Transformers: Brothers
No Decepticon had seen Optimus Prime in almost eight mega-cycles when Megatron received his former friend's signal.
With Soundwave heading the Decepticon spy network, Megatron had eyes and ears watching almost all of Cybertron, reporting Autobot activity, monitoring resource movement, and scrying assault plans. This meant, among other things, that Megatron was one of the first to notice the somewhat odd absence of Optimus Prime from several battlefields.
Megatron didn't expect Optimus to be present for every engagement. Not even a Prime could be everywhere at once. It took three mega-cycles for Megatron to realize that Optimus's absence was becoming extensive. He'd initially dismissed it as simple luck. After all, the less resistance from the Autobots, the better. But after five mega-cycles had passed with still no sighting of Optimus, Megatron had to start wondering just what the librarian-turned-Prime was playing at.
By the seventh mega-cycle, rumors had begun to spread among the Decepticon ranks. Some speculated that Optimus had been gravely wounded during his last encounter with Megatron at the Battle of Sherma Bridge. They'd hoped he had perished, but Megatron knew this was nothing more than wishful thinking. That clash had played out in Optimus's favor, and it had been Megatron who'd been forced to flee. Along with most of his face, Megatron had withdrawn while missing his fusion cannon and most of the arm that wielded it.
Optimus's strange behavior bothered Megatron, more than he cared to admit. He tried to tell himself that it was purely out of military concern. After all, one should never lose track of their mortal enemy. But somewhere deep in his spark, Megatron was growing curious about Optimus, perhaps even concerned.
Not that he would ever admit such a thing, of course.
So it had been almost eight mega-cycles before Megatron first spotted the signal coming from the Badlands, just a few kilometers beyond the Gates of Kaon. He had been pacing in his quarters of the fortress-tower of Kolkular, lost in thought while absentmindedly stroking the new metal of his now-repaired face. He'd been looking out past the Grand Forum, trying to guess where Optimus could have disappeared to when he saw the first flash of light beyond the acidic glow of the Smelting Pools.
At first, Megatron had dismissed it as a malfunction due to some faulty wiring in his new optic. Then he saw a second flash of light. Then came a third. By the fourth, he'd already triple checked his systems and realized that the light was real, and that it was indeed being projected by someone with the intent of getting Megatron's attention.
And then… the flashes stopped. Megatron blinked, looking around to see if any other Decepticon had seen it, but no one stirred to acknowledge the sight. He looked back out across the waste, and waited.
His patience was rewarded. Once again, four flashes of light were projected one after the other with only slight pauses in between.
Megatron knew this wasn't just any signal. It was a code. A code used so long ago, when Optimus Prime had been Orion Pax and Megatron had been Megatronus.
When the records clerk from Iacon and the gladiator from Kaon had first struck up a correspondence, they had needed to communicate in secret. So they'd developed a special means of talking when the Grid couldn't be trusted. The medium through which they communicated varied, but the language was always the same: it was always spoken through numbers, sounds, images, and lights.
Three chimes to note that they were being monitored. Two cogs meant they were getting medical treatment. Five pulses said they were free to talk. And four flashes meant "Need to talk. Urgent".
It was a trap. It could be nothing else. A ruse developed by Optimus to lure the Decepticon leader out from the safety of Kaon and into the middle of an ambush.
And yet… Megatron was curious. The chances of it being a trap were slim. Optimus was too principled to stoop to such subterfuge. Plus, with the Badlands being so empty and barren, Megatron would be able to discern any potential trap coming long before it could be sprung.
And… Megatron wanted to know where Optimus had been for the last eight mega-cycles.
Let it not be said that the Gladiator of Kaon was ever a coward, Megatron reminded himself as he made his decision.
Megatron spotted Optimus waiting beneath the shadow of a lone, broken spire in the middle of the Badlands, surrounded by nothing but rubble and empty space. Content that he hadn't traveled all this way just to be shot at, Megatron reverted from his tank to proto-form.
Optimus looked just the same as Megatron had last seen him, his faceplate up but minus a few injuries. As Megatron transformed, however, Optimus retracted the faceplate, as if to demonstrate that he meant no harm.
"I was starting to worry you wouldn't show," Optimus said as Megatron approached, giving a small, sad smile when he noticed how wary Megatron was. "This isn't a trap, Megatron. I promise."
"Which is exactly what someone laying a trap would say," Megatron replied, narrowing his optics as he carefully approached, sweeping his gaze around the area.
