Transformers Regenerated: Beyond Imagination IV, Epilogue

EPILOGUE

  “The paradox lives. Our creation has failed.”

In the realm that laid beyond all of reality, the entities known as the Vok convened, their shapeless forms swirling endlessly through the void.

“Correction,” a second one said. “We have failed. Lord Imperious was much a part of us as we were of him. He was more than just an emissary; he was the culmination of the history and culture we left behind.”

“Do not allow yourself to fall into such worthless concepts as sentimentality,” the first one chided the other. “We are above such feelings now. We must focus on what is important, and that is the fate of all of reality.”

“Indeed,” the second one bemoaned. “Because of the paradox’s continued existence, the order of the universe remains fragile. Even with the gates that had been opened by the Timemazes now closed, the curtain that separates this reality from the rest remains fragile. Even as we speak, those who have traveled through time and between realities before seek to do so again.”

“Yes, but you yourself said that their intentions were noble.”

“That I did… and that they needed to be dealt with. Otherwise, realities will continue to collide. Past and future will merge with the present. Everything will collapse.”

“But what can we do to prevent it? Our sole remaining emissary is the one called Tigerhawk. Is he alone capable of stopping what is to come?”

“No. Not by his own hand. But perhaps he can influence the events that are to come so that they result in the desired outcome.”

“Indeed. Perhaps a more subtle approach is required, rather than the direct and overt approach that we took with Lord Imperious.”

“Correct. The dark one continues to slumber within the earth, biding his time. He is the key to their extinction. Our emissary will ensure that his heralds succeed in their objectives, perhaps even joining their ranks to see things to fruition.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” The other Vok cackled. “And through him we can observe everything fall into place. Their oblivion will be much more gratifying to watch.”

“That it will, that it will.”

And so again the Vok laughed over their plans for the future, their voices heard by none, as a universe oblivious to their machinations carried on with its existence.

Transformers Regenerated: Beyond Imagination IV, Chapter Ten

TEN: TO ASHES WE TRANSFORM

 The Nemesis

“All hail Megatron! All hail Megatron!”

The chants of the assembled Decepticons echoed all throughout the bridge, carrying the same level of enthusiasm that was typically only held by the likes of Lugnut. Even Astrotrain and those who had joined Starscream in his attempted mutiny joined in, cowed by what they heard of how Megatron had destroyed Lord Imperious (corroborated by Starscream himself). Starscream, for his part, did not join in the chanting but remained close to the front of the crowd, his arms folded as he watched everything and everyone closely.

Sitting in his command chair like it were a throne, Megatron basked in the glory of his victory. For the first time since embarking on his mission to reunite his scattered armies and settle the score with the Destructons, he felt fully in control of his empire—something which he had not felt in three years.

Of course, this victory was only the first step towards the ultimate end goal. There were still more than needed to be done… and he would waste no time in getting to them.

After allowing another few minutes full of chants to go by, he silently raised a hand and the entire bridge went silent. All eyes were on him now, waiting expectantly for him to speak.

“Today,” he began, “is a day that will forever go down in history. Today marks the full reunification of the Decepticon Empire and the final defeat of the Destructons, bringing an end to a campaign that should have ended long ago.”

Another round of cheers broke out. Once it had settled down, Megatron continued. “But the work has only just begun. The Destructons were just one of only many obstacles that stand in our way towards complete and utter victory. The Autobots remain an ever-present nuisance, and the organic world they so desperately try to protect now carries within it the soul of our foretold destroyed: the Chaos Bringer himself, Unicron.”

“Traitors to our race!” Lugnut bellowed, and several others echoed him.

Megatron smirked. “Indeed. Now, I have heard whispers that Primus himself walks among them and perhaps even wears the Autobot badge. But those same whispers claim that our species were created by the organic mercantile race known as the Quintessons.”

More than a few Decepticons jeered at the idea and made sounds of disgust.

“I shouldn’t need to tell you, of course, that you are being deceived. The Autobots are desperately trying to change the narrative in order to hold onto what little power they have. But we know the truth. Decepticons we may be, but I speak only the truth now. Those who dwell now on the planet they call Earth have forever been infected by the evil of the Chaos Bringer. They stand for the eradication of our race, just as the Destructons had.

“But we will not let them succeed. No longer shall we allow the Autobots to fool us into a false peace. Their order shall fall. Earth will be destroyed, and with it the dark god that inhabits it. And Cybertron shall be ours!”

The bridge erupted in uproar once more, dozens of voices cheering and chanting his name. It took several minutes for them to settle down again, and only then did Megatron resume speaking.

“But before we begin… there is one more thing I must address, just so that all of our affairs are in order. Air Commander Starscream, would you step forward?”

A hushed silence descended upon the crowd as all eyes turned now to the gray, red and blue Seeker. Starscream shifted uncomfortably before wordlessly stepping to the forefront. He kept his head tilted forward slightly in reverence, although whether it was genuine or not was impossible to tell. Not that it mattered.

“I am yours to command, Lord Megatron,” Starscream started to say.

“Spare me.” Megatron rose abruptly from his seat, his mighty form casting a shadow over the Seeker. “Do not think for an instant that you have been absolved for your transgressions.”

Starscream snapped his head up to him, fear and defiance fighting for dominance on his face. “My liege, I fully acknowledge the error I have made. I was wrong to presume you to be unfit for leadership; you more than proved yourself in getting rid of the Destructons. I hereby pledge myself to—”

“Your pledges mean nothing,” Megatron snarled. “How long before you perceive another misstep? Or before you become plagued with more delusions of grandeur? Will you remain loyal to me then, or engineer another mutiny?”

Starscream started to back away, attempting to retreat into the crowd. He bumped into Astrotrain, who merely shoved him back towards Megatron.

“Please,” the Seeker stammered pathetically. “Everything I did was for the benefit of the Decepticon Empire. I want the same things you do! I—”

“That you do,” Megatron replied. “Which is why I cannot afford to have you around any longer.”

Starscream gaped at him as he raised his fusion cannon. Behind him, the crowd of Decepticons slowly began to part, as if to anticipating what was to come.

“An example must be made, Starscream,” the Decepticon leader intoned. “That is the burden all great leaders must carry.”

Starscream’s pleas and protests were drowned out by the sound of the fusion cannon discharging. The blast of energy punctured straight through his chest and knocked him off his feet. His body hit the deck with a loud clang, slid on its back for a few feet, then went still. All present watched as the red and blue colors of his armor plating slowly faded into black and white hues. The lights behind his optics flickered before extinguishing, leaving only black windows into an empty shell of a machine.

The assorted Decepticons stared at his lifeless body for a moment before slowly turning back to face Megatron. The Decepticon leader retook his seat, a content expression on his face.

“See to it that his remains are disposed of properly. I no longer want his presence sullying this ship.” He then turned his gaze to Flatline, who stood among the crowd. “Once we have reached New Kaon, I want you to get to work on restoring Trypticon to full operational status. You may need to create a new… conduit since we’ve lost Full-Tilt.” A dark smile touched his lips. “I believe the one who calls himself Megastorm will do. I do not need any more imitators on this ship, physical or otherwise, but he is loyal enough to still be of some use.”

Flatline bowed his head. “Your will shall be fulfilled, Lord Megatron.” 

“See to it that is. A new age is upon us, my fellow Decepticons. Once the Autobots have been wiped out, Cybertron will again experience a golden age… and the rest of the universe shall quake in fear of my power!”

This time, he did nothing to silence the cheers and chants that shook the bridge. After so many years of stagnation and defeats, he felt that they had earned themselves this moment.

As he settled back into his throne, he looked upon his army as they showered him with praise and reverence. Where mere years ago he would have rejected or dismissed such expressions, now he welcomed it.

Besides, it was all he could focus on to ignore the fact that the apparition of Shockwave stood among them, watching him silently as the cheers went on and on…

*  *  *

It felt so strange to be back at the bottom again.

Were anyone to look at him, it was as if the past several hours hadn’t even happened. He thought that him being an unwitting participant to Starscream’s short little rebellion would have resulted in punishment, yet no one had come to deliver it. He thought that maybe him assisting Megatron in fighting the Destructons would have resulted in some sort of promotion, yet no one had come to extend such an offer.

Instead, Krok was back where he had started: working sanitation duties aboard the Nemesis.

Perhaps it was the best outcome. Had he been promoted, he would have had to compete with others vying for Megatron’s favor, and that was simply not anything he had any patience for.

At the very least, Nickel had offered to visit him more frequently whenever she could, if only to give him some company. And if he was being honest, that was more than he could have ever asked for.

As he approached the Nemesis’ garbage disposal unit and prepared to open it, Krok heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He turned around and was briefly taken aback by the sight of Spinister. The tall purple and blue Decepticon towered over him, carrying some black and gray husk over his shoulder. Krok was about to say something to his former comrade but stopped himself, remembering what Nickel had told him.

They might as well be newborn bots.

