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“Copied, Ratchet. We will rendezvous at the objective,” Optimus commed the medic. He flipped channels, making contact with the other Autobots. After giving the other Autobots the rest of their instructions, the Prime ignited the thrusters on his back, accelerating towards the Decepticon warship.
Optimus narrowed his optics at the sight of the Omega Lock that was being build on it. “Megatron, would you truly go this far for Cybertron?” He shook his head and continued flying.
He caught a beam of purple energy in the corner of his vision and barely dodged it, the attack hitting the edges of his wings. The Autobot leader looked down, seeing Megatron standing on top of the ship. Optimus opened fire, his bullets soaring through the vacuum of space towards their target, but the Decepticon leader summoned a barrier to stop the bullets from hitting him.
Megatron laughed and pointed his fusion cannon at the Prime, another beam of energy sailing through the air and hitting Optimus’ jet pack, blasting off one of his wing and causing him to rapidly descend towards the warship.
He managed to somewhat regain his balance and landed on the warship on both pedes.
“PRIME!”
Optimus turned one of his servos into an Energon axe to block Megatron his blade, sparks flying off the two weapons. Both leaders pushed each other away and jumped back.
“Megatron, your madness ends here, and now.” Optimus swung his axe, trails of energy dancing through the air, as he kept his optics on the warlord.
Megatron barked out a laugh, showing rows of sharp teeth. “Madness? I only aim to bring Cybertron back to its former glory! It is you, Prime, that stopped this from happening the first time; but now that I have rebuilt the Omega Lock, both Earth and Cybertron shall be put under my rule!” He transformed his blade back to his servo and held it out in front of him, a soft glow emanating from it. “But I suppose I shall give the last Prime a worthy weapon to be slain by!”
In a flash of light, a key-shaped weapon appeared where there was none. Its blade somehow still held a brilliant luster, even with the lack of light around them. Unlike Micheal his weapon, this one only held malice, a testament that shows just how corrupt the Decepticon leader truly was.
“Now then, Optimus Prime,” Megatron pointed Tyrant’s Desire to him, a soft, but dark aura surrounding the Keyblade, “let us make this a battle worthy enough to be put in my future empire its archives.”
Slowly, Optimus raised his servo to his comm. “Ratchet, inform the others that I won’t be able to rendezvous. I have… unfinished business.”
The two charged towards each other and let their weapons clash.
“Optimus is doing what!?”
Michael looked back at Arcee, the blue femme obviously talking to someone through her comm. “Arcee, what’s wrong?”
She groaned and turned to Micheal. “Optimus is fighting Megatron on top of the warship.”
His optics widened in shock. “That’s not what’s supposed to happen…” Even worse, Megatron didn’t have a Keyblade during the original events, and Mike and him failed to destroy it, so this was completely new territory for him.
He reached for his comm. “Raf, do you know Optimus’ exact coordinates?” He got an affirmative from the young boy. “…Bridge me towards him.”
Orion turned to the techno-organic, surprise obvious in his optics. “Lightseeker, what are you talking about?”
“Optimus and Megatron aren’t supposed to be fighting there…” He put a servo over his faceplate and pondered. A ground bridge appeared behind him, its energies illuminating the dark hallways of the Nemesis.
“Alright, change of plans.” He turned back to the others. “Bee, can you lead my party?”
The Autobot scout in question nodded, giving him an affirmative buzz.
He smiled warmly at that. “Thank you.” Michael hardened his gaze. “All right. Autobots, spread out, and safe both Earth and Cybertron!”
They all nodded and the two groups went their separate ways. Micheal watched them with a small smile before he turned to the groundbridge.
Without showing a single moment of hesitation, he ran through the portal.
“Is that all you can do, Prime?” With a swipe of his weapon, Megatron unleashed a wave of dark energy, hitting Optimus and pushing him back. “This is a truly disappointing sight to see!”
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the Prime and unleashed a whirlwind of slashes upon the Autobot. Optimus raised his two axes and barely managed to block them. Seeing a small opening, he knocked his opponent’s Keyblade out of his servo and kicked him back. The Prime grabbed his gatling gun from his back and opened fire.
With a flick of his wrist, Tyrant’s Desire teleported back into Megatron his servo and he stabbed it into the ground, a dome of purple-tinted ice appearing around him. The bullets hit the barrier instead and froze immediately upon making contact with the sub-zero temperatures.
Megatron laughed behind the barrier. “Come on Optimus, even a Sparkling is able to block that!”
With a roar, he let the icy barrier explode, ice shards flying towards Optimus and hitting him in his side, causing him to momentarily lose balance.
“And now,” the leader of the Decepticons held his Keyblade, ready to throw it like a javelin, and let his energy bleed into it, covering the blade in a dark aura, “the final Prime shall fall, today!”
“Not so fast!”
A groundbridge suddenly opened above him, and Michael came flying out of it. He landed in front of Megatron and unleashed a Firaza spell, summoning a large fireball at point-blank range. The following explosion pushed the two warriors back, with the techno-organic now standing in front of the injured Prime.
“Mich- Lightseeker?” Michael pointed his blade towards Optimus and channeled his magic through it. A green glow surrounded him, and his previous injuries disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“You okay?” Michael smiled at him before turning to Megatron, a confident grin adorning his features. “Well, good to see you too, Buckethead, lord of doofuses. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?” He did a mock bow towards Megatron, grinning as he did.
