POV Optimus Prime
"Ratchet, what have you heard?" I ask.
"The Decepticons believe that Megatron is dead. From the few nanosecond scream that was transmitted, it seems likely that he is no longer with us," Ratchet replies.
"Good riddance, I say," Ironhide replies bluntly.
I want to say something, but I just let it slide.
'Rest in peace, brother.'
"The Decepticons have split into two factions, and they seem to be fighting over who shall lead them," Ratchet adds.
"They're fighting amongst themselves? That doesn't make any sense," Arcee says skeptically.
"Under normal circumstances, I would agree, but in this case, Starscream has proclaimed himself successor to Megatron, and he has gathered quite a few loyalists, but it seems more have refused his rulership," Ratchet replies.
"There has to be more to it than that, even if they had a difference of opinion, they wouldn't start killing each other over it, at least not on such a large scale," Arcee refutes.
"There is. Those who refused Starscream's leadership have been contacted by... Megatronus," Ratchet says cautiously.
"What?! How is he still alive! I thought he was destroyed thousands of years ago!" Ironhide says with shock.
"He should be dead, and yet Soundwave seems to have confirmed his authenticity," Ratchet replies.
"If Megatronus is still alive, then he will come for the Allspark. We must find it while they are distracted," I say firmly.
"He's already found it," Ratchet says nervously.
"What? Are you certain?" I ask while hiding my slight fear.
"I can't confirm if he was telling the truth, but the Decepticons seem to believe he knows where it is and could retrieve it once the fighting is settled. It's why they are fighting with such reckless abandon. They believe that Megatronus will resurrect them once the fighting is over," Ratchet says.
"Then we have lost," Arcee says despondently.
"No! We have not lost, not while I still live. I shall stop Megatronus before he can capture the Allspark," I reply firmly.
"But how? We don't know where it is?" Ironside asks.
"True, but Megatronus is old and will have to rely on his subordinates to recapture the Allspark. So we will attack the Decepticons when they are weakened," I order.
"An interesting idea, but I don't think you need to worry that much," says an unknown voice.
"Who goes there!?" Ironside says while aiming his cannons towards the voice.
Everyone present looks around with their weapons drawn.
"Don't worry, I'm an ally," the voice says.
"An ally, huh? Likely story," Arcee says while looking around us.
"I can't blame you for now believing me. I'm a stranger after all. But tell me if this makes you trust me more," the voice says.
CLUNK
We all turn and aim at the sound, but only see the severed limb of a Cybertronian.
"What the!?" Arcee says nervously.
"That belonged to Megatron, before I killed him," the voice says.
We look at each other, and while I admit it looks like it belonged to Megatron, I send Ratchet to confirm. When he comes back, he nods. Several Autobots gasp in shock.
"And you don't have to worry about Megatronus, I've eliminated him as well," the voice says.
"Are you going to show us his severed limb now as well?" Ironside jokes.
"Nope, nothing remains of him after I was done with him. Well, unless you can identify him from a pile of slag," the voice says.
"What do you want?" I ask cautiously.
"To help you win the war. And to annihilate the Decepticons. They're a threat to my planet, and I don't like their greedy and ruthless ways. So I figured I would help the side that doesn't want to wipe out Humanity. I've read your files, you seem trustworthy," the voice says calmly.
"You falsified Megatronus' orders, didn't you?" I say with realization.
"Bingo. Right now, Shockwave and his comrades are fighting to exterminate Starscream and his allies. They'll win, that's for sure, but they will suffer some nasty losses in the process; that's where you guys come in, or I do, or I suppose both if you want," the voice says.
"Does that mean you know where the Allspark is?" I ask.
"Yep, it's with me. And don't worry, I'll give it to you once the war is over. I have no use for it and would even prefer if it were not on Earth," the voice says.
"Why not give it to us now? Don't you want to be allies?" Ironhide asks.
"And risk you guys losing it? Fat chance at that. It's safer with me. At least until the Decepticons are all dead," the voice replies bluntly.
Ironhide seems to find an issue with that claim, but I stop him from speaking.
"Why are you helping us? You could have just as easily left us to fight the Decepticons and eliminate whoever was left," I ask.
"Sigh. I admire you, Optimus. You're a good soul. I know your character. As such, I believe that you will use the Allspark to rebuild your home, not as a weapon," the voice says.
"If you wish to be an ally, then I accept," I say after some thought.
"Glad to hear it. My names Rio Pines," says a voice this time from right behind us.
I turn around and spot the human... No, not a human at my feet. It had blonde shoulder-length hair and deep blue eyes with pointed ears on the side of its head. From the knowledge I scanned, I believed he was what they call an elf or fairy.
"Well met, Rio, I am Optimus Prime, these are my comrades," I say as I introduce my comrades.
"Nice to meet you all, and if you don't mind, can I have that arm back?" Rio asks.
"May I ask why?" I ask curiously.
"I don't trust that it might be used to resurrect Megatron. If you had any idea how annoying it is to keep him dead, you would understand," Rio says as if referencing something.
I nod at Ratchet, and he places the arm in front of Rio. Rio touches it, and the arm disappears. My eyes widen slightly, and I try to decipher what I just witnessed.
