THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US
Earth - 2023
“I can’t be the only one who thinks this isn’t going to work.”
Crosshairs looked around the room in search of agreement. All he got were looks of despair and desperation. Bumblebee was looking down at his feet, uncharacteristically dour. Drift sat with his sword plunged into the ground, his head bowed in a vow of silence. Hound was the only one to meet his eye, and the large green Autobot only gave him an unhelpful shrug.
He glanced to his leader to see that Optimus Prime still had his back turned to all of them, deep in thought. Crosshairs wasn’t even sure if he had heard the question. The Autobot gunslinger quickly averted his gaze in order to avoid looking at the other large mech standing next to Prime, not wanting to so much as acknowledge their presence.
Ignorance is bliss, as the humans say.
Hot Rod was pacing back and forth, eventually turning to face Crosshairs. “There is precedent for it, mon ami,” he said, his voice still tinged with the French accent he had adopted from his time on Earth. “I have been reading the research done by Que and—”
“Oh, you mean the same Que that’s dead?” Crosshairs asked flippantly.
This prompted Bumblebee to look up and the yellow Autobot glared at Crosshairs as his radio clicked on. “Hey, that’s my best friend you’re talking about!”
“You know you don’t have to use that damn flipping radio anymore,” Crosshairs snapped at him. “You’ve had your voice back for about a year now. Use it for god’s sake.”
Bumblebee jerked a thumb at the seventh mech in the room—the one Crosshairs refused to acknowledge the existence of. “He — don’t get to hear my voice.”
“The time for grudges has long since past, Autobot,” came the voice that Crosshairs had dreaded to hear. “We have much bigger things to worry about now.”
Unable to contain himself, Crosshairs whirled on Megatron and pointed a finger at the former Decepticon leader. “And how much of that is your fault, huh? There would be a lot more of us here if it weren’t for you and your punk-ass Decepticons!”
Megatron glowered at the bright green Autobot. “I could say the same of you. You Autobots are just as bloodthirsty as my kin are.”
“Oh, don’t pull that crap on us, Megs,” Hound snapped, hefting a large cannon over his shoulder. “You started this war. You asked for everything that’s come to you and your ‘Cons. We weren’t just gonna lie down and let you ruin Cybertron—and Earth!”
“Ruin?” Megatron’s red optics blazed as he spread his arms. “Look around you, Autobots. This ruin was not done by my hand. This is all the work of the fleshlings that dwell on its rotten surface.”
Crosshairs scowled, both at Megatron’s words as well as the fact that he couldn’t argue with them. Indeed, the desolate landscape that surrounded the Autobot’s small derelict base was the work of the humans after they had once more thrown all of their goodwill with the Autobots out the window and started hunting them down again. This time, they had decided to go full “scorched Earth;” ever since word that Earth was in fact the slumbering body of Unicron had gotten out to the planetary leaders, they came to the conclusion that the Transformers were trying to turn the planet into a weapon and had resorted to every weapon at their disposal to prevent that, devastating their own planet in the process.
Some humans had stuck with the Autobots until the bitter end, such as Cade and Lennox, but they had all been hunted down for their perceived treachery. Now, the only ally the Autobots had was their sworn enemy, the last Decepticon standing after all the others had perished when the humans had used their weapons to destroy what was left of Cybertron hanging in the planet’s orbit.
As it stood now, the Autobots truly only had two options: use the Matrix of Leadership to destroy Unicron—and thus Earth—once and for all… or to risk everything with the plan that Megatron had just proposed, with Hot Rod being the only one so far to corroborate it.
“And how do we know this little idea of yours isn’t just some ploy to rule the world again, huh?” Hound questioned.
“What world is there to rule?” Megatron snarled back.
“Well, at least two, ‘cos if what you’re suggesting works, it will restore both Cybertron and Earth back to way things were.”
“Not just those planets, but our society. There will be no more Autobots or Decepticons; only Cybertronians. Our people will be at peace again, as they should have been long ago.”
Crosshairs shook his head, unwilling to believe any of it. “And what exactly gave you the idea of time travel of all things?”
Megatron bowed his head. “When I was nothing more than a head kept in the captivity of those gnats at Kinetic Solutions Incorporated… before they remade me into Galvatron… I learned of some of the other technology they had blueprinted but never got the chance to develop. Not only did they seek to recreate our race but our technology as well… including space bridges.”
“So? All of the pillars were destroyed ten years ago, I’m pretty sure.”
“Most, but not all. One still remained in the possession of that… human you called Sir Burton.”
“You killed Sir Burton, meutrier,” Hot Rod said darkly.
“Indeed. Which meant that his castle was ripe for the taking. Before the other humans destroyed his castle and the Cybertronians he kept in his care, I managed to recover the Pillar he had kept with him.” Megatron reached behind his back and produced the artifact itself. By all appearances, it was a legitimate space bridge pillar and not just a replica as some of Burton’s possessions allegedly were according to Hot Rod.
“If my theory is correct,” the Decepticon leader continued, “a theory which is backed up by research from both Shockwave and Wheelja— Que, then by combining the energies of this Pillar with Hot Rod’s time-freezing weapon, we will be able to transport at least one of us back in time in order to prevent the outbreak of the Great War, thus saving both our worlds.”
“And what about Unicron?” Hound asked, gesturing to the ground at their feet. “He’ll still be sleeping within Earth, won’t he?”
“Perhaps. But so long as we find a way to destroy Quintessa again in the process, then this world will be spared. As far as I know, she is the only one who knew of Unicron before any of us.”
“See, this is what I don’t like about the plan,” Crosshairs said. “What if you’re wrong and there are others out there who know and will try to awaken him? I mean, where does this Quintessa lady even come from? What if there are others like her?”
Megatron’s optics dimmed, possibly deep in thought. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter than usual. “When I was found by Quintessa… when she remade me into Megatron, she told me that she was the last of the Creators—the Quintessons as they were called. I know not when her kind went extinct, but she made it seem as if it was many eons ago….”
“And you think she was telling the truth?” Hound asked. “What was it those Guardian Knights called her, Optimus? The Prime of Lies or something like that?”
Optimus Prime said nothing, his back still turned to the rest of them. Even Megatron was regarding his lifelong enemy with a skeptical—almost concerned—look.
“Prime?” Crosshairs said carefully. “What do you think about all this?”
At last, Optimus Prime turned to look at the five Autobots under his command and his forever nemesis. His blue optics were dim, almost lifeless, and his voice was as haggard as his battered appearance. “Do you have faith in this plan, Hot Rod?”
The black and orange Autobot hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Oui, monsieur.”
Optimus then turned his eye to Megatron, who met his gaze evenly. “In that case… I will put my trust in you one last time, Megatron. If this succeeds… then you will forever be in my debt. If it doesn’t….”
Megatron smirked. “I already know what you are capable of, Prime. I have faith that you will be able to finish me off for good. After all, third time’s the charm, is it not?”
Bumblebee whirred sadly as he shook his head. “I have a really bad feeling about this.”
Earth - 17,000 BC
“The planet is inhabited. We must abandon it.”
“What?” The Prime’s exclamation startled his brothers, who looked to him with confusion and concern. “But their star is ripe! Its energy will keep Cybertron energized for centuries—millennia even!”
“You know the sanctity of life, brother,” said Prima, first of the Primes. “You swore the same oath as all of us—to protect and preserve life across the universe.”
Nova Prime clenched his fists, eyes blazing with fury. “The natives of this planet are nothing more than primitive gnats! Their erasure from the universe will be missed no more than a droplet of water in an ocean full of it!”
“All life is sacred, Nova, regardless the level of their sapience.” Guardian Prime motioned with his arms to the world around them. “The trees, the birds, the insects… all must be protected. That is our vow.”
Nova narrowed his optics. “And what of parasites? Even Insecticons must be exterminated when they pose too much of a threat. There must be limitations to the sanctity of life; how will we know when we find it?”
“Now is not the time for this debate,” Prima said sharply. “We may discuss this further upon our return to Cybertron. For now, we must dismantle the Star Harvester and abscond from this planet.”
The five other Primes agreed with their leader and Nova knew he was outvoted. He fumed in silence as they dispersed and returned to their posts. Standing in the middle of the desert, surrounded by the pathetic little lifeforms, he stared up at the sun, basking in its energy.
“They are blinded by their virtues,” the voice in his head said. “They refuse to see the truth in your words.”
“How do I make them see?” Nova Prime growled.
“There is no point. You must take control for yourself. Only then will they recognize your power.”
“Power. Yes.” A sinister smile crossed Nova Prime’s visage. “They will know my power.”
The ground trembled beneath his feet.
