Hey everyone, sorry about falling a bit behind on my writing schedule. A mixture of the COVID craziness and my own inability to be truly satisfied with my Mass Effect chapter led to me taking two months to write it instead of one. Hopefully I can speed back up here soon. And I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this time.
Vixtrion: So what's on the agenda for today?
Leaf Ranger: Well, we're going to try and finish up the events of the current arc we're in, and then continue to pick up after Wrex and Ripfang. I swear those two are managing to do more damage to my Lair then my reviewers and personalities did over the course of the decade or two I've been on this site.
Lycanok: Indeed. You might need to try and find a better method of reinforcing the walls of this place before they tear it down.
LR: Oh I've tried. Someone always comes along and tears it down anyways. *mopes in a corner*
Nightwing: Perhaps the installation of automated defenses might help?
LR: ….nope. Because someone would just hack them and turn them against me. *stares in the direction of my sister and personalities*
RagingStar19: What? *tries to look innocent*
LR: Don't bother missy. Anyways, time to get this show on the road. *mentally counts down, then hears something breaking through a wall*
Ripfang: *In the distance* BEST TWO OUT OF THREE!
LR: Eeyup…*goes to clean up the mess*
Disclaimer: I do not own Beast Wars. It is the property of Hasbro and Mainframe Entertainment. This is a non-profit work of fan made fiction. Please support the official release.
Chapter 30
The Return
Part II
Lycanok let out a soft groan as he felt his systems rebooting, his optics slowly brightening as he came back online. He slowly pushed himself up to his knee joints, reaching up to grab his helm. "Uuurrgghhh…what the slag was that?" He muttered, looking around to see most of his comrades stirring as well.
"Guh…I fergot how much Energon surges suck," Rattrap muttered, leaning back against a rock in a sitting position.
Optimus shook his helm, looking over the team. "Everyone alright?" He asked, only to stop as he saw the forms of Rhinox, Sauria, and Vixtrion. The trio was still on the ground, unmoving as energy cascaded over their frames.
"Rhinox?! Vixtrion! Get up!" Cheetor cried, moving to them and trying to shake them awake, as Silverbolt joined the group. Lycanok frowned as he looked at them, before peering over the rocks they were hidden behind. Optimus moved over to his downed comrades with Rattrap in tow.
"It looks like our transmetal forms shielded us from the worst of that blast. They weren't as lucky," he said, checking them. "They're in stasis lock, but still functioning. We need to get them back to base."
"We got another problem Optimus…looks like the same thing happened to the Predacons," Lycanok said, still looking over the rocks to where the Predacons had been laid out as well. Some of them now stirring and getting back to their pedes.
Megatron grunted as he stood, shaking his helm. "I must say…these aliens certainly know how to get your attention. Am overwhelming show of force, to quickly make their point. Yeeesss…I do like these aliens," he said with a grin.
Tarantulas growled angrily at him. "If it were not for our advance forms, we would currently be in stasis lock, like so many of your minions are now," he snapped, pointing to the downed form of Ripfang. Blackarachnia, Inferno, Waspinator, and Nightwing were also offline, while Quickstrike and Terrok both were still standing.
"Yes, I will have to address that situation when we meet with them," Megatron said, seemingly unconcerned about their welfare as he turned away and looked to the alien ship. "Now, let us see about gaining an audience with them, shall we?" He asked.
The Predacon leader moved to the structure, towards the closest side of the ship. Each ships side had two points, which seemed to have some type of large cannon connected to them, while the middle of each side had a curved obsidian like protrusion that had an emblem on it. Megatron narrowed his optics before pulling out the alien disc, scanning it for any sign of a similar symbol. Finding the same symbol, he held up the disc to ensure they matched. Suddenly the etching on the structure glowed before it split open down the middle, revealing a massive dark passageway beyond.
Megatron could only grin as he saw this happen while the Predacons around him tensed, expecting some type of attack or defense, or even just the appearance of an alien. But instead the passageway remained dark, empty, and silent. The Predacon leader was about to step forward, only to stop as Quickstrike tapped him on her arm. "Boss, we got ourselves a problem," he said, pointing to where the Maximals were lining up on the rocks, weapons drawn.
"Step away from the craft Megatron! You've already done enough damage where these aliens are concerned!" Optimus shouted, raising one of his short barreled blaster pistols.
"Oh, you have seen nothing yet, Optimus. Yyyeeesss. But do not worry. I'll be sure you have a front row seat to what I have planned," Megatron said, giving a nod to Tarantulas. The arachnid scientist raised up his arm, a panel sliding back to reveal a few buttons.
"Stop them!" Optimus shouted to his Maximals, who all opened fire on the Predacons. Tarantulas, however, quickly pressed a few of the buttons, causing each of the devices the Predacons had planted in the ground to power up. Almost immediately they generated a web shaped field of energy that surrounded the alien construct.
The missiles and rounds fired by the Maximals impacted against it and bounced off, some shooting up into the air while other bounced back towards the Maximals, forcing them to take cover.
On the inside of the web, Megatron chuckled as he transformed into his beast mode, followed by the others. "Very good Tarantulas. And you are certain it will hold?" He asked.
The arachnid scientist chuckled a bit malevolently. "It will hold long enough, Megatron," he said.
"Good. Then come my Predacons. Let us claim my prize," Megatron said, leading his functioning Predacons inside as the door slid shut behind them.
Lycanok could only shake his helm as he stared at the closed door and the protective web shield. "Wonderful," he muttered. "Megatron and his goons are inside, and I don't think we're getting past that shield anytime soon."
"We'll find a way in," Optimus said, looking to the downed Maximals. "But if we're going to deal with that alien construct, we're going to need all the help we can get. Lycanok, I want you to take Silverbolt and Cheetor and bring the others back to base. Get them online and functioning as soon as possible. We'll especially need Rhinox," he ordered.
