Happy Halloween, guys! I don't have a Halloween chapter special for you, so we're just gonna keep going forward with this particular story.
Shadescribe - Maria definitely has to watch her back - and it does help that she has allies in other places if she ever needs it.
Course, that isn't gonna happen until we get up to a certain point...that hasn't been written yet. I've got ideas, though.
Anyway, here's the chapter!
Chapter 10
Getting the entire story told took a couple hours, with Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Optimus taking turns for most of the events - Raf acting as Bumblebee's interpreter for the most part. When it came time for what Maria had referred to as the "Orion Pax Incident," she explained what she knew of the Nemesis after Arcee's failed attempt at finding the amnesic Prime. Jack explained what had happened to him at Vector Sigma, and then the group wrapped up what had happened afterward, covering a basic idea of what had happened with the different artifacts, as well as their run-ins with MECH and the eventual attempt to revitalize Cybertron.
"So there were artifacts here from Cybertron?" Liz asked, trying to wrap her head around the idea.
"Yeah." Arcee gave a grim nod. "And they were really hard to get our hands on, since the Cons were going after the exact same weapons. And if that wasn't enough, we had to deal with Arachnid for some of that time. At least the Immobilizer made sure she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and she isn't going to be sending her Insecticons after us."
Jack shuddered while Matthew looked like he wanted to gag. Wildfire also looked disgusted, while Jolt appeared somewhat shaken.
"Why is it that there are always those things hanging around?" Wildfire muttered. "I had enough of those Insecticons in the arenas in Kaon."
Wheeljack snorted. "Well, you're gonna hate it when we get back to Cybertron. Last I checked, those things were crawling all over the place and really giving us a hard time. Shockwave's been experimenting with them."
Jolt shuddered, causing his armor to rattle. Coil also looked nervous.
"So, what ended up here and what did the artifacts do?" Joshua asked cautiously.
"The Spark Extractor basically acts like a bomb," Bumblebee said, relying on Raf to translate. "Only, it pulls out your Spark and instantly kills you."
Maria flinched, rubbing her chest. "That's a nasty thought."
"The Forge changed hands a few times." Smokescreen motioned to the yellow and blue hammer that was leaning against a wall of the hanger. "Now it's out of juice, though, so there really isn't all that much left that it can do other than whack things."
"And I ran into some Tox-En," Bulkhead admitted. "And the Insecticon Megatron sent to get it almost killed me after I got exposed to it."
"And then I killed it!" Miko declared proudly.
"Hey, if you didn't have access to the gun on my ship, that wouldn't have happened," Wheeljack pointed out.
"Tox-En, huh?" Wildfire frowned. "I haven't heard of that before."
"If you had heard of it, I should think that I would have been worried," Ratchet responded.
"I think I've have heard of it," Shape-Change spoke up suddenly. She looked over at Wildfire. "Do you remember when I went to Iacon before the war broke out? I think I remember reading something about a poisonous type of Energon that was hard to purify, and that it had been used in wars in the past." she frowned. "I'm not exactly sure as to what wars they were referring to, though."
Optimus, Bulkhead, and Ratchet exchanged knowing looks.
Maria frowned, cocking her head to one side. "Hmmm...Maybe it's something from ancient history?"
"If it was, maybe Optimus knows something about it." Wildfire sent a look in the Prime's direction, then frowned when she saw the odd expression on the Prime's face.
Optimus hesitated for a moment. "I believe that the Tox-En was used in the war we fought in order to force off our invaders. They also would have had need of Energon, and creating a false, poisonous replica would have certainly done damage to their systems."
Ratchet nodded gravely in agreement, causing Maria to frown.
"We also got the Star Saber!" Miko added with a large grin. "And that thing looked really awesome! It was like a light saber on steroids!"
"A what on what?" Smokescreen was confused.
Jack sighed and shook his head.
"Well, it does look really cool," Raf admitted, "but it is still a weapon."
"Sometimes, the most beautiful things are the most dangerous," Joshua said knowingly. "What about the other relics?"
"Well, there were four Omega Keys," Smokescreen said, counting them off on his digits. "We needed those to open the Omega Lock on Cybertron. And then there was that immobilizer, the Apex Armor - which pretty much made the wearer invincible..." His expression brightened, and he raised an arm, where a wristwatch-like device was clinging to his wrist. "And the Phase Shifter!"
"There was that magnet we ended up finding," Arcee commented, looking up at Bulkhead.
