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The forest was silent on this morning. The birds which had normally filled the air with their morning songs were nowhere to be seen. Not a cricket chirped, not a single fowl peeped. The wind forgot to blow, and even the grass stood still, as if it too knew that an unholy allience was to be made this morning.
The Beast Wars had taken a dramatic turn in a very short period of time. Cheetor and Blackarachnia had gone transmetal II, and Dinobot had been cloned with the new technology, an evil, more vile version of his previous self. Airazor and Tigertron had been killed, only to return as a weapon of the unseen aliens, Tigerhawk. Megtron had fused his spark with that of the original.
And the Beastformers had gotten involved.
Not long ago, an armor clad humanoid T-Rex calling himself King Buster, had approached Megatron with hopes of exchanging one favor for another. He identified himself as the leader of a larger faction of Beasts calling themselves Lazerbeasts, and had made an offer. The Predacons would capture the leader of a rival faction of Beasts for him, and in return, he would supply them with a device that could stabilize the wild energon that surrounded them. From the start Megatron had suspected this creature was not the leader of his group like he had claimed, and his suspicions proved correct. King Buster was no leader, merely a foot soldier, intent on impressing the real leader of the Lazerbeasts. He'd failed miserably. With the intervention of the Maximals and the captured Beasts' comrades, The Predacons not only suffered a humiliating defeat, but sustained a tremendous amount of irrepairable damage to their base.
That was the last they had heard of the Lazerbeasts or Beastformers, despite their attempts to locate them after the incident. Megatron had never been able to fully stop wondering who the leader of the Lazerbeasts was. It wasn't until a few days ago that Buzzsaw had sought out Megatron (as all the scattered Predacons were forced to do after having their base destroyed by Tigerhawk.) a battered, twisted wreck. Before he went into stasis lock, the wasp reported that he'd been attacked by a creature that could have been nothing other than a Lazerbeast. Megatron's curiosity bade him to listen. A Dragon Lazerbeast, wearing golden armor had told Buzzsaw their leader would like to meet with Megatron. This he had told Buzzsaw after crushing the Predacon's midsection and tearing his wings off. Megatron thanked Buzzsaw for the report, and left him. There was no CR chamber for them to be repaired in anymore, and Buzzsaw would just have to rust silently in his own misery. But that was the least of Megatron's concerns. Finally, he would meet the mysterious Lazerbeast leader.
On this silent morning, Megatron had brought with him eight Predacons. In a silent mass behind him were Inferno, Insecticon, Quickstrike, Dinobot, Waspinator, Snapper, Buzzclaw, and Manterror. Each were curious if not a little excited about the meeting. The Predacons who witnessed the destructive power of the regular Beastformers though, were not. The sight of the captured Beast, Power Jaguar, going nova within the very base itself was something they could not forget, but tried their hardest not to remember. A rustle in the woods snapped everyone from their thoughts.
"Here they come..." Waspinator felt the electrons running through his circuits quicken.
As expected, a single Lazerbeast emerged, followed by another, until six of the creatures stood before the Predacons in a single line. Megatron looked at the beasts before him. A Pteradon, Chameleon, Grasshopper, Vulture, Monkey, and Dragonfly. The smallest of them (the Dragonfly, as far as Megatron could tell) stood about even height with Quickstrike, while the largest came up to Megatron's chest. Each was clad in a unique type of armor, Cybertronian in design, if Megatron remembered correctly. In the air Megatron spotted a golden figure circling them, it's leathery wings spread. A Dragon, like himself. No doubt this was the Lazerbeast resposible for destroying Buzzsaw. Its grace upon landing was incredible, given his tremendous size. The other Lazerbeasts made way for the sizable creature as he touched down and landed in the middle of them. He dwarfed every Lazerbeast present, the same size if not larger than Megatron himself. With a slight rustle the Dragon folded his wings and stared directly at Megatron.
"Megatron, I presume."
"That I am, yes. And who might you be?"
"Skull Grotess. Second in command of the Lazerbeasts."
"I see. But tell me, where is your great leader, surely he didn't arrange all this, only to have me speak to an underling."
Being called an underling no doubt angered Skull Grotess, but he kept himself in check, dismissing the remark. He pointed to a dark clearing in the forest, partially hidden behind two trees.