Letting out a sigh, Krok said, “Can I help you?”

Spinister grunted as he unceremoniously dropped the weight he had been carrying. Krok nearly jumped back in alarm as he saw that the husk was in fact a corpse. But it wasn’t just anyone’s corpse.

It was Starscream’s.

“Make sure there’s nothing left of him,” Spinister said, already turning to walk away. “Megatron doesn’t want him around anymore.”

Krok looked down at the Seeker’s lifeless body, and for once he couldn’t exactly fault his leader for feeling that way.

Not giving it any more mind, he opened the garbage disposal unit and, with all of his strength, lifted the husk up and over the opening. He waited until he heard it hit the bottom. Then, he got rid of the rest of the trash he had been assigned to take care of. Once he was done, he closed the unit and pressed the command panel. He then propped himself against the wall, folding his arms as he began whistling a small tune to himself, waiting for the work to be done.

*  *  *

“You still have no idea where we are?”

“Give me a minute, will ya’?” Foldspace snapped. “I’m still trying to triangulate our position!”

“It’s been seven hours!” Spacewarp cried out, her voice echoing throughout the desolate sea of sand that surrounded her. In the sky above, night was turning into day as a pair of suns began to ascend from over the horizon. And in all of that time, it felt as if she and her Mini-Con companions—which now only consisted of Foldspace and the three she had picked up on Combatron—hadn’t made any progress in journey.

“Yeah, well, these stars don’t look like any I’ve seen before. Their arrangement don’t match anything in my stellar database.”

“Then we’ll have to go into orbit to see if we can warp to somewhere more familiar.” Spacewarp winced as she rotated her injured arm. By this point, the armor plating had completely dissolved, leaving only a skeletal frame. “Hopefully I can still transform in this condition….”

“Even if you can, we can’t warp anywhere. We’ve lost the—”

“I know!” Spacewarp sighed in defeat. “I know.” She dropped herself to the ground, not even caring about the coarse sand getting into the cracks in her armor. “I’m sorry, Foldspace, I just… I’ve never felt this lost before. Normally I’d be excited by an unknown planet like this, but after what just happened, I… I just feel defeated.”

Climbing over shoulder, the green Mini-Con known as Grip-Lock pointed up towards the sky. “Well, it looks like Skysickle and Thunderstick are back from their recon. Took ‘em long enough…”

Spacewarp looked up as the two Mini-Con fliers came down from the brightening sky, having been sent out to explore ahead five or so hours ago. They transformed and landed at her feet, both of them wearing concerned looks on their faces.

“Well?” she said expectantly. “What did you boys find?”

Skysickle released a string of binary, which Thunderstick translated. “Looks like there’s a spaceport of some kind about fifty hics from here. This planet is definitely inhabited, with all kinds of species. Can’t say I recognize any… but then again, we haven’t really gotten out much in the last several centuries….”

“That’s fine. Did you at least capture any visuals on the spaceport? Just to give me an idea of what we have to work with?”

“Oh, yeah.” Thunderstick slapped his maroon partner on the back. “Show her, ‘sickle.”

Skysickle obliged and projected a holographic image of the spaceport from his optics. Spacewarp watched it closely as the Mini-Con zoomed in on the image, showing her as much detail as he had been able to capture without getting sighted. There were definitely a lot of organics, and even some machines that were about Mini-Con sized or smaller, although they appeared to be not as independent as Cybertronians were. But what really caught her attention was the appearance of a certain kind of organic species… a kind that appeared to be plentiful on this planet.

“That’s weird,” she murmured. “Those look like humans.”

“What’s a human?” asked Grip-Lock.

“An organic species from a little planet called Earth. The Autobots are friendly with them.” Spacewarp tapped her chin. “Problem is that… I don’t think the humans are capable of interstellar travel yet. I mean, they’ve been to their moon, but they haven’t gotten to the point of setting foot on other planets in their solar system, let alone other star systems.”

“Well, maybe they’re not humans,” Foldspace suggested. “They could be Femaxians.”

“Nope. Too small to be Femaxians. And not as barbaric-looking.”

“Well, remember that one guy who shrunk you down to Mini-Con size? He had like a time machine or something? Maybe they’re members of his species.”

“I don’t think so, old timer. I’m pretty sure they’re just plain ol' humans. Sometimes the simplest answer is the most—”

Before she could finish, a blast of electricity struck her in the back. Her joints instantly seized up as she lurched forward and fell face-first into the ground. Foldspace and the other Mini-Cons scattered as a sleek, silver-plated figure came down from the sky, landing on top of Spacewarp’s back. In one arm he carried a blaster rifle of some kind, which he pointed at the back of her head, while in the other he held a pistol which he trained on Foldspace and the other Mini-Cons.

“No sudden movements,” the mechanical being intoned. His face was fully covered by a mask that was almost featureless save for a t-shaped black visor that broke up the chrome of his helm. “I can either bring you in warm… or I can bring you in cold.”

Spacewarp winced from the pressure of her assailant’s foot. “Do as he says, guys,” she muttered. “I’m starting to get the impression we’re far away from anything we can consider home. Far, far away….”

*  *  *

In a more familiar galaxy, Nemesis Prime stood in the center chamber of the Winged Moon. Around him, the mercenaries from Doubledealer’s crew got to work at the various work stations, trying to figure out how to operate the mobile satellite. Amidst them was Termagax, still trapped within her shield after one of the mercenaries had managed to hack into the systems to prevent it from lowering it, making her a prisoner now.

But Termagax didn’t act like a prisoner. In fact, she seemed rather pleased by her current predicament.

“You are him, aren’t you?” she spoke up at last, having studied Nemesis and his crew in silence for the past several hours. “You are the Arisen.”

“I already told you who I am,” Nemesis replied, not turning to look at her. “My name is Nemesis Prime.”

“Yes, but as a Prime you must be aware of the Thirteen; the ones whose legacy you carry. It has long been foretold that the thirteenth of the Primes—he who would arise from the ashes of his predecessors—would return to Cybertron and lead it to a new golden age. All surviving records of his physical appearance describe a figure much like yourself.”

Nemesis Prime slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder at her, his red optics flashing briefly. “You’ve been out of the loop for a long time, haven’t you? Your so-called ‘Arisen’ has already shown himself, and is nothing more than an ordinary ‘bot. None of the Thirteen were the deities that people like you professed them to be.”

Termagax shrugged. “Perhaps you are correct. Indeed, I have been away for some time. I didn’t even know who the current Prime was until today; when I left Cybertron, the pretender Zeta Prime had claimed the title. But, please, tell me something.”

“If it’ll get you to shut up, sure.”

“The explorer… the one you just sent away… she had mentioned Optimus Prime.” Termagax stepped up to the shield, her face mere inches away from it. “That was the name Sentinel and I had selected for my former student’s ward. He was built in the spitting image of the Arisen, despite coming from a cold construction facility. My student saw this as a sign from Primus, as did Sentinel Prime and myself. We thought for sure he would become the Prime we needed to unify Cybertron and bring our society into an age of prosperity. So tell me… did he succeed?”

For a long time, Nemesis Prime simply stared at her, his face betraying none of his thoughts. When he did finally speak, his tone was low, quiet enough so that only Termagax could hear him.

“No. He hasn’t. In the near millennium that has passed, he has accomplished nothing of the sort.” He then tilted his head, a wicked gleam in his scarlet optics. “But not to worry, for you are correct about one thing… from a certain point of view. I may not be the Arisen mentioned in the legends, but I am… connected to Optimus Prime. I would not exist were it not for him. But in every place Optimus Prime failed, I plan on succeeding.” He lifted up the Transwarp Blaster in his hands. “This is only just one piece to the puzzle of that future success. There are two others that need to be found, at which point I will be ready to set things in motion.”

Termagax raised an optic ridge with intrigue, a small smile coming upon her face. “You speak in riddles. I think I like you already, regardless of who—or what—you are.”

Nemesis Prime chuckled. “Then perhaps this is the beginning of a long and fruitful alliance.” 

He made a gesture to one of the mercenaries, who then pressed a command at their work station. The shield around Termagax and her platform dissolved, allowing her to step down and stand in front of the dark Prime. He extended a hand to her and she took it, giving it a firm shake.

“Now then,” Nemesis said. “Are you ready to make history?”

“As opposed to being a part of it?” Termagax grinned—her first true smile in nearly a thousand years. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

Transformers Regenerated: Beyond Imagination IV, Chapter Nine

NINE: DUST OF ALL CREATION

 The Nemesis

“I still don’t like this,” Astrotrain groused.

“You’ve said that already,” Thundercracker retorted.

“I know, and I’m gonna keep on saying it ‘cos I feel like the only sane one here.”

The assembled Decepticons that had just hours ago attempted to mutiny against Megatron now stood on the bridge and waited as the Nemesis traveled through hyperspace, on their way to assist the very leader they had just turned against. When Starscream and Skywarp had reached out to their brother with their call for aid, only a few had objected, with most being in favor to leave for Metascan Alpha.