“Ah, Lightseeker, how good it is to see you,”he spat. “I see that you’re still as intrusive as ever?”
“Not as intrusive as you, mister ‘let me probe into your mind without your consent’,” Micheal said as he stood straight again. With a swipe of his hand, Spark’s Vow materialized in his servo, the blade humming in anticipation. “I’m here to stop you, so let’s cut the chitchat.”
He glanced back at Optimus, who now stood steady on both his pedes. “Can you fight?”
The Prime nodded. “Of course.” He walked up to stand next to Michael, his servos turned into his Energon axes again. “Let’s settle this.”
Michael nodded and took on his battle stance.
Megatron took a deep breath and, with a terrifying smile, covered his weapon in purple electricity. “Yes, let us settle this.”
Megatron immediately coated the rest of his body in electricity and charged towards them, the air crackling around him as he approached them at high speeds. Optimus jumped out of the way, but Michael met him head on, coating his own being in fire and met the warlord his overwhelming force, causing an explosion that send the two back to their respective sides.
Optimus came from above and swung his two axes down, but Megatron sidestepped it and send a Blizzaga at him, hitting the Prime in his shoulder.
Micheal saw this and dashed forward. He swung his bladed forward and hit the Decepticon in his side. He performed two more successful slashes on him before sending his opponent up with an uppercut.
Seeing his chance, he transformed into his car and build up energy, his tires screeching against the metal floor, before smashing himself into the still airborne Megatron, knocking the warlord even further up the air.
Michael transformed back and continued the assault, but Megatron summoned a wall of energy, interrupting him, and with one mighty punch, sent the techno-organic crashing to the ground.
A few bullets hit the Decepticon, leaving a small gash on his shoulder, as he turned to Optimus unleashing a barrage of bullets on him to distract him, he rolled his optics. Megatron smirked, and instantly vanished on the spot. Optics widening in surprise, the Prime frantically looked around for any signs of the warlord whereabouts, only to be blasted in the back by a burst of fire, sending him flying towards Michael.
The Decepticon laughed. “Look at the two of you! You’re utterly powerless against me!”
The two Autobots struggled to stand up, but their hearts were still burning with determination.
“We’ll see how long that lasts!” Keyblade held in a reverse grip, Michael charged towards the tyrannical leader, the blade coated in emerald-tinted winds. He slashed at the warlord, sending powerful wind currents his opponent’s way and knocking him off balance. “Optimus, now!”
“What are you-.” A powerful uppercut sent Megatron flying. He tried to right himself in the air, but Optimus’ blaster fire kept him from balancing himself.
Michael did a backflip to make distance between them. Focusing, he used Creation to make two large rocket launchers. Locking on, he unleashed two energy-filled rockets at the still-recovering Megatron and hit him dead-on.
The leader of the Decepticons screamed as the attack hit him, throwing him to the ground. He recovered and saw Micheal discarding his created weapons to go back into close-range combat. Megatron smirked and changed his unoccupied hand into his Energon morning star. He swung the energy weapon at the techno-organic and wrapped it around his blade, surprising the latter.
He swung his servo several times before he let go of his weapon, causing Michael crash into Optimus, who barely managed to catch him. “Are you alright, Lightseeker?” the Prime asked him, concern lacing his voice.
Lightseeker wiped some Energon off the corner of his mouth. “I can still fight, don’t worry.” He pushed himself off of Optimus and summoned his Keyblade back to him, having been knocked off by Megatron’s surprise tactic.
“Oh, just look at the two of you, working together like friends.” Megatron balled his unoccupied servo into a fist, fire surrounding it. “Not that it will stop me from melting you two into scrap!” He punched the ground.
The two Autobots felt the floor tremble, and pillars of fire suddenly bursted from the ground, trapping the three combatants inside.
“Oh, really, a fire prison? What are you, some kind of video game boss?” Lightseeker shook his head, dispelling any stray thoughts, and put his focus back on the fight at hand.
Megatron was the one that dashed towards them this time, unleashing a wave of darkness as he approached them. Optimus jumped out of the way again, but had to quickly readjust his position once he got too close to the fire pillars surrounding them.
Micheal, meanwhile, unleashed a barrage of Blizzaras point blank, but they all harmlessly bounced off the warlord, who gave him a feral grin. Before he could react, Micheal was grabbed by his face and was dragged across the ground. He let go of his Keyblade and clawed at the servo pushing him down.
Once Megatron threw him into the air, he opened his optics, only to stare into the glowing barrel of the warlord his fusion cannon. He was hit in the face by the attack and sent flying into one of the pillars. The moment his back hit it, the fires burned into his back, causing him to cry out in agony before gravity took hold of him again, unceremoniously dropping him to the ground, the paint job on his back completely ruined.
Optimus charged at Megatron and swung his axe, which was met with the Decepticon his Keyblade. The two kept swinging at each other, sparks flying through the air as metal met metal. Optimus let the blade slip past his axe and dodged it at the last second, causing Megatron to lose his footing. Focusing, Optimus landed several powerful slashes with his axe before transforming into his alt mode and slamming himself into the warlord, sending him several feet back, before transforming back again.
The warlord clutched his abdomen, still recovering from the last attack, and didn’t notice Optimus rushing to Micheal his side.
“Michael!” The Prime shook him by the shoulders to wake him up. With a groan, the techno-organic weakly stood up and summoned his blade again. “You need to rest.”
