Voices of the Past

By: Karen C. C.


[Note: First of all, thank you to all who read this story! This is my second Transformers story that I’ve been able to complete. All the Transformers mentioned belong to all the rich guys that say they own it. However, Asterix is mine, so no using him without my say so. I want to thank Jason for inspiring me to write this. Without his critiques on the City Commander, this story wouldn’t have been possible. Don’t forget to send comments to TtigerStar@aol.com! I’ll be checking it daily ;)]


Autobot City buzzed with its usual activity and the City Commander walked into the main control center to see if all was well. Blaster continued to sway back and forth to his music and Ultra Magnus folded his arms giving the Communications Officer a chance to redeem himself. But, Blaster did not seem to be in the same world as Magnus. It was Rewind, giving his guardian a sharp elbow, which brought Blaster to full attention. The music-lover laughed nervously at the unpleased look in Ultra Magnus’ optics.
“Status if you are done, Blaster.” The larger Autobot stated with a sigh of dissatisfaction, causing Blaster to fumble over his words.
“Ratings are skyrocketing over on Autobot City stations. Blaster packs are on top!” He blurted out without even thinking. Ultra Magnus’ optics dimmed considerably and Blaster chuckled uneasily once again.
“Human activity normal, Autobot missions all checked in and going successfully, and negative sightings of Decepticons, Ultra Magnus.” Rewind answered, cutting off Blaster and saluting his superior shortly after. Magnus looked down at the cassette and made a ghost of a smile, then looked back to Blaster.
“It’s a good thing your cassettes are on top of things, Blaster,” he retorted, a strong hint of disapproval in his voice. Magnus always frowned on of how serious the Officer of Communications was towards his duties. He knew the fun-loving Autobot wouldn’t let his comrades down in battle, but he got easily distracted from his obligations at Autobot City and that could one day become a liability. The City Commander didn’t want the officers of the city to be totally mindless toward him, but he did expect that they be ready to report to him. Blaster remained silent as the blue Autobot approached the exit. The harsh alarm that screamed throughout the room caused the superior officer to stop in mid-stride.
“Report!” Magnus ordered; his whole demeanor hardening.
“No fuss, big boss!” Blaster commented as he quickly pressed the various buttons. Magnus was about to groan at the comment when the main doors slid open and Rodimus ran in. He stopped next to the larger Autobot, awaiting the news.
“We’ve got a security breech in sector CE! Decepticon identities positive,” Rewind reported and Blaster shot him a dirty look.
“We’d better get over there. Assemble a strike force and we are out of here!” Rodimus ordered as Ultra Magnus turned to a button and quickly held it down.
“Protectobots, report to the command center immediately.” Within two minutes, the Protectobots came into the room and saluted Rodimus. He nodded in response and turned toward the main doors.
“Autobots, Transform! Roll Out!” Rodimus called. And in one motion, all transformed into vehicle mode and drove out of the room towards the sector.

The dusty sand whipped around aimlessly, adding to the dreariness of the desert. A sole tumbleweed brushed by as the Autobots arrived at Sector CE, lower Nevada as the humans knew it. As Ultra Magnus transformed, he immediately identified the purple Decepticon, Octane and the five Combaticons. But among them was an unidentifiable dark green and purple Decepticon holding a large laser canon rifle. Large purple wings mounted his back, arm blasters were fixed to his armor, a large purple insignia shone proudly on his green chest plate, and an evil smirk was fixed on his dark gray faceplate. It made Magnus wonder what type of Decepticon this was and what kind of authority he had over the others.

