Transformers Ignition
Fragments of Destiny
Prologue
Decepticon asteroid base; directly above planet Cybertron
Summer 2007 (Earth year)
4:55 AM
The starship sped across the battle-torn asteroid base. War ships from left to right both Autobot and Decepticon continuously fired cannons at each other creating a constant set of blazing, golden lights. The Autobot starship, the Aequitas, was closing in on the largest asteroid that held the main base. It would've been too easy avoiding all of those ships if it weren't for the fact that about twenty or so of them were constantly firing at the ship.
"X-Brawn! What's our status?" asked Optimus Prime
"She's takin' one hell of a beating sir!" replied X-Brawn "But I think she can still last!"
"Sir! We've reached the main base!" said Ratchet
"Excellent," said Prime "Prepare for boarding!"
"Aye, aye, sir!" said Ratchet
The ship was then turned to the side and out from underneath the wings came several large boarding tunnels that went directly through the main base's armored walls which connected the ship to the base.
"Alright, Autobots, prepare for combat" said Optimus "X-Brawn, Ratchet, Sideswipe, you're to stay here and guard the ship."
"Yes sir!" replied the Autobots
"I have a bad feeling about this." muttered a Decepticon
"Quiet you fool!" snapped another Decepticon "Do you want to ruin the surprise we set up for the Autobots?"
"Here they come!" said a third Decepticon "Brace yourselves, everyone."
The door from one of the boarding tunnels spewed a thick cloud of steam and then opened up. No one could see what was inside due to the thick haze. A long moment of silence had risen from the Decepticons who were waiting for the right moment to strike. Suddenly, they heard a small clang beating against the floor. They all looked around to see where the noise was coming from. They then turned their attention to a small yet rapid beeping noise in the middle of the floor. One of them peered closely at the object… only to discover in horror that this titanium-like, small, sphere with a blinking red light wasn't just a simple, meaningless object; it was a weapon.
"Grenade!" he shouted
Within seconds, the grenade exploded filling the whole hall with a cloud of blue-ish, lavender, orange, light yellow and crimson red flame. Once the flame and most of the inky-black smoke that came along with it dispersed, several Autobots came out of the boarding tunnel with weapons in hand. They rushed through the hall passing all of the corpses that were off to the side.
"Why is it that they always fall for the same trick?" an Autobot named Shadow Cruiser asked himself "It's funny… and a little sad."
When they got to the end of the hallway, they met up with a large group of Autobots who had come from different boarding tunnels and were talking amongst themselves. The leader, Optimus Prime, quickly got everyone's attention and they all restrained from talking.
"Alright, here's the plan," said Optimus "We're all going to split up into several groups. Hot Shot, Shadow Cruiser, you're with me. Arcee, Blurr, Grimlock, you three are together…"
After Prime had split all thirty Autobots into ten groups, they all went with their designated teams and split off in different directions.
"So refresh my memory," said Hot Shot while Optimus' group ran down through what felt like an endless series of hallways "Why exactly are we here again?"
"According to various reports from some of our spies," said Optimus "The Decepticons have discovered a map to the location of what we believe might be an ancient super weapon. Our mission is to retrieve the map so the enemy won't use this so-called weapon against us. If we fail, it would mean doom for us all."
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard, right?" said Hot Shot "Just get in, grab the map and get out. It's as simple as that."
It was then that the team's path was blocked by about five Decepticons carrying large submachine guns. The team looked behind them and saw five more Decepticons behind them coming from a different hallway carrying different kinds of weapons such as pistols, assault rifle etc.
"Yeah, but you forgot about the part where we have to kick Decepticon ass along the way." said Shadow Cruiser to Hot Shot
The Autobots pulled out their weapons and aimed them at the Decepticons surrounding them.
"So," smirked Optimus "Which one of you Decepticons wants to dance?"
All of the Decepticons in front and behind them charged toward the three Autobots. One Decepticon went hurling at Optimus but before he could strike, Prime with one hand slammed his fist against his opponent solar-plexus (the place between the stomach and the chest). When his opponent bent over grunting in pain he punched him on the upper area of the back causing the Decepticon to fall hard on his face. Optimus then took the opportunity and shot him several time in the back.