“And mine.”
Earth - 2023
“This is heavy, doc.”
“I don’t hear you coming up with any ideas,” Crosshairs retorted.
Bumblebee stayed silent as he and his fellow Autobots (and Megatron) gathered in what was left of Stonehenge, where the Autobots and Decepticons had held their last battle a year ago. So much had happened in the span of a year that it had made his head spin. He had lost so many friends in such a short span of time—Cade, Tessa, Lennox… he still hadn’t even gotten over losing Sam, Mikaela and Carly, not to mention all of his fellow Autobots. Ironhide, Jazz, Ratchet, Sideswipe….
All of it made him almost apathetic as to whether or not Megatron’s plan succeeded or not. What difference would it have made anyway? Earth and Cybertron were already lost and most of their race was dead. And if the plan worked, then they probably would forget everything they had gone through up to this point. All of the good as well as the bad….
Without even realizing it, Bumblebee started playing the third movement of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 from his radio. Crosshairs immediately smacked him on the back of his head.
“Come off it, already. We don’t need you bringing down the mood any more than it already is!”
“Leave him alone, Crosshairs,” Hound rumbled. “Let the boy grieve in peace.”
Crosshairs grumbled under his breath but said nothing further on the matter. Stepping into the center of Stonehenge’s ruins, Megatron planted the Pillar into the ground. It split apart and hovered up as it powered on. He then stepped aside to allow Hot Rod to hook up the power cell of his time-freezing gun to the space bridge device.
“I know now’s probably not an appropriate time to ask,” Hound muttered, “but how exactly did you get your hands on that doo-hickey anyway? I’ve seen loads of guns in my life, but none quite like that.”
Hot Rod glanced at him. “Have you heard of the Seekers?”
“I think so.” Hound looked at Bumblebee. “What was that name of the old fart you guys fought with back in Egypt? Skyfire? Jetfire?”
Bumblebee nodded, wagging his finger in the air. “Hey. I know that guy.”
“Right. Yeah. I remember Wheelie telling us about them. They were really old guys who had space bridges built into them or something.” Hound looked back to Hot Rod. “What about them?”
“I was one of them.”
“You?” Crosshairs exclaimed. “But those guys were ancient. You’re a young ‘bot by my count—same as Bumblebee.”
Hot Rod chuckled. “Merci, mon ami. Indeed, I was the last of the Seekers to be created and wasn’t operational for long before I was sent here with the others to search for the Matrix. I was never trained to master my space bridge abilities, and instead I ended up channeling my energy through my weapon, allowing me to stop the time.”
Megatron scowled. “Unless this conversation serves a purpose, then I suggest you focus on getting this done rather than waste our time. The humans are still on the hunt for us and may be upon us at any moment.”
“Oui, oui,” Hot Rod said irritably. “One thing I must point out, however: this will only be able to teleport one bot at a time. We would require more pillars if we wished to send the rest of us. If needed, I can set it so that each of us only has a certain amount of time to do whatever we need to do before we’re pulled back to the present. Otherwise, whoever we send will be trapped in the past.”
“Do what you need to,” Optimus Prime said. “The rest of us will stay out here to guard the Pillar in case any humans come our way.”
Crosshairs raised a hand. “Let me ask a question: What the hell are we going to be doing in the past? Are we supposed to change history or something?”
“The key will be to prevent any of our artifacts from reaching Earth,” said Megatron. “The AllSpark, the Matrix, the Pillars… if we can eliminate any reason for our two worlds to collide, then both will be saved in the process.”
“So, in other words, undo all of your mistakes.” Hound chuckled. “At least you’re somewhat self-aware….”
Crosshairs folded his arms, nodding slightly. “Right. Okay. That’s a start, at least. So we do that and just… avoid running into our past selves?”
Hot Rod shrugged. “Je suppose.”
“Sounds simple enough,” said Hound. “So, who wants to go first?”
Drift stepped forward. “I will volunteer,” he said somberly.
Crosshairs rolled his eyes. “Well, it looks like someone finally found their voice.”
Hot Rod nodded. “Very well. Just put your hand on the Pillar after I—”
Before he had even finished speaking, Drift had placed his hand on the Pillar. In a flash of light, the black-and-red Autobot samurai was gone.
“…set the time.”
Bumblebee moaned in despair. “Ay caramba.”
Earth - 1867
“So… what is your name, friend?”
The black-and-red-armored samurai traced his sword in the dirt. “Drift.”
The other samurai nodded. “Well, Drift, you may call me Wing. It has been many years since I have seen another Cybertronian.”
Drift lifted his head up, gazing at the sun as it set beneath the horizon. “How long have you been here?”
“Oh, I have long since lost count of the years. Centuries, perhaps. Maybe even longer.”
“Do you know why you are here?”
“I was sent to find something.” Wing’s own gaze wandered off as his mind reached back through the years. “I can barely remember… something called the Matrix, I believe?”
“The Matrix of Leadership?”
“That was it, yes. The last gift of the Primes.” Wing chuckled as he shook his head. “I lost the trail so long ago. We all did. The others started fighting amongst themselves and I… I decided to just stay here. Embrace the culture. Mingle with the locals.”
Drift nodded slowly. “Hm. I like the sound of that. Besides…” He smiled as he finished drawing the Autobot symbol in the sand. “I have all the time in the world.”
Earth - 2023
“Shouldn’t he be back by now?” Crosshairs demanded.
Hot Rod shook his head. “He touched it before I could set the time! There’s no way for me to bring him back!”
“So what, he’s just stuck there now?” Crosshairs swore as he punched one of the few stones that still stood in Stonehenge. “Damn it, we can’t do anything right!”
“Calm down,” Optimus Prime urged, although even his voice sounded somewhat shaky. “Hot Rod, make sure you set the time for the next trip. Hound, I will have you go next. Perhaps you can help bring back Drift while you’re at it—”
“That would defeat the purpose, Prime,” Megatron snarled. “We are already altering history. It will not matter where we end up for it will all be overwritten once our plan succeeds.”
“How do we know you’re not just trying to get rid of us?” Crosshairs drew his guns and pointed them at Megatron. “That sounds like something you would do, doesn’t it?”
“Crosshairs, stand down!” Optimus ordered. “Now is not the time for us to fight among ourselves!”
“Megatron isn’t one of us! Have you gone mad, Prime?”
Optimus ignored him as he turned to Hot Rod. “Has the time been set?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hound?”
“Already on it.” Hound stepped towards the Pillar. “If any fighting happens, leave some of Megatron for me, okay?”
He touched the Pillar, and he was gone.
Earth - 1944
“Hey! I’m on your guys’ side!” Hound cried over the sound of his gatling gun. “Can’t we just talk this out?”
The bot who looked a lot like Hot Rod—albeit with the alt mode of some old German war vehicle rather than a modern day sports car—let out a battle cry as he charged at Hound, unloading his own weapon at the other Autobot. Charging behind him was an Autobot with a dull green color scheme that looked a lot like Bumblebee, raising a hammer high above his head.
Hot Rod came up to him first and Hound bashed him aside with the butt of his gatling gun. He then thrust his rotund midsection out to knock Bumblebee to the ground. With both of them down, he aimed his cannon at both of them but did not fire. He then pointed a finger at the red, white and black flags that were waving around them.
“These are the bad guys, right? Nazis they’re called, right? Well, I fight Nazis too where I come from, except we call them Decepticons. You guys know what Decepticons are, don’t you?”
Struggling to get back onto his feet, Hot Rod gave him a confused look. “Decepticons? Quoi?”
Hound looked to Bumblebee. “C’mon, ‘Bee. You know who the ‘Cons are, don’t ya’?”
Back on his feet, Bumblebee dropped his hammer head first into the ground before slowly nodding. He whirred and beeped in what humans referred to as Morse code, which Hound fortunately had some understanding of.
“It’s a long story, ‘Bee. Where I come from… things are lookin’ pretty bad. I’m here to set things right.”
Hot Rod looked over to Bumblebee. “You know this guy, mon ami?”
Bumblebee nodded. Hot Rod looked back to Hound.
“Well, in that case… a friend of ‘Bee’s is a friend of mine. Please, tell us your story, mon ami, and perhaps we can help you.”
Hound chuckled as he set down his weapon. “All right, but you’d better buckle in. I’ve only got a limited amount of time and it’s quite a wild tale to tell….”
Earth - 2023
“Mon dieu. This is not good.”
“What is it, Hot Rod?” Optimus Prime asked.
“The Pillar is becoming unstable,” Hot Rod replied, staring at the device as the energy around crackled a shade of purple rather than the usual blue. “If Que’s research is anything to go by, then it means that the timestream is falling apart. Becoming fractured.”
