Chapter 1: Arrival To Remnant
Several minutes before arrival, City of Vale
Within the streets of Vale stood a woman of fair skin, with yellow eyes and lavender hair. Her attire was rather basic, jet-black business clothes sans her purple undershirt. All around her the crew was busy getting ready for the broadcast. People finicking with the camera's scopes and microphones. Folk in the van keeping an eye on the network connections. Just another day at Vale News Network.
Truth be told, she was rather nervous. She hadn't been out in the field for some time. She was more used to being the newsreader instead of an actual reporter. There has been a shortage of folk willing to do fieldwork following the… tragedy months ago. Many of her co-workers are still suffering from the attack on Beacon though. Some of them received psychological scars, others more physical. Many of these folk were the hardest working and most popular individuals within the company. Their departure hit everyone real hard. Financially and emotionally.
Many of the survivors quit the industry following the disaster, for fear of their personal safety and loved ones. Ratings have plummeted for every station in Vale and it has been a grueling climb back up. Those that remained have to salvage and bear the burdens of their former co-workers until they can find suitable replacements. Progress has been slow so far, and the current climate may not speed things up any time soon.
On the plus side, her presence may garner an increase in viewership. Higher viewership means higher ratings and earnings. On the down side her people skills aren't exactly the best. She didn't have a reporter's tongue when it came to interviewing everyone. She's already stumbled over a session with a Councillor regarding the Kingdom's heavy regulation of air traffic.
Lisa spotted one of her workers-a blue-haired man- walking out of the local coffee shop. He had a tray of at least twelve cups of iced coffee in his hands. He seemed to be having trouble balancing them all. Many of her co-workers were kind enough to relieve him of some of the weight. He turned to the newsreader as he sat the tray down, whipping the sweat off of his brow.
"Drink?" He asked in an exhausted tone.
She smiled. "Thank you Qobalt," She replied.
The man grabbed a coffee and made his way towards her. Unfortunately he didn't watch his footing and ended up tripping over a cable wire. Poor fellow fell face first into the concrete road and lost the beverage. It ended up colliding into the lady's face and splattering its contents all over her. Everything above the waist was soaked in ice-cold liquid. She growled through her rattling teeth.
"Duhduh-damm-it Quhquhqa-Qobuhlt!" She stuttered.
Half of their co-workers laughed and pointed fingers at them. The other half just shook their heads. Qobalt ran to another stand and grabbed a towel for Lavender. Throwing it at her, it collided into her chest and send her stumbling back. One of their co-workers was nearby to catch her before she fell. She glared at Qobalt before drying herself off and heading into the van to change.
Without her sending death-glares at him, Qobalt let out a sigh and turned to one of his friends. "Remind me why we're out here in the middle of the night, Forrest?" He asked.
The green-eyed co-worked smirked. "Still got wax in your ears, bro?" The other man replied. "Our eggheads at the observatory picked up some flares in the skies. Think there's a meteor shower coming."
"That's it? Meteor shower? Then why have all these people out here when a reporter and cameraman would suffice?"
"Because something might survive atmospheric entry, genius," Said Lavender as she entered the scene. "And the boss wants us to catch it's landing."
Qobalt jumped at the sound of her voice and straightened himself out. Forrest patted him on the back.
"Relax man," He said. "This ain't the army."
"Really?" Qobalt retorted. "Sure as hell feels like one right now. I mean, who sends their workers out here to chase flaming rocks? With the risk of- oh I don't know- getting crushed by them?!"
Qobalt got into Forrest's face and starting ranting in it. Suddenly the cool laid-back surfer-type dude exploded into a volcano and got into a shouting match with him. Lavender pressed her fingers against her forehead and let out an irritated growl. She walked to the two men and pushed them away from each other.
"Look, we're all tired," She admitted. "It's been a bumpy road since Beacon. We've all been carrying extra weight lately and it's driving some of us crazy. The Kingdom's on edge and we're still dealing with skirmishes with the Grimm. But we have bills to pay and a mouth to feed. So if you're done moaning and complaining, we have work to do."
Forrest and Qobalt quieted down and stared at one another. They hastily apologized to each other and resuming their duties. One of the IT guys at the van waved a signal at her. It's showtime. Letting out a sigh of relief, she followed the cameraman's directions and position herself in the clearing. Hopefully the network will get a good view of the shower.
She grabbed her microphone and brushed her hair briefly. Cyril Ian's face popped up from a holographic projector at the side of the camera.
"Tell me Lisa," Said the projection. "Is tonight a good one for a romantic stroll?"
