Disclaimer: Been awhile since I've done any fanfic writing. Going to try and get back into it bit by bit and what better way to do so than with an old number I wrote quite awhile ago? I do not own Transformers in any way, shape or form. And no one, I mean no one owns Optimus Prime, rights of ownership and copyright be damned! This is my own personal vision of how the third Transformers movie should have ended. This fanfic features a speech that apparently Optimus Prime did once. When I stumbled across it on youtube I just had to work it into a story somehow. Anyhow, as always please read, review and enjoy! Again I own nothing!
Freedom
"SENTINEL!"
With a great crash Optimus' sword cut through Sentinel's weapon and sliced deep into his chest, almost breaching the place where his life sustaining spark was housed.
To Sentinel, the pain was so great he couldn't even scream. He collapsed backwards an incredulous look on his features. As though he just couldn't believe the fact that he, a Prime, had been beaten by this upstart.
Optimus stood over him like some kind of wraith. His entire body featuring scars, dents and scratches that went straight into his inner workings and his entire left arm was gone. It was nothing short of miraculous that he was even standing, much less still fighting.
The victorious Prime retracted his face shield as he regarded his one time mentor. Oddly enough, Optimus' face seemed sad, but no less determined.
"I win, Sentinel."
Those words brought new fury through his circuits.
"And what did you win, boy?!" He growled. "The extinction of our entire race? The destruction of our homeworld? Your homeworld!? WHAT HAVE YOU WON OPTIMUS!? TELL ME!"
The sadness on Optimus' face deepened which only served to infuriate Sentinel more.
"You still do not understand."
"No my young friend, I'm afraid it is you who doesn't understand." He then looked straight into Optimus' eyes. "Let me show you."
Blue beams shot from Sentinel's eyes directly into Optimus' optics, and the battlefield around the two autobots was replaced by another one.
Antietam, the bloodiest battle to ever be fought on the continent of North America. Sentinel was projecting more than just a hologram, he was beaming information and feelings directly into Optimus' mind. Optimus felt the weight of Sentinel's contempt as though it was a physical thing.
"Look at them Optimus. Look at your precious humans and see them for what they are." New scenes began to play out around them. Ancient humans clubbing each other's brains out for food, for women, willing or not. To the sights of other battles, the Crusades, the World Wars, The Trail of Tears, Auschwitz, scenes of torture done by both sides in many a conflict. To the Inquisition, to the crusades, to atrocities that were largely forgotten by people, even though for the sake of all the men, women and children who suffered, they should have been remembered, but they lie forgotten.
"They aren't a sentient species Optimus. They're a disease, a plague! Even the Deceptacons, for all their cruelty, pale in comparison to the depravities this race is capable of!"
The scene shifts to animals, beaten, abused, experimented on. To the horrors of the food industry, livestock subjected to conditions that one could gape in disgust.
"And unlike the Deceptacons, their cruelty knows no bounds! To the animals around them, to even the very planet that supports them."
Thousands upon thousands of miles of land, pillaged and drained for all it was worth leaving nothing but dead dirt. All that life, dead and all for parking lots and shopping malls.
"And of course, they reserve their most wanton cruelty for themselves."
September 11, 2001. They watched as smoke billowed from the towers. Thousands of innocent lives lost in an instant. And the subsequent retaliation that cost even more innocent lives. The subsequent tortures, entire people living in fear as machines of death patrol their villages, willing to unleash hell just for one more target, no matter who else gets caught in the fire.
"You must see Optimus!" Almost all the anger was gone from Sentinel's voice. It was almost pleading now.
"You must see that there is no salvation for this race. They will never change their nature, and if they ever gain the capability to voyage to the stars, there's no limit to the destruction they will bring throughout the universe."
Scenes of the old Nazi marches, the Ku Klux Klan marching down the very streets of Washington D.C.
"No matter what good you've seen them Optimus, human nature is destructive, they are a virus, if they manage to survive themselves long enough to master the ability to travel the stars, they'll destroy so much that the very stars will weep."
The image changed one last time to Cybertron, not the charred and broken world that it was now, but the beautiful gleaming jewel that it once was, that it was meant to be.
