"Can...can it be?"
Starscream watched the crossfire between the two Monocon cruisers hovering above the city of Detroit. At the epicentre of it all was a figure, wreathed in fire and smoke. Starscream leaned towards the monitor, activating the magnify function to peer through the chaos.
He found what he was looking for. A figure, broken and lifeless, dropping out of the sky.
"Yes!" Starscream punched the air, "At last, I've done it! Hahaha, oh yes, I've-"
The monitor's feed suddenly crackled, and Starscream flinched. The feed was coming from a hull-mounted capture device on one of the cruisers, and for the first time Starscream noticed that the cruisers were utterly annihilating one another in their furious crossfire. The monitor crackled again, then went dark. A moment later, so did all of his feeds from the Earth-bound cruisers.
Starscream glanced around. For the moment, Gigatron had retired to his throne and seemed distracted, whispering to himself. Sentinel Prime, however, was staring directly at him.
"Did you just blow up the entirety of the Earth invasion force just to destroy Megatron?" he hissed in a lowered voice.
"Oh, shush! Shush, you!" Starscream grinned, unable to contain his joy, "Don't you see, you fool? I've done it! After all these stellar cycles, Megatron is finally gone!"
He turned back to the monitor, as if he expected the dead feed to revive and show him the broken body of his nemesis, but he saw only his face reflected against blackness.
"Megatron is finally…gone…"
"Impossible", Strika whispered.
"I'm afraid it Is ze truth", Blitzwing's response came through her commlink.
"I don't believe it", Strika snapped, "I will not believe it. Megatron can't be offline".
She glanced around the bustling command centre that was the control room of Fortress Maximus; Autobot officers were hurrying to and fro, giving orders to field commanders and monitoring troop movements as their viz-screens flashed warnings about Monocon incursions at them. The few Decepticon officers present, however, were gathered around Strika in a visibly shaken state as they received the news.
A new voice came through Strika's commlink. It was Lugnut.
"Blitzwing speaks the truth. Megatron gave his spark so that we might reach Cybertron. He sacrificed himself for Cybertron and all Decepticonkind. We are en route with Optimus Prime's team. Over and out".
That was enough for Strika. Lugnut had never stopped believing that Megatron was still online when he vanished fifty stellar cycles ago. If he believed that Megatron was no more, then it was beyond doubt. And Strika could tell Lugnut truly believed it: his voice had been flat and subdued, with none of his trademark zeal or passion. He hadn't even called her 'my iron angel' or 'my delectable Decepticon'.
Strika turned to the other Decepticon officers and gave a grim nod. They exchanged despairing looks. They were a mere handful, Strika noted. Most of the Decepticon Generals had taken to the battlefield, but they were missing others too. Shockwave was gone. Starscream was a traitor. And now Megatron was lost. For good.
"So, what do we do?" the newly appointed Air Commander asked.
Strika regarded Slipstream carefully, and realized she didn't have an answer.
"We earn it", Soundwave said.
The other Decepticons turned to look at the strange bot.
"Megatron gave me life. Megatron gave his life. We must honour his sacrifice, and earn the faith he placed in us. It is illogical that Megatron would allow himself to perish if he did not believe that his sacrifice would achieve something. He trusted in us to cooperate with the Autobots and secure victory. Suggest we earn his faith".
They were odd words, Strika thought. A mixture of philosophical sincerity and automated logical processes, and delivered in that peculiar cold, but musical voice. But the words were not without power.
Aloud she said, "And how do we earn his faith?"
"Seems pretty obvious to me", said Slipstream. "General Strika, the Autobots in Central Iacon are under heavy aerial bombardment and are taking casualties. Request permission to lead the seekers against the capital ships".
Strika nodded, and Slipstream saluted briskly. Before marching off, however, she looked at Soundwave. They excused themselves for a moment and headed outside. Strika did not stop them. It was possibly the young consort's last moment together: Strika had seen the ordnance arrayed against Central Iacon and she did not like Slipstream's odds.
"You heard them!" she roared suddenly, filled with fury at the unfairness of it all, "Monitor your forces and support the Autobots where they need it. And they do need it: they're only puny after all. Get out there and win this battle, for Cybertron, and for Megatron!"
The assembled Decepticons gave a hearty cheer, and scrambled to their posts, while others transformed and took off into the battle directly. When the crowd dispersed, only one bot besides Strika remained, clapping politely. She glared at him.
"What do you want, Swindle?"
"Nothing, nothing at all, my friend! I simply find all this dramatic talk rather invigorating. Have you considered a career in motivational speaking?"
"Let me ask the same question another way. Why are you here?"
"Why, to help in the war effort, of course! General Onslaught appointed me overseer of ammunition supplies. I'm redirecting energon reserves to Central Iacon. Those bots are gonna need all the help they can get".
