The shuttle hummed forcefully as it pushed eagerly forwards through the universe towards its new destination with the fate of the Universe following it.
Bumblebee, Blurr and Blaster were off near the cockpit making sure the ship was travelling as fast as possible without bursting a fuel line or anything, Optimus meanwhile stood near the ship's entrance, looking at the closed off opening thoughtfully.
He hadn't been alive that long and things were already a bit of a mess, then again that IS why they brought him back.
"Shanix for your thoughts" The aged but friendly voice of Kup brought him from his far off thoughts, prompting him to look a little dazed as he stared at the elder Autobot.
"Where are we going?" He decided to ask rather than stare blankly, "Is there anything I need to know?, I missed… so much"
"Yep, that's true! You got a whole load to catch up on, but, uh, let's keep it to the point for now. The Decepticons keep their stash hidden on their current 'home' a rocky planet named Chaar"
"Did they...?"
"No, It's always been uninhabited, they fled there after they were kicked off from Cybertron -"
"That's good"
"- Though they mostly just fled after receiving heavy casualties and damages after Unicron appeared"
"Oh," Optimus paused, "Unicron?"
"Oh boy" Kup rubbed his hands up his sides, chest plates puffed out with the large sigh he mustered, "Now that's… Well, I'd hate to be glad of anyone's death but consider yourself lucky you didn't see that mess" Kup shuddered, "It was quite a spectacle"
"Nothing you'd seen before?"
"Huh, oh hahaha" Kup took an Astrosecond before the little quip registered, "That's exactly what Hot Rod remarked too" He then folded his arms and huffed again, "No, it was quite, hm, unpleasant… I can't tell you enough on this short journey"
Optimus nodded, somewhere deep in his newly re-ignited Spark the name Unicron gave him enough of a horrible foreboding feeling that he knew it was best left alone.
"We have enough of a mess on our hands now, one thing at a time. Do we know where the Decepticons hide their stolen goods?"
Kup too gave a small nod at the quick change in topic.
"No, we're going to have to hope one of the Decepticons remains uninfected and willing enough to cooperate."
"Ah, any advanced knowledge on if any remain?" Optimus had straightened up and looked more like he used to when in charge rather than unfocused and 'distant'.
"Well, so far we've seen most of the 'cons though Galvatron vanished shortly after this all started, so that's our best bet" Kup smiled slightly seeing Optimus begin to settle back into things despite only recently being returned.
"Ah… I, don't recognise that name" Optimus glanced over to the other Autobots present as if a little worried they were listening in.
"Yes, you hardly even encountered him that time you came back but didn't" Kup stretched, his optical ridges rising for a moment as he once more thought of all the things Prime missed.
Optimus, however, was still looking at him quietly only giving a brief shudder at the memory of being a 'zombie' for lack of a better word.
"An abridged version then, my old friend?" He managed a soft smile.
"Unicron made himself some minions, however, they lived when he… sorta-didn't, can't put it better than that, after vanishing for a little bit they came and took over the Decepticons and have been the new trio in charge of them ever since with Galvatron in the lead."
"Go on"
Kup cleared his throat.
"Well I think the quickest way to describe 'em is 'not Megatron'"
Optimus let a small chuckle out,
"So by 'not Megatron' you mean he has at least 0.1 micrograms of empathy for others within him? Well, it certainly does make me feel extraordinarily better about my chances with him, any other tips for getting cooperation out of him?"
Kup rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Well you're new, to him anyway, I think the best way would be to just make it obvious you mean what you say about teaming up and he'll come along, eventually"
"That simple?"
"That simple, the guy may have been made by Unicron, but for a demon, he has more sense than we're used to off the 'cons and like I said 'not Megatron'"
"This'll be interesting"
"You said it Prime, just keep an eye out for purple and if he starts sparkling around the head just stay still 'n' quiet and you'll be good"
"Sparkling around the head?"
"Abridged version Prime, abridged, the expanded version will be available at a later date if we live to have it"
"We'reherewe'reherecomeoncomeonlet'sgogogo!" Blurr's distinctive speech pattern was only matched by him whizzing back and forth at similar speeds across the shuttles cramped chambers.
"Doors are a-opening, we have reached our destination!" Blaster had managed to maintain his rather cool and collect mannerisms even in a time like this, Bumblebee merely stood between them and nodded determinedly.
"Right team!" Optimus announced as the bots already quietly flocked to his side, awaiting command, "We need to remain vigilant and look for survivors! Then get to-"
"Oh, we can chill on the survivor part, old man Kup's suspicion was right, we got ourselves a fighter" Blaster interjected.
The Shuttle doors had opened, exposing the barren, scorched land that was Chaar to them all, the quality of its already ashen ground was only decreasing as purple laser fire streaked across its horizon, many Decepticons all burning with the same red spores that had spread far across the galaxy.
Between the fire, a purple figure jumped about and returned fire, Optimus couldn't make out much about them from this distance, aside from a spot of bright orange on them.
He said nothing and assumed it was Galvatron.
"Let's go men!" He waved an arm and he assembled team pushed forwards.
The infected bots seemed thankfully more interested in their former leader to notice them getting close...
Galvatron was not having a good time of it.
He often was not but this time it was not due to his frequent migraines or any other health-related problem.
Although he'd prefer that to this.
That he was used to.
That he lived with on a near-constant basis.
This, however, was different.
They were not themselves, he had fled with the remaining 'cons back to Chaar to think about what to do next but they had been followed and soon the others became infected too.
"Have I no friends left?" He whined aloud, knowing no answer would come.
The rock he'd hidden behind would not hold up for too long, but he'd been running for a long time across the planet, he needed to stop.
Swinging to the edge of the rock, Galvatron fired back, but low.
Shooting them.
Killing them.
No, he couldn't this wasn't right, it wasn't them.
He knew all too well what it was to not be 'you'.
This couldn't go on.
His blast caused rocks to fall and one hit a Sweep in the shoulder, the Sweep knocked into Scourge. In his infected state Scourge did not see the Sweep for his own packmate but bellowed out a feral growl, swinging around and swiping at the Sweep, his claws gouging out chunks of the Sweeps face, even dislodging its eye, leaving the sensor dangling by a connective wire.
Galvatron ducked back behind the rock as the fire from the others didn't even slow down to acknowledge the small spat from their fellow infectees.
It pained him to see that, Scourge was usually protective of his Sweeps even despite their usually being a bumbling mess.
He felt a familiar tightness twist around his frame as he realised just how useless he was, how he couldn't help, how he couldn't protect them, how they were suffering and it was all his fau-
"Autobots!" Cyclonus's extremely familiar voice rang out dripping with extortionate amounts of anger and vitriol. That tone was unfamiliar in his voice.
Galvatron peered from the corner of his rock when the fire slowed down.
From the opposite side of the current mess, peering over the edge of a small dip were about five Autobots each with weapons drawn firing at the Infected between them.
Their shots weren't so carefully aimed as his were, the already injured Sweep roared as the claw of its wing popped with flames as laser fire hit it.
"Galvatron!" An unfamiliar voice yelled it's muffled hard-to-hear tone bringing attention to just how loud it had gotten with all the firing, "... Prime… hear me?"
Galvatron looked at the source of his name, a red and blue fellow that had an air of 'I know him from somewhere' about him, he'd been able to shift closer with the fire now spread out between multiple targets.
"...team together to save ourselves!" Galvatron became aware the new guy was speaking again, their closer proximity making his voice clearer amongst the din.
"Just ourselves! What Un-Autobotly chatter is this?" Another chunk of his rock cover shattered as it was hit again, "Augh, very well, I have no choice!"
Taking the chance Galvatron took the opportunity to move, he needed better coverage and also to hear exactly what this fellow was on about.
He only got three-quarters of the way there.
Optimus had needed to get closer to this purple mech to try and hear him better and to curiously get a look at this fellow, the mech he'd likely end up playing nemesis to for Primus-knows-how-long in the same tiresome song and dance Megatron dragged him through day-in-day-out.
