Chapter 17

Alternate Year 2019

Things were really not like they used to be, Rodimus thought to himself.

He was reading through the history files of the last 33 years that Optimus - this timeline´s Optimus Prime - had provided him with.

For the first few years, there were only few differences from the world he remembered.

- Like in his own reality, a group of Autobots led by Ultra Magnus, including his past-self Hotrod, Kup, Springer and Blurr, arrived on Earth for the first time in the Earth Year 1987.

But from then on... He could barely believe what he red.

It was around the Earth Year 2000 when things truly started to change significantly.

But then this changes became drastic and terrible very quickly.

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- Maybe the first major difference was that in this reality the Decepticons had never completely conquered Cybertron.

What on the first look should have been a good thing however, was ultimately all but that. Because it also meant that there had been more Autobot Forces on the planet when Unicron attacked. Both on the Moonbases, that also existed in this timeline and on Cybertron´s surface as well.

While in the world Rodimus remembered by the Year 1999 the Autobot Resistance on Cybertron itself had been reduced to a few cells hiding in the underground. Here there forces actually managed to hold a few Sectors of the planet for the Autobot´s side, along with a few cities and military bases.

And this Autobot forces had been devastated as a result. Just like the Decepticons controlling Cybertron had been in his own world.

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Rodimus continued to read the details:

- Like in his own reality, Autobot-City had been build in 2001.

It´s background and purpose however was slightly different. While in Rodimus timeline it had been one of their new major-bases after the loss of Cybertron, here it was in first line a space-port and transportation-point for energon and materials between Earth and Cybertron to support the Autobots there.

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- Then came the Unicron War.

Like in his world he appeared in 2005.

- Like in his own reality, Megatron had been turned into Galvatron. The circumstances however were somewhat different.

It was not an attack on Autobot City like in Rodimus world, but on the Moonbases.

And it was right during exactly this battle when Unicron had first appeared.

- Like in Rodimus world he was approaching in his planet-mode and attacked and completely consumed both moons.

For that he was simply mowing through both the Autobot and Decepticon lines, who had been battling each other just a moment before.

But they all failed to stop Unicron.

Quite ironically - by what Rodimus red, they actually ended up fighting together against the Planet Eater for a short time.

But this short alliance would not last for long.

- During the Battle for the Moonbases Unicron had gotten a hold on Megatron and a few of his warriors, as several witnesses - both Autobots and Decepticons alike - confirmed.

Starscream had of course used the opportunity and declared himself the new Decepticon Leader and eagerly left Megatron and the others to their fate. Not that he could have done much, even if he wanted, except face Unicron head on.

Nobody knew what exactly happened between the Chaos Bringer and Megatron at that time.

But it was clear that whatever negotiations they had were successful, since a short time later he reappeared as Galvatron, along with Cyclonus and Scourge and their troops.

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None of the Autobots was sure who this world´s versions of Cyclonus and Scourge were either. Only that it were certainly not Skywarp and Thundercracker, who were still seen around years later, with Skywarp still being part of the Decepticon Army, while Thundercracker had disappeared a few years ago.

One interesting detail was that aside from the Sweeps, here also existed so called Armada Drones - who were Sweep-like self-reproducing clones of Cyclonus. Obviously, like the Sweeps, created from Insecticon Clones.

By what Rodimus red however they were not nearly as powerful as the real Cyclonus and far less independant and intelligent than the Sweeps. Who were at the level of regular Transformers, while the Armada were more, like the name suggests, drones.

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- As it seemed however, he was not just following Unicron out of force, like in Rodimus reality, he seemed to be willingly cooperating with him.

His first action had, like the Galvatron he had known, been to return to the Decepticons, to kill Starscream and retake leadership.

Afterwards however, everything he had done had been different.

- This Galvatron had as it seemed willingly stood by as Unicron destroyed and consumed Cybertron, while the one Rodimus knew had to be literally tortured into cooperation.

Most of the Decepticons had however already evacuated the planet at his order, except the ones who didn´t make it in time. And so it was the Autobot Faction that had the most losses through the destruction of their home-planet.

Rodimus was not sure what had caused this difference in Galvatron´s behavior. Was all this connected to the time-travel device staying in Megatron´s hands in 1986? By what he red however, this version seemed to be just as or even more insane than the one he knew had been for a while.

Optimus Prime had not been present during Cybertron´s destruction. He and a group of other Autobots, that included this timeline´s Hotrod, Kup and Blurr, had been thrown into space during the Battle of the Moonbases, as their ship had been hit and the hyperdrive-engine was accidentally activated.

During their unwilling journey, they actually made it to the Planet Nebulos, years earlier like they had in his own timeline, where they attempted to repair their ship to return.

And they made a similar deal with the natives, that caused them to become Head-, Power- and Targetmasters.

Just like his counterpart here Rodimus had been a Targetmaster himself for a while, until his bounding-partner Firebolt had died. And as such he still had memories and even thoughts and feelings of his former partner in his mind.

As it turned out, this was one of the things not different here.