She chuckled. "Certainly seems like something straight of a romance film, viewers," She replied. "But I don't think our meteorologists would necessarily agree with us. We have reports of unidentified flying objects appearing in Remnant's atmosphere. None of them match descriptions of previous visitors to of our solar system. Could it be a new comet that had the misfortune of pulled into out gravity well, or is there more than what our instruments see?"
She held up her hand for dramatic pause. Fading into view were a series of streaks in the skies. Some of them appeared to be heading west towards Vacuo. Others moved on over the island of Vytal up north. Yet a few of them were heading towards her group general direction instead.
And they were growing larger.
Everyone ducked to the ground as one of the meteorites soared over their heads. It crashed through some ruined apartments on the outskirts of Beacon's own. Another seemed to fall towards Mountain Glenn. One more slammed straight into the pier and smashed the wooden deck into a thousand pieces. A fourth went into the Emerald Forest. The camera picked up some of the workers cursing, but the censor blocked out those bits of the transmission.
"Cyril, are you getting this!?" Lisa shouted.
"I am," The hologram confirmed. "And I'm hardly believing it."
Lisa rose back onto her feet and just marveled at the smoky trails around her. She reached into her purse and grabbed her Scroll, frantically dialing a number on it.
"Miss Goodwitch, you there?" She asked. The crew's camera couldn't make out anything being said on the device, but they could hear and read it's user's reactions.
"Something just crashed at the edge of Beacon," She revealed. "Something big. Can you meet us there?"
The recipient at the end hung up. Lisa scowled.
"Nevermind," she said as she turned towards the hologram. "Cyril, can you send someone over to the docks? I'll be heading towards Beacon's outskirts."
"Wait, what!?" Qobalt protested. "Can't you just let the authorit-"
Lisa pushed him aside and hopped into the driver's seat of the van. "Hop in, boys," She shouted. "We're going on a road trip!"
Everyone packed up as quickly as possibly and boarded their vehicles. Cyril had a concerned look on his face before the projector was offlined. All followed Lavender's chariot while Forrest took control of its mounted camera. Another projector- one installed in the back of the van- was activated and Cyrils face came back online.
"Getting reports of cops moving towards the pier," Noted the newsreader. "Bryck and his crew are already onroute to the scene. More meteorites falling in, but they seem to be further out on the planet. You sure you want to go after the one near Beacon?"
"Yep," The woman said with a grin. "Where we're going is bound to be more interesting."
"How?"
"Miss Goodwitch is likely on her way to Beacon thanks to my little tip," Lisa explained. "And chances are that the Grimm will be drawn to the commotion too."
"And when both parties reach there," Forrest noted. "There's bound to be a firefight between them. Lisa, you sneaky girl."
She smiled. "One of my best qualities," she gloated. "Just need to keep our distance and our watch the fireworks. From there, the sky's the limit."
Meanwhile at the pier…
The Vale Police Department was already on the scene. With them was a round, mustached man. He was an older gentleman with burgundy attire and graying hair. A bearded officer with darker hair and pinkish eyes offered the man a snack bar.
"Ya hungry, Port?" He asked with his mouth full of chips.
Peter Port laughed at the sight. "No thank you, Mr. Burnham. I'm already full as is." His gaze shifted towards the pier. "So a meteorite crashed through here, eh?"
The officer nodded as he swallowed his food. "Manager of the place could barely keep himself from pissing before we got here. Babbled on about flashing lights under the water and stuff moving in the shadows."
Another VPD officer- this one with brown hair and tinted glasses- knelt at the edge of the site. "Think it's poisonous or radioactive?" He asked.
"If anybody sees you grow wings or a third arm, we'll howler," Said Burnham.
The other officer flipped the cheeseburger at his partner, earning a laugh from him. Then he noticed something blinking in the water. He stepped back and reached for his pistol. Port moved over to where he stood and spotted the lights as well. He drew out his blunderbuss and motioned "wait here" with his hand. His eyes squinted at the colors gleaming from the waves and widened as they grew brighter.
"Everybody back!" Was all he could say before he was flung back towards the crowd.
An explosion erupted from the waves and onto the surface. Most of the actual blast was underwater, so all it did for the most part was drench everyone with the liquid. However, while everyone was scrambling to make sense of what happened, none noticed a green ray falling upon their vehicles. Nobody noticed a purple-eyed giant shifting into a form resembling one of the police cars and driving off.