“N-no.” He shook his head. With a flick of his blade, he casted a Cura on himself, healing the worst of his wounds. He couldn’t waste all of his magic on just healing himself, so using a Curaga was a no-go, unless it was an incredibly dire situation. “M’fine.”
Megatron finally recovered and watched the two with disdain. “You’re still standing?” His Keyblade was suddenly shrouded in darkness. “Then allow me to end your existence!”
He threw his weapon into the air and channeled more of his energy into it, creating a huge black hole that sucked anything close to him into it, disintegrating whatever touched it. Michael and Optimus braced themselves by stabbing their respective weapons into the ground, keeping them in place.
The techno-organic grunted under the pressure, his lighter frame making it harder for him to stay grounded. He lost his grip on his weapon and was dragged towards the black hole.
“Michael!” Optimus cried out, optics wide, but unable to move lest he too wanted to be dragged into it.
Lightseeker grit his teeth and called upon Creation once more. Ethereal chains appeared around his arms and he swung them towards Megatron. The Decepticon leader grew surprised at the chains suddenly wrapping themselves around his midsection and wasn’t ready for Michael, who slammed himself into him.
The techno-organic tightened the chains around the warlord. “We’re going together.” He reared his servo holding his Keyblade back, and punched Megatron in the face using the weapon’s guard. The two flew into the black hole, with Optimus watching it happen in shock.
The black hole pulsed before it exploded, extinguishing the flame pillars around them and sending the three combatants flying. The two Autobots roughly landed on the Omega Lock with Megatron not too far away from them.
“Optimus, are-,” Michael coughed. “Are you okay?” he asked him.
“I’m fine.” The Prime stood to his full height, his optics trained on Megatron. “Megatron, surrender the Omega Lock and stop your attempts at cyberforming Earth!”
“Are you truly convinced that that is all I desire, Optimus?” The warlord cackled maniacally. “It looks like I smacked your motherboard a bit too hard around, didn’t I? Behold!”
The Omega Lock shook, the pool of Cybermatter in the center pulsing before it was raised upwards by an unknown force and formed itself into an orb. Megatron aimed his Keyblade at it, and a beam of light was fired off from the tip of the weapon. Once it hit the orb of Cybermatter, it turned into a portal. Many different worlds flashed by, some that Michael recognized, and some he didn’t.
“Once I have learned about the Omniverse from your dear Autobot friend, Michael, I realized that there is far more than just Earth and Cybertron that I can conquer; but in order to do that, I have to create enough energy to travel there.” He raised his Keyblade, the weapon humming with dark energy. “Thanks to my newest tool, this desire of mine can become a reality!”
“Just stop it!” Michael grit his teeth. “As long as me, Optimus, and the others are still here, we’ll stop you!”
It would all go like he saw. Nothing could go wrong.
Megatron showed rows of sharp teeth with the smile he made. “Oh, that is where you were wrong. You see, I did more than just see the Omniverse in your memories.” He lowered his Keyblade and looked the weapon in his grasp over. “This weapon can unlock anything, yes?” He turned the blade to himself, the tip pointing to his Spark chamber.
Michael’s eyes widen in horror. “No! Megatron, don’t!”
“Then why shouldn’t it be able to unlock all the Dark Energon within my Spark?” He stabbed himself with the weapon, dark energy oozing out of the new wound he had created. The Keyblade sunk into his chassis, becoming one with him, and the warlord was enveloped in a pillar of pure darkness.
Michael and Optimus shielded themselves against the strong currents, barely able to stand on their pedes, as the darkness finally died down.
Megatron’s silver armor black as black as the darkest night, purple veins pulsing around his shoulders and his Spark as he slowly stood up from his kneeling position. Upon standing up, the two Autobots saw how incredibly jagged his new look was, his shoulder plates longer, spikier, and perfect to impale someone with. His fusion cannon, which was already permanent attached to him, now was completely fused with his arm, the dark, purple veins connecting them pulsing rhythmically.
Optics even redder than their original color and darker than blood looked at his razor-sharp claws and flexed. “My, my, what an upgrade!” Megatrong grinned, showing rows of red, glowing teeth. As he summoned a sword made of pure Dark Energon in both servos, he turned to the two Autobots.
“I suppose a round two is in order.”
“Ratchet, we’ve retrieved the relics!” Arcee called through her comm. Upon hanging up, she looked back at the others.
Meanwhile, Bumblebee walked towards the largest relic of them all. The Star Saber pulsed gently in its cage, and once the scout pulled it out, he could feel it responding to his touch. It felt odd, but not uncomfortable.
“Is that the Star Saber?” Orion approached him with curious optics.
Bee nodded, the blade still secure in his hands before he slung it over his shoulder. He beeped towards the red and blue mech, whose optics widened in surprise.
Arcee overheard him. “Bee, are you insane!? Lightseeker and Optimus are fighting Megatron right now! You can’t just waltz in and expect to come out unscathed!” She told him, her worry clear.
The yellow scout narrowed his optics and buzzed back.
“I know that it’ll give Optimus an edge, but risking your life like that…” Orion frowned. “Please, let me do it.” He reached for the blade, but Bumblebee stepped back and buzzed back a simple ‘no’. Orion lowered his servo, but nodded in understanding.
Arcee, seeing no way to convince him, sighed and crossed her arms. “Fine. Just… be careful, okay Bee?”
The Autobot scout buzzed in appreciation. Before long, he set off to find the others.
