Outside the ruined town, Skygnaw watched Megatron take flight to follow The Fallen without ever touching down. He waved his hand to the remaining troops.
"Decepticons, retreat!"
There was no point in staying now that The Fallen had secured the Matrix of Leadership. The battle was finally nearing its end, and both sides had taken heavy losses.
Without the high-ranking commanders stepping in, the ordinary Decepticons were evenly matched with the human military in raw power. The only real difference lay in strategy and tactics.
In that department, the Decepticons, who always preferred brute force, were simply no match for human coordination. Most of the troops brought by The Fallen had been wiped out, leaving only a handful behind.
"Blackarachnia, let's move out," Skygnaw called out, firing a pair of heat-seeking missiles as a parting shot.
The fighting had been chaotic, but Skygnaw and Blackarachnia had purposely avoided a direct clash with the main Autobot line. They had no desire to get targeted by the humans' specialized long-range missiles. Keeping themselves in top shape was a much smarter move.
Just as he shifted into his assault craft form, a massive armored figure equipped with two pairs of wings roared out of the town. Optimus Prime flew straight over Skygnaw's head, completely ignoring the Decepticon craft below.
Skygnaw was baffled. He understood why The Fallen couldn't wait and grabbed the Matrix himself, but since when could Optimus fly?
Then it hit him. Jetfire. This was going to be a hell of a show.
Giving a powerhouse like Optimus flight capabilities changed the entire game. It was a massive force multiplier. Skygnaw smiled internally, glad he had acted quickly to harvest Jetfire's arm before this happened.
Ignoring the Prime soaring above, Skygnaw flew toward the Star Harvester at a leisurely pace. He knew he didn't have the power to stop an overpowered Optimus right now.
---
At the ruins of the pyramid, near the Star Harvester.
"The Fallen! You will not destroy our sun!"
Standing at the apex of the massive machine, The Fallen slammed the Matrix into a dedicated slot. The giant device began to glow and hum with life.
"No one can stop me," he hissed. "Not even a Prime."
Megatron touched down on the platform, eager to prove himself. "Master, let me tear off his head for you."
"No, my apprentice," The Fallen replied. "You are no match for him right now."
With eons of experience, The Fallen could tell that Optimus was currently in a heavily amplified state. A direct confrontation was foolish. Besides, his own ancient wounds hadn't fully healed, limiting him to a fraction of his true power.
"The Harvester is already active. We just need to buy time. Hold him off," The Fallen commanded. "Soon, the sun will be ours, and this world will plunge into eternal darkness."
Seeing the bizarre, colossal machine roaring to life, Optimus didn't hesitate. He deployed his heavy blades, the thrusters on his back bursting with fire as he dove straight toward the two tyrants.
"Optimus!" Megatron roared, charging forward to intercept him.
But the moment they collided, Megatron was violently thrown back, crashing down to the base of the tower.
The Fallen raised his Requiem Blaster. In a flash of dark crimson lightning, he vanished and reappeared directly behind Optimus, driving his weapon forward.
*Clang!*
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Optimus spun his energon sword and effortlessly deflected the strike. Skygnaw arrived in the airspace just in time to catch the clash.
The air erupted with explosions as the three titans tore into each other around the Star Harvester. The battle was fast and brutal.
Even in a two-on-one fight against an original Prime, Optimus didn't yield an inch. Skygnaw watched in shock as fresh gashes opened across the armor of both Megatron and The Fallen. This upgrade was turning out to be an unbelievable power boost.
"Skygnaw!" Megatron roared, spotting him in the air.
Skygnaw joined the fray, circling the combatants. He made sure to keep to a strictly supporting role, having no desire to face Optimus head-on.
Still, The Fallen's teleportation was a marvel to watch. The legend of him being the strongest of the original Primes wasn't just a myth.
Before the other Autobots could even arrive, a rogue human military column rolled into the sector.
"Target the giant machine! Fire at will!" the human commander barked. Tanks and missile launchers roared to life, unleashing a synchronized volley.
