Beast Wars: Symmetries
Darkness at the Edge of Town Part I
As the cool night air blew through the atmosphere, Airazor and Tigatron strode calmly through the forest. What had once been a mere friendship had finally evolved into something more. Even though the two were reluctant to admit it, they had finally become attached to one another.
Airazor lowered her head and looked at the gnarled roots of the tree she and Tigatron stood next to. There was much to be said and she didn't know where to start. She doubted Tigatron knew where to begin either.
Apparently, Tigatron felt the same. His optics met Airazor's as if to say something but found himself unable to utter anything.
In the midst of the tension, Airazor didn't quite know what to say either. Finally, Tigatron decided to initiate something.
"Airazor…"
"Tigatron."
"We have been through a lot together," Tigatron admitted.
"Yeah, we really have," agreed Airazor.
"There's a reason I brought you out here tonight," Tigatron told her.
"What is it?" asked Airazor. The truth was, she already knew. For some reason, she found that question coming from her mouth despite already knowing the answer.
"Well, I—"
"Isn't that sweet," a familiar voice emerged from the thickets.
"You!" Airazor immediately raised her weapon.
Windrazor brought both hands together and fired a green orb of plasma that connected with the tree behind Tigatron and Airazor, exploding on contact.
The two Maximals were thrown off balance and fell to the ground. Tigatron quickly raised his com-link and spoke.
"Tigatron to Maximal base! Airazor and I are under attack!"
"You gonna help me with this or not?" asked Blackarachnia.
"I am not certain, ma'am," Silverbolt replied hesitantly. "After all, what I am doing is not right."
Blackarachnia put down her wrench and sighed. The two of them were in a cabin in the Alps. It seemed like the perfect getaway for a vacation, and a romantic one at that. But her intentions with the fuzor were anything but romantic. At least that's what she told herself.
"Aren't you being just a little too melodramatic?" she demanded.
"I am not," Silverbolt told her. "I do not feel that stealing from my friends is correct."
"Then why do you keep doing it?" Blackarachnia allowed a smile to creep to her face.
Silverbolt looked down in disappointment with a frown etched across his features. Finally, he reached within his chest compartment and took out the flux capacitor he had promised to bring to Blackarachnia.
"That's a good boy," Blackarachnia purred. "Now be a nice doggy and install the hard drives in this thing."
Silverbolt's chest heaved up in both hope and disappointment. Disappointment in what he was doing to fund her projects. Though at the same time, he felt hope. Hope that he could appeal to Blackarachnia's better nature.
Blackarachnia stepped into another room for a moment of relaxation. There was an old expression about how a sucker was born every minute and Silverbolt fit the bill. Still, she could not bring herself to completely take advantage of his naivete in every possible way. True she had him steal equipment for her, but thus far, she had not shot him in the back with a dose of cyber-venom. She didn't want to either.
"Blackarachnia, could I have some assistance?" Silverbolt's voice called out.
If she had to finish her experiments, she may as well do it without any further distractions, Blackarachnia decided.
"Computer, make sure no com-signals reach fifty miles of this radius," Blackarachnia told her supercomputer.
Thank Primus for good old fashioned jamming stations.
Tigatron bounced off the tree in beast mode and pounced on top of Windrazor. Undeterred, Windrazor heaved both feet up and flipped Tigatron off. She leaped back up and brought her sword close to the cat, narrowly missing him but slicing a tree in half.
"With or without the solstice, our plans will still come to fruition!" Windrazor shouted manically.
Airazor took aim and fired off two missiles. With a broad strike, Windrazor knocked the two of them aside and fired a shot of green flame, forcing Airazor to take cover.
Within moments, the other Maximals arrived. Optimus raised both maces up and charged, clashing against the lethal femme-bot. Windrazor swung her sword down and Optimus Primal raised both his weapons up in a cross-wards position to counter her. With a swift kick, Windrazor slammed her boot up and knocked one of the weapons out of his hands. Optimus swung with his other mace only for Windrazor to backflip out of the way.
Cheetor was the next to attack. With a concentrated burst, he sent several energy blasts sailing towards her. Windrazor smiled and deflected all the blasts with her hands. Before she could return fire, a stray shot from Tigatron whizzed past her, forcing her to step back. Soon, all the Maximals were closing in on her.
"Give it up, Windrazor!" Optimus warned.
"You can't win this!" Windrazor told them with confidence and self-assurance.
