transformers prime season 3

by jt loco brain

The end of season 2 left the Autobots in their darkest hour yet, of any continuity. Now, they must rally together in order to defeat the Decepticons, the Predacons, and a strange new group allied with no side. THIS DOES NOT FOLLOW THE REAL SEASON 3. Seriously. Rated for violence, and some teenage thoughts. I have now reorganized this, its all together! AND NOW NEW EPISODES!

4. episode 2

Transformers Prime Season 3
Episode 2/54: Predacon Rising

1

BEEP beep BEEP beep BEEP beep.

The yard was silent but for the steady metronome of the spark monitor. No wind, no thunder. No birds chirping or insects rustling. No talking.

No breathing.

Optimus Prime- leader of the Autobots, bane of the Decepticons, the greatest warrior in all of Cybertronian history- lay on the ground in the garden of a remote country home in the backwoods United States, as close to death as anyone could be without having gone over the edge. His metal skin was dull and charred, absent of all color. His arm was missing, ending in a stump covered by a weak patch. And across his entire body, great gouges were present where he had been nearly crushed by a mountain of rock.

The only thing keeping him alive was the stasis device on his chest. That device, along with the spark monitor, had been put in place by the Autobot's medical officer, Ratchet, who now knelt by his leader's prone form. Standing further away were the rest of the Autobots. Had they been capable, they would've been sobbing. Behind the Autobots stood the human members of Team Prime- 14 (and a half) year old Rafael Esquivel, 16 year old Miko Nakadai, adult (age unknown and what with her temper, no one will ask) June Darby, FBI Special Agent William Fowler, and 18 year old Jack Darby.

Jack himself stood apart from the others. He felt the burden of Optimus' fate more than any of the others. Partly because he still thought it was his fault that the Decepticons had won. Mostly because of what Optimus had said right before Ratchet had placed him in stasis. Lead them well, he'd said. But Jack didn't feel like a leader.

In his hand he held the Key to Vector Sigma, the delicate bit of metal that was basically the Primes' version of a USB drive for their memories. The last time he had held it, Optimus had joined the Decepticons as Orion Pax. He had used it to restore Optimus' mind and brought their leader back. Now though…

Now it was a symbol. Not of leadership, as Optimus had said. It was a symbol of everything that was just wrong about this situation. The Decepticons in charge, Optimus in stasis, and a human child of all people replacing the Prime, and he had no idea what he was doing. The wheels in Jack's mind were turning so fast that it felt like he was going to explode. His throat felt dry, and his heart felt like it was seizing up. I can't do this, he thought.

"I can't do this," he said aloud. Heads turned, all but Ratchet. They were looking at him, like they wanted him to tell them what to do, even his mom, even Miko, who never listened anyway. He couldn't take it. "I can't be your leader!" he practically shouted.

From Optimus' side, Ratchet spoke, his voice barely above a whisper at first, but it steadily grew louder. "Regardless of what you, or anyone believes," he said, "We will not go against Optimus' wishes." The medic turned to face Jack, his optics filled with passionate fire. "Optimus appointed you leader. You will lead," he hissed.

"No!" he said. Jack hung his head. "No," he murmured. He turned away- away from the stares of his friends, away from the duty he had been handed, away from his destiny. He began to walk towards the house, every step feeling as if it added ten pounds of weight to his shoulders. Behind him, he heard Ratchet growl in disgust, and he felt shame. But he kept going.

Although Jack didn't see it, Miko and Arcee both moved forward, starting to go after him. They stopped when June put out her hand. Miko stopped out of annoyance, ready to mouth off to her. Arcee stopped out of respect. June turned, and her eyes shone with un-wept tears. "He needs time," she said. "I'll talk to him when he's ready."

Arcee nodded, understanding that her partner was in shock. Miko huffed in anger, and stomped off towards the trees.

2

SSSHRNK!

Massive claws ripped through armor like tissue paper. The wearer fell back, leaking energon, while the monstrosity that had wounded him turned to face another opponent, quite literally roaring with rage. Teeth met limb, and with a quick twist the new enemy was dismembered. The beast sensed another sneaking up behind it. A tail lash later, and the foe collapsed, clutching his insides as they spilt out of a gash across his stomach. It turned about, searching, wanting to continue to fight, to claw, to rip limb from limb as glorious hot energon spurted from wounds, wanting-

A voice, deep and commanding, resonated across the battlefield. The master's voice. The voice that must be obeyed. "Enough!"

The "battlefield" was actually the gladiatorial arena atop New Kaon. The opponents were insecticon warriors. The master was Megatron. And the beast was the Predacon. Shockwave stood by the throne watching the fight with only a casual interest. The Decepticon leader was not surprised. No doubt the scientist had run test after test like this on Cybertron, preparing the beast. He would not have come to Earth if he hadn't known his creation was ready. Now, Megatron was satisfied of the same.

At his voice, the beast cowed and stood as straight as possible on four legs, furled his wings, and waited patiently for the next command. Megatron was impressed. If that kind of obedience could be programmed into all his soldiers...

Choosing not to voice that opinion, he instead launched himself off the dais, and landed crouched in front of the Predacon. To his credit, the beast never flinched. Behind him, Megatron heard a loud clang as Shockwave followed him. Without turning, he said, "The beast was not brought here simply to fight Autobots, Shockwave, but to hunt them down." He growled menacingly. "You have yet to explain how this feat will be accomplished, and we have wasted several hours already." The other simply stared, the single red eye unnerving. "Well?" Megatron asked after a moment.

Once again, Shockwave did not answer directly, a habit that was beginning to annoy Megatron. If it persisted, he might give Starscream an opportunity to... recondition their guest.

Or perhaps he wouldn't. Shockwave was still necessary, after all.

In either case, the scientist bent over and picked up a piece of insecticon armor. He held the energon soaked bit of metal under the beast's snout, then threw it the length of the pit.

The Predacon leaped, unfurling his great wings and gliding forward before crashing down on the armor. He began to tear at it, savaging it, reducing it to mere scraps.

After a moment, Shockwave spoke. "The system is techno-organic in nature. The Predacon can track the Autobots by the underlying chemical signature of their energon. While it is common between all Autobots, it is not shared by Decepticons. To him, it registers as a… rather foul odor."

Megatron grinned. "So," he said, "All we require is an Autobot energon sample-"

"-And the Predacon will hunt them to the edges of the universe," Shockwave finished.

Megatron's Cheshire smile grew wider as he began to chuckle. "I believe we have your sample."

Energon shackles wrapped around each of the prisoner's remaining limbs, suspending him in front of the door to the cell. His leg terminated just above the knee, with only a small patch preventing him from bleeding out. His optics were barely open, and had the glazed look of someone near death. Scars ran across his chest, massive wounds that had only recently been welded shut again, and would still be painful.

He barely raised his head as the cell door opened. Long ago, he had been in a similar situation, and the Decepticons had failed to secure his legs. Back when he had both legs. He moaned as pain rippled up from his stump.

Back then, he had grabbed the vehicon when it threatened him, and used its blaster to fry the shackle controls. Can't do that anymore, he thought. He was stuck here. No doubt the door opening meant Starscream was coming back to torture him again.

He felt a tapping between his optics, and he managed to look up. Knockout stood in front of him, and the hand that was moving away meant that the mad doctor was the one who had been tapping him, and was the one who had just entered the room. He groaned, knowing what that meant.

"Wakey wakey, Autobot," the Decepticon said, mockingly. He chuckled. The prisoner started to struggle, throwing his weight around, trying to get free. Knockout just laughed. "Come now, Wheeljack! No need for that! Behave and I might just throw in a good word with the big guy! You could be out of those shackles and sitting in a nice warm cell if you cooperate, doesn't that sound nice?" The sarcasm in his words was so thick it could've been cut with a sword. The Wrecker just snarled in response.

Knockout shrugged. "Have it your way, then." He picked up the syringe from the shelf nearby and fitted it with a vial. The Wrecker's struggles grew weaker as the doctor returned. He was already weak from lack of energon, and they kept withdrawing more. Megatron had sentenced him to a slow, painful starvation.

Knockout jabbed the needle into Wheeljack's servo, and the vial quickly filled with energon. He took it from the syringe and waved it in front of the Wrecker. "The Decepticons thank you for your contribution!" he said, before Wheeljack's optics slid shut.

The doctor turned away, having had his fun. He walked out of the cell, then locked it, just in case. Knockout strode off down the corridor, and rounded the corner.

And almost ran smack into Soundwave. The silent mecha never uttered a sound, though he tilted his blank face down to glare at the doctor. Knockout, on the other hand, was quite vocal about his indignation. "Hey! Watch the decals!" He brought up a hand, almost prepared to strike the other, before he remembered what happened to Airachnid. He couldn't risk his spark- or worse, his finish.

"Erm…" Knockout hesitated. "Was there… something you needed, Soundwave?"

Slowly, the mecha brought up a claw. His long, thin finger pointed to the container in Knockout's hand. The doctor was confused. "This? This is the Autobot's energon. I was just taking it to storage. Lord Megatron's orders, of course," he added hastily.

Soundwave continued to point at the vial, apparently not understanding. Knockout was getting quite annoyed at the whole exchange. "Speak up, why don't you? What do you want with this energon anyhow?"

Soundwave's screen flickered, then displayed an audio file. "Lord Megatron's orders," Knockout heard his own voice say. With that, the silent mecha reached out at plucked the energon from Knockout's hands. The doctor stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, as Soundwave strode off. He was extremely confused. And not at all certain that he wanted things to be clarified. He just might not like what he heard.

3

The view out his window hadn't changed much in the last few hours. Oh, sure, it was brighter out and Bulkhead was no longer parked in the driveway, but other than that it looked exactly the same as this morning.

Jack rubbed his eyes. Had it really only been this morning? With everything going on it had felt more like days since Miko had been standing at his door, annoying the living daylights out of him-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

And now she was back to do it more. Jack sighed, and wondered if Optimus had ever had to deal with someone like her. He wondered if Arcee had ever been like her. For a moment, the image of Arcee was replaced with an image of Sadie, Arcee's holoform. The image of Sadie blurred with the image of Miko. Jack recalled the morning's dream, where he and Sadie had been... Whoa! he thought, Hold it right there. No. Just… no. He shook his head. That was a thought that he really did not want to pursue any further.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Jack sighed. "Come in," he said. He was sure that her chatter would start up any moment. He'd get annoyed, and snap, she'd be hurt, and he'd be out of a friend.

