Yes, I'm back. Rest assured I couldn't be more sorry for the delay. I will explain the absurdly long delay on my fanfiction profile soon, plus I'll try to get back to everyone who messaged me.
"No!"
Gigatron's clenched hand met the craggy walls of his inner sanctum with the fury of a meteorite colliding with a planet. The wall cracked from floor to ceiling.
"Not here! Not now! More time is needed, I need more time! I must have it. They can't see what's coming! Only I can see it! Trembling planets, aching wounds, the air burning...a surge, a hole, a galaxy! Unwary foes, traps, parasites! N-no! Let them cry out in fear! I must have the AllSpark!"
He staggered and swayed as if stricken with illness, his armoured head rolling from side to side. Strange noises came from his maw, and there was also a strange whining, rattling sound coming from his chest.
"Yeeaargh!" Gigatron howled, "I need it! I have come for it! I will have it! I…I…"
He cut himself off and abruptly froze, no longer tottering. Slowly he turned, but as he looked behind him he reacted with terror, as if he could see something in his empty sanctum.
"No…no, no, no! You can't do this! Get back! I'm not ready. I need more time! Get back, back!"
He raised his hands as if to ward off a blow and uttered a low, despairing wail that echoed in the small chamber.
"I see you! I see all of you! No, no, I will not submit! Aaaaargh, no!"
He began to claw furiously at his head and thrash about, howling and screaming unworldly screams. Lashing out at an invisible foe, he lost his balance and fell, landing on his hands and knees. His cries subsided and he remained there for a long time, panting and groaning, his breath passing through his grill-like mask in enormous clouds of vapour.
A Monocon marched in and stood to attention. It spoke in a blank, deep robotic voice.
"Are you functional, sir?"
The question had the annoying ring of personality about it, so without rising he cocked his left arm cannon and blasted the Monocon, punching a smoking hole through its chest plate. It collapsed in a sparking heap. Moments later a second Monocon arrived to take its place and ask the same question. Annoyed, Gigatron considered destroying it too, but decided against it and picked himself up.
"Devouring Vector Sigma has merely reminded me of the taste of the glorious fruit that is the AllSpark. And the visions have returned", he growled and began to pace up and down, "I must act soon. We must begin a full-scale invasion of Cybertron as soon as possible".
"Direct attack on Cybertron is not a guaranteed success", the drone warned.
It was not a criticism, merely a factual statement. The Monocons were not programmed to have opinions, only to make tactical evaluations. Nonetheless the Monocon's words irritated Gigatron, as if they were an echo of the thought processes of a self-aware being, so as he paced he absent-mindedly pointed his right-mounted cannon at the drone and shot it as well. Soon its replacement strode in.
"I spent centuries planning daring sneak attacks on Iacon to steal the AllSpark without open conflict", Gigatron sighed, "Too many casualties means less sparks for me to absorb. But now I think I must go in more directly. Yes, I will annihilate my enemies in total war. That said, I can still pave the way for my invasion, yes".
Over a dozen Decepticons were seated a low, long table that dominated the small dark room in one of Darkmount's many fortresses. Megatron sat at the head of the table, recounting his tale to the others, but as he did he studied them all very, very carefully.
He was addressing the Council of Generals, a collection of some of the finest minds in the Decepticon Empire. There the flamboyant Sky-Byte, the sinister Deszaras, the ruthless Razorclaw, the obnoxious Motor Master, the outspoken Dynobot, the devious Onslaught, the cunning Obsidian, the scheming Skystalker, the malicious Clench and the wily Scrash.
At Megatron's right hand sat Strika, his chosen General. At his left would have been Straxus, if he hadn't fallen victim to Optimus Prime's blade in the battle of Polyhex. A replacement had been found however: the astonishingly pugnacious Dirt Boss, who has assumed control of the planet Lucifer's industry after Straxus' death left a power vacuum.
Officially, the Council of Generals only existed to aid Megatron in running his Empire and his military campaigns. While they certainly did fulfil that role, they also served another unofficial purpose. The Council had been created when Megatron seized control from his mad mentor Galvatron. The Generals had all pledged their support to him before his coup, on the condition that they were allowed some degree of leverage over him when he got into power. No-one wanted to live through the days of Galvatron again, with one mad dictator leading them all blindly towards oblivion.
