Disclaimer: Sorry for the delay, folks. A whole slew of distractions, new video games, work, accidental deletions, hissy fits and the dreaded Writer's Block. Evil, evil, EVIL Writer's Block… I hate you so. Ah, right… I don't um, own anything involving Transformers.
Chapter VIII
Ultra Magnus hit the wall back-first with a sickeningly heavy boom, courtesy of the rabid Predacon lion called Razorclaw. The beast stalked its prey and lunged, but Ultra Magnus still had his stolen lance in hand. He positioned it sideways, causing Razorclaw to bite into the staff. Magnus held fast as Razorclaw clawed at him, barely out of reach. Meanwhile, Kup was keeping the massive Predacon bear known as Headstrong at a reasonable distance with his weapon. The bear swiped at Kup and growled and soon after, charged head long at him. Kup stood his ground and then a split second later sidestepped to the right. Headstrong's own momentum carried him into the wall head first, and he shook of the effect like it was nothing. Kup returned to a defensive stance when noticed Spike in plain sight, unsure what to do.
"Spike, get back. Find cover." he said.
Spike did exactly as he was told, backing away toward the wall farthest from the battle. There was no hiding spot, so Spike had to hope none of the Predacons would notice him. All the while, Breakaway was in the air being accosted by the fast moving eagle Divebomb. He didn't have his rifle with him, so Breakaway had rely solely on his vibroblade melee weapon. Divebomb swooped right passed him on many occasions, moving too fast for Breakaway to strike. Eventually, Divebomb slammed right into Breakaway and knocked out of the air. Breakaway hit the ground with enough force to rattle anyone nearby. Divebomb attempted to dive right at Breakaway but was blasted away from the far side.
The shot came from Elita One, who was attempting to hold off Tantrum the jackal and Rampage the tiger. Breakaway joined her, going back to back with her. Tantrum howled at them almost manically while Rampage silently growled. They were sizing up their targets and waiting for the right time to strike. Elita was actually doing the same.
"When I say so, duck, okay, kid?" she whispered enough for Breakaway to hear her.
Breakaway nodded. He waited for Elita to give a signal. Then Rampage lunged right at them. Elita and Breakaway ducked, letting Rampage to leap over them and slam into the also airborne Tantrum. The Predacons collided and hit the ground in a heap over each other. They righted themselves and briefly snapped at each other, as animals normally did in the wild. Elita was upright and smiled before Breakaway pulled her right back down. Divebomb flew over head, just missing Elita One by inches.
"Thanks, kid. LOOK OUT!" Elita rolled Breakaway down as Divebomb swooped in and missed them.
Now, as Breakaway noticed, Elita was on top of him. "Well, this is awkward."
"Don't worry! You're not my type." Elita helped Breakaway up.
"Did you just crack a joke?" he asked.
"What's a joke?" Elita asked.
Breakaway looked absolutely incredulous at Elita before they refocused on the assault by the Predacons. At that moment, Elita noticed that Blackarachnia was not involved in the fight. She was slowly ascending the staircase toward its apex, where Alpha Q was waiting and watching her. It was quite amusing to Alpha Q. Blackarachnia extended her claws just as two Quintesson guardsmen charged her, only to be cut down a nanosecond later. She then continued her advance, to which Alpha Q was nonplussed.
"What's wrong, Alpha Q," she said. "Scared stiff, knowing that your creation is about to kill you? You should be," Blackarachnia let it sink in before going on. "After everything you've done to me, to Firestar and Moonracer, I'm going to take my time gutting you."
"You wound me with your cruel words," Alpha Q mockingly said. "Do you not yet realize that I unlocked your true potential, stripped you of you primitive robotic trappings and remade you into a masterpiece of ingenuity?"
"You tortured and maimed me, and you murdered my friends, and for what," Blackarachnia snapped. "To start your own petting zoo? To unleash these mindless beasts?"
"Those beasts are your brethren, Blackarachnia. You are as much a Predacon as they are," Alpha Q stated callously. "You cannot deny this."
Blackarachnia had heard enough and moved to strike. But a scream was heard from below. Blackarachnia turned to spot Elita One pinned down by Rampage, who was snapping viciously at her. None of the other Autobots could get to her as they were preoccupied with the other Predacons. Blackarachnia was just about to make her move when Alpha Q chuckled at her. Directly at her. She turned back around and… froze. Alpha Q continued to laugh mockingly at her.
