Prologue - The Final Battle
The atmosphere of a battle was a varied one. It was common that one side saw conflict as a necessity and fought valiantly, yet disliking the action of taking lives and been taken in turn. Yet the Decepticons have always loved battle, no matter if they won or lost. They took joy in the exhilaration of escaping with their lives, in hurtling across the sky as laser fire and missiles exploded beneath them, in the triumph of delivering the final blow that would gain them a victory.
The Great War was drawing to a close. With both of the Autobots and Decepticons at a stalemate, for both sides had gained as many advantages as they could, the final turning point that could end everything lay in the siege of Iacon. The Decepticons had tried everything to gain an early victory, from manufacturing Dark Energon to seizing the powerful and ancient Cybertronian artifacts hidden in the vaults of Iacon. But this siege would ultimately decide the victory of one side. Almost every Decepticon became eager and restless for this battle of untold scale.
"C'mon, Blitz, we're gonna miss the battle!" A sharp feminine voice shouted. It was followed by the dark slender winged form of a seeker femme hovering among the high arching spires and towers of Vos. The city-state was already stirred into action, with the dark indigo sky particularly covered in the neat formations of the seeker warriors flying in the same direction.
"Alright, Darkstorm. Letz go!" A much taller figure at her side, a beige and purple mech, agreed gladly.
The two transformed and shot off to join the other fliers, arriving at Iacon in a few megacycles. They could see the rallied Decepticon ground forces already gathered before the large double gates of the Autobot city-state. The tall authoritative figure of the Decepticon leader, Megatron, stood at its head. His elite soldiers, Starscream, Lugnut, Blitzwing and the seeker femme, joined him, flanking both of his sides neatly.
"Blitzwing and Darkstorm. I can always trust you two to be on time." Megatron greeted them brusquely.
"Of course. I never run late, Brother, not for a battle like this." The seeker femme now named as Darkstorm winked.
"Indeed there will not be another battle like this," Megatron turned to address the troops with his deep commanding voice, "Decepticons! This is the solar cycle when Cybertron comes under the rule of those who deserve it, and the megacycle when those wretched Autobots will perish!"
The Decepticons roared with approval, stamping their feet and clashing their weapons together. All except the triple changer Astrotrain, who looked a little doubtful as he tried his best to avoid his leader's searching look.
"Say anything, Astrotrain, and I will let the Autobots have free shots at you." The warlord said quietly to the other. The triple changer gulped and gripped his blaster tighter.
The siege of Iacon began without further ado. The Decepticons started by aiming their heavy-duty plasma cannon at the gates and firing until the metal started to buckle. The Autobots returned fire by activating their main city weapon, a photo pulse cannon, and shooting at the Decepticons. Soon the ground was torn up with explosions and littered with wounded mechs.
"Push on! Do not stop firing that plasma cannon!" Megatron shouted as some of the Decepticons faltered, "Team Chaar and Decepticon Elite, you're with me when we storm the city! Half of you will head straight towards Metroplex to secure the Autobot High Council and the other half of you will capture the Energon Bridge. Now go!"
The Decepticons surged forward like an overwhelming tidal wave as the gates finally collapsed under their assault. They were immediately met with the Autobots' fierce defense, led by Ultra Magnus himself and his own elite soldiers. Here the Decepticons split into their assigned groups and headed deeper into Iacon while Megatron and his team held them off.
"I'll deal with Ultra Magnus. The rest of you, dispose of his lackeys!" The warlord ordered quickly.
"You're going down in style, Autobot scum!" Darkstorm yelled. She and her mate double-teamed a mech armed with a shield and energy lance and soon disarmed him. Without pausing, Blitzwing spun around and with a well-aimed blast from his ice cannons, froze another mech who had hoped to land a blow with his dual nunchaku. However, they failed to notice a small red minibot aiming a rocket launcher at them. Fortunately the mech was prevented from firing when Starscream scored a hit with his null rays.
"You're losing your touch, my dearest brother." The second-in-command mocked good-naturedly.
"Ha, jou wish!" Blitzwing shot back, "Try to keep up vhen ze Autobots start to zhrow everyzhing at us."
"Not if we beat them back first! Look, most of them are offline already." Darkstorm encouraged. After all, it did seem like they were about to defeat the Autobot elite soldiers. They could continue to push inwards and rejoin the other Decepticons if so.
