Deus Machina

Disclaimer: Welcome one and all to my newest Transformers creation. I have been inspired to write this after watching the older Planet of the Apes films as well as Dark of the Moon. I often wondered what would happen if the Decepticons had succeeded in bringing Cybertron to Earth and enslaved the entire human race. My BF pressed me to write this, so here you are. LOL. This is an AU fic; I own nothing Hasbro or Bay related.

I do hope you read and review.

"Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find ''tomorrow'' on the calendars of fools. Forget yesterday's defeats and ignore the problems of tomorrow. This is it. Doomsday. All you have. Make it the best day of your year. The saddest words you can ever utter are, ''If I had my life to live over again. ''Take the baton, now. Run with it! This is your day! Beginning today, treat everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one or stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight. Extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness and understanding and love that you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."

-Og Mandino

"When we abolish the slavery of half of humanity, together with the whole system of hypocrisy it implies, then the "division" of humanity will reveal its genuine significance and the human couple will find its true form."

-Simone de Beauvoir

By: VampireQueenAkasha

"Optimus... all I ever wanted was the survival of our race ... "

- Sentinel Prime, DoTM

Part Three

Iacon City

Sentinel was displeased with production. He watched as the humans worked on construction, but their movements were not fast enough to his liking. He was having several Cybertronians arriving soon and he wanted to have something to show for it.

Megatron stood behind him, smiling with pride.

"Can they not move faster?" Sentinel snapped.

Megatron nodded. "I'll pick up the pace." he said. He gestured to Soundwave. "Give them a little reminder."

Soundwave nodded his head and raised his wrist. There was a collection of dials near a screen to which he turned upward. In the construction zone, every human working suddenly doubled over and gripped at their collars with a chorus of fierce cries of pain.

"Work faster!" Megatron bellowed down at them.

Lennox and Epps glowered venomously up at the warlord.

"Goddamn that bastard!" Epps snarled, under his breath, "He's gonna work us until we drop!"

Lennox sighed heavily. "I think that's the point, Epps." he said, grimly.

Sentinel turned and walked away from the sight, frustration in his growl. He paused when he spotted Shockwave walking by with Mearing following at his side. She was carrying a data board in her hands and Shockwave was giving her commands.

"I want every single scrap piece documented and accounted for," he told her, "For each one that you miss, you will start over."

Mearing nodded weakly. "Yes, Lord Shockwave."

Sentinel stepped in front of Shockwave. "Wait a moment, Shockwave; there's something that I need for you to do first."

Shockwave's single eye dimmed and his mandibles flexed. The ridges of his face plates seemed to move in an almost human gesture of a scowl. "I'm busy with important matters of my own, Prime," he told the Autobot, "It will have to wait until I am finished with my own duties."

Sentinel scowled back. "You will do as your told, Shockwave; after all, this is important."

"I'm certain that it is," Shockwave replied, with boredom, "But as you can see, this task my servant and I are working on cannot wait until tomorrow."

Megatron approached them and nodded his head to his subordinate. "Shockwave, pay mind to this specific request," he told him, "Sentinel requires your...delicate touch with a special matter. See to it at once."

Shockwave didn't seem to enjoy the concept of having to do anything for Sentinel. Mearing stared up at him warily, hoping that it wouldn't involve him taking his frustration on the other Cybertronian out on her. She had seen others in the path of his weapons die for much less.

"What is this task?" Shockwave finally asked, an edge to his voice.

"Interrogation, more or less," Sentinel said, turning and gesturing to two Decepticons dragging the familiar form of Leadfoot by his arms.

Shockwave's brow seemed to turn inward. "So I am simply to probe this Autobot for information."

"Not exactly," Sentinel told him, "You see, there are a few Autobots left who don't exactly see that the world here has changed; Leadfoot here is one of those blind fools. Make an example of him if it comes down to that."

If Shockwave understood or not, he didn't make a single indication of it. Instead, he gestured to the two Decepticons. "Take him." he ordered.

