Earth : The Atlantic Ocean
You Back up, transforming and
pulling your saber from it's sheath. You hoist your harpoon gun in front
of you and prepare for the onslaught.
"This is Flood!" you begin broadcasting on a
broad band frequency, "If anyone is out there, I need help!"
"You're friends will not help you Autobot.
You have betrayed the pact. The Pax Cybertronia was destroyed by you and
your kind, and
now that betrayal shall be paid for in full."
You push back against an outcropping of rocks, you're
only escape route blocked by the deadly Predacon.
--This is it, Flood old boy. Custard's last
stand...--
Then a small silver streak whooshed through the dark
water, well over Seaclamp's head. A subdued KATHOOM, was all that could be
heard after the ripples of orange light streamed out. Huge boulders tumble down
onto the fearsome Predacon burying it in an avalanche of
debris.
You narrowly dodge the rock slide yourself, and feel a
pair of hands grapple and pull you free as you swim frantically away.
Hooligan grimaces as he pulls you over the rocky
underwater ledge, "That's all for lemon breath." He grumbles,
"Now, let's get outta here,
my joints are getting waterlogged!"
You blink at Hooligan in surprise, "Thanks, Hooligan,
but we can't get out of here just yet, Terrorsaur is still down in that trench,
and..."
The ground quakes suddenly, and a loud thundering can be
heard. The two of you spin and look up out of the chasm to see a great
light
pushing following a rush of water and fish.
You grab Hooligan and swim straight up, so that the two of
you can see over the ledge.
There sat Trypticon, and around him the burning remains of
the Predacon ship. The massive Decepticon transformer stood up, uncurling
from
the seabed. Flame wreathed him from the Predacon warship. The
ship had seemingly tried to crash into Trypticon itself... and failed!
Earth : The Atlantic
"all right Flood, you
and the criminal Terrorsaur are coming with me to Decepticon head quarters.
" Hooligan gurgles.
While you gape in annoyance, he activates his comlink,
"Swindle! I'm at the trench 1/4 mile East of Tripticon I have our guests.
Move in to
secure them."
"Secure!" you growl, finally fed up with
this, "Look, I appreciate the help, and I’m heading to Trypticon at any
rate… but it probably isn’t a
bright idea to announce our position to…."
"Don't try anything funny Flood. It would be a shame to
have an accident!" Hooligan snaps.
"Why you conceited, arrogant…"
"Lord Megatron, the package is in hand. Is the
perimeter to base secure?"
Skullcrunchers’ voice answered, "There sum, Pred
movin’, but dey seem to be runnin’ like a bunch a scared froggies. They’ze ship
go
kablooy, and it seem ta spook da ol’ boys."
Hooligan looks over at you, "Where’s Terrorsaur."
"Safe." You snap through clenched teeth.
"What do you mean, safe!?"
"He’s deeper than anyone other than me can reach
him." You bite.
"Then let’s go get him."
"Nope." The anger seems to drain out of you in a
wave of weariness. Your wounds catching up to you.
"What?"
"I can’t Hooligan. I’m too damaged at the
moment." With that, you transform and began to make your way back to
Trypticon.
"H… Hey…. Hey! Wait up!" The greasy
Decepticon swims sluggishly to catch up.
As you climb ahead, you make a coordinate marking of
the area where you dropped Terrorsaur, and open a com channel to Flood.
"Are you guys ok?"
"Yeah." Answered her rich voice, "We’ve
gotten back on board Metroplex with Seaspray and Torca. They’re in CR’s
now. Airazors a bit
worse for wear, but still alive. What’s the status with you?"
"I’m going on board Trypticon. It’s easier
at the moment. Terrorsaur's safe, and it seems like the Preds are on
retreat."
"Ok, Prime’s talking to Megatron now.
Hopefully we can keep the fighting from going any further."
"I’ll try to talk to him also. Flood out."
You hold the airlock as
Hooligan and Swindle clamber in.
The inner doors slide open and you step out,
"Where’s Megatron?"you ask the large black robot that stands waiting
for you.
"He’s on the upper bridge, he instructed me to
escort you to the CR Chambers."
"When can I talk to him?"
"When he wants you to. For now, just be
content he allowed you to board." With that, the large black jet
transformer gives you a shove
towards the CR chambers.
--Well, I do need the rest…--
Earth : Trypticon
The CR chamber fixes
the burns and dents of the past day, but your mind stays active, and you
finally start to get antsy in the confining
quarters. Too many things were happening in the world, while you sat here
in repair.
Finally, the hatch door opens, and you step out.
Your metallic skin was smooth and clean, and every joint in your body was at
top
condition. You stretch, feeling the energon flow into your circuits.
"You read’ ta leave." Came a thickly
accented voice.
You turn to see a fuzor, he was green with sharp,
white fangs, and a gator head as a shoulder pad. He had a heavy shield
and a large gun
strapped onto his back.
"Who are you?"
"Name’s Terragator. Now we’ze all
freindlike. It time fo’ you ta go bahbah."
"I want to speak to Megatron…"
"An’ ah wanna chitchat wit’ Primus. Ask ‘im
what the slagged idea it be fo’ usn’to be down here on dis’ mudball. Don’t mean
eeth’ us
gettin’ answers."
