Hi everyone, thanks again for your waiting and patience. Happy Memorial Day! So now we enter another chapter of Code Prime, we've already been introduced to Synthetic Energon which will become a crucial element to the overall story of my series, but also we are going to be introduced to another certain element from Transformers in this chapter, one that's a bit… darker. So, with that being said, let's get started.
Stronger, Faster, Deadlier!
Kallen's apartment was relatively small; with a conjoined living area that shared a space with the kitchen, sparing a sofa and a television in the living room area, with only two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and a walk-in closet. But it was still welcoming and a nice place for Lelouch and Nunnally to stay while the investigation into Ashford Academy continues. Lelouch would sleep on the couch, which he was used to whenever C.C. stole his bed at the Clubhouse, while Nunnally would sleep in Kallen's bed as the redhead herself pulled out a sleeping bag and slept on the floor. Nunnally was at first concerned and felt like she didn't want to impose on Kallen or her mother, but Kallen insisted that was not the case. Mrs. Kozuki had instantly taken to the younger girl and was there to help whenever she needed. Lelouch of course was grateful toward Kallen and her mother for allowing them to stay.
"Naoto used to take Ohgi and me camping out in the woods." Kallen told Nunnally after Mrs. Kozuki helped them and Lelouch to some tea.
"Camping?" Nunnally asked.
"Yeah, you know, when you go out into a forest or something and spend a couple nights there?" Kallen asked. "You never did anything like that?"
"No, but a few times, big brother and I slept outside in the garden with our mother. Does that count?" Nunnally asked.
"Not exactly, not when you're ten feet from your house." Kallen said with a small smile.
"So, what do you do when you go camping?" Nunnally asked.
"Hike up the mountains, swim in the rivers and lakes, even fish a little bit." Kallen explained. "We ate around campfires and slept in our tents."
"Sounds like an experience." Nunnally replied.
Lelouch honestly couldn't help but smile as he saw his sister getting along with Kallen so well, and it was especially nice that Kallen could be herself around Nunnally as well and not have that whole sickly-girl façade that he knew she hated. However, there was a small crash which surprised the trio.
"What just happened?" Nunnally asked.
It was revealed to be Kallen's mother as she had accidentally dropped the teapot. "Oh dear… I… I'm sorry."
"Mom, are you okay?" Kallen was already on her feet, helping her mother up.
"Yes… it just slipped." Mrs. Kozuki responded.
"Here, I'll take care of it." Lelouch had already picked up a hand-broom and dustpan.
"Oh, you really don't have to…" Mrs. Kozuki tried to lightly protest.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Lelouch said as he began to sweep up the broken teapot.
Kallen saw that Lelouch had this covered. "Mom, why don't you go lie down for a bit."
"Alright." Mrs. Kozuki nodded as Kallen helped her to her room.
"Is your mother alright, Kallen?" Nunnally asked as Lelouch had already cleaned up the mess.
"She'll be fine." Kallen answered as she closed the door to her mother's room. "I… Nunnally can I tell you something? Something I'd prefer you… keep to yourself?"
"What is it?" The blind girl asked, though Lelouch winced slightly as he had a good idea what Kallen was about to say.
"After Naoto died, I… wasn't the best daughter to my mother." Kallen explained. "Because of that, loosing Naoto, and… other things… my mom became hooked onto Refrain." Nunnally gave a small gasp as she had heard of that drug before and what it could do. "We were able to get her off it, but it's taking some time for her to recover completely."
"We?" Nunnally asked.
"Me, Lelouch, and a bunch of other friends of ours." Kallen answered.
"Lelouch?" Nunnally asked her older brother in surprise.
"The situation surrounding it is… complicated, Nunnally." Lelouch tried to explain without going into details. "But we put a stop to it before it got out of hand."
"Remember when I told you about how your brother and I met some other people who helped us see things through a different perspective?" Kallen recalled. "Well, they've been more than helpful with a great many things, including this."
"I was actually planning on introducing them to you, Nunnally." Lelouch explained. "But after your kidnapping, and the resulting investigation into Ashford, I decided to put it on hold for a moment and let things cool down a bit."
"Oh, I see…" Nunnally said. "Well, I trust you, big brother. As much as I'd like to meet these friends of yours, if you think I should wait, I'll wait."
"You are one patient kid, you know that, right?" Kallen said with a smirk, which Nunnally returned with a small tongue sticking out.
While Lelouch himself was more than patient, but that incident with Mao made him realize that Ashford may no longer be the safest place for him and Nunnally to stay. If Mao could get in easily, then so could the Decepticons. Lelouch would tell Nunnally the truth about his identity as Zero, as well as the ongoing conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons, but he knew he also had to step carefully as to not reveal his identity to the enemy, which could put Cornelia and Euphemia in danger, as well as his friends in Ashford. So, for the moment, Nunnally's meeting with Optimus Prime would have to wait, but Lelouch was all the more eager to have his sister meet the father-figure he saw in Optimus, a much better father than the biological one they shared.
The Next Day – The Ark
Ratchet and Fixit were currently in the laboratory of the Ark, working on an iteration of the Synthetic Energon. Though the formula had remained incomplete due to Bulkhead no longer having the data from the Cylinder, having a reliable fuel source was more than essential to the cause of the Autobots and Black Knights.
"Hmm, surprisingly stable." Ratchet observed upon looking at a sample through his own microscope.
"I'm not detecting any irregularities in the energy patterns." Fixit reported. "This might be a suitable batch."
"Ratchet, Fixit." Shirley had walked onto the scene, standing on a small catwalk made for Mini-Cons, over the laboratory table Ratchet was at. "Is that Synthetic Energon?" She asked.
"Oh, indeed it is." Fixit confirmed. "Even if the formula is incomplete, that doesn't mean we shouldn't abandon it entirely."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shirley asked.
"Shirley, while I do appreciate you wanting to assist, I don't see anything you can do." Ratchet said, however upon noticing her somewhat saddened expression, he had something else to say. "However, if you wish to observe, we are preparing to test a sample."
That seemed to raise Shirley's spirits a bit. Though she knew she was no scientist, she had found herself somewhat invested into this, considering it was her actions that allowed the Autobots and Black Knights to possess the formula. But of course, she wasn't about to brag either considering her actions also lead to a near loss of Bulkhead. While she chose not to dwell on her past mistakes as everything worked out in the end, she learned from them and was eager to help her friends however she could, while making sure not to do anything reckless again.
Ratchet had a vile of the green liquid that was known as Synthetic Energon and injected it into a test-engine device. "Commencing trial one of formula seven now." Fixit reported as he was ready to record their findings. Ratchet, Fixit, and Shirley looked at the engine as nothing appeared to work at first, that is until the engine sprang to life. "Trail one of formula seven successful!" Fixit observed with a grin.
"It works?!" Shirley exclaimed excitedly. "We gotta tell Lulu and Optimus…!"
"Nuh, uh, uh." Ratchet brought the celebration to an end. "This iteration of the formula requires further trial before we can even think about using it for fuel, ammunition, or first aid. Which is rather unfortunate since our own Energon reserves are at an all-time low."
"But I thought Kyoto was helping you to get more Energon." Shirley said.
"It's not that simple, Shirley." Fixit explained. "Kyoto is a double-agent branch within the Britannian government. They have to be careful or risk foreclosure… enclosure… exposure!"
"And the fact that our warriors, both Autobot and Black Knight, are rapidly burning through our stockpile doesn't help either." Ratchet continued. "Meanwhile the combined forces of the Decepticons and Britannia severely outnumber us as they continue to run us ragged and grind us down. Natural Energon is in such short supply on your planet and Megatron, through Britannia, seems to have his oily claws buried deep in nearly all the Earth's deposits."
"Fortunately, though, hope is not lost." Fixit quickly said. "Thanks to you Shirley, we may be close to developing our own synthetic fuel, which can more than even the odds with the enemy."
However, an alarm sounded through the lab, getting their attention. Ratchet gently grabbed onto Fixit and Shirley before transforming into his vehicle mode to make his way to the bridge.
By the time the Autobot medic made it to the bridge, he let Shirley and Fixit out, before transforming to see Optimus, Zero, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Kallen, Arcee, Cliffjumper, Rai, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, along with other Black Knights, including Ohgi and Tamaki, already gathered.
"Looks like we got more Energon on the move." Ironhide reported.
Tamaki groaned. "Again? Seriously? That's the fifth time this week!"
Optimus saw the coordinates on the bridge's main screen. "Their recent activity suggests a familiar pattern, the Decepticons are desperately scouting for new deposits to mine."
"I thought they already had enough since they're in control of Britannia." Ohgi assumed.
"Given all our recent activity against them, not to mention the growing resistance across not just Area 11, but other areas across the globe as well, the enemy seems to have their hands full." Zero said. However, upon noticing some of the smirks on his comrades' faces; particularly Tamaki, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, and more than a few Black Knights, he had to speak before their hopes got up to high. "However, this also means that our own Energon supply is also running low as we have even less than they do."
"So, we're going in?" Cliffjumper asked.
"Correct." Optimus answered. "Autobots, Black Knights…!"
"Optimus." Ratchet saw fit to notify his leader and friend. "If an Autobot comes back wounded this time, well… as Zero has said, our own Energon reserves are nearly depleted."
"Understood." Optimus got the message. "Prepare the Groundbridge."
Ratchet was at the console in the Groundbridge bay as he opened a portal, he stood and watched as he saw the vehicle modes of his teammates, followed by a half dozen Burais, along with the Guren MK II and Gekka Pre-Production, and even Zero's custom Burai, all drive into the portal before it closed.
The Autobot medic sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I could do more." He said aloud. However, his optics widened slightly as he looked to his side to see an injector as well as a vile of Synthetic Energon still on his person. He must have taken it in the rush.
Without even thinking about the possible consequences, his noble, but reckless desire to help his friends outweighing any logical choices, Ratchet had injected the Synthetic Energon into his arm. His optics turned from blue to green as he felt his head becoming dizzy before falling flat on his back, dropping the injector and vile on the ground where it shattered.
"Ratchet? Ratchet!" Fixit exclaimed in surprise as he and Shirley had walked into the bay just in time to see Ratchet fall over. They quickly made their way to him.
"Is he okay?!" Shirley asked as Fixit took out his device to scan Ratchet.
"I'm not detecting any irregularities or injuries that might have occurred." Fixit reported as Shirley had already climbed on top of Ratchet and made her way toward his face.
"Ratchet!" Her cry was apparently enough for his optics to flicker open. "Wake up!"
With a groan, the medic had awoken. "How is that such small beings can be so loud?" He questioned as Shirley climbed off him.
"Are you okay?" Shirley asked urgently with Fixit right next to her. "We saw you fall!"
"I'm fine." Ratchet answered as he was back up on his feet. However, something felt different than before, it actually felt good. For some reason, he felt stronger, maybe even faster. "More than fine!" His arm opened to reveal a scanner, which he applied to himself. "Energy efficiency is up thirty percent!? Motor functions optimal!?" He laughed triumphantly, however, he looked toward the human girl and Mini-Con with concern. "Any word from the others?"
"No, not yet." Fixit answered as Shirley shook her head as well.
Knock Out and Breakdown were in their vehicle modes, alongside several Vehicons in their car-forms, while also being chased by the entirety of the Autobot team and half a dozen Black Knights through a large and long canyon. The Knightmares all opened fire at the retreating enemy, while some Vehicons transformed to return fire, they were quickly gunned down by the Black Knights magnesium ammunition. Pretty soon, it was just the Decepticons' resident dynamic duo, with the largest having an Energon cube strapped to his top.
"Knock Out, can't we just bridge out of here?!" Breakdown questioned. "This cube's putting some serious drag on me!"
"The more we give the Autobots and their Black Knight buddies a workout, the more fuel they burn! And we win the Energon race!" Knock Out replied. "Besides, here comes air support!"
More than a dozen flying Vehicons all descended from the sky in their jet-modes right above the group of Bots and Knights. They immediately opened fire with their missiles, prompting the Bots and Knights to swerve and avoid the shots, while some Burais turned around to return fire at the enemy, but they proved far too fast in their jets, while Arcee shot further ahead in her vehicle mode with the Guren right behind her. However, it soon became apparent that the Autobots and Black Knights were not the missiles' intended targets, but the canyon walls.
Once the missiles hit, it immediately created a rockslide from both ends as Knock Out and Breakdown drove past the wall of rocks that quickly began to form. However, with Arcee and Kallen being the closest, they both decided to gun it. Both the blue motorcycle and red Knightmare rolled up a large rock that served as a ramp to allow them to soar through the air. Kallen used the Guren's Slash Harkens to swing from falling rock to falling rock, while Arcee transformed and leapt from rock to rock herself. Arcee transformed back into her motorcycle form once she got to larger rock near the end and used it to give herself a speed boost to shoot further in pursuit of the enemy. Kallen did a similar tactic as she used the Guren's Radiant Wave Surger on the rock her Knightmare was on, causing it to explode and give herself a propulsion that had her land right behind Arcee before speeding her Knightmare alongside her partner.
Their friends however didn't get so lucky as the Autobots were forced to transform with the Black Knights hitting on the breaks in their Knightmares before they could crash into the massive pile of rocks that blocked their path. They saw the Vehicons in their jet-modes fly over the pile as well.
"Arcee, Kallen, fall back!" Optimus ordered through the comns. "You're outnumbered!"
"We're always outnumbered!" Arcee replied as she and the Guren were in hot pursuit of Knock Out and Breakdown. "We need that Energon!" The Guren was already shooting at the Decepticon duo with her Knightmare's left arm-mounted handgun. However, the Decepticon pair was quick enough to avoid the shots.
"You guys know how much I love playing the hero, but we can't afford to be reckless right now!" Even Cliffjumper knew when retreat was best.
Zero immediately contacted the Ark. "Ratchet, lock onto Kallen and Arcee's coordinates and prepare a Groundbridge!"
"I'm locked on!" Ratchet reported. "Arcee, Kallen, decelerate and prepare to return to base!"
"Save it guys, we're too close!" Kallen stated.
"Come on, don't be stupid!" Ironhide tried to tell them.
"Wheeljack, Bulkhead, can't we just plow through this?" Rai asked as he readied his Gekka's Radiant Wave Surger.
"We go the explosive-route, we'll cause an even bigger rockslide." Wheeljack stated.
"Looks like we're gonna have to climb up." Bulkhead said as the Autobots were already beginning to climb up the rocks as quick as they could, while the Black Knights each used their Knightmares' Slash Harkens to traverse the walls on the sides.
Meanwhile, as Arcee and Kallen both sped desperately to get the Energon from Breakdown and Knock Out, the aerial Vehicons above them had already opened fire with their missiles.
"Arcee, incoming!" Kallen exclaimed as she tried to turn the Guren around to open fire, but the missiles had already hit the ground underneath the pair, despite their best attempts to avoid the blasts, both the Guren and Arcee, who was forced to transform to normal, were sent flying and skidding across the ground.
The Ark – Groundbridge Bay
"Arcee and Kallen are down!" Fixit exclaimed upon seeing their readings.
"What?! Are they okay?!" Shirley asked with worry evident in her voice.
"They're alive… but surrounded by multiple enemies!" Fixit stated.
A Groundbridge portal suddenly opened, with Ratchet being the one responsible. "Man, the Groundbridge!" He told the pair before transforming and driving into the portal.
Back on the battlefield, the Guren was already back on its feet, while Arcee had a bit more trouble recovering. However, it wasn't long before the pair was surrounded by a total of twelve Vehicon troopers. Kallen immediately readied herself, standing protectively in front of the downed Arcee, as the Guren's Surger claw opened up, and the left hand drew a knife.
"Come on! You Cons wanna go?! Let's go!" Kallen challenged as the Vehicons prepared to open fire.
