Disclaimer: I only own this version of Flame, and even then only if reimaginings count as OCs. Marvel UK owns the original, and Hasbro owns the Transformers brand.

High in the sky, aboard the Decepticon warship known as the Nemesis, Soundwave detected a strange signal. A diagram of the signal appeared on his face, thus announcing his discovery to his one and only leader, Megatron.

"What is that, Soundwave?" Megatron said as he looked...and stared in disbelief.

"Dark Energon? And active as well? Impossible! All the Dark Energon from the planet's core was extracted by us, and that which wasn't disappeared after Unicron returned to his slumber! Where could it come from?"

In an odd form of response, Soundwave zoomed in on the signal...and compared it to Megatron's own energy signature.

"...And it's inside someone?" Megatron asked in growing bewilderment. "It may be Starscream, trying once again to usurp my power. Set course for this signal!"

"YES, LORD MEGATRON!" the entire ship echoed, and the Vehicons at the controls set to work.

The Nemesis changed course, and began flying straight toward the new signal.

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"GAAAAAAHHHHhhh...Auhhhhh... Unh...Ng..." Flame convulsed in pain, clutching his sides as this strange new sensation coursed uncomfortably throughout his entire system...

"...Are..you alright?" asked a shocked Ratchet.

"...alright? Not really..." Flame said, somewhat weakly... "...But it's all worth it!"

(worth it...worth the pain...)

And with that, Flame turned to face his friends, and they all saw: Where once his eyes shone with Autobot blue, there was now a soft purple glow! A purple mist surrounded him and contrasted with his fire-inspired bodywork, rising up from all the gaps in his armor, under which thin violet lines coursed all over.

They had all seen this look before, even Miko; on Megatron's body. "How is it 'worth it'?" Arcee asked.

"How? Look over there, at those readings!" said Flame as he pointed to a set of instruments...on the screens of which numbers were flashing in apparently random patterns!

"I've got thousands of probes within my body, to capture everything the Dark Energon does to me, and to the other subjects as well! Everything will be captured and analyzed!"

(for the grand design...the great experiment...you will soon know everything...)

"What other subjects?" asked Ratchet.

"You'll see..." Flame said. The Autobots quickly realized what he meant, and gasped in horror...but Flame didn't hear.

Flame opened up the container on his other arm, and pulled out another shard of Dark Energon. Then, he reached over for a nearby device: "This will prevent the Dark Energon from interfering with the rest of the soil..."

(a redundant procedure...you are in control...you know what you're doing...)

"On second thought," Flame said, "I don't even need that." And so Flame walked away from the device, confusing the Autobots.

"Whatever happened to 'do no harm?'" Arcee asked quietly, bringing even more concern to everyone's mind.

(what do they know...they know nothing of science...)

Flame went on without reacting to her at all. He raised the Dark Energon shard above his head, and then jammed it into the ground!

(now call them forth...the heralds of the new age...)

"It's done. I believe what they say is...ARISE!"

The Autobots braced themselves as the ground exploded in a shower of green and brown, as thirteen or so Decepticon corpses of various levels of decay pulled themselves up, moaning and groaning the howls of the Terrorcons. Jaws and claws snarled, spewing flecks of Dark Energon from exposed faceplates.

And all while Flame looked on, as the purple mist of Dark Energon ignited into what looked like violet flames.

(this is symbiosis...you are in control...you decide the future...)

"Ahhh...So, this is 'symbiosis'...it feels like I'm standing where they are! Let's see..."

Suddenly, the Terrorcons lunged for Flame, causing everyone to shout something along the lines of 'Look out!'...before the Terrorocons stopped just in front of Flame, and all bowed down to him.

"No need to worry about me!" Flame laughed. "I commanded them to do that! They all obey my mental commands!"

(in command...getting what you want...nobody stopping you...)

"...that's all very well and good, Flame, but don't get carried away! You're here to do an experiment-"

"That's taking care of itself, Ratchet! I have various monitoring devices in all the Terrorcons, transmitting their findings directly to the database as we speak!"

A quick glance at the nearby computer screens confirmed Flame's allegations.

"Right..." said Miko uneasily; Flame was beginning to frighten even her now. "It's all for the science...right?"

"Speaking of which..." said Flame as he turned back towards the zombies, "Let's record the reaction to verbal commands...Forward!...Return!...Dig!...Stop!"

The Terrorcons obeyed all of Flame's instructions, and Flame's glee grew with each one obeyed. "There...the data has been gathered...we can analyze it when we return..."

(success...don't forget the Terrorcons...birthed through your genius...)