Finally, he turned around to face her. He might as well get it over with.

It wasn't Miko. That was a surprise. It was his mom. Again Jack thought about his dream, then shook it off. She looked like she was almost ready to cry. For a moment, June was quiet. At last, she took a shaky breath, and started to speak.

"When you were born… I didn't want you to be born."

Jack looked up. That was something you neither expected nor wanted to hear from your mother.

Seeing the look on his face, she said, "Hear me out Jack. I was young. I wasn't ready to be a mother. And then your dad died…" She broke off, tears welling in her eyes. For several seconds June tried to suck in her breath, at last managing to fill her lungs and continue. "It was hard. I was never sure if- if I was doing the right thing. If I was being too strict, or holding you back. I wasn't sure…" June trailed off again. For a moment she bowed her head, gathered herself. Then she looked up, and stared directly into Jack's eyes. "But now I know. I know that something went right, because you have turned out to be every bit the man your father was, and more. Jack, Optimus asked you to lead. And he was right to. I certainly can't. Bill has his own work to do. And the others… Jack," she said, "From what I've seen, you are more capable than any of them."

"Mom, I'm not even eighteen yet," he protested.

She smiled. "You will be soon. Besides, you've been through more- you've done more- than a lot of people do in their entire lives. And now…" June sighed. "I can't force you Jack. But I am your mother, and it's my right to tell you exactly what I think. And… I think Optimus was right."

She smiled at him one more time, then leaned in and kissed his forehead. Jack looked back out the window as she walked out of the room, feeling more confused and alone than ever.

The backyard was as quiet as ever, only the sound of the spark monitor to break the silence. The Autobots were all still gathered around their fallen leader, holding vigil as the sun sank down, while Miko, Raf, and June sat at a table by the porch. Though they hadn't eaten since yesterday, none of the humans complained of hunger. They had no appetite. The air was heavy, oppressive. The entire world was holding its breath.

The back door of the house swung open with a quiet creak! and they all looked up. Jack stood on the porch, barely outside of the house. He looked like he might bolt back inside at any moment. At last, he took a breath, and walked to the railing.

"Guys?" he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. Jack cleared his throat and tried again. "Guys?"

His mom looked up and smiled, while Miko crossed her arms defiantly, and Raf glanced up with hope in his eyes. The Autobots, even Ratchet, got up and walked over to stand in front of him. His troops.

For a moment, he looked down, unsure. But his voice was steady.

"I'm no Optimus-"

"That's for sure," Bulkhead snorted. Miko hissed in annoyance, and he shut up.

Jack tried again. "I'm no Optimus. I don't have his experience. I've never been a leader, or even a soldier. I'm still just a kid." He paused, then looked up. His eyes burned intensely, and he stood up straight. "But Optimus asked me to lead you. And if he was willing to give his life to save ours, I can't do less."

Arcee smiled, while Bumblebee let out a whine of approval. Bulkhead nodded at him.

"I will always listen to you, ask for your input, because you guys do have the experience. I owe it to Optimus to do my best. I owe it to him, and to you. To the memory of your guys' planet. Cybertron."

Ratchet hung his head, remembering how he had berated Optimus over the Omega Lock's destruction.

"Arcee told me that this is our home now. Ours. Mine, and yours. And we should fight to defend it. The Decepticons have no place on Earth."

They were silent. They didn't cheer or boo or make even a single noise, but Jack felt a warm glow. Maybe he would be able to make it up to Optimus. Somehow. His mom came up and gave him a hug. "I'm so proud of you," she said. When she let him go, someone punched his arm. He looked over and saw Miko standing there.

"Not bad, Fearless Leader," she said. "You should run for president next."

Jack looked around, and realized that someone was missing. "Where's Agent Fowler? Did he go back to D.C.?"

June nodded.

"Actually, he went to get me a new computer."

Jack turned around. "What do you mean Raf?"

The young genius adjusted his glasses, the way he always did when he was nervous. It was understandable. Everyone was suddenly looking at him.

"Weeeeeell," he said, "I left mine back in Jasper. And I need one."

Jack exchanged glances with his mom and Miko. "What for?"

"So we can hack the Decepticon mainframe."

They all jumped a little. They hadn't heard Ratchet speak since the morning.

"You all remember when we split up to go after four Iacon relics?" They nodded. "Rafael and I placed a virus into Soundwave's drone around that time. If we can gain access to a computer, Rafael may be able to get inside of their databanks, providing us with valuable intelligence."

Jack nodded. "And giving us the advantage."

"Precisely," Ratchet said, a half smile crossing his face.

4

Jasper, Nevada had never been a thriving metropolis. At best, it had been a small town. But now, now it was a ghost town, in the truest sense of the phrase. Empty buildings lined streets pockmarked by laser fire, and stray breezes blew tornados of dust through abandoned homes. Low, dark clouds hung over the desert landscape, another storm threatening to break.

A low rumble- not thunder, it was too even- broke the silence. It grew into a roar that could have shattered eardrums as a fighter jet flew low over the forsaken town. The sonic boom passed by, its force shattering windows, and blowing up new clouds of dust. The jet soared past the last buildings, having suitably ruined the houses, and roared into the desert. On the horizon, the spires of New Kaon grew higher and wider, until the entire tower was visible. The jet flew straight to the tower.

But it did not land. The aircraft preformed an impossible stunt, flying straight up just inches from the surface of the Decepticon fortress. In seconds, the super-sonic flyer reached the platform atop the tower, maneuvering between the enormous spires.

At the apex of its flight, the fighter broke apart. Metal plates shifted; wires and servos rearranged and reformed. As it changed, it fell, gracefully dropping to the platform below. When it landed it was no longer a jet. It was a thin humanoid shape the size of a building, and it bowed in submission.

"Lord Megatron," it- he- said, "Your humble servant returns."

The Decepticon leader sat on his throne, once again merely lounging on it, waiting for excitement. This did not qualify. "Get on with it, Starscream," he sighed.

The seeker straightened, brushing a speck of imaginary dust from his armor. "The town is abandoned, just as we suspected. No sign of Autobots or humans. I think that we should not waste energon on further patrols."

"So be it," Megatron replied. "And your search for the body of Prime?"

Starscream gulped. He had hoped to not discuss that particular issue. "Well…" he coughed. "We have found nothing. And nearly the entire base has been excavated."

Megatron sat up. "Then Optimus lives." Megatron cackled. "I shall extinguish him yet. Or perhaps," he mused, "I will allow our new hunter to bring me his spark."

"Yes," Starscream said with disdain. "The... hunter." With just a hint of nervousness, he asked, "Where... exactly... is it now?"

"That is not your concern," Megatron growled ominously. "I have a special mission for you, my disciple."

For once, sarcasm was missing from the seeker's voice as he volunteered, "Your wish is my command, my liege."

The Decepticon leader nodded. "We require as much power as we can acquire if Prime is still alive. I want you to lead a troop to Cybertron."

"What in the name of the Allspark for?" Starscream asked. "There is nothing there."

"There is. The Autobot's weaponry."

Starscream thought for a moment. "Yes, I recall, they did not retrieve their Iacon artifacts after the-" He paused, searching for the correct word. "The incident."

"Find them," Megatron commanded. "For all we know, Optimus Prime is out there, planning to do the same!"

"I will not squandor our advantage," Starscream said, saluting. He spoke into his comlink. "First Squadron, to the staging platform."

Directly below Megatron's throne, a door opened, and a dozen seeker-vehicons marched out in formation. They turned, saluted Megatron, then turned again and saluted Starscream. The air commander returned the salute. Then, in a glorious reversal of what had happened only moments earlier, he leapt into the air and transformed into fighter mode. His troop did the same.

"To Cybertron!" he shouted.

Across the platform, a swirling vortex opened in between the spires of New Kaon. The squadron's engines roared, and they flew through the space-bridge, disappearing in a dazzling flash of light.

5

When Jack woke up in the new house for the second time, he was beyond confused. First of all, it was only the second time he'd woken up there; added to that was the fact that he'd fallen asleep on the couch. On top of everything else, he wasn't sure why he'd woken up. And even on top of that was the totally uncomfortable position he woke up in- using Miko as a pillow. Jack quickly got up, careful not to wake her. He didn't want to hear her complain, or worse, use that weird innuendo that she had been lately. It was creepy.

Jack heard footsteps in the hallway, and he remembered that the door had slammed. That was what had woken him. He walked over to the living room doorway, careful to stay out of sight, ready to trip whoever the intruder was, hoping that he could buy his friends time to get out. He tensed up…

"Wake up, Sleepin' Beauty!" Agent Fowler burst into the room, so quickly that Jack was unable to react, and he looked more pissed off than Jack had ever seen, even the first time, when Arcee and Bumblebee had fought those two vehicons in public.

In an instant, Miko was up on her feet. Raf, on the other end of the couch, took a little longer, and looked tired. Miko, on the other hand looked wide awake. Fowler walked over to Raf and shoved a laptop into his hands, before walking briskly out of the room. "Here. It better be worth it."

Jack was confused. "What's wrong, Agent Fowler?"

He paused at the threshold, his hand on the door frame. "It's not 'agent'. Not anymore."

Before that statement could fully register, he was gone.

The man's attitude hadn't improved by the time they walked out back. He was standing behind Raf, next to Ratchet, waiting for an answer. The twelve year old was typing furiously, more focused than Jack had ever seen him. The other Autobots were all still in sleep mode, resting under the trees.

The morning sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when Jack and Miko walked outside. They stood on the porch for a moment, taking in the unlikely landscape in front of them. On Jack's part, he felt Miko was standing entirely too close, but he didn't want to shove her away. That would be rude. Instead, he asked her, "What do you suppose Fowler meant when he said he wasn't an agent anymore?"

She shrugged. "Maybe he got fired."

"Why?"

