Carry The One

Orion Pax pt 1

The others ran over to us, the kids each saying hello to their respective bot.

Ratchet looked to me. "And Optimus? Is he..."

"Dead? No," Arcee stated flatly.

"But he looked right at us, not even recognizing us. Not even Cara..." Bulkhead muttered.

Ratchet turned to me thoughtfully. "Megatron called him Orion..." I muttered, still thinking it through myself. "If the matrix was bestowed upon him before he became Optimus... Maybe... Optimus left with the matrix..." I looked at Ratchet for confirmation.

"That's the most likely explanation," Ratchet agreed, shaking.

"So, how do I get him back?" I demanded Ratchet.

The bot turned to Jack, who was holding the small device in his hand.

~---~

"Hold on," June called out. "I'm not following."

Ratchet sighed. "With the power of the matrix no longer within him, it would stand to reason that Optimus has reverted to his pre - Prime state."

"The historical archivist, Orion Pax.." I mumbled, thinking back to the stories that I had been told.

"You mean in his mind," June finally understood.

"Are you trying to tell me that Prime thinks he's some kind of librarian? And a decepticon!?"

"Being a decepticon is a choice, Agent Fowler." Ratchet calmly responded. "One that I doubt Optimus would make at any point in his life."

"So if he's riding with the cons..." Bulkhead looked at Arcee.

"It's because Megatron's working some kind of voodoo." She stated next.

"And we need to get him out of there." I finished, looking at Ratchet deadly. "Orion Pax may not believe he is an autobot in his mind, but I will never believe that the bot I love would ever not be one in his spark."

"Getting a fix on his location must be our top priority," Ratchet agreed with me, looking me over thoughtfully.

"Hold up," Agent Fowler protested. "I have a chip lodged in my behind that let's Uncle Sam know when I stop for donuts. You're telling me you just can't track Prime?"

"Optimus' signal has not reappeared since he's left Earth's core," I pointed out, looking at the empty two signals of my bot and Megatron.

"But we must find him if we have any hope of initiating his contingency plan," Ratchet finished.

I looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"What contingency?" Bulkhead questioned.

"Is that even a word?" Miko growled next.

"The keycard," Jack held up the accursed thing, myself moving away from it. "So what's it do?"

"It grants access to Vector Sigma, the Repository of the wisdom of the Primes."

"Is that some sort of supercomputer?" Rad asked, his eyes brightening.

"So.. we can just download Optimus' memories back into him?" Jack smiled. "Great! Which one's the big V?"

"Vector Sigma is more than a supercomputer, Jack," Ratchet growled. "It is an ancient source of mystical power -- on Cybertron."

"Jackson Darby, you will not be traveling to another planet," June hollered the next moment, the bot's hopes shattering.

"I'll go!" Miko cheered.

"You're not either," she glared. "Not when one of you can," she glared at Ratchet.