Chapter 4: Change of Plans

The Outlands, The Vengeance…

Crossfire sat silently as medical bots attended his head wound.

The wound itself would not be fatal. As a matter of fact, he still retained a great deal of his central processors.

And as long as he possessed those, he could still think. As long as he could think, he could plot. Finally, as long as he had his central processors, he still had a chance to attain revenge on Code Red.

Code Red. The very thought of his adversary caused Crossfire to clench his fists. How the blazes had he survived? It beggared belief.

Crossfire had personally rent Code Red's chest into metallic tatters, impaled him through the back, and fired a shot through Code Red's spark at point-blank range!

So to see Code Red return, not only completely functional, but with an all new body, was mind-boggling to say the least. Unless the Autobots had somehow managed to manufacture a way of transferring one's consciousness to an entirely new body, which wasn't entirely new when it came to Cybertronian technology, but with the limited resources they possessed? It didn't add up. Unless…

"The Forge of Solus Prime." Crossfire murmured. He might have known the Autobots would have used it to fashion a new body for Code Red, one that had made him much stronger than Crossfire had remembered.

A surge of anger rose, and Crossfire forced it back. As upset as he was at the return of Code Red, it did not necessarily mean that Crossfire needed to abandon his plans completely. If anything, Code Red's return merely complicated matters.

Contacting his subordinates, Crossfire said: "Shadowstreak, Switchblade. My repairs are nearly complete. Go to the bridge and await my command. The return of Code Red necessitates a change of plans."

"Your will, my hands, Commander." Switchblade affirmed.

"I will await you there, Commander." Shadowstreak replied.

Crossfire cut the comms, just as one of the medical bots said:

"Repairs are complete."

"Good." Crossfire growled as he rose to his feet and stormed off towards the bridge. He would be avenged soon enough. And Code Red and his friends would be the ones to first taste Crossfire's wrath.


Bridge of the Vengeance…

"Commander on the bridge!" One Vehicon announced as Crossfire came onto the bridge.

Shadowstreak and Switchblade both turned to face their commander, with the latter saying:

"The bridge is yours."

Nodding, Crossfire came forward, until he came to Shadowstreak and Switchblade.

"What are your plans, Commander?" Switchblade said.

Turning now to Shadowstreak, Crossfire said: "Begin a sweep of every base we have established around the borders of the Pride Lands. It is inevitable that the Autobots will look to strike at them and weaken our grip around the Pride Lands' throat."

"Yes, Commander." Shadowstreak said as he moved to begin his task.

Looking to Switchblade, Crossfire said: "Any ideas on how to counteract the Autobot revival?"

"You said that the Autobots would no doubt look to strike at our ring of bases surrounding the Pride Lands." Switchblade said. "Then it is simple. Divide our forces stationed at the base that the Autobots are likeliest to attack first. We leave the bare minimum behind, and use the others to attack Pride Rock, ending this before it even starts."

Crossfire shook his head. "Attempting to end things before they have a chance to begin rarely works. And with Code Red, I know he will expect such a thing, thus do the same as you propose to do with his own forces. Furthermore, while we only saw two other Autobots earlier today, that does not mean that those two Autobots are the only two Autobots Code Red has brought to Pride Rock with him. There are certainly more."

"Simple. Then we pull all of our forces back to here and unleash them in a full scale assault on Pride Rock." Switchblade suggested.

Crossfire seemed to consider the plan, then grimly shook his head. "Such an assault will require time to plan. And as long as our bases are under threat, time is a luxury we do not have. And moreover, Code Red will sense we plan such an undertaking, and may seek to pre-empt our assault with one of his own, much like he did some time ago." Folding his arms, Crossfire said: "We need a plan that will not only destabilise the Autobots, but allow our allies to take Pride Rock and the throne of the Pride Lands." As if remembering something, Crossfire smiled. "Zira." He said. Looking to Switchblade, Crossfire said: "You have the Vengeance. I will return soon." With that, he marched off of the bridge. He had someone he wished to speak to.


Zira's den…

"Ah, Crossfire." Zira said as she came out of her den, evil sliding off of her voice like a blade leaving its scabbard. "I see you have not come with Kiara, like you planned to."

Crossfire folded his arms. "Things beyond my control necessitate a change in plans." Crossfire replied.

"Oh?" Zira asked. "And what might these things be?"

Crossfire scowled. "Code Red has returned. He's more powerful than he was the last time I fought him."

Zira's smile faded and became a snarl. "You were supposed to have killed him!" She shouted.

"And I did." Crossfire replied. "But he has returned, and as a result, my plans are now no longer viable for the time being. So I have come to you. You have had a plan to take the Pride Lands for quite some time, have you not?"

Zira's scowl morphed into a menacing smile. "Oh, I have. Is your plan to follow through with my plan, then?"

Crossfire nodded. "I will assist you in however you require me to do so." He said.

Zira nodded. "For the first phase of my plan to be successful, you will need to distract the Autobots. Code Red's eyes must be diverted from his precious little princess."

Crossfire nodded. "What else?"

"Your scout, Shadowstreak." Zira said. "I will need him to eavesdrop on Pride Rock. Kiara nears adulthood, and it is tradition that any young adult lioness performs a hunt on her own. I need to know what day her first hunt will be."

Crossfire nodded. "It will be done, Zira. Your son will sit the throne of the Pride Lands soon enough." Transforming, Crossfire sped away, already speaking to Shadowstreak.

Zira watched him leave, before a voice behind her said:

"Mother?"

Zira turned and saw a massive lion stood in the shadows nearby. "You should be resting, Kovu." She said. "Your time will come in due time, and you must be ready."


You all probably knew that Kovu was going to return in this story, or in a future story. As big a part as Code Red is in Kiara's life, Kovu arguably occupies a much larger part.

Fair warning, in a few chapters' time, this story will start to run parallel to the events of Simba's Pride completely, albeit focusing on where the Autobots are during certain events in the film. Or rather, where they would be, were this story presented as official canon, something I sincerely doubt will ever come to pass.

With all that said, let's get to what you've had to say:

Adam Carver: Code Red and Kiara's reunion was always going to be an emotional one, given all that had transpired. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Daniel's the man 98: Well, I'm glad that you find one of my newer characters relatable. Expect more humorous moments with Oil-Leak in the near future.

Guest #1: Ah, a fan of an old series of mine! Yes, it's definitely been a long time since some of my OCs were in the spotlight.

Guest #2: Wildfire... Believe me, my friend. He will be back. Just not in the capacity that you're expecting.

Guest #3: Yep, they're back, alright. Albeit with slightly improved characterisations to set them all apart from each other. Felt like that was a weakness of my old Transformers and Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Jason Chandler: Imagine that even the royal family isn't safe... but then again, were they ever safe from Code Red?

Jestalnaker94000: Had she appeared in the first Lion King film, I'd be inclined to agree with the comment regarding Zira's being a minor villain. But since she's made out to be a major villain, that's how I'm trying to portray her. Code Red has the Decepticons, the Pride Landers have Zira.

Mike Noland/ Guest #4: You're right, and this chapter proves that. But at the same time, Crossfire isn't stupid. He's aware that Code Red is now on par with him physically, so now he knows he needs to step it up tactically. Which is why he's enlisted the help of Zira.

Now that's out of the way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you did, you know what to do.

I shall see you all next week with the next chapter, which sees Code Red's campaign against the Decepticons begin in earnest.

T-Rock14