AN:
Transformers on Earth
Autobots
Optimus Prime
Ratchet
Ironhide
Bumblebee
Sideswipe
Arcee
Chromia
Hawk
Que/Wheeljack
Jolt
Major Decepticons
Megatron
Starscream
Sideways
Shockwave
Soundwave
Onslaught
Breakdown
Knockout
Thundercracker
Skywarp
Swindle
Dreadwing
"We're all here for you, Prime," said Ratchet, who sat next to his old friend as the other Autobots made a ring around the trailer.
"Thank you, my friends."
And almost the entire base stayed with him, mourning the loss of their brothers-in-arms until exhaustion or responsibility claimed them all, even the haggard Prime, who fell into a peaceful recharge with a human boy on his shoulder, the one person who, throughout the entire night, never left his side for an instant.
…
2 weeks later
NEST headquarters, Washington, DC
1 year, 2 months after the death of the Fallen
"Where's your pet human?"
Hawk rolled his optics at the absurd parameters of the question before responding. "Going 'shopping' with Elizabeth Hunter, if you must know. She's really taken a liking to the boy. And if you ever call him a pet within his hearing, Sideswipe, he'll strip your paint and cover you in hydrochloric acid. Wouldn't be the first Bot he's done it to."
The silver Bot raised an eyebrow at Hawk's assertion before deciding he wasn't kidding. "He touches this paint, and I doubt you'll be able to protect him."
Hawk smirked at him malevolently. "You really wanna go through this age-old debate again?" To emphasize his point, he snapped both swords from his arms and turned the blades so light shone off of them.
Sideswipe hesitated for a second, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah...not today. Ratchet was mentioning that the energon scanners over Southern Virginia were going haywire a little while ago. Been happening on and off ever since."
The gray Bot's eyebrows furrowed. "What does he think that means?"
Sides shrugged. "No idea. Could be the Driller again, but I don't think even that Pit-spawn can give off an energon signature that big."
At the mention of the Driller, both of their faces fell slightly, as they had when Hawk mentioned getting paint stripped. "Well, keep me posted."
The silver specialist scoffed as he walked away. "You say that like I'm your personal secretary."
Hawk rolled his optics after Sideswipe was a safe distance away. "Aft," he muttered before turning back to fine-tune his weapons, especially his new and as-yet unused plasma caster, a task that, much like Caden, allowed him to clear his mind and focus deeply on other matters, his limbs knowing what to do by heart. Inevitably, his thoughts drifted to the events of two weeks ago. Even a week after the period of mourning for Skids and Mudflap had ended, the effect of their passing was still felt whenever anything reminded the Bots of them, even for those who never particularly liked them. Even among Cybertronians, it was taboo to speak ill of the dead, not that Hawk spoke true ill of any of his Autobot brothers. He had never been one for character assassination of any sort, even when he was a Decepticon. He let his actions speak for him, and often found himself disgusted with the sheer amount of hot air that was disturbed by his mouthing-off Decepticon compatriots.
Since he had joined the Autobots, Hawk found himself blessedly relieved in that regard, for the most part, as the sheer number of boastful slaggers was greatly reduced among Optimus and his soldiers. The only exceptions tended to come in twin packages, be they the departed pair or Sideswipe and his exponentially more vain brother Sunstreaker. He had, thankfully, only briefly worked with the latter, finding his monumental patience tested to its limits between the arrogance of the Bot and the way he seemed to look down on him because of his previous Decepticon status. Not that he could blame him for the latter, but if it were just an attitude, it wouldn't have bothered him that much. Attitude, for Sunstreaker, was often followed by inappropriate pranks and gossip of the sort that almost made him want to rejoin the Decepticons if only for the pleasure of permanently shutting the golden twin up.
Despite all that, even that loose-mouthed fragger had a sense of honor, and never told anyone anything about Hawk's actions that could call his loyalty into question, because nothing of that sort ever happened. When it came to the war, the elder Twins were deadly serious, and that, more than anything, prevented the former Con from taking one or both of his blades to them. Of course, honor among Decepticons was present, though in a comparatively infinitesimal quantity. He remembered two in particular that fit into that category, twins actually: Dreadwing and Skyquake. Hawk had met them only a few times and never actually worked with them, due to their aerial status, and the fact that Seekers and Infiltrators rarely mixed, but he respected them both. In a way, they reminded him of himself: honorable, courageous, loyal to a fault. Their dedication to the Decepticon cause was borne primarily from their undying loyalty to Megatron, and as such, after his death on Earth, they disregarded any and all orders received from Starscream.
Hawk had actually run into them after that happened, just a few months before coming to Earth, and tried to convince them to abandon the Decepticons, since their primary reason for staying was dead. It seemed like he had almost succeeded when they both tilted their heads sideways, receiving an encoded message. Hawk discovered later that the message was sent mere minutes after Megatron's revival, making the most sense as to why they so suddenly changed their minds. Surprisingly, they left him in peace, and instead made all speed toward Earth. To this day, the former Con had no idea if they ever made it, and honestly hoped that they hadn't. For all his lack of contact with them, their reputation as individual peerless fighters preceded them, and if they were ever together, the sheer amount of destruction they could cause was staggering. He didn't relish the thought of going up against them on a good day.
The activation of the base-wide intercom snapped Hawk out of his reverie.
