Egypt.
The area surrounding the pyramid had been transformed into a sprawling complex of steel buildings—some constructed by the Transformers, others by KSI Corporation. The pyramid housing the Star Harvester was now encircled by black metal walls. At the center lay a bare void where shimmering magical energy occasionally flickered. Aidan had finally found the breakthrough he needed and begun the device's transformation.
A call interrupted his work. Checking the caller ID, he knew it had to be Joshua again.
"Dr. Snow, we've located Miss Viviane Wembly and Sir Edmund Burton, the 12th Earl of Folgan. They want to meet with you," Joshua's voice crackled through the communication device.
"Alright, send me their location. I'll go directly," Aidan replied. Soon, the address and photos appeared on his device. "Megatron," he called out to the air, "if Optimus Prime returns, tell him to wait for me." Aidan opened a portal and stepped through to an ancient castle.
Lush greenery surrounded the stone-walled castle in the English countryside. As Aidan materialized, an old tank sitting outside the gate suddenly lurched to life, attempting to transform. It fired a cannonball toward the lawn where Aidan stood, but perhaps due to age-worn optics, the shot went wildly off-target. An elderly man walking out with a small puppy jumped in surprise. "This is our guest! What's wrong with you?"
The tank began its transformation, but years of erosion had taken their toll. Parts of its body scattered across the ground with metallic clangs and pings. "Idiot!" the old man cursed helplessly.
Aidan suddenly appeared before him.
"My apologies," the old man said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He stepped forward to explain, dressed in a gray felt hat and black jacket with a tie—looking very much like a distinguished butler. "He thought it was World War I again. I am the Twelfth Earl of Folgan, Sir Edmund Burton. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sorcerer."
"Woof woof!" The puppy in his arms barked twice. "Seems he welcomes you too."
Aidan shook his hand. "Is there something you wanted to discuss?"
"Of course. I think we should go inside and talk," he said, gesturing toward the castle.
"Alright. Is Viviane here as well?"
"She's inside."
Aidan nodded, and as he passed the dilapidated tank, he reached out and knocked on it. "Listen here, scrap heap—no more random cannon fire, or you'll be dismantled."
After passing through the castle gate, they entered the living room. Wall-to-wall bookshelves filled with leather-bound volumes and aged parchment created an atmosphere of scholarly antiquity. A fireplace crackled against one wall, surrounded by luxurious antique carpets and bronze artifacts—a showcase of generations of family heritage.
"Oh, Mr. Magician, you've finally arrived," a robot with refined mannerisms approached curiously. Its green electronic eyes carefully studied Aidan. This was Cogman, the steward to successive heirs of Earl Folgan—a somewhat unhinged robot about human height, but with apparently formidable hidden power. He approached, wanting to analyze the human before him.
"Crack!" Aidan, watching the mechanical face draw near, struck it with a red energy whip. Cogman made no attempt to dodge and was sent flying into a bookshelf, causing an avalanche of falling books.
"Perhaps you should teach him some respect," Aidan said, turning to Sir Edmund.
"Sorry, he's a bit..." Before Edmund could finish, a mechanical voice interrupted from the window. "Oh, what fascinating magical energy. Hello sir, my name is Hot Rod." A mechanical body with a face resembling Bumblebee's, but with mantis-like features and black coloring, peered in through the second-floor window.
"I'm here mainly to find you," Hot Rod said. "We can chat later." Upon hearing it was Hot Rod, Aidan suddenly remembered something. If he recalled correctly, Hot Rod possessed time-stopping ammunition. Of course, it merely slowed time in a localized area, but for Aidan, it represented invaluable technology.
"No problem," Hot Rod replied cheerfully.
"Let's get straight to the point," Sir Edmund said, motioning for Aidan to sit on the sofa. As Aidan entered, he noticed a woman in a form-fitting blue dress seated behind the sofa. The dress's low neckline perfectly accentuated her figure. "This is Miss Viviane Wembly, the person you specifically requested to find," Edmund introduced.
"Very well, ask whatever you need to know," Aidan nodded politely, indicating they could begin. Viviane studied the young man before her curiously. She had witnessed Cogman being whipped away and initially thought the magician might be difficult to deal with. But observing him up close now, she found him surprisingly gentle.
"May I ask what you need the scepter for?" she inquired. She already knew his identity after Joshua and Edmund's explanations.
"Everything exists in balance; opposing forces must be separated..." Seeing their confused expressions, Aidan continued: "Those familiar with Quintessa, the creator, know that long ago she was at Earth's center, where Stonehenge was placed. There's an ignition device there, and the condition for activation is inserting the scepter. Quintessa will control Cybertron's decomposition, directing it toward Earth, then use the scepter to activate the ignition device. This will create a massive siphon-like structure between the two planets that will drain Unicron's life force from within Earth to restore Cybertron... Are you familiar with Unicron?"
"Yes, indeed," Burton confirmed. "The Queen made it very clear to me."
"The Quintessa Scepter was stolen by the Twelve Knights and given to Merlin. It's now in a Naval Museum on the bottom of the English Channel, and you are Merlin's descendant. Your genetic signature is recorded in the scepter. You can activate it."
"I assume since you found me, you've located the scepter," Viviane said.
"Correct," Aidan nodded. "But you still haven't told me what you'll do with the scepter," she pressed. She had found the approximate location in her father's study—inside a World War II-era submarine in the Naval Museum.
"I need to retrieve it immediately and travel to Cybertron to negotiate with Quintessa," Aidan explained.
"To absorb Unicron's life force and prevent his awakening?"
"That's essentially correct," Aidan confirmed. "The specifics depend on my negotiations with Quintessa. Don't worry—I'm not some madman seeking to destroy Earth and humanity."
"I understand that," Viviane nodded. Since the Transformers arrived on Earth, Aidan had single-handedly advanced human technology and enabled resistance against the invading Decepticons. He was the man who gave humanity hope, who changed their situation from helpless bystanders to active participants in the face of the Cybertronians.
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