Transformers Titan
Escalation
Chapter 1-The Plague part 1
Megatron of Tarn, leader of the Decepticons, sat on his mighty throne of black metal and smooth onyx in silence, contemplating his current situation. His large, imposing silver and black form was still as a statue, his only movement being the constant tapping of his finger on his arm rest. He sat on the darkened bridge of his warship, the Nemesis for about an hour now, all by himself, left alone with his thoughts. The large hole in the roof was uncovered, and sunlight shown down upon him, glinting off his armor. He looked like a king sitting in the heart of a ruined castle, plagued by his thoughts and worries-but Megatron had no worries.
Three weeks passed since the chaotic battle against the Cardinals, powerful members of a race of living statues who inhabited Terra in ancient times. The Cardinal known as Sapientia had attacked the island itself after severely damaging the Nemesis en route, which left the ship stuck on the beach just feet away from the main base built into the only mountain on the island. Repairs were still being done on the ship and it wasn't looking very good for the mighty warship.
Sapientia's first attack tore through the right side of the Nemesis, right near the reactor core, their main source of power and rupturing a lot of crucial power lines that transferred energy to the rest of the ship. Now the ship was running on reserve power gathered from high profile solar units installed throughout the ship's armored hull. The energon storage vault also took a hit, and almost a ton of energon detonated in the blast, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the ship that just looked garish when fully exposed in the sun. The bridge wasn't as damaged but a stray blast caused the communication and navigation systems were running at half capacity. Not to mention the medibay wasn't looking too good either, least of all the CR chambers.
The Decepticons had been working day and night to get their main source of transportation on the planet up to working condition, but it was a slow process thanks to the massive energy requirements and need for materials. Now three weeks later they were making some leeway in fixing the ship.
Megatron had his moment to rage, shouting and blasting away at Sapientia's corpse to vent his anger. Now that the storm had passed, he had time to think. Satellite coverage showed that another Cardinal had ravaged Osea and the Autobots battled it with their own share of difficulty, though he had no idea if they were in as sorry a state as his team was. That being said, Decepticon operations on this planet were severely set back because of this incursion and it would take a lot of time and resources to get things back to tip-top shape. All because of those accursed dolems.
What were they? Where did they come from? What quarrel did they have with his kind? So many questions and no answers in sight. The frustration of it all only made Megatron angry again, but he quelled his rage. He was done having a tantrum, now he needed to get down to business.
"Doctor in the house." Knockout announced as he entered the bridge with a datapad in hand.
"How are the repairs going, Knockout?" Megatron asked.
"Well, the ship's outer hull is holding thanks to the welding job Search and Cannon did on it, and thanks to our fliers, we're slowly replenishing our energon stocks." Knockout reported. "But the ship's still running on reserve power and may be like that for some time."
"What about the power source Soundwave stole from the humans?" Megatron inquired, referring to the experimental reactor Soundwave stole from a secret military base a few months ago. It was an experimental power source that relied on clean methods to produce energy, still in the development phase when the base was raided.
Megatron had Soundwave look into the group that made the reactor, curious as to how the humans were able to make something so advanced. Unfortunately, there was little to go on aside from a name, Skywatch, and there weren't any official records on such a group existing, which led the investigation to a dead end.
Knockout grimaced and fidgeted in place. Megatron narrowed his eyes and spun his throne around to fully face the medic.
"My liege, there are some…" Knockout thought of a proper word to use to avoid infuriating his already agitated leader. "Complications we're having with the generator."
"What complications?" Megatron growled, slowly getting up from his throne. "You've had more than enough time to get this done! That generator is the only thing that's keeping this ship from being detected by the Autobots! My flagship sitting in the dirt because of this good for nothing planet! How have you not made any progress by now?"
"A thousand apologies, Lord Megatron. The reactor the humans were working on is extremely unstable and volatile, using radioactive elements. Nuclear elements. We can't extract it from the casing and use its power without the risk of causing a meltdown and irradiating the island. As it is, Soundwave had to stop to avoid the danger of a system-wide shutdown from the microwave emissions it was radiating."
Megatron glared down at Knockout before scoffing and sitting back on his throne. "Fine then, half your experiments on the reactor until we can find a way to safely extract the elements from it. Now get out of my sight."
Knockout bowed and made his way to the door. Megatron rotated his throne around and went back to his wandering thoughts.
'How did things go so wrong? We were doing so well, and it all just goes up in flames.' Megatron gripped the arms of his throne tightly and looked at the stasis field holding a golden disk within. 'Project Stargate will come to fruition and the Autobots will fall-with this world as their grave!'