"All available units, we have an energon surge near Ridgeway, Virginia. Report to the main hangar immediately!"
Hawk subspaced his now-tuned caster and broke into a run toward that exact location, falling into line next to Ironhide as Ratchet, Sideswipe, Arcee, Que, and Optimus joined them, along with several dozen NEST soldiers. Turning to the weapon specialist, Hawk spoke up.
"What's the situation, 'Hide?"
"Not sure," the black Bot responded in his usual gruff voice. "We've been receiving some strange signals from that area on our internal comms., but have no idea what it means. The transmissions are heavily encrypted, so much so that even Que is having a hard time cracking them."
Hawk's eyebrows raised slightly at that. "How often does that happen, exactly?"
"It doesn't, laddie," the Bot in question cut in. "Only a few Bots or Cons are comin' to mind that can come anywhere close, and I ain't heard from any of 'em."
"So we could be facing either side. Lovely. Let's just hope they don't have reinforcements, if they're Cons."
"Though with our luck," Lennox cut in from below, "hope is kind of a moot point."
None of the Bots disputed that, instead transforming into their alt modes and following Optimus out the front door. The drive to the small Virginia town was too long for Hawk's taste, but as a rapid Infiltrator, and a speedster to boot, he was used to getting the job done fast, and chalked his unease up to that. The one upside to the length of the trip was the time he had to think, to reflect. Even if it seemed like he was inactive, maybe even in recharge, Hawk was always thinking, always considering, be it past, present, or future. The past allowed him to learn from previous mistakes and successes, the present allowed him to stay focused on the mission, and the future was what he was fighting for. At this moment, however, he found his thoughts caught up with the past, the tedium of obeying human traffic and speed laws nearly grinding its way through his circuits.
As a Decepticon, he had never intentionally tried to be cruel, unlike most, be it in battle or in private. He treated his superiors and inferiors with respect, and only came to blows if an argument or disagreement got out of hand. The only Con who ever truly ground his gears was Sideways, and since Megatron valued his left hand far too much, the Decepticon leader wisely managed to keep them as far away from each other as possible at all times. There were days, however, when Crow, as he was then called, felt no pity, no mercy, no remorse. There were days when he felt nothing at all when he took the life of another, or worse, he enjoyed it. Those were the days that he dreaded thinking on most, remembering just how much Megatron's brutality corrupted him and how tenuous his hold was on the mech that he was deep down in his spark. Now, he almost found himself thanking Megatron and Sideways for betraying him, as if he had stayed much longer, he would have lost himself completely to the evil of that faction.
Hawk knew that if that had happened, he would have died the day Megatron invaded Iacon. He simply wouldn't have been able to live with the fact that he gave the Cons the intel they needed to find dark energon and turn the one femme he had ever loved into a mindless creature. He would have killed her, then himself, just so he could end the intolerable, throbbing pain in his spark, even if Primus threw him to the Pit. Shaking himself out of those morbid considerations, Hawk shoved his memories of her aside, knowing that thinking about Starmind was the quickest way to lose his focus. I've learned from past mistakes, he thought. I'm different now. Those two statements had become something of a mantra since joining the Autobots, and every time he felt guilty or unworthy of his comparatively new insignia, he reminded himself of that.
Still, no matter how hard he tried to beat the truth into his head, no matter how much the Bots who knew and cared about him reinforced what he told himself, it never seemed enough to him. There was always uncertainty and, astonishingly, fear, fear that he would go back to being the Con, if not in loyalty, in action. His near-sacrifice of Caden three months after becoming his partner was, in his processor, an example of that. He was so willing to jeopardize the human's life, to risk him for a fleeting chance at ending the war that, as the boy had suspected, when he took that missile from Skywarp in Kiev, it was almost with the wish that it would kill him. He felt ashamed for his actions, of any manipulative thoughts or decisions that even remotely reminded him of his days as Crow, and he hated how self-doubtful it made him at times. Not that anyone else noticed.
Like Caden, Hawk had learned long ago how to hide his true emotions behind a facade of grim determination and even cockiness, shoving fear, uncertainty, anything that could inhibit his ability to do his job to the side. His perceived stoicism earned him the respect of many a hardened veteran, and the incessant teasings and provocatory pranks that were usually reserved for Ratchet and Ironhide, all just to get a rise out of him. Much to the perpetrators' dismay and constant frustration, however, he remained as stoic as ever, on the outside, at least. In all his millennia of life, Hawk could count the number of sentients he could be truly vulnerable with on one hand, and most of them were dead. Just a few left these days. Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide...and Caden. Optimus had been correct in assuming that Hawk took the young man as his responsibility because he saw himself in the human. In a way, the Infiltrator envied Caden, not for his skills or possessions, and certainly not for his physical form, but for his certainty.
Unlike him, Caden had never been a puppet of evil. Worked undercover, yes, performed horrible feats, absolutely, but always with the intention of bringing justice upon the heads of the wicked. Hawk, on the other hand, had been loyal to Megatron, perhaps the greatest avatar of pure evil among Cybertronians apart from the Fallen himself. His failure to catch on to who and what Megatron truly was weighed as heavily on him as the death of Cybertron did on Optimus, if only for the simple reason that he had been close and trusted enough to put a blade through the murderer's spark. It might not have ended the war, but the ensuing chaos and infighting that would have plagued the Decepticons might have turned the tide in the favor of the Autobots, not that he would have been alive to see it. Their world might have survived if he had just accepted the truth sooner.
