"Okay, hold on." Miko said, "You mean something's living inside our planet?"
"I fear that the Earth's very core is not comprised of magma as your science has suggested, but of Dark Energon," Optimus revealed.
"And if we're hearing a spark," Pixel noted, "then Unicron is the rising darkness that the prophecy foretold,"
"So, how do we stop this thing from rising?" Lennox questioned.
Pixel shook her head. "That part wasn't foretold. Or at least the Allspark is being very quiet about it,"
"How can something be alive in our Earth's core?" Nurse Darby wondered.
"Such a thing is not unprecedented," Optimus claimed. "Before the beginning, there was Primus, and there was Unicron. One, the incarnation of creation...the other of destruction. For eons, Primus and Unicron battled...the balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the 13"
"The original Primes who preceded Optimus," Pixel added.
"Was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out? Primus became one with the very core of our planet, creating life through the well of Allsparks, while Unicron was never to be heard from again..."
"Until now," Pixel sighed.
"Maybe we can find the hole this Uber-'con left when he dug himself down there and fill it full of explosives," Agent Fowler suggested.
Pixel shook her head.
"Agent Fowler, I do not believe that Earth became Unicron's home but rather that with time and gravitational force, debris collected around the slumbering titan,"
"Forming your Earth itself," Ratchet said.
"Like that episode in Doctor Who!" Pixel realized.
"And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull created by the planetary alignment," Arcee said.
"Okay, well, what happens now when Unicron wakes up from his billion-year nap?" Jack asked.
"Yeah, does he stretch and kapow? Earth poufs to dust?" Miko questioned.
Nurse Darby looked between Pixel and the Autobots. "You don't know, do you?"
"I guess that Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it," Pixel explained.
"Nonetheless, we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens," Optimus declared. "The fate of your planet depends upon it,"
***
Pixel fidgeted from next to Lennox as Optimus went on his own to uncover answers to the disturbances.
"Ratchet, this epicenter is consistent with the findings of the others. Its terrain is rich in ore,"
"So, what does that tell us?" Agent Fowler wondered.
"It follows that the natural metals in your Earth would be extensions of Unicron. His limbs, if you will,"
"So, he did have his morning stretch," Nurse Darby noted. "Which is why these quakes happened,"
Pixel whimpered, a noise that went noticed by both Ratchet and Lennox.
"Optimus, I'm detecting a swell in Unicron's spark activity," Ratchet said as he looked over the data on the screen, the activity matching Pixel's reactions.
"Rest assured, Pixel, I will proceed with vigilance," Optimus said as he felt the terror within the girl's connection.
Pixel shook her head, pushed away from Lennox, and headed up for some air. Her hands scrunched up her hair as the voice of Unicron returned.
"Do you know me, follower of Primus?" Unicron asked.
"Unicron, the chaos-bringer," Optimus replied.
"Good. Now know me as Unicron, your destroyer!"
"I humbly request your ear, Lord Unicron,"
"What would a Prime be so compelled to say to me?"
"I make this appeal not for myself but for this planet you constitute and the beings who inhabit it. Humankind relies upon you for life and sustenance. Your resurrection will only destroy a species that evolved from the seeds of your greatness.
"So, this humankind of whom you speak, you consider them my progeny?"
"Indeed,"
"Parasites! They, too, shall know my wrathful hand...once I am finished with you!"
Pixel cried out in pain as she felt the electricity flow through Optimus.
"The line of Primes has grown weak in my absence. And thus, you shall fall,"
"That outcome is inevitable," Optimus admitted. "But not on this day!"
Pixel's eyes widened as she witnessed Optimus become surrounded by Unicron clones.
"Yes, disciple of Primus, on this very day. For Unicron may be one, but we all are Unicron!"
"Optimus!"