Disclaimer: The following is a work of fanfiction. I do not own any of the franchises involved.
It is the year 2029.
Nearly a century and a half have passed since the awakening of the super robot lifeforms known as the Transformers.
The beings hailed from the planet Cybertron, torn apart by millennia of revolutions and civil wars.
The factions that found themselves on Earth were the heroic Autobots, which defended humanity, and the villainous Decepticons, who sought total domination of the universe.
In truth, both sides once fought against tyranny, only to be split by ambition and zealotry.
Optimus Prime and Megatron, the respective leaders of the Autobots and Decepticons, each believed that they could sway their former comrade to peaceful reunification.
But as casualties and vendettas piled up, it seemed as if the war could only end in the complete eradication of one side.
Then, a third party emerged.
On July 20th, 1969, the Commonwealth of Equestria revealed itself when its exiled co-ruler, Princess Luna, encountered a human/Autobot expedition to the moon.
Known for its successful history of "magic," pacifism, and diplomacy, the Equestrians quickly proved themselves valuable allies and negotiators.
In 1985, the landmark NEST (Networked Elements: Supporters and Transformers) Treaty was signed, solidifying the triple alliance between Earthlings, Equestrians, and Autobots.
Thanks to NEST, humanity soon prospered on Earth, the Moon, Mars, and in space colonies orbiting the eight planets of the solar system!
But Megatron, an ever crafty opponent, never took the enemy coalition seriously.
He knew that it would only be a matter of time before tensions would rise between the so-called "allies," upon which he would immediately exploit.
Megatron's prediction would come true in May of 2014.
A new extraterrestrial menace known as the Garoga Empire declared war upon humanity and unleashed terrifying monsters known as Kaiju upon Earth's cities!
Despite the NEST alliance's best efforts, human forces on Earth suffered heavy losses before the research organization Monarch was reorganized as the core of a new anti-kaiju task force!
The newly formed Earth Defense Forces repelled the invaders by taming Earth's native Kaiju and reverse-engineering Cybertronian technology!
And it was there that Megatron pounced.
The Garoga War had drained humanity's resources, and by focusing on Earth's defenses, the colonies fell prey to Decepticon raiders and equally unscrupulous mercenaries!
In 2019, that unrest boiled over.
The Mars-based Republic of Munzo renamed itself the Principality of Zeon and violently seceded from the Earth-led United Federation.
Despite efforts by the Equestrians to mend the rift, the flames of secession spread to the other planets and colonies of the solar system.
Using "Mobile Suits," anti-kaiju weapons derived from Cybertronian biology, the human race nearly halved itself in yet another round of bloodshed!
The Autobots, seeing echoes of their own fratricidal war, intervened and forced an armistice after one year of the bloodiest fighting seen in human history.
Nine years have passed, and Megatron now has a plan to finally end this dark chapter of history.
A plan so intricate that even his most loyal troops only had the faintest idea!
But as it turned out, the plan would come with an unforeseen cost.
Megatron's entire worldview…
Sea of Tranquility: Red Sea, Blue Earth
Chapter 1: Death of a Tyrant
Autobot City, Tennessee, U.S.A…
A battle-damaged Optimus Prime spoke.
"It was an ingenious plan. Sending Deathsaurus to the colonies, the combiners and city-bots to Monster Island, and the Insecticons to Equestria, all to stretch our forces thin. Then during all that chaos, you hijack a shuttle and sneak past our defenses."
Optimus aimed his ion blaster at his equally battered foe.
"But, you underestimated us like all of your other attempts!"
"Finish him off, Prime! Do it now!"
The old Autobot Kup yelled from a distance.
"Grant me mercy, Prime! I beg you!"
Megatron groaned.
"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought-"
"-I was made of sterner stuff."
Optimus froze as Megatron took the words out of his mouth!
"What?"
Hot Rod suddenly lunged at Megatron!
"Oh no, you don-"
BLAM!
Optimus and Kup stared in horror as Hot Rod fell backward with a smoking hole from his chest!
"No!"
In a blind rage, Optimus fired his blaster at Megatron repeatedly!
The first blast destroyed the hidden pistol Megatron had drawn, along with his hand!
The next couple of blasts tore holes of molten metal into his torso!
The final blast shattered his helmet and scarred half of his face!
Optimus then threw away the rifle and drew his Energon ax!
As he approached Megatron, he saw the tyrant whisper a final taunt!
"I knew you had it in you…"
With one last hateful yell, Prime brought down his ax.
The Energon splashing on Prime's face shocked him out of his rage.
The Autobot Supreme Commander backed away in revulsion.
"What have I done?!"
Despite all the bloody battles and atrocities between them, Prime still believed that his old friend was worth redeeming.
But that was no longer possible.
