Legend of Bruticus (Chapter 6 Final)

One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall

Prime looked up at the war machine and noticed fire spewing out of every crack on his armor, for he was no longer powered by energon but by pure rage and desire for total annihilation. Bruticus had lost all control and now his only focus was smashing anything in his path. "You didn't think that you would get all the fun, did you?" Ironhide said as he came running to Prime's side. "Thank you…old friend…" "Prime, are you hurt?" "It's nothing, it'll hold up for one more battle. Right now we just gotta focus on taking out this Behemoth." "So what's the plan?" "I don't know, I'll just make it up as a go along and you follow." "Works for me!"

The towering Colossus stood before the two Autobots, hungry for destruction and violence. Bruticus had lost completely control and the only way he could be stopped would be to be shut down permanently. They stood within ground zero of which the Gestalt and Metroplex fought recently. Even though they were in the desert, a previous massive shockwave blew away all the sand and now they were standing on solid ground. "Stand down Bruticus!" "Hahaha! Bruticus smash tiny Autobots!" his hand smashed on the ground, dividing Prime and Ironhide. "We need to go on the offensive Optimus…now!" Ironhide said as Bruticus focused his attacks on him. While the war machine was distracted with Prime's second in command, Optimus climbed the back of the tower and gripped firmly on the giant's left shoulder. Prime was so small in comparison to Bruticus that he didn't even feel the Autobot crawling on him. It wasn't until Optimus was next to his head that the Decepticon noticed him. Bruticus swung his hand up in hopes of grabbing him, "Get down!" but the Titan was thick headed and not very bright and therefore hit himself in the face as his enemy dove to the other shoulder. "I said get DOWN!" he only repeated the same process, only with his other hand. Bruticus had dazed himself and now the Autobots could maybe do some damage. Ironhide combined his arm cannons back into the gatling laser and lit up the war machine, but his armor was too thick and resilient and only deflected Ironhides shots. "Prime, I'm not doing anything down here!" "Aim for the head." Ironhide followed orders and tried to focus his shots at the Monster's head, but once again the shots merely bounced off his helmet. Bruticus rested his head on his hand and slowly came back to his senses.

"We need new tactics." Optimus raised his arm to contact one of his Autobots through the intercom, "Ratchet, are you and Sandstorm still in the vicinity?" "Yes, sir. We left as soon as the war started; we knew that we would only get in the way." "Well now you're the only ones that can help us. You are familiar with gestalts, what weaknesses do they have?" "Hmm…have you tried the head?" "Yes, the rounds bounced off his skull." "Most gestalts are very powerful from the front but incredibly vulnerable from the back." "That didn't work either; I used my swords to dig into his back and he never even noticed." "Bruticus is a very unique type of gestalt then. It's like the Decepticons created the ultimate war machine. I have only one more suggestion, aim for the joints." "Thanks Ratchet, we'll keep that in mind. Did you hear that Ironhide?" "Already on it Prime!" The two Autobots unloaded most of their ammo on the Leviathan's joints, but the actual connecting point was extremely difficult to hit, especially while Bruticus was moving. But Prime had an idea to make him freeze long enough for Ironhide to land a direct hit. He dropped his gun next to his friend and ran up to the Goliath "Come on Bruticus! Can't you smash a tiny little robot like me?" Prime goaded him into slamming the ground, but he bashed the ground so hard that his fist got stuck for a moment. "Now Ironhide! Take the shot!" the Autobot dropped his own weapon and picked up Prime's deadly accurate rifle. With one precise shot, he nailed the connector joint, disengaging the left arm from its socket. "Yes! Direct hit! Finally the battle is going in our favor." Ironhide celebrated a little too early for Bruticus was laughing and his low, evil laugh. "Something's not right here, stay on guard." Bruticus returned to his feet but picked up the fallen arm in the process. His shadow engulfed the two Autobots as he said, "Will take more than that to stop Bruticus!" and he then reattached the arm that was shot off. "What? No! I'll keep him distracted, just contact Ratchet again." "Ratchet we have another problem; we succeeded in blowing off one limb…" "Good good…" "But he reattached it." "I was afraid of this; I and Sandstorm are on our way back to your position. We will need to blow off all the limbs at once so he will not have time to heal himself. Hold him off till we get there; we're not far." "Easier said than done, my friend."

