CHAPTER EIGHT
Vector Prime stood before a golden statue of what appeared to be himself, although the details and proportions were a lot more exaggerated and “fantastical” than reality. Clearly it was modeled after his depictions in the legends about the ancient Primes and their endeavors. His optics roamed from the wider-than-normal chest to the thin, athletic legs, before finally settling on the plaque bolted into the base.
“Everything I say is a lie - Vector Prime of Apophenia.”
Vector Prime frowned before turning to look at Amalgamous Prime. The shape-shifter was standing in front of his own statue, admiring it with a small smirk on his face. Statues of the Thirteen loomed over them on either side of the main hall they were in, with a statue of Liege Maximo standing in the center, towering over the other twelve.
“What is this place, Amalgamous?” Vector asked.
“You know, I don’t think Liege ever gave it a name,” Amalgamous replied, sounding far too casual for Vector’s liking. “I imagine it would be something pretentious like ‘Hall of the Primes’ or—”
“I’m not asking for its name,” Vector snapped. “I want to know what it is and why you’ve brought me here.”
“How ironic.” A low voice boomed from behind them, echoing throughout the room. “You used to be the one with all of the answers.”
Vector Prime turned around and immediately tensed as Liege Maximo stepped into the hall, his massive green form overshadowing both Vector and Amalgamous.
“To answer your question,” Liege Maximo went on, steam exhuming from his glowing red maw, “I like to consider this my domain. Just as Solus and Onyx had their colonies, this is mine.”
“I thought Carcer was your colony,” Vector Prime muttered.
“I would not consider a prison to be a colony,” Liege Maximo grunted. “When the other Primes started to expand their reach to other worlds, I did not hesitate to do the same. Of course, I never informed anyone because I knew you and the others would immediately suspect me of wrongdoing… as you always do.”
“Well, speaking for myself, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it,” said Amalgamous Prime. “I don’t see how you establishing a world for yourself would be any worse than Onyx or Micronus doing the same.”
Liege Maximo glanced at him with a look of disinterest. “I would expect nothing less from a sycophant like you, Amalgamous.”
The Shifter Prime bristled from the remark and stepped back, bowing his head. Disregarding the exchange, Vector kept his attention on Liege Maximo, optics narrowed in suspicion.
“Why have you come here then? What happened to Nexus, Onyx, and Magnus?”
Liege Maximo chuckled. “Please, one question at a time. I know you cannot resist the urge for knowledge, Vector, but you should at least know the value of patience.”
Vector Prime scowled. “You know what? Forget it. Anything you tell would most likely be a lie.”
“Ah, there it is again. The lack of trust. No wonder our alliance fell apart back then; it was already fragile to begin with.”
Vector Prime stepped closer to Liege Maximo, his blue optics not leaving the other Prime’s red ones. “Where are Nexus and the others?”
Liege Maximo sneered. “I’m surprised you care about them. If I recall, you were rather… confrontational when Nexus approached you for an alliance.”
“Where are they, Maximo?” Vector bellowed. “What have you done to them?”
“Oh, how I wish this could have gone easier.” Liege Maximo sighed. “Amalgamous, would you please?”
Before the Shifter could make a move, Vector Prime transformed into his spaceship form and flew into Liege Maximo, pushing the large Prime into a statue of Alchemist Prime. The golden figure shattered upon impact and Liege tripped over its base, topping onto the floor. Converting back to his robot mode, Vector turned and raised his arms to block a swing of Amalgamous’ scythe, its blade scraping against his gauntlets.
“Fight us all you want,” Amalgamous snarled. “You cannot stop what is already happening!”
He swung his scythe again, which Vector dodged before throwing a fist into the other Prime’s face. At the same time, he grabbed Amalgamous’ scythe and wrenched it from his hands, swinging it around and delivering a slash across the Shifter’s chest. As Amalgamous howled, Vector kicked him to the floor and pinned him there with his foot, raising the scythe high over his head.
“I might not be able to stop what is happening,” Vector Prime muttered, “but I can at least wipe that insolent smirk from your face.”
Just as Vector was about to bring the scythe down, Liege Maximo seized him from behind and pulled him away from Amalgamous, causing him to drop the scythe. The larger Prime then hurled Vector into his own statue, sending him crashing through it and colliding with the wall. As Vector laid there, practically embedded into the wall, Liege Maximo strode forward and gazed upon his beaten form.