"Let us take humanity to Cybertron Optimus, on their own humans will amount to nothing but cruelty and death, but if we take them to Cybertron we can temper their destructive nature and channel it into something good, rebuilding Cybertron! Yes the Deceptacons are also destructive but we can temper their destruction too! Autobots and Deceptacons are both of the same race! We all love our home we can agree on that much at the very least! We can have peace, we can have justice, all we need to do, is rebuild the space bridge, and finally go home."
Through the link, Optimus felt just how much Sentinel wanted to go home, to see his race at peace yet again, to see Cybertron, beautiful Cybertron once again pulse with life.
Sentinel truly wanted that more than anything and deep down it was what Optimus wanted as well.
But not at this price.
"No Sentinel, that is not the way."
The fury in Sentinel reignited even stronger than before.
"Why Optimus? Why?! Why would you choose them over us? Don't you realize that if we don't return to Cybertron the last remnants of our race will die out? Are you truly willing to sacrifice our entire species for them?"
"If it is our fate to fade away in time, then so be it. But we will not dishonor ourselves by becoming slavers."
Oil like bile built up in Sentinel's throat.
"No, you'll just dishonor us all by unleashing these parasites upon the stars. Why do you have such faith in them Optimus? Why are you willing to fight so hard for them? Why are you willing to sacrifice everything for them after everything you've seen from them? WHY THEM!?"
Sparks leapt from Optimus' wounds and he looked as though he was going to fall for a moment, but with a groan he righted himself and looked back into Sentinel's eyes and activated his own projectors.
Cybertron was replaced by Earth and zoomed onto one of the first members of primitive man.
"The race of the homo sapiens," he began. "Yes I have seen their violence, cruelty and greed." He regarded Sentinel with a look like a teacher gives a student who doesn't understand. "However Sentinel, don't forget that they are only 200,000 years into their existence. They're still a young species, with much to learn."
The hologram quickly moved through the evolution of man, from hunter gatherers to building the first cities and empires.
And of course, their wars.
"Sometimes, they repeat their mistakes and do not see, or in some cases refuse to see the mistakes they have made."
Once again, scenes from World War II formed the back ground as people were rounded up like animals for the slaughter. But even here, there were instances of courage, resistance and kindness.
"But even in their darkest histories, I have seen goodness in them. I have seen their capacity compassion, wisdom, courage, honor, love and truth"
. "In fact," he continued. "The wisest teachers on this planet have always said in some form or another, that a true human is all of the fore mentioned virtues." Pictures of many people began to surround the two Autobots. Brutal leaders such as Stalin, Mao, Hitler, and other people, not just leaders but murderers, sadists, torturers and others.
"Sadly, like some of our kind, some of them forgot to keep all of these in their souls. Some of them became monsters, like Megatron. A too large a number of these monsters actually ruled in some parts of Earth's chronicles. Today, a few still do."
Now other people began to take the place of the previous ones. Martin Luther King Jr. Ghandi, Mother Teresa, countless men and women who risked their lives to help others.
"That said, many did learn from the mistakes of the past. There were those who even had foresight, and strived to enrich this world."
The Constitution of the United States, is shown and As Sentinel looked upon it, Optimus' voice grew firm with conviction.
"Remember, freedom is the right of all sentient beings. More importantly, it is a privilege. Many have honored it and do honor it today. Some have greatly abused it. Few denied it to others. For various iniquitous reasons such as prejudice. Whether freedom is a right or privilege, no one has the right to take it away from others. Criminals, corrupt leaders and lords and so forth who abuse the rights of freedom will get what's coming to them. This is one of the reasons why beings like us exist. We may be aliens to this planet but we still have a responsibility. We have to save them from our war. Even though we are strangers, sometimes a stranger can be a great teacher, even a savior. And perhaps soon, it will be up to us to remind them of where they stand. So then they have more knowledge on how to make progress as a civilization. So they can finally be one with each other."
"Like how we once were, before the Deceptacons, when we were peaceful and just." Sentinel could almost feel the conviction of Optimus, such…belief. "And I promise you, we will be again peaceful and just. And if we are to truly to die out Sentinel, to rust and rot until all the energon in our circuits runs dry and our sparks fade, then humanity will be our legacy."
And then Optimus looked to the sky, as if seeing something far away, or far into the distant future.
"And that legacy Sentinel, has the potential to be something greater than either of us can imagine."