“Autobots! Transform and attack!” Rodimus immediately called out as soon as he stopped his engine and saw the Decepticons. Then, as if the Autobot leader had hit the play button, the battled commenced. Seeing the Protectobots, the Combaticons immediately united and became Bruticus. In response, the Protectobots too united to become Defensor. The ground shook as the two giants battled, Defensor secretly glad that there were no humans he had to worry about in the sector. Octane held his rifle in front of him but didn’t fire at Rodimus. His face reflected uncertainty and the two didn’t move a servo. Finally, Rodimus lowered his gun, seeing the Decepticon’s hesitation.
“Octane, why are you here? We protected you when you needed help,” Rodimus asked and tried to approach the disoriented mechanism. But it was a foolish move and Octane quickly fired on Rodimus, sending the young leader to the dusty ground.
“Nothing personal, just couldn’t resist a bargain,” The rouge Transformer said, looking down at the shorted out leader.
“Rodimus!” Magnus cried and went to aid him when the charge of a laser rifle made him freeze.
“Think you can match me, Autobot?” The unknown Decepticon sneered, standing next to the blue Autobot, his rifle almost touching the large arm plate. Magnus slapped the rifle away and grabbed his own weapon from subspace. The two ran at each other, firing laser blast after laser blast and both were able to dodge each other’s shots. The City Commander’s optics brightened in the midst of fighting. His opponent’s moves so evenly matched his own that he wondered who this mechanism was. It had been literally eons since one matched his moves so accurately. The two collided in a dead lock, gripping each other’s fists, trying to get the upper hand. Both ended up on the ground, rolling back and forth, until the Decepticon was on top and aiming his gun straight at Magnus’ face. The Autobot, his reflexes keenly adjusted, kicked the gun out of the Decepticon’s hand. The green mechanism surprised Magnus when he nonchalantly let the rifle sail through the air and made no attempt to get it back. He aimed his gun point blank at the Decepticon, ready to blow his arrogance into stasis-lock.
"Now this isn't the Magnus I know. Not going for the killing blow?" The Decepticon smirked making the City Commander's mouth component drop in shock. Swindle, seeing Ultra Magnus’ attention diverted, shot him right in the back. With a loud crash, Magnus ended up on the ground, wincing in pain as errors ran across his view. The now separated Protectobots saw the hit and gasped. Hot Spot tried to help but Octane cut him off and then they too started to duel it out. The dark green Decepticon smiled pleasantly and kicked the larger Autobot onto his back. His lip components formed an even more ugly smile as Ultra Magnus bit back a wince.
"Wanna waste his Autobot carcass?" Swindle asked with a mischievous grin, standing next to the green mechanism.
"No," was all the other said.
“No? I thought you were paying us to get rid of ‘em!” Swindle argued, his grin now gone and replaced with a mask of confusion. The Decepticon glared at the greedy Combaticon.
“You were paid to do what I tell you! And I said no!” Before the yellow green Decepticon knew it, he was kicked hard into the air where he ended up faceplate first in the dirt. The green Decepticon turned back to his capture and put one leg up on Magnus' chest, drawing his optics closer to him.
"Thought I was dead didn't you?"
"H… How...?" Was all Magnus could say through the pain and shock. The Decepticon remained quiet and his vice smirk unbendable.
"All will be told in good time, old friend." Without another word, the Decepticon’s rifle fired and all Magnus realized was the quick flash of his systems before everything went black.

****

"Magnus?"

"Magnus!"

"Damn it Magnus, get your tailpipe in gear!" A young gray Decepticon yelled into the barrack. Another voice groaned as he got off his recharge berth, he had drunk too much Energon again last night.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!"
"Shockwave is going to make you hunt Autobots for deca-cycles if you don't get your aft moving!"
"Give me a break, I'd do that anyway!" The blue Transformer yelled as he ran out of the room. The gray Decepticon laughed and hit him playfully. Magnus hit him back and in no time the two ended up on the floor wrestling each other. Despite the effort, the two were still late and ended up punished. Not only were they punished; they were put on the most boring of all jobs, prison guard duty.

****

His systems started to blink on dully as it exited stasis lock. A kick to the abdominal made the City Commander's optics flip on. The diagnostic scan that Magnus ran was not a pretty sight. It warned that his systems weren’t up to full capacity and to expect errors. Magnus also grimly noted the report of his locked servos and deactivated weapons; he wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon. The dark green Decepticon stood there with his arms crossed and an unreadable look graced his faceplate.
"You never could get out of recharge on time." Ultra Magnus didn't respond. He just looked down at the old floor recognizing, astounded, the area at once.
"They haven't changed this place much have they? All the more better for me." The Decepticon said, as if reading Magnus' thoughts. The City Commander knew where they were, the old Decepticon prison on Cybertron.
"Well! Things have really changed in the Deception ranks. Old Shockwave's in the junk pile, Megatron's become insane, and Decepticons have become Autobots." The green mech’s optics dimmed as he looked to Magnus, hate written in his features.
"You know, I've been dead once, and there is something I've always wanted to do ever since I've got back." Before anything else was said, he punched Magnus across the faceplate, cracking it slightly with the force.
"Ah! That felt good!" Another punch made Magnus’ cracked faceplate open even more. Ultra Magnus didn't say anything; he knew in a way he deserved it. Maybe not for the reason that this Decepticon was doing it, but for other things he hoped no other Autobot knew.
"Asterix... I know I've hurt..." The third punch ended Magnus' monologue abruptly.
"Don't you dare call me that! Asterix is dead! Thanks to you!" The green Decepticon snarled, making Magnus' head fall. The enemy Transformer went to punch the City Commander again but took a deep "breath" and rubbed his fist.
"See Magnus? You always make me crazy." The Autobot remained quiet.
"Have nothing to say huh? Well then, time out for you old buddy!" Asterix turned to leave but abruptly turned back around.
"And just to show you that I'm a good host, here’re some presents!" The Decepticon, his ever-present smirk returning, pressed a button on the wall and Energon binders appeared on Ultra Magnus. His metal wrists smoked from the Energon binders burning into them and Magnus held lip components tightly together in pain as he stared straight at his captor. Asterix turned and left the cell, activating the Energon bars before disappearing from Magnus' view. Having deactivated Magnus’ servos, the bars and binders were pretty pointless, but experience had taught Asterix to take the extra precautions and he felt better after leaving. The City Commander stared down at the old floor, his mind in chaos. The only light he was able to find was a flickering power light from the original building in the hallway. His optics emitted an eerie glow on the floor and he deactivated them to think. Asterix was alive. That was one thought he couldn’t rationalize and what was worse was that if he was anything like his old self, Ultra Magnus knew he was in for a lot. He continued think about Asterix, someone that had affected him so much and someone he tried not to think about. But his mind inevitably drifted back to times long ago.