Bulkhead groaned while Miko snickered.
"Soundwave got some kind of...sound blaster," Wheeljack remembered. A scowl appeared on his face moments later. "I think he's still got it."
"Considering that our original base was destroyed - and most likely looted - I believe that the relics we had in our possession previously have all been taken onto the Nemesis," Ratchet replied. "Thankfully, he no longer has the Spark Extractor in his possession, but there are other devices that could become just as dangerous if he decides to make use of them."
The humans exchanged grim looks at this.
"So, we're definitely going to have to be on our guard," Maria noted, nodding slightly.
"Sounds like it," Matthew agreed. "And those MECH guys...even if you guys haven't heard anything from them, it'd probably still be a good idea to keep an eye out for them."
"You got that right," Khrista agreed. "I'd hate to see them try and take a route like what happened to me with anything." Her shirt shimmered, as though tempted to shift out of the sky blue-and-gold swirl, but then the colors stilled, unchanging.
"Considering that they refer to themselves as MECH, I highly doubt that is going to occur," Sparkseer responded. "However, just the same, it is good to be cautious."
Jolt nodded. "I don't need another Shockwave, thanks."
"Now that we've covered what happened with us on Earth, what about you guys?" Miko turned and looked up at Wildfire and her group. "You guys have some pretty cool stories to tell, right?"
Wildfire exchanged looks with the others, raising an optic ridge. Before anyone could say a word, however, Ultra Magnus decided to make a noise that sounded like he was clearing his throat.
"As enlightening as it would be, I believe it might be wiser if we scouted the area to see if the Decepticons are already on the move after Darkmount's destruction," the lead Wrecker suggested. "Megatron may be planning on making his move as we speak."
That statement seemed to put all the war-experienced Autobots in the hanger on alert.
"But...what would he move to do?" Morgen asked, frowning. "From what it sounds like, there aren't anymore relics on Earth, and you guys have a new base - basically." He motioned to the hanger. "So, at this point, he's probably going to be licking his wounds and thinking about how he could hunt us down and drive us out into the open."
Ultra Magnus turned sharply to give Morgen a piece of his mind, but then Optimus spoke up.
"This may be true; we have just destroyed Megatron's base of operations. It is more than likely that he is planning on taking in resources while recovering and planning his next objective. What that may be, I am not exactly sure of at this point in time, but we will have to stay on the alert until he makes his move." Optimus looked at the Autobots around him. "Arcee, Bulkhead, Shape-Change - go and scout the area to ensure that there are no Vehicons nearby attempting to discover our location."
"Right." Arcee nodded, then transformed down into a motorcycle mode and drove out of the hanger. Maria and the others had to move out of the way so that Bulkhead and Shape-Change could follow after the two-wheeler.
As they left the hanger, Maria could have sworn that Shape-Change's sports car form shifted a little, but the femme was out of sight before anyone could really see what had happened.
"Ratchet, First Aid, I assume that the two of you have already begun to set up a temporary medbay?" Optimus inquired.
First Aid nodded.
"We will need more supplies, of course," Ratchet added. "I am going to have to replace the tools that I've lost with...human equivalents, of course. And I am going to need to rebuild the Ground Bridge!"
"Sparkseer, Jolt, Smokescreen, Wheeljack." Optimus nodded to the Autobots in turn. "Go and see if it is safe to return to the original location of our base. Assess the damage and report back with information on what exactly is there that can be salvaged."
"Yes, sir!" Smokescreen responded with a wide grin.
"Optimus, I'd like to take Joshua with me," Jolt spoke up quickly. "He might be able to help with identifying parts that we can use - we do have a lab back in the Midwest that's connected to an Energon mine. Maybe there's something we can still use there, even if everything else has been completely mangled."
Optimus frowned at that. "Is he capable of defending himself?"
"As I am a Reploid, I am equipped with the same Buster weapon that Maria has," Joshua responded with a respectful nod. "I am experimenting with other weapons, but I doubt that they're ready for field testing yet."
The Prime considered that. "As hesitant as I am, I doubt that the Decepticons will return to the site. If they do return, however, I expect you to be able to get Joshua to a safe location, Jolt."
"Understood." Jolt nodded.
"Hey, let's get going," Smokescreen said, looking like he wanted to jump from one foot to the other.
"Yeah, I agree with the kid," Wheeljack added. He transformed down into a sports car mode, then drove out of the hanger, followed closely by the other three.