“Okaaay,” Crosshairs said. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Is Hound stuck in the past, too?”
“Not necessarily. But it might mean that when the timer is up, he’ll be sent to a different year rather than back here. It will be randomized as to where he will end up.” Hot Rod tapped his head. “There’s… something else as well.”
Bumblebee whirred in agreement. “Something’s wrong, I can feel it.”
Crosshairs frowned as he looked between both of them. “What are you guys talking about?”
“History is already being altered, and it is affecting our memory banks,” Hot Rod explained. “’Bee and I can now recall encountering Hound many years ago, whereas before we did not.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“It depends on how things unfold. And with the Pillar acting how it is… well, I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
Crosshairs aimed a glare at Megatron, his fingers still wrapped around the handles of his pistols. “Is this all going according to plan for you, Megs?”
Megatron did not humor him with a response, his eyes focused on the unstable Pillar. Optimus Prime looked towards Hot Rod.
“Is it safe for you to send another one of us back in time?” the Autobot leader asked.
Hot Rod hesitated before shaking his head. “I would not recommend it, monsieur. I fear that another trip will only make things worse.”
“We are already so close,” Megatron growled. “We cannot give up now! You Autobots haven’t even tried to make the best use of your time!”
“Maybe your plan just sucks,” Crosshairs grunted. “Ever think of that?”
Megatron glowered at the green Autobot… and then a sinister smile bisected his face. “Does it, Autobot? Or perhaps it has already succeeded.”
Optimus Prime glared at him. “What are you talking about, Megatron?”
“Until now, I had thought Shockwave’s theories to be the thing of madness,” the Decepticon leader murmured, more to himself than to any of the others. “I should congratulate him when I cross paths with him again.”
“Yeah, uh, except Shockwave’s dead,” Crosshairs pointed out. “All of your Decepticons are dead.”
“Life and death no longer have any meaning, Autobot,” Megatron replied. “Except for yours.”
He then pointed his arm cannon at Crosshairs and fired. The green Autobot’s body was instantly blown apart into dozens of pieces.
Bumblebee whirred in anger as he charged at Megatron, deploying his hammer. “You bastard!”
He lunged at Megatron only to be blasted away by another shot from the Decepticon leader’s arm cannon. Optimus Prime let out a wail of anger as he moved to tackle his nemesis only to be easily knocked aside, the Autobot leader weakened by countless years of fighting and an eon’s worth of despair. Megatron then stepped forward and grabbed Hot Rod, hoisting him up in the air.
“Consider this a mercy, Autobot,” Megatron growled into his face. “A signal of gratitude for helping me accomplish my victory.”
He then tossed the black and orange Autobot aside before approaching the Pillar, putting his hand through the unstable violet energy to touch the device.
“Decepticons, mobilize. Our triumph is at hand!”
Earth - 1913
“What… what is this madness?”
Starscream looked around, confused as to where he was. Just moments ago he had been clashing with the Autobots in the middle of Mission City, and yet now he was here. He was still on Earth, that much he could tell, but the technology and vehicles were much more primitive compared to the already low-quality machines he already knew of this wretched planet. Around him, humans were running in terror from his presence, but that much wasn’t new or unexpected.
Carelessly stepping on some of the fleeing fleshlings, he continued to observe his surroundings before laying optics on another mechanoid. Their dull purple armor plating and single red optics made their identity immediately obvious.
“Shockwave?!” Starscream exclaimed. “What in the blazes are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on Cybertron?”
Shockwave disregarded him as he observed his own surroundings. “Interesting,” he murmured. “Perhaps my hypothesis was correct after all.”
“Hypothesis?! What in the blazes are you talking about?”
There was a flash of light and a third mech joined their number. Starscream’s optics immediately went wide; although his appearance was different from what Starscream was familiar with, there was no mistaking his identity.
“M-Megatron? W-what are you doing here? What is the meaning of this?”
Megatron ignored him as he turned his attention to Shockwave. “Your theories have seen fruition, my friend. I have already succeeded in tricking the Autobots to disperse their numbers across history. The timestream is fracturing as we speak.”
“So I’ve noticed,” Shockwave replied. “What would you have us do, my liege?”
“I already know the location of the AllSpark in this time, as well as the Matrix of Leadership and the Star Harvester. We shall use those to bring about our victory.”
“And the Ark?”
