"Have
you lost your mind?!" Leader-1
screamed at the holographic image of Blane that smiled at him
over the communication hub. "I said you were NOT to kill
anyone! ANYONE!"
"Please, five bots on a ship we crashed, maybe a few more
on Earth, who gives a damn beside you?"
"Five Autobots! I told you the Autobots were
off-limits, you were only supposed to attack the Decepticons
dammit!" Leader-1 leaned closer to the image, wishing that
Blane was in the room with him, "You listen to me Blane,
when I give you an order-"
"You best take the bass out your voice and watch how you
address me, punk!" Blane's smile was gone, replaced by a
wicked sneer that contorted his features, "Or else, next
time I see you I will shove the spikiest part of
my boot down your throat and into your core, you got that?!"
"This whole operation was based on keeping them confused,
off balanced, and unable to anticipate our next move. How
are we supposed to keep them guessing if they know what to expect
from you and the Renegades?! And now that you've killed, they're
not going to think twice before pulling the trigger on any of
us!"
Blane's eyes were narrow slits. "Too bad your upgrade ain't
come with a spine. Nobody... lemme repeat that... nobody
gives a flyin' flux about those Trans-pukes but you!
If we did things my way, we'd be kickin' back with
a sixer of coolant right now and they'd all be scrap."
"If we did things your way, Unicron would have wiped us
out! I-"
"Leader-1," Turbo had entered the room, but remained
near the door. He didn't like the look in Leader-1's eye. "We're
here."
Leader-1 glanced back at Turbo, then turned his attention back
to Blane and growled, "We'll finish this later."
"Bite me, lugnut." came the retort, and Blane's
face vanished. Leader-1 noticed his fists were tight circles,
and forced himself to relax enough for them to loosen.
"Hey, you okay? I could hear ya down the hall."
Leader-1 only breathed, trying to calm himself. "Blane,
and the Renegades, they... they hijacked an Autobot shuttle and
killed the crew." He placed a hand to his
forehead, running it over the dome. A moment later he sighed.
"Any leads on Pathfinder?"
"Hans-Cuff's got Guardian scanning the channels, but so
far no good."
"Tell him to keep searching, then I want you, Smallfoot
and Scooter to join me, we've got a lot of explaining to do to
Matt, A.J. and Nick."
**************
Blane slammed his fist into Thruster's communication panel, sending
a spray of sparks bouncing off his chest. His eyes were wide
saucers, lips pulled back in a painful looking sneer. Cop-Tur
and Crasher backed away from him.
"That arrogant scud of a PITT!!! Who the scud does he think
he is?! I'll-"
"Don't... hit...me."
The sound boomed throughout the control room, as if coming from
the walls themselves. Blane halted and whipped his head around,
eyes falling on Crasher and Cop-Tor
"Was that either one've you?"
They shook their heads in unison.
"Not them," the voice, female and gruff, boomed
over the audio channels, "...me."
Blane's mouth twisted into a confused slant, his anger ebbed,
"Me who?"
"ME!" it sounded angry now, frustrated.
A monitor near Blane clicked to life. A large, green, featureless
face appeared. Blane turned back to the monitor and took in the
sight. Slight triangular indentations where the eyes would be,
it flickered with an internal, unknown light source when it spoke.
"Me."
Blane's jaw lowered a little, he brought a hand to his chin.
"Waita-wait, hold on..." a smile pulled at his lips
now, his eyes grew slightly in disbelief, he barked a harsh,
single laugh, "Wait-a-*minute*!" Leader-1 was forgotten
for the moment, "Thruster, you're talkin'!?"
"Thruster?!" Crasher, "Since when were you able
to... to... well..."
"Since the next step." the head replied, channeling
her voice into that single room now. She sounded calmer.
"And you're a girl-bot!" Blane beamed, "I wondered
why you had a little somethin' in the cargo compartment in bot
form! Haha!"
Thruster's voice came again, sounding confused "I always
have something in the cargo compartment."
Crasher laughed, "We'll talk later honey."
"What about the other Thrusters?"
"I don't know. None of them answer when I try to talk
to them."
"Makes you the only anomaly then." Blane placed a hand
to the control panel, "Looks like I don't have to touch
your controls anymore. Jump us to hyperdrive Get us to Cybertron."
"On it."
They braced themselves for the jump, feeling Thruster shudder,
then level out as she compensated for the speed.
Crasher frowned, watching another monitor tick off their increasing
distance from Earth. "Blane, are we're really just going
to leave Earth? Just like that?"
