Glances Into a Spark - Two Roads
Title: Glances Into a Spark - Two Roads
Fandom: Transformers
Characters/pairings: ensemble
Rating: PG
Summary: Oneshots about any and possibly all of the movie cast, and then some.
Warnings: language
Notes: Old writing, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
Table of Contents
o o o
Theme # 44: Two Roads
o o o
The future leaders of Cybertron are lying here before me.
It wasn't a surprise. The rule of Cybertron has passed along in such a way for longer than the records stretched. Just over two and a half hundred thousand vorns was the duration of one cycle of leadership. Some hundred vorns before the end of a cycle, the Council would begin to build the next Prime, the next Lord High Protector, their every circuit carefully crafted and programmed. Sixteen vorns before the end, the new leaders would be Sparked, and trained in their duties. Then, at the very end, the Matrix would be passed onto the new Prime, and both sets of brothers would face the people of Cybertron, one old, one new, and the leadership would be passed on for all to witness.
Later, the Council would vote to allow the old Prime and Protector onto the Council, but Optimus Prime doubted he or Megatron would be invited to join. While the Council did not actively dislike either of them, they disapproved of much of the way they handled their business.
And of Megatron's expansionist ideals. Optimus mentally shook away the thought. He knew his brother still wished to expand Cybertron’s influence, but he had not been able to convince the Council or Optimus that the races of nearby planets would benefit from Cybertronian advisors during his rule. And now he would never get the chance to do so.
Once more, Optimus studied the two prone figures before him. They were a little smaller than their ruling counterparts, the traditionally silver-bright Lord High Protector, and the brilliant, green-copper-gold Prime. Their faces were regal and proud, their limbs long and powerful, and while Optimus was no programmer, he had looked at their logic processors, had seen the intelligence hardwired within. They would treat Cybertron well.
Optimus wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was looking forward to retirement, to living the rest of his life as Optimus, instead of Prime. He took one last look around the great room. The entire Council, a unit of Megatron's Elite Guards, Megatron himself to one side, the two still-Sparkless younglings and the AllSpark itself, balanced on one corner and looming to make even Megatron look small. Satisfied that everything was in place, he lifted his hand to touch the great Cube.
"Wait."
Optimus paused, fingers a bare tick from the AllSpark, close enough that he could feel tiny sparks of life-giving energy dancing over his metallic skin. He looked, everyone looked, over at Megatron, who was crossing the floor towards the AllSpark, who was gently, firmly pushing the Prime's hand down, away from the Cube's surface. "Wait," he said again. "Why do this, Optimus?"
Optimus looked up at his brother, his Spark doing an odd little flash in his chest. "You know the law, Megatron," he said. "Our cycle is at an end-"
"Yes, but why?" Megatron pressed, motioning at the circle of the Council around them. "Because they say we must step aside? Because these ancient, rusted-out drones, who have not admitted a new member to their little Council in the last eight cycles, say that it's our time to stand down? Well, I say no."
The room broke out in murmurs, one set running around the circle of Ancients, the other around the circle of the Guard. "You defy the laws of Cybertron?" Alpha Trion thundered, taking a few menacing steps forward, only to have two of the Guard step between him and Megatron, cannons at the ready.
Megatron smiled up at the towering Ancient "I defy the Council," he said calmly. "But as Lord High Protector, the law is mine to defend - or change." He turned slowly, looking from one Ancient to the next. "And why should I not?" he challenged. "Who is Cybertron best served by? The brothers who brought a Golden Age of knowledge and power to our world, or a pair of untried sparklings who could very well destroy everything we have built? The brothers who thought for themselves and for their people, or the freshly built puppets of the Council?"
He turned to Optimus, splendid and terrible in his confidence. "The people want us to stay, Optimus," he said, ignoring the outbursts of the Ancients around them. "Our people want us to lead them. They want to be free of the Council of the Ancients, of laws that no longer apply to our time. They want to be free to go out and explore other worlds and expand the empire of Cybertron beyond Cybertron itself. And they want you and I to take them there."
It was hard, so very hard to not believe him, to not trust in his brother as he had so many times before. So much, too much of what he said made sense. They had chafed under the Council's regulations, the Council was outdated in their ways, several mechs had told him they would prefer if he remained Prime instead of hand on the Matrix.
And yet, as he looked at his brother, as he heard the words 'expand the empire of Cybertron', realization turned his fuel pump turn to a block of lead. "You want to conquer other worlds." He said slowly. Megatron's beatific smile faltered just the slightest, not enough that any but his brother would catch it. "You want to take over, instate Cybertronian rulers to govern other planets, other peoples, without any concern that they, too, are thinking, living creatures with minds of their own."
Megatron made a dismissive motion with one hand. "They are weak-willed, barely sentient creatures with no direction," he said. "They would destroy themselves a hundred times over without our guidance."