XXXXXX
After the harrowing battle against the Cardinal Temperantia during one of the worst storms in Osea's history, the Autobots were making the most of this calm period they had in the weeks following the battle. With Decepticon activity at an all time low, the Autobots spent their time harvesting energon and repairing the ship that took serious damage against the Cardinal. Everyone took part in repairing the ship that did its best against the powerful being that sought to destroy them, but time and resources were in short supply. But things were going along smoothly so far, and now everyone was making the most of their time.
"You worked with Starscream?" Darren whistled.
"Yup. We were tight like that," Skyfire bragged, though it wasn't something that she should be doing when Starscream was the topic of discussion. "I was THE fastest flyer in the Cybertron Aerospace Force, and he was like, third, maybe fourth. Rose up through the ranks like a badass, and I even scored with Starscream's sister, the current Seeker commander."
"Starscream has a sister?" Annie blanched. As if one Starscream wasn't bad enough.
"No, had a sister." Skyfire corrected her. "She died during the Decepticon Uprising when the Seekers took over Vos. Damn shame too, since she was pretty cool to hang out with."
"Wasn't Deadscream a complete psychopath?" Arcee asked. She heard horror stories about the female Seeker with the devil's grin, and almost all of them were probably true.
"I said cool, not safe." Skyfire said.
This was how the crew of the Ark was spending their free time, doing mundane things like talking about the past and informing the children on what Cybertron was like before the war. Skyfire, Arcee, Ratchet and Bulkhead were in the rec room with the kids sitting on the massive table as the Bots shared a drink with each other. At the moment, Skyfire had just finished describing her time as a Seeker.
"I thought the Seekers were all Decepticons." Annie said.
"Actually, the Seekers made up the bulk of Cybertron's aerospace force." Gina said. "Most of the Seekers joined the Decepticons with Starscream, but a few defected to the Autobots."
"But those guys were few and far in between. You'll rarely find Autobot flyers who were born in Vos and served in the Seekers." Skyfire said, looking down at Gina. "Where'd you learn that, blondie?"
"Ratchet," Gina chirped and smiled at the medic. "He teaches me everything he can about Cybertron, even your language."
"Grumpy old Ratchet's teaching you things? No way!" Jazz laughed. Ratchet elbowed him sharply and kept drinking his diluted Engex.
"So Skyfire was a Seeker ace, Bulkhead was a construction worker, what about you, Arcee?" Darren asked the pink femme. "You do anything special before the war?"
"Well, I wasn't anything special like an explorer or a pilot." Arcee smiled and twirled her straw as she thought back to fond memories. "I lived in Ky-Alexia, a coastal city. I worked for my city's senator as his security detail. It was an easy job, since barely anything happened in Ky-Alexia. Honestly, it was a boring job. Great pay, though."
"And while Cee was chillin' by the sea, I was a cultural investigator." Jazz smiled. "My job had me going all over the planet to investigate elements of cybertronian culture, both common and uncommon."
"Like a journalist, basically." Darren said.
"Kinda." Jazz shrugged.
"I'm not surprised considering how fast you've assimilated terran culture." Gina smiled.
"With all that being said, what was Optimus like in his young blood days?" Annie asked, thoroughly invested in the conversation. "Was he the big mech living it large on Cybertron."
"Nope." Jazz said. "He was a cop."
"Say what?" All three children said simultaneously.
"Before Optimus became a Prime, he was a police officer in the Rodion Police Department."
"Optimus wasn't always a Prime?" Gina inquired, making note of that.
"One does not simply become a Prime. It's a title you earn." Ratchet explained. "A Prime is someone who symbolizes our race as a whole in the eyes of Primus, our creator god. They are chosen to embody the core ideals of cybertronian society and represent the people."
"Tell that to Sentinel and Zeta." Bulkhead muttered.
"So Optimus Prime used to be a member of the fuzz." Annie hummed and smirked. "How good was he?"
"Back in the day, they used to call him "supercop", because of his legendary track record." Jazz replied. "he was one of the best on the force and had a habit of jumping on criminals like a bomber plane making a landing."
"Wow," Darren breathed. "So Optimus has been helping people before the war even started."
"Yes, he has." Ratchet replied, giving a wistful smile. "You could say that it's all he knows what do to these days."
XXXXXX
After another week of no Decepticon activity, Optimus started to get worried. Megatron never stayed quiet for long unless they were spending their time focused on other things-namely subjects that were large scale and required their full attention. The only question was…what were they planning?
The answer came to him in pieces. A series of thefts occurred all over the country. Science and research centers were robbed of certain pieces of high tech components and any witnesses were mercilessly cut down. Evidence suggested that terrorism was the main reason, perpetrate by Karaba agents. But this was just a misleading reason to convict the already infamous esper terrorist group-the real thieves were far more dangerous.