Dealing with the Council of Generals could be tricky, even for a bot with mental skills as razor sharp as Megatron's. They were all highly intelligent, in their own right, even the seemingly clownish Sky-Byte. They were all ambitious and in pursuit of power for their own reasons: Strika wanted to maintain the status quo of the Decepticons, Dynobot wanted a cultural revolution to restore nobility to his craven brethren, Onslaught thought himself the most able commander, Deszaras had sinister designs that involved greater co-operation with the Quintessons, and as for Sky-Byte…well, who knew what Sky-Byte really wanted?
But whatever their motivation, power was their ultimate goal, and so Megatron kept them all reaching for it, forever obtainable but just out of grasp. By keeping them eager to please and eager to serve he made them useful and at the same time he subtly encouraged their rivalries. On some days they were so desperate to prove themselves that he barely needed to speak throughout an entire meeting: he could keep them talking for hours just by looking at them in the right way.
However they were not to be underestimated. After all, Galvatron's refusal to take his subordinates seriously had ultimately ensured his demise. In the right circumstances they could keep Megatron on the back foot: they wielded their opinions, experience and ambitions like knives. And what Megatron was currently proposing was so potentially explosive that he felt is necessary to handle them with some degree of caution. His recent behaviour meant he was on a short enough leash as it was.
"But to treaty with the Autobots…it's just so unexpected, Lord Megatron", General Scrash said, shaking his head, "Are you certain it's absolutely necessary?"
"I wouldn't be considering if it weren't", was the blunt reply.
"And who will meet with the Autobot representatives?" asked Obsidian.
"I will, with a chosen few", said Megatron.
"Well, I don't like it!" bellowed Motor Master, "The Motor Master thinks dealing with Autobots is like dealing with the grease on the bottom of the Motor Master's stabilizing servo! The Motor Master says we should fly to Cybertron right now, and challenge their leaders to some one-on-one time with Pain! And if they a-won't show – "
"Ah, put a wrench it in it, ya lummox", Dirt Boss snapped, "Let's listen to the Big Meg's plan, alright?"
Megatron explained, "I will handle the negotiating process myself, my entourage will be there merely to create an impression".
"I have my concerns, Lord Megatron", said Strika, "If not handled correctly the disarmament process could cause us to lose a great deal of territory".
"And what if the Autobots betray us? We'll have lost all of our recent advances!" exclaimed Onslaught.
"I assure you I have thought of these matters", replied Megatron, "We are not going to slow down our military campaigns until I have forced the Autobots to agree to a cease-fire on my terms. So for now you will all return to your duties and lead your squads into battle as previously organized", he leaned back in his chair and busied himself studying a datapad, "Don't let me keep you", he said.
Now was the moment. The test. Would any of them object? Was he in such a precarious situation that they would question his authority further? While doing his best to look nonchalant, he waited with baited breath.
As one the Decepticon Generals picked themselves up and left. They shuffled out of the room without complaint. Megatron smiled to himself. A moment later Shockwave sidled into the room.
"Did all go as planned, my Lord?" he asked.
"Indeed. The Council will not dare step out of line, even with plans as controversial as this. Transmit to Cybertron, specifically Fortress Maximus in Iacon. I wish to speak to the Autobots at once".
"As you command, Megatron".
Ah, what was this? Shockwave had hesitated in giving his answer, and there was a subtle change in the inflection of his voice. He evidently found the concept of aligning with the Autobots as distasteful as some of the Generals had. Strange to think that a bot who prided himself on his logical genius could have such a reactionary response to their only reasonable course of action.
Still, with the Council swayed, he was positive that the rest of the Decepticons would follow. Now if only Optimus Prime could guarantee similar success with his own peers.
"Out of the question, Optimus", Sentinel snapped, "A cease fire with the Decepticons? Are you hearing yourself when you talk?"
"I realize it's unexpected, but believe me, I wouldn't be doing this unless I thought it was essential to Cybertron's survival", Optimus turned to Ultra Magnus, "What do you think, Commander?"
The three senior Autobots were assembled in a ward of the Cybertron Central Infirmary. Currently occupying the ward was the wounded Alpha Trion, recovering from the rampage of Gigatron's Optimus puppet. The Autobot Councillor had been lying in stasis since their arrival, but that hadn't prevented Optimus from explaining the proposed deal with the Decepticons.
Ultra Magnus glanced at Optimus, "You forget yourself. I am no longer Commander, that is your role. I merely maintain the ceremonial title of Magnus for now. And the Council has been disbanded, since so many of its members are stricken or...departed. This decision is yours and yours alone".
