Transformers Prime: Predacons Rising
Smokescreen POV
Once we got back home the entire company travelled to Kaon just outside the gladiatorial arena where at the entrance stood the statue of the former leader of the Decepticons. Dad thought that this would be a perfect place to start over rebuilding and I have to say I agree with him. We weren't far from the arena when dad stopped he moved to stand before us then I realize what he was going to do.
"We have endured bitter hardship and countless battles, but at long last our home restored. We would not be standing on Cybertronian soil if not for the valiant efforts of those both assembled here and our absent comrades. Ratchet, whom remains on Earth to safeguard our human friends and Cliffjumper … who made the ultimate sacrifice." Arcee lowered her head at the mention of her old partner as she was the closest to him. "But on this day, at the dawn of a new era, we gather to bestow a special honor. One earned by Bumblebee. Through his bravery and devotion to the cause of peace, long before he rid the universe of the scourge of the Decepticon warmonger." Bumblebee kneels in front of his commander. "In the company of your fellow Autobots. In the presence of our creator Primus, the living core of our planet and in the authority vested in me by the Matrix of Leadership." Dad touches the Star Saber to each of Bee's shoulders and proclaims. "Bumblebee arise warrior." In triumph my once beeping friend rises no longer a scout, but a warrior. The team walks up to him congratulating him.
"Let's get this party started." Wheeljack turns toward Megatron's statue and activates a detonator in his hands setting off explosives effectively crumbling the statue. Bulkhead and Wheeljack bumped chest and exclaimed.
"Hoo ah!" I went over to Bumblebee with Gail still holding my hand we really hadn't let go of each other since her near death experience.
"Welcome to the club Bee. Warrior today and who knows, Prime tomorrow?"
"Slow down Smoke, I'm not sure I wish a Primes responsibility on anyone." I smiled at Gail as she hugged Bumblebee and congratulated him.
"You'll make a great Prime one day."
"I am sorry to interrupt your celebration."
"Here it comes."
"But, I must take my leave of you."
"Sir, may I ask why?"
"Though Cybertron is once again able to support life, our planet is currently in cable of generating new lives. Not until I retrieve the Wellspring from which all life on Cybertron is born and ultimately returns … the Allspark."
"You mean it isn't here?" That surprised all of us including me
"Nor has it been my son, not for a thousand years. As the war for Cybertron reached a tipping point and the Decepticons army appeared to be unstoppable, I opted to safeguard the Allspark from Megatron by covertly sending it to a distant sector of the galaxy … the Matrix of Leadership will enable me to guide us to its present location."
"What are we waiting for? Let's take the warship and bring it back."
"These remain dangerous times Bumblebee, we cannot leave Cybertron unsecured. Not with Starscream and Shockwave unaccounted for."
"Not to mention the stray Predacon."
"Ultra-Magnus you will supervise patrols to capture any and all fugitive Decepticons."
"I would be honored."
"Bulkhead, you will lead the reconstruction effort. Begin by building a landing field to welcome returning refugees. Wheeljack, I will require both of your extensive knowledge navigating through deep space."
"When do we leave?"
"Immediately … Ultra Magnus we will require your ship." Gail and walked up to our Dad and say goodbye.
"Please stay safe I want you to come back in one piece."
"Don't worry I will my little sparkling." Gail held onto her father for as long as she could even when I grasped his hand and said my goodbye he was holding onto my wife his daughter tightly.
"I'll keep her safe."
"It's not your capability for keeping her safe that concerns me, but hers as she will protect you even if it's the cost of her own life."
"Well then I'll just have to make sure that I don't put myself in dangerous situations." Dad smiled and chuckled a bit before he and Wheeljack got into Ultra Magnus's ship.
Shadow Storm POV
I watched as my father and Wheeljack flew off in search of the Allspark. I kept my gaze focused upward watching the ship fly to parts unknown. Until Ultra Magnus started assigning patrols. Ultra-Magnus, my husband and I were assigned to the same patrol and we headed out immediately. We patrolled for a while before coming to the Sea of Rust.