"So, now what?" Liz asked.
"Now, we've gotta find something else to do." Miko sighed dramatically. "And that's not gonna be easy, since Bulkhead's gone...and so's my guitar."
"Guitar?" Matthew repeated. "You play?"
"Yeah!" Miko gave Matthew a bright grin. Meanwhile, Jack and Raf exchanged looks that seemed to say they were nervous about the idea. "I've been trying to get a band together, but these two can't really do anything."
"We've been trying to do something, but we haven't been able to get together to practice." Matthew looked over at Maria. "Between school and the whole 'World Jumping' thing, it makes it impossible to be able to meet up for very long."
Maria chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah..."
"Really?" Miko looked around with a wide grin on her face. "Do you think we could form a band? I've got a bunch of songs that I've wanted to play for a long time!"
"We're more of a group that does some of the classics than anything else," Matthew said with a sheepish expression. "When we've managed to do stuff like the Beatles, then we were thinking of moving to the more modern stuff. But then everyone split because we were so busy jumping around between worlds."
Miko gained a scowling expression at that. "Oh, all right. Guess everybody's gotta start somewhere."
"Glad you see it that way," Jack commented. He looked over at Maria curiously. "Do you have any idea what Joshua wants to do with the stuff that's left of the old base?"
Maria shook her head. "He's probably thinking about how he could repurpose some of the stuff that's there."
"He's done it before," Khrista commented. "Cyrus kept him in a cell in his citadel. It used to have cameras in it, before he tore them to pieces." She grinned. "I still have the ear piece he gave me, and just looking at it makes me laugh sometimes when I remember how crazy Cyrus got with Darkrai messing with his head."
"I'm getting the feeling that Dusk enjoyed that," Maria commented dryly. "I haven't seen him in a while, so I don't know for certain."
"Are you two talking about the same person?" Coil asked, frowning.
Maria and Khrista exchanged looks at the question, then looked back at the mini Cybertronian and nodded.
"Dusk is a Pokemon," Maria explained. "The only people who know what his name is are a number of other Pokemon and certain Trainers - me included. Everybody else refers to him by his species - Darkrai."
"And those Pokemon are rather nasty ones," Khrista added. "Fall asleep near one, and they can cause instant nightmares if they feel like it." She grinned. "Perfect for when you want to get a message across to some idiots."
Maria nodded in agreement. "I remember what you told me about what happened to Cyrus."
"Maybe you should hold off talking about that until we have a Ground Bridge up and running," Wildfire suggested. "This kind of thing would probably be something that some people would be interested in knowing about." She looked over at Ultra Magnus. "And maybe we could get people you know to pop in..."
Maria looked at Wildfire curiously while Ultra Magnus frowned in disapproval. "You think so?"
"Well, I don't see why not, if it'd help with backing up your story."
"Are you certain that such a thing would be wise?" Optimus inquired.
"I had been thinking of relying on my memory in mirages," Maria responded. "I, uh...wasn't really thinking about calling my friends over. I mean, I could, but considering all the craziness that can happen in other places when I'm not there, it'd probably be a good idea if I didn't."
Matthew and Khrista exchanged looks and nodded in agreement.
It was at this point that Fowler's office door opened, and the agent stepped out and came over to the platform that Morgen and Katie were still standing on. "Well, the higher-ups aren't exactly sure what to make of you guys getting involved, but it sounds like they've wanted to meet Khrista personally for a while now. Your cousin, too."
Khrista frowned at that. "Uh huh...not sure if I like the sound of that."
"Well, since I told them you're friends with a 'Bot already, they're probably going to be more agreeable." Fowler turned his attention to Morgen and Katie. "If you need anything, it's gonna take a bit for anything to get here. We can fly you back to get what you need, but you can't grab everything in your house."
Morgen gave a thumbs-up. "Gotcha. How long's it gonna be?"
"Well, it'll take a few hours to get a plane here, and you're probably not going to be seeing your place until sometime tomorrow."
"So long as we can get our stuff," Liz remarked. "So, what are we going to do until then?"
"I'm sure we can think of something," Maria responded thoughtfully.
Yeah, it's kinda a short one. Things are going to get interesting eventually, though - probably within 10 weeks, if I don't post two chapters in one week. Which is what I'll probably do when Thanksgiving rolls around...
Anyway, I hope you all have a good Halloween! :) See you next week!