The Return of Galvatron
By Mike Moskway
January 2007

Chapter 1: Emergence
Chapter 2: The Exodus
Chapter 3: The Burden Hardest to Bear
Chapter 4: Reunions and other betrayals
Chapter 5: Changing of the Guard
Chapter 6
Chapter 7: The Storm
Chapter 8: The Dawn
Epilogue

Chapter 5: Changing of the Guard

A lone figure stood atop one of the many small brown hills that dotted Charr's broken landscape. The weather was beautiful this day, if you enjoyed sulphur clouds hanging about in ninety-degree heat. The sky over Charr was just as lovely, if your idea of lovely is a grayish brown that seemed to stretch forever. Yes, today was as good as the weather ever got here on Charr.

"I can't take it anymore" Runamuck yelled as loudly as he could. "This isn't as much fun as I thought. I beat Unicron with the others and what do I get for my troubles? I get stuck on this mudball of a planet, at a monitoring station no-one ever contacts, with a lost leader and no future."

Runamuck began to pace back and forth at this point rambling and muttering to himself. He had led a very stagnant life since the great war against Unicron. Like Shockwave's other troops, he had returned to Charr expecting Shockwave to rally them again. The problem was Shockwave never returned, and the resistence movement had all but crumbled.

"Should have stuck with Bludgeon" he said to himself irritably. "At least then I'd get to bust some heads. At least then I'd..."

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!

At first Runamuck had no idea what was happening until he realized he was hearing the perimeter alarms. He immediately rushed to the viewscreen to at least get an idea of what threat the Charr based Decepticons now faced. His first duty however was to attempt contact with whoever or whatever was coming through the atmosphere.

"Who are you and what do you want?!" Runamuck yelled into the receiver, mustering as much tact as the jumpstarter could muster. "If you're an enemy, prepare to be destroyed." This last statement had been false, considering Runamuck had no weapons control, but the enemy didn't need to know that.

"Fact: if you fire upon my craft I will have you melted into scrap Runamuck" a familiar monotone voice spoke over the speaker. "Shockwave?" Runamuck said quietly in disbelief. "Yes" replied Shockwave irritably. "Prepare all available Decepticons for my arrival immediately." Runamuck didn't even stay to make a reply. The simple thrill of action, any action, was enough to send him flying down the hillside toward the city below.

It took mere minutes for Astrotrain to descend through the murky atmosphere and finally touch down on the landing pad, which had definitely seen better days. The Decepticons' long journey was finally over, and all involved couldn't be happier. A small welcoming party had gathered, or been forced to attend, to welcome back their "glorious" leader.

Elsewhere: Two Decepticons pushed their way through the crowd that had gathered around the landing pad. Although neither were particularly fond of their Decepticon brethren here on Charr, they had been quite intrigued when they heard of Shockwave's arrival on what they considered "their world."

They reached the edge of the landing pad in time to see Astrotrain touch down with all of the subtlety of a garbage truck. Obviously being in deep space for so long had an adverse effect on his landings.

The two Decepticons readied their weapons. No one around seemed to notice, or to care for that matter. The Decepticons of Charr had obviously seen better days.

"On my signal" the taller of the two said quietly to his partner.

"Oh, lets just get this over and be done with it" said the other irritably.

Just then Astrotrain's landing bay doors opened with a hiss. As expected, Shockwave strode forward, triumphantly returning to his warriors, or so he thought.

The two aforementioned Decepticons gripped their weapons tightly. They would only get one shot. Shockwave they knew did not take kindly to mutiny. They prepared to fire, until both noticed something completely unexpected. Galvatron had come to stand in the doorway.

"Pathetic" Galvatron thought to himself as he surveyed the landscape before him. "How could the mighty Decepticon army be reduced to such a pitiful mockery of itself? I shall have to remedy this before..."

Galvatron's thoughts were once again interrupted, something that seemed to be happening quite a bit recently, by a great commotion from the crowd. Two Decepticons had broken rank and were running at full speed toward him. He tensed, ready for combat,

until he realized exactly who these two mechanoids were.

"Mighty Galvatron!!!" yelled Cyclonus as he and Scourge raced toward their leader. "Thank the dark lord that you survive mighty one!!!"

