Chapter 36-Advance of the Giants
"Hollander, you have a lot of explaining to do."
Hollander stared impassively at the video monitor as President Flagg glared at him from the other side.
"I would think so." Hollander said. "I take it the Autobots told you the results of their little unsanctioned espionage adventure?"
"They did, and boy did they have a lot to tell." Flagg growled. "Illegally acquiring Atlantian technology to build automated weapons without congressional approval. This is on top of involving an outside party in government operations behind my back and harvesting cybertronian corpses on top of that!"
"They were radical Minicons—" Hollander tried to say, but the president wasn't having it.
"Don't even try to justify this, Hollander!" Flagg shouted. "If you were in the same room as me, I'd shoot you myself! Who do you think you're playing at?"
"With all due respect, Mr. President, our alliance with the Autobots is no longer beneficial. Their war has caused too much damage to our planet already, and our reliance on them will cost us dearly. If we want to show our strength to the galactic community, we must stand on our own two feet!"
"That's not your call to make. You're done, Hollander. Skywatch is nothing but a thorn in Osea's side that's better off disassembled and used for spare parts." Flagg said. Hollander tried really hard not to lose his temper but he struggled hard.
"This is exactly why I did what I did. Because you're incapable of seeing the bigger picture. Skywatch is the key to humanity maintaining its independence." Hollander growled. "I wouldn't expect a politician like you to understand. Goodbye, Mr. President. Be sure to send the Autobots my regards."
"Hollan—" The call ended and Hollander returned to his desk.
'I just burned a very large bridge.' Hollander thought. 'He'll see the fruits of our efforts once Skywatch is put into action. Everything we're doing is for the good of human freedom, but if he can't see that, then I have nothing else to say.'
It was a good thing that Skywatch's main HQ was still hidden from the public. When Skywatch was place under governmental watch, it was provided a primary base that was known to Army records, but for the most part, Hollander and his team were operating out of a top secret Skywatch facility that was being used in secret while the public base was just a glorified decoy to draw attention away from the other secret facilities only Hollander was privy too. Even if the President or the Autobots wanted to make a move, they'll be looking in the wrong direction.
A knock on the door caught his attention, and his secretary, Natasha Zabigov, poked her head in. "Sir, did you need anything?"
"No, Ms. Zabigov, I can handle things here. Inform me of anymore calls." He instructed.
"Yes sir." She said and left the office.
As she left the room, Natasha looked around the empty hallway before reaching into her blouse and taking out a small cellphone-like device. She pressed the button and held it up, waiting for someone to answer.
"Tirant? It's Natasha," The woman's eyes glowed a deep amber as she walked down the hall. "I have some news for our leader."
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Gina stared at the silent Brianna win pure shock. She had no idea what to say in this situation, and neither did Darren and Annie.
"Sister?" She breathed. "But how…?"
"She's not your biological sister, if that's what you're thinking." Pisces said. "But her DNA has a 99.1% match to yours. The wonders of being an alien body, hm?"
"What are you talking about?" Annie demanded.
"Brianna here was born from an ancient egg I pilfered following our last encounter in Luxor." He said. "Somehow the egg absorbed some of your blood and changed the embryo inside. It assimilated your genetic data, becoming human, at least on the outside."
'The saurian egg I cut my hand on.' Gina thought. 'It was still alive and was holding a saurian baby inside.'
"Wait, if she was hatched from that egg, then how does she look as old as us?" Darren asked.
"She aged faster than a human child. Six months and she's already looking like a preteen girl. I reckon in about a year or two, she'll look like a teenager." Pisces said. "I'm sure you know more about this than I do, Gina, but I'll let it slide today since I'm in a good mood for once."
"Go fuck yourself." Annie snarled.
"You first." Pisces retorted.
Siegfried stepped forward. "Hollander wants to talk to you, sir."
"Of course he does." Pisces grumbled and turned and Brianna. "I have some business to attend to, Brianna. I trust I can leave you alone with the prisoners?"
Brianna nodded. "Yes, father."
"Good girl." Pisces gave Brianna a pat on the head and exited the cell with Siegfried.
When the cell doors closed shut, Brianna turned back to face the three children she had inevitably become so close to over the past months. This was not a conversation she was looking forward to, despite knowing it was going to happen sooner or later.
