Chapter 33-Event Horizon part 2
Megatron, Nightshade, Soundwave and Darkshadow stood alone in a large grassy field in Sioux. While Optimus and Nova talked in space, Megatron had already sent his reply and was waiting for their visitors to make a landing.
"Their shuttle is cloaked from the Nemesis's sensors, but I can detect them as they enter the atmosphere." Soundwave said.
"Has the Proudstar made any moves?" Megatron asked.
"No, Megatron. It remains stationary between Terra and Luna." The spymaster replied.
"Those fossils are definitely planning something. There's no way they'd up and pop out of nowhere without a plan." Darkshadow said.
"Oh, they have a plan," Nightshade said. "Kiss us all and leave us to rust."
"Nova can try." Megatron growled.
"I can see the ship." Soundwave announced.
The shuttle appeared in the sky and slowly descended to earth with barely a sound. Megatron crossed his arms as the landing hatch slid open and a single figure stepped outside.
The mech had a very distinctive appearance. His armor was purple and grey, and had visible battle scars all over his body. His frame was powerful and solid, standing as tall as Megatron. His eyes were blood red, his head sporting four short extensions that made it look like he was wearing a crown, and on his left arm was a large orange cannon.
'Someone actually beat Megatron to the arm cannon show,' Nightshade thought. 'That's surprising.'
"Galvatron of the Darklands." Megatron said. "Here in the mesh. I must admit, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Nova thought it'd be wiser to send someone of the same caliber to meet with you, Megatron." Galvatron said, not looking the least bit perturbed at being outnumbered. "I must say, though, after hearing all this bluster about you, seeing you in person right now…I'm not impressed."
Megatron scowled. "What did you say?"
"You heard me. I said I'm not impressed at all by you or your army." Galvatron said with a grin. "Had it been me running this war, it would have ended long before any lasting damage could've fallen upon Cybertron. Your army is pathetic. It's just an overly large band of psychopaths you can barely control."
"As opposed to a band of savage barbarians hiding behind a Prime? Know your place, Galvatron." Nightshade spat. "Your little Darkland Empire turned to dust after Nova came into power."
"Nova's goals aligned with mine, so I had no problem bending the knee to him. Which is why I elected to be the one to see you. I wanted to see the faces of the ones who orchestrated Cybertron's destruction!" Galvatron growled.
"How dare you accuse me of that? I tried saving our world to bring it to a new age!" Megatron took out Keraunos. "Which is more than anything you have done, barbarian!"
Galvatron grinned as the three Decepticons pointed their weapons at him. "Oh no, I'm outnumbered. This could end badly for me." He drawled sarcastically. "If I came alone, that is."
Megatron heard a sonic boom blast to his right before he felt something slam into his chest. Someone had grabbed him and he was flying back at superspeed through the air. A red and white mech was pushing him through a corn field and right past a farming silo.
"You dare?!" Megatron pulled one arm free and began slamming his fist into the mech's back.
Their flight path brought them to a nearby town, crashing through a building before landing in the middle of the street, already killing several people and crushing several cars.
Megatron got to his feet, ignoring the panicked screams of the humans who were crushed or burned alive from the exploding gas station that he crashed through. He tried to draw Keraunos, but realized that he dropped the scythe from the surprise attack.
"Damn it all." Megatron growled.
As the dust cleared, Megatron looked around for the suicidal fool who dared lay hands on him. Fortunately, he got his answer when a red blur shot past him and landed a punch to his face that sent him crashing into a nearby building. He rubbed his jaw and got back up, glaring at the two cybertronians marching towards him.
One was a tall mech with red and white armor and a slender aerodynamic frame. His companion was a green and gold femme who also had a slender frame with elements of an aerial alt mode.
"Greetings, Megatron of Tarn." The mech said. "I am Vanguard, and this is my consort, Vindicator. We are here upon orders of our lord to slay you and bring your head back to him as a trophy."
"You and every other backwards warlord in this wretched galaxy. Get in line." Megatron raised his fusion cannon.
Before he could fire, Vindicator sped forward with astounding speed and slammed into Megatron hard enough to knock him back several feet down the street.
"But we will be the first to succeed." Vindicator said.
Megatron tried to get up, but Vanguard flew forward and dragged him along the ground. Megatron kicked him off and deflected a thrust from Vindicator's arm blade. He swept Vanguard's feet from under him and elbowed Vindicator in the face before grabbing her leg and swinging her around to smack away Vanguard.
"How dare you!" Vanguard roared and slammed into Megatron, sending them high into the air before they crashed into the ground, grappling and punching each other. They rolled along the ground until they stopped with Vanguard on top. Vanguard tried to bring his fists down on Megatron, but the warlord kicked him away and fired his fusion cannon, narrowly missing Vanguard. The stray blast destroyed two buildings across the street.
A few feet away from them, Vindicator stood up, wincing at the pain in her head as she saw Megatron and Vanguard fighting. Growling, she approached them, intending to catch Megatron unaware, but a flash of light shot past her head and into the ground in front of her, causing an explosion that knocked her back. She looked back to see a dark shape descending upon her.
"Nightshade." Vindicator grinned.
Nightshade landed on the ground and fired another arrow at Vindicator, who dodged it and charged at her. Vindicator's right arm transformed into an emerald vibro-blade and slashed at Nightshade's head.
Nightshade blocked the blade with her bow and drew her own sword, delivering a shallow cut to Vindicator's chest in the process. Vindicator stumbled back as Nightshade pressed her assault, slashing away at her and forcing her on the defensive.
Vanguard landed two punches on Megatron before grabbing him and flying into the air. He threw Megatron to the ground and dived, almost impaling Megatron with his broadsword. He thrust his sword at Megatron, but his arm was grabbing and Megatron threw him into the ground twice before kicking him in the face. Vanguard tumbled down the street and lost his sword. He tried to retrieve it, but a fusion blast completely vaporized his arm from the elbow downwards. Megatron approached him with his smoking fusion cannon.
"Well, Vanguard? Where's all that bravado now?" Megatron taunted as he stomped through the wreckage of the buildings destroyed in their battle.
