Earth : Metroplex
The stasis pod hisses open around you. You feel
your circuits coming on-line for the first time. You look down at yourself.
Black and silver, and sleek, a hunting cat. Then you look around.
Something's wrong. You should be more flesh, you
should be in the wild. You should begin exploration.
But you're in a ship. In the dark. On a planet
called Earth.
You hear a noise.
A small human scrambles up the side of the pod.
He's young, a child according to your data tracks. His leg is cybernetic, he
has sandy, brown hair.
"Hey, c'mon. I think there gonna need help
outside!"
"Who?"
"My friends, look there's no time to
explain. There's a bunch of Predacons," you don't like that word,
"this is there ship. I activated you with Maximal programing so you'd be
free thinking instead of a soldier droid like they intended. The chip I gave
you is an explorer chip. The Pred's wanna take a friend away by force, and I
have a feeling they might succeed."
An explosion rocks the ship.
"It sounds like fighting started. C'mon we
don't have much time!"
You rise from the stasis pod.
"Beast Mode."
You change into a robotic panther, black as
night with red, glowing eyes.
You aren't sure what's going on around here, but
you'll find out soon enough.
Earth : the Predacon Ship
You look around. The ship around you is dark and
somehow soulless. The walls in this large chamber are lined with around twenty
pods similar to our own. You look down at the sandy haired child.
"Who are you and where are we?"
"My name is Aaron. Look, I told you. You're
on a Predacon ship and my friends are outside getting pummeled!"
You look around and notice that the other pods
seem to be springing to life.
"Uh oh." The fleshling sounds worried,
"The pods are activated."
"And?" you question.
"AND, they're filled with Predacon
protoforms. If they become active..."
Something inside you registers that the human's
estimation of the situation is correct.
"You activated me, can't you change them to
Maximal as well?"
"No can do. I only had one chip. Hell, I
stole that one from Seabase!"
You stand up. The computers for the stasis pods
could be heard softly in the darkness, "DNA scanning activated. Pod
records opened. Selection process in action."
Aaron points to a computer bank on the far wall,
"They're pulling DNA scans from there. That's where they'll get their
alternate form data. If we can stop it, we can slow down the process."
You growl... "BlackShadow, MAXIMIZE."
With a roar you change from you're beast mode. You pull a double barreled
cannon out from you chassis and level it at the consol.
BRAWWWOOOM!
A single blast leaves a sparking hole where the
computer bank stood.
The stasis pods could be heard, "error,
error. DNA data scrambled and incomplete. Processing altered."
"That won't last for long," Aaron
steps over to a computer panel. But maybe I can loop it long enough for us to
get this ship out of here!"
He begins tapping in data into the consol. You
look back around. This ship was getting to you, and you felt like the very
shadows were watching you.
"That did it, I scrambled as much as I
could. They won't hatch for at least fifteen minutes. When they do, I'm not
sure what the hell's gonna pop out though. The data banks sent a surge through
the system, and I think it may have slagged the Pred chips!"
"So they will come out Maximal?"
"No. They'll come out as whatever they
please. And if their internals are as screwy as it looks like they'll
be..."
"They may come out mad."
"Exactly."
"Beast mode."
You transform down into the powerful, robotic
black panther.
Aaron jumps on your back.
You pounce toward the door with a growl as
another explosion sounds from outside the hull.
You pause as the sound echoes through the ship,
but then your warrior instincts push forward.
As you head toward where the outer doors should
lie, anger wells up inside of you. You have no answers to your question, and
only a child to trust at the moment. One thing rings clear in your circuits
though, a hate for the Predacons. You may have no answers now, but you will
getsome before this battle is done.
As you rush through the doors a scene of battle
greets your optics.
The platform is scattered with ash that seems to
be rising from the east. To the west is a battle scene involving a box-like
shuttle and several other Cybertronians.
On the platform itself you catch site of a dark
black colored Cybertronian without sigil markings on him. He appears to be
unaware of your presence, and he himself is hiding rather adeptly in the
shadows. His optics are locked on the sky battle by the shuttle.
You look around and see an angry red of fire
rising from the East of the platform. The building around you seem to altering
and shifting, and you see large guns rising out of the two white towers above
you. The sigil markings on the towers is unknown to you, but somehow you
instinctively know to trust them. The towers start blasting toward the shuttle
and it's host.
More gunfire can be heard from the East.
"That's Flood up there!" the human
yells.
From the corner of your vision you can see the
black robot slink farther into the shadows.
You look around, planning out where to go....
Earth : Metroplex
You scan the Cybertronian without looking at
him. You detect no outward signs of allegiance.