The hologram faded away to once again reveal the war torn streets of the city. The Deceptacons, were being routed, they were on the retreat. The Autobots had won the day.
"That, Sentinel, is why I fight for them. And why I will keep fighting for them, even if it costs me my life."
Sentinel was at a loss for words especially when Optimus extended his hand.
"We're Primes, Sentinel, we're supposed to be better than this. So please, stand down. There's been enough blood shed today."
Now Sentinel had no idea what to even think. After all that he had done, Optimus was offering him mercy? He didn't know what to do, on one hand he was a Prime and the idea of surrendering to this upstart rankled him to his Spark. On the other hand, perhaps he was…
THOOM!
A powerful blast of plasma rocked Optimus backwards and another blast slammed into Sentinel from his side.
"Deceptacons, FORWARD!"
Like a demon from Earth legend, Megatron emerged slaughtering everyone that stood in his way. Even weakened as he was Megatron was still the most powerful of the Deceptacons and both Sentinel and Optimus were in no condition to fight him.
And Megatron knew it.
"Ha ha ha! Not one but two Primes ripe for the killing. I would have waited an eternity for this! At long last I will erase your antiquated lineage from this universe."
Sentinel tried to right himself.
"Megatron please I…"
His words were cut off as Megatron slammed his foot upon Sentinel's chest.
"AHHHH!"
"Silence Sentinel, if I wish to hear you speak I will make you. Oh I won't kill you, I still need you to build another space bridge. But you work for me now Sentinel, and if you disobey me, I will rip you apart piece by piece before I put you back together as I see fit."
Megatron shifted his gaze to Optimus struggling to get up off the ground.
"It's over for you Primes. And all because for all your precious wisdom, you two never realized that its power that is the absolute truth of this universe. Not knowledge or freedom but power! This universe was made for the strong!"
Sentinel cried out as Megatron slammed his foot down onto his chest again.
"What the strong want the strong take! The strong thrive and the weak must either serve the strong or perish. And I am the strongest of all in this universe."
It's over. Sentinel thought in defeat. It's all over.
SLAM!
Sentinel looked over to see Optimus had slammed his fist down into the concrete and was trying to force his body to stand up. And to Sentinel's amazement, little by little, Optimus managed to force himself to his feet.
"Not while my Spark still shines within me Megatron. You haven't won yet."
"Ha! Defiant to the last Optimus? I wouldn't have it any other way." Megatron leveled his weapon at Optimus and grinned viciously.
"One shall stand…" he began.
"One shall fall," finished Optimus.
Megatron's first shot hit Optimus right where his spark chamber was, by all rights it should have blown right through Optimus.
But the force just staggered the young Prime and once he caught his balance Optimus' eyes met Megatron's.
Optimus readied his sword and his face shield slid back into place.
Without a word he charged.
The second shot Optimus managed to catch some of the plasma bolt with his sword, but the blast still slowed him down and damaged his arm but Optimus didn't even blink he just kept charging towards his nemesis.
Megatron fired again, and again and again and Optimus still kept coming.
"Fall."
Another shot, this time the plasma actually sparked something within Optimus shorting out his optics but they came online again and the Autobot continued to move forward.
"Fall," Megatron growled again.
More shots, a 7th, an 8th a 9th Optimus was practically nothing more than a metal skeleton in some parts of his body. But he didn't stop.
"FALL!" Megatron roared firing as fast as he could pull the trigger, while starting to step back.
To Megatron, it was like seeing an incarnation of death running towards him but Sentinel saw something else entirely. He saw a being that wouldn't give up, that wouldn't compromise his firmest beliefs who would never stop fighting for what was right, for those weaker than himself.
He saw a Prime.
"FALLLLLL!" Megatron was starting to back away faster now but it wasn't fast enough to escape Optimus, who cut Megatron's rifle into pieces.
"PRIME!"
"MEGATRON!"
Blows from fists of metal thundered across the battlefield as the two longtime enemies tore into each other.
"I'LL RIP OUT YOUR OPTICS!" Megatron screamed as he grappled with Prime. Optimus tried to bring his sword to bear but the blasts from Megatron's weapon had rendered it brittle and it broke easily against Megatron's body.
Megatron took the opportunity to slam a fist into the hole in Optimus' left side. Giving a triumphant yell as the Prime staggered in pain. And Megatron never let an enemies' weakness go unpunished.
