CHAPTER 5: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE "Ok....this just took a turn for the weird," Spike said, looking dumbfounded at the talking VW Bug. "Hello?" "My name's Bumblebee," the car replied. "And you?" "Spike...Spike Witwicky. You need help...?" "Yeah. Got in a bit of an accident. I'm new here, don't really know the rules of the road," Bumblebee explained. "I saw that this is a repair shop, so I came here to see if I could get fixed up." "Well, my dad should be back soon," Spike stated. "He's the mechanic here, not me. I don't know a thing about cars." "What's a dad?" Bumblebee asked innocently. Spike recoiled a bit at the question. "It's...complicated," he said, scratching his head. "So, what are you?" "I've probably already said too much," Bumblebee grumbled. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" "I promise," Spike nodded. While Spike was distracted talking with Bumblebee, he didn't hear the sound of another car pulling into the driveway. Sparkplug was home. "Spike, are you...talking to a car?" he asked with bewilderment as he walked into the garage. Spike spun around to face his father. "I can explain!" he stammered frantically. "It talked to me! It said it's name's Bumblebee and it needs our help! Look at the left side of it, it's all banged up!" Sparkplug glanced over Spike and inspected the left side of Bumblebee. "Sure is. Must've been a head-on collision. But I'm still inclined to be skeptical of it talking." "No, it's true, I do talk," Bumblebee chimed. "I'm also not an 'it.'" "Then what are you?" both Witwickies asked simultaneously. "Maybe it's better if I just show you," Bumblebee transformed to robot mode. Standing only 12 feet tall, he was one of the shortest Autobots, but still needed to hunch over a bit in the garage. "You've got to be kidding me," Sparkplug gasped, looking up at Bumblebee with surprise.
I had the next chapter almost done... but then my computer randomly restarted and I lost it. I'll rewrite it and put it up tomorrow.
((Jeez, it's been forever since I've updated this. Sorry guys.)) CHAPTER 6: NEW ALLIES, OLD ENEMIES “So…you’re a transforming robot? Where’d you come from?” Spike asked. “Cybertron,” Bumblebee replied. “It’s a planet, really far away from here. I’m an Autobot. And we’re here to protect you planet from our enemies, the Decepticons.” “Auto-whosits and Decepti-whatsits? This is all getting really confusing,” Sparkplug muttered. “And you turn into cars and stuff to disguise yourselves?” Spike inquired. “Uhhuh,” Bumblebee nodded. “Which leaves me with a slight problem. I’ve messed up. I wasn’t supposed to let any humans see me.” The Minibot rubbed his optics. “Great. Optimus isn’t going to be happy with me for this…” “Hey, you don’t know that!” Spike interjected, trying to console him. “Who’s Optimus?” “Optimus Prime. My commander,” Bumblebee explained. “I’m sure he’ll understand once you explain,” Spike said. “And besides, we can help you protect Earth! Right, dad?” Sparkplug looked surprised. “Now, now, I never said anything about helping them!” “And how could you help us fight the Decepticons anyway? You’re really small and squishy,” Bumblebee observed. Spike shook his head. “No, I don’t mean like that! We can help you learn more about Earth!” “And I can help repair you all!” Sparkplug added. “I’m sure fixing a robot can’t be much harder than fixing a car.” Bumblebee looked at his left arm, which had been hanging limp the whole time they were talking. “You could start by taking a look at my arm. It’s all locked up from that crash.” The Autobot sat down, and showed it to Sparkplug. “Let me go grab my tools,” the elder Witwicky said. **** Meanwhile, the Decepticons were in flight over the Pacific Ocean. “Lord Megatron, are you sure that the Nemesis crashed around here? We’ve been sweeping the area for hours!” Starscream complained. “Megatron! Scanners indicate we are directly above the Nemesis!” Soundwave reported. Megatron stopped and hovered in mid-air. “Excellent, Soundwave.” He then looked at Starscream as the Air Commander and his Seekers transformed to robot mode. “I hope you’re ok with taking a little swim,” he chuckled before dropping down into the sea. Minutes later, the Decepticons had descended down to the sea floor, where their ship had rested for decades. “She sure doesn’t look like she’ll be flightworthy again anytime soon,” Thundercracker noted, examining the rusted, barnacle-encrusted hull of the Nemesis. “Whether the ship can fly isn’t important. What I care about is if the ship still has power so we can use it as a base,” Megatron replied as he attempted to force the airlock open. “Allow me, Megatron,” Soundwave swam over to his leader’s position and dusted some grime off of the hull, revealing the keypad to the airlock. He typed in the code and the door opened, albeit a bit roughly. “Thank you, Soundwave. I didn’t think of that,” Megatron remarked as he entered the airlock. “Decepticons – we have our way inside!” The Decepticons entered the wrecked ship. Megatron looked around the corridor they were now in. Left would lead them towards the bridge, right towards the rest of the ship. “Soundwave – have your cassettes inspect the engine rooms with Reflector,” he