Chapter 38-A Rude Awakening
Thanks to Tomahawk's timely intervention, Rodimus was able to retrieve both Wheeljack and Ironhide from the automobile "graveyard". Both Autobots were resting in the medibay while Rodimus took the time to explain to everyone what he had encountered. The horrified reactions he got after explaining just what they did to Sunstreaker didn't surprise him one bit once he finished.
"Headmasters? Oz may headmasters from Sunstreaker?" Arcee gasped.
"Just when you think they couldn't sink any lower." Bulkhead grumbled. Rodimus nodded.
"Whatever they did to Sunny, they were very thorough with it. Their firepower, their reflexes, their battle instincts, it all seemed amplified." He said. "And they've copied his frame to the letter, even copying his built-in weaponry!"
"What really worries me is what they know." Prowl said, his deep frown the only sign of his concern of this pressing issue. "That agent knew your names without either of you having spoken it. They're making man-made cybertronians with seasoned soldiers psychically connected to Sunstreaker in some way. Possibly gleaning this information from his mind directly."
"But doesn't that mean he's alive? Along with Darren?" Moonracer asked. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Moonracer, what Prowl means is that if they were able to learn Rodimus and Wheeljack's name, then it's possible that they've learned everything else about him as well." Optimus, who had been silent for the entire session, said. "They know about his past, his friends, likes, dislikes, where he's been…and they may even know the exact location of the Ark."
No one said a thing as the implications settled in. The Ark's location was possibly compromised and they couldn't do much about the ship since moving it was a pipe dream at this point.
"Should we pack up and set up shop someplace else?" Jetfire suggested. "Cause we're screwed otherwise."
"And leave the Ark? Not an option. This ship in stuck here, and if OZ takes control of the Ark, nothing will stop them from gaining control of Terra as a secret world power. The resources here alone will make them to powerful." Prowl said. "But that's only if they try to actually invade us, which is suicide with all the weapons we still have operational."
"They wouldn't try to actually storm the Ark, would they?" Bumblebee asked worriedly.
"No, at least, not before they captured Sunstreaker." Ironhide said. "Now…all bets are off."
"Ratchet, have Teletran-1 set up security measures. I want Liftor and Rollbar manning the sat systems for any local anomalies in the area." Optimus ordered. "From now on, we take mission in pairs. Any encounters with OZ are to be met with extreme prejudice. They aren't taking prisoners anymore."
Optimus's ominous words hammered in how serious things were getting. Oz was entering their endgame and everyone had to be working on all cylinders.
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The closer they got to zero hour, the more nervous Rebecca Howard got. Looking at the metal goliath, she saw scientists and technicians running last minute checks on the NBE designated as Thunder Lizard-1-Simmons came up with the codename, and it made her hate him even more.
Bad codenames aside, Rebecca had serious reservations about running a test run on the more advanced neural "leash" used to potentially control Thunder Lizard-1. She hated being the head of a project that could potentially end badly for everyone, and she made her reservations known.
"Are we ready to proceed doctor?" Agent Red asked.
"Ready as we'll ever be, but I'm going to say this again," She stared at the frozen cybertronian. "You're playing with fire. Procedures that took 2 months to perfect and were tailored specifically to the two initial acquisitions have had to be overhauled and reapplied in days. One false move now, Agent Red, and disasters. We just need more time-"
"We have no more time." Red cut in. "You've seen what's happening out there, Howard. Terra has become a battleground for robotic extraterrestrials, and now whatever covert methods they were enacting are being made obsolete. We have to assume they won't just patiently bide their time. A full-fledged confrontation is coming and we have to arm ourselves."
Rebecca frowned, and Red placed a hand on her shoulder. "I appreciate all your concerns. I share your misgivings, but this comes straight from the top. We need a big, blunt instrument," He pointed at Grimlock. "And this is it!"
Rebecca held back her real feelings on the meter. She tried convincing Bancheck to let her contact one of the alien factions, more specifically the ones with the red insignia, but Powers had whispered in his ear and stonewalled any suggestions involving making open contact. He also gave a less than subtle warning that trying any unauthorized messages would result in her immediate termination from the group and imprisonment for insubordination. Everyone seemed more concerned with killing all the aliens instead of focusing on the openly hostile ones that required their attention, but Rebecca knew that things were escalating too quickly for them to play it safe.
