***********************
The Autobot flagship, Alpha Trion, sped towards Char with a small battle fleet behind it: this was it, after millions of years of war between the Autobots and Decepticons: it was finally going to end
"Alpha Trion to Orion, tighten in on the left flank, there is a huge gap there" Perceptor said over his radio
"Roger that" a voice replied
Up on the bridge of the Alpha Trion, Magnus and Rodimus stood talking about the course of action they had under taken
"Are you sure this is wise, Rodimus?" Magnus asked
"Not really; I'm going off my limited own knowledge: I no longer have the Matrix to guide me Magnus, we're doing this on my judgement alone" he said and cocked his eye at his friend
"Scary isn't it?" he joked
"Yeah, kind of" Magnus chuckled and looked forward
Before long, a transmission came through
"Undercover to Rodimus Prime, priority one, I repeat, priority one" it was the Autobot infiltrator
"Put him on speaker" Magnus said
Perceptor quickly did so
"Rodimus Prime, sir, it's a mad house down here. There're dead Decepticons everywhere" he said
"What of the group that came to Cybertron?" Rodimus asked, already knowing in his core they were the first to die
"Sir, I've seen some gruesome battles in my time, but this was pretty twisted" Undercover replied and sent the pictures he took of the scene
Gasps of horror and gulps of fear grew among the bridge crew: that wasn't a fight; that was a massacre
"You said that there are dead Decepticons everywhere; how did that happen?" Magnus asked
"I don't know, and I don't want to know. Each one, although less elaborate; has been killed with the same brutality as the infiltrators. And sir I wouldn't wish these kinds of deaths on anyone, not even my enemy" he said and disengaged his link
[Dark Prime's power is well deserved of its reputation, as is Dark Prime himself: a warrior with no limits to his strength, speed and ferocity] he thought and addressed the fleet
"Attention, no doubt you are aware that there is something odd going on, on Char. Although they are our enemies, the Decepticons are being slaughtered at such a rate that if we arrive late, it is most likely that there will be none left" he let the first part sink in
"As a result of that, we are going to use a short distance hyper jump to get to Char, we shall defeat the Decepticons but we will do so our way. We will not butcher them" he finished and began laying instructions down for the jump
Magnus whispered something in his ear
"Dark Prime did that, didn't he" Magnus said
"Yes; his powers are greater than I imagined. I'm not sure if I can stop him either" Rodimus confided in his friend
********************
Corpses lay strewn about Char like discarded litter, yet among them was not the one Dark Prime wanted: Galvatron
"Where are you hiding, Galvatron?" he asked the sky as a small band of brave (but stupid) troops came running for him
"FOOLS! I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU" he bellowed and swung his sword in an arc. The ensuing energy blast cut the group in two
But wait, one survived for he was quicker than his friends and ducked down, but still the blast caught him across the back and crippled him. Dark Prime grinned and picked the young soldier up by his neck
"I'll ask this once: where is Galvatron?" he snarled
As Transformers go, the one held in Dark Prime's hand was young, barely out of their equivalent of his teens and yet he charged against a warrior with literally millions of years of military knowledge and wisdom and power
[This isn't fair] he thought, scarred out of his wits
"Indeed, nothing in war is fair, least of all me" Dark Prime warned
The Decepticon shook even more: this psycho could read minds
"I don't know where my illustrious leader is, but if I did, I wouldn't tell you" the young Decepticon shouted and spat on Dark Prime's face
The demon Transformer growled and ran him through; his prey's face contorted in agony and fluids dripped from his mouth and down Dark Prime's hand and arm; his optics flickering
"Foolish brat" he hissed and twisted the sword around, causing his prey great pain
SNAP
Dark Prime broke the neck of the young one; then he nonchalantly flung his sword out and hurled the body off the blade and onto some rocks, denting and twisting the chassis in unnatural ways
"Oh well, I'll just have to find him the old fashioned way, looking" he shrugged, walking along the ruined track kicking the occasional severed head or crushing ones that was still working
**************************
Galvatron was hiding in his throne room: he had no idea the Autobots could be so brutal and merciless: it made him jealous
"Are we fortified in?" he asked Cyclonus
"Yes my lord" he replied
Galvatron, Cyclonus, Soundwave and the Sweeps were barricaded in the top floor of the Command Building and had several large weapons with them: using them they hoped to defeat what ever monster the Autobots had sent against him
**************************
Rodimus was on the first landing party to Char; along with Ultra Magnus, Kup, Springer, Arcee and Grimlock. Many more troops sat behind them readying their weapons and making claims of victory
"Yeah, me Grimlock going to bash brains" the Dinobot declared
The carrier landed and the trooped all stormed out, crying battle cries and promises of defeat to the enemy. Rodimus remained behind in the carrier and listened to the noises: they lasted all of five seconds.