"Optimus, we got another one." Sparkplug said as Optimus entered the computer hub.
"Another theft?"
"Yes, though this one isn't as covert as the others." Sparkplug brought up security footage of a large, blue robot crouched inside the middle of a lab.
"Soundwave." Optimus said in a hard tone. "What did he steal?"
"A phase conductor." Sparkplug answered. "This makes the fourth theft in two weeks. What is Megatron planning?"
Optimus thought for a moment. "Bring up a list of what was stolen so far."
Teletran-1 brought forth a list of the items the Decepticons had stolen. Optimus and sparkplug looked at the list closely and noticed that they were the only things stolen from their respective labs and development sites. Based on what they saw, they deduced that Megatron was trying to build something big using human technology but augmented by cybertronian alterations.
"Plasma injector, neutron shield, tessaract, and more recently the phase conductor." Sparkplug rubbed his chin. "I don't get what he's trying to achieve here."
"Neither do I, but it doesn't put me at ease knowing that one of the components Megatron stole has the power to create a singularity."
XXXXXX
Soundwave and Knockout walked out of the ground bridge into a forest located somewhere in central Emmeria. It was an abrupt request (order) that Soundwave gave Knockout before dragging the medic to the location without so much as a briefing. Knockout was only inclined to even listen to Soundwave by duty alone, as being left alone with a mech known for blackmailing his own comrades to remain on top of the Decepticon hierarchy wasn't an ideal situation to be stuck in.
"So are you going to tell me what we're doing here or am I going to be stuck out here in the cold playing charades?" Knockout asked annoyed. All he got was a glance from Soundwave before he continued on his way, wordlessly beckoning Knockout to follow.
'How did I get stuck playing scavenger hunt with the galaxy's most unresponsive mime?' Knockout thought.
"Don't take it personally, the boss always gets like this when something unexpected comes up." Rumble said. "You'll get used to it."
"No, I won't get used to it. I'm not very keen on having my paint job corroded by all this damn humidity because you bozos won't tell me why we're slumming it out in the middle of nowhere!" Knockout yelled.
"Relax, Knockout. You know the boss never does anything without a reason." Frenzy said, grinning as if he knew the punch line to a joke he didn't understand.
'That's what worries me.' Knockout grimaced. Still, he kept following the trio, knowing that it must be important if Soundwave was dragging him all the way out here.
Soundwave led him to the base of a large hill at the edge of the forest, where it was dark and the trees blocked out the sun. Laserbeak, one of Soundwave's avian cassette spies, jumped off the branch and landed on his master's shoulder.
"I found it, Soundwave." Laserbeak squawked. "It's right over there." He jerked his beak to the largest tree near the hill.
"What's he talking about?" Knockout asked.
"You will see." Soundwave said and pointed to the tree. "Rumble, Frenzy, excavate the site."
Rumble ran over to the tree and formed his arms into his pile drivers, slamming the drums into the ground and generating localized vibrations that tore up the ground and uprooted the trees in front of him. Frenzy followed up by drilling into the soil, burrowing deeper into the earth nonstop. He went deeper and deeper for the next few minutes until he felt his drills hit something metallic and pushed the dirt away, calling out to the larger Cons topside.
Soundwave and Knockout walked over to the hole and looked inside. Though it was hard to gauge Soundwave's expression, but Knockout's expression went from bored to surprise within seconds.
"Lord Megatron is going to love this." Knockout grinned.
XXXXXX
"Optimus, Prowl, Teletran-1 just detected a signal." Ratchet reported from his spot by the Teletran-1 terminal. Optimus and Prowl looked up from the report they were reading and went over to the medic's side.
"What is it, Ratchet?" Prowl asked.
"A locator beacon of Decepticon origin. But…it's old." Ratchet narrowed his eyes in worry. "Very old."
Teletran-1 searched its databanks on the signal being displayed. It took a couple of minutes, but the computer determined a solid match. When the three Autobots saw the results, they were both shocked and worried at the implications that arose from this discovery. The signal matched a name that none of them thought they would ever see again since the early days of the war, one of the bloodiest phases of the Great War to some.
"D-16."
The rest of Team Prime, the Minicons and the humans were surprised when the klaxon alarm went off and Optimus' voice ordered all personnel on deck to assemble in the command center. Hearing the urgency in Prime's voice held everyone's questions at bay as they hurried to the command center, where Optimus and Prowl stood with deadly serious expressions that only deepened their worries.
"What's the situation, Prime?" Ironhide asked.
"Teletran-1 just located a Decepticon signal beacon." Optimus said. "It's an old signal that hasn't been used in thousands of years until now. It came from a cache of D-16."