You softly say, "get down, human."
Aaron looks at you confused, but steps down from
you back.
"BlackShadow, MAXIMIZE!"
You transform with a dangerous snarl as you pull
your rifle from its place.
"Step free from your hiding place...
Transformer." the red tracer on your gun flicks across the silver wings of
the hiding robot.
He stands up, hands raised. He is slightly
larger than you. Black with a solitary red eye, and a red crystal cockpit
bubble on his chest. His wings are silver and gleam with a razor sharp
intensity.
"Uh... look... I don't want any trouble
with you... My name is Bladewing, and I'm just trying to stay out of all this
mess."
"What is happening?" you growl.
"Well, lets see... Two Autobots ran up
there," he points Westward," to do battle with some shuttle thingy,
and two others went thataway, " he points toward the East, "to
wherever that fire and explosions seem to be..."
A loud thump sounds from the ship, interrupting
the robots discourse.
The three of you turn, and you and Aaron begin
to back away from the ship.
Another thump and the rending of metal.
Then, you see a hole being ripped open on top of
the Predacon ship. Two ivory tusks jut through on top, push the metal out, and
then ripping it down with incredible force.
"oh shit." mutters Aaron.
The stasis pods appear to have hatched.
Earth : Metroplex
You grab up Aaron and jump farther away from the
ship. From here you can see the massive, hulking form that is ripping it's way
through the roof of the ship.
It is some kind of mutate, It's jaws leering and
slavering, two powerful tusks on either side. Long, sharp teeth line it's
mouth, and it's head is sloped back and smooth, with gills on the side and a
fin on his back. A fish-like tail swishes in the air as it hoist itself up on
thick elephant like legs, it's three toed claws digging further into the ships
metal hull.
It gives an unreal bellow, a mix between a
whales song and an elephants trumpet.
It glares down on the platform with two insane,
red eyes.
Then from the doorway that you just left, you
see a lumbering alligator waddle out, on it's back is a spiked shell. It gives
out a rumbling his and snaps it's jaws at you in anticipation.
A high pitched squeak melded with a deep snort
draws your attention to a dark shape that is winging it's way out of the hole
on top of the ship.
A weird bat creature with clawed wings and a
bull's head is taking wing into the smoky sky. Close on it's heels is a peach
and green praying mantis with lizard-like legs and claws.
You raise you gun and prepare to fire on the
elephant one...
Earth : Metroplex
You here a blast and see the mantis mutant fly
straight back down into the ship, smoking.
The tusked monster pays no attention and jumps
down to the platform with a thud. He's heavy, and you can feel the metal ground
vibrate as he lands. His head swings toward you, and he takes a step in your
direction.
You pull the human behind your leg and raise
your gun, when a hiss and a loud snap attract your attention from the ship's
direction. The alligator with a shell was quickly moving toward you, his great
jaws snapping in anticipation.
--By the Inferno!!!--
You hear a thump from your left and glance to
see a large slate-blue transformer tackle the tusked one.
That frees you to deal with the gator. You gun
lets off a loud recoil as two blast bury themselves in his shell.
The shell absorbs them.
He roars in delight and jumps at you. You catch
him and toss him to the side, away from Aaron.
"Stand clear!" you yell and jump after
the twisting gator.
You overbear him, but find his shell hard to get
a grip on. Plus, the shell is lined with thick spikes that dig into your armor,
AND he smells like rotting vegetables!
Then your commlink shuts on, "Listen up,
whoever's out there. The creatures have a glitch. Don't hurt them, I think if
we subdue them..." static.
"Yeah, subdue. No slaggin' problem."
You grunt as the monster twists out of your grasp.
His jaws come snapping down, quicker than you
can blink. You feel crushing pain shoot through your leg and see sparks fly.
Your leg becomes inoperable, bad... real
bad...you swing with your arm and smack into the creatures jaw. Saliva and mech
fluids go flying as he lets go and flies backwards, back toward the ship.
You pull your gun again and fire several times
into the ground in front of him. Large, smoking craters kick up shards of
shrapnel. Hopefully that will give you a second, "BLACKSHADOW, BEAST
MODE!!" You transform into the sleek black hunting cat, just as the gator
makes a charge toward you.
You leap swiftly and gracefully out of the way
as he goes blundering past. Then a thought occurs to you. You charge at him,
leaping over him at the last second.
As he spins around, you skid the final few feet
toward the end of the platform and turn. ---The platform is a good hundred feet
in the air, let's see just how smart this monster is.---
The gator charges , and at the last second, you
pounce over top of him. Just as you hoped, the gator slides as he tries to
stop, and over the edge he goes.