Strika grunted and returned to her station. Her back to him, she didn't see the grin on his face broaden into an oily smirk.
"Sooner than you might think", he said, unheeded by all in the chaos.
"So, I suppose this is it, short stuff", Slipstream said, as her and her consort loitered for a moment in the launch bay of Fortress Maximus, cast in the shadows of the great overhanging Elite Guard citadel.
Above them, Cybertron's usual red skyline was bathed in yellow light from the relentless pounding of the Monocon cruisers, which floated like continents in an ocean of crackling energy. All about them were the muffled thuds of explosions, the stricken cries of the wounded and the rattle of blasterfire.
But for a moment, there was just the two of them. Or more accurately, the two of them plus Laserbeak and Ratbat, who were perched on each of Slipstream's back-mounted jet wings.
Soundwave surveyed the hellscape, and Slipstream knew he was calculating her odds out there on the front line. She didn't much care for them herself. As she watched, a wing of Decepticon fighters strayed off their flight path and caught in a single sweeping blast from the nearest cruiser's guns. They vanished in a ray of stinging yellow light and a distant detonation.
"I should be out there with you", Soundwave said.
Slipstream smiled ruefully, "You're too valuable, Decepticon Head of Communications. You're always going to be the radio guy. Leave this to the fighters".
Soundwave extended his arm, and Laserbeak swept into his hands and transformed into guitar form, "I have composed another melody for you..."
Even as he said the words, they both knew there was no time. The words hung in the air for a moment. Slipstream exhaled.
"It'll have to wait. Cons are dying out there, and we're both needed. Play it for me when I come back, yes?"
She turned to leave, then hesitated and looked back at him.
"Do you think there's music in the Well of AllSparks, my love?"
'I know there is".
The was reassurance in his steady monotone. She nodded, then touched her commlink.
"Seekers, on my position! Form up and follow me. We're going where the fighting is thickest".
There came a series of predictable answers.
"Hah! No amount of enemy starships can withstand my martial prowess!"
"Oh, I don't doubt it, I don't doubt it! And under the brilliant leadership of Commander Slipstream, how can we fail?"
"Maybe we could delay the attack? I've got an appointment to have my oil changed".
"So do I!"
Slipstream sighed, but affectionately. Her sensors detected their energy signals making a beeline for her. She transformed to jet mode and ascended, and by the time she was one hundred feet in the air the other four seekers were assembled behind her, with her at the tip of the wedge.
"Today, we're going to prove that we're not the disappointment our creator was!" she cried, and they roared off into the maelstrom of plasma on the horizon.
They took cover behind a ruined wall scorched by laserfire. Blasts of energy were all about them, overloading his visual sensors and overwhelming his processor as he tried to take stock of the situation.
"How many of us made it, sir?" he yelled.
"Just four, Field Tech Ratchet! Grapple and Hoist didn't make it out of the depot".
"What do you mean, 'they didn't make it?'"
"I mean they didn't slagging make it! Now get moving and the – argh!"
Ratchet watched in horror as his commander was fatally blasted from behind. He looked up and saw the Decepticon responsible looming over him; a hulking shadow of armour plating and bristling firepower, red optics glowing and a mocking smile on its faceplate as it advanced on him.
"Autobot…"
"Autobot!"
The Decepticon towered over him. Ratchet extended his magnetic manipulators and aimed for its feet, aiming to throw it off balance before it could...
No. No.
"Did you hear me, Autobot?"
"...N-no. What did you say?"
"I said you need to get to ze starport".
Ratchet snapped back to the present. He and Blitzwing were taking cover behind a collapsed tower, and they were thoroughly pinned down. Blasterfire riddled the twisted structure as Monocon troops swarmed down the Iacon street towards them. The sheer volume of fire coming their way was terrifying. He looked around and saw that Optimus was standing out in the open, sweeping his axe back and forth in desperate parries, the energy from the blasters of the Monocons splashing against his blade as he covered his teammates.
"What's the hold-up, Ratchet?" he yelled over the din of combat.
Ratchet looked to his right and saw the others were in a safer position, taking cover behind the street corner. Only Optimus was out on the open, and he was in danger of being overwhelmed. From behind the street corner, Lugnut was returning fire as Arcee batted away shots with her swords. She took cover, and looked at him with urgent eyes.
Arcee. Omega Supreme. He needed to get moving. They needed to get to Omega Supreme, get him into battle mode and take the fight to the invaders.
But he was trapped, and to venture out from cover would be met with immediate catastrophic damage.
"You need to get to Omega Supreme, Autobot", Blitzwing was saying, "I vill provide cover fire for you to reach ze others".
"You...will?"
