There! The last of the challenge ficlets is written and done with. I have justified my existence.
Prompt is "Have you ever danced with the devil in the cold moonlight?" - Joker.
"Decepticons, we're under attack! Scramble!"
Even as he gave the order, Shockwave knew it was pointless. The colossus looming over the city, over the planet, was like nothing he'd ever seen before, and he was already certain that defeating it would be an impossible task. Death had come for them all, and whether they fought it or not, the outcome would be the same.
But he also knew that the Decepticons would gladly give their lives to defend their home. They had fought too long and hard to simply lie down and die. So Shockwave was willing to grant them that final stand.
He watched the sky fill with Seekers, watched those Seekers fall, and still he felt nothing.
He saw no reason to fight a battle that couldn't be won. Megatron had fallen at last, and Shockwave had personally witnessed Starscream's demise. Now the planet he had guarded for so long would also meet its end, and there was nothing to be done. He had failed. They all had.
So he watched. And when the monster's massive hand came down again, he merely took a moment to acknowledge his own death before the world shook and darkness took him.
He awoke to the sound of angry voices. As he had never believed in such concepts as the Allspark - and doubted it would be a hostile place if it did exist - he concluded that he was still alive. Somehow. But his body felt heavy and numb, and he couldn't seem to move.
"Are you blind?" a new but familiar voice demanded. "They're barely alive and you want to move them?"
Circuit Board, Shockwave realized. That explained why he wasn't in pain, but not where they were or what was happening. He forced his optic online, then waited for his dark, blurry vision to clear.
"If they are left here, they won't live much longer anyway," a different, though also vaguely familiar voice said. "We have medics-"
"As if you would ever offer your limited resources to Decepticons!"
Acid Storm, this time. Shockwave slowly turned his head, struggling to make sense of his hazy surroundings. A bright yellow shape crouched near his head resolved into a Seeker, though Nova Storm or Sunstorm, he couldn't tell. Beyond it was a green smear he assumed to be Acid Storm, and next to that, half-hidden by a green wing, was what he assumed to be Circuit Board.
"Many Cybertronian lives were lost in Unicron's attack," the second (Autobot?) voice said. "We do not wish to lose more."
"Like slag you don't," Acid Storm growled.
"Stand down." Shockwave's voice was little more than a static rasp, but the other speakers fell silent.
"You can't mean that!" Circuit Board protested.
"Are we... outnumbered?"
A pause, then the Autobot joined in. "Those of you in fighting condition are."
"Then... we won't fight." Speaking was too hard, and his already poor vision was going. But as recognition dawned he added, "We surrender... Ultra Magnus."
Then darkness fell again.
Shockwave's death was originally written into the movie, and sure enough, he didn't appear in season 3. However, as we never saw it in the final version, I hereby declare it null and void.
As I said above, this is the last of the ficlets, though perhaps not of the story. For now, this series will not be marked as complete.