Soundwave staggered backward under Jorge's barrage, stumbling inside his shield before collapsing at Zeta Prime's feet. It was clear that the Decepticon spymaster was on his last legs, and he knew it.
"Damage substantial," Soundwave intoned, looking up at the bound Prime. "Must re-energize with Zeta's life stream!"
Soundwave thrust out a hand towards the captive leader of the Autobots, and suddenly tendrils erupted from along his arm. These filaments lunged towards Zeta Prime, stabbing deep into his chassis and wringing a gasp from the Prime as his captor literally began to syphon the life out of him.
Soundwave stood up as his injuries began to heal and close, confident that this would both deny the Autobots their objective and allow him to defeat them.
He hadn't counted on one thing, however—in dedicating himself to sucking Zeta Prime dry like a cosmic leech, he could not maintain the protective barrier between himself and the Autobots. It collapsed, and Optimus lunged forward, axe in hand and righteous fury in his spark.
"Soundwave," he roared, leaping into the air. "Take this!"
Soundwave saw Optimus coming and rolled away at the last second, narrowly evading the blow which would have neatly bisected him; even so, the Autobot's axe clove clean through the Decepticons tendrils, preventing him from draining any more of Zeta's life energy.
Not about to let Optimus and his men succeed in their rescue, Soundwave rolled upright, converted his hand into a pistol, and fired at the helpless Prime.
Optimus recovered quickly and acted without thinking, throwing himself in front of the blast and taking it right square in the chest. Bumblebee stared, aghast, as Optimus fell to the floor in a heap.
"Another day, Autobots," Soundwave intoned, bolting for the door with his Minicons in tow. Bumblebee and Ravage opened fire on the emotionless Decepticon, but soon Soundwave was out the door and speeding away at his vehicular altmode; he was gone before a startled Sideswipe, who he had nearly run down, could even bring up his shotgun and take a futile shot.
edited 16th Nov '10 8:41:41 PM by SullenFrog
The Danse Macabre Codex![]()
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"It's hard to explain... it was like I'd always known how to build it, like I was born to make that car, like my entire life had been leading up to that one glorious moment... (plus it came with instructions, which is always a bonus.)"
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"Cell phone? Sorry to ask, but do you mind if I dismantle it? I might be able to whip something up that can help us talk to the rest of the team."
edited 16th Nov '10 8:45:28 PM by GabrielGloom
Rey nodded again. "Seriously, whatever you need...I've got my phone, my camera, an MP 3 player, extra batteries, all the normal stuff." He chuckled a little oddly. "I was supposed to be on a plane on my way to Little Rock right now..."
Easing back into life one step at a timeHmmm... Here.
-he takes some orangish gel out of a compartment, then takes off a piece of his facial plating, placing it on top of the gel-
A wide-band focusing plate. Cuts distortion. The omnigel works in place of time-consuming welding and smoothes out connections.
-He hands it over to Eddie-
We must get this working before the others are brought back.
edited 16th Nov '10 11:17:15 PM by Colonial1.1
"He could not know it. For it was not all a joke.""OPTIMUS!"
Jorge ran up to the Autobot's side, rolling him onto his back.
"Come on, speak to me! You're not dying here!"
Jagged Alliance 2 LP (Redux) (Closed!)Optimus sat up with a groan,
clutching at a small whole in his chest that was spitting sparks. "I'm alright, Jorge; just a scratch. I won't be operating at my best until we get treatment, but it's hardly life-threatening."
The Autobot rose unsteadily to his feet. then turned to look at his captive leader. "Hold on, Zeta," he assured the Prime. "We'll have you down from there in a few nanokliks."
Zeta's only response was a wry grin, which quickly shifted into a grimace of pain; when he spoke, his voice, though clearly powerful and dignified at one time, was weaker and fading. "A...noble sentiment, Optimus; but I'm afraid that your efforts were in vain. Goodbye, Optimus; I'm sorry..."
With that, the leader of the Autobots loosed a final sigh and let his neck go slack. The blue light of his optics flickered briefly for a few seconds, growing dimmer every time, until finally they went out entirely. Ravage watched, somewhat perturbed, as Zeta Prime's body swiftly shifted from its natural blue-and-gold colouration to a uniform, lifeless grey.
Bumblebee shook his head at this, not wanting to believe what he had just seen. But there was no denying it, and the little yellow Autobot covered his face in his hands and began to tremble violently, his body wracked with sobs. Sideswipe, who had just entered the bunker to see what had happened, brought a hand up to his brow and said nothing.
Zeta Prime, the leader of the Autobots and the person Hahli and the others had given their lives to save, was dead.
"Zeta," Optimus whispered, his voice morose. "Let's...let's get him down from there and bring him home. Bring all of our comrades home," he added, glancing at Jorge.
The Danse Macabre CodexSideswipe turned to Gordon and shook his head wordlessly; a moment later Optimus strode solemnly past, the grey and lifeless body of Zeta Prime in his arms.
"Let's get the others," he whispered. "We're leaving."