"Of course I will, you rickety old rustbucket! Und afterwards I'll produce an award-winning musical show about your lifecycle!"
Ratchet wondered for a moment about the wisdom of trusting his fate to the Decepticon berserker, but then muttered 'slag it' and bolted for the others. Blitzwing yelled in indecipherable rage and leapt from cover, unleashing a devastating storm of ammunition from his shoulder-mounted twin cannons.
Ratchet ran as he hadn't run since his youth. Monocon fire filled the street, but it was aimed not at him but at the Decepticon covering for him. His audio receptors detected the sound that kept him awake at night – the clash of laserfire on armour plating. He dived for cover. Optimus was waiting to haul him to safety. He looked back at Blitzwing.
The Decepticon was firing both cannons relentlessly, and blasting Monocons to pieces. A mound of smoking, twisted metal was piling up before him, first waist-height, then to shoulder-height. But still the Monocons came, heedless of their own safety.
"You miserable wind-up toys! I'll mangle your mainframes! I'll cook your CPU!"
A Monocon had clambered over the shells of its comrades and levelled its blasters at the Decepticon – a split second before Blitzwing's cannons annihilated its cranium in a shower of sparks and circuitry. It fell in ruin, but even as it did one of its kind used its collapsing body as leverage to leap onto the Decepticon from the high ground, tackling him to the floor. The Monocons swarmed onto him like space barnacles on a ship's hull.
Lugnut stepped out of cover and unhooked his fearsome mace from its back-mounted holster; he took a moment to look back at the Autobots and grunt a final command, "Go! Save Cybertron!"
His appetite for speeches and grandiose gestures had evidently died with Megatron. He thundered into battle, careening into the Monocons and swiping his mace in wide arcs that pulverised his foes as he fought to get to his comrade.
Sari watched him wade into battle with the Autobots. Soon, Blitzwing and Lugnut were gone, hidden by a wall of thrashing limbs and erratic laserfire.
"Do you think they'll make it?" she asked quietly.
"I don't know, kid", Ratchet answered honestly, "I'll say this for the Decepticons – they keep surprising me".
Arcee nodded grimly, "Come on, let's not waste the time they've bought us. We're needed at the starport".
"The starport is lost, sir!" Ironhide cried as he leapt to safety.
Rodimus Prime took stock of the situation. He and the rest of Team Athena had taken cover behind a dislodged metal panel in the warzone that was the main access road for Iacon's central starport. The starport was currently swarming with Monocons, which were tearing into any unmanned ship they could find to prevent any Cybertronian from attempting escape. They were also spilling out into the street, marching towards Team Athena's position with weapons firing.
"It's not looking good, sir!" Red Alert yelled over the thunder of their guns, "Omega Supreme is in starship mode, and he won't transform to robot mode without direct orders from Field Tech Ratchet".
"That big ol' bot is a sitting duck without going into battle mode!" Brawn yelled. A blaster wound to his shoulder was sparking, and Red Alert was already scanning it with her multi-purpose hard light tool built into her left servo.
"And I got bad news, boss-bot!" Hot Shot yelled, two fingers still pressed against his commlink, "We're out of time! Optimus' team is incoming to activate Omega Supreme. They'll be here in a few cycles".
Rodimus considered their situation. The defence plan was counting on Omega Supreme to reinforce the Decepticons in the air. Any delay in Field Tech Ratchet and Agent Arcee getting onboard Omega Supreme was going to be costly. Team Athena was the only combat-ready team in the area. And the Monocons were closing in on their position fast.
The newest addition to Team Athena cringed as laserfire rapidly tore away at their cover, "Wazzzpinator not ready to go offline! Wazzzpinator just starting to enjoy life on the outzzzide!"
"We need to clear this road", Rodimus said, as calmly as he was able, "And we're going to do it together".
Not like last time with Megatron in Polyhex, Rodimus thought to himself, This time, we do it right. I owe that to you, Sarge.
He rapped his fist on the street beneath him, "Brawn, we need a better barricade".
Brawn smiled, cracked his knuckles and plunged his fingers into the metal beneath their feet. He strained, the sparks from his shoulder wound flaring up. A multi-tonne slab of metal was wrenched out of the street floor. Brawn heaved and swung the massive block about to face the oncoming Monocons, shielding his team from their fire.
Rodimus looked to his team's medic, "Red Alert, we need a fire port for Hot Shot!"
Red Alert blinked, taking a moment to comprehend his meaning, then without a word transformed her left servo into a hard-light scalpel and carved a small hole through the dense slab. Hot Shot grinned excitedly and set his arm-mounted flamethrowers to maximum burn.
"Alright, let's go!" Rodimus ordered.