The enormity of such responsibility hit Optimus for the first time. In the event of the Council being unable to convene, all responsibilities of government were passed to the Commander or his designated subordinates. When Ultra Magnus had proclaimed him Commander he had, in effect, made him Cybertron's dictator, at least until the Council was able to reconvene. It was not a comforting realization. Optimus had become increasingly fond of the system of government used on much of Earth, the one called 'democracy'.
"At least let me know your opinion then, sir", he insisted.
Ultra Magnus sighed, "Very well, Commander. I think this course of action is unwise. The Decepticons are not to be trusted, even in the most dire, no, especially in the most dire circumstances. You claim this 'Gigatron' is Megatron himself from an alternate timeline, but how can you be sure this is no mere Decepticon machination?"
"I just know it, sir. You would know it too, if you had seen Gigatron in the metal".
"I have not yet, but I have witnessed an extraordinary power claim the life of my friend, Sigma Supreme. Nonetheless I would not counsel this rash action, not even to avenge him. But the decision is yours, Commander. Are you certain you wish to proceed?"
Optimus hesitated, but then to his surprise Alpha Trion stirred and spoke up in a faltering, weak voice.
"Trust...trust.."
"Trust? Trust what, the Decepticons?" Sentinel said incredulously.
"No", a faint smile crossed Alpha Trion's lips, "Trust...Optimus..."
He sighed and slipped back into stasis. Ultra Magnus looked at Optimus carefully.
"It seems", he said slowly, "That you have a call to make. And a ship to catch".
"The Vestial Imperium and the Nebulons both refused to act as an intermediate moderator for the negotiations", Arcee explained to Sari as she piloted Omega Supreme.
Sari hopped onto the consoles to look out of the viz-screen. Arcee was bringing Omega's starship mode to rest on a rickety, ancient starport that was built precariously onto a small planetoid. Another ship was already docked there: the Nemesis II, Megatron's flagship. Sari shivered at the sight of it.
"So why are we meeting with the Decepticons here?" she asked.
"This is Teskor III", the femmebot said, "Well, what's left of it. It used to be a pretty important mining colony before it was destroyed in the Great War. It's of no use to either side now, and it's in neutral space, so I guess Optimus and Megatron agreed it was a good place to meet".
Omega docked with the starport and Sari listened to the now familiar-whine of him powering down. Arcee leaned forward to whisper to a speaker on the console before her.
"Rest, but be ready for trouble, friend".
Omega didn't answer, but Arcee was apparently satisfied that he had heard her. Sari followed her out of the bridge and they headed for the exit ramp.
"So, you think the Decepticons are gonna cause trouble?"
"I don't know", she suddenly produced a shimmering blue scimitar from her back-mounted compartments, inspected the blade and then sheathed it, "But I'm glad they didn't mention a weapons amnesty".
They turned the corner and saw Optimus, Ratchet, Jazz, Bumblebee and Bulkhead assembling at the exit ramp. The doors slid open, the ramp extended and they began their descent, Optimus in the lead. Before heading out, Sari transformed into her robot mode and ignited her jetpack. She jetted up to Bulkhead's height and rested on his capacious shoulder plate.
"Hey, doesn't Cybertron have like...properly qualified diplomats for this sort of thing?" Bumblebee wondered aloud.
"Yes they do", Optimus said as he stepped out onto the landing platform, which trembled with the unexpected impact of footsteps treading its long-abandoned walkways, "But I want you bots with me on this one. No Autobots knows the leaders of the Decepticons like we do. If anyone can hold our own against them, we can".
The six Autobots trod carefully down creaking sets of stairs and past rusting walkways. Ratchet stopped to scrape some rust off the railings and peer at it as he rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger.
"Hmm...this is cosmic rust. The virus is long dormant, don't worry. I'm guessing this base was abandoned when the Decepticons ordered a chemical strike on it".
They clambered off the walkway and found the remnants of a road, presumably once a well-travelled export route from the mine down to the starport. Now it was barely discernible, so covered in grime and dust that they could only just follow it.
"So...how come you bots aren't driving?" Sari asked.
"I'd prefer us to stay in robot mode", Optimus pointed to their destination: a dilapidated steel-grey bunker, embedded in the slope above them. It appeared deserted, but as they drew closer Sari saw dim lights glowing within.
"The Decepticons have already arrived, and I'd prefer us to be ready for action", he smiled nervously at Sari, "You know, just in case".
"Not getting and good vibes about the negotiations then, O.P?" wondered Jazz.