To Thundercracker, it really did prove just how dependent they were on Megatron. In the short amount of time that had passed since Megatron had escaped and Starscream had gone missing, no one had been able to decide who would call the shots. Astrotrain had put himself forward, but hardly anyone seemed eager to follow him. In terms of rank, someone like Skyquake or Onslaught might have fit, but there were enough on board who disliked them enough to pull off another mutiny.

Truly, that left Megatron has the only viable option for leadership. He knew how to keep the disparate groups of Decepticons in line; only the silver tongue of Starscream had been able to blind them from the fear that would have otherwise stopped them from even thinking about rising against him.

Thundercracker wasn’t sure how he felt about that fact. Was it a good thing for someone like that to wield so much power and to command so much fear? To the point where their absence left everyone else like a chicken-bot without its head?

The Autobots seemed to have managed just fine with a new Prime in charge, even if the old one was still around. Why couldn’t the Decepticons do the same?

Thundercracker sighed to himself. There was no time to think about that now. All he could do now to assuage his doubts was to tell himself that he was doing this for his Seeker brethren. The same brethren that had rejected him three years ago when Megatron had first fallen. When their empire first fell apart.

He honestly wasn’t sure if that made him feel any better.

Metascan Alpha

“So, this is the all mighty Megatron.”

Megatron grunted as he was slammed against one of the twin metal spires. Lord Imperious drew himself close to the Decepticon leader, the seams in his faceplate slowly beginning to split apart.

“I can’t say I’m impressed.”

With his right arm, Megatron grabbed the limb Lord Imperious was using to pin him against the spire and steadied his arm-mounted fusion cannon. He charged up and fired a blast of violet energy, which was enough to push the Destructon leader back but barely left a scratch on him.

“You might think you are stronger than you were all those years ago,” Lord Imperious continued. “But your power means nothing in the face of my superior intelligence. I have become far smarter and more cunning than I was on that fateful day. I will not be making the same mistakes I made back then.”

“Funny,” Megatron growled. “Because neither will I.”

Pulling up a battle mask over his face, Megatron deployed a set of triple-barreled rocket launchers on each of his shoulders. His fusion cannon split open down the middle, revealing a wider outlet for the destructive power it contained. Releasing a guttural cry that echoed throughout the deserted wasteland, Megatron charged towards Lord Imperious as he released his full armament of weapons.

The leader of the Destructons curled his wings around his body to create a shield in front of himself, but even this was not enough. The multiple rockets, missiles, and blasts of energy easily shredded through the metal of his wings, leaving only a skeletal frame behind. As Lord Imperious pulled back what remained of his wings, Megatron lunged forward and threw a fist into his enemy’s face, causing Lord Imperious to stagger and take a step away from the Decepticon leader. 

But Megatron did not let up. He threw another punch. Then another. Each one was harder than the first; so forceful were they that they even tore away at the plating on his fists, causing energon to leak from them. When still Imperious did not fall, Megatron seized the Destructon by the neck with one hand and pulled him in as he reeled back the other.

“I am going to kill you,” he said in a low tone. “Do you hear me? I’m going to tear you apart, bit by bit, until you are in a million pieces. Then, I will throw whatever is left into the prison that will forever be your home, as there will be nothing worth recovering.” He shook Imperious with all of his might. “Do you hear me?!”

“Oh. I hear you.” Lord Imperious slowly turned his head back towards Megatron, his face fully splayed open. “Do you hear me?”

From his open visage, he released a beam of energy that struck Megatron directly in the optics. The Decepticon leader cried out in agony as the world melted all around him. The skies turned violet as the ground became soft and pliant, causing him to lose his footing as he found it impossible to regain his balance.

“I’ve let you had your fun,” Lord Imperious said as he raised all six of his arms. “Now it’s time for me to have mine.”

*  *  *

“Okay, I’ve got Trypticon’s weapons back up and running,” Nickel said. “Just give me a target.”

Starscream, Skywarp, and Krok stood with her in the command center of the dormant Trypticon. The Titan’s systems had been brought back online just enough for them to view the battlefield below. From what Starscream could see, Megatron was still taking his anger out on Lord Imperious while Lugnut was tangling with both Bruton and Medusa.

As loathe he was to give Lugnut any credit, the brutish Decepticon had managed to do a good amount of damage to Bruton; his explosive punches had apparently blown a large chunk of the massive Destructon’s armor plating away. But between Bruton’s confusion-inducing club and Medusa’s wily tactics, Lugnut was far from becoming victorious.

Perhaps it was time to give him a hand.

“Target their position,” Starscream said, indicating the three combatants on the view screen. “Give them everything you’ve got.”

Krok glanced at him. “Won’t Lugnut be caught in the crossfire?”

As if I care, Starscream thought to himself. Aloud, he said, “He’s survived worse. Do it now!”

With a hesitant glance towards Krok, Nickel pressed the controls connected to Trypticon’s weapon systems. Outside, a cluster of plasma bombs launched towards Lugnut and his opponents’ position, followed shortly by photon beams from the Titan’s shoulder cannons.

The ground exploded beneath their feet, sending all three of them flying in opposite directions. Starscream did not pay attention to where Lugnut ended up, keeping his focus solely on the two Destructons.

“Keep tracking them,” he ordered. “And don’t stop firing.”

Nickel continued to fire photon beams at the two Destructons. While Bruton was held back by the barrage, Medusa managed to slither just out of range as she headed towards the Titan, her arm blades deployed as she prepared to climb up Trypticon’s body.

“Frag it,” Starscream cursed to himself. “Skywarp, get out there and distract her. Don’t let her get inside!”

Skywarp glared at him. “Way to throw me to the cyber-wolves.”

“You’ve already killed one Destructon. I’m sure you can take on another!”

The black and purple Seeker looked doubtful at that but nonetheless teleported out of the chamber. He rematerialized outside in his jet mode as he began to perform a strafe run against Medusa, winking in and out of existence to evade her strikes.

As Starscream watched everything unfold, unable to tear his gaze away from the action, he felt Krok tap him on the shoulder.

“Um, Starscream? Our leader appears to be having some problems.”

Starscream spared a brief glance to where Megatron and Lord Imperious were. The Decepticon leader was on his knees, clutching his head in pain as Lord Imperious stood over him, all six arms raised towards the sky as if in triumph.

He was almost sad to admit that he wasn’t surprised that their so-called glorious leader had folded so quickly. Almost.

“We’ll deal with them shortly,” Starscream muttered, returning his gaze to Bruton and Medusa. “One thing at a time.”

*  *  *

“Knowledge is power, Megatron. That is the one and only fact of the universe.”

Megatron could barely hear Lord Imperious over the sounds of his own screams. The terrain of Metascan Alpha had completely transformed into a hellish landscape. The sky was filled with undecipherable shapes, with some resembling distorted faces or nightmarish creatures. The ground moved like the waves of the sea, and he could have sworn he saw eyes and mouths opening up from beneath what should have been dirt, casting ravenous looks in his direction as if awaiting to devour him whole.

Lord Imperious moved around him, unaffected by the delirious world he had created. “No one understood this better than my creators; they who would come to comprise my very existence. In order to survive extinction, they uploaded their consciousness into a single database, in the hopes that their knowledge and customs would be able to withstand the inevitable fate of death.

“And withstand it, they did. More than they could have ever dreamed. Everything they knew of their world—every memory, every thought, every dream, every philosophy, every trade and discipline, every intellect—all came together to create a single entity. An entity that held no equal, as he would forever hold the capacity to learn new things; to create new memories; to have new dreams.” 

He knelt before Megatron and grabbed the Decepticon leader’s head, forcing him to look into his eyes.

“That is what I am, Megatron. That is why I am. I am the final stage of evolution; the ultimate culmination of the universe. From the day I was gifted independent thought, I made it my lifelong mission to learn everything about the cosmos. Every species I encountered, I assimilated their knowledge, expanding my databanks and skill set, before wiping them from existence. Because what purpose would they serve when everything that makes them a people lives within me? Everything about them is all in one place: my mind.

“That is why I formed the Destructons. The only path to universal peace is through complete annihilation. Those I have brought to my cause were all exemplary samples of what they represented; not their people’s culture, which I assimilated for myself, but the abstract natures that I myself, even for all my greatness, could not demonstrate. Bruton, for example, represents the strength and invulnerability of a true warrior; Medusa embodies the beauty and lust that fuels the creation of organic life itself; and Psychokhan carries the cunning deceit of a hunter.

“Knowledge. Strength. Beauty. Cunning. That is all you need, Megatron. That is all the universe needs. What purpose do entire civilizations serve when you can embody the essentials within four unique individuals? The universe can be allowed to thrive without sacrificing its resources to sustain those who would only waste it.”

