The Touch Part 25

"I finally found it. It took me over 10 cycles to finally find its location". Shockwave stared at the imposing Predacon insignia, a rare anticipation in his gaze. "The story goes that the Predacons were wiped out in the Great Cataclysm, and that their bodies disappeared without a trace, giving rise to the legend of a mystical or symbolic burial ground after their deaths."

Shockwave approached the door and used both hands to apply as much force as his own modified body could muster, only managing to slowly push open the heavily armored door. Though he didn't show it, it was obvious that his arms and legs were shaking more than expected from the effort, until he finally opened a passageway large enough for him to enter.

"A normal bot would never be able to open this door, only those with strength beyond the parameters possible for a normal Cybertronian, which only reinforces the idea that this must be where the bodies were stored." Shockwave looked into the room, surprised by its size, more than 30 kilometers to be exact, with large sarcophagi-like boxes, all containing images and shapes of dragons. "This place must have at least 2000 more Predacon sarcophagi, more than enough for me to unlock the secret of their genetic code. I'm curious how their genetic code allowed them to replicate the brute strength of a Prime, a challenge that could take me hundreds of years of study, but time is not an issue for me."

Shockwave looked at the wall and saw ancient cyberglyphs from the time of the Thirteen Primes themselves, something he himself had difficulty reading and translating. He saw the main message, which made it clear to which group these beasts belonged: In honor of the strongest and those who cannot join their brothers and sisters.

"Interesting, so there are more bodies hidden underground in Cybertron, but I don't care, the Predacons here are the strongest, their genetic code is the most valuable for my study. This place is great to become my main laboratory, with easy access to naturally pure Energon, I will be able to do my research at the highest quality." Shockwave began using night vision in his single eye, allowing him to survey the site at his own pace. "These cyberglyphs confirm my theory that the Great Cataclysm was not a random accident, but rather a deliberate event."

The cyberglyphs indicated that the Great Cataclysm was a devastating event that struck all of Cybertron, a star that exploded in a supernova that swallowed the entire planet where it would kill the entire Cybertronian race. The catastrophe of this magnitude was not a total disaster only because of the radioactive wave that ended up being strong enough to completely awaken the Allspark, which was responsible for creating a protective barrier seconds after the sun exploded, where an operation was later started to relocate the entire planet Cybertron to another solar system.

In the few seconds that Cybertron was exposed to the deadly radiation and temperature, the Predacons living in the mountains and forests were cruelly hit, leading to the extinction of the species, with 80% of the population having their bodies consumed until they turned into cosmic dust, and the remaining 20% having their bodies decayed, leaving only parts to be buried. A cataclysmic disaster planned by the Quintessons themselves to wipe out the majority of the Cybertronians in a single move, and thus win the war for good.

"The Quintessons have managed to create a weapon that can detonate a star, I would love to study them one day to unearth this technology for myself." Shockwave continued to read and observe the drawn images, seeing a specific image of the Allspark where it created the first Predacon or the first beast of Cybertron, Onyx Prime. "A term I was unfamiliar with, does that mean the Allspark has an awakened state? Like a mode that allows it to release more power than it normally would? Perhaps these records can reveal how it came to be."

Shockwave walked for a few hours, seeing several statues of dragons the size of which made him realize how impressive they were for simply existing, a race so powerful that it could even threaten the rule of the Thirteen Primes.

Shockwave's attention was drawn to a large statue of silver, impressively preserved for its age. He looked at the message left at the base of the statue, where the markings on the floor of this Predacon's sarcophagus were, along with his name. "May your roar be heard at the ends of the universe." He said, wiping the dust from his fingers. "Predaking."

Shockwave felt the satisfaction of finding the sarcophagus of Onyx Prime's right arm, recognized as the second most powerful dragon, the closest in power to the four most powerful of the Thirteen Primes, a virtual force of nature in all its glory.

"Predaking, even if I don't find the real prize here, the rest of your body will be useful to me." Shockwave said coldly, not bothering to belittle this dragon's resting place. "After all, this is a repository of powerful genes that will shape new cloned life."

Shockwave explored the cemetery, hoping to find the true reason for his quest, as well as new reserves of DNA to unravel. As he approached the center of the vast place, he saw the only golden sarcophagus he had ever seen in the place, bearing a famous and imposing name that all Cybertronians had once heard: Onyx Prime.

"So he was actually buried with his people. That makes it even easier for me." Shockwave looked closely at the sarcophagus to make sure it wasn't a trap. "Thank you Prima Prime, you have made my search easier, now all I have to do is get my hands on your late brother's most important power."

Shockwave was someone who was fascinated by the Triptych Mask, which gave Onyx Prime three powers separate from the natural powers he had thanks to being a Prime. Most importantly, as a scientist, he knew that having this relic in his possession would open up a new worldview, an unexplored realm of science.

It took him 12 to 18 hours to finally break into Onyx Prime's sarcophagus; indeed, it was tightly sealed, and not even the controlled cosmic rust could affect the metal protecting Prime's body. His chest rippled from the effort; even though he had modified his body as much as possible with his current technology, not even he had imagined that he would have so much trouble. 

Now his only eye clearly saw the large corpse of Onyx Prime, a large Transformer in his Predacon form, his head separated from his main body. As a scientist, he also knew medicine, so he was able to say what actually caused this decapitation of the legendary Prime. "His head was not separated from his body in a conventional way, but rather by brute force, something very strong tore off his head while still maintaining the Predacon form, but what on Cybertron could be capable of that?" He looked at Onyx's head and clearly saw the Triptych Mask, which was visibly damaged with some cracks, but that did not worry him, as he knew that the Relics of the Primes were not easily destroyed.

The moment he touched the relic, it glowed and covered him in a blinding light, forcing him to use his arm to cover his only eye. As he felt the light fade, it was impossible not to be surprised by what was around him, he was under a rock covered in flames in the middle of an electric storm of red lightning, the rocks scattered around him seemed to be orbiting the rock he was standing on.

"This is physically impossible, spatial teleportation? No, that's different." Shockwave looked down at his arms and noticed that his body was slightly transparent, as if he didn't have a physical body.

"A banished one? I didn't think anyone else would be banished to this dimension, so tell me, what did you do to get banished from the Allspark?" A mysterious voice, clearly male, said.

Shockwave turned around and saw a large staircase leading to a large throne in the midst of the supernatural storm. The creature's eyes were dark, with a black sclera and a purple pupil. Clearly a Cybertronian, with black and gray armor with light purple touches on the armor, he was over 15 meters tall, with an imposing physical appearance accompanied by an imposing aura.