After the Fall

Discussion in 'Transformers Fan Fiction' started by Coffee, Mar 6, 2013.

  1. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    I've been working on this story for a while now as a way to practice my writing and so far I think things have been going well, of course the only problem is that I haven't received many suggestions or ways of improvement.

    Since this is the first story I made since I was 10(Of course I have gone over the first three chapters recently) I find that things could have been better in the earlier chapters story wise.

    Anyways my story is set after the events of Fall of Cybertron; set in its own universe and seperate from the aligned continuity. Just for more freedom.

    Also I would note that chapters may be rather long...

    Chapter 1: Nobody Blinked

    Cybertron, the home world of the Transformers, a glimmering silver orb amongst the stars, crisp blue lights shone from its crevices as moon sized skyscrapers peeked from the planet's depths. The galaxy marveled it with awe. One average day, a war broke out on the surface of the planet between two factions, the Autobots, and the Decepticons. An entire year passed. Nobody Blinked.
    Decades passed and everything went to hell. Cybertron's once silver plating had turned a sickening black with rust, its molten skyscrapers now toppled and a new musty orange light replaced its pure blue as a large chunk of the Cybertron itself could be seen slowly floating away from its source. With the planet's core shut down Cybertron's veins ran dry; its life giving properties ceased to function forcing its inhabitants to find another means of survival.

    The Solution was simple, leave the planet, and find a new home.
    Nearly thousands of miles away from Cybertron's surface were the last of its inhabitants. The Ark, a massive spaceship made to carry the rest of the Autobot army through the spacebridge portal to set off to find a new home, they hoped to leave the war and find peace, however when it came to war for the Autobots, the enemy always has the bigger guns. The Nemesis, a warship nearly 10 times the size of the Ark had intercepted them, a slaughter broke out. This is where we are now.

    A Decepticon drop ship was shot down, its crew scrambling around within, grabbing at whatever equipment they could to save themselves. The ship crashed into a pillar exploding on impact. In the middle of the Ark's port stood the defense Hub, am armored base of operations atop of the ship. Armed to the teeth with gun emplacements and heavy turrets, the hub almost immediately became a target for the Decepticons.

    'That last blast took a toll on Optimus, you want to help the time is now!'

    Ironhide slammed the speaker back down and attached himself back onto the turret.
    The barrel peeked through a small window near the top of the hub; other turrets were stationed symmetrically along the sides of the hub where other Autobots were stationed. Ironhide was a veteran, an Autobot who had fought in smaller wars before this one, the red and black bot had the scars to prove it. But despite every scar, every medal he had earned fighting in those lesser wars, none of them had prepared him for this battle, this slaughter.

    The old Autobot's flaky hands trembled, he hated this feeling, it was a feeling he hadn't had in ages. He was scared. With a pull of the trigger he resumed mowing down Decepticons from the left side of the hub to the right.
    It still wasn't enough; the Decepticons
    scavenged themselves up and continued to unload their weapons on
    the hub, each blast creating a bigger dent in its armored plating.

    'Perceptor’ he called ‘The Decepticons are about to burst through the hub’s walls, we need to find a new way to flush them out!'

    Among the Autobots scurrying around the hub trying to find a frag grenade or a rifle to hold off a Decepticon with, a meek red Autobot scientist was manually working some of the Arks Guns from a holographic computer terminal across the room. His fingers moving as quickly as his processor burned the information that was sent through.

    'My apologies Ironhide,' said the scientist calmly 'but I'm afraid that leaving our current positions to fight heavily armed Decepticons at this point in time would be considered "suicide"'

    Perceptor turned his head and spotted a trembling Autobot cough up oil. The Autobot muttered a passphrase under his breath and in mere moments, his entire upper half had self-destructed.
    Perceptor’s cold demeanor flickered as he turned back to the computer terminal.

    'It barely matters at this point of time' he said grimly

    'Why's that?' asked Ironhide who felt he already knew the answer.

    'The Ark will not stand much longer given the ongoing attack of the Decepticons; add that to the instability of the portal and the damage it may cause, our probability of survival is under-'

    'Incoming!'

    A rocket hit Ironhide's turret causing it to explode on impact. Ironhide was thrown back from the explosion, hitting hard on the floor as he landed.

    'Never mind Perceptor, I think I got the just of it.' He said weakly

    Ironhide could only here a low muffling sound in his audio receptors as he spoke; the blast appeared to have taken out his hearing.
    The damaged bot tried to get back up but his legs wouldn't allow it. He soon realized that his hearing wasn't the only thing he had lost from the explosion, he lowered his head to face where his legs were and quickly turned away, his legs weren't malfunctioning or even damaged to begin with, they were just gone, torn off from the explosion.

    He shut his optics and thought to himself, this can’t be how it all ends is it? Lying on the floor of the defense hub, slowly bleeding Energon while deaf, paralyzed, and surrounded by dead people? That is not how his last moments were supposed to be. He opened his optics and turned to where Perceptor was. Perceptor was nowhere to be seen, figures. The terminal the scientist was working on was crumpled up with a fountain of sparks pouring out of the monitor like a waterfall of light. He scanned the room for the scientist only to learn that he wasn’t the only one gone. The Autobot’s that were just moment ago running around the Hub or mounting turrets, were now either lying dead on the ground, or missing from their posts, mostly the former.

    How long were his optics shut for? He could still here some low rumbles in what was left of his crumpled audio receptors and concluded that the battle was still ongoing. As he crawled to the nearest surveillance monitor, he began to wonder how many of them were still alive, Perceptor, Warpath, Bumblebee, Optimus… he began to feel the lack of Energon affect his processor. He reached the monitor and booted up system. Several images popped up on the screen that Ironhide now realized was cracked. He was right, the battle was still ongoing, Autobots and Decepticons from all different sub groups and commando units were in forms of combat from snipers blowing off the heads of others to the brutes that tore apart the little ones with swords and hammers. Ironhide recognized some of the Autobots –both dead and alive- on the monitor, he thought of each one fondly.

    That young one, Tune-up, Tulip, he couldn’t remember the name, used him as an inspiration to fight with his fists. Now he's dead. That one got in a fight with him at Maccadam’s before the war, dead. That one bot used to make great jokes to lighten the mood and Oh! Now Tulip’s fist is being forced down his throat. Among the Autobots and Decepticons on the monitor being shot, stabbed and blown apart, he spotted Optimus. He was at the far end of the ship, right above the rear thrusters. The flaming wreckage of a Decepticon drop ship was metres away, its fumes bellowing from its source and drifting off at Cybertron.

    The Autobot leader was on his knees, standing above him was Megatron, mocking him with his mere presence alone. That brief moment, all of Ironhide’s motivation was drained away, he tried looking away but his head wouldn’t budge. He stared at the screen as the light it produced reflected off his face, while Megatron wandered over to the crashed wreckage and unhooked a nucleon shock cannon.

    Ironhide’s optic caught movement in the corner of the screen; he squinted to see a small yellow Autobot steadily crawling towards Optimus.

    Ironhide couldn’t mistake the bot for anyone else, it was Bumblebee.

    What does that kid think he’ doing? Ironhide thought to himself as the mini bot’s figure slowly moved across the screen.

    Megatron bared his canines as he aimed the shock cannon at Prime’s helm, Ironhide couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from the look on Megatron’s face he could tell that the Decepticon leader was happy about it. Prime stared down the barrel of the cannon with the same confident expression he had always used; he was ready to accept his fate.

    Just as Megatron pulled the trigger, Bumblebee put all his energy into his leg servos and leaped in front of Optimus. The nucleon blast struck Bumblebee’s chest tearing a deep dark hole into his spark casing. The yellow bot fell to the charred metal ground, sparks dancing around his chest wound, his body moving in a spasm from the energy of the blast before finally settling down. Bumblebee’s optics dimmed from a flickering blue to a murky grey.

    'No!" Ironhide shouted. He still couldn't hear himself, hell he couldn’t even feel himself, the only thing he could feel was his life force slowly slipping away

    'No…'

    Ironhide accepted it and his optics darkened

    Optimus will be next, those were his last thoughts before shutting down.

    Optimus screamed Bumblebee’s name, his vocalizer cracking from shock. He held the collapsed bot and felt for a life sign. With a quick, painful realization, he learned that Bumblebee was no more. Optimus had learned to mourn soldiers long before the war began, he learned to mourn for Prime’s, those who lost too much, and even the enemy at times, but this was the first time he would have to mourn a friend. This was far different from anything else he had experienced in this war; it was by far the worst.

    ‘What a waste of Energon’ snarled Megatron as he threw the overloaded shock cannon to the ground.

    Prime’s mind became flooded with memories of the young scout. Back when they first met during the attack on Iacon, the battle with Trypticon, he remembered Bumblebee's enthusiasm and when it was taken away when Megatron ripped out his voice box. All that was left of the little yellow Autobot was a burnt corpse and an extinguished spark. Optimus did not know why but for once he didn’t feel sorrow, he felt something else, something he never truly felt before, something he never wanted to feel before, he knew of it too well though, and he knew only too many words for it.
    Anger, Rage, Bloodlust- the urge to rip Megatron’s throat out, he finally knew it, he finally understood.

    ‘After eons of conflict I finally see truth in your words Megatron’

    Megatron casually approached the Autobot leader while unsheathing an Energon blade.

    ‘And what might that be, Optimus?’

    Uncaring for an answer, Megatron brought the sword down only for it to be caught by Optimus, the blade cutting wounds into the palm of the Prime’s hand.

    ‘That this Universe, no matter how vast, will never be big enough for you and I to coexist!’

    Optimus punched Megatron in the gut sending the Decepticon flying onto the higher decks. Megatron managed to dodge just in time as Optimus leapt at him with his own blade, Cybertron’s blazing core shining behind his silhouette.
    The two bots clashed like they have done many times in the past, only this time was different, with every stab, every punch every gunshot that was made, both leaders felt their rage growing stronger and stronger.

    After one last stab at Megatron, the portal began to tear the Ark apart; all of their work as well as their future were being taken away from them in one long grab and pull. As Optimus was sucked through the portal, there was only one thing on his mind, something Megatron said.

    "This is what you chose Prime when you defied me, all of this is your doing" Megatron was right.
    ________________________________________


    Ironhide’s optics sprung open. He sat up and observed his surroundings; he was in the Ark’s medical bay. The damage had taken its toll on the place, the lighting in the room was dim and piles of debris littered every corner. He soon realized he wasn’t the only injured bot in the room, several other wounded Autobots were lying on recharge slabs, to Ironhide most of them didn't look like they were going to make it.

    Hound appeared to be hooked up to a sort of life support machine while Scattershot had a hole in his chest exposing several wires and bolts, Arcee was in the center in the room with her helmet split open. It appeared that either Ratchet or First Aid was doing some sort of surgery on her earlier. He sat up and stared at his lap, his legs had been reattached, but what happened after he went in to stasis?

    The memories of what happened to Bumblebee came back to him with a flash. Ironhide moaned and brought a hand to his face, the poor kid didn't deserve it, he was the one that should've been out there protecting Prime not the kid, it was his job as his bodyguard after all, not a scout’s.

    His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

    'It's about time you woke up old timer'

    Ironhide recognized the bellowing voice immediately and a smile crept upon his face.

    'Warpath, don’t you have anything better to do than watch a bot while he naps?'

    Leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed stood a bulky red Autobot with a blue visor, a red faceplate, and a case of tank turret syndrome.

    'Heh, what can I say, I wanted to make sure you were still online, after all an old man like you is bound to die at any moment.'

    Ironhide tried to stand but teetered before catching his balance. He was glad he didn't fall otherwise he wouldn’t hear the last of it from Warpath.

    ‘Hah I knew I would survive in the end.' he lied.

    'Besides you aren't all shiny an’ new yourself either' he said motioning at Warpath’s torso.

    Warpath looked down at his body, his cannon was missing. It had been ripped out by a Decepticon while he was in tank mode (what's worse is that the Decepticon got away with it). His visor was cracked and his arm’s had several cuts in them leaking tiny drops of Energon.

    'You think this is bad?' He replied looking back up again 'Some of the guys who survived are barely recognizable anymore'
    Ironhide’s expression lowered

    'So how many of the "guys" are still functional' he asked unsure if he wanted to know the answer or not.

    Warpath let out a sigh and sat down on a nearby bench.

    'Less than a hundred of us are still alive, fewer are up and about. Perceptor is still okay just to let you know, he said he bailed on you and wanted to apologize, he’s been working on finding our location on the map though so I wouldn’t hold it against him.'

    Ironhide was surprised that he didn't consider it before.

    'Warpath where are we?'

    Warpath looked confused

    'We are eh... in the med bay, maybe you need some more rest after a-'

    'No not that, I mean did we win the battle? Did we make it to our destination? …Is the Ark functional?'

    Warpath scratched the side of his head 'Er, maybe you should ask Perceptor, I'm not too good at explaining the…stuff'

    'Then what are we waiting for? Let's go see him.'
    Ironhide stumbled as he walked forward catching the side of his repair bay

    'Easy now' said Warpath as he helped Ironhide back up.

    Ironhide gently pushed him away before regaining his balance.

    'I'm fine let's just go'

    The two of them transformed to vehicle modes, Ironhide in his old beat up truck mode that he had used since before the war had begun, and Warpath, a barrel-less tank that lacked its signature deafening cannon. For Ironhide conversion was terribly painful but compared to what he experienced in the previous battle, this was nothing. Despite his wounds Warpath didn't even let out a grunt. The two of them proceeded to speed down the viscera stained corridors of the Ark's halls, passing by broken off limbs and thrown data pads as they did so.

    'Warpath, back on topic- besides you me and Perceptor, who else made it? I didn't see Ratchet in there, is he..?'

    'Ratchet's fine, thank Primus for that. Without him I don't think many of us would still be around, the reason you didn't see him is because- well-‘

    Warpath slowed himself as he tried to form the words

    ‘After what happened to Bumblebee- He was killed by Megatron. I'm sorry Ironhide; Jazz went to gather his body inside before the portal tore up the Ark, but the portal… it sucked what was left of the little guy away.'

    'I know Warpath, I saw what happened'

    He didn't want to ask about Optimus knowing that if he wasn't killed by Megatron he would have greeted him by now. Deep inside he knew that he just didn't want to hear it.

    'I'm gonna miss the little squirt Ironhide'

    'Same here Warpath… Same here'
    ________________________________________


    Cybertron: Shockwave’s lair

    Starscream woke up under a pile of metal; everything was a blur and his head felt as though it were pounded by one of Rumble’s pile drivers. He picked himself up and gathered his thoughts. One moment he was trying to make a deal with the leader of the Lightning strike Coalition, next thing he knew he was thrown across the room and forced to undergo stasis lock.
    He scanned the room, charging his rifle in the process. Grimlock was nowhere to be seen.

    He cursed under his breath. How am I supposed to gather my army when my first employee runs off?

    Starscream transformed into his sleek red and white jet mode and flew out of the purple cylindrical room into the bright city of Kaon. Starscream could see the street light’s lighting the ground of the city like a star.
    As he flew around the tall purple and green lit skyscrapers, he realized that he was the only one in the city, besides him the place was completely devoid of life. He felt a wave of uneasiness as he saw that not a single living Decepticon patrolled the skies or drove around on the streets. Were they all fighting on Megatron’s behalf? Or did the Autobots wipe them all out while he was in stasis. No, he couldn't have been out that long, but something strange was happening and he intended to find out what. Wherever he flew, the more fear overcame him.

    He began to think aloud as the questions flooded his mind.

    'What if I'm the only one left?'

    'What if Megatron chased after Shockwave's stupid idea of visiting other worlds to drain them of Energon?'

    '… What if Megatron took everyone else with him? That would mean I would be left alone, and with no Energon for myself...'
    Starscream’s scanner began to beep,

    'Finally a life signal'

    His GPS showed a red dot a few kliks away from his position.
    There was someone else still here; he didn't care if it was Megatron or Optimus Prime. All he wanted was to find someone who may be able to help him, just so that he wasn't alone. But then again, whoever they are, they should have enough Energon to last him a little longer to live. As he flew closer to his destination, he noticed that the signal was coming from Shockwave's old power tower, or what's left of it. The base of the tower was gone and the energy that surrounded it was gone with it. Did this mean Megatron was still somewhere on the planet? Or was this a part of Shockwaves plan to leave him here to die.

    His thought was interrupted as he located a second energy reading. The second red dot on his GPS was speeding right towards his position on the map. It was heading straight for him.
    ________________________________________


    'Hah he flew right over us, what an idiot'

    Swoop chuckled to himself while he sat on a piece of debris within the deep trench, the other two Dinobots sat adjacent to him

    'Quiet Swoop, he can't seem to track our life signals, but that doesn't mean he can't hear us' said an angry Slug.

    'Oh come on, you got to admit seeing that weirdo freak-out gives a sort of satisfaction no?'

    Slug rubbed his optic lenses

    'We are stranded on a dying planet with no Energon and more importantly, no friends, if this isn't the time to be solemn then I don't know what is' said the Tricera-bot gruffly
    The Stego-bot, Snarl stepped up to speak, something he was never good at.

    'Slug is right; Grimlock gave his life for us, we need to-'

    'Us?' interrupted Slug who stood up and jabbed a finger at Snarl’s face

    'He deserted us! All he wanted was to keep the Autobots from leaving so that we could all die fighting the Decepticons in what he calls an "honourable and glorious way".’ He sat down and rested his head in his hands.

    ‘If he was smart he would have stayed here with us, then we could have had Prime pick us up and be up on the Ark in no time!'

    Snarl remained silent, not knowing how to respond.

    'Aw lay off the kid would yah Slug? He was just trying to defend you is all'

    'Shut up Swoop.’ Slug leaned in ‘it's about time we begin the operation as planned.'

    End of Chapter 1

    Next time...

    'I get it, you all want me out of here because I'm not a vet or-or a tech head. I get it, I'm done, I'm gone.'
     
  2. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 2: Fits and Fists

    Perceptor sat in his chair with one leg over the other. He was tapping his finger against the arm of the chair while rolling a laser pen around his knuckles. Two obvious signs of impatience, Jetfire insisted they wait for Ironhide before going over the current situation given his large role in Autobot High command, but the impatient scientist couldn't find it any more than completely unnecessary, bots like Ironhide were forged for their strength and their bravado, not for their intelligence or their “calm” disposition. He scanned the conference room for the seventeenth time that hour, the round table was trashed and the chairs had been flung across the room.

    Pity no one has bothered to fix it, he thought.

    The room was a cylindrical shape with enough space to fit over a dozen bots. High command would have originally sat at the Round table in the center of the room during meetings to discuss plans with one another (Of course in the end, Prime would have been the one to make the ultimate decision). Higher ups that weren't in stasis, med bay, or dead, were standing in the room doing their own business as Perceptor sat and observed, they were either talking to one another or daydreaming.

    From left to right across the room stood, Cliffjumper and Jazz; who were going on about something involving scatter blasters and nucleon rifles, Silverbolt; who was leaning against a wall and staring at the floor as if he were in a trance. Jetfire stood in the middle of the room reading a data pad while Sideswipe stood next to him seemingly trying to grab his attention. Ratchet was absent of course due to his current emotional status after the death of Bumblebee; however it was apparent that Jetfire was willing to let that one slip.

    Ironhide walked into the room stiffly and made a beeline for Perceptor as Warpath followed close behind.

    Perceptor stood up, smiled and walked towards Ironhide whilst offering a handshake.

    'Nice to see you are still functional Ironhide! I hope you didn't happen to need any hel-'

    Before He could finish his sentence, Ironhide’s fist slammed into the scientist’s face.

    ________________________________________


    Cybertron: Kaon

    'OW!'

    Starscream screamed as the large flaming object clipped the seeker’s wing.

    The second energy signature had somehow snuck up on him, Starscream had only heard a low rumble emitting behind him before the massive object had clipped him.

    Whatever it was, it was bigger than he would have expected. After losing a chunk of his wing, Starscream began to slowly but surely spin out control. The ground grew closer and closer to him as he tried to maintain balance in his circuits.

    'Scrap, Scrap, Scrap' he cursed as he fell closer and closer to the smooth metallic ground below.

    He transformed into his robot mode and landed face first into an empty street, some of the metal from the street itself had shoved itself into the back of his mouth as his body dragged across the street. He coughed the metal back up and held his head in his hand. Starscream slowly got back up on his feet and turned in the direction of the energy signature.

    He growled angrily before opening his mouth wide. 'Who dares attack Starscream!' his vocalizer shrieked

    He looked into the distance and spotted what hit him; it appeared to be a large flaming object not unlike a meteor.

    A meteor landing on Cybertron he thought, far too unlikely.

    Besides, who had ever heard of a meteor that carried a Cybertronian energy signature?

    The object smashed itself into the ground about a kilometer away from him creating a large crater where it landed, Starscream was far enough so that he wouldn't tumble into the crater, but the blast itself produced enough chunks of metal and debris – as well as the force of the explosion – that was enough to send the seeker flying, and not in the way he usually preferred.
    After smashing through a rundown skyscraper, Starscream landed in a pile of rubble consisting of crashed drop ships and peeled metal.

    He pulled himself out of the rubble and thought about how this day couldn't get any worse, the seeker slapped himself on the head upon realising how he may have just jinxed himself and activated his scanners; in the crater was the second energy signature.

    Best not go back there; he thought who knows what I might find.


    He tapped at his wrist and searched the co-ordinates for the first energy signature as originally planned.

    Finally some good news he thought as a smile crept onto his faceplate

    The signal was coming from just around the corner, behind the skyscraper he had smashed through.
    ________________________________________


    The Ark

    'Ironhide what the frag are you doing?!'

    'Stay out of this Jetfire, this wise guy left me out there to die!'

    Teeth gritted and optics blazed as Ironhide slugged Perceptor across the face for a second time. Warpath and Jazz pulled the two away from each other while making sure not to get hit by either one of Ironhide’s famous fists.

    'This is rather uncalled for considering your current condition
    Ironhide.' Snapped Perceptor

    'Well my condition wasn’t so fine back in the Command Hub, you know the Command Hub? Where you abandoned me? Is that what you do Perceptor? Do you just run away whenever an Autobot is in need of help as they lay dying?'

    Perceptor flared his nostrils and tried to take a step forward only for Jazz to hold him back.

    'I did not "run-away", I left to reactivate the Ark’s over-shields. Without them I doubt we would have made it through the portal at all.' he argued

    'What he says is true Ironhide' said Jetfire in a calming tone 'If anything, you owe him your life after what he did'

    Ironhide grunted as he shoved Warpath aside

    'Now if you would excuse me' said Perceptor as he bent over to wipe the dust off of his legs.

    'I believe that only top ranked personnel are allowed in this room' he cocked his head up and pointed a finger at Warpath

    'What? What makes you all so special?' argued Warpath anxiously

    Ironhide hated having to agree with Perceptor, especially after what had just happened, but he was still a follower of the Autobot code.

    'You better listen to what he says kid, don't want ya yelling while the grownups talk.'

    'Come on guys' argued Jazz 'Cliffjumper’s here and he isn't considered “top ranked personnel”, I don't see why Warpath can't stay for the meeting either.'

    Perceptor clapped his hands together in realization 'Ah yes of course, what was I thinking?' Perceptor signalled the two bots to the door with his hands 'Both of you. Out. Now.’

    'Hey!' Cliffjumper balled his fists as he marched stiffly to the scientist that was nearly twice the size of him.

    'I've been in more action than you ever have and –most likely- ever will be Percy; I think I deserve a little respect.'

    Jetfire raised a hand in assurance 'this isn't about you Cliffjumper, this is just about the chain of command-'

    'Enough!'

    Everyone spun their heads around to face Warpath. ‘I get it, you all want me out of here because I’m not a vet or-or a tech head. I get
    it. I’m done. I’m gone.’

    Warpath stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him while the others stood there silent. They all just stared at the door unsure how to react.

    Jetfire, frustrated, brought the palm of his hand to his helm trying to think of what to do next.

    'Perceptor, why don't we get this started?' he asked while faking a smile.

    Perceptor cleared his throat and tapped at some Holo-keys on his arm. Light turquoise holograms illuminated the room consisting of a galaxy map, as well as several written notes and equations Perceptor had made beforehand.

    'As you can see…' he began

    'Due to the Space bridge malfunction caused by the Lightning Strike Coalition Force Leader, designation; Grimlock, we have teleported to the wrong destination, it is explainable if we are to theorize that the pulse generators in the Ark matched the same vibrations which the Space Bridge produced, we can use the…'

    'Get to the point Perceptor' ordered an agitated Sideswipe

    Perceptor mouthed an “Ok” and skipped through his notes

    'Teletraan has been able to locate and scan the world upon crash, interestingly enough the world is filled with organic materials consisting mainly of plant life'

    Jetfire gave Perceptor a look to stop rambling and to get back on track causing the scientist to throw his arms into the air in frustration.

    'Anyways… when Teletraan finished its scanning it returned with
    some… interesting finds.'

    'What did it find?' asked Jazz

    Perceptor began moving the holograms with his fingertips, enlarging on the image of the planet and zooming into the planets crust, revealing a familiar energy reading

    'The Planet appears to be seeded with Energon; apparently our target planet wasn't the only one that held the energy to sustain us, or our prisoners'

    'Prisoners?' Ironhide asked with a concerned look 'What do you mean by prisoners?'

    'Did Warpath not mention?' asked Jetfire

    'Mention what? I don't get it.'

    'We got the whole Decepticon ground force locked up in the Basement' said Sideswipe who was happily spinning a ring of keys on his index finger.

    'What?!'

    Sideswipe smirked and placed the keys onto his belt while clasping
    his hands together 'When the Ark Crashed we had the Decepticon forces at our mercy, turns out without their big bad spaceship they aren't as tough.'

    Ironhide looked as though he were going to blow 'And we're just leaving them down there?!'

    'Don't worry Ironhide; they are in maximum security' assured Jetfire 'all of them have been tied up with laser shackles, even the Cassetticons'

    ‘But what if-‘

    ‘It’s maximum security’ Jetfire repeated himself thoroughly.

    Ironhide still didn't like the sound of it, but he knew he wouldn't have a say in it even if he pleaded

    'Well then this is great' exclaimed Cliffjumper trying to brighten the situation

    'And why would you say that?' asked Perceptor plainly.

    'Don't you see? We've won! We got pretty much every Decepticon in our hands, we landed on a planet that has Energon, and Ironhide has only punched ONE person today. What could be better?'

    Jetfire and Perceptor exchanged some nervous glances before looking back.

    Cliffjumper's expression lowered

    '…there's a catch isn't there.'

    Perceptor rubbed the back of his neck
    'I'm afraid that the Energon on this planet is different from our own. While our Energon is consumed only by that of Cybertronian design, this Energon is consumed by the plant life, and is then apparently consumed by the wild life and so on. It is unknown if we would even be able to use it for ourselves, let alone process it to repair the Ark. Jazz, Jetfire and I have planned a scouting mission to examine the planet but besides that we are stuck so to speak'

    Cliffjumper crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side.

    'Oh so what you mean is…'

    'What he means is' interrupted Sideswipe 'We are on some random
    planet in the corner of the map, more than half of the crew is dead, we got an army of Decepticons locked up beneath us, the Ark is trashed, we have no Energon and we don't even know where Optimus is.'

    Primes name immediately caught Ironhide’s attention

    'What was that?'

    'Oh, yeah sorry big guy' Sideswipe wore an goofy grin as he scratched the back of his head 'I hate to sound like Huffer but-'

    Ironhide waved a hand in denial 'No not that!' he shook his head and held out his arms for confirmation.

    'You said we don't know where Prime is, meaning… we don't have a body?'

    'Well no but-'

    'I believe it was Blades.’ said a nodding Jetfire, ‘…who reported that Optimus was sucked through the portal intact.' 'But even then we aren’t certain if he survived to make it to the other side or not.'

    'Are you telling me we are just giving up on him?'

    Jazz put a warm hand on Ironhide’s shoulder
    'It's not that Hide; we all care about Prime…'

    Ironhide jabbed a finger at the ground 'Then why are we sitting on our afts here, when we should be out there searching for him Jazz?’

    Ironhide pointed at the Hologram as he said there. ‘He's probably on the planet somewhere, heck he couldn't have landed far…'

    'Ironhide…’ Perceptor spoke with a more comforting tone ‘I don't believe space bridge technology works like that. The Decepticon’s ship isn't even in the planet's atmosphere meaning- Well this has lead us to believe Prime, -as well as Megatron and his ship- could be anywhere in the galaxy right now.'

    'I can't believe this!’ Ironhide’s optics darted across the room for a sign of agreement. ‘Silverbolt, you’ve got to have a say in this don't you?'

    Silverbolt shrugged without looking up.

    Ironhide was furious. Something had to done, they had to at least try to find him.

    'I've had enough of this crap.' Ironhide waved his hand in the air and stormed towards the door.

    'Ironhide wait!' Jetfire called but the door shut before he could hear him.

    The room was silent up until Perceptor coughed

    'Well I assume that concludes the meeting' the scientist announced with a nod.

    Not a good first meeting in Jetfire’s book, he wanted to get his mind off of it and get on with the mission, but first…

    'Sideswipe, could you go check on the prisoners, Air raid's shift ended 15 minutes ago'

    Sideswipe shaped his fingers like guns and aimed them at Jetfire

    'Will do'

    Jetfire turned to Perceptor

    'Are you prepared to begin the mission?' asked Perceptor

    'Of course, I have already selected a team to investigate on the ground while Silverbolt and I watch from the air'

    'Ah excellent, I will be monitoring your progress through a clutch drone while you work'

    'Understood'

    Jetfire began typing a message in his discussion of what had been said in the meeting, only perhaps without all the fits and fists. The message would be sent to every Autobot on board, just to clear things up without having to stand up in front of them. Perhaps he should address the disappearance of Optimus Prime, or maybe it would be for the better that he didn't. He did however promise that a funeral will be made for those who were now “one with the Matrix.” That sounds good enough, he thought.

    'So how does it feel?'

    Jetfire looked down to spot Cliffjumper grinning at him

    'Excuse me?'

    'How does it feel to be leader for a change?'

    Jetfire groaned 'I'm not the leader Cliffjumper, never was. Now go gear up, we will be rolling out in 5,'

    Cliffjumper walked away while waggling a finger in a taunting manner. ‘Whatever you say boss'

    Jetfire was no leader, he had the highest rank next to Perceptor, but he knew that he couldn't just pick up where Optimus left off, besides there was already someone to pick up in case Prime died, and that bot was long gone from Cybertron for decades.

    Jazz shook Silverbolt by the shoulder ‘You okay Bolt? We're rolling out soon enough or well in your case…'

    Silverbolt looked up with barely a care.

    'I'm fine Jazz. Just… fine, Thanks'

    'If you say so…'
    ________________________________________


    In the hallway, Warpath was scratching an Autobot symbol into the side of the wall with his knife when Ironhide passed by, he had his jaws clenched together and his fingers digging into his palms, Warpath could see his body expanding and retracting as the older bot breathed heavily in and out of his nostrils.

    'Ironhide wait up.' He called however Ironhide made no response.

    He called again ‘Ironhide!’ The red bot stopped and held himself into place, he spoke in a grim voice without looking back.

    'What do you want kid?'

    Warpath took a moment to lower his voice so that he wouldn’t anger the animalistic bot any further 'What happened in there? You look like you just beat the crap out of Cliffjumper… oh-oh god please tell me you didn't.'

    'I didn't.’ Ironhide slowly began to raise his voice ‘it just seems like I'm the only one that cares about the wellbeing of Optimus around here!'

    Warpath could have easily guessed what was going to come next

    'Well, what are you gonna do about it?'

    'I'm going to go look for him of course'

    Ironhide turned around.
    'You're coming with me aren't you?'

    Warpath stared at him in shock, he never thought he would be asked to ditch the Autobots, and especially not by Ironhide of all bots.

    'C'mon you said it yourself, they don't want ya here because you're just a soldier' Ironhide said with a grin

    'Oh that… I was just a little angry since I lost my cannon is all'
    Warpath laughed nervously, Ironhide could see right through Warpath and shrugged

    'Suit yourself'

    As Ironhide transformed to truck mode, Warpath thought to himself. What if Prime is out there? What if having Prime around again would change things for the better? The Autobots were nothing without him, and that last meeting confirmed it, maybe Optimus was exactly what the Autobots needed. He realized that if he stayed where he was, he would just blend in with the crowd and be another generic. This was his time to be something more than just another soldier; this was his chance to make a change, worth a shot right?

    'Hey Ironhide wait up!'
    ________________________________________


    Meanwhile outside the planets solar system

    The Nemesis: Bridge


    Thundercracker’s optics were shut, his hand against his forehead as he tried to drain out the sound of the two seekers arguing.

    'What are you talking about?' yelled a frustrated Skywarp, 'We still have the Energon, we can launch some search parties, find them, there is no way we are all that's left'

    Dirge frowned at him with his arms crossed.

    'You saw what the spacebridge did to their ship; no one could have survived that'

    Skywarp began to panic,
    'But-But Megatron, Soundwave, Rumble, and-and the Combaticons, everyone … they couldn't have just DIED!'

    Dirge turned his head and scoffed 'All that matters to me is that we're alive, the Autobots aren't, end of story'

    Skywarp stared at his hands, he couldn't believe what he was hearing; he never envisioned the end of the war like this, not with every ground based Decepticon dead leaving the air force all on their own. He imagined Megatron standing at Nova point, giving some sort of speech, and then… then… hold on… then what?

    'In that case… what happens now?' he asked quietly and calmly

    Dirge paused to think about it and rubbed his chin.

    Thundercracker had to admit, he was surprised that Skywarp didn't talk on and on like the idiot he was. For the first time in his life, it appeared Skywarp had asked a valid question.

    'I guess we should decide who the leader is now that Megatron is gone' replied Dirge

    Thundercracker looked up at them; there was a long silence on the bridge. He looked back down below to see several other aerial Decepticons; they all had only just started to listen when leadership was brought up. Thundercracker was disgusted.

    'Okay…' said Skywarp 'Who has the highest rank then?’
    As the black seeker turned his head from Thundercracker to Dirge for an answer, the blue and yellow cone headed seeker continuously opened his mouth to speak but closed it and stroked his chin to think.

