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Summary: The Quintessons, desperate to rebuild their empire, attempt to forge an alliance with the Decepticons on Earth by giving them a Matrix of Leadership of their own.

Author's Note: This story takes place in current IDW continuity following the events of Transformers #44. Be advised there are spoilers for recent issues of the Transformers ongoing and the Combiner Wars event. This is in continuity with my earlier works Forging the Star and False Flags, and concludes that particular story arc.



Prologue


The flow of time through the universe is not merely the inevitable result of the existence of matter, of physics, and biology: it is a fundamental force of nature that helps maintain the very fabric of reality. Accelerating or slowing the flow of time tears the seams. Traveling through time rips the fabric in twain.

The Decepticon Shockwave sought to alter the nature of the universe by seeding the galaxy with fourteen Energon ores, the first of which would grant him mastery over time. In drawing the energy of that ore to his fortified position on Cybertron, he began to unmake the very fabric of reality out of his desire to create an endless, eternal home for his species; the only place in the universe where time would flow. Before the process could be completed, Shockwave was destroyed, and the energy drawn from his time ore reverted. The seams were torn, but not beyond repair.

Then the scientist Brainstorm used an invention to jump through time, further straining an already damaged fabric. The burden increased when another set of time travelers followed him, using a quantum duplicate of Brainstorm’s time travel device. The burden was nearly too much to bear, as time ceased to flow in every point of the universe but one once again.

And then the fabric was finally torn, when the meddling with the timeline by a Cybertronian’s displaced quantum duplicate led to the creation of a second autonomous timeline*. What had once been a separate, autonomous reality was now conjoined to a universal stream, where a new parallel quantum state had been established opposite it.

Two realities aligned with each other, divided by a single moment in history where Megatron, the future leader of the Decepticon uprising, was killed by a quantum duplicate from a future that would never happen.

And when Brainstorm and his pursuers ultimately returned to their own intended timeline- another interloper sought to return to the past by manipulating the fabric of time.

In a very different universal stream, a former Decepticon turned mercenary known as Lockdown excavated a relic of the Primes, a powerful device of unknown, unspecified origin called the Dark Spark. Using the powers of the relic and a mixture of human and Cybertronian technology, Lockdown created a “time bridge” to jump through space and time, to rescue a deceased Megatron and re-start the Cybertronian civil war for his own ends. The Autobots defeated Lockdown and his mercenary forces, and the Matrix of Leadership repelled the Dark Spark, forcing the relic through the time bridge without its master, flinging the shard through space and time and out of the evil hands that sought to wield it**.

And the Dark Spark traveled through space and time, right into the seam forged by the creation of two parallel timelines, and into the sole place in the universe where time and space continued to move. Still accelerated by the energies of the Matrix of Leadership, the Dark Spark sailed through the darkness of space, towards an insignificant blue planet, towards the very same essence that had propelled it forth…

-

Gobi Desert, Earth, shortly after the Autobots’ Earthfall and battles with the EDC/Decepticon Alliance

Optimus Prime had scanned his earth vehicle mode long before his arrival, using a similar model of automobile as his previous foray to the planet. He had not intended to stay very long, but circumstances had changed. Though he felt the form handled well, the current terrain was making him curse his choice. He’d had to switch back to robot mode to continue surveying the area, and his every step sank deep into the sand beneath his feet. It was a slow, trudging walk, and there was so much arid terrain to cover.

His scanners had detected a few subterranean energon deposits, but what levels he could detect were so far below ground mining would require resources they couldn’t spare and leave them exposed to both the elements and the instant transportation of Decepticon and EDC forces.

“Come in Cosmos,” Prime radioed to his ally in the upper atmosphere. “I’m pulling out from this sector. Send the drop order to Sky Lynx to rendezvous at my coordinates.”

“Understood, boss,” Cosmos replied. “Need any backup?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Optimus replied. “After our last visit to the surface, I won’t risk anyone else in a ground party.”

“Prowl’s been pushing pretty hard-“

“A single scout shouldn’t provoke a response; a landing party will,” Optimus interceded, speaking firmly. “I’ve approved Prowl’s plan to send you scouting to the EDC headquarters on Bikini Atoll; I will not authorize any additional incursions to the surface.”

“If we can’t find a suitable energon location for a refueling station, we may not be making many trips down at all,” Cosmos pointed out.

“Relay my message to Sky Lynx,” Optimus Prime instructed clearly. “We’ll discuss your… stealth mission after I complete my report on this survey.”

“Understood, Prime.”

Prowl was undermining Optimus once again. Cosmos had been personally recruited by Prowl to join Prime’s expeditionary force, and had already shown his willingness to follow Prowl when he ventured outside the chain of command…

But Cosmos and his loyalty was low on Prime’s list of priorities. First, he needed to find a suitable place on the planet to establish a beachhead and re-supply point. Then he’d need to discern what information the humans gained from Alpha Trion while his mentor recovered. Then, there were the Decepticons- while Prime had no desire to resume another protracted conflict, he knew Galvatron and Soundwave would never stop in pursuing their own mad ambitions, and they were surrounded by the most hardline warmongers of the Decepticon force. Then there were the humans and the Cybertronian technology they’d gathered, possibly reverse engineered. So much to be done before he could put his own house in order, and find out why his old friend now routinely plotted around him.

“I thought this day would never come,” Prime mused to himself… once he was sure Cosmos was out of communications range and he’d have time to himself while he waited for Sky Lynx’s pickup.

Prime turned his attention from the sand beneath his feet and towards the few rocks and mountains near him, hoping his scanners would find some cavern or ravine where they might access the energon veins beneath the sand…

…and saw a burst of purple light sail through the sky, descending through the air towards the desert out in front of him.

Prime instantly turned his attention to it and tried to lock his scanners on, but it was moving too fast and was quickly out of his reach. Prime switched back to vehicle mode and moved to pursue, even as the sand uncomfortably rose up past his tires and into his circuitry.

It could’ve been nothing more than a meteor, but Prime felt drawn to it. He felt the need to pursue it… and stranger still, a fear of it. Prime had felt fear often enough, but he rarely felt fear of a shooting star. Whatever this was, there was more to it than met the eye.


High above him, perched on the small rock hill, the Decepticon spy Buzzsaw observed the Prime finally accelerate. Curious, Buzzsaw scanned the area and briefly glimpsed the meteor Prime was apparently pursuing him.

“Soundwave,” Buzzsaw commed in, speaking in little more than a whisper, which to his master was as clear as a shout, “The Prime is on the move. He’s been distracted by a meteor.”

“Has he detected our monitor buoy?” Soundwave asked.

“Unlikely,” Buzzsaw replied. “I think he was after the energon vein. Now he’s just welcoming the distraction.”

“Do not make assumptions,” Soundwave commanded. “The Prime may have once been predictable, but he is capable of anything now.”

“I still think you should’ve sent Beak,” Buzzsaw snapped. “I want to engage.”

“It is precisely because you want to indulge in combat I sent you,” Soundwave answered. “I want eyes on the Prime every time he’s on the surface. You would not retreat in the face of our greatest enemies. Laserbeak… might.”

“I appreciate the confidence,” Buzzsaw allowed. “Very well. I’ll stay on him… and try not to take a potshot at such a vulnerable back.”

“Buzzsaw… if he finds the buoy, call for exfiltration immediately,” Soundwave instructed. “I know your temperament. This is a reconnaissance mission only. I will give you an Autobot spark to feast on another day.”

“Soon, Soundwave,” Buzzsaw answered.

“Soon, my friend.”

Buzzsaw sneered and moved to follow the Prime, optics on his tender back.

-

Dzungaria Basin, not far away


Their pursuit of the alleged “Mongolian Death Worm” had been fruitless. The only beasts that inhabited this cold desert had all been accounted for: camels, insects, a scant few reptiles. Phaedrus had insisted on attempting to use the Emberstone on a more basic and primitive life form instead, after his attempts to cyberform larger and more powerful animals had failed, with the integration of technology almost immediately killing each of Earth’s life forms… or left them in excruciating pain from the invasive cybernetics prior to a prolonged death. So the Quintesson scientist sought a simpler life form to attempt the process upon.

His steward, Indignious, turned his attention from their Nihilicon forces, loading some of the energon ore they had reached into their shuttle. “It’s a fool’s errand, Doctor.”

“Confirming a hypothesis is never the act of a fool,” Phaedrus replied. “I must show results to the Triumvirate, and our position is more precarious than ever. Both the Autobots and Decepticons have come to our primary fuel source, and I’ve yet to raise the army our masters have demanded of me.”

The grip of his tendril tightened around the Emberstone, claimed from a deep crypt beneath the dead surface of Arduria. “None of my efforts have succeeded in forging our minions, and my army of Nihilicons has been halved. Our efforts to distract the Cybertronians and the Galactic Council have failed.*** Our time is running out.”

“You fear they will judge you,” Indignious observed.

“As should you,” Phaedrus snapped. “My failure is the failure of our entire species. When my work is done, either our empire will consume this planet… or it will wither and die.”

“If the Emberstone cannot infuse the beasts, you may have to try… another hypothesis,” Indignious subtly suggested.

“Now that is a fool’s errand,” Phaedrus told his steward. “The Matrix of Leadership is broken. It can no longer infuse a spark into a suitable host.”

A Nihilicon rolled up to the two, shambling on the desert sands on uneven treads and wheels. Phaedrus observed it, watching its limbs breaking off the frame, sparks firing from each joint. It was on the verge of death.

Phaedrus pulled up a datapad and ordered it to decommission. The Nihilicon began to power down, a sad reminder of the fate of all of Phaedrus’s cobbled together minions.

Until a meteor slammed into the Nihilicon, impacting into the sand and sending the two Quintessons tumbling back.

After a moment, the two turned their attention to the impact site, where a shard of purple rock imbedded within the deceased Nihilicon, sand pooling on either side of it, but not touching the shard. Indeed, save for the Nihilicon’s metal frame, the shard was touched by no other element of the desert; not sand or rock or grain. Phaedrus was curious of it, and drew close to watch… watch as the purple shard repelled the elements around it.

He scanned it with his datapad, and observed in astonishment. A gravitational field emanated from the shard, a field so powerful that the pull of the planet beneath it was nullified. A field so powerful the pull from the star bounced off a shard a septillionth the sun’s size.

“What is it, Doctor?” Indignious inquired.

Phaedrus drew closer, entranced by the shard. He reached down to grasp it in his tendril, even as it burned and seared his flesh. His pain was brief, however, as the metal of his Nihilicon minion rose up alongside the shard, compacting around it, taking new shape from the metal frame of the dead.

“It is the past come calling,” Phaedrus answered, entranced by the purple shard.

A signal came in from the shuttle. An order was sent to the Nihilicons to seal their mining site and regroup aboard the ship.

“One of the Cybertronians is approaching,” Indignious reported. “We need to go, Doctor.”

“Oh, yes,” Phaedrus agreed, still entranced by the shard. “Yes, we need nothing more from this barren soil.”

Phaedrus watched the metal compact into a tight, powerful frame around the shard. Now he held not a single rock, but a black mantle, slightly smaller than a broad Cybertronian chest.

“Perhaps we should test the theory after all, Indignious,” Phaedrus mused, as he held his prize aloft.

He pointed it at the hole the Nihilicons had made as his minions destroyed the evidence of their presence. The shard glowed brightly before the active Cybertronian technology. A Nihilicon was pulled off its pre-programmed route and drawn to the mantle. And at its touch, the Nihilicon suddenly ceased to shamble. Its mismatched parts restructured, its body enveloped in a baneful purple glow… a glow that, once subsided, revealed a rebuilt Cybertronian drone, made whole again and rebuilt from the raw materials into a new, fully realized soldier. Without even a command, the new form of Nihilicon sealed the entrance to their energon mine and boarded the shuttle with its inferior forebears.

“It seems now we have a Matrix of our own.”

-

Optimus Prime arrived in time only to witness the departure of a vehicle, watching fumes of exhaust scatter in the desert winds. He glanced around the empty desert, digging in the sand. His scanners showed Energon had been exposed, and he dug at its greatest concentration.

He found something solid beneath the sand and hoisted it, then narrowed his optics in disappointment.

His search had found evidence of incursion… but his foreboding had been pointless. He’d missed his enemies, who had left their junk behind.

Optimus would leave little evidence of his trip, but the Decepticons were content to discard what no longer served their purposes. Perhaps they’d found the meteor and taken it, or perhaps it’d broken down and burnt to such an extent it could not be recovered.

Instead, all Prime found in the sand was a destroyed monitor buoy.



*More Than Meets the Eye #38: Elegant Chaos, Part 3
** Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark
****More Than Meets the Eye: False Flags

Chapter One


Decepticon Warship, following Needlenose’s recruitment drive

The space bridge opened, Skywarp groaning as his integration to the ship and inborn outlier ability helped maintain the portal, as a single traveler stepped onto the hull, taking in the sights of the bridge.

Dreadwing glanced over at Skywarp. Upon recovering from the feedback of energy running through his chassis, the former Seeker locked optics with Shockwave’s ex-lieutenant. “You!” Skywarp snapped, enraged.

“Warp, hey,” Dreadwing greeted, standing his ground. “Look, you’re not still sore about the last time, are ya? Don’t feel bad about taking the loss- you were fighting injured.*”

“That he stood his ground proves Skywarp deserves to be here,” came the booming voice of Galvatron, as he took one massive step from the crew quarters onto the bridge. Skywarp immediately steeled himself, burying his dislike for Dreadwing and remaining at attention before his leader.

“Galvs, hey,” Dreadwing greeted. “Needlenose and Brawl sent me ahead while they organize the others**- decent group of guys- thought I’d make a good vanguard to greet y-aaaah!” Dreadwing grasped for his neck as Galvatron hoisted him up by the throat.

“You conspired with Shockwave. Shockwave betrayed me,” Galvatron snorted. “You helped him in his madness even when the galaxy was torn apart. Please, Dreadwing… remind me why you should have the fortune to live another day.”

“I was following orders!” Dreadwing replied, squirming in Galvatron’s grip. “Shockwave said he was doing what was right by the Decepticon cause, and his plan was working!”

“And then your leader, Megatron, stepped in to stop his treacherous lieutenant,” Galvatron reminded him. “You stood your ground and fought him… so was it the Decepticon cause or Shockwave you truly served?”

“Stood my ground…” Dreadwing managed, choking on backed up mech fluid as Galvatron’s grip started bending his metal. “…thought that’s… what I was supposed to do.”

Galvatron smiled and dropped Dreadwing, the flier slamming into the hull and coughing up mech fluid.

“It is precisely what you should’ve done,” Galvatron confirmed. “I have a certain sympathy for those who stand by their commander in their time of need… I’ve been unfortunate in such areas.***”

Galvatron leaned down and patted Dreadwing on the shoulder. “But make no mistake: my sympathy extends only so far. Fail to follow my orders to the letter, and I’ll rip out your spark casing and fashion a crown for Skywarp’s head.”

“Always did want a crown,” Skywarp mused with a smirk.

