Disclaimer: In terms of milestones, Transformers: Return of the Primes hit at least two of them with 110 thousand words, making it the longest to date of my projects. It also amassed 72 reviews and counting.

(Falls over on table) Damn. You go ahead and read the next chapter while I pick up my rapidly growing head. I own nothing except my big head.


Chapter XXIX

Sky Lynx was still airborne with Silverbolt and Sandstorm fighting off Scourge, Misfire and Slugslinger. Inside if his Shuttle forms cockpit, Marissa and Lennox were strapped in as tightly as possible as Sky Lynx jerked to and fro. He was mostly dodging the attacks from Scourge and Slugslinger since Misfire's was constantly off. Jazz and Bumblebee were inside the module section of the Shuttle taking potshots at Misfire since he was effectively the weak link. Scourge and Slugslinger frequently tried to shoot down the large Autobot and even managed to graze his armored hull, but Silverbolt and Sandstorm repeatedly managed to push them back for minutes at a time. Inside of Sky Lynx, Marissa was sure she might've separated her shoulder with the jerking around Sky Lynx was doing. Lennox, on the other hand, appeared to be enjoying the ride. But then they noticed the swirling clouds directly above the Space Needle. A blue beam was shooting up from the Needle into the cloud.

"Good Lord, what in the name of God is that?" Marissa asked out loud.

"Your guess is as good as mine right now," Lennox replied. "Jazz, Bumblebee, you guys seeing this?"

In the module looking out the hatch, Jazz looked at the shrugging Bumblebee before replying to Lennox, "We're seein' it but still working on believin' it." Bumblebee added a quick beep and chirp.

The two Autobots, Silverbolt and Sandstorm, and the three Decepticons all assumed proto form and stood cold to watch a large number of object descending from the portal. Of the objects, tiny as it appeared, was heading for the group of Transformers. It was coming fast; very fast. Impossibly fast. As it was closing in on them, Scourge began to notice pockets of violet hue around it. It was getting closer and Scourge suddenly recognized the object to be the dearly departed Insecticon Shrapnel. It then shrieked as it was now within reach of the first Transformer in sight; Slugslinger. Without warning, the Darkened Shrapnel lunged and collided with Slugslinger and the momentum sent them both ground.

As the flyer looked on in shock, more of the Darkened came at them. They appeared to resemble dead Autobots as well as Decepticons, including the likes of Dreadwind, Blackout, Darkwing and the four Aerialbots that were recently killed by Sentinel Prime. Silverbolt was especially disturbed by the sight of his dead comrades suddenly acting like rabid animals. Then he was forced to shoot the nearest one, Slingshot. The Darkened Air Raid when right for Sandstorm, who was shooting at him frantically. Sandstorm was able to blow the creature's arm off but it only slowed it down.

Scourge and Misfire focused on the hulking, Darkened Black Out while Sky Lynx jetted away from the oncoming Darkened versions of Dreadwind, Darkwing, Sky Dive and Fireflight. Out of nowhere, the Darkened monstrosities that were once Kickback and Bombshell appeared in front of Sky Lynx and clung to his front hull. Marissa and Lennox had the creatures in full view of them when Jazz and Bumblebee got to the cockpit.

"Jazz, get Marissa and William out of here! Get them to the ground, now!" Sky Lynx shouted.

Without a word, Jazz and Bumblebee grabbed Marissa and Lennox from their seats and head back for the opened hatch. Sky Lynx was able to get low enough for Jazz and Bumblebee to jump from him. They quickly assumed alt form simultaneously with Marissa riding within Bumblebee and Jazz carrying Lennox. Sky Lynx pulled back up skyward with the Darkened creature scraping at his hull. Then he disappeared behind the nearest building.