    Thundercracker knew what Dirge said was potentially a bad idea, over half of the Decepticons wanted to be leader one way or the other, saying this at the bridge surrounded by tens of other Cons, was a probable riot waiting to happen. As for who had the highest rank; with Megatron dead it would be Starscream, but with Starscream on the run, next highest would be Shockwave… except he was presumed dead after the spacebridge overloaded, Soundwave is considered dead as well, someone on board would have to take command. The Target masters (minus Quake) could never lead; to him they were all delusional one way or the other, especially Cyclonus with his constant rambling. Considering they were the only other team with flight able combatants. The next highest in the chain of command would be..

    'Us!'

    Skywarp and Dirge focused their attention on Thundercracker

    'What?' Skywarp looked at Thundercracker with a half smile.

    'The Seekers, us, we have the highest rank of the Decepticons'

    Skywarp flinched, then nodded
    'Alright so who has the highest rank in the seekers' he asked

    Thundercracker froze.

    'Starscream' answered Dirge 'But he's not here right now so next in
    command would be… who?'

    'Well technically there never was a second in command for the seekers' replied Thundercracker 'we never really got around to it since the Combaticons kind of…'

    'Took the spotlight and left us as cannon fodder?' asked Skywarp

    'More or less' shrugged Thundercracker

    Skywarp let out a sigh and placed a hand over his optic ridge

    'I’ll be honest; I don't really want to be a leader. You want to lead Dirge?'

    Dirge thought about it for a moment before answering, all he wanted was to put fear into the sparks of every Autobot, being the leader would surely help with the whole fear thing… but now that "every
    Autobot" was gone, it seemed like being a leader would just be liability after liability.

    'Nah, not my thing'

    Thundercracker shrugged

    'Well if none of us want to lead then what do we do?'

    'Now that I think about it I really don't see the point' replied Dirge. 'I mean what are we going to do?’ he stuck his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the groups of Decepticons behind him ‘Lead these guys to war with turbofoxs?'

    'We still need to find a way back home’ reminded Thundercracker ‘or wherever we should be at least, we still need someone to take charge for at least a little while until we make our destination'

    'Well we could lead them together’ proposed Skywarp ‘The four of us I mean’

    'Four?' asked Dirge as he began counting heads

    'Yeah Ramjet is still around right?'

    Dirge shook his head 'Nah I saw the Autobots capture him before they all blew up'

    'He got captured?' asked a shocked Thundercracker 'How the hell was he captured, he was a seeker, why didn’t he fly back to the Nemesis with us?'

    'He tried "Ramming a truck"' said Dirge casually 'Should've stayed doing what he was born to do instead…'

    'Barrel rolling like a jet instead of Ramming like a Truck?' asked Skywarp

    Dirge shook his head
    'Ramming Jets instead of trucks'

    '…'

    Thundercracker slapped himself in the face. He suddenly missed having Starscream call them" fools" at times like this

    At that moment, a slim figure entered the bridge

    'Well, well look at this, the old gang is back together… almost'

    The three seekers recognized the figure immediately; their mouths wide open as the figure stepped closer to the trio.

    'Oh hell what are you doing here?'
    ________________________________________


    Ark's Prison Block


    Deep within the Arks prison block, stacks of prison cells covered the walls making the once football field sized room into nothing more than a narrow hallway, Decepticons spat, spewed insults and screamed for attention, some whimpered and some were still just waking up from stasis, among those waking up from stasis, was the Decepticon communications officer Soundwave, tied to the wall of his cell by laser clamps…

    ________________________________________

    Next time:

    'Somebody, anybody, I need help, it's ... he's… no Perceptor it's not... no I need… NO I NEED RATCHET RIGHT NOW, GET RATCHET DOWN HERE NOW!'
     
  3. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 3: Banging your Head

    Optic lenses struggled to open as crusted oil glued them shut. Peeling them open Soundwave would groggily stretch his stiffened neck and crane his head from one side of the cell to the other.

    In an instant Soundwave managed to assess the situation calmly and professionally; he was chained to the wall of his cell with a laser harness. That was obvious enough; it appeared there were other cells in the hallway as well, with each one holding a Decepticon each. He recalled the last orders given by Megatron near the end of the Ark assault, "All Decepticons attack the Ark, anyone found hiding on the Nemesis will be executed immediately!", Soon after he received those orders, Soundwave was shot in the back by the Autobot designate Scattershot. Of course it was somehow more likely that he was shot by a rampaging Quake or a hyper Misfire instead.

    As he turned up his Audio receptors he managed to hear other Decepticons who were giving the Autobot guard a bad time.

    'Hey, Hey Autobot, when I get outta here, I'm gonna rip out those pretty wings of yours'

    'Oh really…? I'm flattered!' the guard replied sarcastically

    A second Autobot entered the hall
    'These guys giving you trouble Air raid?' asked Sideswipe

    'Nah, they're all just too jealous of my stellar looks' he said pretending to brush dirt off his shoulder.

    Sideswipe grinned smugly 'Sure Air raid, but they're ones to talk; I would absolutely hate to look like some of these guys'

    He pointed at the closest cell
    'I mean look at him, who in their right mind would wear a cone for a helmet'
    Air raid squinted at the Decepticon in question and tapped Sideswipe on the shoulder.

    'Wait a minute Sideswipe, isn't that Ramjet? You know the one that tried ramming Hotspot during the Ark assault?

    Sideswipe brought his head closer and squinted at the black and white seeker hunched over within the cell. He brought his head back up and placed his hands on his hips.

    'Hah you're right, hey cone-head, why are you ramming trucks instead of ramming jets eh? Hahah'

    Ramjet slowly tilted his head up and scowled at the red Autobot car.
    'S-Shut your face Autobot' he spat

    Air raid took a look at another cell and laughed.
    'Sideswipe, you think he has an odd head, check this guy's head out.'

    Sideswipe jogged over and peered into the cell Air Raid had mentioned. Inside the cell was a stubby green Decepticon tied to the wall in a laser harness. The Decepticons body was practically nothing more than a head. He had long bulky arms that were longer than his “body”, his legs were stubby and cylindrical and he had two purple planks coming out of his back.

    'Ahahahah what the frag are you supposed to be?' Sideswipe taunted while pointing a finger nearly within the bars of the cage.

    'The names Dirt Boss pal, remember it cus it's the last thing you're gonna hear when I stick these planks up your-'

    'Ah shut up con' said Sideswipe with an unenthusiastic wave.
    Dirtboss gritted his teeth together in rage 'Hey I wasn't finished with you buddy!' Dirt Boss called out, but Sideswipe was already talking with Air raid completely oblivious to the fact.

    'Alright I'm heading up; been getting sick of being down here' Air raid spoke while glaring at loud mouthed cons like Breakdown and Motormaster who had no doubt been taunting him for the past hour. 'I might Join up with Jetfire and the others to get some fresh air' Air raid looked over at the vacuum lift. 'That is if they haven't gotten too far ahead already'

    'Aww don't you want to listen to these cons "compliments"?' joked Sideswipe.
    Air Raid laughed.

    'Listen to these guys for 5 minutes and you will be banging your head against the wall just to drone them out.'

    'Hah you wish. My feelings don't get hurt as easily as yours do ya pansy.'

    Air Raid laughed again and entered the elevator lift leaving Sideswipe alone with the caged Decepticons.

    The red Autobot placed his hands behind his back and walked down the hall, inspecting through each of the cages as if he were giving an examination. The Decepticons barked and spat at him, almost as if he was at a pound filled with caged dogs.
    He stopped at the last cell at the end of the hallway and smiled, it was Soundwave’s cell.

    'Well, well, look who finally woke up.'

    Soundwave remained silent

    Sideswipe paced from the left to the right of the cell as he spoke 'We go way back yeah? Back with Zeta Prime and the Prison Break, we totally kicked your aft too, even when you had your little buddies to protect you.'

    Soundwave remained silent

    The red bot leaned in and cupped his hand around his audio receptor 'What? Too broken hearted to say anything? Or are you just the uncharismatic bore everyone says you are?'

    The Decepticons began to roar louder

    'Hey you can't talk to Soundwave like that!'

    'Yeah no one calls Soundwave unkrasimatic'

    'Are you going to take that Soundwave?'

    While most Decepticons thought of Soundwave as a creepy boogieman, a suck up, and a nerd, Soundwave had never objected to, or insulted any of them. In fact, whenever they would be in trouble with Megatron, Soundwave would sometimes save their afts by making some sort of excuse or blaming it on Starscream so that Megatron wouldn't kill them for insubordination (Starscream wouldn't have been as thrilled).

    Seeing Soundwave being badmouthed got into their processors, their moral codes were screaming at them to make up for all the times Soundwave didn't rat them out.

    Soundwave remained silent

    'Huh maybe your little birdy will talk for you'

    Sideswipe opened a nearby cell and took out a laser bird cage holding Laserbeak within.
    He showed off Laserbeak to Soundwave proudly as if Laserbeak were his prized pet as a way to get a reaction. It didn't work.

    'I’ve got to admit when we were digging in your chest, we were surprised what we found. Among the tapes it turns out you got a freaking senator in there, who would have thought that's where Ratbat’s brain module had been this whole time? Another mystery solved.'

    Soundwave remained silent

    'Ah well, you aren't any fun Soundwave' Sideswipe threw Laserbeak’s cage across the hall prompting the cassetticon to squawk in disapproval. Sideswipe began to walk away from the cell to put Laserbeak back in his cell rather than lying on the floor in his bird cage.

    'A real shame too, I was looking forward to kicking your aft again'

    Soundwave spoke

    'All talk… no shock'

    The Decepticons cheered for him

    'What was that?' Sideswipe asked as he spun himself around. The Autobot made his way back to the communications officer’s cell, shocked by Soundwave’s tone.

    From when Sideswipe first entered the room, Soundwave had been planning how to escape. Now he just had to play with Sideswipes long enough to make the plan effective.

    'You heard me Autobot'

    Sideswipe cracked his knuckles 'Ah good I was hoping you would speak up so that we could have a little fun'

    'First I want to ask you something Autobot'

    'And what might that be' asked Sideswipe crossing his arms

    'Where's Sunstreaker?'

    The cheers from the Decepticons began to slowly change into sounds of confusion

    Sideswipe was shocked speechless, his mouth hung open as a twitching feeling emerged in his optic. Soundwave was in full control now; he could read Sideswipe almost thoroughly. Sideswipe stepped towards the cell with a grimace on his face and whispered…

    'How the hell do you know about him?'

    Soundwave was glad that no one could see behind his faceplate; because behind the mask was a wide grin.

    'Everyone knows the story, the Decepticon who obliterated an entire Autobot outpost all on his own, and the Autobot who was too busy mingling with femmes to protect his comrades'

    Sideswipe scowled, anger had overcome him and was finding it harder and harder to resist grabbing the laser bars on the cell.

    Soundwave tilted his head to the side

    'That Autobot and that Decepticon are both in this room aren't they?'

    'You spawn of a glitch, I'll SEND YOU TO THE PITS!'

    Sideswipe immediately grabbed a handle next to Soundwave’s cell and pulled down, shutting off both the bars and the plasma clamps causing Soundwave to fall to the floor on all fours. An energy blade slid out of Sideswipes wrist as he walked towards Soundwave clouded by rage. He raised the blade; he was prepared to finally avenge his brother, to finally kill the Con who had-

    ...Soundwave grabbed the blade

    With a simple yet quick motion, Soundwave ripped off the red Autobot’s arm from its socket and stabbed the Autobot in the chest with his own weapon.
    Sideswipe was too stunned to properly react. He fell back and held onto the small cut, just as he got back up, Soundwave plunged the blade deeper into the wound, cutting through several important organs and wirings. Oil spewed from Sideswipes mouth like a waterfall of tobacco running down his severed arm and chin. His optics were slowly flickering, before losing his vision, the last thing Sideswipe saw was Soundwave’s face, the Red visor over the blank faceplate, it was impossible to detect any emotion, but Sideswipe could have sworn he saw a smile.

    Soundwave threw away the arm and grabbed Sideswipe from his back, every Decepticon was cheering as loudly as possible. Soundwave thrusted Sideswipes head against the wall like a battering ram, and again and again, and again each time making a louder sound as his skull hit the wall. And each time the crowd cheered louder.
    ________________________________________

    Perceptor was sitting in his rolling chair; viewing a monitor above when Air Raid walked in. upon hearing his footsteps, Perceptor spun the chair around and greeted the Aerialbot with a smile.

    'Ah Air Raid, how may I help you?'

    BANG

    'Just wondering if Jetfire has already left or not'

    BANG

    'I am afraid they left quite a while ago, you could probably meet them on the
    way back if you go now'

    BANG

    'Oh in that case why bother'

    BANG

    'I mean' he continued, 'why bother if I won't be able to help'

    BANG

    'I see your point Air Raid…'

    BANG

    'Yeah, is there anything you need help with Percy?'

    BANG

    'Yes actually, can you please investigate that banging sound, it sounds like it's coming from the cell block, it also sounds like the prisoners are becoming a tad louder than usual.'

    BANG

    'Huh? I was just there. Ah well I'm sure Sideswipe can handle it whatever it is.'

    BANG

    'But just to be sure…'
    ________________________________________

    BANG
    BANG
    CRACK
    BANG
    CRACK
    CRASH
    SPLATTER

    Sideswipe’s skull shattered after the last hit on the wall, Chunks of metal that were once made up his helmet and even parts of his face were sent scattered around the floor with some stuck in the newly formed dent in the wall. Where his head used to be was a mangled mess of oil, Energon, and wires in a big lump of a deformed looking brain module.
    Soundwave reequipped his mask and looked around at the Decepticons cheering from their cells. They were chanting his name.

    'SOUNDWAVE! SOUNDWAVE! SOUNDWAVE!'
    As the Decepticons continued to cheer, Soundwave freed Laserbeak

    'Laserbeak, free your brothers.'

    Laserbeak squeezed through the bars of Rumble’s cell and tore off the clamps; the two of them rescued Frenzy as well as the other blank tapes and returned back into Soundwave’s chest.

    Air raid couldn't hear the banging anymore, but the Prisoners were still chanting. It became easier to distinguish what they were chanting now that the vacuum lift was closer to the cell block. Soundwave. Why are they chanting Soundwave’s name? He wondered. He knew that Sideswipe would probably make fun of him for worrying, but it still wouldn't hurt to check.

    Air Raid could see the floor of the cell block, where two figures stood. One looked like it was purple and red, the other looked blue. That didn't make any sense. The vacuum lift opened as it hit the floor, and once it did, Air raid could see everything. He saw Soundwave standing there, arms and chest soaked in Energon, and he saw what was left of Sideswipe on the floor at the end of the hall, covered in a mix of his black oil and pink Energon leaving him soaked in his purple life blood, but more importantly to the Aerialbot; without a head.

    Air Raid screamed.

    Soundwave kicked Sideswipe’s body towards Air Raid and stood in front of the dented wall

    'Don't move!' screamed the Aerialbot

    Soundwave did as he was told and stood motionless at the end of the hallway
    Regardless, plagued with fury, Air Raid transformed into his sleek jet mode and
    fired a barrage of missiles in Soundwave’s direction. It was Soundwave’s turn to transform as he converted into his Cybertronian truck mode and drove around the missiles unscathed. The missiles hit the dented wall causing it to collapse revealing a hole to the outside world. Soundwave nitro boosted his way out of the cell block and drove as fast away from the crashed Ark as he could. Without the signal jamming effect of the laser clamps, Soundwave could now send a distress signal.

    'YEAH GO SOUNDWAVE!'

    Back in the cell block, Air Raid propped up the inactive body of Sideswipe and turned on his communicator

    'SOUNDWAVE WOOOH!'

    'Somebody, anybody, I need help, it's Sideswipe he's… no Perceptor it's not... no I need… NO! I NEED RATCHET RIGHT NOW, GET RATCHET DOWN HERE NOW!'
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron

    'Shockwave, is that you?'

    The energy signature Starscream had picked up turned out to be one of the last bots he wanted to see. Shockwave was fiddling with some sort of computer terminal before noticing Starscream in the corner of his eye he was bruised and dented, but most of all he was missing his right arm entirely, dark purple wires sprouted from his shoulder as he worked with his left arm doing all the work

    He spoke without looking up from his work 'Ah Starscream, I see that you are still on Cybertron'

    'I'm not the only one… obviously. What are you doing Shockwave?'

    'I am currently trying to reconnect my link to the Insecticon hives.'

    Starscream raised his upper lip in disgust
    'Would you please remind me why you would you want those disgusting creatures running around Kaon again?'

    Shockwave raised his hand for a moment to put up a couple of fingers 'Two reasons Starscream: One, we need building materials to repair the space bridge. Two, I am lacking Energon and an arm as you can see' He pointed to his leaking shoulder where his arm should be, ‘I am intending to get the Insecticons to retrieve my blast cannon and to also…'

    Shockwave paused

    'What, what is it?'

    'Due to my low Energon levels and the lack of any other beings on the planet, I have come to the logical solution that cannibalism, would be the best course of action to ensure my survival'

    'What?' Starscream always knew it, Shockwave was insane.

    Starscream rubbed his forehead nervously 'Are you proposing that we… that we... EAT each other?'

    ‘Not each other, no, just the Insecticons’

    Starscream threw his hands into the air ‘Oh yes and that makes it much better!’

    '"We"'
    Starscream paused 'What?'

    '"We" will not consume the Insecticon's Energon, just myself. You are still a traitor Starscream, and I will report you to Megatron as soon as I have the Space Bridge reactivated. And second I will be consuming the Insecticons Energon, but not in the way you think, first we will leech them dry of all the Energon which will require a tool from my la-'

    Starscream cocked his rifle at Shockwave's head

    '… Predictable'

    ________________________________________

    Nemesis

    Thundercracker felt like he was losing brain cells just standing on the Bridge with these idiots

    'So let me get this straight' he began 'Our impregnable warship, which - besides the tow cable exits- only has one entrance, guarded by some of our top ranked soldiers who have been trained to resist any kind of torture, Just let you in because you asked nicely?'

    'Yup that just about sums it up'

    Thundercracker flung his arms to either side of him and shouted
    'HOW?!'

    The slim figures hands moved straight up to their audio receptors
    'Ow, Ow, Ow, Primus, Ow, you don't have to yell you know'

    Dirge put his hand over his (cone) forehead.
    'Just tell us what you want.' He asked in a begging tone

    'No… Thundercracker has to apologize first'

    Thundercracker was annoyed. He jabbed a finger at the figures face and spoke in a quieter tone.
    'Just what, the hell, should I apologize for?'

    The figure moved closer to Thundercracker and whispered

    'Apologize for raising your voice like a freaking aft'

    Thundercracker stepped back and shot the figure a confused glance
    'How old are you? You are acting like a sparkling for Primus sake'

    'C'mon Thunders' pleaded Dirge with an annoyed tone 'just say you are sorry so we can all get this over with'

    Skywarp scratched the back of his head
    'Yeah you are kind of being an aft to our guest Thundercracker'

    'Yeah Skywarp's right you are an aft' added the "guest"

    Thundercracker snarled

    'This isn't our "guest" this is an intruder, this "guest" of ours abandoned the Decepticons a millennia ago, and only now does this traitor come back?'

    The guest gasped,
    'That hurts Thundercracker… that hurts right in the spark.'

    'Oh for… alright, alright I'm sorry. Now can we…'

    'No, that wasn't a proper apology'

    I must be going insane, he thought.
    Thundercracker faked a wide smile and spoke with his teeth grinding together
    'Then what would be a proper apology might I ask?'

    'Okay repeat after me'
    'Got it'
    'I am so very sorry'
    'I am so very sorry'
    'I am a complete and utter aft'
    'Sigh, I am a complete and utter aft'
    'So please forgive me your highness.'
    'So please forgive me your highness.'

    The Guest clapped. 'Great job, Bravo'

    'So uh, what are you- you know- doing here anyway?' asked Skywarp

    'Well, I noticed that you guys are lacking a good leader considering how good old Megatron is nowhere to be found and Shockwave is somewhere on Cybertron correct?

    'Yeah that's right. How did you know?' asked Dirge

    The guest smiled and raised an index finger 'Let's just say I keep in touch'

    Dirge crossed his arms and frowned
    'So then what's your point, spit it out.'

    'I think I can put you guys in the right direction, you don't have many options anyways. The past millennia I have been travelling the galaxy, I know it inside and out and even further. So if you would allow me to warm the space as leader for the time being, at least until we can find good old Megsy, then I would be ever so grateful.'

    The Guest looked at Thundercracker and smiled
    'Thundy here can vouch for me, right pal? Besides I have a great resume.'

    Dirge turned to Thundercracker who solemnly nodded in agreement.
    Thundercracker knew the guest better than most; they used to work together with Starscream, Skywarp and Jetfire protecting the dark Energon, and served in the air force before that. The guest was the first to join the Decepticons before he and the others made their deal with Megatron later in the war. It wasn't until he fought alongside the guest when he realized the potential that was shown. The guest had proven to be able to calculate battle strategies in almost any situation in an instant and made the most logical of choices. He hated to admit it but their guest was far more fit to lead than the three of them combined.

    'What? This is ridiculous' Dirge put himself in front of the guest and jabbed his finger in their face. 'You are completely delusional; you wouldn't be able to lead ant-droids to a picnic, what makes you think you would be able to lead the Decepticon army.'

    The guest chuckled
    'Touching Megatron class humor Dirge, but I believe that it has been already decided that I should be in charge.' The guest had their back turned away from Dirge and walked to the other side of the bridge. 'Besides I don't think you would fare too well against me.'

    Dirge slowly walked towards the guest, his arm transformed into nucleon charge rifle, he aimed it at the guests back.
    'Death comes to he who crosses Me.' he muttered before squeezing the trigger.

    'Dirge wait!' called Thundercracker

    The Guest spun around and pointed an EMP shotgun at Dirge
    'Good thing I'm not a he then' the guest replied while firing a hole into Dirge’s chest

    Dirge was flung across the room from the blast and landed to the ground with a thud, a large smoking black hole now in his cockpit. The Guest skipped over to Dirges body happily and cocked the gun at his head to finish the job. Several Decepticons were running around in panic, not sure what to do.

    'Slipstream wait, please don't kill him!'
    Slipstream looked at Thundercracker and smiled, her arm transformed back to normal as she skipped towards him.

    'Fine, fine, but only because you said my name so lovingly'

    Thundercracker groaned

    Skywarp yelled into a communicator
    'Someone get a medical team up here stat'

    Thundercracker rolled his optics 'Skywarp we don't have any medical teams, I'm the only medical officer on board anymore remember?'
    Skywarp carelessly dropped the communicator.

    'Oh.'

    Thundercracker sighed
    'Well I wouldn't worry too much about it this is Dirge we're talking about after all. He always gets better.'

    Needlenose and Spinister ran into the room carrying assault rifles.
    'What happened? We heard a gunshot is everything alright?' asked Needlenose

    Slipstream struck a pose involving her pointing at the ceiling dramatically
    'Ah yes witness your new leader as she has defeated a traitor easily in honourable comba-'

    'But Slipstream, didn't you just shoot him in the chest' Skywarp interrupted

    Slipstream scowled
    'Shut up you idiot, how am I supposed to make an example like that?'

    Thundercracker cleared his throat and walked over to the two target masters.
    'Uh, look guys everything is fine, we just had a bit of a misunderstanding, you can go back to your posts if you want.'

    Needlenose kicked the door frame.
    'Slag, I was hoping I would be able to shoot somebody for once.'
    Needlenose's fit was ignored as Spinister observed Slipstream.
    'That our new leader?' he asked.

    Thundercracker sighed. Some Decepticons were picking up Dirge and dragging him to a med bay while Slipstream continued to berate Skywarp.
    'Yeah she is now, I'm afraid that if you got a problem with it you're gonna have to shoot her to get some attention'

    'Is she better than Starscream?'

    'Yeah I would think so'

    Spinister shrugged.
    'Whatever, that's good enough for me, let's go Needlenose'
    Needlenose turned to Spinister in disbelief

    'What? That's it? You are okay with giving leadership to some stranger with weird shapes on their bod-'

    'Hold on' Thundercracker interrupted 'Is Cyclonus alright? I haven't seen him around all that much lately.'

    'If you would consider rambling on like a maniac as okay, then yeah I guess he's just fine' replied Spinister

    Needlenose looked annoyed.
    'Hey I was talking to you guys, don't just ignore me!'

    But Spinister was already walking out the door, Needlenose chased after him. Not long after, Thundercracker left the bridge as well to tend to Dirge leaving Slipstream and Skywarp .

    The Bridge was a lot quieter without the commotion, or to Skywarp it was at least.

    Slipstream had begun typing something into a computer terminal. With no one else in the room to talk to, Skywarp felt an awkward feeling come over him as he began wanting to talk to the con that shot one of his best friends in the chest only moments ago.

    'So uh, what are you doing Slipstream?'

    'I am currently attempting to locate where our Decepticon brothers are…'

    'Hah good luck with that!'

    Slipstream faced Skywarp 'Why? What makes the survival of half our army so unlikely?'

    'They were all aboard the Ark, we fliers were all able to get back into the Nemesis, but the ground team was absolutely torn to bits'

    Slipstream grinned slyly
    'How much you want to bet at least one is still alive'

    'Heh I like you as leader already. 5000 Shanix says they are all dead.'
    Slipstream tapped a key on the terminal. A hologram of Soundwave’s head appeared

    'Attention to any Decepticons receiving this frequency, this is Soundwave. The Autobots are still alive; I have been captured along with the rest of the ground force. Only now have I escaped their prison, I am uploading my coordinates to the Nemesis computer'

    Skywarp turned to Slipstream with wide optics whereas Slipstream held out her hand

    'Told you so, now about that 5000 Shanix…'
    ________________________________________

    Unknown location: Jetfire’s exploration team

    Jetfire flew above the tree canopies where he could see the miles of jungle as far as his optics could see. Floral shaped patterns lined the rustling treetops as small mammals scurried through the giant green leaves. Wind blew through the trees creating a soothing rustling sound and slightly perturbing the mammals within. Jetfire used to explore planets just like these with Starscream back before the war; he found it nostalgic to fly above all the organic materials, unfortunately the memory of Starscream alone made him sick. Silverbolt flew next to him with a clutch drone stuck on his cockpit; unfortunately he didn't seem to be very thrilled with the sights of the new planet as much as Jetfire was. Jazz was swinging from tree to tree with his grapple while driving below was Cliffjumper leading the ground group, consisting of, Wheeljack, The white and brown motorcycle Protectobot Groove, The black and red sports car Bluestreak, and the red and yellow sports car Hotshot.

    'Wheeljack, are you detecting anything down there?' asked Jetfire via communicator

    'Not yet Jets, so far the only thing I have been picking up are really low amounts of Energon held in these trees'

    ‘So-‘

    ‘Yeah pretty useless I know’

    'Alright, if you run into any trouble, do not engage until Jazz, Silverbolt and I are on the ground'

    'Don't worry Jetfire' assured Cliffjumper 'we could probably take care of it ourselves'

    'Yeah, don't sweat it' said an enthusiastic Hotshot. 'Any cons show up and we'll teach 'em a lesson not to screw with us.’
    Wheeljack groaned

    'It's not Decepticons we're worried about kid, it's the wildlife we should be afraid of, besides shouldn't you be back at the Ark? I don't believe you were chosen to come along with the rest of us'

    'Relax Jack' said Jazz as he grappled to another tree branch right above them
    'He wanted to come along so I figured why not?'

    'I don't know Jazz' Hotshot sounded somewhat frustrated 'I mean this isn't exactly the best place to drive, the mud keeps getting in my tires and the road is filled with bumps and potholes, couldn't we have found a flatter road to drive on?'

    'Oh boohoo' taunted Cliffjumper, 'not all planets have roads you know, we are lucky to have room to drive at all.'

    Bluestreak drove up next to Hotshot to give some sympathy
    'Actually I heard that somewhere there is a planet completely devoted to roads and racing, apparently it has been colonized by us Autobots so it may even be…'

    'Guys hush up for a second' interrupted Jetfire' I'm receiving a call from Perceptor, it sounds urgent.'

    'Jetfire, are you there?'


    'I read you Perceptor, what's the problem?'

    'Well I have terrible news and… probably not good news'

    'What's the terrible news?'

    'Soundwave has escaped; it looks like Sideswipe tried to stop him but… I'm sorry Jetfire'

    Oh Primus

    'What happened?'
    'Soundwave was more brutal than what we are used to… I'm sorry'

    'Sideswipe's… dead?'

    All the other Autobots stopped driving and listened in horror.

    'No… not yet anyway, Ratchet's doing all he can to save him but, his head…'

    'I don't want to hear it right now Perceptor, what is the, er probably not good news?'

    'I am picking up a strange energy signature nearby your current location, it may not be friendly'


    'Noted'

    Perceptor hung up without saying another word.

    'Jetfire, is Sideswipe…?'

    'No Cliffjumper, thank Primus no, but Perceptor has doubts, and you know that's not a good sign when he has doubts.'

    'Well if anyone can do it its Ratchet, right?' asked Hotshot

    'In the condition he's in now?' said Wheeljack Glumly. 'I don't know if you guys have seen Ratchet but he's a complete mess after Bumblebee…'

    'We don't need any o' that negativity Wheeljack' Snapped Jazz 'I'm sure Sideswipe is going to be fine'

    'Jetfire' said Groove 'Do you want me to head back? I am sure I can help in some way with Sideswipes recovery'

    Jetfire thought about it for a moment before answering

    'Alright, head back and help with Ratchet and the others, the rest of you stay on guard, Perceptor said that an energy signature was nearby so be prepared for anything'

    After Groove drove off, Wheeljack's scanner beeped

    'Um guys, it looks like something is heading towards us'

    ‘What? What it?’ asked Jetfire

    ‘I’m thinking it could be a bunch of flesh eating monsters… or just a flock of birds… just a flock of flesh eating monster birds.‘

    ‘You’re overreacting Wheeljack, worst case scenario it’ll be a bunch of Elephants, there is no way we will come by and flesh eating monsters, or bir-‘

    Before anyone could respond a scream escaped Silverbolt’s lips, a giant metal bird like creature seemingly appeared out of nowhere and had scooped up Silverbolt in its mouth, crushing his body with its jaw. As the bird bit down, a hideous crunching sound came from Silverbolt's armor plating.

    'Autobots open fire!' ordered Jetfire

    ‘A flesh eating monster bird, what did I say? What the hell did I say. I was freaking right!’ shouted Wheeljack

    The four Autobot cars transformed and fired at the beast, Bluestreak and Wheeljack fired their shoulder mounted missiles at the creature, leaving only a few burn marks on the bird monsters metal skin. The creature beaded his large wings and flew backwards by a few meters before spitting up Silverbolt’s crunched up Jet mode.

    Bluestreak held out his arms as he watched Silverbolt fall

    ‘Don’t worry Silverbolt I’ll catch you I-‘

    Silverbolt landed on top of Cliffjumper crushing the smaller Autobot beneath his weight.

    ‘Oops… er thanks Cliffjumper, you're a pal!’ The Red bots arm wiggled itself from under Silverbolt and shook his fist at Bluestreak.

    Jetfire flew around the creature and fired a barrage of bullets out of the machine gun on his Jet-mode while Jazz attempted to snipe at the monster's wings from a tree.

    'It looks like we got him on the ropes guys' said Hotshot, firing from his path blaster 'just a bit longer and I think it'll be over'

    Hotshot spoke too soon. As two more monsters crashed through the trees and charged at the Autobots with massive jaws wide open.

    ________________________________________

    Next time:

    'GET OUT NOW!'
     
  4. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 4: Extensive Modifications

    Outside the Ark: 20 minutes earlier

    'You sure you got everything you need Warpath?'

    'Yeah, Yeah I'm ready'

    Ironhide and Warpath stood outside the Ark surrounded by the lush green jungle area, both with pistols, grenades and Energon knives on their wastes and connected ammo rounds draped over their shoulders. They both held extra Assault Rifles attached to their back just in case something ugly came along.

    'You're sure? Cause if you start complaining about not having enough ammo, I aint turning back'

    'I'm ready Ironhide’ said an annoyed Warpath ‘let's just get a move on'

    'If ya say so' he shrugged

    A bright light peeked between the swaying tree leaves above and shone on Warpath’s optics, he quickly raised his hand to shield them from the light. He came to vaguely remember one of Perceptor’s lectures about how organic planets had a star to give them energy, in other words a sun. He took a look around, the Jungle like landscape was green and vivid and the way the sun reflected off the trees gave off an odd aura, something Warpath enjoyed. Warpath never knew what the word for it was, but what he was seeing in front of him was what would be considered Beautiful.

    'Warpath!' yelled Ironhide 'I thought you said you wanted to get a move on?'

    Warpath woke up from his daydream to find Ironhide already way ahead of him glaring at him impatiently, was he really that absorbed by the beauty of the planet for that long?

    'Sorry about that Ironhide, wait up okay?'

    This planet really is great he thought.
    ________________________________________

    Outside the Ark: Now

    This planet really does suck, thought Wheeljack. Two more metallic monsters the size of Grimlock’s Dino mode had burst out of the jungle; one of them was black and oozing a grotesque orange liquid from its pores leaving a terrible stench while the other resembled a white and blue shark with arms and legs.

    Wheeljack sprinted over to Silverbolt who in jet mode looked like a pencil that was chewed on by a toddler.

    'Silverbolt, you still alive?' asked Wheeljack

    'Mm- fin'

    'What?'

    'I'm fine!'

    Wheeljack sighed in relief

    'Okay can you still transform?'

    Silverbolt’s body slowly began to change shape but stopped when the pain became too overwhelming.

    'Ah… no can't transform'

    'Relax Silverbolt; we will get you out of here.'

    'NO! No running you need to help the others.'

    Wheeljack turned around to see that Silverbolt was more right than he thought. Bluestreak was being chewed on legs first by the Shark monster.