Galvatron turned his attention to the view screen showing the Earth below him. “Now on your feet, Dreadwing, there’s work to be done. The Prime’s minions are out and about… and I’d very much like to see if you can fight as well as you took a shot.”

Dreadwing steadied himself and nodded. “Yeah… I think a good scrap with the Autobots would be fun.”

“I’m glad you’re so enthused,” Galvatron noted, crossing his arms and watching the view screen. “Find a post you can monitor and find me some prey.”

“You got it… boss.”

-

The Kuiper Belt, Quintesson installed arboretum aboard Metrotitan


Phaedrus was enraged, pushing the shambling, stuttering body of another dying Earth animal, the Cybertronian technology once again failing to integrate into the creature’s cell structure. Even with the influence of his found “Matrix”, the Earth fauna did not survive the process of binding technology to their flesh.

Indignious watched, amused. “You seem… irked.”

Phaedrus growled. “The device has been a great help. It arranges the tech perfectly… it bends gravity around it as easily as the Emberstone creates the nodes. I’ve attempted this with sixty-three different species, all with different RNA and DNA markers in subphyla. None have survived more than a few moments. I can infuse any biological organism with Cybertronian technology, and I can bend gravity with the device to smooth the transition. There should be some progress. There should be some variation in the result.”

“You know what is said about expecting different results from the same experiment,” Indignious noted.

“This is not the same,” Phaedrus snapped, hoisting the Emberstone in one hand, the device in the other. “Exposure to the device transformed the Nihilicons into an efficient fighting force. The Emberstone allowed Quintus Prime to breathe life into both the organic and the technological. It took a primitive species, infused them with technology, and made them an immortal, unstoppable race.”

“Legend, Doctor,” Indignious replied. “I hardly expect such talk from a scientist.”

“There are no legends to us,” Phaedrus replied, looking at the purple shard imbedded in the device. “The relics of the past have returned, and I hold the very key to both our past and our future… and I can’t do a thing with it.”

Phaedrus turned his attention to his datapad. “Not on my own.”

“Doctor?” Indignious inquired.

“You are correct, steward,” Phaedrus conceded. “I need to vary my experiments. If Earth doesn’t have the answer… Cybertron might.”

Phaedrus drew up the image of the Matrix of Leadership, recorded long ago, when Nova Prime hoisted it aloft and united scattered tribes into an empire. When the Matrix broke Quintesson hold on several Cybertronians, and their dreams of empire were extinguished. ****

And more pressingly, the warrior who fought beside him, without a Matrix, but the same ferocity of Nova Prime. The warrior who –improbable though it was- led the Decepticons to Earth ten million years later.

And led the Decepticons against the bearer of the Matrix of Leadership… the last Prime.

“I cannot use this matrix of mine to build our army,” Phaedrus explained to his steward, still fixated on the image on his datapad. “So I’ll just have to give it to someone who can get use out of it.”

“Give the device to the Decepticons?” Indignious asked, stunned. “Doctor-“

“The Decepticons covet the Matrix just as I do, steward,” Phaedrus explained. “But they crave power even more. They’ll be content to wear this crown instead if it makes them feel stronger than they are.”

He focused on Galvatron, ahead of Nova Prime, leaping into battle without fear or hesitation. Galvatron had been reckless, and that would be an asset… to the Quintessons, of course.

“Please inform Commander Intentus to ready the space bridge and mobilize the Nihilicons,” Phaedrus instructed his steward. “And we’ll see if we can trade one Matrix for another…”

-

Ark-7, the dark side of the moon


With Optimus and Prowl both on Cybertron, command would normally fall to Jazz, but the lieutenant preferred sharing responsibility. Like Ironhide before him, Jazz preferred to mingle with the rank and file, pulling rank only when necessary and overlooking it the rest of the time. Kup had a similar mindset, and after working closely with Jazz when Prime was previously indisposed*****, and the two settled in to a sort of facsimile joint leadership, because it was certainly better than leaving Sideswipe and Sky Lynx to their own devices. Cosmos was off by himself again after a fruitless recon mission, Arcee had run off to Cybertron again, Jetfire was working on something in his lab again, and Sideswipe was fixing his jetpack while trying desperately to ignore Sky Lynx telling another story. It was a good day, and it was tempting to just let events run their course and wait for Prime.

But there were pressing issues. Their single refueling station on the surface was running dry, and while the Cons were quiet, eventually they’d start fighting again and the bots would need a new energon supply. Prime might bring them back some after he finished dealing with politics back home, but it was always best to have a contingency, especially when left alone with a small squad in hostile territory fighting enemies on multiple fronts.

Jazz finally took the initiative. “I’m going to Earth.”

“Great, lad,” Kup replied. “Bring me back something nice.”

“What, not coming along?” Jazz inquired… though he already knew the response.

“Next time, kid,” Kup answered. “Someone’s gotta’ hold the fort. Not like Prime can really count on anybody else these days.”

“Just stay on the radio, old timer,” Jazz requested. “Don’t need any humans cramping my style down there.”

“Just don’t sing along to that “rap” music again,” Kup requested. “Thought I’d tear out my audio receptors after the last scouting mission.”

“No promises,” Jazz called back as he headed over to Sky Lynx… and reluctantly prepared to schmooze with the living air service.

Kup leaned back in his seat, leaving the wide spectrum communications open, half expecting to hear from Prime or Arcee while they were off adventuring again. He’d much prefer a boring, quiet day with a single scouting mission to monitor.

No need for a battle today… peaceful days were all too rare for an old soldier. Even days without fights had their share of reminders of wars long past. And for someone like Kup, who’d seen wars wage for millions of years and across multiple planes of existence, everything seemed to remind him of one battle or another.

Telling the stories was fun. Reminding himself he’d survived was a comfort.

But the number of battles he could recall, the number of notches on his blaster… that didn’t bring him much comfort these days.

-

Decepticon Warship, Crew Quarters


Living aboard an arid starship made things easier for Soundwave. Having only a few of his comrades active around him reduced the amount of sensory information he had to filter out, and familiar minds like Skywarp, Blitzwing, and Astrotrain eased the stress on Soundwave’s own thoughts. His long time comrades Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were so familiar they didn’t trouble him at all, and they were quite used to Soundwave peering into their minds. Frenzy and Rumble had taken longer to trust him –they hadn’t been pleased when they were modified to become Soundwave’s subordinates******- but after millions of years they too learned to put their lives in his hands.

The new arrival, Dreadwing, was a new source of input that muddled Soundwave’s senses. Soundwave’s own enmity for Dreadwing after their battles months earlier made it that much harder to focus. But he put Dreadwing out of his thoughts, set aside that old grudge… for now.

Galvatron hid his thoughts even better than Megatron had. Galvatron seemed to speak his mind freely and speak passionately… but Soundwave could not pierce the veil into the ancient warrior’s mind. He knew Galvatron exaggerated… but had he ever lied? Soundwave knew when Megatron stretched the truth, when his suspicion got the better of him. From Galvatron: just a few fleeting moments of uncertainty, then confident laughter. It reminded him of Shockwave, whose cold focus made him invisible to Soundwave’s senses. Galvatron was not quite that skilled at concealing himself, but still he was a mystery to Soundwave after months of close quarters. Galvatron seemed to believe in the cause, but there was so much of his mind Soundwave could not see that there must’ve been some other agenda Galvatron didn’t wish him to know.

Galvatron was keeping secrets… but then, Soundwave was lying to Galvatron too. Their alliance was holding for now, but eventually –inevitably- their goals would clash, because peace was not something Galvatron truly desired. He’d humor Soundwave for a time, but only while they had a common enemy. Only so long.

Only so long.

Soundwave was preparing to assume monitor duty and on his way to the console at the bridge. He heard the communication before it reached the ship’s sensors. It was a painful, steady stream of burning green. It overwhelmed his mind, breaking a tight focus with its sheer power.

Soundwave paused on his way to the station, Galvatron glancing over at him.

“Something troubling you, my friend?” Galvatron asked.

Soundwave steadied himself. He could betray no weakness… or at least, not much. He had to show Galvatron only as much as Galvatron needed to know.

“We’re being hailed,” Soundwave answered, regaining his focus, the pain of the signal still in the back of his mind. “Unknown sender.”

“He’s right boss,” Dreadwing confirmed from his station. “Long range communication coming in.”

“Cybertron?” Galvatron asked.

“No… closer than that. Still in the solar system,” Dreadwing replied, pulling up a display of the galactic positioning system. “Somewhere in the rocky… area over…uh, there.” He pointed at a belt of objects past the dwarf planet Pluto.

Galvatron turned to Soudwave. “Unknown, you say.”

Soundwave only nodded.

“On screen, Dreadwing,” Galvatron ordered. “Let’s see who’s so keen to invest such effort.”

Dreadwing complied. From their screen emerged a holographic image, projected as a sort of green wireframe, of a cybernetic creature with long tendrils and five spinning faces atop its neck.

“Decepticons?” the hologram inquired.

“If you like,” Galvatron answered. “State your business, and do be quick.”

“We wish to… hire you,” the hologram stated. “Or ally with you, if you prefer. We want to work with you against a common enemy.”

Galvatron stroked his chin. “Go on.”

The hologram drew up another hologram in one tendril, a small display of the Matrix of Leadership. “We want this. The Autobot holding it is an enemy of yours’.”

“And why should I give it to you when I could have the pleasure of ripping it from the Prime’s chest instead?” Galvatron asked.

“Because it is not the only Matrix,” the hologram explained. The green wireframe floated somewhere off screen for a moment, and when it returned held up a second, similarly designed mantle piece.

Soundwave reeled again, this time his mind awash in baneful, dark purple. He steeled himself and remained steady, just in case Galvatron glanced back, but he struggled under the power of this new object.

“This is what you will be given in return for the Matrix in our Autobot enemy,” the hologram explained. “The… Decepticon Matrix of Leadership, if you will.”

“Is this some sort of trick?” Galvatron asked. “There is only one Matrix. I am intimately familiar with it.”

“See for yourself, then,” the hologram told him. “I am sending coordinates to your ship. Meet us for a parley. If you accept our proposal, I’ll let you test this Matrix for yourself.”

Galvatron smiled. “Intriguing. Very well, I was looking for a distraction. Send the coordinates.”

The green wireframe bowed and vanished. A few moments later, a set of coordinates –latitude and longitude- displayed on screen.

“Earth,” Soundwave immediately noted, slowly regaining his composure after the new sources stopped overwhelming his senses. “The signal came from the edge of the solar system. Even Skywarp couldn’t move across that distance, even with our ship’s full power behind him.”

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Galvatron agreed, turning to his lieutenant. “Soundwave…”

Soundwave steeled himself, burying his burdens and presenting a stoic face.

“…summon Blitzwing. I could use some company.”

“Yes, of course,” Soundwave nodded. Galvatron smirked and stepped past.

Soundwave glanced between Skywarp and Dreadwing, then excused himself from the bridge to the cargo hold. Once his senses confirmed his comrades were out of earshot, he pressed a release mechanism on his chest plate. “Buzzsaw, eject.”

The yellow and black bird emerged, glancing up at his master. “Need something?”

“Someone I trust, completely,” Soundwave confided. “Galvatron is leaping into the unknown, and I need eyes of my own at his side.”

“Babysitting?” Buzzsaw snarked.

“No,” Soundwave shook his head. “Recon… at first. I know what you thirst for, my friend, and I think I know where you’ll find it.

“Those seeking to partner with us are never truthful in their aims,” Soundwave explained. “They will betray us. And when they do- you will do what you were built to do.”

Buzzsaw smirked. “I can work with that.”

“Go,” Soundwave instructed. “Report back to me in a megacycle.”

“You’d better be right,” Buzzsaw snorted.

“I hope, my friend, I am wrong,” Soundwave admitted. “But I only have so much I can hope to be real.”

Buzzsaw took flight, zipping out of the cargo hold past the resting Skywarp and the oblivious Dreadwing, to join up with Blitzwing and Galvatron as they headed for the shuttle bay, perching on the triple changer’s shoulder.

“Room for one more?” Buzzsaw asked.

“Soundwave still playing his tricks…” Galvatron mused.

“Soundwave wants this to go well and you to play nice,” Buzzsaw replied. “I want to be there if things go south… so I can play rough.”

Galvatron barked out a laugh. “Come along, brave cassette…”

Buzzsaw glanced back at Soundwave across the ship, his master giving an affirmative nod.

-

Metrotitan Space Bridge, the Kuiper Belt


Phaedrus glanced down at the device, his army of Nihilicons following him towards the spiraling energy of the dimensional gate. Indignious waited by the controls with an adjutant, watching his mentor stare at the purple shard embedded in Cybertronian framework, entranced by the glow.

“This had better work,” his steward told him.

Phaedrus ignored him, and led his troops into the bridge… ready to see how fate would play her hand.










*Dark Cybertron #5: Finest Hour
**Transformers #44
***Chaos Volume 4: Genesis
****Forging the Star
*****All Hail Megatron Issue #6
****** Megatron Origin Issue #3

Chapter Two


Uluru- Australia


“Your destination, sir!" Sky Lynx noted as Jazz hurriedly dropped out from the dragon shuttle. “My, quite the arid wasteland, isn’t it? Reminds me of the Isdrite asteroids near Torkulon. My team was fighting the Decepticons, and wouldn’t you know it, their own leader started shooting them-“

“Great, Lynx, great," Jazz replied patiently. “Look, I’m eager to hear the rest, but we need to find that energon deposit. Let me refill that bowl of yours’; your stories get better after you’ve had a few, ya dig?"

“Quite so, quite so, sir!" Sky Lynx agreed. “I’ll move up to synchronous orbit and wait for the pick-up! Bring me back something nice!"

Jazz waited until Sky Lynx had ascended out of sight to quietly mutter to himself. Sky Lynx wasn’t a bad bot: just too long winded. Jazz liked telling his war stories too, but he didn’t feel the need to open his mouth every cycle of the day. Between Kup, Sky Lynx, and Sideswipe talking about his jetpack, Jazz never thought he’d be the quiet one on his team. It was never fun playing the straight man to a bunch of screwballs in any unit, but without Prime around, Jazz had to step up and be the boss.

Fortunately, when finding time for yourself looked a lot like volunteering for a solo mission, your comrades didn’t give you any scrap. And while it was some relief to be away from them all, a hot desert with a big rock plateau wasn’t exactly an ideal vacation spot. Scouting for energon deposits wasn’t much fun in and of itself either.

Jazz pulled out the portable scanner and tuned it, waiting for the systems to adjust to Earth. There was some significant background radiation in the area –maybe some kind of military testing, possibly even residue from an ancient battle- but eventually his scanners gave him a sign: there was energon somewhere beneath the plateau. So, it was a start.

