Before I start with the actual story, I wanted to post a list of events that lead up to my stories in chronological order. I've been meaning to do this since I posted 'Requiem' and I'm finally going to take the time to write it all out. Most of my history is based on the G1 cartoon, but I have included some aspects from the marvel comic book as well. I said in a post in 'Requiem' that the Dinobots were much more like their comic versions (slightly smarter and badass), however they had the same origin that their cartoon counterparts did. Also, during Season 3 at some point, the events of the Headmasters comic book series takes place. I have completely thrown out some of the things that happened in Season 3 and Rebirth (why? Because I can ). Here's the list: -Beast Wars -Transformers Season 1 -Transformers Season 2 -Transformers: The Movie -Most of Season 3, excluding Dark Awakening, ROOP, and Call of the Primitives.* -Years of Peace, some Autobots leave Cybertron to colonize on Zoltess while maximal process is being initiated. Decepticons remain on Charr. -Beast Machines -More Years of Peace, Autobots return to Cybertron to cohabitate with Maximals. Dinobots stay on Zoltess resulting in bad blood between them and the Autobots. -More Years of Peace. -Transformers: Requiem -Transformers: Resurrection -Transformers: Retribution *In my storyline, I excluded Call of the Primitives so that Unicron's origin could be that of a dark God, not a weapon created by a monkey. Unicron will not make an appearence in any of of my Fan fics, however he will be mentioned briefly in reference to his status as a deity. I excluded Dark Awakening so that I could keep the mausoleum intact, so Ironhide, Prowl and the rest could be revived. It's not mentioned in my stories, but thats how it happened. Optimus Prime was never brought to life after his battle with megatron in TFTM. The only time he was brought back t life was in my last fan fic, Transformers: Resurrection. Also, I know it might be considered Blasphemy by some, but the maximals are close the same size as the Autobots in Robot mode. They shrink down to the size they are in Beast Wars when they transform, but in my ******ed imagnation they are close to the same size in Robot mode. Sorry if this pisses anyone off. Thats the basic timeline. Hope it all makes a little more sense. For those of you who would like to read the story from the beginning, here are links to Requiem and Resurrection And now, the story begins
Transformers: Retribution Days passed on Cybertron and activity finally began to stir about. New Iacon had been evacuated save for but a few, but the surrounding cities still remained for the most part. The neighboring city, Atros, had been all but demolished in the attack by the Alpha Cybertronian Empire. Rescue crews had been dispatched from Pentrax, sister city to New Iacon, in hopes some survivors could be found and tended to. A duo of Autobots, one bright red and the other a light green color were sent past Atros to New Iacon in order to inspect the true amount of damage done in the wake of the unexpected attack. The road between the two cities was all but travelable, yet the two stayed their course. They turned a ragged corner and the red one noticed a shelter of sorts had been erected off to the right hand side. Curious, she brought it to her companion’s attention. “Moonracer, hold up! Let’s check this out.” “Come on Firestar, it’s probably nothing. Our orders are to check out New Iacon, not peek into every nook and cranny on our way!” “Trust me.” Firestar veered off the road and headed toward the shelter, followed closely by Moonracer. As they approached they noticed a dark blue Autobot in a sitting position outside the shelter, waving his arms frantically. The two fembots transformed and ran to the Autobot. “When you’re right you’re right.” Firestar said sarcastically. “Save it, alright?” Moonracer added. The Autobot seemed to be suffering from heavy damage to his legs and abdomen area, as well as having suffered severe energon loss and seemed to be in a lethargic trance. He looked up at the two of them with dim optics that flickered. Moonracer stooped down and put an arm around his shoulder. “Can you communicate? What’s your name?” “My—my name…is *zzzzt* K-Kickstart.” He looked behind him into the shelter, which was much deeper then they had suspected at a first glance. He pointed into it. “Stratica is in *zzzzt* side s-shelter.” Firestar nodded and ducked down to enter the shelter. Below lay a young female Autobot, in much better shape then the male outside, but it was apparent her energon reserves were used up. Firestar slowly moved downwards towards her. Stratica weakly looked up. Firestar put a finger to her lips. “Shhhh. It’s alright. I’m here to help you.” Soon she had the younger fembot flung across her shoulders and she was moving her out of the shelter. Moonstar helper her friend move Stratica next to Kickstart and she quickly transformed into her transport mode. Firestar gingerly helped Stratica into the back of Moonracer, and tended to Kickstart. After they were safely in the transport portion of Moonracer’s vehicle mode, Firestar also transformed. “Looks like we’ll have to check out Iacon another time.” She said as she accelerated back towards the road. * * * The scenery on Earth was perfect. It was mid Spring, there was green grass all about and the trees were in full bloom. A light breeze kept the climate cool. Perfect. It was the calm before the storm…and he knew it. He didn’t know what brought him here, to the top of this hilly area. Some peace and quiet he supposed. Ever since he was resurrected he had seen nothing but non-stop preparation for the coming war against the Alpha Cybertronian Empire. He knew he needed to attend to a myriad of security details, but he needed to take in this moment. Red Alert could handle himself anyway. Kup sat back and enjoyed the cool breeze flowing over his armor. He hadn’t felt this…young…in several millennia. He hardly had any care in the world. There was one nagging feeling in his spark however. He had searched the ranks for any sign of Kickstart for the past three days. None who were present for the evacuation of New Iacon had any idea as to his whereabouts. His comm. link buzzed and he answered. “Kup, I am getting overloaded here…or was your plan for me to do all of this alone!” Red Alert’s frantic voice came over the link. “Settle down Red.” He replied, “I’ll be there shortly.” Disgusted, he switched off his comm. link before Red Alert could reply. He sighed and stood up, taking in the view one last time. He hoped the distant mountains were still standing after the Alpha Cybertronian Empire arrived. Optimus Prime was confident the combined forces of the EDC and their own army could keep the ship far enough at bay to lead the enemy away from Earth but Kup was not convinced. Prime was wise and he would follow him to the end of the Universe and back if need be, however Optimus had not seen what the Alpha Cybertronians were capable of…even in small battalions. Kup shook his head and transformed, roaring across the grass back towards the EDC headquarters where his duty called. * * * Kickstart attempted to keep his optics focused, but they repeatedly went in and out of focus. He felt the bouncing of the rough road beneath them and nothing but vivid darkness above him. He had never met Firestar or Moonracer before yet he knew he could trust them. Something about them seemed to keep his spark calm. He turned his head and felt around for Stratica to make sure she was still with him. He had completely shunned her during their training program and she still risked her life to save his. He swore to himself he would repay her for this. A great deal of time passed and he realized the road was much more smooth and lights could be seen ahead. He felt their pace decreasing and overheard Firestar talking to Moonracer. “Pentrax is just up ahead.” “Good, I’m going to need a complete chassis overhaul after the path we’ve just traveled on.” “First thing’s first Moonracer…we need to take care of Kickstart and Stratica.” “What exactly should we do with them?” “We take them to the repair bay. I’m sure Spire can repair them.” “That goes without saying Firestar…but what should we do with them after they are repaired.” “You take them to Spire…I’ll alert Elita-1.”