    'Argh, PRIMUS!' He yelled as the monsters jaws munched down on his waist. Just as the monster opened his mouth to bite down on his chest, Jetfire fired a missile into the creature’s face causing it to spit up Bluestreak. Bluestreak had fallen chest first on the ground; his legs –while still intact- were mangled and twisted by the sharks' teeth.

    'Hold on Bluestreak I gotcha' Wheeljack dragged Bluestreak over to Silverbolt away from the action.

    Bluestreak grabbed his leg in pain. ‘Argh y’know, this isn’t half bad, at least it’s only my legs and not my entire body, now that would suck.’

    The black and red car turned his head to Silverbolt who was dented, bruised, and battered all over.
    ‘Oh, sup Silverbolt.’

    Cliffjumper and Hotshot fired at the monsters as they moved closer and closer to them, the monsters were slow, but they seemingly made up for that in defense as the Autobots weapons didn't seem to do much if anything at all to hurt them.

    'Guys watch out!' called Jetfire

    The avian creature had swooped down and grabbed Hotshot with its tooth filled beak and began to slash at Jetfire with its talons.

    'Somebody help!' screamed Hotshot, it wasn't just that he was stuck in a monsters mouth about a mile off the ground, the monsters teeth were also digging into his body. It felt like he was being stabbed by several tiny knives at the same time.

    Cliffjumper stopped what he was doing and fired at the flier holding Hotshot.

    'Don't worry kid I'll get him' as he fired at the sky he felt a shadow overcome him. He turned around to see the black monster looming over him. While Cliffjumper was frozen in shock, the monster opened its jaws and grabbed Cliffjumper's whole upper body with its mouth.

    'Oh hell no!'
    Jazz grappled onto the beasts head and pulled Cliffjumper out of its mouth as it struggled. Jazz had apparently thrown Cliffjumper away as the next thing Cliffjumper remembered after being stuck in the creature's slimy mouth was hitting the ground with his aft. Something didn't feel quite right. Cliffjumper looked around dizzily, he saw Jetfire fighting the avian creature holding Hotshot in its beak, he saw Wheeljack and a crippled Bluestreak firing upon the Shark creature, and he saw Jazz trying to ride on the creatures head. … He then looked down at his upper body; it was all rust coloured from his head down to his waist. He held up his hands and watched in horror as they began to crumble leaving only his stick-like skeletal infrastructure underneath. The black creature was excreting corrosive slime.

    'Alright time for a lesson of how to take down a Bruticus 101' said Jazz as he began shooting the beast in the face repeatedly with his Scatter blaster.

    The corrosive beast began trying to grab at him with its thick arms much to Jazz's amusement

    'Hah you want a piece of me eh? You want a piece?'

    'No Autobot' the black corrosive monster spoke
    'I want two pieces!'

    Catching Jazz off guard, the black creature grabbed the Autobot, holding his leg in one hand and his back with the other, he began to pull. As Jazz screamed, the creature tore off his leg.

    'Wuh? I should have torn off your whole waist by doing that' said the creature 'Oh well, second leg is worth the charm' before it could grab Jazz's other leg, Wheeljack had fired a second missile at the creatures hand forcing it to drop Jazz.

    Above the fighting on the ground, Hotshot fired into the avian creature's eyes causing it to lose control; He pulled open the avian creature's beak and rolled out of its mouth. Hotshot realized it may have been a better plan if he was a few miles lower to the ground as he was above the tree canopies from where he was falling; he closed his eyes and braced for impact, however it did not come. He opened his eyes and looked up to find Jetfire holding him whilst hovering in robot mode.

    'Retreat?' asked a dazed Hotshot

    'Retreat…' confirmed Jetfire

    After reattaching Jazz's leg with minimal effort, Wheeljack transformed to vehicle mode and transformed yet again as the vehicle began to expand, his vehicle mode grew into a boxier carrier with enough space to hold another Transformer inside of it. Silverbolt who was still stuck in jet mode was placed inside along with Cliffjumper, whose arms had already broken off because of the rust. Hotshot and Jazz painfully transformed to vehicle modes to drive the slag out of there while Jetfire picked up Bluestreak to fly back to the Ark. Due to the lack of speed by the monsters, they were out of sight in mere seconds.

    'What the slag were those things?' asked Jetfire

    'They appeared to be the energy signature Perceptor picked up' said Wheeljack, 'do you think all the wildlife are like this?' he asked

    'That wasn't wildlife' said Jazz glumly 'That thing spoke to me, like a Cybertronian y'know?'

    'I don't care what those things were' said Hotshot 'all I know is that I am NEVER leaving the Ark again, I mean just look at what the thing did to poor Cliffjumper'

    Cliffjumper sat inside Wheeljack’s Carrier mode as he stared down at his body, his arms were gone and his chest was beginning to crumble, all he could manage was a whimper.
    Jazz drove near Wheeljack to comfort his partner

    'Don't worry Cliff; I'm sure Ratchet has some sort of cure for corrosive slime somewhere in his tool kit'

    Wheeljack overheard Jazz say this, he already knew Ratchet didn't have any means of curing corrosive slime, but he figured it would be best not to tell them that.

    'Alright guys' called Jetfire' It looks like we will be at the Ark in a few Nano-clicks'

    Soon enough, the Ark was in view as expected. What they didn’t expect was someone there to greet them, as they got closer, the Autobots could clearly see what was waiting for them. It appeared to be a red and yellow bug like creature. With two scythes for hands, one was waving at them and the other was piercing through Groove’s torso.
    ________________________________________

    The Ark's Medbay

    Fixit had buffed out the last dent on Hotspot and moved over to continue his work on Scattershot whose repairs were nearly complete.

    In the Emergency room Ratchet scanned over Sideswipe for the third time, First aid had his arms crossed as he watched the medical officer quietly.

    'So?'

    'So what?'

    'What do we do?'

    'I don't know'

    First Aid shut his optics behind his visor and let out an irritated sigh
    'What do you mean you don't know, you are "Chief Medical Officer:
    Ratchet" there has to be something you can do for Sideswipe!'

    Ratchet raised his shaky hands in a pleading motion. 'You don't understand First aid, Sideswipe's body can be repaired, but his brain module has been wrecked. When Soundwave broke Sideswipe’s skull, pressure was put onto his brain module, Several parts of his processor have been mangled beyond my ability to repair, and the dried oil that no one had bothered cleaning up has made it a lot more difficult for me.'

    First Aid made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a laugh 'It's difficult? That's your excuse?'

    'The only things that keep a Transformer alive are a spark and a brain module, Sideswipe’s spark is keeping him alive however the brain module is only just clinging on. I haven't seen anyone in this condition since they started wheeling in patients from the gladiatorial games.'

    First Aid stared at Ratchet blankly
    'You're giving up.'

    'I'm not giving up, it's just-'

    First Aid jabbed a finger at Ratchet and raised his voice. 'It’s just that you are! Fixit and I have been breaking our backs working while you've been mourning Bumblebee. I don't get it Ratchet; millions of Autobots have died during the war, I have felt each and every one of them but I am still doing my job properly! What makes Bumblebee so special from the other million that died? Is it because he was your only "friend?" is that it?'

    Ratchet smacked First Aid across the face and pointed to the door
    'GET OUT, NOW!'

    Fixit and Hotspot stared at the two as First aid stormed out of the med bay.

    Outside, Air raid sat on a bench, he was twiddling his thumbs staring at the ground before he noticed First Aid walk by.

    'Hey doc, how is he?'

    First Aid kept walking as if he didn't hear him speak. The sulking Aerialbot looked back down glumly and placed his head in his hands.
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron

    'You are going to serve me Shockwave, whether you like it or not'

    Shockwave should have prepared for this; despite the fact that he had labeled retrieving Energon as first priority. He thought about whether Megatron would understand if he joined with Starscream for the time being, of course once he had obtained his blast cannon, he would be able to eliminate Starscream before he knew it.

    'You are running out of time Shockwave'

    Shockwave had to think fast, his best chance for survival was obvious; he had to cooperate with Starscream, for now at least.

    'Very well, there should be plenty of Energon in the Insecticon’s blood stream for both of us'

    Starscream smiled

    'Now bow'

    Shockwave sighed and reluctantly bowed to the Seeker

    Starscream let out a high pitched cackled and transformed his arm back to normal

    'Brilliant, now fill me in on what has happened to everyone'

    Shockwave looked up at his inactive spacebridge.

    'I believe you are aware of my test subject Grimlock.'

    Starscream rubbed the back of his neck and ran ah finger over the wound he had received from Grimlock.

    'Yes, yes, I remember him quite fondly.'

    'After Megatron boarded with nearly every battle squadron on the
    Nemesis, I monitored the spacebridge as we prepared for launch'

    Shockwave paused and stood himself back onto his feet.

    'However I miscalculated my test subject's strength, it managed to destroy the majority of Decepticon forces in Kaon and overload the Spacebridge's energy levels. It resulted in an energy wave which decimated the brain modules of any other Decepticon above ground.'

    'So everyone else is dead.'

    'Correct'

    Starscream stroked his chin.
    'Very well then, would you please explain to me how you managed to survive Shockwave?'

    Shockwave stared forward blankly taking a moment to think before answering the question.

    'I have done… some extensive modifications in order to maintain my processors functionality in case of an emergency.'

    Starscream shrugged, he could tell Shockwave was hiding something but he barely cared to press on the subject.

    'So what happens now?' he asked

    'As you are aware Starscream neither of us have the ability to fly, my engine was broken as I fell from my tower, and it appears your wings have been damaged'

    Starscream looked back at his wings and snarled

    'Yeah, so what's your point?'

    'Either I give you my wings, or we do some surgery and I take your jet engine'

    'I don't want your ugly wings Shockwave.' He spat
    Shockwave shrugged, and pulled out a laser scalpel

    'Surgery it is then'

    'NO, NO WAIT!'
    ________________________________________

    Nemesis

    In the nemesis med bay filled with saws, drills and other surgery tools, Thundercracker tended to Dirge, picking shrapnel out of the larger seeker’s chest wound with thin metal stencils and scalpels. As he thought, the wound wasn't as bad as it looked. Dirge watched the monitor with disgust.

    'I can't believe this; she is already redecorating the ship!'
    On the monitor, Slipstream was telling Needlenose and Spinister to place a throne in the middle of the bridge.

    'Over there, no wait too far, more on the left a bit, ah you idiots here let me show you'

    'Bah she is already treating us like trash too, I mean Megatron only started treating me like trash about a week after I joined, Starscream treated us like trash after a day, and now Slipstream is treating us all like trash after…’
    Dirge checked his chronometer on his wrist and looked back up ‘20 minutes'

    'Whatever you say…' replied an uninterested Thundercracker.

    Dirge glanced at Thundercracker with a frown. He noticed this and looked up at him.

    'What?'

    'You are actually okay with this aren't you?'

    'It could be worse, there was Starscream after all'

    Dirge rolled his optics

    'Oh yeah, just because this looks so great in comparison means we can just let anyone take over.'

    Thundercracker stopped what he was doing.

    'Look you don't know Slipstream; she's not a bad con.'

    Dirge grunted and turned his head away.

    'I don't get it Thundercracker.'

    'What don't you get?'

    'As much as I want to kill Slipstream… I want to help her just as
    much'

    Thundercracker dropped his tools and looked up 'What?'

    'Yeah something about her really makes me want please her'

    Thundercracker rubbed his optics with his index finger and his thumb

    'Dirge we need to have a talk.'
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron

    'Shockwave this is embarrassing'

    'Nonsense, you asked for my wings, it is only more efficient this way'

    'But it's stupid!'

    'How so?'

    Starscream hovered in Jet mode, riding on top of him like as if he was a horse was Shockwave.

    'Ah whatever let's just go'

    'Excellent. Ah yes and please don't barrel roll, I would rather not fall
    to my death'

    Starscream mumbled curses to himself as he boosted towards the second energy signature.

    'You said that the energy signature fell from the sky?' asked Shockwave as he rode his trusty steed.

    'Yeah, and it hit me too'

    'Fascinating… It appears that even life forms from distant planets must hate you Starscream'

    'Shut up or else I will turn myself around, you hear me mister?'

    Shockwave decided it would be best to stay silent for now

    'Up there, that's where the crater is' said Starscream

    The crater was big; whatever fell to create it must have been huge.

    That would explain the racket from earlier, thought Shockwave. They
    landed at the edge and peered down to see what had fallen.

    'Nothing' stated Shockwave

    Starscream transformed to robot mode 'What? This makes no sense how could something like that just get up and leave'

    'Perhaps it actually "got up" and left. It did have a Cybertronian energy signature did it not?

    'FOOL!' shouted Starscream as he crouched next to the crater and pointed at it 'the energy signature is coming from the crater. It is merely cloaked if we touch it, it may reveal itself to us.'

    Before Shockwave could reply on how it would be impossible for something so large to be cloaked, three large Insecticons burst out of the ground and sat in front of Shockwave, one of them carrying a blender like tool with a handle. He groaned as he noticed none of them had his blast cannon with them.

    'Ah here they are' said Shockwave 'would you like to have the first batch of this Insecticon’s Energon Starscream?'

    Starscream looked confused.

    'So uh wait, how does this work?' Starscream pointed at the tool that the Insecticon had arrived with ‘Do you use that thing to drain the
    Energon out without a mess or-'

    Shockwave placed the tool next to the Insecticon and turned it on. Several blades lashed out and began grinding up the Insecticon as it was sucked into the tool. While most of the Energon was stored inside a cube shaped cup under the handle, the rest of the Insecticon was shot out the back side of the tool, covering Starscream in the Insecticons body parts and organs.

    '… Oh dear Primus'
    ________________________________________

    Soundwave's location

    Soundwave had let out his three tapes, he had sent out Laserbeak to find scans so that he could give true life to the other three tapes he had in his possession. During the war P.O.W would have their sparks extracted and placed into these cassette tapes as punishment, they could be given an alt mode when freed; only problem was that the alt mode would have to replace their robot mode hence why Laserbeak had an avian mode, Rumble and Frenzy were exceptions as Megatron had purposely reformatted them for reconnaissance missions. However, he had left one tape behind on purpose; Megatron had ordered the Senator to be trapped in that form as punishment for his betrayal. It was only fitting that he rot in a cell after all. The planet was filled with primitive organic creatures, perfect as forms for his new minions.

    'I am back' said Laserbeak through a mental link with Soundwave
    Laserbeak looked somewhat different, his wingspan appeared longer and his head looked more like an actual birds head. It made no difference to Soundwave, as long as Laserbeak could still do his job right.

    'Laserbeak return' Laserbeak transformed back into a cassette and returned back into Soundwave’s chest.
    Soundwave observed the scans, a black panther, a blue and white tyrannosaurus and a green and red Stegosaurus. He uploaded them into his other three cassettes. Their names were Ravage, Overkill, and Slugfest. Soundwave decided to address the new additions mentally.

    'My fellow Decepticons, you are now free. However freedom comes with a price, we are currently stranded, our other Decepticon brothers have been captured and we are low on Energon. Are there any questions?'

    'Yes.' said Overkill

    'Speak' replied Soundwave

    'WHEN ARE WE GONNA PICK UP SOME FEMBOTS MAN?!'

    Soundwave covered his visor with the palm of his hand

    Slag it's another Rumble, thought Soundwave

    'Hey I heard that!'
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron

    Shockwave and Starscream sat at the edge of the crater; Shockwave held one cube in his hand and handed the other to Starscream. Starscream took the cube cautiously and stared at its contents. The Energon looked slimy and had bubbles rising from it, he didn't care if his life depended on it (which it did) he was not going to drink this slag. But Shockwave was? Starscream realized, Shockwave didn't have a mouth, while most Decepticons simply retracted their faceplates to consume Energon, Shockwave didn't even have faceplate either, how the frag was Shockwave supposed to drink this stuff? Shockwave put pressure on his chin causing the plating just under his eye to move away panel by panel. Starscream gasped when he saw what was underneath. Just below Shockwaves eye were a line of mandibles, twitching and quivering as he drank the sloppy Energon. He turned to Starscream.

    'Yes Starscream, this is what I meant by "extensive modifications"' his mandibles moved as he spoke.

    Starscream was disgusted, who would do this to themselves he thought.

    'You turned yourself into an Insecticon?'

    'No not fully, I had already tested making an Insecticon/Decepticon hybrid, and after realizing how great the test results were, I used it on myself, Luckily in the end studies revealed that the pulses from the spacebridge didn't affect Insecticons. It saved my life Starscream.'

    'You're a… freak!' Starscream tossed away his Energon and slid down the edge of the crater.

    'Starscream wait!' Shockwave called as he chased after him.
    Starscream stood in the middle of the crater and placed his hands on his hips looking for a sign of a cloaked figure.

    'You ready Swoop?' asked Slag

    'Anytime big guy'

    'Then pull the switch now!'


    A loud banging sound occurred causing the two Decepticons to dart around trying to find a source of the noise.
    The Skyscrapers surrounding the Crater began to tip over, all leaning towards Starscream and Shockwave.

    Well I'm getting out of here thought Starscream as he transformed to fly away.

    'Snarl!'

    'On it'

    A sniper bullet hit Starscream’s cockpit causing him to fall back into the crater.

    The Skyscrapers fell and crashed atop of the crater with both Decepticons still inside.

    ________________________________________

    Next time:

    'Witness the cure… that the love in your hands… shall spawn into the beauty… of our universe ...'
     
  5. TheSwipe95

    TheSwipe95 TheSwipe95

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    This is fantastic! I like where this is going.
     
  6. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

    ________________________________________

    Chapter 5: Symbols and Scriptures

    Ark Medbay

    Ratchet took a step back from the injured Autobot and admired his work, all the wounds were mended, stitched up and reflowing with energon. He began to examine his patient. A concerned look came across his face as he began to recognize the Autobot in question.

    'Zeta Prime?'

    The old Prime leader turned his head like a wind up doll and stared at Ratchet.

    'Why wasn't I rescued Ratchet?'

    The bulky bot rolled off the table with a thud before limply standing back up.
    'Why didn't you go with Optimus to save me?'

    Ratchet gasped and began to back away from the dead Prime.
    'Primus, Zeta, what are you doing ali-'

    Zeta grabbed Ratchet by the shoulders, digging his fingers in, puncturing the medics white armor; he pushed the old medical officer against a work table.

    'WHY COULDN'T YOU DO YOUR BEST SAVE ME RATCHET?!' Zetas low rumbling voice had now morphed into a high pitched scream as he shook ratchet violently. Each time Zeta shook him, his fingers dug deeper within Ratchet's shoulder causing the medical officer to scream in agony.

    Ratchet reached for a buzz saw on the table behind him and turned it on. Without thinking he swung it at Zeta, cutting off both of the old Prime’s arms.

    'WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS RATCHET?! I WAS YOUR FRIEND!'

    Ratchet stumbled away from the armless bot. His lip quivered before he was able to form the right words.
    'I am so sorry.'

    A figure grabbed Ratchets shoulder. The medic turned around hoping to see a friendly face, only to realize that the bot had no face, let alone a head to begin with. All that was there was a lone brain module loosely connected to some wires above the neck.

    'Sideswipe?! you-'

    The red bot wrapped his fingers around his brain and began to tug on it; as he did so; more wires began to rip out with it.

    'Sideswipe, don't do that!' he screamed as he tried to pull the headless bot’s arms away, they were strong but began to weaken long enough for Ratchet to pull them down. The red Sideswipe began to go limp, Ratchet observed the area of the Autobot’s head for a brain module only to see it was missing. To his horror, the damp, crunched up brain module was in his hand, Ratchets hand.

    'NO, NO, NO, NO' Ratchet fell to his knees pushed the body away from him, he put his hands over his face and whimpered. He heard more footsteps walk towards him. As he looked up, he saw First-aid standing still, staring at the broken medical officer.

    'First Aid please, it was Sideswipe, he just…'

    'Witness the cure… that the love in your hands… shall spawn into the beauty… of our universe'

    'What?'

    First Aid fell to his knees and retracted his face plate; green liquid began spewing from his lips. His chest began to bulge and eventually exploded open as a small blue and black Cybertronian came crawling out, tearing apart First Aid’s chest in the process. It looked like Soundwave. Shielding his eyes from the horror, Ratchet felt a breeze come over him, he winced before opening his eyes, he was no longer in the med bay, he was on the Ark as it flew through space. To the left of him were the corpse of Prime and Megatron. They had no legs, however they were both smiling with their arms around each other as if they were celebrating together. In front of him was Bumblebee who was holding a nucleon shock cannon.

    'You aren't trying your best to save us doc'

    A single blast from the cannon tore a gaping hole in Ratchet, killing him instantly.

    Ratchet woke up screaming.
    Oh Primus what was that, he thought. Ratchet experienced dreams like this when he first started his training during the war, but this one was far worse than the dreams he had back then. Those dreams were usually about having his head crest fall into a patients conversion cog or his fingers melting before him. Ratchet sat up, What if what happened to Sideswipe in the dream meant…

    He jumped off of his recharge slab and sprinted towards the ER, inside was Sideswipe, brain module still intact, or at least as intact as it was before. He let out a sigh; it was just a dream he assured himself, just a dream.

    'You okay Ratchet?'

    Arcee stood outside the ER, her processor had been repaired however she still had some burn marks around her torso.

    'I'm fine Arcee' he said as he walked over to her.

    'You sure? Because you look like you were just visited by Megatron.'

    Ratchet let out a sigh and leaned himself on the nearest wall.
    'It's just been the work load, First Aid has stopped helping and Fixit has been having trouble taking care of everyone else while I work on Sideswipe here.'

    'I heard from Fixit that it was bad but… how bad is it?' she said as she tried to look over Ratchets shoulder to see Sideswipe

    Ratchet looked back at the slab where Sideswipes body was, all the damages on the body were repaired, he even fixed his arm back on, but the brain module no matter how he looked at it, made him sick to his stomach.

    'I will be honest with you Arcee,' Ratchet tried looking her in the eye but he failed to manage a single glance. 'I don't think I can save him'
    Arcee stared at him; she looked at him as if he had just told her he was really Megatron in disguise or as if he just told her Perceptor wanted to play tag with her.

    'You're kidding right?’

    'What do you mean?'

    'You are going to do something for him aren't you?' Arcee motioned at Sideswipe over Ratchets shoulder.

    She's no different from First Aid, he thought.

    'What can I do Arcee? If I attempt surgery, even the tiniest mistake can kill him.'

    Arcee turned away from Ratchet and rubbed her optics
    'Is there any other chance for him to survive that would make the process less dangerous?'

    'No, I'm afraid surgery would be the only option'
    She sighed and turned back around and faced Ratchet.
    Her face looked determined yet sad. It was the kind of look Wheeljack made whenever he would create an invention that he knows will backfire anyway.

    'Then it looks like you only have one option'

    Ratchet groaned in an annoyed tone
    'Arcee I told you, surgery is far too risky, if I make one mistake-'

    'Then you let him die knowing you tried your best to save him.'

    Ratchet had déjà vu.

    He saw truth in her words, Sideswipe will never recover on his own; Ratchet couldn't give up on an Autobot, especially when the Autobot still has a beating spark.

    'Okay, I'll do it' he said nodding.

    Arcee smiled.
    'Great to hear Ratch.'

    She gave him a pat on the shoulder.
    'Whatever happens, just know that you did your best to save him.'

    'Understood, now if you would excuse me, I have a patient to tend to'

    'Ah yes, my apologies doctor.'

    Arcee walked out of the room, glancing back with a smile for a brief moment before walking out of the med bay.

    Ratchet turned to his patient.
    'Well Sideswipe, you've really gotten yourself into trouble this time.'

    He began to work.

    First Aid drove to the medbay in ambulance mode, he greeted Air raid as he passed to make up for last time, however this time it was Air raid who didn't reply. Transforming to robot mode, First aid squeezed past Arcee through the entrance and headed towards the ER. He had been thinking, perhaps he had been too hard on Ratchet, he had felt the same way about losing friends before, of course Ratchet wasn't one to have friends. Ratchet once told him that Besides Ironhide, Optimus, Wheeljack and the deceased Bumblebee; he saw the majority of the troops as generic looking robots that he confused with Scattershot a lot. First aid was being a hypocrite and he knew it, what was he thinking leaving the rest of the work to Fixit when he had been complaining to Ratchet about not doing his job, it contradicted what he stood for.

    He went to the ER expecting to see Ratchet slumped over, still feeling overwhelmed. However what he saw actually surprised him, Ratchet was working on Sideswipe, tools in hand, Ratchet was carefully pulling out lose wires and broken metal and rearranging the parts of Sideswipes brain module. Most of all it was the look of determination on Ratchets face that sold it; it appeared that Ratchet actually wanted to repair Sideswipe again. First Aid smiled behind his faceplate and jogged over to Fixit to help repair the wounded Stakeout and Goldrod
    ________________________________________

    Outside the Ark

    'Drop the Protectobot, NOW!'

    Hotshot drew his path blaster. The strange creature's left scythe was still slit though Groove's torso while the other pointed towards them.

    'Now, now' the creature spoke 'my blade is only inches from this borehole's spark, one shot and your friend bites it'

    Jazz signaled Hotshot to lower his gun and stepped forward.
    'Hey listen we don't want any trouble, just put the bot down and we can talk'

    Perceptor had radioed Jetfire.
    'Jetfire is everything alright?'

    The creature shot a glance at the flier.
    'Don't even think about answering it buddy.' He said motioning to Groove

    'Okay' Jetfire transformed to robot mode and dropped Bluestreak.

    ‘Ow Rude’ muttered Bluestreak under his breath

    'I am terminating the connection'

    'Jetire wha-' Perceptor's voice was soon replaced with static.

    'Now what do you want from us?'

    With Groove in scythe, the creature walked over to the jungle nearby the ark.

    'Follow'

    Jetfire looked at the others, Wheeljack was still carrying Silverbolt and Cliffjumper in his carrier mode, while Hotshot and Jazz still had claw and bite marks all over them.

    'Listen, we will follow you as long as you allow us to mend our friends.'

    'Hah, you think I'm an idiot? I don't want your whole damn army coming out to get me. I need you all to come with me before you lot go around telling your buddies to aim and shoot'

    'You don't understand, we really need medical attention, if you let us in then we can drop off our wounded then we can..'
    The creature made a small slit in Grooves neck with his scythe, causing energon to leak out.

    'Oops well would you look at that, now you better come quickly, I doubt you have much time before your buddy here leaks himself dry.'
    ________________________________________

    Nemesis: Medbay

    'So what you are saying is that she is a hypnotist?'

    Thundercracker groaned.
    'No Dirge, that isn't what I meant at all'

    'But you just said that she can get people to things for her because of the way she was manufactured; wouldn't she be manufactured with a hypnosis power then?'

    'No I didn't mean she was manufactured with anything special, I just meant that she was manufactured in a way which made her able to er… how do I put this'

    Dirge looked annoyed 'You tell me?'

    'Okay, okay I got it' Thundercracker waved his hand in assurance

    'You see Dirge; there are two different kinds of Transformers…'

    'Autobots and Decepticons'

    'No, well yes, but there are also males and females'

    Dirge opened his mouth and nodded.
    'Right, but didn't the majority of females die in the war?'

    'Technically every female Decepticon either died or had abandoned Cybertron sometime during the war; the former makes up the majority of course.'
    Dirge brought his fingers to his lips in thought. 'Okay so what makes the females any more special than us?'
    Thundercracker took a seat next to a terminal and spun it around for him to sit on it.

    'You see Dirge, you don't remember it because well… you weren't manufactured at the time, but back in the golden age - before the war - we actually had lessons teaching us about the history of our race. Back in the ancient's time we were more organic, more so in biology than in appearance but the similarity was there. During that time the ancients couldn't create more of them by the Allspark like we used to, so they went through a process called "budding"'

    'Ah yes of course… what's budding?'

    'Basically budding was a process where one Transformer would give birth to another biologically; this was only accomplished by the females, However it was said to be an extremely long and painful process.'

    'That doesn't make any sense' Dirge spat as he raised his hand in denial 'How is that even supposed to work? And were we not involved in any of that?'

    'Well technically the ancient's males were involved, at the time the well of allspark hadn't been discovered yet…' A look of fear and disgust ran across Thundercrackers face,
    '…and thus the only way to create a transformer was to use another's spark.'

    Dirge stared at him blankly as if waiting for Thundercracker to admit it to being a joke or to laugh it off. Dirge's optics widened as the seeker continued.

    'Budding was a nasty process yet a necessary one, the males had to give up there sparks in order for the females to go through the process, Now I know what you're thinking Dirge, I can tell by the look on your face, but at the time the ancients lacked the ways of creation we had in our lifetimes.
    While you would think the males would rather live than give up there sparks for another, Primus knows why, death by giving up their sparks was apparently the number one goal of every Cybertronian to the point where they would worship the females. The females would devour the males sparks and then birth a being out of their chests.

    In the end the females would live on and the males would be replaced with more whereas if a female were to die, another female would be born to replace that one.'

    Dirge placed a hand on his forehead and shook his head trying to process the info dump. He raised his head and scanned him for a sign that he was making it all up, but that wasn't the Thundercracker he knew.

    'So what had changed?'

    Thundercracker rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and shrugged

    'By the time the core and the well of Allspark were discovered, the budding process became obsolete. After time the ancients evolved, while budding was forever lost, females were still forged regularly from the well. Of course after becoming a target during the war they were mostly killed off'

    'So what you're saying is that Slipstream, as well as other females, have that same sort of effect on males as they did during the ancients time?'

    Thundercracker nodded 'Exactly, most of us still have that same urge to give up our sparks for her that we had received from our ancestors'

    'But it's not like she can still take our sparks can she?'

    'Thankfully No, femmes lost that ability a long time ago.'

    Dirge stared at the floor, still unsure of what he had just learned.
    'Thundercracker, why weren't we taught this during the war?'

    Thundercracker let out a sigh and stood up 'Megatron never thought history was important, he always said we should be "looking forward at our bright future."'

    'Well if you ask me, I wouldn't mind knowing a bit more about our, er… "History"'

    'Maybe, although you haven't even heard the half of it, there was the Quintesson invasion, the original thirteen, the first landing on moon base one, the Harvest, The Novacon war, the transportation of the sun, the…'
    Dirge stared at him intently; Thundercracker realized what he got himself into.

    'Sigh okay let's start with the thirteen…'
    ________________________________________

    Within the jungles surrounding the Ark, The Autobots follow the strange creature…

    'I don't trust him Jazz' whispered Hotshot

    'Gee what makes you say that? The fact that he just slit open Grooves neck?' he replied sarcastically

    Jetfire, now carrying Bluestreak around his arm jogged up beside the creature
    'Would you at least mind telling us where you are leading us?'

    'Don't worry you won't have to walk much farther, I am just going to help you become a bit more –Ah "acquainted" so to speak'

    'And what is that supposed to mean?' asked Jazz

    'It means I am going to kill you all in the slowest most painful death you can imagine'

    The Autobot’s stopped walking and glared at the creature

    'Nah I'm just #$%ing with you guys, my friends and I just want to let you know about the, terms of this planet before you end up killing yourselves.'

    'To be perfectly honest with you I doubt some of us will survive through listening to your terms before you let us leave.' said Wheeljack

    'Oh now that is just mean' spat the creature ‘we aren’t that boring of talkers’

    'No I mean Cliffjumper is rusting, the corrosive slime has finished eating away at his chest plate, I don't know how much longer he can hold on'

    Jazz looked frantic,
    'Listen man we really need medical attention, is there anything you can do for us?'

    'Relax we're here.'

    The Autobots moved into a clearing where a crashed ship lay buried in some rubble. The only intact part of the ship was visible as a hatch that was left open.

    'Grotusque, Doublecross, get your afts out here and help our guests'
    Two robots sprinted out of the ship and ran towards the Autobots. One had red limbs, a blue chest and head, and had small wings poking out of his back, the other had white and black limbs with red shoulders and dragon heads for hands. While one of them grabbed Bluestreak, the other reached into the back of Wheeljack carrier mode and pulled out Cliffjumper, the acid had turned black and parts of the small Autobots cranium were now crumbling off revealing a skull-like head.

    'Get them onto the repair bay stat!'

    The Autobots followed the three into the ship, at the end of the hallway was a medical bay, Cliffjumper was placed on a slab and hooked up to some sort of tube that stopped the corrosion, above him however was something there Wheeljack hadn't seen since the core shut down on Cybertron.

    'Repair rays!'

    Doublecross turned to him

    'What? Oh yeah these things, they should fix your friend up just fine'
    The repair rays shot a wave of energon on Cliffjumper, causing his body to shift and regenerate the parts that had rusted away, it was a slow process, but at least he would live. Silverbolt, Groove and Bluestreak were put on slabs as well where more repair rays sprouted and began to work.

    Grotusque gave off a hearty laugh 'Hey Repugnus where did you find these guys? They look like $#!%'

    Repugnus ignored him and turned to Jetfire.

    'Now then' The bug creature transformed to a yellow and red robot.

    'Where shall we begin?'

    Hotshot shot a quizzical glance to Jazz who decided to speak first

    'First off' he began ‘What is up with you guys? Are you Autobots or what, and what is with that alt mode?'

    'I am quite surprised actually'

    Repugnus flopped onto a metal couch in the corner of the room and lied down with his hands behind his head.

    'None of you recognize me after all these years'

    Hotshot examined the bot closer before snapping his fingers 'Repugnus! I remember you now; we were under Fortress Maximus's command once on Cybertron' He chuckled enthusiastically ' I remember now because all you used to do back then was curse in other languages, what are you doing out here?'

    'They were exiled' stated Jetfire bitterly

    The other Autobots turned to him

    'You and the others were forever known as Monsterbots after what you did, it's the truth isn't it?'

    Repugnus ran his optics across the ceiling blankly 'More or less.'

    'Exile?' asked Wheeljack who was scrubbing some oil off his hands with a cloth
    'I've heard of some cruel punishments but what did you do to get exiled?'

    Repugnus cringed, he turned his head to see the four standing Autobots staring at him, behind them he could see Grotusque and Doublecross giving him stern looks. He had realized how awkward lying on the couch was while everyone stood, it felt like he was in therapy with four psychiatrists which he hated to admit, had indeed experienced when he was still on Cybertron.