Raising both hands in the air, Windrazor summoned a primal surge of green flames which coalesced into a large sphere. Before she could fire it, however, her body froze. A sudden jolt to her systems told her something was wrong. Both her hands were cuffed together with some sort of restraining bolt, drastically reducing her powers.
"What is this?" demanded Windrazor.
"Stasis cuffs," Rhinox stepped out of the foliage. "These were made for you."
"You won't keep me in these for long!" promised Windrazor as he entire body glowed with a green aura.
"Oh no?" Rhinox took out what appeared to be a bazooka with twin cannons and fired.
The lower cannon released a single cuff large enough to fit around a body and snapped itself around her waist. After this, an electrical sizzle made Windrazor realize that she could not summon her formidable powers anymore.
"What have you done to me?" demanded Windrazor.
"You and Tigerhawk have powers beyond our understanding," Rhinox explained. "But your basic technological makeup is still Cybertronian. If these cuffs work on us, it'll work on you."
"You think you can contain me with these?" Windrazor cackled. "Ha hah hah! I'll break out, just you see!"
"What do we do with her now?" asked Cheetor.
"Take her back to base," Optimus told them. "We'll decide what to do then."
As they led her off, a formation emerged from beneath the ground and formed into a large humanoid creature. Golem looked at them with interest and flew off into the air to report back to his master.
From underneath the waves, the report did not deter Tigerhawk from his view of the deep sea.
"Then she was taken captive by the Maximals, master," Golem said.
"And why did you not assist her?" demanded Tigerhawk.
"Well, I…" Golem backed off slightly.
A blasts of flames near his feet forced Golem to leap back, falling on top of the other Pali Mystics just as they walked in.
"What are you doing?" demanded Ifrit.
"You nearly squashed us!" Tengu agreed.
The three other Mystics pushed him off and looked at their master. Finally, all four of them bowed on their knees.
"Retrieve Windrazor," Tigerhawk ordered them. "And do not fail me."
"Your wish is our command," Ifrit vowed.
As soon as they left the room, however, the mood shifted. The four were no longer the supplicating and groveling minions they had been in front of Tigerhawk.
"I grow weary of serving that technological abomination," Frost told his brothers.
"Yes, it is clear Tigerhawk is not a suitable being for the powers he possesses," Tengu agreed.
"You are correct, brothers," Ifrit's darkened look made the three of them pause. "Which is why we will now take matters into our own hands."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Golem.
"Come with me and I'll explain everything on the way," promised Ifrit.
"Cheetor, what are you doing?" asked Rhinox.
The young Maximal sat cross-legged on the floor as if in deep meditation. It was uncharacteristic of him to say the least. It was for that reason that Rhinox asked.
"I'm trying to bring it out again," Cheetor replied.
"Bring what out?" asked Optimus.
"When I transformed back to normal," Cheetor told them. "I was no longer a Transmetal Two. But somewhere deep inside, the beast still lives. I can feel it."
"Um, you sure about this, kiddo?" asked Rattrap.
"I don't really know," confessed Cheetor. "But with Tigerhawk still out there, I figured I'd try to regain that form so we can have a fighting chance."
"Cheetor," Airazor put an arm on the young Maximal's shoulder. "You really don't have to put yourself through this again—"
"Yes!" Cheetor's eyes glowed green suddenly. "I've got it!"
The rest of the Maximals backed off as a green aura surrounded the cat for several kliks. Soon, however, the energies dissipated, leaving Cheetor still the same as before. He snapped back to consciousness as soon as the green glow left his optics.
"Agh!" Cheetor banged his fist against the floor. "I was close! So close!"
"I'm sorry Cheetor," Optimus went up to his pupil.
"Perhaps I'd better go check up on our prisoner," Tigatron volunteered.
"I'll go with you," Airazor promised.
"Are you seeing this?" Jack looked at Windrazor who sat there in silence.
Both Jack and Luna had come aboard the ship recently to see what was going on. To their surprise, they saw one of the jail cells on the ship with an actual prisoner, something they had never seen before. From behind the laser shields, Windrazor glared at them contemptuously but did not say anything.
Speaking to organics was beneath her and she would hold her breath until someone more worthy would greet her.
"Jack, Luna," Airazor came up. "When did you two arrive?"
"Just a minute ago," Luna replied. "Say, how'd this happen?"
"Her name is Windrazor," Tigatron explained. "And she and her consort are the most dangerous Transformers in the known universe."