In the end they managed to return to the other Autobots, to Earth, bringing their Nebulon partners with them.

They made it just in time.

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- What followed shortly later was Unicron´s and Galvatron´s combined attack on Earth, where they and most of the surviving Autobots had retreated to by then.

Armies of Decepticons were battling the Autobots and the Earth Defense Force in orbit. Many Autobots and humans, but also countless Decepticons died - led and driven by an at this time clearly insane Galvatron who cared about nothing anymore than his own goals.

It was in this battle that he confronted Optimus and nearly killed him. Had it not been for Hotrod and a few other Autobots moving in and keeping him from finishing Optimus off and destroying the Matrix right there, it would have been over.

It was in this moment that his counterpart touched the Matrix during the fight and became Rodimus Prime.

But his friends Kup and Blurr and Hotrod´s own Nebulon partner Firebolt paid with his life against Galvatron for his chance.

It was at this point when Unicron finally transformed into robot-mode and tried to finish them all of quickly.

Hundreds of Autobots and nearly all remaining human forces from the Earth Defense Force were wiped out in seconds.

But Rodimus alternate self had managed to open the Matrix. Like in Rodimus world, the radiation from the opened Matrix stopped Unicron.

But not before one of his eye-lasers managed to hit Earth, completely wiping out Japan and parts of East Asia and causing earthquakes and tidal-waves all around the globe, killing over a billion humans.

Rodimus had seen leftovers of that devastation outside on his way here.

And not before Arcee and Springer died as well, shielding Rodimus counterpart while he opened the Matrix.

Since his counterpart and the Matrix itself had not been inside Unicron´s body however, but in some distance away, it destroyed it not entire, but only left it heavily damaged. Leaving the wreck of Unicron´s physical form circling in orbit over Earth.

But all that had not been stopping Galvatron. He had attacked Rodimus counterpart right afterwards and killed him as well. And the Matrix was lost. They were not completely sure if Galvatron had destroyed it or if it was still floating somewhere in space.

There were two version of how the alternate Rodimus death went down. The first, that was in first line told by Galvatron and his followers, they had a hard fight in that Galvatron finally overcame him. In the second, he just shot him in the back, while he had still the opened shell of the Matrix in his hands.

Whatever happened, Galvatron and the other Decepticons then continued their attack and ransacked and plundered what was left of it.

All that while Optimus had still been lying deactivated and in repair. The surviving Autobots, after hiding and protecting him from the Decepticons finally repaired him and he was upgraded into his Powermaster form.

All that led to the current situation. With him and the few remaining Autobots for the last 14 years hiding away and operating from secret hideouts and at the same time desperately trying defend themselves and what was left of humanity and Earth from the Decepticons.

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By what he red, the mad Galvatron was often causing random destruction, targeting humans and Autobots alike, and sometimes levelling entire towns. As it seemed just for his own amusement.

There were also rumors going around that he had fascility-constructs of Rodimus Prime and Starscream mass produced for target-practice. Not the sophisticated combat-drones in the image of enemies, that were sometimes used for training, but just cheap dummies that could easily be blown away with one low-set shot.

And that he had at one point executed one of his officers for not having enough of them in storage for his personal use.

Or that he had at one day just randomly killed Motormaster for `looking too much like Optimus Prime´ and then had his carcass painted red and blue and a battlemask mounted on his face before sending him to the crypt.

The Autobots were not sure how much of this was true. But it was fact that the Stunticon Leader had not been seen since that rumor came up.

There was also the one that he kept the alternate Rodimus head around as a souvenir and was sometimes discussing his battle strategies with it. And that he had a second place reserved for Optimus one when the time came.

Rodimus in the present shook his head. If only half of this was true, then this Galvatron was far more lost than the one he knew ever was.

But he did not want to keep hang on this.

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Rodimus started to read about the state of the rest of the galaxy.

If he had hoped the situation there would be any better, he were quickly disappointed.

Without the Autobots around to oppose them - and to some degree the Decepticons, who in this timeline were concentrating mostly on Earth - the Quintessons spread their influence and formed something of an interstellar empire.

It was an Empire build on slavery, terror and exploitation.

- In his own reality Rodimus had successfully lead the peace-conference between the two planets Lanarq and Zitaxis, that had been at war with each other for generations. Manipulated by the Quintessons, who had been profiting by selling weapons to both sides.

In this world the Quintessons had completely destroyed both planets, after they under the Quintessons `guidance´ devastated each other to the point that both civilizations were lying in ruins and had become useless to their schemes.

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Rodimus had red enough - more than enough.

This timeline was a disaster, a nightmare become reality.

All of this just could not be reality - or at least could not keep being reality for any longer.

Rodimus needed a way to go back and keep it all from happening in the first place.

The time-travel device - there was a chance that Galvatron still had it.

He had to talk with Optimus.

Author´s Note: This timeline is of course heavily inspired by the Rhythm of Darkness storyline from the Marvel Comics. Just like Galvatron´s time-travel attempt from the earlier chapters was by Target 2006.