Now that everything was over, it was time to clean up the mess. "Optimus Prime, go talk to the humans and tell them the war is over. Megatron, gather your Decepticon army and call back everyone wandering outside. And Sentinel Prime, too."
Rimuru planned to gather the Transformers scattered across Earth for various reasons. Jetfire, for example, had aged from a lack of energy and was parked at the air and space museum. In his youth, he should have been no weaker in battle than Optimus Prime and the others. Since he was closest, Rimuru would find him first.
Rimuru arrived at the museum, where the familiar Blackbird reconnaissance plane was parked. "Jetfire, stop sleeping and wake up!"
Rimuru stepped forward and poked Jetfire directly with the AllSpark. Energy spread through his body along the shell, and with his energy replenished, a completely refreshed Jetfire awoke. Rimuru told him what had happened between the Decepticons and the Autobots, and Jetfire ultimately joined the Autobots.
Rimuru brought Jetfire back to the Transformers' gathering place. His appearance surprised both sides. Clearly, Jetfire held a fairly high position among the Transformers, and his combat strength probably wasn't low either. After all, he was a little taller than Optimus Prime.
There, surrounded by a crowd, was none other than Sentinel Prime. Damn, those Decepticons were fast.
Rimuru walked into the crowd and used the AllSpark to reactivate Sentinel Prime. Sentinel Prime woke up and suddenly sprang to his feet, only for Optimus Prime and Megatron to pin him back down.
Sentinel Prime looked at everything in bewilderment. Why were the Autobots and Decepticons getting along so well? Optimus Prime and Megatron were just standing there, with no sign of a fight. How long had I slept? Was the war over? Who won?
Seeing Sentinel Prime staring blankly, unaware of what had happened, Megatron stepped forward to explain. He told him that their plan had failed-or rather, it couldn't even be called a failure, since it had never started.
Sentinel Prime was stunned when he heard that. I threw away what was left of my dignity, and now you're telling me the plan ended before it even began? Some powerful figure who came out of nowhere mediated the war between the Autobots and Decepticons? Then what was all my effort for?
After recovering, Sentinel Prime instinctively walked toward the Autobots. But when he saw them all staring at him, he realized something was wrong. He was now unwelcome on either side. He couldn't go back to the Autobots, and the Decepticons certainly wouldn't accept him. Damn it, I woke up to find myself completely alone.
Maybe I should apologize to Optimus Prime. I'm still his teacher. Surely he won't be that heartless?
Optimus Prime and the others looked at their former leader with mixed feelings. If they said he had done the right thing, he had betrayed the Autobots. But if they said he had done the wrong thing, he had acted for their home planet, Cybertron.
In the end, Optimus Prime relented. Although he couldn't completely forgive him, he wouldn't leave him to fend for himself.
"By the way, has The Fallen been dealt with? Which of you is going?" Rimuru's words immediately caught the attention of the three leaders. They silently drew their weapons, making the answer obvious.
Megatron led the way, and the three soon reached The Fallen's location. The Fallen was delighted to see Megatron return, assuming he had seized the AllSpark, but the two who followed close behind him left The Fallen speechless.
The Fallen sensed that something was wrong. "Megatron, what is going on?"
The three said nothing, simply looking at him.
"Megatron, you dare betray me!" Their demeanor made his skin crawl, and it also made him realize something.
The three exchanged a glance and drew their weapons together. Before long, The Fallen had been taken apart piece by piece. Of course, Optimus Prime delivered the finishing blow. Once they were done, they returned to Earth and brought Rimuru a souvenir: The Fallen's head.
Things were more or less settled. Everyone had been getting along peacefully and discussing bringing Cybertron over when the humans started causing trouble. Looking at the mass of troops approaching and the planes circling overhead, Rimuru wondered what they wanted.
He glanced at his own side. The Decepticons were already itching for action, as though a fight could break out at any moment. Why has Sentinel Prime pulled out his double-bladed sword too? Is he really an Autobot? Why is he as warlike as the Decepticons?
Rimuru felt a little weary. Everyone on his side was a military commander; there wasn't a single civil official among them. Gillvalis might count as half of one, but there was something a little wrong with his head.