    'Let's talk about what is more important now shall we?' he said sitting up.
    He cleared his throat, 'As you have obviously already noticed, this planet is not welcome to visitors, especially those without beast modes such as yourselves'

    'So those monsters we fought earlier are Cybertronians like us? Asked Jazz

    'Ah yes the Terrorcons, I couldn't mistake Blot’s slime for anything else. Yeah the Terrorcons are Cybertronians, however they have become a little too fond of this planet and have become nothing more than the $#!% stains they scanned, I doubt they can even transform anymore.'

    'I wouldn't be surprised' said Hotshot as he stretched his arms 'Next time we see those three it will be with Ironhide, Perceptor and the others' He smiled as he cracked his neck 'Then we will see who wants to make a meal out of my friends.'

    Repugnus laughed 'Three? You haven't even seen their leader Hun-grr fight. Unlike his lackeys Cutthroat, Blot and Rippersnapper who just like to chew and spit up their food, Hun-grr likes to completely devour his'

    Hotshot lowered his arms in disappointment.

    'Are there any other Cybertronians here besides us?' asked Jetfire

    'Yeah more than you think, you see this planet has had several ships land here.'

    Repugnus cackled and shook his head.

    'Actually more so it had several ships crash here, anyways there is what you could call a small civilization a few kliks away from here. You want energon? Then you better ask the leaders over there for some.'

    After realising Repugnus had finished, Wheeljack spoke up.
    'Er thanks Repugnus, we will keep in touch yeah?'

    'Don't bother, we will be moving our ship in a few hours for a new place to mine energon, the stuff doesn't come cheap y’know.'

    Doublecross stepped in 'It's even harder to purify it than to find it thanks to this damn planet' He looked to the side and bit his lip 'your buddies are looking better by the way.'

    Hotshot walked over to Bluestreak whose legs had regenerated with the help of the repair rays. Bluestreak spotted him and a smug smile stretched across his face.

    'Hey bud, how's it going?' he asked while sitting up 'Some nice folks we got here, but that Repugnus guy keeps "bugging me" eh? Get it, because-'

    Hotshot sighed 'Yeah because he turns into a giant bug creature I get it'

    'Hah yeah exactly, you should hear the jokes I thought of for Grotusque and Doublecross'

    'Maybe another time Bluestreak, Y'know before we were attacked, you mentioned a place where all anyone did was race?'

    Bluestreak's grin broadened

    'Yup, I can't remember who I heard it from, but apparently the world is as big as Cybertron and is currently in another golden age!'

    Hotshot rested his arms at the edge of Bluestreak's slab with a childish grin
    'What is this place called Bluestreak?'

    'The planets name is Velocitron, but most people call it the speed planet' He waved his hand in an arch dramatically as he said speed planet.

    'Is what you say really true Bluestreak?'

    'Of course it isn't' snapped Jazz

    'Jazz?' Hotshot gave a quizzical look 'You don't believe in Velocitron?'

    'I don't, that's because it's all a load of scrap. Velocitron is just something all the sport jockeys came up with early on in the war in order to cope with no longer having their little racing to keep them occupied'
    Hotshot stood up and stared at his feet, his fists were clenched tightly.

    'Well if you put it that way Jazz, then I guess It is best not to talk about stupid things like racing'

    He faked a laugh and walked out solemnly. The now restored Cliffjumper ran up to Jazz and punched him in the shoulder.

    'What is wrong with you Jazz?' He pointed a finger at the spec ops agent and scowled 'He looks up to you y'know?'

    Jazz raised his lip and brushed away his partners hand before walking out of the Monsterbots medbay.

    Cliffjumper leaned on a recharge slab and looked at Bluestreak.
    'I can't remember the last time I’ve seen him like this.'

    ‘Huh… I guess’

    Bluestreak had remembered who it was that told him about Velocitron, although he must've been mistakened. If he remembered correctly, then the Autobot who told him about Velocitron was Jazz. Although Jazz had a different name back then, it was no doubt the same person, even considering how different that bot was back then compared to how he was just moments ago…
    ________________________________________

    10 or so kliks away give or take…

    'Ironhide I think I found something!'

    The red Autobot jogged over to Warpaths position.

    'What was that?'

    'I said I think I found something' Warpath pointed down at a pile of vines where the shine of metal gleamed beneath it.

    Ironhide knelt down and pulled away the vines revealing more of the metal. He took off an energon knife from his belt and cut into the plant life, slowly tearing more of it away until what came into view was a neatly printed picture on the metal. Ironhide stood up and crossed his arms as he gazed down at the picture. It appeared to be more of a symbol really; it was that of a head with one side being metallic and the other side organic looking. Ironhide couldn't help but find the metallic part of the head familiar. The organic half had pink skin and silver hair coming out of its scalp, an ugly looking creature in Ironhide's personal opinion.

    'What is it?' asked Warpath

    'Not entirely sure' Ironhide sheathed the knife and unclipped a scatter blaster from his belt
    'But we're about to find out'

    Ironhide fired a round into the symbol sending shards of metal flying into the air, the veteran cleared way the smoke to reveal a dark hole underneath.

    Warpath flinched.
    'We uh- we aren't going in there are we?'

    Ironhide looked at him and smirked before sliding legs first into the hole. Warpath shrugged and followed him inside. Everything was pitch-black and it felt like he was standing on a slope.

    'Ironhide I can't see a thing, where are you?'

    'Relax kid I'm right here, just gimme' a sec to turn on my lights'
    At either side of Ironhide's head shone small light's. He looked at Warpath who shielded his visor from the light.

    'Well? Aren't you going to turn on your head lights?'

    'Wha- oh okay I thought you meant, never mind hold on a sec'

    Warpath turned on his lights allowing the two bots to get a better view of where they were. They were in a tilted metal corridor; the angle that the hallway leaned gave the Autobots an ominous feeling, as if they were in a fun house during night time when nobody was around.

    'It would be best if we stick together.'

    'Don't have to tell me again Old timer…'

    The two bots walked down the hallway, they took a couple of turns until they came across a light switch on the wall.

    'Warpath be careful, it could be a tra-'

    Warpath flicked the switch.

    'WARPATH!'

    'Huh? Oh sorry I didn't hear you.'

    The lights came on revealing the lime green hallway to be cluttered with odd tools and weapons. Painted on the walls were alien symbols and scriptures.

    'Have you seen anything like this before Ironhide?'

    'Nah kid I aint the one to be asking those kinds of questions, that's the kind of stuff you would ask Ku-'

    A figure caught Ironhide’s optic through a crack in a doorway.

    'Hold on a second kid'

    Ironhide opened the door and pointed his scatter blaster at the figure. The figure was sitting in a chair, with a metal beam stuck through their skull.
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron

    Starscream groaned as he picked himself up, he felt like someone had dropped a building on him, as his memories returned to him he realized that a building had indeed fallen on top of him. But where had Shockwave gone, and who could have done this. He took a look around, it appeared that he was somewhere beneath the surface. He must have fallen through the crater before he was meant to be crushed. It was dark but he could make out some of the shapes of scattered scrap metal left by the rotting decay of the space slug corpses.

    'Shockwave! Where have you gone? I am not in the mood for digging myself up so come and help your master.'

    'Starscream…'

    'Shockwave?'

    Starscream followed the voice and tripped over a pole like object, falling onto the rough metal floor, he winced in pain as he pierced his hands on the sharp metal while pushing himself up. He spotted Shockwave standing on a large heap with his single eye staring at his ground below him.

    'Shockwave what are you-'

    'Hypothesis…'

    Starscream jumped onto the heap Shockwave was standing on to get a better look at what the one eyed scientist was staring at.

    'We are currently standing on the life signal that fell from the sky Starscream.'

    Starscream scoffed 'What are you talking about; this is just a…pile…of'

    The seeker took another look at what he had tripped on, it appeared to be a cannon, he traced down the cannons barrel to see what it was connected to, he made out a large head followed by a larger chest which the two were standing on. It was then with fear and surprise, that Starscream had realized that he was standing on the deactivated body of Bruticus.

    ________________________________________

    Next time

    'One of my secret projects actually'
     
  7. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 6: Because I'm still Living

    Ratchet sighed as he packed away his scalpel. He looked over the black processor one last time before turning to his data pad to take note. He had done well, better than he thought he would have done. The brain had some of its minor functions on line, but no matter what else he tried, it just wasn't enough, just as he feared, Ratchet could not bring Sideswipe back. Thinking back to what Arcee had said, he had still done his job to the best of his ability, and in the end he thought he did a good job. He had failed, but he thought positively, Sideswipe was no worse from before the operation, he was still alive, but there was just nothing Ratchet could do about it. He walked out of the ER cleaning his hands with a cloth where First Aid greeted him, he observed Ratchet with a stern look.

    'How is he?'

    Ratchet gripped the cloth. He was afraid of what First Aid would say, ironically enough it was usually the younger Autobot that was worried about what Ratchet would think after failing to save a life.

    'I'm sorry First Aid, I did all I could, I did! But the central wirings were left cut for too long and the connections to the muscular skeletal systems were too far down his throat to be recovered, I'm sorry First Aid I just…'

    'Ratchet' First Aid put a hand on his shoulder. Ratchets head shot back up

    'you did all you could, I believe you, is he still alive?'

    Ratchet nodded.

    'Then relax, we still have hope' First Aid tapped at his wrist revealing a hologram of a repair ray.

    'Jetfire sent a message about 15 minutes ago; he said he found some exiled Autobots… don't ask. Anyways he says they have repair rays from before the planet shut down. Maybe we could use them to help Sideswipe.'
    Ratchet shook his head 'No, repair rays have only been known to repair the body, they would be useless on a brain module.'
    First aid turned off the hologram and slumped over an empty recharge slab.

    'So we just leave him like this?'

    Ratchet hated the idea of leaving Sideswipe the way he was, but the idea of killing Sideswipe went against what he stood for as a doctor.

    'Yes, I think we will be leaving him like this for the time being, until we have an idea of what to do with him at least.'

    First Aid nodded in agreement; there was a moment of silence, the two medical officers were unsure of what to say to each other at this point. Finally Ratchet broke the silence with a low cough.

    '… How's Trailbreaker doing?'

    'Still in stasis, the big guy is nearly done his repairs, hard to think he has been in stasis for over a year now.'

    Ratchet nodded 'Aid… what do you think is going to happen to us in the future? I mean we are stuck on this planet with little energon, how long do you think we will survive?'

    First Aid sat on the recharge slab and stared at the floor.
    'To be honest Ratch, that's one of those questions that you don't want to know the answer to'
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron, beneath the surface…

    'Bruticus?!' Starscream yelled in Shock 'What is he doing here?'

    Shockwave crouched down next to the giant and examined Bruticus' face, in a second Shockwave thought of 54 answers to what Bruticus could have been doing on Cybertron when he should have been with Megatron on the Nemesis. He deduced that the most Logical reason would be…

    'He was shot off the Ark and landed here'

    Starscream chuckled to himself

    'Oh of course, miles and miles away from Cybertron, and he just fell back with little more than a few burns? What logic did you put into that?'

    Shockwave thought to himself, it really didn't make any sense, If Bruticus fell back to Cybertron, then he would have suffered burns much worse than these, By calculating the time it has been since Bruticus has landed, plus the severity of the burns, Shockwave came to the conclusion that Bruticus had to have fallen from at least Moon base one. He began to recalculate possibilities.

    After a moment of watching Shockwave mutter to himself, Starscream realized that the scientist wasn't going to answer him for at least another minute so he jumped off of Bruticus and examined him, the legs made by Swindle and the old ground commander Brawl, the Arms made from Vortex and Blastoff. Then there was Onslaught, the chest and head of Bruticus, Starscream felt compelled to shoot the traitor right now, but of course, considering the current situation perhaps it would be best to let Shockwave do his thing. He wasn't an idiot; at least not to him anyway, it should have been perfectly fine to vent his rage by a simple kick to the head rather than a shot to the head. He lifted his leg back and kicked the gestalts massive cranium.

    'OW MY FOOT!' Starscream screamed, He WAS an idiot, , who in their right mind would just kick a combiner in the head, stupid.

    'Starscream, what did you do?'

    Starscream glanced back at Shockwave who was pointing at Bruticus' head.
    It appeared that Starscream had activated something when he kicked the combiner. Bruticus’ large eyes glowed dark red, but before Shockwave could get a better look, dark red beams shot out of both eye sockets and burned through the downed skyscrapers above them. An electrical surge then went through Bruticus' body and zapped Shockwave, sending the one eyed con flying into a corner.

    The beams finally stopped and Bruticus' eyes turned dark again. Shockwave brushed himself off and pulled some debris out of his armless shoulder.

    'Starscream, I have reason to believe Bruticus was captured during his fall through space'

    Starscream, still skeptical from the display he had seen, tiptoed over Bruticus.

    'What do you mean captured? He is right here you moron'

    'What I mean to say Starscream, is that Bruticus has been experimented on before crash landing here'

    Starscream scoffed 'You would know ALL about that' he said while glaring at the one eyed Decepticons chine where his mandible’s were hidden

    Shockwave ignored him and continued his analysis
    'I believe that Bruticus had been captured by Autobots, following an experimentation process of some kind, once it was done, they through him away, leaving him here to die'

    'So he shoots some lasers out of his eyes big whoop. What kind of experiments would Autobots want to do on a brute like…Bruticus?' So that's why he is named that, Starscream thought. Brute…Bruticus

    Shockwave pointed at each of Bruticus' limbs
    'See those scars?'

    'Yeah, what about them'

    'They are where the Combaticon’s conversion cogs are supposed to be'

    Starscream looked at Bruticus and then looked back at Shockwave.
    'You are saying the Autobots took their conversion cogs?'

    'Without his conversion cogs, Bruticus will not have a hope of splitting back into the Combaticons until they are replaced'

    'You think the Autobots are trying to rip off our combiner technology'
    Shockwave shrugged 'I somehow doubt it.

    The seeker crossed his arms and frowned
    'You don't think it is Autobots, do you?'

    Shockwave didn't answer. Starscream sighed and looked up at the two holes the beams of light that had erupted from Bruticus' eyes had created through the skyscrapers. This was no accident; someone tried to kill them, but who else was still on Cybertron?

    'Dinobots'

    'Who?' Starscream felt as though he just had his mind read.

    'Slug, Swoop and Snarl' the remaining members of Grimlocks team, I have come to the conclusion that they plan to kill us and use my secret project to escape from Cybertron.'

    Starscream cringed when he heard Shockwave say escape. It was if Cybertron had now become a living hell to most, which it indeed has.

    'What is this secret project you speak of?'

    'One of my secret projects actually.'

    'Ah so just like your little self-experiment' said Starscream in disgust.

    Shockwave lifted his hand up to the part of his head where his mandibles were covered.

    'That reminds me'

    He dragged his fingers from his face up to the white antenna at the side of his head.

    'Kickback, do you read?'
    ________________________________________

    Shockwave’s tower

    Kickback and Hardshell had just finished devouring their insecticon brother Sharpshot. While Kickback would miss the company of his brother, he was proud to admit he had always wondered what Sharpshot tasted like, better than he expected.

    'Kickback, do you read?'

    Kickback stood up straight and radioed back

    'Kickback here sir'

    'What is your status?'

    'Sharpshot is delicious… I mean Sharpshot is dead, and Hardshell suffered some wounds, but don't worry I am fine.'

    'That is not what I care about Kickback, I just need someone to activate experiments: VNM DELUXE and CHPSHP DELUXE

    Hardshell overheard and responded back

    'But sir, those experiments are-'

    'So help me Hardshell'

    'Understood'

    Hardshell turned to Kickback.

    'Let's go Kickback; we have an errand for Shockwave'

    'YAY!'
    ________________________________________

    The Crashed alien ship: Ironhide and Warpaths location

    Ironhide lowered his weapon

    'Relax kid, he won't be hurt'n anyone anytime soon'

    'I am the one relaxed; you are the one who drew your weapon.'

    'Ah shut it, see if there is anything in here that looks useful'

    The two Autobots searched the ship, Ironhide, ignoring the dead green robot, searched through desks only to find them all empty, Warpath on the other hand came across a large door that reached a high ceiling, wondering what was inside, the red tank opened the large doors and peered in. He gasped and fell to his knees; within this room was something he thought he would only ever dream about.

    'BLAM!'

    Inside the room were rows and rows of guns alongside other weaponry, all shiny and new looking. Warpath ran up to each gun, staring at them like a little kid on Christmas morning. Big ones, small ones, all sorts of guns and cannons one could ever want or need. He pulled the guns off of the walls and brought them all to the floor. He began to dance around like a ballerina in joy as he lifted the guns and threw them up in the air allowing them to shower all over him, he fell back in the pile of guns and cannons and did what would be an equivalent of a snow angel in the fire arms.

    'YES, YES, YES!'

    Ironhide was standing in the doorway speechless.

    'What in the name of Primus are you doing?'

    Warpath jumped to his feet and scratched the back of his head

    'Oh well um… hey Ironhide check out these cannons, you would probably like them'

    Ironhide thought he had searched through everything in the other room. However he had missed what was in the palm of the dead green robots hand, it was an audio log, after finally rewinding, the audio log played itself on its own.

    'This is Flacker, I OH GOD I think it's… wait….. I think….. imagined …something... in doorway. My partners Oval… Fleet …..dead; died trying…. get away….anyone recei…. this message, wh…ever you do, ..nt go to…plan…ebu….s… I repeat.. do …not..OH GOD…THERE…IS….GET AWAY…GE….OU…. MY HEAD!….SCREEEEEEEEEEE. End log.'

    'Hey did you hear something Warpath?'

    'What?'

    'Never mind'
    ________________________________________
    The Monsterbot's ship…


    After explaining the situation to Perceptor via intercom, Jetfire gathered the Autobots in a circle as he addressed them.

    'Alright Autobots, Perceptor and I have decided that the best course of action would be to meet with the occupants of this civilization Repugnus had talked about, Groove will be heading back to the Ark, anyone else who wishes to head back is welcome to go with him'

    'Finally!' said Hotshot 'I am sick of this place, I'm heading back to take a nap, someone wake me up when we are off the planet.'
    Hotshot transformed and drove to the exit. Bluestreak soon followed behind.
    Repugnus strolled over to Groove and held out a hand.

    'No hard feelings eh chum?'

    Groove slapped it away in disgust.

    'You could have killed me!'

    'Ah that was in the past, besides how else am I supposed to get someone attention?'

    'Several ways actually, asking politely, NOT stabbing people…'

    'Aww cheer up, if it wasn't for us your little red friend would be dead'

    Groove shrugged and drove away in motorcycle mode.

    'Hey, I was expecting a thank you at least!'

    Wheeljack worked on repairing the clutch drone, He decided to add some rockets that shot drills to the drone - just in case. He turned to Cliffjumper who caught his attention by doing some jumping jacks.

    'You aren't heading back Cliff? You only just recovered from your corrosive state.'

    'Ah relax Wheels, I'm perfectly fine now, and besides someone needs to keep an eye on Mr. Grump'

    'Who,' Wheeljack crossed his arms and paused to think 'Silverbolt?'

    'What? No. well yeah him too, but I am talking about Jazz.'

    Wheeljack snapped his fingers 'Right! Yeah weird how he snapped at Hotshot like that, maybe it had to do with his past'

    Cliffjumper tilted his head and gave Wheeljack an odd look.

    'What about his past? Besides the dozens of medals he shows off, all I have ever heard about his past is that he trained himself in Metallikato for a while but that's the only thing that has really stood out…'

    'No not that Cliff, I'm talking about the stuff he doesn't want you to know about. You see he was a racer back in the day, along with other Autobots that have forever left Cybertron such as Windcharger, Swerve and of course the champion Blurr. One day he was close to getting into the finals where the top athletes would compete in "speed planet" no one knew where it was located however races were always filmed there.'

    Wheeljack chuckled 'They say speed planet was an actual planet, however for some reason Jazz just dropped out in the last minute. I wouldn't think it would still bother him now, but who knows what is going on in his head, am I right Cliff?'

    Cliffjumper didn't looked amused,

    'Pfft that's dumb, Jazz wouldn't freak out over something like that, would he?'
    Wheeljack shrugged.

    Jetfire counted heads, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper and Jazz looked like they were willing to go with him. He looked over at Silverbolt. He was mended; however he was leaning on a wall and staring at the floor as usual.

    'Er you gonna come with us Silverbolt?'

    He nodded

    'Okay then…'

    Jetfire meant to ask him about what was on his mind; but felt like it wasn't a good time. He was approached by Grotusque.

    'Repugnus wanted me to escort you to the village, I'm sure you don't mind'

    'Oh not at all' Jetfire thought it was funny how just earlier one of them was ready to kill Groove and that they were ready to trust them again so easily.

    'Alright then let's head out' Grotusque transformed into a blue, brown and red dragon like creature with bat wings and moved towards the exit.'

    'Now my memory isn't the best, but I believe before every mission Optimus Prime would say something like "Autobots, Transform and…. $# % those Decepticons, right up their @$$'s"
    The Autobots as well as Doublecross all groaned in unison with a mix of
    "ewws" and "dang it that's nasty". Only Repugnus let out a laugh.

    'Not literally.' assured Grotusque
    ________________________________________
    Arks Med bay

    Red Hot had finally been fully mended, leaving only Trailbreaker and Blades still in need of repairs.

    Fixit looked up at Ratchet and shook his arm to get some attention.

    'Can I help you Fixit?'

    'Why don't you take a break, it is getting kinda late and all you have been doing is working all day.'
    Ratchet smiled down at him.

    'Well let me tell you how much I appreciate it Fixit but…' He looked over at Blades who only needed a few tweaking to be fully recovered, he then looked down at his hands that were shaking from all the work he had done.

    'Maybe you are right Fixit, early Aerialbot catches the con as they say.'
    He allowed Fixit to finish repairs and strolled over to his quarters in the med bay, he passed by the ER and looked into the room, the lights were off but he could still see the stasis pod with Sideswipe’s body within it, First Aid had started putting his head back together earlier as Ratchet could see Sideswipe’s lower jaw already attached to his neck. Something seemed off however, it looked like something was moving next to the pod. He moved closer to get a better look, a big crack was over the glass of the stasis pod holding Sideswipe, to Ratchets horror it looked as if the crack grew as a shadow passed over it. Someone was trying to break the glass.

    'Hey you there, stop what you are doing!' He ran into the ER and sprinted towards the shadow. The shadow noticed Ratchet and jumped into an air duct, bumping and scraping echoed through the walls of the Ark as the shadowy figure crawled away through the ducts.
    Ratchet radioed Perceptor,

    'Perceptor, someone tried to kill Sideswipe, I think a Decepticon may have escaped, get someone to search through the ducts, they could be anywhere in the Ark by now.

    Throughout the Ark the sounds of the figure escaping through the ducts were heard, Stakeout and Seawatch were having an argument about alt modes when they both paused to listen in, Scattershot was polishing his weapons as he raised his head upon hearing the sound, Hotshot, Groove and Bluestreak had just approached the Ark when they could hear a faint scraping sound.
    Soundwave could hear every word being said within the Ark, naturally the sound was easy for him to hear as well, not as easy for his minions however.
    Hotspot was berating Streetwise for bullying Phaser when they heard it, whereas Hound, Lightspeed and Cosmos were all woken up from napping as they heard the scraping coming from the vents above.

    Below in the Decepticons cells, Breakdown freaked out as he heard the scraping above while the other Stunticons remained quiet, Dirt boss kept complaining about the noise and pestered Longhaul to make it stop. Barricade looked around from his cell and overheard the guards, Beachcomber and Powerglide explaining to Perceptor that none of the Decepticons had escaped. Back in the Med bay Ratchet shut his optics and felt a wave of despair wash over him after receiving the info from Perceptor, that whoever tried to kill Sideswipe had to have been an Autobot.
    ________________________________________
    The Nemesis: Bridge

    Slipstream had told Thundercracker the plan to attack the Autobots and rescue Soundwave and the others. He hated the idea that the war was not yet over, that they would still have to fight, however he trusted Slipstream, she had a better motive than to just kill the Autobots, she planned to rescue their comrades, and that was enough for Thundercracker to trust her actions.

    'So what happens after we rescue them?' he asked

    'Simple, we destroy the Ark thus ending the Autobots lives confirming
    Decepticon victory'

    'So then that's it? We are done the war?'

    'Correct!' she said with a bright smile. 'As much as I would like to take our comrades and run, according to Soundwave, we out number them 10 to one so it would only make sense to end them rather than let them live to fight again'

    Thundercracker grinned; the war would actually be over, no more fighting. He was truly excited for a battle for once. Ending the Autobots once and for all, reuniting all Decepticons, take over another planet and rebuild Cybertron. Everything will be perfect he thought, after all this perhaps he and Skywarp could sit in a bar, have a drink and look back at Megatron, Starscream and the Autobots and laugh at the silly war. Maybe he would even become famous, new sparkling's would see him on the street and run up to him for autographs, a television show could be made chronicling the Decepticons battles to destroy the evil forces of the Autobots, and he could have a lead role.

    He laughed at the thought. No, things would never be that easy, maybe some other group of Cybertronians would rebel, or some sort of evil force would end their peace. Something like that always had to happen.
    Dirge walked onto the bridge and headed straight for Thundercracker, Needlenose and the black and purple half jet Fireshot soon followed with worried glances.

    Dirge approached Thundercracker and punched him in the face causing the blue seeker to fall on his back onto the cool smooth floor.

    'You frag what the slag was that for?!'

    Slipstream immediately burst with laughter from the sight of Thundercracker getting hit, she almost immediately fell on her aft from laughing too hard. Dirge clenched his fist and held Thundercracker up by the collar.

    'You lied to me!'

    'What? about what?'

    Dirge through another fist at Thundercrackers face
    'All those stories, you never told me they were just legends'

    Thundercracker tried to loosen Dirges grip.
    'They weren't all legends; they were all passed down from our ancestors.
    Some people just don't like to believe some of it since it was so long ago'

    'Pfft, you should have told me that before I went around talking about Females devouring sparks, do you know how embarrassing that was? Everyone was laughing at me!'

    Dirge readied another punch, Dent’s already marked Thundercracker’s face from the last few hits and the next would most likely knock him out.

    Slipstream wrapped her fingers around Dirge’s wrist
    'Hahah, please….hahah….please don't…heh… don't hit him Dirge’ her expression turned cold ‘we don't need any fighting to go on in here, besides…'
    She leant closer until her head was over the coneheaded con’s shoulder. She whispered into his audio receptor.
    'You know what they say about how females were able to devour sparks? Perhaps it is all truer than you realize, and perhaps we haven't actually lost that ability like most think.'
    She licked her lips intimidatingly causing Dirge to immediately back away and sprinted out of the bridge as fast as he could.

    'Feh should a seen that coming' said Fireshot, the smaller jet turned to Needlenose 'Wanna get back to Pwning noobs in Fires of Deception: Novacon warfare 3?' he asked Needlenose.

    'Hell yeah' Needlenose raised his fist in the air 'let's head back to my quarters before Spinister unplugs it again. He keeps saying it's wastes energy, heh idiot.'

    Slipstream lent out her hand and helped Thundercracker up. He held his face where Dirge had hit him and groaned.

    'I think you scared him off'

    Slipstream let out another laugh 'He’ll probably get over it soon enough.'

    Thundercracker stared at her 'You can't actually devour other Cybertronians sparks by mental command can you?'

    Slipstream winked at him 'I'm not telling, that is for you to figure out for
    yourself.'

    Thundercracker chuckled to himself lightly 'Great'

    He began to limp to the medbay.

    ‘Yo Thundercracker?’ Slipstream called ‘Why are you limping, you were hit in the face!’

    ‘I don’t know!’
    ________________________________________

    Jetfire's team location, nearby the planets civilization.

    The sky had turned dark, it had become nightfall during the Autobots trek through the jungle. Jazz, Cliffjumper and Wheeljack had to resort to walking on foot due to the thickness of the trees while Jetfire, Silverbolt and Grotusque flew above them.

    'Just a few more minutes till we're there guys' said Grotusque as he flew in his bat dragon mode.

    'Excellent' exclaimed Jetfire 'but what do we do about shelter? Is there somewhere we can rest in this village or will we be stuck powering down outside?'
    Before Grotusque could answer it began to rain.

    'Damn, everyone stop what you are doing, we should find some shelter before we end up rusting'
    The Autobots complied and Silverbolt and Jetfire flew down with Grotusque to the other Autobots.

    'There' said Grotusque pointing at a large tree with wide leave
    'A tree' stated Cliffjumper
    'Yup'
    'What about it?'
    'That is where we will be staying the night'
    'You are kidding right?' said Wheeljack 'You expect us to power down in dirt and mud and… dirt?'

    Grotusque smirked 'Aww I'm sorry, does the little Autobot need a blanket to go with that free shelter?'

    Wheeljack growled at him, he realized it sounded a lot more stupid than it should have sounded threatening.

    'Both of you can it' said Jetfire 'Grotusque is right, we need somewhere to rest and I don't want to rust out here in the rain'
    Cliffjumper shook, Rust? Oh Primus. He was still haunted by his incident earlier that day.

    'Yeah let's just get under the tree shall we?' he said nervously
    The group huddled under the large tree and Grotusque transformed to robot mode.

    'I will take the first watch, get a good rest, you will need it.'

    'Uh thanks' replied Jetfire.

    An hour later, Jazz and Cliffjumper had powered down, Jazz sat leaning his back on the tree as he slept, his partner Cliffjumper leaned beside him, resting his head on Jazz's shoulder as he snored with his mouth wide open. Wheeljack kept getting up and moving to a different spot under the tree, he just couldn't find a comfortable position to power down. Jetfire couldn't sleep either; He leaned on the other side of the tree, arms behind his head. He watched Silverbolt who stood at the edge of the trees sheltering leaves. Jetfire figured now would be the best time to ask; he got on his feet and walked over to Silverbolt.

    'Hey Bolt, are you okay?'
    The Aerialbot stared at the rain; the sound of the drops vibrated against the ground and dripped down in streams from each leaf. Silverbolt appeared mesmerized by it, Jetfire wasn't surprised, such a huge change from Cybertron, compared to black oil and orange rust, the green and brown of the trees and the soothing sound of the jungle was truly a more peaceful world. Silverbolt turned to his flying companion.

    'I'm fine Jetfire.’

    'You don't seem fine.'

    'Why do you say that?'

    'You have been quiet lately; most Autobots on board have seen you moping around in the halls sometimes and the daydreaming…' Jetfire shook his head.

    'There is nothing wrong with daydreaming but it is just so unlike you. What is with you Silverbolt?
    Silverbolt looked back Jetfire, his optics filled with sadness.

    'What is with me?'

    Jetfire nodded 'Yes, why are you acting this way?'

    'I guess that's because…' he paused

    'Because I am still living, Jetfire'
    ________________________________________

    Ark Medbay: 2:30 am

    Ratchet knew Sideswipe's assassin would return, it was only a matter of time. He was hidden, hidden somewhere they would least suspect in the ER.
    Perceptor had recommended having Pointblank or Sureshot do the deed but Ratchet insisted, he wanted to see the assasin for himself. He had waited for hours, he knew that the shadowy figure would return to finish the job, And surely enough, it did, the figure was hard to see from Ratchet’s position while the lights were off, but there was no mistake, that was the same shadow that tried to break the glass of Sideswipes stasis pod. The figure tried hacking away at the glass with a club. Ratchet watched silently as the figure shattered the glass, turning off all life support in the machine.

    Just as planned, Ratchet burst from the stasis pod and strangled the shadowy figure’s slender neck. Earlier he had Fixit move Sideswipes body to another stasis pod in the ward and covered it with spare parts, Ratchet had been hidden inside Sideswipes original stasis pod for ours waiting for the right moment, and that moment was now.

    'Fixit, the lights NOW!'

    Fixit heard the signal and turned on all power in the med bay. The bright burst of light revealed who the assassin was.

    Ratchet fell back in shock.

    'What? No you… Why would you do this? But I thought… WHY?'
     
  8. ARCTrooperAlpha

    ARCTrooperAlpha Well-Known Member

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    Ten bucks that the assassin is First Aid ! : )
     
  9. LegoShokwave123

    LegoShokwave123 (-_-)

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    I'm with ARC, I'm betting it's First Aid.
     
  10. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 7: Trying to Kill them

    Cybertron: Shockwave's hidden laboratory…

    Hardshell was unsure of Shockwaves decision, then again as long as he wasn't slagged in the process it didn't concern him. What bothered him however was that these test subjects still hadn't seen the light of day. Kickback looked rather excited, it appeared that to him releasing these experiments would be interesting. For Hardshell however, releasing these experiments would be suicide. The two Insecticons stood at either side of two large tanks,

    Shockwave had told them that the only way to open both tanks would be to pull a lever simultaneously; Shockwave always loved the whole simultaneous lever pull, thought Hardshell.

    'Are you ready Kickback?' he asked

    'Why of course!' he said with a grin

    The two pulled the levers, at first nothing happened. Then after a few seconds, steam began to poor out of the tanks. As if the dead were walking through a graveyard, two large Insecticons had stepped out of the tanks and into the steamy room, both were about Megatron's height one was brown and red with a bulky body and pincers sticking out of his back, the other was thinner, with a green body and a large orange head, wings sprouted from his back.

    Hardshell whistled as he stared at his larger Insecticon compatriots. He turned on his communicator and radioed Shockwave.

    'Not bad boss, not bad at all'

    'We have no time for admiration Hardshell 'radioed an impatient Shockwave'I need you to escort them to my position and help us out of this rubble'

    'Will do' He turned to the two test subjects and wringed his hands, their gazes were emotionless. Their personalities had probably not set in thought Hardshell.

    These Insecticons weren't the same as he or Kickback, and they were far more different from the lesser Insecticons. After the apparent success from Shockwaves self-test to fuse insecticon with Cybertronian, He had begun to create his own Insecticons the same way as he had done to Grimlock and the Dinobots. Hardshell naturally felt uneasy, seeing what Shockwave had done to his race, of course his inner scientist felt a wave of pleasure whenever he were to exercise a test.

    'Chop Shop, Venom.' He said addressing the brown and green Insecticons respectively.