****

“Unit Alpha is in range,” the mechanism’s com-link chirped in the Decepticon language.
“Affirmative. Target in sight. Aim faultless,” He responded in kind, aiming his gun at the clueless unit, who was foolishly looking ahead of him for enemies.
“Negative. Wait for further instructions.” The Transformer waited, his optics never drifting from his target and remaining hidden in the crevice of the metal battleground. His gears were quivering from impatience as he waited for a confirmation from his com.
“Permission granted.” The voice approved, after what seemed like forever. His aim was perfect, and all his systems confirmed a perfect shot. He pulled the trigger and the target let out a surprised groan and fell forward. A buzz sounded around battle and the blue Transformer stood up as the battleground faded away like a wet painting.
“Name: Ultra Magnus. Score: 1999934.” Magnus’ face twisted in anger.
“Hah! I still beat you!” The gray Decepticon exclaimed from the doorway.
“Oh go stuff it, Asterix!” The blue mechanism groaned, knowing he wouldn’t hear the end of it.
“Don’t be such a stiff, you might turn into Shockwave!” Asterix laughed, teasing again about his higher score. Magnus made a face that sent the gray mechanism into another fit of laughter. The blue Transformer tried to show how mad he was but was soon joining Asterix in the laughing fit.

****

Electric charged through Magnus’ systems making him fully alert. Static graced his view and pain welcomed him back to activation.
“Wakie, wakie!” Asterix smirked, his blaster in his hand and aimed at the commander. Magnus groaned and adjusted himself to a sitting position, which proved to be difficult as his joints were stiff from the premature shutdown.
“Ah, glad you could make yourself comfortable.”
“Cut the courtesies, you’re not keeping me here so that I can be comfortable.” Ultra Magnus snapped, wanting this pointless chitchat to end, even Preceptor wasn’t this bad.
“Temper, temper!” Asterix commented, his faceplate reflecting mock surprise.
“You know, this remade body is so much better than the old. In this body, I can kill an Autobot in a second!” He paused dramatically and the blue Autobot waited with dwindling patience.
“But… I didn’t do that. No. I have dedicated my second life to watching you, old friend.” Ultra Magnus couldn’t help but be disturbed by his words. All this time, Asterix had been watching him? Watching as he suffered, persevered, and failed? Magnus frowned; his former companion had to be bluffing.
“Oh yes. And I must say Magnus… you have done a lot of damage in your time haven’t you?” Asterix got closer to the City Commander and grinned. Magnus turned away, dreading what his former best friend would say next. Asterix had been known to be an excellent emotional torturer. Unlike Magnus, he loved prison guard duty. He’d come close do driving many of the Autobot prisoners insane and at the time, Magnus thought it was funny to hear the prisoners tell their secrets to Asterix.
“There was the battle of Cataleon. Ouch.” Asterix explained, standing up and made a phony pain gesture. Magnus’ optics brightened at the mention of the horrible battle.
“And then there was the raid of Sector C. A lot of casualties for sure! Somewhere up in the hundreds, maybe thousands.” Ultra Magnus said nothing, holding his mouth component clamped. He admitted to himself that he had indeed made many bad decisions in his time and now he would live with the consequences. But, he wouldn’t let Asterix break him because of his inexperience. Many Decepticons had tried to emotionally torture him, but they soon found that Magnus’ emotional circuits were just as hard as his chassis. But Magnus had to acknowledge to himself, Asterix had a lot more rust on him than the other Decepticons ever did.
“And then, let’s not forget the Unicronian War. Lots of fun there!” Asterix laughed, making Magnus try to shut his audio circuits down. He didn’t have to hear once again how he had done horrible in Optimus’ absence. His emotions started to cloud his thoughts and the pain throbbing throughout his body didn’t help matters. The green Transformer saw the opportunity in Magnus’ optics and rubbed the Autobot’s mistakes in even more.
“Look, I’ve made mistakes, I know. But so have you!” Magnus defended, looking up optic to optic with the Decepticon.
“Oh is that what you’re calling it now-a-days?” Asterix mused, enjoying the torture.
“Losing the Matrix, leading your people to death, a mistake?” The City Commander said nothing; he had already had to deal with this guilt everyday since the War.
“If I recall the stories correctly, you left your future leader and the oldest Autobot behind to save your own aft!” Asterix pushed, pulling each emotional string out as much as he could. Magnus glared at his captor, if he had had his fists free, he would have punched the mechanism across the room; servos locked or not.
“I never did it on purpose!” The City Commander muttered; his head was now spinning from the emotions. It’d been a bad day all around, Magnus concluded, so many Autobots were lost, morale was low, Unicron was threatening the galaxy, everything was just going wrong, and he had made lousy decisions because of it.
“Oh well then, that just makes it all better!” Asterix exclaimed, bending down so that he was faceplate to faceplate with his former teammate.
“You’re a Decepticon, Magnus. A soldier, nothing more! Never questioning your superior, always loyal! We made sure of that.” He finished, coming even closer to the Autobot’s face.
“Oh, how you so conveniently blew yourself up so that Galvatron could get the Matrix.” Magnus’ optics brightened in shock at the comment, the pure ludicrous in the statement was astounding. He had never given an ounce of loyalty to the insane Decepticon leader. But before he could even defend himself, Asterix was gone. The Autobot lowered his head as his body shook with fury and emotion. He deactivated his optics once again, trying to sort through his chaotic mind. But his thoughts were in turmoil, nothing was clear, and all that kept replaying was what had happened all those years ago

