Disclaimer: Sorry, but I don't have anything particularly clever to say. So here's another chapter for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Chapter XXV
Walking alone through the corridors of the Decepticon's warship, Sentinel Prime couldn't shake the words of Ultra Magnus out of his head, instead dwelling on them constantly. Coward. Pathetic. It was the basest sentimentality. Sentinel tried to tell himself, what did Magnus know? He never encountered the Fallen like Sentinel did. He couldn't ever comprehend the sheer scope of something so purely evil. Sentinel made the claim that submission over oblivion was preferable. That was the main reason why he chose to serve Fallen. It was the right call. So, why was Sentinel starting to question himself? Why did he feel as if his conviction was waning? Sentinel was so consumed with these thoughts that he didn't realize that Prowl was approaching.
Compared to Sentinel Prime, whose resolve was seemingly and steadily crumbling, Prowl had become fully devoted ever since the Fallen brought him back online. Unlike Sentinel, Prowl was convinced he was doing the right thing since he believed that the Autobots had weakened in their own convictions. He didn't think he was wrong, yet he didn't care whether or not he'd be justified in the end. He did believe the Autobots still needed a strong leader and not a punk like Hotrod. And, since Optimus Prime was still comatose and Ultra Magnus was locked up, that left only Sentinel Prime. Maybe it was coincidence for Prowl, but Sentinel Prime was right in front of him walking in the opposite direction.
"Sentinel," Prowl called out, stopping Sentinel where he stood. "Starscream has taken command of the Decepticons and Galvatron is out of the picture, at least for the moment."
Sentinel didn't immediately respond as he was contemplating. He then asked, "What about the Matrix?"
"Starscream has it. He's also acquired materials to build a portable version of a Space Bridge," Prowl explained. "He's having Soundwave locate a suitable focal point for it installation," Prowl waited for a response from Sentinel but so far received none. "Sentinel?"
"Why are we here, Prowl," Sentinel rhetorically asked. "We're Autobots. We're supposed to be the protectors, the defenders against those who would bring harm to the universe. Yet, we've brought harm to Earth instead with the threat of unleashing the Fallen. We brought harm by siding with the Decepticons and murdering our own allies. I can't help but wonder; are we the ones that have truly fallen?"
Prowl stepped to Sentinel Prime's side and coldly replied, "We are not."
"How can you be certain of that," Sentinel asked. "We both have the energon fluid of countless Cybertronians on our hands, Autobot and Decepticon alike. There's no redemption for our sins."
"That's where you're wrong; you've killed Autobot and Decepticon alike while I've only ever killed Decepticons." Prowl claimed.
"What about the female you killed," Sentinel pointed out. "She herself was an Autobot."
"She was a pretender. I did what the other Autobots were too foolish not to do by putting that little abomination down," Prowl claimed. "As for my joining the Decepticons, I only joined up because the Fallen brought me back so I can deliver the Matrix to them."
"And, what do you think the Fallen will do to you, or me or any of the Decepticons and Autobots once he's been released," Sentinel asked. "The chaos and carnage that will likely follow; all of that we'll be on our shoulders."
"You think I care what the Fallen does upon his release," Prowl snapped. "He can go ahead and raze the entire frakking universe. I could give a damn less about it," With that, Prowl stormed off but then stopped. Without turning around to face Sentinel, he asked, "What's it matter to you anyway? Your hands are just as stained as mine; more so."
"You're one to talk, Prowl," Sentinel Prime countered. "At least I can acknowledge my transgressions, unlike you."
Prowl turned his head and shoulder around to shoot a glare at Sentinel Prime. Sentinel could make out the violet glow of Prowl's optics, which confirmed his complete affiliation with the Fallen. There was no immediate confrontation beyond the stare down before Prowl stormed off. This left Sentinel Prime alone once again to contemplate the recent path he'd taken to get to this point in time. He was starting to think that Ultra Magnus was right about him; Sentinel was a coward or least becoming one. He saw no way to prove anything to the contrary, and that may very well make him a worse monster than the Fallen.