But something suddenly went wrong. There was an incomprehensible shout from Megatron's direction, and the battleground suddenly erupted into brilliant white light. Pure boundless energy surged through the ground, tearing their way through the Decepticons' frames without mercy. Darkstorm was caught in it directly and screamed in agony as she collapsed against a groaning Blitzwing. From the looks of Ultra Magnus' still-sparkling hammer, it seemed that he had unleashed its power over lightning upon them. Megatron had somehow managed to redirect most of its destructive power into a nearby building, though it looked like he had barely survived as he supported himself weakly on one of his swords.
"Get up, Darkstorm. Ve have to find cover if jou need to recuperate." Blitzwing gently hauled the seeker femme to her feet, "Come on, just a little—"
A sickening crunch of metal against metal cut him off. Darkstorm jolted and uttered a little cry of surprise as the tip of a blade sprouted in the middle of her chestplates.
Blitzwing felt that fatal wound in her spark as his own as he screamed in agony and fell to his knees. Despite the excruciating pain, he could see every nanoklick of life leaving his mate, her colors fading into a nondescript gray as energon began to pour from the cut.
"No! No! Darkstorm, stay vith me! Stay vith me!" He begged brokenly, cradling the femme's limp frame in his arms.
She managed to online her optics one last time to give him a small sad smile, "Kick their skidplates for me, will you?"
"NO! Jou hang on right now! I'll get jou to Hook as quick as I could—"
"Too late," Darkstorm sighed, "You have to continue on with the battle. Just remember… I will always watch over you."
"Darkstorm…" Blitzwing could only whisper forlornly. The battle no lingered mattered to him; he could not even hear the explosions and the anguished cries of dying mechs around him. There was only his fading mate in his arms as she slowly gasped her last breath.
"Blitzwing… I…" The femme tried to choke out. But her systems offlined with a strained whine, followed by her optics finally blinking out. Darkstorm gave a final shudder and was still.
Blitzwing would have buried his faceplates against his mate's chestplates and sobbed his spark out had not a rough grip jerked him to his feet. He met Megatron's stern gaze helplessly, noting absently that the warlord held a smoldering look of rage unlike anything he'd seen before.
"Mourn when the battle is over. For now, direct your anger towards the Autobots. They shall pay for every life they take from us." Megatron's voice was deadly calm.
Blitzwing could only nod, and scooped up Darkstorm's frame in both arms. With his spark feeling as if it were torn to pieces, he placed his beloved mate in a concealed place outside of Iacon and rejoined the battle with renewed fury. He found the one who had stabbed Darkstorm, a medium sized mech with an orange and red paintjob and armed with a long doubled-handed sword, and promptly tore his spark chamber out. However, the ending of Darkstorm's killer did not ease the aching void that had opened in his being one bit.
In the end, all the preparations they made weren't enough. The Autobots drove them out of Iacon with immeasurable losses with the remaining Omega Sentinels they had. The Decepticons managed to disable many of them, but one had sacrificed itself as a living bomb to destroy most of Iacon, and any Decepticon unfortunate enough to be caught in the explosion. Megatron barely fled the ensuing destruction with a handful of battered soldiers, his elite among them. However, he had remembered to retrieve Darkstorm's long grayed-out frame as they flew towards Vos to recover.
Blitzwing laid his mate in her final rest at the base of a valley close to the city-state. She once flew around it frequently, for she loved the view this place offered of her home.
"From here it looks like Vos is spread among the clouds, a city that floats through the air," Darkstorm had once described dreamily when he asked her, "Like some sort of paradise free from all the troubles Cybertron is going through right now."
However, there was never going to be a paradise on their planet, now that Megatron's plans for reformation had failed. The Autobots soon pursued them to Vos and destroyed the home of the seekers, along with Kaon after they fled there. The Decepticons were struggling even to survive from this relentless assault when Ultra Magnus finally gave them an offer: To be exempt from their so-called war crimes if they left Cybertron in exile.
They had lost the war fair and square.
However, Megatron wasn't the quitting type. At some point during the war the Autobots had tossed the fount of all Cybertronian life, the AllSpark, into space in order to keep it safe. This ancient artifact also had the potential to be rewired into a weapon of mass destruction… and a possible key to turn the war back into their favor once again. As soon as the warlord realized this, the Decepticon flagship Nemesis was made ready for departure on an expedition to find the missing AllSpark. He took Starscream, Blitzwing and Lugnut along with him.