Most of the Autobots were visibly shocked by this news, though the Minicons, children and Bumblebee looked confused at the odd reactions.
"D-16? What's that?" Gina asked.
"No clue. I've never heard of it." Bumblebee admitted.
"D-16, also known as the Hate Plague, was a chemical weapon developed by the Decepticon Biological Warfare program." Prowl explained. "This occurred before you were born, Bumblebee. It was deployed during the early stages of the War for Cybertron, during the trench wars at the Orbital Torus States."
"The Hate Plague was designed to increase the infected victim's brainwaves to dangerous levels and induce a state of artificially enhanced aggression." Ratchet said. "They were stricken with an uncontrollable rage that caused them to attack anything and everything in sense, even one's own reflection. Those first few days of the Torus skirmishes were…well, bloody would be an understatement."
"I'm guessing since it isn't around anymore, it didn't go very well for the Cons?" Bumblebee noted.
"The Hate Plague was indiscriminate in who it infected and Megatron was forced to decommission the project after losing too many soldiers to it in the Torus States. I had biohazard teams collect what they could of the virus and jettison it into space, far from Cybertron so that no one could ever use it as a weapon again. It hasn't been found since our war reached space and we've forgotten about it…until now." Optimus shook his head. "I never thought I would end up on Terra of all places."
"This planet is just a magnet for trouble, huh?" Skyfire quipped and earned an elbow in the side from Arcee. "What? It's true!"
"If Megatron gets his hands on that plague, then he could unleash it on Terra and have humanity tear itself apart!" Darren gasped.
Annie snorted. "Like we aren't doing that already."
"Then we need to act quickly before Megatron has a chance to mobilize his forces." Prowl said.
"Autobots, this is a Code Red emergency. I know you all are still recovering from our battle against the dolems, but if Megatron gets the D-16 container, then we've lost this battle before it's begun. Billions of lives will be lost, and that is unacceptable." Optimus said. "We need to retrieve that container at all costs; hence we will be staging an all out assault on the Decepticons to keep it out of their hands."
"Yes! Finally we get some action!" Annie cheered and ran to suit up, but Bulkhead stopped her.
"You kids are staying here." Bulkhead told them, gaining disappointed groans from the kids.
"Seriously, Bulk? We can help too. Have you not seen how much ass we kick?" Annie said.
"This is different, Annie. A lot is riding on our success and we don't have any room for error here." Prowl said, then added, "No one is questioning you ability to help. But we're dealing with highly dangerous chemical weapons that can detrimental to humans and cybertronians alike."
"But our talos can protect us." Gina said, but Optimus put his foot down.
"We need you to stay here, Gina. You and the Minicons must stay behind. In case…" Optimus paused and sighed. "Just remain in the Ark for now, until we require your aid. Please know that this is a delicate situation."
The way he said this, the way everyone looked, killed anymore protests the children had. They knew Optimus acknowledged the added protection and firepower their talos gave them. And Gina understood what was left unsaid; if things went wrong and the Autobots were taken out of commission, then it would be up to them to protect the Ark and the Minicons. They were the last line of defense.
"Autobots, weaponize and assemble in the shuttle bay." Optimus ordered. "We're going in hard."
XXXXXX
"Gina, a word please."
Gina paused and looked up at the towering Autobot leader. Darren caught Prime's glance and dragged Annie away despite her protests, leaving them alone in the hallway.
"Yes, Optimus?"
Optimus took a look around to make sure that they were truly alone before kneeling down to her. He reached into his hip compartment and took out a small, flat object. It was golden and Gina thought it looked like some kind of high-tech key card, but something about it made it more special.
"I want you to have this, Gina. Take care of it for me until my return." Optimus said.
"What is it?" Gina asked softly.
"It's…a memento from my teacher, Alpha Trion. He gave this to me not long after I became a Prime, and I want you to keep it safe."
"You're giving something this important to me? Isn't that something more suited for Jazz or Ironhide?" Gina said nervously. This was a bit hard to wrap her head around. "They're more capable of keeping it safe than I am."
"Gina, over the past year, I have watched you and your friends grow into exceptional people. You are an intelligent, responsible girl with an appreciation for the world around you and what history has to offer. Your efforts to help us have been greatly welcome to us all, even Prowl, though he chooses not to show his gratitude." Optimus held the key-card out to Gina. "You've placed your trust in me to keep you safe, and now I'm placing my trust in you."
