Transformers: Animated: Shadows of Redemption

Chapter 3: The Offer

"Hello, Sari." says a familiar voice. Sari turns to see her dad, Professor Isaac Sumdac on the viz screen. "Daddy!" she cries in delight. Professor Sumdac reveals he's been busy investigating strange crystalline formations that have been springing up all around Detroit. Bulkhead instantly recognized the crystalline as raw Energon. He saw enough of the stuff growing up on the Energon farm, so he ought to know, but how did it suddenly start forming on Earth?

"Chemical reaction from The Allspark Sheild that Prowl made when we last fought Megatron." Sari replies knowingly. Arcee compliments her star pupil on her intuitive understanding of Cybertronian geology. "Must be the protoform in me." Sari shrugs, standing next to a sample protoform in the classroom. "So, does it look like my baby pictures?" asked Sari. Professor Sumdac doesn't recognize the protoform. "Are they all that big?" he asks. "The one I found in my lab was human sized."

"That's impossible!" said Arcee. "Protoforms are uniform sized." Sari suddenly looks worried. "Then what am I?" she said. Bumblebee promises to get Sari the answer she's looking for. "What do you know about it?" Sari says. Bumblebee insists it's not what Sari knows but who she knows.

The Allspark now housed along with the protoforms in the Cyber-Ninja Dojo's protoform chamber, Sari and Bumblebee stand before the Allspark, accompanied by Optimus who thanks Jazz for letting them in. "Anything for the big brass top cat." replied Jazz. Optimus Prime insists he's not top anything yet. "Don't sell yourself short, big bot." Nudges Bumblebee. "In case you haven't noticed, your name opens doors on this planet."

Sari is not sure what to ask the Allspark. Her previous conversations with it haven't exactly been wordy, but suddenly an image behins to form within the glowing energy of the Allspark: An image of Prowl. He tells Sari Sumdac to stop looking to the past to find her future. "Once you carried a key. Now you are the key. The key to the future of Cybertron and Earth." says the Allspark spirit of Prowl.

Sari doesn't care about all that. She wants to know who she is and what she is. "Make the Allspark tell me." Sari insists. Prowl explains that he cannot control the Allspark for he is merely part of the Allspark, fulfilling its will. "So what is its will? What does it want?" Sari asked. "What the Allspark has always wanted and what it will always want: Life," replied Prowl. The Allspakr then projects three separate images in front of Sari, Optimus, and Bumblebee.

Sari sees a Cybertronian spark merging with a DNA double helix. Optimus sees an image of himself growing to Megatron's scale and grappling with the Decepticon warlord. Bumblebee sees an image of himself wearing an Elite Guard symbol. "What's that supposed?" Sari asked. "I don't know," replies Bumblebee, "But I like it."

Meanwhile...

Later on the streets of Iacon whose giant billboards are plastered with images of Optimus Prime carrying the Magnus hammer. Sentinel walks with Cliffjumper, pleading with him to try and dig up some dirt on Optimus. "So, you're asking me to waste Cybertron Intel resources just to make you look good?" Cliffjumper asks incredulously. "It's not about making me look good, it's about making him look worse."

Cliffjumper insists its still not part of his job. "Not an official part of your job," counter Sentinel, "That's why I'm asking you here outside the Metroplex, not as your superior but as your friend. "You're neither." replies Cliffjumper, "And as far as I'm concerned, this conversation never happened." Sentinel Prime calls to Cliffjumper who walks away. "So you're gonna help me with this or what?"

But another voice calls to Sentinel Prime from the shadows. "I can help you." It's Rattletrap who insists he's a bot of all trades who knows how to get stuff. He offers Sentinel a photo of Optimus paddling around with Megatron who has his arm around Optimus' shoulder. It's obviously a sloppily cropped image of the photo of Rattletrap and Optimus in McCadam's Old Oil House, with Megatron's head inserted over Rattletrap. Sentinel shoves Rattletrap aside, confiscating the photo and threatening to have Rattletrap arrested if he ever sees him again. Sentinel walks away examining the photo, musing to himself. "You know, if we clean this up it might actually work."