"We need to talk." Brianna said.
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On the Nemesis, Megatron was having a deep conversation with Shockwave about the scientist's new project he was making great strides in when Soundwave called Megatron.
"Megatron, incoming transmission from Dreyas." He droned.
"Put him through." Soundwave transferred the call to Megatron's quarters, and the man's grinning face appeared on the monitor. "Judging by your grin, Dreyas, I assume something good has happened?"
"Very good, Megatron." Dreyas said. "One of my top espionage agents just successfully infiltrated this secret organization connected to the Osean government that the infamous Dr. Arkeville was a part of. I believe it's called…Skywatch?"
Megatron's eyes widened. "Skywatch? Are you sure?"
"I swear it on my first wife's grave, Megatron. I understand your past history with Skywatch, so I know how important this is to you. Furthermore, I understand that the facility my agent has been stationed is their true main base, the headquarters for their global operations." Dreyas said. "And I've also learned the Skywatch is currently in the midst of a conflict with the Autobots and have just kidnapped three children with connections to your enemies."
Megatron knew exactly who those children were. "Your information is greatly appreciated, Dreyas. Soundwave have all our forces return to the Nemesis and prepare for an all-out assault on these coordinates."
"Yes, Megatron." Soundwave said.
"Do you require Karaba's assistance in this raid?" Dreyas asked.
"No, Dreyas. This is a personal issue for us." Megatron grinned. "Skywatch has long since avoided their punishment for trying to use us, and it's time they got the retribution they rightfully deserve!"
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"How are you two feeling?" Leesa asked Grindor and Brittany as they walked through the halls of the Providence Institute.
"I feel better after Josh looked us over." Brittany said. "I didn't know I had so much glass in my arms."
"Josh is the best esper doctor we have, and he hasn't even graduated yet." Leesa said smiling. "He's a life saver, literally and figuratively."
"Amen to that." Grindor said.
Following Annie's abduction, Grindor had taken Brittany back to the school, where she was healed up by a member of the medical staff, Josh Bradley, an esper with liquid golden skin who could heal injuries with a touch. Grindor wouldn't have believed the kid was so skilled a healer if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
"Now Grindor, are you sure those instructions Annie gave you were clear." She asked the Minicon.
"Clear as rain, headmistress. Annie said if anything happened to her, have Veda search for her." he replied. "I think she told me this in case the Cons tried anything, but this comes close anyway."
"Why would a talos appear out of nowhere and kidnap a girl in public?" Brittany asked. "Who would do such a thing?"
"OZ," Grindor growled. "Those bastards are the only ones who can make talos that powerful. They're most likely the ones behind this."
The trio took the elevator down to the sublevel beneath the school that only the Neo Knights could access. Once down there, Leesa led the two down the hall to a high tech door that was opened via a retinal and fingerprint scanner.
"You two wait here for me." Leesa said. "I'll be out in a moment."
She entered the chamber and the doors slid shut behind her. The chamber that held the Veda compute was a vast silver dome lined with sensors that increased the output of her telepathic senses. She could use Veda to locate every esper on Terra via the special chemicals espers emitted from their brains.
She sat at the console in the center of the chamber and put on the helmet that would connect her mind to the computer. She closed her eyes and focused her mind.
"Veda, be my eyes."
The computer activated and Leesa felt that familiar rush that always came with her mind's eye expanding to encompass the entire world. Suddenly she was sensing the brainwaves of every esper on the planet, a massive scale that even now would get a little disorienting for her. But Leesa held strong and focused on locating Annie's position. Time was not on their side right now.
It took some effort, but she was able to locate Annie, along with another esper, her brother Darren. They were stuck deep underground in a cell of some kind in the middle of a complex somewhere in Mexica of all places. Leesa was about to end the simulation when she suddenly detected a large amount of nonhuman brain patterns manifesting not too far from the complex. Cybertronian brain patterns.
"The Decepticons!" Leesa gasped. "No, they're going after the complex!"
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Pisces and Scorpio entered Hollander's office, where they found the director with Agent Jackson standing by the conference table.
"You asked for us, Director?" Pisces said.
