DOUBLE POST?

Hehe, I won't delete it because last time I did I killed the thread!

 

Nice ending dude! Tying in G2 and Uni, awesome. Nice detail on the fight scenes, although Jetfire's reentry into the scrap I missed.

Definately one of my favorites!

 

the best, once again  

 

duuuuude!!!!!!!

ive only read the first episode and i have to say that i'm thuroughly impressed!

no doubt some of the best writing ive ever read!!

you rock!!!

 

Begin Season Two


Episode 20: Strained Alliances



"By order of the Decepticon High Command, all off-world Decepticons are to return to Cybertron upon receipt of this communiqué. A situation has arisen that requires the immediate presence of all warriors loyal to Darkmount. For the sake of our great empire, please cease all current endeavors and return at once. Decepticons forever, Darkmount out."

The light hissing sound of dead air followed the nervous Decepticon voice until a slender, silver finger reached out and pressed a button to cease the playing of the recorded transmission. The finger curled back, and the outstretched arm that it belonged to returned to a resting position upon a table in front of the elegant silver frame that it was attached to. The robot's lavender optics looked over the seven other robots in the room before addressing them. "So, on to the question that is no doubt on all of our minds. Has SHE heard this yet?"

One by one, hesitant 'No's', 'I don't believe so's' and other negative responses were elicited by the silver robot's question, until there was only one attendee who had not responded. All optics turned toward the right end of the crescent-shaped table that all eight attendees were seated at, to a pink and white robot. The slender yet shapely robot twisted nervously in her seat as the silver robot, which was seated in the center of the table and appeared to be the leader, addressed her. "Arcee, do you know whether she's been made aware of this transmission or not?"

The pink robot hesitantly replied. "I sent the encoded transmission to her quarters this morning. I don't know whether she's deciphered it, or even received it yet."

The silver robot looked down and shook her head. "Why did you do that Arcee?"

Arcee's defensive posture seemed to disappear, and a more aggressive tone came over her as she replied. "I'm sorry, but as we are talking about not only a member of the Council, but our Chief of Security, I felt that she was not only entitled to this information, but that it would be essential that she be made aware of it."

The silver robot held up her left hand in an attempt to stop Arcee's innuendo. "Arcee, you misunderstand me. I have every intention of making her aware of this turn of events, but we all know how she'll react once she hears the recording. It took eons to get her to cease her repeated calls to arms, and this will no doubt re-ignite her patriotic, yet suicidal, overtures." The apparent leader looked to the other robots in attendance, all of which bore frames that resembled a traditionally feminine, humanoid form. "Whatever misfortune has befallen Darkmount, the Decepticons are still far too powerful for us to even have the slightest chance of defeating. I just wished to make the Council clear of the hopelessness of any endeavor that she may use this new information to champion."

Arcee nodded, and then calmly and confidently replied. "So you wished to present your case to the Council without giving her a chance for rebuttal."

An orange robot sitting to the left of the silver one snapped back at Arcee. "How dare you take that tone when addressing the High Chancellor!?! She has selflessly devoted countless eons to serving this community, and deserves better than to have accusations slung at her by an upstart unfit to hold the post she was elected to!"

Arcee snarled, but before she could respond the silver robot interjected. "Enough! Emirate Kandiga, I will not allow insults to be exchanged between Council members. And Arcee, believe what you will in regards to my tactics, but know I only have the best interests of this noble community in mind. I value our survival. Elita One would toss that aside for her futile quest." The silver robot leaned forward toward Arcee and took a more comforting and gentle tone. "I understand your admiration of her and the way that you defend her interests. Every one of us admires her, and none of us doubt her integrity, intelligence or courage. But when it comes to Cybertron, her judgment must be questioned."

Arcee smiled. "Emirate Saloria, I'm not asking that you do anything more than to treat her with the same consideration that you would give to any other member of the Council."

Saloria smiled and nodded. "I understand, and in all other matters I do so. But when it comes to the safety of the last surviving members of our race, I can take no chances." The silver femme looked to Kandiga. "Knowing that the encrypted message was sent to her this morning, when do you think that Elita One will decode it and begin her demands to charge into a hopeless battle?"

The orange robot punched some keys on the data pad in front of her, examined the screen, and responded. "Elita One has been leading a mining expedition for the past three days and returned a little over thirty minutes ago. Given that it took us nearly two days to break the code, I'd say that we have at least several hours before she hears the message."

At that moment the double doors of the council chambers were thrown open and an extremely athletically shaped femme marched into the room. Her coloration was similar to Arcee's, but upon her helmet were two points that pointed diagonally upwards to either side. She walked before Emirate Saloria and smiled. "The Council has been called to session? I must have overlooked my summons."

Saloria smiled at the new arrival. "No, Elita, no summons has been issued. Not yet anyway."

Elita One knowingly nodded and replied. "Well, I hope you understand if I insist on attending nonetheless." With that she took the only empty seat, the one to the right of Saloria. Once seated, Elita looked over the other attendees. "I take it I interrupted the discussion on how best to shoot down my impending request to see what's bothering the Decepticons."

The statement elicited nervous laughter from each member of the council. A robust, pale blue and gold robot to the far left side of the table lightly responded. "Quite frankly, we were expecting you to be deciphering the message for at least a few more hours."

Elita One nodded. "It was an old encryption code. I encountered dozens similar to it before leaving Cybertron." Her expression instantly became more solemn. "Let's get down to business. This opportunity is far too significant not to address in the most serious manner."

"This is a development, not an opportunity! An opportunity would imply that action should be taken. This transmission warrants no such thing!" Saloria’s response renewed the age-old debate between the two most influential Autobot Femmes still in existence.

"This most certainly is an opportunity, and it would be beyond negligent if we were to not at least examine what is happening on Cybertron."

"What could you possibly hope to accomplish by traveling to Cybertron beyond the deaths of the crew you bring with you and the discovery and extermination of the rest of us? Our total count is four hundred twenty six. At last count Shockwave's forces were well over one million. And the Autobot army was practically wiped out forty five thousand vorns ago. By now I'm sure that whatever was left of them at that point has long since been wiped out of existence."

Elita's optics grew wide. "Something has changed. Something significant enough for Darkmount to call back all of it's traveling warlords."

Kandiga chimed in. "For all we know the Decepticons could have discovered an adequate fuel source, and are simply calling back all of their soldiers for a more organized colonization of the galaxy."

Elita One shook her head. "No. That Decepticon's voice was thick with panic. That transmission was sent because some major misfortune has befallen them."

Kandiga smirked. "And we're supposed to accept that you are an expert on panic levels in Decepticon vocal processors?"

Elita's optic's narrowed as she glared at Kandiga. "You should, I've caused much more than my share of panic in Decepticon soldiers in my time."

Saloria interjected. "We are all aware of your military record Elita. But just because you bear the title 'One' does not mean that you can order us into a suicidal course of action. It is a military rank, but this is not a military base. New Harbornia is a society based on peace and the rule of the majority."

Elita one shook her head once again. "I am not here to command, but to convince. And I am not suggesting that we barrel into Cybertron's atmosphere, blasting away; I am suggesting a reconnaissance mission. This may be the opportunity that we've been praying for. We have to at least investigate!"

"No! Cybertron is lost. No matter what has befallen the Decepticons, we are not equipped to reclaim the planet!"

"We have to at least examine the possibility. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to those that have fallen, we owe it to the Great Mother...we owe it to the universe! The Decepticons must be stopped!"

"The loss of our planet, so many friends, and Vector Sigma are most lamentable, but I will not risk the lives of the few of us that remain!" Saloria’s patience was coming to an end.

"As long as the Decepticons are in power, all lives are at risk; ours, any surviving Autobots, and any unfortunate aliens that the Decepticon Empire swarms over in their quest for universal domination. And Saloria, have no doubt that given enough time, they will find us. Eventually they will detect the same energy signature that led us to this moon. They must be stopped, and this transmission might just represent our one and only OPPORTUNITY to do it!"

"ENOUGH!" Saloria pounded her palm against the top of the table. "Let's just take the vote and put an end to this nonsense." Elita's optics dimmed in disappointment, but she reluctantly nodded. Saloria looked over the rest of the table, addressed the Council with a nod and a smile, and then returned her gaze to Elita One. "Please present your motion."

Elita One stared at Saloria for a few seconds before turning to face the other members of the Council. "I, Elita One, move that a reconnaissance team be assembled and equipped. The team will consist strictly of volunteers and be under my command, and I would further request that we be provided with the Solar Flare for transport."

Some grumbling could be heard throughout the table, but Arcee's voice clearly called out over the slight commotion. "Seconded!"

Emirate Saloria nodded and held her hands up for silence. "Alright, I will now conduct the vote." She looked to Elita One. "I believe it is safe to say that between you an I there is one 'for' and one 'against'. So we will continue with Starlight."

The gold and aqua hued Femme at the far left side of the table responded. "Nay."

Saloria nodded, marked her response and continued. "Stratus?"

The shiny gray and black robot seated next to Starlight replied immediately. "Nay."

Saloria marked the response and moved to the next member. "Skitch?"

A moment's hesitation passed before the short, peach colored robot delivered her vote. "Yay."

A surprised silence came over the entire chamber. Emirate Saloria stared intently at Skitch. "I'm sorry, could you repeat your vote?"

Skitch stretched to a more upright posture. "I voted in favor of Elita One's proposal. We've been on this moon for over fifty thousand vorns, and every cycle of that time I've been looking to the sky, waiting in terror for the day when I would see a Decepticon war cruiser staring back at me. And I know that I am not the only one to be haunted by this. Elita One is right, if we could find this moon, so could the Decepticons. So if there is a chance that they're vulnerable, we have to at least check it out."

Further quiet rumbling came over the room, and continued until Saloria broke her silent disbelief. "Alright then, you vote is duly noted. Wheel-well, what is your vote?"

The portly brown robot replied without hesitation. "Yay."

Saloria became visibly nervous as she recorded the vote. Three votes apiece, and only three Councilors left. But the next two votes should put an end to Elita One's proposal. "Kandiga?"

"Nay."

"Thank you Kandiga. Paradon?"

The green and white medic nodded and replied. "Yay."

The assembly was stunned. "But…but, you're a healer, you can't possibly advocate a course of action that could lead to war, and our doom!" Saloria blurted out.

Paradon shook her head. "Without the Great Mother we're doomed anyway. This could be our one chance to free her from the Decepticons."

Saloria stared in fear at the one Councilor left to vote. Emirate Saloria had personally raised Arcee from the time of her creation in the community of Harbornia, a small outpost a few dozen miles from the great Autobot Femme city-state of Matriopolis. Saloria had instilled in Arcee a great love of peace and respect for all other living creatures. But in the last few thousand vorns, Arcee has seemed to be adopting the ideals of the Autobot Femme's Military High Commander, Elita One. Despite her early influence on Arcee's values, Emirate Saloria knew that her former protégé would most likely vote against her; it had been, after all, Arcee’s voice that had seconded the motion. Saloria looked to the pink robot at the end of the table. "My dearest Arcee, what is your vote?"

Arcee looked sadly at the silver Femme. "I'm sorry Saloria, but not only must I vote in favor of Elita One's mission, I will also be her first volunteer."


***


"We sincerely apologize for the deception, Optimus Prime, but it was the only way to achieve what needed to be done. If you were to put aside you overblown sense of idealism, you would understand that this was the only way for both human and Autobot to avoid complete annihilation." The Secretary of State of the United States of American appeared to be completely devoid of emotion as he made his case to the irritated Autobot Commander.

"No. It was the easiest, most destructive way, but it most definitely wasn't the only way. Had my former Lieutenant delivered my set of instructions and not yours, the Koltic Bridge would have been completely destroyed and the Cooler would be under Autobot control as we speak." Though having most of his facial features hidden by a faceplate, Prime's heated emotions were still clearly evident.

The Secretary of State's brow furrowed as he responded. "I was under the impression that you lacked the forces to achieve either of those objectives."

Prime's optics narrowed. "Perhaps if you had instructed Sparkplug Witwicky to ask direct questions instead of trying to sneak information out of us, you might have a more accurate view of our capabilities. For the past several weeks Ultra Magnus has been positioning the bulk of the Autobot forces on Cybertron strategically around the Cooler; it’s only by the grace of Primus that you did not kill any of these Autobots with your doomsday weapon! Their attack would have been initiated once Omega Supreme, traveling to Cyberton with the Aerialbots, landed with Superion on the bridge's mid-point, and began destroying it from it's least defended, and most difficult to repair, point. Victory at the Cooler would be far from assured, and it would be a difficult position to hold, but this would have been a much better option than the one you forced upon us."

The human nodded. "Maybe, but there would be a huge Autobot body count, and your chances of success would have been mediocre at best. And given the number of Decepticons that were housed in that facility, there was no way that we could take the chance of your failure and their awakening. As unpleasant as it was, this was our best, and most reliable method of achieving a stay of our own extinction. There was just too much at stake for us to take chances. I'm sorry that you can not realize this."

Prime shook his head. "I am well aware of what's at stake here, and I understand your concerns and vulnerabilities. But how are we any better than the Decepticons if we adopt their methods?"

The human stared at Prime in surprise. "Optimus Prime, you do realize that the good guys don't always win, and that justice doesn't always prevail, don't you? A punch from John Wayne across Megatron's jaw won't send the Decepticons fleeing. The Marquis de Queensbury rules don't apply here. We're fighting for our very existence here, and we'll resort to any means necessary to stay alive."

Prime stood up from the giant crate that had been placed in the large warehouse for him to sit on. "There were other options. It's unfortunate that you didn't even bother to consider them." Prime started walking out, but stopped to make one last comment. "Fight the Decepticons in whatever manner you see fit, but do not involve my troops again."

The human politician also stood up, and called after the large red robot before it had a chance to leave. "Optimus Prime, please do not leave just yet. It would be most unfortunate to leave things like this, plus there is one more matter that I would like to discuss with you."

Prime turned part way around and peered at the human with his left optic. "What other matter?"

The human smiled, reached down and pushed a button on the notebook computer that was on the desk in front of his chair. The wall behind him flickered to life and an enormous display of schematics appeared behind him. "Something that will benefit both of us. We supply materials and labor to help you build something like this." His left hand waved over the images behind him, and Prime turned completely around and once again gave the human his utmost attention. "Obviously this is just a rough outline. We'd need you're tech-boys...err, bots, to do the actual designing, to iron out the finer points, and to oversee and assist in the construction. In return, we'd have a contingent of Autobots stationed at this, whatever you'd call it, which will be located in the eastern part of the country. We're tentatively kicking around various parts of West Virginia. Low population areas, lots of empty space, and most importantly, close to the District of Columbia. If the Decepticons decide to come at us again, and I'm certain that they will once they figure out that it was our device that was used to destroy their..." The human looked down at his notes. "...Cooler, we won't need you and your boys to cross the entire continent to kick them out."

As angry as Prime was with the U.S. government, he couldn't help but be tempted by the human's proposal. And despite his desire to sever ties with the American military, he knew that to pass on this opportunity would be extremely negligent to the Autobot war effort. With reticence, Prime returned to the crate and sat back down. "Tell me more."


***


Shockwave stood alone before the space bridge. Given what had transpired five days ago, and Megatron's tone in the message announcing that the new space bridge on Earth was nearing completion and that he would be returning to assess the damage, Shockwave estimated that there would be a eighty-seven percent chance that Megatron would react violently upon seeing him. And Shockwave could not afford the emasculation of other Decepticons witnessing him being beaten by Megatron.

The space bridge suddenly hummed to life, and Shockwave watched as his creations, Bombshell and the Predacons, passed through to Cybertron. A moment later Megatron walked through as well. Fulfilling Shockwave's prediction, the massive Decepticon Commander marched straight toward his second in command and laid him out with a crushing right cross to what would be considered Shockwave's chin, had he had a chin.

The purple Decepticon hit the metal ground hard, bounced off of it, and landed several feet away. Megatron continued after him, gripped him by the neck with his left hand and pulled Shockwave's face close to his. "I left you with legions, an enemy that was all but obliterated, a planet that was virtually conquered, and what have you accomplished in my absence? THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EMPIRE I BUILT!!!"

From behind Megatron, Shockwave caught a glimpse of Razorclaw gripping the hilt of his saber tightly and getting ready to spring into action. Shockwave calmly raised his right hand behind Megatron's back and held it palm out to halt any attempts to intervene that Razorclaw may have had in mind. The Predacon leader noted his creator's silent command and stood down. Shockwave returned his attention to the monster that currently had him in a death grip. "Glorious Megatron, I can only apologize to you, and swear that I will devote the remainder of my existence to returning the empire to its former greatness."

Megatron snarled before releasing Shockwave and letting him hit the ground. "You most definitely would, were it not for the fact that your existence is about to come to an end!" Megatron then delivered a savage kick to Shockwave's side, sending the purple warrior skidding across the ground. Megatron marched after him, making no attempt to hide his murderous intent, but stopped as a thought came to mind. A malevolent sneer came over his face. "What could you possibly do to return the empire to it's former greatness, Shockwave!?!" Megatron quickly skipped forward and delivered another kick to the prostrate Shockwave.

Shockwave bounced across the ground again, but upon stopping he quickly got to his knees and reached for his left wrist. A data-pad ejected from a compartment a foot above the top of his cannon. Shockwave immediately gripped it and extended it toward his quickly advancing leader. "Mighty Megatron, here are plans for the first small step in rebuilding the Decepticon war machine."

Megatron angrily snatched it from his subordinate and lifted it to his face. The silver warrior examined the screen briefly before returning his heated gaze to Shockwave. "This is merely a blueprint for the Tryptic battle station!"

Shockwave held out his hand as he got back to his feet. "No, Lord Megatron, look closer. I've proposed some modifications to the battle station that will make it infinitely more valuable to our cause."

Megatron humored his second and looked at the data-pad more closely, pressing some buttons to view other pages and scrutinize the displayed information more closely. Slowly, the rage in his face disappeared and was replaced by an evil grin.


***


"Time to show the city of broad shoulders how to play rough!" The formerly inconspicuous black semi-truck came to life and started plowing through the lines of backed up traffic that was waiting on the Kennedy Expressway to enter America's third largest city and begin the workday. Unsuspecting commuters could only look into their rearview mirrors and watch in terror as the dark metal monster bore down on them. A lucky few had the sense and speed to get out of their automobiles and run off of the road, but most were either maimed or killed as their cars were compacted with them inside.

One of the men to escape his metal coffin was not so lucky though, as a yellow Indy car sped through the wake made by the truck, leapt off the right side of the road at him, and sliced his torso in half with it's blade-like front end. A laugh escaped the bloodied racecar as it sped away from the severed corpse. "Nothing like the combination of rush hour and road construction to make for a high body count!"

