Cybertron 2010:

War shattered Cybertron’s fragile moment of peace, the short-lived Golden Era. Galvatron and his Decepticon forces continued to seek domination of both Cybertron and Earth, still a prized commodity because of its rich deposits of energon. He who controlled one, controlled the other. Suffering losses on both sides, Autobot and Decepticon alike witnessed their comrades destroyed before their eyes, and in a sudden turn of events saw them resurrected. Hundreds of Transformers lost their spark trying to end the war. One Autobot finally succeeded.

-The Battle of Iacon-

Directly beneath the towers of Iacon, Cybertron’s most savage battle took place. With a single, brutal shot Galvatron brought Elita-1, the object of Prime’s affections, to the brink of death. Within Prime stirred a rage he had never known, and he made for her assailant. He tore through the ranks of Decepticons trying fruitlessly to stand between himself and Galvatron. They tried to shred him with a storm of firepower, their aim deadly accurate as he came straight towards them-and then through them. His determination refused to acknowledge the damage he was receiving. The eye he lost was nothing, he could still see from the one remaining. When his left arm tore away from his body and winged through the air it meant less. He still had another. Chest windows cracked and breaking away, warped by his own overheating body, Prime exploded into Galvatron. His fist drove deep into the monster's side, his fingers grasped a handful of foreign cables and yanked them free. His rational mind ceased to function, buried beneath an image of Elita’s dying body and the ranks of lost soldiers… lost friends. Galvatron matched his tenacity. His own fists found their mark, he had clawed at and removed Prime’s chest plates, exposing the matrix. It was a momentary pause. This... *thing* haunted Galvatron, enraged him, sickened him and reminded the tyrant of his servitude to Unicron. He roared and slammed his fist directly into the accursed object. He expected anything but what happened afterwards. The power of the Matrix of Leadership burst towards him, as if to consume him, and streaked through Galvatron’s body and mind. It was only a momentary flash but felt like an eternity. His scream was lost in a shimmering burst of blue-white light as the matrix isolated the insanity that plagued Galvatron and caged it like a feral animal, plunging it into the darkness from whence it came. It locked away his desires of destruction and power and crudely stitched together the fractured psyche. The various facets of Galvatron’s pre and post war personalities were painfully restructured and forced to mesh. Galvatron fell at Prime’s feet with a thin line of smoke curling from his mouth.

The war was over.

When he regained consciousness, Galvatron’s mind was devoid of that which had defined him as the Emperor of Destruction. His demeanor reverted to the stoic, narrow persona he possessed before being plagued by bouts of insanity. But there was something else, some whisper of his old self besides the psychosis that seemed to have abandoned him. Every Transformer, both Autobot and Decepticon became aware of it if they were around him. Peace was agreed upon. The two factions, under Prime and Galvatron’s leadership, prospered immensely. Though initially against Galvatron’s sudden ‘change’, the Decepticons remained loyal to their commander both out of fear and a tiny spark of hope that he was in the throes of plotting a spectacular uprising. His prior insanity made them wary of everything he did, never knowing exactly what was going through his mind. He could have been testing them to see who would turn. It was no stretch to think he would have concocted this strange trial to fool both the Autobots *and* them. So they remained, many muttering in resentful whispers they hoped he wouldn’t hear, fear and hope rolled into one.

Hope was necessary, fear was not. Galvatron, despite being haunted by faded visions and memories, could not call back the information submerged within his cerebral core. Even though true memories, true definitions of a personality can never be wholly removed, they can be locked away and covered by layer upon layer of misunderstandings and misinterpretations. The mental barriers constructed by the matrix struggled to repress Galvatron’s original self, the true monster within struggled to rear its ugly head and reclaim a soul that no longer knew it existed. It roils in its own madness and wants out, desperately and furiously clawing at its layered cell but having no success. Without the monster, without a need for it, Galvatron seemed to wither. He was still a destructive force, still the most powerful of the Decepticon army, and yet he was a pale wind instead of a hurricane.

That was just fine with the Autobots.

Cybertron 2015

Ironhide called up an image of Galvatron on Teletran’s screen. The Emperor of Destruction stood on a barren landscape, eyes fixed in a mad stare directed towards the viewer. Ironhide didn't know who took the picture, but presumed he could find him in one of the vast cemeteries on Cybertron.

“Old Galvatron ain’t what he used to be, eh Kup?”

