The checkpoint guards had seen them coming, and thought they could take on the small convoy of Autobots just fine. Stood up on the ramparts and catwalks, they shot down on Optimus Prime and the Elite Guard as they were flooring it on the approach. Once close to the wall, Optimus transformed and leapt into the air and slammed into one of the guards with his shoulder, knocking him off the other side and crash landing on top of two others. Drawing his ion blaster, he placed three shots into the first mech he saw, then turned and gave a strong punch to another guard standing behind him.
Pressing himself against the wall, he stuck three charges against the barrier.
"Stand back!" he shouted over the wall, as he quickly dashed for cover. Once clear, he grabbed the detonator, and set them off. With its collapse, the rest of his amassed Autobots sped on through the breach, beginning their assault to retake the heart of Iacon.
Those with cannon-based alt-modes hung back, starting to rain down artillery over the fields, and anyone who had long-range weapons acting as spotters or taking up sniper positions. The rest of the force pushed forwards as one, with Optimus Prime and Smokescreen as the spearheads, moving up when they could between what little cover there was.
However, the Autobots' surprise attack did nothing to change the fact that they were drastically outnumbered. Once the majority of the forces had noticed the intruders, many of them started to try and pin down the Autobots. Artillery pieces and tank-formers positioned themselves to face them, and a salvo of heavy ordnance began to come down over them.
As the Autobots pushed forwards, Optimus heard the whizzing of a shell unlike the others. Looking up, he saw a barrage heading down right overhead.
"Everyone, get to cover!" he shouted out. Without much time, he quickly ran and pushed Smokescreen aside, the pair tumbling down into a trench, as the shells crashed down, leaving a bright flash and a sulfur-scented crater where they had just been standing.
Smokescreen got off the ground, and quickly raised his blaster to take out the two soldiers that were rushing them. He managed to drop the first one with ease, but the second one came at him faster than the other, and had to slam him with a hard punch once close enough. Smokescreen raised his rifle to finish them, but a shot rang out and the bot slumped backwards. Turning around, he saw that it was Optimus who had taken the shot.
Optimus Prime leaned against the wall, peering over the top to survey the battle. that they hadn't even made it a quarter of the way into the plaza, and more of these dissenters were pouring in from all sides.
Overhead, the roar of engines carried across the sky. Smokescreen readied himself to fire, but Optimus held out a hand to him to not shoot. Looking up, they watched as the Aerialbots dived past them, and let loose a storm of bullets and bombs on the fortifications before turning back around and climbing into the sky, circling the area.
/Don'tcha worry boss, hope you didn't think we left you hanging!/ Silverbolt said with a mad cackle over the static-filled short range communicator. The Aerialbots were now weaving past the anti-air flak flawlessly, seemingly mocking the artillery operators down below them as they tactically bombed their positions on the ground.
/We managed to find that backup of yours, led the big guy here for ya'./
Everything seemed to hold still for a brief moment, as everyone in the expansive battle stopped at once, and looked up in silent awe.
Looming into view above them all was a large black and amber warship, similar in design to the Ark, but less jagged and beaten. Many gun batteries and cannons lined the underside of the vessel, all clearly pointed right at the usurper's position. In a flash, the cannons came to life, as a salvo of energy bolts were fired down upon the ground, sending everyone into a scramble.
What came next was what seemed to be a surprise to everyone aside from Optimus Prime himself, as the warship began to shift and move parts around, and slowly transformed into a formidable looking Cybertronian of massive proportions. The colossal sentinel crashed down in the open square, crushing those unfortunate enough to not get clear.
"Omega Supreme; Online. Threat to Iacon detected; lethal force engaged."
The sentinel charged his three-clawed hand with a pulsing red energy, and slammed it into the ground, causing a few dozen or so bots to be sent flying, most likely barely alive after such a strong impact.
A volley of artillery shells slammed into his back, however, they barely left a scratch, leaving him unfazed. Omega Supreme then turned, his whole body lurching as his gaze turned upwards to the very heights of the Iacon skyline, locking on to where the bots who had fired on him were. Raising his cannon arm, he fired a volatile beam at the high-rise, totally annihilating the top five floors or so of the structure, causing debris and wreckage to come crashing down into the streets below.
Clamoring up and over the top of the trench, Optimus gazed around at the carnage that was unfolding before him. On the ground, something caught his optic's attention; an Autobot banner, albeit dirty and tattered. He quickly scavenged the around on the ground, and found a broken metal pipe to act as a flagpole. Affixing the two together, he held the flag upwards and waved it back and forth, shouting back at the Autobots who had been following him.