With one mighty leap, Galvatron descended to the ground. Both of his arms were immediately clasped by his two lieutenants who looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"Ahh, Scourge, Cyclonus" said Galvatron happily. "I must say I'm surprised to see the two of you here."

"We thought you had been destroyed mighty one" said Scourge finally. "We had no idea that you survived. Now after so long we have a leader who can lead us to defeat the miserable Autobots."

"Lead Scourge?" the monotone voice of Shockwave said, breaking the happy reunion. "Fact: Shockwave is the true leader of the Decepticons here, NOT Galvatron. You border on treason you..."

"Mighty one" interrupted Cyclonus. "We would be honored if you would once again lead us into battle."

"This is mutiny Cyclonus!!!" boomed Shockwave. "I will terminate both of you for your insolence!!!"

Without even facing Shockwave, Galvatron brought his fusion cannon upward and fired, striking Shockwave directly in the chest. The impact sent Shockwave spinning end over end.

"Enough Shockwave!" said Galvatron irritably. "I've listened to your nonsense for far too long!"

Shockwave regained his feet and began to circle his opponent. Cyclonus and Scourge instinctively moved in front of their leader, but Galvatron simply moved them aside. It had been far too long since he had faced a foe one on one.

"Interrogative Galvatron" Shockwave said irritably. "Do you truly think you can defeat me? I am the most powerful Decepticon created. You cannot hope to defeat me."

"Take your best shot you one eyed freak" said Galvatron calmly.

Shockwave steadied his x-ray cannon and began to fire. Bolt after bolt struck Galvatron directly, with absolutely no effect. Shockwave stared in disbelief. The results of his attacks obviously defied logic.

"Is that all you have oh Mighty Shockwave?!" Galvatron muttered irritably. "Let me give you a taste of true power!" In the blink of an eye Galvatron crossed the distance between the two. In one hand he held Shockwave's throat. In the other he gripped Shockwave's laser hand.

"You are a pretender" said Galvatron as he tightened his grip, shattering Shockwave's arm. "You would think after all these years you should know you can't beat me. The Predacons tried, Prime tried, Starscream tried, YOU'VE tried, and each time I've bested you!"

"Interrogative, you and I had never met until you awoke me on earth" said Shockwave softly, his throat being crushed and all. "I sent the Predacons to attack... Megatron."

Shockwave's single eye glowed brightly as his voice trailed off. The knowledge of who he now faced began to sink in. His cool calculating logic never allowed him to believe Megatron would best him. He was obviously wrong.

"Yes Shockwave" Galvatron said haughtily. "I just wanted you to know who you had helped before you died."

With one arm, Galvatron flung Shockwave high into the air. As he anticipated, Shockwave took the opportunity to transform to his space gun mode. Galvatron knew it wouldn't help, but it added to the suspense for the others.

Shockwave mumbled something incoherent as he fired. Not to be caught off guard, Galvatron transformed to his cannon mode and fired a blast of his own. The two energy beams locked together, both fighting to ultimately destroy the other.

"You forget Galvatron" screamed Shockwave through crushed vocals. "I can increase my power where you cannot!"

In a desperate gambit to survive, Shockwave increased his energy output to well above maximum levels. His internal reactor strained to its limits, but slowly his energy beam closed on his adversary.

"Now you will die traitor" Shockwave yelled triumphantly.

"Oh, are you finally at maximum?" asked Galvatron in a mildly bored tone. "Let me show you what true power is. What it means to be a GOD!"

Cyclonus and Scourge exchanged glances and smiled at what they knew would happen. Unbeknownst to anyone present, except the three spawns of Unicron, Galvatron had been toying with Shockwave from the beginning. He had only used one quarter of his total energy. The time for play however had come to an end.

With one last mighty blast, Galvatron increased his energy to full power, forcing Shockwave's own blast back at him with incredible force. The resulting blast of x-ray energy and fusion power enveloped Shockwave in what seemed to be the blaze of a thousand suns. The Decepticons in attendance were forced to shield their optics.

Once he had regained his sight, Cyclonus looked into the air. To his disbelief, all that remained of Shockwave was a thin whisp of purple smoke. Shockwave was no more. There weren't even pieces to pick up, he had been totally incinerated.

"Now that was fun" said Galvatron as he transformed back to robot mode. "Now then, Cyclonus why don't you show me what you've been up to while I've been... away?"