"Insolent pests!" The Fallen vanished in another flash of lightning, reappearing at the top of the Harvester. He raised his hands high. "No one will stop me!"
环境 Under his absolute control, the incoming shells and rockets veered off course, exploding harmlessly in the sky. Below, the heavy tanks and launchers were lifted into the air like plastic toys before being violently hurled away into the desert sands.
"Megatron, I warned you never to threaten this world again, no matter who your allies are!" Optimus boomed.
Without The Fallen anchoring the front, Megatron was left completely isolated. Optimus leveled his forearm cannon and blasted him right in the face.
The heavy blast shattered Megatron's right eye, tearing away a massive chunk of his face. He roared in agony as two more high-explosive payloads slammed into his chest, throwing him dozens of yards across the platform.
Megatron only survived because Optimus prioritized the machine. The thrusters on the Prime's back flared again as he soared toward the summit of the Harvester. Skygnaw tracked him closely from above.
"The Fallen, your reign ends here!"
Optimus slammed directly into the tyrant. As the impact threw The Fallen back, Optimus leveled his weapon at the core of the Harvester and fired a heavy shell.
"No!"
At that exact millisecond, a shadow threw itself right into the path of the incoming shell. But the interceptor had clearly underestimated the sheer force of the blast. The impact sent the figure flying as a massive explosion ripped through the upper control array of the machine.
The Fallen let out a horrified shriek. Watching the machine he had spent eons planning to activate shatter before his eyes, his face twisted in utter disbelief.
In stark contrast to the tyrant's despair, Skygnaw smiled as he tumbled through the air. Clutched tightly in his hand was the Matrix of Leadership, completely undamaged. The risk of using his own body to shield the blast had paid off beautifully.
He quickly hid the Matrix inside his armor, calming his thoughts. He had to keep a straight face; if he wasn't careful, he might actually laugh out loud right in front of them.
"Optimus! I am a Prime! How dare you challenge your own creator!" The Fallen screamed, completely losing his sanity as his staff lashed out in a wild frenzy. His vengeance was gone. Without the Harvester, everything was ruined.
"You forfeited the right to be called a Prime the moment you became a murderer," Optimus countered, parrying every strike without backing down an inch.
"Impossible! You are a mere modern warrior! Even with a dying spark fueling your armor, you shouldn't be able to match me!"
Panic crept into The Fallen's voice. Millions of years ago, he had fled into the dark after being broken by his brothers. He was not a warrior who could look death in the face.
With the machine ruined and Optimus fighting with terrifying power, the tyrant's resolve shattered. One fought with absolute conviction, while the other only looked for an escape route. The outcome was a foregone conclusion.
In the next clash, Optimus wrenched the heavy staff right out of the tyrant's grip. He spun around, driving a lethal blow from behind. The Fallen tried to teleport away, but Optimus held onto his arm with a crushing grip, locking him in place.
The legendary weapon claimed its first kill under its new master. The heavy armor that had resisted energon blades for eons was pierced straight through by the dark blade.
"Let me see your face!" Optimus ripped the battle mask away, revealing a hideous, ancient face twisted in malice and utter defeat.
"No... how can this..." The Fallen stumbled.
"Because I stand for justice," Optimus replied.
He wrenched the weapon free, molten fluid spraying across the stone. Optimus gripped the tyrant's head tightly. "The Primes were your brothers, yet you chose betrayal. Now, offer them your penance in the void."
His forearm cannon flashed at point-blank range, shattering the ancient, withered body into a thousand pieces.
Only his head remained intact on the ground, his voice whispering a final, useless question. "The void will give you your answer," Optimus said, crushing the skull beneath his heel.
"Master... my Master..."
Megatron dived out of the sky, dragging his broken, bleeding frame up the steps. One arm was missing, and his face was completely ruined. But he arrived just in time to see his creator's skull turn to dust.
"Lord Megatron, the Harvester is permanently gone. There is no longer any tactical reason to continue this fight," Skygnaw said, landing quietly behind the broken warlord to offer his counsel.
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