- TWILIGHT -

 

Laurentian Abyss, Atlantic Ocean

The silence was suspicious. Especially on such a beautiful day.
There were no waves. No birds. Not even the wind whispered. To fighter pilot Daniel, all he could hear was the roar of his jet engine.
He signalled to the F-22 aerial patrol beside him, and they shifted, diving lower to inspect the unusually calm waters. ‘Send a transmission to headquarters, no unusual activity, but the waves are abnormal. They are still, almost motionless. Must be from the Energon those machine freaks emitted while they were alive.’
‘Roger that.’ The Raptors soared upwards, regaining velocity.
The burst of water came unexpectedly.
It crashed into the hull of one Raptor, splitting it in half. Two chunks of metal fell into the ocean. Daniel’s eyes widened. ‘What the – ’
Another geyser-like boom. Another pillar of seawater shot upwards. ‘Evade! Evade!’ Daniel frantically reached for his comlink. ‘Bravo, we need support. There’s something – ’
‘Silence, human!’ The claw came from nowhere – or at least, it came from the sea, but Daniel did not notice quickly enough.
But it was fast. Faster than was humanly possible. No one could blame him for not noticing it. How could they? There was no one here. No one but him.
A tip of the extraterrestrial metal claw tore into the glass and into the cockpit, thrusting into his head. Blood spurted from the split cranium and gushed out his brains, splattering the cockpit windows. There was not even any time to curse, although he did manage to think of an unlikely possibility, even as he realised the absurdity. Chinese ambush…?!
No… that’s ridiculous… have to radio headquarters… we’re in deep shit… oh fuck… this is bad. No way I can find a medic… shit…
It was too late. His vision went red. Choking on his own blood, the last thing he saw was a monstrous figure swatting and shattering his friend’s F-22, and the last thing he heard was the maniacal laughter.
The laughter… and the triumphant roar, which thundered across the Atlantic Ocean even as Daniel’s sundered aircraft plummeted into the Abyss: ‘Decepticons, assemble! I am Lord Megatron, and the Allspark in my chest has made me omnipotent! Now, hunt down the final fragment, and bring it to me!’

*

From across the galaxy, they heard. They heard, and answered. They answered the once Lord High Protector’s call. ‘Starscream, mobilizing. Scramble, scramble. Intergalactic flight in progress. Destination: Earth.’
Within the depths of the Abyss, the Allspark’s gift of life, sustenance, and regeneration took hold. It took hold of demonic forces.
‘Blackout and Scorponok inbound. Preparing for heavy troop transport.’
‘Brawl preparing for search and retrieve operation.’
And there was a new voice in the horrible chorus, one that was young, but as sharp as the steel it was built in: ‘Wreckage, on my way. Lord Megatron has returned!’
‘Summon all the Decepticon armadas across the galaxy! Call them to the planet called Earth! Our Lord is there!’

‘To the stars! Gather above this Earth! Descend upon them in all our might!’
‘Yes. Yes! Let no Autobot survive!’

*

It was almost too easy.
After the last war, I would’ve thought they had learned.
I am Megatron. Dominion is the purpose of my being.
Optimus Prime, my brother, never realised this. He foolishly thought that a being of my power could be satisfied with such little satisfaction.
No. The Cube must be mine. But I need not hurry. I made that mistake twice, and paid dearly on both accounts – although my second mistake turned to be a true blessing in disguise. Now my mission is almost complete. I have much of the Allspark inside me already, shoved in by that fool of a fleshling Sam Witwicky. What can Prime do? What can he possibly do to stop me?
It makes me sad that I must kill you, brother. Had you submitted to me, went on one knee before me, I would have respectfully let you live. But you had to play hero.
You had to play Autobot.
So be it. You can resist my separatist Decepticons as much as you like. But you will lose. You will die. And so will your precious humans.
I am Megatron, Lord most High. I don’t care how many have to die – ten Cybertronians, or a billion humans – Anyone who opposes me will be reduced to oblivion.