"Can't change the past," the Bot could almost hear Caden saying in his head, and the Bot smirked internally.
Doesn't mean I can't still wish for it.
"'What if's only bring pain."
But I can't just let go.
"Of course not. Nobody ever can. Doesn't mean you have to dwell on it."
Hawk recycled his energon in self-frustration and returned his thoughts to the rote task of driving, dragging himself out of his spark-wrenching wishes to have done things differently. Every time his processor returned to that part of his past, he was nearly overwhelmed with guilt and frustration, and Caden, of all things, a human, had slowly been convincing the million-year-old Bot to forgive himself and look toward the future. Drake was the one sentient out of millions he had met in his lifespan that actually managed to get through to him, and despite how much the boy scared and frustrated him at times, he knew his life would be so much less without him in it. Hawk smiled internally. Starmind would have liked you, Cade.
"Coming up on the signature location now," Lennox said over comms.
Hawk instantly cleared his processor, his battle programming coming to the forefront in preparation for a potential engagement. What happened next was completely and utterly unexpected. A gigantic burst of energy was detected on all the Bots' scanners-from above. The Autobots transformed and stood, all optics trained on the massive dark shape coming toward them.
"It's a ship!" Que burst out, somewhere between astonishment and uncertainty, not at his statement, but at the crew of said vessel.
Hawk nodded and drew his plasma caster, still wary of using it, not because he hadn't inspected and tuned the damn thing ad nauseum, but because Que built it, which meant the potential of it exploding in his face was about five times more than was usual. The vessel was spiraling beautifully toward the ground, the pilot taking his time in the descent as it set down on a deserted grassy field ever-so-gently. All eyes and optics were trained on the entrance/exit ramp as it lowered and smoke poured out of the hole, several silhouettes visible through it in the noonday sun. The weapons of every Autobot and human in the field were raised and leveled against the newcomers in caution, but their fears were mitigated a second later.
"Roadbuster!" Que yelled out joyously, lowering his weapons and charging toward the green Bot in question, almost bowling him over in a friendly embrace.
"Jackie!" he shouted right back good-naturedly, their Irish-sounding accents mirroring each other. "Good to see ya, ya lug-nut."
Three other Bots made their way down the ramp, a wide, red mech, a wiry blue one, and a contoured red, arm-bladed Bot.
"Leadfoot," Optimus greeted, "Topspin, Dino. Welcome to Earth."
…
It took about a half hour to settle things with the Wreckers and Dino, the NEST soldiers unnerved and none too slightly disturbed by the loud, boisterous tag team of destructive Bots. Despite Optimus' best efforts, they endlessly harassed and accosted the humans with questions and near-incessant insults, all good-naturedly, but the way they presented themselves, no one but the Bots who knew them could tell. Along with their usual payload of explosives and highly destructive weaponry, the Wreckers had brought along a cache of "special items" other Autobots recovered from the Iacon vaults before they were raided near the end of the war. The cache in question was about the size of a tractor-trailer, and as such was being hooked up to a semi other than Optimus, as the Autobot leader already had his recreated mobile armory to tow. Hawk, since he wasn't much use with either loading cargo or socializing with the newcomers, stood off to the side, arms crossed as he observed the scene.
Their ship, the Xanthium, had nearly run out of energon in their final descent, and would need to remain where it was for the time being, until they could refuel it and fly it somewhere less conspicuous. The soldiers and Bots were busy hiding it under brush and other obstructions, though a ship that massive was going to be hard to miss, no matter what you put in the way. They were all so distracted with their respective tasks that no one noticed another signature approaching from a mile off, then blinking out of existence briefly. Before anyone could respond, Skywarp appeared in the middle of them all, and was quickly joined by a dozen other Seekers who opened fire on the Autobots while Skywarp attached a tow cable to the cache and the other end to his fuselage, two Seekers doing the same when he finished and transforming to fly off with the massive container with the other attackers in tow before the trio blinked out of existence.
Just like that, it was over.
Hawk got to his feet from where a shockwave had knocked him off balance and surveyed the scene around him.
"Is everyone okay," Lennox asked loudly.
Just a cursory look was enough to tell the former Con that they weren't. Several soldiers were on the ground, some with minor cuts and bruises, others with a limb or two bent at an odd angle, medics moving feverishly to assist them. Turning his optics around, Hawk spied Leadfoot and Dino, both of whom were hit by several missiles during the attack and heavily damaged, Ratchet tending to them both. The other Autobots seemed intact, though a little startled.
Hawk narrowed his optics at Roadbuster, the leader of the Wreckers, with suspicion at the seemingly terrified expression on his face, the Wrecker's optics staring at the place where Skywarp and the container had vanished from. "What," he asked 'Buster gruffly.
"Nothin'," he responded quietly, "it's just...there's a lot of really dangerous tech in there."
"Such as," Optimus queried calmly.
The green mech turned to his leader with a tense frame. "Artifacts, sir. Ultra-powerful artifacts."
Optimus' head lowered with his optics, and his fists clenched. "I feared as much. The Iacon vaults contained many tools and weapons, some forged by the Ancients, others discovered more recently, all locked away for study and safekeeping, none to be used. If the Decepticons gain control of the contents of that vault, it could tip the scales of the war further in their favor."