"I don't know what to expect", admitted the Autobot leader, "But I need you all to back me up, whatever happens. Will you do that?"
"I still say we can't trust the Cons", Ratchet snorted derisively.
"I know, but will you just go along with me on this?"
There was a pause, then a general grumble of consensus among the Autobots.
"Good. Thanks, you bots. Now let's go have a conversation with some Decepticons".
They followed the path in a winding trail around the slope and into a pair of badly-dented and rusted doors that still somehow slid open to welcome them. Inside it was cramped and an unpleasant walk down filthy corridors towards the source of the light further inside.
"Must have been the miner's living quarters", Bulkhead thought aloud as Sari dropped off his shoulder to allow the large bot easier movement down the narrow passageways. Sari's built-in sensors detected that the room was pressurised and there was sufficient oxygen for her to breathe, so she reverted to her human form.
"You alright in front, Bumblebee?" Arcee asked from the back of the group.
Bumblebee had automatically taken the lead as he tended to outpace the others and he saw himself as the ideal scout, but he was beginning to regret not allowing Optimus to go in front of him. Privately he doubted the Decepticons were meeting them here for anything more than an ambush, and apparently Megatron and his top lieutenants were the bots who were going to be doing the ambushing.
Hardened though he was by his combat experience, the thought was a deeply sobering one. But he was determined to show he was cool and in control, and so he kept his optics on high alert and his stingers at the ready. Nothing, but nothing, is going to get past you, he told himself.
Aloud he said, "Doing fine Arcee, keeping things smooth and - "
He was abruptly cut short when he walked into a door that materialized out of the darkness. The other Autobots collided with the back of him and the rusty doors gave way. This resulted in them all spilling out in an ungainly heap into the room beyond, groaning as they nursed wounded heads and sprained servo joints.
"Ah, you're here".
At the top of the pile, Sari craned her aching neck up and saw a wide, low room dominated by a long, dusty table. The sole source of light in the room came from a flickering neon fixture on the ceiling. The table was lined with chairs; the ones closest to Sari were empty. The others were occupied.
Megatron sat in the centre, on his left sat Blackarachnia, on his right Starscream. Next to Starscream Lugnut was hunched over, next to Blackarachnia sat Blitzwing, surveying the Autobots disdainfully through his monocle.
It was Megatron who had spoken. He did not seem to pay any attention to the manner of their arrival. Blackarachnia, on the other, smirked.
"Well, you sure know how to make an entrance, Optimus".
The Autobots picked themselves up in as dignified a manner as they could. As Optimus went to take a seat opposite Megatron, he noticed that instead of taking an entourage of diplomats the Decepticon Lord, like himself, had taken his 'team' of followers. Optimus wasn't too surprised; Megatron had a subtle flair for the theatrical. He had no need for advisors, merely lackeys who would serve to display his status.
The Autobots took their seats, and Optimus noticed that exactly the right amount of seats were lain out. Megatron had predicted his own entourage accurately: there was even a raised seat to accommodate Sari. The two arch enemies were already coming to know one another disturbingly well.
It didn't escape Optimus' attention that a precise number of goblets had been set out on the table as well. Megatron seemed to notice Optimus' eye wandering to them and he raised his hand in some pre-arranged signal. Lugnut lurched to his feet dramatically, and Sari noticed the way the Autobots recoiled and tensed, almost instinctively, a product of millennia of inbred prejudice.
Lugnut, however, merely moved to a nearby shelf and removed a barrel of Decepticon-stamped oil. He pulled back the lid and approached the table.
"Since we could not secure a moderator I thought it best to supply the drinks myself", said Megatron: Lugnut approached him with the barrel but he quickly waved him away, "Guests first, as we discussed".
Lugnut shuffled over to the Autobot's side of the table and began to pour oil into their goblets as delicately as he could manage. It was to his credit that he spilled as little as he did. When he went to pour some for Bumblebee the young bot covered his goblet with his hand.
"I'm a little on the 'not-ancient' side to be drinking that stuff, don't you think?"
"Come, you must", Megatron insisted, "It's a fine blend of vintage mineral oils from my private collection. Only the best".
Reluctantly Bumblebee withdrew his hand and Lugnut poured a generous helping of oil for him. Then Lugnut poured oil for himself and his fellow Decepticons.
Sari sat staring at an empty, scaled down but still somewhat oversized goblet. She didn't have to wait long however as Lugnut returned with another, smaller barrel, the contents of which he poured into Sari's goblet. She peered into the goblet, which was far too large for her to lift and drink from comfortably. It contained cold and clean water.