With a roar, Brawn lifted the block and set off at a run down the street. Despite his immense burden and stout frame, the rest of Team Athena struggled to keep up with him. Hot Shot pressed his flamethrowers to the hole that Red Alert had carved and ignited them. The stream of fire swept towards the approaching the Monocons and engulfed them.
Rodimus leapt out from their mobile cover and fired two shots with his energon bow, nailing two Monocons in their blank faceplates. But even as they fell twitching to the floor, Rodimus saw the danger – the Monocons directly in front of them were being decimated, but they were at risk of being flanked on either side.
"Waspinator, Ironhide, Metal Yellowjacket formation!"
Ironhide activated his alloy-shifting powers, his outer shell turning into an impenetrable gunmetal. The larger Waspinator seized him in his crooked limbs and took to the sky. From his vantage point he used his smaller stinger arms to fire disabling blasts of crackling green energy into the flanking Monocons. Inevitably the Monocons shifted their attention to him and fired, but their shots ricocheted off Ironhide's plating as Waspinator used him as a living shield.
"I'm running low on gas here!" Hot Shot called out. The wall of flames he was projecting was flickering, threatening to fail.
Red Alert shouldered him aside and handed him two energon stims, "Here, take these and give yourself a moment, kid", she ordered before converting her left servo into a launcher. She took Hot Shot's position and began launching razor-sharp hard light needles.
Rodimus nocked another two energon arrows, rolled and came up mere feet away from a pair of looming Monocons. He let loose into the neck joint of one, drew another pair of arrows and thrust them with by hand into the other's chest plate.
As they neared the starport Brawn hurled the massive slab they had used as cover, pinning several remaining Monocons. Team Athena rushed towards the stragglers, finishing them off with arrows, stinger blasts, jets of flame and hand to hand combat. Ironhide leapt from Waspinator's grasp and let gravity guide his hardened fist into a Monocon's processor.
Rodimus surveyed the situation. The starport was clear, and while several ships lay in smoking ruin, Omega Supreme's starship mode looked intact. He exhaled in relief.
"And I thought cleaning up was the job of maintenance bots like us", a voice said.
Rodimus turned and saw Optimus Prime accelerating towards him in fire truck mode, his team gathered around him. Optimus transformed to robot mode and, despite the severity of the situation, he smiled and clapped one servo onto Rodimus' shoulder.
"Nicely done, Autobots. Couldn't have done it without you".
Performance evaluation and praise from Optimus Prime himself. There was a time when the mere thought of such a thing would make Rodimus' cerebral circuits overload with excitement and pride. But now, tempered by war, he was a little more sober and a little wiser.
So aloud he simply said, "Thank you sir. What are your orders?"
"The Helix Gear District is under heavy fire and is in danger of being overrun. Do you think you can head there and reinforce it?"
Rodimus snapped off a salute, "We're on our way, sir. Ehm…where is Megatron's team?"
"I never thought I'd say this", said Jazz, "But the Big M got himself zooted so we could make the scene here".
Rodimus stared, "Are you saying Megatron sacrificed himself so you bots could make it here?"
"And Lugnut and Blitzwing", Bulkhead said, "At least, last we saw of 'em…well, it didn't look too good".
"And what about Blackarachnia?"
"Blackarachnia's right-" Bulkhead looked around, as did the other Autobots. Blackarachnia was nowhere to be seen.
"Ahh, sludge!" Ratchet growled, "She slipped away! What's the bug-bot playing at now?"
"How could we lose sight of her?" Bumblebee groaned, "She was right here!"
Rodimus could see the frustration in Optimus' clenched jaw, but the Autobot Commander only said, "It's not a priority right now. Whatever Blackarachnia's up to, we've got bigger circuits to fry. Let's get Omega Supreme operational and in the air."
As Optimus' team hurried to board Omega Supreme, Team Athena lined up and saluted. Optimus returned the gesture.
"'Til all are one", Optimus Prime said.
"'Til all are one", Rodimus Prime answered.
"Ratchet, I am afraid".
The voice reverberated through the corridor as Ratchet hurried down it, Arcee by his side and the others following.
"I know, old friend. I am too. This isn't anything like we've faced before. But we've got a duty to fulfil".
The Autobots burst onto Omega Surpeme's bridge. Ratchet and Arcee slid into their command chairs and began cycling shield generators and calibrating weapon targeting programmes. Optimus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Jazz and Sari watched as Omega's internal systems began to light up.
"Crazy, huh?" Bumblebee said as he looked around, "To think it all started right here, when we were assigned to this ship".
"And then we picked up Prowl", Optimus shook his head, "It seems like a lifecycle ago now".
"See, to most humans, fifty years and change is more or less a lifetime", Sari observed.
"Well, whatever way you want to look at it, it's been one crazy ride", said Bulkhead.
