Prime: Beast Saga, the omake page.
(To everyone who's stuck with the story patiently thus far despite how long it takes me to type stuff out, this is for you. Brave Kid wanted to give you all a hint about where the story was headed.)
In an older part of town, in a warmer part of the the country, there is a little coffee shop nestled between tall buildings. Each of these places hearkens back to the 1950s or so in style and age, and inside Robinson's it looks as though no one told the 1960s that they were over. In a back-corner booth, surrounded by empty tables, two people are sitting in front of a laptop and glancing at the menu. On the screen there is a link to a live feed, where people are asking questions regarding a story they had been reading. The story is Prime: Beast Saga. The man on the left is username Brave Kid, and he is the creator of the tale. The woman trying to figure out how the computer volume works is Ardent Aspen, and she writes and posts the chapters of the story once given the plot. Eventually, Aspen works out how the volume works and boosts it high enough to hear the people on the other end of the feed. Brave Kid leans towards the screen and smiles.
"Hi everyone! I'm Brave Kid and this is Ardent Aspen. We're here today to answer some questions we've had in the past about the story, and hopefully talk a little bit about the future of the plot." He stops and glances curiously at Aspen, who has taken up the menu and is holding it in front of her face like a shield. "Aspen...what are you doing?" Embarrassed, she puts the laminated sheet down and clears her throat. "Sorry, thought I saw a Predacon in the kitchen." "...and why would a Predacon be in the kitchen of a coffee shop?" Brave Kid asks. Ardent Aspen grins sheepishly and shrugs. "Good point. Right then, on to questions and trivia!" From a file on the computer, a picture is selected of the Predacon Soundwave. "Was anyone curious about why he's so...well...I guess eccentric would be the right word?" she asks. Brave Kid pulls up a YouTube video entitled "Razzle Dazzle Duke of Detroit" and links it to the live feed. "Here, this might sound familiar. This incarnation of Soundwave was based on Dee Snider's voice and some of his unusual body language from the show "Motorcity".
Out of the kitchen, a slightly nervous-looking woman comes with a pot of coffee and two club sandwiches, which she sets on the table with a weak smile. "Thanks, Sandy!" Aspen chirps, stopping to shove a french fry into her mouth. Swallowing, she continues speaking into the computer. "Some of you noticed that at a few points in the story, I've compared Galvatron to Smaug from The Hobbit. This is because Galvatron is dang scary. He's pretty high on the list of "creepiest creeps Aspen has ever written", and technically he doesn't belong there because Brave Kid came up with his personality, not me. I kinda did make up some of the personalities for the background Predacons, though. They keep making me think of the various vermin hordes from Brian Jacques' Redwall books, so I write their interactions accordingly." She leans back into the cracked leather seat and excuses herself to eat her sandwich. On the screen, someone asks, "So, I remember watching Beast Wars as a kid, and I don't remember anyone besides Rattrap and Airazor. Are the other Maximals all oc's?"
Brave Kid shakes his head. "Actually, they're not. You see, Beast Wars had a few sequel series, not counting Beast Machines. There were two anime series that followed it: Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo. That's where the characters are coming from. Neither show ever aired outside of Japan, so the only dubs out there are a group of guys working together on YouTube. Aspen had never even heard of the series before she started working with me." Beside him, Aspen shrugs with a smirk. "Sad, but true. Uh-oh, error message again." She taps the screen a few times, hoping to make it go away. "Ugh! Why are we using such a cheap computer anyway?" Brave Kid scratches his head. "Because it's cost-effective." he replies. Aspen shakes her head. "Cheeeeeap. Cheeeeeap! Well, on to another question we've been asked. Where are the Maximal-verse kids, and why aren't the Autobots searching for them? The answer to the second part of the question is that they were searching for the kids, they just had to wait for the radiation in the Ground Bridge to match the kind that took them to the other 'verse. Regarding where are the Maximal-verse kids, that's something you're going to learn in Arc II."
"Speaking of Arc II!" Brave Kid interjects, rubbing his hands together, "I think it's time we let you guys know a little of what's coming up in the story. For one, things will change, and I'm not just talking about alt-modes. We've got some characters meeting who have absolutely no frame of reference for dealing with each other!" Aspen chuckles, nodding. "Okay, you guys all saw how Ratchet reacted to the Maximals? Well that's only the beginning. There's going to be a few elements from the anime series coming in, such as a substance called angolmois. You guys might want to look that up on the TF wiki, because it'll probably explain it better than I would." The waitress from before sidles up to the table and whispers something to Aspen. "Be right back," she mutters, sliding out of the booth. Brave Kid waits for a few minutes, twiddling his thumbs. From the live feed, someone asks, "So, are we going to see anyone else from the original Beast Wars series?" After some quick typing to rid the screen of three more error messages, Brave Kid answers.
"As a matter of fact, you are. In particular I'm thinking of a hot-headed speedster and a not-so Itsy Bitsy Spider with a big appetite. Any guesses?" Someone gags on the screen. "Oh no. Tarantulas? That guy is creeeepy!" The smile Brave Kid gives them is positively mischievous. "Precisely!" Another user raises a hand. "I'm guessing the speedster is Cheetor, right?" "Correct once again! Only, it won't quite be the Cheetor you all remember...which...actually might be a good thing." He looks around, slightly annoyed. "Where in the heck did Aspen go? Did she leave me to pay the bill alone?!" A loud thunking noise is heard, and he looks up. At the window outside is Aspen, looking panicked. Behind her are Starscream, Waspinator, and Terrorsaur, looking rather peeved. "Ardent Aspen, isn't it?" Starscream growls, "We've had just about enough of you humiliating us in this story! Galvatron wants a word with you." Noticing the direction of her gaze, Terrorsaur glares at Brave Kid. "Friend of yours?" he asks. Brave Kid dives under the table. "I don't even know her!" he squawks, covering his head. The dimwitted dinosaur buys it and shuffles back to the others. "Let's go, boys," Starscream calls for a Bridge and leaves, dragging Aspen with him. She is shooting Brave Kid the Death Glare.
Once the diner is quiet once more, Brave Kid eases out from under the table and pays the tab...with money from Aspen's wallet. "She won't mind," he assures the worried viewers on the computer, "I'm being cost-effective. Besides! I'm going to need cash to get a cab out to the Maximal base. She won't complain about the money if I send someone to rescue her, right? Right." Nodding, he reaches over and shuts the screen off.
Help. Help guys, it's me. I stole Tarantulas's datapad to post this really quick, but the Preds are coming back. I am, surprisingly, alive, despite meeting with the Emperor of Chaos. Galvatron says I'm not allowed to post anything that makes him look weak, but he likes that I made Starscream look bad...but I think Starscream is out for blood. Somebody tell Brave Kid to call the Maximals or the Autobots or something. And also tell him don't touch the money in my wallet, it's my air fare home!
See you in 2014...if Starscream hasn't killed me...