"...Although..." Flame said just before Ratchet could call the Groundbridge... "What shall we do with these Terrorcons?"

"I say have 'em waste each other, and throw 'em in a volcano!" said Bulkhead.

"Waste of opportunity, wouldn't you agree?" said Flame, once again concerning the Autobots...

(they are there...the fruits of your labor...they should be used...)

"What possible use could we have for those things?" asked Optimus Prime.

Instead of discouraging him, though, Flame seemed more encouraged than ever! "Well...you could find a use for them, Optimus! Think about it...with a few of these on your side, Megatron wouldn't stand a chance! The Decepticon menace would finally be ended!"

If they weren't before, now the Autobots were well and truly horrified; Flame was suggesting they use the dead against the Decepticons? And if that wasn't enough, this was a scientist suggesting these abominations be used – someone whose purpose it is to better life, not ruin it! And their impressions of Flame from before told them that he understood at least that!

Before Optimus could raise an objection, Flame continued: "Then, we can focus all our attention on restoring Cybertron! With my research, our progress will accelerate, until the Autobots are the most advanced race in all the universe! AND ALL WILL PAY HOMAGE TO FLAME, THE AUTOBOT WHO PAVED THE WAY FOR THE NEW GOLDEN AGE! AH-HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

(the glory...the glory you deserve...the glory you were denied...it will be yours at last...)

Optimus saw Flame's cackling...and in it, he saw memories of Megatron, and lofty ideals corrupted into pure glory-seeking, just like before the war. It shocked him to his core, once again seeing a once-noble Spark turned to evil. For he knew that this was evil.

"Optimus...what's going on?" asked Miko, her voice shaking with true fear...

...and Optimus answered: "If Flame wasn't insane before, he certainly is now. The Dark Energon is stripping away every ounce of morals he once held, leaving only pride and greed. Soon, the mad scientist will be all that remains."

"...That's...that's not him! Flame's supposed to be caring! He's supposed to be..."

"Yes, Miko. I know. That is why I shall give him a chance to stand down. Extract the Dark Energon before all of him is lost."

The Autobot leader then stepped forward, and with all the authority he could pour into his voice, shouted: "FLAME! I'M CALLING OFF THE EXPERIMENT IMMEDIATELY! YOU ARE TO BE SUBJECT TO A PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION, AND UNTIL YOU PASS, YOUR WORK CANNOT CONTINUE!"

"WHAT?!" Flame shouted back; "How DARE you halt the most important work in Autobot history? You have no right!"

(he will not listen...he is not you...he is the Prime, and does not share your genius...)

"Flame, I beg you...you are becoming insane..."

(See? He rejects you...all who reject you should pay...pay with their lives...)

"No..." Flame growled, the purple flames around him becoming even more violent... "It's you! You're just like the high council – out to ruin me...out to destroy progress! You are unworthy of your title..."

(Kill him...Kill him and all his followers...Destroy the flawed Prime...)

(Kill...Kill...)

(KILL THEM! DESTROY THE PRIME!)

"TERRORCONS! ATTACK! DESTROY THEM ALL!"

The Terrorcons stirred, and turned towards the Autobots...and Miko, for once in her thrill-seeking life, screamed in genuine fear: "AAAIIIIYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Optimus reacted before the zombies: he punched Flame in the face, then used his disorientation to throw him into the mass of Terrorcons.

"Bumblebee!" he ordered, "Get Miko to safety! The rest of you, prepare for battle!"

Bumblebee scooped her up, transformed into his sports-car mode, and drove off into the woods. The other Autobots drew blasters and melee weapons.

"Remember!" Optimus shouted, "Immobilize them! And pull back if the Dark Energon starts to weaken you!"

No sooner did the Autobots acknowledge their leader's advice, then thirteen metal zombies leaped upon them, and the battle began.

Bulkhead's wrecking balls smashed and smashed, knocking the Terrorcons away, but they just sprang back again. When he got one cornered however, he pummeled it until all its joints refused to move. Arcee used her arm-blades to slice the limbs off of her opponents, as did Ratchet and Optimus.

In a short while, seven of the zombies had been immobilized, and the Autobots were ready to finish the remaining six, then move on to Flame...

...when Flame suddenly shouted: "Don't think this is over, Prime! I have more corpses on my ship, saved for the repetitions of this experiment! They will now find perfect use as your executioners!"

And with that, Flame pressed a button on his arm...and his spaceship flew overhead, guided by remote control! It turned upside down, and dumped its payload of corpses onto the ground next to Flame, who focused his attention on the shard of Dark Energon below them. The energies poured out of the ground, and animated the thirty-plus Terrorcons!