"Would it reassure you if I swore to Primus?"
"An oath on our long dead maker means nothing to me, Prime," Megatron pointed out, finally coming to stop a couple of meters in front of Optimus.
"Of course it wouldn't," Orion said with another soft smile.
"Why did you send for me?" Megatron finally asked. "I hope you don't think to waste my time attempting to negotiate an end to the war, Optimus. I have no interest in accepting a truce with you or any Autobot."
"I know," Orion responded, nodding sadly. "I am not here to persuade you to give up your war. I can not force you to choose peace."
Megatron frowned as he listened to Optimus speak. This wasn't like his former friend. Optimus would never go this long without attempting to dissuade any Decepticon from fighting, and even less so when it came to Megatron. What happened to the sanctimonious Prime who always spoke of such lofty, empty ideals such as freedom and choice? What happened to the bot who would do anything to convince Megatron of the good in others?
Something was very wrong.
"I'll ask only once more: Why am I here?" Megatron said, still not entirely convinced.
He was surprised when Optimus turned away, as though he was still considering why he had decided to meet Megatron out here in the middle of nowhere.
"I'm sorry," Optimus said softly, frowning a little to himself. "I… I know what I want to say. And I don't intend to waste our time. But… I'm suddenly finding it difficult, now that you're here."
"Well I know it's not to surrender," Megtron sneered.
"Actually… It is."
What?
Megatron watched in shock as Optimus opened his chest to withdraw the Matrix of Leadership from the cavity within, leaving his spark completely exposed. He then closed it back up and took a long look at the sacred relic before dropping to one knee. Bowing his head respectfully, he held the Matrix out, as though offering it to Megatron.
Optimus, the Last of the Primes, Keeper of the Matrix, and Leader of the Autobots… was officially surrendering.
WHAT?!
"What… What is this?" Megatron asked once he found himself able to talk at all, his voice coming out choked and strained. "What are you doing, Orion?"
"I'm surrendering," Orion Pax answered without looking up.
"I can see that!" Megatron exclaimed angrily. He looked around again, trying to spot some clue or detail that he had missed before. "You're planning something. I know you are! You would never just surrender to the Decepticons, not after everything that's happened."
"I'm not surrendering to the Decepticons," Orion clarified after a few moments. "I'm surrendering to you. Personally."
For a moment, there was silence. Then Orion looked up at Megatron with his optics steady and clear, as though daring the Decepticon to search for any hint of falsehood in his spark. Megatron, on the other hand, found himself paralyzed, not sure of what he was hearing and whether or not he should even believe it.
He's telling the truth, Megatron realized as he looked into Orion's optics and saw there the same determination and honesty he had been so used to seeing in the eyes of his former friend.
"Why?" Megatron finally asked. "Why are you doing this?"
"I wish I could say it was to save Cybertron or to end the war," Orion admitted, bowing his head again in shame as he did so. "But if I'm being honest… It's because I can't fight you anymore, Megatronus. I won't fight you. Not again."
Megatron frowned.
"What are you talking about, Orion?"
"I'm saying that I care about you - my friend - more than I care about fighting this war," Orion said, once again making eye contact with Megatron and revealing the sadness in his gaze. "I'm saying that I would rather live the rest of my life as your prisoner than ever fight you again."
Again, silence reigned. Megatron knew this had to be the hardest thing Orion had ever done in his entire life, even harder than taking up the sword in the first place. To give up his new life, his destiny as Optimus Prime… No wonder Orion had disappeared for so long. How much time had he spent thinking and overthinking this course of action before finally deciding to commit to it?
This could mean the end of the Autobots, Megatron realized, the end of the war. It guaranteed victory for the Decepticons. With Optimus gone, Megatron could rally his forces and march on Iacon, the Autobot capital, once and for all. Orion surrendering was everything Megatron could have hoped for.
So then why did the thought of accepting Orion's surrender fill him with such a sense of… rage?
"Why now?" Megatron finally asked, still eyeing Orion warily. "You could have left the Autobots, surrendered, whenever you wanted. Why now?"
"Because of what I did the last time we met," Orion said softly. He still held the Matrix of Leadership, his arms as steady as his resolve.
"The last time…?" Megatron asked, momentarily confused.
That's when it hit Megatron: Orion was talking about their battle back at Sherma Bridge. Almost absentmindedly, Megatron reached up and traced the faint welding scar that extended from just above his right optic down to the lower left-hand corner of his mouth, a reminder of Optimus Prime's strength and fury.