Down on Earth in the Oregon landscape, several miles away from the disused and wrecked Space Bridge, a metallic forearm was jutting out of the resultant rubble of a rockslide. Two alien spacecrafts descended upon the site and transformed into Cyclonus and Sixshot respectively. Cyclonus landed rather gingerly as he was still nursing a couple of the more minor injuries caused by Starscream. Starscream had the audacity to exile him from the Decepticons for speaking out against him. Sixshot had been tasked with getting rid of Cyclonus but had instead chose to desert the Decepticons as a whole. It was no different from his late brother Quickswitch had done. When Cyclonus asked of his reasons, Sixshot made it known that he had no respect for Starscream whatsoever and would rather toss himself into a black hole than follow him.
That in itself was perfectly fine with Cyclonus and he surmised it would be just as fine with Galvatron, assuming they could locate him. It was a stroke of good fortune that they happened on their missing leader's current location. It was hard to miss once they noticed his forearm sticking out of the rubble. Cyclonus and Sixshot began removing stone after stone since pulling Galvatron out too soon would lead to his arm getting ripped off. After a few stones were taken away, the arm started moving back and forth and Cyclonus took it in his hand. He pulled as hard as he could without causing further damage and eventually managed to pull Galvatron free of the rubble. Galvatron collapsed to the ground a battered mess but still functional.
"Galvatron," Cyclonus said. "You still function." Cyclonus was met with a hard punch to the face from Galvatron.
Galvatron sat up and scowled, "Of course I still function, you idiot. That's more than I can say for Starscream when I choke the life out of him."
"That might be a problem," Sixshot stated. "Starscream's in control of the troops. Last I heard, he was planning to build a machine to open a portal using the Matrix as a power source."
"He intends to release the Fallen and his store of Dark Energon" Galvatron concluded. "That moron hasn't the slightest idea what he's doing," Galvatron began walking but he had a noticeable limp. "The mere thought of Dark Energon has made him deluded if he wasn't already. I think it's high time I put him out of my misery." Then Galvatron dropped to his knees.
Cyclonus was at his side quickly. "Lord Galvatron, you're injured. You need to be repaired as soon as possible."
"I'll go for repairs when I have Starscream's head in my hand."
"Either that, or Starscream might end having your head in his hand," Sixshot pointed out. "You might be better off taking a rest, boss."
Galvatron wasn't going to listen, that much Cyclonus and Sixshot knew. He was vertical but dazed. His will was strong as ever even if his body had seen better day. He needed to be repaired and he knew it but he just didn't care. He took a few steps forward even though he could barely keep his own balance, walking like he was punch-drunk. Then he finally collapsed to the ground, a faint whiff of dust shooting up from where he fell. Cyclonus and Sixshot helped Galvatron to his feet. Cyclonus held Galvatron while Sixshot assumed his off-road vehicle form. Instead of allowing himself to be hauled around, Galvatron decided to retain his dignity and assume his alternate flight form. He took off toward the sky but wavered almost immediately. Cyclonus assumed alt form and took, taking position beside Galvatron while Sixshot remained on the ground in his off-road form.
"What is the plan, Galvatron?" Cyclonus asked.
Galvatron was having trouble staying level but he was able to answer, "We'll wait for Starscream to make his move, and then I'll personally tear his Spark out from his chassis."
"What about Sentinel Prime?" Cyclonus asked.
"Him," Galvatron said. "The Autobots can have the leftovers."
On the Revenge, Starscream was roaming around the bridge of the great warship and waiting for confirmation from Soundwave. The bridge suddenly fell dark, and Starscream knew full well who it was. "And, here we go!" he muttered.
The familiar visage of the fluctuating Decepticon insignia that represented the Fallen appeared, his violet eyes glowing. "Starscream, I am growing impatient." he stated.