    'Let us go serve your creator, and show the remaining Autobots of this planet, what it means to fight against the Insecticon hive!'
    Expecting a cheer, Hardshell felt embarrassed when all the Insecticons responded with were nods. He shrugged and transformed to his armoured beetle mode. The Deluxe Insecticons did the same, Chop Shop turning into a stag beetle himself, while Venom transformed into a cicada like creature.

    'Hardshell' contacted Shockwave 'before you go, I need you to wait for Kickback; he needs to pick something up for me'

    'And what might that be my lord?'

    Before he got a response, Shockwave had already contacted Kickback
    'Kickback'

    'Yes sir?'

    'I need you to pick up some energon and my blast cannon, or the Sling Shock as Sharpshot used to call it'

    Back underneath the crater created by Bruticus, Shockwave's index finger rubbed the side of her antenna; He looked over at Starscream who was poking at Bruticus' eye socket and lowered his voice.

    'I need it, as there is an armed nuisance here that must be terminated.'

    'I gotcha Shockwave, will do 'Kickback closed the connection.

    Starscream wandered over to Shockwave.
    'What were you just saying to those buffoons?'

    'Just to give us some extra armaments for our assault on the Dinobots'

    Starscream grinned 'Excellent Shockwave, those savages won't know what hit them'

    The Seeker walked back towards Bruticus' body, unknown to the fact that Shockwave was planning to terminate him, and that by the time the Insecticons arrive, he would have every means of doing so.
    ________________________________________

    The Ark's prison block

    Powerglide waved back at Scattershot and Streetwise as he and Beachcomber went up the lift.

    'Don't let them give you any trouble boys!'

    'Don't worry' assured Scattershot 'They'll behave themselves'

    He looked over at Barricades cell
    'Won't they?'

    'Blow it out of your exhaust port' replied the small black robot
    Scattershot ignored him and turned to Streetwise.

    'Hey kid, I thought it was Afterburners shift'
    The red and white scout stood with his arms crossed and wore an annoyed expression

    'Hotspot pulled some strings with Perceptor; put me on guard duty as some kind of punishment for talking down one of the Astros'

    He crossed his arms and stared at one of the cells.

    'If you tell me, I am sick of all these smaller groups and teams, the Aerialbots, Protectobots, Astro squad, Rescue Patrol, It is no different from the caste system we had before the war'

    Streetwise kicked Ramjets cell.

    'Hey watch it Autobrain!'

    He ignored the Seeker and continued

    'I hate how Hotspot keeps treating me like some kid, I might as well leave the Protectobots y'know? First Aid is probably thinking that leaving the group was the best thing that ever happened to him, being Ratchet’s right hand medic and all. '

    Scattershot shrugged and stared at the young Protectobot.

    'Look kid…'
    Streetwise glared at him

    'Er I mean Streetwise, if you want to leave the group, just ask your boss, Hotspot is the understandin’ type after all. But even then, do you have any idea what leaving the group would accomplish? Being a part of a group only gives you opportunities to work together with your partners, there is a chance ya may just get yerself killed if you end up going solo'
    Scattershot chuckled 'You wouldn't believe how many times my Technobots had to haul me outta trouble.'

    Streetwise shrugged, just as he opened his mouth he heard a faint screeching sound, similar to the screeching of metal on metal in the ducts, however this sounded more synthesized.

    Scattershot heard it too, his head darting to the source of the screeching which came from the hole in the side of the ship that was blown open by Air Raids missiles, it was still barely blocked off, Huffer had been working on constructing a cover for the hole made of steel planks and was now covering his audio receptors to block out the sound of the screeching. As the two bots raised their weapons, the screeching grew louder. Decepticons trying to catch a stasis nap covered their audio receptors in pain while Scattershot walked over to the hole and peered through. Suddenly several large bats flew through the hole, Scattershot fell on his back in shock, almost landing on Huffer in the process, as Streetwise started blasting the bats. Most of his shots had missed as the majority of the bats either flew out of the Ark or had stuck themselves to the ceiling.

    Streetwise jogged over to Scattershot
    'You okay man?' he said helping him up

    'Yeah I'm a'right'

    'Gee I'm fine too thanks for asking' said Huffer bitterly as he brushed himself off.

    'Shut up Huffer' replied Streetwise.

    Scattershot looked over at one of the cells, it was empty.
    'What in tarnation?'

    'What?'

    'Huffer, tell me there wasn't anyone in that cell before the bats came in'

    Huffer looked over at the cell in question
    'Wasn't that one of the Casseticon's cells? I thought Soundwave took all his tapes.'

    Scattershot shook his head 'Naw he left one behind.'

    Streetwise shot him a confused glance 'Well a tape can't just sprout legs and be off can it?'

    The Technobot sighed 'Ah I'm probably just a little jumpy from the bats, reckon I'm just imagining things.'

    Outside the Ark, Ratbat was free, he flew through the night with glee, Finally after all these years of being trapped within that boars chest, he finally had a real body, a mangy one he admitted, but it still had flight. He was able to escape the Ark as the bats flew in, scanning one from his cassette mode was an easy process, thankfully he retained his small size allowing him to squeeze through the bars with ease and join the flock of bats. Now he just needed to figure out what to do next, rejoin the Decepticons perhaps, or maybe the Autobots would let him stay. He decided not to think about it, for now he would embrace his freedom.
    ________________________________________

    Up in the Arks medbay…

    'Why are you doing this? You told me to save him… I…I don't understand'

    'I told you to do your best to save him, not to leave him like this!'

    Ratchet couldn't wrap his mind around it, Arcee loved her fellow Autobots, she was the last Autobot Ratchet would ever expect to hurt one of her own.

    'I did try my best to save him, I just couldn't manage to do it, believe me Arcee if there was anything else I could do to save him I swear, I would do it, but the way he is now-'

    Arcee cocked her gun at him with a cold expression on her face.
    'Enough Ratchet, you left Sideswipe alive, you told me that anything you tried could have killed him, so why isn't he already dead, why not just put him out of his misery while he is left like this?'

    Fixit had radioed Ratchet from outside the ER
    'Ratchet, we have a problem out here, can you-'

    Ratchet ignored him and turned off his communicator
    'Damn it Arcee what do you expect me to do, splatter his brain module with a hammer? You can tell me to do my best to save him, to take all risks to save his life, but if you tell me to kill him in cold blood, then by Primus, I will not stand for it!'

    Arcee’s hand trembled on the trigger, she looked as if she were going to cry

    'Please Ratchet, why leave him in this state, why won't you let him join the Allspark with the rest of the Autobots that have died in the war?'

    First Aid had entered the room and pointed an assault rifle at Arcee.
    'That's because he doesn't believe in the Allspark' he looked over at Ratchet 'isn't that true Ratchet?'

    Ratchet nodded his head. Arcee turned from Ratchet, to First Aid and back again, her lower lip trembling
    'How can you even think that Ratchet, everyone who had died in this war, Zeta Prime, Sunstreaker, even Bumblebee, what do you expect happened to them all after they died?'

    For a split second, Ratchet could have sworn he had heard the sound of a gunshot.
    'When you die, you die…' Ratchets voice sounded grim 'there is nothing more to it'

    Arcee shook her head,
    'Enough, Ratchet, if death is what you say it is, then what difference would it make if you were to end his life now?'

    Ratchet brought his hand up to his face and thought to himself, Is Arcee right? Sideswipe was barely alive as he already was; would pulling the plug be the right thing to do? It would save Energon to turn off the life support, and it wouldn't make a difference for Sideswipe considering the condition he is in now.

    'Don't listen to her Ratchet' snapped First Aid 'If you kill him now, how would you be able to live with yourself knowing that you were the one that ended Sideswipes life? What would Bumblebee want?' He shook his head 'No, what would Optimus want?'

    Ratchet was left at a crossroad, was Sideswipes life worth it? Could it be that considering the state he was in already, Sideswipe might as well have been already dead? True to what First Aid said, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself, and if Optimus was here, he would never forgive Ratchet for forcing Sideswipe to fall into deaths cold embrace. But what was death? Ratchet had admitted to being an Atheist, something Optimus would always argue with him about. He didn't believe in Primus, or the thirteen, or even the Allspark, the only thing that left that small belief, that small part of his conscious that said "what if" - was the Matrix of Leadership. He remembered when Optimus returned to the surface. Ratchet had returned to base after Omega had shut down his systems, When Optimus had returned from the core of Cybertron and told the story of how the core "spoke" to him, Ratchet had thought it to be a joke. That was, until Optimus had shown him the Matrix. He, Perceptor, and even Jetfire had inspected the darned thing dozens of times yet they couldn't figure out what material it was, not a single element matched. That was one mystery; the other was what the Matrix did to Primes body.
    The months that followed the Autobot leader’s return from the core, Optimus would spend nights screaming in pain. Each morning, his body would look somewhat different. The Large wheels he held on his shoulders had seemingly shrunk and tucked themselves into his lower back; his smooth and streamlined truck mode had morphed into a bigger and bulkier fist of an alt mode. What was also strange was the fact that Optimus would never notice the changes to his body, Ratchet would ask about his wider head whereas Prime would respond with, "It wasn't always like that?" But what may have been the strangest detail about what the matrix did to Prime's body that was apparent to any Cybertronian was that Prime’s body matched the description of their god Primus right down to the last detail.

    The fact had baffled scientific minds for the past few years Optimus had been in possession of the relic, for Ratchet at least it would still take a lot more to make him believe in Primus.
    Despite all this, he felt like Arcee was right, and he knew why.

    'Arcee, you are using Sparkmeal Psychology on me'

    First-Aid looked at Ratchet with a confused glance

    'The Primal instinct most male Cybertronians have towards females that causes them to do whatever the female wishes'

    Arcee Frowned. 'Ratchet, that is sick. Why would I give you the urge to… to give me your spark'

    First aid tilted his head 'Wait what?'

    'I will tell you later First Aid' Ratchet assured

    Arcee’s terrified look had changed to a stern frown. 'I am not using Sparkmeal Psychology Ratchet. I am telling you what the right thing is. You can do the right thing Ratchet, just let him go.'

    He looked at his options for one last time, would ending Sideswipe’s life really allow him to join with the Allspark? He couldn't decide he needed a third opinion. He raised his hand to his head.

    'Fixit, I need you to come in here.'

    He waited. No answer
    'Fixit?'

    He raised his hands above his head in surrender and slowly walked past Arcee and First Aid, Arcee kept her weapon raised at him just as First Aid pointed his weapon at her. He opened the entrance to the ER and turned his head from one side of the med bay to the other; Fixit was nowhere to be seen. He felt a cold hand wrap around his ankle and looked down.
    To his shock, Fixit was lying face down on the ground as smoke breathed out of a large hole in his back.

    'FIXIT!'

    Fixit's attacker stepped into Ratchets view.

    Air Raid pointed a Riot cannon at Ratchet.

    'Which one tried to kill Sideswipe' he said motioning to Arcee and First Aid

    'Arcee'

    Air Raid pistol whipped Ratchet, knocking him aside and walked into the ER.

    The two Autobots stared at him with confusion.

    'Air Raid?' Arcee asked in confusion 'What are you-'

    Air Raid aimed the Riot Cannon at Arcee and opened fire; each blast took off chunks of her armor causing sparks and energon to fly from her wounds. Her eyes flickered before dimming as she fell to the energon stained floor with a clang, her shocked expression had remained on her face as she fell into stasis lock.

    Air Raid Stop!' First Aid screamed as he leapt onto the Aerialbot's back.

    The larger Aerialbot warrior threw the medic against the wall and aimed his riot cannon at the motionless Arcee's head.

    'This is what you deserve for trying to kill my friend, traitor'

    Just as he readied his cannon and prepared to fire, the whole Ark began to shake, tossing the Autobots across the room.

    'What the hell's…'

    Air raid looked down and realized that he was standing on the ceiling; the Ark had somehow been turned upside down.
    ________________________________________
    Jetfires team: Now

    Grotusque had told Jetfire to let him settle things; they had reached the fence that surrounded the village. It was large, made up of massive wooden spikes that made it impossible to look into the civilization it hid. The entrance to the village was guarded by two robots; one was mainly yellow with purple legs and a purple backpack. The other was bulkier with a purple body, yellow legs, a yellow jaw shaped chest plate as well as a long purple backpack that rose over his head. Grotusque appeared to be arguing with the two, Jetfire wasn't certain if this was a bad thing, or if arguments were just a part of this planets culture, most likely a bad thing. This was the last thing on Jetfires mind however as the conversation he had with Silverbolt last night had kept him thinking.
    ________________________________________
    Last Night

    Jetfire stared at him; he found it harder to read Silverbolt than back during their flight training days. Back then Silverbolt was a coward, someone who was afraid of doing something that was the equivalent to walking for them. But now Silverbolt was different, far different.

    'What did you say?' asked Jetfire

    'I said that it's because I am still living'
    Jetfire lifted his hand to his head; he blinked as he tried to comprehend what his friend was talking about.

    'You… want to die?'
    Silverbolt looked back at the rain drops

    'See the way you say it, it's as if I am crazy, or some sort of Emotional wreck'

    'Silverbolt…'

    'But I'm not, and I don’t want to die'

    'Then what-'

    Silverbolt craned his head back to Jetfire

    'Because we ran away Jetfire, We ran away and left everything behind us!'
    ________________________________________

    Now

    'Jetfire!' shouted Grotusque

    He waved him over impatiently. Jetfire noticed and sprinted over to the Monsterbot, The two guards were bigger up close. The purple one had an incredibly large and an incredibly disturbing smile while the other looked uninterested by Jetfire.

    'Is anything wrong?' he asked

    Grotusque looked at him faking a smile in the process
    'Oh no nothing, these guys just wanted to confirm that you weren't a part of a faction of any kind, correct?'

    Grotusque was nodding at him frantically. Jetfire understood and nodded back.
    'Correct, me and my friend's here…' He said pointing at the others from afar
    '...crash landed here and uh, are looking to tour the village'

    The yellow one squinted at them; his red optics ran across the Autobots and spotted their symbols.

    'What are those?' he asked skeptically

    Jetfire was about to answer before Grotusque interrupted him.
    'They are… ex-Autobots; they haven't bothered to remove their symbols because they er lack the necessary equipment to do so'

    The yellow bot shrugged
    'Good enough for me'

    He nodded at the other guard; the guard nodded back and pulled a nearby lever. The large wooden door that made up the entrance began to separate revealing the village inside. It was much smaller than Jetfire would have expected, the village was really more of an RV lot for crashed ships, better than making a house out of wood Jetfire mused. There were several robots and animals walking about the village, he figured the creatures were Cybertronian as well but he wasn't ready to speak to one in beast mode quite yet, just in case they turned out to be a pet. The other four Autobots rushed up to see for themselves.

    'Amazing' exclaimed Wheeljack 'A whole civilization of Cybertronians with these beast modes.'

    Cliffjumper whispered to Wheeljack 'Yeah? Not much more than a shanty town made out of vegetables if you asked me'

    Grotusque raised his arms into the air,
    'Yes! See I told you guys I could get you in, now then—'

    He paused for a moment and raised his index finger to the side of his head.

    'Yeah what do you want Repugnus?'
    He held out a finger to tell the Autobots to wait.
    'Alright, yeah I- got it'

    Grotusque transformed to dragon-bat mode and flew above them
    'Sorry guys, Repugnus wants me back, we're leaving for another area soon.'

    Jazz cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up at the flying Monsterbot
    'Hey now, you don't have to go and leave us all on our own'
    ________________________________________

    Last night

    'We didn't have to leave Cybertron on its own Jetfire, if Optimus hadn't rid the core with Dark energon, then we wouldn't be out here on this stupid planet'

    'What? You wanted Cybertron to be corrupted with Dark energon? Are you out of out of your mind? If the Decepticons still had control of the planets core, then we would all be scrap by now'

    'That isn't the point Jetfire, Optimus had us run away from everything we strived to protect, I… We aren't supposed to be here, we should be fighting to our last breath back on Cybertron, not scurrying around on this dirty planet!'

    'Silverbolt, I know you are upset but what Optimus did was necessary, Cybertron won't be left like that forever, and what's the point of dying if it accomplishes nothing?'

    'Jetfire haven't you ever heard the phrase… 'Better to fight and die than live with the knowledge that you ran?'
    Jetfire was about to speak but stopped himself upon realizing what Silverbolt said

    '… you quoted that from Fisitron'

    'Yeah, so what?'

    'You do know that Fisitron left Cybertron a long time ago, that quote is also one of his Fisitronisms so it should be taken with a grain of salt. Even he knew that it would be wisest to leave the planet, that's because it was necessary; you have no reason to say it wasn't.'

    Jetfire paused and turned around; Jazz and Cliffjumper were still in stasis naps. Wheeljack appeared to be too, however Jetfire couldn't shake the feeling he was only pretending.

    'That reminds me, why didn't you just stay behind yourself Silverbolt?'

    Now

    Wheeljack spoke to the guard

    'Eh look mister…'

    'Snarler'

    Wheeljack chuckled to himself 'Okay mister Snarler, our guide has just run off so would either of you care to help us get around here?'

    Jazz looked over at the smiling purple one
    'Yeah and particularly not smiles over here', he said thumbing towards the silent bot.

    'His name is Carnivac, and yeah, I know someone who can help you guys'
    Snarler smiled upon realizing who would be perfect to guide them.
    ________________________________________

    Within the village

    Two 'bots were in an argument, one was mainly grey with a yellow chest and a red face, the other looked very similar with yellow in places where the other was grey and vice versa. Unlike the other this one however had a green face rather than red.

    'Look Chainclaw, I have had it up to here with you' said the red faced one raising his hand 'I am serving under our king whether you like it or not.'

    'I am seriously worried about you Catilla, all these "missions" you have been put on, it is starting to freak me out what they are having you do.'

    'We both know that you are only worried about yourself, I like my job Chainclaw, and it isn't your business how I go about it.'

    'Catilla!' called Snarler

    'Ah now it sounds like I have a job to do'

    Catilla transformed into a mechanical saber tooth tiger like creature and sprinted off.

    Chainclaw thought to himself.
    I am just worried that you may come to regret it in the future.

    Catilla arrived at the entrance (or exit depending on your matter of perspective) and transformed back to robot mode. The visitor's badges had caught his eye.

    'Catilla, I need you to show these guys around the village.'

    Catilla looked back at the badges and back to him.
    'Seriously?'

    Snarler let out a laugh 'don’t worry, these guys aren't Autobots anymore' he turned to his guests, eh guys?'

    'Of course not' responded Jetfire almost immediately.
    He glared at the others to play along.

    'Er right' said Jazz 'Yeah them Autobots are a nasty group of a— savages'
    Snarler turned back to Catilla, 'See? They are permitted to come in'

    Catilla crossed his arms

    'You do know what the Pred Council is having me do right? Having me guide these.. Oh I see how it is, this is a joke right?'

    Snarler smiled, 'Yup, and it's a practical one, so you better get a move on'

    Catilla shrugged and waved at the Autobots to follow, he then transformed and began to run into the village.

    The Autobots glanced at each other skeptically regarding Catilla's alt mode before transforming and driving alongside the sabre tooth.

    Jetfire stared at the ships below him, they were all much smaller than the Ark, yet at the same time they held familiar designs, These ships were those that had left Cybertron during the great Exodus, these were Autobot ships, so why weren't other Autobots allowed to stay?
    ________________________________________

    Last night

    'Look Jetfire, you never classified yourself as an Aerialbot, but you should at least know that the Aerialbots are close, we had a sense of honor so to speak. At least I thought we did.'
    He sat down and leant on the tree, he tried to look up at the stars through the tree branches; however it had been too cloudy that night. Silverbolt continued
    'When Optimus announced that we would leave on a mass exodus, I wrote a speech for my troops. As I finished writing it I walked down the hall and heard a few them talking… they said that they were really going to leave Cybertron. The more I overheard, the more my spark sunk. Not a single one of them was willing to stay and fight, It was as if none of them had any reason to stay, as if they had no honor at all'
    Jetfire sat down beside Silverbolt, he stared at him intently. To Jetfire; As Silverbolt paused, it was as if the whole universe had stopped talking. Even the raindrops sounded lighter compared to Silverbolt's voice.
    'I could hear them all Jetfire, some were already packing their things. It was as if I had lost all hope for my Aerialbots… only one wanted to stay and fight…'

    Jetfire knew who it was from the tone of Silverbolts voice.
    'Air Raid'

    Silverbolt nodded solemnly 'Yeah, Air Raid was starting a commotion with the others, threatened them with a gun too. I felt proud that at least one of my brothers weren't complete cowards, but that all changed when Optimus came in… the minute I saw his face… I knew Air Raid would change'

    'And he did?'

    'Of course he did. He was consulted by Optimus Freaking Prime, he can get almost any Autobot to do anything just by talking to him and calling them "Old Friend"'

    'So you didn't say anything?'

    'How could I? I led an armada Jetfire, and each and every one of them wanted to leave. How do you expect me to talk back to Optimus Prime in front of them? How would they have seen me if I said I wanted to stay?'
    He placed his head in his hands.
    'It isn't like I can do anything about it now…' I led them all to their deaths…

    Jetfire put a hand on his shoulder 'Look mate, they sacrificed themselves to save the Ark along with many of the other Autobots, besides we still have Air Raid as well as—'

    Silverbolt slapped Jetfires hand away
    'No Jetfire, what I am trying to say is they died following my orders that I was purposely trying to kill them with!'
    ________________________________________

    Now

    'And here is our workshop' said Catilla
    The place looked primitive to Wheeljack, but a workshop is a workshop he thought.

    The room was full of equipment; most of it looked like junk to the average bot. However Wheeljack knew the difference between junk and scientific marvel. Inside the workshop was a lone Bot, He had a grey torso and a blue visor with a grey faceplate and helmet which featured light blue horns sticking out of either side, quite similar to Cliffjumper really. His legs were light blue and he had a red and blue backpack. He was tinkering around on some sort of work station.

    'Pincher, why don't you tell these guys what you are working on'

    He didn't answer…

    'Pincher?'

    The grey bot continued to work without listening.

    Catilla turned back to the Autobots

    'Yeah this guy is kind of a weirdo, we should probably just move on yeah?'

    Wheeljack let out a high pitched scream. The others held their audio receptors and stared at him in shock.

    'What?!' screamed Jazz

    Wheeljack ignored him and ran over beside Pincher pointing at the bot’s project

    'Is that a 20 megavolt stun rifle with inner laser torch compatibility?!' he asked with excitement.

    Pincher turned to him, Wheeljack found it difficult to tell if the grey bot was surprised or not because of the faceplate and visor.

    Catilla rolled his optics 'Pincher, you know "his majesty" only allows bladed weapons, so throw that thing away with the others and get to work on the stuff we are going to use'

    Pincher reached across the table for a pair of katana like blades. They glowed an ominous emerald green as he touched them. Wheeljack grabbed Pinchers wrist 'Ah ignore him and answer the question, is that what I said it was?'

    Pincher flinched
    'Yes. it is. I am surprised you recognize it.'

    'How can I not recognize it, do you have any idea who I am? I am Wheel- wait for it- JACK, only the top Mechanical Engineer on Cybertron thank you very much.' He said taking a bow.
    Pincher tilted his head 'Wheeljack?'

    'Yup, one and only'

    'Never heard of you'

    Wheeljack slammed the work table with the palm of his hand.

    'WHAT?!'
    ________________________________________

    Last night

    'You heard me Wheeljack.'

    Wheeljack had finally spoken up after eavesdropping on the conversation, he was a tone of shock and betrayal in his voice.
    'You sent your men into battle knowing they would die?!'

    'Wheeljack, calm down, let Silverbolt Speak'

    'Shut it Jetfire; don't tell me you are on this guy's side' snapped Wheeljack

    'Just let him try and explain himself first, then we can judge his actions'

    'No' said Silverbolt 'Judge me all you want, I am as disgusted with myself as you are now. During Megatrons attack on the Ark launch, before Metroplex was awakened, I led the Aerialbots out to battle, knowing that they would be escaping on the Ark rather than dying in battle sooner or later. I sent them on full on assaults; they thought they were doing the right thing, in reality they were flying straight to their deaths. It wasn't until I myself was shot down did the slaughter stop.'
    He rubbed his forehead
    'And then there was the Ark attack, only ten of our fliers are still alive now, only ten!'

    Wheeljack shook his head 'You sick piece of slag'

    'I— I just wanted them to die honourably, I realized that I was wrong and… I tried to kill myself Wheeljack!, I couldn't take it, I just…'
    Wheeljack let out a sigh and lied back down 'Look kid, I didn't hear anything tonight alright? Sending your troops on a full on assault is a crappy strategy given the odds, but it was a strategy, it worked, the Decepticons were repelled.’ He faced the other way ‘I won't tell anyone what you did, and I doubt Jetfire will either, g'night'

    Jetfire nodded. 'Your secret is safe Silverbolt'

    Silverbolt dug his face into his crossed arms 'It doesn't make me feel any better'

    Jetfire put his hand on Silverbolt's shoulder again, this time with a gentler touch.

    'Look Silverbolt, things will be made right, you aren't the only one that wanted to die fighting'

    Silverbolt stared at him 'Really?'

    Jetfire smiled softly 'Of course, two of them are in a stasis nap right over there' he said pointing at Jazz and Cliffjumper.

    Silverbolt let out a soft laugh

    'You see Silverbolt, everything's fine, we will return to Cybertron one day, and your er.. honour will return.'

    Silverbolt stared at the ground; a small grin came over his face.

    'Hey Jetfire, thanks for… this. It really means a lot to me y'know? Just letting it all out.'

    'It's my pleasure Silverbolt; I am willing to help anytime'

    'You know Jetfire? You're an even better smooth talker than Optimus.'

    'Heh… but I didn't…'

    'In fact, you’ve become a pretty damn good leader for us as of late'

    Jetfire cringed, Oh no he thought, not this again, he decided to change the subject.

    'Hey did you really say Optimus Freaking Prime earlier?'

    'Heh yeah I guess I did'

    Jetfire broke into laughter, Silverbolt soon followed. Before they knew it, the rain had stopped and the sun had been rising, their laughter echoed throughout the forest. Jetfire didn't care who could hear them, they both needed this.
    ________________________________________

    Now

    The Autobots followed their guide from out of the workshop awkwardly; Catilla was the first to speak.

    'You sure your friend will be alright staying back there?' asked Catilla

    'Oh yeah' assured Cliffjumper 'It would probably be best to leave Wheeljack and let him rant.'

    'Poor guy.' said Jazz 'having to hear Wheeljack rant about, himself. it's bound to be hell.'

    'Catilla' said Jetfire 'its Catilla right? Look we really just need meet with whoevers in charge here, so if you could please just-'

    Catilla turned around and frowned at him.
    'Our king is usually too busy around this time; you will probably have to make an appointment if you want to see them'

    King… thought Jazz, what kind of bot called themselves a king
    Jazz's trail of thought was broken as a scream came from around the corner of one of the ships.

    They raced over to see a trio of larger bots kicking around a scrawny yellow and white robot in the distance. His friends, a stout red and grey elderly looking bot, and a black and gold femme watched in shock.

    'Whassamatta Brimstone?' mocked a green and black long shouldered bot with a red Mohawk shaped helmet. "You're a body guard aint ya? Why don't you try guarding your body?' The bot kicked him in the chest another time.
    Brimstone attempted to transform as the three bots on top of him began to punch and grab at him. !he blue faced, orange bot with green limbs and an odd mustache shaped panel above his mouth got his hand caught in Brimstone's body as two panels clamped together.

    'Little punk; you trying to chop off my fragging hand or something?' The mustachioed bot cursed as he punched the transforming bot in the face just as the head tucked itself in. The bot pulled his other hand out of Brimstones tight paneling and moved each joint seeing if all worked properly.

    'Your hand alright Stranglehold?' asked the red Mohawked bot

    He rolled his hand into a fist into and grinned, 'Relax I've been through worse, now then…' Stranglehold looked down at the partially transformed robot/pterodactyl and smiled. 'Why don't we do something about all that squirming?'

    As he reached down towards the beaten bot, Brimstone's femme friend ran up and began wailing on Stranglehold.

    'Air Razor No!' cried the elderly bot

    Air Razor ignored him and continued to attack the larger bot. 'You, Leave him alone!' she screamed as she threw another punch.

    Stranglehold stared down at her and grabbed her by the waist

    'Haha well now that's cute, why don't you ditch this old man and come with us after this is done eh?' He held her closer; Air Razor could feel the bots breath on her neck and pushed him away in disgust.
    Brimstone fully in Pterodactyl mode flapped his wings to lift himself off the ground.

    'Octopunch.' said the Mohawked bot 'His punishment isn't done yet'

    The third of the trio transformed into an orange and red crab mode. A tentacle slithered out of his claw and shot towards Brimstone, catching the pterodactyl and slamming him back into the ground.

    'You think you're better than us because you can fly eh? Let's see what happens when we clip those wings o' yours' said the Mohawked bot.

    Brimstone shuddered; the village didn't have "replacement wings" or spare parts. Losing his wings would mean the end of his ability to fly, no longer would he be able to fly above the green canopies to escape the harsh reality that was on this planet. What would his friend Air Razor think when he would no longer be able to soar with her? He just couldn't live without it.

    'dnttkethm'

    The Mohawked bot leaned in and cupped his hand around his ear.
    'I'm sorry, what was that?'
    'Isddnttkthm'
    'One more time please?'
    'I SAID DON'T TAKE THEM, PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY WINGS!' he screamed

    'Oh I am sorry, but it really is your fault that it had to come to this.'

    'NO, PLEASE I WILL DO ANYTHING!'

    'Octopunch lets clip them'

    'No…'

    Octopunch wrapped his claws around Brimstone's wings and clamped them down. As metal and tissue squeezed together, a sickening crunch echoed around throughout the area.'

    'You hear that?' whispered Stranglehold to Air Razor 'That's the sound of your friends wings snapping off' Air Razor shut her eyes tight, but she could still hear the screams of her partner reverberating through her skull.

    The four Autobots and their guide stood and watched. Jetfire turned to Catilla

    'We have to do something Catilla; don't you know those Frag Offs?'

    Catilla stood motionless. 'This is simply how the laws of this planet work, survival of the fittest, my friends, survival of the fittest'

    Cliffjumper transformed

    'I am not going to sit here and watch those Rust Buckets do… that to that bot' he yelled as he sped ahead.

    Silverbolt transformed as well
    '…pieces of tin'
    his thrusters lit up as he thrusted forward beside Cliffjumper

    Jetfire panicked 'Silverbolt, Cliffjumper wait!'

    Jazz had transformed as well, not in his usual breakdancing style however. He had just transformed rather plainly.

    'Please Jazz don't tell me yo-'

    However Jazz had already boosted ahead with the others

    Catilla turned to Jetfire.
    'You have to do something about your men, once word is heard about this interference, their freedom, or more likely their lives, will be lost.'

    'What? Is there anything we can do?'

    'Well in the end it will all be determined on whether you are found guilty by the king himself.'

    'And this king is?'

    Catilla paused and squinted at Jazz, Cliffjumper and Silverbolt. They were nearing Brimstone and the trio when he noticed the crowd begin to spread. A tall figure stepped towards the scene; Octopunch had transformed and backed off. Stranglehold disappeared into the crowd leaving Air Razor behind.

    'Where are you two going?!' screamed the Mohawk bot.

    'Fine I'll do it myself' the bot transformed into an orange and green lizard and began biting down on Brimstones wing, it was far more effective than Octopunch's claws, however to Brimstone, it didn't make a difference. He could no longer feel his wing after it had snapped off. An oily tear ran down the side of his beak upon seeing his wing laid out in front of him.

    'Now it's time for wing two.' as the lizard said this, a shadow came over him, he looked up in horror to see his king standing before him. Frozen in fear all he could whimper was..
    'Razorclaw…'

    The large golden bot stood majestically. He pointed at the lizard and the Pterodactyl on top of each other and addressed three other bots that had followed him out.

    'Cindersaur, Flamefeather, Sparkstalker. Obliterate'

    The three bots transformed into a red reptilian looking monster, a Bipedal Bird looking creature and a red Bipedal insectoid creature. The three opened their mouths and shot a flurry of Pink and black flames. The flames engulfed the one winged Brimstone and the Lizard entirely; their screams were heard throughout the small village as civilian's covered their eyes in disgust. Jazz and Cliffjumper swerved to a halt as Silverbolt transformed to robot mode, sliding on the ground as he landed on his feet. All three terrified from what they witnessed.

    Air Razor covered her mouth to hold in a scream. Brimstone’s body was a mere pile of ash, nothing remained of the Pterodactyl. The Lizard's corpse was smouldering black, his head had broken off from the singed body and laid on the dirt floor, the Lizards mouth was wide open, as if still in mid scream.
    Jetfire wondered to himself; was the rest of the universe really as dirty as Cybertron was? Was there no other planet that has a golden age, where a civilization could live in harmony? His question was apparently answered this day when a bot was incinerated. This world is not where they need to be, this is not the place Optimus Prime had envisioned them to be. There was no freedom here, only a rule, one simple and tyrannical rule. Survival of the fittest.

    ________________________________________

    Next time:

    '...you idiot, you've killed us all!
     
  11. Ømnidrive

    Ømnidrive Stop.....think......fart.....and keep on going

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    MORE!!!!

    This is getting........GOOD MORE MORE MORE MORE!!!!!
     
  12. ARCTrooperAlpha

    ARCTrooperAlpha Well-Known Member

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    ............................NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY POOR TEN BUCKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sobs on LegoShokwave123's shoulders)

    I BLAME YOU PHARMA !!!!!!!!!!
     
  13. LegoShokwave123

    LegoShokwave123 (-_-)

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    It's okay. Maybe next time. (Pats ArcTrooperAlpha's head.)
     
  14. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 8: Where the Death Option comes in


    Grotusque flew towards the ship flapping his thin wings; he didn't mind moving to another location, he was more worried about what might happen to the Autobots. They knew little about the planet, Repugnus barely filled them in about it as much as he should have and it could very well have become the death of them. They could probably hold their own against Razorclaw and the others he thought, still their chances aren't the best.