Micheal did not like this new power-up Megatron got. In fact, he hated it.
He dodged another barrage of energy blasts that the warlord sent towards them. He countered by casting a Firaga, the third-tier Fire spell burning through the smaller projectiles and hitting its intended target.
“Is that all you can do?” Before he knew it, Megatron was in front of Michael. “You’re weak!”
An uppercut send him flying, dazing him. The warlord vanished and appeared above him, the dark energy surrounding him forming into a giant war hammer. He struck the techno-organic on his chest and sent him crashing down to the ground.
Michael looked up, only to see Megatron’s fusion cannon lighting up. A mighty beam of energy was shot from the barrel and headed straight to him. Still stunned to move, he couldn’t dodge it, but a pair of larger arms wrapped around him and pulled him out of harm’s way.
“Got you.” Michael looked up and saw Optimus towering over him. Michael looked over at the spot where he previously was, seeing a hole seared into the metal. Alright, stay away of the crazy warlord his laser. Got it.
The Prime stood back up and aimed his gatling gun at Megatron, the barrel spinning rapidly as it fired. The techno-organic shook his head, readied his Keyblade, and sprinted towards the warlord, the blade part of his weapon now coated in fire. He dashed forward, blade in front of him, and hit Megatron in his shoulder, causing the latter to stagger.
Blood-red optics turned to him, the barrel of his fusion cannon aimed at him and quickly building up energy. His blade still stuck in the warlord his shoulder and too stunned to move, Michael looked straight into the barrel.
…Scrap.
A large blade suddenly landed between him and the cannon’s barrel. A roundhouse kick on Megatron’s face sent him back, lodging Lightseeker’s weapon out and giving him enough time to shake off his shock.
“Bee?” He turned to the yellow scout, the Star Saber now slung over his shoulder.
Bumblebee beeped back at him, optics narrowing affectionately, before throwing the large blade to the Prime. Once Optimus caught it, the weapon glowed brightly in his servos.
Megatron wiped some Energon from the corner of his mouth, optics sneering at the scout. “And once more, you’re getting in the way.” He scoffed. “I should’ve ripped out more than just your voice box.”
In an instant, Michael was in front of him. “No, you won’t!” He swung his weapon up for another uppercut, but it was blocked by Megatron’s servo with ease. Bumblebee followed it up by transforming into his car form and driving at high speeds towards the Decepticon to try and hit him, but the warlord jumped into the air before the Autobot could hit him.
Thinking quickly, Lightseeker jumped onto the scout’s roof and the two drove up one of the Lock’s support pillars. Locking on, Michael dismissed his Keyblade and turned his servos into blasters, letting loose a barrage of energy blasts on the powered up warlord.
Megatron raised a dark barrier to protect himself, the blasts nullified by the shield’s energies. He looked back just in time to see Optimus swinging the Star Blade and sending a wave of light energy towards him, but it was blocked by another dark barrier.
Megatron smirked. “Even with another pair of servos, you still fail to best me!”
“For someone so powerful, you sure don’t know when to look above you!”
Megatron looked up, only to get decked in the face by Michael and Bumblebee, who transformed back into his robot form, their fists. The three crashed to the ground, the two Autobots rolling off of him once they had landed, but Michael was still standing close to the warlord.
Megatron growled and aimed his fusion cannon at Michael. “You insolent pest! Perish!”
The techno-organic looked up, only to stare right into the glowing barrel, too close to get out of the way. Megatron fired, and a beam of energy sailed through air and was headed straight for him. He summoned his Kayblade again and raised it up to try and block the attack, hoping that it was enough, but he was pushed out of the way.
The beam went right through Bumblebee his chest like a hot knife through butter. Both stunned, they looked at the gaping hole where the scout’s Spark used to be. Fingers shaking, Lightseeker reached for Bee. The scout did the same, his optics flickering, before he fell with his back into the pool of Cybermatter, just missing Michael’s fingers and disappearing into its depths.
Lightseeker fell to his knees, and let out a scream of utter anguish. He punched the metal with his servo and continued slamming it down on it, the pain in his heart far greater than what he was inflicting on himself right now.
“Bumblebee…” Optimus looked on in horror, but was hit in the back by a blaster that Megatron created.
The mad warlord cackled. “You see, these precious friends of yours only weigh you down. Just look at that pathetic scout, willing to sacrifice himself for nothing!”
Optimus groaned and tried to stand up, but a pede stepping on his chest pushed him down again. Forced to look up, he saw the blade Megatron created raised above him, ready to finish him off.
The leader of the Decepticons showed his sharp teeth as he smiled maniacally. “And now, the final Prime shall die by my servos!”
“MEGATRON!”
Megatron clicked his tongue, annoyed, and turned to whoever called him, only to pause.
Shaking with barely concealed anger, Michael slowly stood up from where he was on his knees, his optics focused on the warlord, and only him. Before Megatron could do or say anything else, the techno-organic screamed, the air around him distorting from the pure power generated by him, and launched himself at the warlord, pushing them into the portal.
The two were spat out into a space between worlds. Occasionally, crystal fragments varying in size floated by, showing small parts of different worlds that Michael both knew and never saw before, but he didn’t care at that moment.
The two floated there, stunned for a moment, before they righted themselves. The Autobot looked at the Decepticon leader with nothing but utter hate.