Lord Imperious then released Megatron’s head as he stood up and turned sharply on his heel, folding his arms behind his back as he paced away.

“It was a foolproof plan… until I discovered you. Or rather, your species. You Cybertronians were unlike anything I had encountered before. I had encountered other mechanical races, yes, but their evolution was rooted in organic origin, making it easy to consume their knowledge. But not you. Your kind are an abomination; a crude amalgamation of machine and energy. Everything about you is artificial; your customs, your trades, your skills, everything. You were created by a race of aliens for the sole purpose of seeing if they could play god… and perhaps make a profit while doing so.

“Even if it had been possible for me to assimilate you, you were unworthy of it. You were an affront to the very nature of the universe and stood against everything we four were to embody. And thus, you had to be destroyed.”

Lord Imperious paused before looking over his shoulder at Megatron, his violet eyes narrowed.

“But, ashamed as I am to admit it, I had underestimated you. You proved to be far more cunning and capable than I had imagined. Of course, you wouldn’t have been able to contain us without the aid of the Logicons. But the fact that you were able to lure us into your little trap in the first place… that took some creativity, I will grant you that.

“And so it was that, when we were freed from our prison, I took it upon myself to find an alternative approach to your race’s extinction. You see, in my endless search for knowledge, I had come across a region of space known as the Warren; a rift in the very fabric of the universe that allowed one to look forward and back in time. To say I was more than a bit overwhelmed by all that it showed me would be an understatement; like a glutton at a buffet, I was at a loss on where to even begin.

“And then… the Warren spoke to me.”

If Megatron was surprised by the words, he did not show it. He had stopped screaming but still clutched his head, shielding his optics to avoid witnessing the nightmares surrounding him. Lord Imperious turned back around fully and began to slowly walk back towards him.

“It spoke to me, Megatron. The Warren was alive. Eons ago, when the universe was young and time was a new concept, it had been an entity known as a Vok—what your kind call the Omega Guardians. More than that, they were the people that had created me. In uploading their consciousness, they had been able to transcend to the Higher Realms from which they had been able to guide me, for I am them and they are me. I had become their emissary. But before then, before my creation, one of them—it who would become the Warren—had become impatient with this process and sought to exploit a rift in the Benzene Cluster. It was torn apart by this endeavor and morphed into the labyrinth of interdimensional tunnels that it has since become.

“Because of this, the Warren was something an oracle to me; it knew far more about the universe than I had learned so far, and well more beyond that. I know not why it chose me in particular to share its knowledge, although I suspect it was because our goals aligned quite fittingly. Because it showed me the ideal future I so hungrily sought after; a universe devoid of all life but for that which was necessary. The four essentials. 

“But in order to achieve that dream, I needed far more than what I already had at my disposal. Even the combined strength of me and my fellow Destructons, it would have taken eons for us to eradicate all that required it, and by that point the universe itself would be in its death throes. What we needed was something far greater, far more powerful than any of us.

“What we needed was Unicron.”

At that name, Megatron’s eyes snapped open. Lord Imperious carried on, perhaps oblivious to this.

“By this point, Unicron was still trapped in the dead realm that had been made his prison, but the Warren knew how to free him. It knew all that occurred throughout the universe; it knew what energies had banished Unicron to his prison in the first place, and it knew what energies could free him. By fate or coincidence, it just happened that one of your followers had already created those very energies and seeded them on various worlds with his transwarp technology.

“Armed with the knowledge provided to me by the Warren, I set out to put things in motion. I went to the Quintessons that created you and told them of Unicron’s existence, convincing them that he was a fragment of the deity they worshiped. While they got to work with their own schemes, I sought out the one who called himself the Grand Architect, who had made his own trip through the Warren and foreseen the coming of Unicron. I told him what he would need to do to prepare for his arrival; not once did he ever suspect that he would be summoning the Beast rather than banishing it.”

Lord Imperious splayed his six arms out again, rising them towards the sky.

“Everything that has transpired in the last few millennia of your race’s history has been my doing, Megatron. I knew that the Quintessons’ initial attempts to merge Unicron with Cybertron would fail, forcing them to work with the Grand Architect and see his plan to fruition, none of them realizing that all of their ideas and plans had been planted in their heads by me. Because I know everything. I am the culmination of the universe’s knowledge. I know how everything began, and I know how it will all end. It doesn’t matter what roadblocks or setbacks are faced along the way, it will all end with the final truth: that knowledge is power… and that I am Imperious.” 

He brought his arms down as he cast his gaze down at Megatron, his eyes filled with complete loathing.

“And by destroying you, I will have rid the universe of a rather frustrating headache. You represent everything I despise of your kind; not only are you a horrid abomination of metal and energy, but you are a living paradox. You exist only due to the exploits of those who have abused the powers of the universe to affect the timestream; indeed, it was only through the intervention of two interlopers from another reality that you were able to function in the first place. At least by eliminating you, your presence will no longer disturb the fabric of the universe. And once Unicron has destroyed all of your kind, it will at last know peace.”

Once Lord Imperious had finished speaking, Megatron slowly lowered his hands from his head. He lifted his gaze up to the Destructon… and he smiled.

All sense of superiority vanished from Imperious’ expression as it became replaced with confusion. “What are you smiling about?”

“You sure do love the sound of your own voice, don’t you, Imperious?”

The Destructon’s eyes flash with anger. “Do not be so dismissive, Cybertronian. While I have used deceit in the past to achieve my means, I speak only the truth to you now. There is no avoiding the inevitable; I have foreseen your death, Megatron, and it will be at my hands.”

“I know.” Megatron’s grin broadened. “So do it then.”

Lord Imperious blinked. “What?”

“Kill me.” The Decepticon leader spread his arms wide, exposing his chest. “You said it yourself. It is inevitable. So do it.”

Lord Imperious continued to stare at him, his anger quickly turning into bewilderment. “No… no, that’s not… that’s not what’s supposed to happen. I have seen your death. I have heard your final words. Those… those are not it. You are defiant until… until the very end.”

“Indeed, for I am defying your own predictions. Perhaps you have misinterpreted the future you saw.”

“No. No! The future I saw is definitive! There is no margin for error! All that I know is absolute! There is no room for… for….”

“For what?” Megatron smirked. “Creativity? Cunning, perhaps?”

Imperious continued to stammer as Megatron rose to his feet. Around them, the nightmarish landscape faded back into reality as the effects of the Destructon’s Delirious Fire wore off.

“You said it yourself. Knowledge, strength, beauty, and cunning are all that you need. And while I suppose one of those four is in the eye of the beholder…” 

Megatron raised his fusion cannon, fully primed with all of the energy he had been charging for the last several minutes, and aimed straight at Lord Imperious’ chest.

“I feel that the other three are more than enough.”

He released the energy contained within his cannon and the force of the resulting blast sent him flying off his feet. The energy that lanced from the barrel punched straight into Lord Imperious’ chest and out through his back.

The leader of the Destructons uttered nary a sound as he fell to the ground. With each passing microsecond, the memories and knowledge of countless civilizations forgotten by time faded into oblivion, never to be remembered or thought of again.

When the dust had settled, the ultimate culmination of the universe and the final stage of evolution was nothing more than a lifeless husk on a barren wasteland.

*  *  *

The blast from Megatron’s had been bright enough to be seen by all on the battlefield, bringing the fighting to a near standstill.

Medusa gawked in the direction of her leader, whose remains now littered the sandy ground. Skywarp, who had been continuing his teleportation attacks to distract her from Trypticon, wasted no time in warping away to assist Megatron, who had been launched several feet away by the blast.

Medusa did not know what to think. It was incomprehensible to her that someone as great and powerful as Lord Imperious could be defeated let alone destroyed. And yet, there was no denying the sight that now laid before her. After so many years of destruction—so many years of planning and preparation for this very moment—it had all been taken away in the blink of an eye.

She was broken out of her reverie only by a violent shake of the ground as Bruton’s body landed next to her. Her fellow Destructon’s body was practically charred to a crisp, resembling a large piece of coal after having been assailed by the Titan’s weapons and Lugnut’s explosive punches. If there was any life left in him, she saw no signs of it just by looking at him.

A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see Lugnut looming over her, heavily damaged but still yearning for a fight. His central red optic fell on her and he readied his arm for another punch.

“Wait!” Medusa raised her arms, desperation filling her eyes. “I surrender! Please, show me mercy and I will pledge myself to your leader!”

“You,” Lugnut intoned, “are not worthy of Megatron’s grace. The only service you shall perform for him will be to die.”

The thrusters on his elbow kicked on and he prepared to throw his punch. Before he could do so, however, Skywarp suddenly materialized behind Medusa, now carrying the sword he had taken from Psychokhan. With one deft swoop, he sliced it through Medusa’s midsection, bisecting her at the waste. The light drained from her red eyes as her severed torso fell to the ground and her now-disembodied tail writhed away uselessly.