[They've realised] he thought and went out, but what greeted him was far worse than he ever thought possible
Many dead Transformers lay strewn around on the ground, impaled on spikes, torn to pieces, crushed beneath rocks and mangled in outcrops of stone or burnt to death. Fluids and fuel made puddles on the ground as if an obscene rain storm had taken place
"Dear Primus" he gasped as he surveyed the scene
"Help, help me" a terrified voice pierced the air and made the Autobot strike force look north
A Decepticon femme was running towards them, in her arms was a young child: Rodimus told his men not to fire at them under any circumstances what so ever
"She is no danger to us" he said and ran to meet the femme half way
Alas he was too late: an all too familiar spectre rose from the ground and with a quick flourish of his sword, Dark Prime diced both mother and child to pieces. Grinning maniacally he turned to face his audience
"Practical but stylish, even if I do say so myself" he remarked
"You're a monster" Rodimus growled
"Actually, I am what humans would call, a demon, but let us not split hair Rodimus Prime", Dark Prime said and chuckled before facing the Autobots
"Welcome to Char, my fellow Autobots. As you can see I have disposed of most of the opposition" he gloated
"You're sick; how dare you align yourself with us!" Arcee screamed
The glyphs on Dark Prime's body glowed bright red, making him look incredibly frightening and evil
"My dear, not only am I aligned with you: I am you. I was created from the very essence of the Autobots: the Matrix" he said
They all gasped as Dark Prime said his piece. Rodimus, convinced that Dark Prime was going to kill them as well, launched himself at him. Dark Prime merely moved to the side and kneed the leader in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him
"I'll let that slide Rodimus, because you are a Prime" he warned
Then one of the glyphs on Dark Prime's head flashed
"A ha, so that's where he's hiding" he whispered to himself and took to the sky
He was heading straight for the Command Building. Rodimus got up and growled
"Autobots, transform. I never thought I'd have to say this, but we must stop Dark Prime from killing Galvatron" Rodimus said
His men though saw why and did as he commanded: this was wrong and what Dark Prime just did before their eyes went against everything in the Autobot code
"This ends now" Rodimus cried as they advanced towards their target
************************
Dark Prime soon found were Galvatron and his men were hiding: although he had to give them credit for hiding in an obvious place because he didn't look there at all during his rampage
[Well played Galvatron, but your time is up] he thought to himself and phased through the wall
Rodimus and his men all arrived a few seconds after he had entered the building
"Break down those doors, hurry" he ordered
In response, Defensor and Superion punched the door in, several feet at that
"Go, top floor is the throne room, that's where Galvatron and his officers will be" Magnus shouted as they all filed in
They ran non stop up fifty large flights of stairs until they came to a barricaded door: but Rodimus's trailer cannons made short work of it and the stormed in: the scene inside was like that outside but less dirty: Scourge and the Sweeps were in several locations in several pieces. Cyclonus was still in one piece but severely damaged
"I yield Autobots, please, call of your warrior" he begged, coughing up Energon
"First Aid, Ratchet. Front and centre" Magnus yelled
In quick order the two medics came out of the crowd
"Repair Cyclonus till he's fit for transport: then have Highbrow take him back the landing area. Then you are to take off back the Alpha Trion to repair him back to normal" Rodimus ordered
The two medics began to work on the fallen Decepticon flyer
"I don't understand" Cyclonus said, dumbfounded
"That demon isn't exactly our warrior: but that aside no one, not even you guys deserve what is happening to you" First Aid said
"Where did he take Galvatron?" Rodimus asked
Cyclonus grit his teeth and stood up and pointed out of a hole in the wall towards the largest volcano on Char; it was also the most active and hot