Chapter Two Kickstart awoke in a medic bay. He felt fresh energon being pumped into his system with cables attached all over his body. He still felt weak, but he was functional. He lifted his head up slightly and looked around to see any sign of Stratica. When there was no sign of her he felt alone and uncomfortable. The door to the bay whooshed open, and a tall white and purple fembot walked in. “Well hello there!” she gushed genuinely. “Good to see you awake!” “Where am I…” he slurred and gave the room another cursory evaluation. “You’re in Pentrax. Two of our scouts found you and your companion and brought you back here for medical attention.” Kickstart perked up at the mention of his ‘companion’. “Stratica! Where is she?” “She is fine.” The white Autobot chuckled. “She is in the next room. She’s awake and concerned about you.” Kickstart sighed in relief and laid his head back down on the gurney. The fembot smiled and turned to exit the bay. “Wait.” Kickstart said. “What’s your name?” “I am Spire, the chief medical engineer of Pentrax.” “And you are the one who saved me?” “I didn’t save you…I give that credit to Moonracer and Firestar…but I did restore your decimated circuits and repaired your injuries.” “Then I owe you all my services.” Spire chuckled again and smiled as she exited the bay. “Just concentrate on recovering.” Kickstart nodded and reciprocated with a smile of his own. He relaxed and went into a comfortable rest cycle. * * * “I must commend you and Moonracer for a job well done. Those two would surely not have survived another day in their condition had you not found them when you did.” “Thank you Elita.” Firestar nodded. “Do you still wish for us to travel to New Iacon and search for other survivors?” “Not at this time. We must concentrate on reaching Prowl and giving his Autobots aid should they need it.” “Of course, Elita.” “Check in with Moonracer, then report back to me. I will be with Recon in the communication tower.” “At once, Elita. Are there any more orders?” “No, Firestar. Be sure to report back to me as soon as the repairs on Moonracer have finished.” Firestar saluted her commander and walked out of the chamber. Elita stood from her position in front of her main monitor and also turned to exit. Before she did so she hesitated, and turned back to her monitor. Elita depressed a button on the console and the picture from Optimus Prime’s history file came up on the screen. “I feel you, stronger then ever, Orion. I know you have returned.” After staring at Prime’s visage for a few more moments she erased the screen and hastily exited the chamber. * * * “Can’t this pile of scrap metal travel any faster?” Hotcase screamed, feeling a bit of cabin fever. “Just keep your diodes connected.” Junkyard snapped. “We haven’t been traveling for that long. Just sit down and shut up.” The Decepticon entourage from Charr had to deal with what ships were left after the brutal attack from Straxus and Thunderwing days earlier. Quick repairs to troops and equipment was made and they were on their way, by order of their new leader, Xenotron, to retake their home planet Cybertron. Only six ships were salvageable, and the Decepticons onboard were cramped and extremely on edge. Hotcase was one of those who would rather have spent time repairing the other ships then set out on the course they had. His temper flared. “I’m sick of you and this whole ‘mission’ Junkyard!” He yelled. “If your optics weren’t clouded by your blind devotion to Xenon, you’d see it too!” Junkyard activated the autopilot and spun around, slamming his fish into Hotcase so fast none of those present knew what exactly was going on. “Don’t tell me my business, Hotcase! I will rip you apart and use your head module as shin guards!” Hotcase kept his mouth shut, horrified at the hulking Junkyard towering above him. He scurried backward until he came up against a bulkhead. Junkyard kept his icy stare fixated on Hotcase for a few minutes to emphasize his words and returned to his seat. “That was brilliant.” Hotcase heard in his head. “Silence fleshling.” He thought. “Or what?” Vander chortled. “It’s not like you can survive without your head! You’d be fulfilling Junkyard’s threat on your own!” “Now is not the time…” Hotcase thought again. He looked around him and saw the optics of many Decepticons staring at him. He glared at Junkyard for embarrassing him in front of his peers. Hotcase stood up and shoved his way through the metal bodies to exit the crowded cabin. “Where do you think you’re going?” Vander asked. “Anywhere but here.” Hotcase shoved aside more of his teammates and walked into the airlock, fastening the airtight door behind him. He raised his arm to open the airlock, but his arm froze thanks to Vander’s intervention. “What are you doing, you mechanical moron? Do you think you’d survive out there?” “Listen bonebag…take control of my arm one more time, and I’ll self destruct just to be rid of you and your uselessness. I can handle myself out there for a while until my power runs out. There’s a planet right there. We’ll make a short stop to refuel and I’ll come up with a game plan from there.” “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.” Vander snorted sarcastically. “Let go of my arm.” Hotcase demanded. When Vander refused, Hotcase spun around with his other arm, shattering the airlock controls and opening the door. He quickly transformed as the ship’s atmosphere and artificial gravity was sucked out into space. He sped from the entourage and headed towards a small gray planet with a laugh. Junkyard was still at the helm when a light lit up on his console. It signified the airlock had been breached. He looked out the porthole to his left and saw Hotcase speeding away from the ship. He slammed his fist into the console. “Ultimate Warrior curse his hide!” He turned around and pointed at Araknyd. “You! Take the Disgusticons and bring him back!” Araknyd saluted and replied in his repulsive voice. “Of course, Junkyard. We shall not fail.” Araknyd turned and nodded to his troops. The five of them exited the cabin and boarded a tiny escape vessel located in the rear of the ship. Junkyard watched the vessel speed towards the planet through his porthole and shook his head. “This is way too much trouble…”
Chapter Three “Try again, Recon. Prowl and the other Autobots have to be out there somewhere.” “I’m sorry Elita…I can’t get any sort of signal from them. There seems to be some sort of radio disturbance covering Cybertron.” “So you’re saying our radios have been disabled?” “Not entirely. We can communicate across the planet…but it’s almost as if a blanket has been spread across Cybertron, preventing us from reaching any outside sources.” “Perfect, just perfect.” The door to the communication tower slid open, making way for Moonracer, Firestar and Chromia to enter. They stopped and saluted. Elita-1 returned the salute and thanked them for coming. “Are you fully functional, Moonracer?” “Of course. “ Moonracer shrugged, “It was only a bent chassis. “Only a bent chassis.” Elita smiled. “You’re one of the best Moonracer.” Elita then went straight to business. “It seems as though we have no way of contacting any sourses outside Cybertron.” She grimly announced. “Recon has been hard at work for a day now, and she cannot reach Prowl with the current wavelength disturbance over Cybertron.” “The attackers’ doing?” Chromia asked. “We can only assume so.” “Then what are we going to do to find them?” Firestar chimed in. “It seems as though we will have to set out on our own to track them down.” Elita sighed. “We’re with you Elita, no matter what your decision is. You know that.” Chromia sternly said. Elita nodded. “I do know and appreciate it, Chromia. We must set out immediately then. Form a search crew and meet me at the docking bay in eighteen thousand astro seconds. I’ll have decided our course between now and when we meet again.” “Yes! Moonracer shouted in joy.” She quickly regained her composure and joined the other two in salute. After they left the tower, Recon expressed her concern. “Are you sure this is wise, Elita? Atros was our source of Energon…and it is 97% decimated.” “It’s our only hope to finding our friends, Recon. Now prepare to leave.” “Leave?” “Yes…you’re coming with us of course. A communications expert with a derelict communications tower just won’t do.” Recon nodded, hiding her excitement. “Yes, commander!” The two exited the tower and did not notice the six red blips come to life on the radar screen signifying unexpected guests… * * * Kickstart was led around the passages of the medic hall by Spire in an attempt to get him used to his new legs she had installed. Many of the bays were full with patients that had poured in after the attack by the Alpha Cybertronian Empire. Some had been treated for minor injuries and were