"Body count!?! What are you talking about, Drag Strip? As cool as that was, you only killed one flesh-bag. Now this, this is a body count!" With that the dark gray Ferrari that had voiced the comments accelerated, leapt off the left side of the road toward the train tracks that separated the inbound and outbound traffic. Seven people waiting for the train on the center platform watched the carnage on the road in horror, and never saw the sleek, dark projectile bearing down on them from their right. Metal, glass, flesh and bone all gave way to the speeding Wildrider, and as he sped away from the destruction that he had caused, all the Stunticon regretted was that the blood covering his front end was not as clearly visible against his coloration as it had been on Drag Strip.

As Wildrider made his way over the tracks and back onto the road, a white Lamborghini Countach and a maroon Porsche zipped by on either shoulder and shot past Motormaster. Through the communications system, Breakdown's voice shot through. "Hey Dead End, if this doesn't cheer you up, then nothing will!" At that, both sports cars began slamming into cars that were veering off the road in a desperate attempt to escape the wrath of the oncoming Motormaster back into his path.

Though both Stunticons were vigorously performing their task, only Breakdown seemed to be deriving any degree of enjoyment from it. Dead End merely sighed as he tore through multiple cars, trucks and motorcycles. Unheard by his comrades, a quiet lament escaped his vocal processor. "What's the point of all this?"

As the five road warriors made their way into downtown Chicago, an aerial observer sent a message. "Onslaught, this is Blast Off. I've found them. Converge on my position."


***


Emirate Saloria watched as the space cruiser Solar Flare was loaded with weapons and supplies. "Do you really need all of those armaments?"

Elita One looked at her friend and long time rival. The two had been overseeing the preparations for the launch for the past three hours. "Ideally, this will just be a fact-finding mission. But any number of things can go wrong, and if that should happen I would want us to be as prepared as we possibly can be."

Saloria shook her head. "I still think that this will be the death of us."

Elita smiled. "That's what you said forty-five thousand vorns ago, the last time I led a recon mission to Cybertron." Elita's smile quickly vanished as she remembered the information that the last trip had yielded. The planet was lost, all others of her kind were destroyed, and her one true love had vanished eons before and was undoubtedly dead. The only good news was that Megatron had died with him, but that was of little comfort given that Megatron's empire lived on unopposed.

Saloria gritted her shiny teeth in frustration. "It's times like this that I regret picking your nearly lifeless frame off of that battle field and taking you with us."

The statement was serious, but Elita One chose to respond to it as if it were a joke. "Gee Saloria, it's been well over fifty thousand vorns, I'd have thought that you would have come to terms with that decision by now."

The leader of the last Autobot Femme community simply shook her head. Even if she had wanted to respond, she would not have had the opportunity, as Arcee came running over. "Elita One, the ship is loaded and all other preparations are complete. We're ready to launch."

Elita nodded and looked to Saloria. "I only wish that you could see the necessity of this trip." The powerful pink warrior then looked to Arcee. "We launch in two minutes." She nodded to Saloria. "Make it quick."

With that, Elita One marched toward the Solar Flare, leaving the two Femmes alone to say their goodbyes. Saloria put her hand gently on Arcee's shoulder. "Please reconsider going. While I love her like a sister, I don't trust Elita One's judgment. She's just too oil-thirsty, and with the death of Optimus Prime, I fear that she’s adopted a sub-conscious death wish. I really believe she's looking for the opportunity to achieve a glorious death, and has no problem bringing those under her command with her. This hopeless war is all she has left to live for, and I don't think that I could stand it if I were to lose you to her failed Autobot cause."

Arcee gazed into her mentor's sorrow-filled optics and shook her head sadly. "The cause is noble, and there's a chance that it hasn't failed. We owe it to so many to at least make sure."

Saloria looked to the ground. "Is there no way for me to change your mind? Perhaps you should consider staying for the sake of the Council? Elita is already taking Paradon, so you would need to stay for us to have a tie-breaker in future voting."

Arcee shook her head. "I'm sorry, but this is what I must do."

Arcee was suddenly and unexpectedly wrapped in Saloria's loving embrace. "Then be safe, my daughter, and go with Primus."


***


"What the slag do you want, String bean?" Motormaster's loud, obnoxious voice broke the silent air as he greeted the flatbed truck carrying a tank that was breaking through the police barricade and over the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The police, who had long since stopped using their ineffective weapons against the formerly rampaging but now docile robots, only stopped yelling at the military vehicle once realizing that it had no driver. A tan jeep then sped around the flatbed, drove up to the waiting Stunticons, Vortex and Blast Off, and transformed into Swindle.

Onslaught came to a stop a few feet after clearing the bridge, allowed Brawl to transform and get off of him, and then transformed as well. "Nice to see you too, Motormaster."

Still annoyed, Motormaster took a step toward the Combaticon leader and pointed a finger at him. "Look here, you oil pan, me and my boys take orders from Megatron, nobody else! So until the call to return to base comes from him, you and Soundwave can kiss my grime-covered skid plate! Me and the boys deserve a little fun, and by Primus, fun we're gonna have! SO SLAG OFF!"

Unimpressed by the furious display of insubordination, Onslaught calmly approached the Stunticon Commander. "Such outbursts are unbecoming of a squad commander. Especially the leader of such an important squad to the empire." Slight twinges of envy cut the four smaller Stunticons as they heard this statement. Onslaught's recognition of their value made them hate the cruel, arrogant, inconsiderate and selfish Motormaster all the more. "You have a great deal of responsibility, and if you are the leader that Megatron feels you are, then you need to step up and accept that responsibility. You need to set an example to your troops by being the best soldier that you can be."

Motormaster let out a loud, overly sarcastic laugh. "Gee, great pep-talk Sarge! Where do I enlist?" The Stunticon's humorous expression left. "Now, are you going to leave us to enjoy the sights of the Big Apple, or are we going to have to get rough?"

"That's New York, boss. This is the Windy City." Drag Strip smirked.

"SHUT UP OIL-LEAK!" Motormaster turned to his yellow subordinate and threatened to backhand him.

Onslaught shook his head in amazement at Motormaster's lack of control, both in his troops and in himself. The Combaticon leader looked to his squad and nodded to each of them to be ready for what was likely to be a very violent encounter. "However you want to do it, Motormaster, but one way or the other you will be returning with us to the Nemesis."

Motormaster grinned evilly at Onslaught. "Three guesses as to which way I want to do it."

"Onslaught, we've got fliers inbound. I'm reading Cybertronian technology." Blast Off's announcement broke up what was sure to be a deadly brawl between the two teams.

"Slag it, this is what I was afraid of." Onslaught only allowed himself that one display of emotion before returning to the business of being a military commander. "Is it the Guardian?"

Blast Off stared intently at the display on his wrist. "No, too small. Looks like five jets and a helicopter. And it appears that the helicopter and three of the jets are each towing a robot."

Onslaught nodded. "ETA?"

"Less than a minute."

"If one of them were Jetfire, we'd have already been strafed. So, barring fresh recruits from Cybertron, we're probably looking at the Aerialbots, Blades and four as of yet unknown Autobots. Combaticons dig in and prepare for an aerial attack." Four Combaticons darted to different areas and took cover, as Onslaught transformed into his battle platform mode and positioned his cannon's skyward. The human police presence dispersed as word of the oncoming Autobot assault was radioed to them by their dispatch, which had been informed of it by the Ark. "Motormaster, I suggest you prepare your soldiers for battle."

"Don't tell me how to order these idiots around!" Motormaster then turned to the other Stunticons, all of who were glaring at him intently. "Quit playing with your internal mechanisms, grab your guns, and blast those pansies out of the sky!" Motormaster huffed as he turned his attention toward the western sky and raised his rifle. "Jeesh, everyone is useless but me!"

Six dots appeared in the distant sky, but four of them seemed to drop low and out of sight behind the buildings. A moment later the four dots were returning to their original altitude. "The passengers were just dropped off. Four ground vehicles are inbound. They're about a minute out at their current velocity. The airborne Autobots will be here in seconds."

Onslaught began firing, and a moment later all other Decepticons were following suit. Five jets cut and banked through the artillery, while the helicopter dropped lower and out of sight. The Aerialbots returned fire, and a moment later Blades appeared from in between two buildings and began blasting away as well.

The disorganized Stunticons were being easily picked off. Onslaught decided to remove them as individual targets and maximize their usefulness. "Motormaster, combine your team!"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

Onslaught decided that he would have to push some buttons to achieve the result he was after. "But Motormaster, Menasor is such a badass that the Autobots would be rendered helpless if he were to appear."

Motormaster squeezed off a few more shots before responding. "Well, I can't argue with that logic. Stunticons, COMBINE!" Several seconds later the giant warrior Menasor was stomping parked cars on Michigan Avenue and screaming at the Autobot jets high above.

Silverbolt addressed the other Aerialbots over a secured frequency. "Hey guys, I know that we're making a lot of headway with the aerial attack, but we can't let that metal demon endanger the humans. Our only course of action is to unite and form Superion!" The five jets slowed drastically and dropped to the river's edge, shifting shape as they did so. Superion was formed just before touching down, and his thrusters lowered him gently to the ground.

Menasor drew his sword and charged his hated enemy, but as he neared his target, Superion re-engaged his thrusters and took to the air. Menasor attempted to stop his charge, but his momentum was too great, and with arms and sword swinging, he toppled over the edge and into the Chicago River.

"Slag it." Onslaught quietly cursed as the water displaced by the monstrous Decepticon splashed against the sides and over the top of the metal channel. He watched as the grinning Superion settled back onto the road running along the side of the river, and realized that the ordinance of he and his troops would have little effect on the Autobot giant. "Combaticons, combine!"

The four robots under Onslaught's command sprinted toward their suddenly airborne leader, followed him into the air, shifted shape, and took their respective positions around his limbs. Bruticus's feet hit Michigan Avenue with a loud thud that echoed through Chicago's canyons of metal and glass.

The two Cybertronian giants stared each other down, a mere one hundred fifty feet separating them. Bruticus took a step toward Superion, but stopped as a white and red helicopter dropped in front of him and unloaded on his head and upper chest with it's side-mounted cannons. Bruticus swatted at it, but Blades easily evaded the Decepticon's clumsy swing.

A motorcycle and a police cruiser sped over the bridge, transformed as they reached the other side, and began firing on Bruticus as well. But the Combaticon giant was ignoring their attack and was quickly marching toward Superion. The Aerialbot giant met the advance, but Bruticus proved to be the stronger of the two, and Superion was slowly being pushed back.

An ambulance and blue fire engine sped across the bridge as Superion struggled to gain the upper hand against his opponent. Hot Spot and First Aid transformed and joined their comrades on the other side of the river. The Protectobot leader looked at the fight going on down the street and addressed his team. "Alright guys, we've drilled, been analyzed, we know what we're capable of...it's time our boy tested his mettle in battle." The hulking blue Autobot looked to his troops and noted that their expressions ranged from the excessive exuberance of Blades to the seeming hesitance of First Aid. But there was no time to get the medic more motivated, it was time for action. "Protectobots, unite to form Defensor!"

Streetwise and Groove transformed to vehicle modes, had large black metal slats emerge from their rear portions, and then they fell back to a perched position on these slats which had grown and taken the shape of feet. Groove's steering column and front tire rotated around and lowered so that the tire rested upon the seat. Streetwise's hood opened slightly to reveal his connection mechanisms.

Hot Spot leapt to the air in robot form, but began shifting shape immediately after leaving the ground. His fists and forearms retracted into his upper arms, his upper arms latched to his sides, his head descended into his torso, his red chest plate folded down to cover his abdomen, his thighs swung to the sides, and his lower legs bent inward so that his feet were still facing a downward position. From his now-exposed inner chest came black panels that extended to form an enormous new chest plate, and his thighs shifted shape to form a black waist plate. As what had been Hot Spot's feet perched upon Streetwise and Groove, the base of the fire engine's ladder rotated around and rested upon the top of what had been Hot Spot's torso. The ladder itself flipped over to run along the what had been Hot Spot's back, and the center section of the ladder base flipped up to reveal a large black and silver head.

Blades and First Aid each jumped to either side of what had been Hot Spot, retracted their arms back into the sides of their torsos, folded their heads forward, separated their lower legs to dispatch the black fists that were housed in them, and locked their legs back into place. As their heads locked into the connection ports on the sides of what had recently been Hot Spots upper arms, the formerly dark optics of the newly exposed face glowed a bright red color. Defensor had entered the battle.

The new gestalt started toward Superion and Bruticus, but stopped as he saw a pair of wet, purple hands reach over the side of the embankment and grip the ground. A moment later Menasor had managed to hoist himself out of the river and onto the ground. The Stunticon spied Defensor as he climbed to his feet, and after an extremely brief moment of confusion, charged the predominantly blue, white and red Autobot.

Defensor started to react, but inexplicably hesitated, and wound up being slammed by the bottoms of Menasor's fists as the Decepticon delivered a pair of overhead hammer-strikes to the newcomer's chest. The giant Autobot hit the ground hard and skidded down the street. He quickly got back to his feet, but the charging Menasor sent him stumbling farther back by planting a shoulder into Defensor's mid-section.

Defensor lost his balance and once again found himself on the ground. He started to get back to his feet, but a kick from Menasor across his jaw put him flat on his back. Defensor shook his head, and the dizziness cleared just in time for him to see Menasor gripping his feet. The Stunticon giant savagely hurtled Defensor into the air, and over the river. Defensor hit the ground hard, but was still alert and in one piece.

The giant Protectobot got back to his feet and watched as Menasor furiously came to the realization that he had put a river between he and his prey. Menasor jumped into the river and started to wade across, and Defensor could only marvel at the Stunticon's stupidity as he noted that the bridge was less than a hundred feet away. But Defensor welcomed the opportunity to regain his composure.

Defensor suddenly jerked, shook his head, and jerked again. "Disengage." With that the five separate Protectobots fell to the ground.

Hot Spot groaned as he started feeling some of the damage that Defensor had sustained. "Owww. Blades, why did you have us separate?"

The white and red Protectobot flier ignored the question and brushed right past Hot Spot to First Aid. Blades gripped his blocky teammate by the shoulders and peered into his optics. "What the slag are you doing?"

The nervous First Aid tried to pull away. "What are you talking about?"

Blades released his friend, but kept up the interrogation. "We can take this guy, but you're forcing us to pull our punches! It's go time, so get the slag on board!"

First Aid turned away. "Look, I deplore violence. I'm a physician, you can't expect me to actively participate in inflicting damage to another living thing." First Aid looked at Menasor, who was now more than halfway across the river. "Even if it's that thing."

Hot Spot straightened up and walked over to the medic. "Ow. We all understand, and respect how you feel, First Aid. Heck, I even find it admirable. But I need you to look at the big picture here. If we win, we're talking about five damaged, or at worst destroyed, Decepticons. If we lose, well, countless human lives will be lost, as will ours, and probably the Aerialbots as well. And the only way for us to win is if we have you with us one hundred percent." The blue Autobot noted that First Aid didn't seem completely convinced. "Our mission is to protect the humans, and stopping Menasor and Bruticus are the only way to do that. So, are you with us?"

First Aid, looking down and deep in thought, slowly started nodding. His head raised and he looked at Hot Spot, and then to his other teammates. "All right, I do it for the humans."

"Good enough." The loud crash of Menasor's hand slamming and gripping land nearly drowned out Hot Spot's comment. The large Protectobot looked to his squad and nodded. "Alright boys..." He leapt to the air and started shifting shape, and the other four immediately followed suit. The union was completed a few moments later, and the freshly formed Defensor looked at Menasor, who was now fully upright on the ground. "...It's go time."

Menasor roared and charged at the Autobot, but a thunderous left jab stopped him in his tracks. Menasor stumbled a few steps back, but the moment he got his bearings he attempted to resume his charge. Before he could get started, however, Defensor planted his palms firmly on Menasor's chest, stepped forward, and shoved the Stunticon back into the river. The force of the push was so overwhelming that Menasor somersaulted backwards in the air before hitting the water near the other side.

Seconds later the enraged Menasor burst through the surface of the water howling. He started wading once again toward Defensor, but as he neared the shore, the blue and white Autobot leapt at him feet first. The bottoms of Defensor's feet hit Menasor's chest and forced him into the sludge at the river's bottom.

The two giant robots splashed around the surface of the water before they were finally able to square up against each other. They gripped each other's shoulders and began using all of their tremendous strength to push the other back. "MENASOR CRUSH!" But despite the Stunticon's boastful declaration, he was quickly losing the test of strength and being forced back.

Menasor lost his footing, and as his focus shifted away from Defensor and to regaining his balance, the Autobot giant took advantage. Defensor released his grip of Menasor's left shoulder, pulled his right hand back, and delivered a devastating right cross to the Stunticon's jaw. Menasor's head shot into the water, but Defensor pulled the Decepticon back to the surface by its right shoulder and pounded its head repeatedly with his right fist. The light in Menasor's optics were soon flickering in and out, and it wasn't long before Defensor was holding a limp, unconscious Motormaster and the other inert Stunticons were sinking to the bottom of the river.

Defensor let the Stunticon Commander drop and started toward the opposite shore where Bruticus and Superion were still grappling. Defensor hoisted himself out of the river and saw Superion land some quick jabs to Bruticus's head, but they seemed to have little effect on the Combaticon as he still lunged forward, planted his shoulder into Superion's chest, and knock the Aerialbot to the ground.

Bruticus heard the large footsteps behind him and turned to address the robot making them. "It's about ti...” The giant Decepticon was stunned silent as he saw the unknown gestalt instead of Menasor. He looked back to the now standing Superion, and then back to the blue and white newcomer. "Separate."

The five Combaticons landed on the ground in robot mode. Onslaught immediately looked to Blast Off. "Where are they?"

Blast Off looked at the display on his wrist. "Bottom of the river."

Onslaught nodded. "Get 'em." Blast Off transformed to shuttle mode, took to the air, and slowly flew over the section of the river that the Stunticons lay. Five cables were deployed out of the bottom of the shuttle and dropped into the water. A few seconds later the shuttle accelerated to the sky with five unconscious robots at the end of each cable banging into one another.

Onslaught looked to his other three troops. "Combaticons, retreat." The four robots transformed to vehicle modes and easily evaded the two giant Autobots as they made their way out of the Chicago city limits.


***


"Welcome back Prime. You'll be happy to know that the rampaging Decepticons were successfully kicked out of Chicago by the Aerialbots and Protectobots." Bluestreak's cheerful voice relayed the happy news to the returning Autobot Commander. "The two teams are on their way back to the Ark as we speak."

Prime nodded. "Excellent." He continued toward the Ark's control terminal.

Bluestreak continued the conversation. "You should also know that the preliminary word is that Defensor was most effective."

"Hmmm." Prime groaned, still slightly annoyed by the new gestalt's existence. He had given First Aid a direct order not to proceed with the gestalt technology on living subjects, but the Protectobot medic conducted the procedure on himself and his teammates nonetheless. "I'm glad that he's an asset." Prime reached the terminal and stood next to Bluestreak. "Has Ultra Magnus checked in yet?"

The silver Autobot nodded. "Yeah, he's been holding for a couple of minutes.” Bluestreak looked up at his Commander. “I take it that the meeting with the humans went longer than expected."

