I never imagined I'd end up becoming a teacher—or, more specifically, a tour guide. And not just any guide, but for two giant alien robots. Or rather, at least for one of them.
We had been standing in the same spot of the forest for minutes, and as time passed, I answered Gaea's curious questions. Robotic life around us flowed naturally: metallic insects buzzed among the twisted branches of metal trees, small gear-driven rodents scurried through the bushes, and steel birds flew through the energon-charged sky.
From time to time, Airachnid spoke up, but her questions almost always revolved around human food, and it was obvious how anxious she was to try some delicacy once we left this place.
"So… many animals died because of the human plague," Gaea remarked, her voice tinged with both sadness and irritation, while her metallic eyes reflected an almost melancholic glow.
"Don't even get me started," I replied, folding my arms. "If I had known there was going to be a massive, uncontrolled hunt in this era, I'd have created an underground reserve or something like that somewhere." My mind wandered through the memories of extinct species; there were a few I really liked.
She narrowed her gaze, and it was obvious what she was thinking. "You only encourage me to want to rid this planet of humans."
"Today, there are organizations to protect endangered species," I shrugged with a tired little smile. "But let's be honest, there are some cases where evolution really screwed them over."
Gaea squinted at me in disapproval. "Nature is perfect. It makes no mistakes."
I let out a low, half-cynical laugh. "I'm pretty sure I could refute that statement, but I'm not in the mood to drag this debate on for another ten hours."
At that moment, Airachnid, impatient as ever, cut in. "Can't we leave already?"
I rolled my eyes, clearly exasperated. She was counting the seconds, probably daydreaming about cotton candy or some other treat. "Hang on a few more minutes," I said with a tone of impatience. "Why don't you go explore the forest? I'm sure you'll find something fun to do."
She huffed angrily, stomping away and disappearing among the trees, leaving me alone with Gaea.
"Do you have any idea the headache I have to endure every single day?" I muttered, looking at her with irony.
Gaea smiled faintly, her eyes glimmering with a mix of empathy and curiosity. "She seems rather complicated."
"Complicated doesn't even begin to cover it," I agreed. "She only follows her own rules. She's too rebellious to cooperate with most things, because it's just in her nature."
Gaea looked upward, noticing one of the metal birds perched in a nest made of metallic twigs, with a few Energon fruits stored away for future feeding.
She spoke again, now more serious. "Tell me, how much longer do you plan on staying on this planet?"
The question caught me off guard. I straightened my posture, trying to give a more sensible and convincing answer.
"As I am the Allspark," I began, my eyes fixed on my metallic arm that reflected the soft glow of the Energon fruits. "My greatest advantage in disguise was the very idea that no Cybertronian would ever suspect I had been on this planet all along."I paused, carefully weighing the next words."It won't be long before they discover I'm in human form. My time is limited. As much as a part of me longs to return to Cybertron, because it's my home… Earth is my home as well."
Gaea nodded, understanding just how delicate the situation had become.
"Optimus Prime told me much about the war and how it began. So I can see it's a conflict that might still take a long time to reach its end."
My gaze followed an Energon fruit as it slowly replenished itself, faint traces of energy flowing through that particular tree.
"Now that they know I'm on this planet, the war will probably accelerate."
Gaea, her arms crossed and her expression serene, tilted her head slightly, clearly intrigued. Her eyes shone with a curiosity almost childlike.
"Do you, by any chance, have a side to choose?"
The question hung in the air like a blade about to fall. I stared at the rocky ground before answering, measuring my words. My fingers touched a cold, rounded piece of stone there. Instinctively, I focused my energy.
The surface of the stone glowed with a bluish light, circuit lines spreading across it like living roots. Slowly, the stone reshaped itself, sprouting thin legs and a pair of translucent wings made of lightweight alloys.
The small machine, now resembling a ladybug, hummed softly and took off, disappearing among the metal branches of the forest. It darted between the steel leaves, its reflections dancing in the natural light.
