Yesteryear
[A/N: In Beast Wars, it was insinuated that some characters changed their name to fit their new form, but to avoid confusion, all beast wars characters in this story will retain their original name.]
Chapter 1: Getting started
***
During the beast wars. Megatron had accomplished what his predecessor had failed to do. He had plunged an Energon saber into the Spark of Optimus Prime, killing him in front of the optics of his very descendent, Optimus Primal.
The time stream cracked, wavered, and spit electricity. It was shattered. Like a raging river being split with a thousand rocks, numerous alternate realities occurred. It manifested itself in the form of giant crevasses, tearing up the ground around them.
"Noooo!" Primal screamed.
Rushing at Megatron, he tackled the Dragon, forcing him to release his hold on the saber. The blade lay embedded in the prone form of Optimus Prime, cracking with small bolts of electricity.
"You're too late, Primal! Yessss…The universe is mine!"
"Never!"
Snapping his prehensile tail, Megatron knocked his opponent off and charged at him. Optimus rolled to the side, just as the tail sliced into the earth where his head had been.
Yanking his tail back and sending some chunks of dirt flying, Megatron aimed his cannon. The shot went wide as Primal gripped his arms, and turned it up. Still grasping Megatron's arms, he shoved the two of them towards the crevasse.
Megatron chanced a look behind him. There was no bottom, just golden streaks of light swirling together like tiny whirlpools. A fall here could take them anywhere, to anytime. Even to sudden death.
Kicking out with his feet, Megatron fought to free his arms. But Optimus's grip held, and the struggle continued. Sliding closer to the edge, their fighting dislodged the golden disk.
Falling out of Megatron's subspace, it landed with a clink. Starting to roll towards the edge, it's jagged path was interrupted by a data book, the Covenant of Primus. Bowling it over like a domino, the two objects fell off the side, sinking into the time stream.
***
While the Great War had been over for a long time, most of the soldiers still remained. Though the old Cons and Bots still were slightly at odds with one another, their children were somewhat less hateful.
The reason for this slightly peaceful time was the treaty. A deal between Cyclonus and Optimus Prime. The deal had only been possible when Galvatron finally could no longer lead the Decepticons and the Decepticon's no longer thought their 'cause' was worth living on Chaar.
Cybertron was divided. 1/3rd was under Autobot rule, 1/3rd under Decepticon and 1/3rd remained for Neutrals.
To an Autobot, the dark gray metal buildings and the haphazard building construction may have been depressing or foreboding, but to the Decepticon's, it was home. It was also fun to laugh at visiting Autobots when they got lost; unable to define a direction when all the grays seem blend together.
An 11 year old Megatron skipped down the ally, on his way to drag Terrorsaur, Scorponok and Waspinator to school.
He was the son of the Combaticon Swindle and the Stunticon Motormaster. He had Swindle's purple optics and fusion cannon, but Motormaster's purple face, truck alt-mode and body build.
His foot steps clanged against the metal as he climbed the stairs. Pressing the ringer, he waited.
Terrorsaur hopped out, keying the door behind him shut. The two started down the stairs, in the direction of Waspinator's apartment, arguing like always.
Terrorsaur was the son of Thrust, and he bore his cherry red paint color. But he really took after he second creator, Astrotrain, in his body build, mini-shuttle alt-mode and his beautiful half-moon wings. His Orange/red diamond slanted optics, however, could not be pinpointed to either side.
Arriving at Waspinator's house, instead of ringing the door bell, as it was broken from somebody nibbling on it, Terrorsaur chucked a few rocks at the highest window. He probably used a few more rocks then necessary, judging by Kickback's glare when the door finally opened. Grabbing Waspinator, Megatron and Terrorsaur waved while smiling innocently and running down the street.
Waspinator had inherited a Wasp alt-mode from Kickback, but as Kickback had never revealed who Waspinator's other creator was, it was anyone's guess who's green paint color he had.
The three children finally reached their last destination. Opening the gate, Megatron walked inside while Terrorsaur and Waspinator watched on from the entrance.
Ringing the bell, he waited. It didn't take long before Scorponok opened the door.
"Ready?" Megatron asked.
"Uh huh." Scorponok answered.
Scorponok was the son of Shrapnel and Onslaught. He had a Scorpion alt-mode and a dark gray paint color from Shrapnel and he had Onslaught's yellow visor and his tactical mind, but without the authority. He was also Megatron's cousin on Onslaught's side and Waspinator's cousin on Shrapnel's side.
The two excited the property, meeting up with the other two.
"All right, so now that we are all together, what's going on?"
Terrorsaur asked.
"Going on? What ever do you mean?" Megatron's grin was anything but innocent.
"School doesn't start for another two hours."
