EPISODE VI: THE RETURN OF THE WARRIOR
The fight was beyond fierce. Lying on his back, knowing that any moment his opponent would strike, Galvatron quickly sprang up. As his rival charged, he quickly transformed into cannon mode, firing several shots. The other warrior was caught in the chest and fell to the ground. Triumphant, Galvatron transformed and walked over to his foe.
"Sixshot, are you going to be all right?" he asked.
The Decepticon got up, but struggled. "I'll survive. Nothing that can't be fixed."
"Good then," Galvatron said, smiling. He couldn't risk losing his own one-robot army: Sixshot was one of his best soldiers. "Go to the infirmary, fix yourself up."
As Sixshot walked off, Galvatron looked around at the spectators. All of his Decepticons were watching their leader in amazement. They could not believe that Galvatron had beaten Sixshot. He was by far the best single Decepticon warrior, able to change into six forms. This had to prove that Galvatron was finished.
He, however, was not. "Constructicons, form Devastator," he ordered.
The crowd began murmuring. It had been nearly a month since the last battle on Earth, where the Decepticons had been defeated badly. On the way back to Charr, Galvatron had sat aboard Scorponok fuming about how he had lost to Rodimus Prime. Since he had easily destroyed Rodimus Prime in another dimension, Galvatron could not understand why he could not even beat the Autobot leader. So when they had arrived on Charr, Galvatron announced that he would start holding training exercises. These exercises would consist of him and another Decepticon entering into one-on-one combat, gladiator style. The two would not fight to the death; though, they would put all weapons on stun mode as not to severely damage either competitor. Galvatron was not fighting to show he was superior; he was simply doing so to sharpen his fighting skills.
Still, as the Decepticons watched Devastator form up, they wondered how far Galvatron was willing to go. Surely their leader had to have hit a breaking point; fighting a gestalt as powerful as Devastator would be insane! Galvatron just stood there, still tired from the last bout. But he was ready.
"Devastator, I want you to show no mercy," Galvatron said defiantly. "Fight me as if you were fighting Omega Supreme."
The giant Decepticon looked at Galvatron with uncertainty. "As you wish, Lord Galvatron."
The two prepared to attack. Devastator walked forward, clenching his fists. Then, in a shocking move, Galvatron flew straight for the gestalt's chest with a monstrous war cry.
"My fellow Autobots, we are gathered here today to honor a friend," Rodimus Prime began. He was on Cybertron, with every one of the Autobots assembled around him. Funeral services had begun for their fallen comrade.
He continued. "Optimus Prime was a hero to every last one of us. He was our leader, but he meant so much more to us and the Autobot cause. We all have at least one story about how he helped us at one point or another. I know I have a plenty.
"Whenever things looked to be at their worst, Optimus Prime was always there to make it right again. He always seemed to be able to turn the tide of a fight, and I know for a fact that if he wasn't on our side, none of us would be here today. Whether he was battling Megatron, Jhiaxus, or even the Chaos-Bringer himself, he never backed down. He never retreated.
"So, as we honor Optimus Prime today, let us try and remember him for what he did best. And as we go through our lives, I hope that when we are faced with a dilemma, we will try and ask ourselves one question: What would Optimus Prime do?"
Rodimus finished, and bowed his head. All around him, the Autobots were bowing their heads as well. Then Grimlock left, and returned with a statue of Optimus, carved on Earth by the grateful humans there. The rock statue was almost the size of the Autobot commander. Grimlock used a laser to weld the statue to the ground. Once he finished, he knelt in front of the statue and honored his leader.
An hour after the funeral was over, Rodimus Prime was approached by Ultra Magnus. Many of the Autobots that were stationed on Earth or Nebulos had left, and soon Cybertron was back to business as usual. Now Magnus wanted to discuss something that had been bothering him, and hoped that Rodimus would be able to answer.
"What is it Ultra Magnus?" Rodimus asked as he saw his lieutenant approach.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about the Decepticons, Prime."
"I'm way ahead of you," the Autobot leader said. "You don't like how they've been gone for this long. How long has it been?"
"A month."
"That is cause for some concern."
"And there was another thing I wanted to ask," Ultra Magnus said. "Have you received an inkling from the Matrix of how Galvatron was able to return from the dead?"
"No, unfortunately I haven't," Rodimus said. "In fact, I wonder how his sanity has improved as well."
"I guess we'll never know."
Rodimus thought for a moment. "Maybe we will. I just had an idea."
