The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 57

As the Ground Bridge opened up and we walked through, I spotted Ratchet and Elita-1, who stood in place with a nervous and hopeful energy.

But given my new form, it took them a bit to realize who I was.

So, I decided to take the initiative.

“Well, you look really different. Ratchet. Is it a new polishing solution? And you look bigger than I remember, Elita. I guess Moonracer no longer calls you the minicon of the group?”

Instantly, I saw the recognition and joy in their faces before I felt a powerful force hit me.

Looking down, I saw Elita holding me tightly, making me smile warmly.

After she and her team had defected to the Ascenticons back then, she was the first one to socialize with the rest of the Ascenticons, and as a result, she was the one that I was closest to within Team Elita.

It would be no exaggeration to say that I was her mentor in those days.

That is why it made sense that she would react like this the moment she saw me.

Not like she was the only one. Team Elita as a whole are very expressive bots, evident by how the others had dogpiled me the moment I was done dealing with the annoyance called Unicron.

Patting the femme’s shoulders, I could not help but chuckle.

“Alright, enough of that. I think your spark-mate will grow jealous if you continue like this.”

I gave an amused look towards Orion, who refused to meet my eyes.

“I guess I won that bet with Soundwave after all, huh? I knew you two would end up as a bonded pair.”

Elita gave me a light glare at those words and smacked me behind my knees, since that was the height she could reach, as I am now.

“Enough of that! Why do you insist on acting like a youngling when you are already so old?”

“Damn! Right in the spark! Elita! Why do you have to mention my age when I am still a youngling at my spark?”

“Yeah, yeah. I see that your time away has not done any favors for your sense of humor.”

This familiar banter, this familiar feeling of being surrounded by friends and family.

This is why I fought so hard to get back home. To get back to my people.

Turning away from her, I looked toward my old companions who were already standing in a line, their discipline subconsciously making them stand at attention.

Aside from Ratchet, who had a new body for some reason, Jetfire and Ironhide were no different from how they were back then. Even team Elita looked no different. The only exception was Orion, who looked stronger and taller than I remembered him being, which can be chalked up to his possession of the Matrix.

Ok, you know what? my new height is making it hard for me to make any proper eye contact with them.

Time to change it.

With a thought, my T-Cog activated, sending ripples across my body and downsizing it, allowing me to regain my former size.

The widening of the optics from the rest of the group did not go unnoticed by me, but I left that discussion for a later time.

But, before we could continue our discussion, I felt a tap from behind me, making me look at Windblade, who looked excitedly at the large group of bots.

With a nod, I moved aside and revealed the young femme to the group of Autobots.

“This is Windblade. She is acting as the ambassador for her home world of Caminus. Unofficially, she is my current student.”

“Hi!”

The way Ratchet facepalmed while Ironhide and Jetfire chuckled felt particularly offensive to me.

“Typical Maximus. Picking up students left, right, and center.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Ok! Enough of this shit! Just who the hell are these two!? And what is Megatron of all Cons doing back here again!?”

The cheerful mood in the chamber died an ugly death as the slightly fat human screamed at us from the platform nearby.

I felt anger surge within me at the way he made my friends suppress their happiness. It was only my experience that allowed me to control this feeling.

While it is true that I was once a human before my soul somehow found its way to Primus, that was eons ago.

Truth is, I stopped even thinking about my human life a long time ago, so much so that a lot of that life has faded from my memory.

To me, Cybertron is my home, and its inhabitants are my people.

That is why, I held nothing back when I glared down at the human who suddenly became silent at my glare.

“You have no right to question us in such a tone. Human. Just because my people are staying on your world as guests, you don’t get to take that tone with them, especially when they are my friends.”

Somehow, the man found his courage and glared back at me.

“Well, excuse me, but the Con that you have with you is-“

“I am well aware of who he is, what he has done, and what he has been up to on this planet. But it is not up to you humans to judge him for his crimes.”

“Well then, I hope you are ready to get evicted from our planet-“

“You do not get to decide if we stay on this planet or not. You and your superiors only have jurisdiction over your own territory, not on the planet as a whole. As such, you only have the authority to expel us from your country, which is fine with me because I am sure there are other countries out there that will easily accept us in exchange for an official diplomatic relationship between Cybertron, Caminus, Eukaris, Velocitron, and the Earth’s nations.”

That shut up the arrogant man who instantly fell silent, knowing that I was right.