"We are, yeah, but don't you worry. As long as there's
an Earth, there'll be Renegades on Earth."
Crasher laughed, eyes squinting as she threw her head back and
laughed, enjoying Blane's blatant defiance of Leader-1. She couldn't
believe she ever held a torch for that straight arrow.
"Crasher," Blane beckoned her to follow as he headed
towards the door, "...wanna talk to you."
They traveled from Thruster's now pointless control room and
walked in silence for almost a minute.
Without warning, Blane took Crasher by the arms, pushed her against
the wall, and pressed his mouth to hers. Crasher, unfazed, grasped
the back of his head and pulled him towards her. They remained
that way for a few seconds and parted suddenly, smiling and gasping.
Blane's forehead leaned down against hers as they stared at each
other with wide, feral eyes.
Crasher managed a quiet giggle. "I didn't know I was your
type."
"Why wouldn't you be?"
"I dunno, I always thought you had a little thing for Snoop."
Blane laughed, "Twiggy? Please."
"So," she leaned forward, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial
tone, "why'd you do it?"
"Because lockin' lips with you is something I've always
wanted t'do."
"Not that, I mean back on Gobotron." Blane raised a
brow, she continued, "Why'd you insist we be the ones to
throw our lives away and attack Unicron's horn?"
"Why indeed." Blane smile widened, a
hint of the old Cy-Kill coming through as he winked at her. Crasher
felt her smile growing as well.
"You knew, didn't you? You knew
Unicron wouldn't kill us!"
"Not for sure. But I had a pretty good idea."
"How?"
"'Cause it's what I'D do!" Blane pushed himself
off the wall and pointed at the ceiling, "The head man was
weak when he came to Gobotron. Strong enough to rip us
a new one, yeah, but weak by his standards." He began
to pace. "I said to m'self, Self, if you're hurt,
and you find yourself sittin' in the middle of a potential armory,
what d'you do? Do you break all those beautiful deathbringers,
chew em' up, bend em till they're useless, throw em out? Nah,
you polish and shine those babies up, make nice and pretty as
you please..." he eyes began to glow, a half-snarl, half-smile
came across his mouth. He aimed his pointer finger at Crasher's
nose, thumb pulled back in imitation of a firearm, "...and
then you take aim at the thing that hurt you in the first place.
You make em' pay, you make em beg, and then you make em pay some
more." He lowered his hand and began to pace again, "But
a dog that lays down and gives up its stomach is just gonna get
it ripped out. Now, a dog that tries to take your face off...
I don't know about you, but that's the dog I
want on my side. I had to make sure we were those dogs. And I
had to make sure we did it first. If nothin' else,
Head Man'll know that it was the Renegades who
lunged at him b'fore those gutless Guardians even thought
about thrownin' down the gauntlet."
Crasher cackled, "You, Blane, are a genius!"
"Damn right I am, now gimme some more of that sugar."
They leaned towards each other when the floor began to quake.
They were almost thrown to the floor, Crasher grasping a nearby
doorframe to steady herself while Blane did the same. Thruster's
voice thundered down the hallway.
"Disruption! Disruption in corridor 4... 5... 6..."
"The heck's goin on Thruster?!"
"Decepticon active! Traveling northwest in corridor 2..1...
alpha section A... B..."
"Crasher, get back to the control room and, I dunno, calm
Thruster down or somethin'. I'll be back." Blane changed
modes, his motorcycle form bulky even in Thruster's massive corridors.
His engine snarled and he took off, enjoying the sound of his
own tires scraping against the floor as he cut a right turn and
barreled towards the source of the disturbance.
**************
UNECOM BASE OF OPERATIONS: FACILITY # 4189
The grey walls of the UNECOM facility stood in stark contrast
against the rocky landscape. Red and tan cliffs surrounded the
establishment, a dusty, dry and barren stretch of land that facilitated
the various experiments that took place on a daily basis. There
was a populated city two hours from their location, a fact that
bothered Matt about this particular UNECOM site, but it was one
of their main development areas, and though he could have pushed
for them to relocate the site somewhere else, he couldn't deny
that the area was indeed perfect for their work. Nobody ever
came out here despite the scenic view.
Matt stood flanked by a trio of soldiers who looked more like
secret service agents. Every one of them were inhumanly large,
wore shades, and had small devices in their ears. Matt himself
had a pair of shades on, but only because of the glare of the
sun. He still sported the same crumpled blue jeans and his trusty,
beat up brown jacket.