If Barricade could in his current form, he would have smiled at his handiwork. Setting his escape pod to self-destruct managed to distract the natives, along with destroying all evidence of his existence. Frenzy babbled on in Cybertronian about how he could've ripped the enforcers to shreds, but the Bulk ignored him. The last thing he needed was starting a fight without any intel on his surroundings. His scans of their vehicles picked up a two-way transmission. Between the officers and the main hub, perhaps? Could hold useful information.
He traced the signal to the opposite end and parked in the office's garage. Frenzy exited the passenger's seat and slipped in through an open window. Minutes passed before he received an update from the Minicon. Audio files, video footage, contact numbers, their native language, and a thousand other things. It didn't take the DCJ operative long to read through it all. This data would definitely come in handy.
Barricade opened up a comms channel. "This is Barracide of the Decepticon Crown Justices. Does anyone read me?"
After a minute of static, another voice popped up. "Medical officer Flatline speaking. You in the city?"
"Affirmative," Barricade said. "I have already infiltrated local law enforcement and downloaded all of their data. Transmitting now."
A minute passed before he got a response from him. "Quite the treasure grove you found," The medic remarked. "Shame about that tower in their academy, though. Could have been very useful right now. I trust that you are monitoring their radios?"
"Indeed. I'm picking up reports of other crash sites around this 'Kingdom'. We are not the only Cybertronians here."
"Shall we join in on the investigations?" Asked Flatline.
"Negative," Barricade said. "Rendezvous with me at the southeast border instead."
Barricade transmitted the coordinates and cut the feed afterwards. None of the citizens questioned him setting off his sirens as he down the streets. None of the officers had the time to notice his presence or determine his destination. The entire city was entangled in gossip with the whole "meteorite" investigations. Perfect chance for someone like him to slip under their radar.
At last he reached the edge of the agricultural district. No natives were tending to the fields at this hour. He powered down his headlights and parked at a fenced portion of the city's walls. A number of warning signs littered the area, ordering civilians to never venture beyond them. His pillaging in the offices' database mentioned a failed expansion of the settlement. Frenzy seemed eager to crawl over the structure, but Barricade forbade him. If the organics were willing to seal the territory off, it meant that something was on the other side. Something even he wasn't too keen on seeing.
The Minicon fiddled around with his partner's new radio. The Bulk kept the volume at a low level to keep from waking the locals. He didn't wish to draw any more attention to his or his fellow soldiers' presence. Not while he had a trigger-happy Minicon with him. All they could do now was wait.
Elsewhere in the Emerald Forest...
An escape pod's door burst off its handles and steam rolled out of it. First Aid stumbled out of the craft and collapsed onto his knees. His HUD was still trying to readjust itself follow the light show above. He didn't know what that was all about, but he was fortanente that his pod shielded him from… whatever the energy was doing to all those Aerialbots and Seekers.
He managed to place his patients in stasis pods, but they were ejected from the Arclight prior its destruction. Now they're scattered to the solar winds across this new world. He needed to find and fix them. Now.
Something was knocking on his back. Or rather the inside of it. A panel opened up from that area and a bone-white hand shot out of it. A certain ebony Minicon gasped for air (or at the cybertronian equivalent of that) as he climbed out of the Bulk's storage compartment and hopped onto the ground beside him.
"Was it really necessary to stuff me in there?" Huffed an irritated Rewind.
"Would you rather ricochet around in an escape pod while it was making atmospheric entry?" Retorted First Aid. "Besides, I thought you were designed for such things."
"Not for cramped places like that," The Minicon replied.
The medic examined his surroundings. It appeared to be a forest, fairly moderate temperatures. The color of the leaves indicated that it was early spring in this part of the planet. He was no environmentalist or meteorologist, but based on these observations he concluded that he was near the world's equator. He picked up faint radio signals from a distance over. A settlement perhaps.
There were a number of ruins around them. Based on the vegetation growth and the wear, they must've been at least centuries. They composed primarily of a rock-like material. Primitive, but at least it effective. A scan revealed no pathogens or harmful bacteria within the area (or at least the types harmful to mechanoids). The markings on some of them indicated conflict of some type.
Something else caught Rewind's optic. Tapping the other's leg and grabbing his attention, he pointed to a cliff ahead. There were more ruins, but they seemed to be composed of a different materiel. The wear on them wasn't as extensive either from their position. No, these seemed to have been fairly recent. First Aid could make out a tower with appeared to be a carving of a predatory creature near the top. It appeared to have suffered an implosion or something of a similar nature. He doubted it was nature's handiwork.
His scanners picked up a signal nearby. Another bot?