****

Ultra Magnus stood outside Asterix’s quarters, trying to think of what he was going to say. His once strong belief in the Decepticon cause had been dwindling almost to nothing and no matter how many times he pushed the feelings aside, it managed to distract him at the most inappropriate moment. He had never allowed his emotions to cloud his dedicated battle-ready mind, but this new hesitation in “The Cause,” had him making blundering mistakes that only new soldiers made. He had to talk to Asterix about these feelings. His friend had been around longer than he; maybe the feelings were a natural process that all Decepticons went through. Somehow, Magnus doubted that any Decepticon thought what he thought about the Autobots. After almost ten minutes standing outside Asterix’s door, he knocked on the door lightly. His knuckle made a thump against the metal, making the knock louder than he intended. The door hissed open and Magnus prepared himself before walking into the room. Asterix sat on his recharge berth going through some Com-pads; reports from the recent battle no doubt.
“You did well today, too bad that damn Autobot medic knocked you out.” Asterix commented, not looking up from the report in hand. Magnus readjusted his position uncomfortably; lying to his best friend and superior had not been easy. The truth was that he did not do well today and that the “damn” Autobot medic had repaired him. Magnus still didn’t understand why the medic had done it though.
“Thank you, sir.” Ultra Magnus said, his voice giving away his confused mind. Asterix looked up at him and put the report down, making the young Magnus’ voice component lock.
“Don’t be so formal Magnus, I’m still your best friend after all.” He said with a smirk and stood up to talk ‘con to ‘con.
“So tell me, what brings you here?” He asked, getting into his normal position with his arms crossed over his chest. Ultra Magnus tried to sort through his thoughts. He wasn’t sure how to begin but presumed that he’d do best starting at the beginning.
“Asterix… for a long time, I’ve never hesitated to shoot down an Autobot. Always ready to end one when they came within my path…”
“Yes, that’s what I like about you.” Asterix interrupted, giving the distraught Transformer a pat on his massive shoulders. Magnus took a “breath”, trying not to be annoyed by the interruption. This was not easy and the blue Decepticon knew that if he explained the wrong way, Asterix would deactivate him on the spot.
“Yes, well, lately I’ve been… well… hesitant in shooting the Autobots…”
“Ah, yes! Wanting to savor the moment, right?” Asterix interrupted again, making Magnus frown.
“Well, no… not exactly. I mean, look how well they work together. The Decepticons don’t…”
“What are you saying?” Asterix’s stare suddenly changed into one of anger. It made Magnus’ vocal modular lock again and he began to rethink on telling his friend how he felt.
“I… I’m saying that I’m not sure about the Decepticon cause…” The blue Transformer knew it was coming out all wrong and to make matters worse, Asterix had put on his trademark look, unreadable.
“You have all you need here Magnus. You’re a high ranked Decepticon! Hell, you’ve even impressed Megatron! There’ve been rumors of him wanting you as one of his ground commanders. What more do you want?” Asterix defended with an unnaturally calm voice.
“I… I don’t know,” was all that the confused mechanism could say. When Asterix didn’t respond, Magnus was sure that his superior would have a fit. But, after a strained silence, Asterix finally did speak up.
“You’re just tired from the battle. Go recharge, you’ll feel better later and then we can have some fun.” Asterix then pushed his comrade out of the room before he could even say anything in response. When the door slid shut, Ultra Magnus looked down. Why did he expect his friend to understand? After all, these were rebellious thoughts that no Decepticon would hear. Perhaps he should talk to the leader of the Autobots. No, it was impossible, they wouldn’t believe him if tried. Further more, they’d shoot him down the moment he stepped foot near Iaacon. He just had to figure this whole thing out on his own.