He saw what looked like a mirage, a dark blur against the landscape.
Nick and A.J. skidded to a halt a few feet from Matt. He suddenly
remembered how difficult it was to look at the vehicle dead on,
the area surrounding it heavily distorted. After a moment, the
car appeared more solid, the door folded open and the duo stepped
out.
The three of them stared at each other in silence for what seemed
an eternity. Matt forgot how much they had grown since the Gobots
left. Nick wasn't a skinny half-pint anymore, the relentless
training he endured filled his frame with compact layers of muscle.
He could pass for lean under a coat, but heaven help anyone who
thought about engaging him in physical combat. A.J. had gone
through the same training, racing through the programs with a
gritty determination that intimidated most of her instructors.
Matt almost smiled, he was never able to express how proud he
had been of them, how much their disappearance hurt him.
"Nick, A.J."
"Matt." Nick mumbled, hands shoved in his pockets.
Despite his bulkier frame, the motion made Nick look a lot younger.
A.J. said nothing, clearly she was only there to support Nick.
Matt noticed she still loved purple, but had updated her look.
She wore a purple half jacket over a tight black shirt, her hair
an impressive curtain of braids that reached just past her shoulders.
Dark purple jeans, black belt, black shoes. Matt repressed a
smile, that outfit only looked like casual dress, it was
calculated. He noticed the half jacket was form fitting, but
loose enough to be easily discarded if someone grabbed it from
behind. The cuffs of the pants were just high enough to reveal
a slip of black fabric, no doubt she was black-clad from head
to toe, if she wanted stealth, the purple parts of that outfit
would be gone in a flash, and so would she. He didn't even want
to guess what kind of concealed weapons she was without a doubt
carrying. Despite the hidden pride he had in A.J for being so
prepared for a confrontation, Matt felt something sink in the
pit of his stomach. How did he go from being their friend to
a disapproving father figure, did she really think he
was going to try to ambush them? He removed his shades, then
pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
"Follow me."
They obliged, following him through the first and second gates,
past the lines of armed guards sporting weaponry neither Nick
nor A.J. recognized. They sported guns that looked like toys,
but the gleaming chrome and digital gauges told them they were
anything but kids' toys. Security held back when they approached
another pair of doors requiring identification, Matt's personal
guard had access to every point in UNECOM-except the area beyond
this particular point. Matt held his hand to a panel beside the
door, allowing it to be scanned. Another beam of light shone
from the wall and into his eye, lingered, then faded. For a split
second it looked like Matt's entire body became a blur, then
he seemed fine. The light bar above the door flashed through
a spectrum of colors, then settled on green.
Access Granted, welcome back Mathew Hunter.
The computer's voice carried the faint hint of a Russian accent,
the tone and inflection similar to an old colleague of theirs,
Dr Anya Turgenova. Nick looked sidelong at Matt.
"How is Anya anyway?"
Matt frowned, "We don't talk much these days." He walked
past the door and motioned for Nick and A.J. to allow themselves
to be scanned as well. They both held back, Matt sighed.
"You're both in the system. You were always welcome to come
back... anytime you wanted."
A.J. allowed her slender fingers to touch the panel, the scan
was quick, though she looked taken aback when her body blurred
slightly.
Welcome back Allison Janmoria Foster.
"You're going to need to get that fixed," she noted,
walking through as Nick placed his palm to the panel, "The
last name is Burns now."
Matt tried a disarming smirk "Don't tell me you're mad about
the wedding thing too."
She shot a look that prompted him to raise his hands in mock
defense, "Sorry, attempt at humor, failed."
"What was that last scan, everything felt... weird."
"We call it the Shift-Check. Remember when the Guardians
told us about that parallel world they went to that had evil
versions of themselves?"
She nodded.
"And that whole mess with the bug weirdos from the 23rd
level? We couldn't risk the possibility of intruders from another
dimension showing up and pretending to be you. What you felt
was the computer checking your dimensional biorhythms against
the ones we have cataloged in this dimension. If you're
from another world, or even another time, we'll know."
They walked forward a few steps, and Nick noticed a thick sheath
on metal slide down behind them, sealing off the way they came,
eliminating the light coming in from the door and leaving them
in darkness.
The lights snapped on, Nick and A.J stood back in shock, mouths
agape, eyes wide as they beheld the new form of Leader-1. He
stared down at them, surrounded by Guardians. There was a rip
in his chest, a nasty wound.