"Rewind, you picking up anything?" Inquired the medic.
The other bot nodded. "Yeah," He confirmed. "But I don't think it's Cybertronian. Native, maybe?"
"Only one way to find out," Said First Aid.
The white-armored bot converted into vehicle mode. "Hop on," He said.
Rewind climbed onto the roof and magnetized feet on it. The larger Autobot sped off into the woods, his antigrav wheels leaving a soft imprint on the earth. After a few minutes of driving and strafing around trees, the duo located the source.
It was the the remains of an airship, if the presence of the wings and propellers were of any indication. It looked as though it was for transporting something. Cargo perhaps? Rewind hopped off of First Aid as the latter transformed into Protoform mode. Both of them strood towards the vessel and the Bulk knelt down beside it.
"Don't think either of my forms can fit into that thing," The medic noted. "Think you take a gander?"
Rewind offered a short nod and entered the ship. Unsurprisingly the lights were blown out, so he had to toggle his HUD's nightvision. Just as his view flickered to green, he could've sworn he heard a growl in the distance. Something shifted in the corner of his optic, but he found nothing. He shook his head. His HUD must be glitching from the lightshow up above.
Most of the cargo consisted of chemicals and medical equipment. He could see bones scattered across the room, dark spots on some of the beds. The same color was found on the floor and walls. Some of the stains resembled trails or claw marks. Something told him that those weren't rust. He shivered at the thought of what the patients went through here.
The Minicon found the cockpit next, covered in claw marks and bullet holes. Bones were scattered across the room and there was another crimson stain. He detected an intact black box and scanned its content. He could make out growling and screams, flesh torn and gunshots fired. It all felt like something from a horror story.
He also found a small white device within the console. Removing it revealed to be a data pad of some sort. Shifting through it unveiled a motherload of content within it. Photos of the owner and a number of individuals (friends and family?), comms codes, and traces of something called the Cross Continental Transmit System. It appeared to be global network for distributing information. He attempted to connect to it through the pad, but was surprised to see an error message. He attempted to hook himself up to it with the comm codes and found the same result.
A clank caught his attention. Venturing out of the cockpit, he found some IV stands lying on the floor. Those diffendetly were not like that before. A growl emitted from behind him and he turned to see crimson eyes. Before he could get a decent look at their source, two claws came flying at him.
He crashed into the wall behind him and was pinned against it by some type of creature. It resembled a lycanthrope, possessing a pitch-black body with bony protrusions around it. A claw wrapped itself around his throat and lifted it up to its face. The beast stared down at him, revealing crimson markings on it's skull-like armor. A faint stream of blood-red light leaked from its eyes, bearing the same color. More of its kin emerged from the shadows and moved towards him.
His captor raised its claw and swung it down at him, but he caught it with one of free servos. The other converted into a Pathblaster and fired point blank at its chest. It sent the monster skidding across the floor and Rewind made a break for it. Many of them attempted to pounce on him but he evaded most of their efforts. One of them had the foresight to hide in the ventilation shafts and waited until he was under it. The plan worked and it flatten him like a pancake. As it was slashing away at him, Rewind converted into tank mode and shook the beast off.
He rotated his turret and opened fire on it. It was blown to pieces by the blast, all of them vaporizing before they hit the floor. Odd, his cannons' settings weren't set that high. Were these energy-based lifeforms? More of the pack rushed towards him while he pondering this and he fired another round at them. This time the shot also tore a hole in the ship's hull. Rewind made a dash for it and drove out.
First Aid was startled by the explosion and turned to see Rewind converting from tank mode into his bipedal one.
"What in the name of the-" The medic began before the Minicon interrupted him.
"Just transform and roll the hell outta here!" He exclaimed.
The Protectobot narrowed his optics behind his visor, but they shot wide open when he saw black-and-white creatures crawl out of the vessel. He converted into vehicle mode and allowed his tiny friend to hop on before kicking in his boosters. One of the native beasts attempted to leap onto his roof, but Rewind's blasts disrupted its trajectory. It ended up impaling itself on a branch and disintegrating like the rest of its kin.
"What in blazes did you find back there?" Said the Bulk.
"A little more information than I thought," Rewind said in an unsettled tone. "And maybe an Insecticon's nest."
Another explosion caught their attention, though this one was nowhere near them. It seemed to be from the cliff up ahead. Based on the colors and scale, it must've been from Cybertronian weaponry. Rewind brought up telescopic vision, but he couldn't make out much. He could see what appeared to be a Bulk fighting more creatures.