It was a deserted city, but the small Autobot group of fighters and their leader did not hesitate to try and drive the Decepticon group from the area. Their bravery was admirable. The group knew the Decepticons could now transform and they were severely outmatched, nevertheless, they fought with their whole spark. The battle between the groups had been going for a while and didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon either. Magnus, hoping to clear his head of the nonsense, went into the battle, gun armed and ready to fire on anything that moved. There was one problem though; he couldn’t bring himself to fire on his supposed enemies, no matter how many times he was a microsecond close to it. Finally, he was able fire on one of the Autobots, but his rioting emotions caused him to misjudge the speed of the Autobot who had easily dodged his shots. Asterix had begun shouting at him, clearly frustrated with Ultra Magnus.
“What are you doing Magnus? Attack!” The blue mechanism growled at himself and reluctantly jumped from his spot to attack a small Autobot. He once again underestimated the small one’s speed, and the Autobot was gone before Magnus touched the ground. He cursed himself for letting his emotions take over his battle ready mind.
“Magnus! Shoot him! Slag it! He’s right there!” The blue mechanism’s com hollered in Decepticon. Magnus recharged his gun and turned to the side, ready to fire on whatever was there that Asterix had mentioned. Ultra Magnus, now in a kneeling position, traced his rifle to the barrel, to the end, and to the abdominal of the leader of the Autobot group. The blue and orange Transformer stared down at Magnus as his hand shook around the aimed rifle.
“You don’t want to do this.” The Autobot’s sympathetic voice calmly whispered, shocking the emotionally wrecked Transformer when it put his mind at peace. Had the Autobot said that? Magnus didn’t remember seeing the leader’s lip components move. He went to say something in response, when out of nowhere Asterix tackled the Autobot leader. The two wrestled each other viciously as Ultra Magnus watched on, shrinking away from the one-on-one battle, not knowing what else to do. Asterix proved to be the better of the two when he ended up with his foot down on the Autobot and his blaster barrel accurately between the leader’s optics.
“It ends now.” Asterix smirked, his finger tightening around the trigger. The barrage of shots that followed stunned all those that were nearby. Asterix stood there, his gun still in the position it had been in before. Then he suddenly faltered, turned his head towards the source, and fell. The Autobot leader turned his head as well toward the direction that the gray Decepticon had looked and there Ultra Magnus stood, his laser rifle still pointing in the direction that Asterix was before, his features giving away nothing of his emotional state.
“We’ve been betrayed!” A Decepticon screamed from nearby and a shower of laser blasts hit Ultra Magnus, sending him to the ground.
“Withdraw and regroup!” Another Decepticon screamed as the now rouge Transformer felt his inner fluids bleeding all around him. He could hear them revving the Decepticon engines as they took off and quickly the sound died away. He looked to his fallen friend. Asterix laid there immobile as inner mech fluid dripped out his mouth. Magnus felt his body numb with the loss of his inner fluid and he couldn’t think straight as his head swirled with perplexity. The young Transformer didn’t know if he had done the right thing with what he did, all he knew was that the Autobot leader was safe. He only wished that Asterix hadn’t been the casualty in his decision to switch sides. He watched sadly, his vision going to static, as Asterix’s optics dimmed.
“Asterix… forgive me…” Magnus whispered before his systems’ main functions shut down and he was kicked into stasis lock.

****

Magnus sighed as the Energon bars and bonds were deactivated and Asterix stepped in again. The City Commander was worried by the pleased look on the Decepticon’s face, whatever was making his former comrade happy, wasn’t good news for him.
“You know Magnus, over the years of seeing what you’ve done with yourself as an Autobot; I’d say you were better off as a Decepticon.” The Autobot looked away; this was all too familiar to Magnus. Shockwave had tried this approach many times over with him, but the cruel Decepticon had grudgingly discovered that Magnus was dedicated mind, body, and spark to the Autobot cause.
“Think of all that you’ve accomplished as a Decepticon,” Asterix continued.
“Yeah, an accomplishment is the slaughter of innocents,” Magnus growled at the Decepticon.
“Oh yes! Remember all the fun we used to have when we hunted femmes for Shockwave?” Ultra Magnus felt as if Asterix had just stabbed him. The pain of guilt was almost enough to freeze his systems. It had been a cruel game back then to the two, a game that had no winners, except maybe Asterix in his malicious mind.
“And what about the raids on the Energon storage facilities? Ah, those were the good ole days!” Ultra Magnus didn’t say anything, the memories of all that he had done as a Decepticon could make him almost as bad as the highest ranked Decepticons. And the irony was that at the time, it had been the most fun he had ever had. Perhaps this emotional torture was his punishment for all his past evil deeds. Electricity surging through his systems, made Magnus jump back to the here and now.
“Hey! No sleeping in class!” Asterix commented with a half amused, half insulted look on his faceplate.
“Honestly Magnus, I think you should go back to your true allegiance,” He continued to taunt, making Ultra Magnus’ ever present patience disappear.
“I will never swear allegiance to the Decepticons again! Do what you will with me and get it over with!”
“See? You haven’t changed a bit! Besides the sappy side you’ve grown, but I can take care of that. Anyway, I have a choice for you.” Asterix finished and Magnus prepared himself for the end. But when Asterix reactivated Magnus’ servos, the City Commander readied himself with a sigh. He knew Asterix too well and geared up for something much worse than what he had just experienced.