The Constructicons lay on the ground, after being struck down as Devastator. Galvatron's high voltage laser cannon had brought down the mighty gestalt, firing straight in the midsection. Somehow Galvatron had been able to find a weakness in the once invincible Devastator.
Galvatron was in not much better shape, though. The mere fact that he was standing was beyond belief. He was cracked, bruised and totally exhausted from the bout. Yet he had won. After deducing the best place to shoot Devastator, transforming into cannon mode and firing was the easy part. It was just too bad he had to nearly kill himself to find it, allowing his body to be everything but destroyed.
"Constructicons, are you finished? Do you surrender?" Galvatron asked.
"We do, Lord Galvatron," they said in unison.
"Excellent," the Decepticon commander said. "Off we go to the infirmary then. The training exercises are over."
The Decepticons watched in awe as he helped the Constructicons up, and began walking towards the infirmary. Only Galvatron knew the full extent of how great this moment was. Rodimus Prime would feel the true meaning of pain now. He grinned, imagining the Autobot's head becoming his new centerpiece in his trophy room.
As Galvatron was making his way to the infirmary, Rodimus Prime was making another trip. He was headed for the center of Cybertron, the place where the Primus Elders still remained. Years ago, Optimus Prime himself had undergone a certain process that actually put himself inside the Matrix. This was done so he could learn the origin of Jhiaxus and the Second Generation Transformers.
Now, Rodimus had his own plans in mind. Galvatron had somehow been reincarnated and was more powerful than ever before. Due to his repaired mind, the Decepticon was able to make intelligent and calculating decisions, making him even more dangerous. With all of this weighed together the Autobots would be in trouble, unless Rodimus could find some weakness. The one way he could do so was to find an answer within the Matrix.
Then he saw a light ahead. There it was: the room with the Elders, the ones who would hopefully show him the way inside the Matrix.
He watched as Rodimus Prime was strapped into the machine and given the warning from the Elders. Then the Elders began the process, and the Autobot's mind was sent inside the Matrix.
"I hope this works," Optimus Prime said to himself. He had been watching everything that had happened since his "death."
Ever since he had been incarcerated in the Void, Prime found that he was able to watch everything that went on in his original dimension, at least through Rodimus's perspective. He wasn't sure how this was possible, but he suspected that the Matrix was responsible. To his greatest surprise, he had the ability speak directly to Hot Rod during the battle on Earth. Optimus suspected the Matrix was responsible for this as well. The Matrix must have also transferred his strength to Hot Rod, giving him the ability to toss Galvatron aside.
Now Optimus Prime was watching what Rodimus Prime saw within his mind. They were both in for a surprise.
Where am I? Rodimus thought. He looked around, and saw a vast wasteland of cities. There was little to no life existing. As alien as the surroundings seemed, they still looked familiar. Then Rodimus came to the startling realization: this was Earth!
"YES RODIMUS PRIME, YOU ARE CORRECT," a voice said. Rodimus immediately recognized it as Primus. "YOU ARE WATCHING WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE IN THE YEAR 2008 IN A DIFFERENT DIMENSION."
"What happened here?" Rodimus asked.
"THIS IS AN ALTERNATE REALITY. IN IT, UNICRON HAS DESTROYED CYBERTRON AND GAVE HIS SERVANTS EARTH IN RETURN FOR THEIR LOYALTY."
Rodimus looked around at the horrifying reality. Then he saw a small band of Autobots setting something up that looked like a trap. They hurried off, and soon after a group of Decepticons came out of the ocean. Rodimus identified the leader immediately.
"Galvatron!" he said out loud. The Decepticon, along with his Pretender Monsters, did not hear him. He instead began babbling about how he had destroyed so many Autobots in their last stand. Then Galvatron pointed at a figure hanging between two buildings, and Rodimus suddenly felt very afraid.
There, hanging lifelessly was his own dead body! The Rodimus Prime of this dimension was barely recognizable, but one could make out the main features. His face was that of a robotic skeleton, and it was apparent that the death was not a pleasant one. Rodimus felt a horrible sense of dread looking upon the corpse.
Then suddenly the surroundings changed to that of a battle. The band of Autobots from before was engaged in all out combat with the Decepticons, and eventually the tide was actually turning in the Autobots' favor. Then Galvatron came. Destroying a few Autobots with his powerful cannon, he began to fire another shot when three beings appeared from nowhere. They quickly netted Galvatron and the four of them disappeared.
