TFA: Visions pt 1 by rumblebee25
Series: Transformers Animated
Genre: AU, some not quite slash in pt 2
Author: rumblebee25
Charas: Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Cyclonus
A/N: This can be read as a stand alone piece though it takes place in a Starscream x Optimus AU called Private Dancer. This fic occurs WAY earlier in the time line though, before SS x Optimus are even online.
Above the city the Nemesis loomed and Ultra Magnus tensed as Decepticon fliers poured from the ship. He saw the jets before hearing the distant roar of their engines. From the ground they were like black flecks of ash that turned and rolled in a wild breeze. Streaks of white tracer fire rained down on the city as bombers covered the city skies and dropped ground troops.
Decepticons warriors hit the streets running and moved like a hive mind. The masses flowed together until the individual soldiers were a seething controlled chaos, taking city blocks and defending their positions. That gave time for another wave to leap frog over them and push the Autobots back.
Megatron previously struck with guerilla warfare tactics in outlying sectors and Magnus didn't realize he'd been played. Those attacks were nothing like this coordinated mass strike. Reports were coming in from Kaon to Vos and some witnessed Autobots among their troops. The Decepticons had sympathizers among the working class but the Council never realized the depths of their unrest until constructibots fell into positions of defense and erected barriers for the Decepticon invaders.
The Autobots put their hopes in the Guardians and Omega Supreme was their shining hope. Megatron expected that as well and the Nemesis unleashed a weapon to match the great mech's power. The tyrant changed the rules and brought forth a machine that never seen on Cybertron before.
It was called a Combiner, a monstrous being that wreaked destruction in its wake. Even when it was blasted, the pieces would transform into a group of mechs of that worked as team. Later Magnus found out the one that leveled the Cybertron Council towers was called Devastator. He was horrified to find that two more of these monsters were sighted in other cities.
The council chamber was in ruins and back up generators couldn't keep the darkness out of the once bright structure. Ultra Magnus was taken captive and left with alone in his cell while silent guards kept watch over him.
Megatron did not even come to see the captured Autobot leader. That's how little Magnus was valued and he feared for his people. Com links were down and he prayed his Autobots were evacuating the planet. They would be wiped from existence if Megatron turned the full force of the Allspark on them.
A light at the end of the dark hall cast long spear of light into the row of holding cells. Magnus tried to stand. Even without his weapon, he would not make his execution easy.
But the mech that came for him was not Megatron. The strange flier was like the shadow of death, sharp of his armor seemed to reflect the darkness instead the light. The mech kneeled low and lit a torch so he could see Ultra Magnus. The Con's red optics locked onto his prisoner and his gaze was sharp as a laser. His stare seemed to picked the Autobot leader apart.
The flames from the torch cast light and shadows that danced in the dark cells. Shapes wavered as ebbing blackness filled the jail was with ghostly images of mechs. Or so it seemed to Ultra Magnus. For an eternal second, he thought he went mad.
"Same but not the same," the strange Decepticon muttered cryptically, "I wonder that mysteries you hold."
"I will not answer your questions, torturer," Magnus said and he spat at the Con. The mech simply wiped his cheek.
"Hmph, I'd expect from Rodimus not you," the mech said and he motioned for the guards to raise their prisoner to his feet. As he was lead away, Ultra Magnus wondered who this 'Rodimus' person could be. No one in the Cybertron Command had that name.
Ultra Magnus was led outside to the terrace that served as his podium when he addressed his people. He'd never forget the smell of smoke, distant weapons fire and the constant rumble of constructibots clearing away rubble.
But it was Megatron who was seared into to his memory banks, the image burning like a brand. The warlord leaned on the railing as he looked down at the city below, his silhouette was black against a night sky tinted orange from smoke and fire. Then Megatron turned around and smiled at Ultra Magnus.
