Maximares Rising
Chapter 6: Rarity vs. Shockwave, Part 2
"Hello, Axiom Nexus. This is Andromeda of ANN bringing you a flash bulletin. Approximately 1 megacycle ago, an organic offworlder has gone on a rampage of considerable proportions. Do not take this alien's biological nature lightly, it appears to incorporate draconic DNA of unknown origin in its genome. This creature has already caused several crimes including assaulting members of the Offworlder Zone Security Administration, breaking into the MacGuffin storage facility and stealing a Dark Star Saber and a Skyboom Shield, and causing the disappearance of Director Shockwave. "Shockwave's location is currently unknown and attempts of using the Ground Bridge system to find him have been unsuccessful. This organic offworlder is considered armed and very dangerous. Citizens are advised to stay inside and alert the security forces if the dragon creature is spotted."
A second later, a wave of energy blew up the holoscreen. "Never liked the news anyway. HELLLO AXIOM CITY!" giggled Matt insanely, spinning the Saber in his hands and reveling in the panic his little pyrotechnics had caused.
The Cybertronians were fleeing from Matt as fast as their various alt-modes would allow. More than a few simply found his organic nature enough to get away from him, but everyone was convinced to flee when Matt started throwing Dark Star Saber beams around.
Matt laughed insanely, before hearing several sirens and turning to see what were clearly the cops. "FUCK THE POLICE!" he yelled, sending a wave of energy at them. The energy wave sent the police cars flying, some of them changing to robot mode in midair only to crash.
"Oh...losing points for the landing, YIPE!" said Matt, ducking behind the shield as the cops opened fire. The shield easily absorbed or deflected the blasts and shots from the cops' guns. "Ha! I've got an unstoppable sword and an unbreakable shield!" called Matt before pausing and pondering to himself, "I wonder which one beats the other?"
The cops stared as Matt raised the sword to hit the shield before diving for cover as he did just that and everything went white for a moment to reveal Matt blackened with a mad grin. "Myth confirmed," he said happily.
"Quick, using the sleeping gas while he's stunned!" called one of the cops before a smoking canister was thrown at Matt.
Matt looked down at it before kicking it...hard. The canister bounced before falling down a crack in the street. "Bet that goes all the way to China. Hmm...I want Chinese food. WHERE IS THE PAD THAI?!" Apparently, Matt had decided he wanted to eat now.
The cops tried firing again, but their stun blasts did little against Matt's scales and eventually all they could do was watch him walk off, not wanting to get in sword range.
"How are we supposed to beat this guy?" asked one cop.
"All I know is that I'm not getting paid enough for this," said another cop.
Rarity groaned as she started to regain consciousness. She had hoped the dull ache meant that she was in her proper fleshy body and everything regarding robots and aliens had all been a long horrible nightmare. But as she opened her eyes, a HUD appeared in her vision, giving her an update as to her condition. The good news was that she was relatively unharmed, the bad news is that none of this was a dream.
She panned her vision around to see she was in what looked like a garbage dump, full of oily scraps of metal and empty energon barrels. There were signs this had once been a plaza of some kind, though the trash had ruined all that. But she was still able to see the ship. Apparently she had been thrown out of a large hole that was now in the side. "I'm starting to doubt that thing will ever fly us out of here," said Rarity as she started to get up. She felt pretty banged up, but it was mainly only a few dents.
"No, it will not," said a voice behind her, Rarity spinning to see Shockwave, his optic narrowed as the only indication of his annoyance. "It would not have been in a dump had it been flight capable," he added darkly, his optic not focusing on Rarity long as he seemed more interested in the dark corners of the plaza.
"I didn't think there were any levels of the city lower than the Heap," said Rarity.
"There aren't, not any that are occupied," said Shockwave, "This is Last Well, our first and only attempt to expand Cybertron's cityscape below the surface."
"It seems to be used as another Heap," said Rarity, stepping carefully to avoid the oil puddles.
"It almost succeeded. The first tenants moved in...and were never seen again. It seems that these levels were already occupied...and that they did not want neighbors," said Shockwave darkly, focusing on a doorway before firing into it, several small spider-like robots scattering out of it and heading for cracks and small holes.
"Where is everyone else?" asked Rarity.