"Well someone may want to think about renaming the Sea of Rust, just saying though I was hoping more of us would be rushing back here now that it's all bright and shiny."
"Cybertron will populate in time kid you have to remember refuges could be returning from light years away. Movement, two contacts at point 8.4." The three of us transformed and followed Ultra Magnus's lead. "Approach with caution." We did as we were told and soon heard the sounds of what we assumed were cons scavenging.
"My name is Ultra Magnus are you Autobots or Decepticons."
"Nether" the two beasts transformed and screeched at us.
"Predacons" The two Predacons attacked us since we outnumbered them having me on the team I forced the beasts off of whoever I was closest to, but one of the beasts grabbed my husband and threw him into a building. Rubble fell on top of him and before he could get out of the predicament the beast fired upon him.
"Smokescreen." I drove as fast as I could to him, but the beast stopped his attack and the aftermath was melted metal. Tears sprung from my optics before I see my husband phase out of the wall behind where he had previously been.
"Phase beats Flame every time, Scrap." I look behind me at Ultra Magnus and noticed he's being tossed around like a human rag doll. I drive to him and I hear Smokie calling a for a ground bridge. The two of us make it to Ultra Magnus and I touch him first then Smokie saving both the commander and myself from being slashed by the Predacon using his Phase shifter.
"Hang on Chief we're getting you out of here." Working together Smokie and I we're able to drag the commander threw the bridge making it safely on the Nemesis. Once we were there I started looking over Ultra Magnus's wounds, but they were extensive and I didn't want to start healing them until I knew what was going on internally.
"Bee get in contact with Ratchet I want to get him properly checked over to make sure that I won't miss anything internal that I can't visually see." Bee nodded and immediately called for our good doc while Smokie and I got Ultra Magnus on to a medical berth. Once he came through he looked around at every member of the team.
"Where's the patient?" I guided our medic to where Ultra Magnus was laid up.
"I didn't want to start healing him until I was sure that he didn't have any internal injuries that I didn't see."
"He's suffering from a multitude of internal injuries. Most quite severe, even with your healing he's going to have to rest for a while before I'll clear him for active duty."
"I'll get to work." I immediately started working and was so focused on Ultra Magnus that I ignored the rest of the team in order to make sure I gave Magnus the best care possible.
Smokescreen POV
"So anyone care to explain what two more Predacons are doing on Cybertron?"
"I thought Optimus said new life wasn't possible without the Allspark?"
"I'm no authority, but something tells me cloning old bones doesn't constitute new life."
"Shockwave, has been playing in his lab since the war. Why stop now?"
"If Shockwave really is back in business then there could be more of them … A lot more."
"We need to call Optimus."
"Really Bulk? … And interrupt his quest to save the future of our race on Cybertron?" Very soon Bee calls us over and tells us to prepare to leave. I look over at Gail and notice that she's still working on the commander. So the team left Ratchet and my wife to take care of Ultra Magnus. We followed Bee to the surface and soon came upon a very rough terrain.
"Keep a look out."
"Who made him leader?"
"Bee did snuff Megatron."
"I'm not leading, I'm scouting."
"Fair enough, but you do realize we're nowhere near where we found those Predacons right?"
"We're not looking for those Predacons. I followed this energon trail which means he's wounded and I know we aren't the ones who wounded him."
"Woah! you mean we've been tracking … Predaking" All of us activate our weapons out of pure instinct. I had both of mine trained on his chest. His chest where it glowed a telltale sign that he's about to strike.
"Hold fire." Bee walks closer to the Predacon and holds up the stick he picked up a few minutes ago "Recognize this Predaking? You served aboard Megatron's warship, Surely you're familiar with this little treasure from his vault. The Immobilizer, it causes instant stasis lock, though the victim remains fully conscious. A living death." Predacon stopped preparing to fire and just watched as Bumblebee placed the fake Immobilizer on the ground in front of him. "But we didn't come here to fight your highness."
