Chapter 22
The End of the Night
Yue's smile was filled with contempt and malice…
She was also obviously very content with her handiwork, as she carefully inspected the thorn trees and made certain that her victims were unable to move let alone escape. But her cruelty had completely outraged all of the Autobots.
"Just what is Optimus on trial for?!" Ratchet demanded angrily. "He has committed no crime!"
"Oh, but he has…" Yue snickered before her expression suddenly grew cold and serious. "I will be happy to address the Prime's trespasses, but that shall come in time. The first individual to face judgment is Shockwave." She turned to face the one-eyed mech and her eyes suddenly lit with blazing hatred. "Decepticon scientist known as Shockwave, you stand before judgment on this day to answer for your crimes. To name only a fraction of the sins that have brought you to this position… you are accused of torture. Tortures that you not only inflicted upon the winged rat known as Starscream, but also upon dozens of Predacon's that you created in your lab only to feed your hydra. I know that they died in pain, I heard their screams!" The words left her mouth as little more than venomous whispers and it was obvious that Yue seemed particularly upset at this but after a moment she managed to continue on with the rest of what she intended to say. "You are also undoubtedly guilty of betrayal, murder, kidnapping, attempted infanticide, and much like your former liege you are also guilty of the theft of dark energon, which you dared to use when creating your pet monstrosity. Now I ask you this, what can you possibly say in your own defense?"
"Your arguments are entirely illogical." He stated in his usual emotionless tone, even in spite of everything that was going on. "All of these crimes that you believe I am guilty of where necessary evils, I was doing what needed to be done in order for the Decepticons to become victorious in this war!"
"As illogical as you claim that my arguments may be; your defense is irrelevant!" The goddess snapped, careful to put emphasis on the irrelevant part and she then turned around to face all of the present Cybertronians. At this moment she did not care in the slightest about faction or species. "No matter why it is done, evil is still evil …now then… will anyone offer to speak up to attest to your character? Will anyone speak in your defense? Shall anyone plead with me for to show you mercy?"
"I have something to say." Knockout spoke up as he moved past Breakdown "For years I thought my sparklings were dead and that I had lost the only thing I had left of my mate… all because of him!" He stated accusingly and he glared hatefully at the scientist who had caused him such unfathomable agony. "I'm not speaking on his defense, nor am I asking for you to show him even an ounce of mercy, but what I am asking for Miss Chaos Goddess is a single wish…" Yue remained silent but was interested in what the red medic had to say. "You said that you granted me my wish about being able to carry my offspring to term this time… now my only wish is that you make his demise as painful as you possibly can!"
Yue immediately smiled a hellish smile before bursting out laughing. "Now that is wish I shall happily grant!" She said wickedly and then proceeded to lock her glowing optics on Shockwave. "And so, as punishment for your crimes, I hereby condemn you to death… and not just any death, you will die in the most painful, agonizing way I know how to kill; but before we get to that there are a few important things that must be taken care of… I will do this in three parts." Once again there was a terrific rush of white flames as Yue made herself smaller again and also teleported herself to a hollow opening in the thorn tree that was directly behind the scientist. She smiled smugly as she watched Shockwave's try to see what it was she was doing behind him, right before brandishing her razor-sharp talons and digging them right into his back!
Yue found that his screams of agony were music to her years as she began making specific tears in his back plating before beginning to delve deeper into his internals. "What I am doing now is something that was taught to my father by a group of Vikings that had gotten lost and ended up docking their ship in my homeland. These hardened warriors were respectful of my father and even addressed him as 'Odin.' Although he never did like being called that… but I was but a child back then and for the longest time I always thought he, like them, was Norse. Since oddly enough they had similar accents." Realization was getting off topic Yue shook her head before refocusing on what she was doing, namely taking pieces of Shockwave's inside and pulling them out and arranging them in a deliberate almost decorative manner. "Anyways, this technique is called the 'Blood Eagle' and to this day it is considered one of the most painful and agonizing tortures of them all. One needs to break the ribs away from the main body in such a way that they resemble wings and then it calls for the lungs of the victim to be pulled out. Only since Cybertronians do not have lungs, I get to be creative with this." She chuckled before delving her claws in deeper as Shockwave began to thrash in anguish as she finally reached his vents and began to mutilate them, shredding them with appalling ease. Finally she grabbed ahold of the mechs cooling fans and in a single swift movement pulled them out of his body and let them hang limply outside of his body by a few strained wires. Static was the only sound Shockwave was able to make as his body entered a forced shutdown, his processor no longer able to cope with the pain. Yue acknowledged this with a frown and carefully selected several strands of her hair and brought them over to the back of Shockwaves head and as soon as they touched him they connected to his systems and he was forcefully brought back to reality… and pain.
