The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 4

"Flyers! Take out those artillery units. Ground units, I want that anti-air turret gone!"

"Maximus! We have a problem!"

At Breakdown's call, I turned my attention to him and away from the ongoing battle in the city of Iacon.

"What is it?"

"We have Prowl and his goons heading here. They will be here in an hours time at most. Shockwave and Soundwave are working on keeping the council busy but we won't have much time after that!"

"Then make every second count. Give the order."

"Affirmative. Ascenticons! Breakthrough!"

"….Ascenticons?"

At my question, Breakdown gave me a sheepish look.

"It was something Megatronus came up with, he wanted to make our group distinguish itself from the corrupt government and CRDF was not something that was easy or inspiring enough to say. So he made our group this name. He said that since we, as a group, had ascended past the lies and treachery of the council and their Autobot policies, we should be called Ascenticons."

..Is it fate that Megatron would always end up creating a variation of Decepticons no matter the leader?

But given how hyped my people seem to be after that rally call, this might be a good thing. Although I really need to have a talk with Megatronus about telling me these things beforehand, he may have a lot of autonomy as my second in command but even then he can't keep me, his leader, in the dark about these things.

"And before you think about talking with him, Megatronus also said to you would have know about this beforehand if you read any of his works like the rest of the CRDF does."

Am I really that easy to read? Despite lacking a face now?

"Yes, you are that easy to read."

Damn.

"Fine. If you guys are going to change the name of our group, you will need an insignia to make it official."

"I know, Knockout, Shockwave, and Megatronus have been working on it for a while now but they can't decide on one design."

"Don't bother, I already got it."

Since we are going to name ourselves after the very group that was once a Proto-Decepticon organization in another reality, we might as well take that insignia for ourselves.

I used the terminal by our side to display the symbol, causing Breakdown to whistle in appreciation.

"That looks good. Tell me the truth, you already knew about the name change and were prepared for it right?"

"No, I just had the idea for a new insignia for a long time, this just gave me the opportunity to use it."

While talking with Breakdown, I still kept an eye on the battlefield for any changes.

The twin flyers were tearing through artillery and ground defenses while the ground forces consisted of Hardshell, Sharpshot, and the rest of their Insecticons.

It was relatively easy, getting the allegiance of the Insecticons, especially after I dueled Hardshell in front of all the Insecticons in the Sea of Rust, and defeated him. Ever since then, they have been my most trusted vanguard forces. In exchange, I promised them a place on Cybertron's surface after toppling the lineage of Primes.

Within a matter of twenty minutes, my forces had cleared the facility of all security personnel and scientists, imprisoning them aboard the transports I prepared beforehand specifically for that purpose.

I needed evidence to present to the world, after all.

With the facility now clear and still having time until that prick Prowl and his goons arrive, I decided to join my forces on the ground in their effort to take away everything that was not nailed down.

As I proceeded deeper into the facility along with Breakdown, I could not stop the feeling of disgust that started welling up within me, and judging from Breakdown's expression, neither did he.

Surrounding us were containers filled to the brim with Photonic Crystals, each of which held a newborn spark in stasis, never being given the chance to decide their own form or allowed to make their own decisions.

In human terms, it was equivalent to taking newborns and freezing them, then only reviving them to brainwash them, fill their heads with nothing but information about war, and forcefully turn their bodies into adults.

That was the nature of M.T.O's.

No wonder my friends were looking at our surroundings with absolute disgust on their faces.

"Maximus, we searched everywhere, but we did not find the Matrix."

"…That is fine, but we first need to get these sparks out of here. Who knows what Sentinel is planning to do with these newborns."

At my words, Skyquake just nodded and started guiding the Insecticons along with Hardshell while Dreadwing walked beside me as I approached the terminals.

"While we did not find the Matrix, we did find something else."

He handed me a data pad that showed the blueprints and construction methods for bodies that looked eerily similar to what the Autobots would field during the Fall of Cybertron games from my human life.

"Sentinel was planning of mass producing entire armies with these artificially created Sparks."

"I already gathered that much, Dreadwing. The problem is, how did he manage to find so many Photonic Crystals in the first place? They are an extremely rare resource."

I really need an answer to this particular question. While I remember that Primus, in the form of Rung, was the one to produce Photonic Cyrtals, the same could not have been the case in this universe.

I know this for a fact because I personally checked the core of Cybertron and confirmed that it is indeed none other than Primus himself.

When you have the residents of the Underworld, the Insecticons, as allies, it becomes relatively easy to traverse the core of the Planet.

"We don't know, but I will inform Soundwave to try and find the source of Sentinel's supply."

I simply nodded as I started to go through the blueprints on the terminal and started downloading directly into my brain module through my power.

I have to hand it to Sentinel, he knows how to choose his scientists. These designs would be considered bleeding edge if they were even remotely ethical. In fact, they have given me various ideas for me to create an upgrade for my current body.

Unfortunately, any plans to change my body will have to wait until Shockwave succeeds in his experiment with Cortical Psychic Patch. Since he has yet to lose his morality thanks to a timely intervention from our organization, he has been taking his time with his experiments, and I am glad for it since I am not ready to handle the Shockwave from the original universe.

Although I did fail to reach him in time to save him from Empurata so he still ended up as a Cyclopes with a gun for a hand.

With all the data downloaded, I used my power to scrap the computers and watched as the last of the Photonic Crystals were carted off by my troops into the Transports.

With this, I have enough evidence to force the Council to the negotiation table.

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Ascenticon Insignia: