Meetings
After being inaugurated into the Autobot fold, Hiccup and his friends returned home to Berk since it was way too dark for them to stay away from home for too long and they didn't want their families to worry. After they returned home Hiccup's father and chief, Stoic, asked where they had been and all Hiccup said 'you have to see it to believe it.' Stoic was confused and Hiccup said he'll show him in the morning.
It was now currently morning and Hiccup and the dragon riders were currently flying to their meeting spot with the Autobots. They were bringing Stoic and Gobber, their resident blacksmith and dragon dentist, with them since this battle with Decepticons is going to affect everyone and there can be no secrets in this upcoming war. Stoic was riding with Hiccup and Gobber was riding with Snotloud.
"Okay son, what is it that you wanted to see?" Stoic asked.
"Yeah, we've been asking where you lads have been last night and you lot won't tell us a thing." Gobber said.
"Oh, trust us you two, we don't want to spoil the surprise." Tuffnut said.
"Yeah! If we told you instead of showing you, you'd think were crazy." Ruffnut said.
"Your practically crazy already." Snotloud muttered getting a slight gurgle laugh from Hookfang.
"We've faced off against an entire flock of Whispering Deaths, a Skrill that that lunatic Dagger used as a weapon, and let's not forget that Screaming Death." Stoic said. "Trust me, whatever you are going to show us son, we can handle it ."
"You may want to hold off on that once we actually do show you what we want to show you." Hiccup said.
They continued flying towards the island until they were finally able to spot it. When they landed, they gestured the two adult vikings to follow them. Stoic and Gobber complied and walked with them, looking around to see what it is that they needed to be showed. When they walked forward, they noticed a large trench and they were following it.
"What could have made a trench this large?" Gobber said in slight wonder.
"You're about to find out." Astrid answered.
They continued walking until they spotted the Autobot ship. Stoic and Gobber were amazed to see the metal structure. Gobber walked up to it and tapped it with his hook.
"By Thor, that's some impressive metal right there." Gobber said.
"Trust us, it's what's inside the metal that'll impress you." Snotloud said.
Hiccup walked towards the ship, but stopped to turn towards his dad. "Now dad, what you are about to see might freak you out, but I need you to remain calm and listen to what we have to say."
"Look son, whatever it is I'm sure I can handle whatever it is." Stoic said getting a little impatient.
Hiccup nodded and walked towards the ship. He stopped right in front of it and pulled a device out of his pocket and pressed a button. It was a device that the Autobots gave them so they could gain access to the ship.
After pressing the button, the doors to the ship opened and out walked all of the Autobots. Gobber and Stoic were stunned beyond belief in what they saw.
"What In the name of Thor?" Gobber whispered in awe as he and Stoic grabbed their weapons out of fear and prepared for a fight.
Hiccup got in front of them and raised his hands in a placating manner. "Wait you two, it's alright!"
Optimus and the other Autobots raised their hands as well, as sign of good faith. Hiccup told them that he would bring his father here and explained that he was the chief and had a right to know about the situation. Optimus may have wanted to avoid this, but in order to protect this world he knew that he needed to gain the humans trust and proved that they were only here as protectors, not conquerors.
"Please remain calm, we are not here to hurt you." Optimus said calmly. He knelt down to be on Stoics eye level. "Are you the one known as a Stoic the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe of Berk?"
Stoic cautiously walked up to Optimus and lowered his sword, though he still didn't let go of it. "Aye, I am. And might I ask who, or what, you are?"
"My name is Optimus Prime, and we are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, or Autobot for short." Optimus answered.
Gobber and Stoic stared at them in wonder and silence, before it was broken by Gobber. "You kids were right. This is something we had to see to believe."
Stoic stared at them for a few more seconds before giving a light glare to his son. "Alright son, you have some explaining to do."
Hiccup rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "Yeah, I know."
/
Back on the Nemesis, things were not as calm and peaceful. Some of the Vehicons cringed when they saw Starscream being punished by their master. Megatron slammed Starscream so hard he flew from one end of the bridge to the other. Starscream just gave the report on their latest mission and needless to say Megatron was not so pleased.
"Didn't you say that your armada was more than capable enough to destroy the Autobots?! Weren't those your exact words?!" Megatron demanded.
Starscream tried to get up. "Lord Megatron, the Autobots just took us by surprise."
Megatron interrupted him by pinning him under his foot. "From what I understand it was more than just the Autobots." Megatron looked up. "Soundwave!"
The doors to the bridge opened and the faceless Decepticon Soundwave walked in. His face the showed a video of the battle between Starscream, his armed, and the Autobots, but it also showed the dragon riders and how they helped.
"It is one thing to be defeated by the likes of the Autobots, but you were defeated by mere organics!" Megatron snarled before turning towards Lugnut and Blitzwing who were kneeling before him. "And you two, what is your excuse?"
"We have none, my lord." Lugnut said as he bowed his head in shame.
"Next time those fleshies try to get up in our business, I'll squash them under my heel!" Blitzwing said angry before changing his face to crazy. "But after I turn those reptiles into a new pair of leather boots! Hahaha!"
"I accept any punishment you deem necessary master." Lugnut said.
"There will be time for that later." Megatron said while getting his foot off of Starscream. "Right now, we must focus our attention on finding the Space Bridge. These organics do not change anything." Megatron turned towards Soundwave. "We know that the Space Bridge is around this area, so we'll need your expertise Soundwave to find it."
Soundwave nodded and detached his Minicon Laserbeak from his chest and have fly out of the warship.
"Once Laserbeak picks up the signal for the Space Bridge, we will begin excavation and initiate phase two of our operation." Megatron continued.
"And if those humans and their pets should interfere again?" Lugnut asked.
Megatron gained an evil look in his eyes. "Then we shall terminate them with extreme prejudice!"
Shockwave then walked into the bridge. "Lord Megatron."
"What is it Shockwave?" Megatron asked.
"Our scanners have picked up an Energon signature. My best guess, that it is a fresh Energon mine ready to be excavated." Shockwave said. "Given how large the Space Bridge is, our limited supply will not be able to sustain the portal."
Megatron nodded. "We shall send our troops there to begin the mining process."
Shockwave nodded and was about to see to it, but stopped when he saw the image of the dragon riders; mainly the dragons.
Shockable walked up to Soundwave. "Soundwave, could you please show me a close up of those creatures?"
A long tentacle came out of Soundwave's side and attached itself to one of the consoles and displayed a larger image of the dragons. Shockwave walked towards it and began studying the images that were displayed.
"Those are the creatures that those pesky humans were riding upon." Starscream said when he noticed the image Shockwave was looking at. "From what I was able to gather they called them 'dragons.'"
"Is there something on your mind Shockwave?" Megatron asked. Whenever his right-hand mad scientists became curious about something he wants to know because it could mean a very large advantage for them.
"Just minor curiosity, my liege." Shockwave said as he continued to study the dragons.
/
Inside the Autobot ship, Optimus Prime and Hiccup finished explaining the situation to Stoic and Gobber. Needless to say, they were very shocked about the danger they were in. They have fought in many conflicts and battle, but to hear that beyond their stars there was a war going on that lasted for millennia was quite shocking.
"There is just one thing I don't get." Astrid said. "How does this Space Bridge allow an entire army of these Decepticons to invade us?"
"It is a machine that defies your laws of physics." Ratchet answers. "With it, we are able to transport anything from one place in the universe to another by manipulating space and time."
"Originally it was used to transport resources and refugees, but the Decepticons wish to misuse it's intended purpose by sending in their armies." Optimus said.
"How large of an army are we talking about?" Gobber asked not liking the situation that they are in.
"Let's put it this way." Arcee said as she stepped forward. "Within hours you'll lose your home Berk to the Decepticons."
"Within days you'll lose the entire Archipelago." Wheeljack continued.
"And within weeks, the world." Ultra Magnus finished.
