Transformers: Renaissance
Part Three: Deus Ex Machina
Chapter One
"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of War!" - Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Decepticon Hall of Heroes, Iacon City, Cybertron, z- seven days
...Starscream held the Matrix before him, bathing in the golden yellow glow from its core, feeling the new power source starting to fill his body. Shifting the device's weight from one hand to the other, he took in the markings on it's flawless surface, admiring its simplistic beauty. He could hear them in his mind, both Matrices in harmony, singing softly of the power that was to come, the untold strength that they would bestow upon him. Intoxicated by the thought, he ignored the groans of fear among the crowd, and the cries of his followers for him to continue. All existence, all of Starscream's reality, fell in upon this one moment.
Here it is, he thought. My destiny is here at last. Grasping the handles of the armour surrounding the Matrix, he began to pull...
With aching slowness, the two halves of the armour surrounding the device began to separate. The bright yellow light within began to pulse, increasing in strength each time until it was nearly glowing white. The air in the hall began to throb with each pulse, echoing from the walls and columns, and echoing in the sparks of every Transformer present. Many of the Cybertronian civilians quailed with fear, and a few ran for the doors. The Decepticon soldiers fared little better, each seeking out any shelter they could find. Everyone who stayed, though, found they could not tear their optics away from Starscream.
He stood in the centre of a burgeoning storm, engulfed in a halo of burning white energy. The Matrix of Combination was beginning to merge with the Matrix of Power, the weaker of the two feeding directly from its violent sibling. Arcs of energon began to ripple over Starscream's frame, occasionally lashing out from his silhouetted form and striking the surrounding marble and stone. With increasing speed, the storm of energy pulsed and shifted, rising to a terrifying crescendo. And at the centre of it all, as the colossal energies began to wreak sudden change upon his body, Starscream lived up to his name. He screamed.
Starscream's form began to twist and reshape, contorting at impossible angles. The metal began to shift, and then run like wax, and new shapes began to form in and around the old structures of his body. Starscream cried out again, a sound of anguish and utmost pain, a wailing cry that merged with the etheric storm and echoed from the walls. The sound sent chills through the Decepticon forces, and they watched in horror as the energy vortex surrounding their Emperor expanded suddenly, blocking him from sight altogether. A keening wail rent the air, a sound that made the watchers think of some terrible creature being born, and then, as suddenly and violently as it had started, the storm vanished.
The light faded, and an unnatural quiet descended upon the hall. Thundercracker waited a few seconds, making sure that the event was completely over, before tentatively looking out from behind the pillar he had used as an impromptu shelter. What he saw drew an involuntary gasp from his vocaliser. Where Starscream had been, an unfamiliar shape knelt in the centre of a shallow crater that had formed on the dais. The throne that had been there was gone, destroyed completely. The shape was a mech, that much was for certain, but Thundercracker could instantly see that it was much larger than his brother; larger, in fact, than Optimus Prime, he mused.
The mass of red and white armour shifted, then slowly stood, unfurling itself to its full height. It was indeed huge, easily larger than Prime or Megatron, if less bulky. The new mech languidly stretched his limbs, inspecting his form in a near-predatory fashion, and in that moment Thundercracker knew that this was Starscream, not replaced but transformed. Bright crimson optics looked up at the room around him, surveying the cowering Cybertronians and the wary Decepticons with equal amounts of disinterest and disdain, a cruel smirk crossing his features.
Deep, resonant laughter filled the hall, rich and strong, and it took a moment for those present to realise that it was emanating from Starscream's new form. Starscream laughed loud and long, revelling in the sheer joy of life, delighting in his new body and his new-found power. He noticed at once that everyone around him found the sound quite distressing, and that too gave him no small amount of enjoyment. He drank in the fear that permeated the air, savouring it as a human would a fine wine. This was true power, he mused. The power of fear. The power of control.
"People of Cybertron", he roared, the new, deep timbre of his voice lending it greater strength, "with the power of the Tear-drops at my command, none shall stand in my way. I shall carve a swathe through the stars, engrave my name upon worlds and reshape the cosmos according to my will! The Autobots will fall, as will all who oppose me!"
"Starscream, you have gone too far!" cried out a voice, echoing faintly in the aftermath of Starscream's declaration. "You are not an Emperor, but a tyrant, and you will be brought to justice!"
"Who dares defy me?" Starscream hissed, levelling a vicious glare at the remaining Cybertronian dissenters. "Answer me!"
"I do", replied the voice, a little more strongly, and a tall, young mech proceeded to step forward from the crowd. "I speak for all free Cybertronians, and all free peoples. Cybertron will not tolerate your actions."
Starscream glared at the youngster, smiling coldly. Slowly, with a barely audible whine, he lifted himself into the air, hovering just above the ground. A faint nimbus of energy began to play around his form, and his optics flared, bright as the sun.
"Imbecile!" he bellowed, "I AM Cybertron!"
No-one present could later claim to have seen Starscream move. He was simply too fast. One moment, he was floating above the dais, surrounded by light, the next he was at the opposite side of the hall. He impacted with his opposer with astounding force, before driving him into the far wall with a shuddering crack. Starscream stepped back after a moment, pulling his right fist out of the broken mass that had been the other mech's head, and dropped the still-twitching body to the floor, leaving thin rivulets of energon and coolant running down the cracked marble. Starscream gazed at the fallen mech, his features unreadable.
"As I said, so end all traitors", he hissed. With a whine of jet engines, he rose into the air, stretching out his arms theatrically and addressing the assembled crowds. "Share in this fool's sentiments", he spat, "and you share in this fool's fate. The Starscream you knew is no more. He was weak, and pitiful. I... I am all-powerful. With the Matrices in my hands, I will crush all who oppose me. I will grind my enemies into dust, and their memories will be lost to the ages while my legacy burns for eternity.
"I am unbeatable!" Starscream continued, his voice rising with each word until it was a roar, "I am supreme! Worlds will speak my name and tremble with fear! I... AM... OVERLORD!"
The Ark, Colorado, USA, z- minus six days
Ravage stood outside the entrance to the Ark, silently steeling himself for what might prove to be the most difficult mission of his life. He shut down his optics for a moment, and allowed himself a brief snarl of annoyance; he would have preferred sneaking into this place, like he had been trained, no, born to do. Walking openly up to the main entrance seemed completely unnatural. But, orders were orders. If Megatron needed him to play the little messenger, so be it. It didn't mean he had to like it, though. Bringing his optics slowly on-line, Ravage waited until the Autobot sentries were looking almost directly at him, then stepped out from his hiding place.
Bumblebee and Cliffjumper had been on sentry duty for nearly three hours, and Cliffjumper was already beginning to complain of boredom. Bumblebee had chosen to ignore his friend's grumbling; Cliffjumper wasn't best suited to standing still, he knew, and he had kindly tried to distract the red VW Bug. The cheerful yellow mech was just about to suggest a game of on-line blackjack, something that would provide a pleasant distraction while allowing the mini-bots to keep doing their job, when he caught a movement on the edge of his vision.
Bumblebee instantly snapped to attention, focussing on one of the larger boulders that lined the road that ran from the Ark's entrance. He couldn't see anything moving, and Bumblebee was just about to dismiss it as a trick of the light when he caught the movement again. This time, though, one of the shadows that surrounded the base of the rock formation detached itself from the others, and began to walk out into the open. The hazy, blurred outline began moving toward the sentries at a leisurely pace, then stopped some twenty metres away. To Bumblebee's optics, it was like looking at the background through a piece of warped glass.
"'Bee, you seein' that?" Cliffjumper asked, as he brought his rifle out of subspace and took aim at the distorted patch of air.
"Yep, I'm seeing it", Bumblebee replied, training his own weapon. "Halt! Show yourself!"