She shrugged again. "He's supposed to keep the whole war under control. Now he had to evacuate a whole town. They needed someone to blame."

"Oh." Jack stopped talking for a moment, so the only sounds were the constant tapping of Raf's keyboard. Then he said, "That's pretty stupid."

She smirked/grinned, and for a moment Jack noticed that she was actually kind of…cute. Then he thought of something. "You were awake before Fowler walked in."

Her grin faded, and Miko shifted uncomfortably. She looked down at her feet. "Maybe."

Jack started to get angry, but he couldn't figure out why. Just something about the way Miko had been acting lately. "Why? Why didn't you wake me up? What were you thinking?"

Miko's natural response to other people's anger was to get angry back. So Jack was surprised when she simply shifted a little and muttered, "I didn't want to wake you up."

He sputtered a little, unsure what he could say, so he simply said, "Why?" again.

Miko opened her mouth to answer-

"I'm in!" Raf shouted. Miko's mouth snapped shut. She jumped over the porch railing and ran over to where Raf was sitting. Jack followed more slowly, taking the stairs, his head buzzing. What was happening with her? With him?

Raf was still typing on the laptop when Jack reached him. He seemed even more entranced than ever. The screen of the computer was split; one side was filled with 1's and 0's, the other side was covered in falling Cybertronian text. As Jack watched, the symbols shifted and rotated, Raf going through the various menus and files. It took him a while to realize that Raf had stopped typing, and that the others were staring at him. Jack shook his head. He had been thinking about his problems with Miko still, when he should've been thinking like a leader.

"We need to figure out what we're up against. Can you find like a roll call, or something?"

Raf nodded and tapped the keyboard a while. Finally, he said, "I think this is it. It looks like a numerical list of all the troops that have arrived on Earth." He tapped a few more times. "This is the last couple of days."

Jack looked at the long line of symbols scrolling down the screen. He choked like a cat with a hairball. "That's… a big list." Miko and Fowler nodded grimly. Raf continued typing.

Jack suddenly saw something on the screen, and he grabbed Raf's shoulder. "What's that?" he asked, pointing. "That really bright one."

Raf typed out a command, and the screen shifted around until the said symbol was centered on the screen. Another tap and the screen zoomed in, the symbol breaking apart into dozens and dozens of smaller characters.

"What is that?" Miko asked.

"It looks like a prison listing," Raf said.

"Who would they put in prison?" Fowler asked. "All Bots are accounted for."

"Not all of them," Raf said. "Look!" He opened a media window. What they saw was disturbing, to say the least.

A video. Jack guessed it was Decepticon security feed. What it showed… That was the disturbing part.

Wheeljack. He was chained up, suspended from the ceiling. The Wrecker was missing a leg, and he looked as beaten down as they'd ever seen a Bot. Miko gasped as a vehicon entered screen right and stabbed an energon prod under Wheeljack's armor. He convulsed onscreen, but offered no resistance.

Miko spun around, glaring at Jack. "We have to rescue him!" she said.

He nodded and looked at Raf. "Can you locate their ship?"

Another round of typing. "He's not on their ship," Raf said suddenly.

"What?"

Raf paused rather dramatically, hesitant, unsure. Then: "He's in their fortress."

6

Cybertron was once a name that evoked awe and fear. In the days of the Golden Age, those who spoke of it did so in hushed whispers, and it was often compared to the dwellings of deities for its splendor. Now...

Now it evoked scorn.

Silver surfaces once gleamed in space, now blackened by weapon impacts and explosions. A once clear atmosphere was obscured by dust and smoke. The entire planet felt dead; wicked amethyst light seeped from the planet's core.

Only a few days ago, the battle to retake Cybertron had been lost. The Omega Lock lay in ruins, hellish flames dancing over the rubble of the planet's last hope.

In Decepticon terms, perfection.

Which explained their ease as they dug out the wreckage.

Metal screeched loudly as Starscream dug his claws into the rubble. He heaved upward, shifting the massive slab of debris. It was too heavy. With a low growl, the Seeker grabbed the edge and flung it upward. It balanced precariously for a moment; Starscream swung his arm around and blasted it with a missile. The base disintegrated, and the rest flew across the ruins. It clipped a vehicon, knocking it over, but Starscream never looked. He didn't care.

While the other vehicons moved to help their fallen brother, Starscream reached into the hole he had created and shoved aside smaller bits of refuse. His talons touched something, something that felt different from the waste of the Omega Lock, something hard, something whole. A miniscule corner poked through the rubbish, gleaming silver, catching Starscream's optic with its shine just as its texture had alerted the sensors in his claw. An artifact. It had to be.

Excited, Starscream began to dig faster, throwing debris around him; within moments it was uncovered, luminous beneath him. A large, flat disk of metal, buzzing with energy; a suit of armor, compacted into its most minimal form.

The Apex Armor.

Starscream chuckled. Perfect. Of all the artifacts, this would surely be the most significant. He grasped the disk, wrenched it out of the mess, holding above his head. He recalled a human movie he had seen, and clutched it to his chest. "My precious," he whispered, and laughed. Quickly, he moved to stow the armor under his own; he would not want the others to-

Pause. There was something else, something he had not noticed before, sticking out of the ground. Right where the armor had been. It looked like…

"The Phase Shifter?" Starscream breathed. Tentatively, he reached out with his other claw. At his touch, the device lit up a brilliant blue. Starscream could feel the effects on his body: he was lighter, more at ease; the air wafted through him, causing an odd sensation within his circuits, one unfamiliar to the Decepticon. It might have been… pleasure.

The Seeker grasped the machine and lifted it out, his arm passing straight through the debris. He cackled gleefully. "This is too much. Why, with these two in my possession, I would be invincible! Unicron himself would bow to me!" he screeched softly, careful not to allow the vehicons to overhear. The simpleminded fools would quickly report him to-

To Megatron.

Starscream stopped. He… was loyal to Megatron. He would bow- to Megatron. Unicron… would bow… to Megatron.

The air commander howled in frustration, throwing back his head to scream. The shout traveled far, and could've been heard on the other side of the planet, let alone by the nearby troopers. They paused and stared.

Feeling their optics on him, Starscream quickly hid the artifacts behind him. "What are you dawdling for?" he snarled. "Get back to work! Lord Megatron wants those Relics!"

The vehicons exchanged sidelong glances and shrugged. They turned away, getting on with their business.

Starscream spun about, keeping himself between them and the artifacts. "It is not in my nature to be complacent," he murmured. "I am a rogue! I should be taking these for myself! But I have promised Lord Megatron my loyalty," Starscream mused, "On the other servo, what good are cunning and genius if one can never use them?" He paused. Perhaps he could even the odds a little; a balancing act. "I need not be the one to use these. I shall not give them to Megatron, but I shall not keep them. And at the same time," he muttered, "I can restore my place of favor. And replace that blasted hunter once again."

A vicious grin split Starscream's face; he threw back his head and cackled madly.

7

"New Kaon?" Miko said. "Sweet! We can give 'em a one-two punch!" She boxed an imaginary opponent, giving them a rather unnecessary demonstration.

Jack was a little more subdued. "It's suicide."

She shot him a murderous look as Fowler moved to intervene. "Hold up. Now, things may be a little bit different, but if there's one thing I-"

"Agent Fowler, Jack is correct," Ratchet said, uncharacteristically sticking up for the youth. "We do not have the numbers or the weaponry neccessary to launch an assault on the Decepticon citadel.. Not without…" He trailed of, and looked over to where Optimus still lay, underneath the trees. The medic turned back, his head bowed. "It would be a slaughter."

Miko stalked over, hands on her hips, as angry as Jack had ever seen her. "You never liked Wheeljack, not since he first showed up!" she shouted. "You would let him die just because!"

Ratchet was irritable. But never had Jack seen him truly angry. Until now. Miko had provoked him past his breaking point. The medic knelt down and went face to face with the girl. "You," he growled, "Have no right to speak to me in such a fashion! I have dedicated my life to the practice of medicine, and I would not allow any Autobot to die, no matter what their personality! Nor will I be told military strategy, by a mere human child. We have no ground-bridge. To get to New Kaon we would have to drive, across this continent. We would arrive tired, and without the element of surprise! Do you want your friends to die? Because they would!"

As he spoke, Miko shrank back. The force of his anger was beyond anything the humans had encountered before. Miko could have stood against Megatron's evil. But against Ratchet's fury, she had no defense. Well, not much. "Jack's only a little older than me. You'd take his advice?"

The mecha stood up and stamped his foot down. The miniature quake caused the other Bots to wake, blinking their optics. "Do not change the subject!" Ratchet thundered. Jack privately agreed. Leave him out of it.

"Fine! Then how 'bout we sneak up on them from behind?" she suggested.

The medic snorted. "Impossible. As I said. Without the element of surprise."

Jack didn't quite hear what Ratchet said. He'd been distracted by the low sound of jets overhead, the most human sound he had heard in days. But they weren't the deep roar of a passenger jet. It was the whine of an attack fighter. Just like-

Jack gulped as the silver plane flew in low over the trees, shifting impossibly in midair. And when it landed…

"Surprise?" said a disturbingly familiar voice. The silver figure stood up, arms behind his back, his sly face even more disturbing than his silky tone. "You Autobots are all the same."

When the figure landed, Ratchet had started to turn around. When it spoke, the medic tried to step backwards. Like everyone else who has attempted to do both at once, he fell over and landed on his skid plate. The shaking earth fully roused the others, and they quickly got to their feet.

Laughing softly, Starscream walked forward slowly, deliberately. "You know nothing of surprise."

Arcee snarled and unfolded her rifle. She aimed directly at the Seeker and snarled, "Dirty 'Con!" The other Autobots followed her example and extended their weaponry. Ratchet backed up, putting himself between Starscream and Optimus.

The Seeker laughed and stood up straighter. "Oh, put those away," he said, waving one hand dismissively. His other arm remained behind his back. "If I wanted to scrap you I would've done it already." He snickered quietly.

Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Arcee exchanged glances, but kept their blasters raised. Bulkhead growled and punched his wrecking ball into his hand. "I'm ready to kick tailpipe. Just give me the word, Jack."