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Meanwhile, up in the sky, the Nemesis had just appeared overhead, and was viewing the scene:

What they saw was Optimus Prime and his Autobots surrounded by attacking undead Vehicons, chopping them to pieces in a desperate battle...and observing then whole thing was that red, orange, and yellow Autobot that interfered with the acquisition of the enriched Energon from Chernobyl!

"That's the Autobot, Lord Megatron!" said Knock Out as he pointed towards the screen.

"I remember him, Knock Out...Flame, at last you reveal your true colors." Megatron said, partially to himself. "Intelligent and cunning, but ruthless and callous. Don't care who gets in your way, you'll get the science done."

"Wait...Lord Megatron, please tell me you're not thinking of recruiting that guy!" Knock Out said, worried for his position.

"No, Knock Out, Flame's too dedicated to be an asset. In fact, he's much more of a liability... Aim the guns, and wipe out them all."

The Vehicons obeyed, and readied the Nemesis' onboard cannons to fire...

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...an act, that unfortunately was noticed by Flame, who exclaimed: "Decepticons! They cannot be allowed to interfere!" before he manipulated his spaceship's remote control again.

The ship blasted upward, slamming into the hull of the Nemesis! The Decepticons inside were knocked all over, and the Nemesis' alarms blared out the report of extensive damage, forcing the Decepticons to retreat.

Flame returned his attention to the battle with the Autobots...just in time to see Bumblebee (minus Miko, who he dropped somewhere safe) smash into the line of zombies in vehicle mode, sending a good portion of them flying. The yellow Autobot then transformed and started shooting up most of them, as they even then got up and started lunging for him.

Flame noticed that his opponents had been separated in the melee, and were now a good distance apart from each other. This gave him an idea...

Flame transformed into tank mode, and fired of several flaming projectiles into their midst. Lines of fire separated the Autobots even further, searing at the Autobots' pain receptors but leaving the Terrorcons unaffected!

…...

Bulkhead continued swinging, but the heat and the Dark Energon was beginning to get to him. Still, despite his weakness, he still managed to keep on swinging at the Terrorcons who threw themselves at him... until his weak constitution gave out, and he was forced to his knees by his weakness, allowing Terrorcons to jump on his massive frame.

Bumblebee, meanwhile, continued on punching and shooting ….except when he punched one particular Terrorcon, and it suddenly turned out it wasn't a Terrorcon at all – it was Ratchet! Flame had used his holographic projector to deceive Bumblebee and Ratchet took the full force of Bumblebee's attack! The shock put poor Bumblebee off-guard, allowing the Terrorcons to pile on and start ripping off his plates, as well as the stunned Ratchet...

…...

Arcee was busy using her natural agility and speed to outmaneuver the Terrorcons, and was doing a pretty good job with her arm-blades. Limbs and parts piled up around her, as the slow-moving zombies failed to keep up with their foe. A break appeared as most of the other Terrorcons were occupied with attacking her friends, and she began devoting some of her processor to working out how she would help them all out...

…..when suddenly, Flame's tank-mode cannon shot her point-blank with a mortar, and sent her flying...and on fire! The heat started to warp her metal plates, and disrupt her circuits...seeing nothing else to do, she jumped into a nearby river and extinguished the flames...providing the opportunity for Flame to transform, and start kicking her into the water! It went on for nearly half a minute, with Flame holding her down and smashing her over and over and over...

"STOOOOOOPP!" Flame heard a voice shout. He paused in his beatdown of the stunned Arcee, looked up...and a devious grin grew on his face...

…...

…...

Optimus Prime managed to resist the weakening effect of the Dark Energon thanks to his status as a Prime, and used this to help his fellow Autobots out of the battle zone as well as pick off the remaining Terrorcons (though it took great effort on his part). He then extinguished the flames before they got to the surrounding woods by stomping on them, and then began to look for Flame...

...who quickly made his presence known: "PRIME! SURRENDER THE MATRIX TO ME...or I squeeze."

Optimus gazed in horror at what Flame held in his hand: Miko, struggling to escape the grasp of the madman.

"Flame..." she said weakly, pleading, "Please...this isn't you! Don't you remember me? It's me, Miko! Your friend! Your-"

"I'M WAITING, PRIME!" Flame shouted, not reacting to Miko at all. She broke down into frightened tears.

Flame heard the click of a gun behind him, and Arcee saying: "Don't. You. DARE!"

"I might as well!" said Flame, turning around: "She deserves to die...You all deserve to die! And do you know why? Because you defied me! ME, the only one who matters! You are nothing! I am everything! All who oppose me deserve to be destroyed!"