Gina didn't know what to say. She was touched by Optimus' faith in her and that he was willing to entrust such an important thing to her. She never thought that any of the Autobots saw her as something other than some nerdy girl with a big mouth always pestering them for info on their race and their world (she was secretly afraid they'd get tired of her and just tell her to shut up one day). She swallowed hard and nodded mutely, reaching up to the key card. As soon as her fingers touched the smooth metal, the key card began to fold into itself, reconfiguring until it was small enough to fit in her hand. Gina took it from Prime's fingers and studied it.
"I'll take good care of it, Optimus." Gina said seriously. "I promise."
"I know you will." Optimus said confidently.
They shared one final glance with each other, having said what they needed to without really speaking. Optimus gave her a parting nod before standing back up and walking away. Gina watched the Autobot leader leave and struggled not to think on her worries for this mission. She was afraid that all this talk about trust with this dangerous mission coming up was a bit of foreshadowing that something was going to go wrong…like Optimus wasn't planning on coming back.
XXXXXX
"Why is this thing so heavy?" Knockout grunted as he and Soundwave struggled to lift the container, which was large than the two of them combined, out of the ground. "Couldn't we have just called Blackout for this?"
"Don't be getting' snippy because you're too weak to get your peds dirty." Rumble said. He was also helping the two larger mechs move the container with his strong arms. "A little heavy lifting will do you some good."
Knockout sneered down at the little mech. "And I think a little facial make-over from my drill will be just as beneficial to you-ah!"
Knockout was hit in the chest by an ion blast that blasted him into a dirty pond. Soundwave and his proxies saw Optimus and his Autobots emerging from a ground bridge. They all had their weapons pointed at them as they slowly advanced on the three Cons.
"Decepticons, step away from the container." Optimus ordered. "That container is Autobot property."
"Typical of a Prime to lay claim to something that is not theirs."
Another ground bridge appeared and this time, it was Megatron who stepped out of it, along with most of his Decepticon warriors as they took defensive positions in front of Soundwave. Megatron scowled and leveled his fusion cannon at Prime, who aimed his ion cannon at the Decepticon leader in return.
"The only thing you own here is the container that holds the virus. The D-12 contagion is mine to do with as I see fit." Megatron growled.
"Not anymore it is, Megatron." Optimus replied.
Silence fell across the area as both factions entered tense stand-off. Weapons were charged, but no one fired a shot without their leaders' orders. Everyone was well aware that a stray bolt could breach the container and everyone present would be in danger. With how much was riding on this battle, everyone was tense. Who fired the first shot would be decided by the leaders. Then…
"Autobots/Decepticons," Optimus and Megatron yelled. "Attack!"
XXXXXX
Back in the Ark, the children were waiting anxiously for news of the ongoing battle. It was always tense when the Autobots and Decepticons clashed, especially over the Minicons, but the stakes here were much higher, and the potential for disaster was great. It was even harder for them to wait knowing they had the firepower to make a difference.
"Annie could you stop pacing? You're making me nervous." Darren said.
"We should be out there, Gina. We could help. The Autobots know that." Annie said, not stopping her pacing at all. Sureshock got up and put a hand on Annie's shoulder.
"Annie, Optimus knows what he's doing." She said. "Have faith in him."
"Even Optimus can make mistakes." Annie said, throwing the Minicon's hands off her. "We'd have a better chance of winning if we fight together."
"I agree, this isn't the time to be sitting on the sidelines." Grindor said. "We've got a chemical weapon in the hands of despots here!"
"It's because there's chemical weapons that Optimus doesn't want us involved." High Wire said. "A million things can go wrong if that container is breached. There was no cure for the Hate Plague and if any of you got infected, Primus knows how things could turn out."
"I know, but…"Annie sighed and sat back down. Darren put an arm around his sister. "What if something happens? I know they're trained soldiers and all that, but after Temperantia…"
"No one will die." Darren said. "The Autobots have been fighting the Cons longer than Terra has even existed. They know what they're doing. Compared to fighting Temperantia, this is nothing."
"I guess so." She shrugged.
Gina, while not visible showing it, was also worried about her friends. Her earlier conversation with Optimus rang through her mind as she fingered the key-card in her pocket.
XXXXXX
It was chaos…total war.
The once beautiful and lush glad had become a war torn battleground where Autobots and Decepticons were engaged in ferocious battles with laser blasts and missiles and bombs flying and dropping down from above. It was a clash of the titans, and the fate of Terra hung on who came out of this battle alive.
The sky was a mess of laser bolts and missiles flying every which way as Skyfire engaged in a dogfight with the Seeker trio. Starscream tried to shoot the Autobot down, but she easily dodged his attacks and returned fire with her machine gun. Starscream and Thundercracker dodged her bullets and converged on her, forcing her to also transform and fire her pulse cannons. She grazed Starscream, but hit Thundercracker in the wing.