Optimus Prime, this calls for a super leader like you. Sentinel Prime, carry on. Don't mind them.
Why don't I go myself? What kind of question is that? I know my own limits. I don't understand these subtleties at all.
Megatron and the Decepticons went over too, to see what the humans wanted. Before long, their furious roars rang out.
Rimuru watched the agitated Transformers and felt his head ache. Even the Autobots had gone on combat alert. What had happened?
Optimus Prime returned and explained what the human leaders wanted. They wanted to place restrictions on the Transformers because Transformers were dangerous to ordinary people on Earth, and effective restrictions would provide good protection for both sides...
Rimuru listened with a blank expression. To put it plainly, they wanted to control the Transformers. If they refused, the humans would intervene by force.
Watching Optimus Prime deliver the news so calmly, Rimuru thought he really was worthy of the Matrix of Leadership's recognition. What composure. Beside him, Megatron was already preparing to call the Driller to grind them to pieces.
The human army stood ready in the distance. There were quite a few little black dots in the sky too, probably their fighter jets. Damn it, are they planning to bully the decent guys?
Heh. I really am not cut out to be a civil official either.
Gillvalis, deploy the Galactrons. Start with eighty or a hundred!
Giant machines sixty-one meters tall slowly emerged from white magic circles, crowding together until they blotted out the entire sky. Some landed on the ground, causing what felt like a small earthquake.
The officials who had come to negotiate regretted it. The army behind them now gave them no sense of security whatsoever. Even the senior officials hiding in the rear fell silent. Their radar showed that some of the giant machines were already heading toward them.
What if we tried fighting them? One official tentatively made the suggestion, only to be met with a chorus of curses. Leaving everything else aside, was the way those things appeared normal? That white thing resembling a magic circle could produce giant mechs. What if it produced a giant nuclear bomb? There would be nowhere to hide.
They immediately contacted the person in charge and told him to change tactics at once. If you had this many of these things, you should have said so earlier! Look at the mess you've made.
Even Megatron came over to urge Rimuru to calm down. They could talk things over.
Rimuru looked at the negotiators, whose eyes had suddenly cleared, and couldn't help chuckling. Sure enough, force worked better than reason. Even Megatron had come over to talk him down. The jianghu wasn't all fighting and killing.
Under the "restraint" of more than a hundred Galactrons, everything began to go smoothly.
The energy pillars activated, and the shattered Cybertron was slowly transported over. Rimuru now felt he had been cheated, because the fully transported Cybertron seemed larger than it had looked in the movie. Is it just my perspective?
The system said, "I suggest you hurry and wrap Cybertron in the virtual planet. Earth is about to be torn apart by gravity, and that thing underneath seems close to waking up too."
Huh?
You mean Unicron? What do you mean, he's about to wake up? Isn't the timing wrong?
"Obviously. You transported all of Cybertron here. With a disturbance that big, Unicron was only asleep, not dead."
Damn it! Gillvalis, activate the virtual planet.
The red Virtual Planet Kuscia began enveloping Cybertron. The gravitational pull vanished, Earth stopped tearing apart, and Unicron's energy stopped rising.
Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Sentinel Prime looked at one another. What kind of being have we thrown in our lot with? You already have this technology, and you still need our help?
Gillvalis said, "Life activity detected on the planet. Recommend dispatching reconnaissance units to investigate. The virtual planet has stably enveloped the target, gravitational interference has been shielded, and Unicron's energy fluctuations have fallen below the safety threshold."
Rimuru breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away nonexistent cold sweat. He turned to the pale human officials and the tanks and armored vehicles behind them, which looked especially small, and spread his hands. "Everyone, there's no need to be nervous. This is a normal reaction."
No expression could be read on Sentinel Prime's metal face, but his clenched hands revealed his inner turmoil. He looked at his home, Cybertron, slowly being enveloped by the red virtual planet and gradually stabilizing near Earth's orbit. Then he looked at the densely packed Galactron army standing solemnly nearby. Finally, his gaze fell on Rimuru. Why does it feel like we've invited a wolf into the house?
