Chapter 2-The Day Terra Stood Still part 2
"So, Optimus," Jazz muttered. "Think they're ever going to turn on the lights in this place?"
Optimus sat totally still in the darkness. No, it was more than darkness. He was in a voice, an area that defied his senses and eluded every scan. Unlike organics, he could set his eyes to see into almost every spectrum band, and his audio array could act as a sonar to increase his reach without even moving a cable.
None of these abilities were doing him the slightest bit of good. All he could feel was that he was alive, intact and miraculously healed, and sitting upon some flat surface, a bench or shelf of some kind. Jazz's voice had startled him back to reality, and that meant that some of his senses were working…while others were not.
Or were being blocked.
He knew Jazz wasn't too far from him, about 15 meters away, 80 degrees to his left, but that was all he could tell. He still couldn't see a thing, and he had no idea if they were alone.
"Armorhide?" Optimus called out, surprised he was able to hear his own voice. "Megatron?"
There was no reply.
"I think we're alone." Jazz said, breaking the silence. "What happened? Was it the Cons?"
"If it was, Megatron didn't know a thing about it. I was looking right at him when the lightshow hit. He was just as surprised as the rest of us." Optimus said. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes. "Primus, my sense of time is skewed."
"How long do you think this is going to go on?" Jazz asked. "I hate that I can't move."
"Anyone who's seen you dance already knows you can't move, Jazz." Optimus said.
"Har, har, kick a mech when he's down."
A surprisingly soft and turgid voice intruded the conversation. "Yes. Test your boundaries. Attempt to discern if you have any strengths beyond physical. This is an excellent beginning."
Optimus and Jazz went silent at once, expecting the voice to say something more. It did not.
"Who are you?" Optimus demanded. "Where have you taken us?"
The voice remained silent. Though there was no physical change in the atmosphere surrounding him, Prime could sense that a shift occurred, that the entity was monitoring the more closely, but refused to answer any questions.
In fact, it appeared more interested when Optimus and Jazz traded barbs and wanted to see a fight.
"Only those with something to hide refuse to show their face," Optimus said, switching tactics. "Or those who are afraid."
Nothing.
"Ugh, bored now." Jazz sighed, giving a slightly exaggerated groan. This was a tactic Jazz felt would work, acting disinterested to get a rise out of their captors, and it worked like a charm.
"You're bored?" The Voice inquired. "Your fate is uncertain. The matter of your immediate continued existence is up for debate. You are little more than a few impulses of energy facing racing about a cybernetic brain, all else is uncertain, a mystery, and yet you are bored?"
"There's nothing to see." Jazz shrugged, playing his act up as much as he could. "Nothing to do."
"You see no value in pondering your current state?"
"Nope. It's dull." He said, driving the final nail into the coffin of their captor's patience and tolerance.
The voice hesitated, then bellowed, "Behold!"
The darkness about them lifted, slinking away from the edges of their vision. No, it simply lifted. The infinite voice surrounding Optimus and Jazz melted away and was replaced by a spherical sea of stars around them. Optimus realized that they were encased within some type of sphere that looked like it was composed of nebulae.
Optimus was pleased. Once again, Jazz had shown his hidden intelligence and sly wit to fool this entity into revealing their prison. At least, he thought it was a clever ply. Jazz could've been actually bored.
Now able to move, Optimus looked around and saw that he and Jazz were not the only ones encased in a spherical prison. More than a hundred such translucent balls of energy stretched outward in either direction, only a dozen yards separating one from the next. Optimus saw Armorhide and Megatron, who had also been healed-in one off to their immediate left. The rest were filled with the humans that were taken alongside them.
They were all floating an arena made of smooth marble with blue-gray walls and a circular perimeter that played host to seats. But the arena was just one of the many features that caught Prime's attention.
The environment the arena sat in was like an inverted planet or moon-a dyson sphere, in Gina's vernacular. The interior was spherical and there were swaths of land with blue strips of water separating them hundreds of feet wide. A world within a world.
"What in Prima's name?" Optimus muttered. What is this place? Where were they?
"How can something like this place exist?" Jazz asked, equally awestruck.
"It exists because we will it so. It serves a function…as with all of you."
The air above the arena shifted to reveal a massive creature all too familiar to the two Autobots. This creature had a round body shaped like a plant see made of hard emerald, and attached to it were four faces; three depicted men, but the main one was that of a cherubic child.
"Look at me and despair," The dolem said with a disturbingly child-like voice. "For I am vast."
"You're a dolem. A cardinal." Optimus said. This situation went from bad to worse in the span of a few seconds.
"You have seen your final destination." The Cardinal rang out, a multilayered voice droning from the cherub's face, its expression literally stone. "There is no way out of my realm. And where you have been taken, there is no hope of escape."
Jazz huffed. "It's insecure about it. It's not so arrogant as to show us how we got in because then we'd figure a way out."