I sighed, following the improvised creature with my eyes, before finally breaking the silence.
"If I were to choose a side, it would be wrong of me. Besides… I don't feel I have the right to decide the fate of Cybertron. I am merely a vessel. My purpose is to give life. The consequences and the path of Cybertron belong to its own people."
She arched an eyebrow, stepping a little closer.
"Why?"
"Because too much power in the hands of a single being is far too dangerous. It brings imbalance, destruction, and chaos to harmony. That's one of the reasons I constantly avoid using my powers and why I can't really choose a side per se."
A small smile touched Gaea's lips, as though trying to comfort me.
"But you seem to me like someone very aware of what you are capable of and of what you shouldn't do. To me it's quite clear that you are responsible in the way you handle your powers."
I shook my head with irony, gazing at the forest as though answering myself.
"I lost control of my powers for a moment, and—boom! You were born, and all this chaos began. So it's pretty clear that my powers are still unstable. Even though I have more control now." I show off my metallic arm as proof.
She studied me in silence for a moment, then replied gently.
"Even so… I can see that you care deeply."
"Yeah… I don't know… I don't really see myself as completely responsible, or the peak of wisdom. I just want to avoid trouble."
Gaea frowned, as if something had just dawned on her. Her voice came out more serious. "Then why does it seem like you're afraid?"
My reaction was immediate. I forced a smile, trying to disguise it. "Me? Afraid? Where'd you get that idea?"
She leaned forward slightly, her piercing eyes locked onto mine. "I get the feeling you avoid using your powers not only for ethical reasons—to avoid drawing attention, but because you're trying to keep away from something… or someone in particular."
My chest tightened. The silence between us grew heavy until I finally threw the question back at her, my tone both challenging and hesitant. "Like you?"
She smirked faintly, but her tone remained serious.
"We're connected. I can't read your mind, but I can sense it—you're afraid of something, and that's why, unconsciously, you never use the full extent of your abilities. What are you really afraid of? I don't believe it's just the idea of isolating yourself from the war."
I lowered my head. I had to admit—Gaea was good at reading the situation. I had let my guard down.
"Unicron."
The name hung in the air like poison. Gaea's eyes widened slightly, absorbing the weight of it.
"Optimus told me briefly about that being, but from the look in your eyes, he's far more dangerous than he seems."
I drew a deep breath, a shiver running down my spine.
"Unicron is the one thing in the universe that can kill the Allspark. If Unicron finds the Allspark, finds me, or if even the tiniest fraction of Dark Energon makes contact with me… it's basically game over."
Energon fruits hung heavy and radiant from the branches of the metallic trees, their pulsating glow cutting across Gaea's face with shifting blue lights. The faint buzzing of robotic insects and distant creatures echoed in the background, carried by the air thick with fresh Energon. Gaea studied me intently, her eyes reflecting the glow of the fruits as her voice came out calm, yet steeped in understanding.
"Interesting… so he is your weakness."
She seemed to grasp the gravity of what I had just revealed. Her gaze never wavered, firm against mine.
"Why fear this being? Isn't he dead?"
Those words echoed like a whisper through the steel forest, and at that instant, the sound of the metallic leaves in the wind seemed to intensify, as though the entire forest itself awaited my answer. I inhaled deeply, letting my eyes drift through the moss-covered branches glowing faintly and the bright, heavy fruits.
"Unicron cannot be defeated by sheer force. He is a cosmic entity in the truest sense of the word."
My voice came out low, weighted with grim memories.
"He is the embodiment of evil itself… and of chaos. The only reason this universe exists at all is because I created Primus—a being of pure energy with equivalent strength. But at the beginning of the war, Primus took more of a beating than a WWE fighter."
A bitter smile slipped from me before I sighed, feeling the weight of countless ages press down. In the distance, the distorted howl of a robotic wolf echoed, reverberating through the metallic trunks.