"Sorry but you don't get to enjoy the pleasure of unconsciousness. I want you to feel everything so I'm using my own nerves to make sure you don't go blacking out again. Now for part two out of three." The femme's energon stained servos migrated upwards until they rested on the scientists' helm. With one hand Yue held him steady as she extended her index finger and let her nail elongate and oddly enough it became translucent. She waited maybe ten seconds before plunging this blade into his head. Prompting another round of audio-piercing screams to escape from Shockwave. "Normally I try to avoid poking around inside of another beings mind, but in this case I have no choice. In that brilliant, twisted mind of yours lies a certain formula that is vitally important to me… Thankfully I don't need to look to deep in this cesspool you call a processor in order to find it. Ah, here it is." Yue pulled the claw free revealing that it was no longer transparent but glowing with some strange unknown energy. There was another rush of white flames and Yue returned to her normal height; she continued to inspect whatever it was that she'd extracted from the former Decepticons mind before she brought that claw up to just underneath her optic and stabbed it in. She hissed slightly from the pain before she extracted the claw, which was now devoid of light and she proceeded to start blinking rapidly…
And within a few moments she had shed some sort of crystal tear…
Amethyst in color and seeming to shine with a strange glittering light all its own, but whatever its purpose was however would have to remain a mystery as Yue looked it over only one time before quickly sub-spacing it and started smiling down at Shockwave. "And now we have reached the finale."
"S-Sto-o-op…" Shockwave weakly pleaded, all traces of logic and pride had been overridden by the immeasurable torment he was in. But the sadistic goddess merely scoffed at his weak request.
"You lost the right to beg me for mercy when you first attempted to kill Paradox and Tripwire all those years ago. You've been a dead man walking all this time, you just didn't know it." She stated flatly as she extended the blade she had gained when she had assimilated the Dark Star Saber and then a flame suddenly ignited right at the blades tip and a malevolent gleam filled her eyes. "Now… now I condemn you to suffer the most painful end of all! You will die… the same way that I did…"
"You will burn…"
The words had barely left her mouth before Yue touched the flame to the base of the thorn tree that held the unfortunate scientist and immediately it began to spread. In fact it only took three seconds before the flames reached Shockwave's body and that was when the pain truly began… Now under normal circumstances it would take an incredible amount of heat to damage a Cybertronian and any ordinary fire would not have done much damage. But the flames created by Yue burned considerably hotter than any normal fire and this became sickeningly apparent when the first tendrils of flames to reach his body sent shooting agony through his sensors! As the searing flames and unbearable heat reached their peak it became the final push needed to destroy any restraint he had left and Shockwave began screaming in agony and in horror; the horror stemming from the realization that Yue's hairs were actually still connected to him and were actually strengthening his nerves so that they didn't deactivate or give out due to the heat. At the same time she was also making sure that his systems didn't let him fall into a forced recharge before he met his end. She wanted him to feel every… single… moment…
Standing tall directly in front of the burning tree and watching the scene with incredible amusement, Yue had such a happy and contended smile on her face that was disturbing to look at her and know she was watching a living creature, even one as cruel and malicious as Shockwave, burning to death in a slow painful manner. But to the goddess she found his screams and his pain delicious, this was justice for all the wicked deeds he'd ever done. After minutes that seemed to pass like hours, the agonized screaming became nothing but static as his vocalizer literally melted inside of him; but even though the screams had stopped it took him considerably more time to actually die. And the second that his spark finally left his body the flames consuming him went out. Leaving nothing behind except for a charred and melted husk of his frame… Yue waved her hand and the tree disintegrated along with what remained of his body, it all simply turned to ash and blew away on the wind.
"Now his punishment is no longer mine to get! Let us pray that Shockwave will continue to suffer for all eternity in the deepest circle of hell. Amen." She added with a mocking chuckle all to present in her voice and a sickeningly sweet smile spread across her face as she looked over her other two captives, particularly Megatron. "I'll save you for last… so that leaves you to be judged next Prime."
"As Ratchet stated earlier Optimus hasn't done anything wrong!" Magnus growled at Yue, drawing the deity's attention completely onto him and he watched as a fresh wave of anger and loathe flooded into her optics.
"While he certainly has committed crimes, it was your actions that have enraged me!" She snapped venomously. "It was you Ultra Magnus, alongside the one named Wheeljack… You two are the ones to blame for what will become of your precious Prime!"
"And what the heck did we do?!" Wheeljack demanded.
"What did you do?" Yue echoed the question… before she all but exploded. "You committed genocide! You slaughtered the twenty four Predacons that were being created in Shockwaves laboratory! They never even had a chance to live! And correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the exact opposite of what you Autobots are supposed to believe in and stand for?! You're a bunch of murdering hypocrites!" She seethed before turning around and slashing Optimus's chassis with her razor sharp servos, thankfully she held back enough so she didn't accidentally kill him in her wrath-fuelled outburst. Nevertheless the wound was messy and a wave of energon spilled from it, yet Optimus bit his tongue and didn't make a single sound.