"Not at all. I am simply solidifying that there is no way for your friends to save you, and you cannot run from me here, in my paradise…my Eden. You will be safe here, with me, until the End of Days, and our Lady Jubileus awakens to perform the Final Judgment."
"Who are you?" Prime demanded.
"I am Lustitia, Cardinal of the South."
"And I'm Jazz, glad to meet you." Jazz laughed hollowly.
"I look upon you cybertronians now, and wonder how such stagnate beings have killed three of my kind already." Lustitia said. "How a race of beings who have flawlessly orchestrated the fall of their homeworld be able to refuse the might of our God."
"You clearly have not been paying attention." Optimus remarked.
"We know what's inside you. Each of you. You conspire to be something more or something different, but your evolution stopped long ago. The false god that birthed you clearly has not done a good job of enacting discipline on you all."
"And clearly your creator was so ashamed of how violent and barbaric its children have become that it abandoned you." Optimus shot back.
A 20 foot long tentacle with a bulbous tip similar to a spore emerged from Lustitia's mouth and slammed against Prime's orb. He winced as the disgusting plant-like extension caused a high pitched ringing that assaulted his visual and audio sensors. Thankfully it didn't last long and stopped after just a few minutes, but Optimus could feel his steel bones vibrating.
"Why have you taken the humans?" Optimus asked, his voice tight with anger. "What are you planning to do with them?"
"Free yourself of concern. They're safe…for now. They will remain unharmed, so long as you comply with my commands."
"They're hostages?" Jazz spat with contempt. "Why not just reprogram us? Make us do what you want? You're forcing us anyway."
"No, I'm not. The spheres jumble your cognitive process, making physical movement difficult, but you've always possessed free will, whether you realize that or not. Your physical strength is not the only measure of your power, and that is something you must learn."
"Go to hell." Optimus growled.
"We are already there, Optimus Prime, and it is a realm of your kind's making. Now lie still and look upon the arena, for that is where you will show me your worth. Why Jubileus is obsessed with you so."
It took the Autobots a moment to realize that the arena was being used as a battleground between two beings. One of them was a dolem, a lithe, womanly creature with smooth marble skin and a jewel encrusted golden headdress over her eyes. Her opponent was more hellish looking; a misshapen creature with a humanoid torso sporting abnormally long arms that dragged across the ground. Its head was bone white, with a skull-like face with burning eyes within hollow sockets and curved horns atop its head. Its lower body was merged with an equine body that looked like a skeletal horse, with its ribs and head covered in hard bone. But its feet had eerily human-like claws instead of hooves.
The dolem's name was Joy, a warrior of the Second Sphere and vastly more intelligent than the drones of the Third Sphere. The demonic horseman she fought was the remnants of a savage alien known to many as the Didir in translated human tongue. Already ghoulish in appearance, this Didir had been pushed to the very brink of insanity by Lustitia.
Joy danced around the arena in a graceful acrobatic display, leaving trails of golden sparkles in her wake. The Didir's ravaged wraith-like form let out a terrifying wheeze as it galloped towards the dolem, its hands grasping the stone as it charged at her. It swung its long arms and tried to grab her, but she danced out of its reach and fluttered the translucent shawl that extended from her arms. Four thin beams of light shot from the cloth and pierced the Didir's body. It howled and swung its arm to smack her away.
The crowd rose on either side of the combatants. It was comprised of different types of dolems, members of the lower class First Spheres and the more intelligent Second Spheres. They all sat close enough to have a ringside view of the fighting, and their garbled cries and cheers were like listening to the deep rumbles of Metroplex's inner workings. Optimus realized that they cheered more for Joy than the Didir. The more horrifying realization he made was that they wanted her to tear the alien apart. This wasn't some gladiator match. It was an execution.
Joy danced circles around the Didir, slashing away at its arms as it tried to hit her and quickly closed the distance between them. A quick thought turned her scarves into solid gold and stabbed into the creature's equine body, earning a pained wheeze from the alien. She jumped on its body and severed both its arms with a flick of her wrist, and the Didir wailed in agony, mouth wheezing and gasping for mercy, with crimson, almost black, blood spurting from its stumps. Joy took hold of one of its horns and slashed her hand across its neck, separating head from body in one quick motion.
Was this a fight or a glorified execution? Optimus was still trying to figure out the answer even as Joy lifted her gory prize for all to see, earning more cheers from her people. Above the arena, Lustitia looked on impassively.
"Will you be as unfortunate as that creature? Or will you show me the power my Goddess craves from you?" Lustitia asked. "It seems that we will find the answer together."
Optimus could do nothing but glare up at the Cardinal, at the dolems as a whole, as these self-proclaimed gods preached about spreading warmth and light to the universe but do it through conquest and subterfuge. They were no different from galactic warlords, hiding their greed for power and glory under a thin guise of benevolence. He had seen all this before and it made him sick.