"Inspector Airazor is mostly unharmed, but her wing is damaged. A pity since she's the only flight-capable member of this 'group' and I use the term very loosely," said Shockwave.
"And Dante?" asked Rarity.
"Who?" asked Shockwave.
"The human who was with us," said Rarity.
"Oh, he is unconscious, not likely to recover for a good while. Not that he'd be of any use here," said Shockwave. Shockwave looked at the unconscious human before adding darkly, "In fact he's probably the safest of us all..."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Rarity.
"Because the predators down here are only interested in metal and energon," said Shockwave, "I certainly hope you have some combat ability."
"I have no idea," said Rarity in annoyance.
"Do you have any combat skill at all?" Shockwave added, a scuttling clank coming from all around.
"I can deliver a good kick when I need to," said Rarity, "And my horn can-"
"Deliver a feeble telekinetic blast," said Shockwave, sounding very unimpressed, "Not enough to deal with a large swarm."
"A swarm of what?" snapped Rarity before a sultry female voice said "My swarm."
Rarity looked to see a robot that looked like a cross between a spider and a centaur, though clearly of the female variety. "Fascinating," said Shockwave, "I've never encountered this variety of Arachnicon before."
"And you must be the famous Shockwave, head of intelligence. Yet you don't know me, even after your colonists blundered into our hive," sneered the creature, its eyes flashing red as tens of dozens of the spiderbots scuttled out to surround them. "I can see one of your inspectors...but my children have no news of you," she said, looking at Rarity, the red glow illuminating Rarity's face.
"I'm not from here," said Rarity, "I'm just trying to get home."
"Oh dear, a lonely little bot. So far from home..." sneered the spider-queen as more spider bots scuttled in. "What should I do with you three? My children are always in need of new parts," she said calmly.
"We just want to take our ship and go!" snapped Rarity.
The spider-queen glanced at the ship and said, "I doubt you'll be able to take it anywhere. Besides, it'll provide so much scrap to replenish my swarm."
"You plan to..." began Rarity in horror as the queen said "Strip you into spare parts? Yes." with a sadistic smile before there was a clunk, the queen looking up in shock before a blue blast knocked her into the shadows, several parts flying off. The three Cybertronians turned to see Dante, bloodied and hooked into a control panel. "I hate spiderbots," he managed before his eyes rolled into his head and he slumped down, in an even deeper unconscious state.
The spiderbots clicked angrily before heading back to where their queen went. "That might be enough to stop them for now," said Airazor walking out, a big chunk missing from one of her wings, "But there are worse things down here. We're gonna need to hole up until either we can find a way back to the surface or get a message there so we can be Ground Bridged out."
Rarity looked over at Dante before heading over and lifting him up. "I assume there is a way back up? I worry that thing may be back soon," she said.
"Not the way we came," said Airazor.
"The lifts for Last Well were shut down a long time ago. We could start them up, but there is an 89.3% chance they're inoperable," said Shockwave, "Our resources are best directed towards making contact and receiving rescue."
"And there's only one place to do that at," said Airazor, looking over at a distant tower which looked half-finished, "The old sector station...should have an operational com unit."
"Then I suggest we make haste," said Shockwave before shifting into a lowrider car mode and starting to drive off.
"Hey! I can't fly right now, remember?!" snapped Airazor.
Shockwave paused and said, "And I suppose I'm supposed to walk out of courtesy."
"Letting her ride on you wouldn't be out of the question," said Rarity.
"It most certainly would be," said Shockwave, "Allowing a lowtech to ride on me? I'd never hear the end of it."
"And explaining to Megatron why you left two Cybertronians in last well because you couldn't bother to wait is better?" said Airazor smugly.
"You presume that Megatron places value in your sparks," said Shockwave, "You two are lowtechs, easily replaceable, even if the Equinicon has some unique aspects."
"You willing to take the chance that he does?" said Airazor.
There was a pause before Shockwave started to drive off again. "Just a moment," said Rarity, "You're the logical sort of fellow, aren't you?"
Shockwave stopped and said, "Logic is the paramount form of intelligence."
"Well, think about this: that tower may not have enough defenses to keep the spiderbots or whatever else lives down here at bay long enough for you to contact the upper world. Would it not be more logical to have two allies to help defend yourself and improve your chances?" asked Rarity.