However, a Groundbridge portal suddenly opened up high in the air, with Rachet's vehicle mode shooting straight out before he transformed and fell straight down. He crashed down hard into one Vehicon before quickly getting back up to throw the Vehicon into another. Before the second one could even react, Ratchet already moved to kick him down. Another tried to shoot him, but both Ratchet's arms immediately converted into blades before he quickly cut off the blaster-arm of that Vehicon and kicked him down. A fourth tried to shoot at him from behind, but Ratchet leapt to grab him by the head, lift him up in the air before slamming him down hard on the ground.
"Ratchet…?" Arcee looked in amazement as even Kallen's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
The Autobot medic leapt into the air to deliver double airborne roundhouses to kick down two Vehicons at once before leaping onto his hands and propelling himself feet-first into another Vehicon and delivered an airborne spin-kick to knock the Vehicon down as another tried to charge him. However, Ratchet rolled out of the way before jumping and flipping while airborne to grab the Vehicon by his head while still in the air and flipped to knock him down onto the ground before Ratchet jumped up to deliver a powerful punch to cave the Vehicons' face in. Three more tried to charge in and shoot him, but Ratchet drew his blades and worked to cut him down.
"Looks like the Autobots brought in a ringer." Knock Out observed as he and Breakdown remained in vehicle mode.
"Well then I'll ring his bell!" Breakdown was more than eager to face another worthy opponent. However, multiple Energon blasts and magnesium shots were shot at them and some of the remaining Vehicons, courtesy of the remaining Autobots and Black Knight Knightmares that had already made it over the pile of boulders.
"It'll have to wait!" Knock Out advised as he and Breakdown drove away with their acquired Energon cube.
Ratchet had just thrown down another Vehicon and quickly moved to kick its head clean off before leaping at another Vehicon with his arm-blade to sever his arm before standing on one hand and spinning his feet like a helicopter blade to knock down one approaching Vehicon and cut him down with his blades before rushing at the same Con he just disarmed to finish him off with an impalement. What appeared to be the last Vehicon tried to blast him, but Ratchet was already on him to grab him and slam him down on his knee to shatter his back.
Just as the others met up with Arcee and Kallen, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee already helping the fem-bot on her feet, they could only look in surprise at what was left of the Vehicon squadron that Ratchet had just dismembered single-handedly, even Lelouch was stunned.
"Um… what just happened?" Rai muttered.
"Huh, for the first time in my life… I got no idea what to say." Cliffjumper said as they saw Ratchet standing proudly over a deceased Vehicon.
One Vehicon however appeared to remain alive as he tried to get the jump on Ratchet from behind, only for the medic to slam his fist behind him and take down the Vehicon without even turning around. "Hooah!"
The Ark – Groundbridge Bay
"They're returning!" Fixit stated as he and Shirley saw the Autobots and Black Knight Knightmares return to the Ark via an open Groundbridge portal.
"Guys wha… what happened out there?" Shirley asked.
"We only saw the gory aftermath, but I hear the Doc was a one-bot wrecking machine!" Bulkhead stated.
"Seriously, makes my handiwork seem like rookie material." Wheeljack added.
Ratchet walked up and suddenly picked up Shirley in his hand, much to her surprise. "Whoa…!"
"Hey kiddo." Ratchet greeted in an unusually friendly and energetic way before setting her down, with Shirley looking more than a little surprised.
"Alright, what the hell is going on?" Kallen questioned as she got out of her Guren, and the other Black Knights followed with their respective Knightmares. "Since when are you capable of one-shooting a Decepticon attack-squad?"
Ratchet smirked as he motioned for everyone to follow him before transforming into his vehicle mode and driving deeper into the Ark. Curious enough, the other Autobots transformed as well and allowed their Black Knight companions to step inside; Zero got inside Optimus along with Fixit, Kallen mounted Arcee, Rai and Shirley both got into Bulkhead, with Rai and Tamaki inside Ironhide. They, along with Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and Wheeljack followed the Medic.
Ratchet had led them all to his laboratory before transforming, right as the other Bots arrived and transformed themselves, while allowing the Black Knights present to step out. "You wanna know my secret?" Ratchet teased. "Just a little something I liked to call… Synth-En!" He picked up a vile of the green liquid and tossed it to Arcee.
"From the data Bulkhead transcribed?" Arcee questioned. "I though the formula was…"
"Incomplete?" Ratchet had a triumphant chuckle. "Not anymore."
"Hot damn!" Tamaki said with a grin. "So what we got super Energon now?!"
"Wait, hold on!" Shirley stated. "I thought you said it needed further testing!"
"It's true, we only went through one trial with this iteration of the formula." Fixit added.
"What?" Zero was more than a little surprised before looking at Ratchet directly. "You injected yourself with an experimental formula, after only one test?!"
"Yeah, I gotta agree with Zero on this one Ratch." Ironhide said as well. "That was reckless of you, and you're never reckless."
"Guys, you didn't see Ratchet out there. He was in overdrive!" Arcee said.
"If can make a medic Wrecker-material, I wonder what would happen if we all try this stuff." Wheeljack said with a smirk.
"Well if that's the case, we should plug this Synth-En stuff in our Knightmares!" Tamaki was on-board.
"We'd probably give that white Knightmare a run for its money, maybe even take out a few Decepticons to!" Kallen smirked.
"Or give Ratchet more so we can take a vacation!" Bulkhead said.
"Wait, I don't wanna act like a wet-blanket or anything, but I think we should at least see if this stuff has any side-effects." Ohgi put his thought in.
"I'm with Ohgi on this one." Cliffjumper agreed. "I'd rather check to see if the bandwagon has any holes in it before jumping in."
"Agreed." Zero, Rai, Fixit, and Ironhide said at the same time, with even Bumblebee nodding as well.
When it looked like some of the others were about to protest, Optimus put the final word in. "While I agree the initial results seem promising, but I recommend that further testing be confined to machines, not Autobots." He then spoke to Ratchet directly as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Outnumbered though we may be old friend, we need a warrior in the laboratory right now, more than we need another in the field."
However, Lelouch seemed to notice a small flicker of disagreement in Ratchet's optics. There was indeed something about Ratchet right now that felt off.
Mount Haku was one of the more recent mining operations for Sakuradite by Britannia, however the area had been completely cleared for some unknown reason. The only activity appeared to be a gust of wind from some approaching fighter jets; at the lead appeared to be Starscream, alongside Thundercracker and Skywarp in their vehicle modes. They transformed, followed by a dozen Vehicon troopers who also approached in their jet-modes. And it seemed they had one more arrival in the form of Airachnid in her helicopter mode before she transformed and landed with them.
"About time, you're way too slow." Skywarp pointed out.
"For once Skywarp makes sense, your chosen vehicle mode Airachnid lacks thrust." Starscream added.
"Perhaps you'd like to keep your criticism to yourselves." Airachnid replied. "Why are here again?"
"Apparently there was a distress signal sent out by the Britannians that attempted to mine this area for Energon." Thundercracker informed. "Military was sent out; they didn't report back."
"So now we're here to play rescue for the fleshies?" Skywarp scoffed. "Since when we have been demoted to human babysitters?"
"Since Lord Megatron made it expressly clear that we shouldn't antagonize the humans who so righteously deserve it." Starscream said in a tone indicating he wasn't pleased himself. "But why send us? Why not call his beloved Suzaku? He's always one to opt for rescue missions."
"I suppose we're about to find out." Airachnid said as she appeared to lead the group towards a large hole that led deep into the mountain. Though Starscream was quick to make his way toward the front, refusing to be led by anybody else, earning a silent glare from Airachnid as Thundercracker, Skywarp, and the Vehicon troopers followed.
The Decepticons continued to make their way down the darkened tunnel through the mines, however, they each noticed something rather odd the deeper they went down. There wasn't a single scrap of Energon to be seen, which was confusing to say the least. The Britannians must have found something down here. But if it wasn't Energon, then what?
Soon, they appeared to make their way towards a large cavern, though Starscream was the first to step into it, his optics widened in surprise. "What is this?"
Airachnid, Skywarp, and Thundercracker followed as they too looked in surprise at the sights of multiple Sutherlands, all appeared to be torn apart or broken in some way. There was well over two dozen of them. The Vehicons each had their Energon blasters out as all the Decepticons entered the cave.