"You're one to talk, heathen!" Vanguard growled and retrieved his sword with his remaining hand. Megatron's fusion blast had completely destroyed his arm all the way up to his torso, but he still flew as fast as he could as if those injuries did nothing to him.
Vanguard leapt at Megatron and swung his sword down with superhuman speed at Megatron's chest. But Megatron's smirked and caught the sword in his hand before it could touch him, ignoring the blade digging into his palm. He shoved the barrel of his fusion cannon into Vangard's chest.
"You should've gone for the head."
A plasma burst tore Vanguard's body in half. Megatron let Vanguard's upper body drop to the ground and didn't look away until he saw the light in the mech's eyes go completely black. He looked to the side and picked up Vanguard's sword.
"Another spoil of war." Megatron grinned.
He heard a loud explosion and looked up to see something crashed right next to him. It was Nightshade. Vindicator lunged at her with her vibro-blade, but Nightshade rolled to the side and spin-kicked her in the jaw. Vindicator stumbled back as Nightshade stood up and rolled her shoulders.
Vindicator growled at Nightshade and crouched low to fly at her again. But as soon as she leapt off the ground, a sword flew through the air and stabbed her right through the chest. The sword had been thrown so hard that it actually stabbed right through Vindicator's torso, ripping through her chest and clattering on the ground. Vindicator stumbled and fell forward, instantly going into stasis lock from the severe damage she suffered.
Megatron walked up to her and pointed his fusion cannon at her, but Nightshade grabbed his arm and pulled him aside as plasma fire rained down from above.
It was Galvatron's shuttle. The vessel fired at the two Cons to drive them off before hovering over Vindicator's body. She vanished in an orbital jump before the shuttle turned around and flew off into the sky.
"So much for trophies." Nightshade remarked.
"Nightshade, where are the others?" Megatron asked.
"Back at the Nemesis. As soon as you were gone, Galvatron took a shot at me, but Soundwave pushed me away in time and took the hit." Nightshade said. "Knockout's working on him right now."
Megatron scowled and looked at the ravaged town they were in. Several buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, and he could hear the screams and cries of several humans amongst the chaos. There were probably hundreds dead just from this battle alone. Megatron could care less; sucks to be them right now.
"It would seem that Nova Prime is playing for keeps." Megatron said. "Let's head back to the Nemesis. It's time I added Nova's name to my kill list."
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Nova Prime stood on the bridge of the Proudstar with his chief scientist, Jhiaxus, standing next to him. Galvatron entered the bridge, spotting a fully healed Vindicator on her knee before Nova, looking as defeated as she felt.
"My apologies for losing Megatron and Vanguard, my lord." Vindicator said. She glared back at Galvatron over her shoulder. "Vanguard and I had the situation handled were it not for the black bird interfering. I was under the impression that Galvatron could've handled her and the spymaster."
"Watch your mouth, wench." Galvatron growled. "That harlot escaped my notice when she used her soldiers to cover her escape. At least I neutralized her spymaster."
"That's enough from both of you." Nova said. "We waste time quarreling while our enemies regroup to fight us."
"What happened with you?" Galvatron asked. "I don't see any Matrix. I take it you failed too?"
Nova didn't rise to Galvatron's taunt. "Optimus's connection to the Matrix is stronger than I anticipated. It tried to expel me the moment it detected my presence." He touched his chest, where he felt the Heart of Darkness beating within. "No doubt it sensed that I had…changed."
"Do we attack the usupers, my lord?" Fatale asked.
"No, we've wasted enough time already. They will come to us sooner or later. Until then, we will continue as planned." Nova turned to Jhiaxus. "Is it ready?"
"I have the machines ready for deployment, my lord. The energon ore of this planet was more than enough to bring it to full power, even enhance its performance somewhat." Jhiaxus said, yellow eyes glinting with unrestrained glee.
"Good," Nova nodded and looked out the viewport. "Release the World Engine."
Out in space, a massive shape emerged from the dark side of the moon, where no satellites could reach it. The massive structure was the size of a skyscraper, with steel grey armor plating and had three long legs that were folded up over a large cannon. The top of the machine was large and domed, with numerous exhaust vents along the sides. On the side of the machine was a large golden symbol that looked similar to the Autobot insignia.
The symbol of the old world—the face of the Cybertronian Empire.
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After learning about Megatron's battle, Optimus sent a small team consisting of Hound, Lifeline, Bulkhead and Cliffjumper to the ravaged town to provide support and medical aid. With all that was going on right now, Optimus couldn't afford to send out anymore Autobots with Nova out for them.
And just when things couldn't get worse, something else popped up that was even bigger than Nova declaring war on the two factions.
"Prime, something big just entered orbit." Tomahawk announced.
Optimus looked at the monitor and saw an object breaking through the atmosphere and heading straight for the middle of Anea. "Is it the Proudstar?"
"No, it's something bigger." She said.
"How are you just detecting this now?" Prowl asked, his eyes not leaving the screen.
"It came from behind the moon. Our satellites didn't discover it until it was within orbit." Tomahawk said.
Barnett chose that moment to call them, his face appearing in a corner of the screen. "Prime, the Hexagon is going def con one over here. What's going on now?"
"Nova Prime just declared his intention to wipe out Autobots and Decepticons on the planet and turn Terra into a new Cybertron." Optimus said. "He just sent two soldiers to deal with Megatron, but they failed."
"He wants to turn Terra into Cybertron?" Tomahawk said. "How?"
"I think I know." Ratchet magnified the image on the screen, showing the barely visible profile of the machine as it descended upon South Anea. "A world engine."
The entire room went quiet at that. Barnett, despite not knowing what a world engine was, knew that it wasn't anything good for them.
"How bad is it?" Asked the Colonel.
"A world engine is a machine cybertronians used to cyberform planets into miniature copies of Cybertron." Ratchet explained. "They fire a conversion beam that can change organic and non-organic matter into the elemental metals that make up our planet."
"All the world engines used during the Golden Age of Cybertronian expansion and colonization fell into disrepair and were abandoned." Optimus said. "Apparently Nova had taken one along with him in his quest to dominate unknown worlds."