A pair of half-lidded, tired eyes gazed up at Ironhide. Kup's hands shook slightly as he reached down and clasped the tires on his wheelchair, and rolled a little closer. The final days of the war had not been kind to the weary veteran. He remembered taking the small band of rookies on a simple surveillance mission. "Because surveillance was safe." He assured them, and he knew that was the last thought going through their young minds when they were ambushed. Galvatron made Kup watch their executions. Their young faces tried to look stern as they knelt, arms banded behind them, forced to face Kup as Galvatron placed his cannon to the back of each head and fired. They tried so for Kup to be strong, to show the old man they weren't afraid, that they still believed. And still he saw the fear behind their eyes, a sick chill of panic when they heard Galvatron about to-

It was supposed to be safe.

Kup didn't care about his own torture. The months of being held prisoner felt like a single slice of time; the look on those rookies' faces kept him company every waking moment-and every moment he was offline. When they found Kup he was only a torso, less than half of his face clung to a dented skull. Replacing his body parts was no easy task, but it was nothing compared to the task of repairing his trodden mind. For three years First Aid and Perceptor tried everything they could think of to get him to speak. And for three years he said nothing, Prime suspected it had to be related to the missing rookies they never found, but Kup's silence meant they would never know exactly what happened. The will to walk had left him; he lay on a single metal slab for days at a time just staring at the ceiling. On occasion, Perceptor would notice him looking in a certain direction or another part of the room as if he wanted to be there, but he would not get up and go there on his own. Optimus ordered a hovering chair be constructed for him. It was ignored. When placed inside, Kup remained as motionless as before, though if left for too long he would simply slump forward. They tried again, this time with a simple Earth-type wheelchair. Prime recalled their associate Chip mentioning the work required to move around on his own was liberating. Apparently Kup felt the same. He would roll to one location, stop, and sit there for hours, sometimes days. It wasn’t much, certainly not the Kup of old, but it was something. Speech followed, though sparingly. Few Autobots managed to even get a response out of him anymore. Except Ironhide. Kup's preference for Ironhide seemed to stem from the Autobot’s miraculous recovery himself. There was a two hour block of memory data lost, two hours of missing information that allowed Ironhide to function as he always had. The details of this miracle were sketchy at best, purposely *kept* sketchy for reasons even Kup didn't know, but he wished for the miracle to forget as well.

Ironhide looked down at the crippled war vet as the grizzled bot spoke in a hushed grumble.

“Don’t doubt Galvatron lad. I was there when he first arrived on Earth. He's a nightmare come to metal.”

“Aw, c’mon Kup, he’s old news since Prime gave him that first hand skid-whoopin.”

“He’s a monster.” Kup growled, his raspy voice carrying a dying hint of emotion, “Always was, always will be.”

“Ah, he’s no threat, lookit him-”

“He’s a MONSTER!” Kup’s damaged voicebox flared, his face shook with the most emotion Ironhide had seen since being brought back online. “Just because we can’t see it in him doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

A voice from behind caught their attention.

“Though Galvatron may not harbor the same feelings towards us that he once did, he’s still a powerful-and dangerous transformer.”

“Prime!” Ironhide smiled at his commander, then gestured towards Galvatron’s image. “Y’know Prime, it’s hard to think that just a few years back you trounced th’ evil outta Galvy… Who’da thunk he’d be trusted to live on Earth?”

Prime’s eyes were full of thought. Yes, he had agreed to let Galvatron reside on Earth, but that was a precaution. Most of Galvatron's forces were actually on Cybertron. In the pit of his core he wondered if he had done the right thing. Before he could respond, an emergency transmission from Cosmos flickered across the screen, wiping out Galvatron’s image.

“Alert!” his voice echoed, “Alert!”

Transformers throughout Autobot Headquarters froze and watched the nearest monitor. Jazz and Blaster stood watching the news unfold as Cosmos continued.

“I’m about 500 miles outside of Cybertronian airspace, I’ve just spotted a UFO!”

Jazz nudged Blaster and pointed at the screen. “Well if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle…”

“It’s heading straight for Cybertron, it-it came out of nowhere Optimus!”

Prime opened communications, “Cosmos, display visual. What’s the speed on this thing, how much time before it enters Cybertron’s atmosphere?”

“Hard to say, I’d estimate maybe a half hour at most. I clocked it at Mach…” he paused a moment, “…over Mach 25 Optimus!”

