Part 2 - Chapter 7: A deal with the devil
Knuckles and Claws had parked Download in a nearby garage and prepared to face the wrath of their boss once more. But, to their surprise, he wasn't there. Blaze was on the rooftop, waiting for something, no - someone…
…after he had sent his men to get the farthing foxes he had found a strange metal device on his desk. It activated and began spluttering a language he couldn't understand. Thinking it was a waste of his time he picked up his crystal to destroy it, and then he heard "… I believe that an alliance can be arranged…" Blaze decided to listen. "With our combined intellect and technology, the crystal you possess and the reinforcements coming our way, all that lives on this planet will be under your grasp" Blaze could hardly believe it. He'd tried so hard to reunite the clans of White Deer Park under his rule, now this person was offering him rule of the whole world! "If you accept, not that you have a choice, simply press the red button on the side, and I will meet you tonight. If not, the consequences will be inconceivable, to you at least" Blaze, of course, pressed the button and here he was now…
"He said he'd be here. So what's keeping him?" He then noticed that his men had returned, his two main men, anyway. More money wasted. "Boss, you're never going to believe what happened." Claws stuttered "We were so close. We had those foxes in our grasp, but then Shadow and two other giant robots messed up our plans" Blaze stopped him. "Did you say Shadow?" "Yes, sir" "And 'two giant robots'?" "Yes?" Blaze felt sickened and betrayed, both by Shadow's reappearance and being attacked by his supposed allies.
He turned and muttered to himself "How can he expect to forge an alliance with me when he can't keep his own clan-members under control? It's not good business." Both men looked confused "Sir, who is 'he'?" "It's none of your concern"
"Look!" Knuckles pointed up. Blaze looked up to see what humans call a 'helicopter' coming towards them. Then it unfolded and landed on the rooftop right in front of them. The back and tail had become the legs. Two arms had split out of the sides, ending in four black claws instead of hands. The main rotor rested on its back. The cockpit had become the chest and out of it poked a head with a single, blood-red eye. Blaze was amazed. This being dwarfed even Download.
Download scrambled up the building, knelt down before the helicopter and began speaking in Cybertronian, which only Blaze could understand due to his crystal. "Master Whirl, at last you have arrived" "Download, you look disgraceful. If you can't stand against a few organic worms I hardly see the point in you being my apprentice." Download looked disgusted and insulted "It was Lockdown and Jolt who did this, never organics!" "It might be if our technology falls into the wrong hands. Which it won't, for this alliance will work" "You seem so sure of yourself, master. All these years we all thought you were mad"
Whirl struck his apprentice down. He was not mad, no matter how often his peers ridiculed him and his ways of doing things. Then he calmed himself and spoke in plain English. "Now, to business" He turned his attention to Blaze "I see you have become acquainted with my 'apprentice'. Useless as he is, we need men" Blaze nodded "My sentiments exactly" He said, referring to Knuckles and Claws, who were just clutching each other in fear. "Did you say 'we'?" "Yes, of course. I am Whirl, Autobot and master of the Cyber-Ninja Corps" "What kind of clan are the Autobots?" "The kind that specialises in total domination" "Well, I'm just a humble businessman and former clan leader myself" "That is why I contacted you in the first place"
Whirl then activated something in his mind, and began showing an image from his eye. All around Blaze and the duo the sky and landscape began to change. It was barren wasteland with dark skies and fire blazing everywhere. Blaze could make out the shapes of corpses and stragglers being hunted down. "Our home planet, Cybertron, was once a proud world. Rich with energon, defended by the Cyber-Ninjas and its knowledge kept by renowned scholars, we were the pinnacle of civilisation."
