DISCLAIMER: Transformers is owned by Hasbro and Legend of Korra is owned by Nickelodeon.
New Iacon Chronicles: Wrath of The Fallen
Chapter 10: The Stakeout
After leaving Zaofu, the team, Knock Out, Arcee and Wheeljack in their vehicle modes, Bolin and Blaster inside Wheeljack, Mako riding Arcee, Dinobot, Rattrap and Cheetor in their beast modes and Asami riding on Naga, approached a town in the desert as Naga sniffed the sand for the smell of Sideways' tires.
"Sideways has definitely been through here," Asami said to the others before petting Naga's side. "Nice tracking Naga." Afterward, Bolin exited Wheeljack and Mako got off of Arcee before the Autobots and Maximals all transformed.
"We should ask around town," Wheeljack suggested. "Maybe someone's seen him."
The humans, as well as Wheeljack and Dinobot, entered a tavern in the town, some of the customers glancing at them, when something caught Wheeljack's optics.
"Oh you've got to be slagging me," he said.
"What is it?" Asami asked before Wheeljack pointed that on the wall was a wanted poster of him, as well as ones for Korra, Mako, Arcee, Bolin, Blaster, Asami and Knock Out.
"Wanted posters," he said before examining one of them closely. "'Wanted by Her Majesty, the Earth Queen, for crimes against the kingdom.'"
"I'm guessing this is because we took her airbenders?" Mako asked, which caused Wheeljack to start fuming in anger.
"They weren't her's to keep!" he shouted. "I swear, if I see that ungrateful little bitch again I a going to-"
"Uh, guys," Asami interrupted with alarm and everyone turned to see the patrons of the bar glaring at them, one of them pulling out his sword and another getting out a spear. All of them quickly turned their looks of anger to fear however the second Dinobot snarled at them and grabbed the handle of his sword.
"It's obvious they won't tell us where Sideways is," he stated.
"I agree," Asami responded. "We should get out of here." With that, the group backed out of the bar, Dinobot only letting go of his sword once they were out.
"With the Earth Queen after us, we're gonna need some extra help," Wheeljack said as he activated a small computer screen in his arm and typed something down.
"What are you doing?" Mako asked.
"Sending a message to Rodimus," Wheeljack answered as he deactivated the computer screen. "We're gonna need his help if we're gonna find Korra. Now let's move."
*QUE TRANSFORMERS: ARMADA THEME*
Back at Zaofu, Su was talking to two guards on a bridge when Lin approached her.
"Where is everyone?" she asked. "I've been waiting to leave for half an hour."
"And good morning to you too Lin," Su remarked. "Now, don't get mad. The others are fine. I'm just waiting to hear if they tracked down Sideways yet."
"What!?" Lin asked. "You let them go!? I thought we were on the same page about this and then you stab me in the back!?"
"Oh don't be so over dramatic," Su responded, only for her sister to storm off without another word.
Meanwhile, Team Avatar continued their search through a dirt road when Naga stopped running and sniffed the ground near a bunch of rocks.
"Naga found something," Asami said before Bolin exited Wheeljack and earthbended a giant boulder aside to reveal that the tire tracks stopped here and there was a holo-map. Asami then dismounted when Naga suddenly gave her a nudge.
"Oh...sorry I forgot to bring treats...but good girl," Asami responded, which prompted Naga to whine before turning around, her tail slapping against Asami's face much to her displeasure while the seven Cybertronians with them all transformed.
"Looks like Sideways dropped this holo-map," Arcee said as she bent down and picked it up. "He can't be far."
"Bolin and I will investigate the Misty Palms Oasis and see if he's holed up there," Mako said. "The rest of you wait here in case he comes back. We don't want to call too much attention to ourselves."
"What if he is there and he attacks you?" Blaster asked. "You're gonna need some help with that."
"Good point," Mako responded. "Dinobot?" Upon hearing his name, Dinobot growled slightly, not looking forward to have to travel with Bolin.
"Ooh, Mako, Mako, Mako, we should wear disguises and pretend we're going undercover!" Bolin excitedly suggested. "That way, no one will recognize us. Police work is so exciting!"
"By the Pit, how much of this grivel must I endure!?" Dinobot asked before Mako and Bolin each got in a bright yellow raincoat and bright green goggles, Mako of course feeling like an idiot while Asami, Knock Out and Rattrap looked at each other, unimpressed.
"Alright, now we need our undercover identities," Bolin said. "I'm an ex-Uniter Forces operative named Ti-" He was cut off all of a sudden by a blaster shot close to his feet by Rattrap, promptly shutting him up.