preparing to leave and return to their daily activities, but the vast majority of them were gravely injured and required extended stays. “Survivors from Atros.” Spire said solemnly. Kickstart looked into one of the rooms and saw a small gurney with a very small body laying on it. He looked questioningly toward Spire, who gave him a nod to enter. Kickstart cautiously entered the room and was taken aback by what he saw. On the gurney was a small Autobot child, barely off the assembly line. He was hooked up to several machines, one constantly pumping Energon into his system, and others jolting his circuitry with electrical shocks and other unspeakable things for a being this small. The little boy looked up at his visitor. His light blue optics shone brightly. “Hiya, mister! My name is Proton, are you here to visit me?” Kickstart felt a heavy surge of pity for the small Autobot before him, and he sat down next to the gurney. “You bet I am.” He choked out. Spire looked on. “Wow, thanks! I haven’t seen anyone I know yet…hey!” Proton’s optics lit up even more as he noticed the new Autobot insignia on Kickstart’s right shoulder signifying his military service. “Are you a soldier?” Kickstart nodded. “Yes I am.” “Wow, I never met a soldier before…not many of you come to Atros…” Kickstart put the little boy’s hand in his. “Then I’m glad I could meet you here.” “I’m getting ready to get out of the medical bay soon, isn’t that right nurse Spire?” Kickstart looked to Spire who smiled, tilting her head to the side. She never replied, signifying to Kickstart what Proton’s true status was. He looked back down to the little boy. “Just don’t rush things, Proton…you don’t want to make things worse do you?” “No sir!” Proton said, saluting. Proton suddenly started coughing and convulsing. Kickstart let go of his hand as Spire ran to the machinery the boy was hooked up to, and turned a dial. The electrical static that started to emanate from Proton’s body indicated the charge being sent into him was enormous. Kickstart watched helplessly as Spire turned to the small body behind her and sent a pure stream of energon straight into the boy’s power core. Proton settled down and his optics dulled slightly. “Come now…Proton needs his rest.” Spire urged. Kickstart looked down by the gurney and noticed a small orb-like toy that had dropped during Proton’s fit. He scooped it up and placed it in the nook of the boy’s arm. Kickstart turned and started to walk out of the room. He looked at Proton one last time before he exited and saw the small Autobot was saluting him once again. Kickstart returned the salute and left the room. Once out of sight he dropped to his knees. He had not the capacity to shed tears, but his face was etched with grief nonetheless. Spire placed a hand on his shoulder. “What happened to him…” He asked guardedly, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. “He was found in the rubble of Atros.” Spire said with a soft voice. “His guardians were found nearby…there wasn’t enough of them left for any chance of resuscitation.” Kickstart buried his face in his hands. Spire knelt down next to him. “It’s alright.” She cooed. “As long as he’s here we can keep him stable.” “And if he leaves?” “He’ll die.” “What a life. To be confined to a medical bay.” “That is better then many others.” Spire stood back up and offered Kickstart a hand. He took it and gingerly stood up, his new legs aching at the knees. Spire tilted her head again and patted him on the shoulder. “Good then. Now let’s go check on your friend Stratica.” Kickstart started to follow her, but was startled by the nameplate he saw outside a sealed room. “Wait! I…know the occupant of this room!” He pressed the button to enter, but the door did not open. The doors appeared to be blast shielded and extremely thick. Kickstart looked to Spire who walked to his side. “Only those with special authorization can enter his room.” She whispered. “Besides…you really don’t want to go in there. He is not himself. Prowl sent him here for a reason. Now please, let’s go back to your bay.” Kickstart lingered a moment, but did as Spire asked. The corridor grew quiet once again except for the muffled noises coming from the sealed door behind the nameplate bearing the name ‘Perceptor’. €™.
Chapter Four Flashback: The explosion ripped through his body as he plummeted from his craft. His optic watched as the accursed Autobot fell to the earth as well. Through his pain he still felt joy that the enemy would most likely share his fate. He fell into a gorge below and his body slammed into the rocky ground, rubble rained down upon him burying his impact point. Parts of him were still on fire and his agony was incredible. He would not cry out in pain however. It was illogical to do so. He shut down his systems one by one. He felt anger that the Autobots had stolen the Matrix from him that which he had stolen from them rightfully. Logic dictated his escape was utter simplicity. Logic, it seemed had betrayed him. As his last program shut down, his last memory was that of revenge against Galvatron. Then the world went black and Shockwave began his long wait. * * * Hotcase slowed down slightly as he hit the planet’s outer atmosphere. The world below him was a dull gray from space and the coloring didn’t change that much upon a closer inspection either. The surface was a rocky landscape full of crumbling monuments and constructs. It reminded him of Charr. Hotcase swooped down and transformed just before he touched the ground. His air intake valves inhaled the cool atmosphere. “Ahhhh…It’s no Cybertron or Charr, but it will do nicely.” “Are you malfunctioning?” came Vander’s voice in his head. “Shut up. I swear I’ll self destruct before I deal with your yammering for eternity.” “Fine, fine. Now what’s your plan oh wise one?” “Easy. We find a source of energy and refuel. I thought I’d want to be on my way, but on second thought maybe I’ll just hole out here for awhile.” Vander did not argue but felt contempt for his partner. Hotcase began to explore his new home and came to rest on a pillar to take in the scenery. “Look at the bright side Vander…it doesn’t look like there are any life forms here to disturb us!” In the distance, a smoke cloud billowed skyward in defiance of Hotcase’s statement. Vander pointed it out, and contrary to what he thought Hotcase’s reaction would be, the Decepticon leaped from the pillar and transformed. He took flight in the direction of the smoke. The trip was very brief thanks to the headmaster jet’s speed, and soon they were looking down at a village nestled against a cliff side. Fires burned collectively outside huts and in the dim lighting, the natives could be seen milling about a general center space where a larger fire was raging in a giant pit. Hotcase swooped in for a closer look. The planet’s inhabitants looked as though they were barely evolved…green skin covered their muscular bodies. Pointed ears adorned their bald heads and they were draped with strange animal hides as clothing. Their eyes appeared to be a piercing red, giving Vander a shiver. “Relax fleshling. Regain your demeanor. We’re about to be worshipped!” Before Vander could utter a protest, Hotcase performed a nosedive into the raging fire and burst out the other side. The natives ran for cover, yelling words in their native tongue. Hotcase transformed, Vander taking his place as his head. He spread out his arms and glared down at the small aliens cowering around him. “I am Hotcase…your new God!” The aliens began to chatter. A larger one among them stood, pointing at Hotcase. He snorted something to a group of males around him. They drew their weapons and charged. Hotcase sneered and took a defensive stance. “Good…I was hoping you’d choose the hard way.” * * * The Desgusticon aptly named Vermin sniffed the base of the pillar Hotcase was sitting upon mere minutes earlier and snorted. He transformed into his robot mode from his rat alternate mode, and ran to his commander. “Araknyd, the defector was here…not long ago!” “Excellent…” Araknyd wheezed. “Nightflier…seek out the traitor and report back to me immediately!” Nightflier nodded and took to the air, transforming into his bat mode. Araknyd watched his soldier fly into the distance. He turned back to Vermin. “Radio Slimetrail and Snakebite. They are to abandon their searches and return here at once.” “Yes sir! Any other orders?” “Yes.” Araknyd sputtered. “Tell them to prepare to dismantle our quarry on sight.” * * * Another native messily exploded as Hotcase fought his one-sided battle. Most of the aliens in the upstart group had fallen, save for three. The instigator still survived, and it seemed he was shouting encouragements to his brothers. Hotcase disposed of another native and stopped. “You know, you could just give up and I might spare your