Everyone became shocked at what they heard. They knew that these giants held great power, but to really hear what these Decepticons are truly capable of was truly terrifying.
"Why here, why come all this way to conquer us?" Stoic asked.
"It's because your world is flowing with this." Wheeljack said as he brought in a large blue glowing cube.
The twins and their dragon walked up to it and were entranced by its glow. "Ooooohhhh." They both said as Barf and Belch sniffed it.
"What is it?" Hiccup asked.
"It is Energon. It is the lifeblood and fuel for all Cybertronians." Optimus answered.
"Your planet is rich with Energon." Bulkhead said. "If they mine every bit of this stuff, then they would have enough fuel to turn the tides of our war and hunt us down until were all wiped out."
"And they do not care how many human lives they have to take to achieve their goal." Ultra Magnus finished.
Everyone let that news sink in, but the silence was soon broken when Stoic spoke up. "So, then what do we do?"
Hiccup was a little surprised at his father's readiness to help out. "Dad, are you sure?"
"Son, I admit, at first I wasn't too sure if getting involved with this conflict was in our best interest, but this is not just about the safety of our people. This is about everyone." Stoic said. "If we do not stand up to these demons, then we will all enter Valhalla."
Hiccup smiled and turned to Optimus. "Like my dad said, what do we need to do?"
"For now, we can't do anything until we can figure out the location to where the Space Bridge is, I'm afraid all we can do is wait and prepare." Ratchet said.
"Well then, if that's all were gonna do..." Tuffnut said to Ruffnut with excitement.
"...human, dragon, Autobot party!" Ruffnut finished with equal excitement.
So everyone went about the ship, the dragon riders went about the ship to see how they can help and to get to know the Autobots a bit more.
Astrid and Stormfly walked with Arcee and were just chatting about their mutual experience of battle.
"So you've had to deal with war as well?" Arcee asked.
Astrid nodded. "Back on Berk we lived in fear because we he had to constantly be on guard for dragon attacks." Astrid rubbed Stormfly's head which caused her to purr in delight. "But things have changed, and we have made peace. Now dragons aren't trying to kill us, they're family."
Arcee smiled. "I also know how much family means."
"You've got family out there?"
Arcee nodded and gained a sad look. "I've got two older sisters, the middle one is named Chromia." Arcee then gained a mischievous look as she looked towards Optimus who was speaking to Stoic. "The oldest of us is Elita-1. She and Optimus are pretty close."
Astrid giggled at that, but then gained a look of concern. "What happened to them?"
Arcee's sad look returned. "They were part of the evacuation when Cybertron fell, I haven't heard from them for a long time. I wanted to go with them, but Elita wanted to make sure that most of the refugees got out safely, Chromia as well. Elita asked me to stay with Optimus and join his strike team, to make sure he'd stay safe."
"She must have really cared for him." Astrid said.
"They were practically inseparable. Wish I could say the same." Arcee said with depressed tone.
Astrid saw her sadness and placed her hand on her leg. Arcee was surprised by this and looked down to see Astrid smiling at her. "You'll see them again. I believe it."
Arcee smiled. She laughed a bit when she felt Stormfly rub her head on her leg.
/
"So what kind of things do you have in storage here." Gobber asked as he walked with Wheeljack.
"This is where we keep all the...special cargo." Wheeljack said as he pressed a button.
All of a sudden, a panel on the began to open up and revealed all manner of different weapons. From small hand held Energon pistols to large Thermo Rocket Launchers.
"What in the name of Thor is this?" Gobber asked in surprise.
"This is our weapons storage. All of this is under my design." Wheeljack said with pride.
"Ah, so you're the blacksmith of the group." Gobber said.
"What's a blacksmith?" Wheeljack asked.
"A blacksmith is the maker and designer of weapons for war." Gobber pulled out his trusty sword. "I made this fine beauty with my own two hands." Gobber gained an embarrassed look when he looked at his hooked hand. "Well, back when I had two."