"Then why have you violated my refuge Autobot?"
"We need answers; do you know of any other Predacons currently on Cybertron?"
"Indeed, Legions of them. Behold, my subjects. A countless multitude. Rendered extinct ages ago by the great cataclysm. Unearthed by the shifting of plates during our planet's restoration."
"Yeah well me, Ultra Magnus, and Shadow Storm, just about got scrapped by two living Predacons. Know anything about that your highness?"
"Two? Where?"
"We came to ask your help in finding them."
"For revenge?"
"No! Optimus Prime would deem it a tragedy to stain Cybertrons fresh soil with any spilled energon. So help us prove what Megatron was never willing to. That more than one race can peacefully coexist on our planet."
"You assumed that because I turned against Megatron I can forgive the Autobots their role in the destruction of my brethren on Earth? Leave me be and dare not trespass here again." We left Predaking and Bee throws the fake Immobilizer over his head as we left the area.
Shadow Storm POV
I had just finish doing what I could for Ultra Magnus when the rest of the team entered and discussed the next plan of attack. The team soon decided to head to Darkmount under the information that Knockout provided Ratchet would remain with Ultra Magnus to keep a close eye on his condition. We drove to Megatron's fortress immediately to find Shockwaves hideouts.
"What makes you think we'll find Shockwaves cloning lab here."
"Yeah, wasn't Darkmount Megatron's military HQ?"
"If the intel I received from Knock was accurate we'll find a map of Shockwaves entire lab network in the citadels databanks." We walked into the building and made it to the highest point of the fortress. Once there, Bumblebee and Arcee tapped into the citadels databanks. As the two of them do that my husband's decides to take a seat on the throne and in a very deep says
"Lord Smokescreen, emperor of destruction." I laughed at my husband antics.
"How can you sit there? That's some bad mojo."
"It's not like Megatron's around to use it. What do you think Gail?"
"I sometimes wonder why I even married you?" Smokie gave me a fake look of hurt, but I just chuckled and joined Bee and Arcee.
"What do you know? Knockout actually shot straight for once."
"What'd you have to do? Buff his finish?"
"Close, let's download the data and get out of here."
"Hey something's heading our way."
"Predaking"
"Moving too fast."
"Starscream?" The figure in question landed hard in front of us after transforming. A bot that we'd thought we'd never lay our eyes on again. he looks a lot different than before but who him was it was unmistakable standing before us was none other than … Megatron."
"Minions of the Prime, prepare to be obliterated."
"Megatron?"
"You punctured bucket head with a giant saber and you missed his spark?"
"Smokie now's not the best time to place blame."
"How are you still alive?"
"And where'd you score the upgrade?"
"Megatron cannot answer you at this moment though I can inform you with utmost authority that he owes his new lease on life to me, Unicron." That really scared me that he was here Arcee had informed what had happened on earth while Smokie and I were in the stasis pod. She told about Unicron and how my father defeated him, so why was he here now. "And I will not be so easy to destroy." His hands glowed purple and another thing Arcee warned me about was the dark energon that which was also called the blood of Unicron. He formed two guns and shot at us forcing to hide behind the throne for cover.
"We need to retreat."
"The only way is down."
"We can't call for a ground bridge until we put some space between Unicron and us."
"Behold my infinite might!" the ma boss of darkness yelled and within moments something was stabbed into the throne and almost through the back where we are. It started beeping
"Let's roll" we immediately climbed out from behind the throne just as it was blown to smithereens. We drove to the edge of the platform we were on and before going over Arcee yelled.
"Stop!" we slammed on the breaks just before going over the edge...right into a smelting pit.
"A smelting pit."
"Cybertrons been dormant for 1,000's of years and that's still burning?"