"What'd he say his name was?" said Rumble as Galvatron walked by.

Instinctively Galvatron kicked the little blue grey transformer with all his might, sending him tumbling into the distance.

"Never liked that little punk" said Galvatron sarcastically.

Galvatron's two lieutenants fell in behind their leader and began to walk towards Shockwave's former capital.

As they left, none of the other Decepticons muttered a word. There was no question who their new leader was. Where there was once despair, there was now hope. One thing was absolutely clear, to court Galvatron was to court certain death. No one present was going to make that mistake any time soon.

Chapter 6:

He was impressed, he had to admit it. As Galvatron strode through the small capital city of Charr, he was astonished at the amount of work that had been accomplished. Where there had been heavily devastated buildings, there now stood factories and storehouses as far as the eye could see. Though devastated buildings still dotted the landscape, it was obvious that Shockwave's rogue Decepticons had been busy. One question still remained however.

"Tell me Cyclonus" said Galvatron suddenly, effectively stopping his tour. "How did all of this work get here? Did Shockwave do all of this before leaving for earth? Come to think of it, you still haven't told me how YOU got here..."

Unbeknownst to anyone but Galvatron, the Cyclonus and Scourge of his reality had been destroyed in the future. Ironically Cyclonus had died at Galvatron's own hand, so it made sense that they were NOT the versions from his reality. There was no immediate need to tell them this however.

"You must be weary mighty one" said Cyclonus respectfully. "Let us stop in the local energon bar and I will explain all."

In minutes the three Decepticons had reached a somewhat nice looking, nice by Charr standards, bar with a large Decepticon symbol above the door. This place obviously had the patronage of some of the higher members of Shockwave's elite because the inside was actually quite nice. There were also only a few other Decepticons inside, most of higher rank. The three seated themselves in a corner as not to arouse notice.

"Ok Cyclonus" Galvatron said slightly irritated. "I've come with you, we're sitting, NOW TALK!!!"

Cyclonus apologized and began to tell Galvatron all that had happened on Charr.  

Cyclonus first related the story of how he and Scourge had come to be in this time. Apparently he and Scourge had been on a mission in their own time when a giant wormhole had appeared. They tried in vain to resist its pull. The more they struggled, the stronger the pull seemed to grow. In the end, both Decepticons were pulled into the wormhole. Then everything went black.

The two Decepticons awoke what seemed like several days later on a lush planet they had never visited before. They scanned for other Transformer life signs and were surprised to learn that there were Decepticons on the planet they had crashed on. They were however too weak to reach the others. Scourge engaged his emergency beacon and they waited for rescue. They had not expected what happened next.

Help arrived not long after Scourge engaged his emergency beacon. Cyclonus and Scourge had never before seen the Decepticons who arrived to help. The Decepticons who arrived were all Headmasters under the command of Scorponok. These new Decepticons took Cyclonus and Scourge back to Scorponok's fortress for repairs.

Once they had reached Scorponok's fortress, they were repaired. They were also informed that they had crash landed on the planet Nebulos. The Decepticons on the planet were engaged in battle with Fortress Maximus' group of Autobots. The Decepticons needed an edge in battle and had begun the process needed to create Targetmasters. Scorponok gave the two new Decepticons a simple choice; become test subjects and first of the Targetmasters, or die. The choice really wasn't that hard at all.

Cyclonus and Scourge relished in their new abilities as Targetmasters under the command of Scorponok. The two soon grew bored with this meaningless combat and decided to go in search of Galvatron. Though Scorponok and his soldiers claimed to have never heard of such a Decepticon, Cyclonus and Scourge were determined to find their true leader. Late one night they decided to leave and never look back.

Cyclonus and Scourge's search for their leader finally came to an end on the planet Cybertron. After learning of the existence of Megatron in the current time, the two Decepticons determined that Galvatron had not been created in this reality. The two then decided that they would have to find some way to return to their own reality, or remain where they were. That is when they met Shockwave.

Although it was true that Cyclonus and Scourge had no love for Shockwave, he did seem like the robot with all of the answers at the time. While Shockwave did not have access to anything that could send the two wayward Decepticons home, he did promise to use his incredible intellect to find a way to help them. The only thing he required in return was their loyalty to his cause to regain leadership of the Decepticons. The two Decepticons, seeing no other option available, hesitantly agreed.

