Transformers: Age of Extinction rewrite

Chapter 9: Vision quest

We then cut to Optimus taking the ship's elevator down to the ship's corridors below with Sparkplug following him down, all the while Joyce and Sumdac spot Optimus hop off the elevator. Sumdac tries to rush towards the elevator saying "that's our ticket out of here!" only for Joyce to grab the back of his coat, telling Sumdac "absolutely not! Optimus Prime is the key to opening that door and revealing whatever secrets lie on the other side, I am NOT leaving this place empty-handed!" all the while the two are being spied on by Sparkplug with Wheeljack and Perceptor along with Chip and Elise shocked to see Joshua Joyce and Isaac Sumdac on the Underbase's computer screens. Lennox asks who the heck those two are, and Chip tells him "those two are from the KSI corporation, me and Elise used to work for them helping dismantle the corpses of dead Decepticon so that KSI can use their parts to create their own man-made transforming robots", Elise telling the commandos "that was until we found out KSI was also using Autobot corpses for spare parts as well without telling me or Chip which is why we quit". Cade tells Lennox that it's all true, the KSI corporation has been doing this in cooperation with Cemetery Wind behind closed doors for the past 10 years and they need to inform Director Fairborne so that she can put an end to their inhuman operations once and for all. however Lennox tells Cade not to, saying "That'll have to wait Yeager, Ms. Fairborne is still busy recovering from her injuries, she's already been through enough" only to hear a voice saying "Oh I'm very aware of what KSI has been doing behind closed doors" followed by our heroes human and Autobot alike turning their heads to see none other than Marissa Fairborne walking on crutches, Lennox asking how. Fairborne telling our heroes "I reviewed the footage Mr. Yeager here recorded on his little drone during his attempted corporate espionage of the KSI corporation. that was a very dangerous stunt you pulled Yeager, but the information you acquired will prove valuable to exposing KSI for their crimes once and for all" whipping out a memory card she got from Sparkplug before we cut back to Optimus coming across the engraved picture of the five dinobots, recognizing the five metal beasts from the vision he had earlier before reading the cybertronian glyphs which translate to "Knightship", Optimus recognizing it as the name as the vessel belonging to the Knights of Cybertron from old legend of which he read about in the Cybertron archives eons ago. Optimus places his hand on the wall followed by the picture of the five dinobots lighting up along with the rest of the ship, Joyce and Sumdac both in awe as the glowing blue circuitry patterns start to pulsate throughout the ship. Optimus turns his head to see the glowing circuity patterns pulsate in a certain direction and decides to follow the lights through the hallway to his left and decides to go that way while Joyce and Sumdac decide to follow him. however Optimus hear a familiar voice call out to him, shouting "OPTIMUS!" before Prime turns his head to see a zombified Ratchet, Optimus mortified upon seeing his dead friend standing in front of him. Optimus asks "Ratchet... but how? I thought you were..." only for Ratchet to interrupt by saying "dead? Indeed I am, all because of you". Optimus takes a step back, staring at the massive hole in where Ratchet's spark chamber used to be. Optimus is in denial, saying "no... that can't be true! you were killed by Lockdown and Cemetery Wind..." followed by Ratchet telling Prime "and you didn't bother to stop them! while you spent the past decade in stasis lock the rest of us were being hunted to extinction by those savages, all of this could have been prevented if you hadn't gone into hiding like a coward and actually did something about it. face it Prime, this is all your fault. you let us all die because you were too scared to die yourself!" followed by a zombified Blurr appearing before Optimus to tell him "AND you broke your own moral code by attempting to harm and kill humans countless times after your return in a desperate attempt at revenge because a decade of pent-up frustration over your own shortcomings has driven you to bloodlust!" in his usual fast-talk. zombified versions of Jazz, Cliffjumper, Jetfire, Ironhide, Mirage, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker surround Optimus backing him into a corner repeatedly chanting "you let us all die!" while Optimus gets down on his knees and repeatedly shouts "NO! NO! NO!" in denial all the while Joyce and Sumdac stare awkwardly at Optimus as he hallucinates. Sumdac asks Joyce what he's doing, and Joyce says "I think he's hallucinating" before we cut back to Optimus's hallucinations as he is continuously shunned by the zombified versions of his deceased comrades, only for none other than the "ghost" of Sentinel Prime to appear and make the zombified Autobots disappear with the wave of a hand. Optimus is shocked to see his deceased mentor stand before him, asking "Sentinel... but how? I watched you die in my arms" followed by Sentinel telling Optimus "none of this is real, it's all just a figment of your imagination, including myself. a hallucination caused by the trauma