“I regret that this reunion couldn’t have gone smoother,” the hulking machine rumbled. “I had hoped that you would have been able to see things through my eyes, and that we could have perhaps amended the several thousand-year rift that has divided us for so long. But I suppose it was simply not meant to be.”
Vector Prime groaned, looking up at him weakly. “Is… that why you brought me here? Because you thought you could… twist me?”
“It wasn’t the only reason, though I was hoping to make things easier by convincing you to see my perspective. Because I know that you are going to resist what we have planned for you.”
“Who’s… we?”
Liege Maximo smirked. “I thought you didn’t want me to answer anymore questions. Anything I say is a lie, yes?”
Vector simply glared at him.
“Ah, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Liege Maximo said with a shrug. “I intend on telling you everything anyway; I’ll simply leave it up to you on whether you should believe me or not.”
“And you wonder why no one ever trusted you,” Vector grunted.
Liege Maximo laughed. “Oh, I know exactly why no one trusted me. It’s just that I think they’re wrong to do so.”
* * *
“Rodimus.”
Rodimus Prime groaned as he stirred awake. His optical sensors switched online to find himself in a dark, dungeon-like room that was not unlike a prison cell. In fact, it probably was exactly that judging by the steel bars surrounding him.
It took him a moment to register the fact that he wasn’t alone in the cell. Sitting across from him was a blue and black bot with an appearance that was strikingly resemblant of Optimus Prime, from the window-chest to the mouthplate covering his face.
“Convoy — I mean, Delta Magnus?” Rodimus said groggily, still waiting for his other systems to readjust.
“You can call me Convoy,” the blue bot replied, his tone low. “It’s… it’s who I am now.”
“Where are we?” Rodimus asked. “The last thing I remember is Liege Maximo leading me to his chambers or whatever.”
“Did he tell you that everything about Cybertron’s history is a lie?” Convoy asked.
“Something like that, yeah.”
“Something must have interrupted him, then, and he wiped your memory of the conversation. When he tossed you in here, he seemed to be in some kind of rush.”
“Oh, yeah?” Rodimus said. “Did he have that conversation with you?”
“He did,” Convoy confirmed, his voice suddenly quiet. “I’m still not sure if I believe any of it. He is the Prime of Lies, after all….”
Rodimus frowned. “You seemed bothered about it, though.”
Convoy shook his head. “It’s nothing. How did you end up here, anyway?”
“Ah, some bot claiming to be Prowl pushed me through a space bridge and it dropped me off here. I don’t suppose you know anything about that?”
“Not much more than you. I have been seeing bots around here with familiar names; one of the guards I think calls himself ‘Starscream.’”
Rodimus snorted. “As if one wasn’t bad enough. You think they might be clones?”
Convoy shrugged. “Hard to say. When it comes to Liege Maximo, who knows what kind of games he’s playing at.”
Rodimus slowly nodded before shifting the conversation to the next prying question on his mind. “What about you? How did you end up here? What happened to Nexus and Onyx Prime?”
Convoy’s expression darkened. “Nexus is dead,” he mumbled. “Onyx… Onyx went berserk. He tore Nexus apart and… was going to come after me when Liege Maximo transported me here. We had tracked him down to this… ring of replicas of Cybertrons. I’m not sure if that’s where we are now or….”
“Well, I’ve been outside, and I’d say that description is pretty spot on,” Rodimus said. “I don’t suppose Liege gave you an explanation for any of that?”
Convoy drew his legs closer to his chest, an act that surprised the younger Prime. “He is the Prime of Lies….”
“I know that, but maybe there’s some truth to his lies. It would be better than being left in the dark like this.”
“It was all for naught,” Convoy murmured, no longer listening to Rodimus. “Everything anyone has ever done… was all for nothing.”
“What are you talking about?” Rodimus asked, rising to his feet. When he did, he noticed that his chest compartment was open, exposing the chamber in which he held the Matrix of Leadership.
Except the chamber was empty. The Matrix of Leadership was missing.
As dread slowly settled into Rodimus’ spark, all he could hear was Convoy’s incessant rambling.
“We have been deceived. We have been deceived. We have been deceived.”
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