Prime nodded as he reached down to open the frequency to Cybertron. "They had a proposal that I just couldn't put aside for later." Prime flipped the switch and addressed his second in command. "Hello Magnus, sorry to keep you waiting."

Magnus's voice came through clearly. "Not a problem, Prime."

"How are preparations?" Prime sat down as he asked the question.

"Proceeding according to plan; all of the troops that were stationed around the Cooler are being repositioned around the new primary target, and will be fully fueled and amply supplied in a matter of days." Magnus paused. "We're on the brink of a monumental moment here, Prime. This is truly a glorious time for Cybertron."

"Don't glorify what is going to happen here, Magnus. There's nothing glorious about war.” Prime started nodding. “But you're right about one thing, this will be a pivotal moment in Cybertronian history."


***


Shockwave watched the space bridge power down before turning back to the Predacons. "Now that Megatron has returned to Earth and Bombshell is busy in the interrogation chamber with Perceptor, we can speak freely."

Razorclaw stepped forward. "You should have allowed me to skewer that ego-maniac."

Shockwave shook his head. "No, even if we could have overpowered him, there would have been an excellent chance of our betrayal being discovered by other Decepticons, especially with Bombshell present. I seek not just Megatron's position, but also the loyalty he garners from the other Decepticons. And to achieve this, my replacement of Megatron must make clear my superiority over him, and not be due to a trap set by a backstabber."

Razorclaw nodded. "As always, you are correct. So, when shall we begin tracking the one who set the explosive device in the Cooler?"

Shockwave started walking back toward Darkmount, with the Predacons following closely behind him. "You were not summoned here for your tracking abilities. I require you and your team to do something for me to strengthen my position against Megatron."

"Of course my creator." Razorclaw increased his pace so that he was next to Shockwave. "What is it you will require of us?"

His optic remaining fixed straight ahead, Shockwave responded. "As loathe as I am to admit it, I'll be taking a page out of Starscream's playbook."

 

Oh man that was awesome, love the scene with First Aid and Blades  

Man, nice job  

 

WOW!!! Just . . . WOW!!!

This has to be some of the best writing I've laid eyes on. Everything is well thought out and you even manage to integrate some good ol' Beast Wars continuity in there as well.

 

That is really fucking cool.

 

Episode 21: Homecoming



"He's here." The yellow VW Bug transformed into Bumblebee as it sped into the Ark command center, the momentum forcing the Minibot to stumble forward several steps.

Optimus Prime stepped away from the main terminal and started toward the exit. "Thank you, Bumblebee." Upon reaching the hallway, Prime transformed and drove out of the scuttled vessel and down the side of the mountain.

The rocket section of Omega Supreme was gently settling into his docking tower. Prime drove up to Hoist, who was watching the proceedings, and transformed. "Hello Hoist, looking forward to working with your old colleague again?"

"Yeah, I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoyed busting his chops. It'll be fun to bang heads with him on this project." The green and yellow Autobot smiled up at his Commander.

Prime nodded, imagining all the good-natured browbeating that Hoist would inflict upon his old friend. At that moment the two robots looked up to the ramp lowering from the gray rocket, the door sliding open, and the large yellow/orange robot disembarking. The new robot carefully walked down and stepped onto the planet Earth. Prime walked toward him and held out his hand. "Good to see you again Grapple. Welcome to Earth."

Grapple reached out and gripped Prime by the wrist with his right hand. "Thank you Prime, and it's good to see you too."

"What about me, you no-talent bricklayer?"

Grapple looked past Prime and sent a mock-glare at Hoist, then looked past him at the heavily damaged Ark embedded within the mountain. "Ah, the unevenness, the dilapidation, the complete disarray; Hoist, the handiwork is unmistakably yours."

"Come here you hack." The two architects gripped each other by the right wrist and wrapped their left arms around each other in a friendly embrace. "It's good to see you again, buddy! We're going to have a blast working on this thing!"

Grapple released Hoist and took a step back. "What exactly are we going to be designing and building here?"

Prime directed the two robots up the mountain toward the Ark. "I'll fill you in once Ratchet's fitted you with an Earth-based alternate mode." The three Autobots started walking over the rocky ground. "Now, do you have any update from Ultra Magnus?"

Grapple nodded. "Yeah, he said to tell you that Blaster arrived safely and is getting into position now, and that they'll be needing the big guy in exactly four hours. Of course, he gave me the message forty-nine minutes ago."

Prime nodded and raised his voice. "Did you get that?"

A booming voice coming from the rocket behind them replied. "Affirmative."


***


"Alright boys, we've been waiting for this day for over forty-six thousand vorns, and it's finally here. In three hours we take back what is rightfully ours." Kup's gravelly voice cut through the silence of the small room. "You all know your roles, you've been prepared, and each and every one of you were chosen because me, Magnus, and Optimus Prime himself are confident beyond a doubt that you are fully capable of performing your tasks flawlessly." Kup smiled at the three robots standing before him. "You are Field Commanders in the most important battle of the war. Vorns from now, on a Cybertron that is free, young robots will download the history of this battle, and have your names and great deeds forever etched in their memories." Kup lost the smile and took a serious tone. "Now, I'm assuming that you all have selected your seconds?"

The three robots nodded their affirmation.

"Good. Then gird up, and lead your troops to victory."

The three Autobot officers rose, saluted Kup, and replied. "Yes sir!"

Kup turned and looked at the two Autobots standing behind him, Springer and Hot Rod. "Springer, you will be my second. Should I fall in battle, it will be up to you to lead the soldiers under my command. That's one hundred seventeen troops that you will be responsible for, that you would need to lead in an assault and breach of the southern most perimeter of the city, and then the advance through to the core of Iacon, securing each area that you pass. Are you up to that should some 'Con get a lucky shot off at me?"

Springer nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good." Kup then looked directly into the optics of Hot Rod. "Kid, you just keep your head low, your mouth shut, your guns straight and follow our lead. You got that?"

The young red Autobot smiled and nodded. "Yup."

A beeping came from the wrist of one of the Field Commanders, a green Autobot whose design made it obvious that his alternate mode was that of a sleek ground racer. The robot raised his wrist to his mouth and answered the page. "Free Ride here, what is it?"

A muffled voice came through the speaker. "Sir, sorry to bother you, but there's been a weapons malfunction here that's resulted in an injury."

Another one of the Field Commanders, a blue and red robot, got visibly irritated. "Slag it, now is not the time to be screwing around with the munitions!"

Free Ride turned to his peer. "Settle down Pointblank, it might be minor."

The messenger's voice once again cut through. "I'm afraid not sir. Rapido's left leg was shredded when the power cell on an assault rifle overloaded and blew up. I'm afraid he's in no condition to fight, at least not for another four days according to the medic."

"SLAG IT!" Free Ride was furious. "Of course it had to be Rapido!" The green Autobot noted the slightly confused looks on his colleague's faces. "He was to be my second."

Groans emanated from the other five robots. Kup looked him in the optics. "Do you have anyone to take his place?"

Free Ride shook his head. "I've got capable soldiers, but no one with Rapido's abilities and skill level. Fast, strong, a great shot, exceptionally bright, and cool when the pressure's on." The Field Commander sighed. "I don't have anyone else that can effectively replace him."

Kup nodded and looked to the other Field Commanders. "Pointblank, Gunrunner, do either of you have a soldier that can fill the void?"

Both officers shrugged, and Gunrunner replied. "Sorry sir, but anyone I have that is even half as competent as Rapido is already filling a vital function for me."

"Yeah, I'm in pretty much the same boat. Besides, once inside the perimeter of Iacon, Free Ride's forces are securing the autobahns, urban grottos and most of the residential quarters. Anything other than a high-speed racer would be cut shreds going through those shooting galleries." Pointblank observed. “Which kind of narrows it down further.”

Kup nodded in disappointment, then his optics suddenly appeared bright and hopeful, but then just as suddenly he shook his head again in disappointment. "No, that's insane."

"What's insane?" Free Ride wasn't about to let Kup's discarded possibility go without being heard.

Kup continued shaking his head. "I may have someone in mind who might be able to fill the role."

Free Ride was excited. "Great! Who?"

Slowly, hesitantly, Kup turned around and looked at the young red and yellow Autobot standing behind him. "Him."

Free Ride's excitement immediately dissipated. "You're right, that is insane."

But despite his initial misgivings, Kup was giving the option serious consideration. "I hate to say it, but he may be our best bet. I mean, he's one of the fastest ground racers we have, he's stronger and more durable than most robots in his size class, he's a darn good shot, and he's pretty clever on the rare occasion when he's not being an idiot."

Hot Rod gave his mentor a sarcastic grin. "Thanks Teach."

"Shut up." Kup turned back to Free Ride. "He's a smart-trunked, know-it-all, pain-in-the-neck, flashy, obnoxious punk, but he can do this."

Free Ride looked long and hard at the red youngster before finally, and hesitantly, agreeing to Kup’s recommendation. "Alright, if you vouch for him. I guess it's not like we have much choice."

Hot Rod stepped forward and smiled at Kup, but then a serious look came over his face. "Are any of your olfactory sensors picking something up?"

The other five robots sniffed, but their facial expressions indicated that they detected nothing. Kup shrugged and addressed his pupil. "What is it kid?"

Hot Rod drew in a great deal of air, looked up as though deep in thought, and then replied. "It smells...almost like...” He sniffed once again. "Confidence in my abilities."

Kup shook his head. "You stupid..."

"Yeah...a hint of faith...almost as if you trust me."

"Shut up, you insipid...” Kup started toward the now grinning Hot Rod.

"I dare say that you consider me an asset."

Some chuckling emanated from the other Autobots in the room, but all that the kidding around managed to get out of Kup was a quick smack to the back of Hot Rod's head.



***


Shockwave looked over the data from the morning's testing for the sixth time. It once again confirmed what he had witnessed with his own optic hours before when the testing had been conducted. He had fully expected that the benefits of this procedure would be greater than those yielded by the previous cases; after all, he was dealing with superior strength, size, reflexes and compatibility, as well as a slight improvement to the procedure itself. But another factor, one that he had not even considered, enhanced the end result to an extent that vastly exceeded anything Shockwave could have imagined.

Shockwave heard the light footsteps approaching from the hall, and made a note of the Predacon leader's consideration of his privacy. Razorclaw had to put forth an effort to be heard when walking, so he obviously wanted to avoid surprising the Decepticon Sub-Commander. The powerful Predacon spoke as he entered the chamber. "Have you determined the cause of what happened this morning?"

"Yes." Shockwave placed the data pad on the table in front of him and looked up at his visitor. "Nanites. The nanites that make up your outer 'skin' blend with those of your teammates; that interaction significantly accelerates stimuli and data transfer, and makes your cohesion vastly more comprehensive than those of the other groups that have undergone this procedure. While the earlier cases yielded an ungainly conglomeration of various attached parts, what I saw today was physical perfection."

Razorclaw nodded. "I see. Yet another benefit to our bio-mechanical design."

Shockwave lifted the data pad back off of the table and took a look at it for the seventh time. "Yes. It may be something to consider for future generations of Decepticons." The purple Decepticon tossed the small device back onto the table and leaned toward Razorclaw. "Instruct your team not reveal this enhancement to anyone yet. It is my ultimate weapon to use against Megatron, and should not be unleashed until the time is right. Do you understand?"

Razorclaw nodded. "Yes, my creator."

A light beeping came from Shockwave's wrist. With an internal command the warlord switched open the frequency and casually lifted the wrist communicator to his head. "What is it?"

Ratbat's voice broke through. "Sir, communications with Iacon is down. I have already begun investigating the problem and hope to have frequencies open shortly. I just thought that I would keep you informed."

Shockwave shook his head in annoyance, but decided that Ratbat was right to make him aware of this minor technical problem. "Thank you Ratbat, and please update me with any changes to this situation."

"Of course sir."



***



"Powering down Gravity Amplifier." The pastel green and white robot called out. The gray blur displayed through the view screen slowly shifted to black with slender white shards shooting past, and then eventually the white shards shrunk to points zipping by. After several minutes even these points slowed and came to a prone position as the Solar Flare decelerated to the speed of light, it's maximum velocity without the use of the Gravity Amplifier.

"Well done, Moonracer." Elita One stood up out of the Captain's chair and walked toward the navigation consul. "Can you pinpoint Cybertron's star yet?"

Moonracer looked to her control panel, scrutinized the data being displayed on three small screens, looked up at Elita One and smiled. "I can do you one better. I can pinpoint, and lock onto, Cybertron itself."

Elita One nodded. "If we were to do that, how long before we would arrive in Cybertronian orbit?"

Moonracer did a few more complex calculations before responding. "Roughly forty-eight minutes."

Elita One shook her head. "Amazing. The last time I made this trip it took us twenty-five vorns to get here. With the Gravity Amplifier we did it in three days!"

Moonracer laughed. "Yeah, pretty wild, huh?"

"Yes, wild." Elita One smiled at her navigator. "Make the necessary preparations, including the locking on of another, distant heavenly body just in case we need to make a break for it quickly. I'll alert the crew to assume their positions."

"You got it." Moonracer targeted the core of Cybertron, locked onto it's gravity, found a star sixty light years away, isolated it's core, placed a secondary lock onto it's gravity, and verified that there were no objects impeding the path to either destination.

As Moonracer was making her preparations, Elita One addressed her one hundred and sixteen member crew. "Attention Autobot Femmes, this is Elita One. Report to your stations at this time. Cybertron is forty-eight minutes out."

Elita One looked down to Moonracer, who smiled back and nodded. "We're ready."

Elita One drew in high levels of oxygen-rich air through her intake vents, causing the few systems of hers that utilized some form of combustion to run hotter and faster. "Alright, let's go."

Moonracer returned her attention to the controls in front of her and initiated the Gravity Amplifier. The Solar Flare gently shifted its direction toward Cybertron as it began using the planet's drastically amplified gravity to pull the ship toward it. Though moving slowly at first, the craft soon accelerated to the point where nothing but a light gray blur could be seen through the view screen. Moonracer was flying blind, as she had been throughout the duration of the trip. Relying completely on her instruments, her life and the lives of the other Femmes on board were completely dependant on whether or not she disengaged the Gravity Amplifier with enough time to allow the ship to decelerate and avoid collision with whatever planetary object that they were locked on to.

Fortunately, Moonracer had proven to be an exceptional pilot thus far, and Elita One had complete faith in her to finish the last leg of the trip without incident. Though time usually passes quickly for beings that measure their lives in terms of eons, these forty-eight minutes proved to be the longest any of the Femmes on board the Solar Flare had ever endured. Arcee, Paradon and a blue and white Femme had entered the bridge of the ship shortly after Elita One's announcement, and had come to regret that they hadn't occupied themselves with some other task for at least half of the time that they had spent waiting. But eventually Moonracer powered down the Gravity Amplifier and decelerated to light, and then one-quarter light speed.

Clearly displayed in the view screen was the giant metal orb that they had traveled a fifth of the way through the galaxy to find. The Solar Flare continued to decelerate as it pulled closer to Cybertron, and the emerging metal canyons, spires and myriad of other features sent wave after wave of memories washing over Elita One.

"There doesn't appear to be any orbital sensors or any other type of early warning system in place. I would guess that the energon rationing is still in place."

The blue and white Femme's voice cut through Elita One's memories and forced the Autobot Femme Military Commander back into the moment. "Thank you Chromia, that's good news. Find an area of low activity and send the coordinates to Moonracer. Moonracer, enter Cybertron's orbit over that point."

Chromia checked the main screen of the terminal in front of her and called out to her Commander. "Well Elita, it should come as no surprise that the Medriac sector appears to have the least amount of activity in it. What you may find surprising, however, is that the energy readings in most city-states are near pre-famine levels, and the energy readings in and around Iacon are off the scale." Chromia peered more intently at the readings before her. "In fact, I would even say they would indicate a skirmish."

Elita One marched toward her, stood behind her, and looked at her screen. "That's not a skirmish, that's a full-fledged siege!"


***


"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SABOTAGE!?!"

Cheap-Shot stared up at the Iacon City Commander in terror. "I mean sabotage sir. Twenty-seven of the thirty-four armories positioned throughout the city-state were either partially or completely destroyed by explosive devices at the exact moment the Autobots attacked, and over eighty one percent of our perimeter cannons are not functioning. We are attempting to ascertain the reasoning for their non-operational condition, but the vast majority of Decepticons are busy repelling the Autobot attack." The red, mid-sized Decepticon shook his head. "This, combined with the communications black-out and the savagery of the Autobot assault has made the prospect of losing Iacon a possibility." The glare from his imposing commander forced Cheap-Shot to revise his assessment. "Though only an extremely slim one." The Decepticon's yellow optics followed the gray warlord as he stormed across the Iacon command center in disgust. "So, Lord Streetblade, how should we proceed?"

Streetblade looked through the wall-length window, over the southern portion of the besieged Iacon, shook his head, and then barked out his orders. "Alert all officers above the rank of Platoon Commander that we have one or more traitors or Autobot spies in our midst!"

Cheap-Shot nervously shifted. "I've already taken the liberty of doing that, sir."

The large warlord, who had features of both a ground racer and an aircraft reliant upon a large rotating blade for vertical lift, smiled at his nervous subordinate. "Relax Cheap-Shot, I want my officers to take the initiative. You've done well. Now tell me if any of them have noticed any suspicious behavior."

The slightly more relaxed Cheap-Shot smiled and nodded. "All but seven replied and claimed not to have seen anything out of the ordinary prior to the attack. Steel-Plate, Death-Toll, Shiv, Hellbent, Leach, Aghast and Counter-Punch have all failed to reply and are assumed to either be disabled or killed."

Streetbladed nodded. "Acceptable losses thus far, but tell those that are still functioning to keep their optics operating on full sensitivity in case the traitor or spy decides to strike again."

"Of course, sir."


***


"Hey guys, check it out; it's Captain AWOL." The blue and white Autobot pointed at the quickly advancing yellow robot. "Where in the inferno have you been, Punch?"

"Out doing what I was commanded to do, Twintwist." Punch smiled slyly at the Jumpstarter. "Some of us get orders that require more than just standing around, sanding the oxidation off of our drills."

Twintwist smiled at the playful retort, but the Decepticon mortar shell impacting one hundred yards from their positions interrupted any comeback that he was planning. "Wow, that was close!"

Punch jogged past Twintwist toward the mobile command center a few hundred feet behind him. Red Alert popped his head out to investigate the damage caused by the blast, and saw the yellow Autobot trotting toward him. Red Alert looked back into the command center and casually addressed his commanding officer. "Magnus, the messenger is here."

Punch reached the center and climbed the three steps to the door as Magnus looked up from his status screens. "Come in Punch." The hulking Autobot Sub-Commander looked to the others in the room, Red Alert, Crosshairs and Roadbuster. "You three have your orders, keep up the pressure."

As one, the three Autobots replied. "Yes sir!" Crosshairs and Roadbuster darted right by Punch without even looking at him, but Red Alert stopped and put his hand on the yellow Autobot's shoulder. "Well done kid."