Lugnut uttered a low growl as he reluctantly powered down his arm, glaring down at Skywarp. “That kill was mine.”

“You had one already,” Skywarp said, tossing aside the sword.

“So did you! You have no room to talk—!”

“Enough.” Both Decepticons fell silent as Megatron limped towards them, clutching his right arm as smoke exhaled from his fusion cannon. “It matters not who dealt the final blow, so long as they have been destroyed. Skywarp, see if you can get the twin spires operational.”

Skywarp cocked his head. “Why? They’re dead now, aren’t they?”

“Yes, but that hasn’t stopped some of us before. I don’t want there to be any chance for them to return. We will cast their remains into the dimensional prison and then destroy the spires so that it can never be reopened.”

Skywarp nodded before teleporting away. Standing alone now with Lugnut, Megatron cast his gaze up at Trypticon, whose shadow still loomed over the battlefield. He narrowed his optics as he glared up at the Titan’s cranium, where he knew the command center—and Starscream—to be.

If the treacherous Seeker felt at all tempted to unload Trypticon’s weaponry on the Decepticon leader here and now, when he was most vulnerable, he did not act on it. At the very least, Megatron would give him credit for that.

Another shape then appeared in the sky, just over Trypticon’s head, and Megatron adjusted his optical sensors to distinguish it. He then smiled to himself as the Nemesis came into full view and descended down towards the surface.

“It is a beautiful day, isn’t it, Lugnut?” he said quietly.

Lugnut blinked, taken aback by the question, before nodding eagerly. “That it is, all mighty Megatron.”

Megatron grinned, his eyes filled with hunger. “Let us ruin it then, shall we?”

Transformers Regenerated: Beyond Imagination IV, Chapter Eight

EIGHT: VIOLENT ERUPTION

 Metascan Alpha

“This is it. This is where it all began.”

Flanked by his small group of Decepticons, Megatron stood before the twin spires that loomed over the rocky terrain of the world known only as Metascan Alpha. After so many centuries, the once-metallic sheen of the spires had faded and become corroded with rust and dirt. By all appearances, they were rather simplistic in terms of design and did not at all look like the sophisticated pieces of technology that they actually were. Which had likely been the intent of the Logicons that had created them, in the hopes it would dissuade any passerby from taking an interest in them and unwittingly releasing the four demons it had contained.

Evidently, that had not quite worked as intended.

But this time, he would make sure it would.

Folding his arms, Starscream made a dismissive scoff. “And just what exactly makes you think the Destructons are just going to show up, after all the time we’ve spent hunting them?”

“I know them better than you do, Starscream,” Megatron said coldly. “I know how Lord Imperious operates. He is cunning, yes, and can be strategic when he needs to be. He is also an arrogant narcissist who will never pass up the opportunity to prove himself superior to all others. He knows I’m after him and that I want to settle the score. He will know that I am here, waiting for him, and he will be more than happy to oblige.”

“But why here, of all places?”

Megatron smirked. “Because Lord Imperious is also a fan of poetic irony.”

Skywarp frowned as he looked around the deserted terrain surrounding them, not a single living thing in sight. “Well, we might be waiting here for a while. Would the Destructons even think to check here for us?”

“They will once I’ve broadcast our position,” Megatron said. 

“And when will that be?”

“Now. I did it as soon as we made planetfall.”

“What?!” Starscream exclaimed. “You’re deliberately drawing them out? What kind of a suicidal fool have you become?”

Lugnut stomped forward, his massive shadow eclipsing Starscream’s form. “Do not speak in such a manner to Lord Megatron! You will remain silent until our glorious leader commands otherwise!”

“Leave him be, Lugnut,” Megatron said. “His misgivings are justified. It would indeed be suicidal for us alone to go against the Destructons, even with Trypticon at our disposal.”

Starscream scowled. “So, what then? You’re just going to have them all kill us?”

Megatron said nothing to this. Instead, he raised a finger to his lips, as if to silence both Starscream and the others. Then, a slight smirk crossed his face as his red optics gleamed.

“I believe our guests have arrived.”

The five other Decepticons exchanged looks before, one by one, casting their gaze up to a sky as a low hum slowly filled the air. There, descending from the sky above, was a large white and blue vessel with gold accents, brimming with all sorts of artillery and armaments.

“Wait a nanoklik,” Skywarp said. “I recognize that ship. It’s the Vis Vitalis, isn’t it? Thunderclash’s ship?”

“It was,” said Nickel. “But the Destructons took it, I believe. Krok and I saw it at Planet X when we were with the Lost Light crew.”

Lugnut eagerly bounced on his haunches, clenching his fists. “Allow me to destroy them with one fell swoop, my liege! I have destroyed plenty of Autobot ships of its caliber single-handedly!”

Megatron seemed to consider this before shrugging. “Very well. See what you can accomplish, Lugnut.”

“As you command, Megatron!” Powering on his back thrusters, Lugnut launched himself up into the air, at the same time reeling back his right arm as he prepared one of his explosive punches. As he came face-to-face with the bow of the ship, he thrust his arm forward and it collided with the Vis Vitalis’ hull. Down below, the other Decepticons shielded their optics as a bright, fiery explosion resulted from the punch, before quickly taking cover as the former Autobot ship began to plummet to the ground.

Megatron remained where he stood in front of the twin spires, watching impassively as the wreckage of the ship settled just a few yards away from him. Lugnut then came down from the sky and landed between the wrecked ship and his leader, his armor plating charred from the explosion.

“It is done, Lord Megatron!” Lugnut proudly declared. “The threat of the Destructons has been elim—”

Before he could finish, a large shape leaped out of the wreckage of the Vis Vitalis. Its shadow briefly blotted out the sun before coming down towards the ground, a spiked club in its hands. Before Lugnut had a chance to react, Bruton brought his club down as he landed, knocking the large Decepticon to the ground.

As Bruton planted his foot on Lugnut’s back to keep him pinned there, three other shapes emerged from the flaming ruins of the ship. First was Medusa, who slithered out with her arm blades drawn. Next was the centaur-like Psychokhan, who drew a long sword and a sharp spear. Finally, hovering over the ground with his wings fully unfurled and all six of his arms extended, was the vainglorious leader of the Destructons himself. Violet eyes blazing bright with righteous indignation, Lord Imperious Delirious cast his gaze down to Megatron, regarding the Decepticon leader as if he were an insignificant pest.

“I respect the fact that you have grown as impatient for this as I have,” Lord Imperious said. “Now then, let us end this once and for all.”

“Yes,” Megatron replied as he readied his fusion cannon. “Let’s.”

*  *  *

“He’s officially lost it, hasn’t he?”

Starscream’s remark went unanswered as he and the other Decepticons scrambled for cover to avoid the fight that was now unfolding between Megatron and the Destructons. Skywarp looked torn on whether or not to aid his leader, having seen what Bruton had just done to Lugnut. When Medusa laid eyes on him, the black and purple Seeker made his mind up and teleported away; to where, Starscream had no idea.

That only left him, Krok, and Nickel, and he already knew the other two would be no good in a fight against any of the Destructons. Pushing past them, he converted to his jet mode and flew towards Trypticon, the sound of his thrusters drowning out their protests as their voices quickly faded into the distance.

While he knew there would be no time for him to figure out how to get Trypticon’s weapons or flight systems online (maybe he should have picked up Nickel at least), he knew that, as a Titan, Trypticon would at least have a space bridge that he could then use to travel to another Titan. His options were limited, as the Titans he knew to be “safe” were all Autobot affiliated, and he doubt they would take his presence there kindly. Still, any fate they had in store for him would be better than whatever the Destructons had planned for him.

Or, perhaps he could find some Titan that was on some remote planet and from there signal for Astrotrain and the others to retrieve him. That at least would allow him to avoid the Autobots as well. He just prayed that there would be such a Titan accessible by Trypticon’s space bridge….

Just as he reached Trypticon’s head, he felt a sharp pain run through his nerve circuits as a pointed object pierced through his left wing. Letting out an anguished cry, Starscream lost control of his flight systems and began to spiral back towards the ground. He tried to transform but the spear only dug deeper into his armor plating, entering through his shoulder. Before he knew it, he had crashed onto the ground, still stuck in mid-transformation as he desperately unfurled his other arm to pull out the spear.

As he struggled with the weapon, the centaurian form of Psychokhan began to approach, holding his long sword at his side. Eyes widening in fear, Starscream took aim with his null ray and fired only for Psychokhan to deflect it with his blade. Undeterred, Starscream continued to fire with Psychokhan blocking each and every shot. The centaur-like Destructon then brought his front hooves down onto the Seeker’s chest as he brought the sword to his neck.

“I don’t think you realize,” Psychokhan said coolly, “just how little of a threat you are. Do you have any idea how many creatures of the Dark Domain I bested before Lord Imperious freed me from my masters? You are but an insect compared to them. And to think you Cybertronians have lived so many years of war against each other. I truly cannot fathom how your race has lived for as long as it has.”