"Leader-1!" Nick couldn't stop a smile from taking
over his face. "Turbo, Scooter!" He could identify
most of the Guardians, some required a harder look before a name
came to mind. He blinked, expecting them to vanish, that this
was just a cruel, underhanded trick by Matt to get him and A.J
to show up. But here they were, and despite all the things he
had thought about them in the bitterest of times, he couldn't
think of a single one of them. He just knew he was happy, so
happy to see them back on Earth where they belonged. A.J. however,
did not share his sentiment.
Leader-1's face carried the slightest hint of a smile despite
how troubled he appeared. He opened his hands towards them. "Matt,
Nick, A.J., I can't tell you how good it is to see you after
all this time."
"No." A.J. seethed, glaring up at the Guardians with
rising anger. The Guardians looked taken aback, all except Leader-1,
who seemed to expect it. "Don't you dare try
to act like everything's fine, because it isn't!"
"A.J., you don't unders-" Matt began, but went silent
when she wheeled around and turned her gaze on him. She returned
to Leader-1.
"You've been gone for years. Years! No notice,
no good-bye, just, gone! We thought you were going on
a mission to New Earth and you never returned!"
tears rolled down her cheeks, but she paid them no mind. "We
didn't know if you were dead, if Cy-Kill destroyed
you and Gobotron, and now you stroll back in here like nothing's
happened?!"
Leader-1's mind latched onto 'New Earth'. The name reflected
the nature of the planet called home by the Last Engineer, the
one responsible for jumpstarting the Gobot's new robotic era
of being. New Earth was supposed to be a settlement, won after
a violent battle with the Last Engineer's antithesis, the Master
Renegade. Though he did not possess a robot body, he and the
Last Engineer were every bit as powerful as the evolved Gobots,
both helping to usher in Gobotron's original technological leap.
The victory was short lived.
New Earth was only allowed a few scant years of peace, during
which time the Last Engineer devised countless technological
advances for the planet and its inhabitants, slowly creating
a paradise and safe haven for all species and races. Clean pools
of energy were tapped using the planet's deeper resources, medical
advances were allowing progress to be made on the original Earth.
And then came the cataclysm. When the Master Renegade returned,
he was not alone. A shaky alliance with Cy-Kill had been formed,
and together they unleashed a galactic maelstrom upon New Earth,
ravaging over a third of the planet before the Guardians even
knew it was under attack. Leader-1 received the news from Zeemon
himself, already en route to New Earth with the entire Gobotron
Council with him.
There was a global call to arms, hasty good-byes, and the Guardians
departed Earth, not knowing it would be the last time any of
them would set foot on the planet for years to come.
The battle was a nightmare. With the Master Renegade's sinister
mind at his disposal, Cy-Kill's army had swollen to include the
hideous Beast Fiends, whose combined form, Monstrous, wreaked
havoc across the planet. Damaged Renegades had been reconstructed
into a new version of Puzzler. This one was not the mindless,
remote controlled giant like its predecessor, he now had his
own sinister thoughts of destruction. When the Guardians attempted
to battle both combiners using the Power suits, Cy-Kill relished
the opportunity to reveal new Renegade Power suits of his own,
capable of merging as well and becoming the power warrior Grungy.
Every one of the suits had been upgraded and duplicated by the
Master Renegade, granting Cy-Kill an even greater advantage when
they merged to become Nemesis.
In the end New Earth was literally torn to in two, exposing a
core overflowing with energy the Master Renegade and Cy-Kill
intended to harvest for their own. But without warning the energy,
which had thus far been completely stable, seemed to come alive.
The resulting explosion destroyed what remained of the planet
and caused a cosmic shudder that disrupted New Earth's neighboring
planets. Though the Guardians barely escaped, the inhabitants
of the planet we not so lucky. They searched the drifting debris
for weeks hoping to find survivors, but only found lifeless bodies
drifting through space. There was no trace of the Last Engineer,
nor any possible survivors.
It was a grim lesson.
Leader-1 vowed the fate of New Earth could not become
the fate of the original Earth, and with a heavy heart, ordered
the Guardians to sever all ties to the planet. Their purpose
became protection at all costs. They fought Cy-Kill tooth and
nail when he attempted to return to Earth, erecting outposts
to detect Thrusters and battled them to a standstill. It wasn't
until Cy-Kill's fury redirected itself towards Gobotron as a
whole that they felt Earth was finally safe. Though it saddened
them, they refused to communicate with the tiny sphere, afraid
of the signals being detected by the Renegades. Any slip, any
reminder of the planet had the potential to re-ignite another
interplanetary war, and Leader-1 swore to do everything in his
power to spare Earth from the same horrifying destruction as
New Earth. The thought of losing a second world kept him up more
nights than he cared to remember. Now, looking into A.J's tear
streaked face, Leader-1 began to wonder if he had made the right
call. He had done this for them after all...