"Kid...don't make me hurt you," was all he said before the three of them began walking to the Misty Palms Oasis, when the others heard the sound of a vehicle approaching them. Instinctively, they got their weapons ready, only for it to be the vehicle mode of Rodimus, who transformed once he reached them.
"Rodimus, thank Primus you're here," Wheeljack said, a worried look on his face. "I'm so sorry, I tried to protect her bu-"
"Wheeljack, calm down," Rodimus interrupted. "Let's not focus on how it happened for now. Let's just focus on getting Korra back, alright?" Wheeljack simply nodded once in response before Rodimus walked to a cliff, looking upon the Misty Palms Oasis when Asami walked over to him.
"Why would Zaheer or Megatronus capture Korra?" he asked. "What's their endgame for this?"
"I don't know, but I think I found a clue," Asami answered, gaining Rodimus' attention before she handed the holo-map to him.
"'Xai Bau's Grove, sundown,'" he read as Asami got out her own map. "This must be where Sideways is going to meet them."
"Alright, Xai Bau's Grove," she said as she dragged her finger across the map of the Si Wong Desert. "Where are you?" Suddenly, a group of crow spirits landed on the map, to which Asami immediately shooed off.
"Go away, we're trying to find something," she said.
While that was going on, Bolin was leaning against a wall next to a doorway when he noticed a couple across the street inside the booth. The male nudged his female companion and pointed towards Bolin, causing his eyes to widen while Dinobot and Mako emerged from inside the building.
"Nothing," Dinobot said.
"I think there might be a couple bounty hunters over there who recognize me," Bolin whispered, causing Dinobot and Mako to look over to the couple, looking serious as they stepped out of the booth.
"We've been made," Mako said. "Let's lose 'em." Immediately, the three of them ran off with the couple giving chase before they ducked into an alley and hid behind a pile of crates as the couple ran past.
"We're clear," Dinobot said. "We must head back to the others before someone else recognizes us."
"We could, or we could follow Sideways instead," Bolin responded. "Look." Sure enough, Sideways was walking down the street, unnoticed as he entered an inn.
"Alright, play it cool," Mako said as the three of them exited the alley. "Follow my lead."
"I'll get the others," Dinobot said as he transformed into his raptor mode and ran out of the oasis.
Back with the others, Asami was still observing the map when Dinobot approached them in his raptor mode and transformed back into his robot mode.
"We found Sideways hiding in an inn," he reported.
"That's great," Rodimus responded.
"We found something too," Asami added as she handed the holo-map to Dinobot. "It looks like he's going to meet Zaheer at sundown at a place called Xai Bau's Grove, but I can't find it anywhere on the map."
"Then we bust Sideways' door and find Korra," Rodimus suggested.
"No, once Sideways knows we're on to him, we lose our advantage," Arcee stated. "I say we stake out his room, and when he leaves for this meeting, we follow him."
"And he'll lead us straight to Zaheer and Megatronus," Rodimus responded.
Later, Rodimus, Dinobot, Wheeljack, Knock Out, Mako, Bolin and Asami all entered the Misty Palms Inn while Naga and Pabu waited outside, Pabu playing with a yellow bean-like spirit.
"Good afternoon," Mako politely said to the inn's innkeeper. "We'd like a room on the ground floow across from 102 please."
"Forget it," the innkeeper responded, much to Mako's dismay. "Last time a bunch of teenagers came in here, they trashed the whole room." Suddenly, the two stalkers came into the inn's entrance.
"We found you!" the male said, causing the others to turn around in alarm and get into fighting poses, Dinobot getting his sword out, Rodimus getting his crossbow, Wheeljack getting his swords and Knock Out getting his electro-staff.
"Hey, no fighting in here!" the innkeeper said. "Take it outside!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, we're not here to fight you," the man suddenly said before a goofy smile came to his face. "We're here to meet Nuktuk!" After the shock from the group died down, the woman approached Bolin, getting a poster from her cylindrical container with a pen in her hand.
"We're your biggest fans," she said with a slightly crazed expression on her face as she unfurled a poster of Nuktuk carrying Ginger. "Could you make it out to Lily and Macao?"
"Uh, I'd be happy to," Bolin awkwardly answered as he took the pen. "Always love meeting my fans." He had to give a forced smile as he signed the poster, only for Lily to suddenly pull out a Nuktuk plushy, which even creeped out Dinobot.