“You’ll pay for this!” He yelled, his servos clenched. “I’ve been trying to see any, and I mean any, redeeming qualities in you, but you only care about taking over Earth and Cybertron and ruling your precious empire! You’re a monster that must be stopped, at all costs!”
Megatron tsk’ed, looking disappointedly at him. “My, my, that hateful look doesn’t suit you at all. It would not even be remotely surprising if your little Bee just left like that if he knew how hateful you could be.”
Stunned, Michael his servos went lax. “You have no goddamn right to call him by that name!” He grit his teeth and summoned Spark’s Vow to his side again, pointing it at the warlord.
“Oh, I don’t have the right, do I?” Megatron’s grinned and summoned two dark blades. “Then please, punish me for my transgression.”
“You bastard!” Michael lunged, Keyblade covered in light, and swung his weapon in a wide arc, sending a slash of energy towards his opponent.
Megatron sidestepped it and met Michael’s blade with one of his own, the other being swung down on the techno-organic. He dodged Megatron his attempt to hurt him and casted multiple Firas mid-dodge.
The warlord flinched at the scorching flames burning on his armor, but shrugged it off and transformed into his jet alt mode. Michael followed suit, and their battle continued. The two flew through the space between worlds, with Lightseeker firing multiple magic-powered missiles at the mad warlord.
Megatron effortlessly weaved through the barrage of projectiles before suddenly transforming and coming to a halt. He gripped the cockpit section of Michael’s alt mode, keeping a painfully tight grip on it, and threw him into one of the crystals before putting his servos together and charging up a massive orb of dark energy.
Michael transformed back to his robot form and hit the crystal with his back, knocking the wind out of him. He recovered just in time to jump out of the massive dark orb its way, the crystal that was previously pressed against now reduced to ashes. He growled and threw himself at the Decepticon leader, using Creation to create two large spears.
Megatron retaliated in kind, summoning a glaive and shield and met his assault head-on. The warlord blocked the two spears with his shield and attacked with his weapon, but Michael casted Aero on his feet, causing him to be launched upwards. The techno-organic summoned his Keyblade again and used Gravity magic on his body to slam himself into the powered up warlord.
The two made contact on a massive crystal, with Michael his attack being so strong that he punched Megatron completely through it. Michael felt a weird tingle in his servo and turned to inspect it, only to look shocked at it.
Wisps of darkness floated around it, with crimson electricity decorating it. He shook his hand, trying to dispel it, and sighed in relief once it was gone. He shouldn’t grow too angry, or else he’ll lose control…
Cracks formed on the crystal floor further away from him, and Megatron bursted out of it, the warlord giving Michael a glare as he floated in the air. He flexed his fingers, and dark energy surrounded Megatron, a pair of large hands appearing and grabbing the large crystal Lightseeker was standing on.
Michael quickly transformed into his car mode and drove as fast as he could towards his opponent, his tires screeching against the crystal ground. He pushed himself even further, fire spewing out of his exhaust pipes as he closed in on the Decepticon.
He leaped towards Megatron and transformed in the air, his Keyblade in his servo and a sword materialized in the other, but Megatron stopped his attempt by flipping the crystal he grabbed with all his might and smacked it into the techno-organic, sending him flying.
Seeing an opening, the mad warlord grinned and gathered energy around his servos and clasped them together, forming them into a massive blaster that put his own fusion cannon to shame. Meanwhile, Lightseeker barely recovered and shook his head. He looked at his opponent, and his optics widened at the massive cannon pointing his way.
Channeling Creation once more, he summoned a sword ten times the size of himself, the weapon floating in front of him, and he waited for the right moment to strike.
“Now, prepare to be turned into scrap metal!” With a roar, the leader of the Decepticons fired, a massive beam of pure darkness that Michael had no way of dodging heading his way. With a battle cry, Michael swung his arm and sent the massive sword forward to intercept the dark beam.
The two attacks clashed, shaking the space they were in with their power, but were at a standstill, neither able to overpower the other. The techno-organic his hands shook as he tried to focus as hard as he could to keep his construct stable.
He yelled once more and poured more power into it, the blade slowly breaking through the darkness-imbued attack and surprising Megatron.
The warlord himself grit his teeth. “Know your place!” He poured more energy into his attack, rapidly pushing the sword back towards Michael.
Losing focus, Michael summoned his Keyblade and conjured up a barrier to protect himself, but the attack easily pierced through his hastily set up defenses. He was slammed against a very sturdy crystal and took the full brunt of the attack. Once the beam subsided, large hands made out of darkness grabbed him and squeezed as hard as they could, making him scream in agony.
“Would you look at that, you’re powerless against my newfound strength.” Megatron calmly floated towards him.
“S-stand back! I’m warning you!” Michael yelled.
“Quiet.” The dark hands squeezed him even harder, with the techno-organic almost fainting from the pain.
“D-don’t think the fight’s over just yet.” Michael barely breathed out, his vision starting to become hazy.
“Or what, your friends will come and safe you? Let me tell you something,” Megatron stopped in front of him and chuckled darkly, “they’ll never stand a chance against me. In fact, they’ll just give up.”
Michael fel this heart stir, a faint, dark aura unknowingly starting to surround him. “Shut up…”
Megatron put a finger under his chin and raised Michael’s head to look into his optics, growing intrigued at the deep crimson bleeding into them, but he brushed it off. “And do you know what I’ll do to them? What was the human phrase again?”