"Look, I need ta know what happened…"
"Ok’ hear’s the tale. Pred’s had a few lil’
bugs crawlin’ in the syst’ that big ol ship o’ deres. These bugs chew a
few wires and ship go
boom. Pred’s now scattered all over da place. Though, we dunno exactly
where. Bugs come back and report to Meg’s and Prime, and get
pats on lil’ buggy heads. Now, we’s parked next to Metroplex, an’ the two
head honchos’r bickering over what to do next."
"I need to talk to Megatron. It has to do
with… the Predacon Firebug."
"Hmmm… well, I dunno."
"Ok, fine. When Megatron asks why I never
shared vital information on one of our greatest threats, and he starts yellin’,
I’ll be sure to say
‘because Terragator wouldn’t let me see you…’"
Terragator seemed to think about it for a few seconds,
then trudged over to a comm unit on the wall, "Megatron."
"What is it, Terragator?"
"The Autobot hewanna talk t’ya."
"I’m bu…"
"He say’n somtin bout that fire birdy."
There was a pause.
"Bring him to me."
"Rightcho." Terragator hit the comm and
motioned you to follow him.
Megatron turns toward
you, "So, you left the Predacon in the ocean?"
"It was the safest place. I’m the only
one…"
"You don’t believe a seagoing member of the
Tripredicus council could recover him?"
"Oh… uhm… slag. But Seaclamp was buried
under a half a ton of rubble!"
"Do you think that could stop me? Do not
underestimate your foe. Go at once to recover the body of the Predacon.
Bring it here, or take it
to Prime, I care not, but do not let it fall into the hands of the
Predacons."
"Very well…"
"Skullcruncher and Terragator will go with
you. The Autobot deep sea forces are not in the best of shape from what I
understand."
"Can I have a secure channel to Prime?"
Megatron leans over the control platform,
"BlastOff," a purple and brown, transmetal coated transformer turned
to look up, "Set Flood a
secure channel to Metroplex."
He turned back toward you, "Do not waste time,
Flood. We can not afford to give the Predacon’s any more game
pieces."
You turn and head back through the door, where
Terragator was waiting.
Earth : Trypticon
"Flood to
Prime." The room you had been taken to was a small conference room.
"Prime here."
"I’m going to recover Terrorsaur’s body from
underwater and bring him to Metroplex. Megatron is sending and escort to
make sure I’m
covered on the way."
"Good. But watch your back. I feel
that Megatron can be held at his word, but his troops are a different
matter."
"Yeah, I figured that. Is there anything
else happening that I don’t know about. Megatron just told me that the
Predacon’s seemed to be on
the run."
"Knight and Bladewing managed to wreck the
Predacon ship. That’s got them pretty scattered as far as we know, but we
can’t seem to
locate any of them. We know that they took heavy casualties, and don’t
have any CR chambers to turn to, it shouldn’t be long before we here
from them again."
"Ok, then I guess I’ll try to locate the bodies
as best I can."
"Flood…"
"Yes Prime?"
"If the Predacon’s are found, or if you find any
of them… remember, we are not at war with them. They so far have not
lifted a finger
against the Autobots, and I am not willing to plunge us into a Civil war that
would destroy the Pax Cybertronia."
"But Seaclamp…"
"Did he ever actually attack you?"
"Well, no… but…"
"The only Autobot that was attacked is Knight,
and he was responsible for the destruction of their ship. I’d shoot at
him too." Prime said
with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.
"So…."
"So, keep yourself covered, but if the Con’s
attack a Predacon, you are not to assist. Understood?"
"Understood. Flood out."
The trench was empty.
You ran it five times, but couldn’t find more than a
few scraps of crushed metal. They could have come from any number of
sources. The
debris from the Predacon ship had scattered everywhere.
You came back to the edge, where Terragator and
Skullcruncher sat idly watching you search.
"Sa, da birdy flew da coop?" asked
Terragator.
Skullcruncher grimaced, "Then we got a serious
problem." His voice was a lower, hissing rumble, with the same cajun
accent as his smaller
cousin.
"Yeah, well there’s not much we can do about
it. I can’t get a trace on anything down here."
"Mebee I can. But I’d need to know what ize
serchin fo." Skullcruncher looked down into the trench.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, seein’ as you droppeda buncha pebbles on
iz head… he gotta take a few knicks and scrapes inen all dat. I bet he
leavin’ nice trail,
but I gotta know what he’s smellin’ like ‘fore I can try to track
‘im."
Earth : the Atlantic Ocean
Ok, then let’s go to
where Seaclamp was left. You can pick up the scent there. You
turn yourself toward the spot where the cliff had been downed on the Predacon
leader.
You watch as Skullcruncher scanned the area and picked
up a trace element of the Predacon leader. The trail led to the trench,
and after a great deal of casting around, Skullcruncher
found where he had left the trench (since he couldn’t enter it himself.)
The three of you follow the trail to the nearby
shoreline, and up onto the beach.
Cautiously, the gator peered up and made sure that no
one was about. The three of you then quickly shuffled across the rocky
shore and into the low cliffs beyond.
You continued to follow the trail up and into some
scrubb woods of coniferous trees not far away.
"That’s it."
"What do you mean, ‘that’s it.’" You whisper
back at the metallic gator.
"That be da place where this trail die."
