Disclaimer: Guess who's back! After a much need break, and given the success of Transformers: Til All Are One, I've decided to do sequel focusing on the Five Faces of Darkness storyline. And, I'm doing it my way, so expect to see some new faces. Pun intended. I don't own Transformers, by the way.

Prologue

On a day unlike any other, a great and terrifying darkness falls upon my home planet of Cybertron. My race, my brothers, the Autobots who have fought for freedom, and the Decepticons who have dreamed of tyranny, have set aside their differences to face common threat. They face the dark, godlike entity known as Unicron. They fight as one with a fury unlike which the universe has never known. They fight even though it could be a losing battle. From another plain of existence, I watch. I am powerless to help my brothers, for I myself have fallen in battle and become one with my maker, Primus. Yet I hold out hope that the Chosen One, chosen by the Matrix of Leadership, will rise to light our darkest hour.

Then, as though my own prayers are answered, I face my successor. He is young and reckless, but courageous and devoted. He is greeted by the past keeper of the Matrix. One tells him they've waited for him. Another says he has fought with courage and honor. They are the hallmarks of a leader, another says. I step forward and tell my successor it is his time to open the Matrix; to lead our race; to light our darkest hour. I address him by his name: Rodimus Prime. He recognizes my voice and calls out to me…

"Optimus!"

Reborn, remade, my successor faces down a powerful Decepticon, one whom I've faced so many eons ago in another life. Then he opens the Matrix, lighting our darkest hour as foretold. The light begins to tear Unicron apart. Rodimus continues to fight the Decepticon before, in perhaps a form of irony, he tries to save him from impending death. The Decepticon refuses, allowing himself to plunge to an uncertain fate. Undeterred, Rodimus must focus on locating those who came with him. He searches for them swiftly but calmly, ignoring the increasing hostility of a rapidly deteriorating environment.

He finds them and leads them to salvation as Unicron succumbs to the light. Following this momentous victory, over both Unicron and the Decepticons, Rodimus and his Autobots prepare to launch a great monument; a mausoleum containing the bodies of those lost in the war. I am among those brave warriors who gave their lives to safeguard freedom. I listen as Rodimus addresses the Autobots…

"As of this day, this one moment, we mark the end of Great Cybertronian War. On this day, we march forward to a new Golden Age; one of peace, freedom, justice and happiness. But let us never forget those who gave their lives for this moment. Courageous and noble to the very end, they lived as warriors and died as heroes. Let their Sparks join our maker Primus; the Greatest of Cybertron."

Even in death, I am filled with pride at these words. It appears beyond doubt that the Matrix of Leadership, the last essence of Primus himself, chose well. I have never been more proud. Yet, even though Unicron is no longer a threat, I know that the Decepticons are still out there. They are routed, their numbers dwindle and their leader is missing. But they are no less a threat, albeit a diminished one. They fight not against the Autobots, but amongst themselves for the scarce supply of energon they have retained. It is an uncertain future they face now.

They know not the whereabouts of their lost leader, Galvatron. They know not his ultimate fate.

They know not that even as I speak, Galvatron tumbles uncontrollably through empty space. He is unconscious as he drifts toward a volcanic world, plunging into a pool of molten rock. Our bodies are capable of withstanding such searing heat. Beneath the magma, Galvatron stirs. He rises briefly.

"I still function." He says.

Then he returns to his plasma bath, waiting for rescue; waiting for his revenge against those who have wronged him. I know him better than anyone, for he once my greatest enemy. To think, gravely and in an odd way, we could have been brothers. Perhaps, there is still hope for lasting peace between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

The chances are slim at best. Yet even in this afterlife, I hold out that hope. Cybertron is free at last, the Autobots have returned home. Above the surface of the planet, the head of Unicron becomes the planet's satellite, a grin reminder of the moons destroyed by Unicron himself. Cruel irony or poetic justice? I do not know. All is well in the universe now; or so it is to be believed.

Somewhere in the universe, another force waits in the shadows. They are mysterious, manipulative and cruel. They delight in torture and execution. These creatures of many faces watch us, study us. They know far more about us than we can fathom. When the time comes, and it will come, the Cybertronian race must face its past. For only from learning from the past can we face a dark future, and young Rodimus Prime will face the first great challenge in his leadership. I pray he is up to the task. I pray for all Cybertronians. The worst is yet to come…

TRANSFORMERS
FACES OF DARKNESS

Chapter I

Location: Planet Chaar

"Blast Off, aren't we there yet?"

"Do not test me, Swindle. You and I were barely able to secure fraction of the energon cubes from our stockpile. Do not make me jettison them… and you."

The Combaticons Swindle and Blast Off had been bickering back and forth for cycles on route to the barren planet Chaar, where the severely dwindled Decepticons were trying to survive.