"Looks like a fight broke out here." Thundercracker observed.
"Autobots? Black Knights?" Skywarp assumed.
Airachnid kneeled down to one Sutherland to expect it, she had saw that its deceased pilot was missing his bottom half, his face widened with terror. "Doubt it. The humans were torn apart, something the Autobots and their Black Knight sidekicks aren't known for."
"So, then the question remains. If it wasn't the Autobots that did this? Then who?" Starscream voiced aloud.
One Vehicon trooper found a smaller chamber along the wall he was closest to and decided to inspect it himself. He had to crouch down to peek inside, however all he seemed to see was nothing more than darkness. That is until a metallic hand suddenly reached out to grab the Vehicon by his throat and pull him in.
The Vehicon's screams caught the attention of every other Decepticon as Thundercracker and another Vehicon ran towards the soldier that appeared stuck half-way and quickly pulled him out, only to look in horror to see the Vehicon's head completely gone.
The thing that was responsible for it, appeared to be a Sutherland that actually crawled out of the hole to stand on its two legs. Though it's cockpit was opened, it appeared to stand completely on its own, much to the shock and surprise of every Decepticon present, even more so as it's face opened up to reveal some kind of jaw with teeth on all ends. It leapt at the Vehicon next to Thundercracker and bit down on his neck. However, Thundercracker was quick to pull the living Sutherland off and throw it back before opening fire with his Energon blaster to blast its head off, along with the cockpit, reducing it to pieces.
"What… what was that…?!" Starscream exclaimed as all the Decepticons present, even Airachnid, had been rendered speechless.
Skywarp heard a familiar sound coming behind them and turned around to look in fear. "Um… Starscream…"
He pointed toward all the Sutherlands around them as he, Starscream, Thundercracker, Airachnid, and the Vehicons looked in shock to see all the Sutherlands standing up on their own, almost like zombies rising from the grave. Even those that were torn in half stood on their arms as all their heads opened up to reveal snarling teeth and jaws.
"What are you waiting for?! Open fire!" Starscream screamed as he, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and the Vehicons opened fire at the living Sutherlands that actually ran at them. Even Airachnid opened fire with her own Energon palms.
However, some of these monstrosities continued to run, despite losing any arms and legs, and were only stopped when their head and/or cockpits were destroyed. But already four Vehicons were already pounced on and were ripped apart by the monstrosities' teeth and claws. And that wasn't even the worst of it, some Knightmare-monsters actually crawled on the ceiling above the unsuspecting group of Decepticons.
Thundercracker glanced upward however once he noticed some rocks falling down. "Above us!" He exclaimed in horror as the Knightmare-monsters actually leapt from the ceiling down toward the Decepticons.
Skywarp and Thundercracker used their propulsion boosts on their feet to escape, but Starscream and Airachnid themselves ended up pinned to the ground. The two Seekers were ready to help them, if they hadn't accidentally backed into a group of Knightmare-monsters themselves. Thundercracker drew his blades and prepared to dismember them as Skywarp used his claws and bare hands to tear off the heads and rip apart the cockpits.
Starscream struggled to keep the biting face of the Sutherland-creature that was on top of him. "Get off me you, monstrosity!" He exclaimed as he converted his right arm into an Energon blaster and blew its face out. Airachnid was having similar trouble herself, fortunately she shot her spider-arms out to sever its arms first before slicing off it's head.
By the time the two got back up and grouped up with Skywarp and Thundercracker, all their Vehicon escorts had been viciously killed, before they also rose from the dead and joined more Knightmare-monsters that tried to surround the four Decepticons.
"What… what in the name of the Allspark… is going on here?!" Airachnid exclaimed as, for the first time in her life, she began to experience true terror.
"Don't know but I wanna get out of here!" Skywarp was already in panic mode.
"We can't let a single one of these things reach the surface!" Thundercracker stopped them from leaving. "Bring down the cave, then we'll contact Megatron!"
And while Starscream as obviously a coward, even he knew better than to leave creatures like these active when they could at least stall them before calling Megatron and let him deal with it instead.
"Bring down the ceiling!" He ordered as he aimed his missile-wrists at the ceiling to open fire, with explosive results as Airachnid, Thundercracker, and Skywarp added with Energon blasts and missiles of their own to bring down the ceiling, already starting a cave-in that appeared to crush the monsters before the four Decepticons made a break-for-it back toward the surface.
The Ark
Ratchet was currently inside one of the many cargo-holds of the derelict ship, going over the details of his fight against the Vehicons to both Wheeljack and Bulkhead.
"And then, he came right at me! And I…" However, rather than simply tell them, Ratchet felt it was better to actually show them. "Well come on Bulk, come at me. You to, Wheeljack! Both of you come at me!"
"You kidding? You wanna take us both on?" Wheeljack questioned.
"Yeah… we don't wanna hurt you Ratch." Bulkhead said, only for both him and Wheeljack to be slapped across the face by said medic.
"I said come at me!" Ratchet challenged as he took a combat stance.
Wheeljack and Bulkhead both shared a look before they nodded to each other. Bulkhead's right arm transformed into a mace as Wheeljack was the first to charge with a punch, which Ratchet caught before spinning him around to throw and slam him to the other side of the cargo hold, crashing into a wall.
Bulkhead was next as he tried to swing his mace at Ratchet, only for the medic to duck underneath it, and actually pick up Bulkhead with both his hands before throwing him at the surprised Wheeljack; causing them both to crash through the wall and into the hallway.
"Hooah!" Ratchet exclaimed.
"What the hell was that?!" Kallen's voice echoed as she and Rai came running onto the scene, along with Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and Arcee. All five of them stopped in their tracks at seeing the downed Wreckers.
"Are… are you guys alright?" Rai asked.
"Peachy…" Wheeljack groaned as Bulkhead pulled himself up first.
Ratchet walked out of the hole, filled with energy as he bounced up and down with his fists at the ready. "Looks like the Wreckers got some competition."
"Wait you did this?!" Cliffjumper questioned.
"But… Bulkhead…. Wheeljack… they're Wreckers… and… I…" Rai stuttered, having no idea what to say. Even Kallen and Arcee were shocked; taking down an entire squad of Vehicons single-handedly was one thing, but to take down two Wreckers at once?!
"Yep, I'm a bit stronger than I used to be." Ratchet said proudly. "Also a bit faster!" He threw his fist out in front of Bumblebee's face. "Think you can take me, muscle car!"
"[No! I'm good!]" Bumblebee bleeped immediately.
"Wimp." Ratchet mocked before walking past Arcee and clicking in her direction. "How's it humming."
"Did he just…?" Arcee questioned as they all saw Ratchet walk away with perplexed looks on their faces.
"Stronger, faster, studlier." Kallen commented. "I know I was excited before, but now I'm not sure I like the new Ratchet."
"Yeah, same here." Bulkhead agreed as they all looked more than a little concerned.
Ratchet appeared to be alone in one of the many empty hallways of the Ark, when he came to a stop near a wall, which was revealed to be a hidden storage compartment. Once he opened it, he revealed the contents to be a dosage of Synthetic Energon already inside an injector.
"I need to be at the top of my game." Ratchet said to himself. "Our survival depends upon it."
Without even thinking twice about it, the Autobot medic injected himself with the dosage of the green liquid. However, he didn't appear to notice that someone else was with him. Shirley had peaked around the corner to see what was happening as her eyes widened with shock.
"Ratchet did what?!" Ironhide exclaimed as Shirley immediately told those on the Ark's bridge what she saw; those present being Optimus, Lelouch, Ohgi, Fixit, and Ironhide.
"He injected himself with more of that Synthetic Energon." Shirley said. "I heard him say that he wants to help us but… I just… I don't like what he's doing."
"Shirley, you were right to tell us this." Optimus told her. "It would seem this iteration of the formula is capable of more harm than good."
"Is it possible he's becoming addicted to this?" Lelouch wondered. "Can Cybertronians get addictions?"
"Not with drugs or chemical concoctions like humans." Fixit explained. "But yes, Cybertronians can become addicted to other things including actions, witnessing something, and even interactions with others."
