#45 - We Draw the Line: Part 1
He was back on his home planet, but... the whole surface of the entire planet was reduced to nothing but rubble and broken buildings and roadways. The sky was clouded thickly with rusty smoke, blocking the sun.
"How did this happen?" he asked, his screeching voice seeming to echo on forever.
Out of nowhere, familiar evil laughter resonated all around. A giant, blue face covered by a faceplate rose from the ground in front of him, optics glowing blood red. He backed into the wall of a broken building and brought up his hands to shield his face. To his horror, the giant face followed him and came even closer, the laughter growing more and more sinister.
"G-get away from me!" he screamed, but the face came closer and closer until it was almost close enough to swallow him up. He closed his crimson optics tight, bracing for the killing blow...
But it never came. He forced one optic open and opened the other at the sight. He was in a black void and was surrounded by sparks, thousands of them. That could only mean one thing...
"Am... am I...?" He couldn't bring himself to say the next word.
"No," voices answered him softly, like an ocean tide hissing, masculine and feminine. "You are just asleep."
"If I'm not... d-dead, then... where am I?" he asked. He was confused.
"Where you are is of no importance," the voices replied. "We have brought you here to warn you."
"Warn me? Warn me of what?"
"What you have seen on Cybertron is what will happen if you fail." They paused and continued in a more ominous tone. "A battle is coming... a battle to decide all battles here. You must win this battle lest you and all those whom you hold dear will perish."
Thoughts of a certain raven and wasp and hummingbird immediately came to mind.
"Perish?"
"Yes. If you do not win, the ones you love will die."
"No... no, I... I don't believe you," he growled. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Then, all the sparks dissolved into a calming darkness and he now felt like he was in someone's lap like a little child. For a second, he was uncomfortable of the unfamiliar sensation, but he soon grew to long for it, as if he remembered doing this before, and leaned against the body that was holding him. Somehow, he knew whose presence he was in. He felt like nothing could harm him as long as he stayed right here.
From somewhere above, a loud and deep but gentle voice spoke to him.
"I am sorry, my son, but whether you want to believe it or not, what your brethren have told you is true."
Despite how safe he felt he was, fear sparked inside of him. Fear for his mate and family and friends.
"But..." he protested, almost in a whimper. A huge hand on his shoulder silenced him, but not in a scary way. In a calming way, like how a parent would comfort their child through a storm.
"Fear not, for I will give you the strength you need to defeat this evil that threatens you... and all you love... and all of humanity and Cybertronian."
Before he could ask what he meant, he felt a large finger touch his chest. In a blinding flash of light and rush of overwhelming energy, he was back at the desolate city. He looked around wildly, confused by the sudden change.
He flinched as voices echoed all around him. He trembled as the maniacal laughter sounded again and began to drown out the voices. They grew to shrieking as the laughter continued and the face appeared again. His optics widened and he shrank back, but it was of no use. The face's mouth gaped open, revealing nothing but horrific, swirling blackness surrounded by sharp, bleached fangs, dripping heavily with Cybertronian and human blood.
"NOOO!"
He sat up panting, optics wide, spark racing. In another base entirely, his mate sat up as well, but more slowly. She reached through their spark bond to check how he was.
Terrorsaur? Starfeather spoke softly. What's the matter?
Terrorsaur continued to pant, but closed his optics and put a hand over his wildly pulsating spark. Starfeather gave what comfort she could, feeling to him like her arms wrapping warmly around him. By the way he was acting and the fact that he had been sleeping moments before, she assumed that he had had a bad dream.
Want to talk about it? she asked gently.
He took a deep breath, removing his hand from his chest and opened his crimson optics. He laid back down, immersing himself into their link. He gathered his thoughts before trying to answer.
I... I was back on Cybertron, but... the whole place was... was destroyed.
Her optics widened at hearing this, but she listened to the rest of his dream's description. To her, this almost sounded like prophetic dreams she had read about in stories. Could his be one?
Do you think it means anything? she asked.
I don't know, maybe, he replied. But if so, what?
Starfeather thought for a moment. Prophecies were generally about things that were going to happen in the future. Perhaps something was going to happen that would change Cybertron unless they did something to stop it. If so, how could they stop it all the way at the other end of the galaxy? She voiced her concerns to Terrorsaur, but he had no solution either.