ordered. Soundwave nodded and pressed the eject button on his chest. “Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw – eject. Operation: Inspection.” The cassettes ran off with the Reflector trio in the direction of the engine room. “As for the rest of us, we’ll inspect the bridge,” Megatron stated, taking a left turn down the corridor. When they reached the bridge, where some of the Constructicons, along with Blitzwing, Astrotrain, and the Coneheads, laid inert. “Are they…dead?” Skywarp asked. “Not dead. Merely in stasis lock, as we were,” Soundwave explained. “We can repair them later,” Megatron said, stepping up to a console and checking to see if it was still active. “First, we need to get back in contact with Shockwave, to let him know we still function.” The console was in fact still active, much to Megatron’s surprise. The Decepticon leader made a mental note of how nicely Scrapper had crashed the ship, and to compliment him once he was brought back online. However, there were some complications… “The communications array is partially down,” Megatron sighed. “Soundwave, can you boost the signal?” “As you command, Megatron,” Soundwave replied, transforming to his cassette player mode and hooking into the communications systems, providing the extra boost Megatron needed to contact Cybertron. A fuzzy image of Shockwave then appeared on the console. “Megatron? Is that you?” Shockwave asked, his voice was disrupted by static due to the poor signal. “You still function!” “We had a bit of a hard landing which had us out of commission for quite some time,” Megatron explained. “Once we get back on our feet, we’ll continue our mission. Is there anything to report about the situation on Cybertron?” Shockwave straightened his posture. “Yes, Lord Megatron. During your absence, we launched a renewed offensive against the Autobots that took them completely by surprise. Their forces are scattered and in disarray. For all intents and purposes, Cybertron… is ours.” ((Now we can finally get on to the good stuff! ))
CHAPTER 7: “LET’S MAKE A DEAL.” Kharbomia. 1986. “Your excellency, they have arrived,” a guard reported as he entered the ornate office of Abdul Fakkadi, Supreme Military Commander, President-for-Life, and King of Kings of the Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Kharbomia. “They have? Good,” Fakkadi replied. His desk chair faced away from the guard, towards the window it sat in front of. “Tell them I’ll be right out to speak with them.” A few minutes later, Fakkadi walked out into the courtyard of the Presidential Palace, where his guests were waiting. “Megatron… it’s an honor to finally meet you,” he said with a nervous smile. “I’ve heard so much about you and your Decepticons. You’ve really been causing a stir for the last two years or so.” The Decepticon leader looked down at Fakkadi. “Enough with the pleasantries, Mr. Fakkadi. Let’s get down to business.” “Yes, let’s,” the Kharbomian dictator nodded as he sat down in a chair underneath a palm tree. “So, you want access to my country’s oil reserves.” “That is correct,” Megatron stated, hands on his hips. “And in exchange, you will receive protection from us.” “Yes, that sounds like a good deal to me,” Fakkadi shrugged. He then looked at the five Decepticons standing behind Megatron. “And who are they? Those aren’t the ones who usually travel with you.” “We are the Combaticons! The Decepticons’ crack commando unit!” one of the Decepticons, who was blue with two cannons on his back, declared. “And I am Onslaught, their commander!” “They’re new arrivals, shall we say,” Megatron added. “Fresh off the Space Bridge from Cybertron. I figured I’d bring them along so they could see Earth a bit. Besides, you’re going to end up being quite familiar with them.” “Indeed. Megatron has assigned us to be stationed in your country,” Onslaught explained. “Now, I shall introduce the rest of my unit. Combaticons, sound off!” he ordered with a stomp of his foot. “Brawl!” “Blast Off!” “Vortex!” “Swindle!” Kharbomia. 2015. Swindle was on the run. In 2011, during the Arab Spring, Abdul Fakkadi was overthrown, and Kharbomia quickly spiraled into a civil war between the new republican government and an Islamic extremist group known as ISK (Islamic State of Kharbomia). In this civil war, Swindle had found himself a profitable new market selling Cybertronian weapons. This was all well and good for Swindle until ISK discovered that he was selling not only to them, but to the government as well. And now ISK was hunting him using the very weapons he had sold to them. The Combaticon had taken shelter in an abandoned oil refinery. Finally, he thought, he was safe. That is, until, he felt a gun press against his head. “Swindle. You are under arrest for the illegal sale of Cybertronian weaponry in direct contravention of the Treaty of New York.” Swindle slowly looked up at the wielder of the gun. “Ultra Magnus...” he gasped. “I’m sure we can make some sort of deal…” “Not gonna happen,” Magnus scowled. He pressed his gun against Swindle’s head again. “Now get up. Hands where I can see them.” Swindle slowly rose to his feet and held his hands up. “You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not,” Magnus ordered sternly.