"Friend or foe?" First Aid inquired.
"Only one way to find out," replied Rewind.
The Protectobot kicked in his afterboosters again, leaving a trail of dust clouds in his wake. If any of them bothered to look at the pier, they would've spotted a humanoid shape at the nearby docks. And said shape decided to make its way towards the ruins as well.
Moments ago at the ruins of Beacon
Beacon. Once it was a symbol of pride and hope. Something to look up to in these times of peace. Now it sits in ruin, festering with the very horrors its students were trained to fight against. These days, only those looking for closure or sport would dare tread here. One individual, however, didn't exactly come for either.
A sky-blue bot- with hints of red and black- wandered through the campus. His crimson optics scanned any device he could find in the place. The footage he collected from the dead's personal belongings was… disturbing. A blond-haired native suddenly attacking her opponent at the arena. An android seemingly ripped apart by invisible forces. The arena being flooded with the black-and-white beasts surrounding him now. A group of individuals bearing armor colored and modeled after the monsters.
And all the death and suffering. Families destroyed (in the literal sense), limbs flying everywhere. So many flames extinguished and for what? He did not know. That woman's transmission still lingered on in the data pads and he was able to piece it back together. Her words brought more questions than answers. But perhaps the tower ahead could give him some clues.
Hotspot gazed upon the monument before him. Littered around him was debris and the wreckage of a foreign nation's machines. He made sure to scan some of them for distribution. His friends could be in need of a disguise. But right now knowledge would be of greater use to them. And he intended on collecting it.
The Protectobot climbed up the ruined CCTS tower until he found one of the servers. Rays of blue light flared from his optics and all over the room. Recordings of calls to and from the room, the rosters of the various student teams and staff. Digital copies of textbooks and footage of decades of practice matches. There were even traces of a virus within their systems. Probably how the woman was able to hack into everything when scrap hit the fan.
Next stop was the headmaster's office. After few minutes of climbing, he managed to reach his destination. To his disappointment, it was all reduced to slag. Scans indicated much of it was melted months ago. If anything survived, it may have been picked off by scavengers. Yet he also detected strange energy signatures within the local vicinity. It didn't match with the "Dust" signatures he sampled in the campus. Could it be related to the radiation from the planet's moon?
He climbed into the remains of the room and beheld its remaining occupant. There, trapped in a state of petrification, was dragon-like entity. A brief look into the school's databanks revealed it to be a "Wyvern", a rare breed of the "Creatures of Grimm." He recalled security footage of it flying over the battlefield. He assumed that this was its handiwork.
The Autobot sat the edge of the room. Though Beacon had suffered a great blow to its students and staff, the city of Vale still stood. At least the facility was able to continue its primary function till the end. It was a breathtaking view from here. A view that the founders of this school strove to protect. Only question now was what became of the survivors.
His train of thought was interrupted by a screech. Before he could turn his head, something slammed into him and carried him off the building. When he was able to twist his head around, he found himself being dragged by a vulture-like Grimm. Nevermore, the textbooks called it.
Well he was about to make that name mean something. Converting both his arms into Pathblasters, he fired at the eyes and utterly obliterate them. The blinded beast released its grip on him and he fell to the earth below. Groaning as he rose back onto his feet, he found himself surrounded by the other Grimm.
Smaller versions of the Nevermore flew straight at him and fired their feathers at him. Hotspot activated his Reflective Shield just in time, sending some of them back at their owners. The rest managed to nick his armor but none of them stuck. Some wolf-like creatures- Beowolves, he believed they were called- leapt at him. He sidestepped the group attack, grabbing one of them and crushing it in his servo.
An elephant-shaped specimen- a Goliath- rammed into him and managed to leave a scar on his torso. The Protectobot growled and converted into his Cybertronian truck-mode. He fired missiles at the beast and others surrounding them. The whole campus quaked as one rocket after another collided with it and its occupants. Another Goliath charged at him, but he had another trick up his sleeve. Kicking into his nitro-boosters, he veered to its left and rammed into the giant's side. It fell a domino and struggled to regain its footing.
While it was down, the Autobot began firing missiles at its exposed underbelly. He didn't take the rest of its pack into account. One more knocked him into the air with its tusks. A more quadrupedal flyer- a Griffin- grabbed the bot and threw him before he could transform. He ended up crashing through one of the dorm buildings and was forced into Protoform mode by all the impacts. The Beowolf pack that sprang at him earlier used the opportunity to try again. This time they managed to successfully dogpile him and began slashing away.
For every monster that he swatted off, two more took its place. The combined efforts of the beasts was already chipping away at his armor. If he didn't push them back they could draw out his Energon. Reactivating his Reflective Shield, their slashes began bouncing back at them. He used the opportunity to shake them off and pulled out his Scrapmaker. He mowed down the pack and redirected his aim at the Grimm that threw him. The Griffin came down in pieces and the swarm receded.
He was about to take in a sigh of relief before the ground began shaking. He only managed to walk back a few steps before something burst through the earth and wrapped itself around him. Though his legs were initially free, two black-and-white shapes rolled into them and toppled him over. He tired to rise back onto his feet. The two heads of the abomination- King Taijitu his sources called it- stared down at the Autobot. It was squeezing hard enough to restrain him, but not enough for the Shield to react and reflect any damage. Seems as though it had figured him out. Once the device wore off, both heads reeled back and prepared to lunge at him.
Except that something rammed straight into the white head first. The thing hissed in pain as an arm pulled out of its eye socket, a black mist leaking from the wound. The other head tried to snap at the interloper, but it couldn't reach them. They exploited this and continued their assault on the first head. The remaining one finally unraveled itself enough to reach the rescuer.
This gave Hotspot an opening to slip an arm free and grab the ebony head by the neck. He squeezed at it in the hopes of choking it into unconsciousness, but it only registered pain. It must not breathe gases like most organics would. Then again, its texture indicated that it wasn't "truly" organic either. The shape finished stabbing away at the first head and leapt onto the second one. Or rather, through it.
The beast let out one last cry before it disintegrated, freeing the Autobot. He finally managed to get a good look at his savior. It was a fair-skinned native with red hair and seafoam green eyes. She wore a black double-breasted leather jacket and a white tanktop with blue markings under it. A pair of blue pants and black sandals were the finishing touches to her attire.
What intrigued him was her armor and weapons. A blue chest plating wrapped itself around her torso and he could see something on the back of it. It appeared to be a thruster or jetpack of some kind. Two gauntlets of the same color were enveloping her lower arms, each having a blade popping out of them. One of them had a lilypad-like marking on it, the same color as her eyes.
She landed on the concrete road and hacked away at the Grimm. Beowolves would lose their kneecaps and she'd butcher the upper half before it hit the ground. She proppled herself with the boosters on her back and spun around like atop. As she was slashing away at the monsters, she failed to see a Griffin descending upon her. By the time she spotted it, it had already landed on her.
Yet neither didn't expect a large metal hand to grab the creature and throw it at one of its brethren. The Autobot flashed a quick thumbs at her before more of its kin swooped down at him. As he was attempting to swat thema way with one hand, something launched from his back and landed in his free one. The object converted into a sword, glowing orange-red. He slashed away at the flyers and any ground-based beasts that tried to climb up him.
One of the Goliaths charged at him, but he was prepared this time. Sidestepping the living ram, he gave his blade a twirl and swung down on its neck. The severed head crashed into some smaller Grimm before they all disintegrated. A rolling shape- Boarbatusk- attempted to topple him again, but he anticipated this and kicked the beast away.
A scream caught his audio receptors. He turned to see the girl ensnared in a Goliath's trunk, hacking away at it frankly while it squeezed away. Hot Spot charged at the Grimm and sliced off its limb, freeing her. He caught her with his free servo while the thing reeled back in pain. The Autobot transformed to vehicle mode and sped off with the human. After putting some distance between themselves and the Grimm, the bot converted to bipedal mode and sat the native on the ground.
Both of them listened as the horde stampeded towards their last location. Hit Spot poked his head out to see the the Beowolves sniffing about. They seemed to have given up on the search and scattered across the yard. Once they were out of earshot, he let out a sigh of relief and turned towards the female.
"Mighty brave of you to come here," The Protectobot said to her as he knelt down. "Weren't for you, I'd be slag."
The girl's tilted head indicated an error on his part. He facepalmed as he realized that he been speaking in his native tongue. Quickly analyzing the documents and files he scanned, he converted his language to this planet's own.
"Testing one two three…" He said out loud. "Testing one two three. Do you read me native lifeform?"
The young lass could barely keep herself from laughing. "I hear ya, tinman," She replied. "You gonna come out of that suit and introduce yourself?"
The bot let out a soft- if slightly nervous- chuckle of his own. "Ma'am," He said politely. "This ain't no suit. I'm the real thing."
The girl's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "Uh huh. And I'm a unicorn Faunus," She said sarcastically. "You're not fooling me, Atlesian soldier boy. Just what are you doing here anyway?"