pitiful existence.” It had grown darker since he arrived at the village so when the sets of lights he took to be spotlights were fixed upon him he was taken aback. “You savages have more technology then I gave you credit for.” He muttered to himself. “Something tells me the natives have nothing to do with this…” Vander said as the lights got closer and closer. “Incoming!” he shouted to Hotcase as the sound of an engine revving was audible and the lights came dangerously close. Hotcase leaped out of harm’s way just as a bright yellow sports car zoomed past him and skidded as it turned a corner, ready for another pass. The other sets of lights were now coming into the commonplace. The Yellow car screeched to a halt as the other vehicles took their place to surround him. He shielded his optics, waiting for the inevitable charge. In place on an attack, he heard a strong voice call out for a cease and desist. The lights went out and with the help of the fire still burning dimly, he saw five Cybertronian forms surrounding him. They transformed one by one and leveled their firearms at him. There was the yellow car that had rushed him, then a larger white and blue one with a laser-pistol like appendage to contradict his other hand, followed by a blue car the same size as the yellow one. An orange crane-like form and a white construction vehicle rounded out the odd group. His optics focused a little better and on the yellow one’s shoulder he saw very clearly…an Autobot insignia. A tall, grayish Autobot walked into the circle from the darkness beyond. “Identify yourself intruder.” He said. Hotcase noticed a large red Cybertronian trailer truck outside the circle as the flames started to regain their glow. He did not speak. He knew he was outnumbered and Vander prompted him to hold off on any escape attempts before they knew what they were up against. “Do you lack a vocalizer?” The gray one asked. The sound of his voice relayed his vast intelligence. When Hotcase refused to answer the gray Autobot turned to the yellow one to his left. “Hot Shot…take him and load him into Overload’s trailer. We’ll see if he will cooperate at a later time.” * * * Nightflier hovered overhead, concealed by the darkness. He took the situation in and chose wisely to stay out of the skirmish. As he watched the yellow Autobot and the larger blue and white one he heard called Radar load Hotcase into the red truck’s trailer, he decided he had seen enough. He whirled around and headed back to the rendezvous point to report. At his destination, the other Disgusticons stood ready to set out for an attack. Nightflier transformed and landed in front of Araknyd. “Sir! There are Autobots here…they took Hotcase captive!” The other three uttered grunts of disgust. Slimetrail suggested they rush in and kill the Autobots immediately. “No…” Araknyd ordered. “We will wait until the time is right. The Autobots will fall by our hand…and the traitor Hotcase will be delivered back to Junkyard…whole or in pieces!” The Disgusticons roared their approval. “Disgusticons, transform…we stalk prey tonight!” * * * Stratica awoke from her well-deserved rest cycle feeling like a new Autobot. Fully recharged and refreshed, she sat up and noticed Kickstart leaning against the far wall of her room. He noticed she was awake and limped to her gurney. “Kickstart, I’m so relieved you’re alright!” “As alright as I can be.” He smirked, rubbing his knee joint. “How are you doing?” “I feel like I just rolled off the assembly line!” she said, barely containing her excitement. “Good.” Kickstart signed, “Because we have an assignment. “What?” Stratica asked, confused. “Elita-1, the commander of the Autobots of Pentrax has ordered for a shuttle to be dispatched to search for Prowl and the inhabitants of New Iacon. We’re to accompany them.” Stratica looked at Kickstart’s new legs. “Are you going to make it?” “Yes. I’m stiff now…but the joints will work themselves out.” “Good. Now then, when do we leave?” “As soon as you’re ready.” “Then tell them to load the ship. I’m ready for anything.”
Chapter Five Chromia inspected the crew loading their shuttle intently. Elita-1 placed her in second command of this mission, and she wanted to make sure she lived up to her commander’s expectations. As soon as the bare minimum amount of energon was loaded, the crew closed the hatch and made room for the ship fueling teams to do their job. Still watching the workers closely, Chromia hailed Elita-1 on the comm.-link. “All preparations are nearing completion. The shuttle is nearly ready for takeoff.” “Excellent work, Chromia. I’ll send out the signal beacon to the team members to make ready as soon as possible. Elita-1 Out.” Chromia switched off her link and watched as the fuelers made their final checks, gathered their things and left. Not long after, the team members began to arrive and boarded the shuttle. Most were fembots, but a handful of male Autobots were also included. She ordered them to board the ship. Elita-1 would be joined them shortly and they would be on their way. Firestar and Moonracer walked into the bay and joined their old friend. “Elita is on her way.” Firestar stated. Chromia thanked her and returned to her duties. A solder named Voodoo walked in and saluted Chromia as she boarded the shuttle. Moonracer gave Firestar a sideways glance. When Voodoo was out of earshot, Moonracer cupped a hand and whispered to Firestar. “I didn’t know she was coming on this mission…she creeps me out.” “I know what you mean, but—“ “But,” Chromia cut in, “Elita felt Voodoo was an asset to this mission.” Firestar and Moonracer avoided an argument and stood rigid as Elita-1 entered the hangar. She walked to her three soldiers and nodded her approval. “Is everything ready for takeoff?” “Yes it is.” Chromia said matter-of-factly. “ “Good. Spire is on her way now with Kickstart and Stratica. As soon as they are on board we shall immediately leave Cybertron.” Elita-1 turned and walked up the boarding ramp. Moonracer and Firestar nodded, leaving Chromia to make her final inspection while they waited for their final three crew members to arrive. * * * On the surface of Badune, a massive, hideous robotic spider crawled silently across the landscape concealed in the cover of complete darkness. There was a light in the distance and small structures could be seen, shadows dancing on their metallic walls as the dim light flickered. Araknyd’s mandibles quivered and he sped his pace slightly, all eight legs working in succession in grace despite the apparent awkward metal components. He briefly considered radioing his Disgusticon teammates, however he wanted to obtain Hotcase alone, and not have to share any success with them. In no time whatsoever, he reached the edge of the tiny ‘city’ and swiftly climbed one of the metal structures to oversee where he exactly was. Below him, he saw two of the Autbots—a yellow one and a blue one—sitting around a photon light. He strained his audio receptors so he could hear their conversation: “So what do you think we’re gonna do with the Decepticon?” The blue one asked his friend. “Don’t know, don’t care. Max’ll know what to do.” “We’ve never dealt with real Decepticons before, Hot Shot…I—“ “He has, Detour. Just relax and enjoy a nice night.” The Blue Autobot took his cue and shut off his vocal net. He twiddled his thumbs nervously and looked out around them in the darkness. After he couldn’t take the stress anymore he leaned over and whispered to Hot Shot. “What if there are more Decepticons out there, ready to attack us and free their buddy?” Hot Shot slapped off Detour and stood up. “Well first off, they probably don’t care we have one of their own…they wouldn’t care if their own creator was held hostage…secondly, did you see any other Decepticons at that village? I sure didn’t. Overload and Armorhide searched the place. Just shut up before I turn your vocal net off…permanently!” Any other Decepticon would have grown tired of listening to the barely audible banter, but Araknyd listened with ease, his acute audio receptors picking up every word. It seemed to him these Autobots were simple, untrained fools who would fall before him with minimal effort. He crawled down the shadowed side of the structure and silently made his way around the visible edges of the fire. The blue Autobot’s back was to him now. It was all too easy…he crept up behind him and lifted his sharpened front legs, preparing to bring them down up the unwitting fool. Just as he prepared to do so, a sea of light flooded the area. The large red trailer truck revved its engine as Hot Shot and Detour spun around and saw the huge metallic spider behind them. Detour called out in surprise and pulled out of harm’s way by Hot Shot just as Araknyd’s legs came down and penetrated the ground. Overload fired his weaponry, but Araknyd