Prime nodded as Cosmos displayed the object’s trajectory, noting its path lead straight to the heart of Iacon city, less than a mile from Autobot HQ.

“Should I try to intercept? I could-”

“No Cosmos, stay where you are.”

“But I could help-”

“No. Stay there and keep watch, alert us if you detect anything else approaching Cybertron.”

Disappointment permeated Cosmos’ voice, “Yes sir.”

“Skylynx,” Prime placed a finger to the screen and watched it divide into four quadrants. Skylynx appeared in the upper left. “I want you to flank this object and try to slow it down.” Silverbolt’s face appeared in the upper right. “Silverbolt, you and the Aerialbots will assist.”

“Roger that Prime.”

Skylynx couldn’t contain his excitement, “Consider the planet saved Optimus!”

Prime called up Inferno and Red Alert. “I want you two to find Perceptor and clear out the area of projected impact.”

“Can do sir!” Inferno saluted, then winked out. Prime turned to Ironhide. “Ironhide, you’re with me. Kup…” His voice was uncertain.

“I’ll be here…” Kup waved them off, turned, and wheeled down the hallway. Prime watched him turn the corner before transforming and heading out.

***********

A radial wash of crackling fire covered the object hurtling towards Iacon City, it maintained speed once it entered the atmosphere. Skylynx neared the strange object, leaving the Aerialbots to orbit his flight path. The object was immense. Though its detailed form was masked beneath a fiery blanket, Skylynx could see a definite pattern of red marks across a gray main body. Though the size difference unnerved him, Skylynx kept his airs. An optic scan relayed some interesting findings.

“Optimus, I’m getting an initial scan of this… well, it’s not a meteor, that’s for certain. I’d say it’s a hunk of metal, space junk maybe.”

“Hmm,” Optimus thought of the possibilities. “What is its projected point of Impact? Was Cosmos correct?”

A minor calculation prompted Skylynx’s reply. “Cosmos wasn’t too far off. I’d say latitude: 40° 42' 51 N, longitude: 74° 0' 22 W. Iacon City. Dead center.” He added, “Optimus, this thing is huge, simply massive. I recommend complete evacuation-as a precaution, of course.”

“Skylynx, how big are we talking?”

“Metroplex big.” He thought a moment, then added, “I’ll do what I can to slow it down, maybe the Aerialbots can help too-”

“No Skylynx, if it’s that big I don’t want you putting yourself in harm’s way.”

“Not at all Optimus, I’m never in harm’s way! Watch and be amazed!”

Prime allowed Skylynx to cut communications, confident in his comrade’s ability. What concerned him now was the impact location. Skylynx’s estimate matched Perceptor’s as well, and if that thing was a ship, no one was responding to the hails he had ordered Blaster to try. He upped his speed, Ironhide close behind, towards the coordinates of the impact point.

Skylynx transformed, legs folding, tail and head extending in a simple, graceful motion. A quick diagnosis told him twenty minutes was all he had. He ignited his internal thrusters and flew alongside the object, flexing his claws to test them.

“Here we go.” He breathed and swooped down upon the burning clump of metal, digging his talons into the side as deep as it allowed. He reversed thrust and felt his gears strain, a few gyros threatened to strip free of their holdings.

“What’s that braggart doing?” Silverbolt saw Skylynx clinging to the side of the object like a tick on a dog.

“Being Skylynx,” Air Raid replied, “What else?” A hint of annoyance glinted in Silverbolt’s eyes as he watched Skylynx try to do the job on his own.

“We should try to help instead of letting him get torn apart by that thing.”

“Not much we can do in these forms.” Fireflight remarked, prompting a smile from Silverbolt at the implication.

“I know. Aerialbots, merge to become Superion!” Synchronous unison washed through the Aerialbot team as they transformed into components for their greater self. Silverbolt felt Skydive and Air Raid connect as the legs; Fireflight and Slingshot attached as arms. Silverbolt’s vision improved, intelligence merged as the five Autobot minds stood tall as Superion. The gestalt turned towards the direction of the hurtling menace and poised himself, then rushed to meet the oncoming threat.

Skylynx winced from the endless heat that drilled through his claws and into his body. He’d told Prime this thing was Metroplex big-he now realized how accurate a description that was. His oppositional force was nothing; the object hadn’t shown any signs of slowing at all. He felt the metal beneath his claws give, pulling away in curls as he was thrown free. The object continued its course. Angered by its defiance, Skylynx recovered his flight path and lunged at it again, gripping the metal hide tighter despite the pain it caused.

