The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 28

Navitas watched through the various camera suites within his brain module chamber. Amusement filled his mind as the young femme groaned and held her faceplate in her arms.

“So, let me get this straight. You knew an ancient Cybertronian femme called Leviathan. Someone that you considered a student of yours.”

“That is correct. Although the feeling might not have been mutual, since I never really asked her opinion on it. That aside, yes, I did teach her everything I knew.”

Windblade turned towards Maximus, who was leaning on the wall, lost in his thoughts.

She did her best to soften her tone and spoke slowly, as if afraid that her question might set off the ancient Cybertronian.

“Is she the same Leviathan that you told me about?”

“Yes. Given the information that Navitas knows, information that no one but Leviathan and I are supposed to know, it has to be her.”

Windblade groaned again.

“Somehow, it feels like you know everybody important in the galaxy, Maximus.”

“……..You exaggerate, but I see your point. Speaking of.”

Maximus looked at Navitas seriously.

“How did you manage to talk with Leviathan when you and the rest of the Titans were busy helping Cybertron rebuild before the Golden Age? I visited her all the time, but she never mentioned anything about being in contact with you.”

“During the Quintesson war, I blessed her spark with my code, just like Metrotitan did with yours. With this bond, I could communicate with her no matter where she was on the planet.”

“That is how I stayed in touch with her despite my active help in rebuilding Protohex on the other side of Cybertron. It was also how I know so much about you, Armorbite.”

Navitas chuckled as he reminisced about times long past.

“Leviathan would not stop talking about you every time we talked. She even showed me many video feeds and images through our link of your reckless actions in those days, and your careless attitude. It is the reason why I am glad to see that you have matured considerably.”

Maximus could not help but smile wryly as Navitas spoke.

“…..That is so like her, but why keep it a secret from me?”

Navitas could not help but feel sympathy for the tired bot. He understood the heartache he must be feeling, knowing that his closest friend had kept a secret like this from him.

Unfortunately, the old titan could not reveal the reason why Leviathan kept this secret from him, for she had made the titan promise her not to reveal it to anyone, not even Armorbite, or as he is now called, Maximus.

“I do not know.”

“I see.”

Maximus clearly saw through the lies of the titan, but could do nothing about it.

He had long since come to terms with the death of his closest friend, and despite this sudden reveal that she had kept secrets from him, secrets that she probably asked this titan not to share, knowing her personality, he would never think any less of her.

He believed that she must have had good reasons for keeping this secret, and he would not tarnish her memory with doubt and paranoia.

With a deep breath, he let go of that train of thought and looked towards Navitas.

“So? Why did you call me here anyway?”

Once again, Navitas felt amusement as he tried to compare this old bot with the one in his memories.

That arrogance, that recklessness, and that lack of ambition that he was known for in those days, traits that caused no small amount of worry for Leviathan when she was alive, were long gone.

In their place was the steady patience of a seasoned politician, the readiness of a proper warrior, the keen mind of a strategist, and a will so powerful that even an Artifact of the Primes could not help but acknowledge it.

‘Truly, you have grown so much. She would have been so proud and relieved to see you like this.’

Pulling his thoughts back to reality, Navitas became serious as he came back to the matter at hand.

“You, Maximus, have done us a great boon by bringing back our kin from those pirates and restoring our Planet to its rightful orbit.”

“For such service, it is only natural that the people of Velocitron reward you.”

“More than that, it is my obligation to provide an appropriate reward for saving my children and protecting them when I could not do so.”

Maximus gave a firm gaze towards Navitas’s brain module and shook his head.

“I did not do all of this for Velocitron, their people, or you. I did this for my own, selfish reasons, so I do not feel like you owe me anything-“

“Hush now, child. I know that I am not all that high when it comes to my position within the rankings of my Kin, but I am still a Titan, someone that only answers to the Primes and Primus himself.”

“That means that when I wish to give you a reward, you will accept it as is our tradition.”

If the titan could transform back into his humanoid form, he would have given a gleeful grin to the grumpy bot as he spoke his next words.

“If you wish to free yourself from such traditions, then become a Prime and rise in our social structure-“

“No thanks. I’d rather become one with Primus than become a Prime.”

“….HAHAHA! How amusing.”

The roaring laugh of the titan rang out in the chamber, making Maximus look annoyed as Windblade silently watched the two bicker like old timers, as was expected since, from her perspective, these two were practically ancient and were the elders of her race.

“Anyways, come to my brain module. You too, child of Caminus. I will need you two to connect your sparks with mine.”

“Why?”

Windblade lost her amusement at the Titan who spoke those words. The traumatic experience that her friend experienced at Emissary’s hands is still fresh in her mind.

“Fear not, child. I hold no ill will towards the two of you. I just wish to bestow you two with a gift.”

“No offence, but our trust in the titans is at an all-time low after our run-in with a certain one amongst your ranks.”

“Hm? That so? Then, how shall I convince you two that I hold no ill will?”

“Swear to Primus that you will not cause us any harm.”

“Going straight for the strongest contingency? Very well.”

“I, Navitas, companion of Amalgamous Prime, child of Primus, first generation Titan, hereby swear upon Primus that I will not harm the young city speaker known as Windblade, the child of Caminus, and the bot known as Maximus, child of the Three, in any way shape of form.”

“Is that enough for you? Young one?”

Windblade lightened up considerably at those words and nodded enthusiastically, while Maximus gave a reluctant nod as well.

For older bots of Maximus’s generation and those that came before him, an oath to Primus is a sacred thing. One that is not spoken carelessly and never broken, no matter what the condition.

Breaking an oath to Primus is seen as heretical on Cybertron and heavily frowned upon, especially by the older generations, the Primes, and the Titans. That is why Maximus and Windblade had no choice but to trust the titan when he spoke such a serious oath without a second thought.

Of course, Maximus was no fool and already had a contingency plan in place should this titan try to pull the same thing that Emissary did, but still, he wished to give this titan a chance to prove himself trustworthy.

The moment the two bots placed their palms on the brain module, two tendrils of nanites breached into their systems, connecting them directly to Navitas’s spark.

And then, all they knew was darkness.