded back before walking over to the holographic representation of the galaxy, looking down at it's massive swirling shape and the millions of stars that encompassed it.

'I do not know what lies a head for us with the Trinity of Primes, or what this darkness that the Aeons say is coming..' he thought as a slight smile appeared on his face, while the others gave him a curious look which made Liara walk over to his side.

'..but since we have defeated Unicron, the Reapers and now Galvatron and his forces. I think that no matter what comes our way, we will be more than able to handle it.' he added before he felt a hand on his shoulder, making the Bot turn to see the Asari looking back at him lovingly.

"You alright?" she asked while taking notice of the matrix crystal that hung around his neck, its light shining dimly under his shirt.

"Yeah, I am fine." he added with a reassuring and loving smile back, earning a mirrored expression from the Femme.

"Good."

Orion then gave his friends and family a smile, with them doing the same before he turned his attention to the Cockpit, activating his com-link as he did so.

"Jetstorm, take us home." the blue haired Prime said before he sighed, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Aye, Aye. We are on our way." the pilot replied before the Normandy suddenly broke out of orbit with the entire fleet following behind it, before they all suddenly jumped into hyperspace just as Virmire's star appeared from behind the planet and shone it's light into the surrounding void.

THE END?

Sometime after the dawn of the Universe, on the uninhabited planet of Scissio...

The tanks and heavy artillery fired up into the continually expanding dark liquid-like mass which now covered the entire area in shadow, as it blotted out the sky overhead. Meanwhile Primus and Unicron charged forward with their Aeonian brothers towards the center of the unknown entity, when all of a sudden purple lightning bolts shot down from with it. Each one that fell to the ground either struck a tank and destroyed it in one it, leaving it a burning wreck within a few seconds. Or struck the center of a score of Aeonians, channelling it's energy through them as they were electrocuted on the ground they stood. In the matter of moments hundreds of the warriors were killed, while their tanks and weapons barely seemed to make a dent in the entity as their continuing fire just seemed to be absorbed into the liquid-like mass.

Meanwhile funnel like tendrils suddenly flew down from the entity and begun sweeping through the army, decimating even more troops as it rapidly spread out in all directions. One such tendril swooped down and almost hit Primus, but for Unicron to pull his brother down to the ground as it flew past by mere inches. The former looked over to his sibling and gave him an appreciative smile before suddenly noticing another tendril coming up close behind Unicron who was oblivious as he nodded back.

So Primus quickly got back to his feet and pushed him aside before swinging his blade at the strange appendage, slicing it in half and spilling black goo-like blood onto the ground around them. As both brothers looked around to see their own men doing the same kind of action to this threat, they both suddenly noticed that the spots of blood suddenly began to grow and form bodies before them which looked like shadow versions of the Aeonian soldiers around them.

So Primus and Unicron began to fight the dark clones of their comrades, slicing and dicing the enemies as they attacked. The dark gold and bronze armoured Unicron sliced off the head of one enemy, before spinning around and hacking down another that came up from behind. While Primus in his gold and silver armour, deflected the dark blade of a shadow with his own before kicking it in the side and then running it through, spilling yet more blood onto the floor, blood that again changed into more familiar looking soldiers.

As both Brothers continued to fight against the ever increasing army that the darkness was creating, they could not help but notice as their army was still being overrun and wiped out by either the tendrils or purple lightning strikes attacked with. But just as Primus killed yet another foe with his sword, suddenly another appeared from behind and took a swipe at him. But his attack was suddenly stopped by a blade, which made both the gold and silver warrior and his sibling turn to see a blue and silver armoured femme standing between them and the enemy.

She then quickly took out with two quick slices of her katana-like blade, before turning back and giving Primus a warm smile which he mirrored in return. But then the strangest thing happened as the trio found themselves beneath the very center of the darkness, as several of the shadow-clones suddenly joined together and formed one overall body, which was then hit by the same purple energy bolts that had been raining down upon the Aeonian forces. This one form had glowing purple eyes as it's only characteristic, as they narrowed and stared at the Femme and the Brothers. It then roared and lunged at them with it's right arm, that suddenly stretched out like it was elastic and hit the ground where they had been standing, since they just narrowly dived out of the way.

The Femme was the first to recover as she then countered with several slashes that did no damage whatsoever, Primus got back to his feet just in time to see the being backhand her in the face and send her to the ground. The Bot screamed 'No!' at the dark entity as he charged at it and buried his blade into it's chest, only for it look back at him curiously while he twisted it in it's apparent wound.

Unicron meanwhile had circled around it and charged it from behind, but it suddenly grew another arm out of it's black liquid-like body and grabbed him, stopping him where was a it lifted him off the ground. Primus's eyes widened as he saw this before being swatted away by the dark form, moving the blade out of it's body with it dropping the weapon to the ground without even a look as it then picked up the Femme with another of it's arms.

The gold and silver Bot found himself watching in horror as the darkness suddenly had every remaining Aeonian soldier in it's grasp, as another tendril shot out from the mass at him. But Primus rolled over to his blade and quickly sliced it in half before getting back to his feet.

And that was when he saw it, making his optics widen as purple energy suddenly shot down from the massive liquid-like mass of the darkness and into it's captives. So Primus on instinct suddenly moved to Unicron who was nearest to him and sliced the arm that was holding him in half, making his sibling fall to the ground as some of the purple energy was absorbed into his body. But just as the gold and silver Bot turned to help the Femme, he then cried out in anguish as she as well as every soldier around them was suddenly burnt to a crisp in the entity's grasps, becoming nothing more than ash that was then blown away in the growing breeze that swept across the plains.

The entity then drew back all of it's tendrils and shadow-clones who were absorbed by the said tendrils as they retreated, which included the purple eyed larger clone that had just murdered the blue and silver Femme. The Darkness then retracted into itself to form a perfect jet-black liquid-like sphere which floated in the air above the brothers as Primus helped his brother back to his feet. They both watched as the sphere then dropped to the ground and suddenly morphed into a giant version of the form they had just fought, with its purples eyes looking down at them as it took on a more detailed appearance with what looked like Aeonian armour.

Primus though looked over to where the Femme had been, only to see nothing there as Unicron placed his hand on his Brother's shoulder in support, making him look back and show the anguish that was written on his face. But then Unicron gave Primus a knowing look, which gained a reluctant nod back as though the latter knew what his sibling had in mind.

So they both got to their feet and gripped the hilts of their blades tightly before their optics suddenly glowed brightly, as did the joints and engravings on their armour before finally their very blades glowed too, Unicron's was red as Primus's glowed blue. This made the Darkness roar back at them as it's own purple eyes flared, while the Brothers suddenly charged back toward the monster as they cried out a battle cry. But just as the Entity lunged down at them with it's massive fist, Unicron's optics suddenly changed from glowing red…..to purple.

TO BE CONCLUDED

IN

PRIME EFFECT V

A/N: Well this is it, Prime Effect 4 is finished. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have writing it. And thank you for reading. 🙂

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