"Skywarp, flank her!" Starscream yelled and pointed his null ray at Skyfire. At the same time, Skywarp teleported behind Skyfire and pointed his arm cannons at her back.
Skyfire shook her head and cut her boosters off, letting gravity take hold of her just as the two Cons fired at her. Having missed their shared target, Starscream got hit in the face with a barrage of laser blasts and Skywarp took a full powered null ray to the chest, which immediately shut down his systems and dropped him like a rock. Skyfire laughed at the stupidity of her former Seeker brothers, but saw Thundercracker flying at her. The blue Seeker clapped his hands and released a powerful sonic boom that hit Skyfire hard and knocked her into the trees, uprooting a few as she hit the ground.
Bumblebee and Wheeljack were fighting Barricade and Knockout; Barricade kept Bumblebee at bay with his gyro blades, dodging the electrical bolts fired from Bumblebee's stingers. He growled every time the scout would dance out of his reach and shoot at his legs or chest with those accursed stingers of his. Fighting the scout was always an infuriating experience for him.
"Stop playing around and fight me like a warrior!" Barricade growled.
"I'm not a warrior," Bumblebee smirked. "I'm just a scout." He threw some dirt into Barricade's face and threw a punch at his face.
Knockout was having a worse time than his partner in fighting Wheeljack. He only had his drill and saw as his weapons, along with an energon prod, the only real weapon that he knew how to use. Knockout, knowing full well how unpredictable Wheeljack was in a fight, kept him at a distance with a blaster rifle that he picked up from the armory. It wasn't a particularly dangerous weapon, but it did the job of keeping Wheeljack away from him.
"What's the matter, Knockout? Afraid that you'll damage that tacky finish of yours?" Wheeljack taunted.
"No, I'm just not dumb enough to fight you within striking distance." Knockout replied and fired his rifle. Wheeljack took cover behind a tree and pulled out two grenades.
"That's another mistake you made, Knockout. One of many!" Wheeljack yelled and threw a flash grenade at the medic. Knockout yelped as he was blinded by the intense flash and his optical sensors tried to deal with the sudden change in light. Wheeljack used this chance to run out of cover and charge at him.
Though blinded, Knockout heard Wheeljack's footsteps and spun his prod around his back, catching the engineer in the chest and electrocuted him violently. Wheeljack stumbled back and Knockout jumped on him, shifting his right hand into a drill and tried to gore the Autobot's head. Wheeljack kept him at bay, but also had to use one arm to keep the prod away from his face. Knockout grinned as the drill and prod neared Wheeljack's body, but just as both weapons almost reached the mech, Knockout was shot in the back by Bulkhead, who then proceeded to land a dozen hard punches to his face before kicking him away.
"You okay, Jackie?" Bulkhead asked, helping Wheeljack up.
"Yeah, thanks Bulk. He almost got me there." Wheeljack said.
"Don't let your guard down, Jackie. This battle is far from over." Bulkhead looked to his left and saw Rumble and Frenzy charging at them. "You got more of those missile shells on you?"
"Just tell me what you need and I'll shoot 'em." Wheeljack said and together they charged at the twins.
Flamewar, who stayed near the container, was fighting Jazz and Arcee. Dodging a strike from Jazz's bo staff, Flamewar grinned at her ex-lover.
"How sweet, you brought another partner for me to snuff." Flamewar said and brought out her blades. "I've been waiting for a chance to get you both back for last time."
"You're not touching anyone else, you glitch." Arcee hissed and drew her swords.
Flamewar leapt at Arcee, but was forced to perform a difficult maneuver in the air when Jazz also jumped at her and almost caught her in the face with a downward kick. She landed on the ground and tried to cut him with her blades, but he took out his Bo staff and blocked her strikes with ease, following up with a few blows to her chest and legs. Arcee jumped into the fight and swept Flamewar's legs from under her, punching her in the chest to knock her back. Flamewar rolled across the ground and transformed to her alt mode, driving across the ground at high speeds.
When she was close enough, she leapt into the air and returned to her humanoid configuration and kicked Jazz in the chest before slashing at Arcee, who leaned her head back and ran at her. Flamewar saw Arcee and Jazz running at her from both sides and she raised her arms to block her sister's sword and Jazz's staff with her blades before they could hit her from the top and bottom.
Meanwhile, Ironhide and Prowl faced Nightshade, who waited for them to make their move.
"So how are we going to do this?" Ironhide asked.
"Hit her from both angles." Prowl said. "I'll rush in and fight her close up."
"And I'll keep her on her toes with my guns." Ironhide grinned and pointed his cannons at her. "I can work with that."