Bumblebee was eyeing his helping of oil suspiciously, and Sari could see the question forming on his lips - 'how do we know this isn't poisoned or explosive or something?' But then Megatron sipped his oil, and the other Decepticons did the same. Ratchet took a hearty swig of it as well and smacked his lips in satisfaction. Gloomily Bumblebee stared into the contents of his goblet and picked it up.
Optimus took a drink, and the harsh, bitter taste of it made him cough and splutter. He had never been a big oil drinker, even while in the Academy which had a culture of machismo-related drinking, but this was far stronger than anything he'd ever tasted. It was all he could to prevent himself from spitting it out.
"Hah! Ze puny Autobot can't take his draught!" gloated Blitzwing's furious personality before it was switched out by his random one, "But I hear he's a dab servo at golf! We should play a round some time! Ahahahaha!"
"Silence", growled Megatron, "Now, to business. Lacking a mediator does mean we can skip some tedious formalities and proceed with the negotiations immediately. I trust we all know why we're here? We're here to negotiate a temporary peace treaty between the Autobot Commonwealth and the Decepticon Empire for the duration of the Gigatron Crisis".
"And do your thugs know who Gigatron really is?" Ratchet growled accusingly.
"A time-travelling, psychotic, physics-defying Megatron obsessed with absorbing the AllSpark and destroying all life in the universe?" Starscream grinned maliciously, delighting in his superior's discomfort, "It may have cropped up in conversation".
"Huh. I'm surprised you had the sparkplugs to tell anyone", Ratchet said.
"I feel it best to keep that specific piece of information strictly classified", answered the Decepticon Lord, "For the moment anyway. It'll make the masses less difficult to deal with if they're ignorant of the origins of Gigatron".
Jazz quirked an eyebrow, "And you told Starscream this...why?"
"Um...hello?" Sari waved her hands in the air to draw attention to herself, "Don't you bots have some negotiations to get through? Something about calling a truce so the Autobots and Decepticons can stop blowing each other up for five minutes?"
"Here we go again".
In one elegant move Rodimus flipped his bow out into his hands and activated it, the energon draw-string firing up to link the two staves. At his side Red Alert glanced at him.
"I don't care what they said at the Cybertron Central Infirmary, I still think you're decacylcles away from being ready for combat".
"Luckily it wasn't up to you", Rodimus answered.
Red Alert wasn't surprised by his answer, but she was surprised by its lack of conviction. In the past it would have been delivered with a cocky grin: now Rodimus seemed loath to string his bow and nock his arrows. Red Alert sighed. She had heard about what had happened with Kup on Polyhex. How long was Rodimus going to bear that burden? For him to be despondent seemed...unnatural, no matter how he tried to hide it.
But she had little time to contemplate that now. Although Cybertron Command had announced that peace talks with the Decepticons were ongoing, for the moment they were still ploughing on with the war effort, and that meant that teams with combat experience were being redeployed to defend the borders of the Commonwealth. The result? Team Athenia was defending yet another useless lump of rock spinning in some useless corner of space.
"Here they come!" Hot Shot shouted annoying loudly, gesturing to the horizon.
Red Alert looked out to where the bleakly rocky landscape met the indigo, star-lit sky. A cloud of dust that she had initially ignored was now tearing towards them. As it drew nearer she could see three land-bound vehicles at the centre of it. Decepticons.
"So, what's the plan?" Ironhide asked.
"Fight an active defence, see if we can take them down", said Rodimus, "If not hold them off as long as we can and then head for the ship".
"Gotcha", grunted Brawn, pounding a fist into his open palm
A thunderous explosion behind them made them all spin around. What had once been their proud ship, the Upstart, was now nothing more than smoking wreckage.
"No!" Hot Shot cried out as what had been both their transport and their home for decades burned up, "My car freshener was in there!"
Brawn's brow creased, "Your what?"
"Oh, it was just this thing Bumblebee lent me, some kinda custom they have on Earth. Apparently it's a ritual to hang some kinda tree idol off a car's interior. Don't know why, but it was easy on the olfactory sensors".
Out of the wreckage of the Upstart rose Blackout, looming over them like a mountain pushed up by millions of years of continental drift all compacted into a few seconds.
"Puny Autobot ship. Puny Autobots", he boomed.
Rodimus tore his optics away from the towering menace to look back to the other oncoming Decepticons. As he expected, Strika was leading the charge, flanked by Oil Slick and Spittor.