“You’ll… stop…” he grimaced, “Or at least… change course…!” He felt a shudder from the front end of the metal thing. He smiled to himself. Yes, once again disaster would be averted, and Cybertron was saved thanks to-

“Superion?!” Skylynx’s surprise was comically visible. Superion floated in the object’s path, weapon blazing as he tried desperately to force it off course. Skylynx felt his feet approach melting point and pulled off once more.

“Good show man! Give it what for!”

A hint of AirRaid’s personality came through in Superion as he tossed Skylynx an annoyed glance, and then focused on the task at hand. The blasts from his weapon did little more than dent the object. A thick, shuddering rumble came from the thing, but Skylynx swore it sounded more like a growl. He watched as Superion realized his shots were doing nothing, then resorted to attempting physical restraint. He flew forward and pressed with all his might against the massive object. It kept its course.

'Too bad Defensor's on Earth' Fireflight's thought mixed with the other Aerialbots. Superion releashed an angry shout that turned into a scream as the heat jolted his networked systems and threw the individual minds into chaos. In an orange-yellow burst of electrical energy Superion separated, the Aerialbots tossed about in an unconscious scattering. Skylynx swooped down and opened his passenger door, allowing an internal vacuum to pull the five inside. The object continued on its course, and Skylynx did the only thing he could do.

*************

Prime watched transformers clear out of Iacon City, Inferno and Red Alert headed the construction of a massive barrier around the projected crash sight. Skylynx’s estimation matched Perceptor and Cosmos, and the city evacuation had begun immediately. A tremendous metal dish curved towards the sky, awaiting the object's arrival. The Throttlebots raced to and fro feverishly welding bolts and securing beams. With any luck the dish would literally catch the flaming mass with minimal damage to the surrounding area. The meteor, or whatever it was, was already visible from the ground, screaming towards them with the rushing sound of a waterfall. Prime sent Fastlane and Cloudraker for more supplies, then received an urgent transmission from Skylynx.

“Optimus, I’m afraid it’s still headed your way. I’d do more but I had to rescue Superion. It’s up to you now.”

“We’re already on it Skylynx. Maintain orbit in case another is on the way.”

“Can do!”

Prime looked at the immense dish that cupped into the heart of Iacon city. It might work, it just might-

“Prime!” Ironhide rolled up and transformed, gesturing towards the dish, “Throttlebots said construction’s complete.”

“And the city?”

“Almost evacuated. There’s still a lot of bots that’re draggin their feet.”

“Have Inferno and Red Alert continue evacuation. Now let’s roll out.” Prime transformed, calling his trailer from sub-space and headed for the edge of Iacon.

********

It collided with the dish in a brilliant mushroom of light- then smashed through it, tearing through layer after layer of reinforced Cybertronian metal and ripped a gorge into the city. The titanic thing flew forward and crushed two buildings in its path before rolling atop a third. The structures shuddered violently, then collapsed. Fire raged from beneath the rubble and reached for the blackened sky. Inferno was on it seconds later, dousing the flames with a special foam that squelched the fire beneath its touch. Red Alert held a strict line of space between the object and the border of Transformers adding their own flame dousing spray. It took almost an hour to snuff out the various fires running across the foreign object, smoke hissed across its surface.

“So it is metal…” Ironhide observed, cutting the stream of coolant from his hands.

“Hey Prime,” Jazz dropped his container of foam and pointed towards a cone-like protrusion jutting from what appeared to be the front end, “Looks like a pilot’s quarter. A spaceship.” Though burned and melted, the mass had clearly defined markings, as well as exhaust burns from what looked to be walker legs. Prime surveyed the wreckage when something caught his ear. Though it had not been audible during the crash, the stillness now amplified the muffled thunder coming from inside the thing. He motioned to the other Autobots, halting their approach towards the ship. No sooner had the gesture been made, a loud thunder came from within, followed by an audible clang.

“Something’s trying to get out!” Rollbar pointed to the other Throttlebots, who lined themselves about the side of the ship, weapons trained on the charred hull. A squeal of metal sounded as the side of the ship ripped open from the inside, exposing a pair of large yellow eyes. They pulsed once before the thing erupted from the ship with a gravally roar, sending the shocked Autobots backtracking a few paces. The beast was massive; a dark blue hue tinted its metal hide. A reptilian face exposed, jaws lined with razor-edged teeth. Its small front claws gripped a single wheel, another clamped by its hind feet. It roared once more and shook the ground with its thick audio.