They decided to go back to sleep and think on things more in the morning.
-x-
Megatron suspected that his plan would be disliked by his rebellious soldiers. So, he went about his business with his only two controllable assets: Inferno and Rampage. He had been tirelessly studying and decoding the golden disc, trying to find some way to bring himself back into power. He knew that he couldn't stay this way much longer. He knew that Terrorsaur and all of them were plotting something, no matter how hard he tried to run them ragged and keep them apart and monitor their communications. Time was running out for the struggling Predacon leader. He had to act quickly.
To his delight, he found something he thought could be very useful. The disc told of a valley where the first early humans were discovered to have evolved. As he schemed and thought and planned, the vilest, cruel, and malicious grin split his facial plates. It was a human that had turned this war against his favor. It was also humans that had assisted the Maximal ancestors, the Autobots. If he could eliminate the humans before they could even think about existing, he wouldn't have to worry about this silly little war anymore. He wouldn't have to worry about the Maximals at all. To top it off, he wouldn't have to worry about that slag-sucking raven girl anymore. In the grand scheme of things, she had been nothing more than a distraction, something to play with and take his mind off of more important things.
Now, Megatron had no time for distractions. The game had turned serious and he had to play his cards right if he wanted to win. He ordered Inferno to return to the base and instructed him to bring everyone back to this location. With any luck, this would be Megatron's final hand to play on this miserable planet before returning to Cybertron and finishing what he started.
-x-
The other Predacons were quite confused as they followed Inferno. The fire ant had refused to tell them what Megatron was planning. They knew that they wouldn't be able to get any more information out of him, even if they kidnapped and tortured him. They all decided that it would just be best if they did as they were told. However, they were prepared in case Megatron had something up his sleeve. The fliers carried as many of the ground units to get to their destination as quickly as possible, Inferno carried G-Force, Moonscope took Deltasurge, and Terrorsaur was left to haul Scorponok. Quickstrike, Blackarachnia, and Tundra were forced to trail along by foot.
Megatron didn't have to wait long for his troops to arrive. They soon all lined up before him, waiting for him to speak. He said nothing at first to build up tension, simply paced along the edge of the valley. He had the golden disc with him. He held onto it almost flippantly, gazing at it thoughtfully. Soon, Tundra could take no more of his nonsense.
"Enough with the mind games," she barked, digging her beast mode claws into the dirt. "Why have you brought us here?"
"An excellent question, Tundra," the Predacon leader replied silkily. He stopped pacing and turned to face the valley. "Can anyone tell me where we are?"
Everyone glanced at each other, not quite sure how to answer.
"According to this disk, we are at the birthplace of humankind," he answered for them and continued. "Humankind... It was humans that assisted the Autobots in their great wars. It is because of their aid that the Autobots were given an advantage in the war and thus how they came to take power over the Decepticons and force them into complete submission.
"They are the reason why we are forced to live in the conditions that we do today. The slums were our homes unless our families kissed the skid plates of Maximal governors. We are automatically overlooked for desirable positions of employment unless we are in the good graces of high-status Maximals. You're lucky if you're allowed any sort of aid required for living even the simplest of lives. It's a miracle if you or your family could be seen for treatment in a timely manner, let alone even treated properly.
"Today, I proclaim no more shall we be forced to live as second class citizens! Today, I say we take our destiny into our own hands. If it is freedom you desire, then today is your day! Our day!"
This speech made those who had come from protoforms unsettled. Was life really that bad for the Predacons back on Cybertron? Did they all really live impoverished? The looked to those who were Predacons.
Terrorsaur's optics never left Megatron. He watched him closely as he spoke, his face unreadable. He knew that what Megatron said was true. He knew that Scorponok's life hadn't been much better, nor had Dinobot's. This had been the original reason for Megatron's uprising, why he took on the name 'Megatron' and why his men had believed in him at the beginning. However, it was clear that Megatron's motives had changed. The look in his optics told another story. He had gone mad with the idea of holding power and taking over Cybertron. Terrorsaur didn't want any of that. He never did. He just wanted to take control when he felt that Megatron was doing an inadequate job. He could do it better. He knew he could. Perhaps today, he would have to finally prove it.