It was not long after the two Decepticons joined Shockwave that he decided to go to Earth. The purpose of Shockwave's journey was to gain additional troops to help him attack Scorponok and defeat him in combat. As he departed, Shockwave gave command of Charr to Cyclonus and Scourge to lead the few Decepticons he had assembled on the planet in his absence. Shockwave wasn't heard from again until earlier that day, when he was "relieved of command."

During the two years that Cyclonus and Scourge led the Charr-bound Decepticons they accomplished many great things. The two Decepticons installed "listening posts" in the asteroids surrounding the planet in order to find and attract wandering Decepticons. The two also made secret journeys to Cybertron to recruit other troops. Many of their new recruits were former soldiers of Straxus and Megatron who had become disillusioned with their former leaders.

Once their army had begun to take shape, Cyclonus and Scourge each took on jobs that suited their different personalities. As his reality's lietenent of Galvatron, Cyclonus was definitely much better suited for leadership and planning positions, which he took to with his typical precision. He diligently began to organize his new army, as well as begin plans for large and fantastic war machines. He had even begun to secretly design and build a "secret weapon" that no one but he and Scourge was aware of.

On the other hand, Scourge was definitely much more suited for warfare. The dark god Unicron had instilled destruction in his primary programming. Why fight your nature? Scourge had definitely embraced his. Scourge began to prepare for all out war. He began construction of numerous factories and storehouses, all in preparation for the inevitable conflict with the Autobots. The two Decepticons definitely had accomplished much in their time as leaders. They were however not about to give up their glory when Shockwave returned.

Galvatron had been listening intently to the entire discussion. Although he had begun to bore of the story, he knew that all of the information was important. He had not actually been surprised to learn of Cyclonus and Scourge's plan to destroy Shockwave when he exited Astrotrain. He would however remember their penchant for treachery in the future, although he did trust them both almost implicitly.

"Tell me Cyclonus" said Galvatron once Cyclonus had finished. "You mentioned a secret weapon. Tell me more."

"Ahhhh, but why tell you mighty one" began Cyclonus. "Better yet, why not show you?!"

The three Decepticons left the bar and lept into the air. They flew south along a mountain ridge for a few minutes with Cyclonus leading the way. Finally they reached a small city on the edge of the mountains. Although a few Decepticons could be seen milling around the city it was basically empty.

"Behold our ultimate weapon mighty Galvatron" said Cyclonus as he entered a code into a display on his arm.

With these last few words the entire city began to move. Towers began to turn in on themselves. Streets began to fold and disappear. The entire city seemed to be alive... and growing.

Finally after but a minute the city was no more. Where once there had been buildings, steel and concrete, there now stood a monster. As if on cue, the enormous beast opened its mouth and emitted a plume of incredible fire.

"Let me introduce you Galvatron" said Scourge after the impressive display. "Behold Trypticon!!!"

"Yes Scourge" said Galvatron as his optics widened in delight.  "Yes, I like this VERY much!"

Galvatron could barely contain his excitement as he watched the giant transformer before him. His plans had all fallen perfectly into place. His lieutenants had certainly been busy, and it seemed the time for his return had finally arrived.

"Cyclonus, Scourge!!!" Galvatron said finally. "Prepare our troops for battle. It is time that we remind the Autobots of their true place in the universe... at the bottom of our boots!!!"

Trypticon looked up just in time to see the three Decepticons fly off toward the capital city. He knew what this sort of activity meant for him. It meant that he would get to destroy things, a lot of things. He just knew that this was going to be fun.

Elsewhere:

Hot Rod looked up at the moon, which looked strangely red to him tonight. Although he was tired from the day's training with Grimlock, he couldn't shake a strange feeling. Hot Rod knew that something was about to happen, something big. He just wondered if he was ready for it. He wondered if any of them was really ready.

Chapter 7: The Storm

Grimlock couldn't believe what he was hearing. During his last two years on Cybertron he could count the number of times the alarms had sounded. Yes, there had been a Decepticon raid from time or time, but that was to be expected. This time it was different.

The morning had started the same way as any other. Against Optimus Prime's judgment, Grimlock had decided that the Autobots needed to partake in a wargame.