Among the human leadership, the communications channels were filled with chaos and lingering fear. On the radar, some of the giant machines called "Galactrons" hovered above cities, while others were scattered around the battlefield, their cold metal bodies reflecting unsettling light in the sun. Not to mention the red virtual planet that had appeared out of nowhere and enveloped all of Cybertron. It was completely beyond their military understanding and technological capabilities.
Greed and ambition swiftly evaporated before the overwhelming disparity in power. Wiping away sweat, the person in charge responded through a loudspeaker in a tone as sincere as possible, even somewhat ingratiating. "Mr. Optimus Prime, and Mr. Rimuru. We fully agree with the principle of dialogue as equals! Our previous proposal was seriously ill-considered! We are withdrawing it immediately!"
"Hmph. You could have said that earlier," Megatron said disdainfully, turning to roar at his Decepticon subordinates, "All of you, quiet! See how they're being reasonable!"
He put particular emphasis on "being reasonable," prompting several Decepticons to snicker. But when they looked at the Galactrons overhead, they quickly stifled their laughter.
Rimuru watched the humans swiftly become "civilized and friendly." He felt no ripple of emotion, and even wanted to laugh.
Sure enough, one of the universe's general rules was that when you had the power to blow up the negotiating table along with the other side's home, everyone became much easier to talk to.
"Gillvalis detected signs of life energy on Cybertron. Are there still living Transformers on Cybertron?" Rimuru asked Optimus Prime curiously.
Optimus Prime was still in shock and was abruptly pulled back to himself. Megatron and Sentinel Prime also gave him questioning looks, because Optimus Prime had been the last of the three to leave Cybertron.
The question left Optimus Prime somewhat puzzled. Could new Transformers still be born on Cybertron in its current state?
"There shouldn't be any. When I left, Cybertron was practically a dead planet. Some of the remaining Transformers had also gone dormant after exhausting their energy."
Let's go up and take a look first. We're already at its doorstep anyway.
Gillvalis's cold electronic voice sounded privately in Rimuru's mind. "Warning! Continued monitoring has detected abnormal energy ripples at Earth's core, suspected to be subconscious activity from Unicron. Recommend maintaining the virtual planet's isolation of Cybertron long-term and establishing a geological and energy monitoring network for Earth."
Got it. Should I deal with Unicron while I'm at it? He can't really resist right now anyway. But what about the people on Earth? I can't digitize all of them, can I?
A great many Transformers followed Rimuru as they were digitized and transported to Cybertron. A desolate, ruined landscape greeted their eyes, so dark that even the sun couldn't illuminate it. Uh... it's blocked by the irregular protrusions on Cybertron's surface.
The white light of the transport faded, and Rimuru, the Autobots, and the Decepticons set foot on this familiar yet unfamiliar metal land. There was only deathly stillness. Rusted wreckage, collapsed spires, and dry energy conduits formed a gray post-apocalyptic scene. There wasn't even any wind, only absolute silence and omnipresent dust.
"Home..." Megatron's voice was low, with less of its usual domineering force and a trace of trembling he might not even have noticed himself. He bent down and scooped up a handful of Cybertron's dust, metal particles streaming through his fingers.
Optimus Prime's optics swept over the devastation, the weight borne by the leader seeming almost tangible. "We were away too long. War devoured everything."
Sentinel Prime remained silent, merely tightening his grip on his double-bladed sword as he warily surveyed the surroundings. The life signs Gillvalis had detected stood in stark contrast to the deathly silence before them. Where was the life?
The group began moving toward the life signs Gillvalis had detected. The Vallis Knights were also exploring, but had little to report.
As they drew closer, Rimuru found the scenery around him vaguely familiar. He had a sense of déjà vu. This palace, the shapes of these statues-isn't this the plot of Transformers 5?
As the group went inside, sure enough, a legless female robot was there, putting on airs.
"Come meet your maker. I am Quintessa, and I am your creator."
Hahaha!
Rimuru couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. When everyone looked at him, he waved a hand. "Well, just carry on. Don't mind me."