    As he arrived in front of the ship he transformed to robot mode and landed on his feet, thankful that he didn’t have to spend another moment in his beast mode. He kicked a stone away and wandered over to the access terminal near the entrance. "Please enter key phrase" He tapped in the phrase and smiled "No job is too disgusting to disgust me", Repugnus' "catchphrase" so to speak. What he found was so hilarious about it was that it was true; the Monsterbots would do any job really. A team that would do the jobs that even the wreckers wouldn't do, now that's classy.

    He entered the ship and sprinted to the control room where Repugnus and Doublecross were waiting for him.

    Repugnus was sitting in the command chair; his right leg was over his other while his left index finger tapped the arm of the chair impatiently. He spoke to Grotusque without looking back.

    'You're late, I sent you like 50 messages, what the #$% took you so long?'

    Grotusque scurried to his chair and slouched over the control terminal.

    'Sorry man, I got caught up with the Autobots; the guards wouldn't let them in till I had them convinced they were neutrals' He let out a laugh 'those idiots will believe anything eh?'

    Repugnus ignored him 'Doublecross, current Energon levels'

    'Seventy two percent, strange I thought we had more than that' he scratched his head 'well it should be enough to get us to another Energon hotspot.'

    'Excellent' He turned to Grotusque 'Where is our target hotspot?'
    Grotusque looked down at his terminal hovering his hands over the keys. He stared at the keyboard as he tapped in the data. The monitor glowed to life as several red dots appeared on a blue map of the planet.

    'Says here the closest one is not too far from the Autobot's "Ark"'
    Grotusque clicked a few buttons on the arm of his command chair and a foot rest popped out of the floor below. He gave his organic muscles a stretch and relaxed his body, he rested his arms behind his head while propping his legs onto the footrest.

    'Aight then, let's take off'

    Doublecross pressed a few keys and pulled back a lever. He turned back to Repugnus

    'Takeoff in 6 seconds… 5…4…'

    The ship shook as thrusters scorched the ground below while smoke moved through the trees.

    Repugnus was unsure why, but these 6 seconds seemed longer to him. He felt like something, somehow, was wrong.

    '3…2…1 annnd we have liftoff!'

    The ship rose from the ground and thrusted towards the sky. Doublecross pulled on the controls turning the ship back at a 180 degrees angle. He left it at Autopilot and spun his chair around to face Repugnus.

    'So boss, after this next batch of Energon, does this mean we can finally head back to Cybertron?'

    Grotusque answered for Repugnus 'didn't the Autobots tell you? Cybertron is dead, there isn't anywhere we can go anymore.'

    Doublecross leapt out of his chair. 'What? Why didn't anyone tell me this, isn't this like… really big and freaky terrible news?'

    Grotusque chuckled 'Look, your other head was probably told before you last changed to beast mode and didn't bother telling you'

    Grotusque thought Doublecross's condition was hilarious; it would be
    seen as disturbing for most but then again, Grotusque could find anything funny. Doublecross had two separate minds, when in his twin headed dragon mode, both minds would be active, in robot mode however, one mind would rest while the other would be the one to take control, unfortunately Doublecross had no control over which mind took control.

    'Both of you shut up'

    The two Monsterbots looked up at their leader. Repugnus looked to either side and cupped his hand around his ear.

    'You guys hear that?'

    Doublecross tilted his head 'Hear what?'

    'It's… a dripping sound—a dripping followed by a sizzling'

    Grotusque lowered his head to listen.

    'I think it's coming from the med bay' he replied

    Repugnus jumped out of his chair and transformed to his bug monster mode.

    'Well whatever it is, dripping and sizzling probably isn't a good thing. Let's go.'

    He and the other Monsterbots sprinted down the halls of the ship and opened the med bay doors.

    'The Dripping is louder' said Repugnus 'It is definitely coming from here'

    The three stepped in the med bay, each looking for clues on what could be causing it.

    Repugnus stopped

    'Cliffjumper, that was the red ones name right?'

    Grotusque gave him a quizzical look

    'Yeah so what?'

    'Which slab did we leave him on?'

    'The one around that corner over there I think but—'

    Repugnus ran around the corner and screamed. The two other Monsterbots ran after him and witnessed what the red and yellow bot had seen.

    The slab that Cliffjumper once rested on, as well as the floor was
    completely melted, all that remained was a hole that dripped an
    orange liquid into the story below.

    'You— IDIOT!' Repugnus slashed Doublecross across the face with his scythe causing the bot to fall on his back. Clutching the wound, Doublecross grabbed a nearby metal bandage and slapped it on the slash mark.

    'Cliffjumper was infected by Blots corrosive slime, remember? You didn't bother cleaning up any left behind?!'

    Doublecross transformed to twin dragon mode, one head pointed itself at the other head vigorously.

    'He did it! I wanted to clean it but he took control, blame him not me!'

    'Who cares' snarled the other head, 'It's just some flooring, we don't even need it anyway'

    Repugnus wacked at Doublecross's guilty dragon head.

    'That isn't what I am worried about #$%****, I am worried about what the slime will affect below.'

    The Monsterbots peered into the dripping hole. The slime had dripped down into the armory, which melted another hole on the armory floor. Below that dripped into Grotusque's room, which melted yet another hole where the slime reached its final destination. The ship's energon pump, the slime had melted a good amount of it already causing energon to leak onto some of the wirings in the ships infrastructure.

    'Oh damn, oh damn, oh damn' Grotusque transformed to bat dragon mode and flew back up to the controls. Repugnus and Doublecross soon followed. Grotusque transformed to bot mode and worked the command terminal. The terminal gave a quick damage analysis before discharging some sparks and shutting off.

    'Repugnus, we need to land this thing, and fast' A low rumble echoed throughout the ship as it began to shake. 'If that slime mixes with the energon then—'

    The ship began to tilt towards the ground causing the Monsterbots to fall on their backs.

    Repugnus rubbed the back of his neck.

    'Then we're #$%ed basically'

    Grotusque was flung across the room, he grabbed onto a command chair for support. The ship tilted until he was dangling off the side of the chair as if it were a tree branch. Dear Primus he thought, the ship had gone into a nosedive. He came to a sudden realization.

    'Repugnus! This ship was designed with escape crafts located in each room. We should be able to activate one and get out of this mess alive.'

    Repugnus was still in beast mode, He dangled from above as one of his scythes were stabbed through the ceiling.

    'Then hit the switch and get us an escape craft, and remember if there isn't enough room for all of us, we leave Doublecross behind'

    'Hey, we heard that' said both heads simultaneously

    As the ship plummeted to the ground below, Grotusque transformed and flew to a blue switch labeled "Escape Craft Launch"

    Repugnus Screamed 'Wait! Grotusque that isn't the right swi—'

    Grotutusque flipped the switch and turned back to his boss

    'What? That switch said "escape craft launch" underneath it'

    Grotusque turned to a plexi glass window and watched in horror as dozens of escape crafts simply fell off of the ship.

    'You idiot! That switch launches the escape crafts, now it's impossible for us to escape. Grotusque you idiot, you've killed us all!'
    ________________________________________

    Earlier. Ironhide and Warpath test out their new found weaponry.
    Ironhide tested the weight of a pair of red cannons; they fit on his wrists almost perfectly.

    'Nice find Warpath, Nice find indeed.'

    Warpath attached a new tank cannon onto his chest.

    'Yeah pretty neat huh.'

    Ironhide walked along the walls of the room and examined the guns.

    'That's strange'

    'What is?'

    'All of these guns are hand held, why would a Cybertronian bother using hand held weapons when they can integrate one into their arm? A Cybertronian did pilot this thing after all'

    'I thought you didn't mind using hand held weapons old timer' Chuckled Warpath

    'Hey now I aint that old, they haven't made guns like these since before I knew how to transform. Now stand back.' Ironhide aimed his cannons toward the nearest wall 'I'm gonna see what these bad boys are capable of'

    Ironhide unloaded two shots, each one firing a laser blast blowing open the wall.

    Warpath ran up to him excitedly 'Lasers? Blam! Ever since we were forced to resort to bullets it just wasn't the same as it was with laser fire, er why were we forced to resort to bullets again?'

    'To save Energon Warpath, do you ever listen to what people tell you?'

    Warpath perked his head upon hearing Ironhide’s voice ‘Sorry what were you saying?’

    Ironhide laughed softly 'Didn't think so'

    The old Autobot inspected the newly formed hole where the wall used to be. Behind it was a room.

    'Warpath? Come and see this.'

    Warpath grabbed another blaster off the wall and followed Ironhide into the room.

    'Yeah, what is it?'

    'I think this is a control room of some kind'

    The room was oval shaped; In the middle of it was a hologram projector that sported an odd greenish glow, several holographic keyboards lined around it.

    Warpath scratched his head. 'So— how does it work?'

    Ironhide tapped at what appeared to be an on switch. At first, nothing, a few seconds later however, a hologram of the planet appeared in front of them. With it, several other holograms came up. They were names.

    'What in the—'

    The projector instantly listed the names of every Cybertronian on the planet with each one showing a picture and a location.

    Warpath read the first row of names for the Cybertronians with a location marked as "A".

    'Jetfire, Carnivac, Razorclaw, Cliffjumper, Air Razor, Catilla, Pincher, Silverbolt…etc'

    Warpath turned to Ironhide, 'Looks like we weren't alone after all'

    He continued and read aloud Area B

    'Perceptor, Arcee, Ratchet, Ramjet, First Aid, Hound, Blades, Barricade, Trailbreaker, Air Raid, Skydive, Scavenger, Nosecone, Huffer… etc'

    Area B was the Ark

    The next two Areas left them paralyzed in shock.

    Area C: Hun-grr, Rippersnapper, Blot, Sinnertwin, Cut-throat, Grimlock.

    Within the Jungle

    Area D: Ironhide, Warpath, Fracas*(&^^/d/wr) Egnis, Tugtac, Rettilpsriah,

    Their location

    'What the Frag?'

    Ironhide looked closer, no matter how many times he looked at it, it
    still didn't make sense.

    Warpath looked panicked 'Okay one, why. The. HELL, is Grimlock on this list? He should be dead, evaporated by the spacebridge, and two, why are those weird names said to be here… with us…?'

    Ironhide paused 'Okay one, I don't know, two it's vaporized, not "evaporated" and three, I don't know or care, it's probably just a glitch'

    Warpath put himself at ease, 'Okay, okay I gotcha, just a glitch.'

    Warpath leant his back on a nearby wall. As he leaned, his back touched a lever which proceeded to pull itself down. The room began to fill with lights.

    'Warpath, what in the pit did you just do?'

    'It's not my fault this time, I swear'

    The ship lifted itself out of the ground, dirt and debris fell aside as the spacecraft hovered about a kilometre above ground. The spacecraft was odd looking, it resembled an upside down nemesis only Green instead of purple.

    Ironhide observed the holo-projector, as well as the list, holographic controls spawned as well as a frontal view of the ship. Ironhide let out a quiet laugh

    'Well would ya look at that, we got ourselves a way to get off this rock.'

    'Hah not so bad after all eh old timer?'

    Ironhide nodded before looking back at the list solemnly.

    'Optimus isn't here' said Warpath solemnly 'He wasn't on the list was he?'

    Ironhide shook his head.

    Warpath looked down.

    'Well we got a ship; he could just be a few planets away.'

    'Yeah I hope so kid, but first—'

    He turned around and looked back through the armory.

    'We should probably give that poor guy a funeral'

    'Who, the corpse with the metal beam in his head? Why bother?'

    Ironhide rubbed his optics with his index finger and thumb. It was about time Ironhide spoke his mind.

    'I wouldn't expect you to understand Warpath, after all, for as long as I've known you have seen this whole war as a game'

    'No I—'

    'Hell do you even know what happens to the cons you shoot? They die, that means they are no longer living, I think that is pretty much a given'

    'Don't…'

    'Y'know Warpath it's about damn time someone told you to smarten up'

    'I…'

    'Do you ever stop to think, that out of all the sparkling's that have died from the lack of energon, and all the torture from the Decepticons we have had to deal with, I can't even believe people like you enjoy this scrap.'

    'Sorr—'

    'Oh don't apologize to me Warpath, apologize to all the Autobots you leave behind while you run around shooting people like a maniac.'

    '….'

    'What your problem is, is that you don't understand the value, of an Autobot life on the battlefie—'

    'DON’T YOU DARE LECTURE ME ON LIFE AND DEATH!'

    Ironhide leapt back in shock. As Warpath’s visor lit up in rage

    'I had a squad Ironhide, a team of bots that looked up to me, now
    they're dead. They died on the Ark during the Decepticons attack. I fought alongside them and did my utmost to keep them alive, I failed, boohoo, but hear me Ironhide, I would have given up myself for anyone on them, if Prime hadn't ordered me to pull your rusty hide out of the command hub, I wouldn't have had to make a memorial for the young'uns. And let's be crystal, I would have rather died any—'

    List updated,
    Area D: Repugnus, Grotusque, Doublecross, Ironhide, Warpath, Fraca—


    The Monsterbot ship nosedived into Ironhide and Warpath's spacecraft.

    Both ships exploded into a massive fireball.
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron.

    Finally, thought Shockwave. Light appeared through the ceiling as two Insecticons lifted the last amount of debris keeping the two cons from freedom.

    'Excellent' said Starscream 'Now we can get out of… hey!'

    Shockwave had shoved Starscream aside; he looked up through the hole in the ceiling to see his creations Venom and Chop shop staring down at him.

    'Kickback! My Blast cannon!'

    The smaller insecticon squeezed between the larger ones and held
    the purple blaster.

    Shockwave reached towards it. Thoughts and probabilities went through his head; He would kill Starscream, kill the Dinobots, reactivate his personal spacebridge, and rejoin Megatron. It was all perfect as long as AGGGGHHH

    Shockwave fell back clutching his head. He felt an intense burn in his cerebral processor. He clawed his skull what little it made. He let out a soft scream. The kind of scream an insecticon makes when it dies.

    'Are you okay Shockwave?'

    He turned around to see Starscream with his arms crossed.

    Shockwave turned on his circuit dampeners and relaxed.

    'Yes Starscream I am fine'

    What was that? He thought. Only one possibility came to mind, however if that were the case… He looked up to see his 4 Insecticons aiming weapons at him.

    'You will come with us unarmed' said Hardshell

    Starscream clenched Shockwaves shoulder

    'What is the meaning of this Shockwave?'

    Before he could answer, Chop shop, Venom and Hardshell kicked Shockwave to the ground, Chop shop locked a pair of laser shackles around his creator's wrist and dragged him out of the hole.

    'Shockw—' The Insecticons grabbed at Starscream, overpowering him,
    Venom managed to take Starscreams weapons and place a pair of laser shackles on him as well.

    Kickback stared at the blast cannon; he could not remember why he brought it with him. He threw it over at an oddly shaped pile of rubble and followed his Insecticon comrades.

    'Dinobots will be happy for us' said Hardshell

    Logical, thought Shockwave, He should have anticipated this, the Dinobots have most likely hacked his computers within his lab; they have gained control over his Insecticons, and nearly him. As the
    Insecticons dragged their original master to his lab, Shockwave began generating possible outcomes. All Starscream could do was scream as he was dragged by Venom.
    ________________________________________

    Jetfire and co. location

    Razorclaw stared at the burning pile of scrap before him. The civilians had made their way back to their normal lives and acted as if nothing had happened, just as he liked it.

    'Alas poor Wreckloose, he just didn't know when to stop'

    Cliffjumper clenched his fists 'Look man, I am expecting to hear one good reason not to scrap you or your buddies here this instant'

    'Cliff, what are you doing?' said Jazz as he pulled his partner away.

    Flamefeather and Cindersaur, now in robot mode snickered to each other.

    'Heheh look at the size of him, he's bite sized'

    Razorclaw shoed the Firecons away, and looked down at the small red Autobot.

    'Why do you speak of me as such civilian?'

    He noticed Cliffjumper's Autobot symbol and laughed.
    'Ah I see now, you're new here aren't you?'

    Jetfire raced over to his Autobot comrades and stood in front of Razorclaw, He was a lot larger than he looked 12 metres away beside Catilla. He was at least twice Jazz's size.

    'Listen your, er highness, we don't mean any trouble here, our friend just has a short temper, we were wondering if you would by any chance help us get our ship back up and running, we are trying to find our way to a certain planet and well… we sort of warped to the wrong place.'

    'Are you crazy?' whispered Silverbolt. 'You are trying to negotiate with him after what just happened? Do not co-operate with this bot Jetfire, he is not a friend'

    'We don't have a choice Silverbolt; this could be our only chance off this planet'

    Razorclaw stroked his chin

    An orange and black bird like Cybertronian swooped down and transformed to robot mode.

    'Razorclaw, where have you been? The meeting has already started.' The bot glared at the Autobots before looking back up at Razorclaw 'reports say that the creature tearing down the trees a mile from here has been confirmed not to be one of the Terrorcons.'

    Razorclaw gently shoved the bot away

    'Not now Divebomb'

    Razorclaw looked back down at the Autobots,

    'Okay'

    Jetfire was somewhat surprised

    'Really? I mean excellent, to be honest with you I thought there would have been a catch—'

    'On one condition'

    'Annnnd there it is' said Cliffjumper

    'One of you must best me in battle' He said while pulling a sword from his back.

    Cliffjumper laughed loudly. '"Best me in battle" you must watch way to much tv man.'

    'Silence!' Razorclaw stabbed his blade into Cliffjumper's foot causing the small bot to scream in pain

    'I expect one of you to face against me as a way to show your worth and honour on this planet, you are Autobots, you are not worthy of being here… yet.'

    'Okay, okay you found us out, yes we're Autobots' admitted Jetfire 'just tell us what your terms are and we will follow them'

    'So you wish to know what happens if you are to win? Typical, if you win, then you may have my head, this planet, the Energon and your ship.'

    'Wait, wait, wait' interrupted Jazz. 'Our ship?'

    Razorclaw chuckled 'Ah yes, did I not mention? We found your ship; I had some of my strongest men roll it over to ensure no escape'

    'What?' Jetfire resisted the urge to grab Razorclaw by the neck 'How did you…?'

    'Find it? Why I had my assassin scope it out for me.'

    He peered over Jetfires shoulder 'A good job of it too Catilla.'

    The Autobots turned around to find their guide standing behind them; his face ridden with guilt.

    'But really, who constructs a ship with exits only on the top and not the bottom, not the brightest Autobots are you?'

    'Well if you are so bright' said Jazz 'What's your grand scheme in turning our ship upside down?'

    'To ensure no surprises of course, you see if I win, I get the head of either you or your comrades, and you are given a choice'

    'And that choice is?'

    'Then your options would be either death, or to join my army. You Autobots always call in the cavalry at the last minute when all hope seems lost. Keeping your friends indoors ensures that our battle will be won fairly. Of course, together you Autobots really are quite powerful, I want that power, and you literally fell from the sky carrying an army's worth of you.'

    Cliffjumper shrugged off his wound and tried to stand tall 'That's insane, we will never join this so called system of yours.'

    Razorclaw knelt down to the small bots eye level and grinned.
    'That is where the "death" option comes in'

    Jetfire rubbed the side of his head 'I just don't understand'

    Razorclaw looked up at him 'Hm? What don't you understand?'

    'Why a one on one fight? Could we not just negotiate?'

    Razorclaw smiled beneath his faceplate 'Not settling it with a duel? Why that would be a disgrace to his name'

    Jetfire felt a chill in his processor

    'And "his name" is?'

    Razorclaw looked up at the sky in awe

    'The god of duels, honour, and glory, Megatronus himself of course'
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron: Shockwave's secret lab


    Shockwave was thrown to the ground by Chop shop, before him were his three experiments, Slug, Swoop and Snarl. Behind them was his Spacebridge project, a large arch stretching from one side of the room to the other.

    'Amazing isn't it Shockwave' said Slug 'You actually created a spacebridge small enough for one to simply walk through it, does Megatron know of this?'

    Shockwave looked up at the smirking Dinobot.

    'Yes, I was to meet up with him once he had reached the target planet. Of course your leader created complications.'

    Slug let out a laugh 'Grimlock was an idiot, believe me we all wish he hadn't blown up your tower'

    Snarl flinched, but stood silently next to Swoop regardless.

    'You need me' said Shockwave

    'Yes' Slug walked over to the Spacebridge controls 'I need you to enter the pass code'

    'Predictable, you wish to rejoin Optimus Prime and the Autobots'

    Slug raised his upper lip 'Of course, it doesn't take a genius Shockwave, you are losing your touch.'

    Slug was right, he should have anticipated Grimlock destroying the spacebridge, he should have anticipated Starscream threatening him, and he should have anticipated the Dinobots take control of the Insecticons. So much he could have done to prevent it all, given the Insecticons circuit dampeners, armed himself earlier, warned Megatron beforehand. He really was losing his touch.

    Starscream continued to squirm in his cuffs. 'Well I have a question' he said impatiently

    Slug stared at him 'And that is?'

    'What are you planning on doing with Bruticus' Transformation cogs'

    The three Dinobots looked at each other confused; Swoop whispered something to Snarl who shrugged. Finally Slug replied

    'What are you talking about? What would we need transformation cogs for? In fact what does Bruticus have to do with any of this?'

    'But… if you didn't then…'

    'Starscream' said Shockwave 'Bruticus was burning as he fell towards you correct?'

    Starscream recounted his experience before answering 'Yes, so what?'

    'Bruticus had fallen through Cybertron’s atmosphere; the time it took for us to reach the crater was too short a time span for the Dinobots to do surgery'

    He looked over at Slug 'They also lack the proper skill to try it, whoever took Bruticus' cogs is still out there, I hypothesize that the surgery had been done before Bruticus had landed on Cybertron however so…'

    Slug wandered over to Shockwave and pointed a blaster at his head

    'Well boohoo I guess you will never find out the answer to that mystery, now tell me the pass code or else you will have your brains splattered across the walls.'

    Shockwave remained silent

    'What's wrong? You aren't going to speak?'

    Swoop stepped forward 'Hey slug maybe you should ease up…'

    'Stay out of this Swoop!'

    Shockwave spoke

    '….'

    'What was that? I couldn't hear you?'

    'I said kill me, despite being Autobots, you will kill me after I give you the pass code anyways, however if I don't then you will be stranded here to die'

    Slug remained stunned

    Starscream could not speak either

    'Well… are you going to pull the trigger or not?'
    ________________________________________

    Remains of The Monsterbots ship and the alien spacecraft….

    Ironhide pulled himself out of the wreckage, he breathed heavily as he lifted the metal plating out of the way.

    Holy Primus he thought,that ship's interiors must have been indestructible to have survived that blast. But what the hell hit them?
    He got onto his feet and looked around, what was left of the two ships were almost completely singed from the explosion. Whoever piloted that ship must've been a lousy flier. Now where was Warpath.

    'Warpath? Where are ya kid?!' he called

    'Warpath?'

    Ironhide looked into the distance. He fell to his knees.

    'No'

    On the ground was a lone arm, wires sprouted out elbow joint and black liquid oozed out of the pores. Ironhide covered his face with his hands.

    The severed arm belonged to Warpath.

    ________________________________________

    Next time:

    'No matter what I do, he won't listen, I don't expect you to understand Backstop, but this is something… something that I can't talk him out of'
     
  15. LegoShokwave123

    LegoShokwave123 (-_-)

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  16. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 9: All the Nice Bots Die
    ________________________________________


    The Remains of the Monsterbots ship and an alien spacecraft…


    Ironhide stared at the severed arm for a good 2 minutes; he kept repeating to himself that it wasn’t real, that he was only imagining the slab of metal lying right in front of him. He found it nearly impossible to regain the strength to stand up let alone move., but he managed to walk forward.

    'No…No...NO!' He shouted as he raced towards the arm. Scooping it up he began cradling it gently as though it were a newborn; he had already lost Prime along with literally millions of friends. How could he have let Warpath become another casualty and from what, a crashed ship that fell from the sky? He couldn't accept it. He was the one that was supposed to die first, not the kid; he was much too young for this to happen to him. Ironhide thought back to Warpath’s last words to him and felt disgusted. The last thing Warpath ever did was show Ironhide just how much he had experienced throughout the war, how much he had matured, and how much he hated Ironhide during his last few minutes, now Ironhide was all alone, he would have to hunt for Optimus Prime by himself now.

    Or so he thought

    'Can… I… get… a hand… old timer'

    Ironhide looked up from the severed arm to see, charred black from head to toe; Warpath. All battered up, his shoulder was lacking an arm and his visor was cracked open revealing his light blue optics beneath, his faceplate looked as if it were caved in and his back appeared to be almost entirely torn off. He was having trouble standing, mainly because his legs were nothing more than skinny bone like infrastructures, and his still intact arm was missing a few fingers. Miraculously however his new tank cannon appeared untouched.

    'W-Warpath!'

    Ironhide practically leaped for joy, flinging his arm around Warpath for a bear hug, the now charred black tank cried in pain from his injuries, Ironhide immediately backed off.

    'Sorry- are you okay kid?'

    Warpath nodded weakly 'don't feel… good'

    Ironhide attempted a comforting smile although to him it felt like he was trying to hold back a sneeze 'no worries kid, we'll get you fixed up somehow, for now why don't we find you somewhere to rest up'

    Ironhide put his arm around Warpath and walked him around the flaming debris of the ship that had set fire to a number of trees.

    'Iron…hide'

    'What is it buddy?'

    'I'm sorr-'

    Ironhide raised a hand to silence the younger bot. 'No Warpath, I'm sorry, I-I didn't know, I shouldn't have been so biased with you, I'm just- I’m just glad you're okay.'

    Warpath managed to nod. They kept walking, looking for something, anything, to let them rest.

    'Ironhide…'

    'Yeah, what is it?'

    Warpath weakly pointed at something in the distance with his pinky finger, Ironhide followed the direction and saw an escape craft hanging from a tree branch, it appeared undamaged minus some dents here and there, but overall it appeared to be in good condition.

    'Wait here Warpath'

    Ironhide rested Warpath down and backed away a few metres from where he was standing.

    'ARRRGH'

    He charged at the tree and tackled it; to Ironhide surprise the whole tree tipped over and fell to the ground. Ironhide cracked his neck and pushed the escape craft onto its belly. This too was surprisingly easy for Ironhide, but then again the old rumors of Ironhide being the strongest Autobot have never been too far from the truth.

    He lifted Warpath into the craft and gently laid him down on a slab. Ironhide sat in the command chair.

    'Ironhide' the worn bot muttered 'who do you think was in that ship?' he said motioning to the remains of the crashed ships.

    Ironhide sighed 'whoever it was they are long gone now, nobody could have survived that'

    'We did'

    'Yeah well we were in some sort of advanced alien spacecraft'
    Warpath shrugged. His small movement activated a small energon repair ray, it slowly repaired Warpaths wounds and even brought back some of his paint.

    'Well I'll be…'

    'Er Ironhide could you uh… give me my arm back now'

    'Oh uh sure sorry, here you go'

    Ironhide laid Warpaths arm right under his shoulder where it should be, he turned and wandered over to what appeared to be controls and began activating the crafts power.

    'Ironhide… what are you… doing?'

    'I'm getting us off this rock'

    'But why?'

    'You saw that weird list, Optimus isn't here, and wherever he is it isn't on this smelly mud ball'

    'You sure?'

    'Heh call me crazy Warpath but somehow I know Prime's not here, I can feel it in my processor'

    'Well, what about the others?'
    Ironhide paused and thought back to the Autobots. Ratchet, Jetfire, Sideswipe, Jazz, Cliffjumper… and Perceptor. Could he just leave them behind? Could he just abandon those who he called friends for decades?

    Yes.

    'What about them?'

    Ironhide boosted the engines and steered the ship around, Energon levels were surprisingly high for an escape craft. This ought to get them at least to the next star system, he thought; they wouldn't have to worry about Energon until then. He pointed the ship to the sky and activated the thrusters. Little did Ironhide know, this would be his first and last time leaving the planet's atmosphere.

    'Ironhide?'

    'What is it?'

    Warpath dug into his chest cannon and pulled out a data chip

    'What is that?'

    'I found it inside the cannon when I grabbed it; I think it might contain something valuable'

    'Let's see it.'

    Warpath handed Ironhide the chip who plugged it into the nearest
    terminal in the craft.

    Scanning solar system for Cybertronians… Planet Beest, 4538 Cyb's confirmed, planet The'est… 0 confirmed, planet Vereth… 0 confirmed… etc

    Ironhide laughed

    'Damn right this stuff is valuable, this is gonna make finding Optimus an oil cake walk.'

    Warpath smiled under his face plate, it was the least he could do as he watched the Jungle planet shrink in the distance as they flew away from it.
    ________________________________________

    Cybertron

    Shockwave didn't have a plan to escape; all he could do was wait for an opportunity to pass.

    'Er slug?' asked Swoop 'What are you waiting for? Are you gonna kill him? Or…'

    'NO! I mean no, let me just think about this.' The Tricerabot grunted
    Slug's rifle shook as he pointed it at Shockwave's head. Shockwave stared into Slugs optics behind his red visor.

    'Predictable, you have missed a major flaw in your plan; you had never once considered that your prisoner would refuse. You are trying with all your strength not to kill me so that I will give you the pass code, but I won't, and without the pass code you will be stuck here. By my calculations you will only be able to survive without energon for another month, after that, everyone standing in this room will be dead regardless.'

    'Shockwave you traitor' shouted Starscream 'I will see you dead for this!'

    Shockwave ignored him 'your plan is flawed my pet, even Grimlock would have seen this mistake and fixed it.'

    'Shut…'

    'Mm?'

    'UP!'

    BANG

    Slug had fired his rifle. Shockwave's body went limp, Swoop and Snarl traded disturbed glances before looking back to see Shockwave's head lift itself back up. The shot had blown off Shockwave's armor plating around his chin revealing the one eyed Insecticon hybrid's mandibles as well as a chunk of his semi organic cheek.

    Slug backed away
    'What the… hell?'

    Shockwave's optic ran over the Dinobot

    'Witness Slug, the two of us aren't as different as you realize'

    'You are nothing like me!'

    'You're right; I do have a superior mind than you.'

    Slug aimed his blaster back at Shockwave’s head
    'Why aren't you scared damn it?! This next shot will really kill you
    this time!'

    The room began to shake.

    'What the frag was that?' asked an impatient Starscream

    'Swoop!' Slug turned to the flying Dinobot 'Go find out what's causing that'

    'On it boss' the Dinobot transformed to pterodactyl mode and flew off and out of the room.

    Starscream felt worried 'Shockwave what could that be? It couldn't have been the one who took Bruticus' cogs could it?'

    Shockwave doubted it, but decided not to answer

    'Now then' said Slug 'Where were we, ah yes, blasting open that hideous skull of yours'

    'Tell me Slug, which of you have decided to stay behind?'

    'Excuse me?'

    'The spacebridge will only accept teleportation of two Cybertronian's at a time; it will take about a month until your third member will be able to join you.'

    Snarl frowned at Slug 'Is that true?'

    Slug hesitated 'Of course it's not; he's just messing with us, besides we could probably find a way off Cybertron without using this spacebridge.'

    'And how do you expect to accomplish that?'

    'We— we'll figure something out, we have control over the Insecticons after all, they should be able to rebuild your spacebridge tower. We just boot up a war ship, aim for the portal and…'

    'Not logical, not enough time for the spacebridge to be fully rebuilt'

    'Damn it'
    The room shook yet again. Slug grew annoyed.

    'What the hell is that? I thought I told Swoop to—'

    Bruticus came crashing through the ceiling; Swoop's damaged body was crumpled within the palm of his left hand.

    'Bruticus online!'
    The massive combiner threw Swoop across the room and turned to
    Slug.

    'No Bruticus' ordered Shockwave, 'Destroy the Insecticon's control device!'

    Bruticus turned to a small purple control panel, with one punch, the panel was destroyed and the four Insecticon's blinked simultaneously. After realizing what was going on, Venom and Chop shop charged towards the two active Dinobots.

    'Hardshell free me!' The Insecticon unhooked Shockwave’s laser shackles and tossed them to Kickback who devoured the shackles in a few bites.

    'Excellent' Shockwave stood up and relaxed his body.

    'Don't kill them Decepticons…' He raised his arm in the air.

    'BREAK THEM!'

    Bruticus smiled behind his faceplate and smashed Slug into the ground, Snarl transformed to his beast mode and smashed his tail into the two deluxe Insecticons only for Hardshell to transform to beetle mode and fire a disruptor blast; forcing Snarl to transform into an unarmed robot form while Kickback was chewing on the stasis locked Swoop's wing.

    'Kickback, activate the Spacebridge, Pass Phrase: Legacy of Metropolis

    Kickback skipped over to the controls and pulled a lever, the arch lit up and a portal formed beneath it. Through the portal an image appeared revealing what was on the other side.

    Shockwave felt as though something was wrong, it was Starscream. He scanned the room for a sign of where the idiot had gone until he spotted the seeker at the other side of the room, crawling slowly towards the space bridge. He must not escape thought Shockwave. Shockwave began to transform but hesitated, remembering that his wings were missing. Before he could give Bruticus the order of killing Starscream, the seeker was already through the spacebridge. Shockwave could have sworn he had heard Starscream call him a "Sucker"

    'No!' Shockwave sprinted towards the spacebridge. It was his only chance of getting off of Cybertron, with the spacebridge already accepting one spark; he would have to be the second in order to leave. He was nearly there only a few more steps and…

    He tripped. Slug had grabbed Shockwave’s ankle causing the bot to fall onto his optic lens sending small cracks webbing his vision. Before he knew it, Snarl broke free of his Insecticon attackers and jumped through the space bridge, the bridge discharged a bolt of electricity before shutting down.

    'Damn it!' cried Shockwave.

    The purple bot slammed the floor, he was angry, angry? Shockwave was never angry, only annoyed, no this was not just mere anger, there was something more. Shockwave coud feel the burning feeling in his stomach, the stinging in the back of his eyes, and the pulsing of his spark, he felt evolved. It was like he finally understood Megatron’s ways. But not only that, but his mind helped him realized how to improve them, do better than Megatron.

    Shockwave looked up to see Bruticus, standing tall next to the four Insecticons, all staring at Shockwave nervously. They had never seen Shockwave act like this.

    Hardshell was the first to speak, 'Shockwave what happened?'