I did not wish to cause this kind of tension, and neither did I truly wish to mess with the status quo of this planet, since they are not my problem. But I simply cannot stand some organic who can’t even comprehend a fraction of our lifespans, our experiences, our victories, and our tragedies, berating my family.

“…Whoa! Those were some serious threats. I love it!”

The tension was instantly shattered as three children ran out from somewhere behind the platform along with a middle-aged woman, making the man facepalm with exasperation.

…..I see. So he shared the same experience of wrangling a bunch of unruly younglings.

I would have extended my sympathies if not for the current situation.

The one who shouted out, the teenage girl, stared up at me with awe, while the teenage boy and the younger child stared at me and Megatron with caution. The older teenager, more so as I saw the subtle way he was keeping himself between the others and me.

Cautious yet open to new experiences. Traits to be appreciated indeed.

“Calm down, Agent Fowler. I can assure you that Megatron will not try anything as long as he is here. And, I believe introductions are in order.”

At Orion’s words, the man, Fowler, looked between me and Megatronus, who continued leaning against the wall silently while refusing to meet my eyes.

Something is seriously wrong with him, and it is not just the Dark Energon either, which I can already feel from him. The same feeling I felt from Primus’s core before it was purified with the help of the Allspark.

Once this reunion is over and it is time to get down to business, I will need to take a look at his systems myself.

Taking the cue from Orion, I let myself get back to my original size, towering over everyone and everything with my horns scraping the roof of this place.

Time to make a dramatic introduction and get some leverage over the natives for the sake of my people.

“I am Fortress Maximus. I held many titles in the past, but right now, I am acting in my capacity as the Knight of Cybertron, the highest ranking authority at the moment, equaled only by the original thirteen Primes, to represent my world.”

Windblade took my lead and introduced herself officially as well, putting aside her curiosity and playfulness and showing a seriousness that she very rarely reveals.

“And I am Windblade, the City-Speaker of Caminus, and representing my world as its official Diplomat.”

“Wait, Fortress Maximus? You changed your name again? And a Knight of Cybertron? You do know that the Tians will kill you for claiming that title without their approval, right?”

At Ratchet’s exasperated words, I just grinned at him and got back down to regular size.

“There were some serious circumstances and developments recently on Cybertron that led to my new name. And as for the title? Well, see for yourself.”

With that, I transmitted my Titan codes into the nearest terminal, allowing the old medic to take a look and recognize the code at a glance.

“Huh, so you did earn their blessing. That’s kind of strange. I thought those three were done blessing someone else after the disastrous attempt during the Quintesson War.”

“Trust me, I thought the same. But, again, there were some dangerous circumstances that forced mine and their hand, which led to this.”

“Can you guys stop getting distracted for a minute here? Please? I need to know what all of this means for us, and have you guys dealt with the Unicron problem yet?”

I turned to look at the woman who was looking between us and Megatron with a nervous look while also standing behind the children, ready to pull them away in case of any unexpected attack.

Given the similar facial features, age difference, and a few other factors that my optics could pick out, I am guessing she is the mother of the oldest teenager in the room.

Which reminds me.

I turned towards Orion and asked the question that has been bugging me since these humans revealed themselves.

“Orion, what are these human children doing here? And the civilian? Unlike this Fowler guy, who is clearly working for his government, the others have a clear digital presence that marks them as civilians, so why are they in such a place?”

“….There were some circumstances that led to this situation.”

“….Right. I’ll listen to that later. And, as for your question, Mrs. Darby.”

The way she went straight in shock as I spoke her name showed me that she did not expect me to know her, which was fair given how different our species are, not to mention my powers, which allowed me to scour the human internet in a matter of a few seconds at most.

I got down to her level, making eye contact as I spoke to convey my sincerity.

“Unicron will no longer be a problem for your people. That much, I can promise. I have imprisoned his spark within a container built specifically for him and threw the container into a Black Hole. The chances of his spark escaping from that container are near zero, and even if he escapes, I doubt he can escape the pull of a Black Hole. And even then, if by some freak accident, he does escape, there is another back-up plan in place that will absolutely annihilate him. So, I reiterate, Unicron is no longer a threat to Earth.”

The relief she felt was palpable as her body sagged as if a weight had been removed from her shoulders, while the younger girl was still busy staring at me with awe.

This young one is going to be a riot, I can just tell.