The serious atmosphere was broken. Quintessa turned and spotted Rimuru, conspicuous among the robots, and froze for a moment. Why is there a human here?
Rimuru had been a little nervous and expectant, but the moment he found Quintessa, his anticipation vanished. In the movie, she wasn't exactly a weakling, but she really wasn't very impressive. At most, she had a few tricks.
"Everyone, be careful. Don't let this thing touch you; she can control you. Whether you're a Quintesson or whatever you are, I'm dealing with you today."
Hearing Rimuru's disdainful tone and his exposing her secrets, Quintessa flew into a rage.
Blue-white lightning shot toward him. Rimuru didn't hold back, firing a bolt of Black Flame Lightning in return.
Sentinel Prime's shield blocked Quintessa's attack, while Rimuru's Black Flame Lightning struck her squarely. She had never expected the human before her to dare attack her.
Huh? Something's wrong. That attack... is he human?
Sensing something was amiss, she prepared a big attack. White lightning began to surge and energy gathered, but the sight immediately enraged the Transformers, because she was drawing energy from Cybertron.
The Transformers attacked her together, but the results seemed less than ideal. Ordinary Transformers were brought under her control by a single bolt of lightning, and Knight Transformers were guarding her around him. Although the battle looked intense, they weren't actually doing any significant damage.
What made Rimuru even more curious was which side she belonged to. Why could she control Transformers, and even control Cybertron to draw energy from Unicron? Could Quintessa, who dared call herself the goddess of life, really have something to back it up?
Watching Quintessa fight the Transformers, Rimuru felt no emotional stirrings and even wanted to laugh. Outside, I might not have many ways to deal with you. After all, your escape method really is hard to understand. But we're inside the virtual planet now, so I'll just have to capture you, mechanical girl, and make you my maid. (° ꈊ °)✧˖° Oh-ho!
"Gillvalis! Get her!"
A rumbling sounded as Galactron MK2's huge hand reached inside. The Transformers scattered at once when they saw it. The bewildered Hellfire was slapped away, and Quintessa tried to resist but was seized in its hand. Because she was so small, it almost failed to get a grip on her.
Watching Quintessa flopping around like a fish and continuously discharging electricity, Rimuru couldn't help rubbing his hands together like a fly. I might not be able to deal with Unicron, but surely I can deal with you?
"You damned human!"
"Human? The thing holding you in its hand right now isn't something humans could make."
Rimuru paced up to Quintessa, who was firmly imprisoned in Mark 2's enormous hand, and studied her with interest. Tiny electrical arcs crackled over her metal body in the aftermath of the Black Flame Lightning. Her once majestic, sacred bearing now looked somewhat bedraggled, but her electronic eyes still burned with anger and defiance.
"Let me go! You inferior machines who betrayed your creator!" Quintessa tried to gather energy, but under the absolute force of Mark 2's hand, she managed only a few muffled crackles.
"Inferior? Stealing?" Megatron let out a low, cold laugh and walked to Rimuru's side, his scarlet optics looking down at Quintessa. "Where were you when Cybertron was dying? When the ones you call your children slaughtered one another and their energy ran out, where were you, their creator? And now you come back to drain the last of our home planet's energy?"
Optimus Prime's voice was steady and deeply questioning. "The ancient legends do contain records of a creator, but those records are vague, and they do not match the control and exploitation you have displayed. Quintessa, who are you really? Why can you control Cybertron's core?"
Sentinel Prime planted his double-bladed sword in the ground and crossed his arms, his tone cold and hard. "Why waste words on her? Rimuru, what do you plan to do with this goddess?" He deliberately stressed the last word, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Rimuru rubbed his chin, his gaze passing over Quintessa as though appraising a special trophy. "Gillvalis, analyze her structure, especially how she connects to Cybertron's energy network and the principles behind that mind-control ability."
"Command confirmed. Beginning deep scan and analysis. Exceptionally ancient native Cybertronian code fragments detected within the target. They differ fundamentally from conventional Transformer AllSpark coding, but show extensive signs of later modification and forced links. Her energy extraction device has an unnatural, forcibly established connection to Cybertron's core. Mind-control frequencies recorded. Reverse analysis of a blocking solution is underway."
