Optimus and his team tore through the horde with relative ease. Rodimus Unicronus then leapt onto Optimus and started punching. Optimus bucked him off and swung a punch right into his chest, continually shoving it and making him gasp. “STOP…DOING THAT!” roared Rodimus Unicronus.
“Okay,” replied Optimus as he quickly pulled his fist back. The sudden return to normal caused Rodimus Unicronus to gasp as air rushed into his air intake.
“NOT ALL AT ONCE! ARGH!” He doubled over and gasped. “Just…can I…have a cycle?!”
“…Sureyoucan!” replied Optimus.
“Well…thank you!” panted Unicronus. “That’s appre…!” Optimus then slammed an uppercut into his opponent’s jaw, sending him flying into the air. Optimus then leapt after him, grabbed his leg, and swung him to the ground.
“C-C-C-COMBO!” he shouted. Unicronus then hit the ground hard, face first. After that…a voice escaped his…erm…rear.
“Oh ho ho ho!” he laughed. “This is an unfortunate turn of events!” Optimus was…visibly disturbed.
“Did you just…literally…talk out your aft?”
“Well-” Rodimus Unicronus was now speaking through his mouth as he stood up- “to be fair, I DID dwell within the Matrix while my timeline’s version of you was Prime.”
“Ooh! That’s the closest you’ve done to damage since I got here!”
“Allow me to fix that! RODIMUS UNICRONUS, BLOOD-DRINKER MODE!” His super mode was like Rodimus’, just with a different color scheme. “There! Now, do you understand, Optimus?!”
‘What I understand is that I’m gonna give you a beating worse than the Primes did when you were Unicron!” Unicronus blinked.
“…How did…?”
“Silver and Grimlock filled Teletraan 1 in on the details.”
“And he told you. Riveting.”
“Now, because I believe in a fair fight, I’ll give you a free shot. I warn you, though, you better…” Unicronus then punched him in the face. Optimus…then chuckled, scaring the Terrorcon. “You better make it count!” He then wiped a bit of leaked Energon off his cheek. By now, Rodimus Unicronus was terrified.
“How?! HOW?! HOW DID YOU GET THIS STRONG?!” he demanded.
“I’ve been training and fighting for survival these past ten months!”
“Oh, you think you’re being CUTE!”
“Glitch, I’m adorable!” Optimus then dropped his smile. “You, on the other hand, need to be torn apart for all the pain you caused Mobius and her people! I heard through the grapevine that you’re the one that permanently weakened Chip so Gaia would be the only one to beat Unicron in any significant fashion! With how long it would have taken to wake her up, Mobius would have been gone by then! You, your comrades, and your master are aphids and I’m the ladybug ready to devour you! OPTIMUS PRIME, SUPER MODE!” The trailer then activated its rocket boosters and flew into the air as it unfolded and then folded again into a pair of legs with giant guns mounted on the back. Optimus’ feet then folded into the legs as hands took their place and the lower torso split at the crotch. They then swung up to the arms and united to become thicker arms and hands. Optimus then linked with the legs at the waist and a helmet came down over his head with golden piping pointing to the back of the head for the antennae and a gold hexagon on the forehead. He activated a gold mouth plate and landed back on the ground. Rodimus Unicronus was terrified as the others were in awe.
“HOLY…!” breathed Bumblebee.
“SCRAP!” continued Jazz.
“AWESOME!” cheered Blackarachnia.
“Oh, Optimus,” sighed Megatron in annoyance, “you and your fancy gadgets.”
“I hope you understand,” Optimus snarled to Rodimus Unicronus, “that this is YOUR specific end!”
“Wait, surely we can come to some arrangement to satisfy your warrior’s pride!” begged Unicronus.
“…Pardon?”
“You see, I’m only at half my full power!”
“I don’t see how that’s my concern.”
“I-If you let me power up, I’ll…I’ll give you an…Energon Pizza!”
“You killed innocent people! That’s not gonna work!”
“Two Energon Pizzas!”
“I SAID I’M DONE!”
“WITH STUFFED CRUST!”
“SPARKPLUG, POWERLINX!” Sparkplug transformed, flew to Optimus’ shoulder, and linked up. There was a significant power boost to the weapons systems. “Now, light our darkest hour!” he prayed to the Matrix.
“We’d be delighted to,” replied Prima’s voice in his head. The Matrix then flooded Optimus with more power. Rodimus Unicronus then whimpered in fright before turning and running away.