"It won't be that much longer, Fallen. I assure you," Starscream claimed as he concealed a hint of trepidation from the Fallen. "Soundwave is currently searching for a suitable point from which I might set up my miniature Space Bridge. Once it's been installed, it will use the power of the Matrix to rip open a portal in space and time, from which you shall finally appear."
"The galaxy shall reap the whirlwind I will bring down upon it. Unicron sought only to consume everything until there was nothing left," the Fallen stated. "I will instead eradicate the descendants of the Primes and reshape the galaxy in my image."
"Ahem, what of your promise, Fallen," Starscream brazen asked. "If this Dark Energon is as formidable as you suggest, I believe I might be entitled to my share of it."
The image fluctuated further, as though the Fallen had become annoyed by Starscream's ranting. "I honor my word, Starscream. Be certain that you honor yours. Do that and the Dark Energon will be yours to do with as you see fit. And, you will be a king."
"I look forward to it, Fallen," Starscream said as the Fallen vanished and the darkness lifted. "Fool!"
"Starscream," Soundwave suddenly called out. "A location has been determined."
Starscream approached the console were Soundwave was seated. "Show me." he said.
Soundwave worked the console until a holographic map appeared on the view screen. It was an overhead shot colored in red of a wide open space with varying shapes. So Soundwave worked the console a bit more and the image reset itself in a three dimensional states. The various shapes shown resemble buildings of varied sizes, some low to the surface and others stretching toward the top of the image. It was clear that the image resembled a city of some form, certainly not unlike the ruined cities of Cybertron. It was a human city that much was clear. Starscream consider it feeble. Obviously, the humans had no sense of ingenuity. But his opinion changed once Soundwave highlighted a particular structure; an elongated tower stretching straight up toward the sky with a saucer-like section on the top. Starscream was studying this structure closely and he mused that it closely resembled the main towering sky scrapers of Cybertron.
"What sort of structure is this, Soundwave?" Starscream asked.
"The structure is known as the Space Needle of the human city of Seattle," Soundwave said in his usual monotonous voice. "It is approximately 605 ft. from ground level to its highest point and 138 ft. in width. Estimated weight is 9,550 tons."
"Looks kind of stupid if you ask me." Barricade said. Obviously, no one was asking him.
"That will do," Starscream said with a smirk before pressing a switch on the console. "All Decepticons, this is Lord Starscream; prepare for descent over the human city of Seattle. Misfire and Slugslinger, secure Ultra Magnus and the human scientist in their cells. Make certain they don't try anything. Scourge, contact the Combaticons and have them converge on the city."
"Um, Starscream," Barricade said, to which Starscream shot a menacing glare at him. "Um, I mean Lord Starscream…"
"What?" Starscream bellowed.
"This city of Seattle; isn't it kind of close to Autobot City? Won't the Autobots notice our ship if…" Barricade's speech slowed to a crawl as Starscream loomed directly over him. "…if…our… ship is…"
Still looming like a shadow over Barricade, Starscream calmly stated, "Without a Prime to lead them, the Autobots haven't the slightest chance against, and even less once I release the Fallen over this pathetic planet. Now if you be so kind…" Starscream then lunged at Barricade and bellowed, "TAKE THE SHIP DOWN!"
Location: Seattle, Washington
An estimated 620,778+ humans populated the city of Seattle, a major coastal seaport. It was the largest city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest West Coast city north of San Francisco, California. Many of the populous often took to nicknaming Seattle the Emerald City. Its motto was The City of Goodwill. Like many of the populated city with the United States and in other cities around the world, Seattle had its fair share of historical monuments. The most notable of course was the Space Needle, a major landmark build during what the humans of Earth called the 1962 World's Fair. Naturally, people often flocked to the Space Needle because of its status as a tourist attraction.