"Not bad. Do you mind if I..." Wheeljack offered his hand. Gobber shrugged and handed him his sword. Wheeljack was careful as he held it between his fingers. Wheeljack had to admit despite it being small in his point of view it was a pretty fine crafted sword. "You know, if your gonna help us with the Decepticons you all will need some upgrades."
"What did you have in mind?" Gobber said with an intrigued smile as he stroked his long mustache.
/
"Come on, Come on!" Tuffnut said with excitement.
"Please just do it once!" Ruffnut begged.
"Okay, okay." Bulkhead relented. When the twins approached him and he told them the concepts of transformation they kept begging him to see his vehicle mode. So he relented and transformed.
The twins had stars in their eyes when he did it. "That is so awesome!" Ruffnut said.
"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed. He then turned to Barf and Belch. "Why can't you do that?" Belch gave a low growl. "Just kidding Belch, you know I love you." Tuff reassured as he hugged his head of their dragon.
Bulkhead transformed back into his robot mode. "You think that was cool, check this out." Bulkhead transformed his hand into a mace.
The twins were again in awe. "Oh my Thor, you have your own Macey!" Tuff said in excitement.
"My own what?"
Tuff pulled out his mace and showed it to him. "I've had Macey for a long time. If anything would happen to her I would lose my mind." Tuff said as he cuddled Macey. Bulkhead was little weirded out by this.
Gobber came running by and grabbed Macey out of Tuff's hand. "Need this, I'll bring it back! Thank you!"
"Hey! Give Macey back Gobber!" Tuff yelled as he ran after the blacksmith.
"Is he always so eccentric?" Bulkhead questioned.
"Eh, we both kind of are. That's why we work well as a team." Ruffnut said nonchalantly.
"So, all of your dragon's breath fire except for Barf and Belch, which is why you two pilot both heads at once?" Bulkhead asked with curiosity.
"Yep! I bring the gas while my bro lights the fuse." Ruff said with pride. "Gives us an excuse to make things go boom."
"It does more than that." Ruff was confused so Bulkhead elaborated. "It shows that you not only trust each other, but you can work as one body and mind and be in perfect sync. Two heads are better than one, but four heads and you've got twice trouble if anybody messes with you."
Ruff smiled at his words as she petted both Barf and Belch.
/
Smokescreen was hanging with Snotloud and showing him the ship's training facility, which was nothing more than a shooting range. Smokescreen brought out his primary Energon weapon and fired at each of the targets.
"Not bad huh?" Smokescreen asked Snotloud with a hint of pride.
Snotloud admitted that was cool, but he wasn't about to miss a chance to show off. "Yeah, that was pretty cool, but can you do this! Hookfang!" Snotloud pointed at the target, but Hookfang didn't bring in the blaze of glory. Snotloud turned to his dragon and saw that Hookfang was taking a nap.
"Hey! You are embarrassing me in front of our new friend!" Snotloud said as he stomped towards Hookfang angrily. Not liking being disturbed from his nap Hookfang blew a small breath of fire at him which caused him to scream and duck. "Hey! Not me, the targets!" Hookfang rolled his eyes and blew a large flame that incinerated the target. "Ha! And that's how we role!" Snotloud boasted.
Smokescreen nodded with a smile. "Not bad." Smokescreen looked towards Hookfang. "But you two may need to work more in sync."
"Ha, are you kidding?" Snotloud snorted. "It takes a great warrior to train the mighty Monstrous Nighmare dragon. I just so happen to be that warrior." Hookfang rolled his eyes at his rider's remark.
"I know what it's like to be confident, but you can't have too much confidence." Smokescreen pointed to the Autobot symbol on his chest. "You see this."
"Yeah, I heard that is the mark of the Autobots." Snotloud looked closely and noticed something different about it. "Hey, how come it looks different than the others?"
"It's because I qualified to be a part of the Elite Guard, a special fighting force that is considered to be one of the highest honors of the Autobot fighting force." Smokescreen said.
Snotloud was amazed. "That is beyond awesome! I bet you were amazing!"