"And you picked up some crazy cats along the way", Jazz said with a self-effacing smile.
They fell quiet. They all knew, and silently processed in their own way, that this was the end, one way or another.
It was Arcee who broke the silence, "It's been an honour, you bots".
"It has", Optimus agreed, "To serve with each and every one of you. And not just serve, but to…j-just be careful out there, okay?"
Ratchet got up from his pilot's seat and placed one servo on Optimus' shoulder, "We'll get through this. And when it's over, we'll have some stories to share".
Optimus recalled their exchange after his harrowing first encounter with Lockdown.
"With trusted friends?" he said.
"With trusted friends", Ratchet's smile was a rare thing, but all the more valued for it, for it had been hard-earned.
Optimus returned the smile, but then willed himself into what he had begun to privately refer to as 'commander mode' and began issuing orders.
"Alright, Autobots, this is it. Ratchet, Arcee, get Omega airborne and reinforce Decepticon Air Command. Jazz, you come with me, we're going to join the fight wherever we're needed on the ground".
"What about us?" Bulkhead asked, gesturing to himself, Bumblebee and Sari.
Optimus turned to them, "I don't know what's going to happen this solar cycle, but I think it's safe to say it's going to involve the AllSpark. And I want Sari there when it happens".
"Are you out of your processor, boss-bot?" yelped Bumblebee, "That time-skipping maniac Gigatron is launching this attack specifically to get his claws on the AllSpark, and you want to deliberately put Sari right next to it?"
"Gigatron ain't gonna get to her, dig?" said Jazz, "He's gonna have to breeze by every 'Bot and 'Con on the whole planet first, and we'll make sure that's its tough toenails for him to groove on down to the Metroplex".
"But we promised Professor Sumdac we'd take care of her", Bulkhead said, "We promised".
"Guys, it's okay", Sari stepped between her two best friends and placed one hand on each of their leg plating, "Remember the vision the AllSpark gave me the day Ultra Magnus went cra- I mean, went offline? I need to be near the AllSpark today. It showed me why".
"And why is that?" Bumblebee asked, "I know you're really keyed into this mystical AllSpark mumbo-jumbo, but the rest of us aren't. Can you tell us why you need to be near the AllSpark?"
Sari didn't answer for a moment. A nearby explosion, courtesy of stray fire from one of the Monocon cruisers, rocked Omega Supreme.
"There's no time for this!" Ratchet snapped, "We need to get airborne right now, before we get pinned down!"
"Agreed", Optimus transformed to his vehicle mode, Jazz right behind him, "Let's roll out, Autobots".
Bumblebee sighed in frustration, transformed to vehicle mode and opened his driver side door for Sari, "Aright, Sari. I don't like it, but I trust you. Jump in".
The three of them accelerated down the passageway, heading back outside. Bulkhead waited, loitering at the door.
"Good luck, doc-bot", Bulkhead said, "And to you, Arcee. And um…to you, big guy", he rapped his steel knuckle on Omega's internal hull.
"We don't need luck", Ratchet answered, "We have Omega Supreme. Watch yourself out there, young bot".
He waited until Bulkhead had joined the others, and turned to Arcee, "And…I have you", he said.
She smiled, and raised one servo to his dented, scarred cheek, "Medic, warrior, poet. Now, let's get to where we're needed".
Omega fired up his engines at his pilot's request, but his voice still whispered, "I am afraid, Ratchet".
Ratchet ran one hand over the ancient console bank before him, "No bot would blame you. Like I said, this is like nothing we've seen before, and I've seen a lot. But you know what I saw today? I saw Decepticons sacrificing themselves for the good of all Cybertronians. Decepticons being heroes. And Autobots fighting right alongside them. Are we going to let them down, old friend?"
Omega's voice was slow, but sure and steady, "No. No we are not. I am ready, Ratchet".
"Alright, let's do this!" Arcee was already plugging cables into her helmet to better interface with Omega's central processor and assist him in battle.
Ratchet extended his magnetic manipulators and plugged them into the sockets before him, "Let's give them everything we've got!"
"Decepticons, evasive manoeuvres!"
Slipstream's jet mode swooped and weaved between the blasts of shearing yellow plasma that rained down around her and her comrades. In addition to the seekers, a sizeable company of airborne Decepticons had rallied to her and were following her lead through the firestorm of enemy flak. Slipstream's photoreceptors were overwhelmed with bright yellow energy blasts.
But then she saw it loom out of the crackling storm towards her – the hooked bow of a Monocon cruiser, far too close for comfort. Multiple batteries of flak cannons immediately opened up on them.
She banked to avoid a spread of lasers and opened fire with her own wing-mounted blasters. The seekers followed suit. Their high-intensity laserfire merely scattered across the ship's hull like raindrops on a car's windshield.