Hawk's spark sunk. "That's what I was afraid of." They were all silent for a few seconds before he turned to Roadbuster. "Do you have an inventory of the cache's contents?"
"In me head," he responded, tapping his helm for emphasis. "I'd prefer not to let any of it fall into Con hands, tho." The green Bot strode up the ramp of his partially-hidden ship.
"Well how do you suppose we should track them? I mean, it's hard to know where to look for an energon signature when you're dealing with a teleporter."
Roadbuster came back down the ramp with a device in his right hand. "I know. We expected somethin' like this might happen, so we put a tracker on the cache. It's not far, right next to a human…'speedway,' if I'm not mistaken."
"Then what are we waiting for," Hawk asked impatiently, his gears turning and energon churning at their current inaction.
Optimus turned to him before looking at Roadbuster and nodding. "Autobots, roll out!"
The remaining mobile Bots transformed into their vehicle modes, Roadbuster and Topspin having green and blue Cybertronian car modes, respectively. Unlike the rest of the Autobots, the Wreckers' vehicle modes seemed to have been permanently stuck in Stealth Force mode, their mobile forms being anything but stealthy between the exposed weapons and their loud, throaty engines. Hawk rolled his optics as he transformed into his Lambo form and followed them, all trailing behind Roadbuster, whose device was their only lead on the cache's location. Several NEST vehicles followed, but many of them stayed behind to tend to the wounded. Epps and Lennox were among the soldiers who followed.
"What kind of security do you have on the cache," Hawk asked after a minute or so of driving.
"Top-notch," Topspin responded. "The same encryption that we've got on our communications channels. Won't stop the Cons from breaking in the old-fashioned way though."
"Can they?"
"Well, yes," Roadbuster cut in. "Anything can break if ya hammer at it long enough. Between the Seekers alone, they've got more than enough firepower to do it within a few Earth minutes."
Hawk grit his teeth internally. "What kind of artifacts are in there, exactly? Why would they send a contingent of a dozen Seekers just to take it?"
Roadbuster hesitated in answering for a moment. "There's the Immobilizer, a device that can be used to forcibly put anybot into instant stasis lock, a phase shifter, allows ya to go through solid objects, few dozen containers of experimental explosives, and one in particular that's very interesting."
"And that is?"
"Dark energon."
Hawk's optics widened to their max, and he nearly slammed on the brakes in shock, barely containing it long enough to keep his speed and direction. "You brought...dark energon...to Earth?"
"Well, yeah," 'Buster said, confusion over Hawk's dark tone showing. "Why not?"
"Are you slagged?! Dark energon is one of the most volatile, dangerous substances in the universe, and you brought it to Earth?! Do you even know what that stuff does?!"
"Enhances the body of any Cybertronian who merges it with their spark, allows them to survive just about anythin', potentially a game-changer...need I go on?"
"Need I remind you," Hawk hissed out angrily, "that dark energon is also responsible for the destruction of Iacon? Or were you just not there when it happened?"
The Wreckers were silent for a moment before Optimus spoke up. "The Wreckers were offworld when the initial attack on Iacon occurred. Ultra Magnus had been dispatched with them to oversee the assault of a moon-based shipyard the Decepticons were using to build fighters and warships. They fell out of contact completely after the city fell."
"That's still no excuse!"
"Hawk," Optimus reprimanded softly, "I know how personally this is affecting you, and I must insist that you keep your emotions in check."
Hawk hissed angrily, but said no more for a while, taking the Prime's advice and recycling his energon furiously in an attempt to cool down. "What are the chances the Cons already have access to the dark energon?"
"Slim to none," Roadbuster responded uneasily. "Since the stuff was playin' havoc with our systems, we had to reinforce the container heavily just to keep the radiation in check. Without the proper code to open it, the Cons may as well be throwin' rocks at that shell."
Hawk recycled his energon. "Well, at least you had that much sense."
They were silent the last few minutes to the speedway, Roadbuster eventually opening a private channel to Optimus. "What's 'is problem?"
"He has experienced firsthand the horrors that dark energon can inflict, and would prefer not to go through that again."
Roadbuster chewed that over for a moment before another thought occurred to him. "Optimus, there's somethin' in the vault that might be of great use to you. The Sword of Primus."
Optimus' processor stalled briefly at that declaration. "The Sword of Primus...is here?" The Prime smiled internally as they pulled toward one of the car storage buildings, the tracker clearly indicating that the container was in there.
"Optimus," Hawk said, voice firm and professional again, "let me scout ahead. I've got a bad feeling about whatever's in that hangar."
The Prime thought it over for a moment. "Do it. Quickly. And report your findings. We will be on standby within striking distance."
As Optimus transmitted the plan to the entire force, Hawk drove almost silently to a side door in the car hangar, wheeling in slowly before transforming and rounding a corner cautiously, peering around the edge before an all-too-familiar voice reached his audios.
"Well, well, well...look what the scraplets dragged in."
Optics widening to their max, Hawk turned about and stared at what he knew was there, gazing blankly into the red optics glaring at him, fear thrumming through his spark, through his entire frame as his face twisted into a bitter snarl.
"Megatron."
"It has been many years, traitor. I've been worried," the Decepticon lord mocked. "How have your new companions been treating you?"