"You want to conquer them," Optimus realized with some amazement that he was angry, no, furious, in a way he couldn't remember ever being. He had known, for too long, that Megatron wanted to have his influence on other worlds, but this- "You want to take their freedom to increase Cybertron's power. You want to force sentient creatures to your will without their consent, just to 'expand an empire'?"
Megatron's expression turned ugly. "They're not worthy of the freedom they have," he snarled.
"They have the right to their freedom!" Optimus roared - Primus, had he ever raised his voice to his brother, to anyone like that? "Who are we to judge what they may and may not do?"
Megatron stepped close, too close. "We are Prime and High Protector of Cybertron," he hissed. "We have led our people to an age of beauty and knowledge, we have proven our people to be powerful and far beyond the abilities of any of the organic filth we call our neighbors. We should be as gods to them."
Optimus didn't back down. "I am no god and neither are you," he said coldly, equally as quiet. "Your love of power has blinded you, Megatron. End this now, before it starts, because you will not conquer in Cybertron's name."
"And who will stop me?" Megatron sneered. "The warriors and scientists of Cybertron are on my side in this. Would you dare stand before my might?"
"Not all of us."
Optimus felt his Spark do another one of those odd flashes as he heard powerful weapons come to power behind him. Ironhide, a so-constant shadow at his side that he'd practically forgotten the Bodyguard's presence. Half of the Elite Guard stood behind the old mech, their weapons trained on Megatron with deadly precision. "Some loyalties go beyond the chain of command," Ironhide growled, the cannons on his arms humming with built-up charge.
Megatron took a half-step towards the Bodyguard, only to come up short as Optimus unsheathed his sword. "Leave now, Megatron," the Prime said softly. "Before one of us is forced to do something that he will regret for the rest of his life."
Megatron was still for a moment, his face twisted into something that could have been hate or pain, then he whirled on the two Sparkless shells lying forgotten behind them, his arms coming together, fusing together from the elbows down. Optimus yelled something; what, he didn't know, but he moved too late, the thunder of the huge cannon filling the room and the shells were consumed in white fire and the dust of the platform they were on as it disintegrated beneath them. More gunfire, from the Guard, from Megatron, and several of the Ancient's fell, Ironhide fell even as he fired, one optic simply no longer there, then Megatron was gone in a flash of silver metal, and Optimus found himself fighting against sinking to his knees in despair.
Fandom: Transformers
Characters/pairings: ensemble
Rating: PG
Summary: Oneshots about any and possibly all of the movie cast, and then some.
Warnings: language
Notes: Old writing, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
Table of Contents
o o o
Theme # 44: Two Roads
o o o
The future leaders of Cybertron are lying here before me.
It wasn't a surprise. The rule of Cybertron has passed along in such a way for longer than the records stretched. Just over two and a half hundred thousand vorns was the duration of one cycle of leadership. Some hundred vorns before the end of a cycle, the Council would begin to build the next Prime, the next Lord High Protector, their every circuit carefully crafted and programmed. Sixteen vorns before the end, the new leaders would be Sparked, and trained in their duties. Then, at the very end, the Matrix would be passed onto the new Prime, and both sets of brothers would face the people of Cybertron, one old, one new, and the leadership would be passed on for all to witness.
Later, the Council would vote to allow the old Prime and Protector onto the Council, but Optimus Prime doubted he or Megatron would be invited to join. While the Council did not actively dislike either of them, they disapproved of much of the way they handled their business.
And of Megatron's expansionist ideals. Optimus mentally shook away the thought. He knew his brother still wished to expand Cybertron’s influence, but he had not been able to convince the Council or Optimus that the races of nearby planets would benefit from Cybertronian advisors during his rule. And now he would never get the chance to do so.
Once more, Optimus studied the two prone figures before him. They were a little smaller than their ruling counterparts, the traditionally silver-bright Lord High Protector, and the brilliant, green-copper-gold Prime. Their faces were regal and proud, their limbs long and powerful, and while Optimus was no programmer, he had looked at their logic processors, had seen the intelligence hardwired within. They would treat Cybertron well.
Optimus wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was looking forward to retirement, to living the rest of his life as Optimus, instead of Prime. He took one last look around the great room. The entire Council, a unit of Megatron's Elite Guards, Megatron himself to one side, the two still-Sparkless younglings and the AllSpark itself, balanced on one corner and looming to make even Megatron look small. Satisfied that everything was in place, he lifted his hand to touch the great Cube.
"Wait."
Optimus paused, fingers a bare tick from the AllSpark, close enough that he could feel tiny sparks of life-giving energy dancing over his metallic skin. He looked, everyone looked, over at Megatron, who was crossing the floor towards the AllSpark, who was gently, firmly pushing the Prime's hand down, away from the Cube's surface. "Wait," he said again. "Why do this, Optimus?"