"You abandoned us."
"A.J.," SmallFoot stepped forward and knelt "You
don't understand, it was just as hard for us to not be able to
talk to you guys, we missed you so much!"
A.J crossed her arms and backed away. Nick approached and placed
a hand on her shoulder, she covered it with hers, "Matt's
told us everything, about Unicron, and this war you've started,
how can you do what you're doing?"
"C'mon guys," Turbo's voice sounded thicker in the
confines of the hangar, "you think we like what's goin'
on anymore than you do? This blows exhaust for us all, but...
Leader-1 knows what he's doin'."
Leader-1 sighed, the sound heavy, "A.J., have you ever watched
a planet die?"
She looked up at him, eyes wide, quizzical.
"I have. More times than I'm comfortable with. You don't
forget something like that A.J., it haunts you, knowing that
billions of lives were snuffed out and there wasn't a thing you
could do to stop it. It's worse watching someone ravage your
own world, and know there's nothing you can do? But what
if there was a chance? What if there was a chance, however
slight, to save billions of lives?"
"You can't justify this war with the Transformers
Leader-1! You can't trade the lives of one planet for another..."
she looked down, bit her lip, then looked back up, "Not
even if it's for your own people."
Leader-1 said nothing. He tilted his head, as if listening, waiting...
***********
Gobotropolis
Night Ranger's engine roared, he tore across Gobotropolis and
swerved around a large metal spire. He still resembled what the
humans called a harley davidson motorcycle, but now he looked
more compact, the contours of his body closer to the newer Gobotronian
designs of dual wheeled cruisers. He changed modes and slid in
a crouch towards another spire, standing abruptly and staring
over his shoulder towards the spire he just passed. He waited,
trying not to think about what could be happening to Leader-1
and the others, wondering if he would even see them again. He
shook his head and began counting off multiples of three in his
head. 3, 9, 27, 81, 243... He counted, he waited, and
then he heard what he was told to wait for:
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
He changed modes and sped away from the spire, then doubled back
and increased his speed. A pair of blue lights lit along his
exhaust pipes, getting brighter as he accelerated until the cycle
actually began to lift off the ground, a thin anti-gravity field
encircled his body. He neared the spire and climbed higher, twenty
feet in the air when his tires connected with the spire's surface
on a near 90-degree angle. He raced upward and opened a small
compartment and fired a tiny, spiked sphere into the side of
the structure. It stuck and began to spin, burrowing beneath
the metal until it vanished from sight. Night Ranger continued
his course, traveling almost to the top of the huge metal spike
before firing another sphere that also dug into the surface and
disappeared. He spun, aimed himself at the ground, and leapt,
changing modes as he descended and landing with a quiet 'thunk'.
He stood, mind still ticking off multiples of 3, eyes fixed on
the spire, and waited.
***********
Leader-1 held up a hand as if asking them to wait, then, "Dneirf
ym si ymene ym fo ymene eht."
"What?" Nick's confusion was echoed by Matt and A.J.
"Dneirf ym si ymene ym fo ymene
eht." He said again, slowly, deliberate. When he saw their
expressions hadn't changed he stood.
"Everything's backwards these days. A.J., you're right to
be upset. I hate what it looks like we've become."
"I don't... hate you, I just don't understand why you left
and never came back."
She searched their faces, even in their new forms, they couldn't
hide their uneasiness.
"What happened? What happened on that last mission?"
A.J. could see the uncomfortable glances some of the Guardians
tossed each other.
"New Earth was destroyed." He saw their faces drop
in shock, only Matt retained his composure. Leader-1 recounted
the battle fought for the planet and its inevitable destruction."
"It was Cy-Kill and the Master Renegade, they wiped it out
of existence. We couldn't forgive ourselves if the same thing
happened to Earth."
Nick turned to Matt, whose expression remained the same throughout
the story. "How can you look so calm? Did you know
about this?!
Matt grimaced, then nodded. Scooter looked perplexed.
"How? We never contacted anyone on Earth after
it happened!"
Matt's gaze shifted from Scooter to Nick, then A.J., and finally
Leader-1. They all wore the same look.
