THEY'RE ALL DEAD

Chapter 1

The air was thick with smoke and the stench of steaming oil and burnt metal made it difficult to breath. "It's really over," a saddened voice spoke. "After all this time, it's really..." Emotions tore through his mind. "Over." He walked carefully amongst the fallen bodies of those he once considered friends and those of his enemies. Tears swelled up in his eyes, and he looked around and caught himself mentally calling out their names. "Hound... Jazz... Kup..." Forcing himself to continue to make his way through the debris, he froze upon seeing his greatest friend of them all. "Prime," he muttered.

"Why?" he screamed, his anger turned towards the heavens. "I don't understand; this didn't have to end this way!" he continued. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the one who brought this to be. The one who forced this hand to be dealt. "Megatron." There was no remorse in his tone, only ice-cold hatred. There were too many fallen bodies to count, but he knew each and every one of them. He had been there since the beginning, and he was now witness to their end.

Movement was heard behind him. It was a familiar voice and brought a sense of comfort to the moment. "Come on, son... we need to let the troops start picking this mess up."

"Oh, Dad," Spike cried, falling into his father's arms. "They're dead! Prime, Bumblebee... all of them!"

Sparkplug did his best to console his son. The old mechanic felt tears swelling up in his eyes as well, and tried to remain strong. "I know, son." The elder Witwicky looked hard and peered through the smoke. He could see a handful of military troops discussing their clean-up of the area. Overhead a black helicopter flew through the sky, it's bright searchlight illuminating the entire blast zone. "I know."

The drive home seemed to take forever. Not a single word was spoken once they started heading down the highway. Sparkplug glanced over at Spike every now and then, hoping to see a different expression on his son's face. But none came. Spike sat as though in a trance, his emotions boiling over inside, and a steady stream of tears waiting to be released. "How about we pull over up here and grab a cup of coffee?" Sparkplug suggested. "That sound good, son?"

Spike was a million miles away. He was back on Cybertron, in Wheeljack's lab, looking for a part to save Optimus Prime. He and Carly were helping Swoop try and find some Cybertonium... he was dancing and joking around Jazz, right before they discovered Skyfire. Racing away from Decepticons while inside Bumblebee... laughing at the Dinobots... looking for a part to save Prime. Optimus Prime.

"Son?" Sparkplug asked again, this time a little louder. "You wanna get some coffee?" It was painful for him to see Spike like this, as it is for any father to see hurt in their son's soul.

"I don't understand," Spike finally muttered. "It doesn't fit... it isn't right."

"What doesn't fit son?"

Spike remained still, shifting only slightly to avoid a cramp in his right shoulder. "There was no need to destroy them all. No need to..." Spike's voice broke up, as he fought hard to keep his sobs silent. "No need to kill them."

"They were robots, son," Sparkplug said. "They weren't..." He stopped in mid-sentence, feeling the hate coming from his son. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

Sparkplug pulled off the interstate, and found a little diner for him and Spike to grab some coffee. While sitting there waiting to be served, Spike withdrew a pack of cigarettes. Fumbling around in his pants pocket, he finally found a lighter and lit up. "Since when did you start smoking?" Sparkplug asked, totally shocked by what he was seeing.

"About the same time you started drinking your coffee black," Spike snapped. "I'm gonna go call Carly and tell her what happened."

"Do you want anything to eat?" Sparkplug asked.

"No."

Sparkplug watched as his son left the booth and found a little corner of privacy. Gone was the once happy and vibrant boy he knew. In his place now walked a broken and beaten young man. In a matter of minutes, his entire life had been shattered by complete strangers.

Spike began to make his way back to the booth. "Signal keeps coming and going," he said, "Must be the storm. Look dad, I'm sorry if I seem rude. It's just-"

"It's all right son," Sparkplug said. "I understand. Today was the day from hell."

Spike looked at his dad. A man who was always there for him. A man who he knew loved him without reserve. A man who he knew wouldn't lie to him. "Why did it happen this way, dad?"

"I don't know son," he sighed. "Maybe because there was no other way. Maybe the wrong people panicked and made a decision that elimated both the problem and the solution." The smoke coming from across the table stung his eyes, but he didn't complain. "Maybe it was just their time to go. I don't know."

Spike's mind replayed the events that lead up to the final act. He was standing next to Trailbreaker and Brawn when Teletran 1 announced the alert. Megatron and the Decepticons had landed at Marshal's Air Base. Optimus sent Cliffjumper, Hound, and Bluestreak to investigate. When the three of them arrived, they saw that Megatron's force had grown in size, and they were going berserk. Destroying everything in sight, converting fuel into energon cubes, killing innocent people who stood in their way. Bluestreak sent a radio message back to The Ark, requesting backup. By the time Optimus and the others arrived, Bluestreak, Hound, and Cliffjumper had been destroyed. Spike and Sparkplug watched the battle from within the base, far enough away to be safe from any immediate danger.

He remembers watching Prime and Megatron go toe to toe. Starscream and Prowl struggling with each other... it seemed as though the entire roster for both factions was smack-dab in the middle of Marshal's Air Base flight strip. Then, he remembers commotion from behind him. A military man, sporting the rank of general, nodded slyly towards one of the MP's. And then, it was over. A mighty roar cracked the sky, and a light as bright as heaven itself fell upon Autobot and Decepticon both.

"Where are they taking the bodies?" Spike asked Sparkplug, who was finishing up his first cup of coffee. "What are they going to do with them?"

Sparkplug shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure, why?"

"I'm just wondering." Spike's cell phone rang, startling both Witwickys. "Now it works", he sighed. "Hello?"

"Yeah..."
"Uh-huh..."
"Are you sure?"
"Okay, we're on our way."

Sparkplug winked at the waitress, hoping she'd bring her shapely figure his way and drop some more brew in his cup. What he really wanted was her phone number and a bottle of wine, but he'd settle for the java. "Who was it?"

"Chip."

"What did he say?"

"Seems my gut feeling that something didn't fit was right," Spike informed him. "Chip hacked into Marshal's main computer."

"He what?" Sparkplug asked with a nervous tone.

Spike ignored the outburst and continued. "He found a document that outlines the entire incident, complete with faction-rosters and a list of 'acceptable losses'. It was dated two weeks ago."

Sparkplug smiled as the waitress finally refilled his cup. "What does that mean?" he asked without taking his eyes off of her.

"This whole thing was planned out in advance," Spike stated. His emotions got the better of him, as he slammed his fist down onto the marble table between them. "They lured the Decepticons to that location, knowing that the Autobots would respond and try to bring an end to the attack. They wanted Megatron and his goons there, knowing for a fact that Prime would show up! It was a damn set-up!"

"A set-up?" Sparkplug asked, nearly spitting out his coffee from such a revelation. "Are you sure? Who'd do something like that? Better yet, why do something like that?"

Spike shook his head, all the while a thousand guesses forming in his mind. "I don't know," he admitted, motioning for his father to join him in leaving the diner. "But we're going to meet Chip and try to figure it out."

end of chapter 1