The Space Bridge had sent Dion back to Cybertron in disgrace and morale was low. How could an Autobot be so hateful? Megatron smirked. He knew what caused it; a simple matter of believing in propaganda too much and not realizing the REAL cause of war, money. He had taken over Dion\u2019s quarters and tailored it to his own ends. As he continued arranging things, he heard the door chime. \u201cYes?\u201d he called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s your mother,\u201d answered Windblade\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Enter.\u201d Windblade came in and looked around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou settled in pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would have been given my old quarters, but it was\u2026occupied.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Why?\u201d Megatron guessed her question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOptimus didn\u2019t tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe admitted he didn\u2019t follow everything.\u201d Megatron flinched a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSimple, we started acting like Functionists towards the losers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026There\u2019s more to this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBelieve what you wish, but there really ISN\u2019T\u2026\u201d Megatron didn\u2019t finish his sentence as Windblade leapt onto him, shoving him into a wall. \u201cWha\u2026?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou betrayed us! You betrayed ME! What\u2019s happened to you?! WHAT HAVE THE DECEPTICONS DONE TO MY BABY BOY?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnough!\u201d Megatron shoved her off of him and got some room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs it Shadowplay?!\u201d continued Windblade. \u201cIs that what this is?! Did Jhiaxus brainwash you?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf he did, he\u2019d still be around! Remember? Jhiaxus is dead! Any puppet of his would seek to keep him alive! I sent the D.J.D on him! So, no, it\u2019s NOT Shadowplay and I\u2019m sorry if that disappoints you.\u201d Windblade stood there, staring at her wayward son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe believed in you back then. We dedicated our lives to you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot to me, to the Autobot cause.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou ARE the Autobot cause! Or, at least, that\u2019s what Sentinel Prime believed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSentinel REALLY thought me to be the model Autobot? Mother, I had a stutter and was afraid of my own shadow! I find it hard to believe that I was a model Autobot back then! As it stands now, I\u2019m not even the faintest glimmer of ANY type of Autobot!\u201d Windblade scowled, then sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026The family\u2019s carrying on without you. Optimus has plans.\u201d Megatron arched an eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOptimus? I thought Dion was head of the Pax family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDion stepped down. He handed the reins of the family to Optimus. \u2026He\u2019s exiled himself from the public eye. He\u2019s still on Cybertron, but he\u2019s living as a hermit. Optimus wants to bring your father back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell then, go help him! Off you go! Go get my Ex-Decepticon father and have him finally meet his youngest son! Push! Push on! Forge ahead without me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026The moment you tell me this is all a trick, that \u2018Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons\u2019 is part of some larger plan, then you\u2019re taking Dion\u2019s place. Optimus never wanted it, feeling that he\u2019s got enough in terms of command already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh, yes, Autobot loyalty. I had forgotten how toxic it can be.\u201d Megatron then sat himself on his recharge berth. \u201cSpeaking of loyalty, I presume you were sent to spy on me?\u201d Windblade flinched. It was true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOptimus\u2019 orders. I was to watch and wait until I could be certain the new you was the real you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026He left that up to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd you told us Father\u2019s origins?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA test for you. Testing your compassion. \u2026You failed.\u201d The silence hung low over the room until Windblade broke it again. \u201cI\u2019ve been watching you ever since you surrendered. You sat in your cell with your eyes closed and your mouth turned up in a smile, and you think, and you think, and you think, and you know what I<\/em> think? I think, for the first time in your life, you don\u2019t know what you are! Writer, soldier, mentor, brother\u2026now what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLord of the Decepticons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut WHY? If you\u2019ve had a change of Spark, you could have become a civilian; a Cybertronian, no more, no less. The two thousand years between our last war and the current one were a ripe time for you to step down! Why switch sides?