"You know, we could make our fellow cons pay us for the cubes." Swindle said, tapping his finger on one of the five energon cubes he and Blast Off had.

"Is currency all you consider," Blast Off chastised his fellow Combaticon. "Does the need to make a profit supersede the needs of the Decepticons as a whole."

"Yep."

"You self-serving malcontent. You…" Blast Off stopped when he took notices of his surroundings. "Swindle, I've good news and bad news."

"What?"

"The good news is that we've reached Chaar."

"And the bad news?" Swindle asked.

Before Swindle knew it, Blast Off, who happened to be in his shuttle mode, opened a side hatch and tilted. The momentum carried Swindle and the energon cubes out of the shuttle and sent them tumbling down to the surface of Chaar. Swindle slammed into the bedrock, the cubes in turn falling on top of him one after another. Blast Off swooped in and assumed proto form, but do to his own lack of energon, his thrusters shut down. Unable to control his forward movement, Blast Off crashed into Swindle, knocking them to the ground and throwing the cubes into the air. Before one of them returned to the ground, Laserbeak swooped in to catch it and flew off. His attempt to escape was met resistance from below. Scavenger managed to blast the spy bird and force him to drop the cube. Before the Constructicon could grab it, the Stunticon Drag Strip tackled him, allowing Motor Master to go for the cube.

"This one's mine and no one else's."

Before Motor Master could react, he was blasted by Onslaught of the Combaticons. "Actually, it is mine."

Motor Master, sturdy as he was, didn't take kindly to Onslaught ambush and tackled him to the ground. As they fought over just one cube, several other severely depowered Decepticons fought over the remaining cubes. The battle royal that ensued featured mainly the three combiner teams, who even fought amongst themselves for the minimal scraps of energon. There were also a few drones who had survived Unicron's attack on Cybertron. Amid the chaos, Laserbeak and Ratbat swiped two of the five cubes. They delivered the cubes to Soundwave before returning into his tape deck. He wasn't alone; with Galvatron missing, presumed dead, Cyclonus had taken up the mantle of command seconded by Scourge. They had formed a small inner circle consisting of themselves, Soundwave, Blitzwing and a Decepticon female by the name of Fracture. Watching the Decepticons beat the living hell out of each other over the minimal scraps of energon angered Cyclonus, although he never showed it. Scourge was another story.

"Look at them; look at how far the Decepticons have since fallen the loss of Galvatron. It's… it's… inconceivable," Scourge sneered at the sight of the Constructicons attempting to form into Devastator… and failing when one of his arms fell off. "Pathetic."

"Yeah, and I guess we had it easier fighting off Unicron, right Scourge," Blitzwing sarcastically said. "A couple hundred Decepticons up against really big, really pissed giant planet eater; yeah, that was fun."

"Don't try my patience, Blitzwing."

"Or what, you gonna stare me offline?"

Scourge lunged at the loud mouthed Triple Changer and grabbed him by the throat. "I should just choke the life out of you."

"Enough," Cyclonus stormed onto the scene, prompting Scourge to release his death grip on Blitzwing. "You both waste your energies bickering like Hatchlings. Even though Blitzwing
deserves what you intended…"

"Oh no, Cyclonus. I'm not wasting my time trying to fix Blitzwing," said the Decepticon Fracture, who happened to be a medic, and not a very good one. "I've already got my hands full trying repairing this idiot."

"Who're you calling an idiot, Fracture," Fracture's patient, much to Scourge's personal chagrin, was Barricade. He was battered and leaking fluid all over himself, was missing his right optic and left arm, and his survival after the collapse of the late Shockwave's lab bemused Scourge. "I did something the other Cons couldn't do… I survived. You know why?"

"Because you're an idiot?" Fracture said while trying to reattach Barricade's arm.

"Because I'm a survivor!" As Barricade spoke, his arm promptly (and comically) fell off.

"And yet, you're still an idiot." Scourge said.

Ignoring the surly devil-bot, Barricade looked at Fracture. Fracture just glared back. "What are you looking at?" she asked.

"You know, even though I'm blind in one optic, you're actually kind of good looking." said Barricade He screeched as Fracture forced his arm into place. "OWWWWW!"

Scourge simply mused, "Idiot," before joining Cyclonus and Soundwave in watching the Decepticon scuffle. "Look at how far our ranks have fallen, Cyclonus. You had said the Decepticons would rise again, yet you have failed to formulate a plan."

"We will unleash the Decepticon's secret weapon, use it to strike back at the Autobots and retake Cybertron." Cyclonus said.

"Wait, we had a secret weapon and we didn't use it against Unicron," Barricade said. "Must be some secret."

At this point Soundwave, who had remained stoic for who knew how long, said in his usual monotonic manner, "The Decepticon's secret weapon is located beneath the surface of Kaon. It is highly plausible that the battle against Unicron has awakened it from its slumber."

"Then we go to Cybertron." Cyclonus said.