Flame gazed at Arcee...

" I alone saw the potential for greatness where others saw only corruption and death! And you still speak against me, even as I am proven right! You are all worthless wastes of life! Because I am not afraid to do what everyone else fears! While you... you don't even have it in you to pull the trigger... do you?"

"Flame..." Arcee said, her gun-arm quivering...

"I'll show you! I'll do it now! SHE DIES-"

"NOOOOOO!"

Everyone suddenly looked at Optimus Prime, who sheathed his weapons and said: "Arcee, stand down. I will give Flame the Matrix."

"A wise choice." said Flame, as he released Miko; dropping her, forcing Arcee to drop down and catch her before the fall hurt her.

Then, as everyone but Flame protested, Optimus opened up his chest-compartment, revealing the sacred relic known as the Matrix of Leadership situated directly in front of his Spark chamber.

Flame strode towards Optimus while everyone looked on, powerless to interfere thanks to the order of their superior. Instead, they watched with horror as a madman shrouded in a purple aura, once a bot they thought they could trust, reached out and said: "With this, I shall have the power to decide the future! Nothing will be beyond my grasp; NOTHING! HA HA HA!"

And then he grabbed the Matrix, curled his red-plated fingers around the casing, and pulled...

….and pulled again...

….and pulled again!...

"What?" he said to himself, "What's happening? Why isn't it moving? Why...WHY CAN'T I FEEL MY HAND?!"

Flame grasped at his own hand, and tried to pull himself away...but he failed! He was still stuck inside Optimus Prime's chest-compartment! Suddenly, the purple flames that surrounded him began to flare...and then dissipate!

"WHAT'S GOING ON?! I...Can't...MOVE!" Flame shouted again, becoming worried for the first time that day. Becoming scared.

(no...no! This can't be happening! Flame was supposed to destroy him!)

Himself a little curious, Ratchet dashed over to the recorder screens Flame set up for the experiment... and shouted: "Optimus! The Dark Energon level within Flame is dropping!...And so's his regular Energon level!" Ratchet finished with a touch of worry.

"...The Matrix is reacting to the Dark Energon within him." Optimus said after a second of intropsection, "Trying to fight it, to save him...and failing."

(Curse you, disciple of Primus! Curse you...curse...you...)

Flame screamed again, and the purple in his eyes flickered on and off, fading gradually... "NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo..."

…..

Flame stood there, frozen almost like a statue... except his mouth was moving weakly, trying to make a sound.

Optimus Prime looked at him for a second...and then pried Flame's hands off of the Matrix, causing Flame to topple over onto the ground. His hands were stuck in that position, of grabbing at something, for a while. Then, with a clunk, and a sound like something breaking, they fell down to Flame's sides.

The Autobots walked up to him, unsure of what to make of this happenstance...but keeping their distance, nonetheless.

…...

"Put me down!" Miko suddenly shouted; Arcee, overcome with shock by the whole situation, found herself obeying her. Miko ran up to Flame's head, and knocked on it: "Flame! Are ya in there? Can ya hear me? Do...you remember me, Miko? The girl who liked your science?"

Almost a minute passed, and nothing happened. Miko started to worry...and then started to cry...

"...wh...Wh...What...have...I...done?" were the sounds that escaped Flame's mouth.

"You're alive!" Miko said, enthusiastically but still uneasy...

"Why?...I am a traitor...not only to you, but to my own values!..."

"AND YOU'RE YOU AGAIN!" Miko instantly hugged as much of Flame's face as she could reach.

"...Miko?...Stop that... I don't deserve it...I nearly killed you!..."

"That wasn't you! That was the Dark Energon talking, I know it! I...just know! C'mon, think...Ah! Got it: when you were all hopped up on DE, were you hearing any voices? Anyone whispering into your ear?"

Flame thought for a while, then weakly said: "...Now that I think about it... I did hear someone...I assumed it was natural...it sounded like my voice, telling me how great I was, and how insignificant you were..."

"It must have been Unicron." Optimus interjected, " Megatron said his mind was linked with Unicron's, and could hear his thoughts even when he was dormant...it stands to reason that Unicron amplified Flame's darker side as an attempt at revenge. Creating the rampage we just barely survived."

"But Megatron hardly had any change when he used Dark Energon!" mentioned Ratchet.

"Probably because there wasn't much opportunity for him to become even more evil than he already was. While Flame still had some morals to push aside."

"The darkness was already in him, but it was Unicron who brought it to the surface...what is he? A traitor, or a puppet?" asked Arcee, truly not knowing the answer.

"A fool." said Optimus Prime. "Blinded by his impending scientific success, he forgot to look before he leaped."