"A conundrum, Blackarachnia," he said. "You former ally stands at the brink of destruction, yet here I stand, defenseless. You could slay me, here and now."
Blackarachnia tensed and took one step forward, looking ready to pounce. Then at the last moment, she turned around and lunged at Rampage, tackling the tiger off of Elita One. It surprised Elita One when Blackarachnia fought off Rampage by herself before Tantrum tried to pounce on her. Elita regrouped and battled back at the jackal. Meanwhile, Breakaway was still struggling with Divebomb and Ultra Magnus and Kup went back to back in fighting off Razorclaw and Headstrong. At one point, Razorclaw bit into Magnus' left forearm and tore a chunk from it, while Headstrong slashed Kup across his chassis. Alpha Q continued to laugh, because he knew it was a losing battle for the Autobots. Eventually, the Predacon had the Autobots, and Blackarachnia and Spike, all cornered.
Then a loud boom sounded from overhead and a massive Earth shuttle with a blue underside flew into view. Ultra Magnus felt a wave of relief as Sky Lynx's transport module opened its hatch and Rodimus Prime appeared. Springer, Grimlock, Arcee and Tempest followed him out. They weren't alone; the Aerialbots emerged in the respective jet forms and flew in formation before transforming and landing.
"Everyone okay?" Rodimus asked.
"Yeah," Ultra Magnus said holding his forearm. "Nice of you to show up. Where've you been?
"We, uh, hit a snag."
Tempest got close to Breakaway. "You okay?" she asked.
"Takes more than a bunch of animals to keep me down." Breakaway said.
"Yeah, but these Predacons make the Sharkicons look like tinfoil." Kup commented.
"Enough," Alpha Q said and with a wave his lanky arm, ordered the Predacons to stand down. Then he glared directly at Rodimus Prime. "Ah, Rodimus Prime; the successor of the great Optimus Prime. You have… matured since you were last here."
Rodimus stepped forward, energy crossbow formed and at his side. "Just a hunch but I'm guessing you're Alpha Q."
"You know of me, do you," Alpha Q said sounding unsurprised. "Well, we Quintessons know all about you Cybertronians, and we know of the Matrix you carry within you."
Stunned silence washed over the rest of the Autobots, and Arcee whispered to Springer, "They know about the Matrix?"
"Yes, Arcee," Alpha Q said out loud and directly to Arcee. "The last remaining physical piece of Primus. The vessel carrying the wisdom of all who have been charged with its protection. The talisman that you, Rodimus, used to defeat Unicron."
"I've heard enough," Rodimus said and brought his crossbow up, aiming at Alpha Q. "I'm giving you one chance to let us leave without incident."
Alpha Q studied Rodimus Prime, smiling a twisted grin. "If you wish to leave, by all means. But, I strongly advice that you surrender the Matrix to me in exchange."
"You've got serious issues if you think I'm giving you the Matrix," Rodimus Prime said. "To put it bluntly, I'm not surrendering anything. Period."
Alpha Q hissed a sinister laugh. "I offered you the opportunity to do the right thing, and instead, you chose to oppose the Quintessons. So you have chosen," Alpha Q extended one lanky arm forward. "So shall it be. Predacons: exterminate them."
"And, here we go!" Breakaway muttered.
The Predacons roared, growled and screeched like the animal they were based on and started to advance on the Autobots. Grimlock, in T-Rex form, lumbered ahead of the group and stood tall against the Predacons. He roared as only he could, shaking the whole court chamber to its foundation. Unlike the more weak-willed Sharkitcons, the Predacons stood their ground and roared back at the Dinobot unafraid. Grimlock slammed his massive foot into the ground, causing a massive tremor and causing the Predacons, save Divebomb, to tumble onto each other.
"Grimlock, not fear puny animals," he said. "Grimlock, SMASH puny animals!"
The Predacons righted themselves and roared and growled before huddling together. Then something happened than none of the Autobots expected; all at once, the Predacons' bodies started shifting and changing. They began connecting to each other one by one until all that stood in their place was one hulking machine. It stood tall, towering over Grimlock and the other Autobots and lumbering toward them slowly. For the first time, the hulk spoke in a low and menacing tone…
"I am… Predaking."