"Fine. Have it your way. But we've already got two rogues out there-somewhere-and I'm sure neither of us wants a third." She told him. "Thunder Lizard-1 has a higher grade of neural net, so we've had to introduce a far more complex inhibitor web. It should hold, but in terns of our available technology, we're still akin to cave men handling fusion rods."
"How soon?"
"Like I said, we're as ready as we can hope to be right now. But Agent Red, I'd have your mobile armor teams standing by." She turned to one of the head technicians on the project. "Status?"
"We are showing complete neural overprint-synapse blockers are all present and correct."
"Internal readings are stabilizing." Another scientist reported. "TL-1's systems are starting to metabolize the plutonium stimulant."
"We are going to jumpstart the cognitive functions."
'Here we go!' Rebecca thought and looked at Red. "Agent Red?"
The Skywatch senior officer took a deep breath and nodded. "Do it."
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Stasis lock was akin to a cybertronian coma. A dreamless sleep brought about from heavy damages too severe for the conscious mind to handle. All but the most vital functions shut down as the body redirects its energy to repair itself. Few remembered anything while being in stasis lock, aside from a disembodied feeling of floating in darkness.
This was no different for Grimlock, who had been in stasis lock longer than even the Ark and Nemesis teams that crashed after him on Terra. It was something like being in a deep sleep for him and Grimlock appreciated having a decent recharge…until he was reawakened by the unsuspecting Skywatch scientists.
A strong surge of energy ran through his body, supercharging his long dormant circuitry, assaulting sensitive neural circuit boards that brought him back to life. This sudden jolt jump-started his brain, and with it, brought back a lot of recent memories for Grimlock. None of them good.
"I'm warning you, Grimlock!" Optimus Prime's voice rang in his head. "This continued insubordination will not be tolerated. Any further action will be considered an act of a renegade and dealt with accordingly!"
Another jolt brought another memory.
"Forget Prime. He may not like the way we do things, but he knows we get results. The way it works is, he says one thing-officially-and we do the other unofficially." Grimlock said to his Dynobots. "Trust me, there'll be no fallout."
"You deceived us! Lied to us!"
"Led us into the maelstrom…and killed us!"
Images of a battle flashed through his mind's eye. He and his team battling a powerful enemy. A mountain spewing fire, the ground breaking apart. Fire and heat all around him…a searing pain…rage.
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In the control center, alerts were popping up on all monitors, showing various errors. Agent Red and Howard were filled with dread as the worst possible scenario occurred.
"Doctor Howard, something's wrong! Encephialo graphic readings just went through the roof!"
"Shit! Cut the power to the main kinostatic emitters, now!" She yelled through the radio. "Before-"
A ferocious roar tore through the building as Grimlock's red visor came to life and he suddenly came alive. He thrashed his big, powerful arms, smashing apart the scaffoldings and sending many on site workers falling and flying in different directions.
"Cryo-squad, move in!" The MA unit leader ordered. The twelve man talos squad moved in and started shooting streams of pure liquid nitrogen at Grimlock's legs to immobilize him. "The rest of you, target the hostile, but await executive clearance! Do not, I repeat, do not open fire!"
Grimlock didn't even look their way s he stomped his foot and sent the men flying, breaking apart the floor like glass. Joshua watched the mech from the observation deck as he tore apart the talos with his bare hands and swung his arms, smashing apart more expensive equipment with ease.
"Status, damn it!" He shouted. "Howard, TL-1 is mobile. How is this possible?"
"I don't know!" Rebecca yelled, checking the status of the neural clamps on their subject. "Nothing's working. All the cerebro-checks and auto-prompt filters just…burned out en masse. I can't establish control."
Joshua gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. "All tactical units…fire at will!"
The talos units fired on Grimlock with HEAT rounds and kinetic shells designed to destroy other talos with maximum efficiency. Too bad Grimlock was ten times stronger than the average terran mecha. He wasn't fazed by the bullets pelting his armor and glared at them, giving a savage growl. He slammed his fists into the ground and began to transform.