Unbeknownst to Jazz, however, while his stature and movements had shielded him from detection, Sky Lynx’s rather less guarded movements had not gone unnoticed by a Decepticon monitor buoy floating over the rock face…

-

Decepticon Warship


Dreadwing wasn’t much for monitor/scanner duty. When he served under Turmoil, he was usually being thrust into battle and was quite content to do that. Deadlock usually disobeyed orders and told the Decepticons to just start shooting, and Dreadwing rolled with it. Turmoil was a little more measured, but he had a quick temper and ordered shooting only slightly slower, and Dreadwing rolled with it. Megatron came back to sack Iacon, and Dreadwing rolled with it. Then Shockwave said Dreadwing was needed to help the Decepticons ensure victory, and Dreadwing rolled with it. He followed orders… even the ones he didn’t like.

And after Megs decided to up and leave and get himself an Autobrand, suddenly Soundwave and Galvatron were running things. And Dreadwing would roll with it… even if it meant staring at a computer screen and hoping to Mortilus he’d get a chance to fight somebody.

Sometimes fate chose to reward even the most unworthy, and Dreadwing got his wish: a monitor buoy in one of the smaller Earth continents set off an alarm, and the systems immediately drew up a fresh video feed for him, of the Autobot shuttle Sky Lynx ascending through the atmosphere.

“Uh, hey- guys?" Dreadwing called, glancing around the bridge. Only Skywarp was there, hooked up to the ship’s life support systems, still glaring at him. “Uh, signal? Autobots?"

“Tell it to Soundwave," Skywarp snapped.

“Right… Soundwave…" Dreadwing nodded. “And his comm signal is…?"

“Everywhere."

Soundwave stepped onto the bridge, accompanied by Frenzy and Astrotrain. “Report," Soundwave instructed coldly. He’d already heard it, but wanted to see how Dreadwing would operate under pressure.

“We got ourselves a lone Autobot," Dreadwing answered, pointing at the vid screen and the footage of Sky Lynx. “Easy prey. Permission to intercept?"

“Denied," Soundwave answered flatly. “This Autobot is Sky Lynx; noncombatant. More pressingly, this Autobot is little more than a glorified shuttle. The monitor buoy was activated on the planet’s surface, which means he dropped an Autobot team in the area.

“That is where we must… recon," Soundwave continued, watching Dreadwing squirm.

“Permission to… recon," Dreadwing requested, standing to attention.

Soundwave stared at the flier for several moments. Despite his personal distaste for Dreadwing, the bot was not hiding his intentions. His desire to engage was entirely genuine; he had no ulterior motive, no hidden agenda. And ultimately, if he were to rush headlong into danger, Dreadwing’s sacrifice for the cause could easily be justified…

“Very well," Soundwave conceded. He reached to tap his chest. “Laserbeak, eject." Once the cassetticon hopped out and flapped over to Dreadwing, the spymaster continued. “You two are to recon the location. Send me your findings immediately. No combat unless authorized."

“Damn it," Dreadwing muttered. Laserbeak merely squawked in assent.

“Skywarp," Soundwave turned to the Seeker on life support. “I know you’re tempted to find vengeance, but as of now, the past is the past. We all give to the cause."

“The cause," Skywarp repeated. “Yeah. Right."

Dreadwing and Laserbeak were enveloped in purple energy and vanished, Skywarp retching a bit from the strain. A few moments later, Dreadwing and Laserbeak materialized in the skies above Uluru.

“Thank you, my friend," Soundwave told the Seeker.

“Yeah… no problem," Skywarp nodded. “No problem at all…"

But hatred still burned through. Purple flame danced from his mouth. Soundwave frowned beneath his faceplate and turned his attention to the viewscreen.

He could bury his enmity and focus. Not all his comrades were so practiced…

-

Dzungaria Basin


Phaedrus and Indignious waited with a force of six of the improved Nihilicons, rebuilt by the device. They represented a third of Phaedrus’s remaining soldiers, and while they were far more efficient and capable than before, Phaedrus predicted he’d need to keep the others in reserve for mining energon for the Metrotitans. Thus his military forces were smaller than ever… but if he could persuade the Decepticons to take his offer, he’d never again worry about numbers, and his army would be greater than ever. All after his Cybertronian enemies slaughtered each other… if all went to plan.

The Decepticons finally emerged on the horizon, a heavy tank, a jet, and a small flying bird approaching their position. Hopefully his small troupe of soldiers wouldn’t be provocative, but Phaedrus predicted a show of some force was necessary to earn the Decepticons’ respect.

Galvatron transformed first, and Blitzwing followed, landing beside his leader. Buzzsaw flapped down and rested on the triple-changer’s shoulder. Galvatron took a moment, staring hard at the five-faced cyborgs floating before him.

“You recognize them?" Buzzsaw asked.

Galvatron composed himself. “I am… not fond of organic components merged with Cybertronian technology. It’s all so… unseemly."

“Yeah, I know what you mean," Blitzwing nodded. “There’s something about these guys I don’t trust… something familiar…"

“Let me handle the talking," Galvatron instructed. “Buzzsaw, the perimeter. Blitzwing, the flank."

Buzzsaw squawked and took to the air again, circling the meeting, while Blitzwing held his position, Galvatron approaching their potential allies.

Phaedrus floated forward, accompanied by two of the Nihilicons. Galvatron scanned the trio but dismissed his concerns, and let his particle cannon charge…

-

Uluru


Dreadwing and Laserbeak materialized in the skies above Australia. Dreadwing, still in robot mode, realized he was emerging in empty air and almost immediately plummeted down before switching to vehicle mode, the stealth bomber design Soundwave had first created for Megatron.

“Not funny, ‘Warp," Dreadwing muttered.

“I thought your alt mode was built for bombing," Laserbeak snarked, flapping down to join him.

Dreadwing ignored the remark and continued his descent in vehicle mode, Laserbeak following him towards the desert and the plateau at its center. “We’re in position," Dreadwing reported… to no one, as he hadn’t actually bothered to sync with the Warship’s comm systems.

Laserbeak sighed and radioed Soundwave. “We’ve arrived," he told the spymaster. “No sign of this scouting party."

“Full area scan," Soundwave ordered. “And do keep an optic on Dreadwing."

“No probl-“

“THERE HE IS!" Dreadwing shouted.

Laserbeak refocused his attention to the ground, where a white and black Earth car drove –rather out of place- along the bottom of the plateau. “Confimed," Laserbeak continued. “Lieutenant Jazz."

“Backup?" Soundwave inquired.

“Not that I can see," Laserbeak replied. “Autobots are a bit strapped for their forces."

“Hold your position for the moment," Soundwave instructed. “I’ll get combat approval from Galvatron."

“Uh, about that, boss…" Laserbeak observed, watching Dreadwing continue to descend. "…we might have a problem."

“What is Dreadwing doing?" Soundwave demanded.

“Bombing," Laserbeak replied dryly.


Far below him, Dreadwing tried to time his landing. Jazz was moving a bit too fast to accurately target for a pounce, so the flier opted to go with an intimidation tactic. Dreadwing flew past him, moving in fast and low so his engines would roar over the Autobot’s head. Jazz skidded to a halt and transformed, drawing his blaster.

Dreadwing did a quick circle low over the ground and then transformed, landing before Jazz, leveling his fusion cannon and extending his energo-axe. “Hey," Dreadwing greeted, trying to sound as cool as possible, because his entrance was awesome.

“Hey, ‘Con," Jazz greeted. “Which one are you again?"

“The one who killed you," Dreadwing replied, leveling his fusion cannon and firing. Jazz immediately pivoted and returned fire.

“Guess you lookin’ to make a name for yourself," Jazz noted. “Let me teach you how to dance!"

Dreadwing didn’t bother dodging Jazz’s shots, letting them deflect off his frame. While his body wasn’t built with the same Metrotitan alloy as Megatron’s former chassis, the design implemented by Shockwave diverted most small arms fire with its sharp points and slants. Only point blank shots would really have much chance of penetrating the armor… that or a lucky shot to a joint or other vulnerable area. Dreadwing surmised it was wiser to attempt to intimidate his foe rather than… dodge.

Instead he fired one blast after another from his fusion cannon, and Jazz kept dodging and shooting. Eventually, however, Dreadwing’s internal systems began warning him that standing in place and letting his enemy shoot him was not the wisest course of action and Jazz’s shots were gradually wearing his armor down.

So Dreadwing turned proactive and moved towards Jazz, swinging the energo-axe. Jazz drew back and fired into Dreadwing’s face, right into his single visor. Dreadwing drew back and Jazz continued to pepper the flier’s midsection with shots.

“You’re makin’ this too easy," Jazz told Dreadwing, swerving around and kicking the flier in the joint, dropping the flier to a knee. “Guess Galvatron’s lowerin’ his standards!"

Dreadwing was still clenching his visor and swinging blind with his energo-axe, ultimately managing to hit Jazz in the shoulder in his mad search for a target. Once Dreadwing knew the general vicinity Jazz was in, he leveled the fusion cannon and fired, hitting the Autobot Lieutenant right in the chest and sending him tumbling back.

“Shouldn’t have mocked me, Auto-bum," Dreadwing snarled, finally removing his hand from his face, his cracked visor still sparking. “Gave yourself away."

Jazz skidded along the sand and dirt but recovered, firing once again with his blaster. “Rookie mistake. I’ll make sure you don’t have no mouth to talk scrap about it!"

Dreadwing finally decided to start dodging Jazz’s shots. By virtue of not actually having planned to do that, however, he ended up missing his steps and tumbled forward- right towards Jazz running at him.

“Wait, wha-“ Jazz began before Dreadwing crashed into him, the Con’s heavier bulk and frame knocking him over and pinning Jazz to the ground. Dreadwing quickly recovered and leveled his energo-axe at Jazz’s throat, grinning as he could beneath his faceplate.


High above, Laserbeak mused: “Didn’t think Dreadwing had it in him: incompetence as a tactic!"

“Prodigies can be found in the strangest places," Soundwave mused alongside the cassetticon.


Jazz, realizing the trouble he was in, finally got serious and shot Dreadwing’s wrist joint. Once Dreadwing moved his arm out of harm’s way, Jazz rolled and transformed back to vehicle mode, driving away and kicking a cloud of dust in Dreadwing’s face.

“Coward!" Dreadwing spat.

“Ugly!" Jazz shot back as she kept skidding and swerving, kicking more dirt and dust in Dreadwing’s field of vision.

Dreadwing fired into the cloud of dust, dispersing quite a bit of it, but not finding the lieutenant anywhere. Dreadwing glanced around, waving his cannon arm in one direction or another.

Then Jazz emerged behind him, shifting back to robot mode and kicking the back of Dreadwing’s head.

“Round two, ‘Con!" Jazz said in mid-movement. “Let me show you my break dance!"

-

Dzungaria Basin


Phaedrus extended a tendril in greeting. “Hail, Decepticon. I am Doctor Phaedrus, a representative of the Quintesson Empire. It is an honor to make contact-“

“Spare me the formalities, Doctor," Galvatron requested. “Speak your piece and show me your offer."

“Yes, very well," Phaedrus agreed. “We have a simple request- we want the Matrix of Leadership, currently held by the Prime."

“And in return you offer some “Matrix” of your own," Galvatron noted. “If we’re going to barter, you’ll have to start."

Phaedrus reached into a compartment on his back. Galvatron instinctively raised his cannon arm, and the two Nihilicons beside Phaedrus moved to engage. “No, wai-“

Galvatron fired his particle cannon, shredding the first Nihilicon into component metal. He lifted the second by the neck and squeezed. “Curious things," Galvatron noted as the Nihilcon’s head popped off and its body slumped down, dead weight in his hand.

Phaedrus hoisted the device. “Curious indeed." The device pulsed, glowing a dark purple inside its metal frame… and then the Nihilicons restructured themselves, their parts drawn back together and re-forged. Galvatron dropped the second Nihilicon in surprise as the two simply walked back to behind Phaedrus.

“Incredible," Galvatron observed. “This… Matrix can bring them back to life?"

“They are not alive," Phaedrus told him flatly. “The Nihilicons are naught but the scattered remains of fallen Cybertronian soldiers, welded together by this matrix. This… device, whatever it is, bends spacetime with its every pulse. The energy it emits forges matter together. I doubt it can give life… but I am certain it can create."

“And you would freely give this power away?" Galvatron inquired.

“Not freely," Phaedrus answered. “Never freely. You know our price, and our wish."

“And what use is the Matrix of Leadership to you?" Galvatron asked.

“Our intention is to remove it from Cybertronian hands," Phaedrus answered coolly. “To rid them of the symbol of their past and their former glory. To never again see the galaxy stained by the spark-spliced you mass produced in dreams of expansion."

“Spark-spliced," Galvatron mused. “Yes, I remember well how Nova Prime sought to change things. You don’t want us expanding into the galaxy with new numbers."

“Indeed," Phaedrus confirmed. “And this matrix may well see you destroy each other- or render you all lifeless automatons. That you’ll all slaughter each other is inevitable; that we can decide who destroys whom means we can direct your future."

“You know so much of us," Galvatron noted. “And you wish us all dead. Why?"

“Inevitably, the strong are the ones meant to survive," Phaedrus told him. “We can tolerate a few of you left… we just don’t want to share any more of the galaxy than necessary."

“You needn’t worry, friend," Galvatron told him. “I’ve only ever meant to rule one world. And I’d like nothing better to build it atop the corpses of the weak."

“Then we are agreed?" Phaedrus asked, offering the dark matrix.

Galvatron took it in hand, looking down at the metal frame.

“Oh, yes, Doctor," Galvatron agreed. “I think I can rip open the Prime –and every other Autobot- until the Matrix… is ours’."

Chapter Three


Galvatron hoisted the device, staring at the purple crystal embedded in the metal. Phaedrus followed his gaze, also entranced by the purple glow. After a few moments, Galvatron pointed it towards one of the wandering Nihilicons, and wordlessly commanded it.

The Nihilicon lost a strip of metal from either arm, and they flowed towards the device, forming two lines of chain to anchor it. Galvatron hoisted the device over his head and let the chain fall on his neck, resting the black matrix on his chest, bound by its new metal vestments.

“Your offering of partnership is... acceptable," Galvatron told Phaedrus. “Now, as for our end of the bargain; how do you intend to acquire the Matrix of Leadership?"

“We’ll establish a beachhead here," Phaedrus answered. “Once you draw the Prime to you, use the device to best him. Bring the Matrix back here, and we’ll part ways, each with our own prize."

“I see," Galvatron nodded. He tapped his earpiece. “Soundwave, I trust you’ve been paying attention?"

“Confirmed," Soundwave replied through the comm signal. “And I might have a way to bring the Prime to us… it seems Dreadwing has already engaged one of the Autobot soldiers."

“Excellent," Galvatron nodded. “Let us see if this device was worth the hassle. If not, I’ll just rip the Autobot apart until the Prime deigns to return. Skywarp, prepare for the jump."

Galvatron turned his attention back to the Quintessons and their enslaved minions. “We’ll be back shortly… do try to keep yourselves entertained."

Quietly, privately, Buzzsaw listened to another signal from Soundwave, and flapped down to join the other two.

“Finally, a chance for a scrap," Buzzsaw noted.

“Only if the Autobot has backup," Galvatron instructed the cassette. “The first soldier is mine."