Shockwave seemed to pause before one of his doors opened with a clunk. "Thank you," said Rarity, "Airazor, could you help load Dante in?"
The door slammed shut and Shockwave said, "I'm not allowing that organic to leak internal fluids inside me."
"He saved us from that spider thing," said Rarity, a little angrily
"And now that he's unconscious, he's a liability," said Shockwave.
"We're taking him," said Airazor angrily.
"Fine, but you'll be carrying him," said Shockwave, "We don't have time to argue."
"Fine," said Rarity, as the clanking scuttling noises began again along with an angry scream.
"All aboard!" yelped Airazor. Rarity climbed into Shockwave while Airazor hopped onto his roof with Dante in her arms.
"Hang on," said Shockwave coldly before stepping on the gas, just as several dozen spiderbot drones scuttled out at them. Fortunately, Shockwave's front bumper and wheels were tougher than they looked and he squashed the spiderbots in front of him. He turned the corner into an old road just as a dozen laser bolts hit where he had been.
The spiderbots, along with their queen, came around the corner, firing energy bolts after the retreating car till it was gone. "Little tin cans...find them, children. We can't let dinner escape so easily," she said harshly.
Twilight and the others winced as they watched the footage. "This is really bad." she said weakly.
"Ah'll say," said Applejack, "Didn't expect Matt go completely off the hinges like this."
Cheetor looked thoughtful before saying, "Maybe something Shockwave did? He didn't change till the Axiom systems messed with those nanites he has."
"It might be, but I've never seen a dragon act so...unfettered before," said Twilight.
"He's not a dragon from your world," said Cheetor, "There are dragons on many other planets and quite a lot of them tend to be, well, downright cruel if not malevolent."
"The answer must be in that quantum net I think he called it. If this cause his change, it can reverse it," said Twilight.
"I doubt it would be that simple," said Cheetor, "Not to mention the sheer difficulty of getting Matt into a starship and getting within range of the net."
"Didn't you make a prototype?" said Twilight desperately.
"I'll have to check with Rhinox about that," said Cheetor, "If anyone would know how to utilize the quantum net, it would be him."
"Then we need to find him before Matt gets any more ideas of 'fun'," said Twilight grimly.
"I'll get Rhinox's help. You two work on keeping Matt from getting too far away," said Cheetor.
"And how are we supposed ta stop Matt?" asked Applejack.
Cheetor sighed before typing into his datapad, "I'm temporarily deputizing you two into the OZSA. You'll have access to their equipment for the purpose of containing Matt. Please don't damage anything, this deputizing alone is gonna be a headache of paperwork."
Matt laughed like a madman, sending a plasma blast into some parked cars. "Aw...come on. It's not like I've killed anyone yet," he called after some fleeing civilians before pausing, seeing two small Mini-Cons, barely out of protoform by the look of things, one of them had thrown a rock at him. "Now that's just rude," he said darkly, walking towards them. The Dark Star Saber glowed brightly as Matt lifted it up, ready to bring it down upon the Mini-Cons. "Kids shouldn't throw rocks at predators," he snarled before a blast hit him in the side and sent him flying into a shop front.
Twilight flew down and dropped off Applejack. "You young 'uns better get to safety," she said.
The two Mini-Cons nodded and ran for it, just in time too as what was left of the store front exploded outwards, Matt strolling out of the flames. "Well...that was just annoying..." he said icily.
"Matt, calm down and drop your weapons," said Twilight, "We don't want to hurt you."
"Oh trust me, you won't. Even if Matt wants me to stop," laughed 'Matt' readying a plasma orb in his free hand. "Wanna play catch? I'll start." he said before pitching the plasma ball at them.
The two pony bots jumped out of the way. Twilight tried to fire an immobilizing beam at Matt, but he just held the Dark Star Saber in front of him edgewise and the beam cleaved in two against the blade.
"Oh, I can see where the Atlanteans go for their ion staff inspiration. Like a hot knife through your heck joint. Hold still and I'll prove it," he giggled.
Applejack had drawn her guns and was aiming very carefully. She didn't want to hurt Matt but she had to keep him from using that sword. So carefully, she fired a shot that seemed to be aimed at the sword's hilt, but was actually aimed at Matt's thumb on it.