Nightshade got tired of waiting and charged at them. Prowl raised his batons and rushed at her, swinging them at her head. She blocked them and unleashed a series of attacks at Prowl that quickly pushed him back. Ironhide took aim at her as she traded kicks with Prowl, but a missile hit his back knocked him into a dirty puddle. He spun around, a murderous glare on his face as he faced his attacker-the ever silent Soundwave, who had his concussion rifle pointed at his chest.
"That was your best shot?" Ironhide sneered. He leapt at Soundwave, firing both cannons, forcing Soundwave to dodge and fire three rockets from his shoulder launcher to shoot down the missiles Ironhide shot at him. Ironhide took out his tomahawk and swung it at his head, but Soundwave ducked under his axe and punched him in the chest. "You're going have to do better than that!"
Soundwave's right hand shifted into a radio dish and fired a sonic blast directly into Ironhide's chest plate, denting his armor and blasting the Autobot into a tree. Ironhide groaned and weakly got to his feet.
"All right, you did better." Ironhide grunted and waved Soundwave to come at him. "Can you do that again?"
With their soldiers fighting around them, Optimus and Megatron fought their own little dance of death. Their respective blades sent sparks into the air as they grinded against each other, and as they pushed against one another, they locked gazes.
"Why do you continue to fight, Prime?" Megatron asked, pushing against Optimus. "Why fight for a species as violent and worthless as them?"
"If you don't know the answer by now Megatron then there is no point in telling you!" Optimus said.
He kicked Megatron back and spun his axe around to bring it down on his in an arc. Megatron rolled to the side and stabbed forward, almost scratching Prime's window panes before his arm was knocked away and Optimus punched him in the jaw. Megatron stumbled back and glared at his nemesis, rubbing his jaw.
"It's been the same song and dance as always, Prime. You risk the lives of yourself and your troops defending some worthless species that'd sooner shoot you on sight than thank you for sparing them, while I waste valuable resources snuffing you good for nothing Autobots out across the galaxy." Megatron said. "Together we could achieve so much more, including the restoration of our planet. But only if we end this war here and now. Is the salvation of our people not worth a single world in the back alleys of space?"
"You'll never stop at one!" Optimus leapt forward and spun his axe, deflecting Megatron's sword strike and slicing a searing cut into the warlord's shoulder. "Terra and all who live on it are under my protection!"
"Then you will die with them!"
Megatron grabbed Prime's axe and punched him in the face. He then slashed his blade across Prime's chest and kicked him in the same spot with enough force to throw him a few feet away.
"Join them in extinction!" Megatron roared and pointed his fusion cannon at Optimus.
Bumblebee saw their battle from afar, but refrained from running to his leader's aid. But when he saw Megatron raise his fusion cannon, he wasted no time in running to help Optimus, hoping to reach him in time.
Megatron fired his fusion cannon and time seemed to slow down as the blast left the barrel and headed straight for Prime's head. Optimus prepared for the searing pain of the fusion blast blowing away his face and chest, but then he saw someone jump in front of him.
"Bumblebee!"
The blast hit Bumblebee in the torso and tore him apart. Everyone froze as Bumblebee was blasted in two, his lower body blown apart with his legs while his upper body crashed to the ground, sparks and energon spewing from where his legs were. Bumblebee was already fading into stasis lock from the shock the attack had on his body, and he went still on the ground.
Optimus stared at Bumblebee's body in shock, before he glared up at Megatron and charged at his nemesis. "MEGATRON!"
Optimus slammed into Megatron with the force of a bullet train, knocking him to the ground. he began pummeling Megatron's face and chest relentlessly, not giving him any room to counterattack. Nightshade came to her leader's aid and fired an arrow from Gandiva into Prime's back.
Optimus was blasted off Megatron, allowing Starscream to swoop in and fire two missiles at him that hit his leg and arm. Nightshade fired another arrow into his chest that finally took him out and threw him across the ground. Seeing this as an opportunity to retreat, Megatron pushed himself up and looked at Blackout, who was hovering above the area.
"Blackout, cover fire!" He yelled and called his forces. "Decepticons, break engagement and take cover!"
Powerlinking with his Minicon Cannon, Blackout transformed and slammed his fist into the ground, releasing a powerful sonic shockwave that hit everyone within his area of effect. The Decepticons quickly took cover the best they could, while the Autobots were hit with the full force of his attack. Soundwave and Barricade used the distraction to grab the container and pull it into the ground bridge Soundwave manifested. Megatron grabbed Optimus and dragged him over to the portal as he addressed the Autobots.