They all knew this search could take millions of stellar cycles. Sure enough, life soon became extremely monotonous as they deployed the ship's scanners solar cycle after solar cycle. As a result, they began to recall their early memories before and during the war, a time when the Decepticons still had a chance of victory. Eventually their thoughts turned onto their missing team member long offlined in the siege of Iacon, Darkstorm.
Starscream shuttered his optics after running an umpteenth scan on the console.
When he first met Darkstorm, he had just become the SIC of the Decepticons and wanted to please his leader in every way. He was directing work at the Energon Bridge that solar cycle along with his two trinemates, Skywarp and Thundercracker. They all tried their best to be productive, for Megatron was scheduled to drop by soon to inspect the Dark Energon's manufacturing speed. Sure enough, the Decepticon leader arrived on time; Starscream went to greet the warlord courteously.
"Greetings, Lord Megatron. I trust your journey has been smooth? The work here is going well, and we have harvested enough Energon to last us many vorns."
"That's good to hear. I knew I could trust you to handle this unruly group of miners." Megatron turned around to address his second, in turn revealing the form of a tall slender seeker behind him.
"If I may be so bold to ask, who is that behind you?" Starscream asked curiously.
"This is Darkstorm, my younger sister," Megatron gestured, "She has recently decided to renounce her neutrality and declare allegiance to the Decepticons. I am introducing her to our current war efforts."
"So you're the second-in-command? Huh, I kinda expected someone… well, more impressive." Darkstorm said pointedly.
Starscream sputtered indignantly, "Watch your mouth, rookie. I bet I can knock you flat in battle in only five nanokliks."
"Oh yeah? Come on, then!" Darkstorm dropped into a defensive crouch with her fists at the ready.
Fortunately, Megatron intervened before the worksite can turn into a full-on brawl, "Darkstorm, don't mouth off my second-in-command. Starscream, do return to your duties. I will be taking her to inspect our weapons supply."
Starscream's pride still felt ruffled after the femme had left. To think that a newbie would treat him with utter lack of respect, granted that she was Megatron's sister! Even though he continued to seethe over this, he couldn't help but approve of Darkstorm's strong fighting spirit. She would be a good addition to the army.
"Wow. That femme is quite the knockout." Skywarp whistled after Starscream had returned to his post. He earned a whack on the helm from Thundercracker for his comment.
Starscream smiled bitterly at the distant memory. That fun battle-loving seeker was hard to forget once he had seen her. When she had progressed into becoming his brother's mate, he had to admit he liked Blitzwing's choice.
Darkstorm, both a mate and a sister. She had left many ties and influences behind, including Megatron himself. This solar cycle he was remembering her first actual battle, a raid to collect the powerful artifacts of Cybertron from the vaults of Iacon.
"I think it is about time you start putting your battle skills to use, Darkstorm. You will go with Blitzwing, Brawl, Barricade and Blackout on this raid to seize the artifacts. Try your best to find the Requiem Blaster as you search. Lugnut, Starscream and I will be but a call away when you find it." Megatron addressed the group of mechs before him. At first he had been reluctant to send Darkstorm into battle right away, but she had proved herself a formable opponent in the many times he watched her spar.
He sighed inwardly. He could not hope to keep her from the dangers of battle forever. The most he could do now is to go along with her in her first skirmish.
Darkstorm acknowledged with a hearty yell, "Yes, Brother. Alright, Decepticons. Let's go!"
Soon every member of the team transformed and set out from Kaon. As for the grounders, Barricade held on to Blackout's undercarriage, and Brawl held onto Blitzwing. They had decided to go in stealth as long as they could, so it was only when they dropped into Iacon when they met a battalion of Autobot soldiers. The Decepticons fended them off with ease.
"Ha! This is way too easy. When will they stop sending us all these cannon fodder?" Darkstorm scoffed as she blasted Autobot after Autobot.
"Don't let down your guard—" Megatron started to reprimand her, but he was cut off by a loud explosion when a missile was fired into their midst, sending Decepticons flying everywhere. With a deafening rumble, the ground collapsed beneath Darkstorm and her team, sending them into the depths.
The warlord's spark lurched sickeningly as he contacted her, :Darkstorm, are you unharmed? Can you find your way back up?:
:Don't worry, I'm fine. I could fly back to the surface, but I may have found the underground tunnels. I'm going to see if they lead to the vaults.: The seeker femme thankfully replied.
Megatron let out his intakes in relief. He wanted to join Darkstorm in her search for the vaults, but he had to clear the way of Autobots first and make sure they remained distracted enough to leave Darkstorm's team alone. He had to trust that she could make it.