“Sentinel Prime and his crew have not yet arrived in this time, I’m afraid. But no matter; we shall address that issue shortly.”
Starscream sputtered in confusion. “The Ark? I… I don’t understand any of this—”
Megatron struck him in the face with his arm. “You never have,” he growled. “Just do as I command, Starscream, and do not waste my time with your useless questions! Besides, if you and Shockwave have fallen through these fractures, then so will the Autobots. They will continue to be a nuisance until we have finished our plan.”
Shockwave charged his arm cannon. “They shall be dealt with, Lord Megatron.”
“Excellent.” The Decepticon leader grinned. “I will leave you to it then.”
With that, he converted to his jet mode and took off into the sky. Starscream watched him go with an utter look of confusion before turning his attention to Shockwave.
“Please tell me I’m not the only one who has no idea what’s going on.”
“Please,” Shockwave muttered. “Spare my audio receptors from your useless babbling.”
Earth - 2023
“’Bee? Come on, mon ami, wake up.”
Bumblebee’s optics flickered back on to see Hot Rod standing over him. Around him, his body was reassembling itself after Megatron had blasted him apart. “What did I do last night?”
“You don’t need to use your radio. Megatron is gone. He… he used the Pillar to go back in time.”
This prompted Bumblebee to stand up, now fully in one piece again. “We have to go after him.”
“There might be a chance the two of us can both use it at the same time,” Hot Rod said. “But there’s no telling where or when Megatron has gone to. Time is fracturing all around us; my memory banks are still constantly updating with events that never happened.”
Bumblebee looked around, his optics passing over the remains of Crosshairs before landing on Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader lay motionless, staring up at the darkened sky with dim blue optics.
“Prime?” Bumblebee cautiously stepped forward. “Come on, get up. We need to go after Megatron.”
Optimus Prime said nothing at first, and for a moment Bumblebee wondered if he had shut himself offline. Then, his chest plates slid open and Optimus reached inside to retrieve the Matrix of Leadership. He handed it to Bumblebee.
“Take it.”
Bumblebee’s eyes went wide. “What? Prime… no. I can’t. I… I’m not worthy….”
“Nor… was I.” Optimus’ voice was weak and strained, as if he was struggling to get the words out. As if he was fighting something in order to say anything. “But I trust you with it, Bumblebee. You and Hot Rod. Keep it safe. Keep it out of the wrong hands.”
Bumblebee stared at the Matrix in Prime’s hands, unable—unwilling—to believe what he was hearing. “What about you?” he asked quietly.
“I….” Optimus winced. Was it from pain? He didn’t look that beat up…. “I must stay here. I vowed to protect this planet until the end. And that is what I will do.”
Bumblebee hesitated for a long moment before reluctantly taking the Matrix from his leader’s hand. He did not place it in his own chest but instead simply held it in his arms.
“Now… go.” Optimus pointed weakly at the Pillar. “Do what you can… to stop Megatron. Our worlds… our universe… depend on it.”
Bumblebee took a moment to look Prime in the eyes, knowing it would probably be the last. “It… it has been an honor serving under you, Prime. I will not let you down.”
Optimus smiled sadly. “I know you won’t, ‘Bee. I know you won’t.”
Hot Rod stepped forward and placed a hand on Bumblebee’s shoulder. “Come on, ‘Bee. We must hurry if we hope to stop Megatron.”
Bumblebee nodded and, with one last look to Optimus, he walked over to the Pillar with Hot Rod. As one, they placed their hands on the device, and in an instant, they were gone.
Earth - 1805
“This makes no sense.”
“I hear ya,” Hound said.
Ironhide unfurled his cannons to blast away an incoming Decepticon. “I mean, how is any of this even happening?”
“I wish I could explain, but I don’t think I would be able to do it justice.” Hound loaded another clip into his machine gun. “I wish Que or someone would show up. That would probably make this easier to understand.”
Ironhide snorted. “I wouldn’t count on it. I never understand half of the things he says.”
“Point taken.”
There was a flash of energy and the two Autobots were joined by another of their number. Hound instantly recognized his leader, although his appearance was not the same as when he had left the present day. Rather, his body was that of his first five years on Earth. Upon noticing the attacking Decepticons, Optimus Prime deployed his arm blades.
“Ironhide?” the Autobot leader started to say.
“Your guess is as good as mine, Prime,” Ironhide replied.
