Chapter Text
The Autobots thought that abandoning Cybertron was their darkest hour, they were wrong.
Their darkest hour came at the fall of Outpost Omega One, and the rise of Darkmount. Backed into a corner and hopelessly outnumbered, Team Prime and their allies mounted a desperate hold-out, hoping to buy enough time to at least get their three child companions evacuated, alongside their Autobot protectors. The day had been lost already. Right now, it was simply a matter of survival. The Ground-Bridge whirred to life, a grand spectacle of whirling greens and purples, leading to a location known only by the team’s medic, Ratchet. Outside, The Wrecker Wheeljack and their human liaison, Special Agent Fowler, did whatever they could to keep the armada at bay for as long as possible,
And through they all went. First Raphael and Bumblebee, followed by Miko and Bulkhead, though not before the former exchanged uncertain glances with Jack, the last of the trio to evacuate alongside his partner Arcee. Optimus and Ratchet saw their last ally off, Smokescreen riding through the tunnel as the Decepticons pressed their attack, Wheeljack’s starfighter, The Jackhammer, being shot down as the last line of defence fell, and a new prisoner soon brought aboard their flagship, The Nemesis.
“What about you?” Ratchet asked, his optics shifting between the control panel, the portal and his old friend. The base shook as the cons pounded the building, reminding the duo of how little time they had left.
“I will ensure the Decepticons cannot follow.” Was Optimus’ reply.
Ratchet froze for a moment, fully aware of the implications as his mind ran wild with a million possibilities, none of which pleasant. He wanted to argue, and insist he be the one to make the sacrifice, but he knew better than to waste what little time they had, as much as he wished otherwise. “I... never imagined it would end like this…” He muttered, taking a moment to lament the loss that was yet to come, before leaving Optimus to his fate.
“Neither did I, old friend..”
Optimus took the Star Saber into his hands, bringing it down upon the control panel as the very base itself came down on him in a devastating blow from the Nemesis’ cannon. In truth, Optimus’ gesture was a fruitless one, for the Nemesis’ cannon had obliterated the Space Bridge, alongside the rest of the base. The Decepticons had no interest in taking prisoners, aiming purely for the extermination of their enemy, eliminating the persistent thorn in their side as they moved towards their ultimate gambit
His Lordship, Megatron himself, was quick to make planetfall alongside his right-hand con, Starscream. It was a moment of triumph for the duo, as Vehicon drones joined the duo in making landfall. The pair revelled in their victory, staring down at the ash covered Autobot insignia in the centre of what was once their base. Megatron had long since waited for this moment. Centuries of conflict, of sacrifice, it almost felt unreal. Optimus Prime had shattered their chances of repairing Cybertron, and had paid the price for betraying their home.
“Search the wreckage, bring me what remains of Prime and his Autobots.” Megatron ordered, his Vehicons jumping right into action
Gazing up at his dark fortress, Megatron mused over the irony of Darkmount, the new Decepticon capitol, standing proud so close to where the Autobots hid themselves away from the world. The Decepticon warlord’s lips slowly curved into a satisfied smile, as his subordinate took off to the nearby wreckage of the crashed Autobot vessel. The Jackhammer, in search of more fallen Autobots. The Decepticon leader had only briefly ventured inside the base during Unicron’s reawakening, and to stand in the very place he had pondered the location of for so long felt incredibly satisfying.
Meanwhile, deep below the surface of the planet, the final two Autobots in the entirety of Nevada were taking a moment to catch their breath. The Autobot Smokescreen had returned to the base mere moments after its destruction, dragging his dying idol from the wreckage to safety. Optimus was on death’s door, his systems all showing red as he lay deep in the catacombs below the surface. Anything useful had been taken by the Decepticons, though as the ever hopeful Smokescreen took off once more to find anything of use, Optimus found his thoughts drifting. He’d spent millenia holding back, fighting the good fight in hopes of reaching the friend he once knew, and this is where it got him: isolated and in disrepair, with his allies in hiding and his enemies on the cusp of victory. There was a bitter feeling in his spark, as the Prime allowed himself to go down this train of thought, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do than to lay there with his thoughts. Forever had Optimus tried to protect the freedom which was the right of all sentient beings, to be worthy of the title of Prime, though like all those before him, there was darkness within that was beginning to take hold.
Optimus found himself thinking of his team, and couldn’t help but concern himself with the uncertainty of their fates. Optimus was always the protective type, looking out for and protecting his team, his family, but all he could feel was a strong sense of failure. He’d failed to keep them safe, failed to keep them together, and now, he’d failed to keep the Decepticons from ensuring their victory. It was at this point, an idea came to him: why not fight fire with fire? Why not stop holding back, just for a moment? Optimus’ spark filled with determination, feeling a low rumbling of strength return to him. He could still save his friends, and all of humanity.
Optimus Prime’s fall from grace didn’t come from a lust for revenge, but from his desperate attempts to uphold his responsibilities to protect others.