Still appreciating all my reviewers! Thank you so much!

I had originally planned to end this fic at chapter 13, but i was struck by a few more little ideas to tie up loose ends from this and my previous fic Rising Sun.

This chapter and the next to follow essentially fills in a gap in the historical events of Rising Sun. They are going to reveal how the other descendent Primes went offline.

I've used some known TF names or parts of names for the descendent Primes that will star in this and coming chapters. Hopefully they won't sound too silly...

Note that this and the next four chapters will be written in Optimus Prime's internal first-person narration in present tense, coming from his immediate perspective. It is not the past tense report of Optimus' voice journal recordings in previous chapters, but it will be expressing Optimus' current thoughts and point of view.

Without further ado, i give you...

Chapter 14: Falling - Part 1

I am back on a decimated Cybertron. It burns in the fiery aftermath of a battle. The ruins of a once great city lie around me. The rubble of collapsed buildings is everywhere. Smoke rises from scattered fires and fills the dark skies. The ground is stained in energon leaking from torn limbs and deactivated bodies strewn amongst the rubble.

I begin to walk in silence through the devastation. It is disheartening to look at, but I have seen it often enough during the war. The numbness developed from meta-cycles of war automatically forms a protective wall around my psyche. I steel myself to the sight.

I know I am seeing another vision of the past. I have seen many in the last few deca-cycles. But what era has the Matrix brought me to now?

The sound of footsteps draws my attention. Across the battlefield, I see figures slowly making their way toward one another. As I focus my vision on each of them, I recognize their forms. They are Primes. Not my forefathers though, their descendent sons, my brothers, six of them. For the first time, I notice a female amongst them as well…

I move closer. They do react to my presence. I am an invisible observer.

The female Prime is leaning sideways on the support of her arms upon a block of collapsed building metal. She looks tired. Another Prime comes up to her. I know him from my previous visions at the Tomb of the Primes deca-cycles ago: Sentinel Prime, Prima's first son, my elder brother. His familiar royal blue optics gaze down at the female Prime with an expression of concern and he holds out a hand to her. She looks at him with a small smile and accepts his offered hand. He pulls her to her feet.

"How do you function, Beta?" Sentinel asks gently.

Her violet optics shine dimly. 'Beta' sighs and answers wearily.

"I have expended much energy, but I am still intact and active."

Her violet optics fall to Sentinel's shoulder. A small stream of blue energon trickles from a wound there. She raises her hand to hover over the damage.

"Brother, you bleed," Beta comments in slight concern.

Sentinel shakes his head dismissively and gently pushes her slender hand away.

"Minor damage," he replies casually.

The other four Primes approach them then. One of them begins to speak.

"This battle has drained all of us considerably. I doubt we could withstand another major assault."

They all do indeed look weary. Their bodies display signs of battle damage. The lights of their optics lack vibrancy, reduced to weak glows.

"Convoy, Primal, Saber, Omega, Beta," Sentinel addresses his sibling Primes, scanning across them all, "I am afraid that this may not be the end of it."

The one Sentinel calls 'Convoy' nods in agreement to his statement.

"Our seekers have reported sighting Nova," he informs, "His forces attack from both the north and south sides of the city."

The mention of the Fallen's original name mildly takes me by surprise… Nova Prime…

Sentinel's head drops and his blue optics dim as he speaks seriously.

"Then it is as we feared. If he is back here on Cybertron and leading these sudden assaults, then we can only deduce that our other forefathers failed to stop him on the Sol System planet…and are likely dead…"

A heavy silence fills the air between the descendent Primes as the weight of Sentinel's conclusion sinks in.

"Then we are the last of the Prime Dynasty…," 'Omega' says slowly.

'Primal' throws his large hands up suddenly.

"This makes no sense!" he growls in frustration, "Why would Nova betray us? His fellow Primes! Why try to take Iacon now?"

Sentinel looks at Primal sadly.

"I do not think it is the city that he wants primarily… I believe he comes for us…for revenge…"

'Saber' turns to Sentinel urgently.

"Then we may not have much time left. Where is our infant brother, Optimus?"

I cannot help blinking at the mention of my name.

"At the base with Alpha Trion," Sentinel answers.

"We must go to Alpha Trion and warn him of Nova's arrival," Saber presses.

"Saber is right," Beta agrees, "Our hatchling brother, Optimus, is vulnerable. Nova does not yet know of his existence, but if he finds out…"

She does not get to finish her sentence. At that moment, an explosion of light manifests in the middle of the gathered Primes and throws them all onto their backs roughly. The Fallen appears from the light in the centre of them, burning with a demonic red aura.

"I bring you a gift, young Primes," he announces menacingly, "The gift of oblivion!"

His dark clawed hands burst into flames and he swings them to either side of himself at the floored descendent Primes around him. Lines of fire appear spontaneously on the ground and speed toward the Primes. Saber, Convoy and Primal leap and roll out of the way of the incoming flames. Sentinel, Beta and Omega summon transparent shimmering energy shields over themselves to block the flames out.

"Nova, stop!" Primal demands, "Are you mad?! We are your brothers' children!"

The Fallen's molten red optics burn brighter.

"Precisely why you must die!" he snarls.

He unleashes another round of flames at the descendent Primes. They scatter.