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
“I know this is all really confusing,” Hound said. “If you ask me, just focus on blasting apart Decepticons. That’s a language I think we can all understand.”
Ironhide grinned. “Now you’re talking.”
Earth - 1913
Megatron transformed to his robot mode and landed on the desert ground. His mouth curled up into a grin as his optics laid upon the massive, cube-shaped AllSpark, laying in the spot where the future Hoover Dam would one day be constructed. And it never would be constructed, should he have anything to say about it.
“At last,” he rumbled, stepping towards the ancient artifact. “After all these years, you are finally mine.”
He started to step towards it only to hear a burst of energy behind him. Narrowing his optics, he looked over his shoulder to see Hot Rod and Bumblebee pointing their weapons at him.
“You are already too late, Autobots,” the Decepticon leader growled. “I have already won.”
“You call this chaos victory?” Hot Rod snapped. “A strange strategy, if you ask me.”
Megatron shook his head. “’Strategy’ was never the point, Autobot. All I ever wanted was to rule. The means to acquire that goal were never important. Whether it was the AllSpark, the Fallen’s Star Harvester, or Sentinel Prime’s space bridge… they were all merely options at my disposal. Contingency plans upon contingency plans. This was simply another means to an end.”
“I guess you and logic don’t get along very well.”
Megatron chuckled darkly. “Shockwave is the one ruled by logic. I am merely ruled by lust for power. And that power is now within inches from my grasp.”
Bumblebee whirred angrily. “Not if anything to say about it I have.”
Tossing the Matrix he held over to Hot Rod, he charged towards Megatron, firing his cannon as he ran. Megatron growled in annoyance as he readied his own arm cannon and swung it to point it directly at the yellow Autobot’s face. Hot Rod cried out in alarm as he moved in to intercept the Decepticon leader’s shot.
Around them, time fragmented and the scenery shifted. No longer were they standing in the Nevada desert but were now standing in the middle of the Arctic, where Megatron himself had crash-landed many years ago. Bumblebee ducked and slid across the ice to avoid the blast from Megatron’s cannon before firing from his own weapon, striking the Decepticon leader several times in the chest. Hot Rod then jumped over Bumblebee’s head and took his own shot at Megatron, hitting him in the head.
Time changed around them again, and they were now all in a lush green field. As Megatron primed his arm cannon for another attack, there was a flash of light behind him and a dark gray metal fist flew into his face. Energon sputtered from Megatron’s mouth as the Decepticon leader staggered back from the unexpected assault and he readjusted his optics to get a better look at his assailant.
“You…?” he started to say.
“Me,” Ironhide replied as he unfurled his cannons and fired them at Megatron.
Megatron snarled in anger as he pointed his arm cannon at the Autobot. He only got a few shots in when he was attacked again from behind, this time by a small silver Autobot who jumped onto his back.
“You want a piece of me?!” Jazz cried as he fired at Megatron’s head with his arm gun.
Megatron reached behind him to pull Jazz off. Before he could finish off the Autobot as he had fifteen years ago, another portal dispersed the Autobots Sideswipe, Dino, and Drift. The three blade-wielding Autobots lunged at the Decepticon leader and slashed at his armor with their swords, causing Megatron to release his grip on Jazz.
“Impossible. Where are you all coming from?” As the world changed around him once more, the green field turning into a golden desert, Megatron raised his arms to the sky. “Decepticons! To me!”
No Decepticons came to him, and instead Ratchet fell from the sky to drive his axe into his shoulder. Megatron cried out in agony before swinging an arm to swat the Autobot medic aside. Before he could unleash his fury on his attackers, a red and blue figure appeared before him and his red optical sensors went wide.
“Prime—”
Before the name could even leave his vocal processor, Optimus Prime drove a blade straight into his chest, right through his spark chamber. Gasping in pain, Megatron fell back, his vision becoming blurry as the world spun around him. He fell to his knees, and through his hazy vision he could barely make out the remains of his fellow Decepticons. Shockwave, Starscream, Soundwave…. Standing over them were the rest of the Autobots, pulled from all across time, alive and dead. All of them had their weapons drawn and pointed at him, ready to pull the trigger should he make a move.
“No….” He coughed, energon leaking from his mouth onto the ground. “I was so close… the power was mine….”
He looked around. He was back where the AllSpark had landed… only the Cube was not there. He looked up to the sky and saw it falling from the sky, heading straight for the ground.
