(Here we are. The final spirit is upon us, and we must follow along with Megatron Scrooge and see what the ghost has to show. But, something tells me that it is not going to be as positive as the two previous ghosts. This is it for Megatron Scrooge. Will here forever be the stingy, cruel and greedy mech he was?)
The mist was growing thicker and thicker by the minute as Megatron Scrooge stood. He never felt so frightened in all of his life; he heard no voice, no clatter of chains, nothing. It was as silent as death. It had been a minute after he had witnessed the Ghost of Christmas Present vanish as the bells began to ring their dull, monotonous tone and so far he had not seen any sign of the final spirit. All that he could see was the thick fog.
He soon felt a great feeling of fear course through him; he had a sudden feeling that he was not the only soul that was around. His feeling was soon proven correct as soon as he turned around, slow and steady. His optics soon beheld a black form hidden in the fog; a great, large, menacing figure with two long horns upon its head, long wing-like appendages on its back, and glaring green optics. Its very appearance alone was much more horrifying than Stascream Marley's spirit, but Megatron Scrooge knew that this spirit was here to lead him and was to be the one who would decide his fate.
He swallowed and spoke to the phantom, his voice terror-stricken and low. "Are...Are you the Ghost of Christmas Future?" The phantom was silent. It spoke not a word, and as the miser watched it pointed an outstretched hand to miser. "You are to show me the things that will not happen, but will happen?" Megatron Scrooge asked once again, and the spirit did not answer, but Megatron Scrooge saw the spirit slowly nod its head once, its green optics turning off for a moment before they returned to their sinister glow.
Megatron Scrooge had now become accustomed to the supernatural at the moment, but he found himself fearing this phantom much more than the others, and felt his own knees buckling and shaking underneath him and he almost fell upon them. "Conduct me, Spirit. I fear you more than any of the specters I have encountered, but I now that you are here to do me good. I am willing to follow you to wherever you lead me, and I shall do so in a thankful spark."
The hand of the spirit then changed its position, pointing to the east and Megatron Scrooge nodded. "Lead on, Spirit. I will go with you." The white mech made his way with the phantom to the direction the hand pointed to, and as they made their way through the fog Megatron Scrooge noticed that the fog was starting to clear up, and he could see the area they were entering. They had appeared at the very center of the city, the atmosphere dank and wet for it was raining heavily and thunder was heard all over the town. It was Christmas morning, but a very dismal one. There were no other citizens out in the streets, no lights were on in any of the shops or taverns, and all that was heard was the harsh patter of the rain drops upon the ground and the loud booming roars of the thunder above the sky.
The sounds of a door opening and shutting made Megatron Scrooge turn around and saw four mechs exit from a Bank, all of the taking out their umbrellas and opening them up to shield them from the weather. The miser could see that two of them were very familiar and saw that they were the same gentle bots from the Cybertronian Institute of Welfare and Goodwill, and he could also see that they were speaking with two other mechs. The first of them was of a green, black, and gold armor and wore the same suits the twin brothers wore, indicating that he was also a member. The second mech was also a member, but had yellow and white armor.
Megatron Scrooge turned to the Spirit and saw that it was pointing to the group. Megatron Scrooge saw what the spirit meant and he went on over to listen to the conversation. He listened as the red twin spoke up. "As far as I have found out, he is dead. He has died this very morning."
"Is that so, Sideswipe? I hadn't the faintest idea that he would perish." answered the white and yellow mech.
"Well, considering his age, Grapple, I would have found it unlikely for him to continue functioning. He was bound to go offline sooner or later." answered the green mech, who was called by the name of Hoist.
"Well, I for one wish to know what he has done with most of his fortune? All of that gold of his cannot go with him to the grave, you know?" spoke Sideswipe, and his brother answered him.
"He certainly hasn't given any notice to us of donating half of his income. And as I have heard, he hash;t even given it to any of his relatives, if he were to have any. I believe one of them had moved away some time over a week ago with his wife."
"You speak the truth, Sunstreaker. I believe he has left most of it to his company; the Counting House I believe. I wouldn't even call it a house anymore. It perished under the weather, and there is nothing left but scraps of paper and specks of coal." said Grapple.
The sudden chuckle of Hoist got all of the mechs, including Megatron Scrooge's attention and they looked at him. "I think it's going to be a very cheap funeral. In fact, I don't think that anyone would even think about attending the funeral."
