CHAPTER FOUR
--Autobot City--
"So the Matrix is gone," Impactor muttered.
"Yes," Optimus Prime replied, sitting across from the Wrecker leader.
"And Megatron is... back?"
"Yes. And on our side." The utter calmness Prime spoke these words with unsettled Impactor more than anything. The older mech shifted his weight and cast a glance at Ginrai, who stood against the wall with his arms crossed.
"I'm not alone in finding all this hard to believe, am I?" Impactor asked.
Ginrai shrugged. "After the things I've been through, I find myself not surprised by much."
Impactor grimaced as he turned back to Prime. "So Ragnarok's got the Matrix. Great. So what's our next course of action?"
"Well, once Megatron's team gets here--"
"I'm sorry," Impactor interjected. "Megatron's what?"
"Megatron is bringing reinforcements to Earth," Optimus said. "Elita-One will be among them--"
"And you trust him?!" Impactor snapped, shooting up from his seat. "You trust him with your own bots?"
"He is not bringing Autobots with him," Optimus said.
Impactor blinked. "You mean...?"
Before Optimus could say anything, Impactor had him pinned to the floor, harpoon pressed against his neck.
"Have you lost it?!" the Wrecker growled lowly at him. "Have you forgotten whose side you are on?"
"Times are changing, Impactor," Optimus replied. "It's no longer about Autobots or Decepticons. It's about--"
"It's about what?" Impactor snarled. "Peace? Freedom? How can you hope for any of those things if you give him free rein?!"
"That's enough, Impactor." Ginrai placed a hand on his shoulder, which the Wrecker shrugged off.
"Go frag yourself, deserter," Impactor growled. "You turned your back on us with the rest of Dai Atlas' zealots. You're no better than those fragging 'Cons. In fact, I'd go so far as to say you're wor--"
"I said..." Ginrai seized Impactor under the arms and wrenched him off of Optimus, throwing him across the room. "...that's enough."
As both Impactor and Optimus got to their feet, the door burst open as Ironhide and a detachment of Autobots barged in, guns at the ready.
"What's going on here?" Ironhide growled.
"Nothing," Optimus said flatly. "Everything's fine."
Ironhide looked between him and Impactor. "We heard--"
"Ironhide. It's nothing. We're fine."
The red Autobot grunted but retracted his weapons; the others followed suit. "Well, in any case... Windblade and Brainstorm need you to come down to the command center. They've got something to show ya."
Optimus nodded. "I'll be there shortly."
Once Ironhide and his detail had left, the Prime looked over to a scowling Impactor.
"We'll continue this conversation later," Optimus said quietly as he left. "Preferably when you're not in a bad mood...."
* * *
"Okay! Show of hands: Who here has heard of Fortress Maximus?"
Everyone in the command center raised their hands. Brainstorm made a show of counting them only to then say, "Trick question. Of course you've heard of him. But... what if I told you there's more to him than meets the eye?"
"Come on, Brainstorm," Swerve whined. "Galactic Guardians Season 2 is airing half an hour. I don't wanna miss it."
Brainstorm huffed. "All right, fine. So in Cycle 9701, I transformed ordinary computer tech Cerebros into the all-mighty Fortress Maximus. Except that name, of course, originally belonged to an Autobot base constructed in Cycle 5814."
"5816," Rewind corrected him. "Construction began in 5814, but it wasn't completed until two years later."
Brainstorm glared at him but continued without pause. "However, the very name of the fortress itself was taken from legend. Fortress Maximus, according to my sources, was a Titan who lived during the Age of the Primes. He, along with his brother Grand Maximus, were loyal to Nexus Prime."
He looked over to Windblade, who stood nearby. "How did I do? Did I get any names wrong?"
Windblade shook her head. "You were great."
"Good!" Brainstorm turned back to his audience. "So anyway, the Secret Order found the Titan Fort Max and intended to control it using Cerebros. However, after a series of bizarre events, Fort Max and Cerebros went missing... until now!"
"You mean you've found 'em?" Ironhide asked.
"Correct!" Brainstorm brought up a navigation grid and pointed to an encircled area. "He's in England!"
"Bloody hell," Crosswise muttered. "We just got back. You mean we have to go there again?"
"How come we didn't find him before?" asked Downshift.
"Because he's underground," Windblade said. "To be more specific, he's underneath Stonehenge."
"Could that be where all those bugs were coming from?" Overhaul pondered aloud. "That might be where they were trying to take me."
"It would explain a lot," said Jetfire. "Any way we can get to it?"
"Well, as a Titan, Fort Max would have a space bridge," Windblade explained. "However, since we don't know what's waiting on the other side, I'd advise against going through that way."
"So what, we GroundBridge ourselves to Stonehenge and hope the animals come out to play?" Stormshot asked. "Unless we're supposed to dig our way in; I'm not sure how kindly the humans would take to that."
"This is a situation I think that requires closer analysis," said Prowl. "I suggest we go directly to Stonehenge and proceed from whatever we find."
"But then how will we be prepared for what comes at us?" Ironhide asked.
"I can keep the GroundBridge open up to five hours," Wheeljack said. "If you need anything, just holler and it'll be there."
Prowl glanced over to Optimus, who stood at the back of the room. "Any objections, Prime?"
"No," the Autobot leader said. "The plan is sound."
"Then what are we waitin' for?" Ironhide banged his fists together. "Time fer some pest control."
Several in the room groaned. Swerve in particular ran a hand down his face.
"God, and people say my jokes are bad..."
* * *
Several miles away from Autobot City, Rodimus sped along a deserted highway, surrounded by empty plains and guided by stars.
Rodimus. For the first time in his life, that name filled him with distaste. He had come to realize that he did not deserve that name; there was no chance in the raging Pit he would ever come to close to becoming a Prime.
He was just Hot Rod. Always was, always would be.
Besides, what kind of leader allowed their crew to constantly get captured or get overrun by Decepticons or get brainwashed or killed? Other than a horrible one, of course.
And for what? For a quest that took them absolutely nowhere other than certain despair.
He had failed everyone. He had let them all down.
Driving aimlessly as he was, he had not noticed the huge winged figure until it landed right in front of him, creating a shock wave that sent the Autobot car flying. Transforming, Hot Rod roughly landed on his side, groaning as his systems performed a diagnosis.
"In all of nature, there is a balance."
Hot Rod's optics shot open as the winged figure stormed up to him, illuminated by the moon. Although it was difficult to tell in the dark night, the scant details he could make out -- gold face, glowing maw -- made his energon run cold.
"Thunderwing...?"
"Where there is order, there must be chaos." From his chest, Thunderwing produced a multi-angled handled object with a glowing center. "For light, darkness."
Held down by an invisible force, Hot Rod could only watch as Thunderwing placed the twisted Matrix into his chest. He screamed in agony as it released its energies into him.
"For Primus, Unicron."
As his vision faded away, Hot Rod could not help but wonder how much worse things could get from here.
"Arise... Rodimus Unicronus."
Okay, that is just the worst, were the last of Hot Rod's thoughts as he was consumed by darkness.
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