Agent Red, Howard, and the science team all watched in awe as Grimlock's hulking form reconfigured into a giant beast just as powerful and fearsome-a tyrannosaurus rex!
Rushing forward, he tore through the Murphy talos like they were tin foil, slamming into the wall and crashing into the next room. Another demolished wall finally led Grimlock outside, where he ran towards freedom, leaving behind a trail of destruction, destroyed robots and dead men and women in his wake.
"Oh my god," Rebecca gasped. "We barely slowed him down."
"This is a disaster!" Her partner, Doctor Weston cried out. "What do we do now that he's out?!"
"We don't panic. Sanitize the facility, strip out anything and everything." Red said. "Then find out what went wrong and how to fix it."
Rebecca spun around in shock and anger. "Fix it? Did you not see what just happened? One of our assets just killed half the people here and marched out the front door without as much as a scratch! I told you we were cave men handling fusion rods!"
"And I'm telling you this thing can't be allowed to just wander off." He replied firmly. "Weston, get me a progress report on Thunder Lizards 2, 3, 4, and 5."
Rebecca growled and pushed past Red. Great, yet another mess she had to clean up. With people like him in charge of "planetary" defense, Terra was screwed ten ways from Sunday. Unseen by her or Red, one of the security personnel grinned and slipped out the door into the staircase. He quietly made his way to the rec room, where he made a private call.
"It's Kloss. What you said would happen, just happened." He said. "Yes. I've already purged the virus. There'll be no trace when they scan-analyze the system. As for TL-1, he's yours for the taking!"
On the other line, the Zodiac Pisces grinned.
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Grimlock charged without purpose, without distinction. He had no idea where he was…or what time it was either. Once the red haze of his abrupt awakening faded, he was left with a thousand questions and no answers.
He saw dozens of tiny organic bipeds running out of his path. Cars were crushed, footprint shaped craters left in his wake, and entire roads were turning into potch-marked, un-drivable stretches of asphalt and concrete. The little creatures ran away from him in fear, but he could care less. What he was concerned about was the situation he was currently in.
The last thing he remembered was fighting the ancient Seeker, Sprawl. The Con was beating his team down in a field of ultra-high levels of energon, and Grimlock had initiated a fall-back plan he had in case his team lost. A volcanic eruption followed by tons of exploding energon had nearly killed them all, but apparently he was in stasis lock, and he spent all this time repairing his body.
"H-how long?" Grimlock asked himself. His vocoder was a bit rusty from centuries of disuse. "Where…Dynobots?"
He stomped onto a playground, causing parents and their children to go running for the hills to avoid getting stomped on. He paused to get a scope of his surroundings, but the little barely noticeable stinging he felt from the police shooting at him made him growl.
"Looks like I'm scaring the local ants.' He thought. he would've tore those little scraplets apart, but this wasn't the time.
He snorted hot steam from his nostrils and continued on his way, stomping past a school in his path. The teachers and students jumped in their seats as a giant robot dinosaur rushed past the building, nearly sending it jumping in place. Grimlock had no idea where he was going, and his attention wasn't focused on the damage he was accusing. He was still wondering who reactivated him. His internal chronometer was a contradictory mess. Sensor range limited. All he had was a recall chip to whisk him back to his ship, the Grimstone.
If it was still in one piece. Chances are, its orbit decayed long ago and he'll materialize within a burning, twisted ruin. As Grimlock stood atop a hill outside a town, he made a heart wrenching realization.
He was alone.
Utterly alone.
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"Hmm," Inside an airship, Pisces and Thornment watched the drone footage of Grimlock stomping across the landscape down below. "Where is he going?"
"Honestly, sir, I doubt he knows…or cares." One of the pilot's said. "His current course, however, will bring him to the Lorincha Dam."
"Then that is where I will introduce myself." Thornment said.
"You want to face that beast alone?" Pisces asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Grimlock is one of the strongest Autobots in Prime's army. Even you won't stand a chance against him, let alone the upgraded Zygarts and Orions." She said. "Not in open confrontation at least."
"What do you intend to do?"
Recruit him to our case. In his position, he has no other choice by to accept my offer."
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Grimlock stood on the edge of a fast moving river near the Larincha Damn. Back in robot mode, he gazed at the rushing waters doing the one thing he wasn't adept at-contemplating.