"It's settling over the Savanna." Tomahawk said. "Teletran's already detecting rising energy levels coming off it."
"If we let the world engine burrow its way into the planet's crust, it'll cause a chain reaction as the continental plates turn into metal." Optimus looked at Prowl. "Recall our Autobots immediately and man battle stations! We need to destroy the world engine at once!"
"What about Nova and the Decepticons?" Prowl asked. "I'm sure we'll be attacked as soon as we get to the world engine."
"We'll worry about them on the way." Optimus said. "But if I know Nova, he'll come for me…and I'll be waiting for him."
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The world engine was a piece of cybertronian history. It was used by Cybertron to cyberform new colony worlds, changing the planet from the inside out into miniature Cybertrons capable of supporting cybertronian life. These worlds were then gifted Wells, in which a flame ignited by Vector Sigma itself would activate these miniature Wells of Allsparks and given the ability to generate new life.
Following the Rust Plague and the destruction of the Space Bridge network, the world engines were abandoned and left to decay. They served no purpose anymore and not even the Decepticons tried to use them in their conquest of the galaxy. They were left behind as relics of a better time, when dreams were real and all of Cybertron was united.
Nova Prime's world engine descend upon the vast plains of the savanna in South Anea. It looked like a mountain to the human and animal inhabitants who could see it falling from the sky, blocking out the sun. The world engine hovered a few miles above the grassy plains as it unfolded its legs and opened up to reveal the cannon extending from its bottom half.
Jhiaxus was monitoring the world engine's status inside the Proudstar. An eager grin spread across his face and he turned to Nova. "We are now slave to the world engine." Jhiaxus said.
Nova looked down at the blue planet below and nodded. "Fire."
In Anea, the world engine fired a massive white beam into the ground, causing the earth to tremble. Dust and smoke flew everywhere as the beam began burrowing into the ground. Already changing any rock it touched into metal. The conversion of Terra had begun.
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The Ark flew over the Florecio Ocean at full speed towards the continent of Anea. All weapons systems were operational and the Autobots were ready to fight.
"At the speed we're going, we'll reach the world engine in about 20 minutes." Optimus told his team. "Once we are within range, we'll attack the target at full force."
"What about Nova?" Ironhide asked.
"I'll handle Nova." Optimus said darkly, gripping the Star Saber.
"If we're going to be hitting the world engine, we'll need to hit the power cells at the top of the machine. They power the entire thing, so if you destroy it, the whole thing will shut down and possibly blow sky high." Wheeljack said.
"Then we better make it quick. Scans are showing that over a mile of land has already been converted into cybermatter." Lifeline said.
"Already? But the thing just got started!" Ironhide said.
"Unless it's got a power boot to increase its efficiency." Prowl pointed out.
Optimus scowled. "Ore-13."
"Guys, we've got incoming!" Armorhide said.
From the sky, a large particle beam hit the side of the ship. The Ark's shields held up, but the impact still rattled the ship.
"Get us a visual!" Optimus ordered.
Up on the monitor, the large white form of the Proudstar was heading straight for them at full speed. Optimus called the shuttle bay.
"Skyfire, Tomahawk, get out there and stop the world engine! Armorhide, focus all weapons on the Proudstar. We can't let it slow us down!"
The Ark's laser emitters and missile batteries opened fire on the Proudstar. The two ships traded weapons fire while still edging closer and closer to each other. While the Proudstar's weapons were old enough to be considered outdated by modern standards, they were still formidable enough to handle the Ark thanks to Jhiaxus's upgrades.
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"Focus the particle cannons on the Ark. Maintain fire on a single spot in their shield array and wear it down. Destroy that blasted ship before it reaches the continent!" Nova said.
"Yes, Lord Nova!" Fatale said.
"Our power levels are holding strong, my lord. At this rate, our barrage should wear away at their defenses soon." Jhiaxus said. That's when he noticed two heat signatures leave the ship. "Two Autobots just left the Ark.
"Send Straxus and Vindicator to stop them." Nova ordered. "Continue firing on the Ark. Don't you are let up!"
Unfortunately for him, they had more problems to worry about. A volley of missiles slammed into the rear thrusters of the Proudstar, rocking the ship. Fatale brought up the rear cameras and saw a massive purple ship approaching them from behind.
"My lord, it's the Nemesis!" Fatale said.
"Megatron!" Nova growled. He cursed as he felt the ship shake once more from another direct hit from the Nemesis. "Galvatron, take Cyclonus and Scourge and kill them. And finish the job this time!"
"With pleasure." Galvatron grunted as he left the bridge to get Cyclonus and Vindicator. He was itching to stain his hands with energon.
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Skyfire and Tomahawk flew as fast as they could through the ground bridge, emerging out of the portal into the skies above the savanna. The usually bright and sunny sky was completely darkened by thick black clouds caused by the exhaust fumes of the world engine. The massive machine was still hovering in position, its huge beam digging into the earth. Tomahawk looked down and saw that there were already a few miles of earth that had been transmuted into pure metal, and the affected area was growing.
"Speed it up, Skyfire. The world engine is growing in power!"
"What the hell do you think I'm doing!" Skyfire yelled over the deafening hum of the world engine's reactor.
Tomahawk targeted the vulnerable points along the upper chassis of the world engine, where the exhaust vents were located. She sent the targeting data to Skyfire. "Hit the vents. I think that's where we can do the most damage."
They flew towards their target, and as they got closer, they felt the enormous amount of power that it was giving off. The continuous beam it was firing into the ground was so loud that they couldn't even hear their own thrusters, and the air vibrated every time the world engine released a pulse wave to increase the beam's power. Any closer and their flight systems might be effected.
Tomahawk circled the world engine and fired a few heat seekers at the exhaust vents on the side. Only two hit, while the other three were diverted by the growing pulsewaves the world engine was giving off. It was emitting so much power that the gravity around it was causing the missiles to fly off course.
"Slag," Tomahawk cursed. "We need to get closer!"
"How much closer? We'll be pulled into its gravity well!" Skyfire said.
"Close enough so our missiles won't be diverted. We have to take the risk!" Tomahawk detected something on her radar and yelled, "We've got incoming!"