Asterix led Ultra Magnus into the main control room, or what was left of it. The once high dome roof that was above was no longer there and the buttons along the control panel were all but decayed and destroyed. The once operating spacebridge had scourge marks noting that it had been destroyed intentionally. But what caught the commander’s optics were the shadowed forms on the far side of the room. Before he even had a chance to dread who they were, Asterix pulled a groaning lever and the dull lights activated and blinked, straining for more energy to stay on. It was enough for Magnus to see the features of the shadows and his optics brightened with shock as he identified them. The gray figure was Kup, looking more beat up than Magnus had remembered seeing and the red figure was definitely Rodimus, who had laser marks disfiguring his armor. The City Commander noted with dreadfulness in his logic circuits, the darkness of their optics.
“Well! What do we have here?” Asterix asked with glee. Ultra Magnus turned to him, his face full of anger.
“Let them go! This is between you and me!”
“Nah, that’s not very fun.” Asterix exclaimed pulling another half gone lever and a section of the floor slowly and nosily pulled away. Inside a hissing yellow green substance rippled awaiting the next victim to be dropped into it. The blue Autobot held back gasping, for he knew exactly what the substance was.
“Remember this stuff, Magnus?” Ultra Magnus remembered it far too well and the screams of the unfortunate sparks that got the fate still haunted him. He couldn’t bear seeing it happen to those close to him. Asterix’s grin broadened and he quickly pulled a third lever. The two Autobots, tied together, were lifted up and right over the boiling substance. Magnus’ mouth component dropped in horror and he went to tackle the sick-minded Decepticon.
“Take one step further and you can find the Autobots a new leader.” Asterix laughed; his hand firmly around the last lever.
“You’ll do it anyway,” Magnus’ optics dimmed, knowing Asterix all too well.
“Not necessarily! I’ll make you a deal that even Swindle would be proud of,” the Decepticon smiled. Ultra Magnus remained silent, his fists shaking in vehemence.
“You swear allegiance to the Decepticon cause and your friends will be safe.”
“Never! I know you’ll kill them the second I trusted you!” Ultra Magnus yelled, without even thinking.
“Aw, I’m hurt. You know as well as I do that I am a ‘con of my word!” The City Commander hesitated, that was one thing that was true. As long the blue Autobot had known him, Asterix had kept his word, whether having promised to an Autobot or Decepticon. Magnus looked to his unconscious friends, was there any other choice? They certainly were worth everything to Magnus, but in the end, he’d have to kill them anyway as a Decepticon.
“How about it, Magnus? Can you deal with this now?” Asterix chuckled evilly, his ruby optics reflecting off the glowing substance. Magnus ignored his insults and tried to analyze his limited options.
“Time’s running out Magnus. You gonna leave them behind again?” The comment snapped the large Autobot out of his self-analysis.
“That sounds like a deal, but I think I got a better one…” Without another word, the Autobot kicked Asterix in the stomach and grabbed him up over his massive shoulders. Then, promptly threw the Decepticon into the wall and started running towards the two Autobots, knowing Asterix would not be happy. Ultra Magnus’ suspicions were confirmed when Asterix pushed himself off the ground in anger and pulled the down the lever. Rodimus and Kup fell without a sound and Ultra Magnus gasped. He jumped at the same time over the hole, tackling the two in mid air. The three ended up on the other side of the boiling doom and Magnus checked to see if they were okay. Clapping sounded across the way and he looked to see Asterix there with a smug look on his faceplate.
“Glad to see you still have it, Magnus.”