"Better to be safe than have Decepticons catch us napping" Grimlock had said to Prime.

How was he supposed to know this would happen? There hadn't been a Decepticon attack in months. Why should he think that today would be any different?

That morning Grimlock had taken many of the planetary defenses offline, replacing them with "smart guns" that fired harmless low level laser rounds. While not lethal, these rounds would provide enough of a shock that there would be no dispute if you were hit. The wargame was ready and the teams were prepared. That's when the problems started.

Just as the games had begun a small distress beacon was detected. Perceptor, being one of the few Autobots not participating in the game, had detected it. The beacon came from an Autobot shuttle that was rapidly approaching the planet. All messages were garbled, but the message was clear, they weren't going to be able to land safely.

To the few Autobots who noticed, the shuttle seemed like a streaking comet flying across the sky. Many didn't even notice as they were too engrossed in the game to pay attention. The resulting explosion that rocked the very planet itself was enough to startle them all.

"Perceptor, report!" said Grimlock irritably into his wrist communicator.

The laser blast that hit Sludge beside him was all the answer that Grimlock needed. He looked into the sky in time to see a giant battle station uncloak above the planet. Hundreds of Decepticon warriors swarmed like flies from the beast. Grimlock didn't even hear Perceptor's response to his question. He knew he had been caught "napping", and this did NOT sit well.

Elsewhere:

"The decoy shuttle worked perfectly Galvatron!!!" yelled Scourge on Trypticon's bridge. "The Autobot's main communications relay has been completely destroyed. It will take them several vorns to fix the situation."

"I don't like this mighty one" interrupted Cyclonus. "This is not the honorable way to destroy an enemy. We should have..."

Galvatron's fist struck Cyclonus in the chin before he could finish his last statement. Galvatron obviously was not in the mood to be questioned today. 

"Your concern is noted Cyclonus, and ignored!!!" Galvatron yelled loudly. "Now, since I assume there are no more objections..."

Galvatron glared at Cyclonus as he said this. Cyclonus simply shook his head.

"As I was saying" said Galvatron more calmly. "Transform and join the battle. You each have your assignments. I want these pretenders destroyed by nightfall."

Cyclonus and Scourge both did as they were told.

"What about you mighty Galvatron?" asked Cyclonus hesitantly before he departed.

"I will do what I should have done a long time ago" Galvatron said eagerly. "I'm going to rip the matrix out of Prime's broken body."

Cyclonus turned to leave. The only thing he heard as he walked away was a maniacal laugh from behind him.

On Cybertron:

A large transformer waded through a battlefield. What had moments ago been a simple wargame had become a full blown WAR!

"This just not my day" Grimlock said irritably to himself.

Suddenly a laser blast struck him in the side, furthering his earlier statement. With normal Grimlock-esque precision, the offending Blitzwing was neatly sliced in two. Aren't energo weapons wonderful?

"Swoop" Grimlock yelled into his wrist communicator. "Give me your status!"

"Not good boss" came Swoop's reply. "Sludge is down, and Snarl's got his hands full at the moment."

Grimlock looked up as something flew very near to his head. A sudden accompanying sonic boom announced the arrival of another Transformer. Grimlock watched as a mostly purple mechanoid touched down in front of him.

"What was that?" came Swoop's startled voice over the communicator. "You need help boss?"

"Me... call you back!" Grimlock barked irritably in reply.

Even in the flurry of laser fire, Grimlock raised himself to full height, usually an impressive sight. This particular transformer however was not impressed.

"Me not know who you are" began Grimlock in a very irritated tone.

"But I know YOU oh mighty Grimlock" said Cyclonus sarcastically. "For some unknown reason you have been granted the honor of dying by my hands. Galvatron has decreed it personally."

"Hmmph" was the only reply given by Grimlock. He had heard such pondering before, and left those beings in scrap heaps too.

"Fool!!" shouted Cyclonus. "Do you have any idea who you now face? I am the pinnacle of Decepticon warriors. I am your destroyer, forged in the depths of the dark god himself. I am your greatest challenge. I am..."

"It not MATTER what your name is!!!" Grimlock replied in a rather electrifying tone. "When fight finished, there not be enough of you to fill coffee can, much less stasis pod!"

