CYBERTRON:
Soundwave saw the flaps of Tux’s metal jacket begin to rise. In response, he placed a finger to his shoulder.
“Rumble, Frenzy, Buzzsaw, Ravage, Ratbat. Eject. Operation: Purge.” They leapt from his chest and transformed as they landed, Ravage growled, exposing his teeth.
Tux’s eyes raised a bit, “Miniature Decepticons… mini-cons if you will.” He looked at Soundwave, “And I thought I was the only one who got lonely.”
The flaps of his jacket continued to raise, exposing a glowing disc-like speaker embedded in each. They shifted with a click, then dropped and changed into smaller identical robots. A red letter ‘R’ was stenciled on the arm of one, an ‘L’ on the arm of the other.
“Racous, Lambaste…” a click sounded on Tux’s back, a rectangle of metal dropped down and changed as well. A small yellow and red female, the buttons of a music player rested on her shoulders and midsection. “MP3.”
Tux reached up and touched the brim of his hat, lifting it off his head and held it out to the side, then let it drop. It changed modes as it fell, a small silver robot sporting a tiny mobster hat landed and glared across the room. Rounded cartridges hung from his forearms like tommy-guns. Tux smirked, “…and Hat Trick.”
“Unimpressive.” Soundwave raised his arms and unleashed a quaking round of sonics as Tux ignited his own sonic cannons, the resulting ‘BOOM!’ thundered across the room and shook the upper levels.
The cassettes raced forward and attacked, Frenzy tackled Hat Trick as Rumble launched himself at Racous. MP3 fired her sideguns at Ratbat, shredding a portion of the ceiling as he veered with an angry squeak and swooped down at her. Buzzsaw twirled to avoid the energy bursts firing from Lambaste’s hands and glided past, slashing his chest with the edge of his wing, the mini gobot yelped and grabbed Buzzsaw’s foot, slamming him to the ground.
Soundwave was thrown off his feet and crashed into a nearby console that sparked when he hit. He fell to the floor and saw Tux on the ground as well, a hand clasping the side of a nearby computer as he pulled himself to his feet. Ravage had slunk behind him, low to the ground, tail swishing frantically. Tux raised his head and aimed one of his cannons at Soundwave, then grunted when Ravage lunged, sinking his teeth into his arm as he charged and fired. The shot went wild, slamming into the corner of the room with the sound of a harsh wind. A large circle of metal fell from the point of impact, the sliced, rounded edges surgically precise. Tux grabbed Ravage’s head as he continued to stand and flashed a burst of energy into the feline’s face, blowing him free of his arm with a hiss. Soundwave collided with him, they crashed into the wall and Soundwave brought a clenched fist against the intruder’s face. Tux grunted again, answering with a glowing right hand that exploded against Soundwave’s chest. He staggered back and ducked, a line of yellow energy streaked overhead, inches from his face. He heard it explode against the far wall. His mind raced, he needed to get them out of here, a battle in this room was detrimental to the Decepticons’ success. He raced forward, intent on tackling the Renegade, and saw those infernal side cannons raise, glowing, too late.

---------------

“Soundwave,” Shockwave leapt into the air and aimed his descent behind Castsight. “The Tower should be recharged by now, take aim and fire at the-” A high-pitched rasp of static blared in his audio, catching him by surprise. “Soundwave?”

----------------

“Soundwave!” Rumble slung Racous over his shoulder and saw Soundwave sail overhead, smashing into one of the communication towers. It bent and folded under his weight, erupting with a sputtering of sparks and fire. Laserbeak sprang from a slot in the side and transformed, his wings ablaze. He squawked, beating them wildly to put out the flames, then swung through the air and clamped onto Soundwave’s shoulder as he struggled to sit up while drawing his gun. Soundwave’s shoulder cannon rose and spun, then fired on Tux from across the room. Laserbeak aimed his weapons as well, and fired.


***************
UNECOM BASE OF OPERATIONS: FACILITY # 4189

Turbo and Sparky stood beside the leg of Command Center G1, her hand resting in his as they stared out at the canyons. Their eyes didn’t register Pathfinder until she spoke, she was still a hovering blur of motion.
“Turbo! Sparky!”
What the-?!” Turbo let go of Sparky’s hand and charged his fists, looking about wildly.
“No no,” Pathfinder’s body steadied itself, no longer vibrating, the speed effects slowing down and making her visible. “It’s me.”
“Holy moly!” Turbo smiled and hugged her to him, “We been worried sick about ya!”
Sparky smiled, “We thought something bad happened, there’s so much screwy stuff going on.”
“Something bad did happen.” Pathfinder stood apart from Turbo and looked at them, “I was captured and interrogated.” She caught their looks, “I didn’t tell them anything they could use, you know none of us knows enough about what Leader-1’s doing to give them anything that could stop what’s happening.” She glanced about, “Where’s Leader-1? I need to see him now.”
Turbo jutted a thumb towards the hangar, “In there with everyone else, we were just goin’ back in. What’s the problem?”

--------------

“Let go!” SmallFoot pushed against Scooter and Staks, who tried desperately to restrain her, “He might be hurting him!”
Blue light flared around Leader-1’s body. The Last Engineer’s eye was wide, glowing with a brilliant blue light that had made everyone take a few steps back from the pod. It had only been a few seconds, SmallFoot was the first one to shake off the stupor and immediately moved to pull Leader-1 free. Scooter had taken hold of her arm and forgot she was still as strong as she had ever been, dragging him along, intent on separating Leader-1’s contact with the tube.
“Wait!” Scooter had yelled as Staks moved forward to help, “We don’t know what’s happening, you might cause more harm than good if you break the connection!”
“He might…” SmallFoot strained, “already…be…dead! Then what do we do?!”
She kept pulling against them until Leader-1 screamed, a blast of blue light filled the room, then faded. Leader-1 lay on his back, his body awash in a glittering sheen that seemed to sink into him and vanished. He looked around, then pulled himself to his feet amongst the confused expressions of his Guardians.
“He spoke to me.” He looked back at the tube. The Last Engineer was staring at him, his eye clear, a single blue iris pierced Leader-1 when it settled on him. Then he looked about the room, every Guardian in silence as he smiled, returning his gaze to Leader-1 and mouthing the words ‘Lead them’.
And the light faded from his eye, his smile slipped, and his head sagged. Light filled the tube, swirling about the Last Engineer, who looked like he was breaking apart, metal and flesh alike dissipating into the very liquid he floated in.
“What’s happening?” SmallFoot started to advance but Leader-1 held up a hand to halt her. The Last Engineer looked up a final time, the remains of his face disappearing like sand in the wind, the liquid swished about in the tube and cracked it, then shattered in a bloom of light.
He was gone. The Guardians stood gape mouthed at the empty tube.
“Leader-1.” A voice came from behind, startling some. Leader-1 spun around and saw Pathfinder. Turbo and Sparky stood beside her.
“I need to speak to you, it’s very important.

************
CYBERTRON:

Blane rumbled across the surface of DarkOre Central. Thick, wicked spikes studded his wheels and gripped the metallic surface. He paused on occasion, then boosted his accelerator and tore curling strips from the ground as he roamed the landscape. Behind him, around him, and above him, his Renegades did what they did best-created chaos.

Galvatron stood atop a building close to the city’s central tower. The Thruster transports were still fighting the modified Guardian Robots. Shockwave had done well, but with the appearance of the two Renegade beasts, he wondered how long they could hold out. The tower itself looked like it was ready to fire again, yet it didn’t. The constant stream of Decepticon communications had ceased, becoming clipped, inconsistent chunks of garbled conversations. They could communicate without the tower being active, but it was no longer as smooth or coordinated. If there was trouble within, if the Renegades had somehow found a way inside, he hoped Soundwave and the security forces could purge them.
Cyclonus and Scourge remained at his side, as if afraid to leave him alone. The rest of the sweeps however, had been dispatched to assist the Seeker soldiers.

That's when he saw him. The motorcycle. Huge wheels alternately extruding and retracting spikes, shredding the ground as he raced over it. Much, much bigger than the Junkion cycles he had stored in his reference data. Although it was definitely doing wanton damage to the landscape, it wasn't actively attacking anything or anyone. Because it didn't need to, Galvatron concluded, the rest of the Renegades were doing a more than adequate job.
“Blane.” He growled, then shouted, “BLANE! ”
“Galvatron, wait!” Cyclonus held out a hand-too late, and Galvatron leapt from the roof.
“Galvatron is the least of your worries.”
Cyclonus turned, Cop-Tor hovered above him in his chopper form, then changed modes and drew his propeller blades as he landed. Scourge and Cyclonus gripped their guns, aimed and fired. Cop-Tor deflected the blasts with his swords but didn’t see the second rounds until it was too late. Two streams of laserfire clipped his right shoulder and sent him staggering back, he slung a single blade that flashed through the air and slid into Cyclonus’ torso. The Decepticon yelled, grabbing the hilt of the weapon and pulling it free as Fitor streaked from the sky in vehicle form and smashed into him, carrying him into the air. Cyclonus clasped his hands together and brought them down hard across Fitor’s windshield, sending a crack racing across the glass. He leapt free and transformed, his rockets blasting fire as he took off after the Renegade.
“It is pointless to flee.” He fired, missing Fitor by inches. They wove through the buildings, Fitor swung around and fired a flurry of energy bursts. Cyclonus spun and dodged the attack, hearing the assault tear into a nearby window. He carried forward, wincing as Fitor raced beneath him, tilted, and slashed his underside with the tip of his wings. Smoke spilled from the cut, then faded as Cyclonus increased his speed and took wing after the Renegade.
The Sweeps engaged Skyjack and Waterwalk, their aerial battle raging above Scourge and the sword wielding Cop-Tor. The Renegade twirled his blade in his hand, increasing the speed of rotation until it was a spin of motion, a deadly blur he swung at Scourge, who closed his wingshields in time to block the deadly strike. He could hear it slashing against the metal with the squeal of a buzzsaw. he parted his wings a fraction of an inch, allowing Cop-Tor’s blade to pass through, then clamped them shut again, catching the whirring blade and stopping it inches from his own face. He could feel Cop-Tor straining, trying to force the weapon to spin, then a yank attempting to pull it free. Scourge slung his wings open, noticed Cop-Tor thrown back, then raced forward and locked his hands around the Renegade’s throat. Cop-Tor dropped his blade and brought a knee into Scourge’s mid-section. He felt the pain, but refused to release his grip. They struggled, Cop-Tor straining against the bulkier Decepticon as he pushed forward, then abruptly lifted Cop-Tor by his neck and slung him across the roof. He crashed and skidded, tumbling and snatching one of his blades as he rolled over it. Scourge stomped towards him, gun drawn, finger reaching to pull the trigger when he felt a hot pain rip through his knee joint. He shouted an obscenity and saw Cop-Tor with both claws wrapped around the handle of his sword, jamming the thing through his knee, then wrenched it to the side. Again Scourge shouted and fired, Cop-Tor raised a free hand that glowed an instant before launching his own blast. The colliding energy bursts sent them both sprawling, Scourge clanged hard to the floor, gripping his injured leg, which was now missing its lower half. He glanced up with narrowed eyes and saw Cop-Tor stagger to his feet with a yell, turning toward Scourge with a hand raised and gripping his now destroyed forearm. Scourge didn’t think, he pushed himself onto his good knee and transformed, rocketing forward, then transformed again when he neared Cop-Tor, colliding with the Renegade and carrying them both over the side of the roof.