"Commence attack!" screamed Strika.
All hell broke loose.
"I knew Optimus Prime would bring you along, Miss Sumdac", Megatron sipped his oil and then peered at Sari over the brim of his goblet, "But I still think it was a poor choice. You do not understand the complexities of such matters. Besides, I imagine learning of your fate in another timeline has distressed you, yes?"
Optimus cringed. His fingers curled around the stem of his goblet.
"My fate? What're you talking about?" Sari blinked in confusion.
Megatron didn't answer.
"What's he talking about, Boss-bot?" said Bulkhead, turning to Optimus, "Sari's fate? You never mentioned anything about that."
"Yeah, come on, what is it?" pressed Bumblebee, "You just said that Gigatron absorbed the energy of bots who had lots of contact with AllSpark energy, like the Dinobots, Soundwave, the Starscream clones, and..."
Silence fell. Optimus looked away.
Realization dawned on Bumblebee, "Oh".
Sari said nothing.
"Soundwave promised me he wouldn't mention what Gigatron told us to anyone", Optimus growled through gritted teeth.
"Soundwave?" Megatron screwed up his face, uncomprehending.
"He didn't tell you about that?" Optimus shook his head, "So if he didn't, who did?"
Megatron didn't reply. He looked almost sullen. There was an even longer silence.
It was eventually broken by Ratchet, "Don't you get it, Prime? Gigatron may be from the future and insane, but he was once the same Megatron sitting opposite to yer. The only reason things are happening differently in our timeline is because Gigatron came back and inadvertently warned us. The actions Gigatron would have carried out tomorrow were dreamt up by the Megatron of today".
Optimus had known that, of course. But he had never really processed it. It just hadn't sunk in. After the horror of his imprisonment and torture at the hands of Gigatron he had been so glad to encounter a more familiar foe that he had overlooked some crucial details. Gigatron wasn't some random entity of evil that had sprung out of nowhere. His insanity had grown from the mind of Megatron, and perhaps the infection was already there and ran deeper than he knew.
After all, Gigatron himself had mentioned that his grip on sanity had loosened dramatically after his humiliation at the battle of Polyhex. That had already passed by in this timeline.
Without really stopping to consider the consequences, he fixed Megatron with a steely gaze and growled, "Well, is it true? Have you already planned to devour Sari's spark? And the spark of all bots with high amounts of AllSpark energy?"
The only sound was a barely audible intake of breath from Bulkhead. For once even Starscream fell quiet without being ordered to. Megatron stared Optimus down.
At last he spoke, "The thought had occurred to me".
Bulkhead dived across the table, spilling goblets of oil left and right. He cleared the table in a single lunge and tackled Megatron to the floor, pinning the Decepticon down with his great weight. Without even knowing what he was doing, he drew his fists back and punched Megatron in the face, swinging them down to pound the Decepticon's face over and over.
"You miserable waste of energon! You twisted, sickening piece of slag!"
"Bulkhead, enough!" yelled Optimus.
"You monster! You sludge-sucking creep!"
Lugnut leapt to his feet and pried Bulkhead off Megatron, "How dare you lay your unworthy hands on the Master?"
Spluttering, the stunned Megatron got to his feet as Bulkhead grudgingly walked back to his chair. Starscream rocked with obnoxious laughter and Blackarachnia smirked.
"This is a waste of time!" Bulkhead slammed his fist down on the table, "Why are we sitting here talking to these bots? Just listen to 'em! They'd as soon as rip out your spark and eat it as look at you!"
Megatron eased himself back into his chair, nursing his dents and lamenting his loss of dignity. But he had noticed that when the Autobot attacked him no-one had rushed to his aid. Even Lugnut's response had been far slower than Megatron would have expected. So even his most loyal follower was beginning to drift away from his leadership.
And why? Out of a gut reaction to the atrocities he had merely considered committing? Yes, in his solitary exile, he had indeed conceived of the idea of absorbing as much AllSpark energy as possible by claiming it from the likes of Sari Sumdac, Soundwave, the Starscream clones, all those with unusually high concentrations of AllSpark energy. But he hadn't gone through with it. At least not in this timeline.
But apparently that was still too far. To merely consider the options arrayed before you. That was the problem with lesser minds. They could not detach themselves from their passions and approach a problem logically. Was it any wonder that in another time stream he had attempted to eradicate all other sentient life?
"Bulkhead's right", Ratchet was saying, "Let's get out of here. There's no point negotiating with these warped bots".