was scurrying away into the shadows before the shells could impact. Hot Shot coughed from the smoke clogging his air intake valves. “Slaggit, Overload watch where you’re firing!” Overload shot out from his hiding place and bathed the structure Araknyd hurried towards with his floodlights. No sign of the spider was visible. Maintaining his light, Overload transformed into his robot mode, weapon at the ready. “He’s still here…I can sense him…” Detour pulled out his bayonet and stayed behind Hot Shot as Overload slowly panned the area with his lights. A spherical projectile came from nowhere, shattering one of the lights. The next thing Overload knew, a heavy body slammed against him from above, bringing him to the ground. A hissing sound came from just above his audio receptor. He looked up and saw energon-dripping mandibles ready to close on his face. Shots were fired and sparks rained off of the spider’s face as he was driven off of Overload. Araknyd once again scurried toward the shadows. The orange crane came out of another structure to inspect the noise. “Armorhide, the intruder is headed your way!” Hot Shot called out. Armorhide saw Araknyd and snapped into action. He dove on the enemy and did his best to hold him down. Detour and Hot Shot ran to his aid, but were met with Armorhide’s heavy body being thrown at him. Realizing he was outnumbered, Araknyd decided to abandon his hopes of glory, gather his Disgusticons together, and return to finish the Autobots as Repulsar. His eight legs worked like a well-tuned engine as he swiftly outran his pursuers. Overload slowed his pace and stopped entirely. He called out to the others to stop. “There’s no point in wasting energon chasing that thing…” he said, air intake valves heaving. “It’s too fast.” Hot Shot stopped at Overload’s side. “You think it’ll be back?” “I’m sure it will. And we’ll be ready.”
I like your writing style and that you give female transformers a bigger role. They were such interesting characters and were rarely featured. My only problem is, you're following a continuity, yet changing previous continuity. But this is a really good story so far, so I'll overlook that
Thanks for the encouragement, Golobulus. I also thought the female Autobots were very underused. They will be playing a big role throughout this fiction. I'll be the first to admit my continuity is confusing....I just hated some of the stuff that happened in Season three (my reasons are in the first post of this thread). I'm glad you can overlook it
Chapter Six Dusk was just setting in on Earth. It was a quiet evening, filled with the final sounds of life before their nights rest. Shattering the relative silence, an exit door opened wide on the side of EDC Headquarters. Sirens blaring, a group of emergency vehicles sped out to a town just past the mountains in the distance. Utilizing speed unheard of by earthen standards, the vehicles reached their destination in an amazing 3.6 minutes. It wasn’t fast enough. “Time’s up.” A gravelly yet compassionate voice said as the vehicles transformed into their robot modes. “Should an attack threaten this town, the civilians surely would perish.” “My apologies sir.” Prowl offered. “We’ll do it until it meets your standards. Inferno slammed down into a sitting position on the ground. “I don’t know if my systems can handle this stress…” he muttered as he held his shoulder joint. Red Alert piped up as well. “Optimus, with all due respect, we have gone over this drill a multitude of times now. I have more urgent thing to attend to!” “Back on your feet, soldiers!” Prowl ordered. “It is our concern should tragedy strike the area to evacuate this town. We need to get it right!” Grimlock stood nearby, just behind Optimus Prime. He voiced his opinion and, as always, it was tinged with contempt. “They right, this big waste of time. Alpha Cybertronians could attack us right now…we not get chance to save humans. More importantly, us left without leader if Optimus not at headquarters when attack come.” Optimus Prime nodded to the Dinobot Commander. “I value your stand on the issue, Grimlock, however we must uphold our standards and prepare to protect the humans at all cost. I will not allow our war to take more of their lives.” He turned back to the data console on his arm. “Besides, should I fall Megatron will be there to lead our forces against the Liege Maximo.” Gimlock outstretched his arms, throwing his head back. “Oh thank the almighty Primus Megatrin is here to save us!” He punctuated his statement with a forced, fake laugh. He leveled his head back to Optimus. “Me, Grimlock no trust Megatron. No matter what you say…he the same as him ever was. Megatron will kill us all if he get the chance to.” “That’s enough, Grimlock!” Prime shouted, bringing his gaze toward him. “Autobot, Decepticon…it means nothing now! Megatron realizes this…he fights with us.” “Maybe he does fight with us.” Grimlock said softly as he turned to leave. “For the moment.” Prime watched Grimlock leave for a moment then returned to the moment at hand. “Hot Spot, take the Protectobots and Ratchet to these coordinates. Prowl…scour the city with Siren and Stakeout until you get the signal from Inferno, Red Alert and Hosehead all fires are contained… He trailed off and closed his arm console. “Enough of this…you’ve done this drill enough. Prowl, take them back to EDC Headquarters.” Prowl saluted and gave the call for the emergency team to transform. As his Autobots sped off into the distance Prime was deep in thought. “Will anything I do truly save this planet from the horror we have unleashed upon it once again?” * * * Rather then the dusk that began on Earth, dawn crawled across the landscape of Badune. The Autobots did not get much of a rest cycle, thoughts of the mechanical spider filled their cerebral units and none wanted to venture out in the dark to search for it. Now that light filtered through the dense clouds above, their courage came back. Overload transformed, followed by Armorhide, Hot Shot, and Detour. Radar and Impactor had chosen to stay behind in case the mysterious creature returned to their base. They searched the surrounding area the entire morning, until the cloud cover parted signifying midday and the sweltering sun threatened to scorch their armor. “It’s time to go back…there’s nothing out here.” Overload concluded. “No, I have to find it!” Hot Shot fired back. Overload transformed and gave a more direct order to return to their camp. “You’re not my commanding officer!” Hot Shot shouted as he too transformed. Armorhide sighed, transformed and stood between the two, keeping each of them at arms length. “Enough of this slag…that monster is probably long gone by now…you two more then likely wounded it and it’s dying…now are you happy?” Overload calmed down. Hot Shot remained agitated but stood down. “I just have a bad feeling about it…that’s all.” “Alright then…” Overload said, “Can we go back to the camp?” The Autobots transformed and began to roll out back in the direction of their ‘base’. They were given momentary reprieve from the sun’s heat as the sky grew dark behind them. “Hmmm seems like a storm is comin’ in.” Armorhide mused. “Then why does it seem like the storm cloud is following us?” Overload said, concerned. Detour called out from the back of the crew. “That’s no storm cloud!” The shadow above them sped ahead of them and a massive object came from above, slamming into the ground in front of them. The Autobots’ tires squealed and dirt kicked up as they slammed on their brakes to avoid a collision. “Evasive action!” Overload yelled above the chaos. Repulsar wasted no time in initiating an attack as he sent streams of corrosive acid from vents located on either side of his head down towards the pests below. “Autobots are now slagged!” he bellowed. Overload transformed and dove out of the way as a stream of acid missed him by a hair’s breadth. Hot Shot also converted to his robot mode and stood near Overload to cover him. He fired his weapon at the giant, with minimal results other then to enrage him further. Hot Shot helped Overload to his feet and the two scurried away seconds before a giant fist permeated the ground where they had just been. Armorhide drove dangerously close to Repulsar’s foot and was struck as the giant took a step backwards. He rolled into his transformation, quickly getting up to his feet again and running a fair distance away. The crane-like appendage that was positioned over his right shoulder extended and folded out, revealing a large cannon. The fireblast that erupted gained the attention of Repulsar who took the energy dead center in his chest. He wavered for two or three steps, but shrugged off the effect of the blast. Armorhide froze as he saw their enemy start to plod in his direction. “Armorhide, move!” Overload bellowed. Repulsar