--------------------

Galvatron allowed himself to fall the height of the building, the motor-bot never once leaving his sight, and landed hard before him. He bent at the knees, and as he stood, he heard Blane shift and assume his robot form. They stood and faced each other.
“We have unfinished business.”
“Lost some’ve my boys thanks t’you.” Blane growled, “That says t’me, the beatdown I gave you on Earth just wasn’t enough, huh?”
Galvatron returned his stare, but remained silent. Blane clenched his fists, energy pooled into them, casting a yellow glow against his legs and forearms. “Ain’t got no giant dinosaur t’save you this time.”
“I’m not the one who needs to be saved.”
Galvatron raised his cannon and fired, Blane leapt to the side, rolled, and sprang to his feet. He charged forward, fist cocked and glowing. Galvatron waited, then side-stepped the Renegade and slammed his jaw with a hard right hand. Blane’s momentum carried him forward, the force of the strike lifted and spun him around. He completed the spin with his hands pointed towards Galvatron and fired dual blasts of energy. Galvatron dodged one, the second connected with his shoulder and threw him across the street. He smashed into a building with a clang, leaving a large crack behind. With a glare he fired his cannon again, aiming to the left of Blane. The blast smashed into the building behind Blane and exploded, the force of the detonation spraying the GoBot with debris and sent him staggering forward.
"You have no chance.” Galvatron reared back and slugged Blane again, the Renegade’s head snapped to the side a moment before he dropped to the ground and lay still. Galavtron watched him a moment, he didn’t move. He narrowed his eyes and dared a step forward, it couldn’t have been this easy-
“GOTCHA!” Blane swung himself to his feet and flung a handful of melted metal in Galvatron’s face. Blane’s hands were still glowing, the ground still hot from where he clutched a large hunk of it free. Galvatron shouted as the metal cooled and tried to bond to his face, ripping it free as Blane crashed a fist into his forehead with a small burst of energy, knocking Galvatron off his feet and crashing through the wall of the building. He stepped into the hole and looked side to side in the darkness, then caught sight of a circle of purple light. He yelled, raising his hands and blasting as Galvatron fired in his cannon mode.
The explosion destroyed most of the lower portion of the building, which immediately began to shudder with the uneven distribution of weight. Blane was hurled backwards like a meteor, his body covered in purple flames, smashing through the opposite building, carried through the walls of the first side, and exploded through the wall on the other side. He plowed into the ground, carving a thick slash of roadwork until he came to a stop in a smoking heap. Three streets away, Galvatron lay in a similar position, body crackling with lines of yellow energy, the ground beneath him dented inward.

------------------------

The Combaticons remained stationed in front of the entrance to DarkOre Tower, they could hear and see the Renegade Thrusters on the opposite side, looming above the structure.
“We should be doin’ something, why are we just standin’ around here?!” Brawl pounded a fist into an open palm and ground it. There were fights breaking out everywhere, and here they were stuck at the Tower’s entrance because Shockwave declared they be there.
“The bigger question is-what’s going on with our comm-links?” Blast-Off hovered above them, but remained near the Tower. “I’m getting transmissions from everyone now. Something’s going on up there.”
“Gotta be the GoBots!” Brawl shouted, “We should be poundin’ some chassis into the ground!”
Onslaught shook his head, “Shockwave told us to remain at the Tower’s entrance, we can’t chance the Renegades just waltzing in the front door.”
A burst of static grated in their ears.
“Newsflash,” Vortex winced, “sounds like they didn’t need the front door to get in.”
Swindle glanced up towards the upper floors of the Tower, “Think Shockwave’d promote us if we, y’know, found some GoBots inside and stopped them?”
There was a sudden growl of engines approaching from their left. The Combaticons turned in unison and saw dust and exhaust kicking up in the distance. A group of five slick, remodeled sports cars stormed in their direction, a single police-style vehicle led them. All six were about the same size, their headlights glaring as they neared.
“Who’re they?”
“Not the Stunticons, that’s for sure.” Vortex transformed and lifted into the air, joining Blast-Off in the sky. The newcomers hit their breaks and cut their wheels, drifting in a fluid motion and completing a circle around the Combaticons.”
“ Puzzler Fiends,” the police car shouted, “Let’s get ready to RUMBLLLLE!” They changed modes and landed at the same time.
Six Renegades stared at the Combaticons, none of them as tall as Onslaught, but almost a head taller than Brawl and the rest. Their eyes were the same blaring shade of red. The police car stepped forward, fists casting the tell-tale Renegade yellow. Onslaught presumed him to be the leader of this subgroup. Brawl couldn’t contain his excitement.
“Rumblin’ eh? Sounds good t’me!”