Ratchet and Bulkhead made to leave. Bumblebee and Arcee hesitated and then followed. Only Jazz and Optimus remained seated. Optimus was about to protest when Sari spoke up.
"Guys, come back. We've gotta get through this. If we don't this war's gonna keep going on forever".
"Sari, did you hear what he said?" Bumblebee shook his head, "He was planning to suck the life out of not just you, but Wreck-Gar, the Dinobots, so many bots-"
"None of that matters now. I learned that Megatron was a creep the hard way, but that doesn't mean all the Decepticons are the same", said Sari, remembering the very real grief she had witnessed in Slipstream when she had believed Soundwave to be dead, "Both sides deserve a chance at peace".
"And remember, Megatron isn't going to suffer the same fate as the one who became Gigatron. This timeline has been altered; he never fell into the madness that made Gigatron", said Optimus, biting his lower lip and praying what he was saying was true.
"Come on guys", Sari said pleadingly, "While we're arguing, Gigatron's plotting to pick us all off while Autobots and Decepticons are blasting each other to bits".
Strika transformed in a dramatic flourish, using the momentum she had gathered in her run-up to leap high above the battlefield. While in mid-pounce, she swivelled her cannons to angle down over her shoulders and open fire on Rodimus Prime.
Rodimus back-flipped away from the thunderous detonations of amethyst energy, strung his bow and fired at Strika as she swooped down towards him. His arrows lodged into her left shoulder, but she barely seemed to notice and Rodimus scattered to avoid the wrath of her landing.
Oil Slick, who had maintained his Earth vehicular mode out of preference, accelerated towards Ironhide, the electronic green eyes of the stylized ram's skull glinting at the waiting Autobot. Swerving out of the way in dramatic fashion, Oil Slick simultaneously launched a barbed chain from his engine-mounted storage canisters at Ironhide's legs. It wrapped tight around him and Oil Slick drove around Ironhide several times with incredible speed to wrap his legs up and topple the Autobot.
Writhing cables, dripping with orange slime, snaked from the stinking jaws of Spittor's Cybertronian walker mode and swept towards Brawn. The gruff Autobot swung with his fists but failed to repel the foul tongues, which wrapped around him, lashing his arms to his body, and dragged him towards the slavering maw of the Decepticon.
Blackout advanced on Red Alert and Hot Shot. From his enormous body came a great rumbling laugh: he spread his arms wide and flexed his claws. His small eyes glinted cruelly.
Hot Shot ignited his welding torches and grinned up at the towering Decepticon through the flickering pilot lights, "Ready to see some real action, nurse-bot?"
Red Alert flicked a switch on her hard light generator, altering its settings so that a moment's notice it could spit a thousand hard light needles at blistering velocity, "I'll try not to leave you in the dust, squirt", she sniffed.
At the sight of their weapons Blackout halted his advance, but only so that he could prepare his own arsenal. Like Oil Slick he had also maintained his Earth mode, and as such the weapons that sprouted from their sheaths had a distinctly human aesthetic to them. Twin rotary cannons mounted on each forearm, another pair installed on the shoulders, back-mounted missile launchers and finally a launcher for a wicked bladed disc that was bigger than either of the Autobots.
Hot Shot studied the impressive ordnance on display then glanced at Red Alert, "Fall back?"
She nodded, "Maybe just a little".
The negotiations had been going on for some time now. Optimus and Megatron were doing all the talking. It all concerned the preservation of the boundaries between the Autobot Commonwealth and the Decepticon Empire. Occasionally Ratchet, Jazz or Arcee would speak up on the Autobot behalf, or sometimes Starscream or Blackarachnia would counsel Megatron, but for the most part the two leaders conducted the talks, outlining withdrawing troops from various sectors of space and opening up spacing routes.
It had been nearly two hours, and Bumblebee was squirming uncomfortably in his seat. He had been horrified to learn of Sari's fate in the alternate timestream, but unlike Bulkhead it was no longer troubling him because he could see it wasn't bothering Sari and he knew she could take care of herself. Now he was just bored and he struggled to stop himself from fidgeting. He happened to lock eyes with Blitzwing, and to Bumblebee's surprise the Decepticon smiled ever so slightly and rolled his non-monocled optic. So he was bored too.
"Optimus, I'm gonna have to cut in here", Blackarachnia said, interrupting him and getting everyone's attention in the process, "You're wasting everyone's time picking over the microscopic details of a treaty that isn't going to mean anything".