Hot Shot took notice of another Decepticon and smacked him across the face with the back of his assault rifle. When the enemy fell on his knees Hot Shot fired his assault rifle hitting the back of the neck and down towards the mid section of the back. Meanwhile, Shadow Cruiser grabbed a Decepticon who tried to lunge at him, turned him around so that they were facing back to face and made him aim his gun so it fired at the other Decepticons. Shadow then pushed him away and struck him in the back of the head with the body of one of his pistols. The battle slowly ended after five minutes of fighting. For an unfair fight of ten against three it seemed easier than most people would suspect. Several bodies were scattered about the hall either unconscious or dead.
"Well that takes care of the trash," said Shadow "We should probably get moving now."
"I agree," said Optimus who had just finished giving a remaining Decepticon a head lock "Let's move!"
Meanwhile, up in the surveillance room…
"Damn! It seems I have underestimated the Autobots once again." snarled Megatron glaring at one of the surveillance monitors that showed Optimus' team taking on yet another and larger brigade of Decepticons
"Don't worry Megatron, sir," said a Decepticon "I'm sure the next platoon will take them out."
"Somehow I highly doubt that." said Megatron
As Megatron watched the surveillance monitor loathingly he suddenly began to formulate a plan; a plan in which the results would be catastrophic for the Autobots. On the surveillance cameras, as the Autobots drew closer to the bridge, the more bits of pieces of his plan began to collaborate. A heinous little smile crept along his face. This time for sure, he could smell victory a mile away.
"Sir, we're proceeding with sealing up the bridge-" started one Decepticon
"No." said Megatron
"But sir, what about the map?" asked another Decepticon
"Are you questioning my authority you insolent fool?" snapped Megatron "Just do as I say, dammit!"
"Y-yes sir." stammered the Decepticon
Megatron turned back to the monitor and kept his eyes on Optimus Prime.
"There's the entrance to the bridge!" said Optimus on the monitor "All we need now is the map and a lot of luck."
"More than you can imagine, Optimus Prime," muttered Megatron to himself "More than you can imagine."
The trio had finally entered the bridge only to be followed by fifty or more Decepticons along the way. Shadow Cruiser covered Hot Shot and Prime as they went inside. They both quickly looked about their surroundings just in case there were more Decepticons inside. What was strange was there was nobody guarding the main computer.
"Talk about lack of security." commented Hot Shot
"Shadow, are you done playing pin-the-laser-on-the-Decepticon-with-your-eyes-open yet?" asked Optimus turning to Shadow
"I'll be there in just a sec sir." said Cruise
Shadow walked backwards slowly while firing at the enemy and just when he got inside of the bridge, he pressed a large silvery button that immediately closed the door. He then pressed another small button which then locked the door. Shadow smirked and said:
"Wow, aren't we popular today."
The trio headed over to the main computer which was attached to two slightly smaller computers. Each Autobot took a computer and immediately started to search through the computer files. Within the first five minutes everything was going smoothly (or at least it would've been if it weren't for the fact that they couldn't find anything) until suddenly, a loud crash from the hanger above them.
"Stay put," said Optimus "I'm going to see what's up in that hangar."
Optimus climbed up the ladder that led up to the hanger. While he was looking around the area, little did he know that someone was watching him in the shadows. His observer was cringing with excitement. He couldn't help but show a malicious grin on his face. Prime was right where he wanted him. His finger gently started squeezing the trigger on his gun. But Optimus immediately sensed that he was being watched. Due to his acute hearing, he even heard the trigger on the gun being squeezed. Prime lowly reached for his gun... and at the last second he swiftly drew his weapon and fired. He listened for any signs of collapsing or any other sign of movement; but there was nothing.
"Hey, Prime!" called Hot Shot "Is everything all right up there?"
"Yes, everything's fine," replied Optimus who then sighed and muttered to himself "I must be hearing things."