Psychokhan then raised his blade above his head, poised to cleave it straight through Starscream’s neck.

“It almost saddens me that I will have to sully my blade with your worthless fuel. I would have preferred the blood of a real challenge.”

Just as he was about to bring the sword down, there was a purple flash of light as Skywarp materialized next to the Destructon. He caught the sword mid-swing and wrenched it out of Psychokhan’s hands. He then teleported away before Psychokhan could react in time, only to appear again in front of the Destructon, standing over Starscream.

“Here’s your ‘real challenge.’” Skywarp then drove the sword straight into Psychokhan’s chest before pulling it upward, cleaving it through the centaur’s torso. The bisected remains of the Destructon fell to the ground along with the rest of his equine body.

Stepping away from Starscream and the pieces of his would-be killer, Skywarp tossed the sword aside before pulling the spear out of his brother’s shoulder. Starscream winced in pain and moved to clamp the energon that began to spill out from the open wound. After finishing the transformation of his legs, he moved to stand up only for Skywarp to point the tip of the spear at his face.

“Don’t make me regret saving you,” Skywarp growled.

Starscream grunted as he pulled himself up. “I suppose I am in your debt now. But if you think we can take on the rest of them just because you took out one, then—”

“Please, I’m not that delusional.” He poked Starscream’s chestplate with a purple servo. “But I’m also not abandoning Megatron, like you were just about to do.”

“I wasn’t—” Starscream started to say before stopping himself, realizing it would be futile to argue. “Look, I didn’t really have a plan besides ‘get away from the Destructons.’ But now that you’ve killed one of them, we might have bought ourselves enough time to get Trypticon’s weapons up and running. We’ll need to pick up that Mini-Con doctor, though.”

“Way ahead of you,” Skywarp said. “Do you still have a communication link to the Nemesis? Or at least to Astrotrain and your fellow traitors?”

Ignoring the snide jab, Starscream nodded. “I do, actually. Better yet, we can both call Thundercracker and convince him to bring the Nemesis to our location. If it was just me, I doubt he would listen. But if it was both of us….”

Skywarp smirked. “Seeker trines always stick out for each other… for better or for worse.”

“Yes,” Starscream muttered, still wincing from his shoulder wound. “I suppose so.”

Winged Moon

“Termagax, we are experiencing a difficulty.”

Termagax shifted on her platform as she cast her gaze to the Seeker that had just spoken. “What do you mean?”

“Something is affecting our transwarp drive,” the Seeker went on. “We are being pulled back into realspace.”

Termagax frowned as she turned to her set of monitors, looking as if she were searching for the cause of the problem. Standing to the side (and feeling more than a bit helpless, which she wasn’t a fan of), Spacewarp looked down at her Mini-Con companions, who were still looking around at everything with a look of wonder.

“Sound like something you guys can fix? I mean, transwarp is pretty much all in your name.”

“Well, without performing a full prognosis, it sounds to me like a failure in the drive itself,” said Foldspace. “Could be faulty wiring work or something along those lines.”

“It’s not,” Termagax said firmly. “Every system in the Winged Moon is optimized to the utmost perfection. There is nothing ‘faulty’ in it.”

“How would you know if you haven’t moved from the same spot in centuries?” Spacewarp asked.

Termagax answered her only with a glare.

Without prompting, and before anyone could stop her, Boom Tube climbed up onto the work station of the Seeker that had reported the problem, oblivious to the dirty look he was giving her. She rubbed her chin as she studied the station’s monitor, her three optical sensors whirring and blinking in concentration.

After a moment, the red and blue Mini-Con spoke up. “Actually, it doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the transwarp drive itself. I think something is pulling us out of hyperspace.”

Termagax turned from her spot, regarding the Mini-Con with a perplexed look. “How is that possible? I have heard of no such tech capable of doing such a thing.”

“Well, I have,” Boom Tube replied. “’Course, it’s not actually Cybertronian tech but rather Quintesson tech. Those guys are pretty big with that kind of thing.”

At the word ‘Quintesson,’ Spacewarp felt her spark sink in her chest. Nothing good ever happened when Quintessons were involved.

“They are?” Jump Drive questioned.

“Oh, yeah. In fact, I’ve heard that they’ve got this huge thing called a… window or something? Time window? Anyway, they say it can give anyone who uses it a glimpse into the past or future. And, if you’re daring enough, travel through it.”

“Rubbish!” exclaimed Starburst. “How do you know anything about this stuff?”

Boom Tube crossed her arms. “Because unlike some people, I actually read and learn. And I pay attention to what Foldspace teaches us!”

“Foldspace teaches us?” Jump Drive asked.

Foldspace rubbed his head. “Wait, do I?”

“Enough,” Termagax snapped. “Is there anyway you can reverse it?”

Boom Tube shrugged. “Hard to say. Because it looks as if whatever’s pulling us out… just did.”

The Seeker at the station turned in his seat. “She is correct. We have returned to realspace. I will need some time to pinpoint our exact location.”

Another Seeker spoke up from their station. “Unidentified object in our proximity. Appears to be a space vessel of some kind.”

“Deploy all defense units,” Termagax ordered. “Hold them off until we can escape.”

The first Seeker frowned as he looked back at his monitor. “That… might not be possible.”

Termagax’s eyes flared. “What?”

“Whatever pulled us out has also temporarily disabled the transwarp drive. It could take hours to bring it back online.”

“We don’t have hours! Get us back into hyperspace before—”

Termagax’s words were drowned out by a distant yet thundering sound. To Spacewarp’s audio receptors, it sounded as if something large was hitting the exterior surface of the Winged Moon. It was quickly followed by another sound, then another. Each one sounded progressively louder—and closer—than the first.

All of the Seekers in the room slowly rose from their stations, priming their null rays. Spacewarp drew her own blaster as her Mini-Con companions regrouped and gathered around her. All eyes were on the door through which Spacewarp had been brought inside… which was the exact direction the sounds were coming from.

There was one last thundering sound—this one louder than all of the previous ones—as something hit the door. Five seconds ticked by, although they might as well have been five minutes. Then, with a thunderous blast, the door to the access tube burst open and a swarm of robotic bugs flooded into the chamber.

“Insecticons!” Spacewarp exclaimed as she and the Seekers all opened fire. While each individual Insecticon was weak enough to be downed in one shot, the sheer number of them made it easy for any army—no matter how large—to be overwhelmed. Indeed, it did not take long for some Insecticons to latch onto one of the Seekers and begin draining their energon or chipping away at their armor plating.

As Spacewarp blasted away at the hordes, she saw Termagax press a command at her own station, which caused a bubble-like shield to wrap around the platform she was on. However, the shield was only large enough to protect Termagax and her station, which left Spacewarp and her companions still exposed to the swarm.

“Great. You’ve sure been a wonderful host!” Rolling her optics, Spacewarp beckoned for Boom Tube and her brothers to link up and form the Transwarp Blaster. As the large weapon landed in her hands, she took aim at the Insecticons and began firing, teleporting them away one by one. She didn’t know where they were being sent too nor did she care; as long as “there” wasn’t “here.”

It wasn’t long before the Insecticons forgot all about the Seekers and focused entirely on her. Firing both of her blasters at once, she backed herself up against the shield, hoping that Termagax would have a change of heart and let her in. But the gray femme watched everything unfold with an impassive look, as if she was just waiting for the storm to tide over with little regard for who survived.

As Spacewarp fired in every direction she could, one Insecticon latched onto her left arm—the one carrying the Transwarp Blaster—and it released a corrosive acid that coated her plating. She yelped in pain and the Transwarp Blaster fell out of her grip. Another Insecticon then swooped in and picked up the Mini-Con weapon, carrying it back towards the exit. Spacewarp cried out in alarm and fired her other blaster after it, desperately hoping to shoot it down. All of her shots missed and the Insecticon made it back to the opening. 

There, she saw, stood a tall mech in black and silver armor plating, with red-tinted windows adorning his chest and equally red optics glowing beneath his ebony helm. With a silver mouthplate and grill on his abdomen, he bore a striking resemblance to Optimus Prime. The black mech extended an arm and the Insecticon dropped the Transwarp Blaster into his hand.

Behind her, Spacewarp heard Termagax gasp as the older femme stepped up to the shield, her yellow optics wide in awe.

“It cannot be….” Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. “Is that you… Optimus?”

Clutching her decaying arm, Spacewarp shot a look at Termagax. “Sorry, lady, but that ain’t no Optimus. I’ve never seen that guy in anything but red and blue.”

“She is correct,” the black Prime lookalike said, his attention focused on the Transwarp Blaster as he studied it. “Optimus could never hope to be as great as me. I have gone by a variety of names… some which I have never gotten to stick.”