"I was just about the ask the same question, human," Retorted Hot Spot. "And I'm not from Atlas."
The Autobot was about to answer her when an explosion rocked the area. The mech instinctively moved to shield her from any potential debris or other threats, but nothing fell. Both of them poked their heads out to see a large white shape and a smaller -black-and-white one surrounded by Grimm. He instantly recognized them.
"Friends of yours?" Said the teen.
Hot Spot nodded grimly. "Got any steam left in your tank?" He asked.
The redhead's grin was the only answer he needed. He transformed to vehicle mode and rolled back onto the battlefield. His newfound ally followed suit by activating her thrusters. Her day just got a lot more interesting.
6 hours after arrival...
Alarms. Flashing lights. Darkness. These were all the things Groove could make out when he first came back online. As his vision cleared he could make out the ceiling of the shuttle. All around him his fellow passengers were stirring to life. Prowl, Trailbreaker, Powerglide, Whirl-
Wait. Where is Whirl?
An annoyed groan answered his question. He glanced around to see the the cyclopan's head behind him. Well, under him to be exact.
"Get. Off. My. F-"
"Sweet Solus Prime!" Blurted out Groove as he bounced off the cyclops's faceplate.
Whirl rubbed his cranium with an annoyed look in his optic. He looked to his side to see nothing but grey clouds and snow beyond his window.
"On the bright side," The Protectobot said. "We're all still functional."
"And on the down side, our coolants could freeze and burst out of our pipes out there," Whirl said.
Prowl rubbed his crest as he shuffled through screens on his monitor.
"We have internal heaters for that sort of stuff, you know," he noted. "And besides, I'm picking energy readings nearby. Heat and light among them."
"Natural occurring or artificial?" Asked Trailbreaker.
Prowl rubbed his chin as more readings popped up. "Likely the latter," He deduced. "Picking up smog and radio signals too. Neither of them match up with anything from Cybertron."
A light-gray bot with red and black highlights -Streetwise- looked at the group with his hopeful blue visor. "Hold up, are you saying there's intelligent life here?"
Prowl nodded. "And likely an advanced one at that. Which means potential resources and disguises for us."
He pushed a button on the console. "Sending the Sky Spy to the source. Hopefully the storm can cover its tracks."
As the words left his mouth, an orange satellite-like object flew off of the ship's roof. lt flew into the snowy drifts, relying on its motion and thermal sensors for guidance. After several minutes of flying through the pearl-white mists, the drone finally came along an outpost of some form. Based on the presence of turrets and barracks, it appeared to be a military base.
The probe got to work on scanning the vehicles. One of the first it spotted appeared to be motorcycle of some form. Scans indicated that it possessed a hovercraft-mode as well. Next it entered a hanger and discovered several aircraft. Most of them were lightweight, transport fighters. There were also a number of pick-up trucks as well. It was heading out of the hanger when its audio receptors picked up something.
Gunfire. Yelling. Roaring. Screaming. There was a battle.
It hide behind some crates and began recording. There were small organic beings-clad in snow-white armor- firing upon ebony creatures. The beasts possessed bone-like protrusions and armor, clashing away at the combatants. Some of the natives were crushed like insects by the monsters. Others were flung into wind or storm, never to be seen again. A screech caught the drone's attention and it averted iits gaze towards the skies. A single black blur was all it saw before it joined the fallen.
The Autobots starred at the static in the screen. "Well," Whirl said. "Guess this planet ain't so boring after all."
Prowl's optic rims narrowed. "Everyone line up before the CR chamber. We'll need to reformat ourselves if we hope to survive out there."
Everyone lined up before the silver cylindrical structure. Trailbreaker was the first to enter the thing, to the outrage of Whirl. As the blue bot banged on the door and shouted at its occupant, Groove moved towards Streetwise. He kept glancing back the monitor as he approached him. The Bulk could guess what was disturbing him.
The larger bot knelt down to the smaller one's level. "You're thinking about the natives, aren't you?"
Groove nodded. As much as he hated fighting, he hated standing by and letting others come to harm even more. Streetwise sympathized with him on the latter detail. It was something all Protectobots had something in common. Even Graze- for all his bloodlust- couldn't resist the urges.
"Can't just leave them at the mercy of… whatever those things were," The little one said. "Just ain't right."
The car-robot nodded in agreement. "But charging in without a new disguise is bound to put a target on our heads," He noted.
The motorcycler flashed a cocky smile. "But when has that ever stopped us?"