"I realized a while ago that whenever I fight you – when I'm Optimus – I hold back," Orion began to explain. He stood up as he spoke, finally lowering the Matrix of Leadership upon realizing Megatron wasn't going to accept his surrender without an explanation. "I'm sorry if that wounds your pride, but… it's true. I just can't see you as an enemy, Megatronus. At the end of the day, you're always going to be my friend. So, no matter how hard I try, no matter how hard I may want to, I find myself holding back. Because… because I still don't want to kill you."
"But last time…?" Megatron urged him to go on impatiently.
"Last time… I finally lost control," Orion admitted. He turned to look away from Megatron and out over the waste as he spoke, as if too ashamed to meet his old friend's gaze. "I don't know what happened. Maybe I was tired, or frustrated. But it doesn't matter. What matters is that I gave in. I forgot who I was fighting and I just… let loose. For a moment, I wasn't holding anything back."
Megatron remembered. It had been the turning point in a battle that had previously been going poorly for the Autobots, one that allowed them to turn the tide and push the Decepticons back through Darkmount Pass. One moment, the Decepticons were moments from victory, about to claim the pass and take control of the Bridge… the next, Optimus had jumped among their ranks, broken their forward momentum, and renewed the strength of the Autobot forces, enough to drive back the Decepticons and force them into a hasty retreat.
Megatron had been fighting Optimus at the time, as was so often the case when the two of them met on the battlefield, and he had been doing well: the rocky and mountainous terrain of unmined ore was conducive to Megatron's speed and agility, granting him favor over the less graceful Optimus. He had just thrown the Prime clear through a boulder and was closing in to finish the conflict when it happened.
A burst of light brighter than anything Megatron had ever seen exploded from Optimus's chest, and with such intensity that it nearly blinded Megatron. By the time the light faded and Megatron's optics had finally begun to adjust, Optimus had emerged renewed, more fiercer than ever before. Megatron had just enough time to leap out of the way before the Prime was upon him, his red energon axe slicing through the elbow of Megatron's fusion cannon-arm.
Megatron dodged each of the next swings as quickly as he could, taking careful note of how the axe slashed through metal and ore alike, how each strike of the blade tore apart the surrounding environment. There was something different about Optimus, something deadlier and more dangerous, as though he had ascended to a higher state of being, a perfect warrior with the strength of a hundred Cybertronians. It was as if he was a different person entirely.
He was, Megatron realized, still lightly fingering the scar on his face. I wasn't fighting Orion anymore. I was fighting Optimus. Orion was… gone.
All it had taken was a single misstep before Megatron felt the searing pain of Optimus's blade slash across his face, digging deep, tearing out metal and drawing energon. The rest of the Decepticons were already in retreat by that point, and Megatron took advantage of that fact by following suit. One moment, Optimus was standing above him, eyes full of rage and axe dripping with Megatron's energon. The next, Megatron was halfway across the Bridge, simultaneously leading his troops out of Darkmount Pass and trying not to go offline.
Now Megatron realized it hadn't been luck or speed that allowed him to escape that day. It had been Orion. He had let Megatron escape. Even consumed as he was by the entity known as Optimus, there had been just enough of Orion left within to spare his former friend's life.
"I lost control," Orion reiterated back out in the shadow of the ruins, still unable to face Megatron out of shame. "It was like I didn't even recognize you anymore. You were just another obstacle I had to overcome, another enemy I had to defeat. I forgot who you were, and because of that… I nearly killed you. I hurt you worse than I ever have before."
"Not as much as when you betrayed me," Megatron countered coldly.
"I could have killed you!" Orion exclaimed angrily, finally looking Megatron in the eye once again and inadvertently revealing the loathing in his spark. "You don't understand, Megatronus. I came so close. Too close. I never want to be that close ever again. It's bad enough that I hurt you. If I had gone any farther – if I had killed you – I would never be able to forgive myself."
With that, Orion looked away again, closing his blue optics as he fought to compose himself. Megatron merely held his ground, waiting for Orion to continue. He had risked a lot coming out here all on his own, and he didn't intend on leaving without at least an explanation.
"I left Iacon shortly after the battle," Orion finally said. His voice was much steadier, but he still hadn't turned around to face Megatron. "I was afraid. Afraid of what I had almost done. Afraid of what I had done. Afraid of what I know I'm capable of. So I left."
"You're very good at that," Megatron commented snidely. "Where did you go?"