***************
UNECOM BASE OF OPERATIONS: FACILITY # 4189

“They’re going to what?!” The stunned look on Leader-1’s face spoke volumes.
“That’s what he told me, he said they were prepared to destroy Cybertron. He was serious Leader-1, you should have seen the look in his eyes.”
A.J stood beside SmallFoot, “Leader-1, what are we going to do, we can’t let this happen! We can’t let them destroy their own world!”
“I have no intentions of letting that happen.” Leader-1 was quiet, thinking. Something wasn’t… right.
Pathfinder, were you followed?”
“No.”
“How did you manage to escape?”
“I…” she thought, “When Optimus left my cell, the door didn’t close all the way.”
“Didn’t close all the way?” Leader-1 placed a hand to his chin, frowning.
“Well yes, guess I got lucky. I-” she froze, suddenly feeling cold. She thought about her escape, the sudden removal of the massive dinosaurs that could easily have blocked her path by girth alone if they were still guarding her cell, the way she had just been able to slip past the living Fortress’ attempts to seal her in… the lack of anyone trying to track her down after she left…
“They let me go.” She whispered, looking up at Leader-1, her visor round, “Optimus said what he said knowing I’d find you and-”
The alarms went off. Bright red lights in the ceiling flashed as a warning horn blared across the compound. “Leader-1!” Matt placed a finger to his ear, nodded, then looked up. “I just got word, there’s an unidentified vehicle heading this way. It’s already passed the first two markers we have posted, which means it’s less than a mile away and still hasn’t identified himself.
“ Prime.” Leader-1 crossed his arms, thinking.
“This is my fault,” Pathfinder clenched her hands into fists, “I led them right to us, I feel so stupid!”
“It’s no one’s fault,” Leader-1 placed a hand on her shoulder, “They were going to find us one way or another, I just didn’t think it would be this soon.”

---------------

“UNECOM, that’s what I’m getting.” Blaster’s voice carried over Bumblebee’s radio, “That GoBot did the shuffle over there so fast it makes my head spin.”
“UNECOM,” Spike’s brow furrowed, “I know that name…” he gasped, “I was sent there! The FBI was trying to place me in charge of that outfit a couple of years ago. Apparently someone named Hunter caught wind of what was going down and pitched a fit. I don’t know what happened, but suddenly it was like they never existed, and no one talked to me about it since. I didn’t care at the time because I didn’t want the position, but if they’re connected to the GoBots, it explains why they tried to shoehorn me in there.”
“Bumblebee,” Prime’s voice came through, “I want you and Blurr to hold back, wait for the rest of us to arrive. This is not going to be pleasant.”
Bumblebee slowed, “ Prime, what if there are humans in there?”
“You’re right, I’m certain the Guardians have human contacts just like we do. Spike, I want you to contact your FBI connections and explain the situation. It there are humans in that facility we’re going to need them evacuated-whether they want to be or not.”
“ Prime, if I raise any flags they’re going to want to bring the hammer down on this place!”
“I wish we had another choice, but it’s a risk we’re going to have to take. Try to talk to them, all we need is the humans evacuated.”
“Okay,” he pulled out his phone, punching a few keys, “I’ll do what I can.”

---------------

“Leader-1!” SmallFoot’s hands were alight, “what do we do?
Leader-1’s eyes swept the room, they were all staring at him, the Last Engineer’s voice drifted through his head.
LEAD THEM!
He narrowed his eyes. “We stand, we fight. Sparky, you and Street Heat take watch along the perimeter wall in front, keep us posted.”
“But Leader-1, don’t we need everyone on the front lines?”
“This is not what it seems, something’s wrong, and if we don’t respond accordingly, they’ll knock us down like pins. Turbo!” Turbo straightened up, opening and closing his hands. “You’re in charge of the front defense. Scooter, Stacks, Matt, cover the back. Stay near the Command Centers and be ready to retreat if things get too heated.”
He tapped his chest, “Baron VonJoy, what’s the status of Command Center G2?”
The dark gray transport stood apart from Center G1, still in dinosaur form. It had not been able to change forms since the fight with Fortress Maximus, taking a larger amount of damage than its lighter twin. Baron Von Joy stood surrounded by his tech crew, Scratch and Good Knight. They all wore their new bodies with an air of greater contentment, particularly the Baron, his new form slimmed and allowing him access to the smaller nooks and crannies of his inventions.
“Command Center G2 is almost fully operational, its self repair functions are almost complete.”
“Good.”
“What about us?” Nick had already removed his jacket, A.J ran her hands down her vest, smoothing it against herself. “You’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“I…” Leader-1 hesitated, he couldn’t ask them to put themselves in harm’s way, not against the Transformers… But their looks were piercing him, they had come at his behest. He looked from one to the other.
“This is going to be dangerous, extremely dangerous. Are you sure you want to do this.”
“Yes.” Nick didn’t hesitated, though A.J only nodded.
“Okay. Nick, you’re with Staks.”
“Hoo-wee!” Staks stood towards the back of the group because of his increased size. He reached a good two heads above Turbo, orange, black and gray metal composed his new body. His head no longer consisted of two windows, though he still retained two large eyes set above a gray mask. An orange helmet sat on his head, two large smokestacks poked from either side. “This is gonna be quite the showdown I reckon.”