"Good, now I will follow your lead when it comes to the final battle. I estimate that the Decepticons will finish their little internal conflict in less than a week. When that happens, I can lead them anywhere you want. Just let me know what you need for the best chance at victory," Rio explains.
"That soon?" Ironhide asks.
"Yes, while Starscream is capable, he is fundamentally a coward, and as such, he will lose. Though I imagine he will evade the fate of his followers and hide, we can track him down at a later date," Rio replies.
"How many will be left?" Arcee asks.
"From how it's going, likely anywhere from 14-21 Decepticons. Though that is just the current estimate from what I read on their capabilities. Starscream may manage to inflict greater losses on the others," Rio replies.
"Hmm, that could be a bit dicey depending on who makes up those remaining," Ironhide comments.
"I can help a bit, assuming I can test a simple weapon on you," Rio requests.
"What kind of weapon?" Ironhide asks with curiosity.
"This," Rio says while pulling out a grenade.
Ironhide takes the small device and starts examining it.
"Fascinating. An EMP Device this small, and from what I can tell, its capabilities might be able to bypass our shields. I wasn't aware humanity had developed such weapons," Ironhide comments.
"They haven't. I made it myself," Rio comments.
"Oh? What did you use to kill Megatron? Or what about Megatronus?" Ironhide asks with growing excitement.
"I won't use the weapon I used against Megatron, nor will I show you, but I can show you my other weapon," Rio says while pulling out another grenade.
Ironhide took this one as well while handing back the first device.
"Incredible. Sustain Plasma Excitement. This thing could easily tear right through any Decepticon. No wonder nothing was left of Megatronus. If you used enough of these, there wouldn't be anything but... Slag, so that's what you meant. I like you. You have nice weapons," Ironhide compliments.
"Thank you, Ironhide, I must admit your cannons look quite impressive too. I've often wondered how you never run out of ammo," Rio comments.
"Ah, that's an interesting question. You can consider it to be a sort of constant transformation. We take in particles from the air and convert them into materials more often than not, ammo, and the like," Ironhide explains.
"Interesting. Oh, and before I forget, take this," Rio says while tossing a bag at me.
"What is this?" I ask while inspecting the bag.
"It's the remains of the Matrix of Leadership. It was all that remained of the Seven Great Primes tomb. I think if you pass certain criteria, you can reconstruct it. Or maybe not, who can say?" Rio says with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Thank you. If this is what you say it is, then it may bring great prosperity to my kind," I reply.
"Don't mention it, it was useless to me anyway," Rio replies.
Several Days Later...
POV Shift Shockwave
"Lord Shockwave, are we certain this is the location that Lord Megatronus sent to us?" Blackout asks.
"Yes, this is the place. According to him, what we seek is in this valley, it is shielded from our sensors by the local mineral composition," I reply with well-hidden suspicion.
Despite what I said, I wasn't as confident as I seemed. Something about this situation felt off. I didn't know Megatronus well, but despite that, I still felt he didn't seem quite right. I suppose I would find out the truth soon enough.
Click.... BOOOOOM
Explosion after explosion goes off, and several Decepticons try to react, but that ends up causing them to trigger more mines. Eventually, everyone calms down enough to stop moving. But then the next second, everything goes off all at once, and I am sent to the ground.
I recover and look around at our losses. It wasn't pleasant. Of the 17 members I came here with, only 9 remained.
"Shockwave! Get out of there, the Autobots..." Soundwave says before going dark.
"It's a trap! Fall back!" I order.
We make for the valley entrance, but four are destroyed by an enemy ambush. The remaining five stand with me as we attempt to fight our way out. But the sheer number was too much to overcome. Even as I take out one, I get hit by several attacks. Then I look around and notice I am all that remains.
"COWARDS!" I yell in anger.
One shot after another hits me as I refuse to yield. But then I see several small objects land near me.
BZZZZZZ
A static buzz is the last thing I hear before darkness takes me.
POV Shift Rio
"Well, that only leaves Starscream. But I have a feeling I know where he is, or rather where he will be going," I comment.
"Where?" Optimus asks.
"To find the only ally he can possibly call upon. Your old mentor, Sentinel Prime," I reply.
"WHAT?! Impossible! Sentinel would never betray the Autobots," Optimus denies.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" I ask while pulling up a video feed showing the Ark ship on the Moon.
While it was true that Sentinel Prime was in a death-like stasis, there were several ways to awaken him in that state. A few methods that Starscream undoubtedly knows.
What follows was painful to watch. I saw the betrayal and hurt on Optimus Prime's face as Sentinel Prime didn't attack and kill Starscream, but instead reaffirmed his alliance with Megatron. I had to give it to Starscream; he was a great manipulator and great at playing the weak lackey.
"What will you do now?" I ask curiously.
"I... I shall slay Sentinel myself. It is my duty. Ironhide, lead the others to destroy Starscream," Optimus orders.
"As you command," Ironhide replies solemnly.
While they make that choice, I start cleaning up the Decepticons that were brought here. I had ordered Shockwave to bring all the corpses of the fallen Decepticons under the guise that they would be resurrected. In reality, I just wanted it to be easy for me to clean up and to avoid anyone bad getting their hands on any Cybertronians.