this town belongs to OVERLORD - A Transformers Murder Mystery Wild West AU

dedication.

"What?" I breathed. "Who?"

"It's Swerve," Overlord replied.

"Swerve? The Swerve? Please explain."

"Okay. If I'm right, then no one is in danger right now. All of this has to do with me seeking a companion. I started searching for a 'princess' about a year ago, and I obviously didn't have much luck. I haven't had much romance in my life before now, and I just wanted to try it out for a change. You came along and I was sure I had found the one. Now, Swerve is an unusual character. He seems giddy and innocent, but he is always breathing down my neck, asking how he can help me. Hell, I told him one time to throw himself in a river to 'help me' just to see if he would do it. And behold, we had to fish out the little bastard.

"I became hooked on you quickly, and knowing Swerve, he must have noticed that. When Magnus and the others came along, he set out to do everything in his power to make sure our relationship continued. He wanted to make sure that me, not you or anyone else, was happy and appeased. My best guess why Magnus was targeted was because of his similar appearance to mine. Swerve assumed that you were shallow, and someone else who was blue and broad shouldered and had horns would compete with me. He assumed, and that's what cost Magnus his life.

"Megatron? Well, that's simple. You told me in the bar as a tease that you though Megatron 'had a nice face'. Someone must have overheard, and what did Swerve and Starscream do?"

"Took his face off." I felt a chill dance up my back strut. "This is freaky but it makes sense."

"I know. I kinda hope my guesses aren't right. Now Red Alert's passing also has a clear explanation. His imprinting took away my focus from you. He was always at my side, and Swerve knew that would get to me eventually. I didn't mind caring for him, but I did want alone time with you. Well, to make sure it never happened again, Swerve..."

Overlord pressed Red Alert back up to his chest, and fat tear drops trickled down his cheeks. He trembled a tad before opening his large mouth, letting out an excruciatingly loud shriek. I whipped my head around as I heard distant, confused chatter, and the glow of swinging lamps started to hauntingly float towards the building. Rapid knocks overlaid my lover's powerful screams, and I got up quickly to answer the door.

Swerve.

Swerve was standing before me, his arm extended through the thick, outdoor darkness, his lamp clasped in his fist. "What's the matter?"

Ratchet and Cliffjumper were standing with him as well, their blue eyes flicking this way and that, trying to see through the doorway and discover what the commotion was all about.

"Oh, you would know." I let the door swing completely open, revealing the crumpled mess that Overlord had been reduced to as he wailed over the lifeless body of Red Alert.

Swerve's jaw dropped, and he gingerly entered the living room, his back hunched. "Reddie...?"

Overlord, startled by the sound of the perpetrator's voice, stood up quickly, his grand form dwarfing Swerve. "You."

Swerve pointed to his chest. "Me?"

"You did it! You killed everyone!"

"Why would I kill anyone?"

Overlord clenched his fists before viciously landing a blow to Swerve's fragile head. His skull popped on contact, sending a glowing rain of energon across the room. I shrieked as the violence unfolded.

"Overlord!" I screamed.

Swerve promptly fell dead to the ground, his jaw lax and optics glazed as he stared emptily at the rafters. His foot twitched a tad as if he was preparing to dodge away one last time, and Overlord stood over the tiny body. We all fell silent, pondering about the next step the town's leader was about to take, and I jumped as I heard someone running towards us.

Trailcutter was raising a radio above his head, a broad smile on his pudgy face. "Guys, guys! I figured out who it is! Well, was!" He skidded to a halt before us, oblivious to the disaster within the building, and turned up the radio.

"...and Prowl, the mayor of the town of Reflek, has brought a serial killer to justice. The killer was taken into custody about an hour ago, and after brief questioning, the perpetrator, who was visiting towns under the title of "vibration monk", has been confirmed to be the killer in the towns of Yesteryear, Undrie, and Ingine. The criminal, Tarn, has been secretly killing three people in each of the towns he visits. The reasoning still remains unknown, and Prowl took the faux monk into his care after he fell ill in a nearby town that didn't have the necessary medical care. The monk appears to have returned to the town to claim his ritual third victim, and he came back to Prowl's town, covered in the energon of his victim. Now, authorities..."

Trailcutter looked up from his radio, smiling away, before glancing into the house. His lighthearted expression dissipated as he viewed the horror within. "Did...did Tarn get two?"

Overlord looked to me, unsure of what to do, before slowly striding towards the stairs, his shoulders loose and heart broken.

The End.