And yet…
Something within him had responded to the visceral action he witnessed. Something buried deep had flared, if only for an instant, as the dolems committed their slaughter.
Something within the Matrix.
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Fracture frowned as she watched her team fight the Autobots. They were doing their job in keeping the Autobots at bay for the most part, but something didn't sit well with her. She saw Darkshadow fighting Skyfire, Tomahawk and Gunbarrel duking it out in the snow, Wreckage fighting Arcee and Bulkhead, everyone was accounted for, but she still felt uneasy.
"Shockblast, how close are we to the energon vein?" Fracture asked.
"Are you seriously asking me that now?" He yelled.
"Don't start with me, Shockblast, we're running on a tight schedule here, so every second counts. Increase the power to your beam and hurry up!" Fracture yelled at him, ignoring his protests about burning up and looked around the cliff she stood on. "Come on out, Autobot, I know you're here somewhere!"
She felt the air shift behind her and ducked just as a vibro-blade slashed over her head. She converted her arm into a blaster and fired at her attacker, but she hit nothing. Backing away, she looked around frantically. "Show yourself, coward! I know who you are, so your little tricks won't work on me!"
"Aw, and I didn't even get to the main event." The air shimmered and a slender blue and white mech appeared out of thin air. "Got to admit, Fracture, I didn't think you'd find me out so quickly."
"How can I forget the Autobot with carnival tricks under his belt?" Fracture flexed her left hand and brought out a vibro-blade. "Especially when said Autobot is a traitor!"
"Can't betray something you don't believe in." Mirage replied.
Fracture ran forward and slashed her blade at Mirage's head. He jumped back and took out his own vibro-blade to parry her attacks and force her back to end her assault. Despite their differences in size, they were evenly matched. Fracture was just a bit faster and she landed a few hits on his arms, but he managed to avoid any fatal strikes. When she tried to stab his face, he dodged her blade and grabbed her extended arm to throw her over his shoulder and slam her into the ground. Fracture twisted her body and kicked him in the chin before using her legs to slam her body into his chest. He stumbled back and managed to catch himself before falling off the edge.
"I thought you had a better sense of tactics, Mirage." Fracture said, pointing her blade at his face. "You should've gone for Shockblast while you had the chance."
Mirage smirked. "What makes you think I didn't?"
Fracture's eyes widened and she spun around to Shockblast. "Shockblast, shut the beam off!"
"Oh, now you want me to-" Shockblast's sarcastic reply was cut short when the sticky bomb attached to the side of his alt mode exploded. The explosion blew off a chunk of Shockblast's body and sent him spiraling out of control. He was still channeling his solar beam, which had torn a deep gouge in the icy ground and up the cliff side. Fracture and Mirage jumped apart as the beam nearly incinerated the cliff they were fighting on, and Shockblast's body did a full rotation before his beam descended upon the other fighting bots.
"Holy…!" Skyfire kicked Darkshadow away before the beam passed dangerously close to her leg. Arcee, Bulkhead and Wreckage also jumped apart as the heat beam slammed into the ground and blasted them all away. Thankfully, Shockblast had finally run out of energy and crashed into the side of the canyon, tumbling down to the ground.
"Wow," Mirage coughed as he pushed himself up, brushing the snow off him. "Wasn't expecting it to be that flashy."
"Slag," Fracture growled. "All that work and we didn't even pierce the energon!"
"Sucks to suck, huh, Fracture?" Mirage grinned.
"That's enough out of you!" Fracture charged at Mirage and slammed into him, shoving her blaster in his face. They rolled along the ground grappling for control, but before their fight could turn deadly, they saw something falling from the sky. Mirage saw that it was heading right on top of them and pushed Fracture off him.
"Move!"
Mirage and Fracture rolled away from each other as a large ball made of jade slammed into the ground where they once stood. Autobots and Decepticons looked up as the Radiance dolem bounced along the ground, making the ground shake with each impact.
"Friend of yours, Bulkhead?" Wreckage spat.
Radiance stopped bouncing and its outer shell broke apart, reorganizing into two large stone hands that tried to grab at Mirage and Fracture, who each barely managed to jump out of reach. The hands slammed together and merged together to form a giant jade drill and shot at Bulkhead and Arcee.
"Nope, only foe." Bulkhead sighed.
Arcee took out her blaster. "One large enough for all of us."
XXXXXX
The situation was hectic for everyone. Prowl and Ratchet got word of more dolems in various parts of the western hemisphere, centered around Osea, where they landed in cities all over the country. Prowl was losing his patience, but he carefully kept his stress to a minimum as he coordinated the mobilization of the Autobots on multiple fronts. Bulkhead, Arcee, Mirage, Tomahawk and Skyfire were dealing with the Cons in the Arctic. Rodimus, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were handling the one in November City. Bumblebee, Moonracer, and Cliffjumper were fighting one in Lanshaw, Minnesota. Hound and Ironhide were Dakote, and Wheeljack and Trailbreaker were fighting one in Seattle, Washington. They were spread thin, and Prowl was sure if another dolem appeared, then he would have to roll out with Ratchet or Lifeline to fight it.