"How are our prisoners, Harvey?" Hollander asked.
"They're doing fine. A bit loud but what do you expect from a bunch of unruly children?"
"You went through a lot of trouble just to kidnap three children." Jackson said, glaring at them suspiciously.
"These children are far from innocent, Jackson. They've learned many things from their Autobot friends, enough to give you a headache." Said Scorpio.
"By the way, how did your talk with the President go?" Pisces inquired. By the look on Hollander's face, he imagined that it went south very quickly.
"The Autobots pilfered more information than we thought. The president isn't very happy with our efforts to do a better job than him and has decided to terminate us." Hollander informed him. His expression was calm, but the look in his eyes was anything but. "We are on our own."
"And if—no, when the President decides to use force to bring us to heal?" Jackson asked.
"As loathe as I am to turn our drones on human targets, we must carry on the fight if we are to show human supremacy to our alien visitors. Besides, we have other facilities around the world that the government has no knowledge of." He said. "If need be, we can evacuate to one of them."
Pisces and Scorpio traded a discreet glance.
"You two," Hollander looked at the two Zodiacs. "Assist in the transfer of all sensitive data and the relocation of our prisoners—"
Suddenly the emergency alarms began to sound, catching everyone off guard. Two seconds later, Fredericks came barreling into the office with a look of alarm on his face.
"Fredericks, what the hell is going on?" Hollander yelled.
"Multiple energon signatures just appeared at our perimeter sir! It's the Decepticons!" Fredericks reported.
"What?!" Pisces shouted. "How did they find this place? I thought you said this location was secure, Hollander!"
"I thought so too." Hollander growled. "Have perimeter defenses online and mobilize all air and ground forces. They won't have an easy time fighting us like last time!"
Fredericks ran back out to give the order. Pisces and Scorpio both walked out without a word, ignoring Hollander yelling at them to come back.
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Brianna stood before Gina, who stared back at her as if she were some ghost come back to haunt her.
"There's no way that what Pisces said is true. Sure, Brianna looks like Gina, but…" Annie shook her head in denial. "He has to be lying."
"He isn't." Gina said, staring into Brianna's eyes. "You really were that Saurian child, weren't you? Your body changed when you came into contact with my blood and here you are."
"Yes." Brianna said stoically.
"Then those dreams I were having of your kills…that was from the psychic link we shared. Saurian had evolved to develop psychic powers. My DNA formed that link between us." Gina stated.
"Yes, but I can finally have some peace of mind thanks to this." Brianna pointed to the small earing in her right ear. "It keeps us from seeing into each other's mind through the link."
"Courtesy of Thornment?" Gina asked.
Brianna frowned. "Yes."
"I don't believe this." Darren growled. "So all this time you were just another one of Pisces's lapdogs? Was everything we've done together, all those months spent with us, having fun, hanging out…was it all a lie?"
"No! It wasn't a lie…not at first." Brianna admitted. "Pisces did post me in Tranquility to keep an eye on you. After the Headmaster War, he didn't want to be caught off guard by you three anymore."
"Right, because that makes everything you did so much better." Annie spat."
"What about us?" Darren asked, getting into her face. "Did you fake it all then? What you said to me before? Was Justine a lie too?"
Brianna growled and gripped the front of his shirt to pull him forward. "None of that was an act! I…I really did enjoy my time with you. And Justine…what happened to her was tragic. I wish I could have done more to save her. She didn't deserve what happened to her."
"Then why work for Pisces? Why even bother working for OZ? You know how much pain they've caused everyone. There's no way you can be okay with this." Darren said. Brianna sighed and let him go.
"OZ hasn't caused any more damage than humans and espers have already done to themselves." Brianna said. "And our methods are no more heinous than some of the things other people have done to justify their actions."
"Even I can tell you don't truly believe that." Said Gina.
"Well, not all of us can have a normal childhood like you had, Gina." Brianna said scathingly.
"Pisces was the one who turned you into a weapon, Brianna." Gina replied. "Not me."
Before anything else could be said, the children heard several alarms going off all over the base. Brianna quickly slipped her helmet back on and ran back to the doors where Siegfried was waiting.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Trouble." Siegfried said. "New orders from Pisces. He's accelerating the plan. We need to get a handle on Skywatch now."