Lycanok nodded as he and the others moved to the trio of downed Maximals. Soon enough he was roaring away in his vehicle mode with Rhinox secured to his back, while Silverbolt did his best to carry Sauria and Cheetor carried Vixtrion. Optimus turned to Rattrap after seeing them go. "I don't suppose you have any ideas on how to get past that shield?"
Rattrap murmured as he looked at it. "…let me take a closer look at dem generators, and I'll let yeh know. But I ain't got a clue how ta get inta dat alien ship. Hope youse got an idea fer dat one," he said, moving to the shield with Optimus following him.
Inside the ship the four Predacons advanced down the long dark hallway, which had curved downward shortly after they had entered. The darkness proved not to be a problem for them though, as their optics adjusted to it, revealing the interior to be a long smooth corridor with numerous metal spars reinforcing the sides and ceiling. Yet there were no signs of any branching hallways, nor any sign of a crew or defenses.
"I don't like this boss. This place is givin' me some nasty shivers, "Quickstrike mumbled as he looked around the corridor. The lack of any life or defenses was making him feel very uneasy.
"This feels very much like a trap," Terrok stated, hobbling a bit awkwardly as he could not fly in his beast form inside this corridor.
"Silence, all of you," Megatron snarled as Tarantulas skittered ahead of them, leading the way. Only for him to stop as he soon saw a dim light emanating from what appeared to be the end of the corridor.
"I believe we are nearing the end," Tarantulas stated, pointing with one metallic leg towards said opening.
Megatron growled softly, taking the lead now as they approached the end of the corridor. He stopped short of it, remaining in the corridor as he peered into the expanse beyond, his eyes widening at what he saw. The other Predacons moved to his sides, each one soon seeing what he saw as well.
The corridor opened up into a massive room illuminated with soft white light from some source high above, which revealed what looked like a strange hybrid of a natural cavern and an artificial structure. The corridor, along with several others, all connected to a seemingly stone platform suspended in the middle of this cavernous room, with a pedestal standing in the center of it. Strange, web-like tubes seemed to randomly twist and turn across the upper parts of the area, while large stone growths stretched out from large columns above each corridor. They could also barely make out a squat, wide cylinder on a small spur sticking off of the platform, which seemed to glow with a sickly greenish-yellow light.
Megatron narrowed his eyes as he searched for any signs of life, as did the three Predacons with him. They could see no signs of any crew or alien presence, yet it did not set any of them at ease.
"This definitely has trap written all over it," Terrok murmured, wisely taking a step back as he said that. Tarantulas did so as well, as they both had an inkling of what Megatron would do in such a situation. Quickstrike, however, had no idea of what was going on and so did not see Megatron step back. He did, however, feel the kick from the T-Rex Predacon that sent him sailing into the room, flipping and crashing into the ground. Sputtering he rose up quickly, wildly searching around for any danger or threat as his claws clacked and his cobra head hissed.
The other Predacons watched as well but still nothing happened, causing Megatron to cautiously step into the open. "Interesting…you would think by now they would have reacted to us. Yes," he murmured, swiveling his metallic reptilian head around to keep examining the room. "But then again, in our current forms they most likely view us as mere dumb beasts. Well I shall hide no longer! No! Megatron, Terrorize!" He shouted.
With a roar he transformed into his robot form as the other three Predacons quickly cowered, expecting some kind of response to this. Yet again nothing happened, causing them to slowly look around in confusion and ill-hidden relief.
"Hmmm…interesting," Tarantulas said as he transformed as well, again receiving no reaction from the alien ship. "Perhaps…perhaps they cannot detect us? Perhaps it is because of that quantum surge that transformed our frames. It was mixed with alien energy, and when our forms were altered, it might have created a masking effect that makes us invisible to them…or makes them think we are them?"
"An interesting theory. And one that proves beneficial to our endeavors," Megatron said, looking around. "Quickstrike, Terrok. You two remain on guard, in case the situation changes. Tarantulas, get to work. I surmise that cylinder over there is some type of computer, so utilize it. I will search for the controls of this ship," Megatron ordered, causing the three other Predacons to set to work.
Outside, Rattrap nodded as he finished studying the pylons. "Yep, just like I thought. Dis here is yer good old fashion reflective shield. One of da eight legs rigged it ta look like a web, but still same Pred tech," he said with a grin. "Easy 'nough ta deal wit, if yeh know how. Which I do," he said with a grin.
"And how do we deal with it?" Optimus asked him, with Rattrap just grinning as he pulled out a couple of explosives from his storage compartment.
"Simple. You place dat explosive on da opposite side of the ship. Needs ta be partially buried, and as close as yeh can get it ta da pylon over dere. I'll do da same here. Da explosion will disrupt da pylons, shutting down da shield and leaving it wide open ta us," he said, crouching down and starting to dig a hole for the explosive. Optimus nodded as he took to the air, heading to the other side of the ship.
Inside the ship, Tarantulas murmured as he worked on the alien cylinder, utilizing a cyber-visor to help him hack into the alien technology. "These aliens are cowards," he said angrily, as he quickly found that the ship, much like the majority of alien technology, was an automated construct that had been sent here with no crew onboard. "They hide like frightened vermin, allowing their toys to fight for them! I will enjoy finding their home and bestowing retribution on them."
He paused in his rambling as something caught his optics inside the alien network, causing him to focus on it. "…Megatron, I think I found what you're looking for," he said, activating a few commands.
The Predacon leader, who had been examining the stone column in the center of the room, stepped back as it began to lower and then stop when it was waist height to him. The top of it had a circular indentation in it, with symbols etched into the bottom of the indentation. Megatron began to smile as he saw they were the same symbols as on the alien disc.
"Yes…you have Tarantulas. Excellent work," he said, before turning to the arachnid scientist. "Did you find anything else useful in there?" He demanded.
"It is essentially a secondary command console, giving controls to the main functions of the majority of the controls are only accessible to one who has the necessary interface. Which you have," Tarantulas said, growling out the last part as he began to close down his connection to the alien computer. But not before leaving behind a few presents hidden within. "The aliens themselves, however, are remotely controlling this vehicle. There is no life inside this vessel beyond us."