A.J. stared up at Leader-1, “I know we don’t have time for the full story, and honestly, I don’t know if I want to know all the details behind this,”
Leader-1 made to speak when A.J. continued, her eyes meeting his, “ Promise me… promise me that when this is all over, I’ll still be able to look you in the face.”
Leader-1 was silent, he heaved a sullen sigh. “Believe me, if there were any other way-” he cut himself off, allowing a moment to pass. “Yes.” He looked down at her, “When this is all said and done A.J., when this finally makes sense, I hope you’ll understand.”
A.J. considered his words, then nodded. “We should get the guards out of here.” She looked at a nearby monitor, the UNECOM agents were stationed at their respective posts, weapons at the ready, faces trying not to register the fear of not knowing what was going on. Matt nodded. “Every post has an underground exit that’ll lead to-”
“Good.” Leader-1 nodded, “A.J., make the announcement and start getting them out of here. Street Heat, Sparky, get to the front of the compound and keep watch.”
They changed modes and raced from the room immediately, heading towards the front. A.J. grabbed a portable speaker and clicked a button on the side, her voice traveled through the vast network of speakers lining the walls.
“This is not a drill, we need the compound evacuated, I repeat evacuated. This is not a drill.” She left the room, exited the doors and headed towards the center of the compound continuing to bark orders.

----------------

“No!” Spike gripped a handful of hair, gripping the phone in his hand, “No, they are not planning to attack the city. I told you, we don’t know what they’re planning. We think there might be people in this base and we don’t want to launch a full-scale assault with innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire? Am I going? Of course I’m going!” he held the phone away from his ear and clenched his teeth, let a breath out and returned it to his ear. “Listen, I just need you to sweep the place, can you do that? What? Don’t put me on hold!”
He heard a click, a ten second period of static, then a new voice. It sounded young, but gruff.
“Mr. Witwicky?”
“Yeah?”
“This is Agent Braxis.” A pause, “You don’t remember me, do you?
“Uh…” Spike rested his head in his hand, “Can’t say that I do, no.”
“That’s alright. We met briefly before your near appointment to UNECOM’s head chair. Am I hearing this correctly, you’re in the company of the Autobots?”
“That’s right.”
“About to launch an assault on a UNECOM compound.”
“Yes, look, there really isn’t much time to discuss this, we just need any possible human allies pulled from the area.”
Another pause. “You know, I’m going against protocol granting this request, you’re asking me to go on blind faith that we should just assume the Autobots have just reason for doing what they’re doing.”
“Look, you can believe what you want, but know that this is happening, and if someone gets hurt, it won’t be for my lack of trying to help, it’ll be on your refusal to do anything to prevent it.”
Silence.
“Okay, we’re tracking you now, I will personally make sure this goes down the way it’s supposed to.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Agent Braxis out.”

--------------------------------

Sparky and Street Heat stood atop the first wall surrounding the UNECOM compound, Throttle, Pumper and Hans-Cuff stood guard below. They could see the dust rising against the horizon. The sun was a fierce red half sphere, retreating from the sky and revealing the form of Optimus Prime. His powerful truck form rumbled across the stretch of land in a straight beeline towards UNECOM headquarters. His speed was increasing.
“It’s Prime.” Sparky tapped her chest and sent a communication to Leader-1, “Just Prime.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t see anyone else.”

Prime’s engine roared, tires tearing into the rocky ground in a blur. He could see UNECOM’s outpost growing ever closer, caught sight of the few Gobots standing near the entrance. They leveled their hands at him and open fired. He refused to slow as blasts of hot energy struck his grill, one slammed into his headlight and sent a thin crack through it.
Almost there.

“What’s he doing?” Street Heat took aim and fired again at Prime, who seemed oblivious to the reinforced wall of titanium and cement waiting for him if he didn’t slow.
“I don’t know,” Sparky replied, sending a line of blue energy in the semi’s direction.
Optimus felt another blast wing the top corner of his cab, causing him a flicker of pain. But it didn’t matter now; he was close enough. With a loud ‘clack’, his trailer began to part as if sliced down the middle. Sparky gasped at the sound of multiple growls and snarls that seemed to be coming directly from Prime himself. For a moment she was unable to shoot, unable to move, frozen with mounting fear. How was he doing that?
There was a sudden flurry of motion as the sides of Prime’s trailer dropped into a level platform. Four Autobot cars, engines revving madly, became visible. Elita-1, Jazz, Hound and Hot Rod transformed in unison, charging forward with angry shouts. Blaster sprang from Jazz, as one they drew their weapons and unleashed a fury of fire upon Hans-Cuff, Pumper and Throttle.
Prime still motored forward, now sounding his horn, a blaring, deafening blast that rattled the Guardians where they stood. Hans-Cuff aimed and fired a shot that erupted just to Prime’s side as he gave his speed a final jolt, sealed his trailer, then detached himself from it. His lower thrusters boosted him into the air and he transformed, landing squarely atop his trailer. The front end smashed into the ground and carved a thick groove but its momentum never slowed. Prime’s canon appeared in his hand and he took aim at the Sparky and Street Heat, his blasts finding their mark on each of them and sending them flying out of the way seconds before his trailer began to shift lengthwise and smashed through the wall.