Hardly believing what he had just heard, Cyclonus' eyes flared bright red as he drew his weapon. Grimlock likewise unsheathed his energo sword. Both combatants were eager to begin this fight. Like a gladiatorial combatant Grimlock raised his hand and motioned Cyclonus towards him mockingly.

"Let's dance" was the only thing he said as Cyclonus came charging toward him.

The sounds of their battle could be heard halfway across the planet.

Meanwhile:

"Now what good is a tracker who can't find his prey?" Fracas asked Scourge sarcastically.

Scourge's patience was nearing an end, and Fracas was not helping the situation. He was currently flying over the battlefield on Cybertron. Like Cyclonus, Scourge was sent to find one single Transformer. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't having as much luck as Cyclonus.

"Its like finding a bolt in an asteroid field!" he muttered to himself.

A sudden explosion to his right brought Scourge's attention back to the battle. In the distance he could see Trypticon stomping through some of Cybertron's remaining skyscrapers, destroying all in his path. It wasn't the destruction however that had caught Scourge's attention. His sensors had narrowed in on a group of Autobots leading a counterattack against Trypticon.

"Ahh, there you are" said Scourge in a most sinister tone as he flew off toward the battle.

Elsewhere:

Wheelie leapt skillfully to yet another building. He felt as if he'd been doing this for a vorn already. He stopped long enough to fire another shot at Trypticon before moving to the next building.

"Big Decepticon move too fast" he said in his normal sing-songy voice. "Don't know how much longer I can last."

Although Wheelie had hit the behemoth Decepticon on every volley, he was having as much of an affect as a Scraplet trying to bring down Metroplex.

"I try and try to destroy this bot, but he just shrugs off every shot!" a most irritated Wheelie said to himself.

Wheelie had barely finished his last statement, when Trypticon's hand lurched out, catching Wheelie by surprise. The hand brought Wheelie to Trypticon's mouth, where he was about to become a between building snack. Wheelie, sensing his end was near, activated his self destruct mechanism.

"Maybe this will do the trickkkkk..." echoed Wheelie's voice as he dropped down Trypticon's throat.

Trypticon's optics widened as he belched out an incredible blast of flame.

"Stupid rhyming Autobot make Trypticon sick" Trypticon bellowed as he grabbed his sides. A stomach ache however was just a minor irritation and Trypticon soon resumed his mass destruction.

Below:

A small group of Autobots rapidly approached the marauding Trypticon.

"Bang! Zoom!" Warpath said in a loud battlecry.

"Ahhh Shut Up!!!!" came a reply from the other Autobots.

"Quiet all of you!" said Ultra Magnus as he transformed.

Magnus began to pace as he examined his troops. Even for an emergency team, this was ridiculous he thought to himself.

During his journey through the battlefield, Ultra Magnus had come across only a few Autobots not already damaged and fighting back. He had found Springer and Warpath pinned down under enemy fire. Slag was a surprising find as Magnus had actually found him wading through the bodies of deactivated Decepticons. Even the Protectobots had come as a surprise when they suddenly appeared out of nowhere to help with defense. A rag tag group of Autobots to win a war Ultra Magnus thought to himself.

Magnus' thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a building came toppling down only two streets away. There was no time left for planning, it was time to take action.

"Springer" said Magnus, "I want you to attack Trypticon's head. Nothing fancy, just keep him busy!"

"On it Magnus" was Springer's reply.

"Alright then" Magnus continued, "Warpath and Slag, I want you two concentrating on his feet. We might not be able to knock Trypticon down, but we might be able to trip him up for a moment."

Warpath and Slag nodded in agreement.

"What about us Ultra Magnus?" asked Hot Spot.

"I want you Protectobots formed into Defensor for what I've got in mind" said Ultra Magnus slyly. "Just be ready when I give you the signal to come running."

With that, Ultra Magnus concluded his planning. His troops knew what they all had to do, as did he. Magnus just hoped that his plan would work.

"Hopefully Prime's not having as difficult a time" Magnus said to himself as he lead his team to battle.

Elsewhere:

"This can't be happening" Optimus Prime said to himself.

Optimus could not believe how easily his troops had been overrun. His defenses had been broken in a matter of seconds. How could he have let them all down he thought? His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, a voice that cut through him like death itself. 

"Ahhhhh Optimus" Galvatron said from overhead. "Good to see that you still function."