Gillvalis's report was cold and detailed.
When Quintessa heard "forced links" and "unnatural, forcibly established connection," her struggles noticeably faltered. She immediately unleashed an even stronger energy fluctuation, but it was suppressed again.
"Looks like you're not some naturally born god. More like an ancient programmer or a thief of access privileges?" Rimuru raised an eyebrow. "You took advantage of Cybertron's weakness to hack into the management system, create an administrator account for yourself, and make up a story about being the creator?"
"What do you know?" Quintessa finally lost her composure, her voice turning shrill. "I guided Cybertron's civilization! I gave you your forms! Without me, Cybertron would have been destroyed long ago!"
"Guided? Guided it with civil war? Gave us form through destruction?" Optimus Prime shook his head, his voice full of sorrow. "Were the suffering we endured and the deaths of countless compatriots also part of your 'guidance'?"
Megatron cut in, his tone mocking. "Then your guidance was a real failure, Lady Goddess. Look around. This is the result of your guidance: a dead planet, and these knights of yours that we subdued so easily."
At that moment, the Decepticons who had gone to explore the surrounding area reported that they had discovered a complex array of energy conduits and a console-like facility deep inside the palace. The facility's energy flowed directly toward the planet's core, and numerous ancient Cybertronian energy nodes had been forcibly activated and were in an unstable state.
"So she really was squeezing out the last of its life," Sentinel Prime snorted.
Rimuru nodded and said to Quintessa, "All right, Lady Goddess, chat time is over. You have two choices. One, cooperate with us, disconnect those energy links of yours, hand over everything about Cybertron's ancient systems, and then undergo, hmm... reeducation. Two, we forcibly uninstall them for you."
Quintessa's electronic eyes flickered, as though she were calculating rapidly. She looked at the Autobots and Decepticons eyeing her hungrily, then at the enormous Galactron MK2 above her, and finally at the red Virtual Planet Kuscia, faintly visible in the distant sky as it enveloped Cybertron. At last, the light in her eyes dimmed a little.
"It doesn't matter." Rimuru waved a hand. "Whether you're a savior or a thief of access privileges, you're our prisoner now. Gillvalis, first safely sever her unauthorized connection to Cybertron's core. Make sure it won't cause an energy backlash or activate any more hidden dangers. Then copy all her data, especially the parts about Unicron, ancient enemies, and Cybertron's secrets."
"As for you..." Rimuru gave Quintessa a seemingly innocent, harmless smile. "Considering you call yourself a guide of civilization but left your own home in this state, and even tried to attack our people, sentencing you to reform through labor isn't too much, is it? As it happens, Cybertron's reconstruction needs a technical adviser who understands the ancient systems, and Gillvalis needs help too."
Quintessa's electronic eyes went wide. "When did I agree to that? You..."
"Gillvalis, carry it out. Oh, and add a code-of-conduct protocol: she must not connect to any energy network without authorization, must not attempt to mind-control or harm our people, and must obey reasonable work orders. Give him some access privileges to the virtual planet. That's all for now."
"Command confirmed. Beginning safe separation and data transfer. Code-of-conduct protocol compiling. Compilation complete. Beginning installation in the target's core protocol layer." Gillvalis was as efficient as ever.
Oh, who said Gillvalis was no good? Gillvalis is wonderful! He's incredibly useful against mechanical lifeforms. Just virtualize it and forcibly rewrite its underlying code. As long as you're a mechanical lifeform, you're nothing but something by the roadside before him.
Feeling her underlying logical code being forcibly rewritten, Quintessa was utterly shocked. Such power was probably on the level of a creator god. She had thought she was already a manager at the top of the pyramid, only to discover that she was merely another level being managed.
"Who are you? Why has there never been any record of you?"
"Me? Just an ordinary boss passing through, who doesn't want to see decent people bullied and happens to want to find a new home for his employees."
He paused and turned back to wink at Quintessa.
"Oh, right. From now on, just call me Lord Rimuru. Reform yourself and aim for leniency, former Lady Goddess."