"I made this Nuktuk doll for you," she said as she pushed the doll at Bolin's face, making the doll squeak.
"Aww...it's...cute," Bolin responded, now creeped out beyond belief.
"Why didn't you tell me your friend was a mover star?" the innkeeper asked. "I'd be happy to rent any room in the inn."
"We'll just take the one across from 102," Mako responded.
"But that room is too small for the seven of you," the innkeeper stated.
"Trust me, it's perfect," Mako replied.
"This...is...degrading..." Dinobot snarled, forced up against Naga inside a cramped room as the polar bear dog lied on her back on the bed while the others watched from the window as Sideways popped out of the window of his own room.
"There he is," Mako said before Sideways closed the curtains of his room.
"Assuming we do find Zaheer and The Fallen, what then?" Knock Out asked.
"I make them talk, then we find Korra," Rodimus answered, punching a fist into his palm.
"Zaheer was locked away for thirteen years Rodimus and never broke," Mako reminded him. "I don't think brute force is going to intimidate him or The Fallen."
"You have a better idea?" Rodimus asked.
"Yeah, we spy on them," Mako answered. "If Sideways and Zaheer don't know they're being watched, they'll talk freely."
Minutes turned to hours however, and nothing happened.
"It's almost sundown," Rodimus stated. "Why hasn't Sideways left yet?"
"Maybe he slipped out when you weren't looking," Asami suggested.
"No, I just saw him peeking out the window fifteen minutes ago," Mako stated as he lifted up a black book. "It's in my logbook." Suddenly, inside Rodimus' mind, he could hear the screams of Korra, and they were getting worse. Without a word, he got up and walked out of the room, much to Mako's shock. The others followed but could do nothing when Rodimus fired an explosive arrow to the door to Sideways' room.
"It's over Sideways!" he shouted. "Where's-" However, he suddenly stopped when he saw Sideways seated in the lotus position on the bed with his optics closed.
"Is he...meditating?" he asked when the others entered the room.
"That's impossible," Dinobot stated before everyone's eyes shifted to what Sideways had in his hands: a dark energon crystal, which no doubt was assisting his meditation.
"Wait..." Rodimus said when something in his mind clicked. "Asami, those spirits were trying to tell us something earlier. Xai Bau's Grove isn't on the map because it's not in the Physical World. It's in the Spirit World!" Suddenly, he opened his chest and got the Matrix of Leadership out before sitting down in front of Sideways.
"I'm going after him," he said before closing his optics, inhaling deeply.
When his optics opened, he saw himself in a grove with an orange hue, trees and rocky cliffs surrounding it, when he suddenly heard something and hid by a tree that was near Sideways, who was talking to Zaheer.
"You are certain everything is under control?" Zaheer asked.
"Of course," Sideways answered. "We'll have the Matrix in due time." Suddenly, both of them disappeared, much to Rodimus' anger.
"Damn it!" he shouted, but then a deep, echoing, booming voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Welcome disciple of Primus," the voice said. "I have been expecting you."
"Show yourself!" Rodimus demanded. Suddenly, the area began to shake as pieces of the rocky cliffs came apart and began to form a shape in front of Rodimus. The shape caused his optics to slowly widen in pure shock and fear.
"Unicron..."
Meanwhile, in a cave that was near the Misty Palms Inn, Zaheer awakened from a meditative state and turned to the others in his team.
"He's at the Misty Palms Inn," he said before The Fallen stepped forward.
"Ming-Hua, Ghazan and I will head there," he said. "You, P'li and Thrust will stay here and ensure the Avatar doesn't escape." Without another word, he, Ming-Hua and Ghazan turned to leave the cave.
Back at Xai Bau's Grove, Rodimus was still in shock upon seeing the form of Unicron.
"Th-this is just an illusion," he tried to convince himself. "You're not real!"
"I assure you Prime," Unicron said, a hint of venom in his voice as he said the word 'Prime.' "Your optics do not deceive you."
"How is this even possible?" Rodimus asked. "Primus and the Thirteen cast you out into space!"
"For every action, there is a consequence," Unicron answered. "After Primus had cast me out, I merged with the planet you know as Char, locked inside its core, never to be awakened. That is, until the Harmonic Convergence came, as well as your human pet leaving these 'spirit portals' open, and the energies flowing from this world allowed me to awaken." Hearing all of this, Rodimus' optics widened in terror, knowing that all of this was not an illusion, and that the lord of chaos had in fact returned, and that Earth was at risk of destruction.