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026When I revealed my new allegiance to Optimus, I told him that it was because the Empty\/Plenty ratio is staggering. Decepticons are disproportionally more likely to become Empties than Autobots. I wanted to hurt him, you see, because telling him he\u2019s failed in keeping people happy, he\u2019ll take that personally. The thing is, when I merely thought those words, when they were just in my head and I only had my memories of what I saw, I still had some small spark of disbelief that the Autobots could be so cruel. But when the words left my mouth, I realized that they COULD be so cruel, that Autobots can be just as bad as Decepticons. If the faction you believe in tells you that those who aren\u2019t as lucky as you are just lazy and you stay silent about your doubts, then what does it matter? The problem will resolve itself in due course. But, when you actually verbalize what the problem is\u2026\u201d Megatron sighed. \u201c\u2026I grew to hate what I became in the two thousand years before today; an indolent, selfish creature. And\u2026I decided that the best way to leave that person behind, maybe the easiest way, the only way\u2026was to become a Decepticon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026You were neither indolent nor selfish,\u201d said Windblade, \u201cand we all have wobbles. All of us, from time to time, we all have wobbles, and we question what we\u2019re doing. It\u2019s part of being a person, you wrote that down once. In years to come, when this mess is over, you\u2019ll remember this conversation and laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYears to come?\u201d Megatron scoffed. \u201cMother, look at me. Not with the eyes of a mother, with the eyes of someone who never knew me personally. I may be only in my mid five thousands, but I feel like I\u2019m in my hundred thousands. Those parties made me feel brittle, but even then, I feel long past my\u2026my prime. My Spark feels like it flickers where it once flared, and this body, oh, this nonsense body, it doesn\u2019t graft to the Spark like my previous iterations did. There\u2019s no purchase\u2026no bite.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t like hearing you talk like this!\u201d Windblade was tearing up at this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause it\u2019s not YOU! The young mech who tore down the Conclave at 500 years of age! The mech who saw to it that the arts survived, even during the Great War! The mech we followed! The mech we loved! What happened to him?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026I don\u2019t know. \u2026I think Megatronus Pax is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDead? Or just resting?\u201d The outer perimeter alarm then sounded. \u201cUnicron?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d rumbled Megatron. \u201cI would have already told Optimus about that. No, it\u2019s someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s Soundwave, if you want to know.\u201d Teletraan appeared on Megatron\u2019s computer screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026The Swap\u2019s tomorrow, right?\u201d asked Megatron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is, but Soundwave looks mad right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI better talk with him.\u201d Megatron got up and strode to the front door. He went outside and faced Soundwave. \u201cSoundwave, your turn isn\u2019t for another two weeks. I must ask that you return to base.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot until you hear what Ravage found!\u201d replied Soundwave. He then played a little audio file of Galvatron\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSilver, you psychokinetic genius! Your scheme is working! We could potentially restore the Three Powers any day now! Galvatron to Rodimus! Galvatron to Rodimus, come in!\u201d Megatron was stunned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWh\u2026wha\u2026\u201d Megatron\u2019s stammering then stopped. It was falling into place! Galvatron had manipulated everyone into working together! He didn\u2019t care about the Decepticons anymore! Megatron\u2019s face contorted in rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey, er, Optimus overheard the entire conversation,\u201d Teletraan said over the comms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Galvatron\u2026Galvatron\u2026\u2026\u2026GALVATROOOON!\u201d Megatron EXPLODED in anger, the energy shorting out his inhibitor chips!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSomeone call?\u201d asked Galvatron\u2019s voice. Megatron then swung his mace at his future self!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Space Bridge had sent Dion back to Cybertron in disgrace and morale was low. How could an Autobot be so hateful? Megatron smirked. He knew what caused it; a simple matter of believing in propaganda too much and not realizing the REAL cause of war, money. He had taken over Dion\u2019s quarters and tailored […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,650],"tags":[146,337],"class_list":["post-3958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transformers-mobian-chronicles","category-transformers-mobian-chronicles-arc-13-clearing-the-air","tag-sonic","tag-transformers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3959,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3958\/revisions\/3959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}