Revelations

by Phantom

Chapter Two

He hated to admit it, even to himself, but after hours of wandering around the labyrinth of tunnels beneath Cybertron, Optimus Prime had gotten himself totally lost.

//Keep calm//, he thought to himself, //there's got to be a way out somewhere.// I hope, he added subconsciously. He had to admit that the prospect of an easy way out was growing slimmer by the minute. He shook off his doubts and forced his feet to keep moving.

//You know you're going to die down here// a little voice inside him whispered.

"That's not true," he replied.

//Oh, really? I don't see a way out, do you?//

"I will find one soon," he said stiffly, trying to shut out the voice.

The voice would not be silenced so easily. //Do you really believe that? You've never been a very good liar, especially when lying to yourself. You can't hide from the truth forever. You are going to slowly rot away down here, and no one will ever find you.//

"No!" he roared. "It isn't true! It can't be!" He clapped his hands to his audio sensors, trying to shut out the words within his head. After several moments, he began to regain some semblance of self-control. //I am in control,// he told himself firmly, especially to the rebel voice within him. //The Autobots must realize that I'm gone. They'll find me. It's all just a matter of time.//

//Oh, really?// the voice sneered. //What happens when you run out of time?//

Optimus could not think of a reply.

* * * * *

The Autobot base rocked on its foundation. The high-pitched whine of a missile barrage was all too audible. "Autobots, defensive positions!" Prowl ordered. There was a mad scramble as the Autobots grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the base.

"This always happens every time I get set to lube my squeaky pulleys," the ever-sour Gears grumbled, ducking as a mortar shell whizzed by overhead.

"I know what you mean," Sunstreaker sympathized. "These 'Cons always manage to ruin my paint job!" He ran a hand fondly over his yellow chassis. Gears snorted and turned away.

Starscream transformed and landed in the middle of the battlefield. "Prepare to be conquered, Autobots!" he said smugly. "With me in my proper place as leader of the Decepticons, the entire galaxy will fall at my feet!"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Sunstreaker sneered. "Your feet aren't even polished!"

For a moment, the roar of laughter overcame the roar of battle. Starscream cringed slightly, noting that some of his Decepticons were laughing the loudest. "Silence!" he shrieked. "Your sharp wit will not save you! Attack, Decepticons!" He transformed and soared high overhead, releasing a barrage of cluster bombs.

"What ya doin' up there, Screamer?" Blitzwing sneered. "Afraid to fight on the ground with the rest of us?"

"Certainly not!" he replied, a bit too hastily. "I'm simply seizing the aerial advantage." The fact that it removed him from the thick of the battle didn't hurt either.

Soundwave shook his head slowly. Starscream's cowardice was disgraceful, especially to Megatron's former position as leader. In his opinion, Megatron was the only one truly fit to lead. He could not rationally explain it, but for some reason he believed that the Autobots had no idea what had become of Megatron. That meant it was up to him to find out.

Soundwave slowly edged backwards until he was at the fringes of the heated battle, firing occasionally into the thick of it. "Ravage, eject." The tape sprang out of his chest and transformed. "Locate any recent traces of Megatron," Soundwave instructed.

Ravage lowered his head and sniffed at the ground. The indrawn air sifted through his olfactory sensors and was processed, searching for Megatron's unique pattern. Ravage moved forward slowly. His head suddenly jerked up in surprise. A rumble of pleasure sounded in his vocal unit. He lowered his head to the ground, sniffing in earnest as he followed his leader's trail.

Soundwave hesitated when they entered the tunnels, knowing of the dangers that lurked within. The thought of his leader being trapped somewhere below spurred him on. He continued moving, walking behind Ravage, who was bounding ahead.

Ravage suddenly skidded to a halt and sniffed suspiciously at a patch of the floor. He growled low in his throat and batted at it with a paw. Soundwave stepped forward and inspected it carefully. He could see faint seams in the metal which indicated a trap door. "Megatron must have fallen through it," Soundwave mused aloud. Ravage growled in agreement.

Soundwave wondered what his leader had been doing in such a place, but he quickly brushed his thoughts aside. He could speculate all he wanted later, right now Megatron needed his help. He pressed down carefully with one foot on the trap door until it gave way. Quickly stepping backwards, he peered into the hole that was revealed. It was a long way down, to be sure, but he was confidant that Megatron had survived.

Reaching into his private subspace pocket, he withdrew a large rope of sorts, woven from strong metal fibers. Securing it to a projection on the wall, he tossed the other end into the yawning hole. He noted with satisfaction that it extended almost to the floor far below. Mentally commanding Ravage to transform and return to his chest compartment, Soundwave took hold of the rope and slowly lowered himself through the hole.

* * * * *

Blaster shook his head as he surveyed the battle. Starscream may be an incompetent leader, but without Prime they weren't doing very well themselves. Prowl believed that the Decepticons weren't holding Prime, so where could he be? If only there was a way to find out.

Blaster lowered his rifle slowly as an idea came to him. He opened his chest compartment and ejected Steeljaw. The golden lion transformed at his feet. "Steeljaw, m'man, see if you can find any traces of Prime. We've got to find him as quickly as possible."

With a low rumble in his throat, Steeljaw began to sniff for the trail. He found it shortly, but what he also found caused him to growl menacingly.

"Hmm," Blaster mused. "Seems that Megatron, Soundwave, and Ravage have been this way too. Maybe they've been keeping Prime somewhere as a prisoner. Keep following the trail. We've got to find him. Who knows what they're doing to him?" Steeljaw and Blaster entered the corridor that lead to the maze of tunnels below Cybertron, not knowing that Soundwave and Ravage were barely five minutes ahead of them.

end of Chapter Two

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