“This is it, boys!” Hound cried out. “Time to set things right!”
“Yeah, and just how are we gonna do that?” asked Sideswipe. “I don’t see any of us flying up to it in time.”
Hot Rod drew his time gun and held up the Matrix of Leadership. “This is going to be crazy,” he murmured. “But sometimes… des œuvres folles.”
With that, he loaded up the ancient relic into his gun, pointed it at the descending AllSpark, and pulled the trigger.
Megatron could only watch as victory was once more ripped from his grasp… and the world fell away around him.
Earth - 2009
The Fallen raised his hands to the burning Sun, the Star Harvester humming to life beneath him. Clouds of stone and dirt swirled around him.
“And now,” he rumbled, “I claim your sun!”
Suddenly, the world froze around him. Time seemed to come to a stand still as the eldritch voice he had listened to for so long spoke into his mind.
“You have failed me.”
“No,” the Fallen murmured. “Master, I am so close. Soon, you shall be awakened—!”
“You will fail, just as you already have. I no longer have use for you.”
Everything fell around the Fallen; the pyramid crumbled beneath his feet as the Star Harvester faded out of existence. The once and former Nova Prime cried out in despair as he fell endlessly into the abyss of time and space.
“Besides… I have already found another.”
All he could do was cry out as the world suddenly became very, very cold around him…
Earth - 2023
Optimus Prime laid on the ground as the world fell apart around him. Earth was shedding its organic surface, revealing the metallic carapace that laid underneath. On either side of the globe, a massive horn broke from the ground and rose towards the sky.
There was no stopping it this time. Unicron had awakened. Earth was gone, and he had failed its people.
But, even in this darkest hour… there was light. He could sense Unicron’s discomfort, and he knew then that the others had succeeded.
“Do not be too hasty in your celebration, Prime,” Unicron spoke into his mind. “This reality may soon be no more… but I will find the new one that your Autobots have created. And it shall suffer the same fate as this one.”
“I have faith in them,” Optimus Prime said defiantly. “They will find a way to stop you… just as they always have.”
“We shall see. But until then….”
Optimus cried out in pain as he felt himself lifting up from the ground. The eyes of Unicron blazed brightly in his mind.
“I have need of a new herald. One who shall serve as my scourge across the universe.”
He could feel his body change and shift around him, his red and blue armor plating turning a dull shade of metal.
“Remnants of Quintessa’s control still linger in your mind. Your secret bloodlust, your hidden resentment against mankind for their treachery… you shall hide these feelings no more. You will be fully unrestrained; a beast made to answer my every beck and call.”
Optimus Prime could already feel the last vestiges of his mind fading away, supplanted by the dark persona that Quintessa had already planted within him, nurtured now by Unicron’s every word.
“Awaken… my Scourge.”
With his last conscious thought, he prayed that the Autobots of the new world would defend it from the coming chaos. Then, Optimus Prime thought no more.
Earth - 1987
The sun rose on a brand new world.
Bumblebee stood on the edge of a hill, looking out towards the city of San Francisco, thinking of the friend he had been forced to leave behind. He never liked having to make such sacrifices… but for her safety, it was one that had to be made.
Behind him, he could hear the newly arrived Autobots chatting among themselves, discussing and comparing their new alternate modes as well as their future plans. He heard the sound of large footsteps approaching him and he looked up to see Optimus Prime standing beside him.
“You are still thinking about your friend, aren’t you?” the Autobot leader questioned softly.
Bumblebee looked away from him, telegraphing his sadness with a quiet whir.
“I understand, old friend. But sometimes we must sacrifice our connections in order to preserve them. Perhaps once this war is over, and the Decepticons are well and truly defeated, you will be able to return to her. But until then….”
He trailed off and Bumblebee braced himself for another platitude. He then glanced up at Prime and saw instead that the large red and blue Autobot was looking off into the distance, a disquieted expression in his optics. Bumblebee whirred a question and Optimus Prime shook himself out of his brief stupor.
“My apologies, friend,” Prime said. “It’s just that… there’s something about this world that feels familiar. I just can’t put my finger on it….”
Bumblebee had felt the familiarity as well. He had tried to think back as to when he would have ever come across a planet that was so full of life, with lush green forests and flowing blue oceans.
But then he remembered that though out his entire life, he had never once set foot off of Cybertron. And then the feeling was gone.
FIN
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