Flame tried to laugh, but all that came out was a gasp and a cough; "For once, Optimus...I'm willing to accept that criticism."

"No..." Ratchet exclaimed suddenly.

Everyone suddenly looked at the medic, who said: "Medical scans show his Spark's fading fast. His major Energon lines have been cut off! He's got...minutes at most!" causing everyone to gasp.

"What? How?"

"I think I can answer that.." said Flame, "When I first put the Dark Energon in my Spark chamber, its properties were changed so that my systems could function, and it converted my Energon reserves into a similar compound...but, when I touched the Matrix, the Dark Energon returned to its normal, incompatible state."

Flame coughed, prompting Ratchet to finish for him: "Now the Dark Energon's corrupting his systems and shutting them down...including his vitals."

"No! He can't die! Isn't there anything you can do, Doc?"

"The damage is too severe, Miko...it's already too late."

Miko looked at Ratchet with a sense of betrayal...and then began crying against the side of Flame's head.

"It's OK, really...I got what I sought for my whole life! I'm...more or less finished with my project! My life's work! I have gathered... the knowledge of Dark Energon... into my computer banks...and that, my legacy, cannot die."

"You need not fear, Flame; Out of respect to you, I will personally ensure the survival of your data." Optimus Prime promised the dying Autobot. "It will be placed on a portable drive, and put into storage."

"Where those...who wish to follow in my footsteps...can benefit from my wisdom, and learn from my mistakes?"

"Yes...maybe even finish the experiment that was attempted today...sometime down the line..." said Ratchet.

"And some may even delve into...the influence of Dark Energon on the mind?" Flame said with a smile.

With a gulp of sadness and uncertainty, Ratchet quivered... "Yes...some qualified people may attempt that."

"What more...could a bot of science wish for...than a legacy like that?"

Then, with some effort, Flame turned his head over to look at Miko...with eyes that were blue once again...and said: "And I'm also glad...that in my final days... I met people like you."

Flame got to see one last teary smile on Miko's face, before his eyes flickered out...and stayed out, as his Spark was finally extinguished.

…...

…...

…...

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"Took me a lot of pencil-pushing and bureaucracy to go through, but I managed to get your friend a grave. The burial will be at Area 51 at 08:00 hours Thursday, if that'll work for you."

"Thank you, Agent Fowler." Optimus said solemnly to his authoritative ally. Fowler saluted Optimus, then left back through the surface elevator.

Optimus then turned around and reviewed the scene: Bulkhead in vehicle mode, allowing Miko to cry on his seats; Ratchet sifting through Flame's computers, transferring the data to a Cybertronian external drive; Bumblebee and Arcee standing vigil over Flame's corpse, loaded on a flatbed trailer for transport.

Ratchet soon pulled Optimus over for some private talk; "Once we've dealt with the funeral, there's other stuff to take care of; First, we may need to give you a recharge, after having used the Matrix in such a way...we may need to use the enriched Energon for that. Don't worry, I've got it fully analyzed, thanks in part to our departed friend."

"Yes, Ratchet...And before you ask, I don't believe I'll be using this method against Megatron; It tried to save Flame, but there's nothing in him that Primus would find worth saving...You know, if you look at it the right way, I was one moral principle away from accepting Flame's offer to use the Terrorcons as weapons."

Ratchet didn't reply...but Arcee did: "That gives me an idea for an epitaph: He always pursued his passions...but only once lost sight of his morals."

"I'm sure he would be proud." Optimus said, meaning every word.

"Took me long enough to see the good in him." Arcee said regretfully.

"If only we were able to see things like that sooner, Arcee. If only..."

Autobot Outpost Omega-1 was silent for most of the next week.

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"Life, Death, Time, Reality...philosophers have puzzled over the meaning of these for millenia...but the answers they give are useless to the logical mind, and often contradictory. I seek the objective truth about these things. And through Dark Energon, these truths will finally be within our grasp. Nothing will ever be the same. Instead, it will be better."

"Even though it is only you, the High Council, who know of my work; I promise, when I am done, all Autobots of Cybertron will share the benefits of the new age of knowledge...and use them wisely. Thus becoming the champions of justice, peace, and freedom that Primus envisioned when he created us. Remember this day; for today, history has been made."

And with that, Flame entered the spacecraft that took him to Trypticon Station, where he would begin his work.

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THE END.

Crying yet?

This final chapter was the most based off the City of Fear arc; where Flame used an army of zombies to attack his fellow Autobots, deluded in the belief that he was right and they were wrong.

Please leave a review, and tell me what you thought!