Transformers: Prime: Web of Shadows

Chapter 4: Terror on the Moon

"By the Allspark..." one Autotrooper whispered through the comm. "It's... eating the moon."

Their scanners confirmed it — the black matter was corrosive, consuming the lunar mass at an accelerating rate.

"Burn it off," came the order.

The fleet's laser batteries ignited, streaks of red piercing the void. The beams struck the surface — but instead of dispersing, the black goo reacted. It writhed, recoiled, then launched upward.

From the moon's abyss came tendrils, vast and thrashing, composed of shadow and smoke. They lashed through space, ensnaring ships mid-flight. Metal groaned and hulls ruptured as darkness seeped through vents and airlocks, pouring into the vessels like liquid night.

Screams crackled over the comms.

"This is Autotrooper-Delta-4!" a panicked voice erupted. "We're under attack! It's— it's inside— it's—!"

"Delta-4, report!" Optimus's voice cut through the static from Cybertron's command deck. "Identify the hostile entity!"

All that answered was a shriek — the sound of metal splitting, of circuitry sizzling — and then silence.

The channel dissolved into static.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Then Orionus Prime turned to his father-in-law, his optics flickering with unease. "Something's out there," he said. "Something alive."

Optimus Prime stood tall, his silhouette framed against the shattered skyline. "Then we will face it," he said grimly.

As their ships prepared for launch, the stars themselves seemed dimmer — as though the darkness from the moon was already spreading.

"Be careful, Optimus," Elita-One warned, her tone carrying both command and worry. "You'll need to bring the Star Saber with you—just in case."

"I will," Optimus replied, his deep voice calm but heavy with foreboding.

Beside him, Orionus Prime placed a steady servo on Elita's shoulder. "Don't worry, Elita. He also has the Matrix of Leadership," he assured her. "And I have the Star Cube in my chest. Whatever this is, we'll face it together."

Ratchet snorted softly, the light in his optics flickering with unease. "Yes, but will that be enough to fight whatever is out there in space?"

Ultra Magnus's towering figure loomed in the dimly lit command bay. "I suggest you bring backup," he said in his unyielding tone. "We'll summon reinforcements from both Autobot and Decepticon allies if we can. Whatever devoured a moon won't fall easily."

Orionus inclined his head. "We appreciate that, Ultra Magnus."

Later that solar cycle, the skies above Cybertron burned with engines of blue flame as the combined fleet of Autobot and Decepticon warships broke through the planet's atmosphere.

Optimus Prime stood at the bridge of the command ship Omega Dawn, the hum of its engines a low growl beneath his feet. Orionus stood beside him, hands clasped behind his back, his optics fixed on the stars.

For hours they flew in silence—past the asteroid belts, through the wreckage fields of forgotten wars—until they reached the coordinates.

And there it was.

The missing moon hung before them, unrecognizable. Its once-silver surface was now bleeding shadow. Black smoke coiled in orbit, swallowing light from the nearby stars. The moon's crust pulsed faintly, as though something alive beat beneath it.

"It's... changed," Orionus whispered.

Ratchet's scanners chirped, the readings coming back distorted. "Primus help us... the black matter's composition doesn't match anything on record. It's organic—alive—and it's feeding."