"As much as I'd like to stay and gloat, Autobots, I have work to do. But know that your contribution to the Decepticon cause will not be forgotten." Megatron said, smirking victoriously. "Soundwave, send the ground bridge to the construction site…it's time to witness our moment of victory!"
Megatron laughed as he dragged Optimus into the ground bridge with his team and the portal vanished, leaving behind the battle weary Autobots. Prowl and Jazz ran to Bumblebee's side and called the Ark.
"Ratchet, we need an immediate med evac!" Prowl ordered. "Bumblebee's in critical condition!"
There will be time for the Autobots to lament over losing their leader and the D-11 container, but they needed to focus on saving another one of their own. But this loss could spell the end of human society and the world as they know it.
XXXXXX
Optimus' battle axe sat on the table in the command center as the Autobots, Minicons and humans sat around waiting for news of Bumblebee's fate. Ratchet and Longarm were working hard in stabilizing the scout's condition, but they would only get word when the two were finished. In the meantime, Prowl was dead set on finding Optimus.
"Wheeljack, have you located Prime's signal yet?" Prowl asked.
"Not yet," Wheeljack was working at the Teletran-1 terminal trying to find his leader's energon signal. "I haven't found a trace of him yet. The Cons must be shielding his signal."
"Then try harder! You're the mechanic, you should have no problem getting over something like this!" Prowl growled.
"If you want to start, Arcee, then why don't you use some of your cyber-ninja skills to locate Prime?" He snapped. "If you don't have anything helpful to say then stay quiet."
"Your bullshit isn't helping, Prowl." Annie said.
"That's swell coming from a loose cannon." Prowl sneered.
"Don't talk to her like that!" Darren yelled. "None of this is helping anyone. If we keep fighting each other, then we'll lose."
"You shouldn't even be here. Despite what Prime says, you humans have absolutely no place in interfering with Autobot matters." Prowl said coldly. "This has nothing to do with you."
"Why don't you make us stay out of your business?" Darren sneered. "You talk big a lot, but can you back that shit up?"
Black particles flooded from Darren's body and coalesced around him to shape his black amalgam armor. A single flick made a piece of metal from the floor panel shoot up and zip past Prowl's face, leaving a small cut under his eye. The tactician glared down at Darren and stepped forward, but Jazz got in front of him and pushed him back.
You two need to cool off." Jazz said, his face dead serious. "This is not the time for that. We need to focus on how to find Optimus, not trying to kill each other."
"Kinda hard considering we don't have a damn clue to where Prime is!" Ironhide growled. "How the hell are we going to find the Nemesis?"
"He's not at the Nemesis." Bulkhead said. "Remember what Megatron said? They're at some kind of construction site."
"Yeah, he did mention that." Wheeljack said. "Perhaps it has something to do with those stolen components he's been pilfering over the past few weeks."
"Bucket-head probably took Optimus to where he's building his science project." Bulkhead said.
"No doubt it's something big." Ironhide said.
"Anything big will need a lot of power to operate." Arcee said. "And that means lots of energon."
"I'll have Teletran search for large energon deposits. If Megatron is building something big, then he'll need a raw fuel supply in close proximity." Wheeljack said.
"Get on it, Wheeljack." Prowl said and faced the monitor, turning his back on the team. "As for the rest of you, heal up and remain on standby. Once we find Prime, we're moving out immediately."
XXXXXX
When Optimus regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed that his limbs were restrained by something strong. The second thing was that he was strapped to something hard and smooth.
"Optimus, glad to have you with us again."
Megatron stepped into his view, smirking. Optimus noted, with a bit of satisfaction, that the Decepticon leader's face was still sporting the wounds from his earlier assault.
"Megatron." Optimus growled.
"Come now, Optimus, cheer up. You're about to witness my victory in this campaign."
"Even with the Hate Plague, you will never be able to infect the entire planet before the human's regroup their forces. And I know that you won't risk your own troops being infected as well."
"Even after all these cycles you still think small, Prime. The plague itself is just a means to an end. It's my secret project that will grant me my victory."
"Project?"
Megatron smiled and backed away. Optimus now had a clear view of what was before him. He could tell that the structure before him was old. He was chained to a boulder outside a collection of ancient stones arranged in some strange patter, covered in runes. Cables were hooked up to the stones and he saw Soundwave and Knockout working with a medium sized sphere that was emitting a steady amount of heat. It took Optimus a moment to realize why this place was so familiar.
This was Stonehenge, and the Decepticons were repurposing it into a makeshift space bridge.
Here is the first chapter of the revised Book 2! I'm really excited to fix this story, though not much to fix considering my writing got more polished as I had a better grasp of the story for this one when I first wrote it. Enjoy the story for those who are new here and please leave a review. Thanks for reading!