"Rally on my position! We move forward together!"
The remaining Autobots formed up around Optimus as he began to charge the enemy lines. With Omega Supreme keeping them occupied, it proved all too easy to take the next line of trenches. Jumping down onto the muddied ground, they swept through any opposition they faced. This trench in particular had a large artillery placement, and a few of the Autobots took control and aimed over to other enemy positions and began to take them out, sending shells screaming through the air.
The detonations in the distance, and the bullets flying past did nothing to phase Optimus Prime. His resolve was unwavering, and all he had on his mind at the moment was reaching the palace, killing Warpath, and putting an end to this madness.
. . . . .
It had been a slog, but after great effort the Autobots had made it to the steps of the palace. By now, the building itself had begun to crumble on the outside, many of its windows lay shattered on the ground outside. Optimus caught a glimpse of his reflection as he began his ascent of the large stairs to the entrance doors.
In his periphery he caught sight of somebody moving, and looked up to see Warpath on one of the upper level balconies, and a machine gun aimed right at him. As he began to fire, Optimus and the others jumped aside behind cover. After about a half-minute of non-stop fire, the spray of bullets ceased.
"Meet me inside, Prime," Warpath shouted down at him. "Come alone. No funny business." As the tank-former turned and went back inside, giving the door a loud slam as he did so.
The sight that befell the Prime when he entered into his palace made him stop in his tracks. The foyer was in a state of total carnage. Energon stained the floor and walls, along with countless dents and pockmarks as a result of the firefight that had occurred here. Bodies were strewn all over, Autobots and rebels alike having met the same fate as the other. Some seemed to have bled out from their wounds, or more mercifully had a clean shot through them that would have last least made for a quick death. Beginning to step through the puddles of spilled energon, the sounds of his footfalls splashing the energized liquid the only one to be heard, Optimus saw this not as a battle, but a slaughter.
Making sure to keep quiet, Optimus snuck down the lavish halls of the palace, passing ornately carved columns and expressive paintings. Wherever there had been an Autobot banner before, now had been torn away and replaced with more of the ones he had seen outside the palace. The emblem stuck with him still, as he fought his own mind to remember where he knew it from.
In the distance, a single shot rang out from the direction of his throne room, echoing down the deserted corridors of his home.
He picked up the pace, now moving at a brisk pace towards the interior chamber.
Of course Warpath would hold up in there, Optimus thought to himself as he rounded a corner, quickly adjusting to not trip over another pile of dead Autobots. It's the most secure place in the city, short of Metroplex.
After a minute or so, Optimus finally came to a stop, as he stood before the large double-doors that led into the palace's throne room. However, something surprised him; not only was the door not swamped with guards, or even barricaded, but that it was also ajar slightly, light filtering out into the dark hallway he was standing in.
Quietly stepping closer, he heard nothing from within the chamber. He checked over his ion blaster, and held it at the ready in both hands, aimed straight-on.
He sighed under his breath, "Here goes nothing…"
Raising his leg, he slammed the door open with a powerful kick and walked inside. He swept side-to-side looking for any targets, but ultimately there were only two others in the room with him, who were at the front of the throne itself. A tall figure, shrouded in a cloak and hood, a flight-frame as denoted by the wings sticking out from under the tattered cloth, their arm transformed into a railgun of some kind, and at their feet was the freshly dead and beginning to gray body of Warpath.
The figure turned their head to look back at Optimus, crimson optics burning through the shadow cast by his hood.
"Ah, Optimus Prime himself," his voice flowed out, as if meticulously picking the words to use. "It's so nice of you to finally join us. I had begun to worry the Vanguard had been too rough on you on the way here."
"Vanguard? Is that what you're calling yourselves?"
"Optimus Prime, please. Let us not rush into this head-strong. We will have plenty of time to discuss everything."
Optimus raised his ion blaster, and marched forwards with determination. Upon reaching the hooded mech, he planted the rifle square in the back of their head.
"You have a great deal to explain. Start talking."
Raising both hands up in a sign of surrender, he turned around to face Optimus. He pulled the hood back to reveal a boxy and angular face, clearly old and worn down from the countless eons of war and exploration.
"Jhiaxus?..." Optimus took a step back in disbelief at the sight of the old mech. "You… you were thought to be dead for years! How are you still alive?"
"I live on, for our plans are yet to be fulfilled," Jhiaxus said, as he began to step to Optimus, causing the Prime to keep backing away until he was stood in the center of the chamber, illuminated by the bright lights on the ceiling that shined down on a tile mural of the matrix on the floor.