His optics brightened. “Ah, yes.” He leaned forward, his mouth close to Michael’s ear. “I’ll gut them like a fish.”
Something in Michael snapped, something very dark spread through his being and heart, and the only thing he felt was pure hatred.
“THAT IS ENOUGH!” A burst of darkness pushed Megatron away from him and dispelled the hands crushing him. A thick aura of darkness surrounded him, bolts of crimson energy crackling around him as he only had his optics trained on the warlord.
“You think you can just go and destroy everything I love…” the dark aura around him flared up, his optics now glowing crimson, “but I won’t let you!”
In an instant, he was gone. Megatron looked around and summoned two smaller guns, keeping an eye out for the now corrupted techno-organic. A sharp pain suddenly went through his left leg. He looked down, and saw a crystal piercing through it.
Another one followed, this one in his right shoulder, forcing him to dispel the gun in his servo. He looked behind him and briefly saw Michael before he disappeared again. He reappeared once more in front of him, slicing the top of one of the crystals off and held it aloft. Megatron tried to move out of the way, but the crystals impaling him made it impossible to do so.
Michael swung his Keyblade like a baseball bat and sent the crystal spike flying into Megatron’s stomach, causing Dark Energon to bleed out of the wound. He teleported again and again, each time hacking a small part of a crystal off and using it to impale the powered up warlord. Megatron was overwhelmed, unable to react in time as more and more spikes impale each and every part of his body.
The air distorted in front of him, and there stood Michael, pointing his Keyblade straight at Megatron’s chest. A beam of light shot out of the blade’s tip and hit the Decepticon emblem on Megatron. Light sprouted out of his Spark, and Tyrant’s Desire flew out of it. In an instant, Megatron reverted back to his normal self, his dark powers leaving him.
“W-what!? Impossible!” He snarled at the techno-organic. “Give it back!”
Tyrant’s Desire landed in Michael’s servo. “You want it back?” He held the weapon like a javelin, a smile that only promised pain on his face. “Here you go.”
He threw it straight at the warlord’s head, hitting him between the optics.
Groaning, Optimus finally managed to stand on his two pedes again, still recovering from Megatron’s last attack. While the Prime picked up the Star Saber from where he had dropped it, ignoring the spot where his most loyal scout had sacrificed himself, he glanced back at the portal still humming in the center of the Omega Lock. Flashes and images of what Optimus assumes were different worlds flashed by.
A town with a sun that never fully sets, a kingdom ravaged by a dark blight, a dark city with a moon in an odd shape hanging over it. So many sights that he had never seen before and never believed to actually exist. Somehow, Megatron managed to create a portal that led to other worlds. A marvel that is beyond impressive, even if it came from the twisted mind of a warlord.
A marvel that both Michael and Megatron fell into, and still hadn’t come out of yet.
Ripples suddenly appeared around the portal, distorting the image of a castle with waterfalls that went up instead of down, and someone flew out of it. Optimus put his battle mask on, ready to fight if necessary, but his optics widened in surprise as Megatron fell out of it. Or, well, what was left of him. Optimus walked up to the corpse and knelt down to it to inspect it.
The Decepticon leader was slaughtered, crystal spikes impaling him from basically every direction on his body, while Tyrant’s Desire was lodged in his head, right between his optics. The Prime visibly flinched at the last part, wondering how that could have even happened.
The portal reacted once more, and another figure emerged from it, this one landing in a kneeling position before slowly standing up.
“Lightseeker?” Relieved, Optimus slid his battle mask down and stood up. “What happened in there?”
Michael didn’t look up, didn’t respond. He kept staring at the floor, his optics hidden by the shadow cast upon his face.
“…Michael?” Optimus asked softly, this time truly concerned. “Are you alright?”
Before he could say anything else, the techno-organic raised a servo and shot an orb of darkness at the corpse. Optimus watched in shocked silence as the body rusted and turned into dust, leaving nothing behind of the warlord.
“There, now the trash has been taken out.” Michael chuckled, but it made Optimus shiver and instinctively pull his battle mask back up. “Serves him right.”
Optics still wide, the Prime turned to Michael. “Did… did you kill him, Michael?” He shook himself out of his stupor. “I know that what happened to Bumblebee has been-.”
He was hit in the shoulder by another orb of darkness, causing him to stumble but not fall. Clutching the spot where he was hit, Optimus watched as Michael finally raised his head, his optics crimson and pulsing with a dark energy.
“Do not ever say his name again, ever!” He raised his voice, summoning his Keyblade and pointing it at the Prime. “You, and no one else, has the right to talk about him!”
“Michael, you need to calm down.” Optimus raised his servos to try and placate him. “You’re acting irrationally.”
The corrupted Autobot barked out a laugh. “Irrationally?” He glared at Optimus. “You’re the one acting out of line, so allow me to put you in your place, Prime.”
Before the Prime could say anything else, the techno-organic roared, the aura of darkness around him expanding and surrounding them. An impenetrable barrier surrounded them, making it impossible for anyone to either enter or leave.
The Autobot leader turned back to Michael. “Michael, please, stand down. You’re not acting like yourself.”
“You think you can just order me around, after I just lost the person I had cared most about?” Micheal got into his battle stance, taking Optimus by surprise. “Then, I suppose I’ll have to extinguish your light, too.”
Michael teleported in front of him and performed several stabs on the Prime, leaving behind small gashes on his frame, before he jumped back with a backflip. He unleashed a volley of Dark Firagas upon his opponent, the crimson fireballs splitting mid-flight into multiple smaller ones.
