Chapter 25: Hollow
Sentinel Prime's shoulder missiles fired.
Megatron dove out of the way as they hit the ground and exploded behind him.
"Hang on Megatron!" Brawl shouted.
"No!" Megatron put up a hand. "HE'S MINE!"
There was a blast, and Megatron was thrown off his feet, and sent crashing against the ground. Another set of cannons he had not accounted for.
"I see you've been upgraded already." Sentinel noticed. "But this suit was a joint project designed by Wheeljack and Brainstorm. It's a bit...out of your league."
Megatron got up slowly, spitting out energon as he looked up at sentinel.
"We'll see."
He charged forward, unleashing his flail, and slammed it against one of Sentinel's shoulder missile launchers, breaking it off.
"You didn't pay them very much to build it did you?" Megatron asked, punching against the armored metals. "It feels cheap."
Sentinel backhanded him across the face, sending the mech scraping across the surface again.
"You have spark, son." Sentinel said, lumbering over, as Megatron struggled to stand. "I have to admit...after that first time meeting you...I never would've guessed you'd have this in you."
He slammed his armored foot down on Megatron's back, pinning him against the ground, and sending pain shooting through the mech's body.
"But beating up on thugs in a gladiator ring doesn't make you a Prime." He taunted, slamming his foot down on Megatron again.
Megatron began to laugh weakly, as he struggled under the weight of Sentinel and his armor.
"Something funny?" Prime asked.
"You think...I wish to be a Prime?!" Megatron asked.
He raised his arm to reveal a fully charged fusion cannon.
"I only wish to kill one."
He fired, the shot tearing through Sentinel's armor, and sending him staggering back, shards of the armor falling uselessly aside.
Megatron stood up, a demented grin on his face.
"Look at you. So afraid."
He charged forward, and jumped up, punching Sentinel across the face. Sentinel swiped at him, but Megatron ducked, plunging his fist into the Silver armor and ripping another chunk of it out.
"All this armor does is slow you down sentinel. You actually managed to make this easier for me."
He spun around and kicked Sentinel across the face again, cracking his faceplate.
Sentinel was dazed, and before he could recover, another fusion cannon blast, this one destroying his right arm at the shoulder.
The shot went clean through the armor, and had blasted apart Sentinel's own arm underneath. He let out a cry of pain and sank to the ground, his arm falling uselessly aside.
"Enough!" He shouted, firing missiles that went off in different directions.
"Oh no Prime. I'm just getting started." Megatron hissed.
"Stay seated!" Rumble shouted, punching one of the senators across the face.
"Anyone who attempts to leave will find it futile." Soundwave stated.
"But do please try." Starscream added, grinning as he waved his null rays around.
Shockwave had the attention of the senate as he strode through.
"My honored colleagues. I remember when I sat in these very seats with you." He said, optic gazing out at them. "I remember when you dismissed my science, dismissed my contributions. I remember...your attempt to silence me. You took my face...my hand..." He looked down at his blaster.
"But you can never touch my mind." He hissed. He looked at Proteus. "You thought you would never have to deal with me in these chambers again. You tried to blind me but instead...I can see. Clearer than ever before. I see the truths to what Cybertron is, and what Cybertron needs." He looked out at the panicked faces, and raised his blaster.
"It has been an honor serving you all. But unfortunately, for Cybertron to live...you all must die."
Proteus pulled out a gun.
"Terminate them." Soundwave droned.
His minions charged into crowd, Rumble pounding a Senator into the ground, as Ravage ripped off the head of another.
Proteus turned and headed for the exit, as senators died around him.
There was a loud blast, and purple light burst through the side of his chest, sending debris across the floor. Energon sprayed across the wall.
Proteus collapsed to the ground, gripping his frame. He looked down at the hole in his chest, optics wide. Then he looked at his own energon spattered across the wall, the deep burn masking his fading spark.
"Senator." Shockwave called, his blaster hand smoking.
Proteus turned to face him.
"Shockwave...Senator Shockwave...please..."
"I am no Senator..." Shockwave replied, walking towards Proteus slowly, as he tried to crawl away. "You destroyed Senator Shockwave. And I am grateful for that." Shockwave raised his blaster hand. "But I am ashamed to admit...killing you will bring me some measure of...personal satisfaction."
