Whispers From an Old Friend
Optimus Prime looked out at the battle and quietly realized defeat was imminent. It was not easy for him to accept, but he knew there was no hope of victory. His optics had seen the beginning of the Great War and watched in horror as it was brought to a foreign planet. His hands had saved countless lives and his words inspired many to greatness. But as he watched helplessly as more and more of his friends were slaughtered, he knew that this would be the last image his optics observed. His hands no longer held the power to save, and barely retained enough strength to keep his weapon at his side. "We have lost," he stated.
A familiar voice was heard deep within the confines of Prime's soul. "Not quite," he spoke. "There is still one final way, but the price is extreme."
It was Optimus Prime's mentor, Alpha Trion, lending advice as he usually did, in times of dire situations. "The Matrix you have within you, it is the life force for all Transformers. Destroy it, and all Transformers will fall." The sage could sense the internal struggle in his protégé. For so long, it had been his role as Autobot leader to respect all life, and serve as eternal guardian for the planet they now stood on. He felt responsible for bringing the Great War to this place, and the thought of one move ending the entire conflict didn't sit well with him. Something didn't seem right; something kept whispering it couldn't be that simple.
"Destroy the Matrix?" Optimus muttered, finding the simplicity of it all somewhat unbelievable. Another part of him didn't want to believe it, for if it were true, he and all his brothers would no longer exist. And although Optimus Prime had experienced death before, this carried with it the scent of finality. Even the greatest of heroes were hesitant in the face of oblivion.
"To save Earth, the Matrix must be no more! But it cannot be destroyed by your hands." That may have explained why so many attempts at destroying the Matrix had failed; all previous attempts had been by Transformer hands. Alpha Trion took on an almost spectral appearance and placed his hand on Prime's shoulder. "You are afraid," he said with a sympathetic tone. "Afraid that somehow the Decepticons and those who share their hate will not fall with you. You are afraid that the war will continue on, and the humans will suffer because you are no longer here to look over them." Alpha Trion paused and looked long into the optics of the proud Autobot. "Even as we speak, in another one of countless realities, a new Armada continues the struggle. This is your ending, Optimus Prime." Alpha Trion returned to the place he came from, and left one final remark for his friend. "It is time for this book to be closed."
With that, Optimus knew what he had to do, and set out to find Spike Witwicky; who would then destroy the Matrix.
Destroy the Transformers.
End the war.
And save Earth.
end of chapter 27
A/N: Well, we're pretty close to the end of this thing! I hope everyone who's been following it has enjoyed it enough to see it through... I really appreciate all the reviews/alerts/and favs this story has gotten. The line towards the end of the chapter, "... a new Armada continues the struggle..." was my way of linking the then-current TF series to this story.