Grimlock had to actually look up at the face of this creature calling itself Predaking. And he stood his ground. "Grimlock, not care how big you get. Grimlock, still SMASH!" He charged head long and seconds later was thrown clear across the chamber when Predaking back-handed him.
The Autobots stood in total shock at what they witnessed; Grimlock, the leader of the mighty Dinobots, beaten with one hand by a combiner no one had ever encountered. Predaking stalked toward the other Autobots, brandishing a massive sword. Before he could closer, he was suddenly taken down by Superion, the combined form of the Aerialbots that united in the wake of Grimlock's defeat. The giants fought it out while the Autobots helped Grimlock up. Superion beat on Predaking with a flurry of blows to his face. The blows barely phased Predaking if at all and in response, he head butted Superion, staggering him before taking a quick swipe at him with his sword. Superion ducked under the swipe and tackled Predaking, forcing him to drop his weapon. They fell to the ground with the loudest clang ever heard and Superion pinned Predaking down.
"Go, Autobots!" Superion shouted before Predaking kicked him back.
Superion righted himself as much as possible as Predaking bared down on him. They fought on with increased intensity. Superion seemed to be taking control before Predaking took over and proceeded to pound Superion. It occurred to Rodimus Prime that Predaking wasn't utilizing any particular strategy, but was acting on pure animal instinct. Whatever the case, Predaking was now punishing Superion with stiff punches to the face and knees to the torso. Superion tried to fight back as hard as he could, throwing random blows back at Predaking. Predaking regained control and started pounding on Superion mercilessly. Try as he might, Superion couldn't seem to regain the upper hand as Predaking laid into him with heavy shots. Predaking hoisted Superion over his head and tossed across the chamber, and the impact caused Superion to disengage into his five components. Grabbing his sword, Predaking stalked the fallen Aerialbots.
"None can match mighty Predaking." He raised his sword, ready to deliver the killing blow when he was knocked clear across the chamber.
Sky Lynx had assumed his giant dinosaur form and took a stance against Predaking. "If you're so strong, Predaking, then face me if you dare."
Predaking rose to his feet again, sword in hand and roaring. "Predaking, that's enough," Alpha Q shouted. "There's no need to continue this conflict any further. Return to me."
Predaking disengaged into his five components and, after a momentary stare down with Sky Lynx, they went on to region their master. Except for Razorclaw, as he remained where he stood. He growled at Sky Lynx and Sky Lynx growled back at him. Eventually, Razorclaw turned away to rejoin the other Predacons with Alpha Q and his fellow Quintessons.
"It is time to end this pointless resistance, Rodimus," Alpha Q said. "I offer you one final chance to surrender the Matrix to me."
"Never." Rodimus said and opened fire on Alpha Q with his crossbow, striking him in the right shoulder.
Alpha Q recoiled from the shot and shouted, "You have had your chance, now die with this planet." With that, Alpha Q vanished through a hidden door with his follower and the Predacons.
"You're not leaving," Blackarachnia shouted and leaped for the door, but was too late to stop Alpha Q. She screamed and clawed at the wall, all the while shouting, "I will find you, Alpha Q. If it takes me forever, I will find you."
Down below, Tempest asked, "Are we going after them?"
"No point," Kup said. "They're probably long gone by now. And the Aerialbots ain't in any shape to fight."
"Sky Lynx," Rodimus Prime said. "Take the Aerialbots back to Earth for repairs. Breakaway and Tempest, you two go with them. Perceptor and Jazz should be there by now."
"What about us?" Springer asked.
"I spotted a shipyard with a single Quintesson ship on our approach. We'll take that and go after Alpha Q."
Ultra Magnus came up to Rodimus and said, "He knows about the Matrix, Rodimus. You mind telling me how that's possible."
"Long story. I'll fill you in on the way to Cybertron." Rodimus Prime said.
"Spike, here, take this exosuit. You might need it." Sky Lynx said and opened and an exosuit appeared. Breakaway removed and set it down.
"Thanks, Sky Lynx. You're not so self absorbed as everyone says." Spike said and climbed into his suit.
"They're all just jealous of my superiority." Sky Lynx said.