was upon him in no time. He raised a mighty foot to squash the meddling Autobot below him, but the yellow flash to his right was able to reach Armorhide before tragedy could strike. Hot Shot slammed into Armorhide, who held onto his teammate’s hood tightly. “Thanks buddy.” “You can thank me by repairing the dent in my bumper you just made!” Hot Shot winced. Detour sped up to match Hot Shot’s speed as they rocketed back to their base of operations. All part of his plan, Overload watched as Repulsar momentarily forgot about him and took to the air to catch up to his escaping prey. He followed the odd menagerie and sighed with relief as he saw Hot Shot, Armorhide, and Detour pass the structures on the outskirts of the Autobot camp. Laserfire erupted from the closest structure, connecting with the monolith above them, however it was apparent the firepower was hardly scratching it. Repulsar landed in the middle of the camp, taking the firepower being thrown at him in stride. Radar and Impactor came out of the structure that was firing upon their intruder. Radar lifted his laser arm and fired continuous rounds as the monster bore down upon Hot Shot, Detour and Armorhide. Overload barreled into the clearing, transformed and set loose a volley of firepower as well. In to time whatsoever, the Autobots realized they were no match for Repulsar and retreated into an opening in the wall of a mountain that seemed to serve them as asylum in the past. Repulsar laughed and brought his fist back to break through the wall. As he struck what he thought to be brittle rock, his cried out in pain as the clang of dense metal filled his audio receptors. The mountain did indeed rain down around him, but what was underneath caught him completely off guard. A large Cybertronian structure gleamed as the sun hit it for the first time in many years. “Decepticon!” A voice rang out from somewhere inside the structure, “You have invaded a peaceful planet in which we do not tolerate violent actions. Leave this place and you will be spared.” Repulsar took a few steps back as he took in the stronghold in front of him. His optic flashed and displaying incredible speed for one of his size, he fired every weapon he could at the structure. The smoke cleared and Repulsar recoiled as he saw no damage had been done. “Very well.” The voice came again. Repulsar watched as the structure shifted and reconfigured. Hands appeared, as well as legs as the transforming Autobot blocked out the sun above the Decepticon gestalt. Now fully transformed, Repulsar only came up to his new opponent’s waist. Unused to this sort of intimidation, he bravely stood his ground although the Disgusticon components he was made up of screamed at him to flee. “You made your choice!” The Autobot’s deep voice echoed. “Now you will face…Fortress…Maximus!”
Chapter Seven Charr’s moniker was quite fitting for the desolate wasteland it called a surface. After the recent infighting between Starscream, and the now deceased Thunderwing and Straxus’ factions, the planet was a smoking wreck. The meager city the Charrian Decepticons had been able to build since Galvatron’s death now lay in ruins, the only means to identify the city was the shining towers of Trypticon. A small team of Decepticons had been left behind to stay with the Decepticon city and defend the planet should more enemies attack. Onslaught and his Combaticons were placed in charge of the rag tag group—both an impeccable idea and a detrimental one. Onslaught ran a tight group and would not tolerate failure, however those who were not a Combaticon soon nursed a grudge against him. Battletrap turned a corner on his trip around Trypticon’s outer walls in a huff. He stopped for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. “I already did a perimeter sweep…I took care of aerial and ground lookouts…at the same time! I’d like to see HIM do that!” His ranting to himself continued, but he spun around to return to give his report to Onslaught. It was fairly dark out, and he nearly tripped over a mass of metal as he turned the next corner. He kicked at it and realized it was a body. He knelt down and activated his infrared vision to make out who it was through the darkness. The body lay prostrate, face down. It appeared to be a seeker designate, and the conformation hit him like a ton of bricks as he flipped it over. “Starscream!” he shouted, stumbling back a few feet. Battletrap looked around him quickly to make sure there was no one to see him with the body. When he was satisfied that he was indeed alone, he dragged the shell to an opening in Trypticon’s outer wall. With a mighty heave, he shoved Starscream’s corpse into the opening and hurriedly started walking away. “No one has to know about this…” He thought to himself. “Let some other sucker take the fall for it.” He noticed a slight tremor beneath his feet that quickly elevated to a loud rumble. He whirled around and witnessed Trypticon begin to transform into his dinosaur mode. Once his transformation was completed, Trypticon looked down at the small Duocon and laughed. Not the deep rumbling laugh the city might usually emit, but closer to a shrill scream. “Thanks for loading in my cargo, Battletrap!” Starscream’s chortled, “By the way, I’m ‘borrowing’ Trypticon for awhile…Xenotron shouldn’t be too angry…After all, I’m taking his city right to him!” The Saurian Decepticon’s backpack thrusters ignited, and the possessed Trypticon blasted off Charr’s surface into space beyond. Battletrap looked on, stunned. “Onslaught’s not going to like this…” * * * “Cybertron…I almost forgot what it looked like.” Xenotron stood on the bridge of the finest Decepticon shuttle still functional on Charr. The small crew he had chosen to accompany him scurried around the deck, some checking signals and others making sure the menagerie of ships didn’t get close enough to Cybertron to be spotted and invoke an offensive attack. “Spaz, show me a full view of New Iacon onto the main screen.” Spaz, still damaged from his run-in with Bludgeon, turned and nodded as he depressed the buttons on the console. When the display came to life, Xenotron’s optics narrowed. Visible signs of a skirmish were all over the city, and judging by the size of the craters pock-marking the city, the attack had to come from above…in space. The crew stopped what they were doing and took in the scene below as it was shown from the display screen. “Xenotron…do you think..?” Spaz began to ask. “Yes…the Alpha Cybertronian Empire has returned.” Spaz shuddered as he remembered his final moments before the Autobot Matrix revived him and many others…offering his hand to Genocide…the giant grabbing his arm…the white-hot energy coursing through his circuits momentarily…then darkness. “Spaz, comply with my order!” Xenotron bellowed. Spaz snapped out of his daydream. “I apologize sir, there must be a malfunction in my audio receptors…what was your order?” “You try my patience, Spaz…” Xenotron glared menacingly, “My order was to bring the shuttle slowly down to Cybertron’s surface…do not ignite the engines. We must not be seen. Relay my order to the other ships.” “At once sir…and once again, my apologies…I shall have Bombshell look at my audio receptors the instant I have a spare chance.” “Do not give me excuses. Fulfill my order.” “Yes Xenotron.” Spaz began to contact the various ships when a signal was sent to them from Junkyard’s shuttle. “Xenotron, a medium class space cruiser has just exited Cybertron’s surface from the city Pentrax. Should we pursue?” “Negative, Junkyard.” Xenotron answered, pushing Spaz away from the console. “We are to land past New Iacon. The cruiser is none of our concern as long as it does not see or attack us.” “Indeed, sir. Junkyard out.” * * * “All systems are nominal. We have successfully broken free of Cybertron’s gravity.” “Thank you Moonracer. Recon, have our radio transmitters become functional yet?” “Negative, Elita. I suppose we’re still not far enough away from Cybertron.” “Very well. Chromia, spread the word to the other members of our team onboard that we’re to stop on the planet Thien in order to regain our bearing and refuel.” Firestar looked up from her console and attempted to get Elita-1’s attention. “Elita, I hate to tell you this…but Thien is too far. We lost too much of the meager fuel we had blasting off. We’ll have to find a closer stop.” “Thank you, Firestar.” Elita sighed. “Recon, find the nearest planet in which we might be able to refuel. We’ll make a stop there.” “Right away.” As the ship’s crew returned to their duties and they sped away from Cybertron, Elita couldn’t shake the nagging feeling there was something wrong…back home. She shook her head and attempted to ignore the feeling. Finding the missing Autotbots had priority over unfounded feelings. “I’m coming for you Orion.”