"Sparkplug, give me a sit rep." Prowl said, not taking his eyes off the screen.
"We just got a call from Bulkhead. There's a dolem in the Arctic too and it's attacking everyone." Sparkplug reported.
"At least they took care of that damn heat wave." Prowl muttered. "For all the good that means."
"If this keeps up, we might have to call the military in for support." Barnett said. "If that happens, I'm not sure we'll get out of this without casualties."
"Let's focus on the ones we're dealing with now, Agent Barnett." Sparkplug said. "We have enough on our plate as it is."
"Then who's conducting the search for Prime and the others?"
"The children and the Minicons at Omega One." At Barnett skeptical look, Prowl said, "The children have experience with this kind of phenomena before, Agent Barnett, and they're more capable of providing assistance than anyone else."
Barnett didn't argue that. Of course the human officials who were a part of the agreement between the government and the Autobots knew about their human allies, the children who made first contact with the Minicons. Barnett had paid close attention to how close the children were to the Autobots and Minicons, who treated them as part of the team and displayed extensive knowledge about their culture and technology, among other things. Those who knew about the children mainly worked with the ARA, and only Barnett knew the full extent of how deep their relationship went.
Barnett wasn't crazy about involving children in these things, especially with something as dangerous as this, but it was hard to dispute that the children were certainly more equipped to handle these things than anyone else. His conversation with Gina Harkins showed that.
'I'm sorry, Prime, but it falls to you and the others to get yourselves free.' Prowl thought. 'I just hope you have the means to do so.'
XXXXXX
The Cybercord Treaty was an agreement between the Autobots and the Osean government that had been made official almost a month before "Declaration Day". The terms were simple; the Autobots would protect Terra from the Decepticons and in return, not only will the Osean government grant them asylum in their territory, they will also provide military assistance in locating the remaining Minicon stasis panels. Information will be traded freely, but only information (Optimus made it clear to the president and his advisors that Osea will not be given advancements in weaponry). The treaty originally only included Osea, but over the past six months, it grew to accept more nations.
One of the conditions of the treaty was for the Autobots to have a permanent base in the country. Of course, no one was vacating the Ark any time soon, but the Minicons were given a place of their own instead to live and work in. They were given a base built out of a hollowed out cave system built into a mountain deep into a section of Yellowstone Park, in an area where visitors weren't allowed to go. The interior was made to be large enough to allow almost a dozen Autobots to hang around in, so it was perfect for over two dozen Minicons to live in. Once they installed some computers, two power generators, and a little human touch courtesy of Penny, Omega One soon became a remote haven for the wayward Minicons of the Exodus.
Away from the flashing cameras, gawking humans and stuffy government officials, the Minicons lived here in relative peace, free to work on their own while remaining in contact with the Autobots. And since the Autobots were currently engaged in fighting off the dolems on multiple fronts, it fell to the human/Minicon support team to locate those missing Autobots and humans. Which was easier said than done.
"So much for Friday night fever." Annie grumbled angrily.
"Don't complain, Annie, we're on the clock." Darren said.
"Piss off, I had to walk out on Brittany for this crap and we're no closer to finding those people than the Autobots!" She yelled.
"Hence why we need to think outside of the box." Gina said, her eyes scanning what news footage she could find of the incident in Ginza. Tapping her chin, she replayed the video, keeping an eye on the energy lattice that captured every living thing it touched. "There's something we're missing here. Sara, Roll Bar how are you two doing?"
Sara and Roll Bar were analyzing the energy samples Wheeljack sent over, trying their best to at least identify what it was. Judging from their expressions, they weren't having much luck.
"This is certainly no tangible energy form I've ever seen." Roll Bar scratched his head. The ionized container in front of him held an invisible, but audibly pulsating energy that shimmered like heat waves on a hot summer day. "It's not catalogued in our database and we can't analyze it properly without risking its dispersal into the air."
"The dolems call this energy quintessence." Sara said, looking at the container without blinking. "It is the source of their powers. They call it the life energy of the planet."
"Yeah, I heard them refer to it the same way to speak about blood." Gina pointed out. "In fact, Darren, Annie, I think your weapons run on that energy too."
The twins looked at each other at the mention of their weapons. It had been a while since either of them had used their respective weapons in battle since the Headmaster War, though Annie still regularly practiced with Mjolnir to remain in shape. Darren rarely touched Excalibur following his traumatic battle against Aries. Giving her brother a quick look, Annie held out her hand and Mjolnir flew out of its containment cell and into her hand.