Hawk's fists and teeth clenched at both Megatron's words and the numerous Cons who were working to open the cache behind him. "Just fine, thank you. Better than you did, anyway." The former Con smiled mirthlessly, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Sending Sideways to take me out was a low blow, even for you."
"Please, he wasn't after you."
"I'm not talking about his abduction of the boy," Hawk snarled, pointing at Megatron accusingly. "I'm talking about the day you betrayed me, the day you took my blind loyalty and used it to stab me in the back!"
Megatron laughed loudly, a sound that chilled Hawk to the strut. "You sound surprised. I'm disappointed."
Hawk smirked at him, crossing his arms. "You should be. Your assassin failed. Wonder why he's still alive. But enough about me. How have you been? Still half-headless, I see. That's too bad. Not that any femme in their right mind would have gone for you before."
Megatron smiled back evilly, turning to glance at the dented and opening cache. "I take it you're here to stop my new acquisition."
"I am," the Bot responded confidently, fists clenched at his sides as his blades deployed slowly, threateningly.
The Decepticon leader laughed heartily. "Please, put those away before you hurt yourself. Even in my weakened state, you have no chance against me."
Hawk half-smiled, leaving Megatron slightly confused at his sudden confidence. "You're right, I don't." His blades snapped back into his subspace. "But he does," he added, jerking a thumb at the wall behind him.
Megatron stared at the blank wall confusedly for a moment before the roar of a familiar engine reached his audios, making his optics widen in recognition. A flaming Peterbilt 379 smashed through the wall, turning and drifting to a stop, transforming while still moving, the chrome trailer behind him slipping off his carriage and transforming also. Three seconds later, Hawk was standing next to Optimus Prime, who pulled a sword and shield from his mobile armory before speaking through his deployed battle mask.
"Megatron."
"Prime," the Con hissed out, clenching his clawed fists, glaring at Hawk, who was grinning at him smugly, both blades out again.
Their standoff lasted mere seconds before the Decepticon leapt backward, his right arm morphing into his bladed fusion cannon and firing repeatedly, the jets on his back carrying him back toward the now-open cache as his Decepticons opened fire on the two Autobots. Optimus raised his shield as he charged, Hawk spinning his blades vertically in front of him, effectively creating two propeller shields as he sidestepped behind cover. Optimus gave a battle yell as he shield-bashed the first Decepticon he crashed into, then slashed his longsword through the shoulder of another who got too close, spinning beautifully in a flurry of movements, every strike a block, every block a strike.
A wall closer to the cache, on the opposite side of where Optimus inserted, was blown open by Ironhide, who stormed through the hole, firing madly with Roadbuster and Topspin in tow. Megatron was circled by two Seekers, who opened fire on the weapon specialist, four of their comrades grabbing the cache and rising into the air before Megatron blew a hole in the ceiling to allow them easy exit. The Decepticon leader rose after them, his bodyguards getting the business end of Ironhide's new cannons and summarily being blown to pieces. Hawk stormed out of the warehouse, sheathing his swords and priming his plasma caster, aiming squarely for the jetpack of one of the Seekers and firing once. The unstable plasma bolt tore into the jetpack, causing the Con to fall toward Earth instantly, his uncontrolled descent landing him headfirst in another hangar.
Megatron fired several times in Hawk's direction, but the nimble Bot kept dodging the shots, returning fire on the Seekers and causing them to drop the cache less than a quarter mile from the hangar where he'd been cornered by Megatron. The enraged Decepticon leader touched down at the cache, roughly shoving aside one of the crippled Seekers to reach for a weapon inside. His hand alighted on an ancient broadsword with extensive Cybertronian writing on its hilt and blade, and he pulled it out, turning its blade to see it glint in the sun. Grinning evilly, he turned back toward his former left hand and transferred the sword his his literal left hand, firing his fusion cannon at Hawk, who ducked behind different cover repeatedly and retreated as Megatron demolished anything in the way.
"Megatron!" Optimus roared from his left, closing the distance in a sprint and leaping over his enemy's first fusion blast, smashing the side of his shield into the cannon and diverting the next shot into a recovering Seeker. He slashed his longsword diagonally, the glowing energon blade sliding off Megatron's new acquisition several times as they dueled, the former Lord Protector's gun-sword clashing and locking against Optimus' shield as his left-hand sword collided with the Prime's longsword. They struggled against each other, frames shaking with their opposing efforts before Optimus saw what Megatron was wielding in his left hand. The Prime smiled slightly behind his mask. "That blade will never acknowledge you, Megatron."
Megatron's optics widened slightly. "What are you going on about, Prime?" He shifted his weight, twisting away from Optimus and slashing his left sword across his opponent's back. Much to his surprise, it barely left a scuff, despite the solid contact and force he put behind the blow. "What?!" he demanded, staring at the sword in his hand.
"The Sword of Primus will not serve you, Megatron. It is perhaps the one thing in the universe you can never bend to your will. It is said that a part of the very will and consciousness of Primus dwells within this blade, and as such, it will only respond to one with a pure spark. One who is worthy." Optimus set his stance offensively and glared at Megatron. "And you are not."