"What I don't get though is why Ratchet of all bots is doing it." Ohgi said. "I mean, he's always being careful, making sure to account for everything. So, why would he do something so… so…"
"Reckless?" Lelouch finished.
Ironhide sighed. "He always takes too much responsibility, even when it's not his fault. It's been that way ever since Bumblebee lost his voice. Ratchet blamed himself for that."
"But Megatron was the one who hurt Bumblebee." Shirley said. "I'm sure Ratchet did the best he could!"
"Indeed, he did." Optimus confirmed. "Ratchet did everything in his power. However, as Ironhide said, Ratchet has a tendency to take responsibility. While such an action is noble, it also means he may blame himself for actions that remain outside his control."
"So, he's trying to make himself stronger to contribute more to our cause, regardless of the negative impact it's dealing to him." Lelouch followed Optimus' train of thought.
"Well, is there anything that we can do to help him?" Ohgi asked. However, before anyone could give an answer, there was a sudden alarm. Lelouch acted quickly to place his Zero-mask back on as the other Autobots, followed by several Black Knights, including Kallen, Rai, and Tamaki came in.
"What's going on?" Cliffjumper asked.
"It would seem the Decepticons have located an Energon vein." Fixit reported as he checked the readings.
"Everyone, get ready! We're going in!" Zero stated.
"Hold on a sec. Shouldn't we wait for our 'secret weapon'?" Tamaki offered with a smirk.
"This mission is unlikely to require medical expertise." Optimus replied.
"But you never know if it may require additional fire-power." Ratchet revealed himself, leaning confidently against the entranceway. "Fixit can handle Groundbridge duty."
"Um… yes, I can." Fixit confirmed. "But Ratchet… are you sure you're up for this…?" He asked, as Optimus, Zero, Ohgi, Ironhide, and Shirley looked to the medic with concern.
"Of course, I am." Ratchet confirmed with a grin. "Time to put some hurt on those Decepticons!"
"Hell yeah! Let's lop some fenders!" Tamaki cheered, while everyone else seemed more than a little concerned with Ratchet's new attitude.
After a quick trip through the Groundbridge to a more deserted area of Mount Fuji, Ratchet was at the lead, running faster than any Knightmare could travel with Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Ironhide, and Cliffjumper right behind him, along with Zero in his Burai, Kallen in her Guren, Rai in his Gekka-Pre Production, and other Black Knights in their own Burais, including Ohgi and Tamaki.
Ratchet was practically bouncing with energy as he didn't just run, but actually leap from rock to rock, even flipping like a master acrobat on a tree.
"Look at the Doc-bot, go!" Tamaki smirked. "Can't wait to see what that Synth-En can do with our Knightmares!"
"Don't get too excited Tamaki." Zero advised. "We need to be sure of the side-effects before we do anything else."
The group came to a halt near the bottom of the hillside; splitting off into smaller groups to take cover behind some large rocks, with Ratchet being the closest and looking ready to charge in at a moment's notice. They surveyed the area to see only a small number of Vehicon guards with a single mining-drill working its way into a cliffside.
"Why are they hitting this area of Mount Fuji?" Kallen asked. "I thought Britannia already got it all here."
"Apparently they missed a spot." Cliffjumper observed.
"Doesn't look like much though." Rai reported on his Knightmare's scanner. "Honestly, seems like only two, maybe three cubes worth of Energon."
"Yeah, they might hit a vein, but they won't find much of an Energon pulse, not out here." Bulkhead agreed.
"Scouting places already mined? I take some comfort in the fact that Megatron seems as desperate to find the stuff as we are." Arcee commented.
"Do you guys always talk this much during these missions?" Ratchet questioned impatiently.
"Hold on Ratchet, before we do anything, we need a plan of attack." Ironhide tried to tell him.
"I have a plan: attack." The medic said before transforming and driving downhill straight towards the enemy.
Lelouch sighed with annoyance and concern. "Secure the area!" He ordered as he and the other Black Knights and Autobots moved in as well. It wasn't long before the Vehicons spotted them.
"Intruders!" One Vehicon exclaimed, alerting the others as they immediately opened fire.
Ratchet continued to drive as he dodged all the Energon blasts with little effort before ramming straight into the Vehicon in front of him, right as he transformed to pin him to the ground with his feet. "It's alright, I'm an emergency vehicle!" He said as he drew his blades to kill the enemy.
The remaining Autobots and their Black Knight allies quickly arrived on the scene and opened fire, easily laying waste to the Vehicons as they appeared to be severely outnumbered. However, Ratchet didn't join the fight, rather what caught his interest was the Decepticon miner that had chosen to abandon the sight as he climbed up the cliffside.
Ratchet narrowed his eyes as he ran in pursuit and began to climb the cliffside himself. It wasn't long before he got to the top and saw the miner running as fast as he could. Ratchet simply picked up a large rock with one hand and threw it. It only took about four seconds for the rock to score a bullseye on the miner's head and knock him down.
The miner tried to pick himself up, only to get pinned back down as Ratchet placed his foot on his chest.
"Why the big rush?"
"Just trying to get as far as I can from the Autobot stank!" The miner said spitefully.
"Does your boss know you have a potty-mouth? Maybe I should pay him a visit and tell him." Ratchet said.
"Get melted wheel-grinder!" The miner exclaimed.
"Melted? Now there's a concept." Ratchet said menacingly as his arm converted into a blowtorch. "I won't ask you a second time. Where. Is. Megatron?"
Meanwhile, The Autobots and Black Knights had just finished off the last of the Vehicons. "Zero, Optimus, the area is secure." Ohgi reported.
Cliffjumper looked around however and saw that a certain Bot wasn't with them. "Where's Ratchet?"
Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of someone screaming coming from the top of the cliffside. "Hold on, was that… screaming?" Wheeljack questioned.
Optimus' eyes narrowed slightly as a part of him had a good idea what was going on, but he hopped he was wrong. "Zero, Ironhide, Kallen, with me. Everyone else, stay here."
The two Autobots and two Black Knight were easily able to climb to the cliffside, especially with Zero's Burai and Kallen's Guren. However, once they got to the top their eyes widened in shock, borderline horror, at what they saw.
"What… what the hell….?" Kallen stuttered.
"That's all I know! Really!" The miner said as Ratchet pulled away his blowtorch.
'Did…. Did he just… torture… him?' Even Lelouch didn't see that coming.
Ratchet pulled away his blowtorch, the miner looking worse-for-wear as the right side of his face seemed completely burnt. "Now was that so difficult?" Ratchet questioned as he drew his blade ready to execute the miner, but Optimus quickly stopped him.
"Ratchet! What are you doing?!" Optimus questioned as the miner used this opportunity to run away from the scene, but nobody chose to give pursuit.
"Getting results!" Ratchet replied.
"And breaking protocol!" Optimus stated. "That was a Decepticon miner! Servant-class, not warrior class."
"Oh and let me guess; I'm just the medic!" Ratchet practically spat.
"Ratchet, I understand how cruel the Decepticons can be." Zero said as he rolled his Burai around, his cockpit opening and allowing the revolutionary to stand up as he took off his mask. "But there are lines that we cannot cross! That includes torture! Otherwise, we're no different from them!"
The Autobot medic actually gave a mocking laugh. "Right, this coming from the person who can tell anyone to do whatever they want just by looking at them."
"My Geass is not the same and you know it!" Lelouch stated. "I might extract information from others against their will, but I don't actually hurt them!"
"Oh really? Well did your Geass happen to discover Megatron's current location? Well I did!" Ratchet revealed. "And do you happen to know where there's a stockpile of raw Energon ripe for the taking?! I do!"
"That's enough Ratchet!" Ironhide placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You gotta calm down!"
"Calm is the last thing we need!" Ratchet shrugged Ironhide off. "Calm is what lost us Cybertron! The Cons have a warship, an army, a human empire that spans one third of the planet under their control! All this Energon scouting, you think Megatron isn't gearing up for something big?! We're squandering our resources! Chasing after his crumbs! When we really need to be hitting him hard and hitting him now! Precisely, where it hurts!"
"Are you nuts?! We can't go on a full-scale war with the Cons yet!" Kallen exclaimed. "We're not ready and you know it!"
"Kallen is correct." Optimus agreed. "A direct assault on the Decepticons will only provoke retaliation, and lead to incalculable losses. I will not endanger innocent human lives."
"Yet you seem to have no problem endangering our precious Black Knights." Ratchet scoffed. "Just ask Naoto; oh, I forgot, he already threw his life away!"
That hit Kallen where it hurts the most. "That's it!" She was about to get back in her Guren's cockpit and teach Ratchet a lesson, but Lelouch rolled his Burai around to halt Kallen's path as Ironhide put his hand firmly on the red Knightmare's shoulder, while also giving Kallen a stern look not to do anything stupid.
"You know your problem, Optimus?" Ratchet spoke to his leader directly. "For such a big, strong, bot, you're soft! You didn't pound Megatron into scrap when you had the chance! Many chances, in fact!"
"That is enough!" Lelouch had instinctively activated his Geass out of anger. Not just from Ratchet insulting Optimus like that, but because Ratchet was his own friend! He had no right to insult him like that after everything Optimus did for all of them.
"Oh looky-looky, Charles Zi Britannia Junior is about to take my free-will away." Ratchet scoffed at the glaring Lelouch. "Your little 'hypnotic suggestion' won't work on me and you know it. Not unless you wanna end up like that raving lunatic, Mao."
However, Optimus stepped in between the enraged Lelouch and Ratchet. The Autobot leader carried a firm tone, while also keeping his emotions in check as he spoke. "I'm afraid that the Synthetic Energon has impaired your judgment, old friend. I am confining you to base until further notice." He accessed his comns. "Fixit, bridge us back."
A Groundbridge portal opened in front of the group. Ratchet sighed. "Fine." He walked right into the portal, though Kallen and even Lelouch glared at the medic as he walked inside.
"Hey, you two okay?" Ironhide asked with concern to the two Black Knights present.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kallen replied with a hard sigh.
"Been better." Lelouch also said.
Ironhide gave a small nod as he was about to enter the Groundbridge portal next, only for Ratchet to suddenly run out, pick up Ironhide with one hand and throw him toward Optimus, who caught him as he, Lelouch, and Kallen saw Ratchet transform and immediately drive away at a speed faster than their Knightmares could match.
The Ark
All the Autobots and Black Knights from the mission quickly returned to the ship via Groundbridge portal and made their way to the bridge where Shirley and Fixit were waiting.
"Fixit, locate Ratchet's signal immedietaly." Optimus ordered.
"Uh… yes, of course." Though Fixit was surprised to see Ratchet was no longer with them, he could only assume he was in trouble, likely from the Synthetic Energon and immediately went to his own Mini-Con console to locate the medic.
"What happened? What's going on?" Shirley asked.
"Ratchet's gone AWOL! That's what's going on!" Kallen exclaimed.
"What?!" The brunette exclaimed in shock.
"The Synthetic Energon is messing with his head." Zero explained. "He's going after Megatron!"
"Well I say we let him!" Tamaki stated as all the Bots and Knights looked toward him in surprise. "What?! I mean if the Doc-bot is turbo-charged, maybe he can actually take King Con down for good!"
"No! He can't!" Arcee stated. "If it were that easy to take down Megatron, don't you think we would have done that already?!"
"There's a reason Megs hasn't kicked the bucket during the war." Cliffjumper also said. "He's probably the toughest Cybertronian out there next to Optimus. And even he hasn't been able to bring Megatron down yet!"
"Seriously, even I had could barely lay a scratch on the guy." Wheeljack added.
"Is he really that strong?" Ohgi asked.
"Megatron used to be a gladiator." Ironhide explained. "He took on all kinds of Cybertronians and even other monsters five times his own size! Plus, he's almost 'died' so many times, we've lost count! He was practically crushed by the biggest Cybertronian in existence, only to come back on his feet a few days later!"
Nearly every Black Knight present, including Ohgi, Rai, Kallen, Shirley, and even Lelouch underneath his mask, were more than a little surprised at this revelation, even Tamaki. "So… we better find the Doc-bot, then." Tamaki immediately said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Yeah, obviously." Rai told him.
"Um, we have a problem." Fixit said, getting everyone's attention. "I can't pinpoint Ratchet's coordinates!"
"That bogus Energon must be scrambling his signal." Bulkhead deduced.
"Keep trying." Optimus said. "We've got to find Ratchet, before he finds Megatron."
The Decepticon mining operation appeared to be in full swing as there was more than enough Energon in this mine to fuel a small army three times over. Not enough to satisfy the insatiable needs of the Britannian empire or the Decepticons, but still enough to mine. Vehicon miners worked to cut away the Energon crystals, compact them into boxes, and prepare them for transport as dozens of Vehicon troopers patrolled the upper levels, among them was Breakdown chatting with a Vehicon.
"Yeah, she's kind of dumb and erring, and the extra-arms are weird, but I find myself intrigued by her." Breakdown chatted. However, a whistle got his attention as he and the Vehicon looked to see Ratchet entering the mine. The Vehicon aimed his blaster, but Breakdown stopped him, wanting to take Ratchet on himself. "I was wondering when you might show."
Breakdown however didn't notice the dangerous glint in Ratchet's green optics.
"You call yourself a scientist?!" Megatron questioned to the frightened Knock Out. "You were supposed to have located a fresh Energon source, by now!"
"Apologizes, Lord Megatron." Knock Out responded. "We got a little distracted by the new Autobot who attacked us."
"Really? And what new Autobot would that be?" Megatron questioned. However, their conversation was interrupted by a weak and heavily beaten Breakdown who stumbled onto the scene and fell to the ground in unconsciousness to reveal his attacker.
"Hooah!" Ratchet smirked.
"Well…. Uh…" Knock Out pointed to the Autobot intruder.
"That is your fearsome new adversary?" Megatron questioned before chuckling as if he had just been told a bad joke. "He's Optimus Prime's medic!"
"Oh no, Megatron, I am your doctor of doom." Ratchet smirked before leaping and delivering a punch to Megatron's face, which was enough to send him flying and crashing into a wall, much to Knock Out's own surprise.
For one of the few moments in his life, Megatron had found himself quite surprised. He even felt a small trickle of Energon run down his mouth. "Alright then."
"FOR CYBERTRO…!" However, Megatron had easily caught Ratchet's fist and twisted his arm in a way that wasn't meant to be twisted, causing Ratchet to yell in pain.
"Ratchet is rather more spirited than I recollect." Megatron acknowledged.
"Chemical enhancement, perhaps?" Knock Out assumed.
The Decepticon leader then punched his fist right into Ratchet's side, before pulling it out to reveal a gaping hole with leaking Synthetic Energon, mixed with his own natural Energon, before throwing him to the ground where a puddle of the green substance was already forming underneath him.
"There's your laboratory sample, doctor. Find out." Megatron ordered as he began to walk away, literally walking over Ratchet's fallen form "If a chemical can do this for Optimus Prime's lap dog…" He chuckled evilly. "…Imagine what it could do for our troops."
"Lord Megatron, come in! This is Commander Starscream!" The Decepticon second-in-command contacted him. "We require your immediate assistance to our location! And you may want to bring back up…"
"Soundwave, I need a Groundbridge." Megatron ordered over the comns, and a Groundbridge portal suddenly opened in front of him, allowing him to step inside, leaving Knock Out to begin his work on the weakened Ratchet, who had finally regained his sense of reason.
"Oh… Optimus… I've been a fool…."
The Ark – The Bridge
An alert flashed on the screen as Ratchet's ID signal suddenly sprang online. "Ratchet's signal is online!" Fixit reported, getting the attention of all the Black Knights and Autobots present. "And he appears to be in grave danger!"
"Prepare a Groundbridge immediately Fixit." Optimus ordered.
Zero, at the same time accessed his communications so his voice could be heard throughout the Ark. "All available Black Knights report to the Groundbridge bay immediately! We're about to storm a Decepticon mining operation! We're going in hot!"