Back at the Physical World, the rest of Team Avatar kept watch over Rodimus when Mako saw something outside that caused him to freeze in shock.
"Uh, I don't know how, but Water Arm Lady, Lava Guy and The Fallen found us," he said as he watched The Fallen, Ming-Hua and Ghazan walk through the swimming pool area of the inn.
"How?" Knock Out asked.
"I just said I don't know how," Mako answered. Unknown to him however, Sideways was conscious since he had left the Spirit World and was quietly grabbing a Cybertronian sai. But just as he was about to lunge at Rodimus, Dinobot noticed and dashed to him, kicking him through the wall, which caught the attention of The Fallen, Ming-Hua and Ghazan.
"Over there!" Ming-Hua said.
"We have to get Rodimus out of here!" Dinobot said as he transformed into his raptor mode and Knock Out placed Rodimus on his back while Asami too got on him, putting on her armor's gloves. "Radio the others and fend them off!" With that, he ran through the doors to the room, which The Fallen and the others saw.
"There he is!" Ghazan said, only for Wheeljack to fire his shoulder cannon at them. Ming-Hua and Ghazan quickly dodged it while The Fallen teleported to Dinobot, only for Knock Out to come in and tackle him to the ground while Dinobot and Asami got away with Rodimus.
"No!" The Fallen shouted before kicking Knock Out off of him, only for Mako and Bolin to come in, ready to fight as Ming-Hua and Ghazan got up and too prepped for a fight.
"Unicron, I beg of you," Rodimus pleaded back at Xai Bau's Grove. "I know that you have a grudge against Primus, but please, leave Earth out of this. The humans did nothing to you."
"True," Unicron replied. "These humans are nothing more than ants to me. However, if you wish for me to spare this planet, then something must be done first."
"Which is?" Rodimus asked.
"The Matrix of Leadership must be destroyed," Unicron answered. Rodimus then looked aside and thought about what he said. He thought he would do anything to protect this world, but this may be too much to ask for. Plus, who's to say Unicron wouldn't suddenly turn and destroy Earth? He knew he'd have to fight Unicron, but he didn't wish to here.
"We can deal with it somewhere else," Rodimus suggested. "Not here."
"It is not that simple," Unicron responded. "ALL traces of the Matrix must be wiped out of the Universe." Rodimus wondered what it was he meant, but then, it suddenly clicked and his optics widened in horror.
"Korra..." he said.
"Yes," Unicron responded. "The instrument that helped her save this wretched planet has now become her ultimate downfall."
Meanwhile, Zaheer, P'li and Thrust surrounded an unconscious Korra, who was covered with scars, burns and bruises, when the wall beside them suddenly exploded. P'li was about to fire a blast its way, only for particles to shoot out and hit her forehead, resulting in an explosion that knocked out her and Thrust. From the dust, Obsidian floated towards Zaheer as the particles came back to him before Zaheer airbended straight at him. However, Obsidian's helicopter blades on his shoulders pulled the air to them before firing back at Zaheer and knocking him out. Obsidian then grabbed Korra, keeping the straight jacket and mask on her to ensure no trouble comes if she awakens.
"Obsidian to Strika, target aquired," Obsidian said on his comlink.
"Excellent," Strika said on the other side. "Report back to camp at once."
Back at the Misty Palms Inn, Wheeljack was busy deflecting Sideways' sais with his swords when Sideways suddenly clashed his swords away from his body, giving him an opening to kick him in the face. Wheeljack fell to the ground as Sideways flipped backwards, landing on his feet, when Wheeljack suddenly got out his shoulder cannon, firing it at Sideways. However, Sideways avoided the missile with ease before tossing one of his sais at Wheeljack, who slashed it away with one of his swords, only to see Sideways running up to him. He easily deflected his sai, only for him to quickly pick up his other sai and resume the clash.
While that was going on, Mako was busy dodging Ming-Hua's water arms while Ghazan and The Fallen sent multiple projectiles Bolin and Knock Out's way. Bolin easily blocked them with his arm while Knock Out used his staff to deflect them. Mako then sent a fire blast at Ming-Hua, only for her to block it and send Mako to the ground with one of her water arms. He quickly regained his footing and ducked to avoid another attack before throwing fire up to block yet another before jumping off the roof he was on to avoid Ming-Hua slamming her tentacle at it. She then began to persue him all while Bolin and Knock Out kept deflecting the projectiles from Ghazan's lavabending and The Fallen's telekinesis.