Buzzsaw nodded, turning to glance back at the Quintessons… and waited. He knew Soundwave would parse his words well, and tell Skywarp whom to teleport and where. When Soundwave counted down, he did so solely for Buzzsaw’s benefit; Galvartron would merely be bored by the countdown and Blitzwing would just go with it.

And Buzzsaw would release Blitzwing’s shoulder right when the teleport flare began, and flap up out of sight… to continue watching their “allies."

It wasn’t ideal, but if Soundwave was right, Buzzsaw would get to do damage soon enough….

-

Cybertron


Arcee waited patiently for Prime’s judgment. He was always solemn, but when he was disappointed he was even quieter. His subordinates felt his disapproval. His massive frame slouched. He clasped his hands. He leaned back and pondered.

“What you did could’ve easily disrupted the peace we’ve built," Prime scolded. “You were fortunate Windblade was willing to look past it. Even more fortunate the visiting Camiens didn’t bring this to Starscream themselves.*"

“The Enigma is dangerous," Arcee answered simply. “No one should have it."

“No one does have it," Prime told her firmly. “Cybertron has it, not Starscream."

“Didn’t Starscream use it on you against your will?" Arcee inquired.

“No," Prime replied flatly. "Prowl did.** I don’t doubt Starscream has used the Enigma improperly. I don’t doubt he intends to use it again. But the Enigma is a relic of Cybertron; a part of our history. It’s important that the seat of Cybertronian government has it, and the people are reminded of our past. It’s just as important they remember there was a time before war.

“Do you remember such a time, Arcee?" Prime asked, not looking at her.

“It wasn’t any better for me then," Arcee told him. “Jhiaxus saw to that."

“What Jhiaxus did was monstrous," Prime agreed. “There are monsters still among us. We cannot allow ourselves to become like them. Prowl made me into a Combiner… he didn’t make me think like he did. He didn’t make me stop believing peace was possible. Neither he nor Starscream will ever make me believe such actions are necessary."

“Ask what you want to ask," Arcee requested. “I know it’s coming."

Prime finally stood, towering over Arcee. He leaned in close and locked her gaze. “Did you try to destroy the Enigma for… him? For Galvatron?"

“I tried to destroy it for me," Arcee answered simply. “I worked with Galvatron because our goals aligned*** not because I wanted to join up." She pointed to the small Autobot symbol painted on her cheek. “I don’t wear this because I hang out with you and your troops, Optimus- I wear it for me. I wear it because the other options are being like Galvatron or being like Starscream.

“I don’t believe I did wrong, but I trusted Windblade to work with it," Arcee continued. “And you trust her, don’t you?"

Prime sighed and closed his eyes. “Yes. I trust her. And I want to trust you. But I trusted Prowl, and his alliance with Decepticons nearly cost us everything. If Windblade is willing to keep your secret…" He let the thought hang a moment. "…I’ll consider the matter closed. But I warn you not to put any faith in Galvatron. I saw firsthand the lengths he’d go to for power."

“And I saw the lengths he went to with the Enigma," Arcee reminded Prime. “I don’t have to agree with his reasons to agree with his goals. Aren’t we supposed to be seeking cooperation… reintegration?"

“You’re not so naïve," Prime told her. “You know that’s not what Galvatron wants."

“And what’s the alternative? Just to destroy him? Isn’t that the very thing you’re cautioning me against?"

Optimus was silent.

-

Uluru


Dreadwing had successfully worn down the lieutenant, but Jazz’s experience ultimately won out. They were both short of energy, but Jazz was still shooting. Dreadwing could barely lift his arm to fire his fusion cannon, so he could do little but stand and endure one blast after another.

“Looks like the new guy’s done for," Laserbeak noted from far above.

“How unfortunate then that Galvatron feels beholden to intervene," Soundwave noted to his minion.

“You mean ‘fortunate’?" Laserbeak snarked.

“I meant what I said," Soundwave answered simply. “Watch for the discharge."

Far below Laserbeak, a purple flare erupted near the plateau of Ayer’s Rock, and Galvatron and Blitzwing emerged in a brilliant flash.

“Where’s Buzzsaw?" Laserbeak inquired.

“Babysitting, much like yourself," Soundwave answered.

“Shame. I could use a partner on commentary," Laserbeak observed.

“I think you’ll find Galvatron prefers a more direct approach," Soundwave counseled.


Below, Galvatron stepped forward. Jazz turned his attention to the Decepticon leader, weapon drawn.

“Hold it there, old man," Jazz instructed. “You want a taste of my gun, you’re gonna have to wait for your turn."

“Oh, of course," Galvatron agreed. “Do feel free to finish Dreadwing at your leisure."

“Boss-“ Dreadwing began, but Galvatron raised a hand to quell his new minion.

“Do meet your end with dignity," Galvatron instructed. “And spare me your whining. I’d prefer to remember you with a bit of respect."

Dreadwing was frightened, but ultimately decided he feared Galvatron more than death, and struggled to lift his arm and level his fusion cannon. Jazz fired right in between the two prongs mounted on Dreadwing’s right arm, and the combined energies compounded together and ripped a deep gash in Dreadwing’s arm. The flier fell backwards, clutching his wound, unarmed and helpless on the desert floor.

Jazz turned his attention back to Galvatron. “I’m done with him."

“Denying him a warrior’s death?" Galvatron inquired. “How heartless."

“I don’t need to kill you ‘Cons," Jazz replied. He then delivered a swift kick to Dreadwing’s face, driving the flier deeper into the dirt. “Just gotta’ remind you who’s in charge."

Galvatron barked out a laugh. “I like you. It’ll be a shame when I rip your head off." The Decepticon leader waved to Laserbeak. “Collect Dreadwing and get him to the restoration module. I’ll have to find some other place to get him killed for the cause."

Laserbeak flapped down and latched onto Dreadwing’s chassis, disappearing in Skywarp’s teleport flare a few seconds later. Galvatron turned his attention back to Jazz and leveled his particle cannon. “Shall we?"

Jazz eyed Blitzwing at Galvatron’s back. “Sure."

Galvatron followed Jazz’s gaze and smirked. “Oh, don’t mind him. If he gets in my way I’ll kill him too. I am so looking forward to getting my own hands dirty that I’d hate for my minions to spoil my day."

“Suit yourself," Jazz replied before immediately firing at Galvatron’s head, right between the optics.

Galvatron winced, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose, before turning his attention to Jazz proper. He lunged forward. Jazz fired, shots bouncing off Galvatron’s frame, before the Decepticon leader’s fist met Jazz’s stomach and the lieutenant hunched forward, and Galvatron followed with a kick to Jazz’s head, felling the Autobot immediately.

“I appreciate your defiance," Galvatron noted. “I wish I could honor your bravado with the death you’ve earned."

“What’s… stoppin’ ya?" Jazz asked from the ground, reaching for his blaster again.

Galvatron reached down, hoisting Jazz in one hand and his blaster in the other.

“Come on…" Jazz goaded. “You want a piece of me?!"

Galvatron squeezed Jazz’s blaster, snapping the weapon in half in one hand. “Continue to provoke me, I’ll gladly take two. However… first I’d like you to call your leader."

“And tell him what? That everything’s hunky-dory down here?" Jazz demanded.

“Oh, no," Galvatron shook his head. “I want you to call them and tell them exactly what I want: if the Prime faces me, I’ll spare your life. His spark’s the one I want."

“And if he doesn’t show?" Jazz asked.

“He will," Galvatron replied. “Because if he doesn’t, your spark will just be the first I collect. I’ll destroy every last Autobot until the Prime is all that’s left. Better he die first….wouldn’t you agree?"


-

Ark-7


Jetfire inspected the space bridge, typing on his personal datapad and waiting for the report. “What’s the verdict, D.O.C?"

The drone floated over to him. “Beedoop. Whiiiirrr. Deep deep boink."

“Yes, I detected the activation," Jetfire confirmed. “But why is there no radiation from the bridge? Did the jump from Cybertron not make it back here?"

“Bidoop. Beep beep doip."

“I know that," Jetfire snapped. “But this space bridge was barely functioning when Prowl used it. Who knows what happened after Arcee jumped back to Cybertron? Whoever used it could be anywhere between here and Cybertron, or even-“

He looked at his datapad and wirelessly linked its systems to the Ark-7’s monitoring stations, contrasting the data. There was notable radiation in the upper atmosphere of Earth, possibly from residue left by Skywarp’s teleport flares.

“-or even right under my nose," Jetfire mused.


Not far away aboard the bridge, Kup had been waiting for Jazz to report in when he got bored and was finally willing to indulge in swapping war stories. Unfortunately, when Jazz called in…

“About time, lad," Kup observed. “You find any of that energon you were looking for?"

“Oh, is that what you Autobots were doing?" Galvatron wondered aloud, immediately drawing Kup’s notice. “I wondered what drew you to this barren wasteland. Desperate for resources, are you?"

“Put the kid on the line, ‘Con," Kup instructed firmly. “Give me a good reason not to cut you off."

There were sounds of scuffle. Galvatron muttered something Kup couldn’t make out. Then he heard a short but very loud cry of pain –in a voice he knew- before Galvatron resumed the communication. “I’m afraid your friend didn’t want to comply. Did you recognize his scream or should I have him make another?"

“What do you want?" Kup demanded.

“I’ll make this very simple for you," Galvatron told him. “Bring your leader to me. Tell him I’d like to settle accounts."


A few moments later, Jazz barged over to the space bridge, even as Jetfire and D.O.C. continued to search for the system the ‘Cons had tampered with. “Need to talk to Prime, lad."

“Can it wait? I’m worried that-“ Jetfire began before Kup shoved him aside.

“No, it can’t," Kup replied, activating the bridge. As he frantically worked the console, Kup glanced back. “Sorry, lad- this is important."

“What’s going on?" Jetfire wondered, before irritably rising to his feet.

Kup waited until the bridge energies worked with the comms system, and Prime and Arcee answered via a holographic projection. “Kup," Prime noted. “What’s going on, old friend?"

“Galvatron’s captured Jazz," Kup told him.

“What happened?" Prime asked immediately.

“Kid was scouting for energon and the ‘Cons ambushed him," Kup explained. “Now Galvatron is offering to return him, provided you go down to meet him."

“He wants me to replace Jazz as a hostage?" Prime inquired.

“Er…no, no, he doesn’t," Kup answered. “He wants to fight you. He wants you to bridge down to Earth and meet him."

“This is a trap, Optimus," Jetfire chimed in. “Somehow, the ‘Cons managed to tap into our space bridge already. They want you to jump back; they probably want you to be stranded in the middle of space instead."

Prime considered the advice. “No," he replied simply. “Galvatron doesn’t bother to deceive anyone but himself. If he’ll release Jazz, I’ll honor his request and give him his battle. Keep the bridge open and ready; I’ll head over as soon as I inform the council representatives of my absence."

Prime turned his attention to Arcee.

“Still believe Galvatron can be reasoned with?" Prime asked her.

“You should hope so," Arcee answered simply. “But I don’t think he likes you very much…"

-

Decepticon Warship Nemesis


When Prime materialized, he appeared on the Decepticon bridge, between Soundwave at the helm, Astrotrain and Laserbeak taking Dreadwing to the CR chamber, and Skywarp strung up behind him. Optimus immediately drew his ion blaster and leveled it at Soundwave. “A trap after all," he mused.

To his surprise, the Decepticons continued to help their comrade, and Soundwave put his hands in the air, unarmed. “We’re only here to expedite your travel," Soundwave explained. “Your Autobot shuttle would be too slow, and your delay already tries Galvatron’s patience.

Optimus glanced around, slowly lowering his blaster. “What is he up to, Soundwave?"

“Galvatron wants to fight you in single combat," Soundwave answered simply. “He’s ordered us to to send you on your way, and stressed that anyone who laid a hand on you would answer to him."

“Is that all he said?" Prime asked.

“No," Soundwave answered simply. “He went on at some length about how he’d rip your friend in two. Apparently Lieutenant Jazz has irked him."

“And your hijacking of the space bridge?" Prime inquired.

“A backdoor left when your double agent Scavenger contacted me****," Soundwave replied. “Undoubtedly by now your scientist friend has found the embedded signal and cut me out now that you’ve failed to arrive; irrelevant. We will find another way to utilize the space bridge."

Prime nodded grimly. “I’m sure you will."

“Are you ready?" Soundwave asked.

“I’m surprised you don’t want to witness my death personally," Prime noted.

Soundwave did not reply, but gestured to Skywarp. A moment later, Soundwave and Skywarp were gone, and Prime found himself standing on a rocky plateau in the middle of a vast desert, the Earth’s sun setting to the west of him.

“At last!"

Prime turned to see Galvatron standing a hundred yards away, Blitzwing holding the imprisoned Jazz behind his leader.

“The gladiators are in place, the stage is set," Galvatron smiled. “Now you and I will battle to the death."

“Shall we?"






*Transformers: Combiner Hunters- An Uneventful Night
**Transformers: Combiner Wars #4- You, Me, and the Universe
***Transformers #37-Onyx Interface Part Three: ONoffON
****Transformers: Robots in Disguise #30- The Mind Bomb

Chapter Four



Dzungaria Basin


Phaedrus’s instruments began to react, and he measured the energy readings, and the location of their source to the southeast. “The Decepticons have activated the device," Phaedrus noted.

“And?" Indignious inquired, incredulous.

“And so far the readings are insignificant," Phaedrus answered. “Not enough gravitational pull to alter the planet’s own nor affect its arc. Hopefully Galvatron will do more to put it through its paces…"

“And how will him toying with this planet’s gravity help us?" Indignious wondered.

“It won’t; not immediately," Phaedrus explained. “But while our mining outpost remains here, I’ll need to know what effects the Decepticons’ use of the device has on this planet. Once it’s sucked dry of Shockwave’s energon ore, I’ll hope Galvatron… accelerates his efforts."

“To what end?"

“I gave it to the Decepticon so he would destroy," Phaedrus stated. “Ideally- destroy everything… everything but the device."

“So what? You might bribe another group of Cybertronians with it?" Indignious snorted.

“Nothing so mundane," Phaedrus told his steward. “No, among the Quintessons there is one unified doctrine: everything can be ours’, and eventually, everything will be.

“Everything the Cybertronians have created they have created because of us," Phaedrus continued. “Everything they are they owe to us. And now is the time we reclaim. We will not be denied our rights. We will build our empire and turn theirs’ to ash… with the very devices we let them create."


-

Uluru



Prime glanced over at Jazz, in the clutches of Blitzwing away from his leader. “Are you all right?" Optimus asked immediately.

“Just having a bad day, boss," Jazz replied, trying to stay chipper. “Took out one of these boys, but Galvatron wanted to play too."

“I’m glad to see you unharmed, old friend," Prime nodded. “What is the point of this, Galvatron? What can be gained from senseless slaughter?"