"We'll never penetrate that armour! We need to retreat!" Skywarp yelped as he dived underneath a salvo of lasers.
"I hate to say this but my wretched colleague has a point", sneered Thundercracker, "It'll take more than even my superior firepower to crack this putrid planet-crusher's plating!"
Slipstream transformed to robot mode and let herself drift a small distance away from the cruiser, evaluating the situation. It wasn't looking good. The Decepticons were agile in the air and for the moment they were managing to avoid the salvoes of enemy fire, but it couldn't last, and their firepower was barely chipping the plating of the Monocon cruisers.
A bank of hull-mounted cannons on the nearest cruiser swivelled in her direction, clanking as they ratcheted into position. Slipstream fired her jets in reverse to manoeuvre out of the way, but collided with something solid.
The cannons whined as they powered up. Panicked, Slipstream swivelled around to see what was blocking her retreat, and saw only dull yellow plating. Craning her neck up, she saw a gargantuan limb thrust forward and aim a hand-mounted cannon. The cannon fired, and the guns taking aim at Slipstream were decimated. So was a portion of the cruiser's hull, which began belching smoke down a long fissure along the length of the ship.
A voice so deep that Slipstream felt it rumble through her more than she heard it said, "Tactical parity: achieved. I will provide assistance."
Slipstream smiled, "Well, that I can work with. Decepticons, with me!"
She converted to jet mode, boosted towards the cracked hull and unleashed as much firepower as she could muster at the fiery wound. The violet lasers on either side of her assured her she was not alone. All along the scarred ship, a series of explosions heralded a much larger, more final one as they inched their way towards the cruiser's mammoth engine.
"You've lost one of my cruisers", Gigatron said from his throne.
Starscream and Sentinel exchanged nervous looks. Their new master didn't sound particularly angry, or even invested in what was happening. It was almost a lethargic, perhaps somewhat disappointed sigh. But there was something chilling about it. The dispassionate, lazy half-interest of someone utterly assured of their own supremacy.
Gigatron gestured to another viz-screen, "And how are my ground troops faring?"
The Monocons dropped like meteorites from the underbellies of the cruisers. After impacting with the streets of Iacon they unfolded from their protective deployment stance and assumed battle mode. Airborne resistance from the Decepticons and Omega Supreme meant that much of the second wave had had to deploy further away from the centre of the city, while the first wave was already tangled up in heavy street fighting.
But in the outskirts they gathered in mass, unopposed, and marched as one on the fortifications of central Iacon. Their sensors were hard-wired to fire at any movement that didn't come from their comrades, but there was little to be found. The Autobot and Decepticon commanders had pulled their troops into the centralised defence around Iacon City Centre, but this had been anticipated by the Monocon's programming.
A large squadron advanced with swift precision down one alleyway, which terminated in a large, steel door, separating two districts. Already a scout squadron was working on the door, burning back the seals with their forearm-mounted lasers.
Monocon squads had no commanders, enslaved to central intelligence and programming as they were, but the foremost Monocon not engaged in cutting through the door armed its blasters and droned, "We are almost through. Crush all resistance".
The doors were suddenly wrenched open, but not by the Monocons. Large, clawed hands from inside seized the doors and tossed them aside. The Monocons were greeted by the sight of three towering bots, brandishing crude melee weapons that burst into angry flame in their talon-like hands.
"Dinobots, destroy puny invaders!" the lead one snarled, and cleaved the Monocon who had spoken from cranium to hip assembly with a fiery sword.
The Dinobots descended on the massed Monocons with wordless, snarling fury. In the narrow street the Monocons couldn't fire back at the Dinobots without hitting their allies. Grimlock, Snarl and Swoop waded into their massed ranks, swiping. bludgeoning and slicing with sword, club, mace and claw.
"Ground advance is uh…uh…steady", Sentinel said, carefully positioning himself so he was between the viz-screen broadcasting the Dinobot's rampage and Gigatron's line of sight, "Slow but…but steady".
Gigatron said nothing. Beneath the shadow of his helmet and the muzzle-like mouthplate, it was difficult to determine if he was even paying any attention to them.
"We've just had a signal from our allied fleet. They'll be entering the atmosphere momentarily", Starscream volunteered.
"I deigned to work with you because I thought you might be of use", Gigatron said quietly, "The two of you were among the pinnacle of Decepticon and Autobot hierarchy. You each harboured great resentment to the old order and possessed truly unparalleled ambition. But now I present you with the overwhelming forces necessary to crush your old oppressors and, can you direct them to a simple victory? It seems you cannot, no".
He laughed suddenly, and Starscream and Sentinel recoiled. But it wasn't a bitter or mocking laugh, more of a hearty chuckle, as if he was truly amused by the situation. This did not calm either Starscream's or Sentinel's nerves.