"You really don't know, do you?"
They stared at him, confused.
"Follow me."
He led them to the edge of the hanger, a tremendous, solid, reinforced
wall of unknown alloy. Large bolts studded its length in a large
'x' pattern. Matt approached and pressed his palm flat, the section
he touched faded black and scanned him. A small circular opening
rolled down and scanned his eye, lingered, as if searching further,
then winked out. A cluster of blinking bars appeared across the
wall and it came apart in a series of interlocking sections.
Blue light flooded from the small openings breaking through,
revealing a much larger room beyond the one they currently stood
in. Faint wisps what looked like steam poured from the entrance
and covered the floor, cool and misty. The room was alive with
machinery, wires poured from a single cylindrical glass tube
in the center. It was the source of the cloudy mist, the center
point of the wiring and machines that buzzed with the faint hint
of sentience.
Matt's expression became stern, he stared ahead. "Didn't
any of you think it was strange that this place continued to
advance with Gobotronian technology even though you haven't been
on Earth?"
A pale, white glow lit the bluish fluid inside, revealing a humanoid
torso connected to reams of wiring and cables. Its head lolled
in the fluid, revealing an empty left eye socket, the other eye
was closed. The right side of its skull was covered in a glistening
layer of metal that wrapped around its chin. A swath of white
hair drifted from the exposed portion of his scalp, tinted by
the fluid and drifting with the motion of his head. What little
flesh remained on his torso tapered away into a network of wiring,
as if it poured directly from him. He was missing his right arm,
more wires plugged into the stump as well as the remains of his
left.
The Gobots gasped in unison. It would have been funny under other
circumstances.
As if he heard them, the Last Engineer's eye snapped open.
*********************
Spike kissed Carly, gave Daniel a quick hug, then raced out the
door of their house and jumped into Bumblebee, who was already
shifting gears and spinning his tires before he could close the
door.
"What's the word?" Spike reached over his shoulder
and strapped his belt as they tore down the highway towards the
city limits.
"Big attack on Metroplex, I mean big, Spike.
I'm getting reports of another race of robots that, get this,
transform like we do. They hijacked one of our cargo ships and
plowed it right into Metroplex."
"Geez, it's 2005 all over again." Spike glanced outside
the window, building blurring past and giving way to the more
desolate landscape. They zoomed down a multi-lane highway that
became less and less crowded as they neared Autobot City II.
"Prime's on the way." Bumblebee wove between the cars
racing along the freeway, taking a sharp right that took them
onto an expanding stretch of road with hardly any motorists.
"I think he's already here." Spike tilted his head
and took in the sight. The Autobot craft looked strange, descending
with such grace for a ship its size. As Bumblebee whizzed past
Autobot City II, he had to cut his wheels and zigzag through
the ravaged remains of what used to be the road. Spike took in
the long stretches of burns and melted tar, the ground riddled
with indentations from gunfire.
"We're sure it's not another branch of the Decepticons?
Maybe this is just another ploy to restart the war. We all know
how badly Starscream wanted-"
"I doubt it. If they're new Decepticons, it's a shock to
Galvatron. I don't know how much I believe it, but word over
the wire is that the 'leader' of these new bots stomped him pretty
good."
"You're kidding!"
"Wish I was. Galvy was bad, but I liked to think he was
as bad as it got."
They soared down the road, the form of Metroplex becoming visible
over the horizon.
**********
"Then Galvatron gathered his bots and gave chase."
Ultra Magnus sighed, holding his bad arm with his good hand.
"We've been repairing Metroplex and tending to the wounded
since."
Optimus placed a hand on Magnus' shoulder. "You've done
a fine job holding the fort Magnus." He saw the orange sparks
playing about his wounded arm. "Get yourself checked out,
that looks pretty bad." Magnus nodded, allowing First Aid
to lead him to the lab. Optimus watched them go, then glanced
about the area. It was worse than he imagined, his hands curled
into fists.
Metroplex was in ruins. Prime had seen the deep, uneven dents
across his body when they descended, smoke still billowed from
the cracks in his frame. He looked... wrong. Now that he stood
outside, taking in the damage first hand, he felt pity for Metroplex,
it quickly shifted into anger towards the GoBots. Why attack
Metroplex, then cut and run? For that matter, why attack Cybertron
and run?" He needed answers. Optimus walked into Metroplex
and headed towards the containment cells.