you've experienced, time has not been kind to you, my apprentice". Optimus tells Sentinel "Bumblebee was right, I failed to be the beacon of hope that my Autobots needed me to be in their time of need, for ten years I hid like a coward while my brothers were being slaughtered by the very humans we once considered our allies. I was... unable to uphold the prime legacy, the great leaders who came before me would be disappointed". Sumdac stares at Optimus talking to himself and whispers into Joyce's ear "I think the big truck-robot has a few screws loose, if you know what I mean". meanwhile Sentinel tells Optimus "that is not true. who was the prime who saved an entire planet from Decepticon invasion and took down Megatron once and for all? the caring, compassionate leader who valued the lives of his comrades above his own and treated them as equals? one who inspired faith in leadership? that was you, Optimus. I wasn't the great leader Cybertron needed me to be either, for I have made plenty of mistakes in my lifetime. I was the one who established the caste system that indirectly led to Megatron starting a rebellion forming the Decepticons which in turn led to the civil war that ravaged our planet, not to mention letting myself be blinded by desperation to see the restoration our home that drove me to form an alliance with the Decepticons which forced me to kill my own Autobot brothers and contribute to the enslavement of an entire species just so we could go home... just like you, I too brought shame to the legacy of the primes... until you proved me that I was wrong to betray my own kind and side with Megatron. failure can cause anyone to lose faith in oneself, but it can also be a great teacher..." Sentinel's words inspire Optimus to get back up, only for Prime to notice that Sentinel is gone, his restored confidence snapped him out of his hallucination before walking up to the door with the Knights of Cybertron logo on it before pressing his hand on a scanner that recognizes him as Optimus prime followed by the door opening revealing a circular room with five transformers in cryo-stasis pods surrounding a sword stuck in a pedestal in the middle, Joyce and Sumdac in awe with Joyce handing sumdac a luggage telling the poor scientist to help him ransack the place for whatever valuable alien technology they can find only for the two to be stopped in their tracks by Sparkplug, Joyce telling Sumdac they were being followed forcing both get back on the Elevator to escape. after that, we cut to the new KSI building in Hong Kong where we see the various KSI bots in their vehicle modes being unloaded from the cargo planes, including Nemesis Prime and Stinger who both stowed away in their vehicle modes. once all the KSI robots arrive at the vehicle hangar where all the robots are stored including the two stowaways, we then cut to the robotics lab where we see the severed Megatron head's eyes move to examine his new surroundings, followed by Megatron transferring his consciousness through the cable connected to the back of his severed head into the building's computer system now taking the form of a sentient computer virus allowing him to take over the entire facility trapping the poor Chinese KSI employees inside along with causing all the KSI robots to go AWOL and start attacking their human creators. one scientist then contacts Joyce to inform him that all the robots have gone rogue along with putting the entire Hong Kong KSI building on lockdown, telling Joshua Joyce that he and Isaac Sumdac need to come here Immediately it's an emergency before he is suddenly killed by one of the KSI drones. we then cut to Joyce getting the signal while on the elevator followed by the two arriving back on the surface with the two trekking through the Antarctic ice on their way back to the helicopter. after that, we cut to the Megatron virus taking control of the extendable robo-arms to 3D print himself a menacing new body, followed by a cable attaching to the back of the neck allowing Megatron's consciousness to transfer itself into the new body followed by the eyes opening and glowing a menacing bright red before we cut back to Optimus entering the circular room and touches the sword causing Optimus to close his optics and open them again to find himself inside the Astral plane standing in front of the spirit of the 13th prime who says "welcome Optimus, last of the primes". Optimus asks the mysterious prime who he is and how he knows his name, and the 13th prime responds by telling him "I am you, from a past life" followed by Optimus realizing that he is the 13th prime who's name was lost to history, of which Optimus is the reincarnation of. the 13th prime compliments Optimus on his knowledge, explaining to him that he was once the leader of the Knights of Cybertron, telling Optimus that he is not only the last prime, but he is also the last knight. the 13th prime then holds up the very sword Optimus touched in the Knightship, saying that this sword is none other than the Star Saber, a legendary weapon that can only be wielded by a noble prime who is worthy enough to wield it. this sword once belonged to me, I fought many battles with it. now it belongs to you". Optimus hesitates to take the sword and asks the 13th prime "but how do you know for certain if I am worthy? how