Earth : Metroplex
With the mutant gator gone, you went to find
Aaron. He had apparently helped out the large slate colored Transformer that
had landed on the platform during the battle. He introduced the tall robot as
Megaplex and a rather confused gold and blue transformer next to him as Torca.
Megaplex ordered you and the human to go into
the Autobot base for repairs. He then took off, leaving you with the human and
the strange looking robot that they had fought.
Later, after much questioning you learned that
it wasn't a war that was going on, but rather a battle in hopes of preventing
the return of the Great Wars. You learned that the Predacon ship that you had
come from had left, going into orbit around the planet. Something had torched
half the city and had attacked the platform.
Apparently both sides were alternately blaming each other, or someone named
Starscream.
You had then seen to partial repair of your leg,
but the CR chambers had been filled with different 'bots in much worse
condition than you were. So, a repair droid had taken to sautering connections
and partial patching of your leg. I would have to do until later.
Now, you stood in a huge conference room with
several tables set up. Various robots stood or sat and talked in small
clusters. The mood here was rather subdued, and anticipatory.
Aaron had walked over to talk to Flood, who had
just woken up. This gave you time to look at the robots around you.
There were none with the symbol that you bore,
the Maximal sigil.
There were two who bore the Autobot sigil, which
you felt instinctively drawn to. They were Aaron's friend Flood, and a large
commanding robot named Optimus Prime*.
Then there was the other symbol, the one that
made your skin crawl. The Decepticon Sigil. It was sharp and angled, dark
purple and threatening. There were four here who bore it's mark. They seemed to
be a team. There names were Vortex, Blast-Off, Brawl, and Swindle. They called
themselves the Combaticons.
Apparently, the group was waiting for an attache
of Predacon's to return to the city. Then the debates over just what was going
on would begin.
The sound of approaching footsteps brings you
out of your contemplations. You look up to see the one called Optimus Prime.
He's a rather large transformer. His chest plate is grey with the Autobot
symbol emblazoned with fiery wings on his chest. His arms were khaki and white,
and his legs blue. His head was blue with a silver faceplate, and large,
youthful eyes that had a strange quality to them. As if they saw straight into
the depths of your soul.
His voice rumble out, a deep voice with an almost
western drawl underlying it, "They tell me your name is BlackShadow.
Welcome to Autobot city. I... wish it was under more peaceful
circumstances."
"I still do not understand all that is
going on here, and I do not like it."
"I'm afraid none of us fully understands
what is transpiring. I can only hope that the battle you took part in earlier
isn't a precursor to all out war. We've been at peace for three centuries, and
for all that time I've been at rest."
"Who are you, and who are the
Autobots."
"The Autobots are your ancestors. It was we
who fought the Great War against the Decepticons, to keep them from dominating
the universe. The Predacons are the direct descendants of the Decepticons. I
was a leader during that war for several millennia. Now, I fear that the
treaties that have held war at bay for the past few centuries are falling prey
to the plotting of the Tripredicus council."
"The ones from the ship."
"Yes, they have returned and commanded that
Megaplex be returned to them."
"And who is Megaplex? He bears neither
Autobot nor Decepticon symbol, or any other that registers."
"Megaplex is my most ancient of enemies,
but he now claims to want peace. I for one would rather allow him that chance.
If the council gets hold of him, I'm afraid they may use him to unite the old
Decepticon alliance with the Predacons and possibly even the Destrons. If that
happens, civil war will begin."
"You say he is your oldest nemesis? Why
then would you trust him?"
"I'm not sure. We were once friends, and
since his reanimation, he's seemed more like the Cybertron that once fought
beside me in the Primus Wars so long ago."
"Could it not be a ruse?"
"Possibly, but I just have an instinct. The
same instinct that tells me that to release him to the Predacons would be the
death of us all.
If you would excuse me BlackShadow, the
council's ambassadors have arrived."
Optimus Prime walks toward the doors as they
swing open, the rest of the gathered transformers turn and quiet down.
In the doorway stands a blue-green transformer,
with insect-like eyes, and a hornets head for a chest-plate. Next to him stands
a peach and green robot with a mantis head for a chest. Large, reddish purple
wings stretch up behind his back.
The Predacons have arrived.
Earth : Metroplex
GENERAL EPISODE:
The assembly quiets down as they begin to take
their seats. The conference tables form a large U shape. Optimus Prime and
Megatron are at the center, and the others who were in the CR chambers join the
already assembled group. The room was filled, including, BlackShadow, Nocturro,
Torca, the Combaticons, Hound, Flood, Aaron, the two great leaders, and the two
Predacons.
As they all take their seats, the doors swing
open again. A earth forces mech stands in the doorway. This one is a little
fancier though. It's shell is a pearlescent white, and gold trim lines the
edges. The armor looks heavier and denser than the other ones. It steps into
the room, "I am Force Commander Charles O'Bryant. I have come to take seat
as representative of the Earth alliance in these proceeding."
Optimus Prime stood,"Greetings Commander,
we were not aware that the Earth alliance was to be involved, but you are
welcome."
"The Earth alliance isn't sure how we
wouldn't be involve, Optimus Prime. It's been a long time since you slept,
things have changed. We don't have the armaments we used to, but we've learned
to take care of ourselves in your absence."
"My apologies for any inferences that may
have offended you. I merely meant..."
"I know what you meant, and I apologize as
well. I'm no diplomat, I'm a field commander, and I'm not too happy for the
position I've been placed. High command felt I would be the best choice as I
was in the city at the time of the attack."
"Then let us begin..."
Some time of bickering and arguing ensues. Not
much is decided. Hornet and Buzzclaw claim that the Predacon's merely tried to
launch the stasis pods to defend themselves from the attacking forces. They
blamed the break-in of their ship on the humans, and the consequent berserking
of the protoforms. They also claimed no knowledge of the phantom firebug that
attacked the city in the midst of the fight.
Demands were also made for the spy that escaped
during the fighting, and the return of the other protoform. Nocturro, Torca,
and Blackshadow were safe, as they now had their own free will to decide their
fates, but the Predacons wanted the fith protoform back.
The Predacon's also wanted Megatron and the
Combaticons placed under custody. Optimus held to the fact that they helped in
repelling the destructive forces unleashed on the human city, and the Earth
council agreed. The Predacon's began to threaten treaty breaking and all out
war, but Prime held firm and they began to relent.
Then the topic of Starscream was broached, and
Prime signaled for the prisoner to be brought in.
Hooligan looked around at the gathered Maximals,
Predacons, Decepticons, and Autobots and a variety of emotions passed over his
face too quickly for anyone to interpret.
"Hooligan, you were thrown from the shuttle
that Starscream was in. Due to the nature of your fall, I will not hold you
prisoner for any longer than this questioning takes, but we must know what
happened up there."
Hooligan looked at Prime, eyes narrowing as he
thought. Then Megatron stood up, "Hooligan, you once served in my forces.
If you hold any memory of the pledges you once made, then you MUST answer the
question."
Hooligan dropped to his knees, "Lord
Megatron, I have not forgotten my pledges, and it was for those pledges that I
was killed. I now once again pledge my loyalty to your new Decepticon forces
and empire."
Megatron face was unreadable, but a fire of
anger seemed to burn from his silver, cold eyes. "Stand up, " he
almost spits, Hooligan looks startled, but rises, "All I've wanted since I
was blasted to scrap centuries ago was peace. I tried to destroy myself to
ensure the end of the empire, but I was brought back. I tried to hide myself,
for I knew what my presence would do to the peace that has lasted since my
death, but I was sought out. I do not want loyalty now I WANT ANSWERS!"
His voice echoes off the hall in his vehemence. Prime gave him an odd,
contemplative look, his eyes narrowing.
Immediately Hooligan began to spill out the
story of his ship and Starscream's betrayal.
When he was finished, Prime stood up. "Then
I would propose a four pronged search. First, we must find Starscream. He is a
threat to us all. Hooligan, if you would, I would like you to go with the
Combaticons to find him if possible.
I would like then like Flood, Megatron and
Buzzclaw to search for the one who is causing the fires. I believe it to be the
same Predacon that Flood and Megatron faced earlier, and if there is a Predacon
along, perhaps he will have a better clue as to who it is."
Hornet interrupts, "I believe I would be
the better choice for the mission, Buzzclaw is new, and does not have as much
knowledge of the Predacon ranks as I do."
"Very well, then BlackShadow, I would like
you, and Nocturro to seek out Bladewing. Torca and Hound will look for the
Predacon protoform. I will stay here with Buzzclaw as the Predacon
representative and the Commander as Earth's rep. We will work on what to do
about the
situation. Agreed?"
Everyone agrees, but the Commander stands up,
"Optimus, I believe I would best be serving if I too went with the team to
find the firebug. My presence here really only involves that at the
moment."
"Very well, then I suggest we all get
moving. I want reports every five Earth hours. you will each be given a
specific signal code, and I expect each of you to report. That will ensure no
creative elimination of other forces."
The groups begin to split and prepare for
departure.