“Slaughter is only senseless when done without purpose," Galvatron corrected him. “In your case, I can think of a few reasons: the destruction of my enemy’s leader, a gift for my allies, and the personal pleasure of slaying the very last Prime. In fact, I see fewer downsides than upsides…"

Prime sighed. “I had hoped my gesture of good faith might give us the chance to negotiate; to talk-“

“Talk!" Galvatron snorted. “You continue to disappoint me, Prime. When you first landed on Earth, and you flung yourself into battle*, I thought you’d finally shed your antiquated need for diplomacy. Oh, how wrong I was- you’re still weak, still so insufferably convinced of your moral superiority you deign to fight oh so rarely- but now your concerns are rendered moot.

“We have our deal, a spark for a spark," Galvatron told him firmly. “Your life for his. Now step into the dirt, Prime, and face me like a warrior. Show me that furor you’ve buried."

“You are not the first to challenge me like this," Prime told him, stepping closer onto the rock plateau. “Be careful what you wish for."

Galvatron barked out a laugh. “As though there’s anything you could do to-“ His thought was left unfinished as an ion burst from Prime’s blaster struck him in the chest. Prime shifted back to truck mode and hit the gas, slamming into the Decepticon leader, sending the staggered warrior tumbling into the dirt.

“I taught him that one," Jazz boasted to Blitzwing.

“Don’t care," Blitzwing grunted.

Galvatron picked himself up, a bit of dirt falling off his frame and a few drops of energon dripping from his mouth. Once he composed himself, Galvatron broke into a broad smile and laughed. “Yes! Yes, that’s the spirit!"

Galvatron transformed into his tank mode, his particle cannon shifting from shoulder to mounted turret, and Galvatron fixed it on his target. Prime’s tires screeched as he drove to the side, avoiding one massive energy burst and similarly massive explosion, leaving a suitably massive crater in the dirt.

Prime shifted back to robot mode and retrieved his ion blaster, firing several shots at Galvatron’s tank mode. Galvatron set his treads to work and moved towards Prime’s position, firing one particle burst after another, eventually forcing Prime to shift back to vehicle mode and to retreat once more.

Prime tried to angle his drive, but kept having to beg off as Galvatron rotated his turret. Eventually, however, he got his tires accustomed to the dirt and rock, and made a beeline for Galvatron’s stationary position. He waited for the turret to rotate, and then began his transformation, leaping into the air as the particle burst flew beneath him. Prime drew his ion blaster in mid-air and fired four shots down into Galvatron’s tank chassis, before landing atop Galvatron’s frame and firing four more shots straight down, where the Decepticon’ s cannon could not return fire.

“I saw him do that once during a siege," Jazz noted from the sidelines. “Took out four of you ‘Cons in midair then shot three more once he landed."

“I was there," Blitzwing replied, seething.

“Oh, right. Nearly ran you over, didn’t he?" Jazz mused. “Not like Prime to leave a job half finished."

Back in the battlement, Galvatron finally transformed back to robot mode, erupting with a roar and flinging Prime skyward. He leveled his particle cannon and fired straight upwards, finally connecting with a burst to Prime’s chest. His red and white foe slammed into the dirt before Galvatron, sparks and smoke rising from his chest.

Galvatron grinned, more energon dribbling down his chin. “That’s more like it… pity you Autobots fall so easily; the end is already at hand."

Prime reached for his ion blaster as he struggled to rise, only for Galvatron to kick it away. He leveled his particle cannon at the back of Prime’s head.

“It…"

Prime transformed his left hand, drawing his energo-axe and bringing the weapon to life in a flash of brilliant orange.

"…never…"

Prime slashed up into Galvatron’s cannon just as Galvatron prepared to fire.

"…ends!"

The particle blast erupted on Galvatron’s own arm, and the Decepticon leader fell backwards, clenching his right arm. Prime hoisted himself up as fast as he could and rushed Galvatron, tackling him at the midsection and taking hold, pushing him towards the edge of the Ayer’s Rock plateau.

“Oh, shi- he isn’t going to-“ Jazz began, but quickly realized Prime had already made up his mind.


Prime swung the energo-axe, pushing Galvatron further back. Galvatron punched Prime with his undamaged left hand, but Prime pushed back against his fist, before rushing Galvatron again, and tackling him, shoving both over the edge of Ayer’s Rock and right off the side of the plateau, sending them both plummeting towards the ground.

Galvatron struggled in Prime’s grip, the two tumbling through the open air, but Prime kept readjusting course, and eventually hit his mark, slamming Galvatron into the dirt back first. The two were engulfed in a deep cloud of dirt and dust and rock, obscuring the action to Blitzwing and Jazz, as they hurried over to the plateau edge to watch.

Eventually, however, a victor emerged from within the conflagration, as Prime staggered out, dirt and rock clinging to his chassis.

But his victim emerged shortly thereafter, ripping off his damaged particle cannon and ignoring some of the rocks imbedded in his crown and skull, stepping out of the dust, still smiling his bloodied smile.

“Oh, don’t enjoy this too much, Prime," Galvatron requested, flexing his unburdened right arm. “I am Galvatron of the Darklands. You aren’t the first Prime whose blood I’ve tasted.

“Now fight with all your furor… while I crush you with my bare hands!"


-

Ark-7


Arcee emerged in a brilliant flash from the space bridge, the light contrasted with her black stealth paint. Kup gave her a curious glance while Jetfire continued focusing on his console and his readings.

“Looks like whatever signal the Cons embedded is being suppressed," Jetfire observed. “I think I found the source of the problem."

“Pity it came a bit late, lad," Kup noted dryly.

“Don’t harass him," Arcee instructed. “We know where they wanted Prime to go; we can reach him."

“Yeah, and pull him out of your buddy Galvatron’s hands," Kup muttered. “Long as you’re here, you can suit up, Arcee. I could use another gun for this."

“There’s no point in interfering," Arcee told Kup. “If we jump down, Galvatron will call in his troops and we’ll be outgunned. Even if we bring Sideswipe and Cosmos we’ll still be shorthanded."

“Oh, I forgot," Kup mused. “You know Galvatron."

“I’m not such a fool to think that," Arcee replied coolly. “I don’t understand him. I don’t want to. I don’t want to let his way of thinking into my head… but that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned something from him.

“He won’t mind if we go down to watch the fight," Arcee continued. “And more importantly, he won’t back down if we challenge his pride."

Kup wiggled hi cy-gar. “What are you suggesting?"

“We let the fight play out," Arcee explained. “We hope Optimus can pull through. But if he doesn’t, Galvatron will be vulnerable, and I’ll be there to remind him what he owes me."

She lifted the massive blade from her back; the very same sword she used to battle a Combiner not long before.

“And if he isn’t willing to pay his debts, I’ll stand for Optimus- and cut Galvatron in two."

-

Uluru


Galvatron looked up to the top of the plateau. “Blitzwing, if you’d be so kind…"

Blitzwing, standing with Jazz at the edge of Ayer’s Rock, reached to his back and pulled out his electron scimitar. He extended his hand and dropped the sword down the ledge, the hilt eventually landing in his leader’s hand far below.

“A sword?" Galvatron balked. “I’d have preferred an axe. You should start carrying one."

“Sure thing, boss," Blitzwing called. Then he quietly muttered to Jazz: “I liked that sword."

Galvatron swung the blade around a few times, getting a feel for the weight and heft. Eventually he turned his attention back to Prime and steadied himself. “After you, Prime."

Optimus complied and moved in, swinging his energo-axe in wide arc. Galvatron slammed the scimitar against Optimus’s axe, the two clashing in a hail of sparks.

“You should surrender," Prime advised. “There’d be no shame in retreating when at a tactical disadvantage."

“Galvatron does not run," Galvatron answered, pushing Prime back. “He does not retreat."

Optimus seized opportunity and hacked into Galvatron’s right arm while the Decepticon leader pontificated. “I noticed," Optimus observed.

Galvatron cried out in pain and punched Optimus away with his free hand, the scimitar sliding from his damaged fingers to the dirt. Galvatron hoisted it back up in his left hand and went to attack Optimus again, sword and axe clashing once again.

“Don’t try me, Prime," Galvatron warned. “Battle is all I live for, the fight all I am. I was born to make war; forged in fire."

“I was born after the Golden Age you brought to Cybertron," Prime replied. “I know peace is possible, and worth building again. Only warmongers like you prevent that from happening."

“Warmonger?" Galvatron laughed. “War is our natural state. Our sparks were forged with one bright light amongst ten million flickering bulbs. Peace is nothing more than coddling the weak, allowing them to live and lessen and weaken our race. You’re an exceptional spark, aren’t you Prime? You must be if the Matrix called to you…"

“I am strong," Optimus confirmed, clashing axe and scimitar once more, “but that doesn’t give me the right to make war on anyone else. All war does is reduce the number of sparks. It doesn’t matter how bright mine is; it won’t illuminate Cybertron by itself."

“Oh, you are strong," Galvatron agreed. “A warrior, even if you never wished to be. It’s a terrible shame, such a waste of talent."

“Is there a point to your bluster?" Prime demanded. “Or do you just need to express your disappointment?"

“My point?" Galvatron wondered aloud. “Yes, I’ll make it… as I said, Prime, you are strong."

Galvatron slashed with the scimitar, aiming low and hitting Prime at the knee, staggering his foe. “But I… am Galvatron."

As Prime fell forward, Galvatron raised his knee and bashed it into Prime’s chin, knocking his head back. “Darklander. Warrior born."

Galvatron hoisted the blade high over Prime’s neck. “Power… incarnate!"

Prime saw the blade coming down and dropped his whole body to the dirt, Galvatron missing his swing and tumbling over himself. Prime reached up and swung his energo-axe into Galvatron’s arm again, dislodging it further with another strike.

Galvatron roared in pain, but instead of trying to remove Optimus’s axe, he instead pulled his forearm to his chest, drawing Prime close. He reared back Blitzwing’s scimitar with his left hand and drove it forward into Prime’s face, right through his left optic.

Prime cried out in pain, but did not falter. He pulled up his energo-axe and used his strength, cutting through Galvatron’s metal and ripping his right arm in twain. Prime’s axe now free, he attacked Galvatron’s remaining arm, dislodging the scimitar from his eye and pressed his assault.

Axe met scimitar in a hail of sparks, and Prime used his free right hand to pummel Galvatron with blow after blow, eventually forcing the Decepticon leader back. Another strike from the axe finally knocked Galvatron from his feet, and the darklander hit the dirt and rock with force.

Galvatron’s HUD was flickering warning after warning. His rage would not let him stay grounded for long, however. He attempted to rise, only for the Prime to level his energo-axe right in Galvatron’s face.

“Does Galvatron surrender now?" Prime inquired, squinting through the energon leaking from his skewered optic.

“Never," Galvatron spat.

“Then, though it pains me… I will do what I must," Prime promised him, raising the axe high. "’Til all are one."

Galvatron did not have time to reach for the scimitar. Even if he took hold of it Prime would pierce his chest before the blade was in the open air. Galvatron had no other option…

…no option save the bauble tied around his neck, given by his Quintesson allies. That he could reach, and with his left arm, Galvatron took hold of it and felt it pulse.

The axe rushing towards his chest slowed. Prime continued his swing, but his movement had slowed to a snail’s pace, moving centimeters at a time, while Galvatron retained his normal range of movement. He briefly glanced around, to Blitzwing and Jazz high above, seemingly frozen solid.

Galvatron pushed himself back along the dirt, still holding tightly to the “matrix” with his left hand as he dragged himself along the ground. Once out of the arc of Prime’s swing, he staggered to his feet, the device still pulsing against his chest.

Sudden, searing pain. Blinding fire.

Galvatron felt pain in his right side… the burning, searing metal… he glanced to his damaged right arm and watched the broken fragment reattach itself, rebinding his chassis together. His discarded particle cannon flew over from the crater he and Prime had created, drawn by the gravitational pull of the device. Its discarded front fell from the top of Ayer’s Rock and reconstituted, his cannon rebuilt upon his arm.

The pain subsided, as Galvatron flexed his arm. He turned his attention to Prime, still in mid-swing, his optics widening as he noticed his quarry had vanished, faster than his systems could compute.

Galvatron pondered the gift his cyborg allies had bequeathed. Such power he’d already witnessed firsthand to repair their minions, but now, having felt it… now he wondered just what this bauble could do.

And what it had done already… when he needed it to.

Questions for later. He’d focus on doing what he did best.

In that pause, while Prime was trapped in the rip in time, Galvatron fired his particle cannon straight to the chest.

-

Dzungaria Basin



Phaedrus’ instruments completely stopped. No readings came through.

“What-?" Indignious began, perplexed.

“A temporal distortion," Phaedrus observed. “The device’s gravity pull is so strong its creating a rip right into space time."

“The device can do that?" Indignious asked, stunned.

“Yes," Phaedrus confirmed. “It seems the Decepticon is putting it through its paces."

“Why would you entrust something so dangerous to those Cybertronians?" Indignious demanded.

“So they would slaughter one another with it," Phaedrus explained. “So long as they isolate their activities to their petty conflict, we can finish strip mining the planet."

“And if they should decide not to abide by your bargain?"

“Then I deploy the Nihilicons and rip the device away from Galvatron’s hands," Phaedrus answered simply. “The universe wants for loyal soldiers, not ambitious ones. Any other Decepticon will suit my needs if he is promised revenge."


High above them, Buzzsaw zoomed in his head-mounted camera, displaying the conversation as a holographic readout to Soundwave aboard the Nemesis.

The spymaster turned his attention to the signal he’d used to hijack the Autobots’ space bridge. New programs, new layers of encryption had been laid upon it by the Autobots. They’d recognize if he contacted them again.

Which was unfortunate… because he was about to.

-

Uluru



The space bridge erupted in a portal, as Arcee and Kup jumped out, slightly above the surface of the plateau. Blitzwing, still holding Jazz prisoner, turned to face them, and reached for his scimitar… only to remember he’d already dropped it down to Galvatron and get knocked by Arcee’s giant sword before he could reach for his gun.

Kup reached down to Jazz, checking the lieutenant’s wounds. “You all right, lad?"

Jazz had no quip handy. He was too stunned.

And Kup quickly saw why when Galvatron ascended up, propelled by his particle cannon, with a damaged and unconscious Prime slung over his shoulder.

“Galvatron!" Kup called, leveling his pistol.

Galvatron wasn’t in his usual spirits; he was somber and sullen when he tossed Prime’s chassis down into the dirt and landed beside Blitzwing. “Autobots," he greeted simply.

Arcee turned her attention to Galvatron and was at a loss for words. His armor looked showroom new. He had no wounds, not even defensive ones. Prime was scrapped and Galvatron was spotless. She had fully intended to challenge him to battle if things went south, but she hadn’t expected this…

“What have you done to Prime?" Arcee demanded.

“I haven’t killed him, not yet," Galvatron answered, direct and matter-of-fact, not his usual bombastic self, “He has fulfilled his end of the arrangement. You can take your comrade and go."

“You’re crazier than I thought you were if you think we’re just gonna let you take him," Kup snorted.

“You cannot stop me," Galvatron told him bluntly. “If you insist on impeding me I’ll destroy you. Stand down, and live to fight another day."