Prime's optics opened wide as if he had seen a ghost, since that is what he beheld.

"You're dead" was all that Prime was able to whisper.

"No Prime, I've very much alive" replied Galvatron. "But what a pleasure it is that I get a second chance to watch you die!!!"

Chapter 8: The dawn

"How did this happen?" a ragged voice gasped.

"Alas Prime you should have known" came a familiar megalomaniacal voice. "Your troops could not stop me!"

Galvatron's grip tightened around his nemesis' throat.

It's all coming together exactly as it should, he thought to himself. Prime had been an easy target. Out on the front lines, trying to lead his troops, his own concern for their well being had been his downfall.

It had been simple for Galvatron to dispatch Prime's would-be protectors. A small foot note to his ultimate victory as far as Galvatron had been concerned. He had crushed his ultimate nemesis before Prime could even get a shot off. Now, floating above the battlefield, Prime struggling in his clutches, his victory was almost assured.

"YOU could not stop me!"

The outer plating of Optimus' neck assembly began to split as Galvatron's fingers dig deeper and deeper.

"RODIMUS PRIME could not stop me!!"

His fingers dug even deeper.

"Not even a hundred THOUSAND Autobots could stop me!"

KLANG!!!

Galvatron's thoughts of conquest were put on hold as something had just hit him in the back. He looked down below just in time to see the crushed piece of metal hit the ground.

Wait? He thought to himself. That looks like...

"Cyclonus?" he said to himself. Startled, he let Prime slip from his grasp and fall twenty feet to the ground below.

"That his name?" said Grimlock from below, as he caught Prime in his arms and gently set him down. "Me just call him dumb con and done with it."

Galvatron lowered himself to the ground, intent on killing Grimlock with his bare hands if need be.

"Look like estimate off" said Grimlock sarcastically. "Look like a couple good autobots all we really need to beat you.

By this time Galvatron had enough time to take in his surroundings. Where there had once been unrelenting carnage and battle, he was now surrounded by Autobots. He could see his troops fleeing in the distance toward Trypticon.

"I gave no order for retreat!!" he yelled.

"No" replied Grimlock, "But once Generals fall, grunts run for lives."

"Scourge will make them return to the fight. I have not lost yet!!" Galvatron replied.

"Oh" came Hot Rod's voice from the outer ring of Autobots. "You mean him?!?"

Galvatron turned his head, but was not ready for what he would see. Ultra Magnus stood off to the side, a large lump of molten metal, some parts still grayish blue lay by his feet. The Dinobot Slag could be seen poking the hunk with his energo sword. He seemed pleased every time his sword made a new molten incision into his plaything.

Galvatron could once again feel his brain slipping. The madness that he had so carefully kept at bay was creeping in again, and this time he would not be able to hold it back. All of this was wrong, victory had been within his grasp, and now those he considered inferior had taken everything from him.

"I have no need for others to fight my battles" said Galvatron angrily. "I will kill all of you!!! I will hunt every last Autobot to the ends of the universe when I am done here. And the first to die will be... Optimus Prime!!!"

With this last statement Galvatron transformed into cannon mode and fired at the spot where Prime had lain helpless after his earlier beating. All those in attendance stood still with their mouths gaping, not believing that Prime had just been taken from them. As the smoke began to clear a large shadow moved slowly from it.

"That thing take batteries?" said a slightly tarnished, but otherwise unhurt Grimlock, already transformed to Dino mode.

"It can't be!!!" screamed Galvatron as he rushed towards Grimlock intent on destroying him completely.

"Oh but it is" said Hot Rod as he lept upon Galvatron mid stride. The two wrestled on the ground, neither giving ground to his opponent. The other Autobots prepared to enter the fray but were stopped by the one transformer who truly could stop an army.

"No" said Grimlock sternly. "This Hot Rod's fight. We not interfere."

The circle of assembled Autobots stepped back while the two combatants began to circle each other. Grimlock hoped in the back of his mind that he was right about the young cavalier. If not, two sparks would be returning to the matrix after all. Suddenly Galvatron lunged at the young Autobot.

"Is that all you've got ugly?" said Hot Rod sarcastically as he dodged Galvatron's punch, only to have the other hand connect firmly in his chest plate.