They nodded and dragged Leadfoot away with his thick heels scraping across the ground. Shockwave looked down at Mearing and gestured with a gruff twitch of his head.

"Come along, slave," he ordered.

O

Mearing had never been to his personal torture chambers before and she had hoped that Shockwave wouldn't bring her here. Maybe he did it to serve as some kind of example to her should she step out of line. It wasn't like she needed any kind of example; she wasn't stupid enough to get herself killed. She sat in the shadows, watching Leadfoot lying on a table in the center of the room, bound tightly with chain and cuffs. Shockwave moved behind him, gathering something on a tray.

Leadfoot snarled defiantly. "You ain't getting slag out of me, you piece of shit!" he spat, "I don't care what you do!"

The human explecitive did nothing to stir a response from the larger Cybertronian, but it did make Mearing gasp quietly in surprise. She looked up at Shockwave and noticed that he had paused in gathering his tools to look down at Leadfoot. Instead of lashing out, he made a sound that almost resembled a chuckle. "Insults are effective only where emotion is present," he told the Wrecker, "Clearly the words of a weakling carry very little weight."

Leadfoot laughed with a cruel snort, ignoring Shockwave as he removed a particularly sharp looking tool from the tray. "How's that pet of yours doing?" he sneered, "Optimus gave it one hell of a beating, didn't he?"

"And now Prime is dead, just like the rest of his pathetic, mundane creed," Shockwave replied, calmly.

Leadfoot smirked. "Yeah? Well that backstabber Sentinel's still alive and kicking!" he hissed. He then added mockingly. "Oh wait. I forgot! Megatron bent forward for him so he could screw him in the tailpipe! And he makes you do whatever he says. How's that feel? I bet it pisses you off, don't it?"

Shockwave said nothing. The air was tense and Mearing was wondering if Leadfoot was going to deal a whole lot of pain coming up. Shockwave wasn't much of a fan of Autobots and one who ran their mouth off was probably digging away at his processor. If it did bother him, he was an expert at hiding it.

Leadfoot hissed sharply before glaring defiantly up at that single, pitiless eye staring down at him. "Hehe. I can't wait to see the look on your face when Sentinel takes him out," he hissed. "Two leaders don't belong on Cybertron and you know it."

Shockwave's expression was impassive. "Interesting. But you have little to prove that will happen," he said, "Insufficient facts always invite danger. Look at what situation you have been placed in now, Autobot."

Leadfoot uttered a Cybertronian curse. "You'll be sorry, freak," he hissed, "You know it!"

"Let's discuss other matters," Shockwave said, in a voice carrying a bit of a cold chill to it. He paused briefly before stepping closer. "The body itself is a miraculous creation of science, Leadfoot. Ever wonder how far the arm can twist?"

He grasped Leadfoot's arm and began to twist it back. Leadfoot sucked his dental plating in pain, but didn't scream out. Mearing winced at the horrible sounds of metal rubbing against metal. "Ever wonder how much pain a mech can endure before he starts squealing like an animal?" Shockwave continued, "Your comrades certainly offered quite a bounty of knowledge in that area. In a sense, I knew them in their final hours more than you have in your entire, wretched life."

Leadfoot seemed bothered more by the concept of being reminded of his dead Wrecker comrades than the pain in his arm.

"They went down as heroes!" he hissed.

Shockwave made an amused hiss. "Really? Do you truly believe they died that way?" He stood up and reached for something on a table before placing the object on Leadfoot's chest. "Say hello to what remains of your former comrade, Topspin."

Mearing couldn't see what it that Shockwave had showed him from her position, but whatever it was, it made Leadfoot scream in rage and pain. The sound was so horrible, she had to cover her ears slightly to attempt to block it out to a lesser degree.

"You bastard!" Leadfoot snarled, "So help me, when I'm free, I'll-"

Shockwave seized his jaw tightly with one thick hand. "It is precisely that pitiful display of defiance that will never ensure that."

O

Mearing couldn't breathe once she stepped out of the torture room. Shockwave followed behind her, his hands dripping of red fluid to which he wiped with a cloth. Shortly afterwards, Megatron approached him and Mearing could see Carly by his side.