More of the Darkened creatures descended from the portal above Seattle, every one of them having once been a living Cybertronian. Dozens, hundreds and even thousands of them hit the streets of the city and immediately began laying waste to whatever moved. On the ground after his plunge, Slugslinger rose up to his feet battered and beaten but managed to blow the Darkened Shrapnel's head off. But he suddenly confronted by the Darkened Demolisher and Wreckage and a Cybertronian he didn't recognize. They charged at him with reckless abandon, and Slugslinger fired on them. It wasn't enough and the unknown Darkened creature grabbed him. The Darkened Wreckage and Demolisher approached and they proceeded to tear Slugslinger apart.

As more of the Darkened were spreading out across the city and more still were emerging from out of the portal, Hotrod and his companions were watching it all happen in disbelief. They almost forgot about Sentinel Prime and the three Darkened creatures flanking him. Sentinel still had the violet light in his optics, which meant the Fallen was still in possession of him. The Darkened Ironhide, Ratchet, Skids and Skyquake were waiting for the Autobots to make their move, but they were too preoccupied by the Darkened descending onto Seattle.

"These things are going to run wild if they get loose," Hotrod said. "Autobots, converge on the city." In succession, the Autobots under Hotrod's command assumed their vehicle modes and raced back into the City.

The Darkened hoard followed while Sentinel fell to his knees again. He was again holding his head. "Get out of my head. Get out, now!"

"You will destroy them all, Sentinel Prime, or be destroyed with them." The Fallen threatened, and Sentinel's optic became violet again. He assumed his vehicle form and followed the Autobots into the city.

Meanwhile in the sky above, Galvatron and Starscream were still locked in combat, but Starscream was completely bewildered by what was happening in the city. "Look at this, Starscream," Galvatron shouted. "Look around you, look at what you've brought down on this planet. You think this insanity will end with your rule?"

"This… this wasn't," Starscream stammered before glaring at Galvatron. Then when a sick grin, Starscream blasted Galvatron with his Null Ray and catapulted him into the distance. "FALLEN… What madness is this," he shouted directly at the portal above the city. "Where is my Dark Energon?"

From deep inside the portal, a set of violet eyes appeared along with a large, shadowy figure. "You have played your part in this, Starscream, and I have delivered you the Dark Energon as was my word."

"You said you'd make me a king." Starscream bellowed in anger.

The Fallen was silent for a moment before he claimed, "And so you are a king," Then his shadowed visage became engulfed in flames. "A King of Fools!"

A beam of purple energy suddenly descended from the portal and struck Starscream before he had a chance to react. Starscream felt the searing heat from the blast for only a split-second, and his entire body was engulfed in a violet colored flame. The flame consumed him as he was immolated while he was still airborne. On the ground, Galvatron was recovering and watched Starscream suffer in the violet fire. Then the fire completely rendered Starscream ash gray. His body became inert and seemed to hang in the air before falling down to the city. There, his body hit the street with a heavy cloud of ash of which that was left of him.

Galvatron pulled himself up, having to use his sword for extra leverage. "Good riddance." he snarled.

When he turned around, Galvatron's optic pulsed crimson red. Standing across the way from him, covered in violet markings and holes but with a familiar silver color, was Megatron. It was the original form of Galvatron before Unicron reformatted him. The Darkened Megatron lurched toward Galvatron, wheezing with every step as it, not he, raised its cannon. Galvatron braced himself as the creature fired the cannon, and the recoiled caused the entire arm to fall off. Then Galvatron charged directly for the creature when out of nowhere, he was suddenly tackled to the ground. After throwing off his attack, Galvatron saw that was a Darkened Shockwave. Several more of the creatures descended, all of them resembling the deceased Stunticons and Slipstream. Galvatron charged the hoard.

At the same time, the Autobots were fighting off scores of the Darkened, many of them formerly Autobots themselves. Chromedome, Blur and Override took a series of shots at a group of Darkened that used to be the Protectobots. They concentrated on the nearest of the group, that being a Darkened Streetwise and managed to put it down. Then they targeted the Darkened Blades. Elita One and Kup focused on the Darkened husks of Hound, Inferno and Mirage, successfully putting Inferno down. The Darkened Hound went down soon after while Chromedome cleaved off the head of a lurching Hotspot.