"There’s nothing there!"
Terragator hold a hand up to silence the both of you,
"Yeah dey is. You twoa quit yappin’ like froggies. I feelina
sometin’."
"What?" you move closer to the
Predacon fuzor.
"Dunno, but sometin’ there. In dat
clearin’."
A door suddenly appears in the air, and down steps a
tall blue and black robot. Wigs and a cockpit denoted a jet
transformation, and a red vizor-like eye cover scanned the woods
around.
No signature was scanning on him, but the symbol on
his arm was definitely a Decepticon sigil.
Earth : The Atlantic shoreline... somewhere in Florida
The strange Decepticon
doesn’t seem to notice you initially, and you turn to see the other two
crouched down and waiting.
--Why haven’t they jumped out and said hi to their
buddy?--
They both look at you and shrug, you mouth the question, "Who is
he?" to them, but neither indicates any knowledge of who the newcomer was.
--Maybe it’s Starscream?—
But the description you’ve heard of Starscream didn’t
match this bot at all. Starscream was supposed to be huge. This bot
was only slightly taller than Megatron’s new body. Big,
but not gargantuan. And the colors… you had heard of black and greys, but
this guy was black and bluish.
You turn back toward the two, "What now?"
"Dunno," quietly rumbled Skullcruncher,
"But, I thin’ both our bosses, dey wanna know what that door in the middle
de air was’n he walked outta it."
"Think we can get a better ideal?"
Skullcruncher growled, "Ifn’ it wha I thin it is,
I get close, dat sure nuff."
"What do you mean?"
"Welln’ that be where ol Seaclamp’s trail
dyin’. I don’t think it die cuz he did, he gotta be in whatever’n dere
dat’s cloaked. If that be da case, dey may not be scannin for new Pred
signals. I may be able to waddle’n up under that belly’n see what a
little muddin splatter reveal?"
"Muddin’ splatter?"
Skullcruncher chuckled, "He mean, evn’ if
somethin’ there invisible… it got mass, you toss mud on it, it show up.
He’s plant a charge under neath and let it splatter up. That’ll show
some of the belly of the thing, and might not attract any attention."
"But that’d need mud. It hasn’t rained
all…"
Thunder crackled in the distance.
"Welcom’ ta Flarida, da Sunshine state."
Snickers Skullcruncher.
Earth : Somewhere in Florida
"Sounds like a
plan. I'll agree to it under one condition. If we’re discovered,
our first priority is to get the hell outa here. Run first, ask questions
later."
The two Con’s nodded their acquiescence.
"If there’s problems, meet back where we started
following Seaclamp’s trail. Remember, under orders from both of our leaders, we
can only use force in self defense, so let's please
try to stay stealthy."
The Predacon snickered at this.
You sigh, "I'll take a position to his right flank,
covering from a distance, Skullcruncher, you do the same on the left
flank.
Minutes late the rain
began to fall. Shortly, the ground was covered with rivers and streams of
mud. Thunder cackled wildly in the distance as the steady downpour of
rain continued.
Terragator transformed and waddled his heavy bulk out
from the bushes. He carefully made his way under the belly of the
mystery. Transforming, he pulled a small charge into the
thick mud underneath it. Then, he went back to beast mode and moved back
into the undebrush.
A lightning strike flashed in the distnace, and as
it’s thunder rolled across you, the charge exploded with a fountain of muddy
water.
For a brief second, before the mud was rinsed clean,
the outline of a large shuttle could be seen.
You here a roar from off to the side, where Terragator
had been. You spin to look and see a blue and green predacon with a frogs
head on his shoulder, dragging the thick bulk of
Terragator out of the bush. Terragator appeared unconscious, and sparks
flew from his joints as he was dragged…
Earth : Florida
You duck lower behind
the trees and think for a second.
--Well, they obviously used force to take
Terragator, they shot first.—
You cross the distance, ready to sneak up behind the
smaller Pred when a deep growl comes from the bushes.
He stops and spins.
Quickly, you think, "Ok Pred, you’re
covered. Let the Fuzor go or you’re slag drippings!"
You squalk your comm unit, "Group three move into
position. Group 2 hold and aim."
The Pred drops Terragator in surprise as a slow
movement comes from several bushes.
He throws his hands up in the air, just as a huge,
purple and green shape lunges out and snaps him up in it’s jaws.
Skullcruncher flips the surprised Predacon into the underbrush.
You jump out to help him with Terragator when a
solitary laugh breaks through the sound of the rain.
Lightning flashes as you look up and see three shapes
on top of the invisible shuttle. The Tripredicus Council. Seaclamp
smiles, "Look what we have here. I should have finished you
quicker, runt. Your friend’s nowhere near now."
The green Cicadon steps forward, "That would be
our property you’re standing over, Decepticon."
"We’ve got backup coming in. You’re
outnumbered! You’d best back off…"
"Oh, we made the mistake of underestimating your
pathetic forces the first time. But no more shall that error be
made. You wish to push us. Then we shall push back. Council,
MERGE and form TRIPREDICUS!!"
With that the three robots jumped into a transforming
sequence, each shifting parts into strange shapes and then combining to form
one robot.
The monstous humanoid drops to the ground in front of
Skullcruncher and Terragator.
