The Monster of Kaon (Transformers Si): Chapter 51

“Hm, this confirms it. Their sparks were devoured long ago, leaving behind empty husks for the worm to puppet.”

“I still can’t believe that Sentinel is still alive in such a disgraceful way.”

“Was alive. I concur with Maximus’s theory based on the data that you and your crew gathered. I think Sentinel is now well and truly dead.”

Tarn looked up from the datapad, looking at his old mentor, Shockwave, as the mono-optic bot continued digging through the internals of Scorponok’s body, carelessly dissecting away unnecessary parts and throwing them toward a corner where what remained of Prowl, Sixshot, and Thunderblast after the scientist was done with their bodies were thrown aside like trash.

Based on what Maximus had told them about his theory, Tarn had wasted no time in using their newly developed scanner to scan every single bot in their group, just to be sure that they too were not infected with the damned worms.

Thankfully, aside from the spark chamber of Sunder, which was still kept within stasis aboard the Peace Seeker until then, and was promptly destroyed by Dominus, killing the psycho in the process, nobody else was infected with the worm.

“I still think we should implement some kind of protocol to scan every incoming bot after Cybertron is revived, just in case.”

“Agreed. It would not be unreasonable to be safe than sorry. Incidentally, how are the younglings doing?”

“….Much better than before. Especially after that young femme, Windblade, woke up and started chatting with the crew.”

Shockwave simply nodded and got back to work.

He had known that exposing the younglings to the horrors that his generation had committed and witnessed would be too much for them, but he had not imagined the extent of the reaction that he had witnessed.

While the majority were completely fine with the show of brutality that Maximus and the Titans had committed on Iaconus, the younger ones, such as the Vehicons, and the minicon called Nickel, had been terrified at what they had witnessed, making it nearly impossible for them to look the older bot in the eye after that.

Thankfully, it did not take long for them to slowly overcome their fear after Tarn got around to telling them about the brutality of Cybertron before the Ascenticon faction’s birth, which was then succeeded by Shockwave’s narration of the horrors that took place during the Quintesson war.

But still, the younger bots were still quite unsettled, which was why Tarn decided to let Windblade roam his ship uninhibited, so that the cheerful youngling could bring the others of her age group out of their funk.

“I still don’t understand why the younger ones are so afraid of Maximus. Compared to the others in the Ascenticons back then, he was the last one to engage in violence, and when he did, it was always clean and quick.”

Shockwave simply hummed at the question before he stopped working and finally sat down.

“I believe it has to do with Maximus’s own way of doing things that terrifies them.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Maximus does not like violence. However, he also knows that many times, violence is a necessary act to get the point across. To that end, he always falls back on his practicality during a fight in order to quickly and efficiently end said fight. He does this by suppressing his emotional matrix, leaving behind a cold and calculating mind that only knows the most efficient ways to dismantle a Cybertronian.”

“To him, and to the majority of us, such a way of fighting and thinking is a valuable asset. But to the younger bots who have yet to witness the true horrors of an existential war, such a paradoxical existence, a bot who was laughing with you warmly just a few seconds ago, only to turn around and coldly slaughter his enemy in the most painful way possible, would terrify them to a great extent.”

Tarn fell silent at those words, contemplating them before nodding reluctantly in agreement.

“True. While the Civil War was a damaging conflict that rendered our world sterile, it was not really an existential war, given the very low body count on both sides of the war and how they tried to keep casualties on the down low most of the time. Compared to how thousands died on a daily basis during the Quintesson War, based on historical records, the younglings really do not have a proper frame of reference for what a war really is.”

Shockwave nodded at those words, knowing that his old student had grasped the essence of his answer.

“Correct. Hopefully, once all of this is over, and if Maximus is willing, maybe we can avoid the younglings ever having to learn the extent of a true war. That being said, I think you have lurked in the darkness long enough, Airachnid.”

Tarn would have jumped in surprise when the spider bot fell from the roof, from within one of the vents, if it were not for the fact that his power had long since alerted him to her existence in the vicinity.

The arachnoid held a neutral look as she gave a small nod towards Shockwave, who did not respond to it, unlike Tarn, who gave her a heated glare.

If it were up to him, Tarn would have locked this traitor within a prison made of Ununtrium, locked away for all eternity.