Straxus and Vindicator flew at the two Autobots firing their laser cannons. Tomahawk and broke away from Skyfire to fight them.
"Take it out, Skyfire!" She yelled, transforming her alt mode into its high speed configuration and shooting at the two flyers. Tomahawk fired two missiles at such speed that Vindicator was barely able to dodge them, and the other two clipped Straxus's wing.
"Kill the other one before she gets to the world engine." Straxus commanded. "This one's mine."
Vindicator said nothing as she focused on Skyfire's dark green form. Tomahawk saw that she was heading for her comrade and injected her booster shot of ore-13 to give her an extra boost. She tried to go after Vindicator, but Straxus shot a volley of laser blasts at her.
"Your fight is with me, coward!" Straxus growled.
"You're gonna wish it wasn't." Tomahawk remarked.
She boosted right at Straxus and transformed, punching the nose of his alt mode hard enough to send him spinning out of control. He transformed to right himself in the air, but she was already slamming into him, pummeling his face with her enhanced punches.
"Skyfire, on your six." Comettor said.
"I see the bitch." Skyfire growled. "Hang on, little guy. It's gonna be rough."
Skyfire warped out of Vindicator's sights and reappeared behind her. Vindicator transformed in the literal blink of an eye and sent a kick at Skyfire's head. Skyfire blocked the kick and tried to shoot her down, but Vindicator was faster than her and landed a solid punch to her chest that knocked her back. Vindicator took out her sword and shot at Skyfire, slashing wildly at her.
'This is gonna take a while.' Skyfire thought as she tried to avoid Vindicator's barrage.
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Galvatron hung onto Cyclonus's wing as they flew over to the Nemesis. He could've taken the ground bridge, but at the speed both ships were moving, they would almost certainly miss their destination. And this method was much more enjoyable. Nothing wrong with adding a bit of drama to your conquests for the historical records.
The Nemesis was still focused on attacking the Proudstar, which was also focusing the majority of its weapons on the Ark. This gave Galvatron some window to attack, though it was small.
He pointed his arm cannon at the missile launchers along the starboard side of the Nemesis and fired one large, continuous plasma beam. He tore apart the missile pods and laser cannons along that side, and that was all it took for the remaining weapons to focus on them. Galvatron grinned.
"Cyclonus, Scourge, take us down!" He ordered.
They dodged the volley of missiles and laser blasts shooting at them. Scourge fired three missiles at the nearest laser cannon, destroying it and allowing Cyclonus to get close enough to drop Galvatron off. The warlord landed on the upper deck of the Nemesis with his two warriors transforming and landing right beside him.
"Now what?" Scourge asked.
"What do you think?" Galvatron took out his energo-sword and charged it up. "Destroy everything in sight until someone answers the door."
Galvatron swung his sword and released a large electro-static energy wave that tore a deep gouge into the armor plating of the warship. Cyclonus and Scourge followed his lead, taking out their heat cannons and unleashing as much damage on the ship as they could.
As expected, it didn't take long for the Cons to come running. Just minutes after they started damaging the ship, a lightning bolt was fired from the elevator lift at Galvatron, who raised his sword to block it just in the nick of time. The attack still sent him skidding back a few feet though and nearly unbalanced him.
"There he is!" Galvatron bellowed. "The prodigal son himself!"
Megatron didn't bother wasting his intakes on words. He charged at Galvatron swinging Keraunos at his head. Galvatron deflected the strike with his sword and the two began dueling furiously. Scourge pointed his heat cannon at Megatron, but Cyclonus pushed him away.
"Don't even think about it. This is Galvatron's fight." He said. "If Megatron doesn't kill you, he will."
Something tingled in the back of his neck and Cyclonus reached back to draw his laser sword just as Nightshade's dark form came descending upon him like a bird of prey. She landed between Scourge and Cyclonus, spinning around to slice Scourge's cannon in two before slicing into his shoulder joint with her swords. Cyclonus parried her next attack and pushed her back, putting himself between her and his wounded comrade.
"Attacking a warship with only three mechs. That certainly seems like unfair odds." Nightshade commented.
"You're right. You should've brought another one." Cyclonus replied.
Galvatron ducked under a slash from Megatron's scythe and hooked the blade onto the flat of his sword. He headbutted Megatron and tried to wrestle the scythe away, but Megatron held onto it tightly. Instead Megatron angled his right arm a bit so that his fusion cannon was pointing right at Galvatron's face. Galvatron saw the purple glow and broke apart from Megatron seconds before the fusion cannon fired its beam, nearly blasting off his head.
The two warriors tried to blast each other apart with their respective arm cannons but at that range, all they could do was dodge or deflect each other's cannons. They slammed their fists in the other's faces and pushed each other back. Galvatron transformed into his cybertronian tank alt mode, firing an even more powerful beam from his cannon. Megatron used Keraunos to block the blast, but it was strong enough to knock him back several feet.
"It's insulting that you ancient relics think that you're capable of ending this war." Megatron snarled. "You had your chance and threw it away when you thought yourselves unbeatable. There's nothing special about you or Nova Prime. Everyone single member of your team are just a bunch of idealists and washed up warlords who have no idea what it means to truly wage war!"
Megatron channeled power into Keraunos's blade and rushed at Galvatron. He swung his weapon and deflected every blast Galvatron sent his way before leaping at the mech. Galvatron pulled back in reverse and transformed, trying to shoot Megatron down, but was too slow as the Decepticon lander landed right on top of him. Megatron planted his foot down on Galvatron's chest and kicked him hard in the chest plate, causing energon to spurt from Galvatron's lips. He reared back for another kick, but Galvatron caught his leg and threw him away.
"This is coming from a savage who thinks himself a revolutionary. You claimed to have killed Primes, but the only true Prime still alive continues to humiliate you at every turn. It's pathetic at how far up your own ass you have your head to really believe you're that good." Galvatron spat, getting to his feet. "All you and your army has accomplished is put our race on the galactic endangered species list. You're no leader, you're just an example for others to learn from on how not to fight a war!"
Megatron and Galvatron pointed their cannons at each other and fired at the same time. The two clashing beams exploded against one another with such force that it actually blew a hole into the ship's hull, while also blasting the two mechs back.
