CHAPTER SIX
--The Dead Universe--
Nightbeat wasn't sure if it was simply his imagination, but it seemed like that with each step he took, he started to feel drowsier and drowsier. His vision was beginning to blur and his knees were getting weak, but he forced himself to trudge on, telling himself it was merely an illusion.
Then again, he thought, I can be a good liar sometimes.
The moment that thought entered his head, the motors in his legs finally gave up and he fell face-first to the ground. The fact that he was now laying on top of a corpse as a result did not make him any less uncomfortable.
After a while, he started to hear footsteps coming from behind him. He craned his head to see, much to his relief, Hardhead.
"About time you got here," Nightbeat muttered.
"Give me a break," Hardhead grunted as he helped the detective back to his feet. "I deserved a nap after everything you've pulled me through."
Nightbeat smirked as he stood up before looking over Hardhead's shoulder. "Did you run into Nova Prime?"
"Yeah, he gave me some slag about hopelessness and scrape like that."
"And what did you say to him?"
"I told him to get slagged."
Nightbeat broke into a grin. "Only you would have the nerves to do something like that, my friend."
"Sure, whatever," Hardhead said. "So, what are we looking for here, exactly?"
"I'm... not really sure anymore." Nightbeat rubbed the back of his head. "I'm kind of hoping something will just... pop up."
"Like that thing over there?" Hardhead nodded towards a small, temple-like structure that Nightbeat was pretty sure hadn't been there before.
"Well, that's... convenient," the detective murmured. "Deus ex machina, much?"
"Who cares? Let's check it out." As Hardhead set off for the temple, Nightbeat watched his friend with wariness before following him.
--Space--
"There's too many of them!" Red Alert cried as the Terrorcons swarmed around the Lost Light and its defenders. "I don't think we can hold them off for much longer!"
Ultra Magnus grimaced as he blew a Terrorcon to smithereens. If they stayed out here any longer, they would soon get overrun and the Terrorcons would take over the ship. Even if they fell back, the ship would still get taken. They were running out of options.
Sensible options, that is.
That single thought prompted an idea to cross his mind. Under normal circumstances, he would have quickly waved it off. But seeing as this battle was anything but normal....
"Elita, this is Ultra Magnus," he said into his comlink. "Bad news: the Terrorcons aren't relenting."
"I figured as much; they've just about blotted out the viewport."
"Well, I have an idea." Magnus took a deep breath to cool down his heating systems before continuing. "First of all-- and I can't believe I'm saying this-- but I want you to release all of the prisoners from the brig."
"You mean Lockdown and his cronies?"
"Yes. We're gonna need all of the backup we can get. And secondly... I need to make a small chat with Nautica."
* * *
"Eh, let's face it... we're all gonna die."
"Shut up, Rattrap," Rhinox snapped at his fellow Maximal as he unloaded his "Chainguns of Doom" on their adversaries. The two of them had become separated from the other Maximals in the midst of the chaos and were now standing on top of Metroplex's cruiser form. With them were three Autobots (Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Arcee), three Decepticons (Barricade, Knock Out, and Blitzwing), a Velocitronian called Clocker, and the four surviving members of the Circle of Light.
Quite the ensemble, Rhinox thought as he shot down his hundredth Terrorcon.
Suddenly, he heard Bumblebee let out a scream and he looked in time to see the yellow Autobot being pelted by firepower. He then saw a purple fighter jet streaking towards them.
"Cyclonus," Dai Atlas growled, brandishing his Great Sword. "Living proof that even the most noblest of Cybertronians can be swayed by the nature of evil."
"Yeah, how tragic," Rattrap muttered as he aimed his gun at Cyclonus. "Now are we gonna stand around and get shot at or--"
He was cut off by the act of Cyclonus transforming and unsheathing a blade, which the Herald stabbed the Maximal in the shoulder with. Rhinox cried out in rage as he fired his chainguns at the warrior, who narrowly avoided the pellets before lunging at the Maximal.
Just as Cyclonus was about to dispatch him, Ginrai came charging and intercepted the blade as it moved to decapitate Rhinox. The Herald caught the Knight's gaze as he broke off from the blade-lock and the three of them stood there in a silent standoff.
Cyclonus made the first move. He let his sword clatter to the deck.
"I shall not waste any more time in fighting you," he growled. "Our victory is at hand."
"What are you talking about?" Ginrai demanded.
Cyclonus gestured towards the approaching Unicron, who was slowly but surely inching closer towards Cybertron. "The Reunification shall soon be upon us. There is no stopping it. In time, all shall become--"
"Ah, stick a wrench in it." Picking himself up, Rattrap fired his gun at Cyclonus, hitting him in the back of the head. Provoked, the Herald retrieved his sword and spun around to face the Maximal. Before he could attack, Ginrai knocked him out with the hilt of his own sword. Knock Out then jammed his shock prod into the ancient warrior for good measure.
"Outrigger, take Rattrap and Bumblebee to the medibay," Ginrai said to his fellow Knight. "Axe, take Cyclonus to the brig."
"We're taking him prisoner?" Axe inquired. "I say we just off him here and now."
Ginrai shook his head. "And become no better than them? No... I won't see that line blurred."
Ratchet scoffed as he lifted up the damaged Bumblebee. "I'd say it already is."
* * *
"This isn't going to work," Megatron growled.
"You've said that already," Optimus Prime replied. "Several times, in fact."
"Because clearly I haven't made my point clear enough. This isn't going to work, Prime. Going up against Unicron alone... our troops won't be seeing either of us again."
Optimus sighed as he moved their vessel-- invisible to the naked optic-- towards Unicron. "I'm open to any better ideas."
Megatron opened his mouth to retort but quickly closed it. For the past twenty minutes, this was how all of their conversations had progressed.
After a long bout of silence, the Decepticon leader let out a sigh of his own. "Where did it all go wrong, Orion?"
Optimus looked at him at the mention of his old name. Megatron met his gaze and in that brief moment, two brothers were staring at each other, pushing aside their millennia-long feud.
"As I recall," Optimus murmured, "it was when you were captured at Lucifer."
Megatron sheepishly nodded as he cast his gaze outside. "Yes, that's right. If only I hadn't taken that stupid mission, if I had volunteered someone else instead. Then, none of this would have happened."
"It was your ego that led you to it," Optimus said. "You wanted to prove yourself to Sentinel Prime. You wanted to reassure him that he was right in naming you his successor. And that was what Sentinel-- or Galvatron-- wanted. He was counting on your ego. You became exactly what he wanted you to become."
Megatron clenched his fists around the armrests of his seat, his brother's words stinging him close to the spark. Optimus did not relent.
"When it comes down to it, Megatron, you're right. All of this is your doing; not Galvatron's, not the Heralds', not even Unicron's. Yours."
Megatron trembled in anger, ready to lash out, but he could not deny the truth to Prime's words. He kept his gaze fixated on Unicron, finding a new sense of determination in his spark.
"Then I shall be the one to end it."
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