"I never got the chance to be amazing. You see when I was given the rank of Elite Guard, I was assigned to guard duty and was afraid to never see any action." Smokescreen said.
"That must have been a rip off." Snotloud said.
"Not really. My patience was finally rewarded when a Decepticon attack took place and I was knocked out. When I came to I was inside a Decepticon prison ship and escaped."
Snotloud really paid attention to the story as it began to grow even more interesting.
"I floated in space for I don't know how long, but I was soon picked up by Optimus Prime and his team. I was the new guy, but despite my position as an Elite Guard, I realized that I had a lot to learn. I made a lot of mistakes, but Optimus said that we learn more from mistakes then we do from our success." Smokescreen finished.
Snotloud thought about those words. "Yeah, I've made a bunch of dumb decisions to."
"Well then, I guess we'll both try to be the best, despite the dumb decisions we've made." Smokescreen encouraged his new friend.
Snotloud, in return, gave a determined smile. He felt good knowing that there was someone who could understand him.
/
Stoic was currently speaking with Optimus and Ultra Magnus. He had to admit out of all the Autobots he had a chance to speak with, those two were the ones he had the most respect for considering they all had experience with war.
"I hope we can succeed in this Optimus." Stoic said. "If anything were to happen to my people, or Berk, I don't know how I can live with myself."
"I promise you Stoic, we will do everything we can to prevent that from happening." Optimus said. "I will not let what happened on Cybertron happen to your world."
"Which reminds me, I'm very sorry for your loss." Stoic said. "I know what it is like to lose soldiers under your command, but to lose your entire world is something I can't imagine."
"In the fog of war, it's easy to move from one fight to the next, but when the fog lifted there wasn't much left to save." Ultra Magnus said with a hint of sadness.
"Well, we'll show those Decepticons what happens when you mess with the Vikings of Berk." Stoic said resolutely.
"I would still prefer to avoid any human interference." Optimus said. "I would not be able to bear human casualties. This world did not ask for our war."
"Nobody asks for it, but what matters is how we are going to deal with it." Stoic said before turning to his son, who was talking to Bumblebee. "Knowing Hiccup, he would get himself caught up in this conflict either way. He's always got a knack for getting into trouble."
"Yeah, I went through that with Bumblebee." Optimus said.
/
"This is so amazing!" Fishlegs said with glee as he and Hiccup viewed the star map Ratchet showed them on the main console.
"We've looked at the stars in our skies before, but to realize that beyond them are worlds we can only imagine is truly something." Hiccup said.
Hiccup and Fishlegs decided to talk with Ratchet and Bumblebee in order to learn everything they can about the upcoming battles. They were also pretty excited to learn more about what was out there as well. Hiccup also wanted to hang out with Bumblebee as well, because he wasn't sure, but he could feel a sense of kinship with the Autobot scout.
"They're okay I guess." Ratchet said. "We've been on the run from the Decepticons for so long that we didn't have time for sightseeing."
"I'm really sorry for what happened." Hiccup said. Toothless made a sad growl indicating he knew their hardships.
"To be driven away from your own home must have been hard." Fishlegs said.
"It was, but we had no choice." Ratchet said. "To stay and fight would have meant our destruction."
Bumblebee gave a few beeps and made light punch to his open palm.
Fishlegs was confused as he and Meatlug tilted their heads. "What did he say?"
Ratchet was about to answer, but was surprised when Hiccup answered instead. "He said that they'll find a way to bring Cybertron back, and in return take down those Decepticons."
"How did you know that?" Fishlegs asked in awe.
"I don't know." Hiccup said sheepishly. "It's like I just can."
Bumblebee gave a series of excited beeps knowing that there was someone on this planet who could understand him. He gave Hiccup the fist bump gesture, which he and Toothless were more then willing to return.
"What happened to Bumblebee's voice?" Fishlegs asked.
Bumblebee looked down sadly. Hiccup and Fishlegs noticed it may have been a sore subject. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."