"For Primus to stand against Unicron, I had to replenish him with all my power countless times. Every corrupted surge was dispersed, and every renewed spark was returned with even greater force. Again and again, endlessly. The tide of the battle only shifted when the two of them shattered the barrier of space and time. That was when they opened the doors to other dimensions."
Gaea leaned forward slightly, her eyes wide with the story. Her voice came out in a curious whisper.
"What changed?"
I watched a robotic ladybug, the same one I had created moments earlier, land on a gleaming steel leaf.
"Exposure to dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of alternate dimensions… different radiations that even I can't document, let alone replicate. Those forces were absorbed by both. But Primus… Primus especially. Because of that absurd mix of radiation, he developed immunity to the powers of Dark Energon. That gave him a crucial advantage. But I, still confined to this universe, do not share that immunity."
The cyberformed forest seemed to hold its breath along with Gaea. She merely nodded, absorbed in the tale, her eyes reflecting the glow of the Energon fruit.
"Primus created a way to counterattack Unicron, and thus raised the battle to equal footing."
My eyes drifted for a brief moment, lost in the memory of the starlight back then.
"When the two finally returned to our dimension, their bodies were completely destroyed. So both decided to take on new forms to continue the fight. Unicron chose a more corporeal and energetic form. Primus chose something different, innovative — he became a planet. And so began the Era of the Primes."
A nostalgic smile escaped me, as I recalled the Primes, that group of fools who were quite entertaining before everything went wrong.
"I helped shape their bodies and energy. But the one who granted them the ability to resist Unicron was Primus himself. Each Prime with a specific gift. And the power of the Matrix of Leadership to illuminate the universe in darkness. Defeating Unicron, under those conditions, was a relatively easy task."
My expression darkened, the shadow of concern reclaiming me.
"But… as much as Unicron was defeated, he cannot be killed. And that is the problem. As much as I can generate energy to sustain the Primes' immunity to Unicron's power, I cannot generate my own immunity. I am vulnerable — even more so than a normal human would be if exposed to that energy, theoretically."
Gaea lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked back at me with seriousness, as if trying to see into my soul. "Then… what makes you so uneasy?" Her voice echoed, almost blending with the whisper of the wind. "Is it fear of death that haunts you?"
"No matter how hard I try to ignore it, sometimes that feeling… I believe that in my innermost dreams, or nightmares if you will, I sense that Unicron is not as far away as I'd like to believe. I have this strange impression that we are much closer to him than I can admit to myself."
The words came out almost like a confession. I let out a deep sigh, feeling the air around me heavy with Energon.
Gaea furrowed her brow, arms crossed before her body, her eyes glowing in the bluish light of her domain.
"Isn't that supposed to be impossible?"
I shook my head slowly, my gaze drifting now toward the massive Energon barrier that covered the forest. "No. Unfortunately, it isn't impossible. When Megatron attacked Airachnid and me… when he briefly captured me… I saw it in his eyes. I felt Unicron's power within him. So let me ask you this: how did he get a fragment of Unicron for himself? I have no idea. But part of me believes it can only mean one thing: Unicron is nearby. At the very least, within this galaxy. Where exactly — that's what troubles me."
"Occasionally, over the last 300,000 years, maybe it was just my imagination… but I always felt a faint heartbeat. A distant echo that, for some reason, reminded me of him. But… since I looked into Megatron's eyes, the feeling has changed. Now it's as if… as if I'm being watched. It's something I hate to admit — I haven't even told Airachnid. No matter how hard I try to act laid-back, arrogant… anything to disguise it."
I brought my hand to my face, giving light taps to my cheeks, trying to scatter the haze of thoughts. I shook my head, as if that could push away the weight of the memories.
"I'm sorry. This happens sometimes. My memories as the Allspark… and my memories as a human… sometimes they become stronger than they should. And they end up merging. To the point that my will and his become almost one. So unique, so intertwined… that I forget I'm just a vessel. Not him himself."