"THE FUZOR IS OURS. " The monster flexes
it’s chitinous body as insect wings buzz behind it, "STAND DOWN AND
PREPARE FOR DEACTIVATION."
The power readings were off the scales, and it moved
with the litheness of a normal robot!! combiners had always been strong, but
they were usually limited in speed and
intelligence…
This one may have neither of those restrictions.
Skullcruncher’s gator mode turns it’s head toward you,
"Go, git! Tell ‘em what happened here! I hold him for a
minute!"
"He’s tear you apart! I’m not letting
you…"
"No choice! It’s more important they be
warned! GO!! SKULLCRUNCHER, BOT MODE!!!"
With a roar the Decepticon transforms and pulls a
chainsaw blades club and a rifle.
"C’mon bug boy, let’s see what you really got
against an ol’ cajun!"
You watch as the robot moves in with terrifying speed
to smack the Decepticon into the trees. It turns toward you and readies
to pounce, just as you hear another roar from the
ground. Terragator was active and transformed. He set his shield
and let loose with a blast into Tripredicus’ side. It didn’t even flinch,
but rather spun on it’s heal and launched one of
the dual blades from a sword weapon it carried. The blades exploded on
the shield, and you saw splinters of shell and metal fly out as Terrgator was
thrown backwards.
Something landed with a crunch on Tripredicus’ back,
and you see Skullcrunch in Gator mode tryng to overbear the robot.
You turn.
--He’s right, I’ve got to warn Prime!!—
You move at top speed out of the area, Skullcrunchers
and Terragators roars of battle exchanged for roars of pain as the Battle
Master robot tore into them.
A few blind seconds of panicked running led you to the
shoreline. "Not so fast, flipper boy!"
Gurgled a voice behind you.
The blue and green striped Predicon stood at the
shoreline. He leaped at you with his oversized paws extended.
You dodge out of the way, but one of the hands brushed
you lightly. Pain flared up from the spot, and you realized that the frog
was poisonous.
"ENOUGH!!!" you pull your gun and fire a
blast of a cryoharpoon into his gut before he could recover the lunge.
Ice cracked up from the spot where the harpoon had exploded on
his slimy skin.
You pull you sabre and hack upward, knocking the robot
over in a shower of sparks. With that you dove elgantley out into the
water, transforming and starting you thrusts before you
even slid under the surface.
You moved along the shoreline at top speed,
"Prime, this is Flood. Code one emergency. The Predacon’s have
a hidden ace. The council is a combiner! Repeat they form a single
unit. It’s power level are unrestricted. It is not like the old
combiners. We need to…."
BOOM!!!
Your world explodes in a shower of pain.
You wake up moments later
being hauled by something spiney and clumsy toward the undercarriage of
Metroplex.
"What….? Who….?"
"Name’s Error. The bug bot hit you hard and
left you dead. It’s taking on that dino, and rather impressively.
But right now, you need a CR." He hoists you up over the side, you
look between static glitches and see that he’s some kind of Maximal, but you
didn’t remember seeing him before.
You struggle to stand.
"That won’t work real well." He
reaches down and hoist you up.
"Why… not…."
He turns you toward one of the shiny new Transmetal
walls of Metroplex.
Both legs and one arm were missing.
"Damn…"
You short out.
Earth: Metroplex's repair bays
Your chronometer showed
that only about twenty minutes had passed.
"Slag! That was quick!"
"Yeah, Prime wanted us to have some backups
ready, so we had already generated some extra appendages, all the CR had to do
was attach, and do some minor remold and
rebuild."
You turn to see Bumblebee standing there.
"You’re on hospital duty?"
"Well, only at the moment. We’re all taking
three-hour shifts down here. There’s too much activity for the room to
run automatic."
"What’s going on?"
"Well, Trypticon is under full attack, and
Metroplex seems to be paralyzed."
"What?!? Full attack?
Paralyzed?!?"
"Yeah, seems someone got onboard and planted some
explosives down below. We’re actually half sunk into the Atlantic
shoreline at the moment."
You check your balances and find that there is a
slight tilt to the room.
"That monster bot?"
"That thing is unreal. Our forces are out
moving against them, along with Earth Defenses. The Predacon’s seem to be
everywhere! Starscream is apparently helping them also, and
he’s got some kind of killer shuttle!"
"What about Skullcruncher and Terragator?"
"No word. The Decepticon’s think they’re
both lost."
"SLAG!" You smash your fist against
the wall.
"Save it. There’s plenty of Pred’s out
there to take your frustrations out against."
"Is Tripredicus still active?"
"Active and kicking. He’s
unstoppable. Bruticus even went out against him, but to no avail!
Tripredicus sliced him up like cheese!"
"Great. I’m going then."
"Flood, Good hunting!"
You turn back to the tall, golden robot, "See you
on the battlefield, Bumblebee."
Earth : Metroplex
You make your way
quickly to the bridge. Smoke filled the hallways, and the strain of the
hull shifting downward echoed dully off the tunnel walls. The only light
came from the
emergency red of the alarms that blinked their warnings.
You burst out onto the bridge, finding a scene of
chaos.
Optimus Prime stood at the command, shouting battle
orders over the incessant stream of reports that were coming out of Metroplex’
data banks.
"Nocturo, Jazz, Rapido, Airrazor, You’re
with me." He notices you, "Flood, good your operational."