This was the mastermind mind in charge of the rebellion. Megatron's troops worked with an almost Autobot level of cooperation. Perhaps he wooed dissatisfied Autobots to his side before the invasion. And there was an eerie level of calm from the invaders, as if the Cons knew the outcome of the battle.
From the distance of old age, Magnus saw his foe clearly and it chilled him even more. The tyrant was so young to wield such power. Back then he only saw a hardened soldier who was marked with jagged lines of red paint. The fires of the Inferno glowed in Megatron's optics and he was a mech created in solid destronium, forged by the hand of a master builder.
The threat known as Megatron emerged from nowhere and took advantage of the unrest that emerged between the military and the civilian sectors. Autobot propaganda portrayed him as little more than an armed thug. The mech who walked towards Ultra Magnus was made to command worlds. Ultra Magnus lost his nerve for the briefest click and the young mech laughed softly, in full control of the situation.
"Tell your people that the electrical grid and basic utilities will be back on in two or three solar cycles," Megatron ordered.
The request was not what Magnus expected and when he didn't answer quickly, the impatient warrior backhanded him. Suddenly the dark flier emerged from the darkness and he was his leader's side.
"Lord Megatron, you need him," the mech said and the young mech huffed like an irritable protoform.
"I've done as you've told," the tyrant said, "The city is secured and causalities were kept at a minimum. So why can't I fight this one?"
"An arena is being built for you," the dark mech said, placating his master, ""Fight his warriors instead. They will be angry at you and not hold back. And if you spare their lives, the citizens will think you are honorable."
"And if these prisoners die?" Megatron asked.
"That is unavoidable," the flier said and he smiled like a proud creator.
Ultra Magnus was an honored 'guest' and as such, he was witness to the warlord's endeavors. The city was in flux and there the constant rumble of rebuilding. This went on for days as Megatron remade Iacon to his own liking. The tyrant recieved his arena, though nothing as grand as Magnus imagined. It wasn't meant to be. The site was for Megatron to deal out punishment as needed.
He thought the city would fall into pillage and destruction, but Megatron kept a tight rein on his troops. He even fought and executed several of his own soldiers when they were caught terrifying the local populace. But the arena's defining moment came when Megatron fought one his own combiners for destroying a section of the Dead End. To him this was an unacceptable loss of civilian life.
The battle of Megatron and the giant was televised, tribute to his own ego. The Autobots hoped the warlord's time was at end when the warlord was picked up and slowly crushed in the monster's hand. To the collective horror of both factions the giant mech demanded that the tyrant name him as the new ruler of the Decepticons. Instead, Megatron disappeared from the Combiner's grip and a small object fell from its hand.
The object tumbled and grew larger. As it dropped as it took Megatron's form. The warlord landed in a crouch and fired on the giant, destroying its right arm. His opponent fell into pieces and the remaining parts transformed into individual mechs. Megatron advanced on them and drew twin swords, slicing his foes into pieces.
Still he spared their lives when they begged for mercy, he even offered his hand to their leader Onslaught. After reaffirming their loyalty, the wounded mechs were retrieved them from the arena's floor and treated by medics.
Still Megatron took the damaged parts of his Combacticons and displayed these on spikes as a warning to his troops. Autobot and Neutral civilians were to be left unharmed or face the penalty of the arena.
Magnus chose to follow the tyrant's orders for the time being. He stood at the podium and reassured his people that he was in talks with the Decepticons and that both sides would resolve this peacefully. Actually there were talks between him and the warlord. Megatron gave orders and if Magnus did not follow them, then another Autobot soldier would be the new 'ruler' of the Autobots.
A world wide broadcast was sent out and Magnus lied to his people. The power grid would be fully online and fuel supplies would flow like usual. The Autobot citizenry could rest assure their daily lives would return to normal. This sham was so obvious, that he was certain that any Autobot rebels would see right through it. The resistance would rise against the Decepticon oppressors.
Once upon a time, he was so certain that day would come.