"I can't beat these guys!" Bolin said to his brother. "It's like I'm giving them ammo! Want to trade?" As he was saying this, Mako ran up a wall and jumped off of it to dodge Ming-Hua's water arm. He then chopped the arm off with fire and landed on his feet. He tried to punch more fire at her but then a water arm came in and encased his arm in ice before Ming-Hua pushed him against the wall behind him. She then brought her face close to him, giving a sinister smile before tossing him through a door. Bolin and Knock Out were about to come to his aid when The Fallen suddenly teleported above them and fell to the ground, plunging his staff down and creating a telekinetic blast that sent both Bolin and Knock Out through one of the walls. Hearing the blast, Wheeljack dodged Sideways' sais before punching him through the wall to one of the rooms. The Fallen was about to teleport where Dinobot was, only for Wheeljack to tackle him, punching him in the face only for The Fallen to grab one of his hands and punch him back, getting him off of him.
"Ghazan, get Rodimus before he escapes!" he commanded. Ghazan then quickly ran off before Wheeljack fired his missile launcher at The Fallen, only for him to swipe his hand, causing the missile to vear away from him and destroy one of the buildings. Wheeljack then got out his swords and charged at The Fallen, but he quickly got out his staff and knocked one of the swords off of Wheeljack's hands. He then tried to slash him with his other sword, only for The Fallen to kick his face and grab it with his foot before forcing him to the ground head first, which knocked him out.
Meanwhile, Dinobot, still carrying Asami and Rodimus, was still running away from the Misty Palms Inn, when suddenly, an earth slab formed in front of him. He tried to turn around, only for more slabs to come in, completely surrounding them.
"No," Rodimus pleeded with Unicron. "There has to be another way we can settle this."
"There is none," Unicron stated. "All you can do is pray my followers deal with you before I am forced to come to this world."
"Followers?" Rodimus asked before putting together what he said. "Zaheer. It all makes sense now."
"Yes," Unicron replied. "The human known as Xai Bau had formed the Red Lotus after visions of myself."
"The Red Lotus?" Rodimus asked before shaking it off. "It doesn't matter now."
"No," Unicron responded. "What matters is that my will be carried out."
"I won't let you kill Korra Unicron!" Rodimus shouted. "I'll tear you apart if I find one scratch on her!"
"Rest assured disciple of Primus, you will see her again soon enough," Unicron stated.
"What do you mean?" Rodimus asked, only for Unicron to begin dematerializing. "Unicron!"
When Rodimus finally awakened, he found himself chained up against a wall. Seeing the predicament he was in, he furiously yelled out.
"Unicron!" he shouted. "You tricked me!" Then, by the corner of his optic, he saw Korra, strapped against what appeared to be a mechanical dolly, Asami with her hands handcuffed above her head and Dinobot also chained against the wall.
"R-Rodimus?" Korra weakly asked.
"Korra!" Rodimus responded. "Thank the Allspark you're alive! Where's Zaheer?"
"Zaheer didn't capture us," Asami explained. "The Earth Queen's forces did."
"What?" Rodimus asked, shocked. "Where are we?"
"I'm not sure, some camp by the desert?" Asami answered. "They're taking us back to Ba Sing Se."
While that was going on, the others all came up to the Misty Palms Inn, only to look in horror as it was in ruins and everyone was missing.
"No..." was all Arcee could say.
Back at the cave the Red Lotus was hiding in, The Fallen was not enthused upon seeing that the Avatar was gone.
"What happened!?" he asked.
"Something ambushed us," Thrust answered, a small look of fear in his optics. "It was unlike any Cybertronian I've ever seen." The Fallen's response was to telekinetically toss him against the wall before approaching Zaheer and P'li.
"It bore the symbol of the Earth Kingdom," Zaheer stated.
"And it appeared to transform by breaking apart and reformatting," P'li added.
"So the Earth Queen now has the Avatar?" The Fallen asked.
"It would appear so," Zaheer answered. "But what happened at the Misty Palms Inn?"
"The Earth Queen's army snatched up the Avatar before I could," Ghazan answered before he and Ming-Hua grabbed the unconscious bodies of Mako and Bolin and The Fallen telekinetically brought the stasis locked Knock Out and Wheeljack before shoving the four of them to the ground.
"But we figured you could find a use for these four," Sideways explained as Zaheer and P'li looked down at the bodies.
"Load them in the truck," Zaheer commanded. "We're taking a trip to Ba Sing Se."
*QUE LEGEND OF KORRA ENDING THEME*