The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 75

“Shockwave, how are the Wormhole stabilizers looking?”

My old friend did not look up from the instruments while answering my question.

“Stable. No deviations from expected patterns. Magnetic fields are also stable. Event Horizon is within acceptable parameters.”

I nodded at those words, watching as the colossal tanks of Synthetic Energon were emptied, their contents flowing straight into the colossal ring-like structure that is now anchored near Luna-1.

“Silverbolt, how are things looking on your end?”

“Looking good, Maximus. The nanite self-repair systems are functioning as intended, and the internal Cybermatter tanks show that they are on stand-by as designed.”

“Hm. Any anomalous readings?”

“None.”

“Good. Keep the Bridge warmed up and ready to spool up at a moment's notice.”

“Will do.”

With the preparations out of the way, I finally decided to stop stalling and turned around, facing the rather large collection of those that I cared for.

Ratchet, my oldest friend and the one who patched me up when I first escaped from the Quintessons after sabotaging them.

Shockwave, the bot who taught me everything I knew, and someone that I saw as my brother in every way that mattered.

Soundwave, the bot that was born during the Golden Age. The bot that I helped stabilize after he was born with his outlier powers turned to its maximum limit and nearly drove him insane. Someone that I trusted to always watch my back, no matter what.

Knockout and Breakdown. The dynamic duo that I met during my wandering phase before the Age of Rust, and became fast friends with. My most loyal friends who were by my side during thick and thin.

Skyquake, Dreadwing, and Jetfire. My trusted companions and lieutenants. Their honor and integrity inspired many within the ranks of the Ascenticons, as this Trine was seen as the most powerful and resourceful seekers of them all.

Hardshell and Kickback. The leaders of their respective Insecticon Hives. My old friends, whom I once promised a bright future. A promise that I was finally able to fulfill after so many millennia.

Team Elita. Promising younglings that were once on the other side of the lines but later on joined my group, becoming my dearest friends. My family.

Orion Pax, or rather, Optimus Prime. A child that I always knew was destined to become a Prime thanks to my memories, yet still could not help but see as a youngling who needed our guidance. I am glad to see that he feels me and mine as family, just as much as we did him.

Silverbolt and Blackarachnia. The bonded pair that I could not help but smile at as I saw their hands intertwined, even now, showing that they had finally reconciled after so long.

Tarn and his companions, children that I watched grow up in the Ascenticons before I was betrayed.

Stormrunner, officially called The Mistress of Flame. Someone whom I have come to see as a dear friend of mine after spending so long on Caminus.

Override and her companions from Velocitron. Those that I freed in my search for the Allspark.

Airazor and Tiagatron. My friends from Eukaris.

Thunder, my bonded Minicon who has chosen to stay behind to lead his people back to Cybertron.

My old friends, my family. All of them gathered in this place for this send-off. A departure from which I do not know when I will be back.

And yet, I could not come up with any grand speech or a way to say farewell.

All I could do was stand there in silence, unable to say anything.

Thankfully, I did not have to say anything as Orion walked forward and clasped my hand with his.

“Don’t worry, Maximus. We will make sure that you will not be ashamed of us when you come back.”

Knockout and Breakdown grinned at those words, even though pain was clear in the optics.

“Yeah! Leave Cybertron and this universe to us. We’ll keep some high-grade stuff ready for when you come back with some new stories to share. Just like you used to back during your wandering days.”

The rest of my family said nothing but just smiled reassuringly at me, probably knowing that I was having a hard time putting my feelings into words

I could not help the smile that formed on my face.

This is why I fought for so long. For them. For all of these people that I cared about.

For millions of years, I fought tooth and nail against all kinds of beings. I fought against the Quintessons, I fought against Nova and his regime, I fought against Nominus and his ways. I committed sins uncountable, and broke my spark bit by bit.

I bled and fought against Sentinel, I fought my way back to Cybertron from my exile, and even challenged Primus himself.

All for the sake of these people. My friends, my family, my everything.

And now, with everything done and my fight finally over, I can say with my head held high.

It was all worth it to see them all here like this, happy and well.

With a deep breath, I looked all of them in the optic and spoke with determination.

“This is not goodbye. I will be back. That is a promise.”

Elita smiled before she and her team hugged me, triggering a dog pile where all my friends, even Shockwave and Ratchet of all bots, rushed me.

“We know, Maximus. Take care out there, especially those unruly children you are taking with you.”

“Hey!”

“Hmph!”

I ignored the way Windblade shouted in outrage while Megatronus simply snorted. Of course, I did not miss how The Mistress hugged my second sparkling tightly, a hug that Windblade returned with equal emotion before retreating to my side.

I don’t know how long we spent there, in front of the Dimensional Bridge, chatting about this and that, reluctant to let go of each other, but in the end, I felt it was time.

With a sigh, I picked up the Forge of Solus Prime and placed it into its container, which snapped to my back.

To my side, Windblade activated the Apex Armor that I gave her while Megatronus held the Requiem Blaster.

Just like Primus wanted, we are taking the artifacts of the thirteen with us. At least those that cannot be destroyed anyway.

Chela had long since destroyed the Cyber Caliber and other blades of Nexus Prime after her initial plan had failed. Similarly, the Liegian Darts and the other artifacts were also destroyed after throwing them into the Well of Sparks, where Primus directly dismantled them.

Initially, I wanted to give the Forge, the Apex Armor, and the Blaster to Primus as well, to have them destroyed. However, he wanted me to take them with me in hopes that they would prove to be useful on my journey.

“It is time.”

I whispered, making Shockwave nod and activate the Bridge with a mental command.

Staring at the swirling portal made of multicolored lights, I took a deep breath again.

“Alright. See you kids around. Hopefully, you won’t wreck Cybertron again while I am gone.”

My last morbid joke at least made my friends smile, which was enough for me.

With a nod, I jumped into the portal with my two children.

Time to see what the multiverse holds for me.

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And so, the ancient legend of Cybertron. The Monster of Kaon left behind his reality, along with his sparklings, to explore brave new frontiers. Universes that no one had ever known about until now.

However, things can never be that simple for the last Knight of Cybertron.

For as the portal was on the verge of closing, a certain someone revealed herself from the shadows and dashed into the vortex, disappearing with the trio that had gone through before anyone could stop her.

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Author Notes:

So, this is it. The end of Book 1, with nearly 130K words. This is the longest fic I have ever written aside from my original work. It also happens to be the only fic I've managed to complete to date.

After this, I will take a break for a week, during which I will start working on Book 2 as well as the Satisfactory SI, which won the vote that I put up last time.

I must say, if it were not for all of you guys' support, which allowed me to stop working two jobs at once, thanks to the Patreon support, which gave me the time to write, I would never have reached this point, period.

So, thanks for all the support you guys gave me (including those who have unsubscribed due to their personal reasons)

See you guys next week!