*

The outskirts of Mission City, 24:26 hours

The voice was deep and concerned. ‘We lost Jazz. We cannot continue this war without Prime’s second-in-command, not with the same intensity.’
The reply was hoarse, rough, and made no attempt to hide its speaker’s contempt. ‘We can, and we will. As long as my nails still hold my joints together, I will carry on the fight.’
‘You are getting old, Ironhide. We are getting old. We must fight them smarter, not harder.’
‘I have trained hundreds of Autobot soldiers before you were even born, boy. Before the war even started. Who are you to lecture me?’
Optimus Prime held up his massive silver hand, silencing his right-hand men. ‘Enough, Ratchet. Enough, Ironhide.’ Suddenly even his circuits felt heavy, burdensome. ‘You both have strong arguments for and against leaving Earth. But restoring Cybertron is no longer our sole purpose. We have only a small fragment of the Allspark within me. It will not be enough.’ His optical sensors flashed. ‘With Earth’s sentients at stake from the Decepticons, our top priority is to ensure that our enemies never kill another human.’
‘That’s why I say, hunt them down, Optimus!’ growled black-as-night Ironhide, raising his hand. ‘They’re crippled after we destroyed Megatron. We should press the advantage, or it will be lost through neglect.’ He glared at Ratchet, for although Ratchet was functionally Ironhide’s best friend, they were also dual opposites, with Ironhide as Prime’s advisor in military strategy and the senior weapons specialist of the Autobots. He was the enforcer of Prime’s will, insofar that he was aggressive and all too happy to resort to force. Conversely, Ratchet was the Chief Medical Officer of the Autobots, intensely compassionate, a lover of life, and prone to a bumbling, harmless, almost clumsy, comedic disposition. Perhaps their opposites was what made them close comrades.
‘I only wish I was convinced by your reasoning, Ironhide,’ said Prime. ‘But I cannot help feeling that Megatron is not dead, only dormant.’
‘Not even Megatron could survive that much energy,’ said Ratchet, his body decked in a hue of light yellow-lime. ‘The Allspark brought life to worlds. It brought life to Cybertron. There is no power that could stem its energy.’
‘I fear Megatron’s will to live is so strong, his essence of evil will always pervade the universe,’ said Prime. ‘I will remain vigilant. Until then, we must hold out against the Decepticons, and turn the tide when the time is right.’
‘But Jazz is dead, and the battalion he commanded, scattered across the galaxy. What can the four of us do?’
Prime looked to Ironhide. ‘Any ideas?’
Ironhide seemed to hesitate for a moment. ‘Well… there is one warrior who I vouch for. She will answer your call.’
‘Give me the name.’
‘Arcee. She was under the command of Bumblebee during the Battle of Tyger Pax. Megatron captured Bumblebee’s squadron and tortured them, but she did not break. The rest is old news. Bumblebee’s team bought you the time you needed to launch the Cube into space.’
‘And it landed here,’ finished Prime, turning away. ‘Is she a suitable replacement for Jazz to you?’
‘By no means,’ grunted Ironhide. ‘She is no leader, but a student. If you ask me she will remain that way for a long time.’
Ratchet’s optic sensors seemed to reflect light. ‘What are you saying, Ironhide?’
‘I mean that she is no replacement for Jazz, but she is better than nothing.’
‘Modest about her skills much, Ironhide?’ asked Ratchet sarcastically.
‘Nevertheless, it has been a long time. Several millennia,’ said Prime. ‘Where did you assign her last?’
‘Charii star system. There was a Decepticon cell there, working on a weapon of mass destruction that could destroy planets. She should have destroyed the superweapon by now and be hunting down the remnants of the cell.’
‘Can you recall her back to Earth? My message doesn’t seem to have gone through to all the Autobots in the galaxy.’
‘But the Charii splinter cell has not been rooted out yet,’ protested Ironhide.
‘There is little time,’ said Prime. ‘Anytime, the Decepticons could be amassing again. Even when they are leaderless, they are the most dangerous threat to the universe. We need reinforcements – not just your student, but others. From the other star systems. From Cybertron.’
Ratchet spoke up. ‘Besides, wouldn’t it be good to see her again?’
Ironhide turned away, looking up at the moon. ‘Yeah. Yeah, it would.’ And with that, he reached for his transmitter.
Ratchet and Prime left Ironhide to his task. Ratchet turned to the Autobot Supreme Commander, his optical lens flashing in amusement. ‘What’s with him? Are they not on speaking terms?’
‘Ironhide is withdrawn, Arcee is boisterous. The trainer is brooding and angry, the student is fun-loving and irreverent. I think the past few months have been hard on all of us, especially those two. While I don’t think they’ve fallen out, I wouldn’t rule that out.’
‘Where are you going now?’ asked Ratchet, noticing Prime’s change in direction.
Prime slid aside his faceplate, smiling. ‘There is someone I must meet.’
‘An Autobot agent?’
‘No. A human.’
Ratchet almost felt a nail in his head flip in surprise. ‘A human powerful enough to be our ally against Megatron?’
‘Well, not really. In some way, I guess I’m wasting my time away. I’m sorry, Ratchet. I won’t be long. You and Ironhide wait for me here. I will return by dawn.’
Ratchet shrugged. ‘As you command, sir.’
Prime hurried off, his gentle footsteps leaving soft thundering amongst the hills.