//------------------------------// // Chapter 85-Ascension // Story: Transformers: The Requiem // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Brimstone slid into cover, his rifle clutched close to his heart. Green streaks of light soared over his head, presumably from the resistance rifle fire. It was only a rare occasion did he see one of the streaks hit his fellow soldiers pushing forward while he stayed behind, his back pressed against the large piece of rubble. An Alliance stallion came up to his right, firing round after round from his rifle into the hazy battlefield. Brimstone looked up at him. The stallion fell with a green bullet streak tearing through his skull. His body fell backwards, joining the others. Yet they kept pushing forward. The Alliance was destined to end the resistance once and for all. They had the upper hoof. Shining Armor’s troops were depleting by the second, and with Omega Supreme finally activated the Alliance would soon extinguish the small flame of hope the resistance had somehow acquired. It was only logical. Destiny was handed to them on a silver platter, telling them that everything was going to be okay. They were going to win, and then there would be peace. So, why did Brimstone feel so terrible about that last part? He closed his eyes, sweat streaming down his face. His heart thumped loudly in his chest with every tank shell fired, every explosion rocking the earth, and every bullet intended to hit him. He opened his eyes, each one staring at the colossus sporting the Decepticon insignia. Omega Supreme. It fired another purple beam of pure, raw energy into the armies fighting downtown. More screams. Brimstone shivered. His rifle felt very, very heavy against his foreleg. Five crashes came from his right. “Combaticons, push forward!” The unicorn turned his head to the direction of the sound. Nearly fifty or so feet away from him stood five towering giants, much bigger than the Decepticon troopers he fought side by side with. He knew who they were. He didn’t need Onslaught to announce their presence. Swindle morphed his right fist into an assault rifle, jutting it out forwards and firing away. While a few bullets hit their intended target, many others didn’t, and the enemies responded with several green bullets impacting his body. “Scrap!” Swindle shouted, taking cover behind a pile of Decepticon corpses. He looked up, noticing even more streaks of green soaring their way. He yelled, “No way to get through with enemy rifle fire!” “I told you this was a bad idea!” Vortex shouted, firing three missiles into the large armies going toe to toe. Multiple ponies flew in all directions from the force of the explosion. Vortex couldn’t tell if he hit the good guys or the bad. Probably both. Most likely. Who cares? “Stand together!” Onslaught screamed, firing round after round from his Orbital Pistol. “We’re pushing through the resistance lines!” “Omega Supreme’s not movin’ forward! We’ve got resistance Pegasi keepin’ him distracted!” Brawl roared, pointing behind him to the towering titan a block down. Each Combaticon took the moment to turn around and witness several black dots swarming around the titan’s face. Omega Supreme waved his fists in front of him, hitting buildings as he did so. “Well,” Swindle began, falling to one knee and reloading his assault rifle, “there goes our heavy artillery. If only there was some way to push through the enemy fire with something just as powerful as Omega Supreme!” “Something big, too!” Vortex added. “Not as strong as Omega, but just close enough to squash those worthless ponies!” “If only we had something like that!” Blast Off said. Each Combaticon fell silent. They all looked at each other. “Are you all thinking what I’m thinking?” Blast Off asked, breaking the awkward silence between the five Decepticons. Onslaught shook his head. “Always wanting to take the easy way out.” Blast Off chuckled, cracking his knuckles. “It isn’t the easy way out if they try to fight back. Try, that is.” Onslaught stared down the road of him. Alliance ponies that rushed past his feet were either sniped from above or mowed down from the resistance front lines. Their Decepticons fared no better. With Omega Supreme distracted, they needed to push through in order to gain the advantage the Alliance really needed. With a growl, Onslaught deactivated his pistol. “Very well,” he said, looking over to each of his squad. “Combaticons, unite to form Bruticus!” Brimstone’s eyes grew wider than he could’ve hoped. “Oh my gosh...” he gasped, shielding his head from the oncoming debris splatter. The enemy rifle fire continued above him, impacting debris and every Alliance soldier that dared moved forward. However, Brimstone realized that more of his soldiers were beginning to take more ground, and he soon found out why. All the rifle fire was being directed in the center of the street… …where Bruticus stood proudly. “Captain Armor, we’ve got Decepticon Bruticus in the battlefield! Decepticon Bruticus is in the battlefield!” Shining Armor felt the telepathy link he had with Lieutenant Broken