"There" he groaned as the two medics and a couple of guards escorted him back to the landing area
Rodimus looked and with his binocular vision activated, he could see two small figures around the rim of the volcano: one was shooting the other, but the one doing the shooting kept getting knocked to the ground
"Are they there?" Magnus asked
"Yeah. I'm going after them" he replied and began walking when the others began following him
"No. This is something that must be done between me and him" Rodimus said and ordered them and all the other teams to find and help as many of the wounded Decepticons as they could and take any survivors back to Cybertron for medical help and counselling
With those orders in place, Rodimus flew towards the volcano and towards, quite possibly, his doom
**********************
Galvatron yet again tasted dirt as the seemingly invincible warrior he was fighting threw him to the ground again. His body was littered with dents and holes: and while he had shot Dark Prime several times; he remained unblemished
"How does it feel, Galvatron, to be slammed to the ground like a bug?" Dark Prime taunted
The proud Decepticon leader tried will all his might to hurt Dark Prime but it was hopeless: what ever he was, he was far more powerful than him. Dark Prime then kicked Galvatron hard in the guts and then stepped on his head, grinding it into the dirt; that was when Rodimus arrived
"Ah welcome Rodimus Prime; feel free to take an opportunity and kill him now" Dark Prime said and handed Rodimus a gun
"I didn't come here to kill him, I came here to kill you" Rodimus said to the demon Transformer
"You're a fool Rodimus: you have a chance to win this war; just kill him, or let me kill him. Galvatron is far to possessed by madness to be converted to the Autobot ways" Dark Prime hissed, pressing Galvatron's head further into the ground as he spoke
"Give me back the Matrix, Dark Prime. Now!" Rodimus demanded in a steely tone
"You shall get it back in due course Rodimus" Dark Prime said and picked Galvatron up
Rodimus gasped at the sight of the Decepticon leader: who he always associated a great sense of pride and power, evil that it may be. Now he was being paraded in front of him like a circus freak and he looked like it too: dents and holes everywhere and his left arm had been crushed
"You tell me in all honesty that these things deserve less for all they put you through: the Autobots were attacked without provocation, tortured you, killed and maimed you. If that doesn't deserve this, then what does?" Dark Prime asked, frustrated
"You're right; the Decepticons have been cruel to us, but we have always been better than them by not stooping to-" Rodimus was cut off by a cry
"Wake up you idiot! You will not win this war by playing the noble heroes. You will win by giving to them ten fold what they gave you. You don't want to execute prisoners, fine. But when you march on an enemy city: you do kill them, it doesn't matter who, just shoot them" Dark Prime bellowed
"Optimus Prime didn't believe that, why should I?" Rodimus asked
Dark Prime cackled and pointed a finger at Rodimus
"You are such a simple minded creature. I know what Prime wanted. He wanted nothing more than to march on this mud ball with all his might and destroy everything in his way" he crowed
Rodimus shook his head and denied what his enemy said vigorously
"No, Optimus was-"
"Tired, he was tired of this petty fighting and most of all he was tired of leading: he was this far from going out on his own accord. But then the human showed up and balanced him out a little" Dark Prime explained
Rodimus and even Galvatron listened, wrapt in this in depth and oh so rare look into the mind of one the most powerful and feared Transformers
"But then our stupid friend here came and decided that he would take her. Upsetting the balance and allowing me to break free" he paused and dropped Galvatron on the ground
Dark Prime stepped on his enemy's chest
"Congratulations Galvatron, you have succeeded in break Optimus Prime. But instead of him turning into a quivering mass unfit to lead: it gave rise to me" he gloated
Galvatron's eyes went wide as he stared at Dark Prime