Jack gulped. He could tell that Tigatron was not lying.
"Are those your pets?" Windrazor finally spoke.
"They're humans," Airazor replied. "And they have names, you know."
"Right, and I should care, why?"
"Because now you see they have a face," Airazor said coolly. "The face of people you and Tigerhawk are trying to wipe out."
"So?" Windrazor's tone did not change. "You actually care for these two organics?"
"Yes," Tigatron stepped in. "Here in the Maximal base, looking out for one another is something we do."
"Feh," Windrazor spat.
"Tell me, do you and Tigerhawk look out for one another?" asked Tigatron. "Or are you simply his servant?"
Windrazor sat cross-legged with a frown. She truly did not know the answer to that, try as she might. Finally, she turned away from the four.
"Just go," she said to Tigatron and Airazor. The message for them to leave her alone was spoken clearly
Jack and Luna looked up at the two Maximals who nodded silently. The four of them went away and left Windrazor to her own thoughts.
The distant rumbling from the shores could be felt all the way to the inland jungles. From the green canopies, Inferno had traveled to the shores to see the point where the seismic rumbling had originated.
Sure enough, it was there. Waves crashed mercilessly against the shores as dark clouds brewed in the sky. The distant winds smashed against Inferno indiscriminately. They were so strong that even the fire ant had to plant his feet into the sand firmly to avoid being blown away.
"W-What is going on?" Inferno cried.
Suddenly, an enormous tsunami formed from the water and came crashing down on him, forcing Inferno to fly out of the way.
From the waves, Frost emerged. The large mass of water above both arms transformed into razor-sharp icicles which were launched at the pyromaniac Transformer. Inferno flipped away from them as they impaled the sandy shores.
Ifrit was the next to emerge. He launched a massive fire blast at Inferno who was once again forced to dodge.
"I have unfinished business with you!" he told Inferno angrily.
Fiery lines circled around his hands as he prepared another attack. Inferno braced himself for another assault, cocking his gun this time.
"Then leave it unfinished!" a commanding voice erupted. "You have another mission!"
"Lord Tigerhawk!" Ifrit allowed the flames around him to disappear. "But I was only—"
"Go now!" Tigerhawk commanded.
Ifrit and Frost obeyed without haste and flew away. Tigerhawk turned away from Inferno and with an impressive gesture of his hands, parted the waves, creating an enormous water trench leading to something that Inferno could only get a glimmer of.
Finally, it became visible. The floating island, slowly but surely, rose from the depths of the sea once more. This time, though, it was different. An enormous capsule of energy surrounded and within, a large majestic city could be seen. Golden skyscrapers lined the center of the landmass in addition to crystal domes that surrounded the roads and trees along the island's sidelines.
The floating island had become a floating city.
"By the gods!" Inferno gasped.
"Impressive, is it not?" asked Tigerhawk, as if finally taking notice of Inferno.
"I… think not!" Inferno growled.
"Try and stop me if you must," Tigerhawk beckoned.
Inferno drew his gun but with only one flicker of his hand, Tigerhawk sent an invisible wave of energy that slammed Inferno against a tree. The force of the blow was strong enough to incapacitate all of Inferno's internal systems, rendering him immobile but still conscious.
Tigerhawk hovered over Inferno passively.
"Perhaps now is not the time," he told the ant. "But if you wish one day, you may join us."
All Inferno could do was stare at Tigerhawk helplessly.
With that being said, Tigerhawk flew off towards his golden city.
"Do you feel that?" asked Windrazor. "He's coming."
The femme-bot was still bound in stasis cuffs on both wrists in addition to an energy bond across her waist set to maximum power. It was enough to restrain her… for the moment.
"She's not lying, Optimus," Rhinox pointed towards a computer screen. "Seems like our floating island's back."
On the radar, the familiar landmass could be seen again, giving off the same energy signature as before.
"How can that be?" asked Optimus.
"Once Tigerhawk comes, he'll make a deal with you Maximals," Windrazor told them triumphantly.
"Is Tigerhawk… really as terrible as you say he is?" Luna asked the Maximals.
"You have no idea, child," Windrazor spat contemptuously.
"Hey back off!" Rattrap told Windrazor. "Nobody asked you!"
"Don't worry Luna," Airazor put a hand on the human girl. "We'll do our best to protect you."