It was also part of his plan, he came part of the way over.
He had to give this fellow some leeway, some treat to bite at and trust but not enough to be taken advantage of.
He was still a Decepticon after all.
He just needs to gauge WHAT kind of Decepticon.
Accepting his half-way Galvatron indeed came out from his cover in an attempt to join him.
Optimus's optics were focused on the fellow, the closer he got the more bizarre features he found. Features that went up in a flash of purple and smoke.
The infected were still present and their rage had not subsided one bit even with more targets to take their fancy.
The blast hit Galvatron square in the side sending his figure crumpling over as if the ashy rock had slipped out from beneath him.
In reflexive flash Optimus lunged out, his newly onlined legs pinging with a jolt of pain at the lightning-fast movement. Optimus followed through with the force of Galvatron's fall but used the momentum to swing him around back to his cover.
It was here Optimus got his first, proper look at constituted a 'Unicron-born demon'.
Still a little dazed from the blast Galvatron hung limply in his grasp, the sparkles Kup had warned him about fizzled around his helm making Optimus stand deathly still, unaware at exactly what they meant and what was going on.
Optimus had his arms around his lower chest and could feel the difference right away, his armour was metal, it sure felt like it but its texture was just that bit off. The digits that touched on his abdominal area felt like they were touching something soft as they sunk in quite easily.
Optimus could only wonder how this mecha hadn't had his internals ripped out through such a soft spot on his person before.
Though a thought like that drew him to the incredibly obvious, bright orange, cannon on his arm in the exact same place Megatron held his.
This one had a face though.
Optimus found himself locked in a staring contest with the strange thing, the mouth - presumably the barrel from where the blasts were fired - was permanently agape while the grey lump of an eye had visible patches of an organic-flesh-like substance like it had been stretched.
After a moment Optimus realised this eye was presumably fake and incapable of blinking, roughly about the same time as he noted yet more eye-like protrusions on his body, except these were bright red, on his chest, and with a quite wet noise all swivelled to look at him as Galvatron groaned.
The sparkling around his helm stopped and without a moment's hesitation, Galvatron pushed himself out of Optimus's hold with a snarl, thumping to the floor and passing him a don't-ever-touch-me-again glare despite the gesture having been helpful.
Optimus almost got caught up looking at the familiar-yet-alien face again before Kup's voice cut through the quieting din.
"They're retreating!"
Optimus tore himself away from staring rather rudely at the entity before him to look out from behind his cover.
The infecteds weapons were no longer so bright, their shots fizzling out before they reached to where any of them stood. With confused, enraged snarls they hit their own weapons, as if unable to figure out why they were not firing before taking some hesitant steps back a few moments before actually fleeing.
"They're not gone" Optimus jumped when he heard a voice from behind him, "They're off to refuel then they'll be back"
Optimus threw a glance back at him but before he could stare again looked back at the infectees.
All but three had gone, and even from this distance Optimus could see that they must've been the other two Kup spoke of they each had tails, one had horns that reminded him a little more of organic bones from the time he watched a documentary on Earth. The smaller pair had large wings that bent and folded more like skin than any mesh he'd ever seen.
No one moved given how this trio remained despite the lack of back-up.
"Refuel… no" Optimus heard a surprising whisper from nearby before watching a horror show unfold.
The larger horned fellow and the uninjured of the two smaller bots turned on the one who was missing a chunk from his face.
The injured mecha snarled and swung with his claws but as soon as he was thrown to the ground it was over, Optimus clasped a servo to his mouth as the two of them tore into the other, ripping chunks from it and eating the still-thrashing mech.
"Follow me!" Galvatron snarled, his voice piercing the gory spectacle in front of them, almost as sharply as his claws pinched down on Optimus's back.
With only a small gasp as a reaction Optimus found himself being dragged along by Galvatron, only released when the larger Decepticon was happy that he was following.