"If that's the case, then why don't we try something out?" Annie walked over to the case holding the mysterious energy and held Mjolnir close to it. After a few seconds, the hammer started vibrating in her hand and it glowed softly.
"That must be Mjolnir resonating with the energy inside." Sara leaned forward, a little intrigued by this odd reaction. "This is…incredible."
"Yeah, it's something else. So what the hell does it mean?" Darren asked. Robotic aliens and mythical weapons that scan for specific DNA patters he could handle. Mystical energies wielded by god-like aliens was something else for him entirely. Could we use it to find the Autobots?"
"Possibly, but it might take a while." Gina sighed. "With no clues to their actual location, we're going to have to do global scans and just hope that we find some…super dimensional doorway or something."
"Then let's do it. We don't have any other choice." Roll Bar cracked his knuckles and got to work. "The Autobots are counting on us, and we can't let them down."
XXXXXX
Armorhide woke up to a white room on a recharge slab in a small compartment. It was empty save for a desk and a window with a door right next to it.
"This is…" Armorhide sat up as he remembered where he was. This was his apartment in Rodion, the very day he had been stationed in the city as an Autobot cadet. The day Rodion fell…and the first day he saw true terror for himself.
Something washed over him and the agitation he felt from the memories faded into a sense of elation. He stood up and stretched his stiff joints before heading back to the window.
Rodion was the sight to see for newcomers visiting the city for the first time. It was a riot of graceful, curved structures-each one colossal, with its spires and towers reaching miles into the brilliant azure sky. Shining ziggurats, their pinnacles laced with clouds, gleamed with a million arching lights. Delicate bridges connected the high structures to one another.
Armorhide resided in a graceful high tower of cezium steel and shimmering glass. He was spared the hassle of sharing his living quarters with another Autobot thanks to his late admission to the ranks. Stepping onto the balcony, he peered down over the edge. Three or more human miles below were long supply trains with a thousand cars, each the size of a terran cargo ship, carried goods to the dwellers of the bustling city. Armorhide recalled that those supply convoys moved day and night, for it they ceased, the city would stop functioning.
The next few minutes were a blur for Armorhide. One minute he was standing on his balcony, the next he was inside a leisure scooter heading towards the Assembly-a massive, circular domed and spired structure in the exact heart of Rodion. The Assembly was a special place-a center of Rodion science, astrology and technology. Before the war, it was like one giant star map that showed the locations of cybertronian colonies and outposts across the eastern arm of the galaxy in detailed holo-displays that were beautiful and awe-inspiring to behold. Even when Rodion became a shell of its former glory, the Assembly was still maintained by a skeleton crew for Autobots who just wanted some time away from the war.
Still drifting along as if in a dream, Armorhide scanned his surroundings, careful to note each and every detail to store them in his memory. Outside his leisure scooter, Armorhide saw vehicles of all sorts leaving and converging at the Assembly. Armorhide saw thousands of other citizens walking along high bridges, moving past a million examples of fine art, design and sculpture as they boarded the moving sidewalks that carried them into the main hall.
He got off near the shape of the domed Assembly building and walked towards it. He closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty of his home city. It all seemed so real. He could reach out and put his hands on any of it and truly believed the illusion was now his reality…except for that fourth wall. It remained a brilliant light, untouched by his desires.
He was drawn to it. The closer he came to the wall, the less comfortable he felt. Yet he had to know what lay beyond it.
Armorhide touched the wall…and screamed. The brilliant light faded and beyond it he saw a tenable vista of untouchable annihilation. Beyond the wall lay the day of the attack.
Beyond the wall lay Megatron.
XXXXXX
The Fall of Rodion. A momentous even in the War for Cybertron in which a massive battle between the Autobots and Decepticons that resulted in the city's destruction. Rodion was a pro-Autobot state that had arrested or killed any pro-Decepticons supporters that even thought about joining Megatron. In the later years of the WFC, which was known as the Crucible, Megatron himself led an army to attack and destroy the city. It got even more chaotic when Superion and Devastator fought. In the end, Rodion fell, but the amount of soldiers and resources lost in the battle didn't make his victory taste nearly as sweet.
Megatron could remember the elation he felt, torching the city that Orion Pax had once called home, the place where he developed his ideas of revolution and change against the Senate. It held memories for both of them, and ripping it from Prime's arms was euphoric.
'Yes,' Megatron thought. 'It truly was a day to remember, wasn't it?'
"If this is your way of trying to fool me into being complacent, you're sorely mistaken! Rodion wasn't a happy day for me, you idiot!" He yelled to the mysterious force manipulating his memories.
The environment shifted, and Megatron found himself in Kaon, the Decepticon power base and his new home. Against his will, contentment filled Megatron's being as he gazed at his homeland, the first city he liberated from the Primes' rustful hand.