Kup glared at him, then at the rising Blitzwing. They still had a numerical advantage, but without Prime and Galvatron at full strength…

Arcee reached over and gently lowered Kup’s arm. Kup glared at her but complied.

“What’s this really about, old man?" Arcee asked. “I’d have understood if you just wanted him dead; why do you need Prime alive?"

“How well you know me," Galvatron mused, before reaching up to tap his ear. “Soundwave, we have the Prime. Take us back to our allies."

Kup was about to raise his pistol again, but Arcee continued to hold his arm down. Galvatron glanced back at her, indifferent –completely devoid of any joy of victory- and he, Blitzwing, and Prime vanished in a flash of light.

Kup turned back to Arcee, forcibly removing her arm. “What the hell was that?" he demanded. “What happened to catching him vulnerable?!"

“I underestimated him," Arcee said quietly.

“Listen, Arcee- I don’t know what games you play, but this isn’t the time for ‘em," Kup told her flatly. “We need to mobilize fast and get Prime back before Galvatron finishes what he started."

“We need to get back to the Ark," Jazz said, speaking at last. “See if we can track his signal and find the ‘Cons before they make their delivery."

Kup turned from Arcee, still seething as he called in. “Jetfire, lad, we’ve got a situation."


“I know," Jetfire confirmed from aboard the Ark. “I’ve just been informed."

“What? You keeping an eye on us up there, lad?" Kup inquired.

“No," Jetfire answered simply, “Soundwave told me."

“What?!"

“Soundwave just sent a message through the signal he used to hijack the space bridge," Jetfire explained, examining his console. “A set of coordinates.

“He’s told us where they’re taking Prime."





*Robots In Disguise #28- Earthfall

Chapter Five


The Darklands- The First Cybertronian Civil War, Ten Million Years Ago


Galvatron stumbled and fell. He could barely stand, but he was confident his opponent had it worse, and he was right. His foe was even bulkier than Galvatron himself, and the weight of a cannon on his foe’s right arm had gradually contributed to his loss of stamina. More of Galvatron’s energon had been spilt on the battlefield, but his foe had far greater power requirements. The protracted struggle had been to Galvatron’s advantage, and his stubborn refusal to surrender –even in the face of his foe’s strength and ferocity- had served him well.

Using his axe to steady himself, Galvatron forced himself to stand and walked to his foe, lying on his back on the ground, unable to lift his massive frame. Galvatron took three steps forward, and leveled his particle cannon forth, the barrel barely the size of his foe’s wrist.

Megatronus, his former leader, lay at Galvatron’s feet, still struggling to rise.

“You abandoned your post,” Galvatron observed. “Such an offense is punishable by death.”

“Don’t quote my rules to me, whelp,” Megatronus ordered, still trying to rise. “You’d never have risen so far without me.”

“You’re correct,” Galvatron agreed, “I’d have died long ago if not for you. You taught me to be stronger than I ever thought possible… and taught me that anyone’s metal could dull with age. You grew complacent, and when I surpassed you, you decided to run instead of accepting the inevitable.”

“Nothing is inevitable,” Megatronus told him. “I know that better than anyone… and I know what damage recklessness can cause. It destroys more than just metal.”

“Spare me your pontification,” Galvatron requested, his cannon charging up. “I want to remember you fondly.”

“I promise to do the same…”

Megatronus finally hoisted his right arm up and charged. The Requiem Blaster, nearly as large as Galvatron himself, charged up and energies gathered in its barrel. Wounded as he was, Galvatron could not do much in response, merely allowing his unfinished charge to fire from the cannon and straight into Megatronus’ primary weapon.

The explosion of energies erupted between them in a sphere, sending Galvatron flying back across the battlefield, landing in a heap several meters away. His particle cannon had borne the brunt of the explosion, and was rendered non-functional, just a sparking heap on his arm.

But he still had his axe, and his foe still lived. And he could not be caught unaware again; the outcome of battle was still undetermined. Galvatron detached the wreckage of his particle cannon and took his axe into his right hand and diverted remaining energon reserves to his legs to keep them steady… if only long enough for one final, desperate charge.

Galvatron charged and swung the axe aloft. Megatronus, driven by rage hotter than the twin suns above Cybertron, lifted himself and his heavy Requiem Blaster…

Megatronus fired. Galvatron leapt skyward, sailing over the purple burst, axe held high.

He swung it down, landing behind Megatronus. His left leg winged and gave out, Galvatron stumbling behind his former leader. He again leaned on his axe to stagger up, as behind him, Megatronus fell forward, a deep gash in his chest, the baleful green of his spark exposed to the open air.

Galvatron turned to Megatronus, staggering towards him, trying to hoist up Megatronus by his head, barely able to hold the weight in his left hand.

“Welcome… to the top of the food chain…” Megatronus congratulated, “I hope it suits you better than it did me.”

Galvatron leveled the axe to his former leader’s neck. “Any last words?”

“I loved her,” Megatronus answered, “She was a Prime, and I was not. All the Primes are gone, Galvatron… all that’s left are their fallen husks.”

“If it helps, history will not remember you as one of their ilk,” Galvatron told him. “I’ll make sure they all know you were the strongest. Your legend will bolster my own.”

Galvatron slashed. Megatronus fell.

“And no Primes will live to dispute the history I’ll make…”

-

Dzungaria Basin, Today


Galvatron and Blitzwing emerged from the teleport flare, dragging the unconscious Prime by his damaged arm, eventually tossing him before the Quintessons and their Nihilicon guards.

Phaedrus looked up from his instruments and levitated over, hoisting a datapad in one tendril and scanning Prime’s fallen body. He turned one set of eyes to the device around Galvatron’s neck, his datapad struggling to read through its energy readings to find the Matrix the Prime carried.

“Is he alive?” Phaedrus asked.

“Barely,” Galvatron confirmed. “Much as I wanted to give him a warrior’s death… I thought he might still have something to contribute to this co-venture.”

“Prudent call,” Phaedrus agreed, still scanning Prime’s body. “The Matrix may have integrated with his systems; possibly even kept him alive after your battle.”

“Do your science and let it be done,” Galvatron instructed gruffly, “I’d like this alliance to have served its purpose.”

“Eager to be rid of us?” Phaedrus wondered.

“Eager to resume my conquest,” Galvatron answered, “this world is not as large as Cybertron, but there is so much more life to subjugate.”

“Oh, quite,” Phaedrus nodded, still toying with his datapad, “We will be only too happy to reduce your burden once we set to work.”

Phaedrus waved over his steward, and Indignious levitated over, carrying the Emberstone.

“Let me show you what we have in mind, Darklander,” Phaedrus offered.


High above them, Buzzsaw heard a familiar beeping, and opened his comms. “What is it now?”

A projection of Soundwave appeared before him, projected from Buzzsaw’s head-mounted camera. “I want you to switch to live recording,” the spymaster told him, “I’ll set up the uplink; just give me as much of the current feed as you can get through the atmospheric interference.”

“Something going down, boss?” Buzzsaw inquired.

“Soon,” Soundwave promised. “Very soon.”

-

Ark-7


“I’ve been wise to Soundwave’s tricks since well before some of you lot even joined this fight,” Kup scolded Jetfire, “there is no reason to trust him.”

“Except that he’s offering us something we need,” Arcee reminded him. “Is there any harm in hearing him out?”

“The smart bots tried looking in his head once*,” Kup pointed out, “It didn’t end well. He could just be stalling for time while his boss finds a place to stash Prime.”

“And what’s our alternative?” Jetfire asked, “Soundwave already infiltrated our systems. We could scan the entire planet instead of taking his call and they’d be tipped off before we could bridge down. I understand your trepidation, Kup, but consider our options.”

Kup seethed. “Alright, lad… let’s try it. But let’s make it short and sweet.”

Jetfire linked the comm systems in his terminal. D.O.C. floated over and aided in the process, and eventually the two set up a holographic projection of their contact. A few seconds passed before a projection of Soundwave appeared before the three Autobots, ‘standing’ over the space bridge.

“I’m glad you were able to see reason,” Soundwave observed, “Shall we begin?”

“Straight to it, ‘Con,” Kup instructed with an accusatory point, “Where did your boss take Optimus Prime?”

The holographic projection of Soundwave reached briefly off-screen before drawing up a second holographic projection of the planet Earth, spinning the three dimensional model in his hands and pointing to a southern portion of Asia. “Northwestern China; Dzungaria,” Soundwave explained, pointing and zooming in on the model. “That is where the meeting is taking place.”

“Meeting? With whom?” Jetfire wondered.

“A mutual enemy,” Soundwave answered. He reached up to tap his ear and spoke quietly, his words muffled by his face mask. A few seconds passed, and Soundwave replaced his projection of the planet with a video feed, where the Autobots could clearly make out Optimus lying in the dirt, Galvatron and Blitzwing standing over him, with a trio of strange, multi-faced cyborgs and nine stoic Cybertronian soldiers.

“And these people are?” Arcee asked.

“I know only one- Phaedrus, their leader,” Soundwave answered, pointing to the cyborg scanning Prime’s body. “He is the one who gave Galvatron the device.”

“So these squids have been pulling the strings,” Kup observed, “Friends of yours?”

“No,” Soundwave answered flatly, “Feel free to destroy as many as you like in pursuit of your leader.”

Soundwave shut off the live feed and tapped a few controls off-screen. “I am setting the exact coordinates,” he stated, typing. A few moments passed and the space bridge flared to life, a circular portal drawn between its four prongs.

Arcee was quick to head in, but Kup caught her shoulder. “Hold it,” Kup told her, before turning his attention to Soundwave, “Show us some proof this isn’t a trap.”

“Your distrust is noted,” Soundwave dryly observed.

“I’m serious, boxy,” Kup sneered, “Send one of your boys through the bridge. Show me your intentions are pure.”

Soundwave stared at Kup for several seconds then complied, walking off screen. There were sounds of a scuffle.

“Jetfire, lad, can you track the jump?” Kup whispered.

Jetfire nodded, and started quietly typing code into his terminal.

A few moments later, Soundwave returned, holding a squirming Dreadwing by his arm. “Come on, I’m not fully patched up yet!”

“Not exactly in our best interests to send more ‘Cons into the fight,” Arcee noted.

“My thoughts exactly,” Kup agreed. “Send him through the bridge, but not to Earth. Show us some good faith.”

“I see you are abusing my generosity,” Soundwave noted, “But very well. I will set coordinates for Cybertron.”

“Cybertron?!” Dreadwing protested, “But I just got here! I wasn’t even done in the scrappin’ R chamber when you pulled me out! What do I tell Needlenose?!”

“From you, I’m certain he is used to disappointment,” Soundwave stated, before throwing Dreadwing against the wall of the bridge and typing in a new heading.

“Come on, why are you doing this?” Dreadwing moaned from the floor.

“We all must sacrifice for the cause, Dreadwing,” Soundwave answred. “Some more than others,” he added quietly.

Soundwave tapped a button above his chest. “Laserbeak, eject. Provide a live feed of our friend’s departure.” Laserbeak popped out, and after a few flaps, deployed his head-mounted camera. “Skywarp, send them through the bridge. Ensure Laserbeak’s safety, but don’t feel the need to be precise with Dreadwing.”

“Gladly,” Skywarp replied from off-screen.

“Guys, come on-“ Dreadwing didn’t get a chance to finish as both he and Laserbeak disappeared in a purple flash. Soundwave walked over to his terminal, and after a few seconds pulled up a slightly distorted camera feed, with Dreadwing landing in a heap next to Maccadam’s. Blurr walked out of his bar, stared at Dreadwing for a few seconds and then threw a shanix down to the heap of blue Decepticon before heading back inside. The camera angle shifted as Laserbeak flew back into the space bridge portal, re-emerging onto the bridge of the Nemesis and flying over to land on Soundwave’s shoulder.

“You treat all your comrades this way?” Kup asked, amused.

“Only the loyal ones,” Soundwave answered, “I am resetting the coordinates. Are we agreed on the course of action?”

“Just put us a little closer to the ground,” Arcee requested, hoisting her large sword. “Unless there’s one of these baddies waiting for me to land on.”

“Establishing trajectory,” Soundwave replied. “I’ve refined the telemetry data and sent the new coordinates.”

Jetfire examined the space bridge data on his terminal. “It matches up,” he said quietly to Kup. “The Cybertron trip was legit. The new coordinates are just a few meters off from the first set he sent.”

“Well, okay then,” Kup agreed, pulling up his blaster. “Any mission parameters on your end, Soundwave?”

“Kill only our mutual enemy, if casualties are necessary,” Soundwave instructed, “There will be time to kill each other tomorrow.”

“Fair enough,” Kup agreed, “Jetfire, tell Sky Lynx to head down so we can medevac Prime. Get Cosmos to give us some air support and jam any human communications; last thing we need is to get them involved. Stay here and keep us informed.”

“Bring him back, Kup,” Jetfire requested, “I don’t want the ‘Cons looking behind the curtain any longer than necessary.”

“You got it, lad,” Kup nodded. “Shall we?”

Arcee was already halfway through the space bridge. “If you can keep up, old man.”

-

Dzungaria Basin


Indignious gulped hard, one of his face masks spinning out of place as he glanced at Galvatron and his subordinate. The Decepticon seemed bored and lethargic, and entrusting a device that could literally manipulate space time to someone who cured boredom with brutal galactic war would put anyone on edge. Yet Phaedrus stood less than three meters from the towering Decepticon, leaning over another unconscious Cybertronian. Why had the Triumvirate insisted on giving him this assignment? Whatever faith they had in Phaedrus would rapidly evaporate if this gamble didn’t pay off, but Indignious would probably be brutally murdered by a Decepticon who could manipulate space time, so it was hard to see much positive to being proven right.

“Can you extract it?” Phaedrus asked.

And of course, they were still heavily reliant on the Decepticons regardless. There were several more functioning Autobots undoubtedly searching for their leader, and billions of fleshies who could potentially venture into the basin and find them before the experiment was complete… the whole situation was intolerable.

Galvatron stepped over, then casually thrust his hand down into Prime’s chest and ripped out the bauble, faint blue light emanating from the Matrix’s left side.

“Efficient,” Phaedrus noted.

“I am well practiced,” Galvatron explained.

And the Decepticons were so… brutish. Even their leader, while bombastic, was as monstrous as his minions. Cybertronians had known little else but war for millions of years, and while that would certainly be an asset if they knew their place, the reality was much different.

Now the Quintessons’ only reliable troops were mindless automatons. The Cybertronians may have been easy to predict, but they were impossible to completely control.

And Galvatron was still holding the Matrix. Why did he delay giving it to Phaedrus?

“Something wrong?” Phaedrus asked, feigning innocent concern.

“Reminiscing,” Galvatron answered, looking down at the bauble, contrasting it with the device around his neck. “Been a long time since I held it.”

-

Iacon, the Dawn of the Golden Age


Galvatron hoisted the Matrix, looking at the glowing blue light, concaved together in its center and giving the appearance of crystalline structure. He examined it briefly, then tossed it back to Alpha Trion. “Absolutely not.”