"Then punish us! Don't blame Optimus for our actions!" Magnus demanded, his voice betraying his desperation and the horror that he was partially responsible for this.
"Oh, I certainly considered it and I did come up with some interesting ways to make you pay for your sins against my Predacons. For example I heavily considered condemning you the same fate as Shockwave, but then I started thinking… killing you is one thing, but making sure you know that you are responsible for your beloved leaders agonizing demise, and I assure you that I will make it agonizing… letting you live out the remainder of your long lives with the guilt of knowing that it was partially your fault for what befell him. Now that's is a true punishment!" Yue sneered wickedly. "Of course, even I have to admit that it isn't only your transgressions that have brought your Prime to stand before my judgment. There is also the crime he committed against my father when he forced him back into stasis!"
"Hey! Unicron's frame is the base of this planet, if he had fully awakened he would have destroyed everything! Optimus had no other choice!" Bulkhead stated angrily. But his words only angered the deity and her face twisted with rage and she suddenly screeched a hellish earsplitting howl that was so loud it had everybody covering their audios!
"Silence! You little fools, I had my own plans for my father's awakening! Plans that didn't entail the destruction of this world… But you and your brilliant Prime interfered!"
"How was anyone supposed to know that?! No one even knew you existed!" Arcee injected.
"Blah blah blah... all I hear are excuses." The massive femme said with an annoyed roll of her optics. "But one thing has certainly made itself clear; Optimus Prime has plenty of individuals who are willing to speak in his defense. While I promise to take this into consideration I am curious… What do you have to say in your own defense Prime? What can you say to make me reconsider the horrible tortures I have planned for you? Speak up, but you better say something more interesting than what Shockwave offered."
Everything went silent as Optimus looked over his comrades that were gathered below where he was restrained and then his optics looked up and make contact with Yue's. "I have nothing to say, other than I will accept the consequences of my actions as well as the actions of my team… and I will endure whatever judgment that you choose to enforce goddess."
The anger and rage that had been so clearly visible on Yue's face almost immediately disappeared and was replaced by one of complete shock and confusion. "Say what?" She asked, completely floored by his words. It would have been funny had the situation not been so dire.
"I will accept the punishment that you have chosen for me." Optimus repeated. "All I ask of you Lady Yue is that by accepting my demise, it will encompass every sin that you believe my team has committed and you will not feel any need to pass judgment on them."
"You shall… accept your fate without any quarrel?" Clearly she had not been expecting this at all. The Prime merely nodded.
"I take that this isn't what you were expecting Yue?" Songbird spoke up as she began walking forward until passed the Autobot's and was thus standing the closest to the goddess. "Perhaps this warrants a little reconsideration? It certainly says something about someone's character when they're willing to endure your wrath for the sake of the ones they consider family."
"Tells me they're idiotic…" Yue grunted as she knelt down in order to get a better look at Optimus Prime, her large glowing optics locked onto him and remained unblinking as she stared at him… into him. But in light of this… interesting… revelation. For now I will reserve my judgment. I'll come back to you, once I'm finished dealing with Megatron." She practically spat out his name as she turned away from Optimus and focused entirely on the bound, weakened and silenced warlord. "I thoroughly plan on enjoying your demise!" She declared as she stood up straight and smiled down at her soon to be victim. "Now the crimes that you are guilty of are as numerous as they are vile; ranging from torture, murder, to the theft of dark energon! Hmph! In my eyes you are no better than Shockwave! So answer me this Megatron… Do you have anything to say in your own defense?" She smirked evilly as the former gladiator could only glare up at the malicious deity, his mouth still stitched closed from his earlier battle with her. "I didn't think so. And now I ask the same question that I have asked before, will anyone speak in his defense and request leniency in my judgment?"
Without even a moment of hesitation, Soundwave stepped forward along with Ravage at his side. "Soundwave: will speak on Megatron's behalf and request your mercy."
"Same here!" Ravage growled as he transformed into his bipedal robot form. "I don't know where you get this idea that what you're doing is justice, but this whole trial of yours is a joke! It's just an excuse for you to do whatever you want!" Yue didn't bother to even look in their direction, she simply brought her servo up and suddenly clenched her fist. Immediately Ravage unleashed an energon-curdling scream as he fell over, clawing at his head in apparent agony! From her position in her Carrier's arms, Laserbeak also began flail and cry out in pain; but there was nothing Soundwave could do because he didn't know what was wrong!
"I will overlook the rude statement that your son made about the fairness of this trial; but I feel the need to remind you Soundwave that you came to me for help and I granted you a boon. I saved their lives… You might want to reconsider doing anything that may anger me. For while I was merciful enough to heal them of their ailments, I could just as easily put them back in the states they were in and let them die. Now you certainly wouldn't want that would you?" Her voice was frigid as the Arctic tundra's and from behind the Communications Officer's mask his optics widened with pure horror. After a few more seconds of letting them writhe in pain Yue unclenched her fist and instantly the agony Ravage and Laserbeak had been feeling was over. (But Ravage remained unconscious and there was no doubt that Yue did that deliberately…) "So what was it that you are saying?" For the sake of his children, Soundwave could say nothing and looked away, focusing his entire attention on his unconscious son and trying to ignore the feeling of immeasurable guilt that was settling heavily within his spark.