Everywhere industrial factories belched smoke from superheated refineries that melted various ores mined from the surrounding environment. Towering factories that once served to provide weapons and goods to the disgraceful elite now forged weapons for the glorious Decepticon army. The sky was blackened with smoke from a million furnaces, with spidery buildings of glass, steel and stone spreading their jagged peaks into the sky. Kaon, the heart and birthplace of the Decepticon war machine.
With a tug of what humans call nostalgia, Megatron longed to walk the dark streets of his home city once again.
"Dolems!" He called out. "You must know that I am not like the others you've taken. Show yourselves to me. Reveal yourself in my presence, or spare me these mediocre mind games and wake me back up!"
There was no reply, yet Megatron felt a surge of frustration ring at the back of his mind that definitely didn't come from him. He smiled-one thing that he could hold over most is that he didn't let distant memories of the past cloud his vision of the present and future. And no fancy statue was going to distract him of his conquest of the galaxy!
The environment shimmered like a mirage, but instead of changing, Megatron felt his consciousness return. He smirked-now this is where the fun part began. His dream of home melted away, and Megatron slowly opened his eyes to the sound of a massive crowd cheering and large metal footsteps that could only belong to Prime in the distance. Yes, he even recognized the footsteps of his mortal enemy.
A fight was coming. At least one of the Autobots was being forced to fight. Megatron wished he could see it, but as his senses returned to him, he realized that he was in a physical chamber near some arena. He was the next show after the Autobot.
'So that's how they see us. We're just entertainment. Retched pieces of pumice!' Megatron growled. Those good for nothing animals will rue the day they treated him like some windup soldier. He broke free of his chains once, and he could do so again.
XXXXXX
"I'm never playing with Legos again!" Bumblebee exclaimed as he ducked under a sword slash from Radiance. The ever changing dolem was now in the form of two giant swords that were connected to its golden core. He fired his gun at the core, but the blades merged together into a giant bird and slammed into him, sending him smashing into a car. "Ow."
"You play with Legos?" Moonracer said, trying to take aim at the dolem through the scope of her sniper rifle. It was hard trying to get a good shot in with the creature shifting and moving every few seconds. "How'd you get into that?"
"Gina's idea. Said it'd do wonders for my creativity and imagination." Bumblebee jumped aside as Radiance changing back into a giant sword and came down on him. Its blade cut the car he hit in two and then it changed into two giant fists that punched him hard enough to knock him into a lamp post.
"Could you two focus on the giant rock kicking your asses and not on the creativity of Legos?" Cliffjumper grunted and littered its body with a barrage of rapid fire plasma blasts that chipped at its stony form. The Radiance formed a shield to better defend its core and pushed forward, slamming into the red Autobot. "Scrap!"
"I got you!" Bumblebee jumped in and helped Cliffjumper push against the shield. The dolem forced itself forward, but the two Autobots held it in place, though they were losing ground. "Moonracer, hit it!"
"I'm on it, I'm on it!" Moonracer focused her laser sights on the golden core behind the dolem's shield form and pulled the trigger seconds before it changed form again. The plasma bolt shot through the air and hit the golden orb just as it tried to attack Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, blasting off a large chunk of it.
The dolem staggered and froze, red sparkles spewing from the cracks in the orb. She reloaded and fired another shot at the core, which caused it to explode. The Radiance gave a very human-like scream as its jade pieces froze and then started to break apart, no longer animated by its core. Moonracer cheered.
"Woohoo! How do you like that, you stupid rock?" She hollered.
"Nice job, Moonracer!" Cliffjumper called up to her.
"Prowl, we've destroyed our dolem." Bumblebee reported. "How are things back at base?"
"The children might have found a way to find Prime's location through the lingering energy traces left behind back at Ginza. They're searching the globe as we speak." Prowl answered. "Rodimus and Ironhide's teams have also killed their dolems too and are moving to assist the others."
"We'll head over to assist Bulkhead's group in the Arctic. I imagine they're not having an easy time fighting the dolem and the Cons."
"Copy that, we'll…" Prowl trailed off and went silent for a few minutes, making Bumblebee worry.
"Prowl?"
Prowl spoke up again, his voice tight. "All units not engaged with the enemy, return to the Ark at once. There's been a new…development."
"There's always something, isn't it?" Moonracer sighed.
XXXXXX
The arena Optimus was brought to looked different than the last one-though it was far larger and its architecture more ornate. The exterior walls were organic-a form of durable, super hard bone-like shell that was smooth and pale ivory in color. Tiers that held the audience members rose from the floor of the arena in whorls that swirled gently around and upward, ringing the entire interior of the cone-shaped, mile-high structure. The arena's flat battlefield was also formed of the same bone-like substance.
Optimus had been led here not long after the last battle. Jazz accompanied him as far as the doorway before he was blocked off; a backup, perhaps, in the event that the primary combatant proved inadequate to the task of providing suitable entertainment-or so Prime surmised.