"What can I do?"
"I want you to get below near the secondary
explosion on Metroplex. Seaspray and Deepsea will give you cover and
backup. Investigate and see if you can find any data on our
mysterious saboteur. I’m going out with the others for a full frontal
assault on the Predacon’s. Megatron’s forces need backup, and we’re the
bot’s to do it."
"I heard that Tripredicus is still out
there. I was wondering…"
"Yes Flood?"
"I may have seen something that could help us,
what if I downloaded the data tracks from my mission into Metro for a more
detailed observation?"
"Good idea, but just download and then hit the
water. Metroplex is in bad shape, and I’m not sure how quickly he’ll be
able to look at the data."
He turns around and looks at the others,
"The Predacon’s have crossed the line. This time we stop them,
once and for all. I’m leaving Ironhide here in charge of Metroplex and
battle coordination. Our newest ally, Error, will stay here with him.
Bumblebee will continue to man the med bays, and the rest of you will work on
un-miring Metroplex from the mud
and getting him operational again. Autobots, Maximals you have your
orders, MOVE OUT!"
The water was churning
madly around you as you, Deepsea, and Seaspray jumped into the warm Atlantic
waters.
Apparently, the explosions had been very precise, and
had taken out Metroplex’ main systems. But those explosions had been up
above, closer to the central part of the city.
What you went to investigate now happened about ten
minutes ago. Nearly five minutes after the original explosions.
"Careful," Warned Deepsea, "The suction
being caused by the city is fierce. I don’t see how anything could have escaped
from the area, yet."
You lowered yourself down, and could see what she
meant. Immediately, your turbines kicked in to stabilize you, and they
were working at full speed. The waters were slowing
down, as the city settled on the floor of the ocean. It was only around
fifteen meters deep here, just enough to get your toes wet, but enough damage
had been caused to Metro, that
he’d be cleaning out sea salt for weeks!
Deepsea jumped in beside you, her larger frame
steadying against the pulling waters as she hit the ground.
You begin a scan of the area as you moved closer to
the base.
"Looks like the damage was caused to areas that
would let the greatest amount of water pour in, in the least amount of
time."
Deepsea looked around, "Search me if I know what
Prime wants us to find down here. It’s not like there’s anyone down
here."
Seaspray’s voice crackles over the comm, "Yeah,
perhaps not, but when the first explosions went off, there was an immediate
hull scan for other explosives. Metro’s computers
didn’t find any."
"Which means these weren’t attached." You
finished.
"Right, whoever did it, evaded Metro’s
scanners."
"I’m still not sure what we’re supposed to
fi…."
You hear DeepSea scream from near the base of the
city. A blaster echoes dully in the salty water. You spin to see a
cloud of oils seeping from her leg, where a sharp claw was
grinding into her shin.
"Razorclaw, TERRORIZE!!!"
--duh, Razorclaw. No one even thought about
him. He’s been on Earth for a few years, AND had access to all of the
Seabase’s codes!—
The claw rises up and throws the bulk of Deepsea at
you, the two of you fall in a tangle…
Earth : The Atlantic Ocean
You spin and drag Deepsea
around, doing your best to untangle yourself from her. "Flood to…
anyone!! We’ve got a situation down here!" you gulp into your
commlink.
You try to pull back, dragging Deepsea with you.
Razorclaw begins to fire with a blaster embedded
inside his smaller claw. Pieces of sand and fused glass make a cloud in
the warm waters.
Flood pushes away and swims in the opposite direction,
flanking the Predacon.
"Hey!?!" you urk in surprise.
"I’m not that bad off, let’s frag this
Pred."
You spin toward the Predacon, pulling your harpoon gun
free. An incendiary harpoon was loaded and you took aim.
But the Pred was gone.
"Scanners!"
--No activity in area—
"What?!"
Suddenly, the ground behind you erupted as the
Predacon lept up from under the sands.
The Pred’s arms grappled around you making you drop
your gun to the ocean floor. You felt the tight squeeze of his claws, but
your high-pressure threshold
merely shrugged off the damage.
You pull your saber and pry open the grasping claw,
pushing yourself off from the crab bot.
There’s a thunderous crack through the water, and you
feel the sweep of a wave of water pressure as DeepSea let’s loose with a blast
from her gun.
You tumble, recovering your harpoon gun from the sandy
floor. There’s a hiss as it’s bolt slides clear and crunches into the
Predacon’s shoulder with a flare of
light.
"Razorclaw, beast mode!!" The Predacon
gurgles as he falls back.
As he transforms down, you can tell your scanners are
beginning to loose track of him, "Oh no you don’t!"
You leap forward and bring your saber down, pinning
the shelled Predacon to the sandy floor. He shakes and then deactivates.
"So much for our saboteur."
Earth : The Atlantic Ocean
You hoist the robot up
and toss him toward DeepSea, "Here, take him to the brig, I’ll make sure
there aren’t any others down here, then be up to interrogate
him."
The large fembot swam up carrying Razorclaw’s
deactivated body.
You look around and activate a full band scan.
Slowly, you covered every nook and cranny of the area, searching for any signs
of jamming or sensor haze.
Nothing comes up.
You turn your attention to the hole that’s ripped in
the side of Metroplex.