Not an update proper tonight, but here's a resource which will prove useful: a map of Transformer-related locations in the Earthbound world as of 2015. Red= Autobot, Purple= Decepticon, Blue= EDC, and the borders of Kharbomia are outlined in black. Autobot Outposts 1. Autobot City: Located near the town of Tranquility, CA, Autobot City was established in 2004 to be the Autobots' new base of operations for Earth. Built around Metroplex, the city can house hundreds of Autobots. It is here that Optimus Prime and much of his command staff reside. 2. The Ark: The spaceship that brought the Autobots to Earth was their headquarters from 1984 until 2004, when Autobot City was completed. Now it is primarily a museum, and is manned by a skeleton crew of Autobots. 3. Outpost Omega One: Located in the desert near the town of Jasper, NV, Outpost Omega One serves as a training ground for the Autobot forces on Earth. Notably, Omega Supreme is stationed there. 4. Autobase New York: Located underneath the formerly Decepticon-owned Dancitron nightclub in New York City, this base is under the command of Jazz. 5. Autobase Europe: Pyro and his unit of Earthborn Autobots operate out of this base in northern England. 6. Autobase Asia: Operating out of Brave Maximus in Tokyo and commanded by Metalhawk, this base is used by the Autobots to counter Decepticon operations in Asia. 7. Dinobot Island: Home to a research station which the Autobots use to study the time-displaced dinosaurs on the island. Often home to the Dinobots. Decepticon Outposts: The Decepticons have few permanent bases on Earth. They mainly rely on constantly-moving temporary bases to avoid detection. 8. Decepticon Underwater Fortress: Built from the wreckage of the crashed Decepticon battlecruiser Nemesis, it is from here that Megatron plots his schemes for the conquest of Earth. 9. Decepticon Africa Base: Located in the remote savannas of Namibia, This base is home to Razorclaw and the Predacons. 10. Insecticon Hive: Deep in the swamps of the Mekong Delta lies the Insecticon Hive, home of (as the name implies) the Insecticons. Earth Defense Command Outposts: 11. Area 51: the headquarters of the Earth Defense Command, it is from here that General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy, former commander of the GI Joe team, works to help the Autobots defend Earth from the Decepticons. 12. EDC Los Angeles. 13. EDC Vancouver. 14. EDC Mexico City. 15. EDC Panama City. 16. EDC Rio de Janeiro. 17. EDC Buenos Aires: 18. EDC Miami. 19. EDC Washington. 20. EDC Toronto. 21. EDC London. 22. EDC Paris. 23. EDC Barcelona. 24. Large Hadron Collider: The EDC runs a joint security operation with Pyro's team here. 25. EDC Rome. 26. EDC Hamburg. 27. EDC Stockholm. 28. EDC Leningrad: The Soviet Union never collapsed in the Earthbound timeline. The Cold War ended in the 1990s, as the Americans and the Soviets put aside their differences to help found the EDC. 29. EDC Casablanca. 30. EDC Alexandria. 31. EDC Kharbomia City: The most recently established EDC base. EDC forces, including a contingent of ADHRs (Autonomous Decepticon Hunter Robots), are present in the country alongside an Autobot unit commanded by Ultra Magnus to keep an eye out for Decepticon interference in the conflict. 32. EDC Mumbai. 33. EDC New Delhi. 34. EDC Hong Kong. 35. EDC Shanghai. 36. EDC Beijing. 37. EDC Seoul. 38. EDC Kyoto. 39. EDC Sydney. 40. EDC Cape Town. 41. EDC Lagos.
"Kharbomia" Wow. Damn interesting what's happening in terms of politics though. It'll be interesting to see where Magnus takes Swindle.
If it wasn't obvious, Kharbomia and ISK are stand-ins for Iraq and ISIS. Yeah, the main thing I want to focus on in this fanfic is how the politics and culture of Earth are affected by the Autobots and Decepticons being there, since that's something that no official fiction has ever really covered.
Thanks. This will be updated eventually. I've just been busy with a mix of RPs, IRL stuff, and some other projects.