*************
Kup wheeled himself into one of Metroplex's control rooms and
looked around, his aged eyes taking in all the damage. He had
waited for everyone to leave the shuttle, then carefully made
his way through Metrplex's back entrances, using the smaller,
less traveled corridors to reach this point. He had seen Ultra
Magnus, Springer and Hot Rod from afar; it was good enough for
him, and better for them. A quick key code into a hallway
monitor showed him Arcee in recovery. First Aid had done some
extensive work to the poor fem's forehead and right eye. He wondered
what those GoBots had done to her to leave behind that much damage.
She was moving, clearly awake, but too much movement caused small
lines of energy to shoot from the wound.
Monitors had been smashed by all the flying debris during the
fight, papers and chairs scattered about as if a cyclone settled
down in the middle of the room. He sighed and wheeled over to
the main control panel, flipping a few switches to see if it
was worth trying. His brows lifted slightly in surprise as a
few lights turned on, blinking in erratic intervals. He patted
the side of the panel.
"Messed you up pretty good didn't they?" He clicked
a few buttons, the remaining monitors stuttered, then filled
with static.
"I..." Metroplex's voice filled the room, crackling
through a speaker in the ceiling, "am...hurt."
"I know big fella," Kup frowned, "It's been a
long day for us all."
He rolled to the nearest broken monitor and began to pick up
bits of glass.
***********************************
Starscream stormed down the surprisingly large open hallway.
He was still screaming, unable to think straight, reality still
blended with the horrors his now corrupted memory files insisted
on forcing him to experience. The area suddenly went dark, the
lights snapping off with an air of resentment. He still sailed
forward, hoping to get away from the impossible things in his
head. Then he saw them. A pair of eyes, bright and yellow in
the dark, glaring at him with a palpable malice. Instantly Starscream's
weapons fired, the null ray slamming into the ground beside the
thing and illuminating it in a quick, pink flash of light. The
monster looked crouched, it snarled with the sound of a motor
and raced towards him.
Blane revved his engine and charged towards the obviously psychotic
seeker. What did Dr.Go do to him? He'd have to have a
'chat' with the good doctor later, but right now this Decepticon
had to be dealt with. An explosion went off beside him, the Decepticon
was firing at him, then began launching everything in his arsenal,
not caring what he hit or how much damage was being done to the
surrounding area. Blane charged the slanted headlights set midway
against his front, and fired.
The beast was returning fire. Starscream howled and launched
another barrage, wondering if he was fighting Predaking, or was
it Abominus? He became vaguely aware of another light coming
from behind, the eyes before him suddenly disappeared. Maybe
both gestalts were there? He transformed, landed, spun on his
heel and saw them; another set of eyes, emerald, half-lidded,
not at all malicious. They almost looked bored. Starscream's
shouts paused long enough to hear
"Shhhh..."
A metallic sound. Click... Click.
A jarring, high frequency shriek assaulted his audio receptors
and split the glass along his canopy. His own scream was lost
in the sonic assault, rings of added energy raced across his
body. Starscream's internal operating systems shut down and sent
him into stasis while they rebooted, the codes reconfiguring
themselves as he faded once again into darkness.
Thruster turned the lights back on.
Tux stood over Starscream, the flaps of his metal longcoat lowering,
the slots that fired the assault dimming as they powered down.
Blane walked over to the downed seeker and crossed his arms.
"Nice."
"I came as soon as I heard." Tux tilted his head, "Dr.Go
says this one wields something called a Null ray. Like
a restraining bolt, but a lot more... effective."
Blane knelt beside Starscream and looked up at Tux, his smile
returned. "Frag've a weapon, ain't it?"
**************
????????:
Zeemon snapped awake. He was surrounded by blackness, so thick
and heavy he thought he could reach out and touch it. It was
silent, either that or he had gone completely deaf. Where was
he? What was going on? He lay still, afraid to move a circuit
in fear of the unknown. His mind raced, and memories poured into
head. Unicron, the chaos that followed, Leader-1's last desperate
attempt to purge Unicron from Gobotropolis... Failure.
Suddenly there was light without a source, revealing him to be
in a large room, dull, official looking. He realized he was on
his back, staring up at the ceiling of what was once the Gobotron
Council's meeting chambers. He was on the meeting table, now
he could sense the cold metal beneath him. How was this possible?
He dared a look to his left, then right. Empty, dark, and strange
in this unearthly light. He raised a hand, cautious, and saw
a familiar silver claw rise into his field of view. He considered
it a moment, turning it left and right, when suddenly he saw
himself. It was an impossible angle, because he was flat on his
back, and yet for a few second he was granted a bird's eye view,
a clear image of himself in the position he thought he was in.