"To the Well of Allsparks, in Nyon, where I first… where I first found the Matrix," Orion said, ignoring Megatron's barb no matter how much it stung. "After that… wherever I felt like. I just needed time. Time to think about the war. Time to think about Optimus. Time to think about what mattered most. Time to think about you… and me."
Megatron watched carefully as Orion finally turned back around, his composure recovered but with a deep, dark sadness still in his eyes. When Orion looked upon him, Megatron had the distinct feeling that he was looking into his very soul, as though he was searching for any remnants of the friend he had left behind.
"I thought about us," Orion specified. "More than anything else, I thought about you and me. About our time together, how we broke apart, how we've done nothing but fight for so long now. And… and that's when I realized it."
Megatron frowned, still waiting for Orion to finish his statement.
"Realized what?"
"You're still my brother."
Megatron's eyes widened, and he felt his spark seize.
"What did you say?"
"I said you're still my brother," Orion repeated, softly but confidently, as though it was the only thing in the world he knew for sure. "That's why I'm surrendering," Orion finally concluded. "Because I love you more, Megatron. More than Cybertron, more than the Autobots, more than being Optimus Prime. I'm surrendering because I will never be able to bring myself to kill you."
With that, Orion once again dropped down to one knee and held out the Matrix of Leadership, head bowed respectfully. A thousand conflicting emotions battled for supremacy in Megatron's mind as he looked upon his friend, bowed, offering him the legendary talisman. It was a sight Megatron never thought he would see, not if he lived to be one hundred million years old. It simply didn't make any sense.
Orion was surrendering. Orion was surrendering.
Megatron had imagined a hundred different scenarios in which he defeated Optimus and ended the war. An epic battle, or capturing him and bringing him to Kaon in chains, or even ripping the Matrix out from his chest and crushing the relic with his bare hands, if such a thing was even possible. The one scenario he had never so much as considered was that Orion would surrender without a fight.
And that made Megatron furious.
"I don't accept," he said at last, breaking the silence between them. His expression was stern and strict, but he was well aware of the rage bubbling just beneath the surface.
Orion looked up, frowning in confusion.
"But… I'm surrendering."
"I know, and I said I don't accept," Megatron repeated, his tone growing sterner and more impatient. "Now take your accursed Matrix and leave, before I change my mind."
"But I'm surrendering!" Orion said again, as though repeating his statement would somehow convince Megatron to listen. "Didn't you hear a thing I said?"
"I heard every word," Megatron hissed angrily. "I don't care. Now take your Matrix and go while you still can."
For a moment, the two former friends stared at one another, as though challenging the other to make a move. Orion stood up as he stared into Megatron's eyes, still holding the Matrix of Leadership in one hand. Megatron, on the other hand, merely glared right back at Orion, both of his hands clenching into angry fists.
"No," Orion finally said, softly but firmly. He lifted the Matrix of Leadership up, letting Megatron see the soft glow of the holy artifact… and then let go, dropping it to the ground.
Megatron had never felt angrier in his entire life.
"Pick up the Matrix," he said through gritted teeth, his fists shaking at his sides.
"No," Orion responded simply.
"Pick up the Matrix, Orion!" Megatron exclaimed as he took a menacing step forward, his entire form quivering.
"No," Orion said again.
"PICK UP THE MATRIX!" Megatron shouted angrily, loud enough he was certain he could be heard all the way back in Kolkular.
He could feel his spark pounding in his chest. He could feel the anger and the hate tearing him up inside. The energon in his body was on fire. He knew what was coming, what he was about to do, and he almost feared it.
But Orion simply stared right back at him, face as set and determined as always, and said exactly what Megatron feared he would say.
"No."
If Orion saw Megatron's attack coming, he showed no sign of it. Instead, he merely grunted in pain as Megatron lunged at him with all the fury of a cyber-cat, throwing him off his feet and knocking him to the ground. Then he was defending himself as best he could without actually fighting back, holding his arms and hands out in front of him as Megatron clawed at him wildly.
"This isn't how it's supposed to be!" Megatron screamed as he attacked his former friend, optics blurring and rage in his voice. "You don't get to surrender! You hear me? You don't get to! Not after what you did! Not after what you did to me! You betrayed me!"
He was little more than a feral pit beast, his cries like the roars of a wounded animal.
"What were you expecting, Orion?" he went on, still howling with rage as Orion tried to throw him off, his arms and hands already covered in deep gash marks. "You want me to just take you to Kaon so I can kill you, is that it? Just end it all? You coward!"