“Someone must carry it,” Trion told him. “The Age of Primes may have ended, but the people have not forgotten their reign. If you want to maintain your leadership over the allied tribes, you must show them evidence that is universally respected.”

“So give it to Nova; he quite likes affectations,” Galvatron snarled, “I am not-“

“You are stronger than Nova,” Alpha Trion interjected, “No matter how you hide it, and no matter if he refuses to see it, we both know better. You command respect from everyone, and they will respect strength-“

“I thought you said they needed some pointless bauble to respect us,” Galvatron snapped, “Now you say it is my strength?”

“It is their fear, their inability to adjust without the benefit of time,” Trion answered, “They need reminders of their past, even if it’s just a bauble around your neck.”

“This Matrix belonged to Prima,” Galvatron noted, “It was the hilt of the Star Saber. It is not mine.”

“Clearly not so pointless to you,” Trion noted with a sly grin.

“I only wonder why you think I am worthy,” Galvatron replied.

“Neither of you is worthy,” Trion answered flatly. “But unlike Nova, you do not want it. You are willing to let Nova issue commands, because you are finally tired of war and know what a figurehead he really is. Nova would take any claim of legitimacy he can, because he knows he is just an upstart blessed with good fortune. You may want to rule over Cybertron, but you don’t need… affectations for the sake of ego.”

“I am not a Prime,” Galvatron answered simply. “Not Prima. Not Megatronus.”

“I was a Prime,” Trion answered. “But I renounced the name for the good of Cybertron.

“As did Megatronus, when he renounced his title, and let his student take his mantle instead.”

Galvatron’s eyes widened as he looked back at Trion. “You knew?”

“Before I met you,” Trion confirmed, “You killed your master but took nothing he owned. You forged your own path rather than built it on another’s foundation. That is why –of my two choices- I thought you would be preferable to carry the Matrix.”

“It doesn’t matter which of us has it,” Galvatron said. “The war is over, and Cybertron has its peace. What does it matter who has the Matrix?”

“Time will tell,” Trion answered simply.

-

Dzungaria Basin, Present


Galvatron stared at the Matrix for a few moments longer before handing it to Phaedrus, glancing down at Prime and stepping away.

Phaedrus turned to his Nihilicons and issued a command through his datapad. Three of his drones stepped forth from behind the nine overseeing the exchange, each carrying an animal contained within an energy field: one gray wolf, one Chinese mountain cat, and one long tailed goral. Phaedrus approached the three and reached into his chassis, putting away his datapad and pulling out the Emberstone.

He glanced at the two items in his tendrils and then the three alien species, and steadied himself.

“Destiny,” he whispered.


Nearby, a flash of blue drew the attention of the gathered Decepticons and Quintessons, as Arcee and Kup emerged from the space bridge, guns and sword drawn. The Nihilicons reacted immediately, two of their number rushing to intercept the new attackers, only for Arcee to swiftly bisect the first and Kup to put three holes in the head of the second.

“Always underfoot,” Galvatron mused, still whimsical, if less enthused.

“Friends of yours’?” Phaedrus asked.

“I do not have friends,” Galvatron answered.

“Well, good. That simplifies matters,” Phaedrus nodded, turning to the two new arrivals.

“We’ve come for Optimus,” Kup declared. “Hand him over and we’ll be on our way.”

“And why should we comply?” Phaedrus asked. “Consider your situation- we have an overwhelming numerical advantage. Why should we fear you?”

Arcee pulled out her pistol and fired at the nearest Nihilicon. It briefly wandered around, headless, with smoke rising from its neck before it fell back in a heap.

“Your advantage is clearly finite,” she observed.

“Oh, I quite disagree,” Phaedrus said with a smile, as three silhouettes rose behind him. “You see, this planet is quite diverse… so full of simple life, so easily infused with your tech. It’s truly ironic… your past has come calling to consume your future.”

The wolf, the cat, and the goat stepped forth, their limbs augmented by Cybertronian tech, their eyes glowing baneful green, weapons rising from their back as more raw metal seemed to rise out of their once organic flesh.

“What the scrap did we get into…” Kup wondered, pulling up his blaster.

Phaedrus spun his faces around. “Cybertronians, for your theft, for your betrayal, as a representative of the Triumvirate of the Quintesson empire…” He finally selected his Death mask and decreed judgment.

Phaedrus waved his tendril and his three beasts and nine Nihilicons attacked.

“…I sentence you to die.”




*More Than Meets the Eye #14

Chapter Six


LV-117, the past


Varta had found his target, and eagerly dug in his spear. The Chaosteros had already been wounded, and a final blow felled it.

“With that we gather for the feast,” Varta observed, “stabbed it with steely knives but just couldn’t kill the beast!”

“The harvest is bountiful and will make many meals,” Wheelie observed, walking over to join his partner. “Why don’t you hurry up and close the deal?”

“Will need time to cut down sinew and blood,” Varta answered, withdrawing his spear and seeking his knife. “Should make for weeks worth of food.” As he set to work cutting open the reptilian, Varta glanced back at Wheelie. “Could use help with the task; even if you won’t eat, the meat will go fast!”

“I need no meat to keep my engine aflame,” Wheelie answered cheerfully, before sombering from a particularly unpleasant memory, “and for these beasts I recall a particular bit of shame.”

Varta laughed. “Yes, everyone needs to eat- least you were let out, even covered in sh-“ He stopped and jumped back from the Chaosteros, glancing skyward.

“What is it?” Wheelie inquired, “A visitor from the sky or another beast’s hunting cry?”

“No, far worse than we’ve seen,” Varta replied, “We should return to where we had been.”

Wheelie transformed, groaning from his rusted and damaged parts. Varta collected what meat he had and leapt onto Wheelie’s back and the two sped off, just as a burst of energy erupted beside the deceased Chaosteros, and a small group of figures emerged beside the beast’s corpse.

Wheelie and Varta moved to a rocky outcropping to conceal themselves, watching their visitors arrive. Two of their number were quite strange- floating cylinders with five faces and four tentacle limbs- and they were flanked by large brutes carrying spears, and strange, cobbled together robots with mismatched parts.

“Well, Doctor?” one of the cylinder squids asked, “Is this the right planet?”

“I am certain of it, Commander Praefectus,” the doctor replied, scanning with a datapad held in one tendril. “This was one of our colony worlds before the Prime took it as his own.”

“Then there is fuel here?” Praefectus asked.

“Yes, but I very much doubt we’ll scavenge much,” the doctor replied, “this planet has a strange temporal signature; it’s prematurely decayed. This entire system is aging faster than the rest of the surrounding star block.”

“So, you’ve led us to another dead end?” Praefectus inquired.

“Oh, no, Commander,” the doctor replied, “I’ve found just enough to continue my research…”


Above them, Wheelie turned to Varta. “Like Arachnosaurs clothed in metal and frame, have you seen such things or given them name?”

Varta shook his head. “Just more metal men like enemies past, I think these ones came from your holdfast.”

“Not like me or any of my kind, nor anything the ancients could find,” Wheelie replied. “But perhaps familiar to me, even though they’re a sight to see.”


The one called Praefectus glanced up at the rocks and saw Varta, but not his orange companion. “Locals are organic- you’re certain this is the place?”

“I will prove it shortly,” the doctor assured him.

“See that you do, Phaedrus,” Praefectus instructed. “Should you fail again, I’ll recommend you face the triumvirate’s judgment.”

“Understood,” Phaedrus replied, “I believe we can finally make the Quintesson empire strong again… once I find the Decepticon’s secret and imbed it within the titan. I’ve waited centuries for this moment.”

Around them, time shifted. The corpse of the beast was a skeleton, half buried under shoals and dust.

“I can stand to wait just a bit longer.”


-

Dzungaria Basin, Earth, the present


Arcee and Kup stood back-to-back, watching themselves grow increasingly surrounded by the cyborg creations and the silent Cybertronian drones. Galvatron watched alongside the tentacled scientist constructing the cybernetic animals, though the Decepticon leader wasn’t thrilled at the sight. He was disgusted by Phaedrus’s machinations.

“I didn’t realize this was your ultimate goal,” Galvatron noted.

“We must build our army from the resources available,” Phaedrus replied, as his Nihilicon minion brought him another cat to cyberform with the Emberstone and the Matrix. “I’m sure you can relate.”

Galvatron glanced back over at Blitzwing. “Only partially, I’m afraid.”

Phaedrus smirked. “Well, no matter. Once our mutual enemies are overwhelmed, we’ll be on our way, and leave you to your conquest. Each of us can make our empires strong in our own time.”

Arcee swung the heavy Combiner slayer, but the smaller goat adversary deftly avoided her, its cybertronian implants helping to telegraph her attack, combining animal flee instinct with precise timing. Kup attempted to shoot the wolf and the cat with a pistol in each hand, but both aptly dodged his fire, retreating in opposite directions and keeping the two bots surrounded.

Indignious, previously wary of the situation and his leader’s questionable mental state, was finally starting to enjoy himself. Seeing the Cybertronians squirm was the next best thing to seeing them fed to the Sharkticons, so at long last it seemed the trip to this biological backwater was worthwhile.

Though their Decepticon allies appeared rather ambivalent, their own forces were increasing, and only two Autobots challenged them. Though, admittedly, they were fighting quite well…

“Doctor, why not allow the Decepticons to intervene?” Indignious asked. “Surely it’ll take less time to build up our forces if we don’t let the Cybertronians slaughter them all.”

“You don’t trust your own troops to complete your mission?” Galvatron shot back, breaking from his torpor to add a mocking tone.

Phaedrus, for his part, was completely focused on manufacturing more of his cyborgs, so Indignious continued the verbal spar. “We should destroy our enemies quickly, don’t you think? With the power we have given you there should be no challenge at all.”

“The power you have given me,” Galvatron repeated, “That is precisely the problem.”

“Surely you’d rather fight them yourself than wait?” Indignious inquired.

“That is true,” Galvatron conceded, stepping over the stasis locked Optimus Prime. “Come, my Decepticons. Let’s end this farce quickly and show our allies the nature of war.”

“Finally,” Buzzsaw mused as he flapped over to his leader and began loading the mortar cannons mounted on his back. Blitzwing merely grunted and drew his blaster.

Indignious switched from one face mask to another to crack a smirk. That had worked better than he hoped.

Galvatron stepped past the cyborg wolves, crushing one under his heel and leveling his cannon at Arcee. “Shall we dance?”

Arcee hadn’t shown any signs of fatigue, despite the legion of cybernetic corpses at her feet. She leveled her Combiner Slayer and rushed at Galvatron, clashing her heavy sword against his wrist. “The company you’re keeping these days…” she noted.

“You’re one to talk,” Galvatron replied, shoving her back, even as the blade wedged deeper in his arm. “At least we can finally express ourselves properly, without the onus of a common enemy.”

“We do have a common enemy,” Arcee countered, trying to decide whether to free her sword or drive it deeper, “Or have you changed your mind about what monsters you’ll parley with?”

“Monsters?” Galvatron asked, “Your generation hasn’t seen monsters; you’ve seen scientists trying to make the strong by cobbling the weak together, you’ve seen aberrations of Primus and fools who don fragile organic skins. You dare to say I associate with monsters? How many have you fought beside? How many have you slain?”

“You’re always talking about the past, old man,” Arcee observed, “When are you going to boast about something new?”

“Perhaps when we finish our spar and you beg for your life,” Galvatron suggested.

“You should be boasting now,” Arcee told him, “You defeated Optimus Prime. You can count on one hand the number of bots who did that. So why hold back?”

“Perhaps the defeat of one Autobot pales in comparison to all I have done,” Galvatron replied, pushing Arcee further back.

“Or maybe, just maybe, you weren’t able to do it on your own,” Arcee pressed, “Maybe you needed a crutch.”

Galvatron dropped his polite façade. He reached his free hand to grasp Arcee’s throat and hoisted her up, ignoring the blade still wedged in his left hand. He squeezed, pressing hard on her voicebox.

Arcee held her composure. “I’ve seen you angry, Galvatron… but I’ve never seen you vulnerable. Couldn’t get the job done without your new friends?”

Galvatron’s rage subsided as he relaxed his grip, dropping Arcee to the desert sand. He looked down at the Dark Spark wrapped around his neck, placing his now free hand over its metal frame.

Around him, time froze. He saw Buzzsaw preparing to dive bomb the old Autobot with his diminutive mortars, while Blitzwing took a blaster bolt to his face. All around them Phaedrus’s creations swarmed, a myriad of organic beasts bound to Cybertronian technology, made slaves to the will of their master, holding Quintus Prime’s strange green rock.

Galvatron looked down at the Dark Spark, the Matrix he’d been given. It seemed to stare back at him with a small, purple flame, almost like an eye embedded in the black metal. He focused his attention on it, as time barely crawled.

Very essence of-

Expelled from-

Corrupted fragment-

Words. Not the Dark Spark’s; words spoken of it, but not to it. The inanimate object had memories, it seemed.

Alpha Trion had told him the Matrix of Leadership possessed the memories of Solomus, wisdom incarnate. Nova had never mentioned it affecting him, but he’d certainly seemed to change after he received the bauble, as he became a better warrior with greater strength and endurance, but far less of a tactician, more driven by insane ambition than his former tact and strategy. Perhaps he’d experienced something similar… hearing voices.

And then, of course, in the Dead Universe, after Galvatron betrayed him*, Nova Prime showed himself able to bend the energies of that reality to alter himself… into Solomus. And then into the Primes who succeeded him- Sentinel, Zeta, even Optimus. **

These matrices had no sentience, but memories still existed within them. Those who’d touched the fragment before had imprinted upon it, and it upon them, altering them, bending them.

He saw vague images of those who’d held it before him; a bounty hunter seeking to alter the flow of time, and a tyrannical warlord raising the dead as his legion. Both had been formidable warriors without the Dark Spark, yet once they had its power they relied upon it, rather than trusting in their own strength. ***

Just as he had. He thought this bauble would not betray him, as the Heart of Darkness had before. Instead, he betrayed himself, by forgetting what he believed. He’d allowed his desire for victory to overwhelm him, and now… now he’d willingly become a puppet for someone else’s agenda, and his campaign was not one of his own making. His victory was no victory at all.

Galvatron glanced over at the broken body of Optimus Prime and slowly contemplated his course of action.

He looked to his alien allies, who’d just manipulated him into doing their dirty work. For the second time.

He looked back to the Dark Spark, that he’d utilized to fight his battles for him.

And then he placed it over Optimus Prime, and willed time to resume its normal course.

“Perhaps, Arcee,” Galvatron told her, “I can give this battlefield some balance.”

The energy of the Dark Spark rebuilt the undead minions of its previous masters, but Galvatron thought he’d use it to rebuild an old enemy.

Optimus Prime was enveloped by bright light, as his wounds were patched and his systems restored, all the damage undone in an instant. His eyes flickered on, and the leader of the Autobots arose, born anew.

Phaedrus had been distracted by all he’d been seeking to create and turned his attention to the risen Autobot, broken from his trance.