Optimus turned his servos into blasters and shot most of them while they were in the air and sliced the last few remaining with the Star Saber. He charged the mystical weapon up and swung, sending a wave of divine energy the corrupted techno-organic his way.
Just before the attack hit, Michael leaned back, just barely dodging the attack, and split himself into four dark shades of himself. He reappeared a little further away, the special dodge powering him up, and swung his Keyblade several times, sending waves of dark energy slashes the Prime’s way, but Optimus countered the darkness-based counterattack with energy slashes of his own. The corrupted Autobot laughed before sprinting towards Optimus.
He cartwheeled and teleported several times around the battlefield, trying to disorient his opponent, before he came through a dark portal on Optimus his left, thrusting his Keyblade forward to try and stab him. Optimus blocked the attack with his own weapon and locked the two blades together.
“Michael, wake up!” The Prime called out to him. “This isn’t you. You would never want to hurt us.” He said, lowering his voice.
Michael smirked, his crimson optics glinting with amusement. “Oh, Optimus,” his unoccupied hand glowed with darkness, “I am most certainly awake.”
He unleashed a dark blast on the Prime, forcing him back several feet. Optimus clutched the spot on his chest where he was hit, but still kept his optics on his opponent. “Then, you leave me with no other choice.”
He leaped towards Michael with his blade glowing bright, but the techno-organic simply teleported out of the way and reappeared several feet away from him. Michael snapped his fingers, causing several spots on the floor to glow a vibrant purple, with one of them right where Optimus was standing.
Reacting just in time, Optimus dodged the Dark Thundaga on the spot he was just standing on, but had to keep moving away from the other bolts as well. He transformed into his alt mode and weaved through the lightning bolts. Once he was close enough to Michael, the Autobot leader transformed and swung his blade, but a dark barrier stopped him in his tracks.
Michael grinned maliciously, but wasn’t prepared for the uppercut that sent him flying. Seeing his chance to attack, Optimus transformed once more and, after rapidly building up speed, launched himself into the air and hit the corrupted Autobot. He immediately transformed back and landed four hits with his sword, leaving behind slash wounds on Michael’s chest and arms.
Optimus readied another swing, but another barrier came between the two combatants and caused him to lose his balance. The air suddenly turned cold, and Optimus looked at Michael, only to see him charging up his magic attack. Michael unleashed a Dark Blizzaza that hit the Autobot leader in the chest and forced him to the ground.
Thankfully, the ice didn’t restrict his mobility too much, so he could still fight. Michael swooped down to try and impale him with his Keyblade, but Optimus rolled out of the way just in time. Seeing a small window for a counterattack, Optimus turned his servos into blasters and fired several blasts. They hit their mark, the resulting mini-explosion sending the corrupted warrior flying back.
Michael recovered midair and landed gracefully on his pedes. “My, you’re starting to get really annoying.” He dismissed his Keyblade and summoned two blades of pure darkness, the cat-like eyes right above the swords their guards staring straight into Optimus’ soul. “Time to end this.”
Wisps of darkness began building up around him as he summoned a dark barrier to protect himself. Optimus was on a timer now, and it was ticking down. Fast. He transformed into his alt mode to close the distance between them.
He transformed back to his robot form, and used the speed he gained to try and slash the barrier open with the Star Saber, but the magical wall suddenly rippled and grew razor-sharp spikes, forcing the last Prime to dodge. He tried again, this time attacking from a different side, but another cat eye appeared, this one on the barrier, and sent several dark lasers his way.
He managed to block the first few, but he got quickly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of lasers, the attacks forcing him back once more. Once he was out of range, he saw the dark aura surrounding Michael intensifying and starting to pulse like a heartbeat. He was running out of time.
Seeing no other choice, Optimus closed his optics. “Matrix of Leadership, I call upon your aid once more.” His chest opened up, revealing the holy relic pulsing in sync with his sparkbeat. Its divine radiance was already pushing away the weaker wisps of darkness drifting close to him.
Michael laughed behind the barrier. “The Matrix, seriously? That thing won’t hurt me!” The cat eye on the barrier glowed and started to build up energy.
“Purify this lost soul his spark, and wake him up from this nightmare!” A thin beam of light was shot out of the relic and headed straight for the barrier. The cat eye did the exact same, sending a beam of darkness that was just as thin to intercept the attack.
The two beams struggled against each other, neither winning from the other. Optimus grit his teeth behind his battle mask and pushed more of his own energy into it, determined to bring the techno-organic back to his senses. The dark beam was slowly being pushed back by the Matrix and Optimus their combined strength. The last Prime felt relief and determination fill his Spark upon noticing it.
The corrupted Autobot went pale as he watched. “W-what? Impossible!” But he grinned. “Just kidding.”
The dark beam suddenly grew three times in size, easily overpowering the Prime his attack. The darkness-imbued attack hit him and the Matrix at the same time. Optimus almost fell to his knees, but he was still able to stand. He grabbed the Star Saber and charged towards the dark barrier for another attempt to try and break through the corrupted Autobot his defenses.
The dark barrier surrounding Michael suddenly broke and exploded outwards, pushing Optimus back. Thin lines of crimson light started spreading around the arena, covering every inch. The dark blades Michael held in his hand started to glow brightly, their blood-red light illuminating his body.
