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randomplaces2008-10-13 12:56 pm
random_xtras) wrote in randomplaces2008-10-13 12:56 pm
Entry tags:
Fusion-'verse. Various locations. Reformat ((Warnings: character death))
Megatron frowned deeply as he listened to Rodimus Prime's report, his arms crossed over his chest where he and Oriana Pax's combined sparks ached at the words of the young Autobot leader.
"Soundwave and his recorders were found dead, with no marks on them. Skywarp and Thundercracker are missing." Rodimus' jaw clenched. "The bodies were left where they lay, and the security footage was wiped. It's the same MO as for the attack at the rebel base, except that no one disappeared there."
Megatron glanced at where Ultra-Magnus sat with bowed head next to him at the table, then looked over at Jazz, who was leaning against the door frame and staring blankly out into the Cybertronian dawn.
Rumbling, he bowed his own head, fists clenching. Soundwave... faithful retainer. And Starscream... I carried her through the bowels of Unicron to save her life, and then carried her through the bowels of Primus to try and get her life restored... and she's gone too now.... I will never be able to right the wrongs that I did to her.
-Primus has her.- Oriana's thought was a soft caress.
His optics flickered, and then he nodded. -That... doesn't ease the pain, Optimus.-
-I know.-
He shut his optics off, trying to lose himself in her spark snuggle, but then leaped to his feet and sent the table crashing onto its side as Jazz fell with a strangled cry.
"No!" Rodimus vaulted the fallen furniture and rushed the figure who stepped inside over the black and white mech's body.
As Megatron, Oriana, and Ultra-Magnus watched in startled horror the intruder punched a hand through the young Prime's chest, then shot him at point blank range as she wrenched the Matrix free and held it up with a triumphant cackle.
It was a Seeker, yet not a Seeker. Slender. Black as the death of hope. She swept the room with a crimson gaze that was pitiless, scornful, and mad.
"What... Starscream?" Megatron took a step toward her, but then stopped as she pointed that fatal weapon at his chest.
"Starscream was a weak fool," she said, her voice cold as the void of space. "She threw her life away for naught. Look on me and despair, for I am Deathscream!"
He frowned at the feeling of wrongness that came from her. "What do you want?"
She smirked and kicked Hot-Rod aside, then sauntered closer, not looking around at the two other Transformers who followed her inside. "It's not a matter of what I want. You want this trinket, and Unicron wants a word with you. You know what to do."
Her smirk widened as she pointed her gun at Ultra-Magnus' head without taking those fiery cold optics from Megatron's.
"My lady," said the femme who had followed her. "There's a squadron of Seekers coming."
"Oh really?" Deathscream stood poised for a moment, but then transformed and shot skyward, going through the ceiling and roof as though they had been paper. "Cyclonus! Scourge! To me as we hunt!"
"No!" shouted Megatron, launching himself after her, only to fall with a clatter and a grunt as Ultra-Magnus flying tackled him to the ground.
"Seeker squadron, abandon attack!" shouted the Autobot over his communicator. "I repeat, abandon attack and disperse! Get the slag out of here NOW!"
"Let go of me!" Megatron wrenched an arm free, only to sputter and see static as Ultra-Magnus punched him in the face.
"You go out there now, and you die! Just like Jazz and Rodimus did...."
Oriana's rage, which had been as hot as his own, faltered and tumbled toward grief. Megatron winced and stopped fighting. "Let me go."
"No stupid stuff?" Ultra-Magnus looked at him, wincing slightly as the sound of a fuselage hitting the ground came from outside.
"No... stupid stuff." Megatron's voice was resigned. "Let go."
The Autobot did so, eying him warily the whole way. "They're gone. Some kind of warp gate."
"That explains how they came and went at the other sites," said Oriana as her mate pushed himself up and turned toward Hot Rod's crumpled shell. "Though, if that was Starscream... she must have been changed days ago. And Soundwave...."
"I don't want to think about it." Megatron hunkered down and gently turned Hot Rod over, his optics switching off for a moment as he saw the peace on the young mech's dead face. "Primus...."
-He's with Arcee, and Springer,- murmured Oriana brokenly, her affection and grief for the two murdered mechs flooding her senses.
Megatron stared, trying to understand the feelings and how to deal with them, then just cradled Hot Rod's broken shell and wept.
"Soundwave and his recorders were found dead, with no marks on them. Skywarp and Thundercracker are missing." Rodimus' jaw clenched. "The bodies were left where they lay, and the security footage was wiped. It's the same MO as for the attack at the rebel base, except that no one disappeared there."
Megatron glanced at where Ultra-Magnus sat with bowed head next to him at the table, then looked over at Jazz, who was leaning against the door frame and staring blankly out into the Cybertronian dawn.
Rumbling, he bowed his own head, fists clenching. Soundwave... faithful retainer. And Starscream... I carried her through the bowels of Unicron to save her life, and then carried her through the bowels of Primus to try and get her life restored... and she's gone too now.... I will never be able to right the wrongs that I did to her.
-Primus has her.- Oriana's thought was a soft caress.
His optics flickered, and then he nodded. -That... doesn't ease the pain, Optimus.-
-I know.-
He shut his optics off, trying to lose himself in her spark snuggle, but then leaped to his feet and sent the table crashing onto its side as Jazz fell with a strangled cry.
"No!" Rodimus vaulted the fallen furniture and rushed the figure who stepped inside over the black and white mech's body.
As Megatron, Oriana, and Ultra-Magnus watched in startled horror the intruder punched a hand through the young Prime's chest, then shot him at point blank range as she wrenched the Matrix free and held it up with a triumphant cackle.