Heart fade away. With his fellow unicorns, Shining placed a telepathy spell so he could communicate with all his armies within Manehattan. Of course, he didn’t need any confirmation on Bruticus’ location. He could see the lumbering titan from where he stood. And it was glaring right at him. “Snipers, take out his eyes!” Shining Armor ordered telepathically. On each building side, resistance snipers broke the glass from the rooms they stood in. Levitating the snipers outwards, each unicorn readied their crosshairs on the Decepticon colossus pushing forward ever so slowly. The air was filled with sharp bangs, followed by the constant sound of bullets ricocheting off of metal. Bruticus growled. Just growled. The bullets did nothing to harm him and his might. Like the ponies that stood before him, their force of retaliation was nothing more than a pesky nuisance. He felt a sharp bullet hit him in the side of the head, much closer to his optic than the previous ones. Perhaps that nuisance could be a threat after all. Better not take any chances. He had learned that lesson before. “LITTLE PONIES…COME TO ME!” His right fist began to glow…and so did his left. Shining Armor’s eyes grew wide, his jaw becoming slack. Bruticus smashed both of his fists into the earth. The effect was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Shining Armor paid witness to a massive shockwave course throughout downtown. As the wave washed over buildings and through the streets, windows shattered and debris flew out in the opposite direction prior to the blast. The resistance snipers were blown backwards from the force of the shockwave, Shining Armor’s troops fared no better. Both armies fell. It was Shining Armor who stood up first. Bruticus was stomping right for them. Behind the Decepticon titan came the Alliance forces; tanks, soldiers, and airships. They just kept coming…and coming. For the first time since the battle began…Shining felt truly lost. All around him, resistance fighters were picking themselves off the torn gravel, many of them paying witness to the new army headed for them. “Sir…what do we do?” one freedom-fighter asked, a hint of worry melting in his strong tone. Shining Armor stood silently for a few moments, feeling the burning winds soar in and out of Manehattan. He watched as the skies were re-filled with Alliance superiority. He watched as Omega Supreme came back stomping into downtown, not a Pegasi distracting him. He stared into the eyes of Bruticus, the twin red orbs of death. He looked over his army. Diminished. Beaten. Bruised. Lost. He was left with only one thought in mind. “Fall back!” The resistance army didn’t waste another second. The streets were instantly drained of bodies as they picked themselves out of the gravel, each one of them racing back towards the resistance lines. Their captain was with them, never leaving their side. The Equestrian Resistance raced over and through the lines, past the two princesses standing together. Watching as their little ponies fled, the two sisters brought their eyes on the road. The front lines were still providing cover fire, but even their small amount of firepower did little to the massive army headed their way. Bruticus was leading the way. They had no choice. They simply had no choice. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna screamed, their voices creating the white flag that sailed over the resistance lines. They screamed the retreat. The two flew high into the air, sending beam after beam of pulsing magical spells at the approaching army. They destroyed airships, wiped out waves of invading Alliance ponies, and blew up tank after tank. They kept coming. And coming. They were over the front lines, and Bruticus lead the way. The two sisters continued their magical blasts, but they could only stare in horror as the front line fell, Alliance ponies mutilating resistance fighters with pure ease and strength in numbers. It pushed on, the army never stopping, never halting, no matter how many strikes the princesses dealt to it. It wasn’t long before the second line fell, followed by the third, and the fourth. It was no fight anymore. The fifth line retreated, Princess Cadance falling back with as many resistance fighters as she could order. The Autobots arrived, Discord with them. The fifth line became the final stand between total extinction and freedom. Ironhide and Jazz took on Bruticus while Discord dealt with the advancing army all by himself. Few resistance soldiers stayed alongside the miniscule fighting force, for most had obeyed their captain’s orders and fell back deeper into the city. In that moment, with the two sisters fleeing alongside their resistance army, they turned back to witness Shining Armor stop in the fifth lines. The captain looked down at the last resort, their final act of aggression. A tiny fuse that led underground. He lit it with his horn and galloped away. The fuse sparked to life. That spark traveled deep underneath the city until it was crawling all over the walls of the sewer line. That single spark broke up into a multitude of