Along Came a Spider REVERSE Interlude 1
Interlude 1: Becoming a Decepticon
part 1: Becoming a decepticon
It had been 5 vorns since the ill-fated day when his life changed forever.
Tarantulas, formerly known as Optimus Prime, star Cadet at the Autobot Academy, walked slowly down a street of an distant planet on a remote galaxy. He was shrouded in shadow and a long cape billowing around his clawed feet in the light breeze. Despite wearing a helmet, he deeply disliked mechs and femmes staring at him, and had mostly avoided planets were Cybertronians - especially Autobots - presence was strong. After all, even if the chances were slim, he might still walk into a bot that knew his former self and might recognize him despite his transformation.
Life hadn't been kind to him in the last five vorns either. For one thing, it took him a whole vorn just to be able to leave the Primus forsaken planet where he was reborn. He had to patiently wait for a exploration ship not unlike the one he and his friends - he hissed at the thought of them, just thinking about them made him so mad! - had used to come to this planet. He had waited until the whole crew was out safe the pilot to sneak into the ship and he promptly killed the mech and stole the ship. he couldn't care less that he was stranding two more Cybertronians on this planet, because he killed them with the ship's laser canons when they came running at the sound of the ship's engines going online.
He left that Pit-Hole without a second thought or a glance back. Good riddance, he had wasted a whole vorn of his 'new' life on this Primus damned piece of space rock! He had no idea where to go through, but he knew that it had to be as far from the Autobots as he could manage. He opted for a galaxy where he knew that the Autobot's presence was almost nil, and only few mercenaries and Bounty Hunters roamed around, as well as the occasional Decepticons, if rumors were true. He couldn't care less at the time. All Cybertronians were to be avoided like the Plague.
He spent the next four vorns jumping from planet to planet, never staying long at the same location for fear of being discovered. That was also why he always avoided killing one of the planet's sentient inhabitants when he needed to feed. If a series of murder started to occur on every word he visited, someone was bound to make some sort of connection eventually. So he stick to wild preys and it was enough. Sometimes even going for challenges and killing the apex predator of one ecosystem, just to prove that he could and make himself feel a bit better about being a monster.
His luck, however, couldn't last forever, and he eventually was cornered by a clever Bounty Hunter. Well, he didn't even know someone was looking for him... until he was face to face with the business end of the mech's powerful electromagnetic pulse generator. This mech was persistent, he had to give him that. He had tried to shake him for the week, but it seemed that he always came back. he was good, almost as good as a predator in hunting a prey. I had to end today! He could get rid of the nuisance and be on his way to the next galaxy before the day was over. So Tarantulas just 'let' the hunter catch up with him in that alley. The less potential witness the better...
"Well, well, well. You know, I've been looking for you for a while now, someone really wants to have a chat with you." The hunter said, a twisted smirk curling his lips upward.
Tarantulas hissed and crouched low, ready to pounce and attack. He was still concealed by his long cloak, but he was ready to shed it and attack at a moment's notice. he was just waiting for the right moment...
"Aren't you in the least curious to know who it is?" The slightly larger mech added, rising a dark optic ridge.
"I don't care!" Tarantulas hissed, the sound growing louder. "I just want to be left alone and I'm going to do what it takes to make sure that happens!"
"Aaah sorry, no can do. The amount of credits on your head is very interesting, if you must know. Ditch me and others will come after you. It won't stop, not with such a sum." The hunter said shrugging his shoulders casually, his smirk widening only a fraction.
"Then I'll kill them all! I'm not interested in meeting any Cybertronians!" His anger was growing with each passing moments, the hiss deepening and strengthening. His caws flexed and his fangs clicked together.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I know everything about your poisonous personality, spider. My client had been very thorough in his description of the creature I was going to hunt down." The mech's smirk grew when he saw the other tense with surprise and disbelief. "Oh yes, he knows everything there is to know about you... Optimus Prime. Or should I call you Tarantulas? I like the sound of that on a lot better..."
"Who...?" Tarantulas growled, shocked that someone knew all of this about him. And he thought he'd been careful... Well, not enough it seems! "No matter, I'll hunt him down as well when I'm done with you and kill him!"
"You can try!" The hunter laughed, throwing his head back and looking very amused. "Lord Megatron isn't an easy mech to kill, or to find for that matter!"
If his jaw could drop any lower it would have. Megatron?... Wasn't he dead? Killed at the end of the great War millions of stellar Cycles ago? Apparently not, if that Bounty Hunter was telling the truth. But if he was telling him all this, tarantulas knew he would never let him just walk away and spread the rumor that the Decepticons Lord was still alive. it also meant that he had very little chance of finding him and that more hunters were going to come after him, even if got rid of that one.
Maybe... It would be better to just go along for now and see what this was all about?... He narrowed his eyes and the hiss he let out this time was more thoughtful. Megatron... the name itself made him uncomfortable. What did the warlord of the Decepticons wants with him, and how in the Pit did he knows who he used to be? His curiosity was definitely raised now.