Matt yelped, dropping it, the blade easily eating through the ground till it stopped at the hilt. "Oh...you naughty girl..." he said madly, before clicking his talons and a family of plasma orbs appearing around his head.
However, Twilight hit him with three immobilizer beams. This time, he didn't have anything to block them with. Matt staggered a little before going stiff. Twilight panted a bit before saying, "I'm sorry it had to come to this. Once you're back to normal, I'll undo the spell."
Matt didn't give much of a response as the girls got closer, holding modified stasis cuffs at the ready, before his hands shot out and grabbed them by the necks, lifting them up. "Wrong dragon genus," he said manically before cracking their heads together.
Matt dropped the pony bots and saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got more mayhem to cause." He walked over to pick up the Dark Star Saber only for Twilight to zap it with another spell, but the Saber didn't change. "Oops, should get that magi emitters warranty checked," he sneered, before trying to grab the sword, only to have his hand repelled. "Hmm?" he muttered before trying again...and again. Matt tried to grab the sword with his tail, only to find the same repulsion keeping it away.
"Huh, clever horsey. Keeping me from using that sword again. I guess all I have left are my plasma orbs," said Matt before throwing more orbs at the mares. Twilight yelped before her shield narrowly blocked the blasts. "You can't do that forever," laughed Matt.
"Neither can you," said Applejack before firing at Matt.
However, Matt pulled out the Skyboom Shield and easily blocked the shots. "Oh, it looks like I can," said Matt, "My shield lasts a lot longer than yours. But wait, there's more." Matt projected a force field from the shield which wrapped around Twilight and Applejack, encasing the mares in a bubble of tangible energy. "Don't worry, I'm sure that'll give out once I'm far enough away," said Matt before flying off.
Twilight glared before her horn blazed and the bubble was popped, her eyes glowing angrily. Applejack quickly got some distance away from Twilight before her mane and tail suddenly became flames, her coloration changing to fiery tones. "Twi, honey, you need to calm down. Matt ain't in his right mind, remember?" she said desperately.
Twilight's flames slowly dwindled down, but her paintjob didn't change. "We're gonna have to be more direct with containing Matt," said Twilight, "Even if he doesn't have the Dark Star Saber anymore, he could still cause a lot of trouble and be protected by the Skyboom Shield."
"Right, but you oughta calm down all the way before we go gallopin' after him," said Applejack. "I am calm," said Twilight.
"Then how comes yer all red and yeller?" asked Applejack.
"I have no idea...but if it helps us get Matt locked up before he kills someone, all the better," snapped Twilight.
"So, ya got any idears for how to get that shield away from him? Ah doubt he'd let me shoot it outta his hand," said Applejack.
"How do we get Discord to stop being a jerk?" said Twilight.
The city of Last Well was that of a ghost town, though Rarity thought she saw an arm or a leg that looked like it might have belonged to a Decepticon or Autobot. Shockwave turned the corner only to hit what looked like a junk metal barricade.
Airazor was thrown off his roof, but she landed on her struts easily. "Ow, that hurt," groaned Rarity.
"I don't know what you're complaining about," said Shockwave, "Now disembark, I need to transform."
Rarity frowned before climbing out, Dante being knocked off the roof with an unconscious grunt as Shockwave transformed.
Shockwave examined the barrier and said, "Yes...this wasn't just dumped here. And I think I recognize the constructional style."
"What is it then?" said Airazor, picking up the groaning Dante again and readying her blaster on her other arm.
"I believe we are in mutant territory," said Shockwave, "And judging by the slimness of the tiremarks and the sheer number of them, there is a 99.6% chance we are dealing with the Wheeler tribe specifically."
"Ah, scrap. Anything else your department doesn't tell us 'lower techs'?" snapped Airazor, panning her blaster around at that, getting the idea that mutant meant bad.
"Pardon me, but how can anything robotic be considered 'mutant'?" asked Rarity.
"Mutants are aberrations of Cybertronian life," said Shockwave, "They are savage, aggressive, unnegotiable, and hostile towards all other Cybertronians. Unlike even the most basic lowtech, they are incapable of transforming. Some are basically malformed robots, but others are trapped in forms that are neither robot, vehicle, nor beast but a hideous amalgamation. For instance, the Wheeler tribe are basically robots, but have wheels for hands and feet."