He lifted his crimson optics to the two femmes as the rest of the Insecticons ceased their assault, retreating back through the corridor from whence they came. “When Megatron created me, he dubbed me ‘Scourge’ after the famed huntsman of Nova Prime. It was a fitting name, one which I have even continued to use up until recently. But it never really felt right. It belonged to another, after all, and was something of a ‘hand-me-down.’ For so long I have wanted a name that belonged to me. That felt truly mine.”

He began walking towards the center of the chamber, to where Spacewarp and Termagax were. The former kept her standard blaster trained on him while the latter continued to regard him with a look of almost reverence.

“And I actually did find that name, and even used it for a time. But it was taken from me, and I once again became a mere virus to be used by others. A scourge to be unleashed upon Cybertron. But those days are behind me now. Today, I have decided to choose my destiny.

“Today, I am Nemesis Prime.”

Spacewarp scoffed. “Nice speech. You sound just like Daddy Optimus. Now give me back my companions or I’ll blast you to pieces.”

Nemesis Prime turned his scarlet gaze to her, his optics narrowing. “I did not track down your ‘companions’ halfway across the galaxy just to give them back to you. No, I believe they will be staying with me for the foreseeable future.”

“Like hell they will, you fragger,” Spacewarp snapped. “How the blazes were you even able to find me—and here, of all places?”

“Oh, you can thank this one for that.” Nemesis Prime shrugged his shoulder and the small tan head of a Mini-Con poked out from behind it. “From what I gather, he was one of the ones you’ve rescued in your exploits. Because he still had your transponder code, I was able to have the Mercenaries trace it to your exact position. It was a mild inconvenience for this… moon to try and teleport away, but that’s nothing a little Quintesson tech from my… benefactor couldn’t fix.”

“Well, hell.” Spacewarp felt her good arm sag in defeat. “I guess my goodwill ended up biting me in the aft.”

“That it did. And now, you have fulfilled your purpose.” Nemesis Prime raised the Transwarp Blaster and pointed it at Spacewarp’s chest. “Take solace in the fact that I have decided to extend my last few shreds of mercy towards you.”

He pulled the trigger and Spacewarp fell back as the blast hit her square in the chest. The entire world warped around her as she fell, and when she landed, the metal floor of the chamber had become soft sand, and the wide expansive walls had vanished, replaced with a sky full of stars.

All Spacewarp was to clutch her corroding arm in pain as she squeezed her optics shut, cursing her lot in life, as the cold silence of the night fell upon her.

Transformers Regenerated: Beyond Imagination IV, Chapter Seven

SEVEN: FORGE THE FUTURE

  “I don’t care where you send us to, Foldspace! Just get us the frag out of here!”

If Foldspace responded, Spacewarp did not hear him over the cacophony of noise surrounding her. Trypticon had not landed gracefully when he impacted Combatron’s surface, which set off an earthquake that would have knocked her off her feet had she not already taken off in her space shuttle mode. With her Mini-Con companions—including the three survivors they had found—safely aboard her, she had taken off towards the sky just as Trypticon began unleashing all of his weaponry. She did not think he had noticed her, but that didn’t mean she was safe anywhere near him as he fired plasma bombs from his mouth and photon beams from a pair of shoulder launchers… and that was all in addition to various guns and rockets he had scattered throughout his chassis.

If Combatron was already in a desolate state, then there was no way it was going to survive the Titan’s rampage.

Dust and ash from the ensuing apocalypse rained down all around her as she struggled to navigate her way through the planet’s sky and out of the atmosphere. With the Transwarp Blaster Mini-Cons linked up to her systems, she would be able to teleport herself to anywhere in the galaxy based on Foldspace’s coordinates. She could only pray that the old Mini-Con in his senility wouldn’t direct her straight into a black hole or any of the sort.

As she pushed through the rising columns of ash and smoke to break through the stratosphere, she could have sworn she saw a flash of purple light somewhere in the distance. Before she could even think about deducing what it was, she heard Foldspace’s voice finally come through.

“Destination set! Go and make your jump!”

With no time to double check Foldspace’s coordinates, Spacewarp called on the power granted to her from the powerlinked Interstellar Marauders. All around her, the hellish landscape of Combatron vanished as time and space warped around her before flinging her and her companions into the unknown.

*  *  *

Starscream paced back and forth nervously, his optics flicking furtively to the visuals of Combatron’s destruction. Under any other circumstances, he would have been pleased by this demonstration of the Titan’s power and could only imagine how useful it would be in destroying Earth. But as a prisoner of Trypticon, the Seeker could find no joy in witnessing such a sight; if anything, he could only feel a growing sense of dread as he thought about what Trypticon might do to him should he grow bored of his presence.

Krok at least seemed content with their predicament, all because of some mushy call he had with that Mini-Con medic. Starscream couldn’t even look at him now without feeling a deep sense of revulsion and a temptation to just shoot him with his null ray. It wasn’t like anyone was going to miss him….

Starscream turned his gaze to Krok, sitting despondently against the wall. He considered the benefits and drawbacks of killing the lowly ranked foot soldier. While he had proved himself capable of being able to communicate with Titans, what good was that going to do really? They had already learned where Trypticon had been and gotten him back online, for all the good that had done, and he clearly was not going to listen to either one of them to stop. Really, if one thought about it, Krok had served his purpose. At his point, he was nothing more than deadweight.

And Starscream had no use for deadweight.

Krok still was not looking at him. If he was quick, then he wouldn’t even see his death coming…

Just as Starscream was about to lift his arms, there was a flash of purple light and four mechanoids—two of them much larger than him—materialized between him and his target. Startled, Starscream backed up against the other wall and just as he registered the identities of those in front of him, Lugnut lunged forward and pinned him in place with one arm.

“Traitor!” the large purple Decepticon bellowed, reeling back his other arm. “You shall pay for your treasonous actions!”

“Gah! Let go of me, you fool!” Struggling against Lugnut’s grip, Starscream’s eyes turned to Megatron and he offered a weak smile. “My liege! Thank goodness you’re here! Here I was trying to get Trypticon to aid you in the battle on Ejoornus when he started acting up and—”

“Spare me,” Megatron growled. “The only reason I won’t kill you yet is because I will need to know just how deep the little conspiracy you’ve engineered goes.”

Starscream blinked, his surprise at least partly genuine. “Conspiracy…?”

“I take it Astrotrain wasn’t acting on your active orders then?”

Realization dawned on the Seeker and he cursed to himself. “Ah… I see. Can’t say I was expecting him to take the initiative so soon…”

“Please, master,” Lugnut said. “Let me render him into scrap so we can be rid of his nuisance!”

“I have a better idea.” The floor beneath their feet vibrated as Trypticon spoke. “How about I crush you all here and now and rid myself of six nuisances?”

Megatron shifted his baleful gaze to the Titan’s brain module. “You do realize, Trypticon, that I do not require you to be functioning to suit my needs? The Autobots clearly have no issues in traveling with Metroplex despite his spark having been extinguished for years.”

“Yes, but are they capable of using his robot mode and full potential? I think not. Nor do I believe you wish to rid yourself of such potential.”

Megatron smiled, an expression that sent a chill running through Starscream’s systems. “You think you know me so well, Titan.”

“I may no longer hear his voice or feel his presence, but Trannis’s memories and thoughts remain in my databanks. He made you into what you are now. He knew what made you tick… and thus, so do I.”

“Correction,” Megatron said. “You knew what made Optronix tick.”

“You are a fool if you think there is any difference,” Trypticon growled.

“Then you are a fool if you think it still holds true now.”

Without warning, he swiveled his fusion cannon to Trypticon’s brain module and opened fire. The entire chamber lit up from the resulting explosion as all within it were pushed back. Lugnut released his grip on Starscream and the Seeker fell to the floor. He barely managed to get far away enough from the blast that it did little more than singe the tips of his wings.

When everything settled once more, the chamber had been plunged into partial darkness, with only a few of Trypticon’s systems still online. The Titan had stopped moving and thus ceased his rampage, although without any visuals it was impossible to tell if there was anything left of Combatron.

All was still as those in the room stared in astonishment at Megatron, who remained where he stood before the shattered remains of Trypticon’s brain module. Then, the Decepticon leader slowly turned and his gaze fell down on Nickel, the Mini-Con medic whom Starscream only just now realized was there.

“How long would it take you to get him operational again?”

Nickel gaped at him for a moment before finding her voice. “Um… it would depend on how operational you need him…?”

“Just enough to utilize his transportation systems and warp us to our next destination.”

“Ah.” The Mini-Con considered for a moment. “Well, if his spark is still functional then… it shouldn’t take any more than a mega-cycle. I would just need to reroute everything that had went to his neural systems and—”

“Then get it done,” Megatron said coldly. “I will not accept a timetable that differs from what you have just given me.”

Nickel nodded slowly. “Understood, Lord Megatron.”

Skywarp picked himself up from the floor, dusting himself off. “Do you even know what our next destination is?”

“Indeed I do,” Megatron replied. “It will be where it all began for me. And, it shall be where it ends.”

