Disclaimer: I'm still here amid this global pandemic, doing my part to keep everyone entertained... and also keeping myself off the walls. So with that being said, I have a new chapter ready to go. Enjoy!
As usual, I do not own the rights to Transformers.
Chapter X
Blackarachnia struggled to break free of Megatron's death grip, striking the forearm that held her in place. She attempted to move her free spider legs to at least try to attack her captor. Megatron noticed her attempt instantly and brought the barrel of his fusion cannon to her face. Blackarachnia went still and refused to move, but she never took her optics off of Megatron for even a moment. Megatron inched close enough to ensure escape from him the as near impossible.
"I remember you. You'd fought alongside the Autobots on Cybertron against Alpha Q… back when I was called Galvatron anyway." he said.
Blackarachnia appeared surprised and she replied, "I guess you're back to your old self, huh Megatron?"
Megatron tightened his grip and said, "Tell me about the vessel… who commands it?"
"You think I'd tell you?" Blackarachnia said in defiance.
"Assuming that you greatly value your personal existence, it would be unwise to defy me." Megatron as he tightened his grip further.
Blackarachnia weighed her options while she noticed movement behind Megatron. Part of her wished it was one of her Predacons come to ambush the leader of the Decepticons. But her Spark dimmed when the moving figure was revealed to be Shockwave, another Decepticon that Blackarachnia believed dead. Her gaze turned to Megatron, and it was obvious that his patience was already wearing thin.
"I'm waiting." he said.
"You would be wise to tell Lord Megatron what is known of this vessel… Chromia." Shockwave stated.
Blackarachnia stared at Shockwave, slightly stunned that he knew her old name. She glared back at Megatron and, "You won't believe if I told you, Megatron."
"Try me." Megatron replied.
Blackarachnia thought about it and finally said, "It's Unicron."
The smile on Megatron's face quickly evaporated and he coldly stated, "You must be so desperate to make such a foolish claim. Unicron is dead, his decayed head orbiting Cybertron even now."
Shockwave then stepped in and said, "Lord Megatron, this construct speaks the truth. I have analyzed her speech patterns for any fluctuations and found none."
"You can fully confirm your findings, Shockwave?" Megatron wondered.
"It would be illogical of this Blackarachnia to risk lying with her existence literally in your hands." Shockwave concluded.
Megatron shifted his optics between Blackarachnia and Shockwave before dropping the former to the ground. "Unicron saw his end when that fool Rodimus Prime opened the Matrix. How does he still function after so long?"
"I don't know, but the Human who accompanied him addressed him as Unicron." Blackarachnia explained.
"A Human 'addressed' him? What are you implying?" Megatron asked.
"When I saw him, he looked nothing like the Rodimus Prime I knew. He was dark and twisted, warped to the point where he couldn't be recognized." Blackarachnia explained further.
"Possession." Megatron concluded.
"A highly illogical notion, but not out of the realm of possibility." Shockwave argued.
"I've seen it before, Shockwave. The ghost of a certain treacherous old friend once took the body of Cyclonus," Megatron stayed before readdressed Blackarachnia. "What can you tell me if this Human that accompanies Unicron?"
"Only that there's something about him that doesn't seem Human." Blackarachnia stated.
A Human that didn't seem Human? This in of itself was a notion that Megatron utter ridiculous. Then again, a Human built the Technobots. M.E.C.H. dabbled in the building of an army of Human-made robots. So a Human that wasn't quite Human wasn't out of the realm of possibility. But Megatron still despised the idea all the same. Yet at the same time, he now seemed to have an idea of who was behind the destruction of Autobot City… and who took Optimus Prime from him. It seemed that luck was on his side… and Megatron didn't believe in luck.
"You," he said to Blackarachnia. "You're going to help me commandeer that vessel and destroy this non-Human and Unicron."
"You do realize this is Unicron in Rodimus Prime's body, right? You destroy the host, he might possess you next." Blackarachnia pointed out.
"Shockwave, if you please…" Megatron said with his hand out, and Shockwave handed him the Spark Extractor. "If all that remains of Unicron is his disembodied Spark then by all means, let him try."
The native of the lost planet Nebulos known as Zarak, slunk back in his chair with his face buried in one hand. Unicron slowly approached him and said, "Your planet… tell me how it was destroyed."
Zarak wasn't sure why Unicron was suddenly interested but indulge him. "I was acutely aware of the Transformer's ongoing civil war. I told my wife not to worry; our planet was in a remote sector of space, light years away from harm. That was before I'd left aboard Skorponok for a survey mission."