Punch simply nodded, doing what he could to hide his surprise. Once Red Alert had left, the espionage agent turned to Ultra Magnus, visibly irritated. "For the love of Primus, how public are you making my mission!?!"

Magnus held up his hand in an attempt to calm Punch. "I'm sorry, Punch, but it was necessary. Red Alert had put together a list of all Decepticons who had gone through any physical alterations and was about to distribute it throughout our forces. Counter-Punch's name, and a detailed description of his Earth-car mode were on there. The last thing I need is for perhaps our most valuable operative to be cut down by our own forces. Besides, Red Alert is one of my most trusted officers."

Punch accepted the reasoning, but was still irritated. "And the crazy old rust-bucket outside Polyhex; was he a trusted officer too?"

Magnus smiled and nodded. "Oh yes, I did some checking." Magnus picked up a data pad, and had a wire come out of his wrist and jack into it. A moment later a picture of a red, blue and white robot came up. "Was this the robot that asked you of Prime's death?"

Punch looked at the image and nodded. "Yup, that's him."

Magnus laughed lightly. "Well Punch, congratulations, you are one of the lucky few to have ever met Alpha Trion. Even I haven't had the pleasure, and I haven’t a clue as to how he found out about you. But I assure you, he would never do anything to hurt the Autobot cause."

Seemingly unimpressed, Punch jerked his thumb toward the door. "Goody for me. Let's go."

Ultra Magnus slowly stood up. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

A cynical chuckle escaped Punch's mouth. "Want? No. Need? Yes. So let's get this done before you're missed here." The mid-sized yellow Autobot led his large Commander out of the mobile command center. Punch looked around to verify that nobody was close enough to hear them. "By the way, be sure to congratulate Blaster, Eject, Grand Slam Ramhorn and Rewind. Their communications blockade worked perfectly. We couldn't get so much as a whistle out of Iacon." Magnus nodded and transformed to vehicle mode. Punch grabbed the back of his cargo hold, hoisted himself on top of it, and sat upon it as Magnus sped away from the battle.

Ten minutes later they had reached a desolate stretch of metal, with nothing around them for miles. Though the sounds of explosions were still loud and clear, they had long since left any of the combatants far behind. Punch leapt off of Magnus, hit the ground, and both robots began transforming. But instead of the vehicular mode of Punch being in front of Ultra Magnus, a blue Decepticon stood instead. "Here, before I forget." Counter-Punch handed Magnus a small data-pad. "I'm pretty sure that Carnivac managed to uncover all of the tunnels under Iacon large enough to accommodate more than a half dozen troops. All the information is here, be sure to seal or boob-trap these tunnels, and the deactivation codes for the perimeter cannon locks are on here as well. And for the love of Primus, destroy this thing as soon as you have the information copied to another data pad. I don't need physical evidence of Counter-Punch's betrayal laying around."

Magnus nodded. "Of course." As he placed the data-pad into a small compartment in his wrist he looked over Counter-Punch worriedly. "Is this really necessary?"

"Look, Counter-Punch doesn't do you any good as an Autobot prisoner of war, so that means that he has to break through the Autobot lines and escape. And if he does that, he's going to get some of what the humans call bumps and bruises, along the way." The blue Decepticon nodded toward Ulta Magnus's rifle. "Now do what needs to be done, but while I need it to be convincing, don't hit the tires - Polyhex is too slagging far to walk to, and don't mess me up too badly. The last thing I need is for some 'Con medic to put me under the laser-scalpel and discover my inner Autobot. Just external damage that will only require minor medical work."

Magnus gave the blue robot a wry grin. "I know what I'm doing."


***


"Remember, no one is to know about your enhancement until I determine that the time is right. Is that understood?"

In unison the five biomechanical warriors replied. "Yes, Lord Shockwave." Razorclaw turned and walked through the energized wall created by the space bridge, and one by one was followed by his troops to the planet Earth.

Shockwave started to turn back toward Darkmount as the space bridge powered down, but stopped as his wrist communicator started beeping frantically, indicating that the incoming message was of an urgent nature. The purple Decepticon raised the communicator to his head. "What is it?"

"Lord Shockwave, several Decepticons are en-route sending word that Iacon is under attack. The communications blackout is presumably being caused by the Autobots, who are assaulting the city from every side." Ratbat's frantic voice made clear the magnitude of the situation. "Two Seekers that managed to break through the Autobot lines claim that the Autobots have already breached the outer walls in some points."

Shockwave cursed himself silently for not seeing the signs. He had assumed, incorrectly, that the lull in Autobot activity was due to the preparation for, and a feared backlash from, the destruction of the Cooler. Shockwave had already mistakenly believed Optimus Prime to be completely incapable of an act of such destruction, and now it appeared that he had misjudged the Autobot leader once again. "Assemble all warriors!"


***


The Solar Flare shot over the dilapidated city-state of Matriopolis, and every optic on board peered out a window to gaze down upon the former capital of the Autobot Femmes. Elita One stared at the eastern planes leading to the city, the site of her last stand against the Decepticons, the site where her army had been wiped out, the site where she and the few Femme troops still clinging to life would have expired, were it not for Saloria.

The cargo freighter that the emigrants of Harbornia had christened 'Sanguinity Seed' flew out over the battlefield on it's way to the stars to seek out a new home. It had been many hours since the slaughter had ended and the victorious Decepticons had long since charged ahead to pillage the glistening Matiriopolis, but most of the Harbornians were still fearful and were extremely opposed to Saloria's suggestion that they stop and search for survivors.

Saloria won out, and the ninety-three survivors of Elita One's fifteen thousand Femme force were carried aboard. That had been fifty thousand, one hundred twelve vorns ago. An eternity that suddenly felt like yesterday, as the memories of her dying troops washed over Elita One.

But the Femme warrior vowed that their deaths would not be in vain. A thirty-thousand vorn old New Harbornian legal precedent had established that an expeditionary crew could exceed the parameters of it's mandated mission should there be an unforeseen development and the crew voted unanimously in favor of the deviation from the original course of action. The voting had ended a mere eight minutes before, and to Elita One's surprised delight, the entire crew had voted to aid their Autobot brethren in reclaiming their ancestral home.

At their current velocity they would be on the outskirts of Iacon in seconds. The explosions and smoke from the battle were already visible over the horizon. Several quick bursts were seen and heard as anti-aircraft shells exploded a few miles ahead. "Elita One, we've got five Seekers bearing down on us." The Femme leader walked toward Chromia's consul, noting the five blips on her sensor screen that represented the Decepticon fliers that had gotten past the anti-aircraft fire. Chromia looked up at her leader. "It also appears that we've breached whatever's causing the communications blockade. Our channels are now open to Iacon and they appear to be closed to the rest of Cybertron."

Elita One smiled and made a quiet comment at the news. "Well done Blaster."

Chromian heard the comment, and started to ask about it, but her attention was forced back down at her consul. "Commander, we're being hailed by one of the Seekers."

"Put him through."

Chromia flipped a switch to allow a coarse hollow voice to come through. "Unmarked vessel, identify yourself immediately!"

Elita One leaned forward and grasped a mouthpiece. She made an internal modification to her vocal processor, and as she responded to the Decepticon, her voice was deep, gravelly and masculine. "This is Decepticon Platoon Commander...” Elita searched for an appropriate name for a Decepticon warlord, and memories of her fallen city inspired her. "...Pillage. I'm returning from my mission of conquest at the behest of Darkmount. What is going on here!?!"

The humbled voice quickly responded. "Welcome home Commander. We're having a little Autobot trouble, and your assistance would be most welcome...though your vessel seems to be vastly less effective than most Decepticon battle cruisers."

"Dwindling energon levels forced us to undergo some downsizing." Elita looked up at her officers and addressed them in her normal voice. "Get to various ports and target these Seekers. Hold your fire for my order." The Femmes nodded, grabbed their rifles, and made their way to various windows that could be opened. Elita One returned her attention to the consul and reopened the channel with the Decepticon she had been speaking with. Her voice switched back to that of 'Pillage', and she resumed her conversation. "Our projectile weaponry is virtually non-existant, but we have a great deal of ordinance that can be dropped on Autobot locations. Arrange yourself and the other Seekers in an arrowhead formation ahead of us and lead us over the Autobot positions."

"Yes sir." With that the five Seekers adopted a 'V' shape directly in front of the Solar Flare and led it toward the southern wall of Iacon.

Elita One looked out the front view screen and addressed her crew. "Does everyone have a lock?"

Multiple responses of "Yes Maam" came back.

Elita One smiled and gave the order. "Fire." Three seconds later all five Decepticons were careening toward the metal ground. "Well done Femmes!"

Chromia called out. "Elita, we're now being hailed by the Autobots."

"Well, answer them."

Chromia nodded and opened communication. Kup's voice barreled through. "Who do I get to thank for knocking those winged butchers out of the sky?"

Chromia hesitated, but eventually answered. "This is the Autobot Femme craft Solar Flare."

"You've got to be kidding me!?!" Kup's voice suddenly took an angry tone. "I fully expect Shockwave to sacrifice five Seekers to get the drop on us, but to impersonate a race he helped wipe out is low, even for him. What, you think five winged corpses and a pretty voice is going to get me to reveal my position, or that of Ultra Magnus's, or even that of Prime for that matter?"

Elita One was stunned by the word 'Prime', but realized that even without the Matrix, a new leader bearing the title would have to be chosen to rally behind, if nothing else. She returned her focus to the Autobot on the other end, giggled, and grabbed the speaker from Chromia. "Why don't you quit yer squawkin' and tell us where you want us, you rusty old bucket!?!"

A brief moment of silence passed before Kup's astonished voice returned. "Sweet Primus, Elita, is that really you?"


*


"FIRE!" The nine penetrator cannons launched their drill-mounted heavy explosives on Free Ride's command, and a moment later nine separate 'thuds' resonated against the outer wall of Iacon's southeast perimeter. The devices burrowed their way several feet into the walls before finally detonating. The smoke cleared, revealing nine new holes in the already heavily punctured barrier. "It's ready to fall! Keep up the pr..." Free Ride's yellow optics flared as a red bolt zipped past the back of his head, and his body collapsed to the ground.

Hot Rod, who had been firing upon the Decepticons mounted on top of the crumbling metal wall from behind a wrecked cannon, leapt up and caught the battlefield commander just before Free Ride hit the ground. "You OK boss?" The question came out a fraction of a second before Hot Rod noticed that Free Ride was now missing the entire rear portion of his cranium. The little bit of liquid that had not been seared away by the energy blast dribbled down Hot Rod's arm.

"Hey, is he alright?"

Hot Rod replied to the red Autobot without looking away from the lifeless corpse in his arms. "He's gone, Overdrive."

The Omnibot watched as Hot Rod gently laid the slain leader down on the metal ground. "I guess that leaves you in charge."

Hot Rod looked up at Overdrive, shook his head in frustration, and then looked to the wall that they were attempting to penetrate. He sat silently for a few seconds before bursting back to action. "Alright, no more of this random launching slag! Target those penetrators to impact within fifteen feet of each other, and I want them aimed at a point ten feet above ground level!"

The technicians of the cannons hesitated for a brief moment, but quickly set about making the alterations ordered by their new battlefield commander. Hot Rod looked at Overdrive. "You and I are going to draw some fire while these guys set up." With that the young Autobot transformed and sped into the scorched area separating his troops and the southeastern wall of Iacon, dodging dozens of Decepticon shots bearing down on him. Overdrive groaned, but transformed and followed quickly behind him.


*


"Why the southeast section of the city? The northwestern point seems to be the most fortified, and the number of troops you have there are significantly less than in other sections of the perimeter."

"Trust me Elita, we have the northwest covered. You and your troops will serve us best in the southeast."

The Femme leader stared out toward the southeast. "Alright, it's your party Kup, but I think your neural-circuitry is finally beginning to degrade."

Kup's laughter came through. "Well, Sweetie, if you take a look out into the northwestern horizon, you just might see why I'm telling you that that area is covered. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a charge to lead."

Elita One put the speaker down as Kup ended the transmission and looked in the opposite direction. In the distance she saw an object speeding toward the city, and as it got closer she was able to identify it as a gray, conical, rocket-propelled craft. But she was confused, as it appeared much too small to be carrying a significant number of troops.

Suddenly a tremendous burst of energy shot out from the craft, impacting against the wall, the explosion violently sending metal debris in every direction. "Alright, it packs a punch, but it still doesn't seem enough to...what in the inferno is it doing?" Elita One was stunned to see the craft decelerate and then lower slowly to the surface of the planet, in full view of the Decepticons who were unloading everything they had on it. To her amazement, a track, docking tower and tank appeared from out of sub-space. "What is that thing?" She then watched in stunned silence as the rocket, track, tower and tank all reconfigured and combined, and the resulting giant, which reminded her of some of the ancient horror stories that Kup used to tell younger Cybertronians, charged the wall of the city and began dismantling it with savage fury. Almost in a daze, and without taking her optics off of the giant robot, Elita One issued an order to her pilot. "Moonracer, Kup was right. The northwest sector is under control. Head toward the southeast."

"As you command, Elita One."


*


"Here's the hap's Boss. Omega Supreme has penetrated the northwest perimeter and is tearing slag up! Kup reports that his team has breached the perimeter as well and are slowly making their way to the heart of Iacon from the south, and, believe it or not, that a team of Femmes have come to our aid and will be reinforcing the assault on the southeastern sector. Which leads me to the sad news that Free Ride is dead and that Hot Rod is leading his team."

The white front end of the freight hauler asked a surprised question to the voice on the other end of the communications frequency. "Hot Rod!?! Are you sure?"

"That's what I was told. Otherwise everything is going to plan. The only issue is that the surprise is up. I've intercepted multiple Decepticon transmissions ordering all available warriors to converge upon Iacon. Sorry Magnus."

The freight hauler slowed so that a half dozen Autobots could jump on and cling to either side of his cargo section before accelerating toward the heavily damaged northern wall of Iacon, missile launchers blazing. "Definitely no need to apologize Blaster, the communications blockade that you spear-headed worked for much longer than we could have hoped for. And besides, if we can take this burg quickly enough and disengage the interference modules our operative put on most of the perimeter cannons, we should be able to keep Shockwave at bay indefinitely." Magnus's engine roared as it bore down on a large hold in the wall that was being filled with debris by Decepticons in a vain attempt to bolster the waning effectiveness of the failing barrier. The Autobots that were being transported by Magnus quickly jumped off of him seconds before he reached the wall, and began firing on the Decepticons the moment that they hit the ground. "Blaster, now that you're services in the area of communications are no longer required, how would you like to join us in battle?" The freight hauler exploded through the stacked pile of metal that had a moment ago been serving as a makeshift barricade, sending shrapnel and fearful Decepticons hurtling in every direction.

"Already on my way. Don't kill all the 'Cons before I get there!"


*


"Affirmative, you are to relinquish command to Elita One once she arrives. I realize that this is a deviation from the original plans, but suck it up. It's nothing against you, in fact you've done all right, but she's in charge. Kup out." The ancient blue Autobot turned his head away from his wrist communicator and peered through the window of the abandoned manufacturing plant that he, Springer and eight other troops were using as cover in their slow forward push toward the heart of Iacon. He smiled broadly as he surveyed the battlefield outside. "Pain in the neck kid."

Springer noted the grin and smiled as well. "You're proud of him, admit it."

Kup looked at his green subordinate and tried to take on a stern expression. "You better not tell that little punk, but yeah." The old warrior jerked upward, squeezed off four shots, and ducked back down for cover. "A few minutes after he's thrust in a command position, he's got a small collapse in the wall created and he and Overdrive are instantly on it securing the breach and giving his troops cover into the city. He's already worked his way nine miles in. Not bad for a know-it-all-know-nothing." Kup then took another look over the windowsill at the field of battle. "I'm still going to squash him for making a fender of himself in this morning's meeting, though."

Springer sprung up and unloaded on a Decepticon position, scoring a hit on at least one Decepticon sniper. "I don't think it's going to get much more clear out there."

Kup nodded. "Yup, let the troops know that it's time to push forward again."

With a series of hand signals, Springer conveyed the message to several of the other Autobots in the structure, several of which relayed the message to other members of the team positioned in other locations. A few moments later a collection of nods let Springer know that everyone was ready to go. "Alright Kup, ready when you are."

Kup gritted his teeth and hurtled himself through the window, landing on the metal road two-dozen feet below. "Let's go boy's, the last leg of the trip is always the most fun!" Guns blazing, he charged toward a squad of Decepticons that had begun firing on him. A second and a half later three-dozen other Autobots were charging behind him. Thirteen joined Kup in blasting away at the last of the Decepticon positions in the area, while Springer and the rest transformed and drove out ahead, being joined by teammates that had been separated and forced to take cover in buildings several blocks away.

Onward Springer sped through the streets, getting ever closer toward the Iaconian Spires located in the center of the City with each passing second. That was his target, the location that was undoubtedly being used as the city's Decepticon Command Center. It was there that all other invading Autobots were headed, but Springer was dead set on being the first one there.


***


"CLEAR!" The blue and gray Minibot emerged from of one of the deep metal grottos.

Hot Rod looked at him briefly before turning his attention back toward the urban battlefield ahead of him. "Well done Tailgate. We'll hold here."

Several of the Autobots surrounding the young warrior were shocked. Blurr stepped toward him. "Whatdoyoumeanholdhere? We'vefoughtourwaythisfarinandhavetheDecepticonsbackpedaling. They'reontherun, thelastthingwewanttodoisgivethemachancetodiginandprepareforus!"

Hot Shot stared at his light blue comrade and shook his head amusedly. "As hard as it is to believe, I actually understand what you're saying Blurr. And I agree. But we're under orders to hold tight until some reinforcements, as well as a replacement commander, arrive. So we stay put."

"Here they come." Hot Rod turned his head to look into the same direction that the slender black robot that had made the observation was looking. Sure enough, over ninety ground vehicles and four gliders were making their way through the dark metal corridors that Hot Rod and his team had fought so hard to secure.

The gliders slowed and descended, transforming and landing just seconds before the arrival of their ground-bound comrades. The Autobots under Hot Rod's command were stunned as they saw the robotic forms of their reinforcements, while Hot Rod was filled with a series of sensations that he didn't know that he was capable of feeling. The ground racers arrived and transformed as well, and two slender, pink robots started walking toward the Autobots. The robot with a spiked cranium addressed the open-mouthed Autobots. "Who is in charge here?"

Hot Rod stepped forward. "I have a feeling that you are. Kup instructed me to relinquish command to an Elita One. I assume that's you." The other pink robot standing slightly behind and to the right of the spiked robot caught Hot Rod's attention, and without thinking he flashed her a grin and flickered his right optic at her. Caught off guard, she could only smile back and turn her optics away. Though completely uncertain as to why, Hot Rod was excited by her reaction.

Elita One witnessed the entire display with annoyance and responded to the brash red Autobot. "Yes, I am Elita One, and who might you be?"

The young Autobot toned his facial features down, but retained a smile as he looked back to Elita One. "I'm Hot Rod."