Disbelieving, Megatron snarled at Optimus and thrust with the sword again, snapping it to the side and smacking the blade bluntly against Optimus' right wrist, followed by a roundhouse kick to the sword-hilt. The longsword hit the ground thirty feet away, and Megatron pressed the attack, sending a fusion round into the Prime's shield, knocking him back with the sheer force before thrusting his left-hand sword at Optimus' neck. The Autobot snapped his shoulders to the side, allowing the blade to rush past his head, the middle of it trapped between his right hand and his shield, having slammed them together in a flash. With a twist, Optimus wrenched the Sword of Primus out of Megatron's grip, a sharp side-kick knocking the massive Decepticon back before he wrapped his right hand around the sword.
To the Con's shock, the blade seemed to morph in the Prime's grasp, lengthening and widening slightly, taking on an aesthetic and flared-tipped appearance similar to the swords that Optimus carried in his arms. And it glowed. Heat radiated off the edge of the sword as he swung it at his opponent, Megatron withdrawing slightly before thrusting his gun-sword at Optimus. The Prime's shield bashed the attack aside, and the Sword lunged forward, slipping into the armor of Megatron's lower chest with little to no effort, its tip bursting out the other side. Megatron's optics widened as he hissed in pain, his left hand bashing into Optimus' helm, sending him staggering back with the blow. The Prime pressed the attack, realizing his newfound advantage, but his opponent was a former gladiator, and cunning. They dueled for another minute or so before the Autobot saw an opening at took it, bashing Megatron in the head with his shield before slashing the blade downward and left, cutting a deep gash across the Decepticon's torso.
Megatron roared in pain and frustration as he was kicked to the ground, his gun-sword pinned to the pavement by Optimus' left foot as the Prime raised the sword, ready to behead him and end the war right there. Suddenly, the triumphant Autobot was under heavy assault, several missiles tearing into his chassis and knocking him off Megatron. A massive, AV-8B jet streaked overhead, turning back around and transforming to land next to the wounded Decepticon lord.
"Lord Megatron," he said respectfully, offering his master a hand.
Spitefully, he smacked the hand away and rose to his feet, left hand clutching his wounded chest as energon and sparks leaked out. "I am...in your debt, Dreadwing."
Dreadwing politely bowed his head. "It is my duty, Lord Megatron."
Megatron snarled slightly. "Indeed." He fired his fusion cannon once into Optimus' prone form, causing the Autobot leader to yell in pain and be tossed another dozen feet away. "How fares the battle?"
"Badly, milord. The Autobots and their human allies have rallied and driven back our forces. The cache's contents are being collected as we speak, however, so we may soon have a significant advantage over them."
Megatron grinned evilly, turning back to the groaning Prime who was desperately trying to regain his footing and striding toward him, grim purpose in every step. Kicking him onto his back, the Con stared into Optimus' pained optics and raised his fusion cannon to his helm. "Goodbye again, Optimus Prime." A series of missiles slammed into Megatron from the air, much the same way they had when Dreadwing strafed Optimus, and an F-35 transformed to land next to the prone Prime.
"Optimus," Jetfire said concernedly, "are you all right?"
"I am," Optimus coughed out, "intact."
Megatron snarled at them both and started to withdraw as a burst from Jetfire's new energon repeater cut across his armor. "Dreadwing, dispose of the Prime!"
"Jetfire, secure the cache. The Decepticons must not be allowed to gain control of its contents!"
"I'm on it, Prime," the silver and much younger-looking Aerialbot said before transforming and flying toward the vault's location.
Optimus shakily rose to his feet as Dreadwing and him faced off, the former raising his shield and new sword, the latter hefting a gigantic cannon from his back. Dreadwing fired the weapon like a rifle, a constant stream of ion rounds pelting the Prime's shield as he charged toward him. The Con's massive bulk slammed into Optimus' wavering defenses, bowling him over and allowing him to level the weapon at the Prime's head. Optimus kneed him in the lower chest hard, causing his shots to chew into the pavement instead, and kicked his chest with the other leg, knocking him back enough to get to his feet, new energy rushing through his system. Dreadwing subspaced the cannon, drawing a two-handed sword from his back and facing off with his opponent, their blades slashing across each other as the Con kicked the shield away, leaving them to duel blade-to-blade.
Without the advantage of the shield, as well as suffering extensive injuries, Optimus was losing ground. Even with the Sword of Primus at his command, he knew this battle would be lost if he didn't try something soon, and so pressed his attack, lunging toward the masterful duelist and twisting clockwise when the stab was blocked, his right elbow slamming into the Con's head and staggering him briefly before Dreadwing reversed his sword and stabbed backwards into Optimus' right knee. The Prime collapsed with a groan, leaning heavily on his sword before Dreadwing kicked its blade, sending it flying twenty feet away and well out of his opponent's grasp. Planting a firm knee on Optimus' chest, he knocked him onto his back and planted his left foot on his chest.
"I take no pleasure in this, Prime, but I am honor-bound to obey Lord Megatron. You were a most worthy opponent." With this, Dreadwing raised his underhanded sword and prepared to drive it into Optimus' spark when a plasma round tore into his shoulder. Snarling, he turned to see Hawk storming toward him, rifle in hand, firing madly and leaping into the air as he subspaced the weapon, his swords snapping from his arms midair as he assaulted the much taller Decepticon.