"Ghost Aligatron wishes to speak with you."
"And you expect me to go in there alone?" Megatron eyed the creature suspiciously, "And what garantee do I have that this isn't a trap?"
The Dragon smiled "Most creatures don't fear Aligatron until after they've met him. He'll be sorely disappointed."
"Nonsense, I fear nothing, except perhaps, someonene as crafty as I." Megatron started towards the clearing, hesitating a moment when he reached the trees. Without a single look back, Megatron entered the clearing.
It was heavily shaded within the area Megatron had entered, with only a few errand rays of sunlight being able to pierce the patchwork of tree leaves above. Taking a few more steps, Megatron scanned the area with his sensors. He could detect nothing. Immediately he thought of returning to his troops, who may have already engaged the other Lazerbeasts, but thought better of it. It was as quiet out there as it was in here. Quiet that was shattered by a whisper behind him.
"It's about time you showed up."
Megatron turned to face the voice and found himself face to face with a creature his optics had a hard time comprehending.
Standing eye level with him was a creature that looked to be in some kind of stealth mode. Megatron could see the trees through him, they were slightly distorted, but visible nontheless. Small strings of sunlight passed through its body and hit the ground at a new angle. It was hard to identify speific body details, but it's facial features were slightly visible, a long snout, small eyes, and pinhole nostrils. An alligator no doubt. It stood before Megatron, silent.
"Ah," Megatron felt a smile creep onto his face "You must be Ghost Aligatron."
The beast folded his arms and nodded.
"Interesting," Megatron searched the beast as best he could "You have no power sphere, like your followers."
"I was a Battle Beast at one time, now I am much more..."
"And to what do I owe this pleasure? This is obviously more than a social call."
"It is." Aligatron replied. His voice never went higher than a whisper, but it was strong. Megatron had no trouble hearing it. "The Beast Wars are almost over, Megatron. "
Megatron nodded in agreement "That they are, yes. As we speak, my soldiers are preparing a final strike on the Ark. Once we destroy Optimus-"
"Your plan will fail."
"I doubt that. The Maximals expect nothing. Besdies, what would you know of my plans?"
"I know the Maximals now have the aid of the Battle Beasts. With them involved, your plans mean nothing."
Megatron recalled the Predacon's first battle with the Beasts. They were strong, much more powerful than anticipated. If they joined forces with the Maximals now... He turned from Aligatron, his optics were starting to hurt from trying to focus on the creature.
"A minor setback, but not a permenant one, no. But I sense you've come here to tell me more than that. Am I correct?"
"You are. The Battle Beasts are my enemies. And my enemy's allies..."
"Are your enemies as well." Megatron smiled. He liked where this was going. "A pact then, our forces united against a common foe."
Aligatron sneered. "Indeed."
"And how do I know I can trust you. Rule of thumb seems to be betrayal at the last minute. I refuse to risk that, especially now."
"I make no promises after our victory is achieved. But right now, I want Optimus Prime destroyed. I assume you want the same."
"Of course. But what do you have against Optimus? In all my studies, I never once found anything substancial on Beastformers except errant rumors. I wasn't aware that he had a history with you."
"I have my reasons." He held a clear hand up and looked at it. "He's to blame for this." He looked at Megatron's shocked face. "That's right Megatron, my Lazerbeasts and I are from a different time, just like you and your Predacons. And in my time, Optimus Prime has caused me a lot of trouble... Trouble I could do without."
"Incredible... So you're from our past... an interesting notion, but still doesn't answer my question. Why should I trust you?
"I know the Battle Beasts quite well, you do not. But you know the Maximals, and they defend the Ark as well."
"That I do. So, it will be unity out of neccesity. I like that."
"So it is done." Aligatron extended a hand. Megatron looked at the clear Beast a moment, debating, then moved to clasp his hand in his own. To his surprise, it passed through. Aligatron smiled. "To the destruction of Optimus Prime, and all Cybertrons."
Megatron smiled and envisioned Optimal Optimus screaming in his final moments of life. The Maximals would finally be destroyed and the coming of a new age would be upon them. The Predacons would be raised to their full glory, as was their destiny, and he, Megatron, would lead them, leaving the Earth and the Ark a flaming wasteland. The time was near, oh yes, so very near...
To be continued...