"Of course you are." Elita looked past him to the other Autobots, some of whom she recognized from eons ago. "Hello my brothers. I will be assuming command and leading you to the center of the city. I was asked to do so by Kup, so if any of you have a problem following me you can take it up with him after the battle has ended. Until then, I expect you to obey my orders and to fight bravely. Is that understood?"

All of the Autobots except Hot Rod enthusiastically replied. "Yes Maam!"

Hot Rod didn't understand the unquestioned reverence that the other Autobots felt toward this new, strangely yet appealingly shaped robot. But he knew that she wouldn't have gotten Kup's endorsement were she not worthy. "Yes..." He looked back at the other Autobots. "Maam?" He shrugged it off, figuring that it must be some obscure military title that he was unfamiliar with.

"So Hot Rod, what's the situation here?" Though irritated with him, Elita One was somewhat impressed with the progress made by Hot Rod and his troops, and decided to treat him as a respected officer, despite his less-than-subtle advances toward Arcee.

"Well, we've done a fair job of pushing back the 'Cons up until now, but we have a series of elevated and subterranean autobahns ahead of us, and chances are that we'll be sniped at the entire time."

Elita One nodded. She turned around and looked to the four robots that had transformed from gliders. "Ladies, we'll need you to fly ahead of us, hugging the buildings and informing us of the locations of any Decepticons that you see."

The four robots saluted. "Yes Maam!" With that the winged Femmes leapt to the air, transformed, and sped into the sky.

Elita One turned her head in a wide arc and addressed all of the Autobots present. "Alright, we've got the bowels of a city to conquer and secure, so stay sharp, stick close to the walls, move fast and keep all senses heightened." She looked to Hot Rod. "Alright kid, you, Arcee and half of our forces take the lower streets, I'll get the elevated highways with the rest. Understood?"

Hot Rod smiled crookedly at Arcee before turning his smiling face toward Elita One. "Yes Maam."

The Femme Commander grumbled something quietly as she turned away from the red Autobot and transformed. "Femme squads three, five, eight, eleven, twelve, fourteen and fifteen with me."

Hot Rod called out to his former troops. "Squads beta, gamma, iota, kappa, mu, omnicron, theta, and zeta go with her as well. The rest fall in behind me." The sleek Autobot playfully stepped toward Arcee and quietly addressed her individually. "That means you too." Before she could respond he had turned away, transformed and was driving ahead. The agitated Femme could only transform and follow his lead.

Elita watched as Hot Rod's group sped behind her for a couple of miles before turning down a tunnel into the depths of Iacon. She said a silent prayer to Primus for all of them to make it through safely, even that cocky twerp Hot Rod.

A few uneventful minutes passed before a message came in from one of her fliers. "Elita One, this is Flutter. I've spotted dozens of Decepticon snipers roughly three miles ahead of your current position. They are in red and white crystalline high-rise domiciles, predominantly on floors eighteen, nineteen, twenty-four, thirty-three, thirty-eig..." A loud explosion preceded static as the transmission was cut.

"Flutter! Come in!" Elita called out to her soldier.

Another voice came through Elita's receiver. "Sorry Elita, Flutter was blasted out of the sky. She's...gone."

Elita sadly responded to the news. "Thank you Nimbus. Just make sure that you don't share her fate." The Femme Commander then addressed the ground troops behind her. "Alright Autobots, we'll be coming upon Decepticon positions momentarily, so be ready to transform and spill some 'Con mech fluid!"

Not ten seconds passed before a missile blew apart the blue Autobot three cars behind Elita. A barrage of lasers and missiles rained down on the Autobots, forcing them to transform and dive for cover in the surrounding buildings, and sending four more to oblivion. Almost as one the surviving Autobots returned fire toward the lofty positions of the Decepticons.

"Elita, this is Nimbus again. I have the precise coordinates of several Decepticon positions."

Elita One smiled as she raised her wrist communicator to her mouth. "Well done Nimbus, put them through." A small screen extended from Elita's wrist, and six coordinates quickly scrawled across it. "I've got them, just continue to transmit this information as you spot more Decepticons."

"Aye, aye Commander."

Elita turned toward several of her troops that had taken cover with her in the same building. She spied a heavily armed Autobot and walked toward him. "Excuse me soldier, but would you mind if I borrowed these missile launchers?"

The tall Autobot replied nervously. "Uh, of course not Commander, uhm, I mean…One. Anything you want." The robot shook his head in embarrassment at not knowing how the Autobot Femme Commander should be addressed.

Elita smiled at the soldier as she took the weapons from him. "Relax soldier, Commander, or Elita is fine. One just doesn’t have the ring that Prime has." With that she turned and walked to the doorway that she had originally dove through to gain entrance to the building. She stopped just short of the doorway and her optics dimmed as she concentrated on what she needed to do.

She remained silently fixed for three seconds. Then, without warning, Elita One exploded through the doorway and into the street. She charged ahead, leaping and swiveling her body to avoid the multitude of shots coming down on her. She sprinted several hundred yards ahead before coming to a sudden halt, her arms flung forward and up, and in what appeared to be a form of dance, she flailed her arms about, discharging a half dozen missiles in various directions.

Once she had ceased firing the weapons, she resumed her evasive sprinting and dove into another building, narrowly avoiding countless rounds sent down by all but the six Decepticons she had just killed. With nearly all of the Decepticon fire being drawn by their leader, Elita's troops were free to advance several yards and ascertain many of the positions occupied by the Decepticons. Moving ahead several buildings, the dual-gendered Autobot force took cover and fired more accurately on their enemies.

Elita raised her communicator once again. "Nimbus, Flash-Point, Comet, do any of you have any more Decepticon coordinates for me?" Elita One smiled as more data than the small screen on her wrist could display at once started coming in.


*


No sooner had Hot Rod's team gone underground than they started taking fire from entrenched Decepticons. In the first minute of fighting alone they lost six Autobots, but a daring run by both Hot Rod and Arcee managed to draw the Decepticon fire long enough for the rest of the Autobot soldiers to find cover.

Hot Rod sped toward four Decepticons, all of which were firing away at him. He swerved right and left, narrowly avoiding most of the shots and catching a few glancing ones. He transformed at one hundred and forty miles an hours and slammed into three of his assailants, knocking them to the ground. The one left standing turned toward his three comrades and one enemy and leveled his gun at Hot Rod's head.

But the Decepticon was tackled by another high-speed Autobot and skidded across the floor. He started to get up, but was stunned as he laid optics on the Autobot that had floored him. Arcee was immediately on the startled Decepticon, landing punches and elbows that were far more powerful than some would expect from her slender frame. Before the besieged Decepticon could react to the beating he was taking, Arcee had reached out and grabbed his gun. He reached up and gripped her by the throat, not seeing the barrel of his own gun positioning over his forehead. His final though was how wasteful it would be to crush such a pretty neck.

In one fluid motion, Hot Rod converted the snap kick that he had used on one of the Decepticons he was fighting into a reverse kick used on it’s friend, all the while checking out his new feminine comrade's dispatching of her sparring partner. Both Decepticons hit the ground at roughly the same time, while the last Decepticon in that bunker scrambled to retrieve his weapon. Both Hot Rod's right fist and a round from Elita's commandeered weapon hit the robot's head at precisely the same moment.

"Ouch!" Hot Rod jerked his scorched hand away.

"Oh Primus, are you alright!?!" Arcee was instantly at his side examining his hand.

Hot Rod looked away from his hand and smiled at her. "I knew that you were trying to get me hot, but damn." She looked at him stunned, completely unsure as to how to respond. Hot Rod's grin got bigger and he nodded toward the two Decepticons getting to their feet. "Why don't you take care of these guys so that we can be alone?" It took a second for Hot Rod's comment to register, but just as the Decepticons got to their feet she sprang into action, planting several explosive rounds into their chests. Arcee turned back to Hot Rod, but he was already scooping his guns off of the ground and turning back toward the other Autobots, who were finishing off the last of the Decepticon defending that area. "Alright, it gets easier from here! Let's move out!" He turned back toward Arcee, smiled and flickered his right optic at her, and started a cautious charge ahead.


*


Even from ten miles out, it was clear that Springer's team was not going to be the first to reach the Spires of Iacon. The sounds of battle were so intense that Springer could barely make out Kup's message that the area a dozen miles behind Springer had finally been cleared of Decepticons. The green Autobot was glad to here it, but his focus was most definitely ahead. Take out the leadership, and the rest would fall quickly.

Springer finally broke through the last rows of the long-abandoned cluster of civilian-quarter high rises, and entered the heart of the city. To his far left he saw the awesome power of the legendary Omega Supreme, as the Guardian laid waste to an entire battalion of Decepticon ground troops. Springer didn't take the time to admire the extraordinary display as he led his soldiers straight toward the seat of Decepticon power in Iacon.

Weaving his way through piles of charred debris, Springer and the other Autobots from Kup's team that had followed him ahead finally reached the city Commons that created the perimeter of the governing sector and encircled the Spires. Shooting past statues of Shockwave and Megatron, the Autobot team narrowed in on the sounds of weapons fire. Ahead he saw a squad of Decepticons lined up and frantically firing upon something approaching them from the north. A second later a white, blue and red freight hauler blasted the line of Decepticons apart, scattering them in various directions. Ultra Magnus transformed and rained a storm of laser fire down on the closest of the Decepticons that had attempted to halt his advance, while four Autobots that had been following closely behind him charged toward the Capital Spire’s entrance. The hulking Autobot looked up, noticed Springer coming toward him, and smiled broadly. "Glad you could make it, buddy."

A pair of simultaneous explosions in his back sent Magnus face down into the metal ground. Springer instantly tracked the origin of the attack and saw a gray and black, blade-propelled, hover assault vehicle dropping down the length of the Spire and charging Magnus's position from above. "Your death may justify some of this destruction, Magnus!" Dual rotary cannons lowered from the underside of the craft and locked onto the prostrate Autobot as it sped downward toward him.

But the second attack was interrupted as laser fire cut into the front section of the flying Decepticon. Streetblade directed his sensors toward the attack and saw a green and yellow ground racer speeding to Magnus's rescue. "I've got some hot, sizzling justification for you right here, slag-stain!"

Streetblade started leveling off and headed toward the Autobot that dared to insult him. Upon descending to within twelve feet of the scorched and cluttered ground, the Decepticon City Commander transformed into a sleek ground racer with a gun mounted above the hood, and sped toward the offending Autobot, blasting away.

Springer tried dodging the blasts, but realized that in vehicular form he lacked the maneuverability to do so. After receiving four stinging hits, Springer transformed, rolled out of the way of the speeding Decepticon, and returned fire. Three hits burned into the Decepticons frame, but seemed to have little effect as the ground racer leapt into the air and transformed back into hover mode. The flying war machine circled around and bore down on Springer once again, firing away with its rotary cannons. Springer was forced to dive for cover, but bounced back up once the Decepticon shot past him and fired a grappling hook into flier's landing apparatus.

Streetblade felt the snare embed itself into his landing gear, and snickered at the Autobot's pathetic attempt to force him out of the air. Engaging a pair of hidden rear thrusters, the gray Decepticon shot skyward, easily dislodging the Autobot who had foolishly assumed that locking his leg around a pylon from a fallen building would be enough to anchor him down. This Autobot had earned more hatred from Streetblade than any other Autobot in a long time, and the furious Decepticon would inflict his wrath upon this fool in a more personal environment, where the chance of interruption would be unlikely to say the least. Streetblade headed for the top floor of the Command Spire knowing that the headstrong Autobot would not release his grasp. Some fools were just in a hurry to die.

High into the lower atmosphere the two combatants rose, then, turning sharply, Streetblade cruised through an open window, pulling Springer into the building's, and the city's, Command Center. Streetblade halted his forward progress, transformed, reached down and pulled the grappling hook out of part of his leg, which had a moment ago been a landing brace. The momentum of the flight sent Springer's body skipping across the floor, but despite the disorientation caused by the erratic ride and the brutal landing, the green Autobot sprung to his feet and prepared for battle.

Streetblade smiled at the brave, yet doomed, robot standing on the other end of the large, empty room and started slowing making his way toward him. "Congratulations, I believe that you will be the first Transformer to die in this room. I'm not sure how distinguished that honor is, but I assure you that I will always remember it." The large Decepticon pulled the rotor blade from his back and gripped it tightly, it serving as a slicing melee weapon as well as a source of propulsion in flight mode.

Springer watched as the powerful warlord advanced on him slowly, and prepared for combat. He had lost his photon pistol on the flight up, and now disarmed, realized that he may have taken on more than he was capable of handling.


*


"Bulls-eye!" Kup's smiling face turned away from the smoldering Decepticon corpse and toward three troops under his command. Noting their confused expressions, he laughed. "Human expression, or so I'm told." The younger Autobots shook their heads, indicating that they really didn't care. Kup turned his attention back to the battle. "Alright, maintain the pressure! Keep pushing them back into the grottos!"

En route to the Spires, Kup's team had taken fire from a few more squads of Decepticons, and was forced to stop and deal with the snipers. Within minutes they had gained the upper hand and were currently forcing the enemy soldiers into the lower regions of the city, where, Kup was hoping, they would soon be taking fire from their rear.

One bold Decepticon stepped out from behind the building that he was using for cover and addressed his troops. "HOLD THE LINE, DECEPTICONS! We are warriors, we are the elite, and we are the dominant life form in the Universe! We will not be pushed back by an impure, inferior race of...” His torso exploded into countless pieces. The other Decepticons turned around toward the origin of the missile that had destroyed their vocal teammate and were amazed at the impossible site they beheld; a form long ago deemed inferior and useless by Megatron, belonging to a race long since extinct. The pink, spike-headed robot holding the missile launcher could not possibly be there. It was inconceivable that a Femme still existed.

"I wasn't a fan of that rhetoric when I first heard it an eternity ago, and it's only grown more disgusting with time." Elita One tossed the launcher aside and pulled out her rifle that had been magnetically clinging to her back. Before they could fathom what was happening, the remaining Decepticons were being pelted with deadly laser fire.

A few quickly got their wits about them and began returning fire. But the Femme was immediately joined by a red 'male' and another pink Femme, and a few seconds later, dozens of Autobots on either side of the gender line were at her side spraying death on the Decepticons. In a matter of two minutes the last of the Decepticons had been struck down by the criss-cross of weapons fire.

Kup marched toward the other group of Autobots. "Verify that they're dead, lads!" A dozen of his soldiers ran out to obey the ancient Autobot's command. As he approached the other Autobots, he saw Hot Rod trotting out toward him.

"Kup, it's good to see..."

"Later kid." Kup brushed past the young soldier and walked straight toward the Femme Commander. "Elita, thank Primus it's really you!" The two robots hugged as they reached each other. "I can't believe you're still with us."

Elita One smiled as she tightened her embrace of her old teacher. "It's so good to see you again, old bot."


*


Springer hit the wall hard. He had been taking a beating for over ten minutes, but to both his and his Decepticon enemy's surprise, he was still alive. Of course, his left arm had been severed mid-way through the forearm, and much of his armor had been sliced away, but he was still fighting hard. The green Autobot used the wall to help him get back to his feet.

Streetblade marched toward his prey, smiling at the Autobot's feeble attempts to stand up to him. "You've fought admirably, Autobot, but I am beginning to grow weary of tossing you around the room. I think it's time you realized that you are a corpse just waiting to be wrecked, so give up and let me wreck you." The Decepticon raised his sword high and swung down on the doomed Autobot.

Springer rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the blow, and scrambled to regain his footing. His assailant charged him, swinging the blade at him once again, but Springer's powerful legs propelled him over both the Decepticon and his sword and to the ground fifty feet behind him.

Streetblade whirled around, only to have his mid-section slammed by the Autobot's shoulder. Streetblade marveled at how quickly the Autobot's powerful legs had turned the landing into a leap. He pushed the Autobot off of him and started to get back to his feet, but was caught by a kick to his jaw. The mighty Decepticon fell back, releasing his sword as he did so.

Springer, who had been fighting a losing fight, suddenly saw an opportunity to snatch victory from this arrogant Decepticon warlord. The green Autobot lunged for the sword, catching a left cross to the cheek as he did so, but managed to grasp and hold onto the weapon with his right hand despite receiving the powerful blow. Springer rolled several yards, shaking off the punch and leaping to his feet a moment before being pounced upon by the enraged Decepticon.

Streetblade smashed the floor that had been beneath the Autobot a fraction of a second before with his left fist, and snarled as he pulled it out of the newly formed dent and looked up to his quick enemy. His optics locked onto his green and yellow foe just in time to witness his own blade bearing down on his head. Before Streetblade realized that he needed to react, a chunk of his cranial armor had been sliced away and some of his cerebral circuitry was exposed.

The Decepticon was stumbling back, feelings of confusion mixing with his rage. Springer took a couple of steps toward him to gain momentum, jumped, twisted his body so that it was level with the ground, tucked his legs into his chest, and launched his feet into the torso of the gray triple-changer. The Decepticon was lifted off of his feet and propelled heavily into the metal wall, sliding to a seated position on the floor.

Streetblade looked up to see the Autobot get off of the ground and walk toward him menacingly, sword in hand. The warlord positioned his feet underneath him, pressed his right hand against the wall behind him, and began pushing himself back to his feet. He sneered and pointed at the oncoming Autobot. "Very goo...” In a sudden movement the Autobot's right arm lurched upward and out, driving the blade through the outstretched fist. Streetblade snapped his arm back to assess the damage, and stared at the stump that was all that remained of his left hand. More enraged than ever, he glared at the Autobot and started uttering another threat. "Prepa...” The sword swung swiftly back in the opposite direction, slicing through Streetblade's right optic. "AAARRRGGGHHH! YOU'LL DIE..."

"SHUT UP!" Springer sliced the sword back across to the right, cutting through the mouth of the Decepticon and finally putting an end to his threats. The gray warrior's one good optic looked up at Springer in horror as it was becoming evident that the Decepticon would not be regaining the offensive. The horror displayed by the lone optic increased as it witnessed Springer draw the blade back and thrust it forward. The point cut into the chest armor and penetrated in a few inches, but a second thrust by Springer sent it through the torso. The blade entered just a few inches above the spark chamber, precariously close to inflicting instant death. The Decepticon stared into Springer's optics with a combination of shock, hatred and fear. Springer adjusted his grip on the sword's handle and leaned in close to his enemy's face. "Who's wrecked now, Bitch!" With that the green Autobot violently twisted the sword in the Decepticon's chest, forcing the blade to cut into the spark chamber. The hate-filled optic glowed at Springer for a few more seconds before finally fading to opaque.

"You know, when Prime instructed us to become familiar with human terms and expressions, I don't think that is what he had in mind."

Springer whirled around, pulling the sword from the chest of his dead enemy and held it in a defensive position. He immediately lowered the blade and emitted a pained laugh upon seeing Ultra Magnus standing in the entranceway. "What took you so long?"

The heavily damaged Autobot Sub-Commander smiled back. "Sorry, but not everyone was lucky enough to catch a ride up here."