The Seeker's optics widened, and he doubled over in laughter, punching his leg repeatedly. "Oh this is just rich!" he guffawed. "The mighty Optimus Prime has left his precious Autobots under the command of a human child!" Starscream paused, gasping like he was short of breath. He caught sight of Optimus' body behind Ratchet, and the serious look on Jack's face, and doubled over again. His high pitched chuckles echoed off of the trees.

After a moment, Jack stepped forward. "Enough!" he said. "Why are you here?"

The Seeker was on all fours now, banging the ground with his fist. He looked up at Jack, and was tempted to resume laughing it was just so amusing, until he caught sight of the Autobots' serious faces and itchy trigger fingers. It would be best to leave with his wings intact. Slowly, he got up and brushed dirt off his armor. "I?" he said, putting a hand to his chest in feigned modesty. "I am here to help, of course."

Ratchet snorted in the background. "Quiet!" Starscream snapped. He looked down at Jack and chuckled again. He reached around behind him, and all the Autobots raised their weapons higher, actively aiming. "Scraplet-brains," he said, "I've come bearing gifts. I'm not going to shoot." They bristled, but relaxed ever so slightly.

Quickly, before they could change their minds, Starscream reached around and grasped the gift he had brought. He swiftly threw them on the ground; three objects thumped down by Jack's feet. He stared, astounded. The others looked equally shocked. Jack bent over and picked up the largest object, an enormous metal disk, which was surprisingly lightweight. "The Apex Armor?" he whispered.

The ground crunched slightly as Smokescreen walked over and crouched next to his human friend. "The Phase Shifter," he said grimly.

Starscream nodded. "As for the third," he said, "That is a remote ground-bridge operator." He sniffed. "I would not expect you imbeciles to know."

Bulkhead growled in indignation, and Starscream blinked. Jack shook his head. "Why?" he asked. "What do you want in return?"

Starscream looked embarrassed, but tried to cover it with a snarl. "Nothing. I am loyal to Lord Megatron. But, it would be more… intriguing, to have a fair fight." And, he thought to himself, More likely to work in my favor.

"Am I the only one who's wondering how he found us?" Miko put in. The others looked shocked. "What?" she asked defensively.

Jack turned back to the Seeker. "She's got a point. How did you find us, and how do we know you won't lead the other Decepticons here?"

Starscream's expression told the others that he would rather lay down his arms and join the Autobots than talk about it further. But he sighed and said, "It will not be necessary. Suffice to say, I will not lead the others here. At least, no time soon. And I have eliminated the means by which you were located."

"We're supposed to take your word for it?" Arcee snarled. Bumblebee whistled agreement.

"Yes," the Seeker stated simply.

Bulkhead rumbled, "That's not good enough!", and aimed his cannon.

"Hold it," Jack interrupted. He looked at the Decepticon. "I don't think we have much choice," he said to the others. To Starscream: "Go. But next time…"

He chuckled. "I would expect nothing less," the Seeker hissed. He leapt into the air, transformed, and was gone in a roar.

8

Awake now, the Autobots stood at the edge of the trees behind the house. The humans stood opposite them, as if to emphasize the differences. June had come out of the house after Starscream left, and stood behind Fowler. Jack was uncomfortably aware of Miko standing similarly near him. He tried hard to keep his attention on what really mattered.

"-Need to rescue him!" Bulkhead was saying. "It's only a matter of time before the Cons find us. We should take the fight to them!"

"We should stay here," Ratchet countered. "While I am not inclined to believe any Decepticon, I feel that Starscream will not reveal our location."

"You actually trust him?" Arcee asked.

The medic snorted. "Do you?"

"Never."

"Two-ton is right," Fowler said. "Uncle Sam's got a policy. It's called 'no man left behind'. We got to do our duty."

Jack knew it was time to speak. He stepped forward and said, "Would you say the same, Ratchet, if it were Bumblebee who had been captured? Or Arcee?" The medic sputtered, but did not contradict him. "Wheeljack might be injured, but as soon as he's better, that's one more Autobot to join the fight. We need all the help we can get." Miko and Ratchet looked at him in surprise. His opinion had changed pretty quickly.

"So what are we waiting for?" Bulkhead pounded his fists. "Let's crush some Cons!"

"Ah ah ah!" Ratchet held up a hand. "Hold it! If you intend to go through with this madness, I must advise you extreme caution. We do not have the energon to spare. And… you will be without my services in the field."

The others started to protest, all speaking at once. "Listen Doc," Smokescreen said, "Just because, one time, Wheeljack went off and-"

"It's not that," he interrupted, sounding embarassed. "I must remain here, with Optimus."

"Well, that's fine," Jack relied. "I'm going."

"What?" Miko exclaimed.

"Jack-" his mother warned.

"Mom, I'm their leader now. I have to go. Besides, I've been on missions with the Autobots before." This wasn't going as well as he'd hoped…

"No Jack," Arcee put in, kneeling next to him, "Not like this. It's never been direct combat before. We've never knowingly taken you into danger."

"That's not the point," he said. "I've survived the danger before."

Bumblebee beeped his own protest. Ratchet added, "To lead, you'll have to be in the field, in direct line of fire. A human couldn't survive."

"You can't hide behind a boulder if you expect to lead by example," Arcee said.

"I'm going," Jack insisted.

Ratchet sputtered. "And what do you expect to be able to do? Without armor, you wouldn't even survive, and Primus knows I don't have the time to make any."

Jack was quiet for a moment. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe..." he said quietly, "Maybe you don't have to."

The Autobots looked incredulous. Arcee asked skeptically, "What do you mean? It's not like we have one lying- around..." She trailed off. Slowly, Jack's face split in a grin. Arcee's gaze fell on the metal disk her partner was still holding. "Oh," she said.

"It's worth a try," Jack mused.

"Fine fine," Ratchet said. "But how do you intend to get there? We have no ground-bridge!"

"Yes we do," Jack replied. He pointed to the object Starscream had called a remote groundbridge operator.

"Hmf," Ratchet grumbled. He picked it up, saying, "As if we could ever trust a Decepticon to-" He stopped when the machine powered up and displayed the familiar icons of a ground bridge control unit. "Well..." he sputtered. "It appears that the Decepticon fortress is heavily shielded against unauthorized ground-bridges, even ones of Decepticon origin. The closest you can get is the desert at the citadel's base."

"That's fine," Jack said. "We'll still have the element of surprise."

9

Two vehicons entered the bridge of the Nemesis; it was time to change shifts. Through their visors, they saw a silver blur hurtling towards them in mid-air. Instinctively, they dived to the sides, the blur moving past them to smash into the just-closed door. The vehicons were startled but not surprised to see Starscream sink to the floor.

The Seeker groaned as pain radiated up from his sensors. And yet, he felt strangely content as Megatron proceeded to pulverize him. He felt as though things were finally back to the way they should be. He opened his optics to see the Decepticon leader stomping towards him across the bridge.

"You call this loyalty, Starscream?" he thundered.

"Please master! Allow me to explain!"

Megatron snarled, "The only thing you will be explaining is how we are to recycle your parts!"

He reached out and grasped his second in command's neck. "No, please, I beg of you!" the Seeker pleaded. Megatron paid him no heed. He twisted his torso, loosened his grip, and Starscream flew through the air once more.

Belatedly, the Seeker realized he was free. He sent the signal to his new T-Cog… too late. Starscream slammed into the deck, skidding a few feet towards the controls. Soundwave never even turned. The Seeker rolled over just in time for Megatron's foot to slam down on his chest. His wings bent painfully to the sides, and his T-Cog turned painfully. He often heard humans complaining about kidney stones. He imagined it felt like this.

"Please! No!"

Megatron looked down at him with contempt. Slowly, deliberately, Megatron reached up and drew the Dark Star Saber. The purple blade oozed malice, its very presence sapping the air commander's strength. Megatron shifted his foot lower, and pointed the tip at Starscream's spark chamber. He drew back, ready to thrust the blade forward.

"Lord Megatron!"

He turned quickly, filled with rage at those who dared interrupt him. The two vehicons that had entered only moments before had regained their footing, and decided that interrupting Starscream's termination would be a good idea. They cowered before the Dark Star Saber. "Leave now!" he snarled.

"But sir-"

"Now!"

The two beat a hasty retreat through the bridge doors, but Megatron did not watch them go. He was distracted by the laughter coming from behind him.

"Bwah ha ha ha! Oh, the irony! The absolute hilarity of it!"

The Decepticon leader swiveled to see Starscream on his hands and knees, chuckling like a hyena, unable to breath for laughter. The insolence astounded him. And still the Seeker continued to spill words.

"I only wished to help the glory of the Decepticons! There is no glory in the defeat of an opponent so weak as the Autobots. I merely wanted to help!" He stopped laughing, and turned towards Megatron. He held up his hands, begging. "I only wanted to help, Master!"

Megatron growled and plodded towards the Seeker, snarling one word each step. "Pathetic. Simpering. Weak. Fool!" The Decepticon leader stopped and leaned down to glare at his commander. Starscream whimpered and flinched back. "You are right about one thing: there is no point in defeating one as weak… as you." His face inches from Starscream's, Megatron sneered, "I will spare you for now. But you will remain under constant surveillance!" He paused and stood up. "It is just as well that the hunter has been programmed. Its power will balance your idiocy." Another pause. "Tell me, Starscream. What of Prime?"

The Seeker peered over his arm, shaking in fear. "He- he is in stasis. I saw it!"

"Good…" Megatron murmured. "Then the time has come. We will attack now, while we have the element of surprise. Starscream! Where. Are. The Autobots!"

Starscream gulped. He had promised! He could not tell- but if he didn't, then Megatron would surely change his mind and terminate the Seeker. He did not want to join the Allspark yet! He couldn't! He had to speak. Had to! It was the only way. Resigned, Starscream opened his mouth-

And stopped. What was that? On the monitors. What had caught his optic? There- oh no. "Lord Megatron! Look!" He pointed, desperation in his voice.

The Decepticon leader turned to glare at whatever had distracted the simpering idiot. But when he saw, he felt inclined to be slightly more charitable. "It appears that we no longer need to seek out our prey." His optics narrowed. "The prey has come to us." The screen shifted, zooming on the object of their attention: a swirling turquoise vortex. A ground-bridge.

