Galamy, Egypt.
With a ripple in space, several figures abruptly materialized in the sky above the desolate desert.
"AAAH!!"
Skids and Mudflap spun three hundred and sixty degrees before slamming into a sand dune, kicking up two massive clouds of dust.
"Horrible experience. I feel like my processor has been turned into mush."
"You're wrong, Skids. It wasn't that bad. I actually kind of want to do it again."
The twins looked like they were drunk, lying motionless on the ground. The others, having survived the spatial bridge Jetfire opened by hand, weren't faring much better. Everyone had taken a face full of sand upon landing, though fortunately, the height was low enough that no one was seriously injured.
Thud—
Jetfire rubbed a large rock beneath his hip and grumbled as he stood up. "Sizzle... that hurts. I misjudged this planet; it's not just dirt."
"My God! Where the hell are we?" Simmons held his head in his hands, looking around in a total daze. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but desert and stones. Not a building in sight, let alone a person.
Near Simmons, Leo blearily opened his eyes. Seeing Mikaela sprawled across his stomach, he let out a gasp: "Oh, heavens! What a perfect moment, but you're lying on the wrong place. Please move."
"Shut up!" Mikaela quickly covered Leo's mouth, then stood up and called out: "Sam!"
"Hey! Mikaela, I'm over here!"
"It's Simmons! Is everyone okay?"
"I'm fine..." Leo clutched his stomach and stood up shakily with his legs crossed. "But where is this?"
"According to the navigation..." Simmons pulled a device from his pocket and shook it. "We seem to be not far from the Red Sea, within the borders of Egypt."
"How did we get here all of a sudden? You could have given us a little psychological prep time!"
"I don't know, so I need you guys to come over here. Let's ask that Jetfire fellow together."
Soon, the group gathered around Jetfire, who was sitting regally on a large boulder.
"That stunt could have actually killed people. You're lucky, you know?" Simmons started. "We weren't hurt, but if we—"
"Shut up!" Jetfire interrupted irritably. "I told you, I was bridging time and space! I told you to close your eyes! It's the fastest way to get here!"
"What are you talking about? You didn't tell us anything!" Sam demanded, holding Wheelie. "And why the hell did we come to Egypt?" He felt this Decepticon was insane to bring them to such a wasteland when time was of the essence.
"You dare be so impolite to me, you little punk!" Jetfire leaned on his cane and stood up, pointing at Sam. "Give me a moment to tell you." He intended to reveal some ancient secrets to these tiny beings.
With eyes reflecting distant memories, Jetfire began: "We visited this planet once before. The Primes came here millions of years ago, and one of them was The Fallen."
"Whoa," Leo whispered, impressed. "Millions of years... you guys really live a long time."
"Their mission was to replenish the AllSpark's energy to ensure the survival of our race."
"Like Energon cubes?" Sam asked, remembering something Bumblebee had mentioned.
"No, something far beyond Energon cubes. Though Energon is important—it's the necessity for our maintenance. Without it, our chassis rusts, oxidizes, and rots, just as I am now..." Jetfire tapped his chest.
Clang—
A piece of metal resembling a plane wing fell off immediately.
"Old timer, could you stop getting sidetracked?" Simmons glanced at the unidentified part that nearly crushed him. "Just give us the simple version from beginning to end. We don't have time for a Cybertronian history lesson."
"You're right..." Jetfire nodded, turning to gaze toward the horizon. "Somewhere in this country, The Fallen built a massive machine to harvest energy by destroying a star."
"Destroying a star? How? Like, blowing up the Sun?"
"Yes, exactly that kind of destruction. Firing a beam of light into the Sun..." Jetfire leaned down and gestured. "And then... Boom! You humans cease to exist."
"Whoa!" Sam and the others recoiled, looking at each other in shock.
"However, to activate that machine, one needs a key. We call it the Matrix of Leadership."
"Where is the key?" Mikaela asked.
"I don't know," Jetfire sighed. "The Matrix was hidden. Six Primes sacrificed their lives to seal it away, hidden within a tomb formed by their own remains. As of now, no one knows where that tomb is..." Jetfire spoke with absolute certainty, as if he had witnessed the scene personally.
"The Fallen knows the location of the machine. If he finds that tomb, everything ends."
"How do we stop him?"
"Only a Prime can defeat The Fallen. But there are no Primes left."
"What about Optimus?"
"Is he a Prime?" Jetfire leaned his head over Sam's, thinking deeply. "Let me see... let me see... I remember! Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. He is a Leader-class warrior; I saw him during the Civil War. Is he on this planet?"
Sam pursed his lips, falling silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No. He's gone. He sacrificed himself to save me."
"He's dead?" Jetfire turned disappointed. "Without a Prime, it is impossible. Besides, Optimus was only a Leader-class." Even if The Fallen hadn't fully recovered, he wasn't someone a standard Leader-class could handle. "Now, there is only one way."
"What way?" Simmons asked urgently. When it came to saving the world, the three youths were reactive, but he was proactive.
"Find the Matrix of Leadership and destroy it!" Jetfire stated decisively. "Without the key, The Fallen cannot start the machine. At least your planet won't be destroyed immediately."
"But how do we find it? Are you taking us?"
"Me?" Jetfire looked down at his crumbling body. "You think it's appropriate for an old man to go running around with you? I'm too old. This task must be completed by you alone."
"Then how do we search for it?"
"Use your brain!" Jetfire roared at Sam. "Use the symbols in your head! The things you drew on the ground are clues. Those symbols form a sentence: When the morning light shines on the Tip of the Dagger, three kings shall open the entrance. That entrance is likely the door to the tomb where the Matrix is buried."
Jetfire looked at the four humans solemnly. "Once, that was my mission. Now, it is yours. Go! Find that entrance before the Decepticons catch you!"
While Jetfire explained the clues to Sam, less than a hundred kilometers away in Mojsa...
Beneath a massive, unexcavated pyramid, several Decepticons stood quietly. Further out, dozens of Decepticons of varying sizes patrolled the perimeter. Gazing at the pyramid, The Fallen's eyes turned murderous. He commanded:
"Decepticons, tear it down!"
"Yes, Lord Fallen." Onslaught immediately responded. With a wave of his hand, the Constructicon clones transformed into various engineering vehicles and roared toward the pyramid. When it came to destruction, the Constructicons were even more skilled than they were at construction.
Blackarachnia watched the scene, then stole a glance at The Fallen while sending out a quantum-encrypted transmission. As an Elite-class and a Commander-class respectively, Onslaught and Blackarachnia stood at the top of this group of Decepticons.
The Fallen was still unaware that a certain "old subordinate" had arrived in the country. He watched the Star Harvester slowly being exposed, a permanent sneer on his lips. Once he caught the boy and found the Matrix, he could finally fulfill the obsession he had held for tens of thousands of years!
Just as the top half of the pyramid was completely removed, revealing the giant, bizarre device, a Cybertronian jet flew overhead.
"My Master, I have returned." Megatron landed near The Fallen, ignoring the massive boulders tumbling down around him.
"Where is the human boy?"
"Master, he is in hiding. But I have Skygnaw monitoring human movements and the country where the boy is located."
"Damned humans!" The Fallen cursed, his expression turning feral. Revenge was right before him, yet he was stalled by the final step. "My apprentice, go. Have the Decepticons mobilize. Teach the humans a lesson. Tell them if they do not surrender the boy immediately, we shall launch a formal war!"
"Leave it to me, my Master."
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