"I think I will attend..." Sideswipe was quiet for one moment before a smile came to his face plate as he laughed. "...if Lunch is provided!"
All the four mechs laughed in a great uproar and proceeded to leave the Bank and walked away. Megatron Scrooge looked over to the phantom and wanted an explanation. He came down the steps and appeared before his guide. Just as he was mere inches from the specter, the phantom lifted its hand and pointed down an alley where a small figure was scurrying down the path, carrying a large bag. Megatron Scrooge instantly recognized the figure as his cleaning mech; Scourge. This mech was hired by the miser to keep his home in order and cleaned every inch of it. Now,Scourge was often belittled by Megatron Scrooge, and this had drive Scourge to develop a secret hatred inside of him.
"Scourge? Why is he here?" he asked the phantom, but the figure was silent. Megatron Scrooge soon figured that the spirit wanted him to follow the servant and he did, walking fast as he walked past scrapped metal, broken glass, and other types of garbage that was tossed out from the windows of the buildings that settled on each side. Megaron Scrooge soon came upon a small tent that was supported by pipes and cloth, and from a light inside he could see Scourge sitting himself down and could hear him speaking to another mech.
"So, what do you have for me?" said a raspy voice.
"Soundwave, I have gotten items for you that I can assure you are worth more than my own armor." answered the servant and he brought out his bag and opened it. The second figure from the shadow of the light in the tent, looked into the bag and pulled out a long sheet of fabric. "I had never liked that old coot the moment he sacked me with his cane. It's a blessing that he is gone now." Scourge spoke as he then pulled out another object form in the bag.
"The fabric is still warm. Scourge, have you taken this from him while this was draped over him?" asked Soundwave as he felt a slight warmth from the sheet.
"Aye, I did. Took it off while he was motionless. I took it off the moment his optics were wide in the midst of death, the moment when he was gasping his last breath. He will not be needing it anymore. He will have all the warmth once he is put away in a coffin and buried under the planets surface for all I know. Here.." his hand held out a collection of rings and bells. "...all of them made of pure gold."
"Ahh, these will do nicely, as well as the sheets. I don't see why I should not repay you for such presents on this holiday." chuckled Soundwave as he tossed the rings and bells into the air, making jingling noises as they were tossed into the air.
"You should; all of what I got is worth more to him than anything else. In fact, they meant much more to him than his own life." Scourge answered and the two broke into hearty laughter as Soundwave payed the servant with pieces of silver for the entire bag. Megatron Scrooge looked at the tent with dread and disgust. He could hardly believe that these two mechs were making a profit out of the corpses property.
"Spirit, I see. I see that this deceased one they speak of, this poor and belittled mech might be of my own." Megatron Scrooge spoke, but then suddenly gasped when the scene had drastically changed into a dark room, where a bed stood in the middle, a body laid over it and covered in a white sheet. "What is this?" The Spirit was in the shadows, its form unseen except for its glowing optics.
Megatron Scrooge observed as the hand of the phantom appeared over the head over the body, meaning to lift the sheet but it remained above the head as if it awaited for the misers response. Megatron Scrooge was quiet for one moment, looking at the form and wondering who its identity was, but then looked up at the green optics and managed to say in a fearful voice. "Spirit, this is a frightful place, but when I do leave it I shall not forget the lesson this place might offer me. " The phantom still kept its outstretched hand over the head and Scrooge watched as the fingers grasped at the cloth, the hand covered in a black smoke. "Please, I do understand what you are telling me, Spirit. But I cannot bear to remove the sheet, for I have no power to do so due to my terror. If there is anyone in the town who feels an emotional feeling to this mechs death, please allow me to see that person."
The phantoms hand ceased to clutch the cloth and it returned to the shadows, the green optics fading away as the dark room and body faded with the spirit, and Megatron Scrooge found himself back on the lonely, empty street on which the Cratchit home stood. Megatron Scrooge felt relieved that he had returned to this place of virtue and love, yet his relief turned into concern as he saw that there was no light from inside the house. Why is the home so quiet and dark?, Megatron Scrooge thought to himself as he then came to the window and peered in.