As typical of the Cardinal's arenas, the battle area was sliced in half-each half separated by a semi-invisible force field. Those same force fields also protected the audience from collateral damage that might result from the mayhem of the arena floor. Optimus heard the rumble of a thousand beings, yet the audience didn't cheer or applaud wildly. Rather, the beings who watched emitted a steady rumble that sounded like a single tense and angry murmur.
With Optimus faced was a Brave, a large, hunchback dolem with a cherub's face and a disproportionately muscular body. Optimus had fought this creature before, but this Brave looked different-it was taller, with the face of an old man instead of a cherub sporting a golden crown on its head. Muscles bulged with veins of red ore pulsating with power and somehow the creature looked even more unnatural to Optimus. It's golden eyes followed Optimus's every move as he stopped in front of the dolem and Optimus stared right back at it.
"You are the blasphemer." The Brave said, to Prime's surprise. Its voice came not from its mouth, but from a grotesque opening under its neck. The voice's tone was laced with contempt and loathing. "I am to destroy you."
"You can try." Optimus said.
"Five days of combat, five deaths to mark my flesh." The dolem hummed.
Only then did Optimus see the five gold halos hovering behind the Brave's head, which were all overlapped to form a single ring-each a badge of honor that marked an arena kill.
Suddenly the sound of trumpets filled the arena-what passed for fanfare music to the dolems.
The Brave was armed with only a massive double-bladed axe made of solid gold and crackled with energy. It swung its massive weapon expertly before pointing it at Optimus. Prime was given his own weapon, a beautifully forged golden sword and a jewel encrusted shield by one of the Jos. Now fully armed, both combatants stood on opposite ends of the force field, under the shadow of Lustitia.
The Cardinal's voice filled the arena. "I am the judge of the games and it is my duty to announce the rules of engagement. The golden axe can cut through any substance save the sword and shield the Autobot holds. And the Autobot's sword and shield can cut any object save the axe."
The crowd's angry murmur grew in intensity.
"The combatants will begin on equal footing," Lustitia continued. "But the longer the contest continues, the more obstacles will be thrown at the combatants…"
The roar of the crowd became deafening, but only Optimus understood the true context of the Cardinal's announcement: the longer the fight lasted, the worse things would get for him.
"Let the contest begin." Said the Cardinal. Suddenly the force field that separated Optimus and the Brave vanished.
With a roar, the dolem charged.
The attack was calculated enough to Optimus off balance, and it did. The Brave led with a quick swing of its axe, slashing it at surprisingly fast speeds. But Optimus jumped over the axe and kicked the Brave in the face. The blow was strong enough to send cracks along the side of the dolem's face, staggering it only for a moment before it roared and swung down on Prime. Optimus landed on his feet and met the attack with a slash of his sword.
The weapons met with a reverberating clang of metal and a burst of sparks. Muscles strained and servo-motors ground as monster and machine strained to gain the upper hand. Glaring into the Brave's eyes, Optimus dropped his shield and raised a large fist, smashing it into the Brave's face. There was a loud crack as his punch actually knocked a large chunk of the dolem's face off, and Optimus pulled his arm back to punch it again. When he went for a third punch, the Brave spun away to avoid taking more damage.
Optimus ran forward and spun around to swing his sword in a wide arc towards its neck. The Brave raised its arm to block the blade and quickly circled around Optimus in just a few steps. It gave him a rumbling chuckle.
"You worthy foe." It said. "A machine with warrior's spirit."
"This fight is pointless." Said Optimus. "We should not fight for the pleasure of the Cardinals."
"I fight for crusade, machine." The Brave replied. "I fight for Goddess, and that is never pointless!"
The Brave charged at him and punched its massive arm forward, but Optimus was ready this time. Spinning around the fist, he slammed his elbow into the Brave's nose before leaping back to avoid its other hand. He side-stepped another swing of its axe and leapt onto its shoulders, slamming his shield into its face with enough force to shatter its left eye. The Brave stumbled back and fell to the ground, while Optimus jumped off and landed on his feet.
Suddenly a steady hum beat against Optimus' audio receptors, flooding his brain. Through an electronic haze of static, the Autobot gladiator could see the antennae array generating the force field begin to tremble and glow. Above the tallest spire, a whirlwind of crackling power began to form-a magnetic storm!
The energies crackled and surged around Prime's body. His limbs became sluggish, as his cybernetic nervous system was assaulted by powerful beams. It was like the blast of a hundred null rifles, all set on stun. The magnetic energy that whirled around Optimus didn't cause any harm-they only caused his cybernetic synapses to misfire, and mechanical systems to weaken and slow.
The advantage now belonged to his opponent, and the dolem quickly exploited it. Throwing a punch at Optimus, it scored a devastating blow to his body, sending him flying back into a wall. Optimus hit the ground and rolled onto his back with a groan, forcing himself to move, staying along the edge of the arrays in the center of the arena as the magnetic storm intensified.