He was a force of nature. He tended to simply go at things, removing obstacles rather than going around them. Planning was more Swoop's thin, but this was a whole new scenario.
"This is bad." He told himself. No back-up. No intel. No real idea even of whom or what he was up against. This was an oddity for the mech who actually prided himself on teamwork.
He had to wonder if anyone came looking for them. Were they just counted as casualties of war, their names inscribed on some ebonite memorial, and now just faded, distant memories? Grimlock doubted it. The Dynobots, for all their battlefield prowess, weren't most well-liked bots on the Autobot force. He wouldn't be surprised if Optimus threw a party the minute they were deemed MIA.
Grimlock shook his head. "Enough thinking. I just have to move forward. I can take anything this tiny planet can throw at me."
There was a bright flash behind him and Grimlock drew his energo-sword, which unfolded and hummed with energy as he spun around to decapitate the poor bastard that chose to sneak up on him right then and there. To his surprise, his blade sliced through a tree instead of a person.
"Hold, Grimlock," Thornment walked up to him, her hands raised to show she was unarmed. "I mean you know harm."
"Says you!" Grimlock growled. "Who are you?"
"I am Thornment of the Order." She said. "Here to make you an offer you can't refuse."
"Try me."
"Ha! Direct and to the point-I admire that, Grimlock. We're quite alike, you and I. We both operate on the fringes, neither bowing to convention or protocol. To us, allegiance is a convenience, not an obligation. Which is why," She held out her hand. "I propose an alliance. You and me-against the world!"
Grimlock stared at her. "You can't be serious."
"Before you refuse, consider your current position. You're a rogue, you know that? You're on data file B-341-101 on Ultra Magnus' hit list of wanted cybertronians. There's no going back." She chuckled. "Your Dynobots are long gone, dead and buried, and you're stuck here on an alien world with the Decepticons poised to ignite Armageddon."
"And you?" Grimlock asked. "What's your position?"
"I've allied myself with a group of like minded individuals who plan on inciting a revolution of their own and bringing about a new world order, here on Terra. But it's not yet ripe enough to unveil its scale or intent." She edged a bit closer to him. "You're an outcast among your Autobots, Grimlock, but in the Order, bots like you are more than welcome. All we need you to do is delay the Autobots and Decepticons long enough for OZ to make their move."
Grimlock was quiet. He was still trying to process what she told him. He was a wanted criminal now, all but disowned by the Autobots. That did eliminate a lot of options for him. But this femme…she didn't sound very sane to him.
"Come on, Grimlock." Thornment pushed him. "Are you that stubborn, that mired in outmoded notions of loyalty that you're willing to isolate yourself so totally and utterly? Why do you even hesitate?"
Grimlock's blood red optic visor stared into her yellow eyes. "Because I just remembered… the name of the cult that leveled my home city back on Cybertron because they executed one of your members for extortion and bribery."
Thornment froze. Indeed, the Order had laid siege to Simfur due to the population raising a hand against one of their own. Seeking to teach them a lesson, Ember had led the assault herself and the destruction of the city was total. Was Grimlock…?
"W-what? That-that was nothing." She stammered.
"True." He agreed. Then he swung his fist and punched Thornment in the chest, knocking her back away from the river bank and crashing through a couple of trees. Grimlock chuckled and stomped forward. "I know about your Order. Your little cult has caused lots of problems for both Autobots and Decepticons. Killed lots of people before and during the war. Now think; if I returned to Cybertron with a high-ranking Order member ready for Spark isolation, I wonder what kind of reward I'd get? They'd most likely tear up my warrants and give me a hero's welcome!"
He swung his sword and released a wave of energy that tore up the ground and blasted Thornment off her feet. "The business with Simfur was just some extra motivation!"
"I offer you a world-or at least a share of it-and you throw it back in my face?" Thornment hissed. "You're just like the beast whose form you mimic, too big, too stupid to ever change! Even if it means extinction!"
She transformed into her aircraft mode and opened up to reveal her particle beam cannon. She unleashed multiple particle beams on Grimlock, and he deflected most of them with his sword, displaying a surprising amount of speed in his movements. He slowly got closer to Thornment as he blocked her beam attacks and, once he was close, raised his sword to cut her down. But a vine snagged his arms from behind, pulling them behind his back and leaving him open to a beam that hit the center of his chest.