"Nothing to say? I thought so… Now does anybody else have anything to say on behalf of Megatron? How about you my honorable warrior?" The goddess asked oddly enough addressing Dreadwing, drawing his attention away from his still unconscious brother and he stepped forward.
"There was a time that I took an oath to serve the Decepticon cause and Lord Megatron. I served that oath with honor only to be repaid with betrayal. I will not call for his death, but I certainly not speak for him." The dark blue dragonformer stated coldly, his words are earning a chuckle from the dark goddess.
"And that is why you never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer care." Yue stated just as several other voices that were coming from the Vehicons were suddenly noticed.
"Burn him!" One of them snapped.
"He treated us like garbage! So rip him to pieces and throw what's left of him away!" Another angrily added and pretty soon that sentiment was being echoed by dozens of others, with each call for Megatron's death while Yue's grin grew happier and darker.
"The crowd has spoken and they are calling for your death." She said before producing the sharpened blade from her forearm and igniting it with her hellish lavender flames. "It gives me great pleasure in condemning you to death! After you finish burning here, I hope you continue to burn in hell-!"
"I will speak for Megatron in his favor!"
It was as though time itself suddenly stood still…
And all optics fell on Songbird…
"Songbird?" Yue stated, shocked by the gryphonformer speaking out against her final ruling. Especially since Songbird and Predaking had more than enough reason to hate the former warlord. "Why are you speaking in his favor? He deserves what he's getting!"
"Does he Yue?" Songbird questioned as she crossed her arms. "Are you sure? Completely and positively? Have you checked?"
The deity growled and her optics narrowed a sure sign that nothing good was going to happen if she continued to keep getting angrier. "I don't understand, he has wronged you and countless others! I wouldn't think you are so quick to forgive and if you're speaking for him why didn't you speak for Shockwave?"
"I am not quick to forgive Yue, you know that. While I will admit that I can forgive some transgressions… I am vengeful and I have a very long memory, a dangerous combination. Do you know that I remember the faces of every hunter that ever shot at me back in Alaska and managed to escape? Should they ever crossed my path again I will not hesitate to blow them into oblivion."
"No need, they're all dead. I took care of them a long time ago." Yue commented nonchalantly. "All developed some sort of fatal disease or ailment which claimed their lives shortly afterwards."
"Be that as it may," Song continued, trying to hide that she was now slightly thrown off by that little revelation. "I didn't speak for Shockwave due to that very reason. In my optics he deserved to die and I didn't and still don't care if he had any genuine reasoning behind his actions. And to be completely frank… I feel the exact way about Megatron. I personally think that the miserable old warmonger deserves your wrath and your punishments."
"Hold on I'm confused, didn't you just say that you want to speak in his defense?" Yue asked now thoroughly unsure of whatever Songbird was trying to accomplish.
"I'm merely bringing to light the one major difference between the two… In Megatron's case there actually are individuals who would speak in his defense. Even if you have made it extremely clear you don't want to acknowledge them." She said casting a glance over at Soundwave and his brood. "And then of course there is one other reason… I am not speaking on his behalf, but rather on your behalf Yue."
"On… my behalf?" The goddess echoed while quirking an eyebrow.
"Let's just suppose for half a second that Megatron holds some sort of redeemable qualities and you put him to a torturous death… Only to find out later on that he may not have deserved the fate you gave him. As a deity who believes so strongly in justice surely the thought of that must bother you… After all, you yourself with the victim of an unfair trial and as a result you were burned alive at the stake. If you make such an error you would have to live with that Yue and honestly that worries me. Guilt is something we all have to live with, but as an immortal it is something that you would have to live with for a very long time." The dark goddess remained silent as she quietly mulled over the femme Predacon's words and after what felt like an eternity she finally spoke.
"You would have the spare him only because he might not deserve to die?"
"No. All I am asking is that you make sure he does." Songbird corrected. "He could very well deserve something even worse than burning! And I'm certain you could find an even more creative way to kill him should that be the case." At this Yue chuckled a little bit before returning her full attention to Megatron.
"Songbird does make a valid point and by her request alone you will be given a single chance." With that she carefully selected several strands of her hair and brought them behind the silver titan's helm where they somehow began to connect directly to Megatron's processor. Upon realizing that this wicked monstrosity was literally patching into his mind he began to struggle with all the strength he had left. Not that it did any good all did was apparently amuse Yue. "As I have said before, I don't like rooting around in the minds of others… But there are always those rare expectations! So let me see what lies inside of that dark, twisted mind of yours!" She chuckled coldly before allowing the link between their minds to fully manifest… and with no hesitation at all she delved deep into Megatron's mind. Only she didn't find what she was expecting.