Putting the central arrays between himself and the magnetic storm, Optimus ducked to avoid another bolt fired from the energy cloud-just in time too, for the Brave was back, striking at the Autobot leader with his axe. Optimus bent down low and felt the air whoosh past his head as the axe sailed over his helmet. It wasn't until he took a couple of steps back that he realized that he was able to move freely.
'I'm free?' Optimus wondered. 'How?'
The answer was hammered home quickly. The field of energy still swirled, but Optimus saw that it remained on the other side of the antennae.
'I must be out of the magnetic storm's range!' He thought. Then he realized that he could exploit that mechanic.
The Brave barked and grunted. "Afraid to fight?"
Optimus chuckled, and his amusement was no feigned. Now he had a plan to defeat his opponent. He only had to implement it to achieve victory.
"I have already won this contest, dolem." He announced. "You're just too stupid to know when you've lost."
The Brave was angered by the insult, just as he planned. It charged at Optimus again, swinging its axe wildly. Instead of dodging, Optimus ducked low and thrust his sword into the Brave's belly. The dolem, still surging forward, flipped over the Autobot and landed on its back-right in the center of the magnetic storm.
Optimus watched as the Brave's axe attracted bolts of lightning still flashing out of the center of the storm. Optimus held out his own sword to attract the bolts until its blade glowed with heat and power, and stabbed the sword into the Brave's chest. There was an explosion of sparks and fire as the Brave howled.
Pulling the sword out, Optimus stabbed it once more into the dolem, piercing hard stone and ore veins, ripping through its back to bury the tip into the bone-hard surface of the arena. The debilitated Brave struggled, but was pinned like an insect to the arena floor. Planting one foot on the Brave's chest to hold its writhing mass in place, Optimus picked up the large golden axe. The dolem writhed and howled in agony as Optimus lifted the axe over his head-
And waited.
"Why do you hesitate?" The Cardinal demanded. "The victory is yours. Make the kill."
"I will not." Optimus said confidently. To kill in wartime was one thing, to take life when it was the only way to stop an enemy-that he could accept. But never for sport. "Find our amusement elsewhere."
"As you wish."
Suddenly, one of the human spectators cried out in alarm as invisible pincers yanked her high into the air, holding her tightly by her midsection.
"Wait!" She screamed. "No, I have a family, don't-"
The pincers snapped shut with sharp hiss, spewing gore and a rain of blood over the heads of the crowd. The two halves of the still twitching corpse tumbled to the ground and terrified people darted like animals to avoid them.
Optimus stared in horror at the wreck that had been a young woman with a life still before her just seconds ago. Her severed spine jutted from her torso, and entrails uncoiled and slowly snaked out from her body, slippery and eager to greet the open air.
"Kill them." Lustitia said.
Started back into the moment, Optimus registered the Cardinal's an instant too late. Before he could react, five more people from the swelling, huddled mass of hostages were hauled into the air by invisible forces. Crackling lattices of energy whipped through them, slicing off heads, arms, hands, legs, and feet. This time a crimson tide washed over the closest humans and body parts flopped down onto the rightfully terrified crowd.
"All of them next." Lustitia said wistfully. "Your choice."
Optimus panicked. Of course his mind rebelled at the idea of being made a slave of the dolems, a granting them this pleasure, but those people-
"Coward!" The Brave hissed, lunging at Optimus. Prime's reflexes were like lightning as he brought the axe down its head, splitting its skull open. It died immediately, the glow fading from its eyes and its body slowly breaking apart into dust.
Optimus looked to the shaking, frightened herd of humans, many of whom were frantically tearing off their blood sullied clothing, modesty be damned, or clawing at their hair to rid themselves of flecks of brain and bone.
"That will do." Lustitia said. "Optimus Prime is the victor. To the victor go the spoils."
Optimus felt a sudden and unnerving sense of strength and well-being flooding through him, and he wavered for a second, overwhelmed by the sensations. Was that his reward? The last explosive energies of his dying opponent?
The thought sickened.
Tossing the axe away, Optimus Prime trudged toward Jazz. He was unable to block out the screams of derision, of just rage and misery directed his way by the traumatized humans. He said nothing to them. What could he say?
"Optimus," Jazz inquired softly, just now getting over the shock of that horrid sight. "You okay?"
"…No, Jazz, I'm far from okay." Optimus said, only now aware of his body covered in the red dust that spewed from the Brave's split head.
Optimus looked up at the floating form Lustitia, soul-weary, but determined that no further innocents would die to this alien monstrosity…determined he would have his vengeance on the dolems.
And so we're introduced to the big bad behind the scenes, and Optimus is already done with its crap. Also, I forgot to mention that this story takes place six
months after Escalation, which takes place three weeks after Awakening. I'm already halfway done writing chapter 26 and things get tense, let me tell you
this! Be sure to check out the Transformers Titan website on Wordpress. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review.