Optimus gave a look over to his Autobots, all of them were doing their best to avoid looking at the 'feast' behind them and were already following their leader without a word.
Looking back Galvatron had already gained some distance on them, carving a quick path to a nearby rocky outcropping, leaving Optimus to stumble quickly in an attempt to catch up.
Galvatron has a tail he noted absentmindedly as he soon fell in, a step behind the purple mech.
The outcropping they were heading to had a small path hidden in it, leading to a cave entrance that was suitably hidden by the rocks around it. Optimus might've overlooked it quite easily if he wasn't paying attention.
Despite the surrounding area, the cave was surprisingly cool the temperature tickling away at their tired, worried armour like raindrops.
Something snapped and Optimus got treated to the spectacle that was a part-organic transforming.
Galvatron's arms folded as membranous skin stretched out and grew across his body, veiny connectors pulled themselves from under his armour and his own cannon shifted across his body like it was its own separate creature, it's own proto-face only making sense as it became the 'head' of Galvatron's beast-like alternate mode.
A quiet growl was the only warning they got as Galvatron fired upon the rocky roof, sending a cascade of boulders and stones down, blocking the entrance from unwanted followers.
"We'll be safe here… for a while" Galvatron's voice echoed from within his current mode before another bone-like snap and pop indicated the beginning of his transformation back to robot mode, "Why are you on Chaar?" he demanded.
Optimus paused for a second, something was off about that question and he didn't know what it was, maybe… Maybe it was because he was looking at Kup rather than him.
Optimus cleared his throat and got Galvatron's attention.
"Very well" His lip curled over his odd, exposed, slightly-curved teeth, "Why are you here, why did Rodimus send you?" He hissed.
Now Optimus was genuinely taken aback.
"He did not" He answered quickly, "I am Optimus Prime"
"You're not Prime!" Galvatron cut him off from continuing further, "You're not my Prime, where's Rodimus you two-bit knock off!?"
Optimus could now only splutter in response to this. He was expecting new, he was certainly expecting odd from his appearance alone but this left him completely stunned.
"Rodimus has succumbed to the plague" Kup stepped in, "To help end this we found a way to bring Optimus back to life, you've heard of him, I know you have" Kup punctuated the last line with a poignant stare as if daring him to try and argue further.
Optimus straightened himself out a little and pushed away the still humming rumble of confusion that milled around his processor.
This must be what Kup meant by being 'new to him'.
He held out his servo, dropping his battle mask and giving his friendliest smile, hoping a traditional human handshake would cement a temporary allegiance.
Galvatron gave him a wary squint, immune to the effects of his best award-winning friendly grin before gingerly accepting his hand, a light hover over his blasted side seeming to be the deciding factor on the handshake acceptance.
It was quick and curt, and introduction, it spoke volumes of nerves and suspicion.
None of it angry more the quick and worried touch of someone once broken, twice cautious.
Optimus made a note of it.
Kup was astoundingly correct, the words 'not Megatron' shone through tremendously in the one brief formal moment.
Physically there was something eerily reminiscent of Megatron in his facial shape, build and posture.
Emotionally, the guy seemed to wear it on his sleeve, it might just have been the stress of a universe-spanning plague infecting almost everything ruining any barriers but his look was giving it all away. Tired, worried, desperate and also sad, distant and fearful. But still, a Decepticon, still guarded by a wall of spikes.
"Galvatron" He began, watching the cloudy mess of emotion in his eyes flicker briefly like a storm before they locked onto Prime, "Our information says the Decepticons are in possession of a precious metal which holds the key to our best bet of a cure for this horrible plague without it we will all be destroyed"
Galvatron took a moment to think over Optimus's words.
"So, you need something from our vault… I see we're useful to the Autobots if we have something you want If this is a trap! If this is some scheme to end the last of us I'll-!"
"It's not! I swear to you!" Optimus snapped "We need it or everyone will die regardless of the side!"
Galvatron twitched slightly, still eyeing him, scanning him for any minute action to the contrary.
"Very well I'll take you to it..."