sparks, each one crawling closer and closer to downtown and the front lines. Below the city of Manehattan, the resistance had one final attack left up their sleeve, for if they were to be overrun…they would take as many enemies down with them. The fuses traveled all the way to the bomb storage. Downtown Manehattan erupted. The eruption captured everything from downtown all the way to the front line. Decepticon troopers fell one by one, the blasts tearing their bodies to blue shreds. Alliance ponies simply ceased to exist as they too were caught in the blast, orange fingertips reaching around their bodies and pulling them down to a black oblivion. Airships veered away from the explosion, the brightness lighting up all of Manehattan. The street simply fell apart after that, dozens of dead bodies and wrecked weapons of war falling down to the sewers. Shining Armor spun his head around to witness the aftermath. It was not what he was expecting. Not at all. Bruticus slowly turned around, noticing that the army following him was gone. All there was below him, in the massive sinkhole, were streaks of green light and cries of pain. Omega Supreme remained, as expected. The symbol was still glowing, the symbol of evil remained. Decepticon. Shining Armor shook his head. More Alliance airships lowered down to the fifth line, dropping off reinforcements. Optimus Prime witnessed the Nemesis open up from the side. A massive leg appeared out of the darkness within the flagship, followed by another, then one more. Soon enough, a Decepticon War Machine stepped out into the light, a small, red Decepticon riding it. Frenzy waved his blaster in the air. “I got the War Machine, boss!” he screamed in a high-pitched, shrill voice. That was all Optimus heard before a heavy foot impacted his face. Galvatron gave a hearty laugh, his red optics glaring with mixtures of glee and hate at the fallen Prime struggling to get up. Optimus dug his blade into the cement, pushing himself slowly upwards. “Why do you falter, Prime? Rumors suggest that you are the leader of the Autobots, yet you have failed to prove so again and again!” Galvatron taunted, driving the sharp end of his foot right into Prime’s forehead. Optimus flew backwards, impacting the ground with a heavy thud. “Pathetic,” Galvatron said, approaching Prime with his sword in hand. “If this is truly the hero of this world, then what have we to fear, my brothers?!” Galvatron reached down and gripped Optimus by the throat. He lifted the last Prime high into the air, laughing as he did so. Prime gripped Galvatron’s strong fist wrapped around his throat, his own mind beginning to fade. “Behold, Equestria! Optimus Prime, your savior stands before me as but a mere husk of his past self, and a mere embarrassment to your world!” The Decepticon hybrid roared, tossing Optimus out in front of him. Prime stumbled, and then found himself staring down the barrel of an orange cannon. His optics grew wide with horror, and were soon filled with new levels of pain. Galvatron fired. The purple blast hit Prime dead center in the chest, launching him all the way across the street and into a small business. Optimus remained motionless, smoke already building up within the building he landed in. The Decepticon laughed once more, his head lifted high towards the burning heavens. Shockwave couldn’t help but give a light chuckle. It had been quite an amusing skirmish. At first, Shockwave was worried that Galvatron wouldn’t prove to be effective in battle, and therefore would need their assistance. Thankfully, those thoughts could be tossed aside when he and Soundwave both watched Galvatron beat Prime around as if he just a simple fool trying to stand against the Decepticon leader, just like during the war. He would let Galvatron finish off Optimus Prime, for the next step of the plan had been accomplished. “Excellent work, Frenzy,” Shockwave congratulated, his lone optic staring at the Mini-con. Frenzy hopped off the towering War Machine and landed safely inside Soundwave’s storage compartment. Soundwave kept it open, his visor landing on two more exiting the Nemesis. Shockwave’s eye lit up. Between Ravage’s jaws hung the Dark Spark. Resting in Rumble’s deadly mallets sat the Matrix. The Decepticon scientist watched silently as the two Mini-cons walked over to their master, dropping their collected items and jumping back into Soundwave’s compartment. Quickly, Soundwave scooped up the Matrix while Shockwave gingerly picked the Dark Spark off the debris. “Matrix of Leadership acquired. Mission complete. Beginning War Machine drilling procedure,” Soundwave announced, catching the interested eye of Shockwave. The scientist watched as Soundwave opened up his chest compartment and placed the Matrix inside, possibly for safe keeping. Next, Soundwave lifted up his right wrist, tapping multiple images that sprung up in tiny holograms. Metal and gears whirring caught Shockwave’s attention. He turned his head back to War Machine to witness it stand straight up, its legs pushing the base of the machine upwards. Then suddenly, the small underbelly