Ultra Magnus had had enough; it was time to end this. Asterix had had his fun with the Autobot’s emotions, but now he was messing with his friends. Magnus growled in passion as he ran at Asterix like a runaway train. He jumped on him and tried to snap his foe’s head right off. Asterix countered and the two were once again wrestling back and forth across the floor. Ultra Magnus knew his weapons were deactivated, but he’d rip this fiend apart with his bare hands. The larger Autobot was able to get the upper hand, but Asterix kicked him hard in abdominal. Magnus groaned in pain from pointed boot of Asterix, but picked himself back up. Asterix approached Magnus and punched at him. Magnus grabbed the fist and punched the Decepticon across the faceplate. Asterix counteracted by side kicking the Autobot to his knees. Evenly matched, Magnus and Asterix were almost fighting an endless battle, as each knew each other’s moves down to the turn of their fist. Magnus grabbed Asterix’s head and tried to flip him over but the Decepticon grabbed Magnus’ upper arm and threw him into the wall.
“I grow tired of this game,” he said sullenly and removed his gun from subspace as Magnus panted to cool his overheated systems.
“Too bad, this could have ended happily. You could have been in your glory as a Decepticon and your friends would have been safe. But no, you couldn’t have it that way. Now you will all get to die together.” Magnus’ optics brightened in ferocity and he jumped up, grabbed the gun, and both fell to the ground. He gripped his hands around the Decepticon’s neck.
“You won’t touch the- ARGHH!” Magnus growled when a pain filled his entire lower torso area. Severe damage reports flashed through his system when he looked down and saw the cause of his pain. A long half decayed rod had been stabbed through him. He looked behind and there stood Rodimus with a sinister look on his faceplate.
“Rod…?” Magnus groaned and fell to his knees, gripping the wound. Rodimus said nothing and without words, ripped the rod out of the City Commander. He winced, his entire system blinked darkly from the incredible pain.
“How does it feel Magnus?” Asterix asked in a pleasant voice. Precious fluids spilled out of the wound and Ultra Magnus tried to sit up but the pain ravaged up and down.
“How does it feel to be betrayed by the one you trust the most?” Magnus groaned as Rodimus slammed the rod across Magnus’ side. More warnings flashed across his systems and he did his best to remain focused.
“Rodimus…” The City Commander looked at his superior, his laser core hardly functioning from the pain of the betrayal. He looked to Asterix, his mind screaming vengeance.
“What have… you done to… him?!” Magnus growled trying to get to his feet but his legs wouldn’t cooperate.
“What have I done? I haven’t done a thing, this is all him. All his deepest hates, all his deepest fears, and all his deepest pain, pain that YOU caused.” Ultra Magnus looked at Rodimus, the words hurting worse than the gaping hole in his lower torso.
“You see Rodimus? If Ultra Magnus had done his job right, you wouldn’t have had to take the up the mantle of leadership. You still would have been Hot Rod, your true self. It’s all his fault!” Asterix said with a serious voice. Magnus saw a glimmer of hate in Rodimus’ optics and he went to swing the rod again. It smacked across Magnus’s face, sending him swirling and back to the floor. The crack that Asterix had made before opened even further that it was now right below his optic and down to his mouth component. To add to it, warm mech solution dribbled from the crack. Magnus knew he had to do something because he was losing his vital fluids, and fast. Rodimus went for another swing but Magnus turned around and quickly caught the rod with pain stabbing through his systems.
“I’m sorry about this Rodimus… but you’re not thinking clearly.” Without another hesitation, Magnus grabbed, his systems screaming from exhaustion, and threw the young Autobot Leader to the wall, immediately collapsing and grabbing his wound.
“Don’t you want to punish him for making you be the leader? You could have been racing and having fun if not for him!” Asterix still taunted. Rodimus tried to get up, but was still disoriented from the impact with the wall. With all the determination Magnus had, he turned to Asterix.
“Why don’t you get rid of the amateur leader like the Decepticon you are?” He said with the same evil smirk forever melted into his faceplate. Ultra Magnus wasted no words and attacked the Decepticon. The two scuffled across the ground again as Magnus’ systems shrieked for stasis lock. Suddenly, the two were locked again, arms pushing against each other to win over the other.
“Rodimus is young. But with experience… he’ll be a better leader than I ever will!” Magnus roared, his voice revealing how much pain he was in.
“Aw, how touching!” Asterix rumbled back, trying to get the upper hand.

Rodimus sat there groaning from the pain and listening to everything that was happening. He felt the Matrix warm inside of him when he tried to get back up to attack Ultra Magnus again. He grabbed his head in confusion. Then, he saw Asterix and a wrecked Magnus fighting each other to the bitter end.
“What have I done?” The young Autobot asked himself in shock, having remembered stabbing the rod into his friend.

After Asterix flipped Magnus over and onto his back, he got the upper hand. He kept his foot on Magnus and smiled.
“Always fell for that move.” Magnus smirked through the pain and grabbed Asterix’s leg out from under him. The mechanism fell like a ton of bricks and Magnus laid there relieved as his optics faded in and out. His systems were well beyond overheated from the loss of the internal fluids. But, through the pain, he pushed himself to stand up and face the battered Asterix.
“Asterix… I’m sorry for what I did to you. But I will never take it back. Never.” With that Ultra Magnus turned away from the Decepticon and started hobbling towards Rodimus and Kup, to see if they were all right.
“Then take this!” Asterix yelled, grabbing his gun from subspace.