The sudden sight of Airazor comforting the human brought out an unexpected and uncomfortable churn in Windrazor's internal thought processes. Clearly Tigerhawk had not shown such compassion towards any of his acolytes. And though she was his favored servant, he had not shown that clear level of emotion towards her as of yet. She tried to get the unsettling notion out of her head but could not.
"Windrazor," Cheetor was now standing before her.
Her train of thought disrupted, Windrazor turned and faced Cheetor. What was it the young whelp had to say?
"Do you know how I can go Transmetal Two again?" he asked, meeting her optics. "I need it for the upcoming battle."
"I dunno," Windrazor yawned. "But tell ya what. Set me free right now and I might be able to help you."
Cheetor looked at Optimus and Tigatron.
"Don't do it," Tigatron shook his head.
"She's too dangerous and unpredictable," Optimus agreed.
"I have to have it!" Cheetor growled, his spark energy suddenly pulsating with an abnormal glow. "It might be the only chance we have!"
Even Windrazor was genuinely surprised at the sudden burst of energy Cheetor gave off, surrounding his entire body. However, he did not turn into the techno-organic beast that he had planned on despite his intentions.
"Ugh," Cheetor huffed. "I can't bring it out of me."
"Don't worry Cheetor," promised Optimus. "We'll find some way to go up against Tigerhawk."
"I've been working on a pair of stasis cuffs big enough to contain him," Rhinox told the gang. "They could work."
"Don't make me laugh," Windrazor scoffed. "Nothing can stop him."
"Wanna bet?" Jack got up in her face. "My friends can do it!"
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Windrazor said scornfully. "None of you realize how glorious his plan is."
"Right, like destroying the world is so grand," Airazor rolled her optics.
"Sometimes you have to end something to start over," Windrazor said bitterly. "My life basically ended that day on the mountainous planet of Zeo when my teammates left me for dead after an accident."
"Were you originally from Cybertron?" asked Optimus.
"Yes," Windrazor closed her eyes, allowing a small smile to etch across her face. "I was part of an exploration crew, not unlike your own. Though they weren't quite as nice as your team."
Windrazor drew a breath before continuing on with her story.
"Zeo was one of the new worlds on the outer rims of Cybertronian airspace that the Maximal Elders had set aside for exploration. My teammates and I arrived at a bad time unfortunately, just when one of the natural disasters were starting up. My speeder bike was caught up in the lightning storm and the rest of my so-called friends left me behind. Days passed until I was sure I was in nearing the Matrix. Then I saw a light in the sky. It was Lord Tigerhawk. He and the acolytes breathed new life into me and gave me a new purpose. And I swear upon the spark in my frame, I'll repay him in any way possible."
"I… never knew," Airazor said.
"Nobody on Cybertron knows," Windrazor explained. "I'm probably pronounced MIA over there."
"You know what Tigerhawk is going to do," Optimus met her face-to-face. "And yet you'll still defend him?"
"Yes," Windrazor said without hesitation.
"Hey Optimus," Rhinox stared at the monitor. "I think you might wanna see this."
"What's happening?" asked Optimus.
"The island's headed our direction," Rhinox confirmed.
"Call Silverbolt," Optimus ordered. "See if he's available."
Rhinox punched in a few codes into the telecom. After several kliks passed of nothing but static, Rhinox could only assume the winged fuzor wasn't available.
"He's not there for some reason," Rhinox said. "What could be keeping him?"
"Relaxing, isn't it?" asked Blackarachnia.
She and Silverbolt sat on opposite ends of a CR Jacuzzi she had set up on her spare time. The liquids were moisturizing and the smell of hydro-chloric liquids mixed with energon reached Silverbolt's nostrils quite easily. Blackarachnia could tell that Silverbolt was enjoying each and every moment of this.
"Indeed it is!" Silverbolt beamed.
"That's good," Blackarachnia smiled. "Because break time ends after one mega-cycle."
"Very well," Silverbolt declared. "I shall make it my duty to help you complete your work!"
"Are you this eager to please?" asked Blackarachnia.
"Well, when I swear an oath of duty, I mean to complete it, m'lady," Silverbolt informed her. "And I have pledged my services to you."
Blackarachnia grinned eagerly. This was too easy.
"Glad to hear it," she told Silverbolt.
"What is this place?" Depth Charge wondered as he hovered above the floating city.
For the last few mega-cycles, he had been trailing the air-borne city. In terms of shape and mass, it was nearly identical to the floating island he had helped to bring down a while back. Was it possible that Tigerhawk had returned?