“Ahem! Right, so, Maximus was it? I think we should get back to the important topic at hand. As in, how did you conveniently show up at the exact moment of the main fight? How long are you going to stay on Earth? And how many others are you planning on bringing with you? Because I must warn you, Humanity is not ready to face the truth about your existence.”

“Hm. I do not have the right to speak about what is right and wrong for your people, so I will leave that to your judgment. However, as for your other questions, they will have to wait. At least until I get to establish a formal diplomatic channel with your leader and the leaders of the other nations of your planet. Unlike with many other organic and mechanical species I have established First Contact with in the past, your people have already reached a great technological level but are still divided amongst yourselves, which makes my previous experience useless in dealing with such a situation.”

And it is the truth. As someone who has roamed the universe, seeing all kinds of strange and exotic things and meeting various races across the cosmos, the situation with humanity is a new one, but one I should have expected, given how my own Earth was in my human life.

Most of the intelligent species, no matter organic or mechanical, almost always end up forming a global government body before they reach their industrial ages. While the governing structures change, ranging from democratic to authoritarian to monarchical and many other strange ways and forms, this is one truth that has remained constant during my travels.

But Humanity is the sole exception that I have encountered until now, where they have remained divided despite having long since passed their Industrial Age and having reached the threshold of a true Nuclear Age if the details about something called Project DINGUS were anything to go by.

This is why I think it will be a bit difficult to form a proper diplomatic relationship with them and get anything done meaningfully without descending into petty politics, something that Eukaris, and to a lesser extent, Caminus and Velocitron, will not appreciate.

Fowler grimaced at my words.

“I was afraid you would say that. I’ll be level with you, big guy. The other nations are unaware that we have actual aliens living on Earth till now. I mean, they know that your species exists thanks to the various anomalous artifacts found throughout our history, but they are unaware that you people still exist and are on Earth right now. Your very existence is a Top Secret that only a select few know about. And putting all this aside, the geo-political scene will go tits up if you reveal yourself to the other nations and their leaders like you plan to.”

“FOWLER!”

Fowler looked apologetically at Mrs. Darby for accidentally using foul language, but he still stared at me seriously.

You know, putting aside the bad first impression, I think this guy has a good head on his shoulders.

“Then, what do you suggest? Agent Fowler?”

“I think you should continue with the status quo and stay with Prime, help them fight the Decepticons, and secure our planet until we think they are ready to handle the news.”

“Sound logic, Agent Fowler, but there are many problems with that request.”

I stood taller and turned towards Megatronus, who flinched under my gaze, still refusing to look me in the eye.

“First things first. This pointless war between the Autobots and Decepticons ends now. Orion, as the leader of the Autobots, you will call for all your forces to gather in this star system and prepare for transport. The same goes for you, Megatronus. Once all of them are gathered-“

“Hold up! Who the hell made you in charge!? As long as I am concerned, I only answer to Optimus, not you.”

I turned towards the bot that called out as Jetfire knocked him over the head.

“Have some respect, Cliffjumper! That is Maximus-“

“And I don’t care! Like I said, I only follow Optimus and no one else.”

“….While I hate to add to the toxicity of the situation, my partner is right. We are Autobots, not the Ascenticons or whatever this bot used to lead. I chose to align myself with Optimus Prime, not some mythical figure who couldn’t be bothered to show up when his people needed him the most-“

“”””Enough!/Silence!””””

Even I felt surprised at how angry the collective shout was.

Elita was fuming and glaring with pure anger at the younger bots who faltered as a similar glare was being levelled at them by Jetfire, Ironhide, Ratchet, and even Optimus, which was probably the biggest blow to their confidence.

But the one that truly made them fearful was the baleful purple optics of my sparkling and the sneer that he sported on his faceplate.

Ok, there is definitely something wrong with him, given the sudden surge in the Dark Energon I can feel from him.

Is what Primus told me really true? Did this idiot really master Dark Energon but ended up with a fractured personality?

Shit! I need to do something about this once all of this is over.

“Alright, enough of this. I understand that you young bots do not want to follow my orders, but I at least expect you to follow your direct superior, Optimus Prime’s orders. But, I think we can leave that discussion for a later time when your tempers are not running as high.”

I turned away from the group and headed straight towards the exit, planning on scouting out the nearby area for a bit to let things cool down.

Hopefully, we can all discuss this more peacefully next time and keep our tempers from getting the best of us.