"I see then. You've certainly held up your end of our bargain," Megatron said, drawing out the alien disc from his storage compartment. "As soon as I have control of the alien craft, you shall be rewarded," he added, moving to place the disc into the interface.
Outside, Rattrap grimaced as he and Optimus hid behind some rocks, the former staring at the shield covered ship. "Yeh do know dat shield is da only think keeping dat alien bungalow from doin' anyding, right? We blow da shield, it gets loose."
"If we don't do anything, it'll still get loose when Megatron takes it over. Blow it," Optimus ordered, making Rattrap sigh.
"Fire in da hole," he muttered, and pressed the remote detonator for the bombs. In an instance, both of them blew, with the explosive and shockwave transferring through the ground and shaking the pylons loose. One fell to the ground while the other tilted steeply; causing a break in the shield that immediately caused the only thing to collapse, leaving the ship exposed.
Inside the ship the four Predacons were rocked by the explosion, causing Megatron to turn towards Tarantulas. The arachnid spider was cursing as he stumbled, before righting himself. "The Maximals must have found a way to disrupt the shield! The base is exposed now!"
"You three go and hold the Maximals off! I shall finish taking control of the ship," Megatron ordered, turning back to the interface. He heard the trio rush off back down the corridor, Quickstrike letting out excited whoops, leaving him to slot the disc into the column. Immediately the symbols lit up before a beam of energy shot down, engulfing the interface and himself. He immediately roared in pain as he felt the energy seep into his being, forcing him to his knee joints. He could feel some type of presence battling him, trying to force him to submit, to seize his systems and shut them down. He clenched his servos as he fought against this invading presence, refusing to back down now when he was close to his goal. He pushed back against it, his will struggling for supremacy, both of himself and the ship.
Outside, Rattrap and Optimus now peered over the rocks at the alien ship. "So…now what?" Rattrap asked, as they had no real way of entering as far as he could see.
"Hmmm…well…we could try knocking…maybe Megatron is in a particularly arrogant mood?" Optimus half heartedly suggested, while staring at the sealed entranceway closest to them.
"Oh sure, I'll just bet old Megs is dat stupid," Rattrap said, only to stop as the door opened. "...well-," he started to say, only to duck as Tarantulas, Quickstrike, and Terrok all leaned out of the entranceway, each rapidly firing their weapons at the duo of Maximals.
"Guess Megatron sent us a welcoming committee! We shouldn't disappoint!" Optimus shouted as he quickly turned into his flight mode, with Rattrap hopping up behind him. The Maximal leader drew the pair of maces off his back, using them to deflect the enemy's fire as he flew towards the entranceway, with Rattrap popping out to take shots whenever he could.
Terrok grimaced as he watched another of his plasma bolts be deflected. "Since when could Primal do that?!" He demanded, having not fought Optimus that often since his return.
"I don't know, but he just ain't plain'fair!" Quickstrike yelled angrily, trying to shoot Rattrap when he popped out, only for the green bolt to be deflected.
"It doesn't matter! We have to hold here until Megatron-!" Tarantulas started to shout, only to be interrupted as they heard a rumbling noise from within the ship, as the entire alien construct began to rumble and shake. All three Predacons ceased firing while Optimus stopped flying, staring up in shock and growing horror.
Slowly the construct began to rise up, trembling as it lifted off the ground. The Predacons, caught off guard, fell out of the hatchway and onto the ground, where they immediately began to scramble away from the rising alien ship.
As it continued to rise up one of the cannons began to rotate, aiming directly at Optimus and Rattrap. Optimus quickly raised his maces as energy coalesced around the cannon, before a large green bolt shot out, slamming into Optimus even as he tried to shield himself. The Maximal leader let out a cry of pain before slamming into the ground, while Rattrap let out a cry of surprise as he was sent flying, falling onto a large pile of rocks and laying there, disoriented. Optimus weakly tried to push himself up, before falling offline.
The three Predacons could only stare in awe and terror as the giant alien ship fully lifted off the ground, revealing a long stem like pylon hanging from the center of the ship's underside, ending in a bulge with four engine openings. It continued to rise up, soon almost reaching the top of the canyon before it stopped, hovering there above them.
"Well…ya don't see that every day," Quickstrike commented, only for a cone of green energy to suddenly shoot out of the bottom of the alien ship. Slowly the cone began to widen, running all along the floor of the canyon. When it reached the downed Predacons, they were lifted into the air with the energy, as were the three active Predacons when it reached them. All three let out surprised cries, struggling against the energy as it lifted them up.
Rattrap shook his helm, looking up in surprise as he saw the green energy advancing towards him. His optics widened as he saw it engulf the offline Optimus, lifting him up into the air. Seeing it coming towards him, he quickly fell back into the rocks, falling into a circular hole and crouching down. He heard a soft thrumming noise as the energy passed overhead, the rocks shielding him from the energy as it kept passing by. Eventually the energy reached the canyon walls and rose up up along them. Slowly Rattrap looked up, seeing the dangling figures of the Predacons and his leader hanging in the air.
Suddenly the upper hull of the ship that was facing the captured Predacons and Optimus began to morph, pushing outwards like some type of liquid, sentient metal as it formed into the face plate of Megatron. The 'optics' of the giant face suddenly lit up with a similar green energy.
"L-Lord Megatron?" Terrok managed to squawk out, optics wide with fright at the massive effigy of his leader leered above him and the others.
"Indeed, Terrok. I have successfully taken control of the alien ship," Megatron's voice boomed out, the 'mouth' of the large metal face moving as he 'spoke' revealing more of the same green energy.
Tarantulas grimaced as he heard that, and realizing he was now at Megatron's mercy. "You managed to seize control of it from the aliens?" He asked, knowing that even with the ship essentially being on autopilot and with no crew, the aliens still had some form of control over it.