“What is that thing?!” Blaster, Ironhide and Jazz trained their weapons on the beast as well, noting with mounting disturbance the thing rear up on its hind wheel and slam its front end down into the ground. A quake shuddered through the point of impact, jolting a couple of Autobots off their feet. The blue beast lurched forward, pulling itself out of the wreckage like a live wire. It flailed about in a mad frenzy, burying its front wheel into a nearby building with devastating results.

“What IS that thing?” Ironhide asked again, but didn’t wait for an answer before firing upon the creature, his example followed by almost every Autobot present. Prime aimed his rifle and fired a blast that tore through the beast’s forearm. A small spray of dark fluid squirted from the wound, drawing an angry snarl. As Prime readied another shot, a tiny glint of movement caught his eye from within the titanic ship it came from. Something else was in there, something Prime couldn't quite identify. It was heavily shadowed, never coming close enough to the entrance for light to reveal its form. Prime pointed to Jazz and nodded towards the rampaging beast.

“Jazz, take Blaster, Ironhide, the Throttlebots and anyone else you can find and stop that thing before it destroys Iacon!”

“But Prime, what about you?”

“I’m going to see what else is inside this thing.”

The meteor-ship reflected in Jazz’s visor, prompting a worried look. Prime gave him a reassured nod. “I’ll be fine, go.”

It was all Jazz needed to hear, he rallied the Autobots and took charge after the beast.

**************

The creature plowed directly into an energon refinery, the resulting explosion temporarily blinded three of the Autobots, deafened a few others. Purple-laced flames clawed at the air as it tried to spread, casting the creature in a demonic glow. Jazz waved the closing line of Throttlebots onward.

“Pelt him good boys!” He unleashed a spray of plasma bullets and saw them explode against the monster’s thick hide. The Throttlebots followed suite, firing continuously at the creature. It turned, eyes ablaze as it registered the threat, then charged. Jazz managed to knock Ironhide out of the way as the beast rumbled past, crushing piles of rubble in its way. The wind of its passing blew the two Autobots into a collapsing tower. Jazz felt a chunk of metal pin his legs down, trapping him three feet from a bead of light filtering through from outside. He gritted his teeth and tried to pull free, but was unable to budge. He heard Ironhide making the same fruitless attempt. They could hear the explosions going off outside as they lay trapped in the darkness, trying to free themselves from 5,000 pounds of unforgiving metal rubble.

Rollbar built up speed and transformed, using the momentum to spring into the air and latch onto the creature’s front claw. He could hear the beast's massive front tire grinding against the ground with a furious rumble. He aimed his gun directly at the connection joint of the wheel and let loose with a barrage of laser fire. A curl of red flames filled the air with a pungent stench of axel grease and burning rubber. He glanced down and saw Chase speeding alongside Freeway and Wideload, all of them trying to get ahead of the metal monster. They transformed in unison, taking aim at the growing flame flickering on the creature's wheel. It roared at them, sending the bots to the ground with the vibrations alone. It rose its head and snarled at Rollbar a moment before clamping its jaws down on his arm and slinging him free. The diminutive Throttlebot yelped as he struck the ground and took a violent tumble. It didn't notice Searchlight scuttling along its back until the Throttlebot flashed a multi-thousand watt strobe-light in its eyes.

Sudden blindness sent the creature into a more frenzied rage. It spun in place, sending Searchlight sailing free as it reared up and slammed its front wheel into the ground again. The Throttlebots tried to stand and found it impossible with the severity of the quaking beneath their feet. They could only watch as it hunched forward, smoke fizzling from its wounds as it opened its jaws wide. It bit down into the collapsed building pinning Jazz and Ironhide. From inside, the two Autobots saw the darkness part in a flint of thick white teeth and yellow eyes, intent on their destruction. Jazz could see their weapons laying half buried beneath a wall of fallen debris.