of the War Machine fired a single, purple beam of energy straight down, similar to how previous incarnations of the War Machine did. However, instead of launching crystals of Dark Energon across the ground, this War Machine’s power beam dug downwards into the remains of the toppled building it stood over. Shockwave could see cement and remnants of the building being spewed from all directions as the beam kept on going, surprisingly not stopping. “Estimated drilling time to planet’s core: 45 cycles.” Shockwave stared at the Dark Spark resting in his right palm. More purple mist faded off the center of the terrible relic, disappearing in the winds around him. He lifted up his head. “Lord Galvatron!” The Decepticon hybrid halted his approach on the wounded Prime, growling silently and turning back to face the owner of the voice. From where he stood in the center of the street, he could see a massive machine sending a bright beam of destruction into the earth, tearing the ground around it to shreds. Soundwave and Shockwave stood near its massive legs. Shockwave appeared to be holding something of great interest, something that prompted Galvatron to seek. Leaving Prime to suffer in pain, Galvatron slowly approached his two Decepticons, his optics never breaking contact with the strange relic Shockwave held. More pieces flying by, more pieces joining together to form the picture. “My Lord,” Shockwave began, breaking Galvatron’s concentration, “the time is near for you to save our race.” He held out his only hand left. “Take the Dark Spark, my Lord. Take it…and save Cybertron.” With a sword still in his right hand, Galvatron reached forward with his left, his smile growing. He stopped, his hand hovering just above the Dark Spark. The relic began to shudder, the purple mist wrapping around Galvatron’s hand like a hungry swarm of serpents. “Let the world know this day, my brothers, that the Decepticons reign supreme.” “Truer words have never been spoken,” Shockwave muttered. Galvatron reached down to pluck the Dark Spark from Shockwave’s grasp. Neither Decepticon saw the blade coming. Galvatron, his optics wide and his jaw dropped, stared in shock as the Dark Spark tumbled away from his grasp, bouncing across the tattered remains of the Manehattan train station. With it was a silver blade with veins of red along its surface. Both items landed in the debris, away from the two Decepticons. Galvatron turned his head left, Shockwave his right. Optimus Prime stood in the middle of the street, his right hand outstretched. With his body in pain, Optimus growled, “Truer words have never befallen the lips of tyrants.” There was a scream of rage. Galvatron rushed Optimus with murder in his glowing red optics, each one shimmering signs of the fires of Tartarus. He swung his sword forward, the blade’s edge aimed right for Prime’s neck. Optimus deflected the oncoming attack with his shield. He retaliated with a fist into the Decepticon’s abdomen. Galvatron hunched over. Optimus finished his onwards strike with a shield knocking cleanly against Galvatron’s purple helmet. The Decepticon roared in a mixture of pain and anger, his body tumbling to the street. Shockwave fired once, twice, three times at the approaching Autobot, but Optimus deflected each blast with his shield, instead choosing to ram Shockwave at full force. The Decepticon scientist flew backwards from the force of the hit. With his enemy wounded, Prime quickly searched for his sword. He found it lying near a pile of debris, right by the Dark Spark trembling against the earth. Optimus began to the first step, but was interrupted by a ferocious roar from behind. Luckily, Prime spun around in time to dodge the blade’s tip intended to go through his back. Galvatron yelled in anger, punching Prime right in the face. Optimus responded with a headbutt. Galvatron fell once again, but Optimus had no chance to celebrate when he was tackled from behind. Both Optimus and Soundwave tumbled across the barren landscape of Manehattan’s ruins. Soundwave came out on top, punching Prime in the face, chest, and any area that was exposed. Optimus growled in pain, bringing his knee close to his chest and his foot against Soundwave’s body. Using much of his strength, he launched the Communications Officer off of him. Soundwave landed on his two feet. His right fist transformed into his signature TechVolt. “Power levels rising. TechVolt Energon-Cell Conductor upgraded. Autobot elimination in-” Optimus smacked Soundwave’s TechVolt aside. He drove his shield right into the Decepticon’s cracked visor. Soundwave fell on his back, his chest compartment slipping open from the force of his fall. Out came a light. Optimus’ Energon began to cool. Shockwave looked up from the debris. The Matrix of Leadership skidded into the center of the street. His blue optics latched onto the light. It called to him, pleaded for Optimus to approach its welcoming embrace. Optimus felt the shield attached to his left arm grow incredibly light, as if a rejuvenated strength inside his spark persuaded him to go towards the welcoming