During all this, Hotrod was still battling valiantly against Sentinel Prime, who was suddenly fighting with increasing fury. It was all Hotrod could do to keep up with the rogue Prime, but he could tell that Sentinel was struggling against himself. There were moments, brief moments, that Sentinel seemed to hesitate to finish the fight and Hotrod took advantage. It didn't last long, and Sentinel just seemed to fight even more furiously. Hotrod was losing ground fast. To make matters worse, the undead husks of Ironhide and Ratchet were approaching.

Before the creatures could close the distance, Jazz and Bumblebee roared into the fight. Jazz assumed proto form and quickly blasted the Darkened Ratchet first, blowing its leg away below the knee. Bumblebee finished by slicing the head clean off. The undead Ironhide lunged at Bumblebee before Chromedome rushed in literally tackled the creature. All throughout the chaos, there were still human beings trapped in the buildings. They watched the Autobots fight off these creatures but there was no way to get away from the madness. Marissa and Lennox made it into a department store filled with people; three of them were police officers who brought their side-arms out.

"Holster that gun, officer. We're on your side." Lennox said.

"I'm EDC Director Marissa Fairborne. Does anyone know another way out of this place?" Marissa out loud.

A hand raised up belonging to a young woman with black hair and in her late teen's. "There's… there's a backdoor leading to a subway below ground." she said.

"What's your name?" Marissa asked.

"Um… Mikaela." the girl said, clearly terrified.

"Mikaela, I need you to lead these people out of the store and below ground. These officers will protect until then." Mikaela explained, to which Mikaela nodded.

Lennox looked at one of the officer and said, "You, what's your name?"

"Sergeant Simmons, Third Precinct." he said.

"Sergeant, I need you and your officers to accompany these people to safety," Lennox said. "Do what you can to keep them off the streets."

The Sergeant nodded and gave his officer the signal. In time, they began to round up the people but Marissa noticed the girl, Mikaela, was shivering in fear. "Mikaela," Marissa said. "It's okay; you can do this."

"I'm so scared." Mikaela said.

"I know, but I need you to be strong and help get these people to safety. You can do it." Marissa reassured the girl.

Mikaela nodded her head while tears streamed down her face. "Today's my Birthday." she said before leaving with the rest of the group.

Marissa muttered, "Happy Birthday, Mikaela."


On the Revenge, Rattletrap was moving down the corridors of the ship as he searched for the main engine room. He managed to catch a glimpse of the chaotic scene in the city, where the Autobots and the Decepticons were fighting for their lives against hordes of undead Cybertronians. Rattletrap couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed on route to the engine room. He was being followed closely by Ravage, who was left on the ship by Soundwave. It was unbeknownst to both Rattletrap and Arcee, who was searching for Ultra Magnus, that Soundwave himself had returned to the ship.

Eventually, Rattletrap found his way to the main engine room. The core was a large, spherical object the appeared to be trembling at every moment that passed. It was about a large as a whole block of Autobot City and was littered with intake port around its surface. Rattletrap had seen better and set about priming the demo charge he was carrying with him. He stopped and briefly and looked around, thinking he'd heard something before going back to work. Ravage was stalking him from a nearby shadowed part of the engine room, watching Rattletrap closely. Rattletrap set the charge for a time delay of 10 minutes, more than enough time to bail from the ship before it blew.

"That wasn't so bad," he said and then turned around, right into a tail whip from Overkill. Rattletrap fell back into the railing, bending it back. "Me and my big mouth!"