In the living room, seated close together were Elita 1 Cratchit, and her two children; Achilles and Sapphire. They were crying softly, and tears were streaming down their cheek plates. Despite being outside, Megatron Scrooge could practically hear the soft voices.
"He..He wouldn't...wake up. I went to his bed to wake him..but he felt cold.." Sapphire whimpered, her head burrowing itself into Elita 1's neck as she hugged her tightly. "I saw his face plate, Mother. It was pale...the optics were dark...Oh.."
"Hush, my child. Hush." Elita 1 cooed as she looked up at the window, expecting for someone to enter. She then returned her gaze to her younglings, and rubbed their backs soothingly as they huddled closer to her.
"I don't want him to go, Mother. I love him. He can't go." Achilles spoke defiantly, but his voice was choked with his own tears. Elita 1 placed a hand behind her sons head and pulled him to her lips as she kissed his forehead.
Just then, Megatron Scrooge saw a sad figure walking to the house, walking very slowly as if he was in pain. It was Optimus Cratchit, and Megatron Scrooge could see that his shoulder was vacant; no Tiny Bee. The mech opened the door and went inside, and Megatron Scrooge followed suit, now feeling apprehensive about what was happening before him. He had a dreaded feeling about why the family was so sad.
The femme and the children had heard him enter and they went over to him, the children hugging his stabilizing servos, while the wife took hold of his hands. Megatron Scrooge could see that his employee was in a very depressed state, and his face plate was sullen and the lips were quivering. Optimus Cratchit then sat himself by the table, taking his coat off and handing it to Achilles, and the child went to the closet to hang it up and returned to the kitchen.
"They have allowed me to pick the spot where they are to burry him, Elita 1. Oh, if only you would have been there you could have seen the spot I have chosen for him. It was the little hill that...that looked upon the the pond...Tiny Bee always loved that pond..." He had broken into silence while he spoke, trying his hardest to contain his tears, but they manage to penetrate his optic lids and they steadily streamed down.
"He loved the pond because it was where he and you would watch the ducks and geese in the spring and summer, Father." Sapphire finished for Optimus, and he nodded his head and caressed her head.
Optimus Cratchit then saw Achilles mutter to himself, wishing that Primus had not taken away his little brother. "Achilles, it isn't our job to decide how long ing bee was to live."
"I know, Father. But, I do not want Tiny Bee to leave us. I loved him."
"We all did, Achilles." cooed Elita 1.
Optimus then took Achilles and sat him upon his lap, wiping away the childs tears and he purred. "Achilles, we never wanted Tiny Bee to go. We all wanted him to live, but we alone could not keep his spark beating of long. Primus made his decision and decided that Tiny Bee had suffered his lameness long enough. But, Tiny Bee is not truly gone."
"How?" the children asked.
"Tiny Bee was surrounded by love from all of us, and that made him a strong Cybertronian. Even when he passed on, our love for him will forever keep him alive in spirit. He will still be around, as long as we remember the good times we have shared with him. All of the memories will be cherished with us for as long as we live, and we will thank Tiny Bee for all of the joy, love, and hope that he has given to us. Do that, my son, daughter, and I can promise you that he will always be with you."
"We will, Father." the two answered as they hugged him and he hugged them in return. He then let them go and looked up at his wife. "I have also made a promise to our departed son. Not only shall I remember him, but I shall go every Sunday to visit his grave and sit alongside it, like we always did before all of this."
"A noble promise, my love." Elita 1 smiled as she wiped her tears away, but then she saw her husband rise up from his chair, telling her that he needed a moment, and left the three.
Megatron Scrooge followed Optimus Cratchit up the stairs, already sensing that even though his employee had spoken great compassion and love for his son, Optimus still felt a great deal of pain inside of him.
He then saw the red and blue mech open the door to the children's bedroom and followed him inside, and the miser, who had never felt any remorse in his whole life, gasped in shock. There...lying on one of the beds...draped underneath a thin sheet...was Tiny Bee. "Oh, what have I done?" Megatron Scrooge said in forlorn as he watched Optimus Cratchit kneel before the corpse of the child that had shown Megatron Scrooge the great consequence of his selfish actions. His own ignorance had taken away this young bot's spark and the happiness of the Cratchit family, all drowned away by the remorse and sorrow of losing a precious family member. "Oh, Optimus, if only you could hear me then I would beg you your forgiveness. I never meant to harm your son." he wept when he saw Optimus Cratchit take the body in his arms and held it to him as he began to sob.