"Well?" Megatron growled, "Has the fool given in?"

Shockwave looked at him. "He's a spirited one," he said, "Thought I expected no less from a Wrecker. His stubborn, pathetic Autobot will cannot be changed. He had survived the city war on Earth, but he will surely not survive this."

Megatron chuckled, amused by the macabre image painted in his head. "Ah, such a shame," he murmured, "But we'll manage without him. Sentinel will understand that."

Carly looked at Mearing curiously for some kind of explanation and the woman shook her head with a weak, sick look on her face. Obviously it had been bad, what she had witnessed. She looked up at Megatron with a small smile.

"Master, can I ask you a favor?" she asked.

Megatron chuckled with amusement, as if the request was laughable rather than disrespectful. "Well, you can ask."

"Can I take Mearing to the medical bay?" Carly asked him, "She looks like she might be sick."

Shockwave stared down at Mearing and the concept of a human vomiting seemed repulsive to him. He gestured with a brief nod and Megatron returned the look to Carly. He waved his clawed hand at her and she smiled, attempting to seem pleased with his word rather than the fact that she had gotten what she wanted.

"Begone then," he said, "Shockwave and I have things to discuss anyway."

Carly gave him a small bow and took Mearing's hand, dragging her away from the two larger Cybertronians. They entered the medical bay shortly after and Ratbat was there behind a counter top with Silverbolt. They appeared to be studying Energon samples. When he looked up, Ratbat didn't seem very thrilled to see them.

"What is it?" he growled.

Carly smiled at him. "My friend here's not feeling well," she told him.

Ratbat gave her a particularly unkind look. "And why should I care?"

"She's Shockwave's servant." Carly told him.

Ratbat rolled his optics, unimpressed with the words, but not willing to let any harm come to Shockwave's pet. "Fine, let me have a look at this one," he muttered, "Shockwave's an impatient brute. He doesn't have time to retrain another one."

Mearing looked at Carly and she nodded reassuringly. The older woman followed Ratbat and he gathered a few tools from one of his storage compartments. Silverbolt smiled brightly down at Carly as much as his cuttlefish face would allow.

"Hello, Carly!" he greeted, "How are things going?"

Carly sighed and shook her head. "As well as they'll ever be."

Mearing stood tensely as Ratbat began to take her temperature with a bizarre jagged tool placed into her mouth. He frowned as he watched her before staring down at the alien device.

"Bah. 98.2, just as I thought," he muttered, "You're not sick."

Mearing gave the Decepticon doctor a look. "I might as well be considering what I just saw!" she growled.

"What's the matter with you?" Ratbat snapped, "What did you see?"

"Shockwave, he-tortured Leadfoot," Mearing said, her voice dropping a register, "It was horrible."

Ratbat looked at her with a long suffering grimace. "That's what you saw?" he muttered. He rolled his optics and turned, gathering his tools. "Ah Primus, you humans are all hopelessly weak. Always complaining about something..."

Carly stared after the Decepticon, caution on her face before she smiled up at Silverbolt. "So, when are they coming?" she asked.

"They'll arrive in a few more minutes," Silverbolt told her with a smile back, "It'll be nice to see old friends again."

Carly laughed with a teasing smile. "Old friends?" she teased, "Why you yourself must be three days older than God."

Silverbolt laughed now at the humor, but Ratbat rolled his optics with a groan of disinterest. "If there is nothing else for me to do, I suggest you return to your tasks, humans," he warned, "Otherwise, I'll have to find something for you to do."

Carly nodded her head and took Mearing's hand. "Of course, we're going." she said.

O

Sentinel stood on the landing pad with a smile on his face. He observed three drop ships slowly pulling in to Cybertron. Standing among Sentinel was Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave as well as their human slaves. There were other Autobots and Decepticons standing there as well. Among them was Silverbolt and Ratbat.