Some time later, Optimus, Bumblebee and Sideswipe had returned to the Autobots’ capital city of Iacon along with Ravage, Jorge, Gordon, Craft and Narumi. The group stood in a small antechamber, outside of what Optimus assured them was the meeting grounds of the Autobot High Council, the highest political body after the Prime; if anyone would know how to proceed in the wake of this tragedy, they would.
Ravage was somewhat confused, to say the least; it was obvious that they had failed in their goal of protecting and rescuing Zeta Prime. So why were they still here? Was this what happened when they lost a challenge—were they to be trapped here for the rest of their lives, bearing the Autobot insignia unto death?
The panther glanced to the left, noting with just a touch of pity the funerary caskets lining the wall. Each bore a holographic marker depicting one of the fallen champions, most prominent among them Hahli; even Saren had received one, though Ravage couldn’t figure out why Optimus had seen fit to collect the turian’s ashes and bring them all the way back here. Was this to be his ultimate fate, to live out his life as an Autobot and eventually be interred within an Autobot funerary monolith?
Optimus cradled Zeta Prime’s body within his arms, shooting Ravage an admonishing glance. "Stop fidgeting; you disrespect the dead."
Ravage was about to issue a venomous retort when the door to the Council Chamber slid open, and a deep, regal voice bade them enter.
After hesitating for a moment, Optimus strode into the room, Zeta’s corpse in hand, followed a moment later by Bumblebee and Sideswipe. These two hung close to the entrance, while Optimus advanced to the heart of the room, where a small table in the shape of an X lay. Ravage padded inside, glancing about the chamber with a sense of awe; he had never seen such a place before. Wan sunlight wafted in through stained transparisteel windows at the back of the Council Chamber, leaving the council itself obscured by the radiance; only their red piping allowed them to be seen. Each Councillor was built tall and powerful, bearing a large staff of office and a ceremonial mantle, and though they were not warriors Ravage suspected that they could hold their own in a fight.
Optimus laid Zeta Prime’s corpse onto the table, then dropped to one knee. "High Council, we return with fallen heroes."
"Til all are one," the Councillors intoned in unison.
edited 17th Nov '10 8:02:03 AM by SullenFrog
The Danse Macabre CodexOptimus bowed his head. "Times have grown desperate. In the wake of Zeta's passing, Councillors, the Autobots crave your guidance."
One Councillor, whose podium was closer to the floor than the others—their obvious spokesman—rose to his feet and stared down at Optimus. "The High Council exists only to choose the Primes; it is the Prime's directive to lead and protect."
Ravage blinked. So in essence, they were a legislative body that didn't do anything beyond electing their leader?
No wonder the Autobots were losing this war, he thought with a slight mental sneer. A great system, their democracy...
Optimus brought his head up in incredulity, meeting the Councillor's gaze with growing anger. "There are no Primes."
edited 17th Nov '10 8:25:47 AM by SullenFrog
The Danse Macabre CodexJorge's fist was clenched as they stood before the council. Despite their efforts, Zeta Prime had still perished. They failed. Hahli had died for nothing. He didn't know what would happen to them, but it couldn't have been good.
His anger only grew at the High Council's unwillingness to lead.
Incompetent bureaucrats. Your people are on the verge of losing this damned war, and you don't have the balls to take action?!
Jagged Alliance 2 LP (Redux) (Closed!)"Even now, you still reject your calling?" the High Councillor demanded.
Ravage glanced at Bumblebee and Sideswipe, who sported equally-confused expressions. This was news to them as well.
"For too long have we watched the other Primes fall to their pride and greed," the High Councillor continued, slowly sweeping an arm about the room before pointing at Optimus. "But you, Optimus...your wisdom and courage have transformed the lives around you."
The Council spokesman lifted his staff and rapped it on the floor, and a hologram of Cybertron appeared before Optimus. "Megatron has infected the very heart of our world with Dark Energon. You must venture to Cybertron's core and expunge this blight; failure would doom us all."
Optimus paused for a moment in consideration, averting his gaze; then he nodded to himself, and looked the High Councillor in the eye.
"I will accept the burden," he declared. "With all that I am."
The High Councillors nodded in unison, the ghosts of smiles flitting across their faces as they all rose and leveled their staves at Optimus. They chanted softly to themselves for several seconds, then lowered their staves to the floor and sat down.
"It is done," their spokesman said. "Arise, Optimus Prime, for you are now Leader of the Autobots. You are the Last Prime."
edited 17th Nov '10 8:46:09 AM by SullenFrog
The Danse Macabre CodexRavage winced at the noise, growling in irritation. "Who is this?!" he snarled into his comm, drawing irate and disapproving glares from some of the Councillors.
Bumblebee and Sideswipe glanced at the others in confusion. They had heard it too, but it was garbled indistinct to their auditory receptors.
"Uh, Sideswipe? What's going on?"
"Dunno, Ro-bro."
The Danse Macabre Codex-The static begins to clear, the tortured sounds of acoustical instruments in the background-
Yezz Doct— Freeman, I live. If it helps, the Toa does as well. Whatever. I need you to procure at least five Cybertronian wrecks for raw materials.
edited 17th Nov '10 9:16:18 AM by Colonial1.1
"He could not know it. For it was not all a joke."

How did you make that car again, in three minutes?
"He could not know it. For it was not all a joke."