"They do not matter now. Their ship and all its power belongs to me," Megatron stated, the smugness of his tone evident as he spoke while focusing on the arachnid scientist. "As such…I find that our alliance is no longer necessary. Your use has come to an end."
Tarantulas' optic widened in surprise and horrified realization, but before he could even speak the energy around him dissipated, causing him to fall back towards the ground with a long terrified shriek. Quickstrike and Terrok both could only gape at the sudden action, while 'Megatron' merely chuckled.
"And now, for my loyal troops…," he spoke while beams of blue energy streaked up through the field of green, striking each of the Predacons still offline. Each of them let out groans as their systems began to reboot, each one returning to functionality. Of course, as soon as they saw themselves dangling in the air in front of a giant alien ship with their leader's face on it, more than one of them let out a cry or scream of surprise.
"Calm yourself, my loyal Predacons. You are in no danger. Now, bring our…'honored' guest inside. There is much to be done," Megatron said, his 'face' receding back into the hull of the ship as suddenly all of the Predacons, and Optimus, were turned into energy and sucked into the ship along with the cone of green energy.
Rattrap could only watch in horror as the ship began to glow blue before seeming to disintegrate from the top down, disappearing in a beam of energy that shot off into the sky and curved away, heading elsewhere. Scrambling out of his hiding place he quickly activated his comm unit. "Rattrap ta base! Yeh hearin' me?! Lycanok, Cheetor, anyone?!"
"They won't here you," came a pained, angry voice from behind, causing Rattrap to whirl around and find himself facing a hunched over Tarantulas, one servo gripping his side while the other pointed his blaster at Rattrap. "That ship left behind a massive energy field that will take time to dissipate. Sensors and communications are useless."
Rattrap slowly held up his servos. "Heh…just my luck," he murmured, only for Tarantulas to surprise him by lowering his blaster.
"Take me to your base, rodent. If you want your precious Optimus back…we have work to do," the arachnid scientist snarled, as Rattrap 'blinked' in surprise. "Well?! Move it!"
Rattrap growled but transformed into his vehicle form, roaring away with Tarantulas following his example. As they left, neither of them noticed the slight silver glow emanating from the impact crater left behind by Airazor.
Unknown Mountain
At a far off snowy peak, the alien ship rematerialized over the cratered top of the mountain. In the command center of the ship, the Predacons looked between a holographic display that showed them their location and their master, who now sat in a large hovering chair. The chair appeared to be made of stone, consisting of two gracefully curved armrests with golden orbs embedded in near the ends, which Megatron used to issue commands to the ship. The back of the chair also gracefully curved back, easily supporting the large Predacon's bulk.
Inferno stared at the screen, before his optics widened in realization and surprise. "Royalty, this is the place where I retrieved the alien disc!" He said as he looked to the pedestal where said disc still resided.
"Indeed it is, Inferno. I thought it fitting that we return to the location where all of this began. It will be a fitting location for our victory in the Beast Wars," Megatron said with a smile, glancing to the side where Optimus, still in beast mode, hung with his arms wrapped in powerful organic looking tendrils, his head still slumped in unconsciousness.
Ripfang growled in anticipation when he heard Megatron's words. "You mean we'll fight the Maximals here?" He asked eagerly.
Megatron shook his helm. "No, my dear Ripfang. We will do worse to our enemy then fight and destroy them…we shall leave them here. Marooned on this ancient world, never to leave, never to return home. While they prepare their defenses, expecting us to launch an attack upon their base, we shall leave and return to Cybertron, where this ship will give me the power necessary to lead the Predacons to glorious victory over the Maximals."
"But won't they attack us as soon as they know where we are?" Blackarachnia asked skeptically, raising one 'eyebrow' as she crossed her arms. "Granted they'll most likely die doing so, but still, if they get half a chance-."
"Aah, but that would be if they can find us. Yyeeessss. For you see, one of the defense mechanisms of this ship is a field that will shield us from most scanners. The Maximals will never be able to find us without a visual search. We will be long gone before they have the chance to find us. But we have work to do. Waspinator, Inferno, Nightwing! I have a job for you three," Megatron said with a smile.
Waspinator grinned at that, rubbing his servos together. "Ooohhh, goodie! Wazpinator iz ready!" He said, puffing out his chestplate.
Megatron merely smiled before telling his minions their mission, all the while envisioning his soon to be triumphant return to Cybertron.
Axalon
Lycanok growled in frustration as he saw yet another negative result on the sensor screen. "By the inferno, how does something like that alien ship just vanish from sensors?!" He demanded, slamming a clenched servo against the console.
"Orbital scans aren't getting anything either. One cycle it was there, then there was that surge of energy, and then it was gone! Do you think it left?" Cheetor asked.
"Part of me hopes so, but considering we've heard nothing from Optimus or Rattrap, part of me is worried it did something to them," Lycanok said, turning as he heard approaching ped falls. Silverbolt soon entered the bridge with Sauria, Vixtrion, and Rhinox following him, the three Maximals back to full functionality.
"What's going on?" Rhinox asked, since Silverbolt had been unable to apprise them of the situation beyond Optimus and Rattrap had stayed behind to deal with alien ship and the Predacons.
"At the moment? No idea," Lycanok said. "We got a massive surge of energy from the site of the alien ship and then nothing. No sign of it and no word from Optimus and Rattrap."
"It might be a good idea to send out a recon party, to attempt to locate the ship or the others," Sauria said, only for Lycanok to shake his helm.
"Not if Megatron managed to seize control of the ship. He could be planning to attack the base. Even if he didn't manage to take control of it, the aliens might be planning to attack us anyways. We need everyone together for-," he said, only to be interrupted by an alert going off while the sensor screen shifted, showing the proximity sensor grid. On it were two blips speeding towards the base at high speed. One of them Maximal and the other Predacon.
Cheetor looked worriedly at the screen. "That's Rattrap…and he's bringing in Tarantulas…but where's Big Bot?" He asked.
"We'll need to ask Rattrap. Everyone get ready. They're coming in," Rhinox said, as the two Cybertronians neared the base. The stopped near the elevator and transformed, with Rattrap opening up his comms.