Rattletrap recovered quickly just in time to see Overkill ready to charge in on him. He dodged to the side and let Overkill rush right by him, where Overkill went over the railing into the engine. Overkill was incinerated on contact. Rattletrap didn't have time to rest when Ravage started stalking him. Ravage was faster than Overkill; he could easily pounce and dodged the many shots that Rattletrap was trying to land with his laser weapon. When he found an opening, Ravage pounced on Rattletrap. Rattletrap was able to strike the Decepticon cat with the butt of his gun before making a break for it. Ravage slowly recovered and growled at the escaping Autobot and gave chase. As he left, Ravage never even bothered to notice the demo charge counting down.


On another part of the ship, Arcee, Daniel and Verity found their way to the entrance of the cell block. Ultra Magnus was likely in there somewhere. Arcee looked up at the ceiling for any form of surveillance within the area before very cautiously stepping into the block. Daniel and Verity stayed very close to Arcee as she checked cell after cell. Nearly every cell she checked was littered with the remains of various prisoners, and Arcee was hoping that Ultra Magnus wasn't one of them. It was unbeknownst to the trio however that Ratbat was in the cell block watching them and feeding a visual to the bridge.

Arcee stopped at one cell and peered inside of it, and she saw Ultra Magnus sitting on the floor still wearing the energon restraint. "Magnus…"

Ultra Magnus raised his head to see Arcee opening the cell force field. "What're you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

Arcee replied, "Getting you out," She worked on the restraint and quickly deactivated it. "We've got to bail; Rattletrap's rigging this ship to blow."

Ultra Magnus got up to his feet and noticed Daniel and Verity beside Arcee. "You brought the kids with you, Arcee?"

"My idea," Verity admitted. "Daniel insisted on tagging along, probably because he can't stop looking at my ass."

"Hey, I'm tagging along to keep you from getting killed, Verity. Besides, you're not my type." Daniel retorted.

"Yeah, like I'd ever go out with you." Verity countered.

"That's enough, you two. Let's go get Rattletrap and get the frak out of here." Ultra Magnus said, but no sooner had he spoken that Ratbat struck.

The bat-like Decepticon descended and fluttered around Magnus's face while Arcee tried to get a lock on it. Before she could get in a shot, she was caught in the back of leg by shot from Barricade. Arcee was able to spin around and take a shot back at Barricade, catching him in the shoulder. Barricade fell back holding his shoulder and fired another shot directly at Ultra Magnus, but Magnus was able to throw Ratbat right in the path of the blast. Ratbat was catapulted backwards to the floor and Ultra Magnus drove the heel of his foot down onto the Minicon, crushing and grinding him for good measure.

"Oh oh," Barricade muttered. "Soundwave is going to kill me." Then Barricade turned around and much to his chagrin, Soundwave was in fact right behind him. "Hey there, Soundwave!"

Arcee stood up with Magnus beside her and the kids hiding in Magnus's cell. "Well, that's going to be a problem."

"Nothing like having your back against the wall," Ultra Magnus said. "Let's just hope Rattletrap can find us before this ship blows."


The Autobots and Decepticons were struggling against the Darkened hordes both in the city and in the air. Even though the Wreckers and the Combaticons arrived to help, the hordes continued to come in droves. In the sky, Silverbolt, Sandstorm, Scourge and Misfire were joined by Vortex, Blast Off, Airazor and Stratosphere. They were desperately trying to fight of the Darkened Insescticons and Seekers that were flying by at breakneck speed. They had no idea what became of Sky Lynx when he vanished after being attacked by several of the undead. Mindwipe eventually joined in the fray to fight off the creatures even as more and more continued to pour out of the portal.

Galvatron was busy still fighting off his Darkened former identity of Megatron and the Darkened Shockwave. Cyclonus arrived and started cutting right through the Darkened Stunticons one by one. Surprisingly, the Autobots Chromedome and Override joined Galvatron and Cyclonus to fight off the Darkened Stunticons and Slipstream. The rest of the Autobots fought valiantly against the Darkened Tracks, Red Alert, Thrust and Dirge, who were joined by the Darkened Wreckage and Demolisher.