In one brief moment, he had lost control, and brutally ended him.
"I had no choice! He shot Hot Rod!"
"You could have disarmed him! Arrested him! You didn't have to bash his head in!"
As Prime wrestled with his conscience, Ultra Magnus happened upon the scene and bellowed,
"Megatron has fallen! Autobots, press the attack!"
Elsewhere, Starscream watched in personal satisfaction as his hated superior met an inglorious fate.
Outwardly, however, he composed himself and signaled the surviving Decepticons with a familiar refrain.
"All forces, retreat!"
"We're just gonna run without avenging Lord Megatron?!"
A zealous Decepticon shouted.
If an Autobot sniper hadn't shot him right after that sentence, Starscream would've done so himself.
"If you wish to join him, be my guest."
Astrotrain sighed and transformed into a shuttle large enough to transport some of the retreating 'Cons.
Prime turned towards Kup, who was tending to Hot Rod's wound.
"Kup, how is he?"
"Shot missed his vitals, but he's pretty messed up. I gave him my last Energon grenade, but he'll need a medic."
"Puh-Prime…"
"Easy, Hot Rod, you did well. You saved me."
Prime handed Kup two more Energon grenades.
"He needs these more than I do."
"But Prime, you're leaking all over the place!"
"A good leader puts his troops before himself."
The old Autobot smiled and activated the healing grenades, slowly mending Hot Rod's wound.
"Prime!"
Ratchet and Ironhide approached the group.
"Just made it back from Monster Island. What happened?"
Prime turned and stared at the mangled form of the Decepticon leader.
"Is that who I think it is?"
Ironhide asked, bewildered.
"Regrettably."
"Shame, I was looking forward to the trial."
Ratchet snarked as he healed Prime with his Energon Repair Ray.
"It might be premature to celebrate."
"Why is that?"
"I have a suspicion that that wasn't the real Megatron. He had an opportunity to shoot me or use Hot Rod as a hostage and escape, but he didn't act on them. He went this far to take us down, why throw it all away?"
"A body double? Impossible. The Decepticons might be violent brutes, but I'd doubt they'd fall for a trick like that!"
"Prime!"
"Magnus."
"The shuttle they hijacked. We could only save Brawn. Prowl, Huffer, and Windcharger are offline."
Prime sighed and looked down at Hot Rod, now being treated by Ratchet.
Ultra Magnus followed his gaze and grimaced in solidarity.
"I can only hope that their sacrifices weren't in vain."
"You really think he'd use a body double?"
"I fear that Megatron is not really dead, and even if he were, a Decepticon Civil War would only be the start of our worries."
Ultra Magnus inspected the smoking, ruined remains.
"Mechanical data matches that of Megatron's records. It is him."
Prime still looked unsure.
"Don't worry, Prime. At the very least, we have rid the universe of one great evil."
In the dark reaches of space…
Elsewhere in the vast cosmos, a peculiar planet moved on its own volition.
Unknown to but a few, the planet was merely a guise for an ancient mechanical being with only one purpose.
The destruction of life, to bring balance to creation.
However, the planet had done its job for so long that its mind devolved into a complete hatred for all life in the multiverse.
And now, the being detected an anomaly, an event that should've transpired differently but deviated to its current course.
Unicron, as the being was known, usually did not care for such matters.
More deviations meant more universes, which to him, meant more food.
But then, a menacing aura manifested itself in the vicinity of the anomaly!
Whatever gave off that aura could very well threaten even a god of destruction such as himself!
The planet tilted itself slightly and soon vanished into nothingness as it warped to its target!
En route to Cybertron…
"Just how many forces did we lose in the last battle?!"
"Total Casualties: 80%, Total Fatalities: 50%."
"You mean to tell me Megatron spent all our resources on this 'decisive blow' only to get himself and half our troops killed?!"
Starscream bristled as Soundwave reported the costs of Megatron's failure.
He had long dreamed of killing Megatron and usurping his place as the glorious leader of the Decepticons.
But now, he became the leader of a demoralized rabble of walking scrap metal!
Even in death, Megatron had found a way to humiliate him!
"I'm running low on Energon! Scrounge some up, or I won't make it back to Kaon!"
Astrotrain yelled.
Starscream growled in frustration.
"Drain what you need from the wounded and cast their chassis out the airlock!"
"For a moment, I thought you were actually worried about our troops."
Starscream turned and glared at the Decepticon, who dared to mock him.
He stared in shock for a moment, only to relapse into anger.
"Archforce. Where were you when Lord Megatron faced Prime? I'm sure Tarn and his Justice Division would like to know why their leader's body double survived when he didn't."
"Oh, you must be confused, Starscream. You see, Archforce and I switched bodies before the operation. He perished so that I can lure the Autobots into a false sense of security before destroying them for good this time."