"Not good"
"Ratchet? We need a ground bridge!" All of the sudden we are blasted over the edge. bulkhead was able to remain on the platform and grabbed Arcee who catches me and Smokie catches my feet. All of us dangle over the edge listening to the evil laughter coming from above. Bulk is trying to hold us with only one hand.
"Hold tight!" From my position I couldn't see what was going on above us, but I could feel and hear the shaking and the platform under Bulkhead gave way and we all fell down and just as we are about to become melted metal we went through a ground bridge and landed safely in the Nemesis. Bumblebee was right behind us. Once Ratchet and I made sure everyone was safe and as that happened the team told Ratchet what had happened.
"How is this happening? I mean we put a call inviting refugees back to Cybertron and Unicrons the first in line!"
"Not to mention those Predacons … What have we come home to?"
"What are we supposed to call him now? Unitron? Megacron?"
"Really? That's your biggest issue right now?"
"Right, right. So what's the game plan?" Bee walks over to the monitors and starts to mess with some of the controls.
"While Unicron may now have an immortal form he is still a god and thus cannot be defeated by customary means."
"Optimus? Wheeljack? This is Bumblebee, we have an urgent situation … Optimus can you hear me? Come in please. Wheeljack? Optimus do you read? Nothing." Bee tries his best to get through to my father and Wheeljack, but he got really frustrated when they didn't answer.
"You have your voice back, now's not the time to go radio silent." She takes her turn on the monitors. "Optimus, in the event that you can hear us, Unicron has found his way back to Cybertron. Repeat, the chaos bringer is here on our soil in possession of Megatron body."
"So what now? I mean besides hoping Optimus got the message."
"We figure out why Unicrons here."
"And what he wants."
"It would be to destroy the spark of his arch enemy Primus."
"But that's the core of our planet!"
"It isn't fair, how many more times do we have to save a world, have to fight for the survival of our home."
"Incredibly the struggle between creation and destruction is an eternal one and the battle lines which separate the two run through the very spark of Cybertron. Good and evil, Order and chaos. One victorious and one vanquished. Each forming the very core of their own separate worlds. Cybertron and Earth and now the darkness has followed us all the way home." After giving the team less than stellar news he returned to Ultra Magnus checking him over. Within a few minutes I joined him and did what I could to help him out.
"Vitals are improving; you will be back on your struts in good time." I smiled at the old medic at his compassion for his patient.
"Exactly how long is good time? … Because with Optimus missing in action we could really use Ultra Magnus's counsel."
"Bumblebee we have all been witnessed to those among us who have risen above their station … Warriors, scouts, even field medics. The chaos bringer is at our doorstep and now more than ever before we cannot afford to wait for salvation."
"We'll launch an attack on Darkmount provided Unicrons still there." A sound came from the computer Ratchet looked over as he placed his finger at his chin.
"Or must first attempt to locate him in the event that he is not … I recommend we use the warship operating systems to arch for Megatron's life signal."
"Doc, that remodel who kicked our tailpipes, he might have looked and sounded like old bucket head, but it wasn't him."
"That much I know … but even if a fraction of Megatron's spark still flickers within his body the ship's scanners may pick him up." Ratchet presses a few more buttons and soon enough a signal pops up … a huge spike in energon. "Megatron life signal."
Smokescreen POV
"So somewhere inside that new body armor he's still alive?"
"He's perished and returned before a phenomenon no doubt aided by the blood of Unicron which courses through his veins."
"The coordinates detect he's left Darkmount."
"Triangulating his exact position." It didn't take long for him to lock on the coordinates to the Decepticons warlord and my optics grew wide when I recognized the position.
"We were there… Earlier today."
"Predaking refuse."
"Unicrons retracing our steps?"
"Woah wait! What in Alpha Trion's beard is that?" I yelled pointing the screen where I see a huge signal emanating from where we found Megatron.