Elita One and Blur concentrated on the Darkened Wreckage and managed to rip it apart with a series of laser blasts. The Darkened Demolisher made its move before Jazz managed to rip its head off, but he was attacked by the Darkened Red Alert. Bumblebee managed to intervene and put the creature down before it could kill Jazz. Kup fought off the Darkened Thrust and Dirge alongside Drift and Roulette while Bulkhead and Depth Charge slashed and bashed through the Darkened Tracks and the remaining undead Protectobots Hotspot, Groove and First Aid.

"These things just keep coming." Bulkhead shouted.

After slicing Groove in half, Depth Charge replied, "So keep fighting!"

Bulkhead responded by pounding his mace into the face of the Darkened First Aid. Depth Charge cleaved Hotspot's left arm off but the undead former Protectobot kept lurching forward. Several of the undead Stunticons broke away from attacking Galvatron and Cyclonus and charged in on the two Wreckers. Out of nowhere, Sixshot appeared and blasted the undead Breakdown and Dead End. He joined Bulkhead and Depth Charge in fighting off the other creatures that were once Motor Master, Wild Rider and Dragstrip.

At the same time, Drift and Roulette were fighting back-to-back against oncoming waves of Darkened while Blur and Elita One focused fire on one target at a time. Jazz and Bumblebee used the same tactic to great effect, but more of the Darkened were still coming. They were becoming increasingly unrecognizable as they poured through the portal. Worse than that, they were becoming increasingly aggressive, acting more like wild animals. It wouldn't be long before they would eventually overwhelm the Transformers.

This reality wasn't lost on Gregory as he watched all the carnage unfold in horror. It was too much to take. It was also dawning on Gregory that the Transformers wouldn't survive this much carnage. He looked up at Prowl, who was still looking on indifferently as the Transformers were fighting for their lives. Then Gregory looked at the device while was still operating. He could see the Matrix in the base of the beam. If he could just get to it…

Before Gregory could make a move, Prowl stopped and grabbed him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Don't you see what's going on out there," Gregory asked. "This is too much; all of this is too much."

"This is exactly what the Fallen wants. The only thing that isn't needed any longer is you." Prowl stated before he dropped Gregory of the edge of the saucer.

Gregory began the long fall from the top of Space Needle to the ground below. It would be quick and painless, but Gregory would see the ground coming. Gregory closed his eyes to avoid having the ground as being the last sight he ever had. Instead of hitting the ground, Gregory landed halfway in something else. It felt like steel, cold and hard and it hurt terribly but wasn't fatal. He still landed awkwardly on his shoulder and was holding it, but he was still breathing. Something had to have caught as he fell, but what…

Then he opened his eyes and saw a massive figure looking down at him. The sun was gleaming behind the figure as if it were some divine light. The light blinded Gregory so he was unable to accurately make out any details of his apparent rescuer. But there was something very familiar about it. Gregory at least knew he was in on the palm of a great hand, the same that saved him from certain death. It lowered to the ground, allowing Gregory to reach the ground and to walk on his own. Gregory cringed as he held his shoulder before looking back to see the figure had gone. All he saw was a huge long-nose Peterbilt semi-truck rumbling away from him and toward the city.

Back in the heart of the city, Hotrod continued to struggle against Sentinel Prime, who was still struggling against himself and the Fallen's influence of him. It either weakened or made him more desperate. Either way, Hotrod continued to fight not just for his life, but the lives of every living being on Earth and the galaxy at large. He saw a moment to strike when Sentinel hesitated again, and he lunged forward with his arm blades extended out in front of him. Sentinel saw it coming and sidestepped and then drove his knee into Hotrod's face. Foregoing his sword, Sentinel took to straight out pummeling Hotrod. He drove his fist into Hotrod's chassis before tripping him up and sending him to the ground on all fours. Then he kicked Hotrod in the side as Hotrod tried to stand again.

