Prime: Whatever It Takes

Jetfire

Emilia runs after the old Decepticon, waving her hands to get his attention.l, the others trailing behind her. "Hey!" She shouts. "Wait!"

"What do you want?" Jetfire glances at her.

"Look, we just want to talk!"

I have no time to talk. I'm in a mission. I'm a mercenary doom-bringer. What planet am I on?"

"Earth."

"Earth? Terrible name for a planet. Might as well call it dirt. Planet dirt. Tell me, is that robot civil war still going on? Who's winning?"

"The Decepticons."

At that, Jetfire spits. "Well, I changes sides to the Autobots."

"What do you mean, change sides?"

"It's a choice. It's an intensely personal decision. So much negativity. Who wants to live a life filled with hate?"

"You mean you don't have to work for these miserable freaking Decepticons?" Wheelie asks.

"If Decepticons had their way," Jetfire nods. "They'd destroy the whole universe."

"I'm changing sides," the small transformer moves to Emilia. "I'm changing sides too, little Warrior Goddess. Who's your little Autobot?" He moves to grab her leg, to which Emilia kicks at him.

"Don't tear me," she warns, and he nods.

"Of course, anything you need sweetheart."

"I have issues of my own," Jetfire starts as he shakes his head. "And it all started with my mother! My ancestors have been here for centuries. My father, why, he was the wheel! The first wheel! Do you know what he transformed into?"

"What?" Emilia asked.

"Nothing! But he did so with honor! Dignity, damn it!" As he shouts, a parachute pops from behind him. It catches the wind, sending him crashing down on his knees. "Oh bollocks," he muttered. "My boosters fired."

"Listen," the blonde calls up to him as she steps closer. "I think we can help each other. You know things I don't know, and I know things you don't know."

"I don't think he knows anything," Leo shakes his head. "Honestly, I don't."

"Sam, give me your knife," Emilia glances over, to which her brother nods. He fumbles in his pockets, heading Bumblebee beep at him. Turning, Sam moves to the Camaro and grabs the knife before handing it over.

Once it was in Emilia's hands, she began carving the symbols into the ground. She felt her right arm throb slightly, and she winces, but continues going. Eventually, there were dozens of them, scattered all around.

"I can do this all day," she motions to it as she looks at Jetfire. "It comes in waves, these vivid symbols. They're symbols, but they're in my mind and Megatron wants it. He tried getting it, for him and someone called the Fallen."

"The Fallen?" The large Autobot shakes his head. "I know him. He left me here to rust. The original Decepticon. He's terrible to work for. It's always apocalypse, chaos, crisis. These transcriptions, they were part of my mission, the Fallen's search. I remember now, for the Dagger's tip, and the key."

"The Dagger's tip?" Emilia tilts her head to the side. "What are you talking about?"

"No time to explain."

"What? Wait-"

"Hold on, everybody! Stay still or you'll die!"

There was a bright light, which quickly engulfed the humans and the Autobots around them. Within seconds, Emilia's eyes are fixed in a giant, blue sky, before pain floods through her body and she gets the wind knocked out of her. She lets out a groan, rolling over and seeing sand. For mile and miles, all she saw was sand.

"Emilia!" She hears her brother shout, to which she pushes herself to her feet and waves her arms.

"Over here!" She yells back, seeing Leo already sprinting over to her, Simmons and Bumblebee coming from other directions.

Eventually, everyone was there, including the Twins and Jetfire. Emilia rubs her arm, shaking her head a little. She had to push through this, no matter how ridiculous it was. She had to do it. For Optimus. He was dead and she was still here.

"That really, really hurt," Simmons says in a frustrating tone. "You're just lucky that I didn't get hurt. People could have gotten killed, okay? And if I would have gotten hurt, you'd hear from my-"

"Oh shut up," Jetfire waves him off. "I told you I was opening a space bridge. It's the fastest way to travel to Egypt."

"When did you... when did you tell us?" Sam shakes his head. You didn't tell us anything! Why are we in Egypt?"

"Don't get snippy with me, fleshling! You were duly informed!"

"Stop arguing!" Emilia snapped at them all. "Can you please tell us why we're in Egypt right now?"

"This planet was visited by our race once before, by our earliest ancestors, a millennium ago. They were on an exploratory mission to harvest Energon, the lifeblood of our race. Without it, we'll all perish, oxidize and rust, like my wretched self! Do you have any idea what it's like to slowly fall apart and die?"

Emilia bites her bottom lip, before shaking her head. "No. I'm sorry. Please, continue."

"Somewhere buried in the desert, our ancestors built a great machine. It harvests Energon... by destroying suns."

"You mean blow them up," Leo asks, to which Jetfire nods.

"Yes. You see, in the beginning, there were seven Primes, our original leaders. And they sent out into the universe, seeking distant suns to harvest. The Primes set out with one rule: never destroy a planet with life. Until one of them tried to defy this rule, and his name forevermore was... the Fallen. He despised the human race and he wanted to kill you all by turning on that machine. The only way to activate it is with a legendary key called the Matrix of Leadership. A great battle took place over the possession of the Matrix. The Fallen was stronger than his brothers, so they had no choice but to steal and hide it from him. In the ultimate sacrifice, they gave their lives to seal the Matrix away in a secret tomb made of their own bodies, a tomb we cannot find. Somewhere in this desert, that deadly machine remains. The Fallen knows where it is and if he finds the tomb of the Primes, your world will be no more."

"Okay..." Emilia pauses. "How do we stop him?"

"Only a Prime can defeat the Fallen."

"Optimus Prime," the girl then whispers, before shaking her head.

"So you've met a Prime? Why, you must have met a great descendent. Is he alive, here on this planet?"

"No. He... he sacrificed himself. To save me."

"No," Jetfire shakes his head. "With no Primse, it's impossible. No one else could stop the Fallen."

Emilia feels her heart ache, and she had to take a step back. So this would all be for nothing. Again, her mistake comes back and hits her in the face.

"Wait, Wait," Sam tries to bring back some sort of hope. "So, the same energy that's gonna be used to reactive this machine... could that energy somehow be used to reactivate Optimus and bring him back to life?"

The blonde's head snaps up, her eyes locked on her brother before looking at Jetfire. "Well? Can it?"

"It was never designed for that purpose, but it is an energy like no other." The large Autobot looks at Emilia, squinting his eyes. "You care for the Prime, don't you?"

"I want him back."

"Oh, what a poor little thing. Find the Matrix, before the Fallen does. Follow your mind, your map, your symbols. What you carved in the sand, that's your clue. When Dawn aligns with the Dagger's Tip, three kings will reveal the doorway. Find the doorway!" He ushers her back towards where Bumblebee has transformed into a car. "Go now!"

"Okay, Okay," she nods, hurrying to the drivers side.

"That was my mission. It's your mission now. Go, before the Decepticons find me or you. Save your Prime!"