"Fine, if he wants to 'talk' to me, well, who am I to deny the powerful Lord Megatron?" He straightened up and dropped the fighting stance he had been holding. "If I don't like what I hear though, he'll realize I'm no easy kill either."
"Now we're talking! Follow me. You're not be harmed until you see Megatron. That's why I was going to use that baby if you turned out to be... uncooperative." The mech pated the electromagnetic pulse generator on his arm with a chuckle. "It would make you drop unconscious and make my life a lot easier. No hard feeling huh?"
Before he realized what the hunter meant, Tarantulas felt a jolt of energy through his cybertronian circuits and they all went offline, making him black out. The last thing he heard were the disturbing cackle of the hunter...
**Later, unknown location**
Tarantulas woke up slowly with a horrible headache. he grunted and rubbed the side of his helm, his eyes slowly fluttering open. The first thing his enhanced spider senses told him was that he was in a small closed room, there was no air current and the smell was stale and moist. There was an annoying dripping sound from a corner of the room too, already annoying the pit out of him. The second thing he felt was the chains locked around his limbs, ankles and wrists and neck. He was securely held into place and he could barely move, making him quite helpless. he hated feeling helpless.
He came fully online snarling and hissing threateningly, pulling hard on the chains and bellowing his rage for all to hear. He had been tricked! He was probably in some Autobot research center and they were just preparing a dissection room for him! he should have known! He'd been too gullible, letting 'Optimus' take control for a moment... Frag it all! He should've killed that fragging pit spawned Bounty Hunter the moment he realized he was being hunted! He was so mad he let his inner mandibles extend out of his mouth, widening it so much it must be a terrifying sight for anyone watching. His helmet being off, his whole contorted face was bare to see and stare at for those who were most likely studying him right now.
"Impressive." A deep, cultured voice said from just out of range, and his red eyes immediately darted towards the general direction, turning his rage to a solid target.
"Impressive?! Have you lost your mind?! That thing is disgusting! You should kill it RIGHT NOW and put it out of its misery!" Another, scratchier voice added, and Tarantulas's impressive rage focused on that voice, hating whoever it was already.
"Shut up Starscream! I have not spent that much credits to get him only to have him terminated the moment he gets here!" The first voice replied harshly before it added, a hint of admiration underlying it. "He is a masterpiece of nature, the perfect killer! Sleek, silent, deadly and completely without morale to hold him back."
The two mechs were now in his line of vision and, through the haze of feral rage clouding his mind, Tarantulas recognized the two top-most Decepticons. Megatron, Leader of the Deceptions, and Starscream, Decepticon's Air Commander and SIC. So, it was really the Decepticon's Lord that wanted to talk to him after all, and so far, he hadn't liked what he heard. He hissed at them and snarled like a beast, the chains straining with the power he was putting in pulling on them. He managed to regain enough sense to speak, at last, but his face was still a contorted mask of pure murderous anger.
"LET ME GO! WHAT DO YOU WANT!? AAAAARRRGH!"
And it was back to snarling, hissing and pulling with all of his might on the chains restraining him. Megatron smirked, observing the display, while Starscream looked utterly disgusted. The warlord suddenly raised a huge fist and slammed on the bars hard, making the whole cell resonate with the sound like the inside of a bell. Tarantulas froze and stopped struggling, shaking his head to clear the loud sound from his audios. He let out a pained hiss and glared at the large mech standing outside the cell. Starscream just sneered at him, arms crossed over his chest.
"Listen to me, beast! I have an offer for you!"
That made Tarantulas pause and tilt his head, eyes narrowed and growling deep in his throat.
"Why should I listen to YOU?! You had your Bounty Hunter trick me and you locked me like a savage animal! Why should I want ANYTHING to do with you?!" he hissed, his voice a low snarl, threatening and promising pain and retribution if he was ever let out.
"And what are your other options, tell me, Optimus Prime?" The warlord replied, his smirk widening a fraction. "Oh yes, I know everything about you, who you are and what led you to this very position here, today!"
"How?..." Tarantulas hissed, eyes now wide in shock and anger shining in them. He snarled the last words hatefully. "Optimus Prime is dead! The name's Tarantulas now! If you know so much about me you should know that, Lord Megatron!"
"Please, what are you going to do if I just let you go? Return to the Autobots? Unlikely, they'll kill you slowly and dissect you for experimentation. You know as well as I what they do to things they find to be... beneath them." He sneered, disdain flashing in his red optics. "Return to the life of a wandering scavenger with nowhere to stop and rest once in a while, never sure if you won't end up found out and locked up, or dead the next Cycle? Such a sad, wasteful existence. I can offer you so much more!"
Tarantulas had been listening, and while the warlord talked, his mind had been working. What Megatron was saying was true. Returning to the Autobots had never been an option. They'd kill him, and slowly, studying him maybe for vorns. A very sad, painful existence if there was any. So far his life as Tarantulas could be put in one simple word: survival. Live one day at a time and try to keep going for yet another Stellar-Cycle. Until one day he might something stronger then himself and get killed, never to be found again. His existence never acknowledged, his life meaningless. Was it really what he wanted? It wasn't too long before he came to the logical conclusion. No, he didn't wanted to die out somewhere forgotten and wasted. He locked eyes with Megatron and bared his fangs, more out of tension then anger.