    'You were under the Dinobots control' he answered 'albeit briefly, Bruticus managed to destroy their machine however'

    Bruticus laughed 'Hell yeah I did, or should I say, we did.' Bruticus activated the mental command in his head, just as he had done millions of times in the past; he tried to transform. Nothing happened, he tried again. He looked down at his body; he wasn't any of the Combaticons, just Bruticus.

    Bruticus panicked 'What the hell? Why can't I transform?'

    Shockwave raised his hand in the attempt to calm the gestalt 'Calm down Bruticus, your t-cogs have been stolen. Sometime during the Nemesis' voyage to the spacebridge, you had combined and attacked the Autobots, however at one point it appears you were separated from the ship, presumably by a blast from an Autobot and were sent descending towards Cybertron. Sometime between your descension, and landing on Cybertron's surface, you were taken and had surgery done that took all five of your conversion cogs.'
    Shockwave rubbed his chin and began to pace.

    'You were then presumably tossed away once they were done with you. We are unaware who did it, only that it means that you cannot
    yet de-combine into the Combaticons.'

    'Stolen? What- but, how? why?'

    'I don't know, for now you will have to wait until your cogs have been returned, until then…' Shockwave turned to the corner of the room.
    'Fistfight, you may come out now, the fighting is over.'

    A small purple Decepticon poked his head around a piece of fallen debris and rushed over to his master.
    Shockwave patted him on the head 'You did well Fistfight, now transform'

    Fistfight transformed into Shockwaves blast cannon and reattached to his shoulder.

    Hardshell looked confused 'Wait so this blast cannon you've been making…'

    'Was the one who activated Bruticus, yes, I had given Fistfight a mental command to pump Bruticus with Energon in case something happened, thus giving us the advantage over the Dinobots'
    Hardshell scratched his head 'Well yeah there's that but I was really focusing on the fact that your blast cannon was really a Cybertronian'

    'Ah, yes. Fist fight is still in "testing" however he is technically no different from any of you.'

    Kickback whispered to Chopshop
    'Did he just insult us?' but the larger Insecticon didn't answer.

    'hrrk'

    Shockwave looked down

    'Decepticons, it appears that we have forgotten about our old friend'
    Slug was mashed into the floor, his body twitching ever so slightly, still reeling from Bruticus' strength.

    'Venom, Chop shop, bring him back to my old lab, he is in need of some extensive testing'

    'Shockwave' said Hardshell 'I can't find subject Swoop, he must've… I mean I think he escaped'

    Shockwave watched as the two larger Insecticons lifted Slugs body off the ground. Towering over them was Bruticus, still trying to comprehend what was happening.

    'It matters not, for now we have work to do'

    Fistfight sent a mental transmission up through Soundwave’s arm, into his brain

    'Two Decepticon signals have been located, it appears that there are still some survivors'

    'Excellent' Shockwave looked at the spacebridge one last time before leaving the room with the others '…Excellent'
    ________________________________________

    Backstop’s ship.

    Jetfire felt awkward sitting within this strangers "house". Almost immediately after Razorclaw had departed, Backstop had invited them in, he was an old bot; it was especially shown with the cane he carried. Nonetheless Jetfire was still grateful for the bots hospitality.
    ________________________________________

    Earlier

    'Megatronus, as in; Megatron?' Cliffjumper let out a nervous laugh
    'Tell us again why the hell you consider him a god?'

    Jazz smacked Cliffjumper on the back of his head

    'Ow what the—'

    'Do you want to get killed?' he whispered to his partner

    Cliffjumper rubbed the back of his head while glaring at the spec ops
    agent.

    Razorclaw turned to Divebomb

    'Why don't you explain it to them?'

    'Ah yes' said the Predacon as he straightened up 'It is in the ancient
    texts of this planet that Megatronus, the great warrior who fought against his foes with honor, gave us all life in exchange of serving him.'

    Now

    'Hey thanks for everything Backstop; we really appreciate all of this.'
    The old bot was sitting in a metal chair, he appeared exhausted from all the action he had gone through that day.

    'It's my pleasure Jetfire, but I am more worried about your friend'
    Jetfire lowered his head

    'He made his decision'

    'You aren't going to stop him from fighting Razorclaw?'

    'No matter what I do, he won't listen, I don't expect you to understand Backstop, but this is something… something that I can't talk him out of'

    Backstop paused, he looked over through a window on his right, Air razor was standing outside, still mourning the loss of Brimstone. Razorclaw had issued Undermine as a replacement bodyguard for him. What Razorclaw did not understand, was that you could not just replace a person.

    'He's going to die either way, you know that right?'

    Jetfire remained silent.

    Backstop held a hand to his face 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it so blatantly.'

    'It’s fine Backstop, I know'

    Then

    'Load of slag…'
    Razorclaw tilted his head as he looked down at the small red Autobot

    'What was that Autobot?'

    'You heard me; we both know this is all just made up'

    Jazz covered Cliffjumper's mouth 'what are you saying Cliff? You really do have a death wish don't you?'

    'You really are an ignorant Autobot aren't you?'

    Jetfire intervened 'Razorclaw I really do apologize, as I mentioned before, Cliffjumper can be… well… he is… a jerk most of the time'

    Razorclaw chuckled 'well he certainly has confidence; perhaps he could be the perfect opponent to duel me.'
    ________________________________________

    Now

    'Where is he now?'

    'Outside with the other two' said Jetfire glumly 'they are trying to perfect his fighting abilities for his "duel"'

    'Well at least it gives them confidence'

    Jetfire nodded 'I just wish there was some way we could avoid it'

    'I'm afraid you cannot, it should be no surprise to you that Razorclaw does not really play for "honour", his sense of honour is really just giving himself a challenge before executing an opponent.'

    Jetfire held his head in his hands
    'What will happen after that?'

    'Razorclaw will either violently murder your friend, or have Catilla blow open your friend's head just as they are about to kill him. It will be considered a mental suicide and the match will be won for Razorclaw. As you can see, the outcome will be the same either way.'
    Backstop shifted his body 'after that you will be given a choice, join him or…'

    'Or accept the death option'

    'Precisely, if you want to live then you all must join his army, your survival will be impossible otherwise.'

    'Why not? No really, why not? We have an army of around 85 what makes you think the sum of us won't make it?'

    Backstop got out of his chair. He slowly walked towards the window, Air razor had gone inside.

    'I think it is obvious that you aren't the first Autobots to arrive here. You see, several other Autobot ships have arrived since things had started out, Catilla became Razorclaw's assassin and would kill any Autobots that came out from the shuttles, as for those that hadn't sported the Autobot badge, they were brought into his army, an army of thousands at this point.'
    ________________________________________

    Then

    'Yeah? Y'know maybe I will be the one to fight you'

    Jazz panicked 'No Cliff don't get hotheaded, you know you can't take him.'

    'Well someone ought to'

    'But-but Cliff'

    'Excellent, in that case we will meet in 24 hours'

    As Razorclaw turned around he heard a different voice 'Wait, I'll do it'
    Razorclaw turned back to see a silver and bronze jet Autobot standing in front of Cliffjumper and Jazz.

    'Ah yes Silverbolt is it? You wish to fill in for your friend?'

    'Yes, I am completely willing to give up my life for my comrades if necessary'

    Razorclaw smiled and brought his hands to his hips 'Excellent, now this…’ he said addressing anyone that was still watching ‘this is a bot with honour, I will be looking forward to this, however mind you that flying is prohibited in the duel.'

    'I understand'

    As Razorclaw walked away Cliffjumper spoke up to his Aerialbot comrade

    'Silverbolt what the hell are you doing?'

    He smiled 'what I must Cliffjumper'
    ________________________________________

    Now

    'He is building his army for Megatron'

    Jetfire leapt to his feet 'What?'

    'You see Razorclaw was once a part of a strike team in the Decepticon army called the Predacons. Megatron saw to it that the Predacons, along with an untested experiment, roamed the stars in search of races that would support the Decepticons. Razorclaw of course failed, he was unable to find any "aliens" so he rallied Autobot defectors and refugees, eventually he settled on this planet and built a civilization, a civilization where the Predacons ruled, a civilization where Megatron would be their god.'

    'And now he has his army.'

    'Correct, and I assume he has his army sitting outside your
    spacecraft right now.'

    Jetfire tapped in a report in is wrist 'I will brief Perceptor on this but first,'

    He looked at Backstop in the eye 'How do you know so much about this?'

    A disturbed look came across Backstops face 'because I was with Razorclaw when it all happened, I was a Decepticon: Predacon leader'
    ________________________________________

    Then


    'Silverbolt please, why are you doing this?'

    'You know why Jetfire'

    'But…'

    Silverbolt raised a hand signalling him to stop

    'Please, this is my choice; I can die fighting now, just as I should
    have. As I was always meant to'

    'But…'

    Jetfire thought back, what could he say? Silverbolt was his best friend, was he going to let him make this suicidal choice. Jetfire tried to think of the right words to stop him but he could only manage three.

    'I'll miss you'

    'I know Jetfire. But maybe I will survive, and just as you said before, we will return to Cybertron one day and my efforts won't be for nothing'

    'In that case...'

    Jetfire looked up ahead and watched Jazz and Cliffjumper, CJ was staring at the ground while Jazz attempted to cheer him up

    'In that case try to make it out in one piece alright?'

    'Don't worry Jetfire. I will'

    That is what Silverbolt had said to Jetfire before Backstop invited them in, but when Jetfire looked at his friends face, it read something else:

    "I am sorry my friend, but I'm not going to make it"
    ________________________________________

    Now

    'You aren't at all angry?'

    Jetfire took a second to think about it
    'No, not at all, in fact I am almost glad, without this info we could have been at a great disadvantage'

    'I hope so, y'see I can tell when something big is going to happen, and believe me, the next few days are going to be hell.'
    ________________________________________


    The Ark

    Air Raid got back on his feet, searching for Arcee, the lights had gone out it seemed, he saw some movement in the corner of his optic and fired his Riot cannon sending chunks of the wall flying from the force of the blast.

    'Watch it, it's me: Ratchet' the medic spoke as he turned on his front view lights.

    Eventually First Aid and Air Raid followed suit.

    'Air Raid I don't know what has gotten into you but this isn't the time'
    Air Raid stared at the body of Arcee near the corner, she was obviously wounded badly, but she didn't appear dead quite yet.

    First Aid walked closer to the Aerialbot 'Just drop the gun Air Raid, Perceptor just gave me a call; he says that we are to meet with him and the others immediately.'

    Air raid stared at Arcee and then back to the others

    'Damn it' he cursed as he dropped the riot cannon

    Ratchet lifted up Fixit’s body.

    'Fixit…'

    The small medic's eyes sprung open, blinking in bewilderment as he stared at the upside down slabs connected to the ceiling. Ratchet helped him to his feet and sighed in relief.

    'Thank Primus.'

    Fixit spotted Air Raid across the room and pointed a finger at the Aerialbot.

    'YOU! You shot me!'

    Air Raid shrugged

    'Not now Fixit' ordered Ratchet 'we need to meet up with Perceptor'
    He turned to First Aid 'Get Arcee into a stasis pod and then meet up with us as soon as you can'

    'Got it'

    As First Aid lifted Arcee's body, Ratchet shot Air Raid a disappointed look.

    'C'mon Air Raid, he will want all of us to be there'
    As Ratchet and Fixt transformed to their ambulance modes, Air raid transformed to his Jet mode. The three of them raced down the upside down hallways. Ratchet needed to speak with Air Raid and First aid after this. But for now discussing the Arks current situation would have to be top priority.
    ________________________________________

    Backstop’s Ship

    Air Razor stood outside the ship; she was still engulfed in a sense of loss and emotion. She was sick of it all, Razorclaw, the Predacon council and their stupid sense of honour, she wanted to end it all but she was unaware of how, after all there was no way to escape this hell, no way she would be willing to carry out anyway.

    'Uh… excuse me'

    Air Razor hadn't noticed anyone approach her, standing in front of her was one of the Autobots.

    'Ah, yes I'm sorry, how may I help you…?'

    'Silverbolt, my name is Silverbolt' he said holding out his hand

    Air Razor accepted it and shook his hand.

    'Ah yes, of course Silverbolt, is there anything I can help you with?'
    She felt awry standing in front of the mech, Silverbolt… this was the bot that would face off against Razorclaw, the one who would probably be dead within the next 24 hours. He seemed somewhat content however.

    'Just wish to meet with as many people as I can before my fight'

    Air Razor shot him a confused glance
    'Why?'

    He chuckled 'Well you see, I am trying to experience as many things as I can in case I die'

    Air Razor stared at the ground, unsure whether he was making a joke or not.

    'I see'

    'Yeah… your name is Air Razor right?'

    'Yeah'

    He nodded solemnly 'I'm sorry about your friend'

    She shuffled her feet 'Don't be, people die here every day, it isn't all that uncommon really.'

    Silverbolt’s smile lowered 'I came from a place not too different, a false sense of honour was in pretty much everyone's processors.'

    'Including you?'

    'Well no… I think— well you see Air Razor, a long time ago, an old friend of mine told me that battles should always be fought with a sense of honour. Doing so helped treat my fear of heights…'
    Air Razor snickered 'You were afraid of heights? But you're a flier aren't you?'

    'I still am and yes I am a flier. Anyways, I found myself becoming less afraid of flying, (course I would still pray before taking off) but eventually another friend told me to fight more logically, said that it would help the greater good a lot more than just being honourable in battle.'

    Air Razor couldn't think of how to respond, she herself didn’t believe
    she had what it took to be honourable, yet she found it harder to believe she was a cold blooded murderer like the Predacons.

    'So… who do you trust more?' she asked

    'Well to tell you the truth I don’t like to talk about my more honorable friend, but at the same time I can't help but still trust his words. My logical friend… you may have met him already, his name is Jetfire, while I trust him more I still don't know if I believe he was right.'

    He looked at her back in the eye 'I don't expect you to understand but thanks anyways'

    'Silverbolt!' shouted Cliffjumper

    'Sorry, but I think my friends are calling me'

    He smiled at her one last time before leaving.
    'Goodbye Air Razor'

    'Goodbye Silverbolt'

    Even after Silverbolt had flown off, Air Razor still stared at the spot he had been standing. The goodbye wasn't one she liked to hear, it signalled that it would be the last words Silverbolt would ever say to her. Damn it she thought, why is it that all the nice bots die?
    ________________________________________

    The Ark

    Perceptor stood in the center of the upside conference room, due to the majority of high command either in stasis or "out", the Autobots with the higher ranks stood in the room instead. From one side to the other Perceptor counted the newly arrived bot's Ratchet, Fixit and Air Raid, next to them stood Scattershot whom represented the Technobot's, Hotspot whom represented the Protectobot's, Hotshot, Bluestreak, Huffer, Red Alert and Hound, filled in for Jetfire, Silverbolt, Ironhide, Sideswipe and Jazz respectively. Powerglide and Streetwise had also managed to sneak in, not that any of the Autobots seemed to care.
    After all they were all focused on what Perceptor had just explained to them.

    Finally Hotshot was the first to speak 'What-the-hell are you talking about? Has Jetfire gone insane?'

    'No Hotshot' replied Perceptor 'I already had Hound and Cosmos scope what we are currently dealing with and…'

    'And our enemy flipped the ship?' interrupted Hotspot 'I'm sorry Perceptor but that just seems far too unlikely'

    'I agree' said Bluestreak 'I just can't imagine a few animal bots lifting up our MASSIVE SPACESHIP!'

    Several bots began mutter to each other in doubt

    Perceptor nodded at Hound who projected a holographic image showing thousands of bots standing outside the Ark.

    'This is what Cosmos and I picked up' said the green Autobot 'as you can see Bluestreak, their strength in numbers alone is what managed to lift our "massive spaceship" so we are pretty much screwed as it is, the fact that we have no means of escape either would also be considered as another kick in the lug nuts.'

    Red alert stepped forward nervously 'That…that isn't entirely true Hound, while all of the exits have been blocked, we still have that hole in the prison ward that Air Raid had blown open.' He said while motioning at the Aerialbot while Huffer mumbled to himself about having to fix the hole.

    'We should be able to escape from there'

    Perceptor snapped his fingers upon hearing an answer 'In that case we may be able to set an ambush of some kind, perhaps use the hole as a way to sneak out and find some form of back up'

    'What back up?' asked Air Raid 'Jetfire and his team are out there by themselves, and there isn't anyone else we could ask for help besides Ironhide and Warpath, and Primus knows where they are.'
    Ratchet gave him a cold look 'we don't need any negativity right now Air Raid, we have fought against the odds before, this isn't any differ-'

    Red alert burst into a panic 'Oh god we are really going to die aren't we? Primus help us' The Security director fell onto his knees and sobbed.

    Hotspot put a hand on his shoulder 'There's Jetfire and the others; they will probably find a way to save us.' He assured.

    Air Raid scoffed 'Oh please, you heard Percy, "Silverbolt must fight Razorclaw to the death in order for us to leave" we all know they are all going to die out there, and we’re going to get slagged with the,'

    The room fell silent. Each bot in the room had their processors whirring with thought, each trying to calculate a way of survival.

    Naturally Bluestreak was the first to break the silence.

    '"Must? I'm sorry but what kind of word is that? No really, who says that? "must" "mmmust" "mmmmust"'

    'Shut up Bluestreak!' ordered Air Raid

    'So this is it then' said a saddened Powerglide 'we really are screwed'

    'Perhaps not' said Scattershot. He pointed at the holographic image.

    'None a' those bots are holding any blasters, just knives and blades see?'

    'So?' said Perceptor 'These natives have most likely trained with
    close ranged weapons since birth, it doesn't change our overall outcome'

    'Well we could always get some snipers on top of the Ark while the fliers bomb them from above'

    'And you expect this to hold?'

    Scattershot gave a weak smile 'Nope but we gotta try something' He transformed his arm into a Rocket launcher 'Me an' the Technobot's 'll fight as the first wave'

    'But you'll be slaughtered!' argued Streetwise

    'We can't stay here without a fight'

    Perceptor nodded 'Yes, yes I agree, Scattershot, you and your team will do just as you said, Hound, you will lead a team to flank them, Hotshot, you and I will be on sniping duty'

    'Actually' said the young bot 'I think I have an idea for backup'

    Perceptor looked genuinely surprised 'And that is?'

    'We find the Terrorcons.'

    ________________________________________
    Next time

    "So these are the guns your people don't know about?"
     
  17. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 10 Part l: Survival of the fittest

    The Jungle Planet…

    Snarl felt a irritating itch within his processor as he trekked through the space bridge. Optics shut, he kept running and didn’t stop, it neither felt as though he were running on ground nor air, a strange feeling, however it was somehow soothing. For a split second his body froze as if the universe were checking him over, as if it seeped within his every nook and cranny to make sure he was who he was, or if he were worthy to travel this distance. Finally he fell to the ground with a thud. He kept his optics shut as his hands dug into the moist ground beneath him. It was soft, something he wasn't too familiar with.

    He opened his optics to see the brown earth around his fingertips; he arched his neck upwards to see the sun shining through the cracks between the green tree canopies. Taking a moment of pause to gather himself up, he quickly remembered the con that he was chasing through the bridge: Starscream.

    He spotted the seeker in the corner of his optic, changing shape to jet mode and flying off into the distance. All the vigor and hate he felt while chasing the Decepticon had soon gone as he lost interest in him the moment he had vanished over the treetops.

    He tried to transform. Nothing happened. He remembered the disruptor Hardshell had fired upon him; shouldn't it have worn off by now? He accessed his inner readouts.

    "Alt mode permanently unavailable, cause of loss: External energies combined with disruptor power."

    "Permanently unavailable"

    He cursed to himself as he ran over the situation in his head. External energies meaning the energies from the spacebridge he presumed. He sat himself down by a tree trunk and spoke into his wrist.

    'Search ways to regain alt mode… uh please' Snarl wasn't entirely familiar with internal diagnostics, as he always left all the medical work to Ratchet or Fixit. He also wasn't quite fond of his new alt mode to begin with anyways; his old truck mode had been replaced with strange alien features, his rough tires swapped for extra legs, it was disgusting, he felt disgusting. It also reminded him of the tortures he experienced in Shockwaves lab.
    The sooner he was a truck again the better.

    The screen on his wrist flashed as it came to its conclusion.

    'Alternate mode must be replaced for future transformation, now scanning'

    Snarl jerked himself up 'Wait, wait, wait, don’t scan, not yet!'

    A red beam came from out of his wrist and scanned circled around the Dinobot, scanning
    whatever crossed its path within a two mile radius.

    'New alternate mode acquired'

    Strange, Snarl thought, he didn't feel all too different, in fact there didn’t seem to be much of a change with his appearance to begin with.

    He tested out his new transformation; the process was definitely less painful than his old form however something about it felt humiliating. His new form had a fierce jaw however it was still quadrupedal and was much noticeably smaller.

    He was a wolf.

    He barked in frustration, thank the matrix he was still a silver and bronze metal and not covered in fur, but he was still a beast, and a much inferior one at that. He needed to find a way back to the Autobots and get Wheeljack to reformat him back into a Cybertronian.

    As much as he hated the feeling of becoming a primitive animal, the one thing he found useful in his new form, was his sense of smell, while Cybertronians were still capable of smell, it was not as well as most other organic races. He could smell a familiar scent, one that he couldn't mistake for anything else; it was coming closer to him. He peered in between some tree branches, and saw him in the distance. A large mechanical tyrannosaurus was charging closer to his position. It was knocking down several trees seemingly on purpose.

    'Grimlock?'

    As Grimlock stood in front of Snarl, he opened his wide jaws and scooped up the smaller wolf with his mouth. Snarl tried to transform but Grimlock clamped down, crushing much of the Autobots internal systems.
    ________________________________________

    The Ark

    Bluestreak's laugh began to die down as he realized he was the only one laughing. With a confused horror, Bluestreak stared at Hotshot

    'You're serious? I mean, you don’t actually mean…'

    ‘Yup’

    ‘Seriously?’

    Hotshot held his hands together nervously as everyone in the room gazed at him.
    'Well yeah, I mean they are savages and they may have sort of, kind of, almost killed Cliffjumper, but I take it they were just doing it for pleasure if anything else'

    'Yeah, so if they did it for pleasure then that makes it a whole lot better am I right?' Bluestreak replied sarcastically

    ‘Yes… I mean no well I think they won't eat us if we give them an offer of some kind'

    Bluestreak smiled awkwardly 'Yeah they won't eat us, they'll just eat us, regurgitate us, eat us again only with forks, knives and dinner plates, regurgitate us again, turn our pelts into carpets and chair covers, regurgitate us, and who knows what they will do to us in their robot forms… we would be devoured…'

    The other bots in the room merely stared at Bluestreak in response

    'literally!'

    Perceptor ran several hypotheses in his head by the time Bluestreak had finished his sentence.

    'If we don't find some form of help, then those animals outside will kill us… literally'
    He looked around at the other Autobots in the room 'Does everyone in here concur?'

    Every bot gave a nod or a hand gesture in agreement, except for Bluestreak and Red alert who trembled at the thought of beings who leak corrosive slime from their pores.

    Perceptor turned to Hotshot 'Then it's settled, while we hold off the beasts outside, you will form a team to locate and deal with these Terrorcons.'

    Hotshot did a fist pump 'Yesss.'

    He looked around the room and did a mental list of names to take with him

    'Alright I'll take Heave, Barrage, Beachcomber annnnd…'

    He spotted Bluestreak mouthing "don't pick me, don't pick me, don't pick me" to himself

    He smiled 'And Bluestreak'

    Blustreak fell to his knees and faced the ceiling

    'NOOOOOOOOOO!'
    ________________________________________

    Grimlocks location

    Grimlock bit down on his prey, he hadn't found many wolves in the jungle recently; he also seemed to have forgotten that they tasted like metal. His optics quickly widened as he realized he had made a big mistake and spit up the Cybertronian. The wolf twitched ever so slightly on the ground as Grimlock sniffed it.

    'Sorry… did not… notice you… Cyber…Cybertronian'

    Snarl tried to speak, however all he could manage was a cough. Grimlocks bite had ruptured his vocal processor, and speaking only created feel a sticky yet foamy liquid in the bottom of his throat.

    Grimlock stared at the wolf quizzically and transformed to robot mode.

    'You okay? Should have asked if you robot first, not that they many bots here anyway.'

    Snarl attempted to transform to robot mode as well. Activated the mental command in his head, he felt his stomach churn as he realized that he had yet again lost the ability to transform. He was right in front of Grimlock yet he could not reveal who he himself was.
    Grimlock scratched his head and kneeled beside the wolf 'You no talk?'

    Snarl screamed in his head "It's Snarl! Grimlock it's me Snarl! Look closer you idiot!"

    'Hmm, guess I hurt you more than… than… Beryllium bologna'

    What?

    Grimlock jolted up and began to pace, blue sparks danced around his head as he began to ramble nervously. He sounded like his old self.

    'We are not weapons of universal domination… no, no please let me just kill you, that will be fine... The stowaways? That is the dumbest name I've ever heard…. you're worse than Shockwave.'

    Grimlock looked as if he were a puppet, dancing around Snarl.

    'Optimus let me tell you how great it is that you've finally woken up… You really think you're a king?... Ever since you came round it feels like most of us used to be Decepticons… I do not need to hide from these things; they need to hide from me… me… me Grrrrimlock.'

    Grimlock then fell face first into the mud.

    Oh scrap... did I just kill him? Snarl thought

    As fast as he fell, Grimlock sat back up, startling the wolf

    Snarl managed to stand up on all fours and walk over to his leader in which Grimlock responded by looking down upon the wolf.

    'Sorry… ever since spacebridge… have had strange…. visions… keep forgetting them after second though…'

    Grimlock stared at the wolf in silence.

    'You… have name…?'

    Snarl nodded and Grimlock squinted. 'You remind me of someone…'

    Snarl beamed "yes" he thought "it's me Snarl! I knew you would figure out who I-"

    'You remind me of Bumblebee'

    Snarl's expression lowered. "what?"

    'Okay, I'm going to hunt more, help stop visions. Goodbye Bumblebee'

    As Grimlock transformed back to Dino mode, Snarl chased after him.
    ________________________________________

    The Duel

    A platform stood in the middle of the village, it was on higher ground for all to witness "the slaughter" as Backstop and quite possible most of the population would call it.

    Surrounded were native civilians of all shapes and sizes, while most were silent having witnessed these "duels" in the past, the Predacons however cheered on their leader, Razorclaw. Silverbolt took a deep breath as Jetfire put a hand on his shoulder.

    'You ready for this?'

    He nodded as Jetfire squeezed.

    'Remember; try to kill him before Catilla gets you.'

    He nodded again and looked over at Cliffjumper and Jazz

    'Jetfire, where's Wheeljack?'

    'He should be in Pinchers workshop still, I tried contacting him but he seemed busy'

    Silverbolt tilted his head and nodded yet again in understanding.

    Taking a deep breath, he jumped into the ring and stared straight ahead, on the other side of the platform stood Razorclaw; bathing in his glory. Not from the praise of the Predacons however, but from the fear from the villagers and the determination in his opponent; this would be a good fight.

    'Remove his wings' he ordered

    Carnivac and Snarler stepped onto the field; they activated some power tools and unscrewed Silverbolts wing struts.

    Razorclaw smiled 'Just to be sure we don't have to bear witness to some cheating of any kind'

    Jetfire clenched his fist.

    'Damned Hypocrites' he muttered

    A sword about the same size of Razorclaw's was thrown to Silverbolt from the crowd.
    From above Silverbolt looked down at the faces that made up the crowd, behind him were three of his closest friends, to the right and left of him stood crowds of strangers, among them were Razorclaw's minions and others were the terrified civilians. He was going to end this, one way or the other.

    Divebomb stood proudly with the other 3 Predacons who all seemed uninterested with the whole ordeal.

    'My fellow Cybertronians, this day we shall witness his majesty Razorclaw fight honourably against his foolish challenger, Sliverbot!'

    The challenger in question spoke up 'Actually it's Silverbol-'

    Divebomb chuckled 'Who cares? Now then Razorclaw, do you wish to tell a speech before you duel?'

    'No, this fight shall not be worth a speech'

    Divebomb nodded 'and the challenger?'

    'Actually yes I would like to say…'

    'oops sorry that's all the time we have, the fight shall begin in…'

    '5'

    Pincher's lab

    'So these are the guns your people don't know about?'

    'Yes'

    Wheeljack smirked under his mask.

    'Pincher my friend, you have made me proud.'

    '4'

    Cybertron

    The Decepticon crawled forward, his colleagues killed by Grimlock during his rampage, and now seemingly the only one left. He was bleeding too much energon and was certain he would die any minute. His vision fuzzed as he could barely look ahead of him, he tried to think of a probable situation one in which he would survive but… but he was so damn angry he was angry and… and so very happy, it was hilarious... everything was so… terrible he couldn't think straight, his disorder had amplified. He looked ahead to see a one eyed purple figure.

    'Sh…Shock…'

    Shockwave crouched down in front of the damaged Decepticon who stared up at him with blinking red optics.

    'What is your name?' the Scientist asked

    'Blitzwing…'

    'You have a great future ahead of you Blitzwing'

    Blitzwing felt oh so happy again

    'That sounds… Wonderful'

    '3'

    Ironhide stared at the monitor

    Planet Junk
    Cybes: 400003245


    Ironhide leapt out of his seat

    'Warpath wake up, we're going to be landing soon!'

    '2'

    Silverbolt clenched the sword with both his hands, he felt silly using a sword of all weapons, as if he were in some sort of fantasy cartoon for sparklings, perhaps this was a way for Razorclaw to taunt his opponents before killing them.

    '1… FIGHT!'

    Silverbolt dashed towards Razorclaw, he swung his sword at the larger being that blocked it with his own as if by instinct. Sparks flew like embers as the two swords touched, Silverbolt dashed back, trying to regain his balance. He cursed himself for training so little in close combat in the past, he should have headed Sideswipe’s words during the war "you never know when you are going to have to bring a sword to a gun fight" only this was a sword to a sword fight and he couldn't even manage that.

    Razorclaw charged him. He managed to dodge just in time to make a strike into
    Razorclaw's torso; the Predacon leader winced in pain and slammed his blade against Silverbolts chest sending the Aerialbot across the platform.

    Silverbolt got back up; the crowds of beasts still remained silent besides the Predacons and their guards who cheered like madmen. He charged at Razorclaw and kept on slashing; his eyes were shut as he did so but he could still feel the hits connect. He opened his eyes to see several slash marks on a weakened Razorclaw, it seemed he had a chance, he swung his sword again, Razorclaw was now on one knee, the Predacon managed to block the first few attacks but the last sent his sword flying off the platform into the crowd below, impaling a younger native through the chest.

    Silverbolt stood above the weakened Razorclaw

    'I win this battle.'

    He held his sword over his head 'And I'm sorry Razorclaw but in order for our freedom, you must die.'

    Jetfire yelled from the crowd 'Silverbolt wait!'

    Just as Silverbolt thrusted his sword down, Razorclaw grabbed it, the Predacon's oily hand squeezed the blade causing it to shatter. Several shards danced across the platform as the crowd watched in horror. Silverbolt stepped back nervously only for Razorclaw to get back onto his feet.

    'I really did hope it wouldn't have to come to this'

    Four gold claws unsheathed from each of Razorclaw's wrists.

    'Now you will learn how I got my name'

    Razorclaw lunged at Silverbolt and slashed through his mid-section.

    'No!' Jetfire screamed

    His claws tore through Silverbolt's body as if it were made of paper. Jetfire felt sick as he spotted his partners spark, glowing just inches from where Razorclaw had swung his claws.

    Silverbolt held onto his wound with one hand and reached out in mercy with the other.
    Razorclaw seemed to chuckle as he sliced the bots arm clean off.
    The battle was won.

    Razorclaw turned the Aerialbot around and lifted him up by the cockpit on his back and whispered to him.

    'You said you had a speech of your own right? Well why don't you tell us all before you die?'

    He flung Silverbolt over to the edge of the platform.

    The Aerialbot managed to stand albeit barely, how things could have gone so wrong so fast he had no idea, but he felt obliged to speak his mind for one final time.

    'I do have something to say.' He looked down at the Predacons who were making mocking gestures, then to the Autobots who looked at him with terrifed.

    'Do tell.' said Razorclaw

    'Well it is more of a question' he coughed up a drop of oil before continuing

    '…To you, the colonists of this planet, why do you do as this animal…'

    Realizing that what he said may have just insulted the lot of them, he shook his head and rephrased it 'I mean this monster says? You came here looking for freedom from a war that had raged for millions of years yet you allow yourselves to be brainwashed by a being who wants nothing more than to rule over you.'

    Divebomb raised his hand to signal for Catilla only for Razorclaw to stop him

    'Let him go on'

    'Look at yourselves, you don't have to serve this man, you are many, you can take back your freedom, it's too late for me now but it isn't for you, do the unthinkable, leave this place, you don't have to be a slave any longer.'

    The silence evolved into low murmurs, while the Predacons and the guards taunted, the rest began to believe that they may truly have a chance to survive.

    Razorclaw stood behind Silverbolt

    'You are right.'

    Silverbolt remained staring into the crowds
    'I am? About these people not having to be slaves?'

    'No'

    From behind, the Predacon leader plunged his claws into what was left of Silverbolts midsection.

    'You are right about it being too late for you'

    Razorclaw pulled his claws apart from Silverbolt’s midsection out horizontally causing Silverbolt's body to tear apart by the torso. His upper body fell against the dirt floor while his waist and legs still stood as if they had not fully registered being severed from the brain module.

    The residents screamed as Razorclaw kicked away the body.

    'Now then my people!' the victor shouted

    'Please return to your homes, there is nothing left to see here'

    Just as Razorclaw turned around a sniper bullet shot through his body causing the already wounded Predacon to fall onto all fours.

    The crowd traced the bullets path back to its wielder. Jazz stood atop a large mound with Sniper in hand. Cliffjumper tugged on his arm.

    'Jazz, what do you think you're doing?'

    Jazz reloaded his sniper rifle and stepped down.

    'I'm sorry Cliff, but I am sick of hearing this dictator talk like he's some sort of king, Silverbolt was right, and you were right, let's kick some aft!'

