✔️ Rewritten & Edited
The two Autobots walked in silence. At this point, Optimus could see through the darkness a little better, and didn't have to rely on Elita to navigate through the tunnel. As they walked further down, the larger Autobot noticed other tunnels branching off of the main one, some larger than it and others smaller. He stopped by one, looking inside. There were jagged scratch marks along the sides and ground of the tunnel. He grimaced at the dried Energon all over the ground, and he narrowed his optics upon seeing a lump of something on the ground. It was a Cybertronian arm. Optimus backed away out of disgust, turning and catching back up to the commander. The further down the tunnel they went, the more frequent the scratch marks and splattered dried Energon there was, the branching tunnels becoming fewer. The red and blue Autobot felt his paranoia rise, and he grabbed his blaster for comfort.
"Was any of this here last time?" He asked Elita, the two stopping at one of the scratch marks.
"No." The reddish-orange Autobot said, looking back at him, "Keep your helm on a swivel."
The commander withdrew her own blaster, and started again. Optimus lifted his into both of his servos, following shortly behind. As they ventured further, the larger Autobot looked into the branching tunnels, searching for anyone or anything within, ready to attack the two Autobots. Optimus stopped at a tunnel, squinting to look into its depths, like he was having a staring contest with someone.
"Optimus?"
He flinched, turning to face Elita, who had backtracked to the other Autobot. She had a worried expression on her faceplates, and Optimus sighed.
"I'm just looking for my sanity." He said.
The commander nodded in understanding. She turned and walked away, the larger Autobot following after taking another glance down the tunnel one more time.
"What in the name of Primus could make tunnels and scratches this big?" Optimus asked aloud.
"I dunno." Elita responded, "Nothing on Cybertron is big enough to do this. Decepticons can't even do this."
The red and blue Autobot didn't say anything else, but he felt his Spark tighten fearfully. At what, he didn't know, but it kept him on edge. It took the two Autobots another few cycles to reach the end of the tunnel, which had a ladder leading up to the surface, a hatch covering it. Optimus sighed, shoulder-pads relaxing. Elita grabbed the sides of the ladder, climbing up a few steps before stopping. The ground started to shake, being followed by a screech that grated against their audio-receptors. The sound didn't sound like anything on Cybertron that they knew of. The reddish-orange Autobot jumped onto the ground, the two looking at the ceiling.
"What the pits?" She muttered.
There was another screech, though it was the kind of screech like a piece of scrap was being dragged along the ground. A yowl accompanied the screech, confirming that it was a Cybertronian animal (either a Cybercat or Mechalynx). It didn't last long, the sound of large flapping wings taking its place, blowing air onto the ground. There was a finalized, distant screech, which was carried for miles and miles. The two Autobots stayed silent out of fear, looking down at each other. After a few moments of cautionary silence, Optimus spoke.
"What was that?" He asked.
"I have no idea." Elita said, "I know there's no way we're going up there."
A deep, loud roar came from above. Even though they couldn't understand what it meant, they knew that the creature that it resonated from demanded respect from whoever would listen. The sound was returned with shrieks and screeches, scrabbling claws and flapping wings passing over the tunnel overhead. Once the sounds died out, Optimus spoke again.
"We have to figure out what that was." He whispered, "If they took over Crystal City, this could devastate the Autobots."
"I'm not letting you go up there alone." Elita whispered back.
"I'm just gonna crack open the hatch and look outside, nothing more." The red and blue Autobot assured.
The reddish-orange didn't say anything else, only nodding to the plan. Optimus looked at the ladder, then walking to it and starting to climb up, stopping every few moments to listen for any sounds on the surface. Once he finally made it to the top, he slowly started to lift the hatch. The faint squeal of the rusted hinges made his Spark pound against its chamber, but he kept going. He lifted it up enough to peek out from the tunnel, looking across the landscape. The whole city looked abandoned. Unlike the crystalline skyline that he expected to see, the towering buildings were worn, some parts having been collapsed or barely clinging onto the main structure. They were also heavily rusted, meaning no Cybertronians have inhabited them in many vorns. At the top of the stable structures, poking out from the edges of the top, were pieces of scrap put together to make some sort of nest. Optimus looked down at his arm, a panel popping up. He used his helm to keep the hatch up, quickly and shakily tapping on the panel.
"What are you doing?" Elita whispered.
"I'm going to record this. Zeta Prime has to see what happened here." The larger Autobot responded.
He placed a servo back on the hatch, lifting it a little more so he recorded the barren land. He angled it all around, showing the destruction of the once beautiful city. Suddenly, something came. Optimus dipped down as a huge shadow passed overhead, followed by a high-pitched shriek. He watched as a creature flew before him -- huge, with a long body and large wings -- its musty-yellow paint glinting off the sunlight, and flew expertly around one of the buildings. It landed on the side of the building, sharp claws digging into the metal, leaving puncture marks as it climbed up the building. Once it clambered into the nest, it folded its wings tightly to its back, then lifting its elongated helm to the sky. It let out the same high-pitched shriek as before, only it was louder and carried for much further. In response, in one of the most horrifying moments in Optimus's life, dozens of creatures responded with their own roars, ranging from low and rumbly to high and audio-shattering. He made sure he caught it all, then hearing Elita below him.
"What's up there, Optimus?" She asked.
"I... I don't know." He said, looking down at her, "It's a large being with wings."
"What?" The commander said, optics wide.
Optimus nodded, confirming what he said. She looked back down the tunnel, raising a servo to her comm-link and speaking. The red and blue Autobot looked back up. He regretted doing so almost immediately. The winged creature's helm was turned towards him, two bright pink optics glaring straight at him. Not even a moment later, it screeched, pointed denta bared. The roars of dozens of others followed, but unlike last time where he didn't know the reason for the sound roar, he knew exactly why.
It was time to hunt.
YOU ARE READING
Transformers: New Generation -- Pt 1
General Fiction{Book 1: The Age of War} [COMPLETED] Optimus felt like a nobody -- he was just an Autobot, serving the cause like any other good soldier. However, one secret, held by his mentor, would make him so much more than a nobody. He will learn that soon eno...