"Go on…" Unicron said.
"I was returning from my survey mission, eager to see my wife and son again. Instead, all I found was a debris field where my home planet used to be and not one cold corpse floating around it. It was as if some great cataclysm ripped my home asunder, and I was powerless to undo it." Zarak explained in morbid detail.
Unicron appeared nonplussed yet still said, "You are certain that the Cybertronians were responsible for the destruction of your home planet?"
Zarak jumped from his and confronted Unicron completely heedless of the size difference. "I told my wife not to worry about their war, that we were light years away from that madness. She and my son may very well have died believing I'd lied to them. So yes, Unicron, I have every reason to believe to that the Cybertronians killed the people I hold most dear. And, I intend to respond in kind."
"You shall do as you must. I too have a vendetta that requires resolution." Unicron claimed and walked away from Zarak.
But in the back of his psyche, Unicron could hear the anguished tone of Hotrod saying to him, "Unicron, what did you do?"
((Unicron knew more of Nebulos than he dared admit. He remembered finding a lush world teeming with life. Its inhabitants were a peaceful people, melding organic and technological properties to better their livelihood. All was so well… until one fateful moment in time. That time came when Unicron himself arrived, intent to devour another meaningless world.
It was on the planet's surface that the inhabitants began to flee for their lives. They sought any kind of refuge they could find to potentially shield them from the gargantuan monster that was bearing down on them. Among them were a mother and her young son. They ran in any available direction they could. The mother dared not look back, but the son looked on in horror at the great destroyer ripping his home world asunder.
Unicron cared so little for the filthy parasites permeating this small world he was currently consuming. He continued to feast, ripping the planet in half and taking the Nebulons with the debris. This included the mother and son… the family of Zarak. Ironically, it wasn't Unicron reliving a past moment.
It was Hotrod watching that past moment through the viewpoint of Unicron. As if having his body possessed and physically warped wasn't enough torment, not Hotrod had to through Unicron's point of view as Nebulos was destroyed. Then as Hotrod looked on in horror, Unicron appeared behind him in the blackness of the Chaos Bringer's psyche.
"It was you. You destroyed Nebulos." Hotrod said accusingly. He spun around to confront Unicron.
Unicron didn't hide it as he loomed large over Hotrod. "I did, and I make no excuses for it."
Hotrod backed off even Unicron grew in stature before him. "I figured you were lying when Zarak made mention of his home planet. No one on Cybertron had even heard of Nebulos; it's too remote. But you…"
"Nebulos was merely another world ripe for the devouring. Zarak only serves as a means to an end and when his purpose is fulfilled, I shall him into void with the rest his people." Unicron forcefully claimed.
Realization dawned on Hotrod as Unicron was now towering over him. "You're not going to destroy Cybertron."
"Once we've arrived, my Anti-Spark will siphon into the very core of Cybertron. Your world shall become my new body and the extinction of the universe shall begin anew. And, I intend to begin with Earth." Unicron declared.
Hotrod stood his ground against Unicron, psyche or not. "You're no god, Unicron. You're just another maniac and the Cybertronian race will stop you."
"Foolish insect? Who are you to make such a declaration?" Unicron asked.
Hotrod started to change in appearance before Unicron, who at the same time started to shrink in stature. For the first time, the Chaos Bringer appeared stunned while Hotrod grew taller and more like his one time self when he first opened the Matrix. Soon, they were face to face and Unicron knew he wasn't looked it the frightened optics of Hotrod. He was staring into the courageous optics of a once lost Autobot leader… and Optimus Prime's successor.
"My name… is Rodimus." he declared before grabbing hold Unicron's head, causing him to actually scream.))
Unicron grabbed his head and doubled over seemingly in pain. He dropped to his knees and trembled, as if a tremendous sensation of brutal agony washed over him. Zarak saw this and left his chair. He drew closer to his supposed ally, unsure of what could be causing him such excruciating pain. Then Unicron appeared to calm himself and he removed his hands from his head. Zarak drew a foot closer, peering to see what was happening.
"Unicron?" Zarak said.
Unicron looked up and Zarak quickly noticed that his green optics were now blue. "I'm not Unicron."
Zarak took a moment to process what he was told before he extended his finger tendril around the neck of 'Unicron.' "You're one of them. You're Cybertronian. What've you done with Unicron?"
"Listen to me; my name is Rodimus, and the Cybertronians aren't the ones who destroyed your world."
Zarak tightened his grip on Rodimus' neck. "You'd clearly say anything to save your hide. Your race, your war was what destroyed my home. Your war killed my wife and son."