"Oh are you, Prime?" asked a familiar voice behind him
Optimus immediately turned around only to find…
"Megatron," said Optimus bitterly "I should've known."
"I'll admit you had me quite startled there for a minute," said Megatron "But enough about that; I don't have time for chatting. So let's cut to the chase shall we?"
In one of Megatron's hands was a huge pistol and in the other was a long sword very similar to that of a samurai sword. At an instant, he tackled Optimus thrusting him to the ground struggling to stab him with the sword. Megatron attempted to stab Optimus in the chest but when the sword was about three inches from impact, Optimus grabbed the blade and struggled to prevent the blade from going any further.
"Optimus! What's going on?!" asked an alarmed Shadow Cruiser
"M-Mega…tron." grunted Optimus
"I'm on my way!" said Hot Shot heading towards the ladder
"No! Stay… put!" said Optimus
"But-"
"That's… an order!"
"Hot Shot, stand down." said Shadow calmly
"But-"
"He knows what he's doing."
Hot Shot hesitated for a moment and then reluctantly moved away from the ladder.
Optimus Prime, who was still holding the end of the sword, forced the blade off course of its designated target and sent it straight into the floor beside him. Megatron, a little agitated at the moment, aimed for Optimus' head began firing his pistol as fast as he could. Prime fortunately rolled out of the way immediately after the first shot. He then stood up and leaped behind a large storage container.
"As usual, your aim is as terrible as ever!" chuckled Prime who then pulled out his weapon
"Huh, laugh while you still can, Prime." said Megatron fiercely as he pulled out his sword from the ground
Just then, Optimus leaped from behind the container and shot Megatron's wrist which forced the sword out of his hand and flying into the wall. Instead of bursting into a fit of rage however, like he always does, Megatron simply smirked and grasped his wrist where he was hit. Optimus then leaped at him and gave him one heck of a left hook straight across the face. Optimus then turned out to the edge of the balcony.
"Have you found it yet?" called Optimus
"Nope, still nothing." replied Shadow
It was just then that Optimus realized he accidentally let his guard down. He was shot several times in the stomach, had his head smacked downward and then elbowed in the face by Megatron. Optimus stumbled backwards and shook his head to ease off the slight dizziness received from the last blow. Megatron then pulled out another sword which made Prime a little bit agitated.
"Augh! I can't take this!" said Hot Shot impatiently
"Relax, he can take care of himself." said Shadow Cruiser casually
"How can you be so calm?" asked Hot Shot
"Trust me, I've known him for a long time and if it's anyone who can get himself out of a mess like this it's Optimus." said Shadow smugly and then changed the subject "Now, what have you found so far?"
"Nothing useful, that's for sure. What about you?"
"I've got the same answer as you do… hello?"
"What? What is it?"
"I think I found something."
Shadow opened the file he found and examine the data.
"Think this is it?' asked Hot Shot
"According to the system info," said Shadow "This file is the most recently imported information on this hard drive. So this must be what we're looking for."
"Ah, finally!"
"Now all we have to do is export the file onto a data chip and blow this dump."
Meanwhile, up above, Optimus was frantically dodging Megatron's swift sword attacks. Desperately looking about his surroundings, Optimus found one of Megatron's swords from before still sticking out of the wall not too far behind him. Optimus slowly reached behind to pull the sword out of the wall. When Megatron was about to slice him in half horizontally, Prime drew the sword and blocked the attack.
"Well isn't this annoying," said Megatron "And here I was nearly about to finish the final blow."
"Well, maybe if you weren't so slow I would've been dead right about now." commented Optimus
A sword duel between both faction leaders began. Both were swinging their swords so quickly that if you were witnessing this right about now you would only see constant, obscure flurry of flashing silver. The bushido/kendo-like style attacks came almost like a pattern: CLANG, CLANG, CLA-CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLA-CLA-CLA-CLANG!
Optimus thrust Megatron to the ground and leapt to attack him over head. However, Megatron had rolled out of the way of the attack and then stood up to jab Optimus in the side which was also thwarted because Optimus blocked it. Still holding the block, Optimus had slowly but steadily pushed Megatron up against the railing of the hangar.