*


"Sir, the reactivation codes for the perimeter cannons appear to be working. In fact, we've already used them to repel a squadron of Seekers invading from the north." Red Alert smiled broadly as he delivered the update while still maintaining a salute.

The battle-weary Ultra Magnus smiled and nodded at hearing the news. "That's excellent Red Alert. Please see that every Autobot maintains extreme vigilance, especially for the next several hours. We've retaken Iacon, but it will be quite awhile before we can declare it securely ours." The hulking blue, red and white Autobot looked at one of the ground level command centers positioned throughout the center of the city and started toward it. "Please excuse me Red Alert, Kup insisted that I come see him as soon as possible."

"Of course sir, and Magnus, well done. Prime himself could not have done it better." Red Alert marched away to begin securing Iacon.

Magnus considered countering his flattering, but outrageous claim. The battle had been a success, thought Magnus, but had Prime been leading it, it would have been won hours ago with vastly fewer casualties. He replayed the siege in his head as he made his way to the meeting with Kup. As he approached the entranceway to the command center, he heard Kup conversing with someone.

"So the 'Cons kicked our fenders out of here forty-six thousand vorns ago, and we've been barely clinging to life ever since. Heck, if you would have told me that we'd be in a position to retake Iacon six months ago, I'd tell you to go have ol' Sawbones unscramble your logic circuitry." Magnus smiled at the sound of Kup's jovial old voice.

"So what brought about the sudden change?"

The other voice put Magnus in a momentary state of shock, one that he quickly shook himself out of. He sprinted the rest of the way to the open doorway and sought out the speaker of the question. He spotted the seated pink warrior, but was still unable to accept what he saw. "It can't be!"

"MAGNUS!" Elita One jumped from her chair and darted toward the massive Autobot, wrapping him in a solid embrace. "I prayed to Primus every day that you and the other Autobots would survive."

The stunned robot could only stare down at the Femme for a moment before finally realizing that it wasn't his imagination. "Elita, is it really you?"

"Of course, you big chariot! You really didn't think that you'd seen the last of me, did you?"

Magnus finally returned the embrace. "Thank Primus you're alive! What a glorious day!" Magnus then looked down, smiling broadly. "Where have you been?"

The two old friends finally released their grasp and Elita walked back and put her right hand on the left shoulder of the seated Kup. "After my army was massacred outside of Matriopolis, the denizens of Harbornia launched a space faring vessel in an attempt to escape Cybertron. But before leaving, they picked up the few of us that survived and took us with them. After countless eons, we finally found a moon that contained an energy source that could be converted to energon." Elita One shrugged. "That’s where we’ve been."

Kup nodded. "Amazing."

Elita smiled at the old warrior. "It was the distress signal from Darkmount that gave us reason to return." The Femme looked at Ultra Magnus. "What did you do to cause such a panic?"

Magnus frowned. "Something that we're not too proud of. An attack that utilized a weapon of mass destruction."

Elita nodded. "So the new Prime isn't afraid to cross some lines."

Magnus immediately snapped back. "Prime most certainly did not sanction..." A confused look suddenly came over the large robot. "New Prime?"

Elita One shrugged. "Yes, Kup mentioned the Prime when my team first entered Iaconian airspace. I know that a new one was appointed. And it was a smart move if you ask me. Even without the Matrix, the title can still be quite an inspirational tool. The Prime has always been a symbol of power and hope."

Magnus's head quickly snapped toward Kup. "You mean she doesn't know?"

Kup shook his head in amazement. "I figured she did. Heck, I thought that that was the reason that she resurfaced now."

Elita One's head quickly darted from one Autobot to the other. "What are you two talking about? What don't I know?"

Magnus turned toward Elita, his mouth stretching into a giant smile. "You'd better sit down for this, Elita."

Kup stood up and led her to the chair that she had been sitting in prior to Ultra Magnus's entrance. "Yeah, this is gonna knock you for a loop."


***


The blue fist hit the consul in an act of controlled frustration. "I should be there, slag it all!" Optimus Prime had been pacing in the control room all day, waiting nervously for any word from Cybertron.

Prowl walked up behind him and placed his hand on the broad shoulder of his Commander. "We've gone over this Prime. Earth is the focal point of the war. We can't afford to lose it, and even if Omega Supreme and Blaster hadn't gone there, we still would need you on this planet. Besides, Magnus is a capable commander."

"I know, it's just...” Prime shook his head. "They've all sacrificed for so long, and now that I'm revived, I'm still absent. Absent for the greatest battle of the war."

Jazz walked past the rest of the Autobots, all of whom were waiting in the Ark's control room as well, and addressed Prime. "There isn't one Autobot that doesn't know that you would do anything that they're expected to do, and more. We all have our roles, and right now, yours is here on Earth, Prime."

The young Spike looked up at the Autobot leader and added his own comment. "Yeah Prime, us fleshbags need you here."

Prime looked down, and shared a chuckle with several of his troops. "I know, I know. It's just frustrating, waiting here, unable to do anything to help our brethren."

Suddenly the communications consul beeped, indicating that there was an incoming transmission. Prime instantly was at the station, putting the transmission through. "This is Prime, who is calling?"

A little static preceded the gravelly voice. "Hello Prime, Kup here."

Prime's nervous voice replied. "What's your status Kup?"

"It's tragic, Prime. I've never seen such carnage, such wreckage, such devastation." Prime shook his head in agony as Kup gave his assessment. "Prime, it pains me to no end to report what I am looking at right now."

Prime swallowed his anguish and addressed his soldier. "Just tell me what happened, Kup."

"Well sir, what they've done to your quarters is utterly despicable."

Prime's head jerked up, a look of surprise coming over his blue optics. "My...quarters?"

"THEY DID IT!!!" Sideswipe's announcement elicited such a roar of elation from the entire assemblage of Autobots that Spike was forced to cover his ears.

Prime gripped the speaker and pulled it close to his faceplate. "You did it?"

"Slaggin' right we did! Iacon is under Autobot control!" The old warrior was unable to keep joyful laughter from cutting into his reply. "Here's Magnus, Prime. And don't let him tell you that he was anything less than brilliant out there!"

Prime nodded. "Don't worry, I won't."

"Hello Prime. I apologize for Kup's cruel joke." Despite the cheerfulness in his voice, Ultra Magnus was clearly exhausted.

In the background Kup's distant reply could be heard. "It’s your fault Magnus, that goofy kid you saddled me with is starting to rub off on me."

Prime nodded, still not having fully come to terms with the great victory that his soldiers had achieved. "It is definitely not a problem. And might I say well done my brother, well done!"

"Thanks Prime, but I was just one of hundreds of Autobots out there. There are many others more deserving of your praise."

Prime chuckled. "They are all most definitely deserving of praise, but it was you that led them. It was your leadership that regained our home. Never let yourself think otherwise, that's an order."

"Well...” It was now Magnus's turn to chuckle. "We got some unexpected help from a few old friends."

Prime's head cocked to the side, a display of confusion that he had unintentionally picked up from the humans. "What old friends?"

Some jostling could be heard on the other end of the line before Magnus's voice came through again. "Why don't I let you speak with their leader?"

Prime waited in anxious perplexity for a few seconds before another voice finally came through. "My love!"

"Elita!?!"

 

I am grinning ear to ear after that one  

 

Excellent as always. Now I'm going to go through withdrawal till the next installment.

 

Insanely good my man!!!! As always, you've made my day.


I WANT MORE!!!!!!

 

I just want you to know that I just printed the whole story out here at work (staring at monitor hurting eyes after a while) and well... at a 10 pt font, on letter sized paper... you have a 291 page novel going on here. Bra-freaking-vo!!!

 

Oh man, what an awesome chapter. You rock man.

I was expecting a Highlander style chopping off of head with Springer there, considering that he apparently isn't a triple changer yet, and that Decep he just killed has his body.??? Anyhow, awesome job with that, and Hot Rod. Just awesome.

Very well done man.

 

as always, the best yet

 

I just read the whole thing again. That's how much I am loving this story. The last chapter was great with the interaction between Hot Rod and Arcee, Hot Rod and Kup, etc. It was kinda weird with Springer not having access to his third mode but it does make sense considering for this story's purpose, that triple-changing is still a Decepticon technology which the Autobots haven't acquired yet. I like how Shockwave was more or less shocked with how well Predaking did. Just seeing the aftermath of whatever Predaking did as opposed to reading the actual event makes me anticipating when you'll actually write the Predacons forming Predaking and Predaking laying the smackdown on some poor Autobot gestalt. I also like how you've referenced BW again when Shockwave ponders how the nanites and biomechanical technology would be considered for "future generations of Decepticons."

Also on rereading the WHOLE story, I did notice one little thing. In episode 11, Magnus mentions how the biopod is tossed into a chasm that leads to the very core of Cyberton. It pretty much sets up the whole Beast Machines plot device of organic life on Cyberton without really retelling or telling the true origin of Cyberton.

Great work dude. Absolutely looking forward to the next chapter!!! :  :

 

Yeah the amount of random detail (Well not really random, but like super fanboy delicacy material) is pretty awesome. MORE.

 

Episode 22: Victory Assured


"So, they're like...chicks?”

Ratchet looked up from the table piled with surgical tools, utterly confused by the question presented to him. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, they’re like your version of females, right?"

The Autobot medic gave an annoyed smile as he answered the human adolescent's question. "Yes, I suppose that you can think of them as such."

Spike craned his neck to get a better view of the front side of the Autobot's mid-section. "And you guys are...males, right?"

Ratchet turned back to his task and responded. "In a sense, I guess."

The pre-teen squirmed slightly as he sat perched upon the table that Ratchet was working on. "So, uhm, how do you, uhh, like, uhm...you know?"

Ratchet stopped working and looked directly at the amusedly nervous child. "No, I don't know. How do we what?"

Spike smiled and arched his eyebrows. "Come on, you know."

"Child, what is your ailment?" Ratchet was genuinely perplexed trying to figure out what Spike was inquiring of him, then, after considering the subject matter, it finally dawned on him. "Oh, I see." The medic turned toward the assortment of tools in front of him before responding. "We don't."

Spike was a little surprised by the reply. "You don't?"

Ratchet smiled at the boy. "Procreation for Cybertronians occurs through the building of a frame and the insertion of a spark into it by Vector Sigma."

Spike huffed. "Look, I may not be six million years old, but you don't need to be giving me some Cybertronian stork story."

Ratchet looked at the boy in confusion once again, but quickly recognized what Spike was referring to. "Believe it or not, Spike, I'm telling you the truth. I've left out an enormous amount of detail regarding the process, but that is how we reproduce. And no matter what stories you might hear from Sunstreaker, we most certainly do not...you know."

Spike nodded and pursed his lips tightly together as though in thought. "I see." He then started climbing down the table. "Well, thanks Ratchet. I'm off to talk to Sunstreaker." The energetic boy ran to the Infirmary's doorway, but came to a halt as brisk footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway outside.

Optimus Prime strode by, followed by Prowl and Sparkplug, who was jogging to keep up. Without looking back, Prime said something to the two of them. "It is done. I understand how you feel, but I've already made my decision."

Prowl and Sparkplug followed him past the Infirmary, through the hall, and eventually into Prime's quarters. The predominantly white Autobot refused to let drop whatever they had been discussing. "You can't do this Prime. Think of the message that you will be sending to the rest of the troops."

Prime slumped into a chair, tired and annoyed. "What message is that, Prowl? That it's time to take the gloves off and finally take the fight to the Decepticons?" Prime's voice was controlled, but clearly irritated.

Prowl's voice, while assertive, seemed to be relatively devoid of emotion. "You know what I'm talking about. You can't just take him back, as if everything is forgiven."

Sparkplug caught his breath and chimed in. "Yeah Prime, it might be different if he were even the slightest bit repentant, but he'd do it all again a thousand times if given the opportunity."

Prime looked down at the human. "And how penitent are you, Sparkplug? Are you still feeding everything you learn about us to your government?"

Prime immediately hated himself as he watched the look of hurt wash over Sparkplug's face. The human looked down, his response coming out as barely more than a whisper. "Yeah, I deserve that." He turned back toward the Autobot Commander. "And I wouldn't think the slightest bit less of you if you were to tell me to start walking and never come back. But whether you believe it or not, I do regret working behind your back. I do regret breaching your trust. And I'll do whatever's necessary to regain it. HE won't!"

"And Prime, Sparkplug's situation is completely different. While he is our friend and ally, his loyalty is to his species, his country, and more than anything else, his son." Prowl was quick to direct the conversation back on track. "Despite the Autobrands on his frame and his hatred of the Decepticons, Grimlock's loyalties are in question. The events he put into action most certainly run contrary to what Autobots are supposed to deem ethical."

"Why!?!" Prime stood up. "The attack was against Decepticon soldiers! They died painlessly! Had they been awakened, we would have been outnumbered hundreds to one! And even if we'd have been able to stand up to them, to do so would mean that we'd have to kill them anyway, in a much more brutal manner!" Prime started pacing into the center of his room, but stopped and turned back to Prowl and Sparkplug. "And let's say that our original plan had been implemented, and that by the grace of Primus it had succeeded. How long do you think that we would have been able to hold our objective once attained?" Prime shook his head. "We're not talking about Iacon here, we're talking about the Cooler! A facility housing the vast majority of Megatron's legions! Inflicting heavy losses wouldn't put a halt to their continuous assaults! Nothing would! They would keep coming, and coming, and coming until we either retreated or were annihilated!" The Autobot Commander paused for a brief moment. "At best, we'd lose a huge portion of our forces, while the Decepticons replenish their losses hours after securing the Cooler." Prime stared deeply into Prowl's optics. "Feel free to inform me if you think I'm wrong about that."

Prowl shook his head. "Logically, I'd have to say that your assessment is correct." Prowl looked back into Prime's optics. "But since when do YOU put what's logical before what's right? Don't defend actions that I know full well you feel to be wrong. It's insulting."

Prime tossed his hand in the air and turned his back to his friend and advisor. "Say what you will, but we're in a war; one that's lasted far too long. And we're finally in a position to put a stranglehold on the Decepticons, to eliminate their presence on Earth, thereby cutting off the energy supply to their forces on Cybertron. But we need the Dinobots to ensure that this happens." Prime turned back to his uninvited guests, and walked toward them. "Without them, we might win. With them, we will win. It's just that simple."

Prowl shook his head. "There's got to be another way. Grimlock's actions go well beyond reprehensible."

Prime looked from Sparkplug to Prowl. "I understand. But we must look past those actions for the good of our cause, so that we can finally defeat the Decepticons and achieve peace."

Prowl looked down and slowly nodded. "I see. Peace..." Prowl looked up at his Commander. "...Through tyranny."

The statement caused Prime to shudder, as if struck by a physical blow. His optics widened, and a moment later he collapsed into his chair and his gaze dropped to the floor. He stared silently at the ground and considered the ramifications of the Prowl's statement. A statement originally made famous by a young Decepticon warlord being interviewed by a Lithomech reporter. When asked what it was that he was seeking by uniting the Decepticons and attacking various non-Decepticon city-states, the imposing chrome warrior replied with those words. Prime shook his head, trying desperately to explain how Megatron's statement could not be applied to the Autobots capitalizing on Grimlock's morally void action. He couldn't. "You're right, Prowl. Of course you're right." Prime looked up at his advisor, almost pleadingly. "But we have to end this war now. We can't let it continue."

A look of confusion came over Prowl. "I fully understand your desire to end the war quickly, we all have the same desire. But that's never caused you to compromise your values before. What's going on, Prime?"

Prime looked down, shook his head, and then slowly, reluctantly, looked back up at Prowl. "I lost her Prowl. She was what I thought of whenever I went into battle. She was the light at the end of the tunnel. My only goal in life was to spend eternity with her, and the only thing keeping me from doing that was the war. And then...and then she was butchered outside Matriopolis." Prime stared off into space. "I lost her Prowl, and it destroyed everything that was me." The blue optics of the powerful Autobot snapped back to Prowl. "Primus returned her to me. I still have difficulty believing it, but she's back. And I WILL NOT lose her again!"

A stunned look was etched into Sparkplug's facial features, and he turned away, almost as if in shame. "We're sorry for questioning your orders Prime. We'll be on our way now."

Prowl, who had been feeling sorry for Prime, snapped out of his sorrow at Sparkplug's statement. "What!?! Look, Sparkplug, I feel for..."

The human sent a glare up at the white and black Autobot. "I'm not up on all Autobot military policies, but in the Marine Corps we don't question a commanding officer's orders once they're given!"

"WHAT!?! First of all Sparkplug, one of my main functions is to question Prime's orders! Secondly, I was under the impression that we were of the same opinion regarding Grimlock! What’s with the one-eighty?"

Sparkplug's glare softened, but he did not back down from his newly adopted position. "Look Prowl, aside from my son's health and happiness, there's nothing in existence that I wouldn't give to spend another ten seconds with my wife. But that will never happen...not for me." The human nodded toward the seated Autobot Commander. "But it can for him. And if the only thing standing between Prime and an eternity of bliss is the forgiving of one insubordinate Dinobot, then by all means forgive the damn jerk!?! I think Prime’s done enough for your cause to give him this."

Prowl was moved, but not completely convinced. He looked down at Prime, and his gaze was met by sorrowful blue optics. "I've heard the whispers, Prowl. I know what you and the others say about me. But you're wrong; I'm not perfect. I've tried to live up to how you see me, but I’ve been found wanting. Please, just this once, accept my flaws, and let me be selfish." Prime's head dipped back downward. "Please."

Beeping noises from the wrists of both Prime and Prowl occurred simultaneously. Prowl raised his communicator to his mouth and answered. "Prowl here, what's up?"

Jazz's voice replied. "Prowl, Jetfire's returned with Grimlock, and that is one ornery looking Dinobot. He's headed toward Prime's quarters now, should I send a security contingent?"

Prowl looked down at Prime before answering. "No, there will be no need for that. We’re not expecting a violent confrontation. Thanks Jazz, Prowl out."


***


Elita stared intently at the view screen as it started playing the selected recording. Hatred and fury boiled up as a purple, cannon-armed figure appeared. She listened in disgust at the pompous voice spewing Decepticon dogma. Any dissipation of hatred for Shockwave that had occurred over the eons had instantly returned in full force. Her hatred was quickly replaced by sorrow as the image of a battered and broken Ultra Magnus hanging from a metal post came into view.

"Ahh, you found it." Blaster's voice caught Elita One off guard. "The greatest piece of Autobot propaganda we've ever had, and we've got none other than Shockwave to thank for not just producing it, but for making sure it was seen by the entire darn planet." The large, red, yellow and orange Autobot laughed.

Elita smiled at Blaster, but quickly turned back to the screen. Several silent seconds passed before another voice interrupted the silence. "Hey Blaster, the word around town is that you have some of those human 'movies' downloaded here. Have the meat-sacks made anything worth watching?"

Elita One recognized the voice of the robot entering the Communications Room. "Hello Hot Rod."

Hot Rod, who had thought that Blaster was alone in the room, was a little startled by the sound of the feminine voice. "Oh, uh, hello...Maam. I didn't see you sitting there."

