The City: IACON
[20 Days After Megatron's Appearance]
Megatron's popularity exploded in a meteoric rise, his imposing image a symbol of resistance against corruption, motivating thousands of bots every day, as if it were a religious sect willing to obey whatever its leader commanded.
Megatron dedicated himself to his ideological cause, knowing that he now had the power and ability to challenge the government. He never backed down, only anticipating and reinforcing his beliefs. With each public speech he made, his strength and oratorical skills grew, allowing him to more easily capture everyone's attention, especially the younger and more stubborn bots.
Megatron began deliberately making his speeches in areas of great historical value to Cybertron, such as museums and galleries, or even large public squares, in order to put even more pressure on the government, with thousands of followers accompanying him and chanting his name as if he were already the true leader of Cybertron.
As much as Megatron's rise to a position of political recognition has made many bots happy, there was one bot that was worried, none other than Orion Pax, who noticed that his friend and brother was growing more distant, completely immersed in this mission as if it were the last thing in his life.
Orion walked toward the library and couldn't help but notice that many of the walls had been graffitied with Megatron's quotes, which looked more like vandalism than a transmission of his ideological message.
Orion Pax was not angry or jealous or had any other negative feelings towards his brother, on the contrary, he was happy to see his dreams come true, but he was worried about how people would react to his influence, he knew how charismatic his brother was, so he knew very well that many people would place great expectations on his shoulders, a mental burden that must be much worse than the pressure of fighting for his life in the arenas of Kaon.
"Orion! What are you doing here?" Elita-1 said, surprised to see Orion outside the library, she quickly approached to greet him. "It's been a few days since we last met, how are you?"
"Elita? I thought you were staying in Harmonex City for a few days." Orion was surprised, as he knew Elita loved that city, as it was considered the birthplace of art and music, a city built for general entertainment.
"That was the plan, but it's a little complicated to stay there for the last few days..." Elita-1 whispered, disappointed to find the city full of Megatron's fanatical followers, who were vandalizing everything, especially the harmonic audio system used to broadcast his speeches.
Elita-1 had reason to return to IACON to see a certain unusual friend she had made a few decades ago. However, her plan was not to return to that city so soon, but with so many cities in disarray due to Megatron's speeches, even a simple walk would be enough to give her a migraine for hours.
Orion Pax knew how Elita-1 acted when she was irritated or uncomfortable, usually not mentioning a certain subject to avoid starting a fight, a side she had when she respected someone but didn't want to fight because of opposing opinions. "Let me guess, Harmonex has become a political stage." Orion suggested, seeing Elita-1's eyes reflect the discomfort she felt, confirming his suspicion. "I'm not judging, you're one of the few people who actually knows how D suffered. I admit this is getting out of hand."
Elita-1 looks at Orion, seeing how he has those worried eyes and fear for the future, a look she doesn't particularly like to see in him. "What are we going to do? Megatron is encouraging people to riot, at this rate someone is going to get hurt."
"I understand Elita, I know very well what's going on... I heard rumors that there were some disagreements between D's followers and some of the Autobots of the Royal Guard." Orion understood very well what Elita was trying to say, his brother's actions were causing great friction on both sides, and soon many things could get out of control.
"Megatron needs to be warned about this, you need to talk to him to prevent someone from dying because of this." Elita-1 said, not as an order, but expressing the heavy feeling in her Spark that warned that this revolution could quickly change course.
Orion stopped walking, causing Elita to take a few steps forward until she noticed that he was standing still, caught up in his thoughts. "He's slowly changing... Since he broke free, I feel like he's become a little more distant and stubborn, as if he's obsessed with this revolution. He's more ruthless, he's not like that, it's not like him to be reckless."
"Uniting Cybertron is an impossible task, don't get me wrong, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that Megatron is not a leader I want to follow." Elita-1 confessed, but quickly regretted it. "Sorry... I respect D, but..."
"No need to apologize, I understand better than anyone that uniting Cybertron is a difficult task. The only time it was possible was during the era of the Thirteen Primes, as each Prime represented a portion of the population, making internal conflicts non-existent before the war against the Quintessons." Orion explained, letting his historical archivist side dominate his instincts for a moment. "Our race has many unique aspects, no one political side or faction can satisfy everyone's demands."
Elita-1 smiled, relieved that Orion had always been mature when it came to understanding the sides of people. "Sometimes I forget that you're a genius, but what is Megatron trying to do?" She genuinely asked Orion, the bot she trusted the most. She knew that Megatron was not a reckless bot by nature, he was someone who was calculating when he was in Kaon's arena, so this more reckless personality didn't make sense.
"D is completely appealing to the side of our society that is most victimized, he wants everyone to put their faith in him and their hatred towards the High Council and his followers." Orion explained, knowing it was both effective and dangerous and reckless.