Within the heart of the Decepticon mine, a Groundbridge portal opened up as the every single Autobot, and a small army of Black Knight Burais, along with the Guren and Gekka Pre-Production, all sped out guns blazing.
"THE BLACK KNIGHTS AND AUTOBOTS HAVE ARRIVED!" Tamaki's voice shot through his Knightmare's speakers as the firefight went underway. The Autobots and Black Knights immediately making quick work of the Decepticons present.
Meanwhile, Knock Out had successfully acquired a sample of the Synthetic Energon from Ratchet's wounded body. "Doctor to doctor, I must say, your contribution to the Decepticon-cause is very much appreciated." Knock Out gloated. "I'll be sure to boast of your accomplishment when you're gone." His hand immediately converted into a buzz-saw. "Which will happen in three… two…" He was ready to execute Ratchet right then and there when he heard the sounds of gunfire and battle deeper in the mine. "Scrap!"
Seeing his opening, Ratchet kicked Knock Out back, forcing the red Decepticon to drop the vile of the green liquid. However, Knock Out was back on his feet as he tried to rush Ratchet with his buzz-saw, pinning him to the wall. Ratchet pushed back Knock Out by the throat with one hand while keeping the buzz-saw from coming any closer with the other. However, Ratchet had been considerably weakened from the loss of Energon and was quickly losing strength.
The last of the Vehicons was sliced by Rai with his Gekka's katana. "Zero, Optimus, the mine is secure!"
"Understood." Zero replied. "Kallen, Bumblebee, Ironhide; you're with me and Optimus. Everyone else, beginning securing the Energon." He followed the Autobot leader in his Burai alongside Kallen in her Guren, the Autobot scout, and veteran.
Ratchet couldn't hold Knock Out back any longer as enemy's buzz-saw grazed his face slightly, however he gave a surprise headbutt, forcing Knock Out to stumble back a bit. Knock Out quickly recovered however and tried to slice his buzz-saw at Ratchet again, only for him to move out of the way, allowing the buzz-saw to become stuck in the wall, temporarily immobilizing Knock Out as he struggled to pull it out.
The wounded-Ratchet stumbled toward the vile of Synthetic Energon that Knock Out had acquired. Knock Out however gave a mocking laugh. "What are you going to do? Drink it?"
Ratchet considered it for a moment, but he looked at the wound that was inflicted on him by Megatron. He only had himself to blame for that, he knew that this was all his fault, and the last thing he wanted was for Megatron to get his hands on a formula like this. He knew exactly what he had to do.
"No, I'm going to destroy it!" He threw the vile at the wall, causing it to shatter and spill the contents, which melted into the ground.
Knock Out looked more than a little shocked as he pulled his buzz-saw from the wall. "You idiot! Megatron will have my head!"
That appeared to have exhausted the last of Ratchet's strength as he fell on his backside. Before Knock Out could even think about retaliating, he saw Optimus, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Zero's Burai, and the Guren coming from around the corner. Not in the mood to get obliterated, the Decepticon medic transformed and drove away from the scene; leaving the five heroes to find Ratchet's unresponsive and wounded body.
The Ark – Autobot Medical Center
Ratchet's optics slowly flickered open, this time they were their natural blue color. His wound was covered by an IV that flowed in natural Energon. Fixit was present overseeing his recovery, as well as Optimus, Ironhide, Lelouch, Kallen, and even Shirley.
"Ratchet?" Shirley heard his groan and saw his optics open. "Guys, he's awake!" She said excitedly to the group as they turned to see him attempting to get up.
"Easy, old friend." Optimus placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder as he had a relieved smile on his face. "You've lost a lot of Energon, good and bad."
"I… I'm sorry." Ratchet apologized sincerely. "I… I didn't intend to hurt… anyone. I just… wanted so badly to…"
"Help us? We get it." Ironhide assured. "That's the plus side and the downside of dealing with you, Ratchet. We're glad you wanna do what you can to help us, but you can't help with everything. Even you need help sometimes, that's why you got Fixit right there."
"It's true." Fixit added. "I am your assistant for a reason. That means I can even scold you for acting so accessibly… fecklessly… recklessly!"
Ratchet nodded before turning to some of the humans present. "Kallen, Lelouch, I… I'm so very sorry for the things I've said. I had no right to say any of that; I've made more than my fair share of mistakes and I've lost many friends as well. I hope you can forgive me."
Kallen sighed before she smiled slightly. "Forget it. I mean if you were crazy enough to take on freaking Megatron, we'll just chalk it up to being hooked on that bad stuff. So, don't worry you hop head, we're good." She smirked.
"Like you've said, we all make mistakes Ratchet." Lelouch said honestly. "I've made my fair share to, so I don't hold any grudges."
"However, your actions nearly cost us something irreplaceable." Optimus said to Ratchet. "Our medic, and a most trusted friend."
That previous statement caused Ratchet to smile. Ironhide smirked as well. "While you did screw up big time, you actually did help us get a much needed Energon supply. We've got enough to keep us going for some time."
"And for that, we should all be thankful." Lelouch agreed.
"The Synthetic Energon formula clearly needs refining before it can be tested again." Ratchet said earning either genuine smiles or sarcastic smirks from all those present. "On machines, not Autobots."
"Let us take comfort in the fact that you were able to dispose of the quantity that remained." Optimus said.
Back in the mine, there was however one tiny drop of the green liquid that remained in the broken shards of the vile. A drop that was found by Knock Out who could only smile evilly.
Mt. Haku
A Groundbridge portal had just opened at the base of the mountain as Megatron and Soundwave stepped outside to see Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Airachnid all sitting along the ground, each of them covered in scratches that were already leaking Energon, even Airachnid was missing a couple of spider-legs.
"Lord… Lord Megatron." Starscream stuttered as he tried to push himself up. "It… it was horrible… it was…!"
"Spare me your rambling Starscream." Megatron interrupted. "What happened?"
"We were inspecting a distress call sent out by the Britannian military after they investigated their own distress call in an Energon mining operation at this location." Thundercracker explained.
"And we didn't even find a single scrap of Energon down there." Skywarp added. "Just a bunch of rabid Knightmares that moved on their own that tried to eat us alive!"
"Oh?" Megatron raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"It sounds crazy, but it's true." Even Airachnid admitted it. "Even our Vehicon escorts were mauled before they actually rose from the dead!"
"We were able to collapse the mine to hopefully stop these creatures from reaching the surface, but I fear not even that may stop them." Starscream said as he and his associates looked fearfully toward the collapsed entranceway.
Megatron then turned to Soundwave, who ran the recordings of the four Decepticons through a lie-detector-program built into his drives and confirmed that they were indeed telling the truth.
"Hmm, you actually speak true for once." Megatron acknowledged almost mockingly, but the four of them were too weakened to come up with a come-back. "Very well, Soundwave and I will deal with these 'monsters' as you say. But by all means, please do not trap us down there." Megatron said, sounding sincere, only for that to be proven false as Soundwave had already deployed Laserbeak which began to hover and circle around the four, indicating that they were being watched. They weren't even in the mood to argue as the simply sulked and tended to their own wounds.
Megatron and Soundwave walked toward the blocked entranceway, where Soundwave deployed Rumble. "Time to do my thing." The blue Mini-Con said as he leapt and 'punched' with his pile-drivers to clear the boulders away, exposing the path to the darkened mine.
"Excellent work, Rumble." Megatron acknowledged.
"No problem, boss." Rumble saluted before return to Soundwave as the Decepticon pair descended down the path.
Megatron, of course, led the way with Soundwave providing some illumination from some built-in lights on his shoulders. It was a long path with the only sounds being Megatron's enormous footsteps drowning out the more lightened footsteps of Soundwave at his side. The two had made it to what was once the sight of the massacre, where a great deal many boulders all lain, all brought down from the Seekers and Airachnid attempting to escape.
"The sight of the battle, I assume." Megatron turned to Soundwave. "Any signs of movement?"