Jhiaxus gave a hand-wave back to the fresh body behind him. "Warpath could not see our master's vision, desired too much in too little time. As such, he had to be dealt with."
"Your 'master'?" Optimus inquired. Then, he had an epiphany. The yellow symbol that he had seen on some flags and welded onto bots, it was that of the Primal Vanguard, Nova Prime's interstellar legions used to conquer and colonize other worlds. His optics went wide, feeling like a fool to not have noticed beforehand.
"Your master was Nova Prime then, correct?" he paused, as Jhiaxus gave an affirmative nod. "That self-serving despot has been known to be dead longer than yourself. I remember seeing footage of his funeral during my time in the Hall of Records. They show his body being interred!"
"Oh yes, his physical frame has long since rusted away. But we are Cybertronians, are we not?" he posed, as if it was some kind of deep philosophical matter, "With the Allspark and the Matrix, is anyone ever truly dead?"
Optimus chuffed, and tried to hold back a laugh. "You've gone mad in your old age."
"And you're blind to what's been beside you since the moment you first placed a hand upon that shimmering fragment of our holy lord." Jhiaxus said, as he firmly planted a hand right over where the Matrix of Leadership was.
Optimus glared down at the mech, and moved to swat him away with his hand. As he began to raise his left arm to push away, he heard a footfall from behind him. He spun around, and let off a few bursts of fire into one of the corners of the room. The hidden wasn't fast enough, and was dropped on the spot. Out of the corner of his optic, he saw another assailant start to rush him. Pivoting on one heel, he spun just in time to grasp them by their neck, and used his momentum to slam them into the floor. While he was down, he didn't notice the three others appear from the shadows, and before he could stand to full height, he was prodded with an electro-staff, the shocking pain causing him to fall back to his knees. He tried to reach for his blaster, but Jhiaxus kicked it away, as another bot prodded into his back with high-voltage. The two on the sides of him turned their staffs to his wrists, and the electric prod changed into stasis-cuffs that binded tight. With these, he was yanked upwards onto just his knees in front of Jhiaxus.
"Torment me all you wish you wretched old fiend, I will not break!" Optimus snarled, retracting his battle mask to let his shouts be heard loud and clear.
"Break you? Why, Optimus, my master already has." Jhiaxus said, leaning down.
Optimus couldn't help but laugh at his mad rambling. "You speak as if Nova Prime is in the room with us now."
"No no no, not per say," Jhiaxus retorted, as he tapped on the side of Optimus' helm. "In here. But I suppose he was within the Matrix beforehand, with the other Primes of old."
It took Optimus a second to understand, but soon enough he pieced together what he had meant by that. In a flicker of a nanosecond, his mood plummeted to dreading what came next.
Jhiaxus reached under his cloak, and pulled out a device of some kind. He fiddled with it between his fingers for a few seconds, before unfolding part of it. Reaching out, he held it to Optimus Prime's neck.
"No…" Optimus muttered, "NO-"
He screamed out again, and as the guards un-cuffed him, fell forwards and began to writhe in pain on the floor. Sparks began to arc across his body, and off of a sudden, his bio-lights and optics went dark, and after a few more seconds, the twitching stopped.
The guards stepped behind Jhiaxus, as he kneeled down to get up-close to the unconscious body.
And they waited.
And waited…
And then, the body moved.
A jostle of a leg, the twitch of a finger, the lights came back on as he began to rise again. At this, Jhiaxus and the others all kneeled before him, and as he rose to full height, planted their fists over their sparks.
"My liege? Is that truly you?" Jhiaxus said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. The plan had been a long-shot, and if it was Optimus who came back, they were dead for certain.
The optics at last unshuttered, and instead of the pale crimson before, were now a fiery yellow. It started as a chuckle, and as he felt his new body up and down, it turned to a mad cackle.
"Yes, my servant. Your dedication to my plan has proven fruitful." He said, as he stretched out his arms and felt the physical world for the first time in countless ages. A greedy grin creeped across his face.
"At long last, Nova Prime has returned!"
In that moment, he paused, dread creeping over him. His smile fell, as he felt the power of the Matrix waver. He felt a pain in his chest, burning like fire.
Then, in the back of his mind, he heard it; a voice he had known before, so sweet yet fearfully powerful, the voice of the great creator,
"Not you. Never again. Unworthy to wield."
His chest plates transformed open, independent of himself,
And the Matrix of Leadership hit the floor with a solid thud, as its light began to dull.