"No, the Cybertronians never even heard of Nebulos until now. We were never even there." Rodimus said.
"Nothing but a blatant lie to save your metallic hide." Zarak said.
"Fine. You want to avenge your people then you do that. Keep avenging all the way to Unicron." Rodimus said.
"What," Zarak finally released his grip on Rodimus. "What do you mean?"
"We Cybertronians may be an advanced race, but even we can't create a weapon powerful enough to destroy an entire planet." Rodimus explained.
"Your world is a barren wasteland but that's nothing compared to my world being reduced to space dust." Zarak argued.
"I'm sorry about your world, but I swear to Primus that Cybertronians aren't to blame." Rodimus stated.
Zarak started considering Rodimus' words and asked, "If it wasn't the Cybertronians, then who destroyed my home?"
Rodimus looked Zarak in his face and, with absolute certainty, replied, "I think you already know, Zarak. He's been using both of us this whole time."
Before Zarak could quantify the situation, Rodimus was as suddenly blasted from behind. He was thrown into the nearby wall and fell in a heap. Zarak looked back toward the direction of the blast and saw three more robots approaching. Rodimus recovered just enough to see Megatron storming into the room with Shockwave and Blackarachnia behind him.
"Who is in command of this vessel?" Megatron bellowed. Then he saw Zarak and stormed toward him.
Zarak tried to move away but literally had his back to the wall, while Megatron aimed his fusion cannon down on him. "Want do you want?"
Megatron glared at the small, disgusting little organic and replied, "Where would you like to start?"
At the same time, Blackarachnia snuck over to Rodimus and said, "Rodimus, are you okay? It's me, Blackarachnia."
"Blackarachnia?" Rodimus said as he tried to move but felt a painful searing. He knew instantly that Unicron was trying to reassert control.
((In the shared space of his psyche, Rodimus and Unicron were locked in a struggle. It appeared as though Rodimus was in control. He managed to beat Unicron with hard blows that forced the Chaos Bringer back step for step. Every blow that Rodimus landed staggered Unicron until he was eventually dropped to a knee. Rodimus then grabbed Unicron by his neck and glared in his face.
"This is for Cybertron," he said before landing a hard strike. He said, "For Lithone," before another strike. He then said, "For very single living being you've slaughtered," before yet another strike. "And then is for me." before landing a head butt.
On his hands and knees, Unicron said, "You are strong," Then he caught an oncoming punch from Rodimus. "But not strong enough."
Unicron's optics glowed a sickly green as Rodimus tried to push against his captor. Then his own strength started to falter as Unicron began to grow in stature once again. This time, Unicron didn't stop growing, and Rodimus waned against him. Unicron grew larger second by second until he stood tall as a titan. Rodimus lost his grip and tripped over himself as Unicron continued to grow. Then, Unicron vanished in a flash of green light.
Rodimus looked everywhere for Unicron but could see nothing but pitch blackness. Then he felt something under his feet and looked down to see a metal surface. The surface expanded around him until it began to look eerily familiar to Cybertron. Then something dropped behind him and he spun around to see hundreds of dead Cybertronians around him.
"What… what is this? This can't be real." Rodimus claimed.
"Rodimus," A voice spoke, but it wasn't Unicron. Rodimus spun around and found himself staring into the red optics of Nemesis Prime. "You killed me."
"No, no you're not real. You're not Optimus." Rodimus claimed.
"Hotrod…" a female voice spoke, and Rodimus turned to see Arcee. But this Arcee seemed to have an inverted color scheme. "It's all your fault, Hotrod."
Then Ultra Magnus, or at least an illusion of him also with an inverted color scheme, appeared and said, "You never deserved the Matrix, kid."
"Stop it. Stop it, none of this is real." Rodimus claimed as he gripped his head in pain.
There was another illusion, this time being an inversely color schemed Springer. "I'm dead because you, Roddy."
Another illusion appeared, and this time it was Kup claiming, "I told you to stay away, lad. You should've listened."
"Shut up. SHUT UP!" Rodimus shouted before the images all vanished.