The ships pulled in for a safe landing and shortly afterwards, several Cybertronian forms began to pull out. Sentinel held out his arms to greet what looked like a much older Cybertronian in red and white armor. Carly could tell that he almost looked like Sentinel except he had golden optics instead of blue. His body was slightly jagged and his fingers were frighteningly long. He had a diamond-shaped headcrest and a long metallic moustache.

"My old friend!" when the Cybertronian spoke, his voice was aged and he kind of reminded Carly of her grandfather. "It's been too long!" He paused and his optics looked around before landing on Megatron and the other Decepticons. "Is it true? Is the war finally over?"

Sentinel nodded. "It is, Alpha Trion," he told him, "It's finally over."

They shared an embrace before the other arrivals approached. Among them were Decepticons who appeared to resemble Starscream, but they were smaller and had different attributes in their faces and heads. Starscream reacted when he saw them and walked up, exchanging something in Cybertronian before he smirked over at Megatron.

"The Seekers returned!" he told him, "With offerings!"

Megatron grinned. "Ah, and what is it you've brought for us?"

Carly leaned forward to Sam while the two Decepticons disappeared into the ship to gather whatever it was they'd brought. "Those are Starscream's air soldiers," she explained; she pointed to each Seeker as they stepped inside the ship, "I think the blue one's Thundercracker, the red one might be Thrust - I can't remember. I think the odd-colored violet one's Skywarp. As far as I can remember, I think Megatron mentioned that they were clones of Starscream."

Sam groaned quietly. "Great, more Starscreams. Just what we need."

Thundercracker produced a large container filled with what appeared to be glittering red stones. Megatron grinned, delighted with the offering and ran his claws greedily over it. Thrust and Skywarp began to produce more containers filled with the strange stones; and the containers continued to come, brought by both Autobot and Decepticon.

"Where did you come across such an amount?" Megatron asked.

Thundercracker spoke at last and his voice was lower - and not as shrieking - as Starscream's. "We've uncovered quite a supply at a trading post abandoned from the middle of the war," he explained. Then, he added rather akwardly. "As well as a few...other things."

Megatron lifted his head and noticed what Thundercracker was referring to; Alpha Trion and his Autobots.

"The war is over, Thundercracker," he told the blue Seeker, "It's time to look to a brighter future."

Thundercracker frowned, the metal of his mouth shifting in a grimace. "My lord, if I may be so bold; do you expect millions of years of warfare, breeding for war to simply just end like that?" he asked, in a hushed whisper.

Megatron gritted his sharp teeth with a low growl before his attention was diverted elsewhere toward Sentinel who led Alpha Trion toward the construction zones. He turned and approached, smirking at Alpha Trion.

"The world we've destroyed is being brought back to life, all because of these little drones," he purred, gesturing to the human workers below.

Alpha Trion's metallic brow puckered at the miserable sight of the humans being worked to exhaustion. There was a scream and he looked out to the left where a woman was being forcefully pulled away by Flatline, another Decepticon scientist. Alpha Trion remembered the mech's face from long ago; before the war, Flatline had always been a bit unstable in the medical field. He just never thought he'd see the jagged mech again. Then again, Alpha Trion would have never believed that Autobots and Decepticons would have ceased their fighting.

"Glorious, is it not?" Sentinel said, a broad smile in his voice, "They work for us to rebuild the planet."

Alpha Trion looked at his friend, sensing a change in the old mech that he had once known. "This... This is wrong, Sentinel," he told him, "To force another race to reconstruct what was never their fault to begin with?"

"Some sacrifices have to be made in warfare, my friend," Sentinel told him, "You know that."

Alpha Trion didn't respond to that.

"Come on, a nice container of fresh oil will lighten your spirits!" Sentinel offered, "Silverbolt can truly make a fine cup!"

O

That evening, the human workers were sent to their bunkers for sleep. Carly and the rest of the women of their bunker gathered in a circle where Kai spent the first few minutes attempting to pop open a wine bottle.

"How'd you even get it anyway?" Carly asked her.

Kai smirked at her and offered the bottle. "I have my ways," she said.

"Sentinel would kill you if he found out."