Yue's consciousness easily overwhelmed Megatron's mental defenses and his own consciousness was dragged back through the course of his own life right from the beginning. At first she ruthlessly scoured through his memories, but as she continued to look into his mind what she saw made her certainty of his guilt falter.
The memories of his early life and how he suffered as a slave deep in the mines, back in the time before he even had a real name, back when he was known as nothing but Slave D-16. These memories and showed that even as a slave he had always been strong-willed and refused to give in to the will of his owners and that landed him fighting for his life in the Pits of Kaon…
And yet amidst the hell suffering all around him he managed to survive and managed to become one of the primary champions of the gladiatorial arena and he chose a name for himself that was one of power, Megatronus after one of the original thirteen Primes. It was also obvious that there was something different about him back then. It was written in his memories and could not be denied…
…back then he had compassion…
Yue paid particular attention to his memories of his times with his fellow gladiators, Soundwave and his offspring among them. He had been different back then, kinder more concerned with the welfare of others particularly those he considered to be his friends…
And then there was a certain little Data Clerk…
Now these memories were riddled with an emotion one would swear a monster like him had never felt, love…
After earning his freedom he began speaking his mind to the masses, anyone who would listen. He spoke of change and of revolution, to bring about the end of the horribly corrupt Caste System that existed in their world and the even more corrupt Nobles on the Council who governed it…
When he finally was granted the privilege to speak before the Council he spoke with the ferocity and rage that had been burning inside of him for so many vorns. A flame of hate that had been ignited in him from a young age, back when he had been a slave…
They feared him and he knew it so it wasn't all that surprising when they turned him down and refused to grant him the Matrix of Leadership; what was surprising was how they responded to Orion's much more heartfelt and sentimental words struck them deeper and when they all agreed it would be Orion Pax who would receive the Matrix it tore his spark apart…
On that day he was betrayed by the one person that he had loved the most and from that moment on he was overtaking with nothing but rage and hatred, emotions that only increased tenfold when Orion actually was blessed with the Matrix and ceased to be Orion, and was replaced by Optimus Prime…
A mech that wore Orion's frame but was not Orion…
Orion was gone…
Anger, hurt, rage, betrayal, these emotions bled together until the world became nothing but a dark and dismal place and it continued to break Megatron down until there was barely a trace of the good mech he had once been left inside of him…
And somewhere along the lines Megatron had determined that it was Primus who had ruined his life so it was only fitting that he would enlist the help of Unicron to destroy this bastardization of his former friend and lover…
Megatron's memories continued to bleed forward all the way to far more recent events and he could feel Yue scrutinizing every one of them, even felt her anger and… sorrow… as she passed through his memories of what happened with Unicron and her confusion at his reaction when Optimus reverted back to being Orion Pax…
But in his mind no matter how much he wished it was, he knew that it wasn't really his Pax. As long as that damnable Matrix was in him he would never be Orion…
She continued sifting through his memories now dismissing some and lingering on others but it seemed as though Yue was tiring; although her attention once again became locked on as she reviewed every minuscule detail the second that the Predacon's were brought into the mix…
When she finished reviewing these memories, Megatron can feel that she had come to some sort of conclusion…
Overall the entire process had taken five minutes, but it might as well have been five-thousand years as Megatron was forced to relive all of his memories both the good and the bad, and it left old wounds feeling as though they had been torn open anew and whereas fresh is the day he had received them. But unknowingly the former gladiator's suffering had filled the goddess's heart with pity and shown to her that there were still the faintest trace of a good mech left inside his spark…
Yue was silent as she detached her link to Megatron's mind. Although now even more mentally worn out than he had been previously, Megatron still managed to glare hatefully up at the deity who had forced him to relive the agony of his past. All of her maniacal glee that had been so obviously apparent only a few short minutes ago was gone now…
"As much as I don't like it, it appears that Megatron doesn't deserve to burn." Yue said sadly. "I can't… I can't condemn someone that I pity that much." She waved her hand and the thorn tree suddenly dissolved and turned to dust, letting the former warlord fall hard to the ground. "However I cannot overlook the crimes he is guilty of, fortunately I think that I have come up with a truly fitting punishment… I sewed your mouth closed and that is how it will stay. You will be silenced, even your personal com will not work from this moment on. Your voice once held power, but now you will be unable to utter even the faintest of sounds… and speaking of power, I will also strip you of your strength." She then dug one of her sharp nails into her palm, drawing a single drop of her blood which she proceeded to flick onto Megatrons body. Immediately he felt his frame tightening, as though he was being bound with invisible chains. "You will never fight again fallen warrior… but I will allow an exception to this. Should your life, or the life of someone close to you be threatened then and only then will you be free to fight. And who knows? Maybe someday far in the future you will earn the right to speak and fight again. If that day ever comes the thread binding your mouth will fade away, as will the restrictions on your body." The goddess paused before looking off in an eastward direction. She was silent for a while, before finally sighing and rubbing her temples further indicating that not only was she tiring but was also starting to get a headache.