    Cliffjumper grinned 'Now you're talking my language' he transformed his arm into an assault rifle.

    'Bring it on Predachumps!'

    Razorclaw got back up onto his feet, and raised his arm high.

    'Kill them!'

    While Carnivac, Snarler and the rest of the guards drew their swords, the civilians stood motionless.

    As he limped away, Razorclaw sensed the severe lack of movement behind him. He turned around to see the tens of civilians all staring at him with blank expressions.

    'That means you too.' He snarled

    As he turned back and continues limping away, he felt a small fist hit him in the back, followed by a scream. He sighed as he turned around again to see Rampage in beast mode; tearing away at a civilians back. Rampage turned his head back up to his leader as he spat a chunk of the civilian’s spark casing.

    'Sorry boss, this slave tried to get at you.'

    Razorclaw stared at the half dead civilian before looking around at the rest of them in disgust. They had surrounded themselves around Cliffjumper, Jazz and Jetfire, all facing Razorclaw and his minions.

    'Treason…' he growled to himself.

    He scanned his minions. The civilians outnumbered them no ten to one, however his guards were the ones that were trained in close combat for decades. He raised his hand in the air again.

    'Predacons…'

    The 4 other original Predacons ran to their wounded leader.

    'TERRORIZE!'

    Divebomb, Rampage, Headstrong and Tantrum each transformed into a mechanical alien like Eagle, Tiger, Rhinoceros and Bull respectfully.

    The four of them charged at the civilians along with Razorclaw's 50 or so minions.
    Jetfire watched the Predacons from the crowd of civilians, each one snarling and spitting in their beast modes.

    'Autobots…' he addressed the civilians. Most were quivering in fear; others booked and got out of there before they would be mauled.

    'Attack!'

    The civilians charged some transforming into beast modes while others drew metal swords, clubs and staffs.

    The first wave of civilians went down horrifyingly fast. Divebomb lifted 3 civilians at a time with his claws and dropped them from high above, each one exploding upon impact as they hit the ground.

    Rampage mauled every civilian he could see, most didn't even notice him before their necks had been separated from their bodies.

    Tantrum and Headstrong aimed for civies that were in rows. They managed to skewer 3 at a time with their horns, stopping ever minute to slide them off before charging to skewer some more.

    As for Razorclaw however, still greatly wounded, he limped into a large shuttle for
    protection.

    While Jetfire shot down aerial minions from the skies, Cliffjumper and Jazz stood back to back, both shooting down guards before they could get close enough to scratch them.

    'Jetfire' called Jazz 'Take out Razorclaw, we got this covered'

    'But Jazz-'

    'GO!'

    Jetfire boosted towards Razorclaw's position in Jet mode, witnessing the slaughter below, he recalled something Silverbolt used to say, "Sometimes it's best to contrast one terrible thing from another"

    Silverbolt…

    Jetfire followed the trail of energon left by Razorclaw outside the crowd and into a large ship.

    He transformed and rushed into the entrance on foot. It was dark inside and he could feel the trail of liquid beneath his feet prompting him to follow it.

    He wondered to himself, Razorclaw moved quite a distance despite being wounded. There were closer ships for him to limp to. Hell, Backstops ship wasn't too far from there, so why did he choose this one to hide in?

    He turned a corner and spotted a crack of light peering out from beneath what appeared to be a door. It must have been where Razorclaw was, he thought. He felt the door for a handle or a panel to open the door with; he grinned as a panel lit up underneath his hand and commanded the door to open.

    The door split open revealing a wide room with large caskets lining the walls. Sitting on a stool in the center was Razorclaw.

    Silverbolt had really done a number on him; his whole body was covered in scratches and shed energon in several places. In his back was a small crater like wound where Jazz had shot him.

    Jetfire calmly walked forward and raised his Thermo Rocket Cannon.

    'Don't move Razorclaw, call off your troops and it won't have to resort to anything'
    The Predacon's body shook as if he was laughing, although no sound came out.

    He looked up at Jetfire.
    'You really think this is it don't you?'

    'Your kingdom fall's Razorclaw'

    He waved his claw in front of his face and growled.

    'This is nothing; you have only managed to change the minds of the weakest of us. If anything this only helps sorting.'

    Jetfire let his guard down 'What?'

    'Survival of the fittest Jetfire… you are familiar with the phrase yes?'

    'Rubbish' Jetfire spat

    Razorclaw let out a hearty laugh 'Oh come now, I remember you Jetfire, 5th cycle 105. We spoke once in a lecture once, the professor, Arkwing was it? Stated that evolution worked in a rather depressing yet fair way, he said that while the strongest of our ancestors lived on and evolved, the weaker ones however, perished. As a scientist, you should at least understand the concept'

    'You idiot, that was over 10,000 years ago! Science itself has evolved and different theories have been made within that time. And "survival of the fittest" has been put in the "false bin" in case you haven’t noticed.' Jetfire shook his head in pity. 'A lot has changed since you left Cybertron Razorclaw. While you have been skulking here building a meaningless army, the rest of us have already moved on.'

    'You think my army is meaningless?' he snapped 'Let me tell you something Jetfire, I was chosen. I proposed the idea to Megatron after I had a vision one day from Primus himself; he told me that if I were to raise our race to learn the Decepticon way, then we may reach its peak of greatness! But It wasn't only a vision; it was a prophecy, my destiny!'

    Jetfire shot him a disgusted look and Razorclaw grinned beneath his faceplate.

    'Ah yes, of course you happen to be an atheist aren't you Jetfire?'

    'That's beside the point, The Decepticons are finished, We have the majority of their troops under lock and key, and the rest have been considered dead, your "vision" was nothing more than a hallucination' Jetfire argued feeling quite confident with himself

    'I don't believe that.' Razorclaw stated plainly

    'And why's that?'

    Before Jetfire got an answer, A small white and blue T-Rex tackled him to the ground while a black panther bit at his wings, As Jetfire managed to wrestle the small robots off of him he felt a shock of electricity zap his spine. As he fell to the ground paralysed, standing above him was Soundwave wielding his signature Tech-volt emitter.

    Razorclaw stood next to the Decepticon
    '…Because here is an unbeaten Decepticon right here.'

    Laserbeak perched on Soundwaves shoulder as the two of them stared at the electrocuted Autobot.

    'Now Soundwave here showed up on my doorstep soon before you and your Autobots did, he explained to me that the Decepticons are still strong despite being incapacitated and that he is willing to give my army a boost'

    'So what's this then?' Jetfire coughed 'You explaining your master plan to me?'

    'Only as a way to help you respectively join my cause, now if you would please shut up I would like to get to my point'

    Jetfire managed to calm down his circuits and keep them from overheating.
    'What sort of … Boost?'

    Razorclaw turned to Soundwave

    'Why don't you explain it Soundwave?'

    The Decepticon communications officer stared at him blankly

    'Fine then I will explain' he said gruffly 'You see Jetfire I'm sure Backstop has already told you about our mission to find planets for us to rule. But I somehow doubt you are aware of how we would accomplish it' He motioned Soundwave to activate a switch 'Megatron didn't send the six of us alone. At the time the Decepticon's scientist Shockblast…'

    'Shockwave' interrupted Jetfire

    'What?'

    'It's Shockwave not Shockblast'

    He growled 'Shockwave was already working in creating alternate modes for the Decepticon army, ones that would be best suited for the destruction of distant worlds'

    'Where is this going Razorclaw?'

    He ignored Jetfire’s question

    'However his experiments failed, they did not have the proper intellect to carry out simple tasks and thus we were left with the option of building a new army, a backup, as one would call it.'

    Soundwave tapped in the last key to the control panel and nodded to Razorclaw. Steam began to flood from out of the caskets that lined the wall.

    'It was indeed a huge disappointment that our world destroyers were not intelligent enough... but Soundwave here however has found a solution to that problem, something called combiner technology'

    'Oh god'

    Six beings stepped out of the caskets; they were all the same shades of blue and pink and had flippers and teeth like features on their scaly bodies.

    'Jetfire, allow me to introduce to you Snaptrap, Skalor, Nautilator, Overbite, Seawing and Tentakil'

    Razorclaw stood in front of them with arms stretched out wide 'Now my friends, you will soon have the abilities to think and feel like the rest of us, as one. Just as Vector Sigma had predicted, all shall become one! Now merge and show our dear Jetfire, what the future of our race holds!'

    There was a pause, the six beings stared awkwardly at Razorclaw before slowly climbing atop each-other and transforming. Low grunts and growls emerged as the large being tore up the ceiling of the ship with its sheer size alone. The being was larger than Bruticus yet smaller than Omega Supreme. It towered above the battlefield below and looked down at its masters. Both Predacons and Civilians stopped to witness the large techno-organic being stand above them all.

    'Destroy the ones who side against us Piranacon!' Razorclaw shouted

    Piranacon became aware of its surroundings. As it noticed the waves of smaller beings below him, the gestalt felt a wave of fear and anger overcome him, they were loud, everything around him was shouting at him, the wind, the trees, everything. He wanted to kill them all; he needed to kill them all only then would he be able to rest. He moved out onto the battle field to destroy everything in sight.
     
  18. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    Chapter 10 Part ll: Survival of the Fittest Part 2

    The giant stood looming above the riot. Some stopped and stared at him, some just continued fighting completely oblivious of the titan that stood above them. However it wasn't until Piranacon let out an ear splitting scream did the panic truly start.

    Civilians and guards scattered as the Gestalt tore a scar in the ground with its massive sword. Audio receptors burned out as the creature screamed his rage to the heavens. He was in pain. A thrashing, stomping, screaming, slashing pain, a guard named Riptide hid under some rubble created from the now downed fence that once guarded the city.

    As he loaded a bow and arrow, he cursed himself for not running away the minute he saw the combiner. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he turned around the cover and fired wildly at the combiner's position, he opened an eye to realise Piranacon wasn't there. Where had something so big disappeared to? He thought. Riptide looked above to find an answer. Piranacon had crushed Riptide under his foot.

    Jazz and Cliffjumper fired wildly while retreating closer to the ships.
    Jazz screamed at his partner, it was the only way he could be heard over Piranacon's own screams.

    'We need to get back to the ships; it's the only way we can get the villagers to safety.'

    'Uh, Jazz?'

    'What?!'

    He looked back at the civilians ships to see most of them burning to the ground, the ones that weren't, were either being torn down by Razorclaw's guards or were being invaded to wipe out any civilians hiding within.

    'Oh… No'

    'I can't believe this, even with this monster on the field they're still trying to wipe us out!'

    'Calm down Cliff, perhaps we can- oh god Wheeljack'

    'What?'

    'He's still in there!'
    ________________________________________

    Pinchers Ship

    'So this is it then?'

    'Yup.'

    Wheeljack chuckled 'Just as you said it would, I'm Impressed Pinch, you knew a riot like this would happen and prepared the perfect weapons to fight back'

    'Yup'

    The guards banged on the doors, it grew louder with every hit.

    Wheeljack rummaged for a gun until Pincher stopped him with his hand.

    'Sword'

    Wheeljack gave him an odd expression 'What?'

    'I use the gun… you use the swords'

    He chuckled 'Yeah see Pinch, I'm more of a gun guy than a sword guy, I'm a weapons engineer see.'

    'Swords are weapons'

    'Yeah I know that, but they’re dumb weapons.'

    Pincher pushed the swords into Wheeljacks hands

    'Use the swords, swords are cool.'

    The door flung open as dozens of guards flooded in.

    Pincher held up his cannon and fired. A beam of red light tore into the horde
    of guards leaving large holes in their bodies.

    Wheeljack charged forward and plunged a sword into a guard's chest.

    'Wheeljack pull back!' Pincher called

    Wheeljack did as he was told and pulled the sword out, falling on his back in the process. The guard’s chest exploded sending his head flying into Wheeljacks lap.

    'Damn...'

    He turned to Pincher 'Hey Pinch why didn't you tell me these swords explode people?'

    Pincher smiled under his faceplate 'Swords are cool…'
    Pinchers expression lowered as he peered outside the ship to see dozens of more guards heading towards them.

    'Wheeljack, come here'

    The guards entered the ship and drew their blades.

    'Where did they go?' asked a short orange one.

    The leader of the pack snarled 'Keep looking, surely they are around here somewhere you just gotta look-'

    They turned around a corner to see several flashing red lights each one with timers counting down from 3…2…

    'Closer…'

    1…

    The ship exploded consuming the dozens of guards that entered.

    About 20 meters away, a black scorpion emerged from the ground carrying Wheeljack in its tail.

    The Scorpion transformed to robot mode and helped him up.

    'Dammit Pinch warn me next time you are going to go beast mode on me'

    He nodded and turned towards Piranacon who was thrashing at the ground with his sword.

    Jazz and Cliffjumper backed towards the two bots

    'Wheeljack you're alright?' asked Jazz

    'Yeah I'm fine, thanks to Pinch here'

    'We can save the congratulations for later' said Jazz 'we need to get back to the Ark and find a way to stop this thing'

    'You can't' said a talking eagle

    Cliffjumper braced in surprise 'What the hell?'

    The eagle was flying above the battlefield, witnessing the destruction. It landed next to the bots and transformed 'It's me, Air razor'

    'Why can't we head back to the Ark?' asked Jazz

    'It's Backstop, he told me to find Jetfire'

    'What for?' asked Cliffjumper

    'He says he knows how to stop Piranacon.'
    ________________________________________

    Razorclaw, Jetfire and Soundwave

    'This wasn't supposed to happen.' Muttered Razorclaw
    He grabbed Soundwave by the collar 'This is all, your, fault! Piranacon was supposed to be a weapon that obeyed my every will, not a psychopathic monster. You lied to me!'

    'I did no such thing' responded the Decepticon.

    'No! That thing is killing my men, my kingdom; this is not what Primus meant by when all become one!'

    Soundwave grabbed Razorclaw by the neck and slammed the Predacon into a wall.

    'I was wrong; you do not possess the worthiness to be a Decepticon Razorclaw'

    He turned to his cassettes

    'Ravage, Overkill return'

    The two Decepticons reluctantly transformed to cassette modes and returned to Soundwaves chest cavity. Soundwave turned his back on Jetfire and
    Razorclaw and walked out and away from the ship.

    Feeling the sting in his circuits, Jetfire managed to get on his feet. He glanced at Razorclaw who was now sitting cross legged with his back to the wall; the once golden armor was now a mix of black and green. The smooth plating that covered his body was now crusted over with oil and energon while dents and torn metal dotted his body. The Predacon was staring at his lap motionless.
    Killing him wasn't worth it he thought.

    'Jetfire come in, this is Jazz'

    'I read you Jazz.'

    'Get your skid plate over here, Air Razor knows how to stop that monster'

    'On my way Jazz'
    ________________________________________

    The Ark

    Perceptor transformed his arm into a sniper rifle and turned to Hotshot's team

    'Are you and your team ready Hotshot?'

    'Of course just say the word.'

    Perceptor turned to the Technobots and Air Raid.
    'Is everyone ready?'

    They all nodded.

    'Then everyone, through the hole!'

    Hotshot, Bluestreak, Beachcomber, Barrage and Heave leaped through the hole along with Scattershot's Technobots.

    Octopunch noticed this from the crowded army and pointed a finger
    'They're trying to escape! Get them!'

    The army charged towards the Ark, but before they could get within ten meters of distance however, The Technobots had already mowed a dozen of them down with scrap makers and path blasters.

    'GO, GO, GO!' called Scattershot

    Hotshot and his team transformed to vehicle modes and rolled out, except for Heave and Barrage who took slightly longer to transform and merge to form one large vehicle.

    Perceptor, stared at the hole for a brief moment and strutted back to the other side of the room.

    'What are you doing?' asked Air raid

    'Hotshots plan, while logical, has a low chance of succeeding'

    'Your point?'

    'I just believe it would be far better to use the tools that are already at our disposal rather than seek out new ones'

    'What do you..?'

    Perceptor stopped at a console in the middle of the room and raised a hand towards it. Air raid stopped him immediately.

    'What the hell are you doing?' Air Raid asked already knowing the answer

    'The prisoners can help us Air raid.'

    'The prisoners are Decepticons, have you lost your mind Percy?'

    'No, I have come to the logical conclusion that if we allow the Decepticons to fight the enemy, then we may stand a chance'

    'Perceptor, I am not going to let you release them, I let one escape yesterday and I lost a friend in the process, you release the rest and -I mean this- I will shoot you here and now.'

    He nudged Perceptors back with his Riot cannon.

    'You have grown fond of that gun haven't you?' replied the scientist

    'Shut up, make the choice Percy, I can say one of the cons shot you after they were released. Or we can let Hotshot roll with his plan and we can all come out happy.'

    Perceptor stared at the control switch and hesitated. He shut off the console and took a step back.

    Air Raid smiled 'Smart move'

    He spun around and radioed the other flight capable Autobots 'Powerglide, Cosmos, Fireflight, Skydive, Phaser, Blast Master, Blades, Get up here, it's time to roll out'
    ________________________________________

    The Village, what's left of it.

    Jetfire fired another rocket as he made his way towards the others; Piranacon knocked it aside with his sword and moved closer to them, each step leaving a large imprint in the dirt.

    'Air Razor, where is Backstop?'

    'Inside' she said hectically 'I saw some guards heading towards them, they are still trying to kill us, I don't understand…'

    'It's okay, Backstop'll be fine, we just need to stop any guard that-'

    'Jetfire look out!' stammered Cliffjumper

    A large Gorilla like guard grabbed Jetfire from behind and put a sword to his neck

    'Nobody move or else the Autobot gets it.'

    'You idiot' exclaimed an enraged Jazz 'We need to work together, what are you trying to do anyway?'

    'I'm getting off this rock and I will be using your transport to do so, now get me to your "ark" and nobody has to…'

    The guard's head exploded, and his body fell to the ground with a thud while Jetfire wiped the lubricants from his shoulders.

    'Nice one Jazz, I thought I was a goner'

    'That uh... that wasn't me Jets.'

    Jetfire frowned 'Then who…?'

    He looked behind to see Catilla holding a large sniper rifle.

    'You're welcome.'

    'Catilla? What are you-'

    'No time, I need to ask you a favor, find a bot named Chainclaw, he should be hiding somewhere in Backstop’s place, I need you to find him and tell him I was wrong.'

    'But…'

    Snarler and Carnivac jumped onto Catilla's back.

    'Traitor!' screamed Snarler.

    'GO!' Catilla screamed as the two stronger guards overwhelmed him.

    More guards poured onto them while Piranacon focused on the noise from the closer civilians who were cowering in fear.

    'Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, Pincher, handle these guys, Air Razor, Jazz, with me'

    The group split in two as the guards began to attack.

    Cliffjumper shot at charging guards who fell before they got close enough to
    strike, Pincher transformed to scorpion mode and pulled guards into the ground with his tail.

    As Cliffjumper stopped to reload, a purple guard strangled him from behind.

    'Not so tough when you aren't firing a gun eh?' As he tightened his grip,

    Wheeljack stabbed a sword through him causing the guard's chest to explode.
    Cliffjumper turned around and laughed.

    'Wheeljack? Why are you carrying swords?'

    Wheeljack frowned 'Shut up, swords are… cool'

    Pincher stopped briefly and gave Wheeljack and Cliffjumper a thumb’s up.
    ________________________________________

    The Ark

    Scattershot yelled into his communicator.
    'We can't hold them off much longer, we need more help out here'

    'Scattershot this is Perceptor. Pointblank and his team will be with you on the Ark while Hound, Red alert and the Protectobot's have the ground, they should provide good cover for-'

    'I don't need any help on the damn ground Perceptor, it's the sky I'm worried about'

    Circling the Ark were several flying Predacons including pteradactyles, eagles, bats and even a few dragons that breathed fire hot enough to torch the ground to a crisp.

    'Scattershot, this is your stand in Aerialbot commander Air Raid speaking; we
    will wipe the sky clean of baddies in a few nano-cycles'
    Within the Ark, Air raid addressed the troops.

    Alright Aerialbots, transform and prepare to launch, the other bots want our help and we are the ones to do it, so what are you all waiting for transform!'
    Powerglide, Cosmos, Fireflight, Skydive, Phaser, and Blast master all transformed. Air Raid inspected each one with disgust.

    What hideous alternate forms he thought. Powerglide appeared to have the alt mode of a paper airplane, his wings and body looked as if it were flattened by Bruticus' foot. Cosmos didn't even appear to be a jet, he was more so a green disc with a red light on top. As for Phaser and Blast Master, they didn't even have proper aerial modes; they each turned into part of a jet that looked somewhat like blast offs jet mode. The two of them had to merge to form one vehicle. Fireflight and Skydive seemed to check out, but Blades...

    'Blades!'

    The Protectobot perked up 'Y-yes sir!'

    'Why are you still in robot mode?'

    'W-well because I donut want to be in vehicle mode'

    'You what?'

    'I donut want to'

    Air Raid rubbed his optics 'This is war Blades, get into vehicle mode'

    'But-'

    'That's an order!'

    Blades transformed into his red and white helicopter mode, immediately several pockets of concealed weaponry opened up revealing a maze of rocket launchers, machine guns and turrets.

    'AWWWWWW YEAAHHHHH Mothers, time to slag sum Deceptichawps' the helicopter screamed

    'What the hell?'

    'Blades is… different' said Powerglide 'He's a swell guy in robot mode but in vehicle mode…'

    Blades charged out of the Ark and began shooting randomly at Predacons.

    'He's insane…'

    Air raid chuckled 'Alright Autobots lets show these guys what it means to be an Aerialbot.
    ________________________________________

    Hotshot's team

    'And that is why all life in the galaxy should be treated equally and fairly, except for the Quintessons. They're jerks and won’t return the dvd’s you leant them.'

    'Beachcomber shut it, save the mindless prattle to Bluestreak'

    'Hey now, I didn't have a choice on this matter remember?'

    'Hold it guys, I think we’re close'

    Bluestreak shrugged 'Oh yeah, now we stop, once I bring that up we suddenly make progress, you know there are better ways to get me to shut up, one time a Praxian super glued my face so that I wouldn’t speak.'

    ‘They glued your mouth shut?’ asked Barrage

    ‘Yeah but I eventually learned how to speak out of my nose as a precaution, want to see?’

    Hotshot transformed and held out a hand 'No really guys I think this is the place'

    'How can you tell?' asked Heave

    'You can't smell it? That Black one smelt disgusting, I'm almost certain he is around here'

    'Almost certain?' asked Bluestreak as he transformed to robot mode.

    'Shh'

    'Wh-'

    Blot and Sinnertwin burst through the trees, both advancing on the Autobots.
    Beachcomber panicked 'Hotshot, what do we do?'

    Hotshot put a finger to his temple before answering 'Bah weep grana weep ninny bong'

    'What?'

    'It's something my old instructor taught me; Bah weep grana weep ninny bong'

    The Terrorcons moved closer

    'I don't think it’s working' said Barrage

    'Bah weep grana weep ninny bong' Hotshot repeated

    Cutthroat and Rippersnapper leaped from the trees behind them and moved
    closer

    'Bah weep grana weep ninny bong' Hotshot said again in a calming voice

    'Hotshot?'

    A large white and purple twin headed dragon emerged from the forest, and growled.

    'Bah weep grana weep ninny bong'

    Hun-grr scooped up Heave with one of his heads and bit down on his torso with the other.

    'Heave!' shouted Barrage

    'BAH WEEP GRANNA WEEP NINNY BONG!'

    'Hey guys!' Heave called 'Why don't you just stand there and do nothing while I get eaten?'

    Bluestreak began to back away from the scene ‘Hotshot I hate to say this… but your instructor. Sucked.’

    Barrage fell to his knees 'Please don't kill Heave I beg of you.'

    Hun-grr stopped

    'Heave is my best friend, don't hurt him'

    Bluestreak chimed in 'Yeah, besides Heave will just make you… heave'

    Hun-grr spit up Heave and transformed to his smaller Robot form.

    'What the hell man, you just ruined my appetite!'

    Bluestreak laughed nervously.

    Hun-grr turned to Heave, who was being consoled by Barrage.

    'And you! What kind of name is Heave? How do you expect me to eat you if you have such a gross name?'

    Heave whimpered in place.

    Hotshot stepped forward 'Um Mr. Hun-grr… sir'

    Hun-grr stared at him shocked

    'Oh my god you aren't insane?'

    Hotshot felt insulted 'No, why would you think that?'

    'You kept muttering that gibberish what was that?'

    'Uh… That- the universal greeting! How do you not know the universal
    greeting?'

    Beachcomber whispered into Hotshots audio receptor 'To be fair I have never heard that till now either'

    Hotshot waved him away as Hun-grr spoke

    'That doesn't matter, what do you guys want from us, you are trespassing'

    'We uh need your help, you and your friend's help.'

    Hun-grr nodded at the others and each of them transformed into a smaller robot form.

    'For what?'

    'The Predacons, they have an army at our doorstep and we need someone to clear them out.'

    Hun-grr laughed 'only been here a day and the Preds are already trying to kill you eh?'

    His expression lowered 'What do we get in return'

    Hotshot turned to Bluestreak and back 'you can eat whatever Predacons you see'

    He nodded 'Okay’

    Hotshot clapped his hands together in joy

    ‘Really! Great, I can’t believe you’d’

    ‘Under one condition'

    ‘Annnnnd THERE it is.’ exclaimed Bluestreak

    Hotshot sighed 'What's your condition?'

    'When we start we won't stop, If one of your friends just happens to be in the way, then we won't hesitate to devour them too.'

    Hotshot nodded 'Okay. It's a deal, I'll warn the others about it.'

    Hun-grr smiled 'Great, You have 20 seconds, before we attack, you should start driving, the clock is ticking.'
    ________________________________________

    Backstop's ship

    The three bots entered the ship, while Air Razor held a sword, Jetfire and Jazz held a Thermo rocket cannon and a sniper rifle respectively.

    'It's quiet' stated Jazz'

    'Too quiet?' asked Jetfire

    ‘You mean besides the screaming combiner and the civilians being murdered just outside? Yep, perfectly sound’

    ‘Guys!’ Air Razor said as she pointed at a moving pile of debris in the corner.
    Jetfire kneeled down at the debris and turned it over, underneath was a wounded civilian.

    'That's Chainclaw' said Air Razor 'I remember his face, we should get him out of here'

    Jetfire slumped the bot over his shoulder 'That's one down, now we just need to find Backstop'

    Jetfire opened the door to the room he and Backstop spoke in. Inside were several dead civilians and Backstop who was sitting in a chair near the back.

    'Backstop!' He called.

    As Jetfire jogged towards the old bot he noticed something. Something was missing it would be obvious for most, but for Jetfire it didn't feel real. Air Razor covered her face and held in a scream while Jazz held Jetfire’s shoulder.

    'I'm sorry.'

    Backstop's body was sitting in his chair, but his head was scraped hollow and shoved into the jaw of the dead Undermine’s dino mode.

    'We should head back Jetfire, there is nothing we can do now.'

    'Jazz.'

    He looked up at Jetfire 'What?'

    'Take Chainclaw and Air Razor and head back to the others.'

    'What are you going to do?'

    Without giving an answer, Jetfire, dropped Chainclaw, transformed to Jet mode and flew out of the building, moving ahead of Cliffjumper and the others, he changed back to robot form and placed his foot down sending him sliding to a halt. He causing reloaded his Rocket cannon and pointed it forward.
    Cliffjumper quit firing at the guards the minute he saw the enraged Jetfire.

    'Jetfire?'

    Jetfire sprinted into the crowd of guards and fired at the ground beneath their feet. Each shot obliterating their lower halves of their bodies and sending their upper halves flying through the air.

    'This is for Backstop!' he shouted.

    His body became riddled with several gashes and slash mark as guards attacked him. He fired his last shot at Piranacon before unsheathing an energon blade and stabbing a guard through his forehead. As Piranacon followed the trail of the shot that was fired, he stared at Jetfire and raised his sword. Shocked by the sheer might of the combiner, Jetfire tripped over a body and landed face first into the charred mud. He looked up to find Piranacon's sword coming down to him like a falling skyscraper.
    ________________________________________

    The Ark

    'HEEEEELLLL YEAH!' shouted Blades as he shot down another pterodactyl.
    On the ground Red Alert hid behind a nearby tree with some other bots, his body shaking in fear.

    'We're going to die, aren't we Goldrod?'

    'Relax Red, Hotshot said he would come back with reinforcements, they should be here in any- ah! There they are now'

    Hotshot, Bluestreak, Barrage, Heave and Beachcomber drove up to them, transformed and hid behind the tree with them.

    'Hey guys, what did I miss?' asked Hotshot panting

    Hound stepped forward. 'Did you- I mean the Terrorcons did they'

    'Agree? Kinda. You see they-'

    The Terrorcons stomped onto the battle field, each one snarling and gnashing their teeth as they moved towards their prey. Rippersnapper was the first to devour a Predacon soldier while Cutthroat attacked the aerial Preds in the sky.

    'Awesome! Shouted Goldrod as he charged back into the battle'

    'Goldrod wait!' shouted Hotshot

    As Goldrod approached a wounded Predacon, Rippersnapper chomped down on his upper body and stomped on the Pred below.

    'Ah well' said Bluestreak 'He was gonna go sooner or later'
    Hotshot stared at him in disbelief 'I can't believe you just- okay fine I admit I was thinking that too, but we need to focus Autobots, we gotta be sure to take out as many Preds we can, while avoiding the Terrorcons.'

    'Well actually' interrupted Red Alert 'I don't mean to sound lazy or anything but these "Terrorcons" seem to be killing these guys fairly well on their own, why don't we just hide in the Ark and let them do all the work, safer yeah?'

    Hotshot opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself after a moment of thought.

    He activated his communicator 'Perceptor? This is Hotshot, get all the Autobots back inside, the Terrorcons will handle it from here'
    ________________________________________

    Jetfire’s position

    Jetfire braced for the feeling of Piranacon's sword to fall upon his body and send him to the allspark or J'nwan or whatever the hell afterlife that could possibly come. He shut his optics and tightened his fists. He heard a crashing sound. Was that it? He thought, was he dead? He opened them and looked up. A small ship, more probably an escape craft, of some sort, had tackled Piranacon's sword out of his hand. The sword pierced the bare ground below as the Gestalt's eyes followed the craft as if it were a fly. The craft did a U-turn and flew straight towards the gestalt this time. The top opened and three familiar faces emerged and leaped from the craft.

    'Monsterbots, attack!'

    Grotusque and Doublecross flew in Beastmode's as Piranacon swiped the air to grab them while Repugnus fell to the ground below.

    He landed to his feet and ran towards Jetfire.
    'Hey, Autobot, you still alive?'

    Jetfire nodded and stood up

    'What are you doing here?' he asked

    'Our ship sort of… broke.' replied Repugnus in an embarassed tone. 'We managed to break the Plexiglass and escape through a window and soon found a working escape craft in the wreckage below and-'

    Doublecross came falling towards the ground, landing in some scorched earth in the process.

    'Damnit! Jetfire take this.'

    Repugnus held out a small vial containing an orange liquid inside.

    'What is it?'

    'Thanks to your little red friend, some of Blots corrosive slime was left in our ship, we managed to scavenge some in case something… hilarious happened'

    Jetfire nodded weakly 'Right'

    Repugnus tilted his head 'You alright buddy?'

    Jetfire vision blurred, he was losing energon fast.
    'Don't worry Repugnus just tell me what to do'

    Repugnus stared at the Autobot before shaking his head.
    'No, you can't do it, you're wounded, who else do you know can fly?'

    The three other Autobots and two civilians ran up to them

    'All the guards and Pred's are either dead or have retreated into the woods' exclaimed Wheeljack
    'All that's left is this thing' he said pointing a sword at the screaming
    Piranacon who was trying to swat at Grotusque.

    Repugnus placed the vial into the palm of Air Razor’s hand

    'Bird lady, if you want to stop this thing, I need Piranacon here to drink this slime, can you get him to do that?'

    Air razor paused and stared at the beast. She remembered Brimstone,
    Silverbolt, and Backstop. She knew what to do.

    'I'll do it'

    She immediately transformed to eagle mode and held the vial in her talons.

    As she ascended, she spotted Grotusque get swatted out of the sky. Just as Piranacon turned to her, she transformed to robot mode and tossed the vial into the Gestalt's gaping mouth as he screamed.

    Piranacon struggled for a minute before swatting her out of the air as well; she landed hard beside Doublecross who was just waking out of stasis.
    Piranacon began to slow down, his rage was settling, he felt tired, very tired. Perhaps it would be best to sleep. He looked around for somewhere to rest his head but began looking down instead. His hands were orange, strange. And what was that taste that was in his mouth? Curious. He fell to his knees, yes it was a good time to rest.

    Piranacon's head fell from his body and hit the ground with a loud clang
    His limbs fell off just the same and went into stasis lock.
    ________________________________________

    The Ark

    Stranglehold sprinted into the jungle in rhino mode and away from the Terrorcons. Few members of the army Razorclaw had created were still alive, all either hiding in trees or running towards the village.

    Hun-grr roared triumphantly and strutted into jungle opposite to the retreating Predacons. The other Terrorcons soon followed.

    'So that's it?' asked Ratchet 'We won?'

    Hotshot chuckled 'Yeah I think we did!'

    The Autobots within the Ark began to cheer in unison, either embracing or shaking each-others hands; the Autobots were happy, well… most of them anyways.
    ________________________________________

    Air Razor and the others.

    A smile came upon Air Razor’s face as the other Autobots ran over to her, each one patting her on the back and congratulating her on a good job. Pincher offered her his gun as a present while Repugnus argued to the others that it was his idea to begin with. He was duly ignored to say the least.
    Something was missing, someone was missing rather.

    She stood up and walked away from the other Autobots. Jetfire was limping towards something, something important. She followed the Autobot towards what was left of the village. He approached a high platform and climbed onto it with difficulty. He stopped there and fell to his knees. What was he looking at? She thought. She jogged over to get a better look, Jetfire turned to her and smiled, in front of him was Silverbolt's body, and within his wounded chest was a flickering spark.

    It was faint, but it was alive.

    Next Time:

    'Jetfire, This is really important'