Hotrod struggled to move when he started gazing around the battlefield. He could see the Autobots, his friends, fighting valiantly alongside their enemies, the Decepticons, against a common threat. The scope dawned on Hotrod as the Darkened hordes pressed their rabid advance. He watched as Chromedome was the first to fall to the horde. He had protected Override from being torn apart by an unrecognizable Darkened creature; he was in turn impaled from behind by a second creature and finally brought down by another creature.

Across the way from that, Mindwipe fell after being dismembered by several creatures at once. In the sky above, Misfire and Sandstorm were overwhelmed by the flying versions of the Darkened, while back on the ground, Sixshot fought ever so fiercely against an overwhelming force of the Darkened. He was literally buried alive as the creatures torn him apart. Hotrod was still trying to rise to his feet, to continue the fight even as his allies were dying around him. As he did this, Sentinel kicked him to his back and pinned him with his heel. His sword deployed, Sentinel reared back to deliver the killing blow.

"Sentinel, don't do this. The Fallen's controlling you," Hotrod pleaded. "You've got to fight him."

Sentinel reared his sword back a bit further but again struggled against himself, against the Fallen. But when he next spoke, it wasn't Sentinel. "Sentinel Prime belongs to me."

Hotrod knew he tried his damnedest to get through to Sentinel Prime. No one would blame him. The Fallen had Sentinel almost completely enthralled, and right now, Sentinel was priming for the final strike. Hotrod knew it was coming but he didn't flinch. He'd fought hard knowing it would come down to this. He'd fought bravely with every ounce of his being. He had no more regrets. He dimmed his blue optics and waited for the strike. Instead of feeling the blade of Sentinel sword piercing his body, Hotrod heard the deafening sound of a horn; a truck's horn.

Out of nowhere, both Hotrod and Sentinel Prime were shocked by the appearance of the massive semi as came barreling toward. Hotrod took advantage of the distraction and kicked Sentinel back, right in the path of the semi-truck. Sentinel tried to sidestep the vehicle but it still managed to graze him and send him spiraling to the ground. At the same time, the semi avoided Hotrod completely and Hotrod caught a passing glimpse of the grill. It bore the Autobot insignia. Plus upon looking into the interior Hotrod saw that no one was driving the vehicle. It couldn't be…

The semi hit its brakes and spun around, leaving skid marks across the street. Then there was the familiar shifting of sound for which the Transformers were known. It was coming from the semi as Hotrod and several other Transformers watched the semi change shape right before their optics. The nose became arms as the grill vanished from view. The rear became huge legs that brought the semi off the ground. The tires spun around before quickly halting in place. The semi achieved a bipedal stance, its armor colored red silver and blue while shimmering in the sunlight. As a head finally appeared to completely the metamorphosis, those who were watching it unfold displayed mixed emotions of shock from Hotrod, joy from Elita One, astonishment from Kup and, in the case of Galvatron, even anger.

"It's not possible." he whispered.

Hotrod started to believe otherwise, for standing in front of him right at this very moment was… he could scarcely believe he was even saying it; "Optimus!"

Indeed standing tall and proud, a brand new body and gleaming red, silver and blue and his face in full view, was the fully reborn and rejuvenated Optimus Prime. He extended his hand to Hotrod and spoke in his familiar, reassuring tone, "I am here, Hotrod, and this time, no force in the universe will stop me."


To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Do you believe in miracles? Sorry; I just had to use the Miracle on Ice reference. But it fits here, because Optimus Prime is finally back. I was playing the final 1:12 seconds of "Assemble" from The Avenger's score. Epic, epic, EPIC!

I was asked if he'd take either his Energon, Live-Action or Prime forms. I'd say he's more or less taking the Live-Action vehicle form and the Prime robot form; and yes, he has the retractable face plate.

Still, this battle is taking a toll as several Autobots and Decepticons have been killed off throughout. If you had a favorite among them, sorry; it's for the benefit of telling a good story. You can expect more to die in the next chapter. Just be absolutely sure to stay tuned.

By the way, I put up a poll on my account. Check it out.