Rodimus looked around and saw he was still on the surface of what he initially believed was Cybertron. But it wasn't real; it was only an illusion and he was still trapped in his own psyche. Unicron was playing mind games, Rodimus knew this. He thought for a brief moment that the torment stopped. But then he heard a faint rumbling that steadily grew louder. The surface began to shake violently before the structures of the fake world were pulled away by an unknown force. Rodimus then watched in horror as a massive horn dug into the surface of the otherwise nonexistent world and when he turned around, he saw it. He saw the gargantuan planet form of Unicron himself digging into the surface. Rodimus couldn't move. All he could do was watch as Unicron devoured Cybertron. But it wasn't real. Everything that Rodimus encountered was an illusion. Then Rodimus felt himself being lifted off his feet and drawn toward the monster planet. It wasn't real, he kept inwardly telling himself. So why did it feel real?
Then Unicron's monster planet form vanished and was replaced by his god-like form. "It is over, Rodimus. You've lost. You belong to me now."
Rodimus remained defiant in the face of his captor. "I belong to nobody."
Unicron seemed to chuckle at Rodimus' defiance and proclaimed, "Megatron made such a claim and he became my herald. But you..." Then Unicron's green optics illuminated and before Rodimus could react, a massive beam of energy shot forth and struck him. Rodimus screamed in agony as Unicron concluded, "You shall endure eternal suffering."))
Zarak bellowed in protest as Megatron hoisted him up and held him to his face. "So disappointing. I'm to believe that this titan vessel with its advanced weaponry, the very weaponry that leveled Autobot City, is commanded by some filthy, organic being. This is bad comedy."
Struggling in the grip of Megatron and with Shockwave stalking nearby, Zarak defiantly said, "Bad comedy? Is that what you thought when Nebulos was destroyed?"
"Nebulos?" Megatron asked and he glanced over at Shockwave.
"My home world. My planet that you destroyed." Zarak said, clearly having not believed Rodimus' words prior to the Decepticon leader's arrival.
"Nebulos; you disgusting little gnat. You're clearly delusional if you think the Decepticons would ever bother with your insignificant world." Megatron claimed.
"I have spent the many eons on Cybertron while the Decepticons chased the Autobots across the galaxy prior to their crashing on Earth. In that time, there was no such mention of the war traversing anywhere near the world called Nebulos. Clearly, this organic is vastly mistaken to believe such an illogical notion." Shockwave stated.
"If it wasn't you that destroyed my world then..." Zarak started to ask before the realization of Rodimus' words flooded into his mind. He looked over at Rodimus as he appeared to writhing in torment. Except Zarak didn't see Rodimus... he saw Unicron.
Megatron smirked at the sight of the fallen Autobot and tossed Zarak aside before storming over to Rodimus. Blackarachnia saw Megatron coming and instinctively put herself them. Megatron simply tossed her aside with ample force before kneeling down beside Rodimus, all while discreetly brandishing the Spark Extractor. "So, is it Rodimus to whom I'm speaking? Or is it Unicron?"
"Leave him alone." Blackarachnia snapped and lunged at Megatron, clinging onto him.
Megatron wasn't about to fall and swiftly tossed Blackarachnia off of him and into Shockwave's waiting grasp. "That was illogical." Shockwave stated.
"I'll deal with you soon enough," Megatron said to Blackarachnia before returning to Rodimus, who seemed to go still. "As for you," he said as he took Rodimus' head in his free hand and held the Spark Extractor in the other. "Consider this your penance for getting in my way."
Then Megatron move to the thrust the Spark Extractor into Rodimus' chassis, only for Rodimus to halt the attempt. He looked up at Megatron with green optics before taking the Spark Extractor from him. Then he crushed the Extractor in his hand before throwing Megatron into the far wall. Megatron hit the wall with such force that it shook the room. He recovered quickly enough to glimpse Rodimus apparently in the process of convulsing. In the background, Zarak backed away into a corner. Blackarachnia looked on in disbelief while Shockwave remained stoic and emotionless. Megatron was upright and showed no fear as Rodimus' physical form appeared to undergo changes. A set of apparent wings burst force from Rodimus' shoulders and two demonic horns emerged from his head. Still, Megatron showed no trepidation, but he knew he was face to face with the Chaos Bringer... and he was actually smiling.
Megatron gleefully said, "Hello, Unicron."
In response, Unicron said, "Megatron, proceed on your way to oblivion."
Author's Note: That puts a stamp to this chapter. I think I might have had some fun with this one, especially with exploring the more psychological aspect of what Hotrod/Rodimus was enduring. It's sort of like a level of schinzophrenia with the various delusions of his friends, Cybertron and yes, even Unicron in his old planet form. Speaking of Unicron, I think we know who's truly responsible for the end of Zarak's world. How will he respond? How will Megatron fare against Unicron? Only one way to find out, so stay tuned for more and don't forget to share your thoughts. Peace out and stay safe.