It was a Seeker, yet not a Seeker. Slender. Black as the death of hope. She swept the room with a crimson gaze that was pitiless, scornful, and mad.
"What... Starscream?" Megatron took a step toward her, but then stopped as she pointed that fatal weapon at his chest.
"Starscream was a weak fool," she said, her voice cold as the void of space. "She threw her life away for naught. Look on me and despair, for I am Deathscream!"
He frowned at the feeling of wrongness that came from her. "What do you want?"
She smirked and kicked Hot-Rod aside, then sauntered closer, not looking around at the two other Transformers who followed her inside. "It's not a matter of what I want. You want this trinket, and Unicron wants a word with you. You know what to do."
Her smirk widened as she pointed her gun at Ultra-Magnus' head without taking those fiery cold optics from Megatron's.
"My lady," said the femme who had followed her. "There's a squadron of Seekers coming."
"Oh really?" Deathscream stood poised for a moment, but then transformed and shot skyward, going through the ceiling and roof as though they had been paper. "Cyclonus! Scourge! To me as we hunt!"
"No!" shouted Megatron, launching himself after her, only to fall with a clatter and a grunt as Ultra-Magnus flying tackled him to the ground.
"Seeker squadron, abandon attack!" shouted the Autobot over his communicator. "I repeat, abandon attack and disperse! Get the slag out of here NOW!"
"Let go of me!" Megatron wrenched an arm free, only to sputter and see static as Ultra-Magnus punched him in the face.
"You go out there now, and you die! Just like Jazz and Rodimus did...."
Oriana's rage, which had been as hot as his own, faltered and tumbled toward grief. Megatron winced and stopped fighting. "Let me go."
"No stupid stuff?" Ultra-Magnus looked at him, wincing slightly as the sound of a fuselage hitting the ground came from outside.
"No... stupid stuff." Megatron's voice was resigned. "Let go."
The Autobot did so, eying him warily the whole way. "They're gone. Some kind of warp gate."
"That explains how they came and went at the other sites," said Oriana as her mate pushed himself up and turned toward Hot Rod's crumpled shell. "Though, if that was Starscream... she must have been changed days ago. And Soundwave...."
"I don't want to think about it." Megatron hunkered down and gently turned Hot Rod over, his optics switching off for a moment as he saw the peace on the young mech's dead face. "Primus...."
-He's with Arcee, and Springer,- murmured Oriana brokenly, her affection and grief for the two murdered mechs flooding her senses.
Megatron stared, trying to understand the feelings and how to deal with them, then just cradled Hot Rod's broken shell and wept.
Chapter 3
-He lives,- came Primus' reply, tinged with sadness and regret.
Megatron shifted his shoulders, acutely aware of the amount of power that was currently stored within his shell. -Are you sure he's not going to notice you? I feel as though I'm lit up like a human Christmas tree.-
-I'm sure.- The words were accompanied by feelings of assurance and comfort.
The grey mech scowled absently, folding his arms over his chest as he remembered the last time he'd met Unicron. Badly damaged from battling the forces around Autobot city, he'd been judged dead weight by the rest of his crew, who had forced Soundwave to eject himself and the even more badly damaged Starscream from the flagging Astrotrain. Convicted by the yet unacknowledged spark of Optimus Prima that was fused to his own, he'd gotten a grip on his helplessly drifting second in command and then proceeded to maintain that grip through being taken on board the largest mech he'd ever seen.
Unicron, devourer of worlds. His internals had closely resembled most beings' conception of hell.
He had tried every method of persuasion and threat to convince Megatron to submit to him, but the grey mech, shielded by the inactive Matrix stored in his chest, had rebuffed all attempts. Unicron had finally given up with disgust and gone on to other things. Like eating the ship that contained Hot Rod, Ultra-Magnus, the Dinobots, and Wheelie.
Hot Rod had stumbled across him as he sat, still holding onto Starscream's wrist as he faded toward stasis lock. The Matrix had lit up, and the young Autobot had taken it and defeated the Devourer. Megatron and Starscream had been taken in by the Autobots and repaired, and Oriana's presence had been discovered. The Transformer Alliance had been born. And everyone had thought that they were on their way to a happily ever after.
-Don't give up hope,- said Primus softly. -The battle has already been won, this is but a skirmish.-
-Right.- Megatron mentally reached for Oriana, feeling strengthened by her ready spurt of affection and encouragement, then started forward again. As he went he noticed that Primus' presence seemed to be shrinking, fading, becoming impossible to sense. -What?-
-I'm with you,- came the last reassuring thought, and then it felt as though he and Oriana were alone.
He set his jaw and kept going, only to draw up sharply as another presence touched him. -Unicron!-
-So. You have returned,- said the cold, deep voice. -Have you reconsidered my offer?-
-What offer?- Megatron scowled, hands clenching into fists. -Deathscream didn't say anything about any offer.-
-The offer I made when we first met. To serve me and to rule the universe in my name.-
-Hmph. I'd tell you where to stick that offer, but you don't have those systems anymore.-
-Foolish insect.- There was the faintest trace of easy amusement in Unicron's infliction. -You have no hope of resisting me.-
Megatron started as he felt coldness bloom in his spark, then stiffened as it spread like freezing fire through his body. Agony overwhelmed his senses, and he roared soundlessly into the void of space.
A glow surrounded him. Specs and stats seemed to scroll across his mind's eye. His processor drowned, and awareness of Oriana faded with knowledge of himself.
Megatron ceased to exist.