A soft hiss cough brought their attention back to the CR chamber. Trailbreaker strode out of it and stretched his arms. Most of his Cybertronian kibble was replaced with a more terrean style. No sooner when he stepped foot that Whirl grabbed and flung him to the side. Now it was the ground-based bot's turn to swear and curse at the chamber's occupant. Prowl simply sighed and shook his head in disappointment while the Protectobots struggled to stifle their laughter. Now was the best time to sneak out.
The two crept towards the airdock and opened it up. The howling winds swept into the ship's interior and chilled its passengers to the bone. Trailbreaker instantly noted the sudden drop in temperature and the duo could hear his comments from their position. It won't be long before Prowl caught on. They converted to vehicle to mode and drove off into the snowstorm. They could briefly hear their captain curse and call out to them before mother nature drowned it out.
The flatlands of Anima, several minutes after crash landing...
Out in the grasslands to the east, there was a bandit camp. Crude walls of wood surrounded the site. Gaurds patrolled outside of them, careful not to step on any of the landmines they set up. Things were rather routine until meteorites crashed into their backyard.
From a tower at the center of the base watched a hulking man. His armor was modeled after Grimm, jet-black with white protrusions useful for striking fear into his enemies, but not so much for the real deal. Lime-green eyes burned behind the binoculars as he observed the craters beyond. One of their "chariots"- an armored double-cab 4x4 pickup- was also at the site, with its turret aim at the crash site.
Suddenly steam erupted from the holes. He could make out his men opening fire on something moving in the mist. A colossal shape fired emerald beams at his truck and bathed it in a similar light. He could hear gears, pistons, and other mechanical sounds as the shadow changed form. To his surprise, a perfect replica- albeit in a different colorscheme- charged forth and rammed into the original article.
The men yelped in shock as the truck was toppled over. The copycat then transformed into a humanoid form and converted its arm into an axe. He could make out a grey-and-cyan paint job, with tinted blood-red windows. He could see its yellow faceplate grinning at the site of his fellow marauders as it picked his ride up. Its crimson eyes turned to the leader of the pack and its grin grew. He barely had time to jump out of the watchtower as his own car fly right into it.
His bodyguards opened fire on the giant as it approached them, but they bounced off of a light-blue field surrounding its body. Purple drones hopped out of the other craters and joined up with their boss. Their arms converted into blasters and gunned down any man that challenged them. All were reduced to charred bones.
The raider fired his pistol at the pack leader, but the bullets bounced off of his shield. The mech smirked and swatted it out of his hand and grabbed him. The robot laughed as the human struggled to break free.
"You got guts," Said the bot as he brought the organic to his yellow face. "I like that. It'd be a shame for me to spill 'em."
The mech moved him back from his gaze to give him some breathing room. "But I'm a generous 'Con and would be more than happy to make a bargain. You tell me everything about this place, and I'll let ya live to fight another day. What do you say?"
The bandit chuckled. "Can't give you any answers unless you give me the question." He said.
One of the purple bots raised his blaster at the man's head, but the commander raised his free hand. The trooper lowered his gun in disappointment.
"Guts and spunk," The giant said. "I think we're gonna get along just fine. Now my first question; Where can we get a decent recharge?"
Author's Notes
Sorry if I'm not in a talkative mood. Kinda have a bit of cold as I type this. Give me a moment (or a few hours) to gather me thoughts.
The scene in the forest went through three different versions. First one was with Rewind, Second was First Aid, the current and final version using both. First Aid's version had him using his Medibots from Earth Wars to scout the ship instead of Rewind.
Barricade uses his design from the canceled Transformers: Universe game, while Frenzy leans more towards the Collector's Club figure that came with their version of Barricade.
Flatline is based on his IDW namesakes (Movieline and G1) rather than the playable character in the Universe online game.
I personally view Hot Spot as being a retool of Onslaught's Fall of Cybertron design since the latter is a retool of the former in the Combiner Wars toyline. His reflective shield comes from his Earth Wars portrayal. Whether or not he's an Outlier is up for debate.
And some of you might also be wondering about the lass he encounters. She's one for the OCs I've been working on for this fanfic. Saving her name (and more info about her weapon. Yes, it's technically one whole thing) for next chapter. Only hint I'm leaving is that it has something to do with water (or bodies of it).
No sneakpeeks here because many of the scenes in the last one have been pushed back to next chapter. Didn't want to make this one bloated.
Now if you excuse me, I going to take some meds and a nap. Hope y'all have a good day.