light. Optimus blinked, and then began to run for it. “No!” Shockwave shouted and pointed his cannon right for Prime’s back. He fired. Optimus screamed in pain as the blast tore right through his abdomen, sending shrapnel and metal all across the street. The Prime fell on his chest, his shield skidding to the side. Optimus looked up, still seeing the light growing brighter in his presence. It called to him, begging him to push on. He lifted his hand in an effort to crawl. Shockwave was already there. He could do nothing but watch as Shockwave approached the bright light, his cannon glowing. The Decepticon stood over the shining relic at his feet, his purple optic shifting from it and over to Prime. From Prime’s position, all he could see was Shockwave shaking his head side to side. “You’ve come so far…” The end of his cannon aimed right for the relic. “…and you will lose so much more than you can imagine.” A second light emerged from behind, this one as bright as the sun…and as powerful as it too. Shockwave felt the searing heat of the sun itself burn his backside to a near cinder. He spun around, shielding his face from the bright, celestial embodiment approaching him closer and closer. It attacked. Princess Celestia tackled Shockwave. Once again, lying in pain with his Energon spilling in the street, Optimus Prime could only watch as Princess Luna followed in her sister’s path, flying overhead with her sword jutted outwards. Shining Armor raced by him, following the unicorn were numerous resistance fighters, screaming their battle cry as they all rushed past Prime. The last Prime breathed heavily. He could hear his breath escape him slowly. His mind began to fade once more, his Energon levels slowly depleting. He turned his head back, watching from the ground as Shining Armor and his resistance soldiers fired away on Galvatron. The combined forces of unicorn magic and rifle fire caused great commotion for the Decepticon hybrid, and he could do little to fight back against the barrage of fire. One cannon blast was all it took for him to regain the situation. Celestia fought Shockwave, her spear jabbing closer and closer to the Decepticon’s chest. Luna took on Soundwave, blasting the wounded Decepticon into a near building side with her amplified Alicorn magic. He faced the road ahead. The relic… It called to him again. And again. He lifted up his palm and planted it into the street, digging his fingers into the shattered concrete. He pulled himself forward with a great yell of pain. He repeated the actions, his body screaming in anguish and misery, yet he pushed on. There it lay. The relic was shuddering as he grew nearer. Shockwave smacked the princess aside with his right fist, sending her into a shattered column. He spun around, too late to stop it, too late to stop the inevitable. He was the one to witness it before all others. “No!” Optimus Prime grabbed the Matrix. A bright, blue light spread across the street, enveloping everything in its almighty power. All conflicts ceased between good and evil. The battle of Manehattan, the battle for Equestria’s freedom…had all but halted. All eyes turned to the center of the street, all shocked, all surprised, all in awe. Optimus Prime stood up, the Matrix resting in both of his hands. He opened his optics. They no longer shined blue. They were not dark. No, they were white. Pure, heavenly white. He lifted the Matrix into the air, releasing a glowing white tower of light straight to the clouds. Once again, all eyes in Manehattan, every single one, looked up to witness the glorious spectacle taking place. The tower erupted once it hit supreme height, spreading a total of nine beams outwards in different directions. The beams were pure white, just like the tower, just like Prime’s optics. Shockwave watched as each beam soared in a certain direction, three heading not too far away from their position. The others soared all the way out of the city, out of sight. The tower fell apart, each beam disappearing just as quickly as they appeared. As quick as the speed of light, the tower shrunk back inside the Matrix held within Prime’s grasp. All eyes turned back towards the last Prime now hovering over their heads. He gently landed back behind the group, amongst the wreckage, near the Dark Spark. Prime’s chest opened. The Matrix slowly floated inside, where it truly belonged. It sealed. The light had ended. Everything returned to its normal state: war, chaos, death. Yet, in the area where the three Decepticon leaders stood, where the former rulers of Equestria stood, where the War Machine dug into the earth, there was silence amongst the opposing forces. They all stared at Optimus Prime. Galvatron watched on in cold silence as Prime’s eyes opened. He turned his head towards the Decepticon hybrid, actually creating a feeling of dread within the warped spark of Galvatron. He spoke. “I…am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and you…” he leaned down and picked up his sword, pointing it at Galvatron, “are not one of us.” Prime threw it, the blade hitting Galvatron dead center in his chest.