Hawk's blades screeched against Dreadwing's, and he somersaulted away, ducking and rolling under the swipes of the thirty-foot Con as they dueled. Eventually, he failed to dodge one, and crossed his blades to try and stop the much stronger blow. His feet screeched against the pavement as he skidded away, every fiber tensed to keep his footing. Dreadwing pushed against him suddenly and sent him sprawling backward, rolling sideways to avoid a slash that would have decapitated him.
"Abandon Megatron," Hawk pleaded during a lull in their fight.
"Never," Dreadwing snarled out. "My loyalty to him is unwavering!"
"He doesn't care about your loyalty, Dreadwing. All he cares about is conquest. He has no honor, no commitment. He turned on me when I stood by my ideals, and he will do the same to you!"
"Enough!"
Their furious duel continued for another thirty seconds before it became clear to Hawk that Dreadwing's skill with a blade rivaled his own, and that his height advantage would be the Bot's undoing.
"Megatron abandoned you, Dreadwing." Hawk motioned to the skies filled with fleeing Seekers and roads filling with fleeing Combaticons. "He left you here to die!"
"Silence!" the Con roared furiously as he charged his opponent again.
In a last-ditch effort to win, Hawk threw both blades at Dreadwing, the Cybertanium swords cutting into his right shoulder painfully as the Bot drop-kicked Dreadwing in the face. The massive Con barely staggered before countering with a firm thrust-kick that sent Hawk flying back.
"You never stood a chance against me, traitor."
His beaked battle mask scuffed and damaged, Hawk rose to one knee and shook his head, trying to clear his overloaded processor as Dreadwing strode toward him, glaring. That's when he saw it. A massive, 17.8 foot-long sword with Cybertronian runes and a softly glowing blade. Reaching for it, Hawk wrapped his right hand around its hilt awkwardly and stared in surprise as the other two Cybertronians stared at him in shock. The entire sword was transforming into an eleven-foot-long longsword with a tapering edge and extremely sharp point, its finger-guard horizontal with the ends at a slightly upward angle. The sword fit him like a glove.
And it started heating up.
"He is," Optimus breathed out in slight disbelief, "worthy."
Hawk stared at him in confusion before turning his attention back to a charging and furious Dreadwing, his battle instincts and a confidence he hadn't felt before flooding his systems. As the massive, 30-foot Con cut toward his neck diagonally, Hawk lunged forward, sweeping his new blade in the opposite direction, and stared in shock as his sword cut a burning line through Dreadwing's, bisecting it and sending the Con lunging past him. Twisting counterclockwise in a pirouette, Hawk slashed the tip of the glowing blade through Dreadwing's right knee, causing him to collapse partially before shifting the sword to an underhanded grip and plunging it into the middle of his lower chest with a furious yell, dragging it to his left and cutting a burning line through the Seeker's chassis.
Dreadwing collapsed onto his back with a roar of pain, his left hand gripping his nearly hanging chassis and barely holding it together. His red optics stared at Hawk's masked face as the Bot held his sword upright in a two-handed grip. "Finish it," he hissed out in agony. "End my pain." Hawk's unreadable face stared at the prone Decepticon, optics narrowing slightly in what seemed like anger. The sword glowed white-hot, and Dreadwing prepared himself for the end.
That was when Hawk tossed the sword aside and offered him his right hand.
Cautiously, with narrowed optics, Dreadwing took it.
"Do you still wish to fight," the Bot asked the much larger Seeker.
Dreadwing glanced at the veritable army of humans and Autobots that were leveling weapons at him from the sidelines, but the fight had gone out of him long before. "No. I have no further quarrel with you. With any of you. You were...right about Megatron." Hawk's surprise was clearly shown when he finally retracted his mask. "When he was resurrected, my twin and I returned to Cybertron, as he did, and offered our services to him as of old. As punishment for not coming to assist him on Earth before his demise, I was forced to watch as my twin, Skyquake, was executed." The Con felt his spark twitch at the pity and grim understanding in Hawk's optics. "I followed Megatron from then on out of fear and familiarity, but that day, he stopped being worthy of my loyalty. Thank you for making me realize the truth."
Hawk nodded grimly. In reality, all he felt for the Con was pity. I've been in his exact position before. Betrayed, abandoned, tossed aside like a broken toy. "You know I understand how you're feeling right now." Dreadwing nodded. "And you also know that I was given a second chance, a chance to make things right." The Con stiffened, knowing where this was going as Hawk held out his hand. "Join us. Join the Autobots and help us end this war."
Dreadwing looked around at the Autobots' motley crew and allies, even Optimus standing and making the same request with his optics. "No," he said finally. "Leaving the Decepticons is not the same as joining you, but I will not fight. I am...tired of war. It will do me some good to have time alone among the stars."
Hawk vented heavily. "As you wish. We won't pressure you into it."
"My thanks. You were…a most worthy opponent, Hawk."
Hawk's optics narrowed at the double-meaning he was sure the now-former Con was implying, but he didn't say anything about it, merely shook Dreadwing's outstretched hand. "And you as well."
"Prime," Dreadwing said, turning to the Bot in question, "I have a gift for you." Reaching toward his back, Dreadwing took his massive, rifle-like cannon from his subspace, causing a few Bots and humans to raise their weapons in alert until he handed the weapon to Optimus. "It is a dual-fire, tri-barreled ion minigun with a pump-action, 150mm artillery cannon as its secondary fire mode. I have no more use for it now."
"Thank you, Dreadwing," the Prime said with a nod. "Be safe among the stars."