Hans-Cuff and Throttle dove for cover behind the now useless, crumbling wall, engaging the Autobots in a firefight. Gunfire ricocheted off the cracking metal, Pime stood atop his trailer, eyes looking out over the UNECOM compound as he fired at the oncoming Guardians, searching.

Turbo, SmallFoot and Leader-1 walked side by side towards the conflict, silent until Turbo caught sight of Optimus. He ground a fist into his open palm. “Want me to take ‘im Leader-1?”
“No.” Leader-1 took a deep breath without thinking, steeling himself. It was now or never. He tapped his chest, opening a com-link.
“Matt, I just wanted to thank you, Nick, and AJ… for everything.”
There was silence for a moment, then Matt’s voice came through.
“I’ll pass it along. Go get ‘em big guy.”
Leader-1 nodded. He looked back briefly at Turbo and SmallFoot, “Hold the line, and be ready when I get back.”
“I wish you’d let me come with ya.”
Leader-1 shook his head. “I won’t risk it, it’s too dangerous.” A brief pause, “He’s too dangerous.”
With that Leader-1 leapt into the air and changed modes, ignited his rockets, and sped towards Prime.

“I want this compound secured!” Prime yelled down to his troops, “ Pin them down, and mind any humans!” He pointed to Hound, “Now, second wave!”
Hound swiveled the gun mounted on his back and killed the energy being fed to his holographic projector. The road behind him that previously appeared empty, now dissipated, revealing Ironhide, Inferno, Arcee and Gears. They motored through the shattered remains of the first wall surrounding UNECOM and transformed, joining the battle.

Optimus squeezed off another round when he heard a faint whistling to his left.
“Optimus!” Elita-1’s voice rang in his audio, “Look out!”
He turned in time to catch glimpse of a gray blur that collided with him, lifting him into the air and carrying him off his trailer and into the distance and out of sight.
Caught in the crook of Leader-1’s wing, Prime’s mind flickered back to their fight on Cybertron. ‘Not this time.’ He thought.
Leder-1 felt the heat of Prime’s gun as it began to charge, ready to blow a hole through his wing or any other part of his body Prime could aim at. He dipped and spun, slinging the Autobot commander to the ground. He changed modes, landing atop a large boulder that rose from the landscape and watched Prime roll into a crouch, then stood. They faced each other in the dawn, the sun a fiery circle retreating towards the horizon.

-------------------

“Optimus!” Elita-1 immediately turned and began to transform, intent on pursuing the pair, she heard a thin bang, then felt SmallFoot’s grappling hood spin around her arm.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Elita spun around and brought her gun in the air, firing the moment she caught sight of SmallFoot. The Guardian dropped to the ground and yanked her arm forward, dragging Elita towards her and aiming a glowing hand in her direction. Elita transformed, snagging SmallFoot’s grappling wire inside her car door and floored it, the sudden jump snapped SmallFoot off her feet with a shout, her body tumbling wildly as Elita drug her along the metal flooring of the compound.
SmallFoot grabbed at the ground, fingers unable to find any purchase. She screamed and changed modes. He new truck mode, though more compact than her original, still granted her the horsepower she always had. Her tires dug into the flooring and she hit her accelerator. Now it was her turn. Elita-1 came off her tires and crashed to the ground, then transformed before SmallFoot could drag her any further. The grappling hook unraveled and returned to SmallFoot’s underside as she reverted to robot form in time to see Elita flying towards her, driving the point of her knee into SmallFoot’s chest. She screamed, clutching a hand to the damaged area and rolling out of the way. She looked up and saw a zigzagging line of electricity arc through the air and slam into Elita. It struck her flush in the back and ran across her body as she screamed. Sparky leaned on the wall near the compound entrance, one hand clutching a large ugly wound from Prime’s gun, the other stretched towards Elita-1, white lines of electricity streaming from her fingertips. Elita continued to scream, then clamped her teeth together and lunged at SmallFoot. The charge leapt from her into the Gobot, and SmallFoot screamed as well, trying desperately to shove Elita away but unable to control the spasms racking her body.
“SmallFoot!” Sparky cut the stream and saw the two collapse, she moved to push herself away from the door when something smashed into her. She yelped, thrown through the air and crashing to the ground in a daze. She looked up and saw no one, she whipped her head from side to side, heard an engine, but still saw nothing. Another shot of pain came as something else struck her and sent her careening through the air and to the ground again. She rolled onto her back, her vision winking in and out. She saw something suddenly appear out of thin air, how was that?
Mirage stood over Sparky a moment, gun drawn, waiting for her to move again. When she didn’t, he faded from view again, then raced out of the compound.