Megatron could hear Orion crying out beneath him, but he couldn't stop, couldn't even think about anything other than the pain and the pure, unadulterated rage. Months of anger and confusion and agonizing doubt poured out of him through his fists, and he took all of it out on the one who had caused it all.
"You're supposed to go down fighting!" Megatron exclaimed, vision blurring. "You go down fighting me! You and me, that's how it's meant to be! It's always been you and me! You fight to your last and I beat you, once and for all! I beat you! I prove I'm better than you, and I lead the Decepticons to victory! You've taken everything from me, Orion! But I won't let you take away my victory!"
He was just about to continue his assault when Orion finally spoke. His voice was low, and soft, and raspy, as much from despair as it was from the pain.
"Then do it."
Megatron paused as the words sank in, and he slowly began to feel himself awakening from the rage that had consumed him. He froze where he was, his right hand still raised and curled into a fist.
For the first time since he had attacked Orion, Megatron took the opportunity to actually look at what he had done, and what he saw filled him with horror.
Orion lay beneath him, leaking energon from a dozen marks all over his arms, hands, shoulders, chest, and face. His armor had been torn, the red metal was stained blue with freshly spilt fluids, and there wasn't an inch of exposed metal that didn't bear one of Megatron's claw marks. He was weeping, but it wasn't from the pain. It was anguish, Megatron could tell, deep and pure.
"Do it," Orion said again, looking up into Megatron's eyes and practically pleading. "You have to… because I can't. I won't hurt you again. So, please… do it. Please, Megatronus. I don't want to hurt anymore."
I don't want to hurt anymore.
"No…" Megatron whispered, strength suddenly leaving him.
I don't want to hurt anymore.
"No, no, no…" he said again and again, his eyes widening and spark trembling. His raised hand was shaking now, as if uncertain whether to deliver the final strike… or not.
I don't want to hurt anymore.
"NO!"
It came out half as a scream and half as a sob as Megatron threw himself backwards off of Orion, falling back onto the ground. He could feel his arms and legs shaking, feel the wet energon on his hands, feel his spark beating wildly, one right after another, with no time in between for him to recover.
What am I doing? he thought to himself again and again. What am I doing? Is this what I want? Is this what I'm supposed to want? So close. I came so close. Too close.
Too close to what? Isn't this what I want? To beat Orion?
No! I don't want this! I never wanted this!
This is all I ever wanted.
I can't do it! I won't do it!
Why not? What's stopping me? Why can't I do this?!
Because he is my brother, and he always has been!
"STOP IT!" Megatron screamed to everyone and to no one. He keeled over, head in his hands, claws digging into his own head hard enough to dent the metal. "No more! No more, no more, no more…"
And then no more words came. Pain, hatred, misery, despair, hopelessness, ruthlessness, all of it leaked out of him. Energon – Orion's energon – smeared on his hands and face, only making him feel worse as he remembered he was the one who drew it.
Just as Megatron began to fear he wouldn't survive his own catharsis, that his mind and body would simply snap under the pressure of his sorrow, he felt someone wrap their arms around him protectively. He opened his eyes and looked up to find Orion – Orion, of all people, the one he loved, the one he hated, the one he had come so close to killing – holding him, embracing him, gripping him so tightly it seemed as though he never wanted to let go.
Without another spoken word, without their eyes even meeting, Megatronus threw his own arms around Orion and simply gave in to the tears, burying his face in Orion's chest and hugging him as tightly as he possibly could. Orion hugged back just as tightly, holding Megatron close and crying as well, if softer and more gently. Energon and fluid met and mixed, but neither cared so long as they had the other in their arms.
"I'm sorry," Megatronus said. "I'm sorry."
"Me, too," Orion responded softly, trying and failing to fight his own tears. "For everything."
Neither knew for how long they cried. It could have been mere minutes or entire hours, and neither would have known the difference. There was so much to let go, so much to release, and there was no stopping it now. Suffice it to say, by the time the tears stopped coming and their sparks were almost stable again, the two were exhausted both physically and emotionally.
Neither Megatronus nor Orion knew what would come next. Did Orion return to Iacon? Did Megatronus return to Kaon? Would they leave separately, knowing they would inevitably find each other again, or leave together, their futures intertwined? Neither knew, and yet, right then and there, neither was particularly concerned. As Megatronus would say, that was a problem for future Megatron and Optimus.
They didn't know what surprises the future held. They knew only that they were brothers.
That was all that mattered.