Gaea moved a little closer, her gaze softening as she tried to find words that could comfort me. The glow of an Energon fruit hanging above us lit her face with a delicate shine, almost gentle for a being as colossal as her.
"You shouldn't feel that way. You've been with it for 300,000 years, from what you've said yourself. So, you have every right to call yourself the Allspark."
I let out a faint laugh, more from nervousness than genuine humor.
"Sometimes it's funny… and at the same time ironic. I'm just a human being carrying the Allspark within me. But often, I end up telling myself that I am the Allspark. And that becomes a constant headache, because I can never truly know if I'm me… a human… or a pure power entity trapped inside a human shell."
"An interesting dilemma, my creator."
She crouched slowly, bringing herself closer to my height. Her voice sounded light, almost affectionate—or as much as it could be.
"But you shouldn't question your undeniable worth."
I lifted a hand, almost like a gesture of request, and smiled, trying to ease the atmosphere.
"Call me Lux. You don't need to keep calling me Creator. We're friends."
She tilted her head, as if pondering the thought, her eyes glowing with curiosity.
"Friends?"
I nodded, taking a deep breath, letting my exhaustion from the day show through. "Of course. We've been talking for two hours. We're friends, no doubt about it."
"Were you like this with Primus?" she asked, simply, but the question stirred a pang of melancholy in my chest.
"Yes. Primus is a good friend. In fact… my best friend." I sighed. "This planet… this place is my home now, but I know I must return to my true home. Rebuild what was lost."
Gaea seemed to reflect on my words. Then, with a tone almost innocent, she asked something that caught me off guard.
"What do you miss the most?"
I smiled, surprised, and shook my head as the memory amused me deeply.
"Amalgamous Prime's pranks. That guy knew how to have fun… hahaha." I couldn't hold back my laughter. "I'll never forget the day he and Megatronus pulled a prank that made Prima lose the Star Saber to the Predacons."
I placed a hand on my stomach, laughing harder at the recollection.
"Good times…"
Gaea also smiled faintly, touched by my nostalgia.
"I would like to hear those stories," she said softly, but her gaze shifted past me, attentive to something else. "But I believe the time for our meeting is over."
I followed her gaze—and I saw it. Emerging from the metallic trees came Airachnid, stepping heavily, covered in glowing moss that made her body shine in an almost ridiculous way. The contrast between the moss's glow and her tired features was almost comical.
"I'm done with this place," she muttered, exhausted, with the tone of someone who had run out of patience for the environment.
"Well, that's that then."
I stood up, brushing the dirt off my hands and clothes. I stretched my body, feeling once more the charged air of the Energon. Looking at Gaea, I gave her a faint smile.
"Gaea, can you hold back your impulses not to wipe out humanity?"
She raised the corner of her lips in a near-mocking smile, though her eyes held a sincere glimmer.
"I'll make an extra effort."
I nodded, satisfied with her answer. Then I turned to Airachnid, who was already glancing around with a face of pure boredom.
"Let's get out of here."
Airachnid let out a loud huff, tossing her hair back in irritation. The soft glow of the moss clinging to her shoulders flickered in shades of green, a clear sign she had probably stumbled into some pit.
"Finally! I can't take this anymore," she complained, pure exhaustion in her tone.
I was about ready to leave when something made me stop. A detail crossed my mind.
With a swift motion, I opened my backpack and took out the artifact I carried. In my hands, it transformed, the metallic structure stretching, reshaping, until it took the form of a spear.
"Take this, Gaea. Consider it a symbol of our friendship," I declared, tossing the weapon into the air toward her.
The spear expanded mid-flight, growing with precision until it reached a proportion fit for Gaea's size. She caught it effortlessly, giving it a slight spin before planting its base firmly into the ground.
The gentle thud of the shaft against the soil made small sprouts bloom around it, as if nature itself were responding to the gesture.
"Thank you, Lux," Gaea said with reverence, bowing her head slightly in respect to her creator.