Chapter Eight Repulsar rarely felt the emotion called fear. In fact, there were very few things which scared him at all. The thought of facing a God such as Unicron made him uneasy. Complete energon depletion was always a concern. However standing face to face with an Autobot twice his size made him do things he wouldn’t do under normal circumstances. Namely: run. Panic swept his once mighty frame as he sprinted away like a cowardly Skunkzoid and he felt the shame of a thousand Decepticons. He stole a look over his shoulder and noticed the giant wasn’t chasing him. He felt his courage once again course through his systems. Skidding to a halt, he turned and fired his weapons full power at Fortress Maximus. A mighty explosion rocked the ground as the artillery connected. Dust swirled around the impact point. “Come on out, Autobot trash! Or do you now know none of your pitiful kind can defeat Repulsar?” No sound came from the cloud. No sound at all. In fact, the first indication Repulsar had of any retaliation was a quick view of the heat seeking missiles seconds before they impacted on his chest, splitting him up into the five Disgusticon components. Araknyd held his head as his optics came back online. The smoke cloud around the Autobot was gone, revealing a slightly scorched but fully operational threat to the Disgusticons’ existence. The others came to the same conclusion. “We’re as good as scrap!” Slimetrail yelled. “Disgusticons!” Araknyd screamed, “Transform and retreat! This one is too stupid to know when he’s outnumbered!” Fortress Maximus watched as the Decepticons scurried away. His head detatched from his body, transforming before it hit the ground into the gray Autobot who had questioned Hotcase the night before. The massive body also transformed back into its alternate defense base mode. The other Autobots exited from a shelter compartment, which had been Fortress Maximus’ chest moments earlier. “Did Fortress Maximus destroy them, Cerebros?” Overload asked. “No.” The gray Autobot answered. “He had no need to take their sparks.” “We should go after them…incarcerate them so they won’t stalk us any longer!” Hot Shot piped up, brandishing his handgun. “That is a definite no!” Cerebros shouted, whirling around to meet the yellow outspoken Autobot’s gaze. “And the weapons you all carry are to be returned to their proper chamber where they have been for two hundred and forty years.” “But Cerebros, there’s still the chance those Decepticons will return and—“ “I left Cybertron and Earth in order to escape this chaotic wanton destruction, Armorhide. I brought the weapons in case they were needed in the future…though it compromised my beliefs. In retrospect I am thankful they were here…otherwise the outcome of last night’s attack might have been very different.” “But—“ “There is to be no more discussion on this matter. Return the weapons. Armorhide, give the prisoner his energon for the day. Tell him I will be in to speak with him very shortly.” * * * The streets of New Iacon were completely barren. It was strange to behold such a sight. He had not seen it since he was here during Decepticon control hundreds of years prior, just before Unicron’s coming, but he knew it should have been a similar scene with the Autobots as well: bustling of activity, the buzz of peers doing various duties. But it was empty. Xenotron looked around him one final time, taking in the scenery of his home. “What are you waiting for, fool?” Decro’s voice came into his head. Xenotron remained silent, knowing his threatening thoughts would be heard by the Nebulan that served as his head-for now. The flesh creature was something that would require immediate extraction once Cybertron and all the Decepticons in the universe were his. “Xenotron?” came the nervous voice behind him. He turned to see Spaz, wringing his hands together as if he was worried he would be disciplined for disturbing his personal meditation. “What is it.” He snapped. “We are ready and awaiting your orders, sir.” Xenotron looked into the heart of New Iacon, the gleaming spire of the Hall of Compassion still intact although devastation was rampant all around it. “Inform Junkyard he is to take half our forces with him. Search the city for any survivors. I will take the rest of the troops to Atros and Pentrax. Once his assignment is complete, tell him we are to rendezvous at Polyhex.” “Yes sir. I shall inform him immediately.” Spaz saluted with a shaking hand, and ran back toward the waiting shuttles. Xenotron turned toward the eastern border of the city. Beyond the buildings on the outskirts of New Iacon, there was the road to Atros. If any Autobot chose to linger after the attack, they would wish their sparks had been decimated once he took control of them. * * * Earth. It was a beautiful habitat, home to billions of creatures. The curious light blue skies of the day and the peaceful moon watching over the nightscape instilled awe in most alien creatures who visited it. Megatron despised it. He stood outside of the EDC Headquarters-a useless, Neanderthalic structure crated by the useless flesh creatures who ruled the waste of a planet. It had been hundreds of years since his optics first beheld it. Megatron and his troops thought the world was theirs…until Prime and his Autobots decided to survive as well… He sighed as he thought of the troops at his command at that time frame. None of them stood at his side now, not even the ever-loyal Soundwave. He remembered nothing of his life as Galvatron…his last memories were that of being a hair’s breadth from deactivation, floating through the void…then Unicron. “Megatron, Optimus Prime asks for you to join him in the command bunker.” The former Decepticon warlord turned and stared at Astrotrain, newly reactivated, looking as though he had just rolled off the assembly line a millennia ago. “Tell Prime I shall join him when the time is of my choosing. I’m…enjoying…the view.” “At once Megatron.” Astrotrain saluted and pivoted away. Astrotrain was one of his few subordinates he trusted. Most of his followers were now Predacons…of which he knew precious little about. He hardly put forth the effort to learn their names. Yet more wastes of resources. He grunted and thought about being cut down in his glory years. Cybertron was his. The Autobots should not have gained a victory here all those years ago. These…Alpha Cybertronians that bore a deformed version of the sigil he fought for threatened their existence. He could just take a cruiser and his soldiers away from here. It could just be Prime’s problem…the Alphas would be doing the dirty work for him. But no…for some reason he felt compelled to fight side by side with his mortal enemy…the one responsible for his downfall…once again. He vowed to make sense of his instinct. But for now, he was needed. He turned away and quickly walked into the structure behind him. This chapter is pretty much filler material since I haevn't had time to write a whole lot lately, but it's going to get good soon, I promise!