Bumblebee looked towards Ratchet for a few moments before nodding his head, indicating it's okay. "It was during the Great War, at the battle of Tyger Pax. Our brave scout found himself captured and interrogated by Megatron himself. He questioned him for vital information, but he refused to give it up, and in return was 'punished' for it, by Megatron ripping out his voice box. The Decepticons left him for scrap, but Autobot troops were able to find him and bring him to a triage facility, where a field medic did everything he could."
Hiccup and Fishlegs were shocked by this information. They that their war must have been intense, but to hear that Bumblebee went through something like that was bone chilling.
"We're sorry you had to go through that." Fishlegs said. Bumblebee beeped in response, but they could tell he was saying 'you're welcome.'
"Hey, I know what it's like to lose a part of you." Hiccup said as he gestured to his peg leg. "And so does Toothless." Toothless waved his fanned tail to show he was in the same boat.
Bumblebee nodded gratefully at the two knowing that he was not alone.
The main console started to light up and showed a map that flashed in a certain area. Ratchet looked up at the map then towards the others. "Gather the others."
/
Everyone, from Autobot to dragon rider, gathered around the central area of the ship acting for Ratchet to give the news. Snotloud looked to his left and saw Tuffnut looking tired and depressed.
"What's wrong with you?" Snotloud asked.
"Gobber took Macey." Tuff said depressingly.
"Awe, don't get your tunics in a knot." Gobber said as he brought up Macey. "I needed Macey to measure something that me and Wheeljack were working on." He said as he handed Macey back to Tuffnut, who then began to cuddle with it.
"The guy may have a hook for a hand, but he's a maestro when it comes to weapon designs." Wheeljack complimented.
"Doctor, what is it that you called us all for?" Ultra Magnus asked.
Ratchet pressed a few buttons and the console lit up to show a map of the Archipelago. "As I figured, the moment the Decepticons would be in a general area of the Space Bridge it would send out a distress beacon so it could be found. Knowing this, I created an alarm system that would allow us to pick up that signal and allow us to locate where the Space Bridge is located, before Megatron sends his entire force to retrieve it."
"So where is this Space Bridge located?" Astrid asked.
Ratchet pressed another button and the image zoomed in on an area and highlighted a lone island. "It appears to be deep underground on this island."
Everyone stared hard at the island. To the Autobots it looked just like any other island, but to the vikings something about it just seemed familiar.
"Guys, does that island seem familiar to you?" Fishlegs asked nervously.
"Well, the slope of the mountain ranges due seem to bring about a sense of familiarity." Ruffnut said with her fingers to her chin.
"I concur sister. The outer ridges of the edge of this island does seem to plague our minds." Tuffnut said mimicking his sister.
"Hiccup, is that..." Astrid trailed off as she didn't want to finish off that sentence due to the severity if she was right.
Unfortunately Hiccup nodded and agreed with her. "Of this info is correct, then the Space Bridge, the device that the Decepticons are looking for...is on our island Berk."
/
Laserbeak flew back to the Decepticon warship and flew through a window opening that lead back to the bridge and attached itself to its master Soundwave. Soundwave's screen then displayed an image of Berk and indicated the spot where the Space Bridge was located.
Starscream walked up and informed his master. "Lord Megatron, it appears that Soundwave was able to locate the whereabouts of the Space Bridge."
Megatron smiled sinisterly. "Prepare the troops for battle Starscream and set a course to its location. If we are able to find it, then there is a high chance the Autobots may have found it as well."
"And if those humans and dragons are there as well?" Starscream asked.
Megatron narrowed his eyes. "No one defies Megatron and lives. If they interfere with our plans again, they will perish on this very day!"
/
Hey everybody! Here is the next chapter of this story!
This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I figured that would be a good cliffhanger for this chapter. There was supposed to be more action, but I thought it would be nice to have the Autobots and dragon riders to have a moment of just interacting with each other.
The first set of chapters might seem a little slow, but when I get to Race to the Edge, that is going to be awesome.
That's it for now! Get ready for the next chapter when it comes out!