“Drown in the shadows.” He tightened his grip on the dark blades. “Blinding Steel!”
He swung both his blades, and the thin lines of light expanded and exploded. The attack being impossible to dodge, Optimus took the full brunt of it and was sent flying into the air. Michael let go of his blades and re-summoned his Keyblade again before pointing at at the still airborne Prime, casting a Graviza on him and forcing him back down to the ground.
Optimus finally knew what the human term for ‘getting the wind knocked out of you’ meant once he hit the ground. Gasping and wincing in pain as the many deep cuts covering his body made it impossible for him to move, he watched helplessly as Michael slowly and calmly walked towards him.
“Look at what we have here: a helpless Prime that should have kept his mouth shut,” the corrupted techno-organic flipped his Keyblade so that he held it in a reverse-grip and pointed it at the injured Autobot leader, ready to extinguish his Spark. “And now you’ll suffer the consequences.”
Optimus closed his optics for his inevitable end, unable to stop him.
“Now, DIE!” The sounds of a blade piercing through metal echoed throughout the arena.
Optimus was ready for the pain, for it to end, but he felt nothing. Slowly, he dared to open his optics, only to watch in surprise as someone else took the hit from him.
Michael widened his eyes in shock. “N-no, you can’t be real…”
A familiar yellow scout stood between the two combatants, his servo pierced through by Michael’s Keyblade. Bumblebee nodded and slowly, gently, put a servo on the techno-organic his shoulder.
“It’s me,” he said, battle mask sliding down to reveal his now smooth face, no scar in sight. “It’s okay, I’m here now,” Bumblebee gently told him.
The crimson in Michael his optics bled away and turned back to their normal red and blue. “B-Bee, it’s really you.” He sobbed and hugged him, dropping his Keyblade in the process and causing it to disappear in a flash of light and blue lightning. “You’re alive!”
“Yeah, I’m alive.” Bumblebee patted Michael on his shoulder, the latter now crying in the former’s shoulder. The techno-organic collapsed in his arms, completely exhausted. “Let’s go home,” Bumblebee softly muttered.
Michael was already fast asleep when he said that.
Two days had passed since the final battle at the Nemesis. Michael had quickly woken up after that and was informed by Bumblebee that the Autobots had won and have put the Decepticons that were still alive in the Nemesis’ holding cells.
Optimus was still injured, but his recovery went surprisingly smooth. He could already sit back up, as expected of a Prime, but everyone was informed about what happened.
Scared of what everyone would think, Michael stayed in his and Bumblebee their room, never having taken a step outside and instead have Bee bring any food and Energon with him. By some stretch of a miracle, the Cybermatter the Autobot scout fell into had somehow brought him back alive, healed any scars on him, and repaired his voice box.
Michael knew that Bumblebee would come back in the original version, but the damage he had was so severe now that he thought that not even the Cybermatter could safe him. He was glad that he was wrong, but he saw his Spark, his heart, get blasted out of him. And then Michael had to stab him through his servo when he had just come back from the dead.
He took a deep breath and buried his face in his servos, still overwhelmed, even after he had the time to process everything. There was no way he could face the rest anymore.
The sounds of the door to his room opening snapped him out of his dark thoughts, and he looked up to see Bumblebee entering, two cubes of Energon held on a plate.
“Hey there. I uh… I brought some Energon.” He shook the two cubes in his servos. “I hope you’re hungry.”
Put the plate with the two cubes on the nightstand next to their berth and sat next to him, but not too close to touch. “If you’re wondering about my servo, it’s fine now. Ratchet’s the greatest medic you can find in all the galaxies.” He grinned and waved with his repaired servo. “See? Good as new!”
The techno-organic snorted, amused, before his expression fell again. “Bee, I…” He looked away, unable to look the scout in his optics. “I killed Megatron, and I almost killed Optimus.”
Bumblebee sighed. “Honestly, you did everyone a favor, including Optimus, by getting rid of him.” He reassured him. “And you weren’t yourself when you attacked Optimus.”
“No!” Michael stood up from their berth and walked to the window looking out to the stars in space, his arms crossed. “You… you don’t understand, Bee.”
The yellow scout stood up and walked up to him. “What do you mean?” He put a servo on Michael’s shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll understand.”
He looked at him. “Darkness, it doesn’t work like that. You don’t just become a different person, and you don’t get controlled either.” Michael explained to him. “I was still completely aware of what I was doing. In my head, I thought that I was in the right.”
He grit his teeth and balled his servos into fists. “I was so angry, and I thought that attacking Optimus was justified, so I fully committed to it.” The techno-organic turned back to him, fear in his eyes. “Bee, I thought that it was okay to kill him.”
Optics wide, Bumblebee watched as he fully turned away from him and looked at the stars. The scout was lost in his thoughts too, but for different reasons.
“You know, being so angry about it means you really care about me, right?”
Michael snapped his head back to him, surprised. “W-what do you mean by that?” He sputtered
“It’s like I just said.” The yellow Autobot shrugged. “If you didn’t care about me, then you wouldn’t have been so angry, right?”
“I-I guess…” Michael looked down, and was surprised by the servo holding his own.
“Come on, you can’t keep yourself locked up here forever, you know.” He intertwined their fingers. “I’m sure that the others will understand.”
Michael felt his Spark, his heart, swell from the affection Bumblebee gave him. If he were in his human form right now, he would have been blushing. “I… I guess I can say hi.”