Starscream did not hesitate to raise his null ray at Archforce.
"I won't tolerate this exploitation of our leader's demise! You're either lying or incredibly stupid! Such a switch would've been obvious to everyone!"
Archforce chuckled.
"Really, Starscream? You're going to shoot me? You've done that your entire ca-."
Archforce recoiled as Starscream emptied his null ray into his chest.
Several Decepticons raised their guns at Starscream!
"You actually believe him?! This imposter's only claim to leadership is the fact that his face looks like Megatron! He doesn't even have the same alt mode! You deserve someone with some experience on the front lines!"
"Front-line experience?! You flew off after literally shooting yourself in the foot!"
"And I would've lost much more if I kept up this foolish gamble! If I didn't give the order to retreat, you'd be Kaiju droppings right about now, Brawl! All of you would be spare parts for the Autobots, if not Autobots yourselves!"
"You're calling us traitors?! You, of all people, Starscream?!"
"Yes, Deathsaurus! I am calling you a traitor! While the rest of us were getting slaughtered, you were off gallivanting with your disgusting human allies and their mockeries of our species!"
"The colonies are ripe for revolution! They see the Autobots as the hypocrites and collaborators we always knew them to be! They were just like us when we rebelled against the Functionists!"
"That sentimentality is why we lose to the Autobots all the time!"
"Or maybe we need a leader who doesn't stab everyone in the back!"
"Why you-"
"Alert! Autobot ship detected!"
Every Decepticon in the standoff lowered their weapons at Soundwave's warning!
"Soundwave, Astrotrain report!"
"Autobot ship detected off the starboard side. Looks like a supply shuttle."
"We should board it."
"No, it might be a trap! Destroy it!"
"What are you doing, Starscream?! We're low on Energon, and I won't sacrifice any more of our wounded!"
"For a pirate, I'm surprised you don't know a feint when you see one. Besides, Deathsaurus, I outrank you! And if you don't do what I say, I know some Earthnoid supremacists who would be glad to know where rebellion is fomenting."
Deathsaurus angrily growled at Starscream and relented.
"Astrotrain! Can you fire at them?!"
"I diverted all Energon to my engines! Redirecting them to the guns will take too long! Can't you send out the Seekers?!"
"Skywarp! Thundercracker!"
No response.
"Where are those idiots?!"
"Skywarp and Thundercracker sustained serious injuries. They have been drained and jettisoned out the airlock, per your orders."
Soundwave monotonously updated.
"Scrap!"
Starscream did not want to admit that he felt remorse for ending the lives of his two closest friends.
"Blitzwing! Lugnut!"
Unfortunately, the German-accented Triple Changer and his giant friend were also preoccupied.
"Einen Augenblick, bitte (One moment, please). Lugnut is still mourning."
"Lord Megatron, why?!"
Starscream facepalmed.
Two female Decepticons stepped forth to volunteer: Deathsaurus's wife, Esmeral, and her lady-in-waiting, Lyzack.
"We'll take care of it."
"Esmeral! I-"
"Don't worry about us. Besides, you hardly let us fight those mobile suits earlier."
Deathsaurus smiled knowingly and let the two fembots deploy.
"Just be careful with the Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon. It drains energy quickly!"
"Got it!"
Indeed, Deathsaurus's trademark weapon only took one shot to pulverize the Autobot shuttle into fiery rubble!
But since it was directly linked to Esmeral's internal systems, it physically weakened her.
Thus, Lyzack had to carry her back to Astrotrain.
It was then that she saw Starscream throw a Decepticon out the airlock!
As he floated past, she recognized him as Archforce!
"Help…me…"
Archforce groaned.
"I... still... function…"
Knowing the threat Starscream had issued against her superior earlier, she kept quiet for Deathsaurus's sake and continued to the shuttle.
Little did anyone know, "Archforce" had told the truth!
Once he was alone in the darkness of space, the battered Megatron checked off a mental note,
"Phase 1: Mission City has ended. Proceed with Phase 2."
"Bad Comedy."
Megatron whispered.
His master plan was still in play.
"Rest peacefully, Megatron."
He saw a ringed planet in the distance.
"Galvatron will lead in your stead."
Much later, an alternate Antarctica…
Megatron awoke in a pod once more, this time clutching his chest in a fit of panic.
Recognizing his surroundings, he chuckled to himself.
"Combining Cosmic Rust and Deathsaurus's cannon. If only you unveiled that earlier, Shockwave, I might not need this crazy scheme."
Megatron sat up in his coffin-like pod, staring at the blood-red sea that used to be the Antarctic icecap!
In the horizon, four giant wings of lights stretched into the upper stratosphere!
"Begin Phase 3…"
Megatron recited.
"Cruel Angel!"
To be continued...