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Nova watched the dueling warlords with growing impatience. He thought that he could count on Galvatron to at least severely damage the Nemesis enough to take it out of the fight, but apparently even that was too much to ask of the mech.
"Apparently I have to do everything myself." Nova growled and stood up before heading to the doors.
"Lord Nova?" Jhiaxus inquired. "Where are you going?"
"To do my job." Nova said darkly.
He took a ground bridge to the top of the Proudstar and reached for the sword hilt at his waist. Raising it high above him as he focused on the Nemesis.
"Event Horizon, I call upon you." Nova chanted. "Lend me your power!"
The hilt shuddered in his hand and hummed with power as it awoke. Nova Prime's sword, Event Horizon, a weapon that Alpha Trion himself forged for Nova during the Quintesson Wars, glowed an unearthly aura. Light seemed to bend around it as energy was discharged from the hilt and formed one massive blade made of pure darkness, absorbing ambient light like a condensed black hole.
Nova lifted his cosmic blade and swung it, releasing a massive crescent arc of energy that shot through the air without a sound as if tearing through space itself. The crescent energy wave slammed into the side of the Nemesis with such force that the entire ship actually shook from the attack. Several of the ship's cannons and missile launchers were destroyed in that single attack, and the Nemesis was smoking profusely from its damaged hull.
'That ship is hardier than it looks.' Nova thought.
Up on the Nemesis, the brawling combatants were nearly thrown off the ship from its violent rocking. Galvatron and Megatron were forced to pause as they tried to maintain their center of gravity. Galvatron spun around and glared at the Proudstar.
"Nova, what the hell are you doing?" He roared.
"Taking out a threat, Galvatron." Nova replied calmly. "I thought I could trust you to at least deal enough damage to the Nemesis to take it out of the fight, but apparently that was too much to ask of you."
Galvatron gnashed his teeth together in anger. "Nova don't you dare-!"
He was cut off when Megatron charged into him and slammed his scythe into his chest. Searing hot pain erupted from the deep gash where Keraunos had sliced into his chest plate and Megatron used his distraction to kick him off the ship. Gravity did the rest as the mech was sent tumbling off the ship and towards the ground.
"Galvatron!" Cyclonus abandoned his fight with Nightshade and grabbed Scourge before jumping off the ship and flying after their wounded commander.
Nightshade watched them fly off before calling the bridge. "Soundwave, how's the ship?"
"We can remain airborne, but that attack destroyed half our forward plasma cannons and missile pods. We have also suffered a hull breach near your position. Any more direct hits like that and we may lose over half of our firepower." Soundwave said.
"Soundwave, maintain our current course and don't let that ship out of your sight!" Megatron raised Keraunos and channeled energy into the blade. "I'll deal with Prime myself!"
He leapt up and fired a lightning bolt from his scythe. The bolt was massive, almost rivaling a natural thunderbolt, but Nova wasn't perturbed. He raised Event Horizon and the bolt slammed into the blade, crackling a bit before fizzling out of existence. Megatron released several other bolts, some even managing to land some hits on the Proudstar, but most of them were diffused by Nova's sword.
"I see all that famed cunning and intellect goes out the window when you're angry. You're certainly a step below Galvatron in that regard." Nova remarked. "Bear in mind that there's nothing you or Optimus can do to stop this. This world belongs to us and there is no place for Autobots or Decepticons in this universe anymore!"
Nova swung his sword and released another energy wave that hit the nose of the warship, causing even more damage. Megatron and Nightshade stumbled as the ship shook and turned to the side from the attack.
"Damn you!" Megatron fired a large lightning bolt, not at Nova, but at the rear thrusters of the Proudstar, scoring a serious hit that completely destroyed two thrusters and tore a hole in the lower deck of the ship.
"Megatron, the ship can't take another hit like that." Soundwave said.
Megatron, though angered at his ship being taken out of the fight, was still somewhat proud of the fact that he dealt a crippling blow to Nova's ship. But while he couldn't get back at Nova in another way.
"Nightshade," He said, turning his attention to the dueling flyers above the world engine. "I have a task for you."
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Skyfire and Tomahawk were still fighting off Straxus and Vindicator at the world engine. Skyfire couldn't shake Vindicator off her tail, even when she was warping, and it was starting to wear at her energy reserves. Tomahawk was still holding off Straxus and the Ark wasn't getting any closer with both the Proudstar and the Nemesis on its tail.
"Damn this bitch is really getting on my nerves!" Skyfire growled as she fired several plasma arounds at Vindicator, who skillfully weaved through her volley and slashed at her. Skyfire boosted backwards and launched a spin-kick at Vindicator's head.
"Skyfire, Tomahawk, get it in gear. The world engine's power levels are rising!" Prowl said over the comms.
"What the hell do you think we're trying to do?" Skyfire yelled, dodging another slash from Vindicator. "We've got two assholes here making it difficult for us!"
Not too far from them Tomahawk was trying to hold off Straxus, who came at her like a raging bull. He had two shoulder cannons which he used a lot while fighting her and Tomahawk was forced to evade his attacks. When he wasn't spamming his cannons, he charged at her and nearly threw her out of the air when he delivered several punches to her. Thanks to the ore-13 in her system, she tanked his hits pretty well, but it was only a matter of time before her power boost wore off and she was left exhausted. Not the kind of thing she wanted while flying several feet above the ground with the death machine going off behind her.
"Prowl, I don't think we're going to make it. Nova's flyers are really giving us a run for our money!" Tomahawk said as she grappled with Straxus, struggling against his brute strength.
As they fought in the sky, the terrain below them was radically different from the flat savanna plains it used to be. Not only was a large swath of land now transmuted into metal, there were several towering spires and hills that were growing out of the landscape. All while the conversion beam burrowed deeper and deeper into the earth. Any deeper and the cyberforming process will continue to spread even without the world engine powering it, and the entire planet will be lost.
It was a lot of stress and Tomahawk felt powerless because she didn't know what else to do. Straxus was a hardy bastard, and Vindicator was matching Skyfire blow for blow. They were effectively stalled.