He attacked Optimus viciously brutally slamming his fists into Optimus with the fury that made him the most feared of the Deceptacons. Any other Autobot would have been reduced to scrap by such an assault.
Even Optimus couldn't take any more to Megatron's savage glee. He raised his hands over his head and brought Optimus to his knees with a powerful overhead.
Optimus brought his arm to block the blow and nearly got his arm crushed as he was forced to his knees.
"Give…in!" Megatron gritted out.
"It's…over…Prime!"
Optimus clenched his fist and shoved Megatron's arms away.
"NEVER!"
He sprung up from his position and hit Megatron with a punch that nearly caved in his chest.
"AAAAAAGH!"
Now it was Optimus' time to return the favor and he would not let this chance go either.
"I am Optimus Prime!" Optimus aimed for Megatron's head and his fist connected with a satisfying crunch of metal.
"And I will never…"
Megatron tried to regain the offensive but Optimus caught his first punch, pulled and used the momentum to bring strike to Megatron's already damaged head with a devastating head-butt.
"Give up!"
And with one last punch Optimus launched Megatron across the bridge.
But that was it for Optimus, he slumped over barely able to stand. He didn't have anything left after that. He could feel his one remaining arm almost ready to fall off and even his spark was flickering inside of him.
That was the moment that the last thing Optimus wanted to hear, was the sound of Megatron's laughter.
The Deceptacon leader picked up a discarded plasma rifle from nearby and aimed it squarely at Optimus. Even a glancing shot would kill Optimus at this point and they both knew it.
"I win, Optimus."
Megatron pulled the trigger but before it could hit Optimus, a blur of yellow and black blocked the shot.
"BUMBLEBEE!" Optimus heard Sam bellow as one of the most loyal and brave soldiers Optimus had ever known took a shot meant for him.
"Ha hah! Die Optimus!" Megatron laughed in absolute glee.
He fired a second shot.
"Optimus!"
Ratchet jumped in front of him taking shot after shot until Megatron managed to shoot one of the medic's arms off.
"Ratchet no!" Optimus called as his old friend fell.
And Megatron continued to laugh, which made Optimus grit his fist and begin to stumble toward Megatron, not caring that he wouldn't be able to make it and knowing that he would die to Megatron's next shot.
Optimus made it three steps and just saw the muzzle of Megatron's weapon light up when he was pulled back and shielded by something strong.
"Ugh!"
Optimus recognized that grunt of pain and looked up at his savior with a mix of wonder and pride.
"Sentinel…?"
"We'll take him together Optimus, stay behind me!"
Sentinel half dragged the wounded Autobot leader behind him as Megatron began firing wildly into Sentinel.
"You will DIE!"
The going was slow, too slow for the wounded primes and it was made worse when Megatron began to back up again, but Sentinel continued to drag Optimus behind him even after he felt a round of plasma enter his spark chamber.
"Sentinel!"
"Don't worry about me! Just…agh!"
A shot took half of Sentinel's face off, causing him so stumble enough to give Megatron a clear shot at Optimus.
"Hrrg!" Sentinel grunted as he moved into the blast. His remaining eye glared at Megatron and he gripped his weapon.
"FIGHT ON OPTIMUS PRIME!"
Sentinel charged the Deceptacon Tyrant with one last battle cry that was heard throughout the entire city, matched only by the great crashing noise that was made when Megatron's blaster blew a hole straight through Sentenel's chest, stopping him in his tracks.
Time was still for a moment between Megatron and Sentinel, but with one last roar the autobot threw his weapon at Megatron before falling. Sentinel's aim was true as his weapon pieced the tyrant's arm.
"AAAAGHH!" Megatron howled in equal parts rage and pain.
"I will destroy you all!"
He looked back at his longtime nemesis and wasn't even able to raise his weapon before Optimus tackled him.
"NO! Never…" Optimus grabbed the weapon still embedded in Megatron's arm.
"AGAIN!" and twisted tearing Megatron's arm out of its socket.
Despite Megatron's pain he still managed to find the strength to kick Optimus off of him. Slowly, pieces of themselves falling off of each of them as they did so, they managed to get back up again.
But they both had nothing left now.