Breakaway was about to speak when he noticed something in the floor. A stream of red lighting began pulsing at a slow rate. The pulsing steadily increased in speed as another stream of red lighting appeared across the floor. Then another. And another. One after that one. They were all pulsing, lighting the chamber in red light. Then it finally occurred to Breakaway.
"Um, didn't Alpha Q say something about us dying with their planet? he asked.
"Somehow, I doubt they were bluffing." Kup said.
"Sky Lynx, go. Get back to Earth. The rest of you, with me." Rodimus said and transformed to his truck form. The other Autobots followed his lead as Sky Lynx took off.
Before she did, Elita One approached Blackarachnia, who'd left a series of gashes in the wall where Alpha Q vanished. "C'mon, Blackarachnia. We've got to go."
"I have nothing left, Elita," Blackarachnia said without looking at Elita. "Just leave me here."
Elita took a chance and put her hand on her former friend's shoulder. "No. I left you behind once. I won't do it again. We can chase Alpha Q together, and make him answer for his crimes."
Blackarachnia spun around to face Elita. "You swear on your Spark and those of Moonracer and Firestar that we'll catch that monster."
"We'll catch him. I swear to Primus we will." Elita said.
"Then let's get off this planet."
Elita assumed her vehicle form and raced off, while Blackarachnia used her webs to swing after her. Sky Lynx had taken off by then with the Aerialbots, Tempest and Breakaway, while Rodimus Prime led the rest of the Autobots to the shipping yard. A Quintesson ship was stationed there, unused and waiting to be launched. There wasn't much time to admire the view. The planet was getting dangerously close to detonation when the Autobots arrived at the foot of the ship. Rodimus Prime filed them all in as quickly as possible. Grimlock, Elita and Blackarachnia were among the last before Rodimus climbed inside. Kup was already at the controls and was firing up the main engines. The engines ignited and the ship took off just as Quintessa began to blow.
Aboard their own ship, Alpha Q and his followers watched as their planet detonated. They saw no sign of the Autobots' escape and, of course, assumed they had been destroyed along with Quintessa. At least the lower ranking Quintessons did, but Alpha Q was clearly unconvinced. The Autobots survived far worse, Unicron's assault on Cybertron being a prime example. Hence Alpha Q was more than certain that Rodimus Prime and the Matrix survived. It was time to execute a new plan, one that would require more militaristic assistance.
"It is time to accelerate our plans," Alpha Q said. "Set course for the planet Chaar."
"Planet Chaar," said one of the lower ranking Quintessons. "But it is nothing more than a barren wasteland."
"A barren wasteland populated by the remnants of the Decepticons," Alpha Q pointed explained. "They have been severely weakened in the battle against Unicron."
"Even if they were not so," said another Quintesson. "The Decepticons would never serve our purposes."
"True, but," Alpha Q hit a switch and compartment containing a stock pile of energon cubes opened. The Predacons were prevented from partaking in the spoils as Alpha Q went on. "There are a great many ways to persuade them."
"That was a little bit too close, Rodimus." Springer said as the ship was shaking from the damage done in the explosion.
Rodimus Prime was at the helm with Kup and said, "Hey, it could be worse…"
"Don't say it could be worse, lad," Kup said. "Things always seem to get worse."
"Especially now," Arcee said as she checked the ship's readouts. "Guidance and propulsion systems are shot to the Pit."
"I rest my case." Kup said.
"Does anyone have any idea where we're going," Spike asked, now fully armored the exosuit Sky Lynx provided him. "Personally, I'd like to get back to Earth. I'm worried about my wife and son."
"You're not the only one." Rodimus Prime added. He meant it too.
"I did some calculations," Ultra Magnus said while checking the navigation system. "It looks like we'll be impacting an object pretty soon. Not sure if it's another ship or a planet."
"Well then, we'll either be rescued or smashed to pieces on impact. Take your pick." Rodimus said.
"Rodimus?" Ultra Magnus said.
"Yeah?"
"You owe me that explanation."
Rodimus Prime knew Ultra Magnus was right. He owed him an explanation as to how the Quintessons knew about the Matrix, about Cybertron, about Unicron. About everything. Rodimus still wasn't sure if he believed any of it. How was Ultra Magnus going to believe? Rodimus wondered to himself if Optimus Prime might have known all along and kept it from everyone. If he did, he had good reasons. Rodimus looked at Magnus, ready to speak but wasn't sure how Magnus, or anyone with would react. It was now or never.