"You are a warrior of great intensity and resolve, Grimlock, but as a strategist you are sadly deficient." Thornment said, stabbing her heat rods into the ground and drawing energy from the plant life around her. "Still, as a warrior, I will grant you a warrior's death!"
Storing the energy she absorbed, Thornment charged up another particle beam and fired a much stronger beam at Grimlock, who managed to move his body to allow it to shoot over his shoulder. Unfortunately, the beam exploded behind him, nearly burning the metal off his back and blew him onto his front.
"I'm going to tear you apart!" Grimlock roared.
Grimlock pushed himself up and slammed his fists into the ground, smoothly shifting into his T-Rex mode and charged at Thornment. Opening his mouth, he fired a large stream of intense flames at her that forced her to fly back, shifting into robot mode and clenched her fists. Vines erupted from the ground and ensnared Grimlock, tightening around his neck and legs. Thornment performed a hand motion that increased their pressure on him, digging the sharp thorns into his armor.
"You never stood a chance. You're a powerhouse, but you're low on energon and you're utterly powerless in a long range fight. You may be strong, but I am fast." Thornment said. "And I have the powers of my gods on my side!"
Grimlock couldn't move. The vines continued to squeeze him without letting up, and he could feel his armor creaking from the strain. If he didn't do something soon, he was going to get quartered by a motor-mouthed femme with a thing for pointy flowers!
The image of his Dynobots flashed through his mind. Fierce, loyal, unwavering in their commitment to whatever course of action he initiated. And he betrayed them without a second thought. Activating a back-up plan that could've killed them all without any regard for their opinions on it. All it granted them was a pyrrhic victory.
Grimlock gritted his teeth in frustration. He wasn't going to die here. Not without knowing what happened to his team, to make his peace. Thornment was spouting slag. If he survived, chances are that the other could have too. So, against every primal instinct not to, Grimlock mentally triggered the recall chip.
"No," Thornment growled as Grimlock's form glowed before vanished from her grasp. "NO!"
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For a split second, Grimlock thought he was going to end up dead for his gamble. But to his surprise, he reappeared within an intact chamber-the Grimstone was completely intact!
"Home." Grimlock grumbled. It was the closest thing to a home he had-a place where he and his Dynobots had their various adventures, scraps, team moments, a place where they could act freely without judgment.
Checking the ship's sensors, he saw that the Grimstone was buried in ice and the surface was not in detection range. He survived the recall, but the ship was buried too deep to be operational.
"I'm going to find my friends," Grimlock vowed, clenching his massive fists. "And then I'm going to tear Thornment and OZ apart!"
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"That fragging brute!" Thornment raged as she kicked over an unused transector. "He brags about his strength and he has the gall to run?! I'll rip his saurian head in two!"
"I take it your battle didn't go well?" Pisces said as he walked into the room.
"Don't start with me, Pisces." She sneered.
"Just curious." He said, backing up a bit. "And could you please not beat up on the transectors? They're expensive, and a pain to manufacture in such a short time."
"Why do you care? These clones couldn't even beat two Autobots."
"Only because the boy was interfering with the psychic link. I'm having Aries transport the Autobot hub to my main headquarters in Tampa. Chances are they will seek his head, and we cannot have that distraction right now."
Thornment noted the edge in Pisces' voice. "Are we mobilizing now?"
"Yes," Pisces answered curtly. "Aries has given the order to launch the invasion in seven days."
"And what about Grimlock?"
"My mole in Skywatch informed me that they're in the process of moving the mechs designated Thunder Lizards 2, 3, 4, and 5 to a forward operational facility. I'll let those so-called planetary defenders think they have Swoop, Slag, Snarl, and Sludge under their control, when we are really pulling the strings."
Thornment chuckled. "What a fitting way to end Grimlock-torn apart by the tooth and claw of his fellow Dynobots!"
Next up we'll get the first chapter of Maximum Dynobots. I literally started typing this today, and just got finished, so yeah, I'm excited to get into the thick of things. Thanks to reading, and please leave a review!