If that was the case, then Rampage couldn't be far behind.
He flew down for a closer look. The skyscrapers before him were impressive, if a bit pompous.
The designs around the city appeared to be Mediterranean, with some touches of Greco-Roman flourishes. Depth Charge transformed to robot mode and activated his jets. After flying around the place, he activated his sensors for any potential signs of danger.
He didn't like what he was faced with here. Undoubtedly, this was Tigerhawk's work, which meant the powerful being had returned. He remembered the last time when they narrowly defeated Tigerhawk. And nearly most of that was due to one of the Vok keeping him busy just long enough.
"Warning, spark of Protoform X detected!" his internal computer warned.
Depth Charge said nothing. He glanced at the direction his signal pointed him towards and flew there. Once he reached the tower, he flew in through an open window and walked up the stairs to his planned location. He had detected X but there was a good chance the monster also knew he was coming. After all, Rampage had that uncanny ability to sense things other 'bots couldn't.
When he reached the top, Depth Charge pushed the door open. From head to toe, the entire chamber was covered with energon. A electrical fizzle soon alerted him it was raw energon that he was dealing with. And despite his Transmetal armor, even this energon was potent enough to short out his circuitry if he wasn't careful.
"Computer, set energon dampeners to full," he said.
"Affirmative. You have ten cycles."
Ten cycles. If Rampage was in here, he'd have to find him fast. And when he did, the hard part of taking him down was going to take place. Deciding to be prepared, Depth Charge took out his gun.
"Now where is he—"Depth Charge walked over a pile of energon.
An instant chop to his throat floored him, knocking the gun out of his grip in the process.
"Looks like you're here," Rampage stepped out from behind an energon cache. "And just in time, too!"
Depth Charge made a low, guttural sound akin to a gurgle. Holding his throat, he stepped back up as if to catch his breath. This made the intensity in Rampage's optics deepen.
Moving quickly for such a large Transformer, Rampage struck Depth Charge with a back hand, smashing him into a wall of raw energon, shattering some of it to pieces in the process.
As Depth Charge got up, Rampage charged. He raised his fist and slammed it into the wall just as the blue Maximal rolled out of the way. Depth Charge flew into the air with his jets and took out his tail spear. He arched his arm back and chucked it, throwing it. The spear struck true and impaled Rampage's thigh.
"Huh!" Rampage laughed. "Like that'll stop me!"
Protoform X grabbed onto the spear and ripped it out. But immediately after he did, a massive electrical surge from the surrounding energon tore into the wound, inflicting a sudden and painful torture on Rampage and preventing the wound from being sewn up as it normally would have been thanks to his regenerative powers.
"Raaaahhhh!" Rampage howled in agony.
Depth Charge looked at the energon crystals around him. It made sense that this was happening since the entire room was filled with raw energon. He landed on the ground and charged, slamming the full weight of his body into Rampage from behind. Rampage stumbled forward, inadvertently impaling himself against a piece of the raw energon sticking out. From the new wound, more power from the raw energon erupted and struck his raw wound.
Just as Depth Charge closed in on him, Rampage suddenly turned around and struck Depth Charge in the chest, knocking him back yet again onto the ground.
"Don't think you can get lucky a second time!" Rampage howled.
The marine-based Maximal had never been one to put his faith in luck. Depth Charge knew what he had to do now.
Getting up to both feet, he slammed both fists into two thin, blade-like pieces of energon, breaking them off and holding them in his hands like swords. Crossing both of them in a defensive position, Depth Charge yelled his battle cry and charged.
As the Maximals stood outside the valley, Windrazor attempted to fumble with her energy bonds to try to loosen them. They were there right now awaiting the arrival of the floating island.
"Think they'll be here soon?" asked Jack.
"Let's hope not," Cheetor said hesitantly.
"Yeah, I ain't in 'da mood to die young, if you know what I mean," Rattrap shuddered.
"Like it or not, Tigerhawk's going to arrive soon," Optimus looked up towards the sky. "And as much as I hate to do this, we may need Windrazor as a bargaining chip."
"My, you are desperate," Windrazor said to Optimus. "Are you that afraid of Tigerhawk's wrath?"
Tigatron stared up. Soon, the creature made up of his dormant psyche would arrive. And just what could he possibly do? Speak with Tigerhawk and try to get him to stop whatever he's going to do?
You are going to try to talk me out of my mission, father.
Tigatron recognized that voice. It was Tigerhawk communicating with him telepathically.
"Yes, yes I will," Tigatron said silently.
And what good will that do? I offered you the chance to join us and together, we could rebuild this world in my image. Our image.
"You know I cannot do that."
My core conscious and my entire being emerged from your spark. Our ideas are intertwined, just like our destinies.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to chart a new destiny."
Tigerhawk's telepathic voice grew silent, and then harsh.
So be it… father.
The voice disappeared. Tigatron felt a deep dread gnawing at his internal circuitry but his footing stayed steady. He had made his decision and he had no regrets. Perhaps, once this was all over, he could finally tell Airazor how he truly felt.
"He'll be here sooner or later," Windrazor chuckled. "So what do you say you take off my cuffs?"
"Fat chance, lady!" Rattrap pointed a finger at her. "We ain't lettin' you back shoot us!"
"But you might need help against them," Windrazor gestured up with her head.
"Oh no…" Rhinox muttered.
Floating in the air before them were the four elementals. The Mystics of Pali held their staffs in their hands, brandishing them menacingly. And from the looks of it, they meant business.
"Get ready, team!" Optimus ordered.
Descending upon the Maximals like a pack of vultures, the Pali Mystics opened fire. Ifrit channeled the energy through his staff to unleash a volley of flames upon them, forcing them to take cover. When Golem landed, he gripped his staff down and rammed it into the ground, causing rocks around him to levitate into the air. Tengu drew his sword and attacked Airazor while Frost did the same with Tigatron.
Cheetor attempted once more to unlock his dormant Transmetal Two powers.
"Come on, come on!" Cheetor growled. "Work, blast it!"
From underneath his feet, a pillar arose, hurling him half-way across the air until he landed on his back. Golem leaped up and came leaping down at Cheetor with both fists transformed into balls of spikes. Before he could get his opportunity to pulverize the youth, Optimus launched himself into the air and kicked Golem across the jaw, sending him crashing back down on the earth.
"You're going to pay for that!" Golem hissed.
Ifrit soon joined Golem in their assault on Primal. The two brought down their staffs but Optimus blocked them with both maces. Spinning underneath, Optimus planted both into Golem, shoving him back. Ifrit backed away and fired two balls of flames at the Maximal leader. Optimus ducked one but bounced the other back with his weapon. The fireball struck Ifrit in the face, temporarily blinding him. As the Pali Mystic staggered back, Optimus gripped his mace tightly and slammed the lower end of his weapon into Ifrit's face.
Golem snuck up from behind Optimus with his staff but Rhinox, in beast mode, rammed into him.
From a distance, Frost fired an ice beam that froze Rattrap and Tigatron against a tree. He took note of the two children hiding nearby. Obviously, they would make a good target for him.
Cheetor noticed what Frost was doing as well. Just as Frost pointed his staff at Jack and Luna, Cheetor immediately leaped in the way when Frost opened fire. The ice blast struck him point-blanke, shielding his body in ice until he was completely encased.
"Cheetor!" Luna cried.
Cheetor's optics could still move. All he could do at this point was to watch helplessly as his friends continued fighting.
Windrazor sat there passively. Help had arrived and she would soon be free. She watched as Airazor punched at Tengu, only for the Paliyuga warrior to fly over her gracefully.
"Good to see you've arrived!" Windrazor smirked and gestured towards the stasis cuffs on her hand. "Now, if you would do the honors."
Tengu grimaced and blasted her in the chest-plate with a surge of air, knocking her down.
"I'm afraid it isn't so simple," he told her as Frost joined his side.
"You see, now that you're helpless, we're going to take our revenge for all the times Tigerhawk has inflicted pain upon us," explained Frost.
"And once we finish you, we'll do the same to Tigerhawk! Then the Vok will follow after this pitiful planet is ours!" Tengu declared proudly.
The two of them charged up their staffs which now emanated a yellow pulsating energy. Now rendered powerless by her stasis cuffs and energy bonds, Windrazor could do nothing but lower her head and wait for the end to come.
In the meanwhile, Cheetor watched the battle helplessly while frozen in his current state. The Maximals were being worn down in the fight. Even Optimus and Rhinox at this point were barely holding their own against Ifrit and Golem. He looked on powerlessly as Tigatron and Rattrap struggled to free themselves in time. Then he watched as Airazor suddenly threw herself right in front of Windrazor as Tengu and Frost opened fire, taking the full brunt of the blow from their staffs as energy engulfed her.
A green energy began forming around his spark as Cheetor remembered how helpless he had been before Megatron's brainwashing and reprogramming. How he could not even save himself though he wanted to. He remembered how Megatron set him upon his friends while he had almost little to no control of his actions.
All that had happened because he had been weak. He was too weak to resist Megatron's tampering and in the aftermath, he had been weak with self-pity and moping. And truth be told, he had had enough of it.
He would no longer be weak.
A green hue surrounded the block of ice encasing Cheetor. Soon, chunks of ice were sent flying everywhere in an explosion that made everyone stop and take notice.
Cheetor stood before them once more, erect and with claws extended.
"Cheetor!" cried Optimus who had his mace crossed with Ifrit's staff.
"Got that right," the new Transmetal Two Cheetor growled throatily. "Time to kick some tail!"
Ifrit freed himself from being entangled against Primal's weapon. He looked at the new Cheetor, surveying him along with his three other companions in awestruck confusion and interest. It did not take long, though, before he decided on what to do next.
"Mystics!" he ordered. "Attack!"
The wounds on Rampage's thigh and chest plate were healing up, noted Depth Charge. Despite his flurry of attacks, the behemoth was not slowing down.
Rampage avoided a thrust of Depth Charge's raw energon and grabbed the hunter's wrist. Depth Charge struggled to get free but Rampage held on tightly. Finally, Rampage squeezed hard enough for the Maximal to drop the energon blade he held in one hand. With that done, Rampage thrust an open palm into Depth Charge's chest, sending him hurtling back.
"You're just wearing yourself down!" Rampage taunted.
Stoically, Depth Charge got up again. He charged but leaped overhead, grazing Rampage across the shoulder with his remaining energon blade. Rampage howled as a surge of raw energon entered into the open wound. Seeing his chance, Depth Charge whirled around and brought the blade across Rampage's chest. This time, Rampage stumbled back, a large gaping gash now marked across his chest. Moreover, his spark was exposed.
This was what Depth Charge had been waiting for.
Holding the remaining blade adjunctly in both hands, Depth Charge thrust it forward only for Rampage to catch it before the tip of the blade could reach the spark, holding it back.
"Raw energon, right through your twisted spark!" shouted Depth Charge. "Take it… take it straight to the Pit, you sickening piece of slag!"
Though Rampage was holding on quite well, he still felt himself growing weaker and weaker. His open wounds were already causing internal malfunctions thanks to the raw energon all around them. And though his stamina was quite legendary, even he was not completely immune to some of the effects of raw energon. As he gripped the blade more tightly, he felt the razor-sharp end slowly cutting across his joints as his exposed spark began humming dangerously from the electricity.
Realizing that his foe was getting weaker, Depth Charge's resolve only grew stronger. Launching himself forward, he pushed Rampage back against the wall.
With a final burst of energy, Rampage snapped the energon blade in Depth Charge's hands to pieces, but it was too late. A small shard of raw energon leaped out from the blade after being splintered and struck Rampage's already unstable spark. The resulting backlash was strong enough to push Depth Charge back as the beast howled in agony.
Reaching towards his spark, Rampage grabbed the shard embedded in the essence of his life force and pulled it out, throwing it aside. He fell to his knees, realizing just how much energy he had lost. The nanites in his system were all but destroyed and there was no way his self-healing spark could fix him up quickly this time.
He looked up and saw his rival with missiles launchers in hand, pointed right at him.
"Nighty night, creep."
The next thing Rampage knew, a barrage of missiles struck him. And with his armor and invulnerability completely maxed out, he felt every bit of the pain.
Leaping overhead, Cheetor somersaulted above the four Pali Mystics as they opened fire with their staffs. Due to his incredible speed, Cheetor avoided all the blasts and landed on his feet cleanly. The first thing he did upon landing was to arch is arm back and slam his fist into Frost who stood behind him, knocking him down with one blow.
Tengu whirled his staff in the air, generating rapid movements of wind. He swung two times, sending two razor-sharp slashes of wind. Cheetor ducked below one blast and leaped over the other with a spinning body. He moved in quickly and grabbed Tengu by the staff, flipping the Mystic over and kicking him far across the air.
During the fight, Windrazor had been lost for words. And it was not because of Cheetor's ascension to Transmetal Two. It had been the selfless act of Airazor who leaped in front of her to take the blow that had clearly not been meant for the Maximal femme-bot. In doing so, she had forced Windrazor to face some deeply unsettling truths. One such truth was the fact that her bond with Tigerhawk was nowhere near as strong as the one the Maximals had with one another. The Maximals watching out for their own was not a lie.
Also, she had seen how Cheetor selflessly put himself between the Mystics of Pali and the two children who were worth nothing to her. At best, they were distractions but yet, the Maximals cared for them as if they were Transformers. Tigerhawk certainly didn't care about the Pali Mystics and neither did she. But for some reason, what Cheetor and Airazor did struck a chord with her.
"I must be getting soft," Windrazor chuckled.
In the next second, the body of Tengu came crashing down next to her. From the looks of it, Cheetor was handling himself just fine.
Cheetor grabbed the staffs of Ifrit and Golem as they swung down, catching it and flipping them on their backs. Frost sent and ice blast in his direction but Cheetor was fast enough to avoid it, drilling into the Mystic with a flurry of blows and then a kick that sent him sprawling.
Ifrit and Golem launched more of their attacks. Jumping over one of the boulders thrown at him, Cheetor came down and kicked Golem in the chest with both feet. As Golem got up, Cheetor lifted him over head and threw him onto Ifrit.
"Get off me, you oaf!" Ifrit growled and pushed Golem off.
Cheetor leaped in between them and kicked both across the face with a split kick. As they fell down, Cheetor grabbed onto both of their staffs. From behind him, Tengu appeared, attempting to sneak up from behind him.
Spinning both staffs boisterously, Cheetor drove both ends into Tengu's mid-section. The resulting explosion saw Tengu's body fall to the ground after being blasted into the air. After he was done, he looked at the remaining elementals, gripping both weapons in his hand.
"Get him!" Ifrit ordered.
Golem was the next to attack. A rock formation in his hand soon emerged into a sword as he swung wildly at his target. Cheetor bobbed and weaved through the attacks as if his opponent were moving in slow motion. Finally, Golem disappeared underground and reappeared again, grabbing Cheetor in a bear hug from behind. Ifrit and Frost saw their opportunity and held out both hands, letting loose their most powerful elemental blasts.
Cheetor saw it coming and headbutted Golem, forcing the titan to loosen his grip. Very quickly, Cheetor flipped over the Mystic with both hands, landing squarely behind him as the two blasts struck Golem mercilessly. When it was over, Golem's shoulder sagged as a low-level grunt emerged from his throat. Cheetor spun Golem around and smashed the creature to pebbles with one well-placed fist.
"Not possible!" Ifrit stepped back.
"He's too fast and strong!" Frost hissed. "We should consider a retreat!"
"No!" Ifrit insisted. "We stand our ground!"
The next thing he knew, a wild Transmetal Two beast pounced upon Frost, slamming him so forcefully to the ground that the Pali Mystic was knocked unconscious. Cheetor, in beast mode, smiled as he circled Ifrit.
Out of desperation, Ifrit created a wall of flames around himself and Cheetor.
"You have nowhere to go now!" he cried. "Just watch as I turn up the heat!"
Ifrit cupped both hands together for a superheated blast but before anything could materialize, a whip-like cord struck out and wrapped itself around his hands. In actuality, it was really Cheetor's now elongated and prehensile tail. Cheetor yanked Ifrit forward and slammed one of the staffs into his neck, knocking him down and disrupting the wall of flames he had set up.
Ifrit wobbled back to his feet but as soon as he regained a semblance of consciousness, a massive fist crashed into his jawline. Cheetor struck Ifrit again and again until finally, the last of the Pali Mystics fell.
"I could get used to this," Cheetor commented on his new abilities.
"You did it, Cheetor!" Optimus complimented.
"Good job, kiddo!" Rattrap patted him on the back.
"You think you've won?" Windrazor gestured to the sky. "This war hasn't even begun."
Sure enough, the entire floating island was levitating over the valley. From what they could see, the Maximals noted that it was no longer just an island. It was practically a metropolis floating in the sky.
A top hatch opened up on the lower end of the island, revealing a trans-mat device that hummed at the center.
The Maximals soon felt their bodies de-materializing as a teleportation beam entered into the atmosphere around them.
"Oh man," Rattrap complained as his body began de-molecularizing. "We're all gonna die!"
To be continued.