Primus spoke again. "GALVATRON WAS BROUGHT INTO YOUR REALITY BY UNICRON. HE WAS TO TRAVEL TO CYBERTRON AND ELIMINATE ANYTHING THAT MIGHT POSE A DANGER TO UNICRON. FEELING BETRAYED, GALVATRON RETALIATED BY REACHING CYBERTRON AND REAWAKENING ME. HE HAD ME TRANSPORT ALL OF THE TRANSFORMERS TO CYBERTRON FOR THE BATTLE WITH UNICRON. AFTERWARDS HE TRAVELED TO EARTH ABOARD THE ARK, WHICH EVENTUALLY CRASH LANDED NEAR ALASKA. THE FIRST FORTRESS MAXIMUS THEN FOUGHT GALVATRON AFTER HE EMERGED FROM THE WRECKAGE, AND THREW HIM INTO A LAKE.
"SINCE THEN HE HAS BEEN THERE, DEACTIVATED, UNTIL UNICRON SUMMONED HIM AGAIN. USING HIS LIMITED POWER, UNICRON WAS ABLE TO REACTIVATE GALVATRON FROM AFAR, AND REPAIR HIS MIND. THIS TIME, GALVATRON SERVED FAITHFULLY."
"So that's how Unicron was able to get the Quintessons to repair him!" Rodimus exclaimed.
"CORRECT. WHEN UNICRON ATTACKED CYBERTRON, GALVATRON ENDED UP ON CHARR, AND TOOK CONTROL OF THE DECEPTICONS. AFTER UNICRON WAS DEFEATED HERE, HE DEVELOPED A PLAN TO ATTACK CYBERTRON. HIS FIRST TASK WAS TO ELIMINATE OPTIMUS PRI�."
Suddenly, a loud noise was heard. Rodimus knew what must have happened, an attack must be taking place. He quickly reawakened from his trip into the Matrix, and got up. Transforming and ignoring the Elders, he drove straight for the surface to find Ultra Magnus.
If only he would have stayed a moment longer, Optimus thought. He might have found out that I was still alive!
Now the Autobot leader watched as Rodimus drove straight to the surface, straight for the chaos above. And straight for Galvatron.
The battle had started rather abruptly. Even though the Autobots had early warnings of the Decepticons' arrival, their foes had been very fast in their attack. The unusual thing was that Scorponok did not even transform; only Galvatron was fighting through the Autobot forces. Nothing was stopping him as he just walked through, tossing each one off to the side.
Galvatron began screaming. "Rodimus Prime! I challenge you!"
At that moment, Rodimus arrived. Transforming, he questioned the Decepticon leader. "Challenge? What do you mean?"
"I challenge you to a duel," Galvatron said coldly. "For the Creation Matrix."
"The Matrix will never be yours Galvatron," Rodimus declared. "Never without a fight."
"Wonderful. Decepticons! Autobots!" The fighting stopped. Galvatron spoke to all of them, "Rodimus Prime and I will engage in a duel. The victor shall become the unquestionable ruler of Cybertron. The loser will take his troops and be in permanent exile from the planet. Are you prepared Prime?"
"I will never back down from anything or anyone, especially you. Killing Rodimus Prime in another dimension may be one of your accomplishments, but I will not go down as easily!"
"Ah, so you found my origins," Galvatron said. "It still won't do you a bit of good."
The two charged straight at each other with all the intensity of ancient Roman gladiators. They both jumped, and collided in midair. Crashing to the ground, the two Transformers were soon locked together, wrestling. Then Galvatron kicked Rodimus off, sending the Autobot crashing into a nearby wall. Quickly gathering his wits, Prime transformed and drove straight for Galvatron. At the last second, Galvatron moved. As Rodimus drove past, Galvatron quickly fired off several blasts from his cannon. Each one hit their mark, sending the Autobot crashing off to the side. Quickly transforming back to robot mode, Rodimus Prime moved as another shot was fired. Clutching his side, Rodimus quickly pulled out his photon rifle and fired off some shots of his own. Due to his injuries, his accuracy was off. Galvatron just laughed as the shots hit off their mark, but then was knocked over.
Rodimus Prime had been able to get off one more shot, and it had hit Galvatron right in the chest. He then charged the Decepticon, but found that he had already returned to his feet. The shot had done little damage, and soon Galvatron grabbed Rodimus and threw him. Jumping on top of the Autobot, Galvatron was able to pummel Rodimus several times before he was kicked off. Rising slowly, Rodimus Prime tried to hobble over to Galvatron, but was soon hit with a punch to the face. He was laying face up, and felt an amazing amount of pain. Looking up, Rodimus saw Galvatron transform into cannon mode.