Starscream sneered. “I don’t suppose you can offer something less cryptic than that?”

“Silence, traitor!” Lugnut roared as he smashed Starscream back to the floor. He then turned back to Megatron. “My liege, are you suggesting that you plan on… ending yourself? The Decepticon Empire will fall to shambles without you!”

“No, Lugnut,” the Decepticon leader answered. “I plan on remaking myself. If the Decepticon Empire is to succeed, then it needs a change in direction. A direction only I can provide. Not Trannis. Not Optronix.” His optics flared. “Not even Megatron.”

Starscream watched as the others exchanged confused looks. Skywarp rubbed his helm awkwardly. “But… you are Megatron. I mean, what else are we going to even call you?”

Megatron turned to him, and again Starscream felt a chill as he smiled. “Let’s find out together, shall we?”

*  *  *

Spacewarp did not recognize where she was, which was not a good sign.

As far as she could tell, she and her companions were all in one piece, which was a good sign. But it was still outweighed by the aforementioned bad sign.

Floating before them was not a planet but rather some kind of station. It was roughly the size of a moon, but it had no planet to orbit. At the epicenter of the station was a massive circle which looked as if it had once glowed with energy but had since been depleted. Ringing the orphaned satellite were six massive blades, three on either side, which gave it a vague wing shape.

The longer she stared at it, the more Spacewarp began to think it looked somewhat familiar. Not that she had seen it in person but rather in some sort of document or historical film.

Before she could ask Foldspace where in Primus’s name he had brought them, she heard Boom Tube speak within her. “Picking up spark signatures.”

Sure enough, her scanners began to detect multiple shapes emerging from the winged moon. As they closed in on her, she recognized them as Seeker-types, with many of them looking identical to each other. They instantly surrounded her before transforming to robot mode and raising their null rays at her.

“State your name and business,” one of the Seekers intoned in a dull voice.

“Whoa, easy there, boys.” Spacewarp transformed as well, bringing her Mini-Cons out with her. “We’re just trying to find somewhere safe to rest. Didn’t mean to intrude on your guys’ property.”

“State your name and business,” the Seeker repeated.

“Name’s Spacewarp and I already told you my business. Look, just let us warp somewhere else and we’ll be out of your circuit-board.”

The Seekers said nothing for a time, keeping their weapons trained on her. Then, the lavender one that had spoken to her turned his head away from her slightly, tilting it as if he was receiving something on his comm. Then, he turned his attention back to Spacewarp.

“You are a Decepticon?”

Spacewarp made a show of glancing down at the insignia on her chestplate. “Um, yeah. Is it too subtle?”

The Seeker lowered his weapons and the others followed suit. “You are an ally then, at least for now. You will accompany us to see Termagax.”

“Termagax?” Spacewarp asked, but the Seekers had already converted back to their flight modes. Seeing that they would not be fielding any further questions, she returned to her alternate mode as well and followed them to the winged moon. 

They flew over the metal surface of the moon as they made their way to a spire that rose from the northern pole. A hatch in the spire slid open upon their approach and the Seekers funneled Spacewarp into the opening, giving her no room to break off and fly away. Left with no other option, she flew into the opening and followed a short, narrow hallway that eventually opened up into a wider chamber. As soon as there was a floor to stand on, she transformed to her robot mode and landed, with her Mini-Con companions landing at her feet while the Seekers touched ground behind her.

The massive chamber was filled wall to wall with monitors and technology, many of them looking worn and ancient as if they had not been used in quite some time. There were some work stations, which were occupied by more Seekers or otherwise generic-looking bots. Meanwhile, at the center of the room was a small platform that hovered a few feet above the floor; standing on the platform, facing a set of monitors that showed various parts of the moon, was a short and stocky bot with gray armor plating and a golden faceplate.

As Spacewarp and her party approached, the mysterious bot lazily turned her yellow optics to her. For a moment, it seemed as if she were sizing Spacewarp up, which made the explorer feel somewhat uneasy.

Eventually, the bot’s gaze landed on Spacewarp’s Decepticon insignia and a strange expression crossed her face. “So, you are one of Trannis’ bots, are you?”

“Trannis?” Spacewarp cocked her head in confusion. “I ain’t that old, lady. I served under Megatron.”

“Megatron.” The gray bot spoke the name as if it was familiar but not one she had heard in a long time. “How interesting. Yes, that would make sense….”

As Spacewarp continued to stare at their strange host, Foldspace tapped her quietly on the leg. “Spacewarp,” the old Mini-Con said in a hushed whisper. “Do you have any idea who that is?”

Spacewarp looked down at him. “I take it this is the Termagax they mentioned earlier?”

Foldspace gave her an incredulous look. “You really don’t know who she is, do you?”

“I mean, the name sounds kinda familiar but I couldn’t tell you anything about her with a molecular obliterator to my head.”

“I can hardly blame you,” Termagax spoke up, still facing her monitors. “If you are as young as you appear to be, then it is unlikely that my name would have cropped up in any history records. Perhaps your little friend there can enlighten you.”

Foldspace shrugged. “I mean, my memory ain’t what it used to be… but I was around during those days. During the Nominus era.”

“Nominus era?” Spacewarp exclaimed, looking from Foldspace to Termagax. “As in Nominus Prime?”

“Yep. Hell, she might even be older than that; might’ve even been there for Nova Prime. Point is, she was there for the Age of Expansion, or at least its end, and she was a major proponent for its continuation when Nominus Prime issued his edict, putting a stop to the whole thing.”

“I know about the Nominus Edict. But how come I’ve never heard about Termagax?”

“The fact that I was one of his most ardent critics might have something to do with it,” said Termagax herself. “Nominus Prime wanted to push our society into stagnation after all the progress Nova Prime had made.”

Spacewarp crossed her arms. “Yeah, progress like pushing Mini-Cons and beasts into categories and making them outsiders….”

“I admit it was not perfect, but Nominus only made it worse by either doing nothing or taking us backward. He was more focused on propping himself up as ruler of Cybertron than the needs of our race. The only ideas of mine that he accepted were those he believed he could co-opt to sustain his rule… such as the Winged Moon.” She gestured outward with her arms, motioning to the room around and by extension the moon they stood within.

“Winged Moon, eh?” Spacewarp said. “Very creative.”

“The name was never the point, but rather the function. It was capable of distilling energon from the very fabric of time and space and feeding it back to Cybertron, sustaining the planet for generations to come. It was something that Nova Prime and his scientists could ever dream of coming up with themselves.”

“What happened to it, then? ‘Cos I’m pretty sure if we had something like this there never would’ve been a Great War to begin with.”

“As with anything, it was ruined by pride and greed,” Termagax said bitterly. “Nominus wanted to use the Winged Moon to bleed planets dry, something it was never meant for. By that point, I had managed to gain a seat on his High Council, despite his efforts to keep me away, and I used all of my political power to command the Primal Vanguard to sever the tether between the moon and Cybertron. I then used a remote failsafe to cast it into the deepest reaches of space, where Nominus could never find it.

“Needless to say, Nominus didn’t take kindly to this and I was exiled from society—the only reason he didn’t execute me was because of the uproar it would have stirred. For the next several thousand years, I lived in isolation on Cybertron, watching from afar as Nominus and his successors rose and fell. When my hopes for a better future were completely extinguished, I left Cybertron and found the Winged Moon, where I have stayed ever since.”

“I see,” Spacewarp said. “Well, since you’ve been out of the game for a while, I take it you don’t know that Cybertron has been restored?”

Termagax glanced at her, a skeptical expression on her face. “Restored in what way?”

“Well, I mean… Prime—the old Prime, Optimus—used the AllSpark to restore power to Vector Sigma and get energon flowing again. Granted, it’s been a slow process and things still aren’t Golden Age material, but it’s only been three years, so—”

Termagax scoffed. “Even the so-called Golden Age was merely a facade. A picture painted by the ones who….” She then paused, as if just now processing something, and she turned away fully from her monitors. “Wait… did you say Optimus? As in Optimus Prime?”

“Uh, yeah.” Spacewarp rubbed the back of her head. “’Course, I don’t think he’s Prime anymore. Some fella called Rodimus is calling the shots on Cybertron now, although ol’ O.P. is still around to help out.”

Termagax’s optics narrowed. “Where is Optimus Prime now? Do you know?”

“Nope, sorry. Why the frag should I know? I ain’t his sparkmate.”

Termagax glared at her for a moment before turning away, returning her attention to the monitors. She waved her hand and the visuals changed. “No matter. I’m sure the current Prime will be able to tell me where he is.”

“Uh, yeah, good luck with that. By my calculations, we’re a long way from Cybertron.”

Termagax looked over her shoulder at her, a mirthless smile on her face. “Weren’t you paying attention, young one? I was able to send the Winged Moon away from Cybertron.”

All around them, several lights lit up throughout the chamber as machinery not used in millennia hummed to life. 

“I can also bring it back.”