The ground-bridge had opened on the plane below New Kaon, at, appropriately enough, ground level. Overhead, the Nemesis slowly circled the tower's tip. From the landing strip on top, a squadron of vehicons took flight, arcing gracefully down. They transformed and landed directly in front of the open vortex, blasters drawn. Hesitantly, the vehicons looked at one another. At last, one stepped forward, the squad leader, stomping over the desert towards the bridge.

He stopped inches from its edge. The swirl of colors, all shades of green and blue and purple, danced hypnotically before his visor. He was immune to its distraction. Sensing no danger, the squad leader turned and motioned for the others to follow him, then swiveled back-

Only to catch an energon bolt in the chest.

The blast burrowed through armor and metal, straight into his spark chamber, overloading the circuitry and extinguishing the miniature inferno that was his life. The vehicon's body was thrust backward, smashing into the ground at his compatriots' feet.

They turned their visors down to stare at him. They never realized their mistake.

Without preamble, Bulkhead jumped through the vortex and slammed a fist into the right of the phalanx. His blow didn't stop at one, but demolished them all, sending them flying sideways into the wasteland. He paused to assess the vicinity, and extend his weaponry. His mace spiraled out from one arm, and the other converted swiftly into a blaster cannon.

Behind him, Arcee, Smokescreen, and Bumblebee leaped through with guns ready. They fanned out, the honor guard. Smokescreen went right, and heard something crunch beneath his foot. He looked down and saw the remains of the vehicon squad leader. "Nice shot," he called out to Arcee.

"Thanks," she replied, cool as ever.

Behind them, the vortex remained open. The swirl of colors changed, purple streaks blazing in a whirlpool of green. From behind the curtain of light emerged a fifth metal body, bigger than even Bulkhead. Silver armor gleamed energon blue underneath, and grey highlights covered it in Cybertronian symbols. Massive boot-like feet supported pillar legs, and a torso like a wrecking ball sat on top of those. Huge, metal, gorilla arms swung by its sides; they hung from equally huge shoulders.

But no head topped the body. Instead, it terminated in a curious bubble, a clear dome that turned a mecha into a suit. The Apex Armor. Inside that dome was a surprisingly small, out of place, distinctly human shape.

Jack Darby looked down at the carnage, controlling the suit with startling ease. He turned to face the soldiers under his command, more afraid than he had ever been. But it never showed in his voice.

"Right," he said, looking up the length of the dark spire. "Let's find Wheeljack." He paused dramatically. "Autobots, roll out!"

10

The steady beat of metal footsteps echoed through the halls of New Kaon. Two vehicons strode side by side around the corner. They were newbies, numbers 503 and 602, fresh out of the Well of All Sparks. They had yet to participate in a battle, a fact that the other vehicons assured them was best for their health, given the rather predictable results of combat with the Autobots, but one that 503 and 602 wanted to change. Now, they had just heard that the Autobots were on-site. As in, at New Kaon. The perfect opportunity! Now they could-

That thought was the last to ever go through the processors of 503 and 602. The wall of the corridor they were in exploded inward, a huge slab of metal hurtling across the narrow way and crushing them against the door. It didn't stop there. The slab toppled over the door, effectively burying the flattened carcasses of the two vehicons. On the other side of the door, another long corridor ran perpendicular to the other. Down the hall, a door opened in response to the commotion.

Knockout stuck his head into the hallway, ready to sentence the offending Decepticon to unwanted surgery for interrupting his power-down. Bad enough he had been assigned prison watch, but now he couldn't even rest? They would wish they were never made! "What is going on out here?" he shouted. Then he gulped. Knockout had seen the pile of rubble that used to be the door, and the gap in the wall on the other side of the corridor. Through that gap came the Autobots. "I'm going to lose some paint on this one," he predicted, then ducked back into the room.

Bulkhead followed the slab into the corridor, exchanging his mace for a second blaster. He turned and fired off a shot at the troops behind them. The other Autobots, also firing on the vehicons, stumbled through the gap in the wall. Arcee took a shot in the shoulder and fell; Bumblebee stopped and helped her back on her feet. She shook him off and resumed firing. Bulkhead stepped aside to let Jack take point; invincible in the Apex Armor, he absorbed the brunt of the blaster fire that emerged from inside the prison block. With a few quick strides, he accelerated like a charging bull. A few of the vehicons were smart enough to leap out of the way. Only a few. The rest were knocked aside or crushed beneath Jack's massive armored feet.

One of the remaining troopers stepped out of the doorway he had been hiding in and fired a shot at Jack. It hit him square in the back. And did absolutely nothing.

Jack felt the blast hit him. He turned to face the trooper, angry as all get-out. It was time for pay back. For Cliffjumper. For Arcee. For Tailgate. For everything the Decepticons had done. He stomped slowly towards the unlucky vehicon. It began to panic, backed into the corner so that its wing fins scraped the walls. The vehicon started to fire its blaster, bolt after bolt slamming into Jack's chasse, rocking him ever so slightly. The vehicon looked up as Jack raised a fist, and started to say, "Oh scr-" before Jack crushed him against the wall.

Jack looked up from the carnage he had created and saw the other Autobots starting to engage the vehicons. "Arcee!" She sliced off a vehicons head and looked up. "You guys get Wheeljack. I'll take care of the 'Cons." She hesitated, then nodded.

"Bee!" she shouted as she ran towards the cell, and he glanced over. "You and me! Let's go!" He nodded and beeped.

Arcee leaped over a vehicon, blasting its faceplate off as she went. She landed feet-first on the chest of another, then ran forward. Bumblebee reached the door first, and hit the door-pad. The panels slid open…

Revealing a very ticked off looking Knockout.

The mad doctor shoved his cattle prod into Bumblebee's abdomen, causing the scout to writhe and fall to the ground. "Bumblebee!" Arcee shouted.

The scout let out a feeble beep, then passed out.

Knockout grinned at her. "Ready for that old 'nip-and-tuck'?" he asked.

Arcee only snarled. She extended her arm blades and leapt at him.

Jack couldn't be bothered to watch the drama playing out behind him. He was too busy pounding the scrap out of the vehicons. In only the few minutes that had passed since exiting the ground-bridge, he had learned quite a bit. The most important thing was that, while he considered the Autobots friend and even family, the Decepticons were nothing more than walking oversized toasters that were beyond easy to destroy. He drove his armored fist into one after the other, feeling metal bend and twist, and seeing the vehicons' visors darken.

Taking a moment to look around, he saw that Smokescreen and Bulkhead were holding up Wheeljack, helping him towards the exit, guarding him. Bumblebee had reawakened, and joined Arcee in battling Knockout. The Decepticon already sported several new gouges in his finish. With a snarl, Knockout thrust the prod towards Bumblebee, hoping to take him out of the fight again. At that moment, Arcee body-slammed him to the floor. The prod fell from Knockout's numb fingers as he drifted into unconsciousness.

Jack noticed another vehicon out of the corner of his eye. It moved in quickly, too quickly for him to react. The brave- or perhaps simply stupid- vehicon drew back a claw, and sliced it forward towards Jack's torso-

Where it crumpled into a ball on impact. Jack winced. That had to hurt. Nevertheless, the vehicon pulled back its other arm to try again. This time, Jack reached out and caught it. He squeezed his own fist closed, crushing the unfortunate Con's claw. It screamed in pain and collapsed, writhing, to the floor. Jack stepped on it, and it stopped moving. When he looked up, Jack realized that all of the Decepticons- except the passed out Knockout- were either dead or gone. He turned back to his team.

"Arcee, contact Ratchet. Tell him we need a bridge," he said.

"On it," she replied. She put her hand up to her comlink. "Ratchet, we need a bridge." Pause. Static. "Ratchet?" More static. Arcee looked back at Jack. "The tower's shieldin is blocking the signal. We need to get outside."

He nodded. "Let's move!"

They quickly ran towards the hole they'd made on their way in, carrying Wheeljack with them. Bulkhead held the majority of his friend's weight, and without any Decepticon interference, their progress was swift. They passed one, two, three walls. The fourth and final gap lay just ahead, but still no Decepticons tried to stop them. Jack slowed down. Why weren't they? "Why aren't they?" he muttered. The others glanced back at him. "Why aren't they trying to stop us?" he said aloud.

The Autobots exchanged looks and shrugs. "What's it matter?" Bulkhead asked. "We're home-free!"

"Maybe," Jack said. He pushed the former Wrecker aside, and stood right in front of the opening. "Or maybe not."

The peace on bridge of the Nemesis was shattered as Megatron screamed in frustration. "Not only are you incompetent, Starscream, but you cannot even properly train your armada!" The Decepticon leader bared his teeth and growled, "I will have to deal with the Autobots myself!" He turned to exit.

Before Megatron could even take a step, the door to the bridge opened, and Shockwave stepped through. "Lord Megatron," he said with a bow.

"Shockwave! I would attend to your inquiry, but I have other, more pressing matters to attend to," the Decepticon leader said bruskly as he walked past the scientist.

"I understand," the other said. "And I offer my help."

Megatron swiveled. "Your place is in the lab. Never forget that!" he paused, then said with emphhasis, "You have projects to attend to."

"Indeed. The human-Cybertronian abomination is a particularly gratifying experiment. But as you stated: there are more pressing matters."

"Then get on with it!" Megatron snarled, desperate to attend to the Autobots.

"While it was never intended for this purpose," Shockwave said, eye gleaming, "I believe that the time has come. To release the Predacon."

Megatron's eyes grew wide.

Jack stood in front of the gap in the wall. Behind him, the Autobots milled around restlessly.

"Come on!" Bulkhead pleaded in exasperation. "Jackie's low on energon. We need to get him back, pronto!"

Bumblebee let out a particularly long series of beeps and whistles. Jack couldn't understand, but he got the gist of it. Something like, Come-on-you-stupid-excuse-for-a-leader. Let's-go-home! Nothing's-gonna-happen.

But he didn't move.