He fired, blasting apart Proteus's head, sending energon spraying across the wall.
The headless functionist dropped limp to the ground, his body quickly graying.
"Not logical, I know." Shockwave lamented.
"Megatron!" Starscream screamed into the comm. "We have neutralized the senate!"
Megatron barely heard him. He was beating down on sentinel, tearing out chunk after chunk of his battle armor, hurling pieces aside.
He ripped the main section aside, then pulled Sentinel out of the suit, and hurled him against the ground.
Sentinel pulled out a blaster and turned, but Megatron fired first, his fusion cannon tearing through Sentinel's midsection.
Sentinel let out a cry as debris exploded from his frame, red and yellow metal fragments falling all around him.
He collapsed to the ground, letting out angry groans.
"You...you can't win...Cybertron will never accept a terrorist like you." He spat.
"Is that so?" Megatron asked.
He looked up at the billboard screen that hung near the middle of the broadcast tower.
"I want you to see this, Prime." He said, gesturing to it. "The results are in."
Sentinel weakly leaned over to glare at the billboard.
Sentinel Prime:
The numbers were quickly tallied, and then, revealed on the screen.
48% approval.
"Not...terrible." Megatron said, with a smirk.
Megatron:
The screen flickered multiple times as the votes were counted.
And underneath Sentinel's 48%, a 52% appeared.
Sentinel stared at it in disbelief.
"Wow." Megatron mused. "A terrorist...a terrorist who you claim will never be accepted by your people...is 4% more popular than you."
"Impossible..." Sentinel muttered.
"Oh no." Megatron replied. "Numbers never lie, Prime. Now, it's time I carry out the will of the people..."
He deployed his energon flail, and walked towards the downed Prime.
"Wait..." Sentinel muttered. "I need to know..." he looked up at him, and suddenly looked deep in thought. An idea flickering across his face. "Why are you doing this?"
Megatron frowned.
"You know why. To overthrow your tyranny. To end functionism."
"No." Sentinel replied. "You're a liar Megatron. It's because of Messatine, isn't it?"
Megatron's optics narrowed.
"No."
"Terminus. Wasn't that his name? I mentioned him in your last interrogation and..." Sentinel trailed off, coughing up energon. "You bristled. You're doing this to avenge him aren't you?"
"He's always been part of it." Megatron snarled. "But this is about more than that, it always has been." He raised the flail. "I won't lie Sentinel, thinking of you massacring my brothers and my master on Messatine will bring me some satisfaction from ending you..."
Sentinel began to laugh. "But...my dear humble miner...I was never on Messatine. I didn't lead those enforcers."
Megatron cocked his helm. He had expected something from Sentinel, but not this.
"Of course you did. Who else would have?!"
"Why, Prowl of course!" Sentinel hissed. "Your co-conspirator. Didn't he tell you?"
Megatron's optics widened, the flail still dangling. His mind trying to simultaneously assess and block the new information.
"No."
Sentinel let out a giggle.
"Oh sweet Primus! He never told you! And Orion didn't tell you either?!" He asked, laughing childishly, like he was part of an inside joke not understood. "WOW! Some friends, eh? You'd think giving the order to kill your mentor might come up in conversation!"
Megatron shook his head slowly, repeatedly, and let out an annoyed growl.
"You're a liar." He snarled.
"Am I? Or did you trust the wrong people?" Sentinel teased. "Look it up later. I never set foot on Messatine." He began to laugh, panic and amusement mixed into an unhinged, desperate laugh. "You're a gullible one aren't you? Hilarious that these lost people trust you, when you don't even know who to trust!"
"ENOUGH!" Megatron let out a roar and brought the flail crashing down on Prime's Head.
The laughing ended instantly.
He reared back and hit him again, and again, and again, until there wasn't a head left to smash. He punched the ground in confused rage, energon covering his frame.
He closed his optics and folded the flail away, as his decepticons gathered around.
He looked up at the rain as it poured down. It poured on his frame, and the graying, headless form of the fallen Prime.
Victory. It could not be denied. The senate was gone. Sentinel Prime was dead.
He opened his comm link.
"Orion. It's over. The senate and Prime are dead. It is time to come home." He said, in what almost sounded like a command. His optics narrowed.