Just when Tomahawk was planning to do something drastic, a flash of light came out of the corner of her eye and suddenly Straxus's entire right side exploded in a flash of silver light. He howled in pain and stalled in the air, energy spewing from ruptured fuel lines. Tomahawk looked up and saw a large black shape heading right for them—it was Nightshade!
"Hya!" Nightshade brought her twin blades down on Straxus's head and dragged them agonizingly across his body, carving him up in a gory display with energon spurting everywhere. Just as Straxus began falling into stasis lock, she grabbed his head and spun him around faster and faster. Nightshade spun the wounded mech around over and over until she threw Straxus with enough force to send him spinning wildly into the world engine's conversion beam.
Tomahawk watched as Straxus's body vanished into the bright light, either completely vaporized upon exposure or his body converted into different metals before being crushed from the intense pressure of the beam itself. Whatever his fate, he was still alive just long enough to feel the pain. She turned to Nightshade, who glared back at her.
"You're welcome." She growled.
XXXXXX
"Uh, Prime? Something weird just happened." Tomahawk said over the comm.
"What happened?" Optimus asked.
"Nightshade just swooped in and killed Straxus for me." She said, much to the surprise of the Autobots on the bridge. "And now she's off to fight Vindicator."
"That's impossible." Prowl muttered. "Why would Nightshade…?"
"Probably on orders from Megatron." Optimus said. "Chances are this is his way of getting back at Nova."
"Prime, the Nemesis is pulling back from the Proudstar." Lifeline said. "It's sustained heavy damages, but so did the Proudstar, though not as much."
"And Teletran detected three of Nova's troops on the Nemesis fighting the Decepticons?" Optimus asked.
"Yes, though it seems they've been thrown off the ship." She answered.
Optimus was silent for a minute, and Prowl glanced back suspiciously at him. "What are you planning, Prime?"
"Something reckless and stupid, but might get the Proudstar off our back." He said before getting up and running for the doors. As he ran for the shuttle bay, he quickly called Sideswipe. "Sideswipe, I need your jetpack."
XXXXXX
"We've lost Jhiaxus, sir!" Fatale said. "It was Nightshade!"
"Damn Megatron, the despotic bastard!" Nova's snarled, slamming a fist on the armrest of his throne. "Any word from Galvatron's team?"
"No, my lord. He's gone completely silent." Grindcore said.
"Never mind then, focus all your firepower on the Ark. Make sure it goes down!"
The Proudstar continued pummeling the Ark's rear shields, but it wasn't as devastating thanks to Megatron's cheap shot at its thrusters. The ship was moving slower, and the Ark was starting to gain some distance from them.
"What are you doing? Increase our speed!" Nova shouted.
"Our thrusters are operating at half capacity, my lord." Jhiaxus said. "We risk damaging them further if we push them past their limits."
"Then redirect power from all non-essential systems to the propulsion system and hold fire on the cannons." He ordered. "If we can't shoot down the Ark, then we'll ram that damn ship out of the sky before blasting a hole into it. I'll deal the finishing blow."
Jhiaxus and Grindcore got to work on that, but as they increased the ship's speed, Fatale detected another unwanted surprise happening right in front of them. "My lord, I'm detecting a ground bridge appearing…right in front of us!"
"What?!" Nova roared.
A ground bridge materialized before the Proudstar as it flew right towards it, but only one person emerged from the portal—Optimus Prime! Using Sideswipe's jetpack, he flew right at the Proudstar, the Star Saber in his hands and glowing as he prepared for a frontal assault. Nova realized what he was going to do and leapt out of his chair.
"Evade! EVADE!" He shouted.
But it was too late to make any sort of evasive maneuver as Optimus sliced through the front windshield of the Proudstar and crashed into the bridge. Optimus tucked into a roll to break his fall and spun around, firing his ion rifle into Grindcore's head, completely destroying him with several ion blasts. Fatale tried to lunge for him, but Optimus swung the Star Saber and cut her in two diagonally, letting her two halves drop to the floor twitching sporadically.
"No!" Nova howled. "You'll kill us all! We must save our people, Prime!"
"Then we will do it without massacring billions of people for some misguided ideology!" Optimus shouted and swung the Star Saber.
Nova tried to stop him, but he was too late. Prime destroyed the main controls of the ship, and caused a system wide failure that sent the Proudstar falling out of the sky. Seeing that he caused enough damage to the ship, Optimus jumped back out of the window and flew away from the Proudstar. His jetpack sputtered a bit, causing him to crash into a metal spire before crash landing on the metallic ground, rolling to a stop amidst metal debris. Not too far from him, the Proudstar smashed through several towering pillars before crashing into the ground and sliding several feet before coming to a stop.
XXXXXX
At the same time, Vindicator saw the Proudstar go down and was outraged. She kicked Skyfire away and shot towards the location of her lord's fallen ship. But something slammed into her and she was stabbed in the abdomen by a pair of blades.
"Nightshade!" Vindicator growled hatefully.
"Vindicator," Nightshade replied with an equal amount of scorn. "Ready for round two, bitch?"
Vindicator tried to shove her arm blade into Nightshade's chest, but the Con easily grabbed her arm and broke it before kicking her away and saying, "She's all yours, Autobot."
Skyfire grabbed Vindicator from behind in a headlock and warped above the world engine, diving straight towards the fuel tanks atop the machine. Skyfire increased her speed until they were moving at Mach 2 velocity, and then just as they were a foot away from the tanks, she warped away, letting Vindicator crash into the ore-13 filled tanks…with a grenade.
The resulting explosion completely engulfed the right side of the world engine and caused a chain reaction, igniting the energon running through the fuel lines and causing the entire machine to go up in a brilliant ball of purple/magenta flames. The world engine's beam finally cut off as the machine's power source was destroyed, and soon the entire world engine was engulfed in flames, going up in a deafening explosion that was so bright that even through the polarized glass, the Autobots had to turn their eyes away.
Skyfire and Nightshade were ground bridged away from the explosions blast radius, which already made the fireball look like a miniature sun. The very air trembled and the Ark was thrown off balance from the very force of the world engine's destruction. But despite this, the Autobots knew they had achieved their primary mission—they had saved the planet from becoming another Cybertron at the cost of millions of lives. However they still had one more mission to do.