"Don’t look too good, it’ll take days to fix with
the few bot’s we got around here!"
Seasprays voice gurgles over the comm,
"Somethin’s happening up here!"
"What is it?"
"Looks like Prime is taking on Tripredicus, and
Megatron has left Trypticon, looks like he’s going after the shuttle!!"
Slag, with the power outlays that Tripredicus was
showing earlier, you weren’t even sure if Prime himself could stand toe to toe
with that!!
"Well, there’s nothing else here, I’m coming
up!" You swim up the short distance toward the brightly lit ocean
air. Blaster fire echoed off the nearby hull of
Metroplex as you break the surface. You look up and see Optimus Primes
hoversled firing heavy missile attacks toward the Tripredicus combiner.
Megatron,
meanwhile seemed to be caught in some kind of blast originating from the
shuttle itself. The Autobot forces were clashing with the Predacon’s and
annihilating the
with ease, and on the shoreline, rows of white Earth Defense tank mechs could
be seen.
"The battle’s almost over, now if Prime and Megs
can just kill the lead powers…"
Earth : The Atlantic Shoreline
As you break the surface, you
transform and hop onto your hoverboard.
You look up, maybe I can help Prime…
Suddenly, from overhead, there is a huge explosion!
Pieces of insect carapace and machinery begin to rain
down from above, you quickly scoot out of the way.
"Prime to Seaspray. Get Swampvine, Flood,
and Deepsea and commence picking up that scrap…"
--Well, I guess he’s fine.—
You see over on the shore, a line of white
tanks. Earth Defense Forces was on the standby.
"Flood to the EDF. "
"Yeah, this is General Terrik."
There is a heavy crackle on the line, and a bright
flash of green swells in the sky. You look up to see a blast of energy
emanating and holding from the shuttle. It
was surrounding both Megatron and Starscream, who had been locked in battle.
You could hear both of them scream.
"LOCK ON TO THE SHUTTLE! I’m going to see
what’s going on!!"
You kick the board up and head toward the shuttle at
full throttle.
You land on top of the
shuttle with a thunk, transferring the board to your back. There is
another loud clunk behind you. You spin to find Optimus Prime landing
next to you!
"Prime!"
"Flood, I thought I had you on
cleanup…" he says sarcastically.
"I saw a problem up here?"
The shuttle below you gives a heavy groan.
"What is this thing doing!" you yell.
"I’m not sure, but it’s still got Megatron in its
grasp." Prime calls over the crackling and the mounting protest of the
shuttle’s hull.
"I’ve got the EDF locked onto the shuttle!
Should we blast it?"
Prime pauses, "Let’s see if we can get inside and
stop it first!"
You nod and begin to move to the side where you can slide
down into the open side hatch on the shuttle. All the while the groaning
of the ship gets louder and
louder, and crackling energy begins to arc across the hull of the ship.
Amidst the maelstrom of noise, you hear a hatch popping open.
You turn to see Hooligan and Bladewing emerging.
Prime looks back, "What are you two
doing?!?"
Hooligan yells, "I wouldn’t go in there!
It’s going through changes!"
"What?!" you yell.
"The shuttle, it’s taking Megatron’s spark into
itself and forming a new robot!"
Prime blinks for a second, "What kind of
robot?!?"
"It’s just a body rebuild. Starscream’s
already part of it, but it looks like Hornet activated the systems to suck in
Meg’s spark as well!"
"Can we stop it!?" you yell.
"Not without loosing them AND the shuttle!"
The noise below your feet begins to resolve into the
sound of gears whirring and panels sliding.
"Then let’s get out of here!" Prime
orders.
The four of you jump to safety, noticing that another
black and orange Predacon, Powerpinch, carting a decapitated Hornet, jump free
of the shuttle as well.
The six of you land on the beach below, near the
collection of tanks.
There is a bright light engulfing the shuttle, and you
watch as pieces are shed, and panels are slid. Parts fall away into the
ocean as the shuttle sheds its extra
weight. Wings slide out, mounted with racks of missiles, and soon, a
definite shape appears.
The shuttle changes into a large ATF bomber.
Grayish green and black camouflage striping it’s hull, and glistening silver
edges to its triangular shape. An
enormous round cannon was on the belly of the jet. Megatron’s body falls
away, releasing its grip on Starscream, but the blue and black robot was
changing as
well. His colors were altering to match the larger bomber, and he was
converting to his jet mode.
The two linked together, completing the form of the
new and deadly looking robot.
With a sudden boom, the transformation
completed. Engines roared into existence and the jet bolted into the sky
under it’s own power.
Prime mutters, "It’s designed after Dreadwing’s
old body…"
The jet circles Trypticon and Metroplex, then spins
toward you on the beach. There is a moment of seperation as the two jets
split apart, and then the sound of
transformation, just before they both land with a thud, in robot mode.
Megatron looked at the heavy, thick arms of the robot
mode, stretching his hands. The huge gattling cannon had become a
shoulder mount, and the nose of the
plane was his chestplate. The sings had folded back along the sides and
still held their deadly load of missiles.
Megatron looks up, and his voice and Starscream’s in
unison speaks, "I am reborn."
Earth: The Atlantic beach
The massive robot
stretches out an arm and looks at it, "Fascinating."