"Yo uuhh…you guys wanna drop da elevator? We got major problems," he said, as Tarantulas stood impatiently behind him.
"Tell Tarantulas to disarm his weapons first," Lycanok ordered. The arachnid scientist sputtered and glared angrily up at the base, before complying. Soon after the duo were riding the elevator onto the bridge, where all the Maximals stood by with weapons drawn and ready.
"Enough with your posturing," Tarantulas said as soon as he saw the arsenal pointed at him. "Do you honestly think I'd be stupid enough to try and attack you all by myself? I'm here because we both need each other's help."
"Help? From you? Fat chance," Cheetor growled, only for Tarantulas to scoff.
"Megatron has taken your leader, and has used a scattering field to hide the ship from sensors. You'll never find it without my help," Tarantulas stated.
"How do you know that? How do you even know he's on the planet still?" Sauria demanded, only for Tarantulas to smirk at her.
"It honestly amazes me to think you Maximals are so willing to keep a triple traitor in your midst. You really are as naïve and stupid as I expected," he said, causing Sauria to flinch before he continued. "I hacked into the alien's ship when it landed, and I know what it is capable of. The aliens do not have anything similar to a transwarp drive. They instead utilize conduits that have been built from wherever their home is to whatever destination they have in mind. They do not have the capability of reaching Cybertron, and thus Megatron does not have that same capability either. He most likely will need to modify the ship in order to reach Cybertron, where he will most likely use it to annihilate your pitiful Maximal government."
"How do you know that's what he'll do?" Lycanok asked suspiciously, while Tarantulas smiled at him.
"Because it is what I'd do if I was him. Now will you continue to argue with me, or shall we agree that Megatron and his alien ship are the bigger threat?" He asked them, sounding smug.
Rhinox frowned as he looked to the others. "Opinions?" He asked.
Rattrap let out a sigh. "I don't dink we really got a choice. Unless yeh know how ta find dat tinfoil umbrella…do you big guy?" He asked Rhinox hopefully.
Rhinox shook his helm before looking to Lycanok, who slumped a bit in resignation. Cheetor and Vixtrion both glared at Tarantulas, but took steps back, while Silverbolt gave a nod. Sauria merely looked down slightly, sheathing her sword and shield.
Rhinox let out a long vent before turning and accessing the sensor grid. "I'm going to be monitoring you. If you try anything funny, you'll be scrapped before you know it," he said threateningly, stepping aside and allowing Tarantulas access to the sensors. The arachnid scientist quickly set to work, scoffing as he saw the state of the Maximals sensor grid.
"Have you learned nothing from dealing with these aliens? This is pathetic," he muttered as he set to work, quickly adding new codes and algorithms, all while Rhinox monitored his work from another console. The other Maximals hung back, waiting for results.
"Hang on Big Bot. we're coming for you," Cheetor said softly.
Alien ship
Optimus let out a soft groan as he began to awaken, his systems rebooting. Slowly opening his beast form's eyes he blinked a few times, his optical sensors adjusting as he began to slowly take in his surroundings. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he was inside the alien ship, given the presence of several Predacons. He slowly looked around, searching for any sign of Rattrap, stopping only when he saw Megatron sitting in a hovering chair.
Ripfang, who had been busy watching over Optimus, now turned to the Predacon leader. "He's awake boss," he said, causing Megatron to turn to his Maximal adversary.
"Aah, so he is. Good, good. I was hoping you'd be awake to see my glorious triumph, Optimus Primal," Megatron said with a smirk.
"What are you talking about Megatron?" Optimus asked, slowly moving his servos to get a feel for the tendrils that were wrapped around his forearms.
"I'm talking about my soon to be victory in the Beast Wars, of course! As well as my rise to leader of a new Predacon Empire. Yyeeesss," Megatron said. "As soon as my fliers return with their cargo, we'll begin preparations for the journey home."
Optimus slowly widened his eyes in horrified realization. "You're going to take this ship to Cybertron?! You can't do that! If the aliens seize control of this ship and learn where Cybertron is, they could attack our home for what's happened here!"
Megatron merely waved away those concerns. "If they are foolish enough to try, I will destroy them with their own technology. They will fall, just as your fellow Maximals will soon. And once they have, the Predacons will see that I am their true leader and savior."
Optimus growled out, gripping his servos. "Not going to happen Megatron! Optimus, Max-GAAAHHHH!" Optimus let out a cry of pain as energy surged into his frame from his restraints, shocking him and leaving him limp and venting heavily.
Megatron smirked, releasing one of the buttons on his command chair. "Did you really think I wouldn't expect some last minute attempt at your usual pathetic heroics? You wound me deeply by underestimating me," he said, turning as an alert went off and the holographic screen reappeared in mid-air, showing the return of the three fliers, each carrying a large crate. "Aah and it seems my followers have returned. Good. Soon, all will be as it should."
Optimus could only weakly look up, struggling to think of a way out of his predicament before it was too late.
Megatron was not the only one aware of the Predacon fliers returning to the alien ship. Onboard the Axalon, Tarantulas watched the image of the alien ship with the three fliers moving around it, while the computer analyzed them.
"Warning. Scanners indicate the presence of transwarp cells. Repeat, scanners indicate the presence of transwarp cells. Caution advised," the computer reported, while Rhinox let out a groan under his breath.
"They're going to rig that ship to create a transwarp field. That's how they'll get back to Cybertron," he said, turning to Tarantulas. "Where is the ship located?"
"Grid Ket. A fair distance, but doable. But I hope you're not thinking of simply attacking the ship. You'll never bring it down in a frontal attack," the arachnid Predacon said.
"No…but that might be what we need," Lycanok said, a thought coming to his processor. "You said you hacked into the ship's computer while you were on it…if we could get you onboard again…would you be able to bring it down?"
Tarantulas blinked, before a sinister look appeared on his face plate. "Easily," he said.
Lycanok nodded, looking to the others. "Then this is what we'll do," he said, starting to outline his plan to them all.
Alien Ship
Blackarachnia murmured as she tested the connections between the ships computer and the transwarp cells. It had taken them a few megacycles, but following Megatron's instructions and with a bit of ingenuity on her part, she had been able to connect the transwarp cells and a few other components into the computer to create a makeshift transwarp drive. Surprisingly the alien technology had adapted to the Cybertronian technology quite well, almost as if it was organically changing to work better with the new components.
Finishing up her check she turned to Megatron. "Everything appears to be in order. I just need to run one more check to make sure it's not going to blow up on us," she said.
"Excellent. Make haste Blackarachnia. Soon we shall return to Cybertron as conquerors!" Megatron shouted, only to stop as an alert went off and the holographic screen came up, showing several moving dots approaching the ship.
Both Cheetor and Silverbolt could be seen flying towards the alien ship, carrying Vixtrion and Rhinox respectively, while Lycanok roared up the snowy surface of the mountain in his wheeled form with Sauria on his back. The Maximal fliers dropped off their passengers and quickly buzzed around the ship as the ground Maximals all quickly drew their weapons, taking up positions around the mountain and opening fire on the alien ship.
Optimus could only grin as he saw his Maximals leaping into action, turning to look at Megatron. "Guess there might be time for some last minute heroics after all," he said.
Megatron merely smirked back. "On the contrary. I think a little demonstration of what this ship is capable of is warranted," he said, pressing a series of buttons on the command chair.
At each corner of the alien ship, the long cannons began to turn and aim, glowing with green energy as they began to target the six Maximals attacking the ship. Silverbolt rolled between blasts, firing a pair of rockets from his wing tips into the upper hull of the alien ship and peeling away. The rockets slammed into the hull, though left little but superficial damage. Cheetor experienced the same problem, transforming briefly to robot form to fire a few blasts from his servos before transforming again to fly and regain altitude.
On the ground, Lycanok was firing his blaster rifle in its crossbow form, the slower but more powerful bolts scorching the underside of the ship. Sauria and Rhinox were both focusing their fire on the long 'stem' of the ship, attempting to weaken or break through it, while Vixtrion fired her weapon in its sub-machine gun form, dealing what damage she could. Each of them was forced to continually run and dodge from more weapons fire from the ship, as they struggled to damage it.
"Are we even making a dent?!" Vixtrion cried out over the comms, ducking behind one of the few rocks large enough to hide behind as a bolt of green energy slammed into the ground near her, vaporizing the snow.
"It doesn't matter! We're trying to draw out Megatron's goons! Keep firing!" Lycanok shouted, still firing at the underside of the ship, now aiming for one of the cannons.
Silverbolt dove under the ship, coming up and firing a pair of rockets at the bulb near the bottom of the stem. This time the rockets did more damage, actually blasting apart part of the hull. Silverbolt grinned at that, only for it to fade away as he saw the metal seemingly start to regenerate, repairing the damage done.
"Well that's just Prime," Rhinox said, seeing the ship repairing itself and thus making their work even harder.
In the control center, the Predacons were laughing and jeering as they watched the Maximals seemingly feeble attempts to damage the ship, all while Megatron smiled. "Your Maximals are providing quite a lot of amusement, Optimus. I must remember to thank them for that…if they survive. I do wonder which one will fall first though?" He asked while Optimus gritted his teeth, struggling against the tendrils, helpless to do anything but watch.
Far away, back in the canyon where the vessel had first appeared, the silver glow emanating from the crater left by Airazor had grown stronger and stronger over time, now creating a bright light that now seemed to bathe the entire canyon. Suddenly the light surged, as the ground in the crater exploded upwards and a silver streak shot into the air with a roar, arcing in flight and disappearing over the horizon.
At the mountain battle site, Sauria was venting heavily, crouched behind a boulder and holding her left arm, which was scorched from a near miss from the alien ship. "It appears Megatron doesn't consider us enough of a threat," she growled out.
"We need to try and take out those cannons! If we can disable a couple of them, that might be enough to draw his troops out!" Lycanok shouted, about to focus on one of the cannons only to hear Cheetor let out a cry. The wolf mech looked up to see the young flier spiral out of the sky, having been hit by a blast from one of the cannons when he was transforming and preparing to fire.
"Cheetor!" Vixtrion cried out, dashing from cover and heading towards where the young mech was going to crash. As he hit the ground, she slid in the snow next to his downed form.. "Cheetor, can you hear me?! Answer me!" She begged, looking at his unconscious form, his chestplate dented and warped from the blast that hit him.
"Vixtrion, get him out of there!" Lycanok called, only for the same cannon that knocked Cheetor out of the sky to aim down towards the pair, charging up for another shot. Lycanok ran towards them, optics wide in fear. "RUN!" He shouted, even though he knew it was too late.
Just as the cannon prepared to fire, there was a sudden roar and a flash of silver light that cut through the air and seemingly right through the cannon. The green energy around it died away as the barrel of the weapon slowly seemed to slide down and off, separating from the rest of the ship before an explosion erupted from the destroyed cannon, as its barrel dropped down to the ground below.
Everything seemed to stop in that moment, as the Maixmals outside and the Predacons inside all stared in shock and awe at the explosion, before focusing on what caused it. The silver streak of light that had sliced through it was turning, coming back around as Megatron furiously enhanced the image, revealing a robotic looking bird of prey. It was a falcon, which's head, back, and the leading edge of its knife like wings were a metallic bronze in color, while the rest of the wings and the underside were silver. The tail, also bronze with silver trim, was seemingly transformed into some type of engine that propelled the obvious transformer forward, while the wings were held rigid.
On the ground, Lycanok could only stare in shock, as hope fluttered in his Spark. "…you survived?" He whispered softly.
The falcon's tail transformed back into a normal tail as their wings flapped, the falcon rising up and flaring before calling out in a familiar voice. "Airazor, MAXIMIZE!"