"My brothers are dead!" the Fallen declares maniacally, "And now their sons and daughter will join them!"

Sentinel calls to his siblings.

"Brothers, sister, surround him!"

They disappear in six flashes of light and reappear in a circular formation around the Fallen. Their bodies rapidly begin emitting bright auras as they build energy. Each of them radiates with a unique colour: blue, white, violet, amber, gold and green. The Fallen swings his head to either side of himself and warily scans the circled Primes surrounding him.

"Whatever you're all doing, it will not work," he warns.

His own red aura begins to grow in size and vibrancy in response to the other Primes' building auras.

"NOW!" Sentinel suddenly shouts.

All at once, the six Primes point their hands inward toward the Fallen and shoot twelve lines of coloured energy into him. The Fallen roars in pain as their combined energies strike him. His own red aura begins to expand after a few nano-kliks though, pushing back the energies of the six descendent Primes. They attempt to maintain the pressure of their energies on him, but are failing. The descendent Primes are being overpowered.

Finally, with an explosive burst of red energy and fire, the Fallen sends all six descendent Primes flying back. They cry out as they are thrown to the ground again, their bodies smouldering. From a wall of flames, the Fallen emerges.

"Foolish Primelings!" the Fallen bellows, "I am one of the original seven! My powers dwarf all of yours!"

He raises his dark hands up and they begin to generate globules of fiery energy. He looks across all the fallen descendent Primes sprawled helplessly around him. His molten red optics narrow.

"I have a new name now," he announces coldly, "You should all know it before you die. I have Prima to thank for inspiring it. I am…'The Fallen'."

He prepares to release his globules of fiery energy at the prone forms of Sentinel, Omega and Beta when suddenly Saber materialises beside him in a flash of light. He strikes at the Fallen with long gold energy blades emerging from over both his hands. The Fallen whirls away from Saber, narrowly avoiding being cut by his vibrant energy blades.

"Brothers, sister, flee!" Saber yells to his sibling Primes, turning momentarily to look at them.

"Never! The Primes stand together!" Beta stubbornly responds, slowly pushing herself up from the ground.

"Touching. Now you can all DIE together!" the Fallen growls.

Taking Saber by surprise, the dark Prime seizes both his bladed lower arms. Saber cries out as the Fallen's hot hands burn into his armour. With a vicious pull, he tears both Saber's lower arms off. Energon spurts from the ends of Saber's torn arms. The Fallen tosses aside the ripped limbs and like lightning, shoots a hand out and grabs Saber by the neck. He lifts the disarmed Prime off the ground. Saber gasps as the searing heat of the Fallen's grip burns into his neck cables.

Primal gets to his feet and rushes toward the Fallen.

"Nova, don't!" he cries, reaching out a hand in desperation.

"Brother…stay back!" Saber crackles brokenly through a heat damaged vocaliser.

But it is too late. The Fallen grabs Primal's wrist and throws him roughly to one side. Primal slides across the ground. With a burning hand, the Fallen then unleashes a globule of fiery energy at him. It explodes against Primal's chest and penetrates right through it into where his spark undoubtedly is housed. Primal's optics go offline almost instantly.

Before anyone can react, the Fallen then whips round and plunges his fiery hand deep into Saber's chest. Swiftly, he rips out Saber's spark chamber and crushes it in his burning grip. Saber's body goes limp and the Fallen drops him to the ground like waste metal.

"Primal! Saber!" Beta screams, pitifully reaching a hand out toward them.

Omega is paralysed with shock.

Sentinel's blue optics blaze.

"Murderer!" he roars at the Fallen.

He charges at him and they clash. Opposing red and blue energies flare as their hands struggle against one another. It is very much reminiscent of my dream involving our father, Prima, fighting the Fallen I note with a shudder…

Convoy teleports and appears suddenly behind the Fallen as he struggles with Sentinel. He latches onto the Fallen's with a headlock, wrapping one arm from behind around the Fallen's neck and grabbing his head with his other hand. The Fallen staggers back, breaking his combat with Sentinel.

"Convoy! No! He's too powerful!" Sentinel cries as he watches his brother attempt to subdue the Fallen in dismay.

The Fallen's fiery energy seems to travel up Convoy's arms. It appears as if he is siphoning the Fallen's energy as he holds onto him. It flows through Convoy's arms and into his body. But the energy absorption process ends abruptly when Convoy all too quickly cries out in agony and releases his grip on the Fallen. He steps back and doubles over, holding himself in terrible pain.

"It burns…Can't…contain… it," Convoy rasps.

With a shake of his head to clear his dizziness, the Fallen advances on Convoy and knocks him back with a telekinetic wave from his raised palm. Convoy plunges to the ground, still writhing in pain from the Fallen's burning energies within him. The Fallen slams his heavy foot down upon Convoy's lower chest, trapping him beneath his weight.

"Your forefathers could not stop me!" the Fallen bellows furiously, "What makes you, their offspring, think 'you' can?!"

In the Fallen's hands, his ancient spear takes shape from his fiery energy. He raises it over Convoy's face and, with one abrupt drop, plunges it through his head. There is not even a moment for Convoy to cry out.

Sentinel, Omega and Beta watch their third brother's brutal offlining in cold horror.