Terrorsaur narrowed his optics at Megatron, while Scoponok and Waspinator both stopped to check their internal clock to see, that yes, it was still another two hour's till School started.
Leading the group into an abandoned ally, he made sure to check for any eavesdroppers. Satisfied, Megatron brought a gold disk out of subspace.
"What's that?"
"This," He held it up for them to see. "Is a message from the past."
"What kind of message?" Terrorsaur asked, making a grab for the disk.
Yanking it back, Megatron placed it back in subspace and shook his head.
"One that will get us out of this afternoon's test, yesss."
"Oh come on! You know what happens every time you're 'going to get us out of taking that test'?" Terrorsaur paused. "Bad things. Bad things happen."
"Yes. But this time," Megatron grinned. "We're not just getting out of taking a test, we're completely deleting the test from existence!"
The other three gave him an odd look.
"We're doing what?" Asked Scorponok with a tilt of his head.
"Wazzpinator not think that pozzible."
Terrorsaur threw his arms into the air, exasperated.
"I knew it! He finally went crazy!"
"It's only crazy if you're small minded. Now, follow me."
Edging their way through back alleys, broken fences and a few hidden tunnels, they reached their new destination.
"Taranchulas's lab? You are crazy!"
Huddled back behind a fence, peeking through a broken slate, they stared at the ominous stainless steel building. Two glass windows were showing off multi-colored beakers, and objects that resembled torture devices.
"Why do we need in there?"
"A time machine." Megatron whispered. "We're going to stop today's test of the Great Wars by erasing them from existence and ensuring the Deceptions' victory."
Terrorsaur stared at Megatron.
"What kind of a plan is this?!" He screeched.
"Shh! Shh! Someone will hear you! Now, be quiet and follow me. Unless, you're too afraid, yesss?"
"I'm not afraid! But I am certain you will lead us to our deaths."
"You just keep being positive, Terrorsaur."
Megatron pushed aside one of the metal slates, opening it only enough for the four children to sneak through. Grabbing Terrorsaur's hand, he tugged the shuttle with him.
Edging around random junk that had been skewed across the yard, the four made it to the back door without springing any alarms. Megatron, although the tallest of the group, still had to stand on the tips of his feet to reach the key pad. Tapping in the activation number, it let out an acceptance ping and the doors slid open.
Glancing into the dark room, they slowly crept inside, using the natural glow of their optics as light. Walking as soft as they could, they skirted past the lab tables and assorted junk, cautious of the beakers and tubes filled with unknown substances.
"We're here." Megatron whispered as they turned the corner.
Nearly a several large tubes were connected to a metallic box in the center of the room, followed by thousands of colorful wires on almost every available surface. Two cylinder shaped energy generators were pressed against the wall, seemingly held there by the infestation of colored wires.
"That…" Terrorsaur paused. "Looks like a death machine. We're not really going to go through with this, are we?"
"Yesss, we are."
Grinning like a fiend, Megatron sprinted to the time machine's controls. Waspinator shuddered and hid behind Terrorsaur while Scorponok meekly took a step backward. Megatron reached up and pulled the largest lever. The machine turned on with a loud whirring noise and a few bangs.
"How did you know how to turn it on?" Scorponok asked timidly.
"Haven't you ever watched television? It's always the largest lever or button, yesss."
"That's stupid!" Complained Terrorsaur. "You're going to get us killed."
"Stop whining. Alright everybody, get in."
Megatron entered the time machine, the other three hesitantly followed. Inside, the interior was extremely plain. The four walls were smooth and bare, with the exception of a key pad. This time, Megatron could not reach it, even standing on his toes.
"Terrorsaur? Can you fly yet?"
"No, but Dad said my thrusters should activate any day now."
"That doesn't help us now, does it? Nooo. Waspinator? What about you?"
"Wazzpinator no fly yet. Wazzpinator's wingz ztill not big enough." He demonstated by fluttering the tiny metal wasp wings on his back.
Megatron glanced at the key pad, estimating it's height.
"Terrorsaur, come over here and get on my shoulders."
Rolling his optics, Terrorsaur walked over. He climbed atop Megatron as he kneeled. Standing, the two could just reach the key pad.
'What do I type in?" Asked Terrorsaur.
"Uhhh… What year did the Autobot's crash land on earth?"
"I thought we we're traveling to the past, not playing Trivia!"
"Wazzpinator know! 1980!"
"1980?" Terrorsaur repeated. "Is that right?"
"I think so." Scorponok answered, then grinned. "We're doing this to get out of the test that asks this question, isn't that ironic?"
"No, shut up." Terrorsaur said, while tapping in the numbers.
The time machine glowed brightly and let out a loud wavering hum. Grabbing the sides of the small room, the four children held on.
"It feels like an elevator." Scorponok said, just as they teleported out of their time.
***
To be continued…