“Well if that ain’t a cog up the shaft…”

**********

Blaster ran towards the beast and saw its head buried in a half demolished building- the same one he’d seen Jazz and Ironhide land in. “Time to send in the Calvary!” He tapped the release on his chest, sending forth Eject, Rewind, Steeljaw and Ramhorn. The Autobot tapes transformed from cassette mode, then charged towards the creature. Eject hopped on Steeljaw to make up speed, Rewind jumped on Ramhorn’s back. Blaster watched them streak ahead, confident in their ability. A low flying jet stormed past Blaster, coaxing a smile from his face. “Scattershot you old hound, glad you could make the party!”

“Hound’s on Earth buddy!” Scattershot laughed, “Will I do?” The rest of the Technobots soared and rolled past Blaster towards the screeching menace. Moments later Blaster saw the group converge, heard Scattershot shout, “Technobots, UNITE!” then watched Strafe, Nosecone, Lightspeed and Afterburner combine. Computron stood, lines of electricity crawling about his joints. He turned towards the rampaging beast, evaluated the situation, then headed towards the destruction…

***********

“What do you think’s happening down there?”

“Excuse me?”

Cosmos adjusted his transmission settings and broadcast again, “I said, what do you think is happening down there, on Cybertron? It’s been awhile.”

Skylynx drifted in shuttle mode above Cybertron, two hundred miles from running scans on the aerialbots at timed intervals. Their readings were normal, but Superion’s unceremonious separation had knocked them cold. Every so often he would lean on an angle, causing Silverbolt to slide into the wall, hoping it might jar him awake. Then he could talk, anything would be better than-

“I hope everything’s okay.”

“I’m sure if it wasn’t I’d be the first to know about it.”

“Skylynx, have you noticed the increased solar disturbances? I’m getting a lot of readings that-”

“No doubt were caused by that space junk, I know Cosmos.”

“Oh.”

“Listen, Cosmos, I think right now the best thing for us would be to maintain radio silence, wouldn’t want to block an important frequency in case I’m needed.”

“But-”

"Silence.” He hissed.

Cosmos sighed, hesitated, then clicked off his transmitter.

****************

Computron locked his arms in a vice around the creature’s neck and hauled it backwards. A shower of metal and torn debris sprayed the two bots as they fell and collided with the ground. Cracks stemmed from their point of impact and threatened to cave in the land beneath them. Computron clasped the thing from behind and estimated the odds of being able to stay together and withstand the savage thrashing of the creature. A startling screech came from the monster as it tried to flip itself onto its wheels but found only resistance from beneath as Computron calculated his next move.

“Estimated 30,000 pounds of pressure per thrash. Applying 40,500.7 ppi of torque.” He did as he said and gave a violent squeeze, eliciting an angry snarl from the beast. It bucked again, this time pulling itself to its wheels, which were promptly fired upon by the Autobot cassettes.

“The windup,” Rewind yelled, “The pitch!” A hail of plasma shots burst from his rifle and penetrated the thick black material composing a wheel of the beast. Eject leapt from Ramhorn and fired both pistols as Ramhorn slammed into the creature’s front wheel. A crack raced along its curved surface. Steeljaw roared, unleashing a round of laser fire into the wheel as well. He lunged and sank his claws into the material, falling away with large strips of the black substance curled in his mouth. He landed with a growl and leapt at the beast again. Computron got to his feet and lunged at the creature’s back, swinging his legs down and digging into the ground. He pressed down, forcing its wheels flat and neutralizing its upward thrust. Eject and Rewind tore into the wheel again, their laser shots connecting a split second before Steeljaw and Ramhorn hit. A thick crack tore through the wheel, and the stench of grease returned as it dripped down the creature’s leg in a wet slide.

“Wheel integrity reduced to 40%,” Computron’s voice boomed, rattling the cassette’s audio receivers, “Estimated number of strikes required for structural collapse: 4.”

Blaster arrived and surveyed the scene, then tapped his chest and ejected two more cassettes: Grandslam and Raindance sprang from their holding. Grandslam transformed into tank mode and rolled alongside Blaster, Raindance followed above in its jet form.