He shook his head, seemingly at the absurdity of the situation, and rose up, "Well, no matter. I daresay my forces will be victorious in the end, for what it's worth".
Curiosity overpowered Sentinel's self-preservation instinct for a moment, "Do you not…care if we win the battle?"
Gigatron approached him, idly inspecting his staff as he did so, "Not especially. But I suggest you invest more into its outcome than you are at present or – ah, how's this? If you're victorious upon my return, I will keep to our agreement in full. If not, I will kill you both. Or maybe just one, if I'm feeling charitable. Perhaps I'll be in a good mood".
He turned and stalked away. Sentinel and Starscream quivered, but Starscream at least had the presence of mind to call after him.
"Wh-where are you going?"
"To claim the AllSpark, Starscream. The battle has achieved its objective, so far as I am concerned. It has drawn enough forces away from the Metroplex; the rest I can carve through alone. And when I have the AllSpark, the war will truly be over. So please", he looked back over his shoulder at them as a hatch opened at the feet of his throne, "Strive to be worth of my mercy".
He leapt through the hatch and vanished from view. The hatch sealed shut behind him. On one of the viz-screens, Sentinel and Starscream witnessed Gigatron transform to his jet mode and head for the planet surface.
"Which of us do you think he'll spare?" Sentinel asked.
"I don't care to find out", Starscream snapped, "We've got a battle to win. Send our allies in and let's end this, quickly!"
"Incoming", Blackout grunted.
Bolting to terra firma from above like a dropped stone, he crashed feet-first into the ranks of Monocons advancing on Central Iacon's commercial district. Those directly beneath him were crushed underfoot, and an electromagnetic wave pulsed out from his stabilizing servos, washing over the dense columns of Monocons all around him. Their limbs gave out from under them as their systems crashed, and they clattered to the floor noisily.
From behind their defensive embankment consisting of piled-up rubble, the assortment of Autobots and Decepticons cheered Blackout's success. Spittor, Oil Slick, Cliffjumper, Jetfire and Jetstorm cheered.
"Is good to be seeing big ugly Decepticon kick dumb drone skidplate!" Jetfire enthused.
"Hurhurhur, yeah, nice one", Spittor chuckled and broke cover, "Let's finish them off".
"Belay that order", said a crisp, clinical voice, and General Onslaught approached them, "These drones are out of commission. You're needed elsewhere. Redeploy to the eastern flank immediately".
The Autobots hesitated, but the Decepticons saluted and prepared to move out. They had just taken a few steps when a streak of blue and white rocketed past him to come to a halt atop the embankment. His winged insignia identified him as an Elite Guard officer, and he seemed agitated.
"Why are you standing around that is extremely ill-advised we need to destroy these Monocons while they are in a vulnerable state that's just common sense really what are we waiting for let's go!" he blurted out at a dizzying speed.
Onslaught scoffed, "And what do you know of battle tactics, little Autobot?" he sauntered over to the nearest pile of downed Monocons and gave one a contemptuous kick, "Blackout's EMP blast never fails to knock out another mechanism's essential systems. On less sophisticated hardware, like these mere drones, the effect is permanent".
Blurr however was already revving his arm-mounted energon chainsaw, "You might be correct under normal circumstances however I feel the need to point out that the Monocons were designed by the human criminal genius Henry Masterson, or 'the Headmaster' as he is known to Earth law enforcement, and he is quite familiar with Cybertronian technology and weaponry and is extremely unlikely he would fail to install back-up systems shielded within an EMP-proof casing!"
A metallic hand seized Onslaught's stabilizing servo. He looked down and saw the Monocon he had kicked surging back to life. The downed Monocons began to rattle, twitch, and then stand back up.
Onslaught kicked the Monocon back and fired his back-mounted cannons at it, destroying it. Blurr dived forward, slicing at the Monocons while they were still attempting to get up, amputating arms, blasters and legs. From further back, Blackout, Spittor and Cliffjumper opened up with their various guns, while Oil Slick tossed napalm grenade and Jetfire and Jetstorm resolved to merge into their combined form.
But the Monocons were many, and they recovered quickly. Even as many were brought down, more fell upon Onslaught, firing their blasters as point-blank range and tearing at his plating with their servos.
"Unhand me, you sparkless wretches!" Onslaught cried out, desperately fighting hand to hand to drive them back.
But already they were swarming over him, clutching at him, limiting his movement and preventing him from bringing his cannons to bear. His last words were lost in a scream as they ripped him apart. Even Spittor found himself looking away from the scene.
Realising he was now surrounded by fully active Monocons, Blurr darted for freedom between their tangled limbs. He almost made it too, before he felt a hand seize him by the waist and stop him dead.