"You mean…" he stopped
"Yes; I am the ultimate form of Optimus Prime, his spirit is gone, to paradise when no one not even Unicron can resurrect him" Dark Prime then picked up Galvatron and drew his sword
He placed the tip of it at Galvatron's neck
"Now, for all your sins, you die!" he cried
Before he could however kill the Decepticon, Rodimus tackled him and grabbed Galvatron from his grasp
"Come on" Rodimus yelled and grabbed Galvatron's uninjured arm and dragged him away
But even in this situation, Galvatron wasn't going to let go his hatred of Rodimus Prime and fired his canon at the leader of the Autobots, making him nearly fall into the volcano they sat upon
"I may die, but at least I'll take you with me" Galvatron said
Those were his last words before he was run through by Dark Prime, who in his rage had charged the Galvatron and as a result went over the edge with Galvatron. Rodimus used the time to scramble out of the lip of the Volcano and on to the rim again
"Here Rodimus, this is yours" Dark Prime called and released the Matrix from his body and gave it back to Rodimus.
Although both leaders thought that would deactivate Dark Prime, he was still0 online with the strength of ten Transformers, and he held Galvatron until they hit the lava
*BOOM
The resulting explosion made Rodimus fall down the side of the volcano: a rather painful trip but less painful when compared with melting in lava. He transformed and drove back to the landing site; an unidentifiable feeling in his heart as he arrived to see all his troops and the terrified Decepticon survivors waiting for him
"What happened to Dark Prime?" Magnus asked
Rodimus opened his chest and revealed the Matrix; Magnus took that as a sign that Dark Prime was dead or at least vanquished
"What of my leader?" Rumble asked; he was in a terrible state for Soundwave was dead
"He tried to shoot me, even though I tried to help him, then Dark Prime killed himself and Galvatron when he plunged into the volcano" he explained
Rumble just nodded and looked away. Rodimus then turned to the assembled Decepticons and began speaking
"I am sorry for what has happened to you and your friends. Dark Prime was only an Autobot by name, not by nature" he began, hoping to hell that forgiveness would be possible
The assembled Decepticons simply nodded and urged him to continue on with his speech
"To that end: I declare all hostilities of the past between the Autobots and Decepticons null and void. You are welcome on Cybertron and out in our territories. I am afraid that and as much assistance as I can spare is all I can offer" he said solemnly
A lone Decepticon, Astrotrain in fact, stood up and answered
"While the aid will be gratefully appreciated, Rodimus Prime, I think we can survive on out own, thank you" he said
"Does this make you the new leader of the Decepticons, Astrotrain?" Rodimus asked
"Until such time a suitable replacement is found, yes" the triple changer answered
Rodimus had to grin: Astrotrain and Blitzwing were two of the oldest Decepticons to date, nearly as old as Ironhide had been, 11 million years: Rodimus knew then that the Decepticons were in good hands
"Very well; a supply ship will be sent forthwith with building supplies. The battleship Orion will remain to tend to the wounded" Rodimus finished and left the planet Char.
As he left, Astrotrain watched his old adversary leave and he dwelled on the fact that the war was now more or less over: after that massacre the Decepticons would never be able to get into fighting strength again. A cry distracted him from his reverie and he saw that one of the Autobots had just pulled a young child out of the rubble; his mother and father were dead
"Bring the child here" Astrotrain commanded
The Autobot complied quickly and handed the young one to the new leader: he was banged up and beaten but not broken
"Hush young one: he's gone; he won't hurt you anymore, I won't let him" he cooed to the little femme
The child curled into a ball and hugged Astrotrain as if her very life depended on it. The Autobot, Backstreet, then saw that not all Decepticons were like Galvatron and Megatron. And it brightened his heart to know it
The End