The team launched a barrage of missiles at the restrained beast and saw some of projectiles spin into the puncture wound Prime had made earlier. Orange and yellow detonations flashed from within, clouded by black smoke. Another roar escaped the beast as it managed a single jaunt upward and slammed its front wheel down again. The force was enough to shatter the tire. It fractured with a twisting SCRANG and snapped from the wheel in a broken semi-loop. The beast’s claws smashed into the ground, jolting its internal gears and compacting circuitry beneath its metal skin. A screech came as Computron forced the beast further down, twisting the axel on a 45-degree angle before it unhinged with a resounding ‘klong’. Claws that once held an iron grip clenched and ripped into its palms. Sparks popped and crackled, sending thin lines of lightening up and through the creature. It roared again, this time in pain. Computron drove a closed fist into its neck and felt the metal crack beneath the pressure. The cassettes saw the opening and went for it. In the span of five seconds they had scaled the side of beast’s body and slipped into the crack left behind by Computron’s attack. Eject’s guns lit the darkness with laser fire as he dropped. Steeljaw’s night vision kicked in and located internal gears-, which were quickly riddled with laser blasts, welding them together.

Computron saw the smoke billowing from the beast’s mouth as the cassettes wrecked its internal mechanisms. An open maw intended to scream, instead released a thick clump of reddish smoke. Grand Slam was lifted into the air by Raindance and dropped into the smoke; its treads took hold inside the beast’s mouth. The little tank charged its dual cannons, and then fired. The shots tore down the beast’s throat and through its midsection, exploding against its main fuel pump. A flood of gray-black liquid surged from the ruptured pump and began filling internal corridors meant to be dry. The beast still thrashed in Computron’s grip like a wild hose, unable to even voice its displeasure. Fuel spurted from its joints like blood; smoke leapt from every opening. An unexpected buck threw the creature and Computron backwards, they hit the ground in a shower of sparks. Energy ripped across the beast and leapt into Computron, the unexpected charge nullified his connections and broke the gestalt into its smaller components. They fell to the ground in a drizzle of soldiers and hit hard.

*************

Blaster aimed his rifle and fired, shattering the beast’s eye as it jerked erratically from the shock. It tried to right itself, struggling to lift its head. Its single good eye glared balefully at the Autobot, then fogged over and burst. A violent shudder crept through its body, and its head fell to the ground with a final clang. Fuel oozed from its mouth in addition to the holes riddling its body. Metallic glints became visible from a stream of mech fluid draining from the creature’s mouth. Drenched in the foul mess, the Autobot cassettes drug themselves free, shaking the goop from their arms and legs. Raindance hovered above the lot and sprayed them down with hot steam.

“Good work team!” Rewind gave his fellow cassettes the thumbs, then looked at Eject. “What I’d give for an instant replay of that!”

Eject kicked him in the shin.

“Shut up.”

**********

Prime moved cautiously towards the wreckage. He thought of it as a wreckage now considering the markings on the side, the nose of what must be a control deck, and most importantly, the beast that was trashing Iacon… Cannon held at the ready, Prime’s optics flashed as he scanned the hole. What had he seen? A blocky, battered hand shot up from the dark, badly dented and streaked with grime. The fingers twitched, then fell weakly upon the bottom portion of the hole. The pinky and middle fingers were barely attached, swinging from a few errant wires. Wires? Prime saw the dull glint of metal beneath the oil-smeared appendage. A groan sounded, horribly scrambled through what Prime imagined was a damaged voice box. He took a step closer, now less than ten feet from the ship; and saw a figure start to rise. The hand he’d first seen now shook horribly as the stranger tried desperately to stand. From its silhouette alone Prime could see two things: it was a robot, and it was… incomplete. It managed to get a stump of a shorn-off leg over the hole, grasping the side to steady itself. It shook badly with the pain the effort. As light began to reveal the being, Prime’s eyes widened further in shock. What stood before him was a mechanical life form, male in appearance, dull gray. Bits of what was once a visor hung over his small black eyes, distorting them. Crusted remains of oil flaked around the sides of his mouth, ears, and a majority of his joints. A mangled arm draped by his side, wet with a tangle of sparking circuitry. He was so badly damaged Prime wondered how it functioned at all. Despite the damage, the bot fought to keep himself upright with a General’s pride.

Their eyes met.

The gray machine made a visible attempt to concentrate, then spoke as best he could with a damaged voice.
“MyY… mY naMe… Is LeADer-1."

They stared at one another a moment, two leaders, two worlds. Prime said nothing, his finger still inches from his cannon's trigger, eyes stern and cautious. Leader-1 knew the look, he was being assessed. He grimaced, another trickle of fuel dripped down his chest.

“OuR pLAanEt... UNIcrOn…”

Prime gasped at the name, feeling as if he'd been punched in the gut. Leader-1’s eyes faded, and the GoBot collapsed.