"What is your offer?"
"Join the Decepticons! We protect our own, you'll always have mechs to watch your back. I'm always in need of good trackers and killers like yourself. With your skills, you'll make a fine assassin." megatron said, his voice smooth and silky, enticing.
"But Megatron! It's foolish...!" Starscream started, only to be silenced by a hard backhand.
"Silence, coward! My decision is final!" Megatron barked at him, red optics narrowing angrily at his second.
"As you wish, my Lord." Starscream hissed between his gritted teeth, rubbing his stinging cheek.
Tarantulas chuckled at that, enjoying seeing the rude, whiny seeker put in his place. he had hated him for the moment he heard his voice the first time. he turned his attention back to Megatron and smirked, his expression a lot less ugly then it had been a few moments ago.
"I accept." he said simply, and Megatron smirked widely. "If only to annoy your whiny little bitch here." he cackled mirthfully and Starscream huffed, briskly walking away with his back ramrod straight and his wings itched so high they looked ready to snap off.
Tarantulas laughed louder, a barking, hissing sound that was creepy and chilly, full of amusement at the seeker's harsh dismissal. Megatron pressed a few buttons on the panel that was next to the door outside the cell, and the chains opened and slid back into their slots in the wall. Tarantulas rubbed his wrists and walked out of the cell, in front of Megatron. He was quite a bit shorter than the impressive warlord, so he had to look up to meet his optics. Megatron handed him his helmet and he put it back on, feeling better now that his face was concealed once more.
"Follow me." Was the simple command and Megatron immediately took off down the hallway, walking briskly.
Tarantulas fell into steps behind the Decepticon's Lord. Soon they reached a large room that was obviously a throne room, and Megatron walked right up to the throne and tarantulas followed, but stopped at the steps of the throne. Starscream glared at him from the right side of the throne and he smirked at him, baring a wide arrow of fangs and making a show of unfolding his inner mandible just to see the disgusted funny expression on the sleek seeker's faceplates. Starscream huffed and looked away with a dismayed huff and tarantulas laughed at his expense. he was going to have fun scaring the seeker as much as he could! he felt more optics on him and turned to see another Decepticon, beige and purple, staring at him, blue faceplates emotionless. He blinked when his face swirled and switched to a crazy-looking black and red one.
"Ooooooh lookit that! Iz that a pet, I wonder?" He cackled and Tarantulas lost his smile, scowling at the deranged Decepticon.
"Silence Blitzwing!" Megatron ordered and the mech's face returned to his blue cold one.
"As you vish my Lord." He simply said and stood back, watching with an almost bored look.
Megatron turned back to face the spiderbot and he was holding a Decepticon's brand in his hand. It was already red hot and smoking. Tarantulas just stood there, and if he was worried at the sight of the ominous brand, he showed none of it.
"Kneel to receive the brand of your new life, Tarantulas!" Megatron ordered, his voice commanding immediate obedience.
The smaller mech obeyed and knelt on one knee, his hands on his raised knee. Megatron stepped closer and swiftly, he brought the brand first to Tarantulas's left shoulder. Smoke rose from where the brand touched the chitinous armor and there was a loud hissing noise. Tarantulas gasped but remained unmoving, gritting his fangs hard together. The brand was quickly removed then moved to his right shoulder to repeat the process.
"With this brand, you have pledged loyalty to the Decepticon Cause and to its Lord. break it, and you will be hunted down without respite until deactivation. Do you understand?" Megatron said as he applied the brands, his voice leaving no room for discussion.
"Yes." Tarantulas hissed through his clenched jaw. "I understands. I pledge my undying loyalty to the Decepticons!"
"Good." Megatron smirked, and offered a hand to help the new Decepticon to his feet. "Rise now Decepticon, and serve your Master to the best of your abilities!"
Tarantulas took it and rose to his feet, dusting his knee in the process. The pain was nothing to him. He had felt much, much worst since his transformation.
"Yes, my Lord. I will not fail you." He replied, the ritual answer coming easily to him.
From the corner of his eyes he saw that Starscream had moved closer, probably to talk with Megatron, and Tarantulas couldn't resist. With a speed that startled even the seeker, he pounced and pinned him to the ground, straddling him and once more unfolding his inner mandibles into his face, mouth opening wide enough it was scary and... kind of disgusting.
"AAAAH! GET IT OFF ME!" Screeched the seeker trashing to get the spider to get off him.
Tarantulas burst out laughing, Starscream was just too easy to scare! Such a scaredy-bot! He was going to have a lot of fun scaring him randomly... Maybe joining the Decepticons was the best thing that could happen to him at the point where he was now. Nothing was ever going to be perfect or remotely good but at least he could say that he belonged. Something he hadn't felt in 5 vorns... It was... a good feeling, something positive in all the ugliness of his new life.
Things could've turned a lot worse for him. He was just glad he had a chance for the future once more.
-To be continued...-