Brianna felt her insides clench. "You mean…"
Siegfried nodded. "Kill them all."
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A few miles from the base, a powerful energy surge exploded from out of nowhere. From the massive cloud of dust emerged a large group of towering robotic warriors, all of them armed to the teeth and out for blood. The Decepticons had arrived.
Megatron stood at the front, looking at the concealed base with a sadistic grin, red eyes flashing eagerly with bloodlust. "There you are, Skywatch. You've proved to be an annoying thorn in my side for far too long, and it ends today.'
He turned to his warriors. "Decepticons, it's time to pay Skywatch back for their sins against our brothers in arms! Fall upon them as wolves fall upon sheep and leave no one alive!"
Megatron looked back and saw several air and ground units emerging from the two adjacent mountains, talos and tanks and fighter aircraft flooding out by the dozens with the intent to route them. Megatron raised his fusion cannon and grinned.
"Today, we hunt!"
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"My god…" Fredericks breathed, looking up at the monitor in the situation room in horror. "Did that bastard bring his entire team with him?"
"Seems that Megatron wants to make sure no one leaves alive." Hollander was visibly struggling not to lose his composure.
"Sir, all mobile armor divisions and fighter squadrons have been deployed." Jackson said. "And the Death's Head drones have been sent out into the field."
"Good, now we can finally see how well those things do in battle against a cybertronian." The director said.
Jackson took a look around before asking, "Sir, where are Harvey and Decartes?"
"That's what I would like to know." Hollander speed-dialed a number and waited for Laguna to pick up. "Harvey, where the hell are you? We're in a code red emergency!"
"I'm well aware of that, Hollander. I can practically smell the desperation in your voice." Harvey remarked.
"Damn it, Harvey, this isn't the time to be playing games!" Fredericks growled.
"I know, which is why I will be taking command of this shit show of an organization that you call Skywatch."
The room went quiet at that declaration. Hollander's expression darkened as a feeling of dread filled his heart.
"Explain yourself, Harvey." He growled, his tone full of pure hate.
"My name is Pisces, David Hollander, and I hereby claim Skywatch in the name of OZ. It's been fun working with you, David, but it's honestly sad at how quickly you took the bait dangled in front of you. You were so quick to fight the big bad aliens that you disregarded possible threats spawned right on your home turf." Pisces chuckled. "Joshua Red was even stupider than you are, ignoring the signs."
Hollander needed to hear no more. He understood everything now. Pisces had part of that hidden shadow organization that the Autobots had been fighting for the past year, and was probably behind the Thunder Lizard fiasco that damn near exposed Skywatch to the rest of the world. And now that snake had doublecrossed him in a moment of weakness.
"When I find you, Pisces," Hollander said darkly. "I'm going to—"
"You can't do anything to me, David. I'm outside moving to lead my drones against the Decepticons." Pisces replied. "I'll be leaving a few of my friends to keep you company in your last moments. Farewell, David Hollander. You have my permission to die."
The call ended and not even a second later Jackson and Fredericks began getting calls from their respective departments about armed soldiers sudden firing at base personnel. This was followed by reports of powerful espers wreaking havoc throughout the lower levels of the base.
Hollander heard it all, and was finally unable to hold his emotions in any longer. He slammed his fists on his desk and gave an enraged roar, cursing Pisces and OZ for all to hear.
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Natasha swiftly snapped the neck of a female OZ agent and took on the woman's appearance. The shapeshifter was caught off guard by the sudden infighting sparked between Skywatch and this new enemy who were apparently more equipped than them. Natasha was lucky enough that she avoided being a casualty too.
'Looks like I just found myself in the middle of a takeover.' She thought. She screamed as the wall next to her was completely destroyed in a blue burst of energy. 'I need to make tracks quick! But first…'
Natasha was a survivor who only looked out for number one—herself. But she was also a member of Karaba, and she was obligated to help her fellow espers imprisoned here unjustly.
Natasha made her way back down to the prison block to where that big man dumped those children in that freaky looking cell. When she arrived there, she was grateful to see that there were no guards there, having been called away to deal with the sudden coup going on.