Without another word, Dreadwing transformed and took to the skies, sparks falling from his frame as he went almost straight upward, exiting the atmosphere mere seconds later. When the Seeker was finally out of sight, Hawk turned to Optimus.
"What's the word on the cache," he asked.
Roadbuster stepped forward and offered his report. "Most everythin' is accounted for, includin' the dark energon."
Hawk recycled his energon in relief, but stopped when he thought over the Wrecker's wording. "Most everything?"
"Few items got taken, most nothin' important. Jetfire managed to head off or crash most of the Cons who managed to snag somethin', but Skywarp still got away with the Immobilizer."
"Most grave news," Optimus said, voice low. "Still, the cache is largely intact, and the Decepticons were routed. This was a victory."
Hawk nodded slowly as his optics fell on the strange longsword that seemed to hum at his touch. The weapon was lying on the ground where the Bot had tossed it, and he slipped his hands under the hilt and blade, raising it and walking toward Optimus. "Seems to me that this weapon only responds to certain Bots. Care to explain?"
"The Sword of Primus is an ancient artifact forged by the original Primes. It is said that a part of Primus' very spark resides in the hilt, allowing his will and a portion of his consciousness to determine who its power is or is not granted to. As such, the blade with only respond to those that Primus deems worthy, those with the purest sparks."
Hawk's optics fluttered excitedly, and he knelt before the Prime, offering him the weapon. "As a Prime, who could be more worthy than you, Optimus?"
Optimus looked at the kneeling Bot, considering both the weapon and the soldier holding it for a long time before saying something that no one expected. "Keep it."
Hawk's optics snapped to his leader's face, and he stared in disbelief as he rose to his feet. "Keep it? Wha—why?"
The Prime smiled slightly. "Despite your supposed stoicism, I know very well how much you struggle with your past life under Megatron. I know that you blame yourself for much of the ill that has befallen our race, and that you have spent the years since your defection attempting to atone for your sins. I also know that you struggle daily with the thought that you are...unworthy of being called an Autobot." He could tell he hit upon the absolute truth by the way Hawk's expression changed. "Let this sword be an indisputable reminder to you of just how much you have changed. Let it be, as the humans would say, a 'moral compass' that tells you beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are, indeed, worthy."
Hawk stared at the blade that thrummed in his hands, glowing faintly, not with deadly heat as before, but with a calming warmth, almost as if it were alive. "Optimus...I…"
"Keep it, my friend," he insisted, laying a massive hand on the Infiltrator's shoulder.
Hawk blinked a few times before looking up at his leader and smiling. "Thank you."
…
6 hours later
NEST headquarters, Washington, DC
After the battle was over, the Wreckers chose Earth-based vehicle modes that were on the speedway, and Dino chose a red Ferrari that, oddly enough, failed to remind anyone of Knockout. Hawk supposed it was just the different way he carried himself. All told, Hawk was happy. Far happier than he had been in a long, long time. It wasn't just the sword. New Autobots had arrived, they now had a ship capable of long-distance space travel, and for the first time in millennia, he felt a lightening feeling thrum through his spark. Hope. He looked down at the Sword of Primus in his hand. We have hope again. The Bot smiled.
"That is a fancy new toy." The new voice prompted Hawk's optics to snap in its direction, revealing a young man in the open doorway of a black custom SUV. "Where'd you get it?"
Hawk smiled at his human partner, then at the Cybertronian runes engraved on his new sword's hilt. "It's a long, long story." His optics locked with Caden's. "One that I don't mind telling." He smiled wider with deep mirth, his entire frame feeling lighter than it had in a long time. "I think you'll like it."
Caden grinned knowingly and climbed up to his guardian's shoulder, sitting with rapt attention as he waited for Hawk to speak. The Sword of Primus chose me. Primus himself thinks I am worthy. His energon recycled easily. Starmind, I wish you were here to see this. I will use this blade to the best of my ability, to defend the innocent and end this war, like you would have wanted. I'm going to do you proud, my love. When I finally join with the Allspark, I know I won't go with any regrets. Finally returning to the present, he looked Caden in the eye, the teen waiting patiently for him to speak.
"So it all started with a spaceship landing…"
AN: Another chapter done! First off, yes, I invented the Sword of Primus, and second, yes, I brought in some Iacon artifacts from TF Prime. I decided to stop the Cons from taking that many of them because I didn't want to have to write in a couple long chapters about the Autobots hunting them down. They probably won't feature heavily, since Optimus said that most of them were under lock and key in the Iacon vaults for a reason, but in time of need, who knows?
Dreadwing's cannon is given to Optimus. Yes, it is the same massive weapon that he carries in Dark of the Moon. I just thought it would be a really awesome way to introduce the gun, rather than just have it be an invention by Que.
Hope you liked how I went more in-depth into Hawk's psyche and motivations, as well as his insecurities as a turncoat. As always, please review and recommend.
Musical Inspirations:
Transformers Prime - Dreadwing: Hawk's reminiscence on the way to Ridgeway; In Defense of Humanity: Hawk's approach to the warehouse, conversation with Megatron, and Optimus Prime's entrance; Relentless Pursuit: battle that breaks out in the warehouse, Optimus and Megatron's duel, Dreadwing's attack, Hawk's rescue, Hawk's use of the Sword of Primus.