Outside, the sky was growing darker. Stars appeared above the beautiful desert sunset, now even more colorful as light refracted through the smoke from Omega Outpost One. The Nemesis passed by overhead, its bottom edge just visible through the gap. Jack stuck his head out a little ways to follow its progress across the sky…

And ducked back as a wall of flames roared to life in front of him. He backed off, the heat searing inside of the armor, holding up his hands to block the blaze.

The other Autobots drew their blasters, ready for the Decepticons to charge in, trapped as they were against the flames. But the ambush never came. Instead, from the other side of the inferno, they heard a low, bone-chilling growl, that scraped along their spines like a knife. Jack thought he had never heard anything so terrifying in his life, not even the snarl of a zombie Skyquake in the Shadowzone, or Megatron's laugh in that mine, or Airachnid's hiss.

This was different. This was… primal. It reached into the deepest cores of their minds, bringing out thoughts of night-terrors, making them desperate to be anywhere else. Jack felt uncomfortable warmth spreading across the front of his jeans, and realized what had happened. He'd lost bladder control and soiled himself. For a moment, his faced burned with shame, but then he looked at the Autobots and saw that, if they'd been capable, they'd have been doing the same. Even Arcee. She hadn't looked this scared since Airachnid had arrived on Earth.

Jack drew a shaky breath. "O-kay," he said, "Not that way."

As one, they turned and started to run. Looking back, Jack saw an emaciated-looking clawed limb burst through the fire and reach for them. When it didn't find them, the thing withdrew its limb, and roared. A primitive, howling roar. If his bladder hadn't been empty, Jack would've wet himself again.

"Where are we going?" Smokescreen asked, his normally cocky voice quavering.

The thing on the other side of the fire roared again.

"Away from that!" Jack shouted as they rounded the corner.

Megatron bared his teeth. No one watching could say in what emotion. He himself may not have known. He stood on the Nemesis' bridge, along with Starscream and Shockwave. The screens displayed views from various security cameras within New Kaon, following the Autobots as they ran. Outside of the fortress, the Predacon followed them, roaring and snarling, shooting flames across the tower.

Starscream watched with no small displeasure. Not only was Shockwave taking his place as Megatron's closest lieutenant, but the very idea of using a Predacon... it made him shudder. He preferred combat to the hunt, took pleasure more in causing pain than in fear. And of course, no pleasure was greater than personally extinguishing an Atobots spark. Like he had with Cliffjumper. Now there was a memory that brought a smile to his face.

But not now. At this point, the only thing that would make him smile was if the beast were to fall over dead. Then he would smile at Shockwave's utter humiliation. Yes, having the beast kill the Autobots was decidedly unsatisfactory. It didn't help that Shockwave would receive all the credit.

Onscreen, the Autobots ran. They ran even though they couldn't see what they were running from. They ran in fear.

Every Decepticon onboard the Nemesis, indeed, on the planet, knew that it would take a small miracle for the Autobots to escape. If any of them were capable of feeling pity, they would've felt sorry for the Autobots. But they weren't, so they didn't.

Megatron watched the Autobots flee, a sadistic smile splitting his face.

Jack led the Autobots down yet another corridor in the endless maze that was New Kaon. Their hallway ran parallel to the outer wall, and beyond it, Jack could hear the beast following them, roaring. At the same time, Jack could hear a different roar- the roar of fire, spreading across the tower as if it had been doused in gasoline.

Jack saw a pair of vehicons up ahead. Reacting instinctively, which was most likely a mistake, he called out to them. "Hey! Hey! Help us! Please!"

The vehicons turned their visors to look at one another, obviously wondering why anyone associated with the Autobots would beg for their help. Then the creature roared again. The vehicons reeled backward, stumbling as it hit the tower. The hallway that the Autobots were running through was actually a gentle upward helix, so they were now several stories in the air. High enough to feel they tower sway with the heavy impact.

The vehicons exchanged glances again, this time scared ones. They looked up at the Autobots, and then one of them hit a keypad in the wall. A door slammed shut just in front of Jack. "Scrap!"

The Autobots shivered as the beast outside roared again. Jack pulled back a fist, and slammed it into the door. It didn't even dent.

"No good," Bulkhead said. "That's a blast door. Triple reinforced." He tapped on the metal for emphasis.

"Great," Jack grumbled.

The Autobots fell back against the inner wall, sliding down. Outside, the beast roared and scratched, sounding like a living nightmare. They sat there, certain of the inevitable.

Jack looked around at his "troops". Some leader he was. He'd promised Miko he'd bring Wheeljack home. He'd promised Optimus he'd keep the Autobots safe. He'd promised himself that he would make up for failing when the Decepticon captured them. And he'd failed. Now they were going to die. Probably painfully. And now he'd never find out what Miko hadn't told him. He thought again of his promise to bring Wheeljack home.

Speaking of Wheeljack...

The Wrecker rolled slightly, bumping into Smokescreen, who gently pushed him back upright. Wheeljack moaned pathetically, waking up.

In an instant, Bulkhead was on his feet, hovering over his friend. "Jackie! Speak to me, buddy."

The Bot's lips barely moved, but he was trying to say something. Jack got up and leaned close to the Wrecker. "What? What is it?"

"G-Ground... Bri..."

Jack leaned back. "Sorry. We can't. We'd have to get outside first."

The Wrecker rolled his head towards Jack to speak, every word an effort. "Not... Ours. Theirs." His optics closed and he leaned back.

"Jackie?" Bulkhead exclaimed. "Jackie!" He leaned down and put his auditory sensor to Wheeljack's chest. And sighed. "His spark's still beating. Ol' Jackie's too stubborn to die."

Jack looked at the others, who were getting up, seemingly reenergized. Jack didn't feel like that. The most he felt right then was confused. "Did he mean what I think he meant?"

Arcee nodded. "The Decepticons have to have an in-house ground-bridge. We couldn't get in here. But they have to get out."

Jack considered. "That's a good idea. But we're kinda stuck," he pointed out.

Bulkhead chuckled. He reached down and pulled a grenade from his waist. "There's more than one way to get through a door."

Jack and the others grinned, and even Bumblebee gave an appreciative whine.

Ratchet sat in the backyard of Jack and June's new house. He had his communicator open, but so far there had been nothing but static.

He was toying with a few spare parts, attempting to build a Cybertronian computer that would make things a little easier. With so few resources, it was essential that he restore some form of order to their cause. Later, they would coordinate with Agent- former agent- Fowler to establish a real base. But in the meantime, this was all up to him.

It did not help that June was pacing at his side. The sometimes frantic, sometimes monotone beat of her footsteps was driving him crazy. "Nurse Darby," he said, bringing his palms to the sides of his head, "Would you please stop?!"

Surprisingly, she did, plopping herself down on the ground. She brought her arms up to encircle her knees, and began to rock. The metronome-like motion drew Ratchet's optics, and his attention, more than her footsteps had. Resigning himself to the inevitable, Ratchet gave a huge sigh and shoved his project under the trees. "Miss Darby, is something wrong?"

She looked up at the mecha, and Ratchet was suddenly struck by the fact that she was, for a human, exceptionally beautiful. And young. He wondered how old she had been when Jack was conceived. Curious, Ratchet filed the questions away in his processor to ask at a more appropriate time.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she said. Obviously it was something. Ratchet would never understand humans. "I'm worried about Jack."

"I'm sure he's fine. These things take time, you know."

"Yes," June said, "But shouldn't they be back by now?"

Ratchet considered. It had been a while. Hours, in fact. The sun was setting. "I'm sure it's nothing. They probably ran into more Decepticon resistance than we were expecting."

She jerked her head up, desperation and fear in her eyes. Ratchet gave a hearty laugh. "Don't worry Miss Darby. It's nothing they haven't encountered before."

We've never encountered anything like this before, Jack thought. He stood at the front of the line of Autobots, staring at the gaping hole in the wall. The hole that was just across from their destination, the Decepticon's New Kaon-based ground-bridge. The foot-thick metal of the wall was splintered, shards impaled in the other parts of the corridor. The hole led into another room that was between them and the outer-most wall. There was a hole in that wall, too. It had been melted.

Jack shook his head. This was ridiculous. They were being followed by something, and they didn't even know what it was. It was big, it was scary, it was strong. That was it. Empty folder. No more data. Search does not find.

But that wasn't the ridiculous part. The ridiculous part was that no one wanted to go around the hole into the ground-bridge room.

"That's it," Arcee said. Her steely resolve had returned. "I'm going in."

She extended her twin sniper rifles, gritting her teeth. In an instant, she dived to the center of the floor in front of the hole and rolled, springing backward through the door. The entire time, she kept her rifles trained on the hole.

Nothing happened.

Jack exchanged a look with Bulkhead. Now or never.

The Autobots all extended their weapons, cautious like never before. Even with Scraplets. With Jack in the lead, they started towards the door.

For the mechas, it was only a few paces between the edge and the door. But they went so slowly that their rate could be measured in meters per hour. Nevertheless, they reached the doorway without incident. Outside, the sky was black and studded with stars.

When they reached the door, they all relaxed with a huge collective sigh. They turned and walked into the ground-bridge room, thankful that the nightmare was behind them.

Jack's legs clenched as he heard the growl behind them, his bladder pushing on emptiness. So much for no fear.

The primal growl of the creature caused the Autobots to just about fall over themselves in fear, and even Arcee paused in her work at the ground-bridge controls. Beneath the snarl, Jack heard something else, a low ticking noise, like a gas stove trying to light. With a yell, he jumped backward, forcing the Bumblebee, Wheeljack, and Smokescreen into the room behind him. Flames rushed in to fill the hall with heat; recklessly, Bulkhead dove in front of Jack and the others.

"Bulkhead!" Jack shouted.

The inferno died down, and they could see the former Wrecker still standing there, wobbling slightly, his paint singed, but otherwise unhurt. "I'm all right," he rumbled, turning back to them. "Just a little hot to the touch."

Looking behind him, Jack could see a massive hole in the floor of the other room. The edges were glowing white hot, dripping molten metal into whatever space lay below. "That was too close," he said. Looking at his friends, Jack realized what he had to do. "You guys go ahead. Get Wheeljack home safe. I'll hold off that thing."

Smokescreen looked like he wanted to protest, but nodded instead. The young Bot pulled Wheeljack behind him. Bumblebee and Bulkhead followed.