"Do you ever ask yourself Optimus," Megatron panted. "What you would be without me?"
"Time to find out," Optimus growled as he shuffled towards Megatron.
"Not today Prime. DECEPTACONS! RETREAT!" Megatron transformed into his tank form, mangled far beyond any combat capability but still able to move faster than Optimus was able to.
Optimus watched as all the Deceptacons fled the city, only when the last one had left did Optimus finally collapse. The vision from his optics began to fade and he felt his spark began to sputter.
"Oh god Ratchet! Ratchet!" he heard Sam's voice as if he was shouting from miles away.
He barely felt the thumping of an autobots stride and couldn't even see Ratchet, wounded but alive bending over him.
"His spark is fading fast."
"What about the matrix can't the matrix fix him?"
"He's too heavily damaged. Not even the matrix can heal him. There's…nothing we can do."
Optimus coughed. "Rat..chet?"
"I'm here old friend, I'm here."
"Is Bumblebee alright?"
Ratchet smiled sadly. "He's fine. Wounded, but he'll live."
"Good," he sighed. "Good."
Optimus opened his chest cavity and the matrix floated out.
"Ratchet, you must lead the Autobots now."
"Optimus I ca…"
"Yes you can Ratchet. You must."
Ratchet hesitated, his remaining hand clenching and unclenching in uncertainty, tentatively, he reached for the Matrix.
"Wait…"
Everyone gathered around Optimus turned and trained a weapon on the crawling and miraculously still alive Sentinel.
"You…" Ratchet growled. "Tell me why we shouldn't destroy you right now!?"
"Because…" coughed Sentinel. "You'll need me…to save him."
Ratchet cautiously lowered his weapon, still keeping his finger on the trigger as Sentinel dragged himself over to Optimus, the two Primes shared a look.
"Sentinel…why?"
"I can't share your faith in these humans Optimus, there is still one thing, even after all that's happened, that I can still believe in."
He moved closer.
"But please, promise me something Optimus, promise me that this war will not go on forever…that someday, all who called Cybertron home will live in peace again."
He coughed. "We were a great species Optimus, I don't want us to end by tearing each other apart in this war. That's why…I betrayed everything I ever taught you."
He began to shake, loose bits falling from the hole in his chest.
"Promise me, Optimus…"
"I promise, Sentinel."
The old Prime nodded. "Good. I'm relieved then."
Then without a word, he placed a hand over the still floating matrix, and pushed it back into Optimus' chest. Bolts of electricity began to play around Sentinel's form, traveling from his chest to the hand that was on the matrix.
"What's he doing?" Sam asked Ratchet.
"He's using his spark to overcharge the matrix…" Ratchet said in shock. "Using his own life force, to sustain Optimus' spark."
The electricity continued to flow into the matrix for a few moments more until all of Sentinel's spark was spent. He collapsed next to Optimus, his remaining eye quickly fading.
"You were always…a truer Prime…than I could ever be." The light completely faded from Sentinel's eye and he was gone.
Ratchet quickly moved Sentinel's arm off of Optimus and began repairing his wounds. "Your spark has been stabilized, we'll still need to get you patched up though. Easy Optimus."
The young Prime slowly managed to sit upright, looking sadly at Sentinel's body.
"Are you alright Optimus?"
Optimus looked around at the aftermath of the battle, once again too many had perished today. But they had survived, and earth was safe.
"No, but I will be."
He looked up again to the sky as if seeing something far away as everyone gathered the wounded, fellow soldiers congratulated each other and a young couple in love kissed.
"We all will be."
In any war, there are always losses, casualties. You lose your fellow soldiers, your friends, your brothers, your loved ones. Sometimes, you even lose yourself and all the things that you stood for, as Sentinel did. This war will continue for a long time to come. Perhaps Megatron and I are destined to fight this war forever. But we Autobots will fight on, we will fight for something far more valuable and precious than power to fight for. We will fight for humanity, for all sentient species in the universe, teaching them the lessons that we have learned throughout the ages. And we will never, abandon the ideals for which we strive toward. And perhaps someday, far into the future, when this war has been ended and others have reached the stars, the legacy we will leave behind will inspire a time of peace for humanity and others throughout the universe. But for now we will continue to fight for that day, the day that all shall be free to live in peace. Until that day, until all are one.
Until all are one.