The falcon's form shifted, soon revealing the new, transmetal form of Airazor. Her forearms and servos, shoulder joints, chestplate, lower torso, and calves all were metallic bronze, while her thighs, midriff, and biceps were silver. Her helm now was metallic bronze, covering the sides of her cheeks and under her optics and with a pair of wings rising up off the sides of the helm. The area around her mouth port and neck were silver, with her optics now a more vibrant green, staring down at the alien ship with cold fury. From her forearms the robotic talons of her beast form folded out, turning into deadly combat claws while her optics glowed before a pair of lasers shot out, slamming into the ship and actually tearing into the hull. (1)
Megatron growled angrily at this unexpected new arrival, as well as the damage she had caused the ship. "Enough of this! Get out there and engage those Maximals! Now!" He ordered his Predacons, who immediately rushed towards the hallway that would lead them to the closest exit out of the ship. Megatron snarled as he ordered the other cannons to keep firing, watching as the Maximals renewed their assault.
The Predacons poured out of the ship now, Blackarachnia creating a strand of cyber-webbing that Quickstrike and Ripfang used to follow her down to the ground, while Terrok, Waspinator, Inferno, and Nightwing took to the air. Airazor immediately turned her attention to them, seeing Nightwing and Inferno heading towards her while Terrok and Waspinator headed for Silverbolt. She shot towards them, her wings spreading out behind her as she did so. Immediately her optics glowed again, another burst of lasers shooting out and slamming into Inferno, sending him spiraling away while Nightwing dodged, Airazor quickly following her in pursuit.
On the ground, the Maximals now converged, engaging the Predacons as Cheetor recovered behind a boulder, slowly shaking his helm. "uuugghhh…that wasn't fun…," he groaned, holding a servo to his chestplate.
"Be more careful next time," Rhinox chided, finishing checking him up while Lycanok, Vixtrion, and Sauria covered them.
"We've drawn their attention. Now it's up to Tarantulas and Rattrap," Lycanok said, glancing up at the ship.
Up above, Rattrap gulped, looking over the edge of the ship. "Man oh man…I hate heights," he murmured.
"Stop your whining and follow me, rodent. We have one shot at this," Tarantulas said while in beast form. He had used a strand of cyber-web, fired from his weapon, to get them up to the ship in the distraction caused by the Maximals. Now he let out a second stand of webbing as he swung down and neatly into the doorway the Predacons had exited, while Rattrap grabbed the other end and swung in after him.
Tarantulas was there, already transforming into his robot form. "Megatron will almost certainly have Optimus in the main command area. Follow this hallway to reach it," he said.
Rattrap frowned as he peered down the hallway. "And where will youse be, huh?" He asked, turning to the arachnid Predacon, only to find him already gone. "….well data ain't creepy at all," he murmured, quickly turning and moving down the hallway with pistol drawn.
Lycanok, having seen the movement, nodded. "We got them in! Fighting withdrawal!" He ordered while looking up into the sky, only to watch as Airazor was engaged in some type of aerial close quarters combat with Nightwing. The femme Predacon had her ninjato drawn, slashing at Airazor who either blocked or parried with her claws or simply dodged out of the way, striking at Nightwing with her claws, fists, knees and pedes. It seemed that she had Nightwing on the defensive, striking out faster and with more blows then Nightwing could deal with. Silverbolt, meanwhile, was rolling between blasts from Terrok's servos, grabbing one of his rockets from his wing tip and throwing it back at Waspinator behind him. The insect flier let out a cry and barely dodged the attack, letting out a vent of relief before a shot from Vixtrion knocked him out of the sky.
Lycanok turned to Vixtrion, who shrugged. "It just doesn't feel like a fight unless someone shoots him," she said with a grin, before ducking as a bolt from Quickstrike soared past her helm.
Lycanok shook his helm before turning to the others. "Cover each other's withdrawal. Take it slow, keep them occupied," he said, before contacting Silverbolt and Airazor. "We're starting to fall back. Withdraw if you can," he said.
Silverbolt quickly began flying away, occasionally turning to engage Terrok and drive him off. Airazor, after driving Nightwing back for a moment, glanced down at Lycanok with a look of confusion before firing her lasers at Inferno who was trying to sneak up on her from below, having recovered from the shot she gave him earlier. The ant flier immediately was sent crashing to the ground again, allowing Airazor to focus once more on Nightwing.
Onboard the ship, Megatron smirked as he saw the Maximals starting to fall back, feeling that they had realized even with the surprise return of Airazor, they were outmatched. "You see Optimus? Even the return of your flier in her new form did not change the balance for them. They realized they were outmatched," he said, before activating his communications unit. "All Predacons, continue pursuit but return before ten cycles," he said, before activating a new command code. Below him the alien disc glowed, the symbols on it lightning up as the computer core pulsed along with the transwarp cells. The symbols on the disc began to light up, and then darken in sequence, until one of them remained lit.
"Soon, we'll be on our way to Cybertron," Megatron gloated to the captive Maximal leader, only to freeze as a voice spoke up from behind him.
"Eehhh…yeh should have waited. Everyone knows best time ta visit Cybertron is da off season," Rattrap said with a smirk, blaster drawn and pointed on Megatron as the Predacon leader whirled around.
"Rodent! You won't deny me my victory!" Megatron shouted, grabbing his tail from his storage compartment. He barely ducked his helm as Rattrap fired at him, smirking at the Maximal spy. "You missed, vermin," he said, raising his tail.
"Check again, Megatron!" Optimus shouted behind him, causing Megatron to whirl and receive the underside of Optimus' hover-board to his faceplate, knocking him from the command chair and to the ground.
Optimus grinned at Rattrap, saluting him. "Perfect timing as always Rattrap! Can you try to take out the transwarp cells before this thing takes off?!" he called out.
Rattrap smirked as he pointed over to the computer core. "Got it covered!" he said, as Tarantulas could be seen hanging upside down, working fervently on the computer core. The arachnid scientist was busy accessing the 'surprises' he left behind, deciding now was the best time to use them.