The sounds of the shots being fired, left Ultra Magnus shaken and he turned to see Asterix fall to the ground. He watched in clashing feelings as Asterix, his faceplate wrecked beyond repair, reached out for Magnus before his arm fell… for the last time. The large Autobot slowly pulled himself away from the ghastly sight and looked to the side were the shots originated. Rodimus stood; both his arms outstretched, arm guns smoking. Ultra Magnus stared but when he went to step towards Rodimus, he could no longer stand; his systems threw in the towel. Then, he too fell and submitted to the painless stasis lock.



----



Autobot City hummed with its usual business and the City Commander walked to the main control center to see if all was well. Blaster, seeing his superior, quickly muted his music and reported.
“Human activity normal, Autobot missions doing fine, and no Decepticons in sight.” Ultra Magnus silently nodded, surprising the Communications officer, and turned to leave when there stood Rodimus and Kup at the entrance.
“Ultra Magnus, you should be in repair bay,” Rodimus softly whispered, making Magnus stop in his tracks. Rodimus had just done what the Autobot leader had done so long ago and the young Autobot hadn’t even realized it. He went to respond but couldn’t. He knew that he should be in repair mode at the bay, First Aid had come to yell at him before, but it wasn’t in his nature to take long to repair. It had always made the Autobot leaders angry when he didn’t take the efficient time for his systems to repair. But, he didn’t like to be put on the shelf because of injury for too long. Rodimus knew that look and let his City Commander pass. Whatever happened at the old Decepticon base had really hit Ultra Magnus hard, and Rodimus figured it best to let Magnus deal with it on his own, still, he wished he could do something to help his friend. Especially since he felt half responsible for the pain Magnus was in. He admired how the older mech always listened to the problems of others and tried to help, but when it involved his own, the blue Autobot never complained.
“Was he always like this?” The young leader asked the older Autobot.
“Yes, tragedy really… never got the chance to be a young Autobot,” Kup answered seriously. Rodimus’ faceplate softened sympathetically and watched as the City Commander disappeared around the corner.

Ultra Magnus stared out the window of his quarters, watching the daily activity of Autobot City. He could see now that Asterix wasn’t the mechanism that he had always been used to and it was unfortunate that it had to end the way it did. After all, Asterix had been his only friend, or as close as it could come to it on the Decepticon side, and he had been the one to end it. Asterix’s words and accusations replayed through his mind again for about the hundredth time that week. He knew some of what was said was true and he sighed trying to sort through it.

He had heard the many reprimands of the Autobot community for leaving Kup and Rodimus behind during the Unicronian War and he didn’t make an excuse for himself. It was the heat of the moment and a decision had to be made right there. He was used to analyzing the situation and thinking out the options before reaching a decision. The two had told him not to worry about it and that they understood his action, but he still held the guilt over his head. Magnus had admitted to himself many times, after looking back on the events of that day, that trying to open the Matrix when there was no serious threat had been… to put it frankly, stupid. Some accused him of being selfish, using the Matrix for his own gain because he was going to be killed. Ultra Magnus frowned on them; it wasn’t like that at all. All that was going through his mind at that time was saving his people. Arcee, Springer, Preceptor, and Blurr, even though they were great warriors, were no match for Galvatron, the Sweeps, Cyclonus, and the Constructicons. He had blasted down the debris on top of the Autobots to protect them from the Decepticons. Magnus knew however, that that wouldn’t have held the evil mechanisms back for long and didn’t know what else to do; he didn’t want the ones he cared for most, Daniel included, to die. Out of fear, he looked to the Matrix to aid him when what he should have done was gone down fighting like he usually did any other time. It was one of the rare times that Magnus had been so terrified that it affected his judgment. He just thanked the Matrix daily that no one was killed because of him that day. The other battles that Asterix spoke up were ones that he could never forget, but the fault was not entirely his. But again, that didn’t excuse him from feeling the guilt of those that were killed. But even those mistakes could not deter his belief and no matter what he did in the past, he would still gladly give his life for the Autobot cause.

His thoughts drifted to Rodimus and what he had done in the control center before. Rodimus’ lips had not moved, but he had heard the young leader’s voice, he was sure of it. Not only that, but he had felt the same warmth and reassurance that he had felt that time eons ago. Then it hit him, could it have been the Matrix talking to him? Was it the Matrix that had destined him to become an Autobot? If that was true, then did the Matrix, that he so loyally protected, want him to be near it? He put his hand on his forehead, adopting the human gesture from Spike, his mind in a muddle of questions and confusions. For now, he’d do what was expected of him and protect Rodimus Prime. He was Ultra Magnus, City Commander and an Autobot now and forever.


The End.