"Pipe down kid, the good part is coming up." Blaster sat down in the chair next to the Autobot Femme Commander and stared at the screen. Hot Spot stood behind the two of them and watched as well.

Elita sat in nervous anticipation as the seconds passed. Shockwave had called out for the emergence of Megatron and the camera focused on the spacebridge contraption that the Decepticon Commander was supposed to be arriving through. Then, amazingly, what Elita had convinced herself to be an impossibility eons ago, came to pass. She was once again gazing upon the only being whom she had ever loved. Though he had undergone some minor changes, it was still clearly him. "Prime." Her whisper was barely heard by the other two Autobots.

"So that's the infamous Optimus Prime."

Elita shot Hot Rod a surprised look. "You've never seen him before?"

The young Autobot shook his head. "Just some rough graffiti."

"Surely you've seen other images over the vorns." Elita found it impossible to believe that Hot Rod had not viewed Prime's image before.

Blaster laughed. "Believe it or not Elita, our boy Hot Rod is a newborn. Kup found this shiny red orphan just a few weeks ago with minimal programming and only a couple of day's worth of memories in his head."

Elita turned to Blaster. "How is that possible? I had heard that The Great Mother was under Decepticon control, and that the only Autobot births in the last forty seven thousand vorns were those of the new fliers, the Aerialbots."

The large Autobot simply shrugged. "I know, it doesn't seem possible, but Sawbones confirmed that while the frame was built some time ago, it's bonding to a spark coincided with when Hot Rod's memories begin."

"Wow, he really is tough!" Hot Rod's surprised comments forced Elita One and Blaster to return their attention to the screen in front of them, where Optimus was tearing into the Decepticons and charging to free Magnus, Kup and the other Autobot prisoners. Elita, now slightly more tolerant of Hot Rod's immaturity, could only smile and nod as she watched Prime do what no one else could. Hot Rod’s surprised assessment continued. “I guess everyone wasn’t just exaggerating.”

A green object moving past the open doorway caught the corner of Hot Rod's optic, and he turned to see Springer, who was hauling a crate that was larger than himself, walk past. The red youngster turned to Blaster and Elita One and excused himself. "You guys enjoy the show without me." The other two robots didn't respond as he jogged to the door and turned the corner, trying to figure out some trick to play on his buddy Springer.

Ahead of Springer, Arcee, Moonracer and Chromia were approaching. Arcee smiled at the green Autobot. "Whatcha got in the box?"

Springer marveled at how attractive the three Femmes were, but more so with Arcee. "Something for the lab. A riddle that I need Sawbone's help to solve."

"Hey, I've got a riddle!"

Hot Rod's voice caught Springer off guard, as did the sudden feeling of not wanting Hot Rod around. Over the past few weeks Springer and Hot Rod had quickly grown into best friends, and there was no other Autobot that Springer enjoyed spending time with more. But suddenly, Springer was feeling strongly annoyed by Hot Rod's presence.

That annoyance grew to genuine animosity as Springer saw Arcee's optics light up and her smile grow at seeing the uninvited red guest. Springer's inner workings twisted as she looked past him and playfully replied to Hot Rod. "Oh yeah, what's your riddle?"

Hot Rod confidently walked up and stood next to Springer, smiling at him, completely unaware of the negative feelings his green friend was harboring toward him. The red robot then turned to the Femmes and presented his riddle. "What's got two thumbs and loves hot, oily rub-downs from gorgeous Femmes?" The three Femmes were immediately confused by not only the riddle, but also by how inappropriate it seemed to be. Before any of them had a chance to respond, Hot Rod jerked both of his thumbs toward his own chest and called out loudly. "THIS GUY!"

Springer shook his head and groaned in embarrassment over his friend's juvenile and chauvinistic remark. But at that moment he was also filled with a relieved sensation, and joyfulness at knowing that the Femmes would undoubtedly be disgusted by Hot Rod. But while Chromia and Moonracer were genuinely put off by the comment, Arcee’s feigned annoyance seemed to be hiding amusement, which filled Springer with more anger at Hot Rod than he had before.

Unbeknownst to the five robots in the hallway, the conversation had been heard by both Blaster and Elita One. Elita shook her head at Hot Rod's comment. "It's hard to imagine that someone like him and Prime are a part of the same species."

Blaster chuckled. "That and the color red are about all those two have in common.” Blaster suddenly stood up. “Oh, and speaking of Prime, I've got to get an updated listing of the Decepticons currently stationed on Earth to him."

Elita, still glued to the screen-displaying Prime disrupting Magnus's execution, asked a question. "How did you come by that?"


***


The door of the CR Chamber hissed open, and a blue foot stepped out. Counter-Punch stepped to the control panel of the large medical device, checked to verify that he wasn't being watched, and erased all the data acquired during his treatment. One could never be too careful.

The Autobot spy walked through the door of one of Darkmounts nine empty infirmaries and into the hall. His injuries had been minor enough so that he could acquire information regarding the Decepticons and Decepticon weaponry currently stationed on Earth, and get it sent to Blaster before needing to obtain repairs. He would have had to wait for the various repair bays to clear out anyway, as he was careful never to let any Decepticon get the chance to discover some of his inexplicable hidden traits.

Ahead, around the corner, he heard Shockwave talking with someone, and decided to casually eavesdrop. The deep voice was clearly not happy. "You mean to tell me that you still have not obtained the final specifications for the Transwarp drive? How is he resisting your attempts to control his mind?"

Counter-Punch ejected a data-pad from his wrist and pretended to be scrutinizing the information on its screen as he turned the corner and headed toward Shockwave, and who he recognized from his study of Decepticon personnel files to be the Insecticon Bombshell. Fortunately they did not seem to regard him as someone unfit to hear what they were discussing, as the two Decepticons only glanced at him briefly before continuing their conversation.

“I have been able to get the preliminary information from him regarding the technology, but I genuinely believe that he has yet to finalize the technology.” An ominous chuckle came through the Insecticon’s grated faceplate. “I have been able to glean the location of another one of his labs that contains even more of his notes and data than the one we apprehended him in. With this information we may be able to finish what he started. And with the Autobots making themselves at home in Iacon, I doubt that there would be any lurking around this lab.”

Shockwave nodded. “Yes, that’s probably our best course of action. And who knows what else we may find there?” The purple warlord kept his optic on Counter-Punch as the seemingly preoccupied Decepticon walked past them. Without shifting his gaze from the blue robot, Shockwave issued his instructions to the Insecticon. “I want you to let him rest up; I know the condition you leave your victims in at the end of each interrogation. Once he’s healthy enough to make the trip, allow him to lead you to this lab, retrieve the data, and return here…with Perceptor alive and in one piece. Is that understood?”

Counter-Punch’s optics flared at hearing the name of the Autobot’s most valuable scientific mind, and he thanked Primus that he had already passed Shockwave and therefore didn’t make his shock known to the other two Decepticons. He began trying to determine the repercussions of this information as Bombshell accepted his assignment. “Yes, Lord Shockwave.”


***


The large crate hit the floor with a thud that resonated throughout the entire infirmary. Sawbones and Paradron looked away from their patient's shattered leg to see what had caused the commotion, and saw Springer standing over a thirty-two foot by nineteen-foot rectangular crate. With his optics fixed on the metal box Sawbones addressed the new arrival. "That better not be what I think it is."

With that Springer kicked the lid off of the crate with his right foot, exposing the contents to the medics. Paradron gasped as she caught sight of the corpse, while Sawbones groaned and shook his head. "Primus save me from whelps filled with good intentions and no sense." The old doctor started walking toward the green Autobot. "Look, kid, I appreciate the sentiment, and a few days ago this would have been very valuable, but take a look around. This repair bay is fully stocked and equipped; heck, we've even got nine CR chambers. There are six storage sheds filled with universal replacement parts for all shapes and sizes, as well as miles of neuro-circuitry. We no longer need to cannibalize corpses for spare parts."

Springer gave a humorless chuckle. "Thanks for the update Doc, but that's not why I brought this to you."

Sawbones narrowed his optics and looked at the warrior with some degree of confusion. "If not for spare parts, then why on Cybertron would you bring me a corpse?"

Springer smiled at the old robot. "Take a good look at this thing."

Hesitantly, Sawbones approached the open crate and looked closely at the lifeless Decepticon frame held within. "Well, a number has been done on its head."

"Forget the head, concentrate on the body." Springer's concealed excitement was starting to show through.

Sawbones began looking over the torso and limbs. "Well, he's missing a hand and there's what appears to be a twisted blade wound in his chest, which I would have to say is the likely cause of death."

Slightly frustrated, Springer addressed the old medic. "This isn't an autopsy, not yet anyway. So quit worrying about how he died and just take in the details of the frame."

Sawbones snapped his head up. "Boy, I don't have the patience for your screwing around! You'd better explain why you have me ignoring my patients and staring at this inert hunk of metal right slaggin' now!"

An excited and somewhat frustrated smile came over Springer's face. "Just look at it! Trust me, it's worth it."

Sawbones shook his head. "You'd better pray that you never find yourself under my laser-scalpel." The elderly medic returned his attention to the corpse at his feet, by this point Paradron had joined him in his examination. As he gazed at the frame he vocalized his observations. "Large, darkly colored frame. Judging from the size, build, armor and built-in weaponry I would say it was a very powerful warrior. I can't comment on his strength definitively without examining his interior presses and hydraulics, but I'd be very surprised if he wasn't quite powerful."

"Trust me, he was." Springer smiled at the physician, who continued his evaluation without sharing his good humor.

"The bladed weapon laid across his chest appears not only to be the right size to be the weapon that inflicted the killing wound, but also has several small mechanisms built into it that would suggest a function other than that of just a melee weapon." Sawbones leaned in closer. "There are four tires built into the frame, which would suggest that the alternate mode is that of a ground vehicle."

"Pardon me for interrupting, Sawbones, but some of the 'mechanisms' that you noticed on the bladed weapon appear to be an advanced type of Servo-Flap." Paradron pointed to several contracted strips of metal at the base of the weapon, and even tried to extend them out over the blade.

"Good optic Doc." Springer smiled at the Femme medic, who bore a passing resemblance to the striking Arcee.

Sawbones took a look at what Paradon had pointed out, and seemed a little confused. "But why would a ground cruiser need...” It finally dawned on him, and as the realization of what he was looking at set in he quickly saw other features of the helicopter mode. He stood up straight and looked directly at Springer. "You mean to tell me that this, this is a..."

The smiling Springer quickly interrupted him. "Yup. I need you to figure out how it works. And as a finders fee, I want to be the first one retrofitted with the technology."


***


"Prime, he's definitely headed toward the interior of the southern part of the Baja Peninsula. The Americans are currently clearing our presence with the Mexican Government, but they aren't anticipating any problems."

"I believe that clearance has already been obtained. I received word from Prowl that they're being waved through the San Diego/Tijuana border by both the American and the Mexican border guards. He said that there's quite a bit of traffic that they'll need to weave through, but once they clear Tijuana they should be able to open it up and head toward the target at top speed." Prime replied via communicator to Wheeljack, who was back at the Ark. "How is Ratchet coming with the security measures in the prisoner repair bay?"

Wheeljack's voice came clearly through Prime's wrist communicator. "Well, it looks more like a stockade than a repair bay, but I guess that's a good thing. He's just about got everything in place. Are you sure that you'll be returning with that many prisoners?"

"Prisoners or corpses, whichever way the Decepticons want to play it." Prime paused as one of the terminals inside the passenger bay of Omega Supreme's rocket started beeping. "Hold up Wheeljack, short range sensors are picking something up." Prime leaned forward and peered at the display screen. "We've located his destination. The Decepticons are positioned roughly twenty five miles east of Santo Domingo, and it appears that that is also the location of the space bridge." Prime raised his wrist communicator back to his face. "Wheeljack, forward this information to Prowl and the other Autobots on the ground. Oh, and Wheeljack, be sure to thank NASA for spotting and tracking Astrotrain."

"Will do Prime." Wheeljack cut the connection to contact the other Autobots.

Prime looked over the other Autobots cramped into Omega Supreme's rocket with him, Ironhide, Grimlock, Slag, Snarl, Sludge, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Hot Spot, First Aid, Streetwise and Groove. They, along with the fliers outside the rocket, Jetfire, Swoop, Silverbolt, Air-Raid, Skydive, Fireflight, Slingshot, Powerglide and Blades, would initiate the attack on the Decepticons. This first strike consisted of most of the Autobot's most powerful warriors, and they should be able to keep the Decepticons on the defensive well past the point of when the ground forces would arrive. At least, that was what Prime was counting on. He opened a channel in his communicator so that the fliers could hear. "Alright, if we can detect them, then it's safe to say that they can detect us. So don't bother with any sneaky stuff, just hit them hard and fast. You all know the primary targets, they are to be taken out or apprehended as soon as the opportunity arises. There is to be no hesitation! While we will be taking prisoners, we will not be taking chances! If there is any question about a situation, you are to err on the side of caution and blast away. Do any of you have any questions?"

The following silence indicated that there were none. Once it was clear that everyone understood, a deep voice was heard. "So, Prime finally coming around to my way of thinking."

Prime looked up at the speaker, leaned toward him, and replied harshly at the Dinobot Commander. "Let's get one thing straight, Grimlock. I will NEVER come around to your way of thinking! I may have been too lenient for far too long in regards to the Decepticons, but you...you adopt the methods of the enemy. Your way of thinking is far too reminiscent of Megatron's." Prime shook his head and looked away. "But we share a common goal, and like it or not we must fight together to achieve that goal."

Grimlock maintained his stare at Prime. "Once Decepticons finished, you and I have business with each other." The two massive Autobots locked optics once again, but the interior of the rocket remained silent until another, more urgent series of beeps emanated from the consul.

Streetwise rose to his feet, walked over to the display, and read what it had to say. "Decepticon fliers inbound."


*



The dark space shuttle quickly descended, and as it approached the ground, transformed into a locomotive that sped across the barren ground, finally slowing and coming to a stop in front of Megatron. A port on the train slid open, and out swooped the winged frame of Buzzsaw. The mechanical bird rested upon Megatron's outstretched forearm.

The Decepticon leader smiled at the small Decepticon. "Can I assume that your mission was a success?"

The locomotive transformed into Astrotrain, who nearly stumbled to the ground upon attaining robotic mode. Exhausted, the new arrival straightened up and replied. "Yeah, we found that floating piece of Earth junk, and Buzzsaw scanned whatever you wanted him to scan into that disc-thing." The Triple-changer rubbed his head and looked around. "I'm slagged, I need some energon. Where's Octane?"

Megatron turned his smile toward Astrotrain, but it took a more menacing appearance as it greeted him. "Octane went out with the other fliers to engage the Autobots that you so thoughtlessly led here." Megatron turned toward the Predacons and nodded to Tantrum. "Give this idiot some energon." The horned Predacon nodded and started toward the fatigued Triple-changer.


*


The five Seekers, two Triple-changers, space shuttle, helicopter, metal vulture and feathered hawk all scattered in various directions as the giant gray rocket bore down on them. As they darted away from the impenetrable Guardian, eight winged Autobots that had been following in Omega Supreme’s wake gave them chase. The aerial battle had begun, but Omega Supreme continued onward with Blades still following closely behind him.

Once within a half mile of the space bridge, the rocket landed and allowed his occupants to unload as Blades offered cover fire. In seconds, Prime and the other Autobots aboard the Guardian were sprinting toward the Decepticons, weapons blazing. "Protectobots, form
Defensor!" Prime called out as he unloaded on the Decepticons. Four robots stopped running and the helicopter above lowered down to meet them. Moments later the massive physique of Defensor looked over the battlefield.

Megatron sent some shots at the charging Autobots, but upon seeing the newly formed Defensor and the defense base shifting into Omega Supreme, decided that he would need some extra power as well. “Constructicons, Stunticons, Combaticons; unite and beat these Autobots into the scorched earth!" The first two teams instantly complied, but as Devastator and Menasor were forming, the Combaticons had to wait as Onslaught called Blast Off and Vortex away from the aerial battle.

While the Combaticons waited for their airborne teammates, the four giant robots charged at each other into the field of combat. Devastator lunged at Defensor, but the Protectobot met the charge head-on. The resulting impact thundered across the area, and sent both gestalts to the ground.

As Defensor and Devastator started getting back to their feet, Menasor ran at Omega Supreme, but as he came to within one hundred yards of the Guardian, what little sense he had seemed to get the better of him and he skidded to a halt. Gripping his sword tightly in his right hand, the Stunticon giant began blasting away at Omega Supreme with the rifle in his left hand. The Guardian stopped as well, and his face took on an amused expression as the ordinance harmlessly impacted against his chest. A shot from his cannon-arm ended the joke as it blasted Menasor's rifle to pieces. The Stunticon looked in confused terror at his singed and empty hand, and then looked up to witness the ancient robot coming at him again.

Menasor swung his sword heavily at the Guardian, but Omega Supreme easily swatted the attack away with his cannon-arm and clubbed the Stunticon gestalt with his clawed arm. Menasor went down into a seated position hard, and before he could think of his next move a foot half the size of his torso was slamming into his face. The multicolored giant found himself on his back six-dozen yards from where he had been sitting, and managed to look up one last time to see and orange claw bearing down on him again. All went black.

Defensor had managed to get to his feet much more quickly than Devastator, and was making the most of the advantage. Punch after punch rained down on the Contructicon's head, and the occasional kick punished his green and purple torso and limbs. The beating was having a negative effect on Defensor as well, as pulverizing a downed opponent seemed wrong to him. Seeing that Omega Supreme had already finished off Menasor, Defensor decided that he'd let the Guardian finish off the green gestalt while he charged after enemies that were fighting back more effectively. Looping his right hand under Devastator's right arm and gripping the
Constructicon behind the neck, Defensor raised the prostrate Decepticon using the newly applied half nelson, gripped Devastator by his seat, and hurtled him toward the Guardian standing over five unconscious Stunticons. "Omega Supreme, I saved the honors for you."

Devastator stumbled forcefully toward the giant Autobot, trying desperately to stay on his feet. Just as he started regaining control of his balance, a monstrous roundhouse from Omega Supreme sent him flying backwards through the air and crashing to the ground. His dimmed optics flared back to life as a relatively small red and blue frame landed on his chest. Devastator made out the form of Optimus Prime standing on him, the Autobot leader's rifle pointed at Devastator's face. "Pleasant dreams trash-heap." Already taxed to his limit, Devastator was unable to sustain Prime's barrage.

Optimus Prime lost his footing as the torso that he had been standing on shifted shape and separated into two heavily damaged Constructicons. He looked back to his soldiers, and started to address them. His orders were interrupted as a diving Megatron slammed Prime to the ground. "THIS TIME I WILL NOT LET GO OF YOU UNTIL YOU ARE COMPLETELY DISMEMBERED!!!"

Pinned to the ground and being hammered away on by Megatron, Prime could barely raise his head and look to Ironhide and Sunstreaker, who were suddenly charging to aid him. "No! Take Hook, Scrapper and Mixmaster into custody! I'll handle Megatron!" The two Autobots didn't like the command, but they obeyed it.