"It's not?" Starscream asked, puzzled.
"Of course not. Am I right?" Blackarachnia leered at Optimus.
He looked back at her coolly, "In a way. A treaty is needed to establish some stability, but you're essentially right in that I want to take this beyond a truce. I want to make it an alliance".
Lugnut grunted in surprise. Arcee gasped. Ratchet spluttered in wordless outrage.
"A full-fledged military alliance, with all the benefits and obligations that would come with it?" Megatron said as if the idea had only just occurred to him, although in fact he had known it was a possibility from the moment he had rescued Optimus Prime and Soundwave from their dungeon and the two of them had told him about Gigatron.
"Yes. That would include access to Cybertron for the duration of the Gigatron Crisis".
"Now hold on a nanoklik, Prime..." began Bulkhead.
"Slag it, Bulkhead, this is not the time to argue!" Optimus barked, surprising his friends with the intensity of his sudden anger, "You don't know what we're dealing with, and I do! If we refuse to co-operate with the Decepticons out of pride then our only reward is going to be Cybertron, Earth and every planet in the galaxy being reduced to ashes!"
While his friends recoiled in shock, Optimus recalled what Megatron had said to him on Falkon V.
A true hero is one who is willing to make a true sacrifice for his cause. He must be willing to sacrifice his pride, his lesser ideals, his own followers, his morality...A true hero must be willing to do the unspeakable for his cause. The unthinkable.
Is this how it begins? Optimus wondered, Maybe I'm wrong and I've already started down that path.
But to his relief Jazz nodded, "O.P's right. We fuss and feud and the galaxy's screwed. Besides, Prime's Supreme Commander of the Autobots now. What he says goes, dig?"
"Maybe, Jazz, but I want to know I have my friend's support before I go ahead with this", Optimus looked at them, "So? Do I?"
One by one they nodded.
"I hate to interrupt your little altercation", said Megatron, "But I'm eager to draw up terms for this alliance. And the sooner we declare it, the sooner our troops disengage from combat. And you agree to make Cybertron our base of action, Optimus Prime?"
"For the duration of the crisis".
"Of course. Then let's sign this treaty".
Brawn jammed his feet against Spittor's lower jaw and with his hands he kept the upper jaw pried open. He groaned and grunted as he strained to keep the jaws from closing on him and the metallic tongues from dragging him into the waiting soup of foul chemicals.
Oil Slick flexed his claws and raised them for the killing blow, aiming for Ironhide's vitals. Rodimus, who had thus far kept just out of range of the barrage of laserfire launched from Strika's cannons, took a blast to the right shoulder and was flung violently to the floor.
Bitterly, Rodimus reflected on their situation as he crawled for his bow. It was their second skirmish with Team Chaar and they had been defeated once again. Sure, the Cons were a little more scarred and dented this time around, but was that all their increased experience amounted to?
Blackout had finally cornered Red Alert and Hot Shot. He trained all of his excessive firepower upon them and the weapons whined as they powered up for a final, punishing salvo.
"Time to go boom, puny Autobots", Blackout snorted.
Clutching at Red Alert, Hot Shot gulped, "I guess this is it, nurse-bot!"
"Doc, not nurse! And I guess you're right", Red Alert shuddered, "Looks like this is goodbye, squirt".
The muzzles of Blackout's cannons began to revolve; Hot Shot couldn't take his eyes off them. Just a few more rotations and it would be lights out. He waited for the killing blast.
It never came.
Blackout grunted, surprised, and turned away. He pressed his claws to the side of his head, activating his commlink. Hot Shot dared a glance around and noticed all of the other Cons were doing the same.
Strika's eyes widened as she heard Megatron's message, "Attention Decepticons, this is Megatron. All combatants are to stand down immediately".
"No! Not again!" Strika roared.
The commlinks of the Autobots vibrated too, and they heard the voice of Optimus Prime say:
"Autobots, I have good news. A truce has been reached with the Decepticons. You are to disengage from battle immediately. The Decepticons have orders to do the same. All Autobots on active duty are ordered to immediately return to the Cybertron".
For a moment Autobot and Decepticon alike listened to their commlinks in silence, their battle forgotten. When it was over they looked at one another, somewhat chastened.
"So...seems we've got to return to Cybertron", Rodimus said.
"Yes. And we are to do the same", muttered Strika.
"Too bad you bots blew up our ship".
"Well..." sighing, Strika clutched at her forehead, "It looks like you bots need to catch a lift with us then, doesn't it?"