The group of Cybertronians facing it, look at each
other apprehensively.
Optimus Prime, scuff and damaged from his tussle with
the monstrous Tripredicus was the first to react, "Megatron?"
The large robots head snapped up at the name, his eyes
glowing red for a brief second, then slowly shifting to a sparkling silver hue,
"Yes, and more…"
The smaller, aqua colored Autobot, Flood, spoke up,
"Megatron, what happened?"
The robots eyes glittered above the black faceplate,
"The shuttle… it was created to house my spark?"
A derisive snort came from a orange and rust colored
robot that sat, hunkered down on a large rock on the beach. Oil and mech
fluid dripped slowly from a
wound in his stomach. As he clenched at the exposed wires, Hooligan
looked up at the others, "Yeah, that was how all this got started,
sorta…"
Optimus looked over at the old Decepticon,
"Explain?"
Hooligan gives a laborious sigh, "Well, at least
that was where my part started here. You see, the Combaticons built that
shuttle to try to reclaim the spark of
Megatron. Then, to get it to Earth without Starscream knowing about it,
they sold it to… to this Predacon cat that I hired on with to get off of
Cybertron."
"How did the Decepticons know about
Megatron?"
Hooligan shrugged, "How did the Predacon’s
know?"
Flood shook his head, "The Predacon’s knew because
of Razorclaw. He was working for them the whole time. He was on
Earth as a Predacon scientist and
has been running tests on the water environments. In the confusion
with the Tripredicus council we forgot about him AND that he had the access
codes we were
using here on Earth! He snuck on board Metroplex and detonated the bombs
at the beginning of the battle today."
Megatron looked over, "That explains the Predacon
side of things, but still gives us no idea how the Combaticons knew where to find
me."
A lanky black robot with a red eye and huge silver
wings shakes his head, "It appears that none of you are two adept at
intrigue."
All eyes turn back as he leans against one of the
white Earth Defense Force tanks, the setting sun glinted off the red cockpit
bubble on his chest, "If you want to
know how, why don’t you just ask someone who IS adept."
"Who?" Flood gives Bladewing a stubborn
look.
The black and silver robot only raises a sword to
point at the smaller of the paired robots standing on the beach. The
formerly blue and black Starsream, now
hunkered in the shadow of his enormous counterpart, Megatron. His gray
and green camouflage making his nearly invisible in the slanting light.
"Soundwave." He states grumpily.
Bladewing nods, "Soundwave, an ancient
Decepticon adept in telepathy. He must have sensed where Megatron’s spark
was."
Prime looked dubious, "Then why not come earlier
than three centuries?"
Flood’s eyes got wider, "He couldn’t sense
Megatron until I rebuilt him! When I found him and threw him into a CR
chamber I started all of this off." He leans
back hard against another of the EDF tanks.
Prime looks over his shoulder at the smaller bot, the
sun shining through a crack in the glass crystal of his door-wing, "Don’t
blame yourself, Flood. You only did
what was right."
Megtron’s eyes glinted red, "Yes, ‘don’t blame
yourself’. The only danger that has been caused was by the Predacon’s
interference!" He spun toward the
crouched robot that sat slightly apart from the rest of the group, a black and
orange carapaced robot with a slew of gun blast wounds across his back.
He looked
up from the decapitated body that he was working on, stemming the flow of mech
fluids from its gaping neck wound.
Megatron’s gun raised, but Prime moved in front,
"NO! It is over Megatron. The council has lost, and are
defeated."
"Spare me your idealistic ways Optimus. One
does not leave a enemy in his tent hoping that he will not slit your throat in
the night."
Flood moved to Megatron’s side, "No, he’s
right. Remember what you told me! Remember how you just wanted to
be left alone. Now is your chance! End
the wars here and now!!"
Megatron seemed to consider this for a moment, then
lowered his cannon.
The Predacon, Powerpinch, was visibly relieved.
He stood up, setting Hornet’s carcass down, "Now what."
Prime sighed, placing his hand on the larger
Megatron’s shoulder, "Now, we rebuild."
The next week was
spent with a combined effort at reconstructing Metroplex’s hull. It ended
up being easier than expected, as his new technology
seemed to have a fairly advanced restructuring ability.
The Predacon’s were all rebuilt, weapon’s deactivated,
except for the Tripredicus council. It was by joint agreement that until
they could be returned
to Cybertron that their bodies would remain in stasis lock.
Megatron becomes listless as the days go
by. When approached he seemed agitated and angry. Even
Optimus and Flood could not drag out of him
the reason. The strange duality of his voice did fade as a few days
passed, however, and once again he and Starscream seemed to operate almost
independently.
Extensive cleanup and geological repair began as
soon as Metroplex was rebuilt. The ocean floor had taken considerable
damage from Terrorsaur’s
attack, not to mention the several cities that had been slagged by the mad
Predacon. The attack on Tripredicus didn’t help either. Around a hundred
miles of ocean shoreline suffered due to the battle, but with the
combination of the Autobots, Maximals, Decepticons, and Predacons, repair
efforts were
very successful.
