CHAPTER SEVEN
Optimus Prime and his group came to a stop before an isolated building on the outskirts of Delta. Once they had converted into their robot modes, Optimus carefully stopped towards the front entrance only to be instantly greeted by a voice on a loudspeaker.
"That's far enough, Optimus Prime."
The Autobot leader stopped and looked up at a security camera aimed at him. "Double Clutch, I mean you no harm."
"Oh, but you did three centuries ago? Because that was the message I got when your Autobot ships appeared in Velocitronian space."
"We were trying to save you from the Decepticons," Optimus said pointedly. "We had absolutely no intention of attacking you."
Double Clutch snorted. "What made you think we weren't fully capable of defending ourselves?"
"Blurr said that violence wasn't tolerated on Velocitron," Hot Rod said. "Wouldn't that mean you have no weapons?"
"It hardly negates that," the former Velocitronian leader muttered. "We did not need your assistance. You only brought more unneeded chaos. Nothing you say can make us forgive you."
"No offense, Double Clutch, but I don't think you can speak for all Velocitronians," Optimus said. "Nitro, for instance, was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, as do Spiral and her comrades here."
Double Clutch laughed harshly. "I'm not surprised that the younger generation sees you as the infallible hero. But we older ones see your drastic flaws as a leader. I am amazed that nearly an entire millennium has passed without Decepticon victory."
Optimus felt his hands ball up into fists. "You're one to talk for someone who lost their own leadership in a mere race."
"Optimus," Arcee said quietly but warningly.
Undeterred, Double Clutch went on. "At least I could clearly see my flaws and relinquished command with dignity."
"By holing yourself up, secluding yourself from public life?" Optimus said scornfully. "Doesn't seem very dignified to me."
"Optimus, I think that's enough," Arcee said sharply. "We should leave."
"Your Autobots are bold, Optimus Prime," Double Clutch said. "They don't even bother referring to you by your rank or any title of respect."
Optimus took in an intake of air to cold down his burning internal systems. "Forget it," he said coldly. "I see that we wasted our time coming here."
"Don't tell me you came all the way to Velocitron just to 'apologize', Optimus. Don't you have a war to fight?"
"We do. And we need the AllSpark to win it."
Double Clutch was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice lacked its previous scorn. "The AllSpark? Why do you seek that?"
"We believe it can repair Cybertron," Optimus said. "It's in... dire straits at the moment."
There was another pause until the door to Double Clutch's abode slid open.
"We may not be on good terms, Optimus Prime," the former Velocitronian leader said. "But I may be willing to help a fellow mech out."
* * *
Jetfire felt his spark drop as the Victory went down in flames and crashed. For a brief second, he had felt elated knowing that Shockwave was surely dead. But then the realization that Ultra Magnus had been on board dawned on him and his spirits fell. Without Ultra Magnus, and with Megatron still in the picture, their destruction was without a doubt ensured.
"Why are you down in the dumps?" Wing Saber asked him as he flew up to his side. "Their flagship is going down. Shockwave must be dead!"
"And Ultra Magnus with him," Jetfire murmured.
Wing Saber's face fell. "Oh. Right. But hes survived through so much, right? A Cybernaught, a K-Class bombing, the Fast-Folding Sun...."
"Everyone has their breaking point," Jetfire said. "For some reason, I have a hard time believing that he survived that crash."
Wing Saber opened his mouth to reply but stopped when an orange flare lit up the nighttime sky.
"Huh. Would you look at that; they're surrendering."
* * *
Ultra Magnus awoke in a pile of rubble.
Check that; Minimus Ambus awoke in a pile of rubble. Thanks to the crash, several pieces of his Magnus Armor were missing, save for the ones still attached to his legs. As such, it was difficult to lift himself up due to a lack of weight/mass distribution.
"You have no idea on how disappointed I am."
Ambus looked up to see a large bot standing before him, flames surrounding him. On one arm was a large cannon not unlike Megatron's, and in the other was the unconscious Grimlock.
"Honestly," the stranger muttered. "I had thought the tales to be true; that you were immortal, impossible to kill. But now I can see through your pathetic deception."
Ambus narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"You may know me as the Fallen."
Ambus shook his head. "No. Impossible. The Fallen is just a myth."
"Am I?" the Fallen asked. "Am I not standing before you right now?"
"You're a zealot," Ambus said. "A delusional one at that, styling yourself after the Fallen of legend."
The Fallen chuckled. "How can you possibly know so much about me? How can you tell if I am a mere, harmless little mech possessing armor... or the real deal?"
Before Ambus could respond, the Fallen turned his back to him, still carrying the comatose Grimlock.
"I shall leave you here for your fellow Autobots to find. From the looks of it, it would appear the battle is over."
Ambus raised an eyebrow. "It is? Just because Shockwave is dead?"
The fiery being shrugged. "I wouldn't know. And I wouldn't be so sure of Shockwave's death."
And in the blink of an eye, the Fallen and Grimlock were gone, and Shockwave stood in their place.
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