"I'm running out of time, both time and energy." She muttered before looking over at the Optimus prime, her last victim. "I have also decided what I'm going to do with you. I'm not really sure how to label this, am I killing you, or am I letting you live? It'll be quick that much I can guarantee, so let's just get this over with." Not giving anyone enough time to fully grasp what she meant Yue suddenly grabbed the front of Optimus's chassis and more or less tore it open, exposing his brightly shining blue and white spark. For a single horrible moment it looked as though she was going to rip his spark right out of his chest! No hesitation, none whatsoever, she drove her claws into him and the Prime screamed! A cold lavender light bloomed from within him and quickly consumed his entire frame as Yue apparently grabbed a hold of something and in a single swift movement she tore something straight out of his body and the light that had covered his body went with whatever she had taken from him. There was a hushed silence as the thorn tree dissolved to dust like the other had done and Optimus fell onto the ground and laid there completely unmoving…
Immediately all of the Autobots were by his side, Ratchet right at the front of the group and it was he who was the first to see what had really happened… he had expected to see a hollow chest cavity, deprived of its spark. But much to his and everyone else's surprise Optimus's spark was still inside of him, albeit beating in an extremely erratic manner as the Prime's body had gone into shock as a result of this dark deity's actions. But there was something missing and it took several long moments before it fully registered in Ratchet's processor and once it finally did he whipped around to face Yue his optics wide with complete and total horror, while the hybrid femme quietly examined the object in her servo.
Yue had just ripped out the Matrix of Leadership…
"Kill the Prime but leave the Pax; seems fitting to me." She muttered. "So this is the little trinket that's responsible for forcing my father back into his dreams. Somehow I expected it to be… I don't know… grander? Not that it matters anyway, your race will never have the opportunity to use it again."
"You can't just take that!" Smokescreen blurted out, only to receive a flat look from the goddess.
"Watch me." Was the brief and sarcastic reply as she sub-spaced Cybertron's greatest treasure like it was nothing more than a piece of junk. "And now were done. Or more appropriately put, you're done. Your war is over and congratulations both sides lost. Bravo!" She sneered with a round of fake applause.
"What the frag are you talking about?!" Ratchet demanded hatefully as Optimus, who was now once again returned to being Orion Pax. Who had absolutely no idea who most of the bots surrounding him were, who the giant femme was, or what was going on. (He did however recall everything that had happened up until Jack had restored the energy of the Matrix's energy however. And his body had shrunk back down to its original size, from before his life was saved by the Forge of Solus Prime.) But Ratchet couldn't focus on his old friend at this moment, his rage was currently centered entirely on the looming deity.
"What it sounds like you crotchety old git." Yue growled irritably. "No matter how many ways you look at it both the Decepticons and the Autobots have lost your stupid war! The Decepticons champion warlord has been stripped of his strength and his voice and thus he will never command his army again! While you Autobot's have not only lost your precious leader but the Matrix of Leadership as well! And this so-called relic will stay in my possession until the end of days; or until I find some other use for the thing." She muttered before once again casting her gaze eastward… instinctively knowing that the sun would be rising within minutes. "And… and like I said, I'm done here. The only thing left is for me to do is grant the final wish."
"You can't do this!" Arcee hissed as she managed to elude Cliffjumpers grasp and didn't pay attention to his warnings of 'Don't anger her!' "I don't care if you are a goddess you have no right to-"
"The final wish…" Yue continued paying absolutely no attention to the agitated two wheeler. "is to restore life to your dead world."
Well…
That shut everybody up…
"You're going to… restore Cybertron?!" Magnus asked skeptically. After all the devastating actions he had witnessed this unnatural being commit he didn't believe for one nanosecond that he was going to do what she had just said. "Why?"
"Because the wish itself was a pure one. A grandfather wishing on the moon with his grandchild," Her optics settled on Ratchet who had gone from being royally pissed to being startled and confused. "You made that wish with Paradox originally to humor her, only now I've decided to grant it. That's just how it works."
"T-That's not an answer! That's not how anything works!" Ratchet stuttered. "I didn't- you- this doesn't make any sense! You clearly hate all of us, so why help at all?!"
"Because you asked in a way that I respect." Yue continued on, her voice now becoming noticeably calmer as her mood was apparently evening out. "Just because my nature is chaotic you shouldn't think for one moment I am incapable of mercy. You would do well to know this and remember it… when someone has answers to your prayers, learn how to ask." She paused again to look over everyone who currently stood before her. "And now that we're all up to speed on what's going to happen, you Cybertronians will return to your homeworld. But the Predacons will not be joining you."
Now that little bit of information was news to Predaking and he was even caught off guard by it. "What? Why not?"