An image of a giant purple, black robot appeared in front of them. "One of the knowledge keepers was a robot named Optronix. He climbed through the ranks to become a great leader. He saw our republic for what it really was – a weak-willed, loosely held together group of fools who were squandering opportunities to gain power during our Golden Age" The robot slowly began to morph into a larger, more terrifying robot. "He gathered a group of like-minded followers from all corners of Cybertron, among them, me and several other Cyber-Ninjas, and began to upgrade them to wage war. Once he had finished upgrading, our leader was now Optimus Prime"
Blaze was at a loss for words. He remembered the tales his father had brought him up on, of his earliest ancestors breaking free of the grips of humans and leading his species to an era of peace and stability. Whirl continued "For a time we were unstoppable. City after city fell to us. Anyone who refused to join us was slagged." "But you would have been opposed eventually" Blaze asked. Whirl nearly spat, but continued to indulge him. "There were a few loose groups of resistance, but they never lasted long enough to pose a serious threat. That is, until Megatron showed up." A white, gallant figure appeared. "We hadn't found him because he had gone underground with his group of followers, and taking upgrading to the next level. They had managed to find a way to modify their bodies." The image of Megatron shifted into a Cybertronian jet "Since they were the masters of deception, they were dubbed 'Decepticons' and became our sworn enemies"
"Our leader was a genius, however. And we Autobots also gained the ability to transform. Since then, the war has steadied to a stalemate. Most knowledge lost, the entire planet in ruin, drained of its energy. Our only hope for survival is to create a galaxy-spanning empire. To live off other planet's energy like parasites"
"So, where is your leader now?" "I don't follow Optimus Prime anymore. Nor do many Autobots. Backstabbing and treachery have always been flexible among our ranks, especially my faction of the Corps. Optimus Prime had a brother, you see - Ultra Magnus. He shared Optimus' ideals, and wanted to create an empire. But, he wanted to rebuild Cybertron, to return it to its Golden Age. Optimus became obsessed with killing Megatron so much that he lost sight of our greater goals. Ultra Magnus took on a group of Autobots and tried to assassinate him. It failed, only two of his followers survived and Ultra Magnus himself was banished to a planet called Paradron"
"But this was all part of his plan. Ultra Magnus had, in fact, moved the bulk of his supporters to Paradron under the guise of insane exiles before making his move. Once he was there, all the pieces were in place. And, after stellar cycles of work, the fruit of our labour finally appeared." A massive battle ship shaped like the Ark materialised. "Our transport was massive warship known as the Sabre." The images then disappeared, leaving them back on the rooftop. "We came here on it, looking for energon and for something else" Whirl showed a smaller hologram. "What is that?" "It's a little known Cybertronian artifact called the Heart of Cybertron. A crystal of untold power, fuelled by the desires of the holder" Blaze dug into his pocket and clutched his crystal, noticing that the image had the same green glow it did. "I can tell you the tales of a thousand Cybertronians who have hunted or wielded this dark relic. Every story had the same ending: destruction"
Blaze showed the crystal "Is this what you're looking for?" Whirl stared hungrily at the crystal "Could it be?" "The archives did say that the crystal was lost and fragmented, master" Download said. "We've finally found one of them. Our dream is becoming a reality" Blaze put the crystal back in his pocket. "Why don't you just kill us and take it?" "Because, with the situation you've put it in, I would risk destroying it as well as you" Whirl handed Blaze a regular rifle "Besides, we haven't even struck our deal yet. Go ahead, shoot me" Blaze aimed and shot, but the bullets just bounced harmlessly off Whirl. Whirl laughed, charged up his guns and fired at a distant vehicle. "That is the kind of firepower we can wield. To conquer this planet we need weapons, and allies. I can offer our weaponry, you offer yours, we use the HOC fragment and we create weapons that can pierce anything!"
"And, what's in it for me?" "All that you survey – everything you've wanted and more" Blaze held out his hand "Alright, it's a deal" Whirl shook his hand. The deal was done. It would take a while to create the weapons and for reinforcements to arrive, but the rewards would be great.
Author's notes
Shattered Glass Whirl – OC, alt mode of ROTF Blackout, robot mode of G1 Whirl
Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus – Classics Optimus Prime, G1 Galvatron colours
The part of Ultra Magnus' rebellion is my own ideas, except being banished to Paradron.