"Giving that we are dealing with Unicron himself the energy mass could be only one thing … Dark energon … but for what purpose."
"We all saw it; the valley was filled with ancient Predacon bones."
"Which means Unicron is raising an undead army."
"One currently traveling across the Hydrax Plateau towards … the Well of Allsparks. The most direct route to Cybertrons core and Primus."
"We won't let them!"
"Unicron clearly desires to access our planet's core from the same point of entry that we used to restore it."
"No doubt with every intention of undoing our efforts."
"So what do we do?"
"We put ourselves between Unicrons army and the Well … Our strongest assets are this warship and any relics that might be stored in its vault."
"Last time I looked just the polarity gauntlet and the Immobilizer."
"Hopefully the genuine article this time."
"I'll go round up the secret weapons." I left the room and ran toward the ships reliquary. As soon as I made it around a corner I my phase shifter turned on and I was trapped in a wall and it didn't take long to figure out who had done this to me.
"It's so gratifying to have you feel how I felt when you stuck in me in this very same wall." I growled at the doctor as he Starscream and a few Vehicons passed me by. I tried to get out of my predicament, but there wasn't any use.
"Scrap" I waited for a while until low and behold my beloved wife with the phase shifter on her arm. She looked at me and I knew within a second right now she would be telling me 'Did you seriously get yourself stuck in this situation.' She was smiling at me and trying her hardest not to laugh.
"Would you stop trying to hide it and get me out of here already."
"Where would you be if I wasn't here."
"I don't want even think about it, just get me out of here." She grabbed my hands and pulled me out of the wall.
"Let's get back to the bridge before I decide to put you in a wall myself." I laugh and followed her back up to the bridge.
"Are we there yet?"
"Right on schedule"
"And so is Unicron." Unicrons army appeared on the horizon and we activated the ship's weapons and came out of our cloud cover and opened fire. But because of that we got attacked by flying creatures we are able to destroy a few of them before one them suddenly attached itself to the hull of the ship. we were all alerted to it when Knockout screamed out.
"Zombiecon, Zombiecon." Bumblebee and I aim our weapons but right before we open fire it's killed by a blast that didn't originate from the ship.
"Predaking"
"Predacon allies? You called it Bee … Huh and to think Optimus almost passed down the Marix to me." It took Bee only a moment before he looked back at me really shocked out of his spark.
"Woah what?"
"Yeah I said it, but right place right time doesn't mean right bot. I know that now." At that moment the entire ship lurched to one side.
"Brace for impact!" I quickly grab onto Gail and with my other hand grab on to the nearest thing I could. The ship landed really roughly on Cybertrons surface and slide a few feet before coming to a stop. When we did every one of us had landed hard on something for me it was my head and Gail had hit her arm and when she realized it she immediately started working on it. We all exit the ship and look at the horizon where the undead Predacons were still coming. Then the ground shakes yet again as something lands behind us turning around we all find ourselves face to face with Predaking and the two other Predacons all in bot form.
"We're the last line of defense."
"I would recommend leaving that to those more suited for the task … Skylynx! Dark Steel! Allow nothing to enter the Well." The three of them take off within moments they had taken a good bunch of the Zombicons down, but it didn't take long for the three of them to be overrun and allowing the demon horde to enter the well.
"Really? This is how it ends?"
"We're not losing our planet not without taking Unicron with it."
"Wait guys what's that?" I pointed up into the sky after noticing something coming our way. When whatever it was got closer I realized that it was Ultra Magnus's ship.
"Optimus"
"I never thought I'd be so happy to see that big rig." The platform lowers from the revealing my dad who immediately flies out of the ship and towards the chaos bringer. Unicron forms a spear and throws it, but instead of it hitting Dad it hit the ship forcing it to the ground.
"Jackie!" Bulkhead, Gail, and I transformed into vehicle mode and drove over to where the ship had crash landed. Once there the three of us helped Wheeljack out of the rubble.