He looked up into the featureless face of a Monocon as it held him fast with its left hand while positioning its right to level its blaster at him. Blurr struggled and twisted to free himself, but the Monocon only gripped tighter. Twin sparks of energy bloomed at the tips of its blaster.
Something struck the Monocon's right elbow joint and jerked its forearm upwards, so that it fired into its own chin, detonating its head. Blurr lost no time in leaping from its failing servo as it dropped to the ground. He made another dart for the relative safety of the embankment, and made it just as Jazz's laser nunchaku whirled above his head and returned to the ninja-bot's waiting hand.
For once, Blurr was a loss for words, panting with exertion for some time before eventually managing "Thank you".
"Don't sweat it", Jazz replied, giving his nunchaku a twirl. Blurr saw he wasn't alone. Optimus Prime had arrived to reinforce the small band of Autobots and Decepticons, who were watching the advancing swarm of Monocons with horror.
"It ain't so bad when you can hold 'em back with laserfire", Spittor was saying, "But when they get close and swarm yer…I ain't ever seen anything like what they did to General Onslaught".
Optimus hoisted up the Magnus Hammer, "Let's not give them any more chances to do that".
He held the Hammer aloft for a few seconds, electrical energy crackling around its head. The Monocons, many of them maimed by Blurr's energon saw, shambled closer.
Optimus swung the Hammer in a sweeping arc and sent a wave of high voltage energy at the horde. Lightning coiled about the Monocons, arcing between them and paralysing them in a storm of white-hot sparks.
This time the Autobots and Decepticons did not need encouragement to ensure their immobilised foes were finished off, opening fire with what weapons they had. Blackout launched his spinning bladed disc horizontally, bisecting numerous Monocons in one fell swoop.
As the wave of Monocons was reduced to smouldering scrap, Optimus exhaled deeply, "Good work, everyone. Do you think you bots can hold this position? There's going to be more incoming, but I'm going to try and stop them from reaching the ground", he extended his wings and fired up his jetpack.
"Righteous, O.P", Jazz turned to the others, "We got this, right?"
After a moment's hesitation they nodded, but Cliffjumper was looking at something else.
"What is…that?" he said, pointing skyward.
Optimus's optics followed the direction he was indicating. In between the Monocon cruisers and the harassing clouds of airborne Decepticons, new shapes were suddenly emerging into the battlefield. More spacecraft.
They were not of Cybertronian design, that much was obvious. They were long, and built around a central axis, from which spiralled jagged blade-like hulls in a pattern that resembled a screw. They were dwarfed by the Monocon cruisers, perhaps the size of Omega Supreme's starship mode, but they were much more numerous. Dozens of them suddenly appeared in a flare of transwarp energy. Another flare heralded the arrival of more, and then more. Then began sweeping forward to join the battle.
Even Blackout's limited processor was capable of drawing the correct conclusion, "Those…don't look friendly", he rumbled.
"What are those? What the slag are those?!" Strika raged in the command centre as the battle feeds around her buzzed violently with new information.
Nearly one hundred of the new ships had just emerged from several transwarp portals. And they were heading to intercept the Decepticon fighters.
"Scan: complete", Soundwave warbled from his console, "Identification: confirmed. Quintesson frigates. Heavily shielded and armed, ideal support craft for larger cruisers. They are opening fire on our air force".
"The Quintessons? Those treacherous five-faced freaks!" Strika snarled and, before she could stop herself, ploughed her fist into the nearest console, obliterating it. The Decepticon and Autobot officers, already on edge at this new development, recoiled.
Soundwave's communications console buzzed, and Slipstream's voice came through, "Um, Cybertron Command? Mind telling us what's going on out here? We were just starting to hold our own and now – yow! – now we're getting the chrome kicked out of us!"
Strika ran her servo over her head, disbelief overwhelming her, "I don't understand. The Quintessons are no friends of Cybertron, but they're not mad! Why would they pledge allegiance to Gigatron?"
"Oh, they didn't. The Quintessons had very little to do with this".
Slowly, Strika turned to look at the speaker. It was Swindle, an insincere smile on his smug face as always.
"You see, I acquired this old fleet in a big energon trade deal I helped the five-faces secure with the Vok a few centuries back. I've never really had much use for it except hauling cargo around, until now!" he chuckled heartily, "See, Starscream and Sentinel Prime thought I might be able to provide them with a one-of-a-kind deal. For an unbeatable rate, I was able to provide them with a state-of-the-art attack fleet with just a few solar cycle's notice! Guaranteed to make your cruisers impervious to fighter attack."
As Strika, Soundwave and the gathered officers stared in unabashed horror, Swindle's grin only broadened.
"I pride myself on my service".