She approached the DNA scanner by the door and raised her hand, shifting her molecules so that it matched a perfection imitation of Pisces' fingerprints, and pressed her thumb onto the pad. Her fake DNA signature was confirmed and the cell doors slid open. Inside were the children, who tensed at her sudden appearance.
"Who the hell are you?" Snapped the dark haired girl.
"Whoa, easy there. I'm a friend." Natasha held up her hands and changed to her original form, a beautiful pale skinned with a curvaceous figure that barely fit in her tight Skywatch uniform.
"You're an esper." Said the boy.
"Yeah, I'm from Karaba and I'm getting you out of here. My robo-peeps are attacking the base right now and my boss will have my head if I let my fellow espers die down here in this hellhole." Natasha said.
"The Cons are here?!" The children exclaimed.
"And they're gonna rip these normies a new one!" Natasha grinned proudly. "Now let's get those inhibitor collars off."
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Darren rubbed his neck when his collar was taken off. Annie was already drawing her bones from her skin and he felt better about having his powers back.
The Karaba agent tossed the collars away and looked at Gina. "Sorry, kid, but I have no idea how to get those things off you."
"It's okay, I can take it from here." Darren said. "You better get going. This place is about to be leveled and you don't want to get caught up in this mess."
"Say what? But how are you kids going to get out of here by yourselves?" Natasha asked. Did these kids have a death wish or something?
"We'll manage. We still have some unfinished business to take care of first." Annie said. "Thanks for freeing us though. We owe you one."
Natasha didn't feel very right about leaving them. "Are you really sure about this?"
Darren nodded. "Positive. We're stronger than we look."
"Okay then. Stay safe, kids." Natasha said and ran out of the cell. "Show those normies whose boss!"
With her gone, Darren turned to Gina and clenched his hand, telekinetically breaking the near indestructible adamantium bonds around her hands and feet. Her hair fell free and her muscles tensed as power flowed through them again.
"Gina," Annie walked up to her. "How are you feeling?"
Gina opened her eyes, which were already glowing and pulsing with energy. "Pissed off and itching for a rematch!"
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Pisces stood at the entrance to the underground Skywatch base with his small platoon of inhuman soldiers and around two dozen OZ Zygart talos, all transported to his location by the MASS device. Hollander's Skywatch forces were already engaging the Decepticons, and had no idea of what was going on inside headquarters. Though he wished he had Thornment's assistance in fighting Megatron's forces, he needed her in reserve with her…pets to ensure that they weren't blindsided. If the Decepticons somehow found out about this base, then he was sure the Autobots wouldn't be too far behind.
Hollander's doubts about the drones' effectiveness in a prolonged battle against the Cons was not unfounded, but he didn't know that the drones were built to OZ specs, which meant they were hardier and scarier than the initial designs he gave to the director. Powered by palladium reactors and sporting powerful energon-based plasma weaponry, they should be enough to deal some serious damage before they were destroyed. Thank god for Skywatch being cannon fodder.
He could count on Siegfried and Brianna to handle the cleansing operation. It shouldn't take too long to gain control of the base and everything inside, though Pisces lamented not seeing Hollander's expression in person when he pulled the rug from under him. Oh well, you can't have everything in this world.
"Sankt, is everyone ready?" Pisces asked through his comm.
General Sankt, Pisces's inhuman field commander, replied back to his leader. "Everyone's ready, sir. We're awaiting your orders."
"The order…is given."
Pisces's body erupted in a bright flash of energy that sent smoke everywhere. From the dust cloud emerged a massive white armored giant that was Pisces's armored titan form.
The sunlight glinted off his white armor plates as Pisces roared and charged forward, his legion following behind him.
It was time for OZ to join the hunt!
Alright, made a mistake last chapter, this is the next to last chapter of this story arc. Next chapter is when things get super duper crazy. Autobots, Decepticons, OZ, and Skywatch. It's a free for all baby. And yes, Brianna is Gina's genetic sister, sharing an almost perfect DNA match. Brianna's striking striking similarities to Gina, as well as her inhuman powers, were a result of absorbing Gina's blood as a Saurian embryo. Be sure to check out the official Transformers Titan website on WordPress. Thanks for reading, please leave a review, and have a great day!