can the star saber accept a prime who failed?" followed by the 13th prime telling Optimus "nonsense. failure doesn't define who we are, rather it shapes us to become better versions of ourselves. I didn't choose the sword, rather the sword chose me in spite of my own faults. likewise you didn't choose to inherit the matrix of leadership, the matrix chose you to be the next prime because Sentinel saw your potential as a great leader. I have faith in you, Optimus. you ARE worthy. now take the sword and fulfill your destiny". Optimus closes his eyes and grabs the handle before waking back up in the physical realm where he grips the sword's handle super-tight followed by a blue Aura surrounding Optimus healing him of all his wounds before reformatting him with a new upgraded body with knight-like armor similar to the 13th prime before finally pulling the sword out of its pedestal. however doing so awakens the five sleeping transformers who turn out to be none other than the dinobots, Optimus raising his sword in the air shouting "recognize one of your knights!" followed by four of the dinobots kneeling before their new master. but the fifth dinobot Grimlock refuses to bow, saying "me grimlock bow to no one, especially not stranger. you may have sword, but you must prove yourself as real knight of cybertron by besting me grimlock in combat!" followed by grimlock pulling out his trademark flaming sword. we then cut back to Megatron who rips the cable out of the back of his neck and lets out a loud roar getting the attention of Nemesis Prime and Stinger who transform into their robot modes, both recognizing the voice as the same one they've been hearing in their heads. Nemesis and Stinger burst through the wall of the vehicle hangar where they are shocked to see the newly-reborn Megatron followed by Jetstorm, Tankor, and an army of mass-produced vehicons arriving on the scene to kneel before their new master. Megatron then suddenly attacks Nemesis Prime and Stinger with his new broadsword, mistaking the two for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, however Nemesis locks swords with Megatron telling him to not mistake he and Stinger for those wretched Autobots, saying "I'm Nemesis Prime and he's Stinger, we were both made by the KSI corporation from parts of your original body, so you and us are like one and the same" introducing themselves to the Decepticon leader followed by the two human/transformer hybrids kneeling before Megatron who says "yes... I remember you now. good to see that you two have finally recognized your one true master. Decepticons, rise up! let the people of Earth know that we have returned!" followed by Jetstorm, Tankor, Nemesis Prime, Stinger, and the army of mass-produced vehicons crash through the Hong Kong KSI building and start rampaging through the streets of Hong Kong. we then cut back to Underbase where our heroes are watching a live news broadcast covering the KSI robot rampage in downtown Hong Kong, with Fairborne saying "this is bad". Tessa asks what the bots are doing in Hong Kong, saying that she thought KSI headquarters was in Mission City. Fairborne explains to her that when Optimus trashed their building in Mission City KSI decided to relocated all their assets to a new facility in Hong Kong in order to cover their tracks. Tessa then notices a robot in the footage resembling Megatron leading the charge and asks "is that... Megatron?" followed by Bumblebee telling Tessa "looks like it". Tessa then tells Bumblebee "that can't be... I thought he was dead!" Bumblebee tells her "he was dead, Optimus Prime made sure of that in the battle of Mission City 10 years ago. things have just gone from bad to worse". Cade asks how this is even possible, and Perceptor explains that during the past 10 years he and Wheeljack were held captive they were being used to program their robots using data extracted from the brain of Megatron's severed head to be converted into code. however he discovered that Megatron's consciousness still existed within said code allowing him to live on in the form of the sentient computer virus meaning ALL of KSI's robots are infected with the Megatron virus, including Nemesis Prime and Stinger. and it appears he was able to infect KSI's mainframe and build a new physical body for himself. Crosshairs cocks his guns, shouting "new body or not, he's still as ugly as he's always been" while Drift is busy meditating in the corner. Bulkhead then cracks his knuckles, saying "well what are we all standing around for? let's get out there and bash some heads!" followed by Bumblebee telling Bulkhead "without Optimus we'd be severely outnumbered. we have to wait for him to come back". Cade then tells Bumblebee "I hope he's okay, I owe a lot to Prime. without him Tessa and I wouldn't be here right now, but most importantly he also helped restore my faith in humanity. thanks to him I've gone from being an alcoholic hermit from Texas spending his days cooped up in the barn working on robots and drowning his sorrows to helping the Autobots save their kind from being hunted to near-extinction by Attinger and his cronies at Cemetery Wind, even helping me re-connect with my daughter along the way" which brings a tear to Tessa's eye. Cade then says "hurry Prime, we need you more than ever..." under his breath.