As the two leaders struggled, Vortex and Blast Off sped out of the sky and toward their teammates. As they approached the three ground-bound Combaticons, they began contorting into Bruticus's arms. By the time they finished their mid-air transformations, Onslaught, Swindle and Brawl had followed suit and Bruticus's combined legs and body was waiting for them to lock onto. Once every component had locked into place, Bruticus's optics lit and he let out a monstrous roar. "Bruticus crush Autobots!"

"Oh, shut up you imbecile!" A fireball shot out of Defensor's cannon and exploded against Bruticus's face. The attack caught the newly formed giant off guard, but did little other than to sting and enrage him. Bruticus turned toward Defensor and prepared to charge. But before he could take his first step, two giant white feet slammed into his upper back, forcing him face-first into the ground.

Superion stepped off of the injured Combaticon and laughed. "I love doing that."

Grimlock led the other non-flying Dinobots and Sideswipe in a sprint past the downed Bruticus toward the other Decepticons. Razorclaw leapt toward him and sliced at him with his sword, narrowly missing Grimlock's head as the Dinobot leaned away. Despite the assault, Grimlock continued onward, seemingly ignoring the Predacon Commander. Razorclaw took another swipe at the back of Grimlock, but the running Autobot was just out of range. Enraged, Razorclaw called out. "The mighty Grimlock, fleeing from a fight with a worthy opponent? Come back and meet your fate coward!"

Without looking back, Grimlock responded. "Don't worry, you get yours soon!"

Razorclaw watched as the other flightless Predacons, Buzzsaw and Frenzy attempted to engage the charging Autobots, and were ignored as well. Despite his accusation, Razorclaw knew that Grimlock was not a coward. He was up to something. Out of the corner of his left optic, past where the Kickback, Shrapnel, Astrotrain, Reflector, Rumble and Ravage, were doing their best to stop Defensor and Superion, he saw Sunstreaker and Ironhide binding three of the unconscious Constructicons with energon shackles, but leaving the other three on the ground where they lay. Razorclaw thought that they were simply trying to separate the gestalt components, but the Autobots were contently leaving all five Stunticons lying next to one another.

Turning back to Grimlock and his troops, he finally seemed to see where they were headed, or who they were headed for. Soundwave fired frantically to keep them away, but the thick armor of the Dinobots, and Sideswipe's exceptional reflexes kept him from slowing them down to any significant degree. Razorclaw pondered why they would be so interested in Soundwave and only three of the Constructicons. What made the Decepticon Communications Commander, Hook, Scrapper and Mixmaster so important?

Then, upon a chance glance at the space bridge, it suddenly dawned on the Predacon Commander. If the Decepticons retreated without these four, it would be extremely difficult for them to rebuild the space bridge. The only other Decepticon on the planet that was technically knowledgeable enough to work on the space bridge was Starscream, and for all Razorclaw knew, the outcast could already be in Autobot custody. At best they would need Shockwave to talk them through the construction process.

Then Razorclaw realized that even that scenario might not be feasible. With Soundwave out of the way, it might be possible for the Autobots and the humans to block all Decepticon transmissions between Earth and Cybertron. "We can not lose this battle!" But the sounds of advancing cars from the north made the Predacon Commander aware that in this degenerating situation; defeat might be the only possible outcome.


*


The Aerialbots had manage to knock Blitzwing, Dirge and Thrust out of the air before cutting out to let Superion do his thing down below. And as Swoop and Divebomb took their fight to the ground almost from the beginning, that left just Jetfire and Powerglide to take out Octane, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Laserbeak and Ramjet by themselves. Five on two odds might seem lop-sided, that is until you realize that one of the two was Jetfire, the most awesome aerial war machine in either army. It wasn't all that long before the Decepticons were either falling into the ocean or retreating back to their comrades.

Jetfire and Powerglide followed after the two remaining fliers, Thundercracker and Ramjet, and were eager to either mix it up with them again or tear into the Decepticon ground forces. It was a win-win situation for them. As the Autobot jets headed toward the battlefield, they noticed a caravan of their comrades headed in the same direction. Prime's plan was working perfectly. The Decepticon presence on Earth would soon be non-existent.


*


Megatron got to his feet, and watched Prime do the same. As much as we wished to continue battling his hated foe one-on-one, Megatron knew that his army was in dire need of his leadership. But as he turned and saw his forces, he quickly realized that the situation was much more dire than he had previously thought. A red sports car was speeding through the battlefield with a battered and limbless Soundwave strapped to its roof. Farther back, toward where the Autobots launched their attack from, he saw that old fool Ironhide and one of those arrogant siblings that he had sworn to kill tossing three of his Constructicons into Prime's trailer. Then, past them, he saw the rest of the Earth-bound Autobots speeding toward the battle. "Decepticons, regroup at my position!" With that Megatron leapt away from Prime and struggled to determine a plan to gain the offensive and defeat the Autobots. That plan was not forthcoming.

The Decepticons that were still in fighting condition gathered around their Commander, hopeful that the regrouping would be enough to turn the tide of battle. But as they saw the Autobots slowly surround their position, and Omega Supreme unceremoniously tearing the last of their giant super-warriors into it's component Combaticons that hope quickly faded. And the approaching Autobot reinforcements only worsened the situation.

As the other Decepticons evaluated their desperate situation, Razorclaw raised his communicator to his face. "Divebomb, where are you?"

Several seconds passed before the rushed response came through. "Battling Swoop about a half mile to the north of your position."

"Quit playing with the Dinobot and come to me!" Razorclaw silently debated the course of action that was quickly becoming their only slim chance at victory.

"On my way." Divebomb's frustrated anger was very evident by his tone.

"Decepticons...” The voice of Optimus Prime carried clearly over the barren battlefield. “Surrender now, and I give you my word that you will be treated humanely and with the utmost respect. Resist, and you will be destroyed! Have no illusions, the Decepticon presence on this planet ends today, one way or the other!"

The Decepticons noted the change in Prime's voice, and most realized that the merciful Optimus Prime was no longer quite so merciful. Megatron merely sneered at Prime's new, tougher attitude. "The eons have taught you nothing Prime! Decepticons never surrender!" With that a fully charged blast emanated from the mouth of Megatron's fusion cannon and sped toward the Autobot Commander.

Prime dove out of its path and both armies began blasting away at each other. Razorclaw leapt away from the other Decepticons and called out to the three other Predacons that were standing near him. "With me, Predacons!"

As the four Predacons ran for the cover of a large stone jutting out of the earth, the fifth member of the team swooped over the battlefield and joined them. Megatron watched in rage as they fled from their comrades. The Decepticon Commander raised his communicator to his mouth and howled into it. "RAZORCLAW, YOU AND THE OTHER MONGRELS ARE TO RETURN AT ONCE! DO YOU NOT SEE THE BATTLE BEING WAGED BY YOUR FELLOW DECEPTICONS, COWARD!?!"

Razorclaw watched the falcon transform into Divebomb and landed in front of him before responding to Megatron's insulting question. "We are fully cognizant of the battle being waged, Megatron. In fact, we 'mongrels' are about to win it for you." Razorclaw jerked his wrist away from his face and addressed his team. "I am aware that what I am about to command of you is a violation of Shockwave's orders, but given the current situation, we have no other alternative short of allowing the Autobots to permanently sever our link to Cyberton. Without this link, our brethren on the home world starve, while the Autobots will continue to receive energy from Earth. The war will degenerate into one of attrition, which we would surely lose without this planet's resources. So, because of this, I order you to combine with me. NOW!"

With that, the Predacon Commander leapt high into the air above his teammates. While not completely convinced that they should be doing this, Headstrong and Tantrum complied with the order and quickly transformed to beast modes. They each then shifted further by dropping to their posteriors, rotating their animal heads, dropping the heads so that they ran perpendicular to their backs, tucked their beast legs into their torsos, and flipped out the lower portions of their animal backs to reveal dual cannons mounted on metal feet that slid under their seated hindquarters.

Razorclaw started shifting shape as well as he began descending. His large lower legs flipped back over his thighs, and his waist rotated around so that the rear of his lower body faced forward, his waist now adorned by a black and gold metallic crest that rested just below the black lion's mane on his chest. His forearms retracted into his large upper arms, which locked into place at the sides of his torso.

Divebomb and Rampage jumped to either side of Razorclaw, and like their teammates, each of them started shifting shape. Once airborne, they both flipped their lower legs over their thighs, retracted their forearms into their upper arms, and the upper arms slid into their torsos. The wings, which adorned Divebomb in both his robot and beast modes suddenly detached and repositioned themselves behind Razorclaw. Large, spiked, metal fists flipped out from the backs of both Rampage and Divebomb, and using a thick metal rod, pivoted down toward their legs. As the fists made their way down, the waists of both Predacons swiveled one hundred eighty degrees around. Upon completing the rotation, the metal rods connecting the fists to the waists of the two Predacons latched in between their legs so that the fists were locked into place at the ends of each of the Predacon's knees. Rampage's robot head retracted into his body, and Divebomb's hawk head lowered to conceal his robotic face.

In perfect synchronization, the five Predacons and body-less wings linked together. As each connection was made, tiny nanites from the formerly separate bodies blended together, enhancing the connection. More nanites swarmed over Razorclaw's head, creating a larger, more ominous head. The newly formed head consisted of a large black helmet, a long, red optic, and a dark gray mouthpiece.

The battle paused briefly as the combatants on either side stopped to stare in wonder at the new ninety-foot warrior. The left leg consisted of the predominantly black Tantrum, while the right leg was made up of the dark gray Headstrong. The very top of both legs consisted of the dark tan fur of Razorclaw’s thick legs, and blended into a shiny black and gold metal waist crest. The bulk of the torso was covered in dark tan fur, at the center of which was the black mane and tan face of a lion. Both arms were black, as were the feathers of the giant wings in the back of the new gestalt. And each of the limbs was as massive as Superion’s torso. Razorclaw’s dual-barreled cannon had transformed as well, and was now an enormous X-ray cannon mounted on the left forearm, which had only moments ago been Divebomb. Both Autobot and Decepticon stared in nervous anticipation at the long red optic, not exactly sure as to how to proceed.

The new giant reached behind its body and pulled out a long, golden-colored broadsword and held it gently in its right hand. The biomechanical monster raised the sword high into the air and flung it forward, the blade imbedding itself into the ground three-dozen feet in front of Omega Supreme.

Still slightly confused by the newcomer, Optimus Prime decided it was time for action. “Defensor, Superion, take that thing out!” As one, the two Autobot gestalts charged the animalistic Decepticon, who calmly watched as they approached.

Suddenly, the new gestalt sprang into motion, leaping toward Superion and delivering a flying right sidekick into the Autobot’s chest. As the giant Aerialbot was sent flying back, the Decepticon’s tucked left arm shot out toward Defensor, and the giant gray palm slammed hard into the Protectobot’s forehead, sending him stumbling back. The strike was immediately followed by a spiked right punch into Defensor’s chest. The blue and white giant was thrown to the ground like his friend.

The combatants on the battlefield were all stunned by the exceptional speed of the newcomer, and though confused, Megatron was immediately elated. “YES! Excellent work. Keep at it!”

Only too happy to comply, the new gestalt started sprinting toward Omega Supreme, and sent a flying left sidekick into his chest. But unlike with Superion, Omega Supreme was able to remain on his feet, and was only sent stumbling back a few steps. But as the combined Predacon landed on his right foot, he gripped the handle of the sword that he had planted in the ground with his right hand, plucked it from the earth, and spun quickly around on his right foot. Omega Supreme could only watch as the spinning warrior swung around and sliced his facial armor with the broadsword. The armor held, but there was a deep scratch in it. Before the Guardian could comprehend what was happening, the new warrior’s initial swing was converted into a second swing, which arced downward and then forward and up, and sent the sword slicing under Omega Supreme’s left arm and into the left side of his torso.

Again, the armor held, but Omega Supreme was sent stumbling backward again and fell to the ground, his right arm catching his fall. By this point Superion had gotten back to his feet and was heading toward the fur and metal covered Decepticon. Though having a nearly featureless face, the new giant seemed to project a feeling of amusement. Planting his sword back into the ground, the new robot stood and waited for the Aerialbot to come to him. Once close enough, Superion threw a left jab, which the Decepticon easily swatted out of the way. The jab was followed by a right cross, which was caught in the Decepticon’s massive left hand. The giant newcomer shook his head and emitted an evil laugh at the Autobot before laying the eighty-two and a half foot Superion out with a right cross of his own. Superion hit the ground hard, and didn’t move.

Then a charging Defensor caught the new gestalt off guard. The two fell to the ground, the Protectobot still clinging to the giant. The Decepticon sent a powerful right elbow into Defensor’s side, causing the Autobot to grunt and flinch in pain, but not to release his grasp. The Predacon then planted his left palm on the ground, arched up so that only his left hand and feet were touching the ground, and then, still grasped by Defensor, started ‘walking’ around in a circular motion while wedging his right thumb under Defensor’s clasped hands. As the Predacon made his way around, Defensor’s grasp was finally broken and the winged warrior sprung away from him.

Defensor looked up to see his opponent lunging back at him, not longer in a playful mood. The massive spiked fists rained down on Defensor’s head, and in seconds five unconscious Protectobots littered the ground. The new warrior leaned back victoriously and let out a roar that was more feral than anything heard in nature.

A blast in the center of his winged back got his attention, and he turned to see which fool had dared to fire on him. He was pleased to see the Autobot Commander, Optimus Prime, standing there holding his recently fired rifle. “You’re dead Prime!” The gestalt started toward the red Autobot, but stopped as he sensed something behind him. He turned, but it was too late. A giant orange and gray claw slammed into his face and sent him skipping over the ground.

Megatron, who had been overwhelmed with both surprise and joy, was suddenly forced to realize that victory was most definitely not assured. Fortunately he had noticed that the Stunticons had started stirring. “Stunticons, get off your lazy bumpers and re-combine!”

Motormaster looked up from his kneeling position and grunted at Megatron. He then turned back to his team and addressed them. “You heard him ladies, MERGE!” Reluctantly, the other four Stunticons shifted shape and re-linked to Motormaster. The re-formed Menasor moved gingerly at first, but was soon charging on a reawakening Superion.

Superion looked up just as a barrage of purple fists came slamming down on him. A moment later the five conscious, but heavily damaged Aerialbots were scrambling to get away from the Stunticon giant. Prime sent some shots to get Menasor’s attention, and Silverbolt led his team away from the gestalt.

The new winged gestalt had shaken off the dizziness from the punch and gotten back to his feet long before Omega Supreme could reach him. As the Guardian charged at him, the Predacon fired a series of shots from his arm-mounted cannon at Omega Supreme’s head. No real damage was inflicted, but the desired goal, distraction, was achieved. Thrusters hidden under the feathers of his wings sent the Predacon into the air and somersaulting over the Guardian. Before he could react, a left thrust kick into his back combined with his already enormous momentum and sent Omega Supreme face first into the ground.

“Menasor, free Soundwave, Hook, Mixmaster and Scrapper from Prime’s trailer!” Megatron’s voice thundered over the landscape, and the Stunticon giant started marching toward Prime’s trailer, unimpeded by the multiple shots from the many Autobots trying to defend it. Menasor gripped the forty-eight foot trailer with his right hand and lifted it into the air. With his left hand, the Stunticon tore the end off of the bottom of the trailer and the four Decepticon prisoners came pouring out. “Well done Menasor, now go back to crushing Autobots!” Menasor smiled and started hunting his enemies while Ravage, Buzzsaw, Kickback and Shrapnel darted in and rescued the bound prisoners.

Prime looked over the battlefield, and sadly marveled at how the tide had turned against him. While Omega Supreme’s strength and durability were still far greater than this new gestalt’s, his reflexes were pitifully slow in comparison. The reflexes of most Autobot ground racers were slow in comparison to this new monster. And even if Omega Supreme could get the better of this new foe, without Defensor or Superion, Menasor would rout the other Autobots and make them easy pickings for Megatron’s fusion cannon. Even Jetfire’s aerial attacks were not having a big enough effect to counter the Decepticon ground superiority. It was time for Prime to accept that this great and final assault would end in defeat. “Autobots retreat!”

The Autobots gathered their wounded and fell back, the few functioning fliers transporting the injured to a position several miles north, and then heading back for more. In a few minutes all but Prime, the Dinobots and Omega Supreme were left, and as the smaller Autobots laid cover fire, Omega Supreme transformed as quickly as he could, let them board, and took off.

Megatron looked over his battered forces. Though there were many wounded, none were fatally so. He then looked to his newest warrior, one whose existence had not been known to him. They had stood at the edge of defeat and this enormous warrior had been the only thing to pull them back. “What is your designation, gestalt?”

The giant warrior looked down to the Decepticon Commander. “I am PredaKing.” As PredaKing identified himself, Menasor started approaching him. Almost faster than an optic could catch, PredaKing had twisted, raised his left arm, and had his cannon barrel pointed straight at the Stunticon giant’s face. PredaKing immediately lowered his weapon, but the point was made; he possessed a combination of strength and speed unprecedented on both Earth and Cybertron.

As the tension eased Megatron addressed PredaKing once again. “Disengage so that I may speak with Razorclaw.” The Predacon giant complied and a moment later Razorclaw was approaching the Decepticon Commander. Megatron smiled, but there was definitely some anger behind the smile. “I must commend you and your team on an amazing display of combat skill and physical excellence. But I must inquire as to why I WAS NOT AWARE OF PREDAKING’S EXISTENCE!?! WHAT POSESSED SHOCKWAVE AND YOU NOT TO INFORM ME OF THIS ASSET!!??!!”

Razorclaw lowered his head in submission and replied. “I’m sorry Lord Megatron, but Shockwave felt that it would be best if PredaKing were revealed to you with the modified Tryptic battle station. It was to be a grand presentation of your new war machine. Perhaps it was not the wisest of decisions, but both Shockwave and I felt that it may help restore some of his standing in your optics. Please forgive us.”

Megatron glared, but his anger slowly ebbed away, and was replaced by the realization that he now possessed the most perfect weapon the war had yet seen. “I will let this one transgression slide. But I am to be kept informed of any and all acquisitions that MY army acquires. Is that understood?”

“Yes Lord Megatron.”

Unseen by all present, a lens buried in a nearby hill several days before was capturing the events of the day and transmitting the sounds and images to a small bunker hundreds of miles away. The bunker was adorned with an assortment of electronics, both human and Cybertronian, and laid out in a seemingly unkempt, yet oddly efficient manner. In front of a large screen displaying the images being transmitted from the Baja California Peninsula sat a winged gray, red and blue warrior. “Grand presentation my hindquarters. What exactly is ‘Mr. Personality’ up too?” A light chuckling was emitted. “This is starting to get interesting.”

 

Also updated the tech specs - Jazz and Omega Supreme (bottom of page two) and the Constructicons and Stunticons (top of page three).

 

Awesome job man, truly amazing. PredaKing rocks just as much as he should, amazing. I eagerly look forward to your next installment!