"It's over, Megatron." said Optimus
"I beg to differ." said Megatron
Something caught Megatron's eye; he turned his head down to the computer where Hot Shot was removing the data chip from the computer. He and Shadow had successfully retrieved the map. One of Megatron's hands had let go of the handle of his sword and quickly drew out a pistol and aimed it at the computer.
"Don't think you're getting away that easily!" said Megatron
When Shadow and Hot Shot noticed Megatron firing his gun at the computer, both dashed away from the computer. The lasers from the pistol collided with the computer causing some static and then an explosion. The explosion sent them both flying into the wall.
"Hot Shot! Shadow Cruiser!" cried Optimus
Then, out of nowhere, came a Minicon in the form of a pterodactyl-like creature.
"Ah, Laserbeak, perfect timing," said Megatron who then jumped up and grabbed hold of Laserbeak's talons "Sorry to cut our visit so short, Prime but I've got a flight to catch."
After Megatron disappeared into a really large vent installed in the wall, Optimus ran back down the hangar and checked to see if Hot Shot and Shadow Cruiser were alive.
"Hot Shot, Shadow Cruiser are you alright?" asked a concerned Prime
"Y-yeah, we're fine." said Hot Shot standing up
"Just had a bit of a crash course." muttered Shadow who also stood up
Optimus sighed relief then turned his attention to the heavily damage computer.
"The map..." he said
"Nothing to worry about sir," said Hot Shot holding up the data chip grinning "We've got it all covered."
"You alright sir?" asked Shadow
"Yes, I'm fine," said Optimus who then opened up the COM-link and contacted the rest of the Autobots on the base "Attention all Autobots, we have successfully retrieved the map. Return to the Aequitas now STAT. Prime, out."
Before he could turn the COM-link back off, a voice came on the COM-link.
"Optimus Prime, it is certainly an honor."
"What? Who is this?" asked Optimus
"The circumstances of my identity are not important right now," replied the voice "What is important is that you, your men and the map must leave the base immediately."
"How do you know about-"
"There is no time to explain! Listen, and listen carefully because I will only say this once. I have set up a bomb inside the base about four hours ago and I have just initiated the countdown. You will not have any time to reach the Aequitas so the only way for you to escape is through the communication room a few floors above you. Go there and wait for further instructions. You have exactly fifteen minutes and counting to escape. Good luck."
Then there was only static.
"Who was that Optimus?" asked Hot Shot
"I don't know," said Optimus "But what I do know is that if we don't get to the communication room in fifteen minutes, the base is going to go up in smoke and us along with it."
"Can we even trust this guy?" asked Shadow
"Of course!" said Hot Shot "Anyone who blows up a Decepticon base is certainly worth trusting. But if there's a bomb here, wouldn't the bomb alarms have gone off right about now?"
A siren immediately boomed throughout the base.
"Is that the alarm you're looking for?" asked Shadow
"Transform!" said Optimus Prime who then changed into a large Cybertronian semi-truck "I have an idea. Grab a couple of those storage containers and put them in the trailer."
Hot Shot and Shadow did exactly as they were told and grabbed two storage containers and placed them in the trailer of the semi-truck.
"Geez! These things are heavy!" said Hot Shot while picking up one container "What the hell is in these things anyway?"
"Probably a huge load of Energon cubes," predicted Shadow "You how the Decepticons have been crazy about the stuff recently."
"Now let's if the coast is clear." said Prime after the containers were placed into the trailers
Shadow then unlocked and opened the door and peered out for a second. He then immediately shut and locked the door.
"So," said Prime "Is it clear?"
"Are you kidding?" asked Shadow "It's like a freaking rush hour out there!"
"Alright, Hot Shot get in the trailer and get behind one of the containers. Shadow, open the door and jump in."
After Hot Shot hopped in the trailer and Shadow opened up the door, hundreds of Decepticons were firing at the front of the truck but their lasers showed no signs of damage. Once Shadow was inside the trailer as well, Optimus revved the engine twice and then slammed on the gas pedal and started to drive at full speed. As the truck sped through the hall, Hot Shot and Shadow fired at the Decepticons (or at least the ones who did not get run over by Optimus) that were chasing them.
