The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 36

Cybertron, Iacon.

Fortress roared in rage and tore through the various machines in the ancient base that once served as the council chambers of the Cybertronian Council.

“Why!? I was supposed to be better than him! I was created to be better than him! Why did I lose!?”

The clone continued wreaking havoc until he finally calmed down from his anger.

It was only then did the mysterious being that he called his mentor finally replied to the bot.

“Are you quite done with your childishness?”

“You have no right to speak like that! Especially when you left me to fight Maximus alone!”

“Silly Sparkling. Did you really think you could fight him on equal terms just because your form was made with the remains of his real body and you had Senator Shockwave’s weapons? Armorbite has always been an extremely resilient bot that always comes back better once defeated in some way. It was a given that he would adapt to his situation and become better for it. I taught you that much already, an advice that you chose to ignore in your thirst for revenge.”

The Decepticon wanted to shout out in rage, but he recognized the truth in his mentor’s words.

“…Then, what do you suggest?”

“The same thing I suggested before. Take advantage of the things that Shockwave gave you when he created you.”

“After all, there is a reason why the Predacons ruled this planet before us all.”

“And, use one of my backup plans.”

“….Alright.”

“That’s the spirit! Now, follow my directions, and you will reach the one being that can decisively bring victory, just like he did before for our race, only to be discarded like a useless pawn, just like that bastard Maximus and the others did to me.”

Fortress, the clone of Maximus, said nothing as he followed the words of his mentor, heading through a secret tunnel no one knew about.

All the while, the parasite in his spark chamber pulsed with power.

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Windblade nervously watched the bot that she sees as her closest friend, and maybe even as a Sire, as his optics glowed, reading the rather large list of atrocities committed during the Cybertronian Civil War.

Within her species, it was a known fact that the optics of a bot were the windows to the spark.

The intensity of the glow, the color of the optics, and various other things usually indicated what the bot in question was feeling.

And given the crimson glow that was nearly strong enough to illuminate their entire room, it was quite clear that Maximus was feeling rage that likes of which she had not seen him ever show, not even when she had seen that glow in his optics for the first time after he learned of Fortress’s existence and his robbery of his shield.

Worse yet, based on how the other bot in the room seemed to know this fact and simply resigned himself to be punished, it was clear that even that old being had never seen Maximus so enraged.

“…..Tell me, Shockwave, did you think I would be happy?”

The bot known as Shockwave would have flinched if his partial Shadowplay had not disabled a lot of his emotions. However, his optics still flickered across the room, not daring to look at the bot he considered his closest friend once upon a time.

“Did you think I would be happy? Knowing that you and Megatronus have gone against everything we stood for? Everything we fought for?”

Once again, there was no answer.

“Putting aside the clumsy way you all handled Sentinel Prime’s execution, did you think you were honoring my memory by turning on your own brothers and sisters? Simply because they tried to be the voice of reason for your emotional turmoil?”

The ancient bot finally turned to glare at his oldest friend.

“Did we not form the Ascenticons to liberate our fellow bot from the tyranny of the Primes? Did we not seek to create a place where all bots, no matter their differences in opinions or way of life, could live in harmony?”

“Did we not seek to protect the rights of our people and empower them to seek their own future?”

“Was this not the reason why we created the Cybertronian Rights Defense Force, and later on, the Ascenticons? Was this not why you personally trained our young ones with all of your knowledge? Becoming their teacher so that they could use their knowledge gained from you to better their lives and achieve a radiant future for themselves?”

Windblade felt as if her very spark would break as she heard the heartbreak in her friend’s words as he continued questioning the mono-optic bot, who refused to meet Maximus’s glare, silently acknowledging the guilt for his actions.

Slowly, the crimson glow that illuminated the dark room faded, leaving Maximus with dull red optics.

“…Why, Shockwave? What drove you to do all of this? What drove Megatronus and the other to be like this?”

The crimson glow once again erupted as Maximus’s blade struck out, slicing the terminal in half.

“Fighting your own brothers and sisters? Creating Constructed Cold in my image and calling them Vindicators? Creating a Primus damned clone of me with my original body? Using fucking sparklings as foot soldiers? How are any of you any different from Sentinel Prime and his council? HOW ARE YOU ANY DIFFERENT FROM THE QUINTESSONS!?”

At those words, Shockwave could not help but flinch as even his Shadowplay could not stop the sheer self-hatred that shone through at those words that compared him and the others to the world-destroying monsters that once wanted to enslave all of Cybertron.

“…I have no excuses, Maximus. Everything I did, we did, we did to bring about your vision for Cybertron to reality. To create a peaceful world where everyone could live happily.”

“And how did that lead to the complete destruction of our home? Do explain, oh great Senator Shockwave.”

Once again, Shockwave refused to meet Maximus’s eyes.

“As I said, I have no excuses. Punish me as you will.”

“…According to the Ascenticon manifesto that Megatronus, Orion, and you came up with, for the many crimes you have committed against our species, nothing short of complete destruction of your body, brain module, and spark would suffice as punishment.”

For a split second, Windblade felt terror at the cold look with which Maximus delivered such a devastating sentence. Even worse, Shockwave did not even argue against it, and simply accepted it with a bowed head.

However, it was Maximus’s following words that made her sigh in relief, knowing that her mentor was not letting his anger cloud his judgement and make a decision that he would no doubt regret forevermore.

“…And yet, I will not give you such a punishment, old friend. What you, Megatronus, Soundwave, and everyone else, including the Autobots to a lesser extent, have done is unforgivable crimes. Ones that I will never forgive any of you for, because all of you have played a part in destroying our home. However, I cannot bring myself to give such harsh punishment to any of you. Because no matter what all of you have become, I still love you all just as much as I did all those millennia ago.”

“That is why, you, Shockwave, will now help me restore Cybertron to its former glory. You will help me find the rest of our people who were scattered across the stars due to this pointless war, so that they can finally return to their rightful home.”

“And most importantly, you will help me as we start destroying all the atrocities you have committed so far, starting with bringing down the monster you created with my old body.”

“….Am I worthy of this mercy? Maximus? I know the crimes I have committed, and I committed them willingly and with a sound mind. Can you truly forgive me for such acts?”

“Forgive you? No. I don’t think I can ever forgive what you have done. But, like I said, I cannot bring myself to punish you in such a harsh way. And putting aside my emotions, you understand logic better than anyone, right? Then accept my logic.”

Maximus extended his arm towards the bot, who was still on his knees.

“It is better to use your mind and body to do something productive, such as helping me restore our home, than simply wasting such resources in the name of punishing your crimes. In times like these, I don’t think I can afford to waste any asset that could help me restore our home.”

It was only after a few seconds of staring at the extended hand did Shockwave finally accepted his old friend’s hand.

“……That is a logical answer. I accept this punishment.”