"I have already destroyed Rodimus Prime boy" Galvatron screamed "What hope do you have without the Matrix?"

The last statement confused him, but Hot Rod rolled just in time to avoid a fusion blast and fired his own volley from his wrist lasers. Amazingly he hit Galvatron square in the face, which did little more than annoy the Decepticon slightly more than he already had.

After this, Galvatron's slip on his sanity was completely lost. As he and Hot Rod continued to fight his words were little more than a guttural growl. He pounded the heroic young Autobot into the ground time and time again. Yet, time and time again, Hot Rod rose to his feet. Finally however Galvatron got the upper hand.

Hot Rod bent over with pain. It felt like every circuit in his being was on fire. His left optic had been shattered and he was seriously leaking lubricant. Suddenly he had an idea, something that Grimlock had shown him during a special training session a cycle ago. He looked at Grimlock with his one good eye, and understood as Grimlock gave him a nod.

"Will it work" he thought to himself?

"Its over... Prime" said Galvatron as he stood over his helpless opponent. Galvatron leveled his fusion cannon at Hot Rod's head. "Tell Primus that you'll not be the one who destroys the chaos bringer this time."

"Wanna bet?" said Hot Rod as he rolled, avoiding Galvatron's fusion blast.

Hot Rod regained his feet just as Grimlock tossed his sword into Hot Rod's waiting hands.

"Here goes nothing" thought Hot Rod as he turned and swung the energo sword with all his might. His swing found its mark. Whereas Hot Rod had only hoped the maneuver would hurt Galvatron, he had actually succeeded in taking the Decepticon leader's head from his shoulders.

"That.... Hurt..." said Galvatron as his head slid and toppled to the ground.

Hot Rod stood valiantly over his fallen opponent as the other Autobots raised their voices in cheers of victory. The Decepticons had been defeated and the war was once again over. There would be plenty of time for...

"This... isn't... over..." said Galvatron's head from the ground.

Hot Rod's optics grew wide as the head continued to speak.

"It... never... ends..." continued Galvatron. "You... will... join... me... in... OBLIVION!"

Galvatron's headless body began to glow with the intensity of ten suns. Unknown to the Autobots, Galvatron had forced his internal generators into an overload. The force of the explosion would destroy everyone in a forty meter radius. The head of Galvatron just laughed maniacally.

"RUN!!!!" Grimlock yelled, though he knew none would probably escape.

"He's going to..." was all Hot Rod was able to say.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even the escaping Decepticons heard the explosion as they escaped Cybertron.

Epilogue

Two solar cycles had passed since the Decepticon assault, and subsequent destruction of Galvatron. Optimus Prime stood staring out the window of his office surveying the destruction on the surface that was still being repaired. His mind wandered to the damage that he had sustained as well. He wouldn't even be standing there if Trailbreaker hadn't been able to throw a force field around Galvatron's body before he exploded. He didn't even notice as Grimlock and his new lieutenant walked up beside him.

"We do it again... without matrix this time" said Grimlock smugly.

"Yes" replied Prime. "But how many more times will we teeter on the brink of our own destruction?"

Grimlock said nothing in response.

"We repelled a Decepticon assault" Prime continued, "But the rest of them are still out there somewhere."

"But with Galvatron gone, they have no one to lead them" said Hot Rod enthusiastically.

"But for how long Hot Rod?" replied Prime. "We've been through this before with Shockwave, Scorponok, Bludgeon, Starscream... Megatron. There will always be another despot who will rise from the ashes.  Even in the wake of this victory I still don't feel at ease."

What Prime did not say however was that he could feel a growing evil. He did not know who, where, or when they would strike. He hoped inside that it would just be another Decepticon tyrant, but knew in his spark that this new threat could be bigger than both the Autobots and Decepticons combined.

"Whatever happens Prime, we'll be ready" said Hot Rod as he stared off into space.

"Yes we will" replied Prime stoically.

Grimlock and Hot Rod turned to leave Prime with his own thoughts.

"Will it ever truly be over Grimlock?" Hot Rod asked. "Will the fighting and suffering ever really end like Prime wants?"

"This war Hot Rod" replied Grimlock calmly. "It never really end."

The two walked on silently, knowing that whatever threat may come, they would face it together.

The End. (or to be continued in the Transformers: Generation 2)

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