What no one else knew was that, shortly after Megatron had begun speaking, Scorponok had thought to open a comm. channel to the Maximals to allow them to hear what was happening. He had never felt so sure of a decision in his life. He could now see through the veil of lies and empty promises that Megatron had given him, was still giving him. He also knew that if Megatron was calling for everyone to be present outside the base, something was about to go down and they probably going to need back up.
Undaunted by the lack of enthusiasm that was greeted his speech, Megatron pointed at the valley.
"I command you, destroy this valley and every creature in it!" he roared. "The human race will never have existed!"
The only one to make a move was Terrorsaur. He transformed from beast mode and stood to face the transmetal mech.
"I think I speak for everyone when I say no," the red mech said, being sure that his feet were planted firmly. "Megatron, I challenge you for the final time for leadership of the Predacons. As you stated, today is the day that I will take my destiny into my own hands and fight for my freedom, but not for my freedom of the Maximals. For my freedom from your tyranny!"
"Very well then, Terrorsaur," Megatron replied, narrowing his optics darkly. He figured that something like this would happen. He hadn't really expected his rebellious troops to do his bidding willingly. Perhaps if he finally put an end to Terrorsaur, it would serve as an example to the others and put them back in their place. He handed the golden disc to Inferno for safekeeping and went to meet his opponent.
The others surrounded the two to watch the fight and to set boundaries. They knew that unlike when Dinobot had fought Terrorsaur, only one mech was going to leave this fight alive. It wouldn't make sense to leave the loser standing at this point. This was the breaking point that they had been waiting for. Either Megatron would win and things would go back to the way they once were or Terrorsaur would win and there would be new hope for the Predacons.
Being in robot mode, the two mechs armed themselves. Terrorsaur brandished his blaster and Megatron held his tail cannon steady. He missed his beast mode head cannon, but his transmetal form was almost twice as powerful as his original form. He doubted very much that he would lose to the red mech. He hadn't been able to best him in a fight up until this point. Why should this time be any different?
"You know, sir, if we were to destroy this valley and humans never evolved, Starfeather would cease to exist," Terrorsaur observed, feigning a casual air. "And who knows how the war will have gone without the interference of the humans. Slag, we all could just disappear after we destroy the valley."
"I cannot deny the possible truth behind your latter statement," Megatron replied, picking a speck of dirt from the tip of his cannon. "But that is a risk I'm willing to take if it gives the Deceptions or Predacons an advantage. As to your first statement, I never cared for Starfeather. She has always merely been a tool of amusement or otherwise. If you invested anything personal into her, then that is a mistake you brought onto yourself."
Terrorsaur felt his blood boil. He knew that was what Megatron was trying to do in order to cause him to falter. He had to keep his anger in check if he wanted any chance of defeating him. He knew this battle was going to be the hardest that he had ever fought. Not only was he fighting for himself, but also for Starfeather's life. He knew she could probably feel his stress and anger and almost wished that she was here. Then again, he supposed that it was better that she wasn't here. If he failed, he didn't want her to see him die...
"If you see it as a mistake, fine. But I see it as a source of strength," Terrorsaur said. "Forgive me if I sound like a Maximal, but I learned something during my time with them. I learned that they have something that we don't. They taught me that respect, trust, and teamwork are the keys to overcoming almost any obstacle. I respected Primal as a leader. I trusted the Maximals to watch my back when we found ourselves in hard situations. I've come this far to challenge you only through working together with those around me. Not only that, but they've given me a reason to fight. It is here that we draw the line.
"I'm not afraid to say it. I've taken Starfeather as my bondmate and you have made the mistake of threatening her life. I will fight until my last sparkbeat to protect her. Taking leadership of the Predacons is merely a bonus."
Megatron frowned, gritting his dental plates. Perhaps he had underestimated Terrorsaur's ambitions. However, a change in ambition did not equal a change in ability. He knew how he fought and his techniques and weaknesses. He just had to be extra careful in how he proceeded from here.
"So, you admit that you've let your emotions cloud your judgment. A poor move on your part, Terrorsaur," Megatron chided. "There's a reason why we are taught from sparklinghood that these things you speak of are weaknesses. If you will, allow me to reeducate you."
"I'd like to see you try," Terrorsaur sneered. From the sidelines, Quickstrike made his discontentment about the seemingly endless dialogue known.