"X-Brawn, come in!" said Optimus on the COM-link as he was driving
"X-Brawn here, Prime," said X-Brawn "What's the situation?"
"How many troops got back to the Aequitas so far?"
"Everyone except you, Hot Shot and Shadow. Several are injured but it's nothing serious."
"Good. Listen; if we're not back within five minutes, I want you to immediately get yourselves and the rest of the fleet to a safe distance."
"What? And leave you guys behind?"
"Trust me, X-Brawn, you won't leave us behind. Prime, out."
The ancient Cybertronian starship waited patiently outside the base as the Autobot and Decepticon fleets continued to fire at each other. In a way he was actually amused that so far none of the Decepticons or Autobots had detected his presence which made his mission a lot easier than expected. Suddenly, a chill quickly flowed through his circuits and his heart rate quickly increased but only for a brief moment.
"They're almost there; I can sense it," he muttered to himself "Not much farther now."
He then flew towards the communication room.
After going through a series of sharp turns, hallways and almost getting bombarded by grenades, the trio reached a dead end where at the end there was an elevator. Prime struggled to turn the truck around and drive in reverse into the elevator.
"Uh, Prime," said Cruiser "Are you sure that the truck's going to fit in there?"
"It'll fit." said Optimus
"Really? 'Cause the truck seems a little big to fit in the elevator."
"I said it'll fit."
And surprisingly enough, it did. The elevator was actually large enough to fit the whole truck inside. After riding the elevator and listening to elevator music for about a minute or two, Prime (instead of waiting for the door to open by itself) drove straight through the door to find about a hundred or more Decepticons in the room. As Prime drove wildly around the room while Hot Shot and Shadow fired, Prime anxiously waited for the mysterious stranger to contact him.
'Where is he?' he thought 'He said he would contact us as soon as we got to the communication room.'
"Optimus Prime," said a voice on the COM-link "Can you hear me?"
"Yes, loud and clear." replied Prime
"Excellent. Now listen carefully, do you see a ledge anywhere?"
"No… wait, yes!"
"Good, now what I want you to do is jump the ledge through the window into space."
"Wait, is that a joke?"
"If it was, I would be laughing right now. Now hurry! You have only ten seconds left!"
"Men! Abandon the containers!" said Prime "If we're going to get more speed, we're going to have to lighten our burden!"
"One step ahead of you, Prime." said Hot Shot
As Optimus slammed the gas pedal and accelerated towards a ledge in front of a huge window, (If you're wondering what that ledge is doing there in the first place, let's just say that the Decepticons didn't install the floor in entirely) Hot Shot and Shadow shoved out both containers (which if you're wondering why they put them in the trailer, it was used for cover) and watched as they rolled out and ran into about fifteen to twenty Decepticons.
Everything felt as if it was in slow motion. Prime questioned if they really were going to make it. As he crashed through the window (which was about twenty feet away from the ledge) he could just feel the seconds quickly counting down. Since he no longer needed to be in vehicle mode, he transformed back into robot mode and waited for a miracle to happen.
Five…
The trio was floating through space waiting for the moment to be rescued.
Four…
Suddenly, they all heard the roar of a starship engine near by.
Three…
"Grab on!" said the starship as he came by them
Two…
One…
Zero…
The bombed detonated setting off a massive explosion destroying the base and most of the Decepticon ships right by it. Out of the center of the explosion came the ancient Cybertronian starship… and with it, Optimus Prime, Hot Shot and Shadow Cruiser clinging on to it. It was flying to where the Autobot fleet was about thirty yards away from the ruin of what was the Decepticon base.
"Who are you?" asked Optimus
"We can discuss that when we get back." said the ship
The members of the Aequitas watched solemnly as the base was engulfed in flames.
"Damn," muttered X-Brawn sadly "They didn't make it in time. Another day, another loss of a few great men."
X-Brawn sighed; but suddenly, several large THUDS echoed from on top of the ship.