Soundwave did a quick scan of the area before a radar flicked up on his visor, showing that there was indeed something moving within these mines. "What is it's location?" Megatron asked. Soundwave's visor shifted to reveal a three-dimensional image of the mine, the red dot indicating the unidentified entity actually dwelling below their current location. "Below us." Megatron noted.
However, right as that observation was made, the entire ground slowly began to crumble before it completely collapsed. The two would have fallen had Megatron and Soundwave not transformed into their respective flying Vehicle Modes. The two off them shot down into the darkened pit that had formed, deep underground. They reached the ground and transformed, beholding the entity Soundwave detected as even Megatron's optics widened at what he saw.
The entity could only be described as a nightmarish version of a Cybertronian combiner. It stood well over one hundred feet tall, its body appeared to be made out of a mesh of Britannian excavation equipment, Sutherlands and Glasgows apparently used as mining Knightmares, and a few Vehicon parts thrown in there. All of it meshed together to form a large upper body, with the lower body appearing almost serpent-like and sticking out of a hole in the ground with a dark purple glow emanating from it. It had two large arms with a series of metallic tentacles stretching out of its back with a head made out of broken machine parts with four glowing dark purple eyes. Its mouth was something akin to four mandibles when it let loose an ear-splitting roar on the Decepticon pair.
Despite the otherwise terrifying appearance of this creature, neither Megatron nor Soundwave seemed remotely intimidated. "Well, this is something new." Megatron observed.
The monster lifted both its enormous arms to slam its fists onto the pair, but Megatron and Soundwave had both transformed to avoid it as they flew above. Megatron opened fire with Energon blasts at the creature, but the tentacles shot at him. However, Megatron was able to avoid the lashings as he transformed and drew his blade to sever most of them before falling toward the creature, slashing at its side, before landing on his feet on the ground.
However, Megatron looked in minor surprise to see the wound actually heal almost immediately. He then ducked to avoid a swing from the monster's fist as he opened fire with his fusion cannon, causing the monster to roar in pain before it opened its mouth to actually fire a massive beam of dark purple energy. Megatron transformed once again to avoid the devastating beam that carved a hole through the wall.
Soundwave meanwhile had deployed Rumble, Frenzy, and Ravage from behind the monster. Ravage and Frenzy ran quickly along the sides to shoot at the beast; Frenzy with a small Energon blaster on his hand, and Ravage with Energon blasts from its tail and mouth. The monster's tentacles shot from its back at the pair of Mini-Cons but they proved far too quick and were able to avoid them. Rumble, meanwhile, had made his way closer toward the monster, and almost directly under it.
"Time to shake things up a bit!" Rumble used his pile-drivers on the ground to create a series of tremors to shake the area around the monster. However, several tentacles emerged from its torso which lashed out and ensnared Rumble. "Hey! Get your tentacles off me!" Rumble exclaimed as he struggled in the monster's grip.
Megatron saw the monster was more-so focused on Rumble and resumed his fire with his fusion cannon on the entity, this appeared to distract it long enough for Soundwave to transform and fly up to retrieve his Mini-Con, while also deploying Frenzy and Ravage again on its face.
"Oh, that is one ugly mug." Frenzy insulted the monster. "Let's fix that up, shall we!" He and Ravage began to tear at its face with either a pair of mini-blades or teeth and claws. This annoyed the entity, but it wouldn't stop it.
Soundwave landed right beside Megatron. "Any damage we deal to this creature heals the moment it is inflicted. Is there any sort of weakness?"
The silent Decepticon had already performed a scan on the creature and shown a three-dimensional image on its visor of the monster, while illuminating a purple pulsating center at its core.
"Something akin to a spark?" Megatron assumed as Soundwave nodded in confirmation. "Pull your Mini-Cons back, Soundwave. I know how to handle this creature."
Soundwave nodded before emitting a signal to call back Frenzy and Ravage as they continued to reshape the entity's face. "Okay Soundwave, we hear ya? We're coming!" Frenzy stated as he and Ravage leapt from the monster and quickly made their way back to their master, where they re-attached themselves along with Rumble who already returned.
Megatron then ran towards the monster as it turned all its attention toward the Decepticon leader. At first, it lashed out all its tentacles, but Megatron drew his blade and sliced through each of them with little effort. The monster then reeled back its right fist to try and punch Megatron, however, Megatron actually caught the fist with both his hands. However, he felt himself being pushed back. Megatron gave a small pained grunt as he aimed his fusion cannon and blasted off the fingers of the monster, causing it to real back in pain as it pulled back it's finger-less hand, however, Megatron had actually leapt onto its arm and drew his blade once he ran up to the shoulder-area. With one powerful and mighty slice, the entire arm was severed.
The monster roared in agony, and this was the opening he needed. Megatron actually leapt into the creature' open mouth! The creature gurgled for a second, as though he was trying to spit Megatron out, but soon Energon blasts shot out of it from all directions of its throat as Megatron made its way deeper into the monster. All was silent for a moment as even the creature turned still like a statue, when suddenly, Megatron's blade pierced out form it's chest, the monster roaring in absolute agony as Megatron himself shot out of the opening he made from the monster, rolling on the ground, completely covered in purple fluids, revealing something he acquired from inside the monster in his claws.
It resembled something of a human heart, except it was made entirely out of black metal. It continued to beat for a moment before Megatron crushed it in his hands. The second it was crushed, the eyes of the monster went dim, and it completely fell apart. The separate parts that had once made its body became separated as it fell down into one massive pile of scrap metal.
Soundwave walked to Megatron's side and turned to his master. "Britannia believed this was a place to harvest Sakuradite, or Energon, but… they might have stumbled onto something… far more beneficial." Megatron said with an evil smile as he knew exactly how this happened. Only one thing in the universe could do something like this. "If Cornelia asks about this, tell her that this mine was a trap laid by terrorists. And the soldiers were killed in the attack." Soundwave nodded as Megatron aimed his fusion cannon to blast away the scrap metal that was once the creature to reveal a small pit with an eerie purple glow emanating from it.
Megatron walked toward the pit as he saw the source of the glow inside. "It's been a long time. I had thought you lost forever when Cybertron went dark, but who would have ever guessed you'd be found on Earth." He said as he gazed at a large chunk of purple crystals that seemed to just emanate evil. "Dark Energon."
The Lord of the Decepticons broke out into a chuckle, which evolved into a full-blown evil laugh that echoed throughout the entire mine.
Done.
So, good news, the Autobots and Black Knights have managed to add more Energon to their stockpile and are working on manufacturing their own Synthetic Energon. It will come into play again sooner in my series than it did in the cannon Transformers Prime series. I've got very special plans for it.
Bad news: Knock Out has gained a sample of it himself. But even he is not crazy and/or stupid enough to mess around with it once he sees the side-effects of the concoction, so it's not really going to be too much of a problem for our heroes.
Worse news: The Blood of Unicron has finally made its debut in my series: Dark Energon! Allow me to explain a few things. Megatron and the Decepticons already know about Dark Energon as in the War for Cybertron game, Megatron used it to poison Cybertron's core. However, (in my series), most of the Dark Energon was nearly exhausted during the final days of the war that led to the Exodus. While Megatron had already been infused with Dark Energon at the beginning of WFC, he unfortunately lost most of it when he crash-landed on Earth before meeting Charles and Victor (ironically, it was Dark Energon that actually saved his life, otherwise, even he would have likely died from the landing). However, as a result, he bled out of most of his Dark Energon, and since most of the Dark Energon was exhausted shortly before the Exodus, he couldn't use that during his time on Earth. But now, that is bound to change as Megatron has discovered a deposit of Dark Energon in Japan. There is NO WAY IN HELL he's going to share something like that with Britannia, especially since he's becoming suspicious of Charles already, so Britannia is going to remain in the dark with this particular development (no pun intended).
Also, don't expect to see any more Terrorcons soon, Megatron is going to keep this wildcard close to his chest for the time being, but Dark Energon is going to have a critical role soon in my series, very soon; you will see.
And with this, we go back into the main Code Geass plotline as I've got several special surprises in store, and even a miracle-or-two (hint, hint). See you soon with the next update, until then, Transform and Roll Out!