Before Optimus could respond, Megatron let out a roar as he surged back to his pedes, turning and firing at Optimus with his tail. The Maximal leader ducked under the shot, quickly maneuvering to make himself a harder target as Rattrap leapt away, diving behind the only cover available: the pedestal that held the alien disc. As he peeked up, the symbols lit up again and a second one remained glowing after they had cycled through themselves. "Better hurry up dere eight legs!" Rattrap shouted.
Megatron turned, seeing Tarantulas working at the computer core. He let out another roar as he aimed towards the arachnid, only to suddenly be yanked up into the air by Optimus and thrown away. The Predacon leader transformed in midair, his fan engines activating and allowing him to stop himself from slamming into one of the tubes crossing the ceiling. He turned, snarling angrily as he charged right at Optimus who mimicked the Predacons actions. The two of them slammed into each other, Optimus using his beast form's powerful arms to keep Megatron's jaws from clamping around his head, while Megatron tried to bring his tail into play, trying to use the claw to grab Optimus. The two continued to struggle in midair before Megatron let out a roar and brought up one of his legs to kick Optimus in the chestplate. This sent the Maximal leader careening while Megatron was thrown back as well by the force of the kick.
Megatron was about to charge towards Optimus when a couple of rounds from Rattrap's pistol slammed into him, sending him careening as well. Rattrap was about to fire on him when Tarantulas went screeching past him at high speed in his cycle form, causing the Maximal spy to turn and see the transwarp cells were now pulsing much more frequently, while the computer core was glowing an ominous red. Something that was matched by the lights in the room turning red as well. "Yo Pop Op! Dis place is about ta blow!" Rattrap shouted.
Optimus, recovering from the kick and seeing the signs as well, quickly shot down to Rattrap, letting him hop up onto the board as they shot down one of the hallways. Megatron growled as he looked around, seeing his enemies gone, but also seeing the signs that something was wrong. Letting out a berserker roar of rage he shot off down a different hallway, absolutely furious that he had come so close, so close to victory, and yet had been denied yet again.
Outside, the Predacons were starting to return to the ship, confident in their victory after chasing off the Maximals, only to stop as they saw Optimus and Rattrap fly out of the ship. Almost immediately thereafter, a still roaring Megatron exited the ship as well. Within a few moments the entire ship began to glow a bright blue, with the Predacons quickly realizing something was wrong and running away as well. The ship seemed to start crumpling in on itself, before it suddenly erupted outwards in a massive explosion that further destroyed the top of the mountain, sending a shockwave that knocked the Predacons to the ground as debris was hurled in various directions.
Optimus was also affected by the shockwave as it almost sent him tumbling, Rattrap letting out a yell as he grabbed onto the Maximal leader to prevent himself from falling off as Optimus struggled to maintain his balance. Eventually he managed to level himself out, hovering in the air as he turned and looked at the large cloud of smoke and dissipating energy that marked where the alien ship had been. He let out a vent of relief before activating his comms. "This is Optimus Primal to Lycanok. What's your location?"
"Good to hear from you Optimus! We're about three hundred meters from your current location. Sending coordinates now! And welcome back," Lycanok reported in. Optimus nodded before quickly flying towards the coordinates. There, he found all the Maximals waiting, though he noted Airazor was apart from the group, seemingly staring off into the distance.
He quickly landed and transformed, before Cheetor reached him and slapped his arm. "Welcome back Big Bot!" He said eagerly.
"It's good to see you're alright," Rhinox said as well, shaking Optimus' servo. Vixtrion hugged him happily, while Lycanok nodded and Silverbolt bowed his head. Sauria gave him a nod as well, leaving Optimus to look to the transmetal flier.
"…it's good to see you're alive, Airazor," he said, moving towards her. The femme flier didn't turn to Optimus, instead continuing to stare off into the distance. "Airazor?"
"…it's good to see you Optimus," she finally said, turning to him. She tried to smile, but it was a weak one that had no life in it. They all could tell she was masking a large amount of pain and sorrow. "Sorry I was late to the party. I…I needed to get dressed up," she said, spreading her arms.
Optimus nodded as he took in her new form. "You certainly made quite an entrance," he said, before growing more sober. "About Tigertron-," he started to say, only for Airazor to shake her helm.
"No…not now. Please," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Just…not now."
Optimus nodded, before turning to the Maximals. "Everyone…let's get home. I think we could all use a rest," he said.
The Maximals all nodded and soon the group was heading back to base, with Airazor casting a look up to the sky. She stared for some time before transforming and flying after the Maximals back to the Axalon.
And chapter. So there we go. The conclusion of this two parter arc, and the inclusion of the new transmetal Airazor! This has been something I wanted to do from the start of this fanfic, as Airazor was one of my favorite Beast Wars characters and I hated that she got axed off the show.
Vixtrion: And she's a shiny new transmetal! That's so awesome! Will I get to be one?
LR: You'll have to wait and see. I'm not spoiling anything right now.
Ripfang: That's the last thing we need. Her running around in some vehicle form. She's hyped up enough as is.
Lycanok. You're just jealous because the rest of us can get around a lot easier then you can. *Smirks*
Ripfang: SHUT IT WOLF! *pulls out his axe*
LR: HEY, NO FIGHTING IN THE RANGER LAIR! I MEAN IT!
Nightwing: Indeed. This should be a place of rest and relaxation.
Ripfang: THIS IS HOW I REST AND RELAX! *laughs maniacally as he starts swinging his axe around*
LR: What did I do to deserve this? *ducks behind a couch*
Thanks for reading the chapter, and sorry for the wait. Hope you all enjoyed it and are staying safe!
1. I took inspiration from the official Transmetal Airazor that existed in the 3H Comics and Hasbro Toys. Her frame/body looks pretty similar to that, but with the color and design alterations I described. Thank you both to dracohalo117 and my dad for help in coming up with her color scheme, since I wanted something more…Valkyrie-esque.