Suddenly, the voice he had heard on Earth came to him.
"Rodimus," Optimus Prime said. "Reveal the Matrix."
"Optimus? Where are you?" The crowd was confused as they watched Rodimus Prime. Even Galvatron paused, thinking that the Autobot had gone delirious. But Rodimus wasn't crazy.
"No time for that," Optimus said. "I can't let Galvatron kill you. Reveal the Matrix, and throw it. Hopefully Galvatron will chase after it."
Rodimus Prime nodded. Galvatron had heard enough of the Autobot's babbling, but before he could fire he saw Rodimus open his chest cavity. Grabbing the Matrix, he threw it as far as he could. Galvatron saw this, and forgot about Rodimus Prime for the moment.
"Yes! It is mine!" Galvatron cried, as he began chasing after it. The Creation Matrix flew through the air as if it had its own agenda. Just before Galvatron reached it, though, a light came from the Matrix, almost blinding him. Then, to Galvatron's horror, he saw an electric field surround the Matrix. Inside this field, everyone watched as a narrow hole appeared, and a pair of hands came out and clutched the Matrix. The hole got wider, and arms joined the hands. Then two legs appeared as the being stepped forth from the hole. As the field dissipated, a familiar figure stood holding the Matrix. Galvatron gasped.
"No! It can't be!" he cried. "You��you're dead!!!"
"You will never be able to defeat me that easily, Galvatron," Optimus Prime said. "As long as evil exists, I can never be dead."
Galvatron looked at the Autobot commander with a feeling of dread. Then he shook it off. "I assume you wish to take Rodimus Prime's place in the duel. That is fine: what I did to him just got me warmed up. Now I can have the benefit of killing you too."
"Believe what you want, Galvatron," Optimus said. "But I will give you one last chance to get on that ship and leave this planet."
"Ha! I will never run from a weak Autobot!"
Optimus put the Matrix in his chest cavity. Then he looked at Galvatron again. "Then that shall be your greatest mistake."
Galvatron howled in anger, and charged Optimus Prime. He jumped, and put out his leg to kick Prime in the chest. Optimus just stood there stoically, not moving an inch. Just as the Decepticon's foot was about to hit his head, Prime moved, grabbing the leg. Swinging the leg around him, Prime let go, and sent Galvatron flying. The crowd watched as Galvatron hit the ground. Enraged, he got up and transformed into cannon mode. He fired off the powerful laser, but missed as Optimus also transformed. Maneuvering around each blast, Prime drove straight into Galvatron.
Falling back, Galvatron transformed again and got up. He just caught a glimpse of the truck before Prime ran into him again, knocking the Decepticon back even farther. Optimus transformed and walked up to Galvatron as he lay on the ground. As he approached, Galvatron suddenly leapt up, and began beating Optimus with his bare hands. Prime fell on his back, and was soon feeling weaker with ever blow that Galvatron dealt.
Then Prime looked over and saw Hot Rod's beaten body lying on the ground, barely moving. Optimus looked at his eyes flickering, and knew that his friend might be near death. Feeling a surge of anger, Optimus Prime looked back up at the fiend responsible. He grabbed both of Galvatron's hands as they came down for two more punches. Surprised, Galvatron felt the power in Optimus's hands as they crushed his own. Slowly rising, Optimus Prime kept his grasp on Galvatron's fists, and kicked the Decepticon's feet out from under him. Optimus then grabbed Galvatron's head, picking him up so that the two were at eye level.
Then Optimus said, "You have lost, Galvatron. Unlike you, I enjoy being merciful. So I will give you one last chance. Leave now, and you will live."
He tossed Galvatron aside, and the Decepticon got up slowly. Turning around, he said to the Decepticons, "We will leave now. Board Scorponok, and begin our voyage home."
Then he turned to Optimus Prime. "I have lost this match, Prime. Obviously you are the better warrior, and I will concede to that. I have shamed the Decepticons, and we will now exile ourselves from this planet forever."
Prime looked his enemy dead in the eyes and replied coldly, "Bludgeon once made that promise to me, Galvatron, and he returned. If you plan on doing the same, know I will not be as lenient as I was today."
Galvatron knew that Prime was serious, so he turned and began walking towards Scorponok. As he got on the ship, Galvatron looked back to see Optimus Prime walking over to Hot Rod. He began ordering the awe-stricken Autobots to help with their fallen friend.
Another day, Prime, Galvatron thought. Another day.
The Decepticons boarded the ship, and left for Charr.
THE END