Bumblebee leaned back
in the cushy chair in Metroplex’s main bridge. He was the only one on
duty, and he was nearly ready to be relieved. It had been a quiet
night. Outside, Metroplex was working on a geological fault line that had
been severely shaken by Terrorsaur, but the work he was doing required little
or no help
from the smaller Cybertronians. The viewscreens were set to show the
ocean depths. A beautiful coral reef was not too far off, and Bumblebee
had early on set the
zoom to show the reef exclusively.
Life swam across the massive screen in sharp relief as
the computers on board Metroplex lit the area with a form of virutal
definition. Colors were vivid and
sharp, and the seen was breathtaking.
Or at least it was six hours ago when Bumblebee had
first brought it up.
Now, the golden robot sat cleaning his chromed
gun. He had come a long way from the bubble-like body he first had on
Earth. He was now a sleek car,
powerful, fast, and armed.
He clicked his gun together with a resounding snap and
holstered it back in his leg. He leaned back looking out into the blue
waters again, nearly powering down
in boredom.
The door behind him hisses open. In the glare of
the control panel, Bublebee sees Rapido walk up and look over his shoulder.
"Beautiful, ain’t it Rap?"
"You were falling asleep."
"Yeah, but let’s see how you do after six hours
of waterworld."
"Ok, get up. I know how to turn on the link
to Earth’s holo vids. It’s a movie night tonight!" the red robot
chided.
Suddenly a small beep attracted both the robot’s
attentions. Bumblebee hits a button and a star map of the local solar
system appears in the center of the kelp
bed. On the edge of the system, a large blinking ship appeared on
the scanner.
The two Autobots looked at each other in disbelief and
worry.
Then a screen panel blinked. A large rust
colored, and slightly charred looking Cybertronian face appeared in the panel.
"This is Backdraft, Captain of the Cybertron ship
Soulfire. We are in a state of emergency and war. If there are any
Cybertronians on Earth, please reply."
You follow the sub back into Trypticon’s hangar with disgust.
You volunteered to work here in the deeper part
of the Atlantic Ocean on the repair of the faults that had been damaged by
Terrorsaur’s attack. The Predacon’s had also been repaired and were
helping across the globe to repair the damage that Terrorsaur had caused in his
rampage. Amusingly, even Terrorsaur himself was included in the helping
crew. After his defeat, it seemed his power had drained and his sanity
had returned. The Predacon didn’t even have a recollection of what had
happened to him.
The Tripredicus council, however, was still in
stasis lock, where they would stay until they could be returned to
Cybertron. Prime seemed confident that he could persuade the Councils to
leave Earth and the Decepticons here in peace.
So far today you had been nearly squashed by a
falling rock, and had lost the mining equipment that you were using.
You jump through the shimmering force-shield
that held the great weight of the water back from the lower deck, and land with
a thunk on the metallic floor.
“Well, THAT was productive.” You grumble
as he moved across the deck, away from the repair sub that was now settling to
a halt on the deck.
A hatch on top of the sub snapped open, and
Swindle’s head popped out, “Well, how was I supposed to know that coral
wouldn’t hold that rock up?”
You grimace, “YOU were supposed to be holding
the rock so the miner could finish it’s work.”
Swindle jumped down, “Eh, I thought maybe that
old Earth ship might have had something we could use in it.”
Hooligan was standing on the deck, leaning up
against a generator that he was probably supposed to be moving, “In other words,
he though the old Earth ship might have something SHINY in it.” The Decepticon
smirked.
You smile back, “Oh well, it wasn’t really an
important operation at any rate, I…”
The general speaker system shut on suddenly.
“Decepticons, prepare to break moorings and
raise Trypticon to the surface. Incoming Cybertronian ship to dock with
the city. Clear upper decks of equipment upon surfacing.”
You look at Swindle and Hooligan. Hooligan
voices the question, “Incoming ship?”
Swindle shrugged, “Oh yeah, the sub picked up
the initial transmission. The said something about war or somethin’.
You and Hooligan look at each other, “WAR?!?”
With that, You spin and head for the turbo
lifts.
Bursting out into the massive control room, you
hop on your board and hover upwrd toward Megatron’s control platform, “What’s
going on.”
He looked up from the panel he was working
on. His red eyes glinting from the flashing screens on the far wall.
“There is a Cybertronian ship about to dock with
us. Metroplex is on it’s way, and Cybertron is in a state of war.”
“War!?”
He sets down the panel and stands, leaning over
the railing, “Yes, war.” He states calmly, “It seems like no matter who I
defeat, there will always be yet a new fight to prod me forward.”
“Then what will you do?”
He shifts to look at you, “Do? I will
return to Cybertron. It is still my homeworld. No upstart will
subdue the planet while I… exist.”
The massive camoflauged robot looked calm, but
something in his eyes seemed to smolder. Something dark and
brooding. It had become more pronounced in the past week, as if he had
know that something was on it’s way.
“Where’s Prime?”
“On Metroplex, they’ll be here before the day is
out.”
On the screens you can see images of Trypticon
as it begins it’s ascent from the dark waters.
“Do you think it’s the Predacons?”
“No, their leaders are here. Their forces
would not attack without a leader.”
“Then who?”
“Who indeed? No one has conquered our
planet. Not since I did.”
You look back at him, but his expression was
impassive. Sunlight poked through on the screens as the fortress began to
rise above the waters and out into the smooth surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
And in that light, you swear that you saw the fading
shadow of a smile on Megatron’s face.