"What in the hell…?" asked X-Brawn "Ratchet, check the monitors."
"X-Brawn, you might want to see this." said Ratchet a few seconds later
X-Bran ran over to where Ratchet was and looked at the monitor. On the screen was Hot Shot waving the data chip in front of the surveillance camera, laughing.
"Hey guys! We got it!" cheered Hot Shot laughing
"Well I'll be!" said X-Brawn "They made it back after all!
"Phew!" said Hot Shot glancing at what was left of the base and then back at the starship who rescued them "Nice save."
"Thank you for getting us out of that mess," said Optimus "Now tell me, who are you?"
The starship then transformed into robot mode and landed in front of the trio.
"My name is Zephyrus." said the starship
Meanwhile, on a Decepticon starship…
"Megatron you fool!" blurted Starscream "How could you completely lose the base to those damn Autobots! We could've wiped them out easily! If it were me, I would've-"
"Would you shut up, Starscream?" barked Megatron "I am not in the mood for your exasperating insults! Honestly must you criticize me for every god damn decision I make? Besides, today was glorious victory for the Decepticons."
"Victory?!" exclaimed an infuriated Starscream "What victory?! We've lost countless men, one hell of a base and many fleets!! What kind of a victory is THAT?!
"Did you forget that meeting we had the day before or were you too busy planning on how to annihilate me?" asked Megatron
"Uh, well, I-"
"In that meeting we planned that if the Autobots should discover the map, we would place a tracking program inside of the map which would lead us to the Autobot base; or better yet the super weapon itself. Now all we have to do is kick-back, relax and wait for the right time to strike."
Back at the Autobot main HQ…
"A drifter you say?" asked Optimus
"Yes; I have been roaming the galaxy for as long as I can remember." said Zephyrus
"Very interesting," said Prime "How by any chance did you come across the map? Further more how did you get the bomb inside of the base?"
"I was there when they found the map and I hunted them down to their base. As for the bomb, let's just say that the Decepticons are either blind or just stupid."
"Sir! We've just hacked through the security program" said Wheeljack
"Excellent, bring the projector on." said Prime
"Yes, sir."
Suddenly, a large holographic image that showed many planets, constellations etc. appeared all over the bridge. Optimus Prime studied the map deep in thought. He glanced at several planets and stars back and forth. A lot of Autobots did the same thing. An eerie silence also filled the room.
"What exactly are we looking at here?" asked Prime
"This is a map that leads all the way into the Milky Way," said Zephyrus "Well actually into the third planet of the Milky Way; planet Earth."
"And what does it lead to?"
"Simple… the Aegis Zayin."
"You're kidding right?" asked Shadow Cruiser
"That old legend?" asked Hot Shot "Please! That thing is just a myth."
"What's an Aegis Zayin?" asked a science officer named Crosscut
"Are you serious?" said Hot Shot "Man, where have you been this entire war, Crosscut?"
"Relax, I will explain everything," said Zephyrus "It all began eighty five million years ago. Several military scientists were granted permission from Primus, the Creator Himself, to create a weapon made out of a piece of His spark. No one knows or remembers what this weapon looks like or what it does but what they do know is that it is a weapon of phenomenal power. They called it the Aegis Zayin. A weapon so incredible that many would slaughter innocents just to get their hands on it. Fearing that they have made a grave mistake, the scientists shattered the weapon into thousands of pieces and hid them on a planet believed to house no sign of intelligent life forms. But over the years, that planet has begun to evolve. And now that the Decepticons know its location, both Earth and Cybertron; nay; the whole universe is at the risk of total oblivion."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Optimus "We're going to Earth and we're going to find those pieces before the Decepticons do. X-Brawn, what's the status on the Aequitas?"
"Her repairs are going to take a week," said X-Brawn "Maybe more."
"We don't have that kind of time," said Optimus "Are there any other ships that aren't damaged?"
"Well there's always the Animus."
"Excellent, I want the ship ready at oh-nine-hundred hours. I'll organize a crew ASAP. We're not letting the Decepticons getting the pieces of the Aegis first even if it's the last thing we do."