"I've been worse." Dad landed in front of us with a very worried expression on his faceplate. "So how are we going to get that thing to safety."
"By the only means available to us, under these most dire of circumstances. The very survival of our species on this or any other world depends on it." I looked into my wife's optics and within the vastness of those sparkling whites I knew immediately what she and I had to do. So before our father grabbed the Allspark Gail and I touched the reliquary and together we opened it and absorbed its contents. In that moment Gail and I held within our sparks an equal portion of the Allspark.
"Shadow Storm, Smokescreen what did you do?"
"It's ok Dad, do what you have to do and we'll explain it all when you get back." He stares at the both of us with confused, but he still picked up the now empty container and flew away from the four of us and Unicron. Once he leaves I notice that during all of this I had yet let go of Gail's hand, but something deep inside my spark told me that I shouldn't let go ever again. As soon as I realized that a voice so calm and clear spoke into my mind and reverberated through my spark.
"You have done well; this was what you needed to do." I smiled and after looking at my wife I noticed that she too was smiling and it wasn't hard for me to guess that she had heard our creator as well. Together we watched as Unicron's spark was extracted from Megatron's form. Once that was accomplish we all ran to dad's side.
Shadow Storm POV
"As a being comprised of pure energy Unicron's anti-spark was vulnerable to this reliquary of the Prime's." Bee looks at the reliquary and asks
"But if he's in there where's -"
"Praise the Allspark" Starscream interrupts Bee proceeding to land in front of his former masters rising form. "Master you're alive."
"Indeed"
"Your new battle armor will take things to the next level my liege. Together we will reunite all Decepticons and once again grind Cybertron under your mighty heel."
"No!"
"What? Why?" And with the humblest voice ever he turned to Dad and says.
"Because I now know the true meaning of oppression and have thus lost my taste for inflicting it." That shocked everyone of us because after so many years of enjoying the torture and pain he caused.
"You've clearly been traumatized Master, a good power down and a troll around the smelting pit will put you back in touch with your inner warlord."
"Enough! The Decepticons are no more and that is final Megatron's transforms and flies away Scream turns around to look at us.
"Well we all have plenty to think about don't we?" the former con transformed and flew in the opposite direction of Megatron.
"So that's two guys accounted for, but where are the Predacons." Just then the three Predacons fly out of the Well and headed the same direction that Starscream went.
"Well it seems like Starscream will be taken care very soon."
"Where is the Allspark?"
"In order to safeguard the Allspark as well as secure Unicron's defeat, it was necessary for us to empty the vessels contexts."
"Into where."
"Dad wanted to absorb the Allspark into the Matrix of leadership, but Smokie and I beat him to it and together we absorbed the Allspark into our own sparks because of that we can no longer be separated from each other more than our sparks can be separated from the Allspark inside of us."
"Are you telling us that the both of you are now . . . one with the Allspark?"
"That's what you say when someone . . . kicks the . . ." The entire team's expression grew sober.
"Our mission here is at its end to not return the Allspark to the Well would be to prevent further generations of new life from existing on Cybertron . . . our mission must be completed."
"And it will, but your mission isn't the only one that needs completing the Matrix of Leadership needs to be relinquished as well, but while this may very well mark the end of the age of Primes, leadership can be earned with or without the matrix. And in my view you have each acted as a Prime."
"Well I never had the greatest role models."
"As even Megatron has demonstrated on this day, every sentient being possess the capacity for change." Dad activates his jetpack "I ask only this of you fellow Autobots, keep fighting the noblest of fights."
"You can count on us to keep the peace." The three of us smile and after Smokie and I grabbed hold of my father he flew up into the air and then dived headfirst into the Well of Allsparks very soon we arrived at the core of Cybertron closing our eyes and allowing the light of Primus to envelope the two of us and allowing our sparks to join our ancestors.
"Welcome home my children, your journey is just beginning."