"Because I know what will happen." The goddess stated emotionlessly. "There will be tension and fear between the two species and in time… there will be another war."
"Chirr bzeep chirp chirp beep!" Bumblebee angrily yelled up at Yue. But the goddess merely looked at him in a confused manner… obviously she couldn't understand him so Arcee decided to translate.
"He said: 'You don't know that for certain!' And it's true, you don't if that would happen!"
Yue dismissed these words with a wave of her hand. "Please, I may not have been alive as long as you, but that doesn't make me blind to the way things are! I've watched the human race for millennia and from what I have seen, Cybertronians and humans are far more alike than I'm sure you'd ever care to admit. Not to mention with how long your war has been going on I doubt there will ever really be peace for your people…" She sighed loudly before once again rubbing her forehead, it seemed as though her headache was getting worse. "Even though I will give you what you need to restore your world, I don't expect you to keep it in one piece. I mean come on, you've destroyed it once already!"
"Mistakes have been made." Ultra Magnus spoke but now his voice low. With Optimus Prime no longer… himself, that put the Captain of the Wreckers in charge of the Autobots. And as the leader he need to put aside his personal anger at this deity and say what needed to be said. "There is no denying it, our race has made mistakes-"
"Nearly an uncountable amount and of epic proportions." Yue summed up with a note of sarcasm present in the back of her voice.
"Be that as it may…" Magnus continued through gritted denta. "We will learn from them, we won't make the same mistakes again! It's long past time for this war to end, and if you do grant us a way to restore our world you will see that this is not a false promise but a sincere one!"
"If you truly believe your own words that's fine, but do not expect me to believe them. Especially since I have a very poor opinion of you to start with. However…" Her expression that had been as cold as winter's snow warmed up ever so slightly. "I sincerely hope that you do prove me wrong."
"Lady Yue," Predaking spoke recapturing the goddess's lost attention. "If you do not wish for us to return to Cybertron, where do you suggest we go? Surly you don't expect us to stay here on earth?"
"Admittedly that was my original plan," She began to explain but abruptly stopped as another thought suddenly occurred to her. "Oh and you should also know that Orb Weaver saved the human race when she mentioned that planet. Since I was just going to create endless plagues and natural disasters until the humans were completely exterminated and then let the Predacons stay here… but a better idea came to me when I heard Weaver say something when you and Song had been flying with her and the other two children under the aurora. She mentioned a world that she uses as her base from time to time, I repaired her ship and it's waiting on the moon… have her take you there. That will be your new domain, a world all your own." Yue explained, her mood brightening up as she conversed with the Predaking. "What do you think of this idea?"
The dragonformer honestly hadn't considered the prospect of having an entire planet for his kind… with the only exception being the occasional thoughts of wiping out the other Cybertronians been claiming the planet for his kind. Thoughts like that were fleeting and never truly dwelled on for good reason, his race was tragically outnumbered. And he could not see how that statistic was going to change any time in the future so he had been forced to believe that the Predacon's would always have to share a planet with the other Cybertronians. Although there was a rather large issue that the planet in question would be organic rather than a cybernetic world like Cybertron was. Especially considering that Cybertron would be far better suited for their races survival… But still, even though there certainly were some concerns, major ones, Predaking could not deny just how much he liked the thought of a world for his species alone.
"The concept of not having to share a world with… another race." He was clearly being polite about his choice of words as he shot a frigid glare in the direction of the Autobots and Megatron. "Would be nothing short of a blessing; there are however some issues I fear could not be handled if we were to live anywhere else but Cybertron." The goddess looked thoughtful for a moment before she turned her attention eastward for what would be the final time.
"Noted…" She stated but her attention was definitely off of him. "But unfortunately this conversation will need to be had at another time. My time here has unfortunately reached its end; I leave when the first rays of sunlight touch my body." It was then that her body began to shift and change, returning her to the form of a massive Imperial Lung Dragon. (Which earned a startled Eeep! From Orion Pax in the process…)
"I'm not looking forward to this, I burned and died before… This particular part is going to be a truly unpleasant trip down memory lane." The massive dragon grumbled.
"Wait… you've died before?!" Smokescreen asked more than a little shocked. "But aren't you a goddess? I thought you guys were immortal?" The question earned the young guard a sharp, angry look from the dragon femme.
"I am half deity on my father's side and technically I am immortal. But my mother on the other hand was blessed with being mortal. Blessed with being able to die! Yes I died before, in a horrible gruesome and painful manner I might add! But my death brought me peace… and I was at peace for three earth years. Only my body regenerated and the resurrecting power of my father's blood pulled my soul back from the grave. I can die, but it isn't permanent." She shook her head realizing that she was saying far more than she needed to. "Now here's what's going to happen so listen up… I'm going to separate my blood from my flesh, when the light from the sun strikes my bloodless frame it will ignite and cause what's left to crystallize and become a hard energon-like substance. Refine this as you would energon and then inject it straight into Primus himself. How you manage to do that that is your problem-"
"Um… um goddess Yue, what about us?" One of the Vehicons finally spoke up, after all they had all been getting a little nervous since while Yue had promised them rewards she had failed to actually mention them when she was talking about giving the Predacon's their own world.