Take down Nova Prime.
XXXXXX
Optimus pushed his way out of the pile of rubble with a groan, getting to his feet and picked up the Star Saber. He had the honor of witnessing the world engine's destruction first hand and was blown back several feet from the sheer force of the explosion, skidding across the landscape of the altered terrain like a discarded child's toy.
He felt relief that his Autobots managed to destroy that weapon. They were cutting close enough as it is, and he hoped they destroyed it in time before the conversion process could reach too deep. But right now, he had another thing to worry about—Nova Prime.
Optimus looked to where he saw the Proudstar crash and transformed, driving across the unfamiliar landscape caused by the world engine. The sky was dark grey with dust and smoke, and he could barely see anything through the ash clouds caused by the explosion, but he wasn't hard to find a white ship of that size lying in a trench made from its descent.
Optimus reverted to robot mode as he neared the crashed Proudstar. The ship was already severely damaged from his assault on it, but its crash landing into the metallic wasteland had left it unable to fly. Optimus knew he had slain Vindicator and Fatale, but there was no sign of Jhiaxus, who had probably fled. That only left one person alive in the wreck.
Nova Prime pushed his way out of the wreckage of his ship and made it a few steps before falling to his knees. Smoke and dust filled the air, and dark clouds blocked the sunlight from reaching the newly cyberformed ground zero. He scanned the silent landscape before him before turning his baleful glare upon Optimus.
"Look at this." Nova held up a handful of metallic dust that slipped through his fingers. "We could have built a new Cybertron from this squalor. A new world for our kind. A new home. And you destroyed our only hope of salvation."
Optimus said nothing as Nova vented his quiet rage upon him. The amount of sheer hatred in Nova's voice rivalled even Megatron's, and it flowed off him in waves.
"I was chosen by the Matrix to defend the freedom and prosperity of the people of Cybertron. That is the sole purpose of a Prime. And every action I take, no matter how violent or how cruel, is for the greater good of my people." Nova said, his voice shaking. He raised his hands to the desolate land around them. "But now…I have no people. I have no home. It's all gone…all because of you!"
The air around Nova shimmered as power flowed off his body from the Heart of Darkness. "My heart, my soul…that is what you have taken from me!"
Nova shot forward in a burst of speed and slammed into Optimus, knocking him back several feet. Optimus landed on his feet and skidded to a stop, drawing the Star Saber. Nova stalked towards him, gripping Event Horizon in his hand.
"I'm going to kill them all, Optimus. Autobots, Decepticons, humans, everything you cherish I will rip it all away from you one by one!" Nova snarled.
"I won't let you make your empire from the slaughter of billions of innocent lives, Nova." Optimus declared, raising his sword. "Your dark legacy ends here!"
The wings on Nova's back unfolded and his boosters fired up, allowing Nova to fly into the air. He swung Event Horizon and released a crescent blade of pitch blade energy that completely vaporized everything it touched. Optimus flew upwards to dodge the attack and fired his ion rifle at Nova.
Nova easily dodged the ion blasts, shooting through the air at high speeds, too fast for Optimus to properly track. Realizing that he wasn't getting anywhere like this, Optimus holstered his ion rifle and raised his sword, flying forward to face Nova in close combat. Nova was happy to oblige his unspoken challenge, gripping Event Horizon as he met Prime's charge.
Optimus swung at Nova's head, but Nova dodged it and landed a hard kick into Optimus's side and knocked him back. Optimus weaved his body to dodge the starlight blade of Event Horizon as it sailed dangerously close to his face, and stabbed forward at Nova's chest. Nova blocked the Star Saber and slammed his fist into Optimus's face, sending him crashing into a nearby mountain.
"If the Matrix chose you, then this must truly be the end of days!" Nova yelled and flew at Prime at full speed.
Optimus pulled himself out of the hole he made and waited for Nova to get close enough before flipping over his head. Nova slammed into the crater at full speed, and Optimus used this to thrust the Star Saber forward at Nova's chest. Nova was just quick enough to deflect the blade so it stabbed into the right side of his chest, perilously close to his laser core, and glared at Optimus.
"Nice try!" Nova channeled power into his arm and punched Optimus hard in the face. Everything went white for Optimus as the punch sent him sailing back like a missile and crashing into the ground.
"Ah!" Prime grunted as he jumped out of the crater, only to find Nova right above him with Event Horizon coming down on his head. Optimus jumped aside, but the sword slammed into the ground and released an explosive burst of energy that tore the ground apart and blasted Optimus back.
Nova chased after him, swinging his sword again, but Optimus ducked under it and landed a punch into Nova's side. He followed up with several more punches that honestly would've given even Megatron a few hard to hide dents, but Nova tanked his hits with ease and backhanded Optimus away from him. Nova leapt at Optimus and slammed his fist into his face again, bringing him to his knees. He raised Event Horizon and charged at Optimus, intending to completely wipe Prime out of existence.
But Optimus, though in great pain, wasn't out yet. He gripped the Star Saber and met Nova's attack with his own. The Star Saber clashed against Event Horizon and the two swords emitted a deafening boom that could be heard for miles. Optimus and Nova pushed against one another, ignoring the dangerously high levels of energy their blades were releasing.
Being in such close proximity to Nova began to cause the Matrix to glow within Optimus's chest, and its energy filled the Star Saber, enriching it with its azure blue energy. Nova drew on the power of the Heart of Darkness, and the two opposing energies dueled with each other.
"There is only one way this ends, Optimus," Nova growled, a mad glint in his eyes. "Either you die, or I do!"
He broke the deadlock and landed an uppercut to Prime's chin that sent him shooting up into the air. Optimus activated his jet pack to right himself and raised the Star Saber high above him.
"Matrix of Leadership, grant me your power!" Optimus bellowed and swung the Star Saber, releasing a powerful energy wave that illuminated the entire area.