Jack watched them for a moment, then turned back to the hole in the wall. He walked towards the gap, careful to avoid the corresponding break in the floor. It was strangely silent in the room. Cautious, Jack slowly circled the edge of the room, watching for the creature. He saw nothing.

Above him, Jack heard the low ticking sound again. He looked up, flashing on every horror movie he'd ever watched, and saw the thing there, clinging to the ragged edges of yet another hole. Jack watched as harsh yellow-orange light flared in its body, illuminating a strange symbol he'd never seen before. the light traveled up the creature's long neck- Jesus, how big is it?- and into its head. It opened jaws that looked way too much like the monster from the movie Predator, and spat a stream of white-hot flames at Jack.

He barely got out of the way in time. The blaze slammed into the floor, melting yet another hole, turning what was a minor obstacle into a full blown maze of death. Jack quickly got up and tackled the beast off the ceiling. They fell to the floor, through the floor to the next floor down, and Jack realized that he'd made a huge mistake. Even the Apex Armor wasn't strong enough to stop this thing. It pinned him to the ground, and prepared to spew fire right at him. Jack doubted he would survive that. Desperate, he kicked out, catching the surprised beast in the abdomen, sending it flying. Suitably terrified, Jack got up and started to run...

And was brought crashing to the floor by the monster's tail. Thinking quickly, he got back to his feet and rushed at it, shoving it upward, propelling them back to their original floor.

The beast got to its four feet a glared at Jack with pure hatred, and hissed. Moonlight poured into the room, and for the first time, Jack got a descent look at his opponent. It was huge, bigger that a passenger jet. Judging by the way the light reflected off of it, the thing was made of metal too. But despite its size, it was thin, like a malnourished lion kept in the Coliseum. Jack felt like he was looking at something that wasn't meant to be.

Slowly, he became aware that he and the creature were circling- again, reminding him of a lion in the gladitorial ring. He realized that they'd gone a complete one-eighty, so that his back was to the hole in the wall. The creature could have gone after the Autobots, but it remained focused on him. Was it stupid, Jack wondered, or just not informed? Perhaps it thought the others were just hiding, and as soon as it was done with him, it could go after them.

The circling had stopped. Now it was wavering back and forth, left and right. Jack gulped nervously. Sooner or later, it would leap. And he knew that when it did, it would kill him. Of that he had no doubt.

Resolve hardened. He would strike first. It was the only way.

Jack rushed forward, and the creature's eyes widened. It apparently wasn't expecting that. Jack slammed into it like a runaway train. He rolled it over, pushing it forward until it slammed into the wall. He backed off slightly, letting the beast stand up. It turned towards him, once again hissing with pure malice. Quicker than before, the light flared up and traveled the distance of its throat. The monstrous maw spread open and filled with white hot energy.

Jack punched the beast under its jaw. Eyes wide, its neck bent back, and the flames rocketed upward, burning through the ceiling. Before it could recover, Jack hit it again, and again, and again. He pounded on it, fear giving way to anger, and that anger burned hotter than the monster's flames. Jack slammed a final blow into its body just below its neck, at the point where the light-flares began, and stood back to see-

The beast's claw swiping up at him from the side. Jack dodged backward, Astonished to see that the creature was completely unfazed after the beating he'd given it. If anything, it looked even stronger than before.

Jack stepped backward, putting distance between them. It took another swipe at him, with claws, with tail. He ducked and dodged, avoiding the blows, if barely. Through the armor, Jack suddenly felt a night breeze, the type of which he had felt all his life. His foot slid backward and fell off into air. Jack waved his arms, balance almost shot, and stumbled forward. He realized what the beast's plan was now. It was trying to shove him off the edge.

Jack changed his stance. Now that he knew, he could use it against the monster. He watched it carefully, its legs bending to take more weight in the back, tail swishing back to be out of the way, energy surging out of its chest and into its limbs. Right... NOW!

Jack dived to the side, feeling air twist as the massive beast hurtled past. With a high-pitched shriek like rending metal, it fell away, clawing at the clouds.

Jack backed away from the edge. Whatever that thing was, it was made out of metal, so it certainly wouldn't float. He was picking his way around the hole nearest the door when he heard it: the primal roar that scraped his spine. Jack turned back to the outer wall and felt his heart sink.

Up through the clouds burst a huge, thin shape. It arced upward, mist trailing off of it, passing directly in front of the moon. Silhouetted against the bright light, it twisted in midair to face the tower and hovered.

It was the beast, with one obvious difference that Jack hadn't seen before. Attached to its back were two enormous, skeletal wings.

The monster's chest glowed orange, and in a fraction of a second, shot the biggest burst of flames yet directly at Jack. Throwing caution to the wind, he jumped across the hall into the ground-bridge room, the swirling green vortex already open. Arcee was halfway through, and Jack could see the house shimmering through the light interference. Hearing the explosion, Arcee turned back towards him, optics widening. "Jack!" she shouted, swiftly bringing blasters to bear.

He twisted and looked behind him. The beast was clawing its way through the too-small doorway, foot-long claws gouging out the walls, ceiling, floor. Jack turned back to Arcee. "Get out of here!" he shouted.

She shook her head. "Not without you!"

"Go!" He turned back to the beast. It had shredded the wall around the door into a hole big enough to fit through, and was just pulling itself into the room. Jack looked at the ground-bridge controls, hoping he would be able to shut it down, and keep the monster away from his friends.

No can do. They were too complicated, light-years beyond his Mac at home. Helplessly, he pressed as many buttons as he could, windows and error messages popping up all over the crystal screens. It wasn't intuitive like the drill had been. "I hate Decepticon technology!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw something coming towards him. He ducked down, dodging the beast's strike, Jack rolled towards the ground-bridge. He saw the creature's tail hit the controls, stabbing deep into the metal. Electricity jumped between the controls and the bridge, the controls and the beast. It convulsed wildly, shrieking as it got electrocuted.

The ground-bridge shifted, its colors changing hues, the tunnel of light twisting and narrowing. As Jack watched, Arcee and the house appeared to shrink, become more distant. Arcee, all the way on the other side, looked back and saw him, still in New Kaon. "Jack!" she shouted again.

He got to his feet and stumbled towards the still open portal. Behind him, the beast pulled away from the controls and shook its head. When it saw Jack, it roared in anger. Orange light pulsed in its chest and a huge wave of fire billowed out of its maw. Jack was just reaching the mouth of the vortex, but he seemed no closer to the backyard, no closer to safety. He felt the heat wave behind him, heard the explosion as the blaze super-heated the circuitry. He had the impression of wind, and of color. There was an impact that loosened teeth in his jaw. Jack heard the ground-bridge close, cutting off the dueling roars of the beast and its fire, and saw the beautiful, angel-like face of his mother hovering over him.

And then it all went black.

11

Jack woke to a strange noise, like something tapping on glass. Was it a tree branch? There are no trees in Jasper, he thought.

You don't live in Jasper anymore.

Jack sat bolt upright. Or tried to. His head smashed into the transparent head cover of the Apex Armor. "Gah!" he cried out.

Jack reached down and dialed the chest plate of the armor back, returning it to disk form. He sat in the dirt and nursed his head in his hands.

"Oh good, you're awake," Miko said. She had to be the Mistress of Stating the Obvious.

Jack groaned.

June rushed him, picking him off the ground and wrapping him in a hug. "Jackson Darby, what were you thinking?" she demanded when she released him.

Arcee clomped over to intervene. "June…"

She turned on the Autobot. "Don't you even start. You let him go!" she said, never realizing the irony of that statement. She'd let him go too.

"Mom," he said, "I'm fine." He looked around. Everyone- except Optimus of course- was watching the embarrassing spectacle. Wheeljack was leaned up against a tree, a more complete patch on his truncated leg. Bulkhead sat next to him, looking a little woozy but otherwise okay. Ratchet stood a little closer, a perplexed look on his face. Fowler sat on a log, tending the fire that had apparently been started as night fell.

Jack looked around at the range of expressions, from his mother's fear to Ratchet's confusion to Miko's excitement. "How long was I out?"

She put her hands on her hips and assumed a pose of extreme arrogance. "Dude, it's been, like, three days!"

Before Jack could think to respond, Ratchet spoke. "Miko..."

The girl huffed. "Oh, all right. It's only been about half an hour." She brightened. "But you came sailing through the bridge! Something totally rad must've happened! What was it?"

"While I do not approve of her jovial tone," Ratchet said, "I too share Miko's curiosity as to... what has happened."

Bumblebee whirred, and Arcee added, "Care to tell us about it, Jack? The rest of us only saw flashes."

Jack thought about the battle, shuddering as he recalled the beast's roars. He looked down and saw, to his relief, that his wet pants had dried. "We were attacked."

"Yes yes," Ratchet said. "But by what?"

"I... I don't know," Jack said. "It was big."

"Insecticon?" Ratchet asked.

"Bigger," Jack said, "And… it looked more like a lizard than a beetle."

Ratchet's optics widened. "Go on."

"We couldn't get outside, so we went for the Decepticon's ground-bridge. The thing..." Jack gulped. "It blasted its way inside the tower. It was waiting for us. It breathed fire and had huge claws..." He stopped.

Ratchet looked queasy, but he kept an encouraging tone. "What else?"

Jack sucked in a breath, then went on. "I had the others go on ahead while I fought it, trying to buy them time." June and Miko looked shocked. "I... I beat on the thing for what seemed like an hour, and it just... shook it off. And then, I tricked it into jumping out of the tower, but it... it had wings. It flew."

Miko looked skeptical. "Are you saying you fought a dragon? Where did the Cons get a Dragon?"

Bulkhead looked confused. "What's a… dragon?"

"Giant, flying, fire-breathing lizard," she replied impatiently.

"By the Allspark," Ratchet muttered, earning looks from the other Autobots.

"What? What's going on?" Raf asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"A Predacon. Here! Now!" Ratchet wasn't the only one looking queasy.

"What's a... Predacon?" Raf questioned them.

Smokescreen gulped. "Alpha Trion gave me a lecture on them once. They're supposed to be extinct!"