"Hey Prime, this is actually kind of fun. He's too slow that I can keep dodging with no problem, but deadly enough that if I mess up once then I'm done for." "Don't get audacious, without you we can't destroy this beast." "Relax, I'll be...OOF! O that was a close one. I'm just happy that he's too stupid to use any of his weapons." "Autobot give Bruticus good idea." Ah great…" Ironhide immediately regretted his words when Bruticus pulled his massive hand cannon off his back and started to charge it. "Ironhide move!" he was frozen in terror for a moment, but Optimus pulled him out of the way just in time to save his life. "Thanks." "I told you not to get careless out there. Now we have to be very careful, we're not sure what he's fully capable of." "Well he destroyed Metroplex and Devastator, so obviously he's a force to be reckoned with. Prime, I don't mean to be a downer, but do you think we can actually beat this thing on our own?" "You're not on you own." A voice came from over the sand hill; it was Ratchet and Sandstorm. "Thank Primus, we didn't know how much longer we would survive against this thing." Said Ironhide thankfully. Bruticus fired his cannon at the group again, "Autobots can't escape!" the four dove away but the heat from the blast scorched Sandstorm's left arm. "Can you still fire your weapon soldier?" "Yeah Prime, I'm right handed, not left." "So we all know what to do? We have to strike all four joints at the same time, that should cause total disengagement." Ratchet reviewed the plan. "But how do we get him to stay still? Trust me; it's not easy to hit those joints when he's moving." "Leave that to me." Sandstorm insisted. He leaped into the air and transformed to his helicopter mode. "I can still fire from this mode, so don't worry." He then flew straight at the Monster with his tow cable deployed. Bruticus tried to swat him out of the air like you would swat a fly, but the Giant was too slow. This Gestalt was built for power and endurance, not speed and agility. Bruticus watched as the Autobot flew past him and towards a rock behind him. Sandstorm's tow cable latched onto the rock and hoisted it into the air with the helicopter. Still confused, the Goliath starred as the enemy came closer in closer. It was not until it was too late that Bruticus realized what he was doing. Sandstorm flew a little higher than Bruticus's head, dragging the rock behind him. When the time was right he released the rock and it, along with all the momentum it was building, slammed into the face of Bruticus. His head was thick but the rock was harder, and made a small crack in his helmet. The Beast rested his head in his hand and remained motionless for a second. "Now! Hurry, I'll get behind him and get that last joint." "Autobots, on my mark, fire." One by one they raised their weapons and took aim at the joint of their choice. "3…2…1…FIRE!" in unison, they fired their guns. Each laser made direct contact with the joint. Bruticus lifted his head to see what had happened, but he was still standing. "Hahaha! Autobots can't stop Bruticus. Bruticus stronger than all Transformers!" once he said that he noticed a significant decrease in strength. He looked over and his left arm and watched it as it back to the ground. He tried to grab it with his right hand, but that too was failing him. The Titan was now standing armless, but his legs too soon gave way. Bruticus wobbled left and right but eventually the broken joints eventually collapsed under the massive weight. The torso fell flat on his back, lying around all the other appendages. Each limb transformed back into their respected robot modes; Onslaught, Vortex, Blast Off, Swindle, and Brawl. "Now we're on even ground." Said Prime.

Each of the Cambaticons was furious because they knew that even if they could reform Bruticus, he would not hold together. The Gestalt's rage was divided into these five soldiers and they were about to release every bit of it till there was nothing left. They broke up and chose their own Autobot to fight: Vortex versus Sandstorm, Brawl and Swindle versus Ironhide, Blast Off versus Ratchet, and finally Onslaught versus Prime. Vortex flew into the air in robot mode after Sandstorm who was still somewhat close to the ground. The Decepticon grabbed ahold of the Triple-changer's tow cable and pulled him back down to earth. Sandstorm turned into his buggy and tried to escape, but Vortex refused and held him down so he could do no such thing. The Autobot slammed on the accelerator, but was only kicking up sand with his back tires. His enemy used one of his rotor swords to impale the tires. He had a firm grip on his back roll bar, but Sandstorm had his weapon placed up there and planned to use it. As the gun rotated around, Vortex looked up to discover the barrel of the gun in his face. He didn't have time to react to the point blank shot that entered through his forehead and exited out the back of his skull. The Decepticon eased his grip and fell on his back on the smooth sand.