Megatron Scrooge tried to reach out to the sadden mech and stroke his back, but as his hand reached out the the room and Optimus Cratchit faded away, and Megatron Scrooge felt a strong, cold wind blow at him. He yelled in surprise and covered his face with an arm to keep the wind away from his face plate, and after the wind died down Megatron Scrooge saw that he was now in a one of the most dismal, deserted, and foreboding places he had gazed upon. A churchyard.
The fog from which he had encountered the Ghost of Christmas Future had once more returned and it enveloped all of the ground beneath Megatron Scrooge's feet, and thunder once more sounded its loud bellows in the sky. All the tips of the headstones could be seen as the fog overrun the rest of their form. As Megatron Scrooge wandered about the graveyard in search of his guide, he found the phantom standing close to one head stone that stood in a barren part of the graveyard; no other headstones were close the figures outline was starting to become clearer each time the miser made a step forward.
As Megatron Scrooge was merely a few steps away from the spirit, the phantom pinter its outstretched hand to the headstone, rather sharply and quick. The miser saw this as a demand form the ghost and walked cautiously to the headstone and was about to read the incantations when he paused and looked up at the spirit, his scarlet optics meeting the glowing green orbs. "Before I read from this headstone, Spirit, answer my last question." he asksed the ghost, and the ghosts hand rose up and pointed once more to the headstone. "Please, tell me that all of these visions the things that will be? Or are they visions of things that may be?"
The hand once again pointed harshly to the headstone, but Megatron Scrooge persisted his request. "All of Cybertronian kind and their courses will foreshadow many ends, but if by perseverance their courses can be altered and the ends will change. Am I to be given the chance to change the course of my path?"
The phantom made one final point to the headstone by which it stood, and Megatron Scrooge was silent and he looked upon the headstone. The red, scarlet optics grew wide with terror, his mouth gaped in horror, and his body was flushed with an cold, icy blast as he read to whom the neglected grave belonged to.
MEGATRON SCROOGE
"No! No, this can't be! I was the body in the bed from that dark room you have taken me too? I am to die?" he cried as he backed away in mortal fear, falling down onto his back and he scrambled away, but as he did he felt the ground beneath him shake and cave in. He suddenly then looked down to see the fog and the ground being sucked down into an abyss; a large gaping hole that lead thousands of feet below, revealing a red and black center below, and a coffin with its lid open. "No! Spirit, hear me! I am not the mech I once was! I will never be the mech I once was! Please, let me have another chance!" he pleaded, but he screamed as the remaining ground he sat upon tumbled and he nearly fell into the red and black pit had he not manage to grab onto a ledge and held on tight, looking below and watching as red hot iron chains sprouted from the coffin below.
Megatron Scrooge shrieked in pain as the cuffs snapped onto his wrists, his ankles, his abdominal region, and his neck. The excruciating heat was almost searing into his own armor, but Scrooge defiantly held on and begged the spirit to help. What happened was something that would forever haunt the misers conciseness. The black smoke that had blanketed the body of the spirit lifted away, and when lightning flashed from above and the thunder sounded, the spirits entire form was revealed; a great hulking behemoth, with orange, grey armor, claws, and a mouth open wide to display a set of long canines.
The miser screamed in fear of the identity of the phantom, but his fear did not weaken his hands grasp of the edge and he continued to plead. "Spirit, please assure me that I can mend my ways! I swear to my own spark that I shall honor Christmas forever. Not just this one Christmas but all of the Chritsmas's I had longed ignored. I will live in the past, the present and the future! All the spirits shall flourish within me, and I shall remember all of their teachings! I will change! I'll change!"
One hard, tight pull from the chains was all it took to tear Megatron Scrooge away form the ledge, and the mech wailed and screamed as he was pulled down...down...down...down into the pit below.
*Authors Note*
(Holy Guacamole! This has got tot be one of the most frightening and terrifying chapters I have ever done; well it did scare me as I typed it and I'm certain that it might have gotten you feeling the heebie jeebies. Well, now it is time for me to work on the last chapter, and because it is the holidays I will have it up on Christmas day. Sorry if I am to leave you in suspense. Sparkling Lover out.)