Ratchet nodded. "Indeed. The Predacons were all destroyed at the dawn of Cybertronian history."

Miko bulled forward. "Hell-oooo! What were they?"

Bulkhead knelt next to her, his voice completely terrified. "I saw the legends working construction on the Hall of Records. The Preds were monsters, ancient beasts... from the time of the original thirteen."

Bumblebee beeped out a question, to which Ratchet promptly replied, "No Bumblebee, they were not the same as other Cybertronians. We were created by Primus, through the Well of All Sparks. The Predacons... were the creation of Unicron."

Even the other Autobots were startled by that revelation. Bumblebee looked positively horrified.

"When Unicron first encountered the Thirteen," Ratchet said, "He retaliated by producing his own monstrous warriors, vicious beasts that were nearly indestructible, and had Dark Energon for blood." The medic's optics dilated, producing a hologram of an ancient battlefield. It was a hellish landscape of fire and spilled energon. Bestial forms slashed at towering warriors. Among them, one shined brighter than the others. He looked startlingly like Smokescreen, and wielded a sword that shone brilliant blue. As the humans and Autobots watched, the warrior slaughtered the Predacons, driving the sword through one monster after another. "The Predacons were all destroyed, by Prima, who wielded the Star Saber."

Jack looked over at Optimus' prone form lying on the grass. "We're a little short on Star Sabers right now," he said. "And Primes to wield them."

Raf stood up, uncharacteristically defiant. "There must be some way to stop it. If we don't, and it really is allied with the Decepticons…" Bumblebee whined in agreement.

Jack thought about it. "If this thing has Dark Energon for blood… It could be under direct control from Megatron."

"Unlikely," Ratchet said. "I doubt that this is a true Predacon. More plausibly, it is clone, created by the Decepticons."

Arcee looked up from where she'd been nodding off. "Knockout may be a physician, but he's no genius. There's only one Decepticon who could've pulled off that kind of project."

"Who?" Miko asked, eyes wide.

"Shockwave."

Ratchet started. "Megatron's chief engineer? I thought he was dead!"

"So did I," Arcee said. "The last time anyone saw him was when I shot his optic out. The space-bridge should've blown sky high. No way he could've survived that." She paused. "Could he?"

"It... is not without precedent. And as you said, he is the only Decepticon with the ability to manage such an undertaking."

"So, can we kill the Pred?" Miko asked.

Ratchet looked down at her. "If it is a clone, and Shockwave did create it while on Cybertron, the Predacon will have regular energon in its veins. Given the beast's physiology, it would stand to reason that it would be greatly weakened."

"Yessss!" Miko punched the air.

"But not enough to be destroyed by conventional weapons."

"Awwwww," she cried.

"That being said," Ratchet mused, "The Predacon may be weakened to the point where it would be vulnerable to the same destructive devices as other Cybertronian life. Cosmic Rust, Energon Harvester, Cybon-"Ratchet stopped. A strange expression crossed his face, disgust and joy mingling in a single look that was sufficient to cause the other Autobots concern.

"Uh, Ratchet?" Arcee said. "You mind clueing the rest of us in?"

"Huh-Ha!" the medic laughed. "Thank you Rafael and Miko!" He turned to the others. "Cybonic Plague!" he exclaimed. The others didn't share his enthusiasm. Their expressions were cautious.

"You lost me," Bulkhead said. "I thought we wanted to offline the Predacon, not ourselves!"

"That's the point, Bulkhead! The disease is only transmittable through contact with infected energon. If we were to inject the virus straight into the Predacon..."

"We snuff the tragic dragon!" Miko exclaimed.

Jack glanced sideways. "Did you seriously just say that?"

"Yes, yes I did." She put her hands on her hips and leaned his way, voice low and dangerous. "Wanna make somethin' of it?"

The teen shook his head, then turned to Ratchet. "We need the virus to infect the Predacon. Where in the world would we get it?"

The medic's excitement was palatible. "From this world. From the very same ship where Optimus was infected."

Now only Arcee retained the Bots' initial skepticism. "That ship was in the middle of a shifting desert, Ratchet. It's probably been buried by now."

"No Arcee," Ratchet said, his voice carrying. "The ship's internal gyroscopes will have kept it above ground. What's more, I remember the ship's exact coordinates."

"Will it work?" Raf asked, all of their hope and distress in his voice.

"It has to," Jack said, putting a hand on Raf's shoulder. "This may be our only chance. We get one shot at this." He looked around at the others. "But we're going to need to work quickly and efficiently if we're going to succeed," he said, then whispered under his breath, "Or survive."

12

Darkness fell again over New Kaon, smoke and smog extending to the horizon. The dense black clouds once more formed perpetual night, unbroken by moon or stars. It was into that obsidian setting that the Nemesis flew, drifting high over the Decepticons' fortress. The ancient warship slowly circled the top-most spires, watching, waiting.

Megatron stood on the aft deck, just above the engines. The ion thrusters continual use formed the beginnings of yet another lightning storm. Thunder boomed around the ship.

The Decepticon leader planted his feet on the cold metal of his ship. His arms hung at his sides, the power of Unicron flowing through them. Even the salvaged arm of the dead Prime. It crossed his mind yet again which Prime had wielded the power of Primus in life. Was it Sentinal, Optimus' predecessor? Or had it been that of Prima himself? Oh, the irony of that would be sweet. The Lord of Light's messiah... desecrated to serve the new Emperor of Darkness.

Megatron's optics followed the path of his Predacon as it swooped through the air. The beast flew spirals around the Nemesis and New Kaon, boundless energy surging through its veins. Below, the results of its battle with the Autobots were clear: New Kaon burned.

Flames roared out of the tower's holes, and bored new ones through its surfaces. Explosions rocked the tower as energon reserves went up in smoke. One spire melted completely through at its base, and sheared away from the fortress. It fell hundreds of feet to crash into the desert floor below. Nearly a thousand Decepticon troops gathered around the base of the citadel, watching the hypnotic dance of flames.

The bay doors at the far end of the Nesmesis' flight deck opened. Heavy footsteps mingled with softer ones, and the prim tread of Knockout's feet stood out like no other's. Megatron's lip plates pulled back to reveal his sharpened teeth. "Approach, my lieutenants." Behind him, he heard the scrape of metal on metal as Knockout and Shockwave bowed. Starscream of course remained insolent, and Megatron would be unable to tell if Soundwave was even there without turning around. (He is back there by the way. Just imagine him in, standing silently next to the other three. No bowing.)

Starscream plodded up next to his leader. "My Lord," he said. Megatron's only form of acknowledgement was to widen the gap between his teeth. "Why do we stand here, dawdling, whilst our fortress burns?"

Not a servo moved below Megatron's neck as he replied, "The citadel is but a figurehead, Starscream. It's only importance is as a beacon to the outside universe. The true power remains here, on the warship." There was a short pause, and then Megatron gestured with his right hand. "And there, in my new Predacon."

Starscream made a small, strange noise. It may have been a cough. Or a laugh. Or a choking gasp. Megatron didn't care. Starscream was as much a figurehead as New Kaon, an authority that inspired loyalty through fear of failure. His feelings, indeed, his actions, were of no interest to Megatron. There was only one who mattered right now. "Shockwave!"

The purple mecha walked to Megatron's other side. The warlord turned to appraise him, taking in the sight of the scientist. It filled him with the strangest of emotions, something he had not felt since his earliest days in the Pit. Call it...joy. "It does my spark good to see my chief engineer alive and well. We all believed you perished at the hands of the Autobots."

Shockwave nodded. "I awoke in the rubble of my space-bridge, blinded. In time, I was able to repair my wounds, and resume my experiments."

"Producing the miracle we see before us now."

"Indeed."

The Decepticons stood in relative silence for a long time, Starscream backing away to stand, grumbling, beside Knockout. They watched without emotion (except a very bored Starscream) as the Predacon entered a screaming dive for the ground. The troops scattered as the enormous beast dropped out of the clouds, running in terror from its claws and massive bulk. It pulled up at the last second, grasping an unfortunate vehicon by the shoulders, and yanking it skyward. The poor soldier struggled against the harsh grip, going so far as to blast the Predacon several times in the chest, but had no luck. At a height so great that those aboard the Nemesis had to cran their necks backwards to see, the Predacon released his victim. It fell screaming into the flames of New Kaon. Only Starscream flinched in imaginary pain.

Megatron spoke softly to the horizon. "The flames are still too hot for troops to enter... Heh heh heh," he laughed quietly. "My beast's power is astonishing."

Shockwave turned to look at his leader. "We should release it to hunt down the Autobots. They may believe us weakened by the loss of New Kaon. We would have the element of surprise."

Megatron folded his arms behind his back, intertwining his fingers. "No, Shockwave. We will allow the Autobots this victory. Soon their arrogance will become their downfall. They have exposed themselves once. They will do it again. And when they do," he added, tenor building in his voice, "We will be ready, yes..."

In the background, he heard Starscream whisper to Knockout, "This is madness. We place our faith in a beast that has destroyed more Decepticons than Autobots? Not to mention reduced our seat of power to rubble."

With a growl, Megatron spoke. "You should take a cue from Soundwave, Starscream, and hold your tounge!" The sycophant sputtered, but Megatron paid him no heed. "When we have destroyed the Autobots once and for all, we will turn our sights on the other vermin populating this world. Earth is our planet now, and the humans are pustulant blemishes on its surface. We will crush them like bugs under our feet.

"The time has come for this world to recognize its new master," he went on. "The reign of the Decepticons has begun. The human race has no idea what lies ahead." The Decepticon leader chuckled softly, his gaze trained on the small town of Jasper, Nevada that lay in ruins behind New Kaon. Beyond that, a small military base was bustling with troop activity, foolish humans making ready their primitive weaponry. Beyond that, it was open desert for miles, until the nearest human metropolises appeared. And beyond those, spreading in every direction, the magnificence of humanity; art, music, food, traditions; history thousands of years in the making. All of it... at the mercy of Megatron. The tyrant laughed softly on the deck of the Nemesis, clenching his fist around an imaginary globe. He watched as the Predacon dived again, bathing in its flames, drunk on its own power, reveling in the destruction it had caused. And he saw that it was good...