Ironhide, once again, had the most trouble of all, for he was outnumbered again. He had to deal with two deadly and angry Decepticons: Brawl and Swindle. One stood in front of the Autobot while the other stood behind him. After all that had happened, Swindle was still thinking about money, "We are willing to forgive all this for the…right price." "You Decepticons make me sick. All you think about is what you can gain from something, whether it be money or energon, or simply the twisted pleasure of watching an innocent town burn to the ground from you own lasers." "And you Autobots make ME sick" replied Brawl. "The only focus on your minds is peace and it disgusts me!" "I may be a soldier and made for war, but that doesn't mean that I want innocents to die and not want peace." "And another thing, we Decepticons don't need anyone to watch our backs, we can take care of ourselves." "Alone is no way to live and if you really believe that then why are you a part of a team? And why do you have your friend here behind me?" "I…it doesn't matter! We'll destroy you anyways!" "I highly doubt that, but at least you'll put up a good fight. Fueled by even more rage now, Brawl charged Ironhide, but the Autobot jumped over him. Brawl had too much momentum to stop now and continued onto his comrade only to knock him on the ground. "What do you think you're doing, moron?" "He moved out the way." "Are you two gonna keep arguing or are we gonna get back to the fight. With his waist cannon deployed, Brawl swung around and fired a surprised shot at his enemy. But it backfired for Ironhide was not there; instead he was standing over Swindle, who was still on the ground. "Brawl quick!" in a flash of lightning, Ironhide picked the Decepticon up and used him as a human shield while Brawl was still turning back around. He fired off another shot without thinking and made direct contact with his friend. "Swindle! I…I…you'll pay for this Autobot!" "I'm sure I will, now come Decepticon, show me how strong you really are." They immediately locked hands, both physically even. They were both powerhouses and both had intent of destroying the other, but Decepticons were known for cheating. While Ironhide's hands were occupied with keeping Brawl from tearing him apart, the Decepticon still had his waist cannon deployed, and decided to unleash it on the distracted Autobot. The plasma tore a gash out of Ironhide's side, which too sent him into a frenzy. In that same rapid motion, Ironhide threw up Brawl's hands and grabbed his turret. He swung it all the way around his back and proceeded to rip it clean off his body; now he was completely weaponless. Brawl tried to get in a few strikes but his enemy deflected each slow fist and gave him a few of his own. With the Decepticon now dazed, Ironhide plunged his thumbs into the robots optics and from there he pulled outward, completely tearing the skull in half. As the 'con fell on his back, Ironhide said with relief and joy, "Man, I love my job!"

The next battle was more of a fight of the pacifists. Neither Ratchet nor Blast Off enjoyed fighting, but they did not have a choice this time; there were no other options. Blast Off was even slightly blinded by rage, but his inward peacefulness prevailed. "It's a shame you didn't choose the right side, you could have been a successful Autobot." "What makes you think I wasn't?" "What?" "You're surprised? When have you ever heard of a peaceful Decepticon? That's right, never. My original name was Skydive and I was an Autobot. One of the best flyers that Cybertron has ever seen." "You…were the legendary Skydive? But the records show that he died off centuries ago in a past war." "That's right, Skydive did die. The Autobots abandoned me out there on the battlefield and left me for dead, but Megatron found me and rebuilt me into Blast Off." "Why don't you return to your original allegiance?" "Why would I?" "Well for one, your side is losing at the moment, and two, I'm sure that Megatron will soon follow. Besides, if you return to the Autobots, Prime might have a special reward for you." "He would never accept me after all the innocents I helped killed." "Prime would understand and forgive." "I might consider it if you first show me what you new Autobots can do." "Very well, prepare yourself; I may be old, but I still got it." Ratchet's secondary weapon was an EMP cannon located on the top of his left arm; it was used to freeze his enemies long enough for him to do a significant amount of damage. Blast Off was surprised by the old man's speed as he fired off a shot while Blast Off was in mid transformation. The hunk of dampened metal had fallen to the ground, incapable of any movement. Ratchet quickly ran over and lifted the former ally over his head and flung him thirty feet into a solid rock. He approached him lying on the ground, "After all these years you're still fast and strong as a young bot. Prime really does take care of his men." "Yes, he does. Have you made your final decision yet, Blast Off?" "Hmm…call me Skydive." Ratchet gave him a satisfying grin and helped him to his feet. "Prime will be pleased knowing that he got one of his best soldiers back."