"Cybertron is under Autobot control now. They'll knock us out of the sky if we get too close." Scourge said.

Cyclonus was undeterred at this. "Then we'll fly silent."

Far beneath the surface of the Transformer's home planet of Cybertron rested a relic from the Great War. A holdover. Once it served as a sort of space station commanded by the Seeker and used for research, before the twisted machinations of Shockwave. Through his brand of scientific endeavor, the station was given consciousness and became a creature of pure animalistic aggression. Optimus Prime himself had dealt with the monster and was able to defeat him, but barely. Since then, the monster laid dormant, until recent events stirred it from its slumber. Its face was nothing like those of a normal Cybertronian, if one could be considered as such. No, it was larger, longer and more akin to a reptile. Its optics emitted a yellow light and it let out a harrowing growl.

"I awaken…"

Much had changed since the battle for Cybertron. With the final defeat of the Chaos Bringer known as Unicron, the Autobots had succeeded in retaking their home planet from the Decepticons. But with the loss of Optimus Prime, a new leader stepped forward to fill the void left by the valiant hero. That leader was Rodimus Prime, who used the power of the Matrix of Leadership to finally destroy Unicron. With this monumental victory, the Autobots had finally returned home. So what better way to celebrate? On a far flung world called Athenia, the first ever Galactic Olympics were about to commence in earnest. Alien species from countless worlds converged to participate as Ultra Magnus appeared at the main podium.

"Welcome all to the first ever Galactic Olympics. May today's games usher in a new age of peace and cooperation in the galaxy."

The gathered crowd and various participants let a collective cheer as Rodimus Prime appeared, a smile on his face. With his arm raised up high, Rodimus declared, "Let's do it!" And to punctuate, seven airborne flyers, the Aerielbots, Breakaway and Tempest flew overhead, leaving contrails in their wake.

"Didn't you want to say something about concord and tranquility in the galaxy?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Rodimus glared at his new Second-in-Command and frowned. "Gimme a break, okay? It's my first time," Then, clearing his throat, Rodimus declared loudly, "Start the games."

From there, the Galactic Olympics commenced. Throughout the event, countless games took place where various winners were announced. Eventually, there came a race between several Autobots and members of a team from the Orgenon Cluster. It came down to Jazz and an athlete by the name of Munka Spanka. They were neck and neck as the crossed the finish line, but it was too close to call who one. Rodimus and the other Autobots, including Springer, Breakaway and Tempest, were watching the events unfold with interest.

"Damn, it's too close to call." Springer said.

"I hope Jazz won. I had credits on him." Breakaway said.

"Why aren't you in these games, Breakaway," Tempest asked. "You're not scared, are you?"

"Are you questioning my extremely macho quotas?"

Before Tempest could answer, Springer said, "He'd probably cheat on every one of those games, Tempest."

Breakaway turned sharply to face Springer. "Really, like you're any better."

"That a challenge, Springer?"

Rodimus stepped between them at that point. "Easy guys. Street fights aren't part of the games."

Spike Witwicky appeared before Springer and Breakaway came to blows. "Hey Rodimus, Kup and Elita One just established contact with Blur and Wheelie. Their on route to Autobot City with that new conversion cog."

"I'm on my way. Tempest, keep these guys from pounding each other." Rodimus followed Spike to the communications room.

Tempest was pouting as Springer and Breakaway stared each other down. "Sure; leave me with the tough job."

"This-isn't-fair-this-isn't-fair. I-should-be-competing-in-the-games. I-could-be-winning-the-games. This-isn't-fair-no-not-at-all."

Elita One had her hands press again either side of her head in a vain attempt to avoid hearing Blur's whining. "You're frequent complaining isn't really helping your case, Blur."

"I agree with Blur, he'd win the race, instead we're stuck in space."said the oft rhyming Wheelie.

"Not you too, Wheelie." Elita griped.

"Now you know how I feel, lass." said Kup.

Rodimus Prime arrived in the communications room amid the banter. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not at all," Elita said. "You're just in time for more of Blur's whining."

"Blur, it's Rodimus…"

"Rodimus-you-got-me-off-world-playing-delivery-boy-when-I-could-racing-like-no-tomorrow. I-wanna-race-I-wanna-race-I-wanna-race."Blur chattered nonstop.

Wheelie chimed in his own complaints. "Wheelie wanna race too, wanna show what I can do."

"Blur, Wheelie, I'm pretty sure we discussed the importance of your assignment," said Rodimus in a calm tone. "The original conversion cog was destroyed in the attack on Autobot City. You're a courier, Blur; which means you're perfectly qualified for the job and you can get it done fast."

"I'm-a-data-courier. This-cog-isn't-data. I'm-forming-a-protest-when-Wheelie-and-I get-back-to Earth."Blur rambled on and on.