ANOTHER update? I wanted to get it done before I started another week of teaching :redface Hope you enjoy Chapter Nine The cell Hotcase was given was actually quite cushy and comfortable…but he was still a prisoner, a fact that drove him to the edge. He had smashed his rest station, put small dents in the walls, and had planted himself in a sitting position against the far wall facing the door. The orange Autobot…Armorhide…would be bringing his energon soon. Somehow he had to get out of here. Ransack another village if it existed. Re-energize. Get off this slaggin’ rock. He couldn’t stay. If he didn’t return, Junkyard would be happy to know he had been taken care of. “Junkyard!” He shouted aloud. He had to get back to Junkyard. Prove to him he survived. He knew Junkyard’s weakness…he would exploit it and take his rightful place at the right hand of Xenotron… “Wishful thinking.” Came the ever-present voice in his head. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear you speak.” He said. “You’re outta luck.” Vander chortled. “Or have you already forgotten we’re stuck together?” “I’m not so lucky as to have forgotten, you worthless pile of organic refuse. As soon as I get back to Cybertron, I’ll—“ “You’ll what? ‘Kill Junkyard, dispose of me, get a new head, come back online and be glorified next to Xenotron?’ Keep dreaming.” “This is a dream that will come to pass. My request to Bombshell shall be to keep you alive so I can tear your limbs off one by one myself.” Vander laughed. “Are you even positive the Headmaster process can be reversed?” “If not, it will be. I’ll find a way…” Outside his cell, Hot Shot and Armorhide stood listening to the one-sided conversation inside. “Who is he talking to?” Armorhide whispered. “Who knows.” Hot Shot snorted. “His cerebral net must be damaged. He thinks there’s someone else in there with him.” “That could be dangerous…” Armorhide answered, looking into the porthole. “Look, if you’re too scared to go in there and give him the energon, I’ll do it for you.” Armorhide glared at Hot Shot, opened the door and walked inside. Hotcase didn’t notice him at first, he was still threatening his invisible cellmate. The Autobot cleared his voice, startling the prisoner. He held up his hands, and showed him the energon cube he had brought to him. “It’s alright, I’m just here to give you some energy.” Hotcase slowly stood up. He tried to transform, but couldn’t. The room must have an inhibitor field…scrambling the Transformation circuitry. The Autobot looked stronger them himself…he would probably win in a hand to hand fight. “Cerebros will be down shortly. He wants to try and get to know you again. All he wants to do is help.” Hotcase stepped forward and grabbed hold of the energon cube. He turned around and crouched down. He got an idea. “Don’t do it…” Vander warned. “You could kill us.” “Silence.” Hotcase said out loud. “Silence?” Armorhide asked. “Listen, Cerebros will be able to—“ Before he could finish, Hotcase whirled around, heaving the energon cube toward him. The explosion threw Armorhide backwards and tore the door off its hinges. Hotcase was thrown against the far wall, stunned for a moment. “Alright,” Vander scolded, “This was your brilliant idea…are you going to escape or sit here like the moron you really are?” Through fuzzy vision, Hotcase stood and hobbled his way through the door. Armorhide groaned and stirred as he quickly recovered. Hotcase ran as fast as he could past him, and around the corner of the corridor. Armorhide shook his head and got onto one knee as Hot Shot came from the opposite direction Hotcase had fled. “Armorhide!” Hot Shot called out, concerned. He stooped down to help his friend to his feet. “What happened?” “That no good slaggin’ Decepticon tricked me…threw the energon cube right in my face.” “Which way did he go?” Armorhide pointed to the other corridor. Hot Shot jumped up and started down the hallway. He realized that he had no weapons, but he dismissed the thought. He ran around the corner, and skidded to a halt as he beheld what awaited him. Hotcase stood, an arm laser leveled at his shield…Cerebros. “Turn around, Autobot. Don’t think I won’t frag your leader here.” “Don’t do anything rash…our intention never was to harm you…” “Do you think that matters?” Hotcase replied with a guffaw. “Killing Autobots is my life.” Taken aback by this Transformer’s blatant disregard for any life, Hot Shot stammered for a few moments. “Ha, Ha…Not used to being threatened I take it, kid?” “Why are you doing this? We weren’t going to destroy you…” “You’re going in circles now.” Hotcase snapped. “Now back around the corner nice and slow, or Cerebros here is going to decorate this wall with the scrap of what used to be his head.” Defeated, Hot Shot slowly backed up, his hands out in front of him. “Now…” Hotcase whispered to Cerebros, “It’s time for us to chat…” “That was my destination just now before we…became close.” “Cute. Now cooperate, or the your next joke will be delivered DEAD pan.” “Very well. What do you want?” “Where am I exactly?” “On the planet Badune. Two galaxies from Cybertron.” “Why are you and your cronies here?” “I grew tired of the constant conflict of our people. I wanted peace.” Hotcase laughed, trying to keep relatively quiet to avoid being found by the other Autobots. “You are an idiot. You can’t run away from millennia of instinct.” “There was hope.” “Hope? You good guys sure have the slaggin’ scripts down pat don’t you? All of ya sound like broken audio discs. Hope, virtue, charity…it all died a long time ago.” “Believe what you want. Now, I have answered your questions, might I ask a couple of my own?” “Depends on what they are.” “Fair enough. Firstly, I want to know your name…secondly, why you are here on Badune as well.” “Alright, I’ll indulge you Cerebros…I am Hotcase, from the Decepticon stronghold Charr. I came to Badune because I resent my current commander.” “Charr? Has power gone to Cyclonus’ head?” “Cyclonus?” Hotcase chuckled softly. “You have been isolated for awhile haven’t you?” The sound of a laser cutting through the air cut the conversation short, and Hotcase found himself on the ground once again. He couldn’t feel his right shoulder and he saw energon seeping onto the ground in front of him. Instinct took over, and he slowly transformed in an attempt to escape, however his jet mode was too damaged to fly. Vander tumbled from his perch atop Hotcase’s shoulders and landed in a heap at Cerebros’ feet. Cerebros gasped as he realized the Decepticon they held prisoner was a headmaster. He turned and signaled Radar to halt. “He’s of no threat anymore. Summon Impactor. The two of you can transport him to the repair bay.” “Repair bay? Are you seriously going to repair the being who just threatened your life?” “There is more I need to know about him. I need him in working order.” “Yes sir.” Radar hurried down the hallway and exited through a door at the end. Cerebros sat down next to the frightened Nebulan. “Don’t kill me!” Vander pleaded. “I was forced into this binary bonding!” “I believe you. And I understand you better then you realize.” “What are you talking about?” To Vander’s surprise, Cerebros lifted his own head from his body and set it down next to him. It shifted and transformed into a humanoid form not unlike himself. It was apparent the man was elderly. His posture was slightly stooped, and as he took off his helmet, Vander saw shiny white hair and a wrinkled face. He stepped forward and extended a hand in a friendly gesture. “My name is Spike Witwicky. We need to talk.”
If anyone is still interested in keeping up with this, I apologize for the lack of updates. I am still working on the story, I've just been working four jobs, and the computer I use to hook up to the internet shit out on me. So, look for an update soon....and I hope I'm serious this time....