Unfortunately, Shockwave and Silverbolt still saw some use within the arachnoid, something that Tarn vehemently opposed but could do nothing about since he was outvoted and outranked by both the older bots.

But still, Shockwave and Silverbolt were not so willing to trust Airachnid with full freedom. That was why they had implemented many fail-safes within her body, including a tracker that would tell them her location at all times.

Something that the arachnoid did not object to for strange reason, except for the tracker, which she had no knowledge of since it was implemented when she was in stasis.

Tarn continued glaring at the bot that he once called a comrade and spoke with a barely civil tone.

“What are you doing here? Did I not order you to stay within the medbay and out of sight until Maximus left for Earth?”

“….I have only come out after knowing that he has left for Cybertron’s core and that we are to guard Cybertron’s orbit from any possible threat. I thought you might appreciate another set of hands to work with.”

Tarn simply sneered at his prisoner.

“And I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you wish to watch Maximus revive Cybertron with your own optics, despite your cowardice not allowing you to face him head-on and pay for your crimes when he is here.”

“….I do not believe it is cowardice that guides her actions, am I right?”

Airachnid refused to meet the mono-optic of the bot that once nursed her back to health alongside Knockout after Maximus saved her from the Institute.

Her silence was answer enough for the old bot, who continued staring at her.

“I think you feel guilty for what you did to his beloved organization. For what you did after you became a Decepticon, for what you did during your exile across the universe. For how you went against everything that your savior ever stood for and became a monster.”

“….That was because of Sentinel-“

“Do not blame it on the parasites, Airachnid. You and I both know that he could not have taken full control of your body unless your spark was extinguished for some reason or extracted out of your body, neither of which happened to you. And yes, while it can have some compulsive effects because of Exarchon’s ability that Sentinel stole, if your will was strong enough, you could have ignored said compulsion long enough to either offline yourself, or put yourself in stasis.”

“This means that everything that you did, you did with a sound mind. Just like I did everything I did knowing what I was doing.”

“Face it, Airachnid. You and I, we are monsters that do not deserve the mercy given to us.”

The arachnoid did not reply to the accusations, for she knew them to be true.

So, she could only stay silent and then leave the room, heading straight for the medbay where her containment chamber was located.

It was only when his power could no longer track her, indicating that she was gone, that Tarn looked away and towards his old mentor.

“Shockwave, are you truly certain that Maximus will not flip out when he learns that Airachnid is with us?”

“…I suspect he already knows. Nothing could hide from his powers even before he got his recent upgrades. If I were to guess, I would say he does not believe himself to be ready to face her yet.”

“During his days as Armorbite, there was one defining trait of his that everyone knew about. His unstable temper, which flared at the slightest provocation. Angry at everyone and everything around him for some obscure reason that he never spoke about. In those early days, he truly felt nothing but disgust for everything, even his fellow bots. The only reason he turned on the Quintessons as he did was because his hatred for the Quintessons was far greater than his disgust for Cybertron.”

“However, as the Ancients would say, with age comes wisdom. And as time went by, he became what you and the others came to know him as. An old and wise bot that had seen everything that our species, and the known universe, had to offer and learned to control himself, to become better, to keep evolving.”

Shockwave looked out of the viewport, down towards Cybertron.

“That being said, I don’t know if his self-control will last when he faces Airachnid, given her role in the downfall of the original Ascenticons. I think that is why he chose not to face her right now.”

Tarn simply nodded at those words, knowing that Shockwave was probably the only bot alive aside from Ratchet of the Autobots who knew Maximus better than anyone else, as they were from the same generation.

But, there was once a question that he wanted an answer to desperately.

“Will Maximus forgive her? Despite all the damage she has done?”

Shockwave could not help but laugh, startling Tarn with how expressive the partially shadowplayed bot was being recently.

“Forgive her? I don’t think she can forgive herself for what she has done, much less Maximus.”

“No. Maximus will never forgive her, just like he will never forgive me. But, I think he will still keep things civil and let her go on the condition that she now serve Cybertron loyally. If not for their old friendship, then purely for logical reasons like he did with me.”

With those words, Shockwave gave a meaningful glance at the door before turning back to the viewport.

The two bots fell silent as they watched through the viewports, each lost in their own minds.

Just like the arachnoid who silently left from her hiding position near the door, her mind a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts.