Chapter 18

Torture

In a distance portion of the galaxy, a ship is orbiting a planet. A small space pod exited the planet's atmosphere and slowly aligned itself with the ship. The belly of the ship opened up as the pod entered the ship. The doors closed as the pod connected to the umbilical cord. The occupants exited the pod as the workers worked on the pod and get it ready for the next trip. One of the occupants exited the hangar as he walked through the ship. He walked briskly towards the bridge. He arrived at the bridge and walked through the door. "Cadet Burnstile requesting permission to enter the bridge?"

"Granted," a voice answered.

Burnstile entered the bridge and stood in front of the captain's chair. "My report sir," Burnstile said as he presented a datapad. "I can assure you that the information will be to your liking, Master Lockdown."

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" Lockdown said as he took the datapad.

"My apology sir," Burnstile bowed.

Lockdown examined the data and cracked a little smile. "So this is the result from our small scale testing correct?" he wondered.

"Yes."

"Good," Lockdown said. "Prep this data and transmit it to Shockwave. Inform him that I will pick it up personally."

"If I may sir, if we are going to do this, we will need a target to manufacture the correct amount and a location to produce this in mass scale plus the labor."

"Don't worry about that," Lockdown said. "I have a location in mind to produce the product. As for the target, I need you to investigate it." Lockdown entered data into the pad and hand it back to Burnstile. Burnstile looked at the pad and his optics widened slightly. "Isn't this where Optimus is?" he said.

"Your point?"

"Won't my presence draw suspicion?"

"Not while he is dealing with a threat. Go scout the planet and conduct an accurate measurement. I do not want to fall short."

"Yes sir." Burnstile saw that Lockdown was disinterested in the task he had. Burnstile wondered why a collector like Lockdown would be interested in something like this would.

"One more thing," Lockdown said as he tossed four small items to Burnstile. Burnstile caught and examined it.

"What's this?" Burnstile wondered.

"Her you arrive at the planet, release them into the atmosphere."

"Yes sir." With that Burnstile left the bridge.

"Set course for Cybertron," Lockdown instructed.

"And the planet sir?" a crewman asked.

"Destroy it."

"As you wish."

Earth

The Autobots and Mizsaki convene at a location just outside the warehouse direct near Medley. Elita arrived at the scene as Wilson and Deirdre exited. "Wow, a family reunion," Wilson joked.

"Now is not the time for antics," Ultra Magnus reminded.

"I know, I know," Wilson sighed.

"Do you have any good news?" Optimus wondered.

"I spoke to the mayor and the evacuation is going smoothly," Wilson said. "Another 15 minutes and we can actually do something."

"The president has ordered armed forces to be on standby just in case," Mizsaki said.

"Even though you told him that we don't want anything human causalities," Ultra Magnus said.

"It's not him," Mizsaki said. "It's the house and senate. They don't believe in you like how the president is. Any form of slip up is all they need to have you guys hunted and killed."

"Do they realize who they are dealing with?" Bumblebee said.

"Easy Bumblebee," Optimus said. "We are on their planet and we have to abide by their rules." Bumblebee huffed in frustration.

"Should we go over the plan?" Mizsaki wondered.

"No need," Wilson said.

"Why not?" Prowl wondered.

"Things changed," Deirdre sneered.

"Like what?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"There is no point in hiding," Wilson announced. "I know you're there, Tracie."

From behind the car, Tracie stood up in shock and disbelief. "How you know I was here?" she wondered.

"You don't want to know," Wilson said.

"Whoa, I thought you said that there will be no human causalities," Arcee said.

"I did."

"So why is she here?"

"It seems talking to her was a big mistake," Wilson said. Tracie walked up to Wilson and stared him down. "What?" he said.

"You think I will sit by idly while my husband is in danger?"

"Yes."

"No! I want my husband back and I will do anything for him."

"Good, then go home. Elita, take her home and make sure she doesn't go anywhere."

"No, I'm not going home!" Tracie refused. "I'm staying."

"Even if the situation is different, it is highly ill advisable for you to stay," Ratchet said as he conducted a scan. "This woman is with child, two to be exact."

"My pregnancy has nothing to do with this," Tracie said. "Wait; did you say 'two'?"

"I did," Ratchet said.

"Twins or not, you're not tagging along," Wilson said. "You are now mother and you have to think about the health of yourself and your unborn kids. I can assure you that Eric won't let you do something this idiotic."

"Now, now, let's not be hasty," Deirdre said. "We can probably use this to our advantage."

"How?" Wilson wondered.

"Right now, Eve is expecting a full on assault from the Autobots," Deirdre said. "But if we add a human element to the mix, we can throw her off."

"I see," Ultra Magnus said. "If we were to distract Eve, Tracie can extract her husband and leave."

"It's not that simple," Wilson said. "This is Eve. We don't know what's she is thinking."

"Think about it," Deirdre said. "We remove the key from Eve's possession and we hit here with everything we got. If this goes well, Eve is dead."

Wilson didn't like that idea but he didn't feel like arguing. "Do whatever you want," he said.

Deirdre grabbed Tracie's hand and gave her a small device. "This is connected to me," Deirdre explained. "All you have to do is push the button and I'll come to your location if Eve finds you."

"Keep in mind, you are not to engage her," Wilson reminded. "She is a dangerous person."

"I know," Tracie pouted. "I'm not a child."

"You do act like one," Wilson muttered.

"With that settled, we have to change our dynamic," Optimus said. "The Aerial bots will maintain aerial surveillance. Prowl, Ultra Magnus and the Protectobots will cover the rear. Wilson, Deirdre and I will cover the front while everyone else will cover the side. Blaster and Mizsaki will handle communication and coordinate our movements. Ratchet will remain on medical standby and protect Mizsaki."

"Question," Mizsaki said. "How will I do my job?"

"Use my trailer," Optimus presented. "It will act as a mobile command center and it has direct link to Vengeance."

"Cool," Mizsaki said. "I was wondering why you were pulling a trailer."

"Everyone has their orders," Optimus said. "Autobots, Transform and Roll Out."

Cybertron

At the crash site of the Nemesis, Megatron stood outside as he surveyed his battered ship. The anger he felt couldn't be described in mere words. He watched as his soldiers conducted multiple scans and repairs. Meanwhile Knockout was attempting to treat Megatron for his injuries. "Lord Megatron, keep still," Knockout said.

"I'm fine," Megatron said as he moved away.

"No, you're not," Knockout said. "You lost a considerable amount of energon and sustain serious injuries. As your medic, I have to treat you."

"And I'm telling you I'm fine," Megatron said. Knockout sensed that Megatron wasn't going to cooperate so he left him be. Soundwave soon approached Megatron with a datapad. Megatron scanned the pad and let out a frustrating growl. "All we have working is backup power?" Megatron wondered.

Soundwave nodded.

"So in order words, repairing this ship is a lost cause," Megatron sighed. Megatron turned his attention to the dome city off in the distance. "To think that the Autobots had something like that ready," Megatron said.

Soundwave typed on the datapad and present it to Megatron. Megatron narrowed his optics as he pondered. "I knew I should've killed him when I had the chance," Megatron said. "To think that Jetfire use our technology against us and improved on it. That's fine; I've also acquired Autobot technology and improved on it as well."

Unknown to Megatron, Jetfire was in low orbit observing the aftermath. "So it worked," he said. "To think that Rodimus will actually use it, he must've been push into a tight corner."

Then Jetfire turned his attention elsewhere and spotted Rodimus moving away from the Decepticons. "So he's alive," he said to himself. "I need to collect him before he is spotted."

…

Rodimus was hobbling away from the Decepticon ship as fast as he could with a damaged leg. "Never in a million solarcycle would I pull a stunt like that," Rodimus said. "But then again, who wouldn't?"

Rodimus continued on his trek while he was muttering and cursing to himself. He was scanning the area for a pole to use as a crutch but sadly there were none in the barren outskirts. Then he heard a jet engine approaching from behind. "Scrap, they found me," Rodimus said. Rodimus came to a stop as he cleared his mind. "If I'm going to die, do it with guns ablaze," Rodimus said as he transformed his arms into energy cannon. "Come get me cons," Rodimus yelled as he swings around to start firing.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Jetfire shouted. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

"Jetfire?" Rodimus said.

"Yeah, it's me."

"I almost blew your head off," Rodimus sighed as he lowered his cannons. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to risk them hearing us. So how did it go?"

"Before or after their ship went down?"

"Point taken," Jetfire said. "Anyways, we need to get out of here."

"Before we go, I have one question. How long will the shield hold?"

"We need to find energon before they can figure out the weakness."

"So not long huh."

"Nope."

"I have a few caches that have energon. We can go there and collect them. Hopefully it's enough to mount a counterstrike."

"But for the Decepticons to retreat this easily, that's unusual."

"I know. You have any ideas what they might be planning?"

Jetfire thought for a while. "I have one," he said. "If I'm right, I hope I'm not, we're in some serious trouble."

Earth

Tracie stood behind a small warehouse. She surveyed the area for any obvious traps. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before approaching the rear door. She reaches out to touch the handle when she sensed an odd sensation. Tracie looked up and spotted an slightly open window. So Tracie stepped back and gave herself some distance. "It looks about 30 feet up to the window," she said.

Tracie bounced on the balls of the feet to warm up her limbs as she shook off the feeling of doubt. "I got this," she said as she closed her eyes. "You can do this. You are strong. You are powerful. You are invincible. You. Are. A. Demon."

Tracie opened her eyes as her eyes changed from brown to bright purple as her nails grew six inches. She took off running towards the warehouse. Running at full speed, Tracie waited until she was 15 feet from the door as she jumped with all her might. She soared in the air as she readied her nails to dig into the cement wall. Tracie's nails sunk into the wall as Tracie had a firm grip on the wall. She looked down then up. Tracie couldn't help but laugh with glee. "I made it in one try," she said as she opened window and pull herself up to peer inside. Tracie looked inside for any activity. All Tracie found was tall shelves with engine parts. Tracie pulled herself inside and landed on the ground.

"Hello," Tracie called softly. "I'm sorry for intruding."

There was no answer.

"Good," Tracie said as she walked the floor. As Tracie was walking, she felt a presence in the room. She came to a stop to focus. Tracie turned her head to get a better feel. Tracie's eyes narrowed. She pulled out a thin metal pin and she threw it behind her. There was contact as Tracie looked to see what she hit. She found a poor mouse breathing heavily from nearly dying. "Oh please, I barely missed you," Tracie said as she continued walking. The mouse looked down as saw the pin lightly touching its chest. The pin went through a engine block before stopping short. Overwhelm, the mouse fainted.

Tracie came to the end of the shelf. She looked around and spotted something that made her eyes wide. "Oh my god," Tracie breathed.

Elsewhere, Wilson, Optimus and Deirdre approached the front of the warehouse. "You think she is in here?" Optimus wondered.

"Yes," Wilson said with certainty.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"So do I but this is all we got."

Optimus looked at Wilson with wonder. "If it's not too much, may I ask why you show such disdain towards us?" Optimus asked.

"Yes," Wilson said.

"Yes?"

"It's too much for you to ask," Wilson said as he looked at Optimus. "Besides I'm not entitled to tell you anything."

"Ignore him," Deirdre said. "He's just salty because the Optimus in our universe promised to protect Earth and failed."

"DEIRDRE!" Wilson scolded.

"What?"

"Seriously?"

"He asked."

Wilson scoffed as he walked away. "What happened?" Optimus wondered.

"Back home, the war on Cybertron has gotten worse over the years," Deirdre explained. "It got to a point where planets were destroyed from the fighting."

"Really."

"Optimus promised that Earth will be safe from the war by sending patrols to our solar system."

Wilson returned because he got tired from hearing Deirdre. "You're wrong," he said. "Optimus sent a team to remain on Earth to push the Decepticons away. Apparently, he ordered them to withdraw from Earth because it was a low risk planet. Two days later, five Decepticon soldiers that were hiding on Earth attacked. However they alerted nearby patrol of the news and we were invaded. It took us a month to kill them all."

Optimus was speechless.

"Millions died," Wilson continued. "Millions that should've lived if Optimus didn't call his team back! So I took matters into my own hands."

"What did you do?" Optimus wondered.

"Full extinction."

Optimus was confused.

"We traveled the galaxy and eliminated every single cybertronian in existence to ensure Earth will no longer will in danger from your kind. I am tempted to do the same here but his rules prevent me from interfering anymore than I am now. So, you're safe."

"What do I have to do to earn your trust?"

"Prove to me you're nothing like him and then I'll open up to you."

Knowing the information he received, Optimus was able to understand Wilson's resentment a little more. Optimus kneeled down to get closer to Deirdre. "Not to be rude but how old is he?" he whispered.

"How old?" Deirdre said. "Let's see…he was born in '89."

"That makes him 27."

"True but back home we are a hundred years in the future, give or take a decade."

Optimus was astonished. "He's 127!"

"Give or take a decade."

"How is it possible for him to live that long and look so young?"

"That is on Eve."

"I see."

Wilson walked up to the roller doors and lifts it up. He peered inside before Optimus opening it the rest of the way. Wilson and Deirdre walked inside as Optimus had to crouch down to get in the 10ft. opening. "Anything?" Wilson asked.

"I see nothing," Optimus answered.

"Keep your sensors open," Wilson warned. "She can be crafty."

"That is so rude!" a voice yelled.

The roller door slammed shut as the warehouse went dark. Four lights flickered on around the team as Eve entered into the light. "Hello," she greeted.

Weapons were drawn and aimed at Eve's head. Eve threw her hands up to show that she was unarmed. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, you wouldn't harm an innocent person would you?" Eve asked.

"No," Wilson answered. "But you're a different case."

"Hey, take it easy. If I was going to harm you, I would've done it already. Besides, I want to have a conversion with you."

"Conversing with someone like you is ill advised," Optimus said.

"Look, talk with me and I'll give you what you want. If you're not interested, kill me on the spot and you'll never see Eric again."

"I say do it," Optimus suggested.

"No," Wilson refused. "She doesn't lie. So stand down."

"You can't be serious."

"I am. I known her for too long, she's telling the truth."

Optimus was reluctant but he lowered his weapon. Seeing all weapons were lowered, Eve let out a warm smile. "As a reward, I'll tell you everything."

"Where's Eric?" Optimus asked.

"He's not here. But hear me out and I'll tell you where he is."

Meanwhile, Mizsaki was monitoring the situation from Optimus' mobile base. "I got confirmation that Optimus' team has encountered Eve," Mizsaki radioed. "No combat as of yet but Eric is not where they are."

"What are they doing then?" Ultra Magnus radioed.

"Talking to her?" Mizsaki answered.

"Why are you confused?" Prowl radioed.

"It's just odd that they are."

"As long she is distracted, we will use this opportunity," Ultra Magnus radioed. "Autobots, we must increase our efforts and find Eric."

Mizsaki stepped away from the console as she exited the trailer. She spotted Ratchet in vehicle mode, resting. "You're asleep?" Mizsaki asked.

"Yes," Ratchet answered.

"Mind if I ask you about your home planet?"

"And she continues to talk," Ratchet sighed.

"I'm bored."

"Then go read a book or whatever you humans do."

"You're not a friendly person are you?"

Annoyed, Ratcheted switched to robot mode and faced Mizsaki. "There's the handsome doctor," Mizsaki smiled.

Ratchet knew that Mizsaki was teasing. "You humans are quite complex to understand," Ratchet said.

"How so?"

"First impressions lead to believe that humans are simple species with little to no exo-armor. But being on this planet for quite some time, I came to a startling conclusion."

"This I have to hear."

"All humans are hypocrites."

"How so?"

"You say one thing but do something else. You all preach about peace and harmony when you are divided as a species. There are countless wars going on in regards to religion, politics and race."

"But we are a lot better than we were decades ago."

"Are you?" Ratchet questioned. "Keep in mind that I'm a medic, not a philosopher or a politician. All I have is time on my hands and I've made some observations."

"Then you're wrong."

"My optics is highly calibrated to spot the tiniest imperfection in CNA but that doesn't mean that humans are an exception. Like us, you humans are fueled by greed that can lead to corruption. But you humans are also led by lust and that only can spark war."

"But we are better than that."

"Then prove it," Ratchet said. "Can humanity untie as a species to help us stop Eve? Are you even capable to even defend yourself against her?"

Mizsaki said nothing.

"All this blind hope your president has on us is unjust."

"Why?"

"Because if we fail here, you humans will hunt us down and examine us under a knife. But should we succeed, all eyes will be on us, waiting for us to slip at the first moment. Either way, we have no choice but to succeed so we can go home."

Mizsaki was shocked. How did Ratchet know about the conversion the president had with his generals. Just as Mizsaki was about to ask Ratchet a question, she heard someone calling from inside the trailer. "Aren't you going to answer that?" Ratchet wondered.

Mizsaki let out a small growl as she walked inside the trailer. "Is something wrong?" Mizsaki asked.

"The Aerial bots detected a human presence inside a building," Bumblebee reported. "It could be Eric."

"That's good," Mizsaki said.

"I'm going to investigate," Bumblebee said. "I'll report back with more info."

Mizsaki sat down in her chair and let out a sigh. "Optimus' team has Eve in front of them," Mizsaki said. "Bumblebee spotted Eric. And Tracie…Tracie? Oh shit!"

"Something wrong?" Ratchet wondered.

"We've been had. Bumblebee, do not approach! Wait for backup."

"Eric is literally in front of me."

"Bumblebee, you heard Mizsaki, stand down!" Ultra Magnus radioed.

"He's in front of me," Bumblebee said. "I can literally touch…"

There was a large explosion that rocked the district. "Bumblebee," Mizsaki said. "Ratchet!"

Without saying a word, Ratchet raced to the scene.

…

"What was that?" Optimus wondered.

"That is my signal," Eve smiled.

"For what?"

Wilson narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm right here," Eve presented.

Wilson picked up a rock and threw it at Eve. The rock struck Eve's cheek as a dust fell to the ground. "An avatar," Optimus said.

"I'm surprised you took this long to figure it out," Eve grinned. "After all, I need to kill time until my hostage attracts my target."

Wilson grew angry. "Where is she?!" he demanded.

"I'm not going to answer you in that tone," Eve said as crumbled into dust.

"Wait, isn't Eric the host?" Optimus wondered.

"He is," Wilson said.

"Then why would she need Tracie for?"

"Optimus, does the Fallen exist in this universe?"

"He did."

"She going to have him relive that tragedy again in order to get him out. We must find them now!"

Meanwhile…

Tracie stood in disbelief as she spotted Eric chained to the chair. Tracie started to tear up from excitement. "Eric!" she called out as she ran up to Eric.

Eric was stirred from a noise rapidly approaching. He opened his eyes and felt something embracing him. Confused, he was looking around to see who was hugging him. "Who is this?" Eric panicked.

"It's me," Tracie said as she looked into Eric's eyes. "I found you."

"How?"

"Luck?" Tracie smiled. "I don't know. All I know is that I found you." Tracie examined Eric and saw that he was wrapped in heavy chains around his wrist and ankles. She followed the chains and saw the anchor points. "I think I should be able to break it," Tracie said as she tugged on the chains.

"Tracie, you need to get out of here," Eric warned.

"And leave you? Hell no!"

"You don't get it."

"You're right, I don't get it," Tracie said. "I don't get anything that is going on here. I am risking not only my life but my kids' to save you. I am your wife. I love you too much just to let you die here. Tell me one good reason why I should leave."

"She wants you."

"Why?"

"Because it's a trap," Eve said. Tracie quickly turned around and spotted Eve. "Hello there," Eve waved.

Tracie took a defense position as she stared down Eve. "You must be this Eve I keep hearing about," Tracie said.

"Indeed I am," Eve smiled. "And I do quite say, you are indeed a beautiful woman, if I do say so myself."

"What do you want?" Tracie asked. Tracie blinked her eyes and saw that Eve was gone.

"You!" Eve whispered. Tracie jumped forward from fright. She looked back and saw Eve standing next to Eric.

"How you do that?" Tracie wondered.

"This," Eve said. "This is a scare tactic. I know you were 'feeling' me up to see if you can take me on. But judging from the horror look in your eyes, you weren't expecting that. Maybe you're not feeling my life force. Maybe you are sensitive to something else. Maybe…"

Eve grabbed Eric's neck and started to strangle him. Tracie's hair on her head stood up on ends with anger. Tracie kicked off with her right foot and launched herself at Eve. Eve was ready to counter but all she saw was darkness. "Am I flying?" Eve wondered.

Tracie landed a hard right to Eve's face with all her might and sent Eve flying for the wall. Eric was speechless. He looked at up at his wife and saw her eyes were oozing purple energy. "No one touches my husband but me!" Tracie proclaimed.

Eve stood up as she fixed her jaw. "Now that hurt," Eve said calmly. "So you react to malice behavior. The larger the source, the stronger you get." Eve wore a devilishly grin. "Now, let's see what makes you break."

Tracie charges forward. Eve delivered a back hand push to the chest to stop Tracie's movement. Before losing balance, Eve stabilize Tracie's by grabbing her shirt. "Cant' have you fall here," Eve said.

With a slight tug, Eve pulled Tracie in and landed a nasty head butt. Tracie was dazed from the strike as she was struggling to stand straight.

"STOP IT!" Eric cried. "Leave her alone!"

And in a flash Tracie and Eve vanished. Eric could hear punches being landed but he couldn't track where they are coming from. "Please, leave her out of this!" Eric pleaded. "It's me you want, not her."

"You're exactly right!" Eric's eyes grew wide. He looked to his right saw Eve standing next to him. "Yo!" Eve waved.

"B-b-b-but…"

"Ah, you're confused. Let me fix that. You are correct, I am after you. But you are also wrong, I'm also after her. No, no, no, no, no, that doesn't make sense. You see, to get what I want, I need something from you. I need a reaction. I need an emotion." There was crash about 40 ft from Eric. Eve grabbed Eric's face and faced him towards the scene. "I need you to see this," Eve continued.

As the dust settled, Tracie was on the ground unconscious. "Tracie," Eric called softly.

"I'm not evil," Eve said. "In fact, I hate being the bad guy. But I do what I must to achieve my goal and that is to go home."

Eric saw a figure emerging from the dust and stood over Tracie's body. Eric went white with terror.

"But in order to go home, I must free someone," Eve said. "I don't want to free this person but he made a threat that I didn't like. And do you know what he said to me?"

"Stop." Eric said.

"Do you know what he said to me?" Eve repeated.

"Stop please," Eric pleaded.

"Set me free or she will die."

"Who?" Eric wondered as his voice shake with terror.

"Guess?"

Tracie slowly came to as she opened her eyes. She looked up and saw a familiar face. She wore a bright smile on her face. "Eric."

"THAT'S NOT ME!" Eric shouted.

Welding a sharp metal pole, the figure drove the pole into Tracie's body. Eric saw a pool of blood underneath.

With a menacing smile on her face, Eve uttered the words, "Number 11."

Cybertron

Times passed since a barrier was erected around Iacon. The Decepticons were given a heavy blow. One of them is the loss of their ship Nemesis. All of the crew members onboard that survive the crash were working diligently to savage the ship. They all knew to stay far from Megatron to not occur his wrath. But unknowing to them, Megatron wasn't peeved. In fact, Megatron was rather calm and collected. He was overseeing the savage operation. Starscream approached his leader from behind, he coward from his leader's stance. He pulled out a knife and slowly approached. "If you were to commit, do it now," Megatron spoke.

Starscream froze in place. "Well?" Megatron wondered. "I'm waiting."

Starscream put the knife away and repose himself. "I have no idea what you mean my lord," Starscream said.

Megatron turn his head and looked at Starscream. He saw that Starscream stood at attention. He wore no sign of deceit on his face. Megatron narrowed his gaze and looked forward. "My lord, if I may, why are you overseeing this?" Starscream asked. "Wouldn't be better if I or any of your lieutenants oversee this operation?"

"Starscream, do you remember our first meeting?" Megatron asked.

"Of course, my lord."

"Then you will understand that every action I take is to benefit Cybertron. Never my life have I encountered an obstacle I couldn't conquer, not until recently. That barrier is something I wasn't expecting."

"Why is that?"

Megatron pointed at the top of the barrier. "That was constructed with our technology," Megatron said.

"How?"

"Your old friend."

"Jetfire?"

"I had a fear that our former science officer will use our knowledge against us but not in this manner. You do know that you are to blame."

"Me?"

"If I recalled, I told you to get rid of him and you didn't."

"My apology," Starscream bowed. "Next time…"

"Doesn't matter," Megatron interrupted. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Starscream wondered.

"You'll find out."

Outskirt of Kanon

Megatron and Starscream flew past Kanon. Starscream was getting nervous. He was wondering where Megatron was taking him. "We're here," Megatron said as he banked left. Starscream followed as he saw a small room outside of town. His energon turned to ice. "He's going to kill me," Starscream thought to himself.

Megatron and Starscream switch to robot mode as they landed on the ground. Megatron walked towards the door and opened it. "After you," Megatron waved.

"My lord, this is a place I never been to before," Starscream said nervously. "I could get lost."

"Impossible," Megatron said with joy in his voice. "It's a straight path. Underground. No one knows about this place except for a select few."

Starscream felt his internal structure shaking with fear. "He is going to kill me," Starscream muttered to himself. "But…" Starscream was wondering why Megatron would go out of his way to snuff his spark. He shook those dark thoughts away and entered the room. Megatron followed and closed to the door. "To the lift," Megatron instructed.

Starscream did as he was instructed and stepped on to the lift in the room. Megatron stepped onto the lift then it begins to lower. Starscream looked up at Megatron and wondered what Megatron was planning. "If I was going to snuff your spark, I would've done it long time ago," Megatron said.

Starscream's optics grew wide with fear. "He could read minds?" he pondered.

"You tend to wear your thoughts," Megatron continued. Starscream was more horrified. "If you calm your mind, you'll be more of a threat."

"I see," Starscream said.

"Look ahead," Megatron said. "This is my pride and joy."

Starscream looked ahead and saw a massive object. He jumped from fright. "Is that…"

"Fortress Maximus," Megatron said.

"How?"

"Shockwave have his ways."

"But why is he here?"

"He will serve as a blueprint for my greatest weapon ever created," Megatron said. "And I will like you to take charge of it."

"Me?"

"Despite a few mishaps, you've proven your loyalty time and time again. It is fair to reward it. And if this plan goes well, you'll have your dream as well."

"You remember?"

"I haven't forgotten."

The lift reached the bottom as Megatron stepped off. Starscream watched his leader. Starscream looked around and saw that it was a warehouse. Fortress Maximus was taken apart and stripped to the bare structure. To his right was a headless Emissary hanging in chains. "Maybe I was wrong," Starscream said.

"Starscream!" Megatron called.

"Coming my lord," Starscream said as he chased after his leader.

Starscream stood next to his leader and saw a massive object towering over them. Starscream saw that it was as large as Fortress Maximus. "What is this?" Starscream wondered.

Megatron wore a sinister smile on his face. "This is my idol's greatest creation," Megatron present. "When this is ready, I will complete my idol's mission."

"Your idol?"

"The Prime whose name I take, the Prime who I idolize, Megatronus Prime."

"The Fallen? What was his plan?"

"Total takeover. This creation will allow me to rule without objection."

"What about Optimus?"

"What about him?"

"Won't he try to oppose you?"

"Let him. For when he returns to Cybertron, he will rue the moment he left it in the first place."

"He'll stop you," a weak voice spoke.

Megatron turned around and saw a weak Cerebros chained to the wall. "You still live?" Megatron said in amazement. "Resilient."

"No matter what you do to me, I will not give in," Cerebros said.

Megatron walked up to Cerebros and stare him down. Cerebros gave Megatron an intense gaze. Megatron delivered a heavy kick to Cerebros' head. Cerebros cried out in pain. Megatron place his foot on Cerebros' head and started to add pressure. "DO IT!" Cerebros cried out. "End my life. I rather die than to let my technology be used by you."

Megatron backed off. "If I do that, Fortress Maximus will be rendered useless," Megatron said. "I can't have that."

Cerebros looked at Megatron and spit on his foot.

"Your pacifist side is showing," Megatron said and shot Cerebros' left leg off. Cerebros yelled in pain. "If only you were soft, you won't be here. Now activate it."

"Never!" Cerebros winced.

"Shockwave!"

Shockwave approached Cerebros with a cord in his hand. Cerebros looked at the cord and he squirm in fear. "No!" he shouted. "Not again. Please no! Keep him away from me!"

"Activate him and I'll send him away."

"As you wish. Initiate Emissary program. Activate Headmaster protocol. Fortress Maximus, online."

Cerebros went limp as Emissary started twitching with activity. Fortress Maximus' body glowed with power.

"Initiate the transfer," Shockwave commanded.

With a throw of the switch, all the power Fortress Maximus generated was drained and transferred to Megatron's creation. Dark purple lit up the body as red optics glowed with energy. There was a low snarl as the behemoth purred to life.

"Once again you will walk the planet," Megatron said. "Cybertron will know your name, Trypticon."