The warlord should have known better. Soon his sister was contacting him again after he had cut his way through another wave of Autobot defenses.
:Megatron, I have found the vaults. We require a few detpacks to break them open and some heavy firepower. I feel the steps of a Dinobot coming our way!:
It was easy enough to pinpoint Darkstorm's location. Megatron ordered his team to bomb their way directly to the vaults using these explosive devices, soon meeting up with his sister amid the debris. He left Trypticon and Brawl to deal with the Autobots on the surface as he took three more detpacks with him. Setting them on the vaults and detonating them, each Decepticon grabbed as many artifacts as they could. Megatron ended up with the one known as the Skyboom Shield while Darkstorm retrieved the Requiem Blaster.
The rest of the raid was easy, since they only had to fend off the Autobots as they fell back. In almost no time at all they were back at Kaon and celebrating this victory with the artifacts in their possession.
"You did well today, Darkstorm," Megatron addressed his sister as the Decepticons started to bring out the high grade, "You reacted quickly in battle and turned your disadvantage into your advantage."
"I told you I would be fine," Darkstorm grinned, "There's no need in being a worrywart all the time."
In the present megacycle, Megatron sighed wearily and leant his helm against one hand. As an older brother, of course he was entitled to watch over her and advise her to be careful. But in the end, she still got herself offlined in combat. No amount of wistful thinking about how he should have done this or that would bring her back.
Blitzwing suffered the most, since he was forced to bear the pain of their severed spark bond. Everyone left him alone for the first few solar cycles, knowing that nothing they can say would assuage his sorrow. He tried his best not to relieve the cycles of her death repeatedly, thus turning his mind on their first meeting.
The door to Blaster's Music Emporium opened wide to admit him back into the brightness outside. Blitzwing blinked a few times in disorientation; once again he had lost an entire afternoon in hunting for new worthy pieces of music to add to his collection. He was very pleased nevertheless, for he had found many of them.
He transformed and took to the air to head back to Vos. It was a peaceful solar cycle to be flying, and from his point of view he could see mechs of all kinds enjoying the beautiful weather. The Cybertronians hadn't been divided into Autobots and Decepticons yet, so all were free to mingle with each other without thought for faction.
"Hey, Blitz!" A familiar voice hailed him. It was his former classmate in the Cybertronian Science Academy, Skyfire in his shuttle alt-mode. He was accompanied by a fusion fighter and a sleek jet.
"Hello, Skyfire," Blitzwing shifted back to his bipedal form as the other three did the same, "It's good to see jou again! Jou mind introducing me to jour companions?"
"This is Megatron and his sister Darkstorm. I met them on my guest lecture back at the Academy. Megatron was one of speakers, and I gotta admit that he made some very good points on Cybertronian society. They came all the way from Kaon, so I had to show them around! We're on our way to Iacon right now." Skyfire explained.
"You are welcome to join us." The larger mech who had been named as Megatron nodded politely.
"Maybe," Blitzwing returned doubtfully, "I vould like to catch up vith Skyfire too, so let me check mien schedule…"
His voice trailed off when his gaze stopped at the third figure, who had been revealed as a tall seeker femme with a black paintjob. She met his look steadily with a challenging glare that eventually softened into curiosity.
Blitzwing had seen plenty of femmes in his lifetime, though he had never considered taking on a serious relationship. He always thought them somewhat annoying, often clinging to a mech and demanding attention and pampering. However, one look at this Darkstorm upended this perspective; this was a femme who carried herself around with pride and backed down from nothing. She was definitely a fighter at spark.
Then Blitzwing ended up going with them on their tour. He talked much with Skyfire and Megatron, but Darkstorm had captured most of his attention. At the end of the solar cycle when they parted ways, they had left each other their comm. frequencies.
Going over memories ended up tormenting Blitzwing more than anything, so he stopped as he released a mournful howl that echoed hollowly in his quarters. He recalled Starscream entering at some point to sit silently by his side and leaving behind a cube of energon. There was a part of Blitzwing's mind that appreciated his brother's attempt to comfort him. But he knew that he could not be consoled by any mech this cycle.
The atmosphere aboard the Nemesis continued to worsen now that the Decepticons could not throw themselves into battle as a temporary distraction. So when Megatron made an announcement one solar cycle, everyone leapt into action almost immediately.
"Decepticons, we have found the AllSpark."