Nova saw the oncoming wave and flew out of its path. The energy wave crashed into the ground and erupted in a huge explosion that made the ground tremble like a powerful earthquake. Nova skidded to a halt, but as soon as he did Optimus came in with a punch to his jaw that knocked him down. Prime's body was glowing with pulsating veins of energy, all emerging from the glowing Matrix. Nova roared and punched Optimus in the chest and flew back.
"So now you use the Matrix. Finally taking me seriously, are you?" He shouted and thrust Event Horizon forward, shooting a lance of condensed photon energy at Optimus.
Optimus felt his body move before he even realized it. He jumped over the energy blast and landed before Nova, delivering a spin kick to Nova's face as he turned around. Nova growled in pure rage and swung his sword at Prime, only for it to be deflected by the Star Saber. Optimus stabbed his sword into the ground and used it to lift his body up and spin his legs in a wide kick, slamming his heel into Nova's nose. Nova stumbled back and Optimus used his center of gravity to leap at Nova, slashing the Star Saber at his face. Nova saw him coming and instinctively lashed out with Event Horizon.
The two swords grinded against each other and emitted another explosive burst that blasted the two Primes apart. They lost their weapons in the explosion and went rolling along the ground, kicking up dust and rocks. Optimus lightly bumped into a boulder and sagged against his, every servo and circuit in his body screaming in pain from the strain of pushing his body to its limits. He couldn't relent now or he was dead.
He looked up and saw Nova getting to his feet, his eyes glowing purple and the Heart of Darkness surrounding his body in a powerful aura. He punched forward and released a massive energy blast at Prime, who dodged it and flew over the attack, closing the distance between them. Optimus landed a punch into the middle of Nova's face and began pummeling him with several hard punches, sparks flying everywhere as his blows left dents in Nova's armor. Nova tried to fight back, but Optimus pressed his offense, punching him harder and harder before ending his assault with a fist to the chest that threw Nova back into a spire, nearly breaking it in two.
'Harder!' Optimus channeled the Matrix's energy through his body, engulfing his frame in a bright blue aura as he shot at Nova again.
"I will not die!" Nova roared, meeting Optimus's incoming punch with one of his own. Their fists collided and a shockwave rippled throughout the ground, shattering it and blasting Nova back.
Optimus boosted after Nova, pulling his fist back and slamming a punch deep into Nova's chest, and then followed up with a left hook to the face that sent Nova smashing through a metal spire. Still keeping his speed, Optimus channeled the Matrix's power into his right fist and delivered a powerful uppercut to Nova's chest that sent him higher into the air.
Optimus raised his arms and pointed them at Nova, creating an aura of crackling blue energy around him that exploded in a brilliant blue burst of energy that could be seen for miles in all directions. The shockwave blasted Optimus back down to earth, where he landed on his feet, the impact leaving a crater under him.
Nova's burnt and scarred form came burst out of the smoke cloud, flying at Optimus at full speed. He gave a mighty war cry of pure rage, his body severely damaged from Prime's assault but still holding itself together thanks to the Heart of Darkness. There was barely any sanity left in his dark purple eyes, his mind focused on killing Optimus at all costs.
Optimus stood his ground, opening his chest plate and exposing the glowing Matrix. He redirected the energy surging through his body back into the Matrix and focused its power into its crystalline lattice. His whole body was in pain, down to every circuit, but he couldn't relent now. Not until Nova was granted a reprieve from his eternal suffering.
He waited until he could see the dark light in Nova's eyes, and then unleashed the full force of the Matrix's power right at Nova. Nova's body was completely engulfed in the massive blue wave of energy that shot from the Matrix, and the white Prime felt excruciating pain all over his body as its purifying light bathed him from the inside out. He howled, his voice fading in the thunderous roar of the energy ripping him apart. Even the Heart of Darkness could not keep the Matrix's power at bay.
Optimus kept up his assault, even as Nova slowly edged closer. He could hear Nova's screams over the noise and maintained the beam, barely able to see Nova's form in the bright energy. He narrowed his eyes and finished it off with one last explosive burst that swallowed Nova's body and lit the entire area up like a supernova. Then…it stopped.
The Matrix's energy tapered off and natural light returned to the region. Smoke filled the area, and Optimus remained standing in place, the Matrix now dim and once again hidden within his chest. As the smoke slowly cleared, it revealed the kneeling, inert, blackened form of Nova Prime, rendered completely inert from the Matrix's power.
'I don't sense the Heart of Darkness in him anymore.' Optimus stared at Nova's badly burnt body with a small amount of pity. 'It's gone.'
"My…world…"
Optimus focused on Nova's, who struggled to lift his head to stare at him. Even on the verge of death, with literally no control over his body, Nova still managed to muster up the energy to still hate him.
"My…beautiful world…gone." Nova groaned, his voice barely audible over the stiff breeze blowing over them. "There is…no hope now. Everything…is gone…"
"There is still hope, Nova." Optimus said. "Alpha Trion has been working tirelessly to restore our planet and has seen progress. Once the war is over, we can—"
"To hell with you war! You and Megatron…you've doomed our people to oblivion, and the fault lies with the two of you." Nova snarled. Slowly his body began crumbling to ash, his armor flaking off and blowing away in the wind. "A plague upon you Autobots and Decepticons. May you all burn eternally for the fate you've brought upon us, Optimus Prime. I await seeing you in hell alongside me…"
With his final words, Nova Prime's body finally crumbled away, the ashes of his body scattering in the wind and dispersing before Optimus's eyes. The first Prime of Cybertron was gone, and with it, his grand legacy of a cybertronian empire.
Well that was insane, wasn't it? That's the last chapter of 2020, worst year of the fucking century. We'll be seeing Galvatron and his posse again in the future, mainly in Mosiac. And for those wondering if Optimus is able to call upon the Matrix for a supercharge like that all the time, the answer is no. Most of the time he can only harness the Matrix's energy in small amounts, and it'll only empower him like that in major events like fighting the dolems. Using its power on such a large scale is dangerous, and as you've seen, it can have long reaching consequences. Next chapter we delve into the aftermath of Nova's invasion and the growing dissent within Skywatch. Be sure to check out the official Transformers Titan website on WordPress. Thanks for reading and please leave a review, and Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you!