Elita-1 observed and rationalized the situation, understanding that something was missing in all of this. "But this is not enough, even if he succeeds in overthrowing the government in this way, he could suffer a coup d'état in the same way, leading to an eternal cycle of the rise and fall of governments."
Orion sighed, an idea came to him and he finally understood the reason why his brother had been so reckless during this time. "I was a fool, now I understand what D wants." He looked at Elita-1 who was waiting for his solution. "He wants the Matrix of Leadership, with the power of a Prime, he can lead Cybertron unchallenged."
Elita opened her eyes wide, feeling a chill at the thought of Megatron having such mystical power. "According to the laws, one can only become a Prime when the High Council allows a Cybertronian to have access to that power, but that is not possible because Megatron has made no effort to dilute his intentions of removing them from their positions."
"That's why he invests in speeches that encourage more pressure from the people against the government, because if the people choose him as their only ally, then not even the High Council can challenge him," Orion said, now having a glimpse of his brother's plan. He had a lot of faith in D-16, but was a little disappointed that he had used the people's hatred to gain such legendary power.
"Orion... this could mean war, not just a bar fight, a real war." Elita-1 clenched her fists for the first time, afraid of such a thing. "Do you think Megatron can pressure the government into giving him the Matrix of Leadership?"
"To be honest, Elita, if we haven't had a Prime since the Thirteen disappeared, I don't think it's because of the High Council." Orion admitted, which really surprised Elita.
"What do you mean?" Elita-1 asked, noticing that Orion was more serious than usual.
"The reason we've never had a Prime is for three reasons. The first is that the High Council doesn't want to lose control and influence over Cybertron." Orion began to walk toward the library, Elita following close behind to hear his words. "Second, I believe no one has been worthy of such power in all this time."
"What would be the third factor?" Elita-1 looked at Orion, even more curious about her friend's reasoning. Her eyes captured his every expression, becoming even more intrigued by him.
"If the High Council could really decide who should hold power from the Matrix of Leadership, why wouldn't they use it for themselves?" Orion glanced at Elita, and a few seconds later, she had an understanding of his words.
"They cannot decide who is worthy of this power, nor can they use it for their own purposes, which means they... by Allspark." Elita opened her eyes wide, feeling stunned by the revelation.
"They don't have the Matrix of Leadership in their possession, they probably don't even know where it is." Orion explained, making Elita finally realize how naive she had been all along.
"Information like that could change everything or... create chaos." Elita stopped walking and looked at Orion, she was impressed by him. She had just realized that Orion had known this for a long time by the way he said it, as if it was a heavy burden he carried with him, the pure truth, because information like this was more than enough to start a planet-wide war. "If you know this, why are you telling me?"
"I trust you more than D." Orion admitted, making Elita blush. "D is a brother to me, but the way he is, I can't give him this information, or he might make his speeches much more aggressive and direct. I know it's selfish, but this information could kill thousands of Cybertronians, maybe millions. We cannot create a new Cybertron by repeating the same mistakes of the past, building a new phase of our history in a pool of blood, it will only lead to eternal repetition until someone breaks the cycle."
Elita admired Orion the most, not only for his kindness, but for the way he expressed his hopes and dreams to her. It was easy to feel how much Orion cared for D-16, but he didn't blind himself and ignore his brother's mistakes. Someone so sensitive to the future was quite rare, for anyone could use that kind of information to gain political advantage, but not him.
"I have to talk to D, I can't let him be the trigger for an outbreak of war. He wants to fight for Cybertron, I know his intentions are sincere, but he'll destroy himself at this rate." Orion confessed, determined to help his brother see how the situation was escalating in an undesirable direction. "He can defeat the High Council without resorting to more drastic measures."
"Do you intend to tell him the truth at some point?" Elita-1 asked, knowing how much Orion trusted Megatron.
"Power cannot be earned, must be deserved. He, I or you have no way of knowing what it takes to deserve such power, perhaps a new Prime will never be born on Cybertron. If we hold on to hate, if we allow ourselves to see only one path, we will be blind to a peaceful future." Orion looked at Elita and then at the city, seeing the sun on the horizon. "I will fight for the future, so that we can look back and be proud of what we have done. I know it's naive, but I've learned that hope is what makes us who we are, that we are destined to choose our own path, and I choose the path of peace."
Elita-1 listened to Orion Pax in silence, admiring his goodness, someone who, without realizing it, is willing to carry the faith of many on his back alone. For a moment she saw how Orion seemed much larger than he was, as if his shadow before the sun was that of someone greater, representing his great heart.
"Pax, I want to show you a special place." Elita-1 took Orion's hand and dragged him to a special place she loved to visit that was off-limits but would be a great surprise to Orion.
"Where are we going?" Orion asked, surprised by Elita's change of mood.
"Trust me, you'll love it." Elita-1 smiled, allowing Orion to be dazzled by her beauty for a moment. "But... you have to trust me."