"Hey now, enough flapping your yaps and get to the nitty-gritty!" he jeered. Tundra proceeded to roughly elbow him in the gut. He doubled over and the two mechs once again faced each other.
"Your move, Terrorsaur," Megatron said, extending an arm as if expecting a handshake. To which Terrorsaur answered by lunging into the air and raining laser fire down onto his opponent.
Megatron responded by dodging to the side and returning fire. Terrorsaur dove, a shot grazing his shoulder. He continued his dive and came directly at Megatron, readying his shoulder cannon and sent a volley of missiles down on him. Megatron took a few hits, but managed to escape the rest. As Terrorsaur brought himself up from his dive and readied to bank back around, Megatron took the opportunity to take a lowbrow shot at his opponent's back.
Terrorsaur squawked in pain and fell from the sky, cursing himself for leaving his rear open. Moonscope moved to assist him, but Scorponok caught her shoulder.
"Don't. They have to settle this on their own," he said. "It's how it's meant to be."
The red mech got to his feet just as Megatron reached him. He drew his sword as Megatron brought down his tail cannon in an attempt to wield it as a club. Terrorsaur blocked the blow and pushed back, striking repeatedly and furiously. Megatron blocked and parried his swings, stepping back as Terrorsaur came forward as if they were taking part in a deadly dance.
Before he allowed himself to be pushed too far to the edge of the circle of mechs and femmes that surrounded them, Megatron swung wide and knocked Terrorsaur off balance. The red mech caught himself, but dropped his sword. The hollowblade shut off and the hilt skittered across the ground until it came to a stop at the base of a rock. Megatron once again brought his cannon down to bludgeon him, but Terrorsaur caught it with his hands. He struggled against the chrome mech's sheer brute strength. Screeching loudly, he threw off his cannon, causing him to drop it.
Megatron growled and lunged, using his bare hands. He grabbed at the rim of Terrorsaur's chest plate and threw a punch with his other hand. Terrorsaur scrambled to yank the larger mech's hand off of him, but the punch sent his senses awry. He was punched again and again until Megatron let go of him and let the final blow knock him back on his aft.
-x-
Starfeather wasn't exactly sure what was happening. She had only stayed for a portion of Megatron's speech over the comm. channel. She only knew the thoughts and emotions that she was picking up from her mate. Before Optimus could come up with a plan, she bolted from the base, ignoring any calls she received ordering her to come back. Terrorsaur was in danger and she had to get to him.
-x-
Terrorsaur spat blood from his mouth and tried desperately to regain himself. As he feared, he was losing, but he couldn't panic now. If he let himself succumb to his fears, he'd have no chance at all of beating the Predacon leader. He struggled to stand back up, but Megatron heaved a kick that flung Terrorsaur for several feet. As he floundered on the ground, Megatron approached and slammed his foot down on his helm, partially burying the other mech's face into the dirt. He leaned down, resting one elbow on his knee.
"I have to say, I'm disappointed," he stated, his voice silky with arrogance. "I would have thought after giving me such a sparkfelt speech that you would have presented more of a challenge."
The red mech sputtered, dirt mixing with the energon and mech fluid in his mouth. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't speak. The pressure from Megatron's foot held his jaw open.
"I suppose this is the end of the line for you," Megatron continued. "You've been a thorn in my side for far too long and I've foolishly allowed you to fester and spoil my plans. Now, I intend to rectify that mistake."
Terrorsaur did his best to meet the other mech's optics and glare in defiance. Megatron still had the blade composed of energon that he had used to carve Rampage's spark in two. He brought it out now and readied to stab his opponent in the back and pierce and extinguish his spark. Before he could make another move, a shrill cawing echoed through the hills followed by the transmetal raven the feral cries belonged to. Starfeather glided over the ground, coming directly for the circle of Predacons.
"No!" she screamed, transforming and readying her blaster without slowing her momentum.
Star… Don't… Terrorsaur's weak voice murmured in her head. This… is my fight.
"I don't care!" she shouted out loud, heading straight for the Predacons leader. Before she could barrel into him, she was halted by a web net that wrapped around her. She stopped short at the end of the tether and dropped to the ground in a writhing heap.
"Let me go!" she cried. She continued to struggle as she was reeled in, activating her arm blades and attempting to cut herself free.
"Shut up and watch, feathers-for-brains," Blackarachnia hissed. "This is the Predacon way whether you like it or not."