Seattle had its fair share of sporting events, particularly the stadium known as Safeco Field. It was at this stadium the Seattle Mariners were currently in play against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. The current score was 13-9 in favor of the hometown. The current batter for the Mariners just struck the ball from the pitcher for the Blue Jays, a loud crack echoing through the stadium. It wasn't a homerun but it was enough to get the batter bolting from one base to the next. The Seattle faithful went nuts for their home team.
A young child of 6 years or more rested in the arms of her father, a long time Mariners fan. He wore a Mariner jersey and baseball cap. She too wore a slightly smaller cap. It was quite cute. But her attention wasn't on the game. She was looking up toward the mostly cloudy sky. An unusual looking shadow loomed overhead above the cloud. Then there was a faint humming sound that grew louder ever so slightly. Every fan in the stands around the field, the players on the field and even the announcers in the booth heard the hum and collectively gazed up toward the sky.
The shadowy object darkened as it descended from the cloud until it was revealed to be a massive ship. A smile appeared on the young girl's face. She'd never seen anything like what she was witnessing. Her father on the other hand, didn't like what he was seeing.
"Daddy, what is that?" the girl asked.
"I wish I knew, sweetheart." The father answered. He really did wish he knew.
Then without warning, a streak of violet light jolted out from the ship. The light reached the farthest part of the stadium which upon impact, exploded in a massive fireball. Any people in the stand were likely incinerated in the blaze while all around the rest of the stadium, others scrambled to get clear. More blasts rained down from the ship, impacting the field itself and killing several of the players there. Then several objects came from out of the ship. They appeared to resemble aircraft, though most of them appeared more alien than anything. The lone exception was a single military-looking aircraft that fired down on the stadium and into the outside parking lot. Numerous parked cars were blown to bits by the F-22 Raptor and its flanking alien partners.
The Raptor, clearly Starcream, shouted out, "Decepticons: attack."
Elsewhere, a massive artillery vehicle was rumbling through the street. The Seattle Police were on hand to stop the monster before it suddenly opened fire on them. Several officers were killed instantly were the rest scattered. In another part of the city, several police cars were blown away by a huge Army tank and smaller military jeep. Making matters worse, a grayish military helicopter and a shuttle descended from above, blasting anything in sight. In a matter of moments, anything from parked vehicles to department stores to parks was burning. People were scattering through the street as the five military vehicles suddenly began changing shape.
More police officers flooded the street to try to hold off the invaders while trying to get citizens off the street. The five invaders began to merge into a hulking mass of metal, which began stamping away at anything that moved. The police continued to shoot at the beast but they really were making little progress against it. Then the beast let out a roar before unleashing a wall of flame on the hapless humans.
"Stupid humans! No one stops Bruticus."
The Revenge was brought about to hovering near the Space Needle. Sentinel Prime, Prowl and Mindwipe descended from the warship to the top of the structure. The saucer section creaked slightly from the weight of the robots standing on it. Starscream made a flyby toward to the safety railing and eject Gregory Swafford from his cockpit. From there, Gregory saw the full extent of the Decepticon's assault on Seattle. Starscream assumed proto form and hovered in midair, marveling at the destruction he and the Decepticons had caused. Scourge, Misfire and Slugslinger were all performing bombing runs on the city. While Starscream had an evil grin on his face, Gregory wasn't so cheerful.
"What the hell are you doing, Starscream? This is too much." he shouted.
"This is a thing of beauty; a work of art." Starscream exclaimed gleefully.
"This is fucking insane." Gregory shouted.
Starscream lunged toward Gregory, forcing the human back against the glass of saucer section. "You're here at the moment as a courtesy to me. So unless you want to a one way trip down to ground level, you'll shut your mouth," Starscream turned to Mindwipe and said, "Mindwipe, take him back to the Revenge and have he continue constructing the device with Soundwave."
"As you command, Lord Starscream." Mindwipe said and grabbed Gregory before flying back to the Revenge.