"Oops… sorry, Blur. We're' losing you." Rodimus cut the transmission with a wicked smirk.

"Now that was just mean, Rodimus." Elita joked.

"He'll get over it." Rodimus assured Elita.

"Picking up another transmission, coming from Earth," said Kup. "Ah, it's from our new friend from Earth Defense Command."

Ultra Magnus had only just arrived when Kup informed Rodimus of it "Patch it through, Kup." He said.

"Earth Defense Command?" said Rodimus.

"A joint Human-Autobot space venture established five stellar cycles ago. You were still… well, you know," Ultra Magnus explained. "The director wanted to speak to Optimus Prime's successor."

"Hmm, can't wait to meet him," Rodimus then had to correct himself when a woman in her late 20's with long brown hair appeared on the screen. "Make that 'her'."

"This is EDC Director Marissa Faireborn, over?"

"Director Faireborn, this Rodimus Prime. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise, Rodimus. Ultra Magnus told me quite about it," said Director Fairborne. "I'd like to first convey my condolence for the recent passing of Optimus Prime. The Autobots lost a great leader, and Earth has lost a great champion."

"The loss of Optimus has hit us hard, but I thank you for your condolences," Rodimus said in a slightly somber tone. "So, what can we do for you, Director?"

"Please, Rodimus; 'Marissa' is fine. No need for formalities. I'm actually taking the chance to tour your city her on Earth. It's quite the accomplishment," Marissa exclaimed. "Although, it could use a name change."

"And what would you recommend, Marissa?" Ultra Magnus lightheartedly asked.

"Don't know; maybe something with 'metro' in the title."Marissa joked.

Rodimus and Magnus couldn't help to chuckle a bit. "We'll work on it." said Rodimus.

Magnus leaned forward and asked, "How are the Wreckers treating you, Marissa?" He noticed a surprised glanced from Rodimus, even a whisper of one of the words.

"They have their moments."Marissa stated.

"Wait, THE Wreckers," Rodimus said. "The commando unit from Velocitron?"

"And, from at least one from Gigantion. They're more than a simply commando unit," Ultra Magnus stated. "I put in request for them to help with the repair back on Autobot City."

"You've been holding out on me, Magnus," Rodimus joked. A sudden rumble caught the Autobots off guard. "What was that?"

"I've got no idea, Rodimus." said Kup.

"Rodimus, Magnus, is everything alright up there?"Marissa asked.

"By Primus…" said a shocked Elita One. "…Guys, look at this."

A video feed cut in showing the giant torch, the symbol for Galactic Olympics, exploding into flames. "Marissa, we'll have to get back to you." said Ultra Magnus.

The Galactic Olympics should have been a time for peace. Now it became a chaotic scene. Spectators for the event ran in droves from the sight of the torch bursting into uncontrollable flames. The Autobots that were present, Jazz, Tempest, Springer, Arcee and Breakaway, rushed to direct the spectators out of the area. The Aerialbots attempted to quell the flames as Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Kup and Elita One along with Spike arrived on the scene. Jazz, the first to notice their arrival, rushed to the group.

"Jazz, what's going on?" Rodimus asked hastily.

"No idea, Rodimus. That torch just laid on the boom without warning." said Jazz.

"Is my family okay, Arcee?" Spike asked.

"Yes, Spike. Daniel and Carly are safe for now," Arcee said. "But Rodimus, we have to get these people to safety."

"Agreed," Rodimus turned to Ultra Magnus. "Magnus, take Breakaway, Elita and Kup. See if you can figure what caused the explosion and try to stem it. Jazz, Arcee, Springer and Tempest are with me. We need to make certain these people get out safely."

"I'm going with Magnus," Spike declared. "I might be able to help."

"It's too dangerous, Spike." Ultra Magnus explained.

"Hey, I survived a Moon Base getting ripped apart by Unicron. I can handle myself." Spike argued.

"Enough. We've got work to do, Autobots," said Rodimus Prime. "Get to it."

Unbeknownst to the Autobots, others were watching from a far off world, laughing at them. "Everything is going according to plan." said a raspy voice.

"They have no idea what awaits them." said a deep, growling voice.

"They know nothing about us…" said a more cheery voice.

"…But we know everything about them." A more meek voice said.

"It is time to reveal ourselves to the Transformers," said a fifth, final, and disturbingly malicious voice. "Their true masters shall rise again."

Author's note: That settles the prologue and the first chapter. Note the first glimpse of Marissa Faireborn, and the first mention of the Wreckers (yes, I said the Wreckers, my version.) You'll get an official introduction when the time comes, but I let you in on a little secret; two familiar faces from Beast Wars are featured members; neither of them is Rattrap, so don't ask.

Also, the character Fracture is a female Decepticon first introduced in the Transformers live-action comics. She's only the first new Transformer introduced Just leave a review.

Oh, and Barricade is still alive!