“PHASE BLASTERS: MAXIMUM FIRE!” The guns on his back then swung up and folded to rest on his shoulders before unleashing massive twin streams of laser fire. The beams hit their target and engulfed him. Rodimus Unicronus…was then reduced to nothing more than useless hunks of twisted and burned metal. The beams died and the body’s pieces fell to the ground, gunmetal gray and lifeless. Rodimus Unicronus…was now offline. The zombie-bots then fell, lifeless as well. Without a Terrorcon to control them, they were just bodies. As everyone stood there panting, the sun came out.
“…Where were you earlier?” asked Cosmo to the sun. Everyone then rushed to meet with Optimus as he returned to his normal robot mode and Sparkplug flew off of his shoulder, transforming to his own robot mode.
“That…was…AMAZING!” cheered Bumblebee.
“Thanks, Bumblebee,” panted Optimus. He then wiped his brow. “That was a bit of a drain! Not as much as my old super mode, but still enough to warrant training that form up.”
“Did I see it all correctly?” asked Yoketron. “Did my sensei assist you?!”
“I did,” replied Sparkplug.
“Oh, peachy!” groaned Clench. “My hated enemy and I have to work with him.”
“Ah, Clench, you’re here as well. Still slumming with the Decepticons?”
“I go with the side that causes the most mayhem and the Decepticons cause that in spades! Wanna see my partner?!” He gestured to Megatron.
“An honor to meet you,” greeted the Decepticon Lord in a mocking tone.
“Hey! Show some respect!” snapped Jazz. “He helped Optimus complete an Optics’ Quest!”
“Optimus, Sensei Sparkplug, does Jazz speak truly?” asked Yoketron.
“He does, my old student,” confirmed Sparkplug. Yoketron grinned.
“Yet another student makes me proud. …No, a BROTHER makes me proud. Optimus Prime, as your sensei, I recognize you as a full-fledged member of the Autobot Cyber-Ninja Corps!”
“Thank you, Sensei Yoketron,” replied Optimus. “Not only for this…but for putting up with my impatient aft all these years.”
“You were…challenging, but you grew and changed. Now you’re ready to see if you can reach the rank of Grandmaster.”
“Actually, I’m renouncing my candidacy for the position. This journey taught me that I have enough power as it is and I don’t need, or, deep down, WANT any more.”
“…If that is your wish, then so be it. But, my pride for you has not dimmed. Congratulations, Optimus Prime.”
“Yes, yes, hooray, Optimus can fight like Naruto!” grunted Megatron. “But there IS a more pressing concern.”
“Yes, Rodimus’ evil twin probably transmitted intel about my reclaiming Primehood,” remarked Optimus. “Which is why I must first announce my intention to fight in the Unicron Games in two months.”
“What about…?!”
“In the meantime, I have a gift for us!” Optimus then opened his trailer and pulled out his desk. After noting the confused looks, Optimus keyed in a command and the desk became the Creation Lathe.
“…You’ve been propping your feet on a relic of the Prime?!” yelped Prowl.
“Yeah, Solus gave me an audioful when the truth became apparent,” winced Optimus. “Which means I need to either break the habit or get a new desk so I can still prop my feet up.”
“Hold on, if that’s the Creation Lathe, where’s the Forge?!” asked Bumblebee.
“…Strapped to your back, it looks like.” Optimus then pointed to Bumblebee’s sheathed weapon, the Magnus Hammer. Bumblebee handed Optimus the hammer, then Optimus pressed three buttons on the handle in a certain order. The hammer then shrunk and compressed itself into a Blacksmith’s hammer. Everyone was in awe.
“Then…you have the plans?” asked Megatron.
“And I brought materials to reforge the Three Powers twice over!” declared Optimus.
“Twice?” asked Sonic.
“Rodimus, Galvatron, and Silver need the Three Powers to beat their timeline’s Unicron. Now, because the Matrix is connected to ALL the Primes, that means only I can use them. However, Solus Prime and I are designing a workaround for that. Once that’s done, we train and prepare for the Unicron Games! Now, if you’ll excuse me, Teletraan 1, bridge me to Castle Unicron! I wish to announce my participation in person!”
“All right but be careful!” warned Teletraan 1. A Ground Bridge opened, and Optimus stepped through. The Bridge closed behind him.
“Good luck, Prime!” wished Blackarachnia. Bumblebee then looked around.
“Well, Optimus can’t exactly call a messy base home, can he?” he asked. “Let’s get this mess cleared up and make the necessary repairs!” Everyone cheered and Bumblebee immediately began detailing clean-up crews.