He body looked no different than it had before, why did this
confuse him? Was this a mirrored ceiling now? No. Now he was
staring at the actual ceiling again. Forgetting his initial trepidation,
he sat upright, his head swimming and making him feel ill. He
glanced about the meeting chamber and realized it was not as
familiar as he thought, It was in fact, more familiar than he
remembered. A chair rested in the corned, the same make as the
one in his private quarters. They didn't have one of those, everything
here was official, standard issue. Pictures of himself at various
events hung from the walls, moments he shared with other Guardians
he didn't remember being recorded. There were no pictures without
him. That didn't make any sense, he always attended major events
with the other Council members, where were the pictures of them?
He turned and saw a small cluster of frames were now sitting
beside him on the table, each perfectly outlined and propped
up to show their contents, various moments in his life displayed
proudly. He leaned closer, examining them. Leader-1 accepting
a metal he presented for successfully halting a riot on Elba.
The completion of Gobotropolis' restructuring. A closed quarters
council meeting, all of its members deep in thought. His eyes
darted to and fro, confused. They didn't take pictures
at meetings, where did this come from? All forms of recording
devices were forbidden to keep sensitive information from being
discovered or leaked to the Renegades. He looked closer, who
took this? He caught glimpse of another picture and froze.
The image was taken at night, but he and Spa-C were lit clear
as day. They stood atop Metallis Tower, one of the highest Gobot-built
structures, her hands in his. He remembered, the stars were brilliant
that night. She was tilting herself upward, lips pressed to his
chin. He remembered that moment so clearly. What he did not
recall, however, was anyone else being there besides the two
of them. Those in the Guardian ranks were forbidden from fraternizing
with High Command, lest the impartial nature of their decisions
become compromised. It was an offense punishable by expulsion,
for both of them.
He snatched the picture up and stared at it, no one was there
dammit, it was just him and Spa-C. Then it clicked. He gasped
and spun around, eyes darting about the room as he realized that
he wasn't really here at all. The familiar chair, these
pictures containing images of his life, both official and intimate...
He was inside his own mind.
"How is this possible?" he whispered.
He turned towards the doorway and made for it when it stretched
away from him, growing impossibly long and tilted in the beginnings
of a spiral. Zeemon stepped back, heart thudding, mind a blur
of thoughts. Then he heard the laughter, a cold, humorless chuckle
carrying down the hallway and pervading the chamber. He backed
up against the wall, terrified by that sound. He saw the pictures
on the table had changed, they faced him accusingly in tight
rows, each displaying the final moments of Unicron's attack,
Zeemon's own Command Center collapsing under waves of redirected
energy and exploding. He felt a twinge of guilt as his body drifted,
barely harmed by the Center's explosion due to his secret. His
body's heightened durability held up even in the middle of that
maelstrom, he looked oddly out of place next to his decimated
friends. The images began to move, each one a second ahead of
the one before it but all replaying their particular slice of
time. Zeemon saw himself pulled into Gobotropolis itself, the
surface becoming alive with motion and reached towards him, ensnaring
his unconscious form and dragging him into its murky depths.
He saw the abstract cocoon-like structure alight with blinking
green and amber lights, lowering itself into a vast empty space.
It split with a wet, ripping sound and spilled a bright red splash
of liquid clogged with dripping wires wrapped around a leviathan
of a machine. It lowered slowly, small, quivering motions as
the shape became more solid and sure of its movements. As the
tangle of cables slipped free of the form, Zeemon barely recognized
what Unicron had done to his body, aghast to see the path
of his new evolution. Unicron's aura radiated from the monstrous
creature, concentrated itself within the being. It was horrific.
He felt his legs trying to backed away from those horrific images,
forgetting that he was already pressed firmly against the wall.
He tried to look away but couldn't, his eyes were riveted, he
couldn't stop staring at that... thing that corrupted his body.
In every picture frame it stood, barely contained by their borders,
and slowly turned its head to face him.
Zeemon wished he could back away further when he heard that chilling
laughter again. He swiveled his head around and saw the wall
was no longer a wall, but a large, clear window. Unicron (or
did he call him Gobocron, maybe Zeenocron now?) stared down at
him. The ceiling curved upward, as if cringing away from the
abomination. The faceless beast towered above the Gobot, its
featureless face silent and unreadable.
Zeemon screamed. |
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