Kai laughed. "Ah, just shut up and pour me a drink, bitch." she joked, passing around a few old metal cups.

Carly still seemed troubled, but pulled the cork open with a small popping sound. There was a moment of silence while each cup was filled with wine. After toasting one another, the women took a moment to cherish the little treat they could finally indulge in for the first time in years. Carly actually laughed and smiled at the other women sitting around the pile of glow sticks they had formed in the center of the circle.

"I haven't had wine this good in - God, I can't remember!" she said.

Kai smiled at her. "See? I told you."

"What are we celebrating anyway?" a woman in the back asked - Carly only knew her as a personal servant to a Decepticon tank she wasn't familiar with.

Kai chuckled and reached into her pocket, pulling out an aged, slightly ripped photo of a smiling, cute little girl. They crowded around to get a good look.

"Here, look at my girl. It's her birthday today," Kai told them, "Kid'll be 10 years old."

Carly tilted her head and asked rather awkwardly. "Uh, where is your daughter?" she asked.

Kai's smile disappeared. "I don't know," she said, pocketing the photo, "When I first arrived here, they said that the kids would be moved to the Great Dome. Apparently, that's where the humans are bred and born and where the children are 'trained' to obey the orders of these guys." Her voice dropped lower and Carly could tell that she was trying not to look like she was going to cry. "I just need to know if she's okay, that's all."

Carly paused thoughtfully, licking her lips. "What's your daughter's name?" she asked.

Kai smiled slightly. "Tasha," she told her, "Tasha Jones."

Carly patted her shoulder. "I'll see what I can do," she assured her.

Kai managed a weak smile, though she looked sick. She raised her cup and Carly did the same.

"Here's to friendship," Carly said, "A good friend I haven't had in a long time."

Somewhere across from the bunker, Brains' voice could be heard. "Yo! I thought I was your friend, blondie!" he hollered.

Carly couldn't resist a laugh and called back to him. "You are, Brains!"

Kai and the others actually attempted to laugh, but it was pained and half-hearted. Finally, Kai looked around and noticed that there was one among them missing.

"Hey, where's Snow White at?" she asked.

Carly took a sip of her cup. "Shockwave probably hasn't dismissed her yet."

Meanwhile, Shockwave was busy tending to the Driller's jaw when it suddenly began to move and twitch its body. He backed away a few paces as the creature struggled to move and gave an earsplitting screech of pure agony. Shockwave attempted to calm the beast with snippets of Cybertronian, but it was clear that the beast was driven by a rare spell of madness that only Shockwave was familiar with. Mearing could do nothing but watch as he wrapped his massive fists around the Driller's jaw as it bucked and shrieked like a thing possessed.

"Be still!" Shockwave commanded, "BE STILL!"

The Driller was driven insane by its last remaining memory; the agony of death that nearly greeted it. All because of Optimus Prime. The thought made Shockwave snarl with fury before he reached behind him to seize a thick cord of chain. Mearing watched in shock as he circled it around the Driller's mouth like a horse and pulled its head back. It made terrible metallic scraping noises as its body lurched from the force. Smaller tentacles began waving wildly about, crashing old data boards and tables.

Shockwave snarled garbled fragments of Cybertronian and whatever it was that he said seemed to work because the Driller's body relaxed and the tentacles dropped down at its side. Its body seemed to heave in a manner equivalent to a human breath before it went still.

Mearing stepped forward cautiously. "What was that?" she wondered, aloud.

"Get out..." Shockwave commanded, his voice as cold as ice.

Mearing frowned up at him. "What?"

"OUT!" Shockwave bellowed, his single eye leering down at her like an orb of intense fire.

Mearing quickly fled the room and left Shockwave alone with his pet. The Decepticon assassin and scientist stared down at the Driller's broken body. It was still alive given the shallow, weak breathing coming from it, but it was still hopelessly weak.

She watched this from the doorway as he ran his thick, dangerous hands across what she could guess was the Driller's face. Was it genuine concern for a pet?

Mearing didn't know.