CHAPTER FOUR
--Gorlam Prime--
The Council of Ancients resided in a circular chamber located at the highest point of Watchguard Tower. The five councilors sat on daises that hovered high up in the air, while Sentinel Prime stood at a golden podium that loomed over those who stood before it, providing him a regal and imposing aura.
Elita stood before the former Autobot leader, with Windblade and Nightbeat at her side while the others waited just outside the council chambers. Leaning across his podium, Sentinel Prime stared Elita in the eye, his own optics twinkling in a mysterious manner.
"So then, what do you want answered?"
"How are you still alive?" Elita demanded.
Sentinel chuckled lightly. "Was I ever dead to begin with?"
"We all saw you die," Nightbeat said. "Whether it was there in person or on a viewscreen, the whole world witnessed it."
Sentinel smiled slightly as he leaned back in his seat. "I was never on Cybertron to begin with."
All three Autobots stared at him incredulously. "What?!"
"I had optics on the Decepticons. I knew they were planning an assassination, so I left for Gorlam Prime a few months early."
"Wait," Windblade said quietly. "You knew the Decepticons were planning to start the war again? Why didn't you try to stop them?"
Sentinel chuckled again. "Because that's exactly what we wanted them to do."
--Cybertron--
The weight of the entire world was on Ultra Magnus' shoulders.
Lives were hanging in the balance. On one end were those of Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion, two beings that every Autobot looked up to. On the other were the lives of Cybertron's entire population. Did he dare try to save both, or would he end up sacrificing them all in the process?
The clock was ticking.
I don't know how Prime does it, he thought to himself. All the hard choices he had to make... did he ever make one he regretted for life?
As he looked upon the city of Iacon through his office window, he sensed the approach of someone from behind. By the sound of joints creaking, he could easily tell who it was.
With a sigh, Ultra Magnus said, "Before you ask me, Kup, I can tell you right now: I have no idea what I'm going to do."
Kup grunted as he leaned against a wall. "We could attack their New Kaon."
"We lack the resources to do that and they would likely execute Prime and Trion the moment we did that." Magnus shook his head as he turned to face the Autobot veteran. "I was never meant to be in this sort of position. I'm... I'm just a soldier."
"Now you're sounding pathetic," Kup said sharply, spitting out a loose screw. "Put yourself in Prime's boots. Would he sacrifice Cybertron just 'cause the 'Cons had a gun to his head?"
"No...."
"And if you were the one 'bout to be executed, would you want Prime to sacrifice Cybertron for your sake."
"Of course not. But the Decepticons will try to take Cybertron either way--"
"And are you gonna let 'em?" Kup stormed up to Magnus and jabbed a metal finger in his chest. "This is our home, soldier. Are we gonna fight for it or not?"
Magnus stared down at the cyan-colored veteran, mulling over his words. Finally, in a grave voice, he said, "Yes, we are. Because that's what Prime would want." Heaving out a sigh, he added, "Get me through to Megatron."
--The Nemesis--
"Lord Megatron, transmission from Cybertron."
Megatron chuckled darkly, throwing an offside glance towards Optimus. "I wonder what the verdict is. Put it through, Soundwave."
The communications officer acknowledged the order and brought up the visage of Ultra Magnus on the viewscreen.
"Ah, the surrogate Prime," Megatron said with a twisted smile. "How does it feel to be given the same level of respect as--"
"Can it, Megatron," Magnus snapped. "I have your answer."
The Decepticon leader waved an airy hand. "Out with it then."
Ultra Magnus took a deep breath before saying, "In the name of the Autobot Commonwealth, and for the sake of the Cybertronian race itself... we refuse to give control of Cybertron to the Decepticons."
Megatron shifted in his seat; this was not the answer he had been expecting. "You do realize that your leader's life is at stake here, don't you?"
"I do," Magnus murmured. "This was hardly an easy decision to make. But I know Prime would not want us to sacrifice our home for his sake. This is what he would have done." He then stared coldly at Megatron. "Give us liberty... or give us death."
Snarling in rage, Megatron blasted the viewscreen with his fusion cannon. He then whirled to face Optimus, aiming his weapon as his face contorted in fury.
"How does it feel, Prime, to have you own men turn on you?"
"They aren't turning on me," Optimus said defiantly. "They are doing what's right. This war isn't about me."
"It's always been about you!" Megatron bellowed. "You're the hero everyone looks up to! You're the warrior everyone aspires to be! You're the one Autobot who's managed to interfere with all of my plans!"
His optics narrowed into slits. "But you won't interfere with this one. The age of Primes shall finally come to an end." The barrel of his fusion cannon glowed as it charged up. "Let the reign of the Decepticons begin."
--New Kaon--
"Well, that is an interesting turn of events," Tarn mused aloud as Ultra Magnus' response was broadcast across all Decepticon channels. "I never would have thought the Autobots would give up on their idols so easily." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Not that I'm one to complain."
He and the rest of the Decepticon Justice Division turned to face their solitary captive: Alpha Trion, restrained to Kaon's electric chair form. Above and behind him, sealed in a cylindrical container, was the sage's Mini-Con companion, Beta Maxx. The diminutive Autobot pounded on the glass walls of his prison.
Eager to get to work, Tarn turned to face the hovering cameras that were ready to depict Alpha Trion's upcoming demise.
"Your leaders have spoken!" he boomed to those watching. "Say farewell to the Autobot you have known for eons. His death shall mark the end of the old age and the beginning of the new."
He punctuated his statement by charging up his double-barreled arm cannon.
"Do not bother shielding your eyes. You'll be seeing more of this as the day goes by."
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