Both Autobots watched, tense and ready to act, as Ravage de-activated his stealth field. The air rippled, then the field collapsed, random sections becoming visible and bleeding into one another until the jet-black feline was completely visible. Blood-red optics regarded them with undisguised malice, a predator regarding his prey. The cassette-mech's twin rocket pods twitched from side to side slightly, matching the aggravated movements of his tail, almost as though Ravage was resisting the urge to lock-on to a particular target. He glared at the two Autobots, and let loose a low, menacing hiss.
"I invoke 'parley'", he said, telepathically broadcasting directly at his opposite numbers. The voice rasped slightly inside their minds, conveying a definite sense of distaste, and practically spitting the word 'parley'. "I bring a message for your leader."
"Yeah, well, you can take your message and cram it up yer tailpipe!" Cliffjumper quipped, grinning sardonically. He motioned with blaster in the direction of the road. "Now get lost. We 'aint interested."
"You", Ravage spat again, ignoring Cliffjumper and directing his glare straight at Bumblebee, "insect. This is not a game. I carry an urgent message for Optimus Prime. Take me to him, or fetch him here, I don't much care in all truth. I have a job to do, and I don't care how I have to go about completing it..." Ravage let the unspoken threat hang, and began to pace impatiently from side to side, snarling occasionally. The two mini-bots looked at each other for a moment, then back at the Decepticon infiltration specialist. Eventually, Bumblebee shrugged.
"Okay", he said. "We take him to Prime."
O o O o O
"Okay, kitty-cat, let's get one thing on the level. I check anything comin' out of your sorry hide that looks remotely like a virus, and I'll fry you so fast you'll think you were sparked on the national grid. D'you dig me?"
Blaster looked his usual nonchalant self, with his arms folded loosely across his chest plate. But his tone said otherwise as he stared down at Ravage, flanked by two of his own creations,Steelfang and Rewind. The red and grey communications specialist had offered his services as a filter, translating the coded message for Teletran-One and intercepting any threats to the super computer. Optimus Prime had called on the senior officers to be present as soon as he had heard about Ravage's message, and word had quickly spread to the others. As a result, the panther-mech was surrounded by a fair-sized crowd, all eager to watch Blaster carry out his threat, or at least watch the message itself. Ravage snarled briefly at his creator's nemesis, before lowering his head in acceptance.
"As you wish", the feline crooned mentally, his 'voice' carrying only a hint of annoyance. "So long as it is understood that the same rule applies to yourself."
"Done, and done. I think we're ready, boss-man", Blaster finished, turning his attention to Optimus. The red and blue mech looked briefly to his command staff, then to his son, looking for any nay-sayers, and when none stepped forward he motioned for Blaster to continue.
Given the go-ahead, Blaster transformed to his alternate mode, quickly mass-shifting down to an appropriate size for an Autobot-scaled portable stereo. Rewind dutifully stepped forward and picked up his creator, carefully placing him on the work console of Teletran-One. A moment later, and a small probe wound its way out of a port on Blaster's back and connected to a data-transfer port on the console. A few moments later, and the cassette deck opened, and Blaster announced that he was ready. As soon as Ravage had transformed and connected with him, Teletran's screen lit up and the message began to play.
"Greetings, Optimus", said the familiar face of Megatron as it blinked into life on the view screen. Almost every Autobot present had to resist the urge to tense up. The tyrant's optics glowed brighter for a moment, and his features creased into a cruel approximation of a smile. The result was a collective shudder amongst his audience. The Decepticon leader continued speaking after a moment.
"As strange as this will undoubtedly sound", Megatron began, his voice deliberately light and betraying only the slightest grinding of his dental plates, "I am sending this message with a request for aid." This statement was met with an assortment of snorts, gasps and other exclamations of shock or surprise. On the screen, Megatron visibly dropped the 'friendly' act and became serious.
"I can only imagine your response. Considering our past, I can assure you my own reaction would have been far more violent. But, with circumstances as they stand, I have little choice but to offer a truce. As you have undoubtedly heard, Starscream has declared himself Emperor of Cybertron, and has taken away no less than half of my forces. As it stands, I have been unsuccessful in regaining control of the Decepticons in their entirety.