Spike and Bumblebee buzzed around the perimeter of the UNECOM compound, searching for a possible nook to slip through and gain access. They could see the titanic forms of the Command Centers, both of them like slumbering thunder lizards.
“See anything?”
“Aside from the dinosaur robots the size of Metroplex?”
“They’re not moving, I’m gonna bet they’re focused on other things at the moment.”
Spike squinted, the wall just seemed to go on, as if it was one solid piece. They rounded another section, noticing a lot more untrimmed bushes and overgrown thrush sprouting from the spanning rock and dirt. A glint caught Spike’s eye.
“There! Bumblebee, you see that?”
A very wide, very tall indentation revealed a movable section of the protective wall surrounding the compound.
“Well that’s a start,” Bumblebee moved in closer, “And look, a control panel.”
He slowed to a stop and neared the wall when the panel lit up, small squares flickering, then halted. The indentation revealed a tremendous metal gate that split down the middle, each half retreating sideways into the larger section of the wall.
Spike’s eyes narrowed.
Matt stepped out onto the rocky stretch of land, Scooter behind him. Bumblebee cut his wheels and threw his gears into reverse as Scooter unloaded a flurry of short bursts, trying to drive Bumblebee into a nearby overgrowth.
“Is that a hologram driver he’s got in there?” Matt wondered aloud as he drew the weapon the Last Engineer had upgraded, a small sphere of energy gathered and shot towards Bumblebee, the explosions lifting him into the air. Bumblebee recovered with a shout, floored his gas and shot towards Scooter. He swung his door open and Spike leapt free as he transformed, charging forward and letting out an angry yell. He closed the distance between himself and Matt in a split second, and his fist smashed against Matt’s jaw, splitting his lip and sending him off his feet and hurtling backwards. Overhead Spike heard a loud crunch of metal as Bumblebee drove his own fist into the side of Scooter’s face, the force of the blow sending him crashing against the entranceway.
Spike reached down and grabbed Matt by the collar, hoisting him to his feet. They stared at each other a moment, recognition dawning in Spike’s eyes.
“Wait, I know you… Hunter.”
“Wittick, right?”
“Witwicky, jerk. Do you have any idea what you’re doing? You’re going to jail, I’ll SEE to that!”
Matt buried his knee in Spike’s midsection, driving the wind from him and loosening his grip. He shoved Spike off his feet and brought a hand to his jaw, spitting a wad of blood to the ground.
“No, I’m not. Remember, I’m not the one aiding a brigade of war machines in a premeditated assault on a government funded, top secret facility!”
Spike pulled himself to one knee. “You’re harboring an alien race that’s a threat to Cybertron-and purposely moved their battle to Earth!”
“Funny, isn’t that the same thing people said about your friends there?”

Scooter rose to his feet, eyes locked on Bumblebee. His skin began to shift, dividing into countless rectangular panels. Bumblebee saw the GoBot shaking and aimed his gun at him. “What are you doing?”
Scooter’s body looked like it was expanding, the panels flipped along his frame like a wave, altering his features and changing his appearance. In only two seconds time, he was done. Bumblebee’s face was a mask of confusion, he stared at Scooter wearing a red version of his body, only Scooter’s face remained the same.
Scooter raised his fists and fired, Bumblebee rolled out of the way and brought his gun up, firing off a blast that Scooter barely managed to dodge. Bumblebee raced towards him, and noticed with a hint of pleasure Scooter was doing the same. They collided, Bumblebee’s greater momentum carrying them back and smashing through the corner of the doorway.
“Get off him!”
A hot sting pelted Bumblebee’s arm. He had landed on top of Scooter, who looked anything but ready to resume their fight. He stood and turned around, spotting a blonde-haired human aiming a strange looking weapon at him. Bumblebee stared at him, incredulous.
“You’re helping these guys? What’s wrong with you?!” he yelled, “Don’t you know what they’ve done?!”
A large hand snagged Bumblebee by the base of his neck, lifting him flailing into the air. Staks turned him around and held him nose to nose.
“Real sorry about all this, partner, believe me, we are.
“Sorry about this?! Your boss shot Prime in the back!”
“We trust Leader-1.”
“Trust him?! You don’t even know what he’s doing, do you?!”
“We know he’s got the best in mind, for all of us.”
“Lost his mind’s more like it! Forgive me if I’m not drinking the same lubricant as you lunatics!” He spun his legs and connected with the side of Staks’ head. The large Gobot yelled in surprise and flung him without thinking. Bumblebee flew through the air and went over the wall.

************
CYBERTRON:

Shockwave raised his left arm, charging the pointed blaster attached to the end. Catsight paid the accumulating energy no mind, his own body was beginning to ripple with energy drifting towards him and splashing against the odd blue material. Shockwave clicked an internal trigger, and the spinning pearl of energy sped from his gun and sailed towards Catsight, who channeled the glowing energy of his body down the length of his arm and unloaded it through his hand. The resulting explosion was heard on the outskirts of the city, a brilliant blue and purple ring spiraled around the top of the DarkOre tower, and in the center, Shockwave and Catsight rained blows down upon each other.
Catsight snarled and lashed out with an open hand, claws fully extended on a wide arc. Shockwave dodged the swing and noted the resulting slash left behind in the ground. The Renegade’s claws didn’t slow when they came into contact with the roof; he would have to keep that in mind. Catsight charged his hand and launched another blast of energy that Shockwave leapt to avoid. He arced his descent into a kick, and landed the flat of his foot squarely on Catsight’s chest, driving him back. He landed in a crouch and leapt upward, swinging his right fist into a nasty uppercut that clipped Catsight’s jaw and lifted him off his feet. The feline tucked his feet and landed, his clawed toes dug into the roof as he sprang forward and smashed a closed fist into the side of Shockwave’s face. As the Decepticon twisted from the blow, Catsight unfurled a hand and slashed him across his back in a spray of white sparks.

“Soundwave, respond!” Shockwave cracked Catsight with a sharp right and ducked when he slashed at him. The wound on his back still sparked, he noticed with little satisfaction the cracks he had made along the Renegade’s nose and left eye. This fight was counterproductive, he saw no reason to continue but could not manage to get away from the tenacious GoBot. He tried a silent hail to Soundwave again, and received another buzz of static. What was going on in there? The only logical conclusion was that the Tower had been breached, and Soundwave was either occupied or incapacitated. Either way, it was a detriment to their battle. He would have to up the ante sooner than he thought.