"I've been addressing you this entire time… you'll see what I mean soon enough." Her words were both vague and brief. Yue did not wait for any more questions or replies before she kicked took off began to rapidly ascend higher into the air before abruptly stopping and letting her body straighten itself out and then just hang limply in the sky.
As the final moments before the sun would rise began to count down, the glowing sphere ornamenting Yue's head detached and ascended even higher above her dragon frame. Immediately after this the amethyst glow of life shining in her large optics seemed to dull become far less vibrant than they originally had been. But the curiosity concerning what that was about was quickly forgotten as the dragon deity extended her knifelike talons and suddenly flayed her entire chest wide open! Not only did it offer a disturbing glimpse into the cybernetic/organic components of her internals but a river of pale lavender began to pour from the gaping wound; but rather than rain down onto the ground the glowing liquid began to float upwards until all of the droplets were gathered directly beneath the crystal orb. They proceeded to condense and formed into a large diamond-shaped stone… It was not terribly large because surprisingly enough it would appear that Yue did not have a lot of blood in her body, something that was odd considering how large her frame was. Nonetheless watching the shimmering liquid condense into a stone was not only eerie and disturbing, but somehow still a beautiful sight. But like everything else it was short-lived for at last the first rays of light finally heralded the rising of the sun…
And once the Imperial dragons frame was they in the dawns first light, it suddenly ignited…
Searing white flames exploded from the gaping wound in her chest, her mane caught fire and quickly burned away. There quickly became a sickeningly disturbing odor that abruptly made itself known, the horrible sent of melting metal mixed with cooking flesh. The smell alone nearly made several the onlookers purge their tanks. Fortunately none of them actually did and after several more disturbing minutes of watching the Lung dragon's body burn, it finally lost altitude and fell out of the sky and collapsed onto the earth with such force that the ground shook with the sheer force of the impact. Once on the ground the flames began to burn far hotter than they originally were and even began to tower higher and higher into sky. But then it just stopped… The flames stopped burning and instead froze in place, creating massive columns of white energon. The structures resembled sand in the desert that had been struck by lightning and produced twisting spires of glass. As the sunlight continued to steadily light the skies of Nevada, the jewel that had been constructed from Yue's blood began to shine and admit a sound akin to something charging with electricity before it suddenly burst apart into hundreds of glowing lavender shards which began to rain down… many of which dissolved before ever touching the ground, but some select pieces seemed to gravitate towards the awestruck Vehicons. Several of which even made attempts to grab these pretty falling shards.
No one had noticed when Songbird had first slipped away from the main group been quietly retreated over to where Steve had taken Starscream out of the view of Yue and she wordlessly began to heal his damaged body. Of course no sooner had she finished did she also punched him right in the face when he had started to come to, since now was simply not the time to hear his annoying voice… But the femme gryphonformer could not help but chuckle as she noticed one of these crystals landed on Steve's shoulder and seemed to melt into his frame.
"Primus's blood gives life, Unicrons blood reawakens but damns the dead," She muttered watching as Steve's frame began to undergo some changes, several new spikes beginning to protrude from his shoulders and along his spinal struts. Of course the little Vehicon remained unaware of any of this. Nor were any of the other Vehicons aware that they were all undergoing similar equally bizarre changes. "and Yue's blood can change all that it touches." She stood up and slipped away, quietly checking on the still-unconscious forms of Moonrise and Freefall and smiled slightly when she saw them stirring and realized Yue's spell would soon be lifting.
Yue's glowing orb continue to hang in the air for barely another minute before emitting a single pulse and vanishing. As though it had never even been there at all. But the same time Songbird noticed that the glowing wing emblems had once again appeared around her Predacon insignia and she knew full well what this meant. But just as she was about to transform-
"Song?" Predaking spoke from directly next to her, startling her somewhat. But she found herself relieved upon realizing that it was him. Apparently her nerves were more worn down that she originally thought…
"I… have something that I need to take care of." She explained, skittering around the entire truth. "Could you please watch my daughters for me? With all of the chaos that's about to take place I'd appreciate knowing that you're watching them." The Predacon King hesitated for a moment before sighing and giving her a quick nod. She only smiled back at him before hastily transforming and taking to the skies. She knew where she had to go…
Since it appeared as though her goddess wasn't quite as done as she had led others to believe and now wished to speak with her...
Yes I know this chapter took forever to get out. But I had several bouts of writers block when I was trying to finish it and that's one of the main reasons it took so long to finish and post. Now as I said before this is the second to last chapter and the next chapter will be the finale. I really do hope to have that chapter out quicker… And as always please remember to Read and Review! ^_^