Then, the Maximals came charging over the hill and raced toward the circle of Predacons. They lined up at the base of the hill, Primal in the front and everyone else flanking him on either side.
"Stop right there, Megatron," the Maximals leader shouted. "We won't let you touch any living thing in that valley!"
Megatron had paused to watch the scene unfold, never releasing any pressure from the downed mech's head or moving his blade from his back. He had presumed that the Maximals would show up eventually. They had a nasty habit of doing so, but he would not allow them to interfere.
"Predacons, defensive positions!" he barked. They grudgingly did as he ordered, only doing so for the honored tradition that was taking place. However, he had a new idea. With a heavy shove, he slightly crushed Terrorsaur's skull structure and stepped off of him. The red screeched woefully with the pain. It affected Starfeather as well. She screamed, still trapped inside the she-spider's net, and clutched her head.
With an easy and fluid motion, Megatron sliced open the net and grabbed the raven by her throat. She clawed at his hands, but it was no use. She was overwhelmed by the pain she was receiving from her mate. She wasn't used to blocking things from their bond just yet.
"Say goodbye to your little sweetspark, traitor," he sneered to Terrorsaur then laughed with triumph as he aimed his cannon at him. "Now, my dear Starfeather, watch him die before I eliminate your race and destroy you."
"Terrorsaur! No!" she shrieked as her pent up tears finally started to trickle down her face, reaching out for him all the while. She didn't care about her ancestors right now. All she wanted to do was tear Megatron to microscopic bits and hold tight to her love and never let go.
Terrorsaur's vision was dimming and he felt the growing feeling of complete and utter failure wash over him along with the waves of pain. He had lost. Not only was he going to lose his life, but he was going to lose the only person in the universe that had meant more to him than a scrap heap. As he gazed sorrowfully and apologetically into her beautiful icy blue optics, something inside him began to stir. He began to feel his pain lessen and his strength return. Whatever this was coursed throughout his body and with every pulse of his spark, he got stronger. But how? Why? Then again, it didn't matter right now. He had to save his mate, to save her ancestors so that she would live. He had to save his brother and sister, to save his comrades. He had to save the flow of time and make sure everything remained as it was supposed to. He had to win!
"NEVER!" he screeched in retaliation to Megatron's last statement as he leaped up suddenly, cracked optics blazing, and raced forward.
Megatron released Starfeather, shoving her aside, and attempted to fire at his rebelling subordinate. The raven crashed into G-Force and they almost fell over, but he steadied them and held her in place. She didn't notice and only watched with growing hope and angst at the rekindled battle.
This wasn't supposed to happen. At least, in Megatron's mind. Terrorsaur crashed into him and bowled him over. He tore at Megatron's transmetal mainframe with his bare hands. Megatron roared with pain and punched his assailant off, aiming a kick for good measure. Terrorsaur skidded across the ground a few inches on all fours and leaped aside when Megatron kicked. He grabbed his hollowsword from where it laid on the ground and activated it in one swift motion. He took a flying leap to slice the other's throat.
It was over in a second. Terrorsaur heard shocked gasps from the crowd all around them. He clutched the hilt of his sword as he looked to see what he had done. He first saw Megatron's chest with his sword sticking out of it. He had stabbed clean through to the other side where you could see the tip sticking out. He could hear the Predacon leader's spark struggling in vain to pulse with the blade dividing it.
Megatron knew this was it. He could feel his essence fading. His vision blurred as he glared at Terrorsaur and those gathered around.
"You… may have defeated me, Terrorsaur… but you will never be able to… bring the Predacons to glory, no…" he ground out and fell to his knees. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, spattering it on Terrorsaur's face. "You will always be… a slave to the Maximals… If you survive, that is… yes..."
With those words, Megatron mustered a twisted smirk. Using his last bit of strength, he took the energon knife that he still held and shoved it as far as he could into Terrorsaur's chest. Terrorsaur gasped in shock and pain, letting go of the hilt of his sword, and stumbled back a step. He stared in horror at the knife jutting from his torso. Starfeather doubled over and screamed with pain as her mate collapsed onto his back.
Satisfied, Megatron's optics darkened for the last time as his spark extinguished. His body fell forward and laid motionless in the dirt, processed energon pooling around him. So ended the reign of Megatron.