He activated an internal, coded channel, tapping into an underground network he had devised months earlier. He uttered “Kyoryuu.” It was all he needed.

----------------------

“Monster-BOT!” Abominus roared, soaring overhead and snarling when his eyes caught sight of what he was looking for. Monstrous rose from behind DarkOre Tower. The second evolution of the Renegade Mutants had stayed close to Thruster, more at Heart Attack’s behest than anything else. Though the others couldn’t hem their desire to find and follow Vamp, Heart Attack found her own subtle hints of a hive mind were growing stronger. That, combined with her cluster’s unification technology kept her fellow Mutants close. They combined the moment they heard Abominus’ thunderous shouts from over the horizon and waited. Now the two beasts flew towards each other, animalistic hatred filling their screams when they collided.

Abominus clubbed the side of Monstrous’s head, bringing a screech from the titanic gestalt. He responded by slashing Abominus’ chest, then grabbed his arm and swung him into the corner of a nearby tower. It trembled under the impact, Abominus reached out with his free hand and wrapped his fingers around the building’s spire. It tore free with a squeal of dark metal. He swung the new weapon in an upward arc and felt it stab into Monstrous’ chest. When the beast let him go, Abominus wrenched the spire upward again, forcing it further into the creature. Monstrous opened its massive maw and spewed a geyser of flame at Abominus, who craned his head to the left and ignored the searing pain as it washed over his shoulder. He lunged forward and gave the spire another thrust, eliciting a satisfactory snarl when he saw it explode through Monstrous’ back. The creature howled and Abominus reached around its torso, grabbing the newly exposed section of the spire and used his grip to spin then hurl Monstrous into the building they just damaged. The monster crashed into the structure and didn’t stop, caving in floor after floor of the towering building beneath its mass. Abominus dropped down, intent on slamming into him with both feet and adding his momentum. Monstrous roared at the oncoming transformer and lashed out with a claw, taking hold of his foot and yanking him into the shattering building as well. Together they smashed through over half the structure before coming to a stop.

-----------------------

Twenty miles from DarkOre Tower rested two buildings that were almost as tall as the tower itself. Made from the same material as the rest of the buildings in the city, they had been created with a variety of internal modifications. Shockwave gave the Constructicons very specific instructions and stressed the seriousness of doing it exactly as he devised, as the slightest error or ‘interpretation’ of his plans would render both towers useless. These structures were empty save the various networks of wires and thick bands of cables running through them. They were connected to the four nearest energon pools but were separated, one standing miles away from the other, perfectly lined up.
“Kyouryuu.”
They began to change the moment Shockwave’s codeword was received. The lower portions immediately began pulling energon from the pools, almost sucking all four dry on the first draw. Lines of energy raced up and along their sides, casting a rich purple glow against the sky. The top half of both towers split down the middle and folded, each section stopping on a 90 degree angle that made them looked like giant ‘T’s . They leaned forward, and Shockwave stole glimpses of them during his fight. They reaffirmed his suspicion that Soundwave’s original Cybertronian form and transformation was perfectly suited for the base forms of the towers. Ideal for the task he now hoped to accomplish.
They pulled the energy needed, then activated, filling the space between them with a thick sheet of shimmering power. Like a wobbling crystal skin, Earth could be seen for a brief moment, then it spiraled out of focus. The rectangle created by the energy sheet abruptly turned sideways, angling itself like a doorway in the sky-which is exactly what it was. Shockwave’s titanic, improved version of their Space Bridge technology was meant for the immediate transport of platoons, an army of battleships, and even-
Trypticon dropped from the rectangle, shattering the fine sheen of energy like glass, his massive body sent shockwaves across the city as he landed.
The largest Decepticon on Cybertron, Trypticon threw his head back, lightening and lines of raw energon racing across his body, opened his monstrous jaws wide and roared. DarkOre city trembled with the sound.

------------------

Monstrous flew after Abominus, the wretched Decepticon had regained consciousness a moment before himself and flew into the air, drawing his cannon and firing at him from the sky. Monstrous countered with another spray of fire, then took wing after him, they collided again, their fistfalls audible to anyone in the near vicinity-including Shockwave. He blocked another strike from Catsight and countered with his own when he saw the combiners going tooth and claw, they were nearing the Tower. He noticed Catsight regaining his footing, then leapt into the air as Catsight lunged at him. The Renegade missed, claws tearing into the rooftop when he landed. Catsight took to the air, watching Shockwave spread his arms and yell “Abominus, prepare to receive!”
He transformed, his body shifting and taking the form of a tremendous purple blaster. Abominus looked down and saw Shockwave heading towards him. Any weapon was a good weapon if he was the one aiming it. He smashed a closed fist into Monstrous’ face, then reached out and took hold of Shockwave. He leveled his new advantage at his opponent and sneered.
“Goodbye.”
Monstrous’s eyes blared red, and for the first time since their initial fight on Earth, Monstrous spoke.
“Good-Bye.” Abominus saw Monstrous raise Catsight, now in his own blaster mode, yellow bubbles of energy gathering at his muzzle while his body radiated a glaring blue glow.
They fired.