Optimus looked up at his brother, his Spark doing an odd little flash in his chest. "You know the law, Megatron," he said. "Our cycle is at an end-"
"Yes, but why?" Megatron pressed, motioning at the circle of the Council around them. "Because they say we must step aside? Because these ancient, rusted-out drones, who have not admitted a new member to their little Council in the last eight cycles, say that it's our time to stand down? Well, I say no."
The room broke out in murmurs, one set running around the circle of Ancients, the other around the circle of the Guard. "You defy the laws of Cybertron?" Alpha Trion thundered, taking a few menacing steps forward, only to have two of the Guard step between him and Megatron, cannons at the ready.
Megatron smiled up at the towering Ancient "I defy the Council," he said calmly. "But as Lord High Protector, the law is mine to defend - or change." He turned slowly, looking from one Ancient to the next. "And why should I not?" he challenged. "Who is Cybertron best served by? The brothers who brought a Golden Age of knowledge and power to our world, or a pair of untried sparklings who could very well destroy everything we have built? The brothers who thought for themselves and for their people, or the freshly built puppets of the Council?"
He turned to Optimus, splendid and terrible in his confidence. "The people want us to stay, Optimus," he said, ignoring the outbursts of the Ancients around them. "Our people want us to lead them. They want to be free of the Council of the Ancients, of laws that no longer apply to our time. They want to be free to go out and explore other worlds and expand the empire of Cybertron beyond Cybertron itself. And they want you and I to take them there."
It was hard, so very hard to not believe him, to not trust in his brother as he had so many times before. So much, too much of what he said made sense. They had chafed under the Council's regulations, the Council was outdated in their ways, several mechs had told him they would prefer if he remained Prime instead of hand on the Matrix.
And yet, as he looked at his brother, as he heard the words 'expand the empire of Cybertron', realization turned his fuel pump turn to a block of lead. "You want to conquer other worlds." He said slowly. Megatron's beatific smile faltered just the slightest, not enough that any but his brother would catch it. "You want to take over, instate Cybertronian rulers to govern other planets, other peoples, without any concern that they, too, are thinking, living creatures with minds of their own."
Megatron made a dismissive motion with one hand. "They are weak-willed, barely sentient creatures with no direction," he said. "They would destroy themselves a hundred times over without our guidance."
"You want to conquer them," Optimus realized with some amazement that he was angry, no, furious, in a way he couldn't remember ever being. He had known, for too long, that Megatron wanted to have his influence on other worlds, but this- "You want to take their freedom to increase Cybertron's power. You want to force sentient creatures to your will without their consent, just to 'expand an empire'?"
Megatron's expression turned ugly. "They're not worthy of the freedom they have," he snarled.
"They have the right to their freedom!" Optimus roared - Primus, had he ever raised his voice to his brother, to anyone like that? "Who are we to judge what they may and may not do?"
Megatron stepped close, too close. "We are Prime and High Protector of Cybertron," he hissed. "We have led our people to an age of beauty and knowledge, we have proven our people to be powerful and far beyond the abilities of any of the organic filth we call our neighbors. We should be as gods to them."
Optimus didn't back down. "I am no god and neither are you," he said coldly, equally as quiet. "Your love of power has blinded you, Megatron. End this now, before it starts, because you will not conquer in Cybertron's name."
"And who will stop me?" Megatron sneered. "The warriors and scientists of Cybertron are on my side in this. Would you dare stand before my might?"
"Not all of us."
Optimus felt his Spark do another one of those odd flashes as he heard powerful weapons come to power behind him. Ironhide, a so-constant shadow at his side that he'd practically forgotten the Bodyguard's presence. Half of the Elite Guard stood behind the old mech, their weapons trained on Megatron with deadly precision. "Some loyalties go beyond the chain of command," Ironhide growled, the cannons on his arms humming with built-up charge.
Megatron took a half-step towards the Bodyguard, only to come up short as Optimus unsheathed his sword. "Leave now, Megatron," the Prime said softly. "Before one of us is forced to do something that he will regret for the rest of his life."
Megatron was still for a moment, his face twisted into something that could have been hate or pain, then he whirled on the two Sparkless shells lying forgotten behind them, his arms coming together, fusing together from the elbows down. Optimus yelled something; what, he didn't know, but he moved too late, the thunder of the huge cannon filling the room and the shells were consumed in white fire and the dust of the platform they were on as it disintegrated beneath them. More gunfire, from the Guard, from Megatron, and several of the Ancient's fell, Ironhide fell even as he fired, one optic simply no longer there, then Megatron was gone in a flash of silver metal, and Optimus found himself fighting against sinking to his knees in despair.