"See that," Starscream said to Sentinel Prime and Prowl. "That is loyalty and I expect loyalty from all of my subjects, especially from you, Sentinel Prime."
"I'm not one of you subjects, Starscream. I am a Prime, and do not take orders from you." Sentinel Prime declared.
"Maybe not now, Sentinel, but when I release the Fallen and he imbues me with that precious Dark Energon, you won't have that choice," Starscream snarled while he was right in Sentinel's face. "In the meantime," he then said and handed the Matrix to Sentinel. "You can hold on to this."
Sentinel was wondering what sort of game Starscream was now playing as he reluctantly took the Matrix. He didn't attempt to place it into his chassis since it would likely reject him as its keeper. Starscream smirked wickedly before he assumed alt form and took off to rejoin the assault on the city. All the devastation he was witnessing; it reminded him of Cybertron. It reminded Sentinel of the type of devastation he himself had caused. It was a grim reminder of how far he'd fallen. But there was perhaps nothing he could do. All he could seemingly do was watch as the Decepticons continued their assault on the human city of Seattle. The occupation had begun.
Location: Autobot City
Hours after the Decepticon's initial attack, several of the Autobots and their human allies were watching a visual of the carnage brought down into Seattle. As they watched the image, Blur and Sandstorm appeared and Kup was the first to acknowledge them. "Blur, you find any sign of Hotrod? Anything at all?"
"We-didn't-find-anything-Kup. Not-a-word-not-exhaust-not-a-loose-tailpipe. Nothing-nothing-nothing." Blur chatted away.
"Yeah," Sandstorm concurred. "I mean, it's as if Hotrod doesn't want to be found. I' can't believe that's the same Autobot that convinced me to join up."
"We-can-keep-searching-until-the-space-slugs-worm-back-home. We'll-just-never-ever-ever-ever-find-him." Blur added.
"Easy, Blur." Arcee said.
Kup sighed in frustration and turned to Cerebros. "Cerebros, can you try tapping into his comm. kink and tracking his energon signature?"
"I keep trying to tap his comm. link but it's pretty obvious that he shut it off. And I can't track his energon signature, which means he must well out of range of the city's sensors." Cerebros explained.
"Yeah, that's pretty what I said, Cerebros." Sandstorm quipped.
"Hey, he don't wanna be found, I say let him rust out there." Rattletrap said.
"In case you didn't notice, Rattletrap, there's a human city under Decepticon control right now." Arcee said.
Rattletrap nonchalantly said, "So what?"
"Seriously," Arcee snapped. "The humans need our help."
"I didn't see them helping us out, cheerleader femmebot." Rattletrap snapped back.
"That's enough, both of you," Elita One shouted. "Look, one way or another, we've got to find some way to stop the Decepticons, rescue Ultra Magnus and get the Matrix. Cerebros, you keep trying to locate Hotrod through the systems."
"What're you going to do?" Sandstorm asked.
"I'm going to search for Hotrod the old fashioned way; with my optics." Elita said.
"Elita," Daniel suddenly called out. "This might be a long shot, but I think I've got an idea of where Hotrod might be. I'm going with you."
"You're not the only one." said Verity, to which Daniel crack a light smile.
"Let's go." Elita One.
Major Lennox and Marissa were the humans watching the chaos in Seattle, along with Jessica Morgan. Marissa suddenly received a call on his private comm. link. She recognized the caller's name and mused, "Oh shit!"
What's wrong?" Lennox asked.
Marissa stated much to her chagrin, "It's a call from General Morshower. Somehow, I doubt this is going to be good."
Author's note: This is where I end this chapter. I think it's safe to assume that the final battle is approaching with the Decepticons taking over Seattle, similar to how they took over Chicago in "Dark of the Moon."
I picked Seattle's Space Needle since it sort of had a very Cybertron-like feel to it.
I'm pretty sure that Starscream is well on his way to going mad with power, as always, while Sentinel is questioning himself further. Tell me please what you think.