"To make matters far, far worse, Starscream has taken the Matrix of Power. My sources on Cybertron have also confirmed that he is, at least, in possession of the Matrix of Combination. You have no doubt received similar reports. You know what this means, Optimus. The Prophecy, in it's darkest form, is coming true. And Starscream is the chosen harbinger. All the signs point to it. Unless we stop him, here and now, you know as well as I do that he will take the Matrix of Leadership from you by force. He will destroy your forces, and everyone else who crosses him, and we will end up with no way to stop him.
"I know we have had our differences, Prime. I know that, with our sordid past, you may never truly trust me. But know this. Turn my offer down, reject this one chance, and Cybertron dies. This sorry ball of rock that we currently call home will probably follow shortly thereafter. Everything you love and hold dear, everything you know, will be destroyed for the sake of Starscream's vanity. What happens next is entirely up to you. I await your response. Send it via Ravage, or send an emissary of your own, it doesn't matter. Just reply soon, before we all pay the price for your indecision."
Megatron's face froze in the frame for a brief instant, his features haggard and heavy with concern, and then the image blinked out to be replaced by the purple Decepticon insignia. Optimus stared at the symbol for a long moment, deep in thought, his primary vents releasing a long, quiet sigh. His optics seemed to be staring at both something and yet nothing, completely unfocussed. Ravage quietly ejected from Blaster, transforming and landing with next to no sound, and Blaster transformed himself before joining his comrades. The rest of the Autobots shifted uncomfortably, most of them unsure of what to say.
For Prime's part, all of his worst nightmares were coming at life at once. A prophecy from before recorded history, either on this world or his home, was coming to pass in his lifetime. A sad, quiet part of his mind asked why it couldn't have been a foretelling of peace; the rest of him quickly answered that he simply wasn't that lucky, and offered the war to date as a case in point. Coming out of his reverie, Prime looked up, his optics passing over the now-familiar form of his son, Artemis. The younger Prime was himself looking at something that wasn't there, but his expression wasn't one of fear or consternation. It was one of confusion.
"What's on your mind?" Optimus asked, stepping close to Artemis and lowering his voice.
"There's something I just don't get", Artemis replied, his yellow optics meeting the his father's ice-blue gaze. "None of this is right. Overlord is supposed to be here, soon, to take the three Matrices and create my future. But I've checked Teletran's database, and there is no mention of an 'Overlord' anywhere in your reports on Megatron's forces. I'd never heard of this Starscream before coming here."
"It's possible that Overlord may be from Cybertron, or one of the colonies", Optimus answered softly.
"Perhaps. But I'm beginning to wonder... Did I change things? By coming here, I mean? What if the temporal displacement device somehow disrupted the time-line, and Overlord no longer exists? What if I have made things worse?"
"What if you have made things better? It won't do any good for you to second guess yourself", Optimus said, smiling. "You came here in good faith, with the best intentions for your own time and ours. Even if you have somehow stopped Overlord from existing, and Starscream is now the one to bring about your future, then you can still help." Optimus raised his right hand and placed it on the white and blue mech's shoulder. "You did the right thing. Have no doubt on that." With one last look at his son, the Autobot commander then turned to face Ravage, his features set with grim determination.
"Tell your master that I will agree to this alliance. I will send word shortly, and arrange to meet him in person. But know this", Prime finished, his optics flashing dangerously as he hoisted Ravage into the air so he was face to face with him, "if this is a trap, or a trick of any kind, then I swear by Primus that he will regret the day he was sparked. Starscream will be the very least of his problems..."
Deus Ex Machina is dedicated to Prime Revolver, without whom this story may never have come to pass.
Author's notes: Transformers and all associated characters/locations are the property of Hasbro/HasTak Inc., not myself. Overlord, in form and unique traits, is mine, even if I did just glue some shiny new tech to Starscream. Artemis Prime is the property of Prime Revolver, and is on very kind loan. Thanks again!
Deus Ex Machina translates loosely as "God from the machine". It seemed a bit obvious at the time, and I think it sounds cool. So there!
Chapter two coming soon. Stay tuned...