“What have you done, Decepticon?” Phaedrus shouted. “Why have you done this?!”

“My name is Galvatron…” the darklander replied, before leveling his particle cannon and firing straight through Phaedrus’s torso.

The Quintesson scientist looked down at the hole in his cylindrical body, then fell forward, blood and mech fluid pooling around him.

“…and I answer to no one.”







*Transformers: Revelation
**Dark Cybertron Chapter 9: Finis Temporis
***Rise of the Dark Spark

Chapter Seven


Dzungaria Basin


Buzzsaw wasn’t sure what to think. Soundwave had warned him their cyborg allies would betray them, and he’d get the chance to indulge his art. Instead, Galvatron struck first, and while Buzzsaw had been only too happy to fire mortars at Kup, now his leader had changed targets.

He was only too happy to do the same. This way there’d be more targets. He ascended an additional six meters to improve the arc of his dive, and unleashed a steady stream of mortars down at their former alien allies, striking a few of their drone minions and splattering the crowd with dirt and rock from missed shots.

It wasn’t quite as much fun as destroying Autobots, but at least somebody was dying.

Blitzwing wasn’t faring quite as well. He usually favored two weapon combat, but Galvatron hadn’t deigned to return his sword, so the triple changer was just shooting at the drones with his battle rifle, and apparently failed to hit them even at such close range. Galvatron hadn’t bothered to engage the minions, leaving his two soldiers to do the fighting. Again, Buzzsaw had little reason to object.

Still, despite his wants, Buzzsaw reluctantly remembered his loyalty to Soundwave, and spoke a whisper.

-

Decepticon Flagship Nemesis


Soundwave heard Buzzsaw’s report before the ship’s live feed from the planet reached him. It was not surprising their deal with the aliens had not gone smoothly. What had caught Soundwave off guard was that Galvatron had initiated hostilities. Their leader may have had poor impulse control, but Soundwave expected him to simply provoke the aliens with his boasts rather than strike one down.

Still, this was an opportunity, and one that could not be wasted. Especially since Galvatron had apparently seen fit to resurrect the Prime with the alien artifact. Though far from perfect, it put the Decepticons in a stronger position.

“Cease all hostilities with the Autobots,” Soundwave instructed Buzzsaw. “I suspect Galvatron wants them alive to witness.”

“Or to help,” Buzzsaw suggested.

“I will be listening,” Soundwave assured him. “We have seen the benefit of temporary alliances with the Autobots… and the downside.* We will not let our mission be derailed again.”

The cause is too important, Soundwave thought, and will not survive another body blow.

Slowly, Soundwave began aligning the flagship’s weapons, and turned his attention to Skywarp.

“I may need you to make an emergency jump,” Soundwave informed his comrade.

“When… do you not?” Skywarp asked.

Soundwave did not share his humor. “Wait for my signal.”

-

Dzungaria Basin


Optimus took several moments to re-orient himself. His last conscious sensation had been pain, and now his systems were completely recalibrated and his wounds healed. It took him a moment to recognize he was in battle, and even longer for his internal systems to start managing targeting data and his IFF to determine what information he could about the strange robot drones and the cyborgs they were guarding.

Kup rushed to his side. “Optics front, lad,” Kup instructed. “Numbers are getting better, but only so much.”

Optimus did not immediately reply, turning his attention again to the fight. Galvatron, Blitzwing, and Buzzsaw were identified by his systems, pressing forward and rending the drones with fire. His most recent memories were of fighting with Galvatron, and yet now… now he and his Decepticons were fending off a numerically superior foe, and Arcee leapt into his field of vision to join their frontline, hacking the arm off another drone.

Optimus could not avoid showing his lack of acuity, but he would contain his doubts… with careful misdirection. “Sit rep,” he quietly instructed to Kup, while drawing his ion blaster and firing at the same target Arcee had selected.

“Don’t rightly know, lad,” Kup answered honestly, “Galvs over there went to a lot of trouble to bring you to the squids over there. Seems he had a change of spark and decided to murder his allies instead.”

“Galvatron…” Prime mused, watching the Decepticon leader savagely rip a drone in two and then evaporating its top half with his cannon, “…is unpredictable,” he noted, trying to sound calm and neutral. He needed to put up a brave front, even with a friend as old as this one.

“No foolin’,” Kup agreed, firing at another drone, whom Buzzsaw opportunistically struck after, “and you have a plan?”

“Not yet,” Optimus replied, allowing a bit of honesty, “but if possible, we press only as much as necessary. Let the Decepticons settle their issues with their former partners.”

“Cold,” Kup observed.

“You disapprove?” Optimus asked him.

“Not at all,” Kup replied. “Just… didn’t expect it, that’s all.”

“Arcee,” Optimus spoke quietly over private comm, “begin to fall back. Regroup on my position.”

Arcee glanced back at Prime only briefly. She’d have much rather continued her foray, but she complied, and after removing another drone limb, subtly switched to her battle pistols and begged off.

Indignious and the bailiffs drew back as their number of allies drastically decreased. Phaedrus’s experiment had succeeded and created an army of new minions. Regrettably, he’d been killed by their Cybertronian “ally” before the army had grown by more than single digits. Now the Nihilicons were being dismembered, and with the device in the hands of Galvatron, they were not re-forged after their demise.

“Commander Intentus, we need an orbital bounce now!” Indignious shouted. “NOW!”

“Oh, leaving us so soon?” Galvatron wondered, crushing the head of one of the bailiffs as he drew nearer. “What a pity. I thought I’d introduce myself to the rest of my new friends…”

“NOW!” Indignious cried again.

-
In the darkness of the Kuiper Belt, the Quintesson military responded to the expeditionary force’s request and activated their titan’s space bridge. Near instantaneously, a separate portal would open on the insignificant blue planet far away.

Near instantaneously.

Aboard the Nemesis, Soundwave tasted a pulsing beat of blue race into the upper atmosphere and pointed at Skywarp, trusting his comrade to compensate in the few nano-kliks of opportunity. “NOW!”

Skywarp concentrated…

-

…on Earth, the Quintessons and their minions were momentarily suspended in white light. Indignious watched Galvatron drawing near, and smiled, knowing he would be free…

…only to abruptly move forward, right into Galvatron’s grip, a flash of purple light briefly bouncing off his frame.

“What?” the Quintesson steward wondered, before glancing down at the digits holding him at the neck, then experiencing sudden disorientation as Galvatron hoisted him aloft. “What happened?”

“‘A Decepticon is never alone,’” Galvatron mused. “Soundwave is as capable as ever.” Galvatron pressed his particle cannon to Indignious’s chest.

Indignious replaced one of his five faces with another, a pudgy, sniveling mask. “Please… don’t!”

“Galvatron!”

The Decepticon leader turned his attention to the rear, where Optimus Prime, restored to full condition, stood beside his soldiers, weapons drawn on his vulnerable flank.

“This… being may have information of use to both of us,” Optimus told him. “There’s no need to terminate him- we can capture him alive, bring him back to Cybertron. Whatever he knows can benefit not only Autobots and Decepticons… but all Cybertronians.”

Galvatron nodded. “I agree.”

He then blasted the alien cyborg through the chest and tossed his charred corpse into the dirt.

“Learn all that you want,” Galvatron offered. “I have all that I need.”

Optimus continued to point his ion blaster, hesitating.

“Are you seeking to be humbled again?” Galvatron asked, raising his still smoking cannon.

Optimus continued to hold his pose, as Blitzwing and Buzzsaw moved to their leader’s side and readied their weapons. Arcee and Kup began to stagger their positions. They were all ready to fire.

Optimus closed his eyes and lowered his blaster. “Death was your goal, Galvatron. And you achieved it.”

Galvatron laughed. “I’m pleased to see you take your defeat with such grace. Blitzwing… bring my prize back to the ship.”

Blitzwing finally lowered his rifle and began dragging the cyborgs together. “And now?” Optimus inquired.

“Now I am satisfied,” Galvatron answered simply. “I have broken another Prime.”

Optimus had no rebuttal to offer.

“Soundwave, we’re ready to jump,” Galvatron noted, as Buzzsaw flapped to his shoulder. “I thank you for your generous choice of guardian.”

Galvatron turned his back from the Autobots, and hoped the momentary lapse in his bombastic grin went unnoticed by his troops before they disappeared in a flash of light.

Kup finally lowered his gun. “Honestly thought you had something planned there, lad.”

“I did,” Optimus answered, “but there wasn’t anything to gain after Galvatron finished his work.”

“And these things?” Arcee inquired, poking the corpses of the drones.

“Take whatever samples we can,” Optimus told her, “but we won’t be able to collect it all, and the Decepticons will return more quickly than we can. Call Sky Lynx for pickup.”

He was gaining his bearings again, keeping up the confident face for his troops. Arcee was observant and Kup had known him a long time, so surely they’d noticed his hesitation. But he couldn’t let them see weakness. Not when they had already seen him suffer defeat and humiliation.

Morale was already steadily decreasing. He could not afford to indulge in his own doubts.

The last time he’d battled Galvatron, they’d been interrupted before a winner could be determined. Before that, he’d been overcome by another alien entity and nearly destroyed Cybertron**. And when they’d fought earlier this day… Prime had remembered being near victory, only for Galvatron to snatch it away.

Galvatron had always been powerful, even without external assistance. Whatever he’d gained from his temporary allies made him able to overwhelm Optimus. Before, Optimus had assumed them to be on roughly even footing. A near victory did nothing to bolster his confidence.

And now…

…now he would need to find his own method of countering Galvatron’s new advantage. The Decepticons already held a numerical advantage, but a psychological one…

Prime had suffered too many losses and betrayals. He’d waited long enough.

It was time for a change.

It was time to transform.

-

Decepticon Flagship Nemesis


Galvatron returned to the bridge, patting Buzzsaw on the head. “Wherever did you find this one, Soundwave?”

“He found me,” Soundwave replied. “He saved me.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Galvatron nodded, as Buzzsaw flapped off his shoulder.

Soundwave could taste Buzzsaw’s pleasure. His desire for conflict may not have been entirely sated, but it was… for the moment, at least… appeased.

But from Galvatron, nothing. Just his scent, the sound of his footsteps, the lingering energy radiating from his cannon. He was pleased with himself, or at least seemed to be.

“Was it necessary to destroy the alien?” Soundwave inquired, before he was too distracted in his own ponderings.

“No,” Galvatron answered simply. “It was what I wished to do.”

“I see,” Soundwave nodded. He opened his chest to allow Buzzsaw entry, watching Galvatron wordlessly pass Skywarp towards his quarters.

Once again, Galvatron’s rash actions had cost them. Their alliance of convenience was teetering towards the breaking point… and now the ancient warrior had a new weapon in his arsenal.

Soundwave would need to hasten the construction of the commune. Without a stronghold and a support base, he was no match for Galvatron, and the fight was closer than ever before.


As for Galvatron himself, he finally lowered his guard –not completely, but enough- and examined the bauble the aliens had bartered to him. He could not simply dispose of it- if any of the aliens had escaped, they could recover it. Or worse, Blackrock and the humans could find it and discover its secrets. He could not give it to the Autobots- it would undermine his victory, and the Prime would simply give it to the Cybertronian government, and then another manipulator would seek to harness its power. He could not give it to his followers- Soundwave actively plotted against him, and the others were just low-ranking soldiers, not to be trusted with power.

All he could do was keep the bauble, mount it in his quarters as a reminder of his weakness and failure. A reminder that for one moment, the invincible warrior had been bested.

Galvatron set the Dark Spark aside and stared at the wall.

He heard the dark whispers. Felt his metal bend as it healed the little scratches the aliens had left on him.

He fired his cannon at it and watched it fall to the floor… completely undamaged, as though to mock his efforts and remind him of his shame all over again.

Galvatron blasted into his walls and destroyed the lights of his quarters, wishing to be alone in darkness and ruin.

Instead he saw the device’s baneful purple light, mocking him further.

Galvatron ripped the walls open again and buried the device in rubble, before storming out of his quarters to find the solitude he desperately needed. Blitzwing passed by, edging quietly in, and took one look at the interior of Galvatron’s quarters. He tossed the dead cyborgs into the rubble and very quickly headed to his own quarters.

This misadventure appeared to be a victory to his warriors. That he would focus on.

But he’d never forget what it had cost him… and though he’d vented his anger on two of their number, there were others out in the galaxy who could oppose him, with knowledge of his race…

…while in the darkness and ruin, the Dark Spark lingered just below the Quintesson corpse, waiting for a new hand to grasp it, and unleash it again.

-

The Kuiper Belt


“Was anything recovered?” the Triumvir inquired via hologram, speaking to Intentus on the titan’s bridge.

“No, my liege,” Intentus answered. “The Decepticons intervened with the orbital bounce. The entire expeditionary force was wiped out.”

“And Phaedrus’s experiments?” the Triumvir asked.

“His only records indicate the device failed,” Intentus replied. “My own scientists are still working on it, but there’s no evidence of any successful test.”

“And he took the Emberstone with him to Earth…” the Triumvir mused. “Very well, Commander. All mining operations on Earth are to cease. Take what you have and set your titan to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet.”

“My liege… without the Energon…” Intentus began, but was quickly quelled by the hologram changing from one mask to another.

“We have found an alternative fuel source that will suffice in the interim,” the Triumvir explained. “One of our sources in the Black Block Consortia has leaked to us the location of another titan… a titan bereft of Cybertronian survivors.

“Set your course for Prion.”

Intentus bowed. “For the glory of the Quintesson empire.”

The hologram faded and he ordered his helmsman to launch, taking their weapon to rejoin the rest of their forces. They had lost today, both an ancient artifact and an enormous supply of resources, at the hands of the hated Cybertronians.

But so long as they could muster any force at all, the Quintessons would continue their mission to rebuild their empire.

In darkness and ruin they would survive, to fight another day.








*Dark Cybertron Finale
**Chaos, Part Four: Genesis

Epilogue


Dzugaria Basin, before the daylight


He’d come far from his base of operations, but he had been blessed with new information. His instruments detected several incursions. His curiosity drove him to pursue it.

But more to the point, the voices had told him where to go. The darkness had whispered in his ear, and told him where his destiny would come to embrace him.

He emerged from the dirt, crawling out the end of a long tunnel. He peered around the environment… his organic shell was right at home in this cool desert night, and the robot within it had long lived in darkness and ruin.

He stepped towards the sight of battle, to the scars left behind. He wanted to collect it all, to sate his monstrous curiosity. He inspected every severed limb, examining the incredible technology that had welded Cybertronian tech together.

He examined the mech fluid mixed in the dirt… a flavor laced with organics, but not from the local fauna. He collected a sample to see if he could identify the component species. Then the corpses of mutated wildlife indigenous to the planet… a bounty of riches like none he’d ever encountered!

And then, in the darkness and ruin, he found it, glowing baneful green.

“Well, well,” Mesothulas pondered.

He hoisted the Emberstone in one spider leg, his eight eyes baring down on it.

“What do we have here?”