The final battle was between the team leaders: Onslaught versus Optimus Prime. "Give up Prime; you're not winning this war." "Look around you, all of your men have fallen." Each of Prime's soldiers approached the conflict and surrounded them. "All of them but Blast Off." "It's Skydive now; I've returned to my original faction." "What? You traitor! Megatron will hear about this and will have your head!" "He's not going to hear about this." Prime interrupted. "Yes he will, but first I'll get rid of each of you Autobots." While Onslaught was facing Optimus, he caught Sandstorm by surprised by aiming his weapon at him. One shot of his cannon obliterated the astonished Autobot. "NO!" Ironhide swung his mighty fist in Onslaughts direction, but he ducked and swiped his legs out from under him. "Don't even think about it. I'm not as foolish and weak like my comrades." Onslaught looked directly at Skydive when he said that, like he was aiming all his hate at him now. "Ratchet, now!" Prime ordered to Ratchet who knew what he meant. He lifted his EMP blaster and shot a burst of electromagnetic radiation at the only remaining Decepticon. Everyone looked on in awe as the shot merely bounced off his armor. Onslaught turned and faced Ratchet, "My armor was specially made to deflect pathetic weapons such as that electromagnetic pulse of yours." "But is it designed to deflect a sword?" "What?" he said realizing that he had let down his guard. Prime's sword entered through his back and came out through his stomach. "Argh! It's gonna take more than that to finish me off." Ironhide returned to his feet and stood before the injured Decepticon. He proceeded by sticking one of the barrels of his weapon down his throat and pulling the trigger. The plasma tore through any and all wires in its path and exited out through the middle of his spine. "That was for Sandstorm." "Ha!" he said as he spit out hot oil, "You'll have to do better than that!" "Prime, I have an idea." Said the new Skydive. He has tortured millions and bots and humans and has killed many more. Why don't we put him through some torture as a sort of justice?" "What did you have in mind?" "Leave that to me, all you need to do is remove his legs." In one quick swipe, the deed was done. "Good, now here," he transformed into his shuttle mode, "Load them onto my ship." They did as he commanded and put Onslaught along with his fallen comrades in the cargo hold. "I'll be back, just be patient."

Ironhide, Ratchet, and Prime were gathering the remains of their soldiers in the war-torn desert. "It's been about an hour, sir. Where do you think he could've gone? What if he returned to Cybertron?" "He didn't." Why do you say that?" "Because there he is." Prime pointed off in the distance. Skydive returned to his new Autobots with an empty cargo hold. "Well? Where are they?" "Resting at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean…" "A suitable death for Decepticons. But why did you have Prime cut off Onslaughts legs?" "Because he would try even harder to swim to the surface, and when he runs out of energon, he'll sink to the bottom and the pressure will crush his body; regardless of how resilient it is." "You've done good men and it's good to have you back Skydive. But fighting Bruticus made me realize something." "What sir?" "A gestalt would make a fine addition to our team, but we would need someone to lead them; someone with integrity, wisdom, and someone who commands respect." "I would be honored to lead them sir." Answered Skydive. "I know you will, but first we must finish cleaning up this war ground." Ratchet came running back from the pyramids, "Good news Optimus. I may be able to bring Metroplex back online." "What about the others?" "Sadly, their bodies were disintegrated along with their spark; they cannot be brought back." "I guess that's the price of war: lose some good men, but thankfully we have gained an old ally."

…Back on Cybertron…

"AH! Incompetent fools! I have morons on my team! Pathetic, weak, worthless morons!" "Sir, maybe you should calm down…" said a daring Decepticon drone. Megatron raised his arm cannon and blew him away with ease. "No one tells me what to do! I created the ultimate war machine and Prime still defeats it! Anything else you have to report Astrotrain?" "Do you want good news or bad news, sir?" "Good news, maybe that will lighten my mood." "Ok, sir. The good news is that not all of the Combaticons were destroyed." "Good, bring him back here and we'll create a new, more powerful Bruticus." "The bad news, however, sir…is that…um…he joined the Autobots." "Blast Off…" after that Megatron sat motionless on his throne, rage quickly building in his optics. In a calm voice he said, "Everyone out now." No one thought twice about his order and immediately left the building. The only one who remained was Megatron's most trusted soldier, Soundwave. "Why are my men so ungrateful? I provide them with what they want and they still betray me!" "Sir, before we left for earth, I had begun work on a new Gestalt." "What? Why did you not tell me about this?" "Because the odds showed that Bruticus would not be destroyed and would conquer Prime and his Autobots." "Where is this new Gestalt?" "Follow me, sir." Megatron stood to his feet and followed his soldier to the same large room in which Bruticus was built. In the middle of the room stood a towering and menacing new Decepticon still in construction. All of the anger left Megatron and was filled with hope for his new, more powerful war machine. "Hahahahahahahaha! This is perfect; the Autobots will not be able to counter such a beast. The war will be won in days…"