"You won't believe me if I told you." he stated.
"Try me." Magnus said.
Elsewhere in the galaxy, four interstellar spacecraft soared across the cosmos. Three of them bore the Decepticon insignia on their hulls. Since rescuing him, Cyclonus had spent the flight debriefing Galvatron on recent events following his disappearance. Scourge had been keeping a short distance, which was understandable after the thrashing Galvatron heaped on him on Thrull. Skyquake had taken up the rear of the pack, mainly out of self-service and partly because he had no interest in trying to wrest authority from Galvatron yet. But he would when the time came. Galvatron suddenly yawed to his right, as if his guidance system went out. It wasn't that. The extended time spent in his so-called plasma bath had apparently damaged his logic circuits. He stopped in midflight and transformed. Cyclonus transformed too and suddenly found himself in the grip of Galvatron.
"Let me see if I grasp this news, Cyclonus," he said and started to squeeze. "The Autobots have reclaimed Cybertron, my Decepticons have been exiled to some backwater mud ball and even those little parasites have an outpost in orbit around their planet?"
Cyclonus choked under the strain and said, "Well, that's the way of it, Galvatron. We couldn't hold our territory after Unicron's demise. We were outmatched."
"You and your useless excuses," Galvatron released Cyclonus, who fell into the waiting arms of Scourge. "If not that you were useful on the battlefield, I'd of disintegrated you long ago, Cyclonus," Galvatron turned away and mused to himself, "The knowledge of a human outpost in Earth's orbit only amplifies my plans for the Autobots. I need to see this outpost for myself."
"He's out of his mind, Cyclonus," Scourge muttered to Cyclonus. "He's abusing you just as Megatron did Starscream."
Galvatron suddenly spun around, aimed his particle cannon and opened fire on Scourge and Cyclonus. They barely managed to avoid the blast. Galvatron grabbed Scourge, bringing him up close and snarled, "Don't ever, EVER, speak that NAME in my presence. Understand, Scourge?"
"Y…Yes, crystal clear, Galvatron!" Scourge groveled more or less, and Galvatron released him.
"It's Lord Galvatron. Now," Galvatron began the familiar process of transforming while declaring, "Let us inspect the human's little outpost." He rocketed away is a blaze. Cyclonus transformed and followed.
Scourge was about to transformed when Skyquake floated to him in proto form. "Still willing to follow Galvatron, Scourge?"
"What does it matter to you, Skyquake?" Scourge asked.
"More than you might think," Skyquake said and slowly hovered around Scourge. "Why follow him anyway? He's clearly insane. Are you afraid of him?"
"I follow Galvatron because he is my leader, and he has no equal." Scourge said.
"Doesn't he? Make no mistake, Scourge," Skyquake was now face to face with the hapless Sweep. "At some point, you'll have to make a very important decision of whom you follow; Galvatron… or me."
Skyquake transformed and jetted off, leaving Scourge behind to consider his apparent proposal. Skyquake or Galvatron; who would he follow? The answer shouldn't have been a difficult one for Scourge; Galvatron was the clear choice. Or was it? Galvatron hadn't been the same since his recovery. Skyquake seemed to possess adequate leadership skill, but hardly anything was known about him. And, he'd spent the past three millennia hidden beneath surface of Cybertron. Skyquake couldn't be trusted, but could Galvatron be trusted? Scourge had put that doubt aside for now, and he assumed alt form and jetted after his comrades. They had a human outpost to, in the words of Galvatron, inspect.
A small flicker of, something, appeared in the contrail left by Scourge. If one had remained and listened ever so closely, the faint sound of raspy laughter could've been heard.
Author's note: Phew. Took me long enough. Sorry 'bout the delay. The Predacons took center stage in this little nugget, even forming into Predaking and pounding the servos out of Superion. Just to clarify, they won't be assuming their robot form, thus remaining in animal form throughout the story.
Galvatron is still a nutcase, and Skyquake seems to be a real schemer. Remind you of anybody?
Leave a review or two. Or three. See you next time.