Airazor looked surprised. "Really? They have wheels for hands? How's that dangerous?" Rarity glaring at that.
"Their weapons are mounted elsewhere," said Shockwave, "And they have welding torch breath."
"Oh...that'd do it," said Airazor with a gulp.
Rarity said, "I'm sure we can convince them to let us past. Have any of you actually tried to talk to them?"
"Such charming nativity," said Shockwave dryly, "Mutants try to kill anyone who isn't one of them. Mercy is nonexistent in their subroutines."
"Well if you aren't going to be civil with them, you'll never get the chance to find out," said Rarity pointedly.
Airazor snapped, "This is not the time to argue! We're being watched," looking around, several optics watching from the ruins around them. Pretty soon, a creepy laughter was heard and the optics' owners moved forward. They might have passed for ordinary Cybertronians except their bodies distinctly lacking in any discernable kibble and instead of hands and feet, they had wheels on the ends of arms and legs of equal length. They skated closer to them, back-mounted weapons aimed and charging.
Shockwave readied his blasters at that. "Prepare to fire," he said, before Rarity's TK field forced his blasters down.
"No, I'm sure we can do this without shooting," she said.
"Again with the nonviolence?" snapped Shockwave, "Was your homeworld really that devoid of dangers that you can't comprehend self-defense?"
Rarity paused before an unusual memory poked to the surface, of a grand-looking city, under attack by what was clearly Matt's species, backed up by armored monstrosities, firing at gold-armored ponies armed with nothing but blades and magical blasts...clearly outmatched. "No, but there are other ways," she said calmly.
"The only way we're going to get out of this alive is to destroy them first!" snapped Shockwave.
"Oh for the Allspark's sake!" snapped Airazor before stomping forward. One Wheeler rolled up to her and prepared to use its welding torch breath only for Airazor to smack its head and snapped, "Cut it out!"
The Wheeler paused at that, the others pausing before it said more in a surprised tone, "Ow...what the hell, lady?"
"Get out of here, you scavengers, before I hit you even worse!" snapped Airazor.
The Wheeler paused, its mental script clearly derailed. "Can't you at least scream a bit? I gotta keep some rep with my boys," it whispered to her.
Airazor just kicked the Wheeler, hard enough to send him flying back into its companions. "Now scram!" she snapped.
"RUN AWAY!" screamed a squeaky voice from the shadows, a dozen or so Wheelers scattering, all screaming "Run away!" over and over.
Rarity and Shockwave stared before Shockwave tapped his arm and said, "Proactive maintenance log: despite their fearsome appearance and reputation, the Wheeler tribe of Mutants are, in fact, quite cowardly. A simple display of intimidation is sufficient to drive them off."
"And you were ready to shoot them," said Rarity coldly, the group preparing to set off again.
"You will soon learn that you cannot simply talk your way out of situations," said Shockwave, "The Mutants and spiderbots are simply the most intelligent species down here. There are other lifeforms that are even more savage and more belligerent."
"Yet we were able to scare them away without killing a single one," said Rarity.
"You would have wasted valuable time trying to persuade those savages, most likely costing someone their limb," said Shockwave dismissively.
Airazor snapped, "Listen, both of you, we need to get to that tower so we can all get out of here. I don't think this human's well." looking at the sickly Dante.
"His situation is not nearly as critical as you imply," said Shockwave, "But you have one point: we need to get that com tower working if we are to be rescued."
"Something we agree on...wait, you said there was worse?" said Rarity.
"Indeed. And considering our escalating bad luck and the commotion we've been coming, I calculate there is an 88% chance we will be encountering them before long," said Shockwave.
"Then we should hurry instead of arguing like a bunch of protoforms," snapped Airazor.
"Correct, Inspector," said Shockwave.
"Then let's go instead of standing in the street arguing strategies," snapped Airazor.
Matt smirked, looking around the area he was in. "Which building to blow up, I wonder," he said happily.
There was a woosh of jet engines and Matt looked up to see a rather impressive and very futuristic-looking jet hovering above him. "Offworlder, this is Colonel Cyclonus of the Military Police. Surrender immediately or I'll be authorized to use potentially-lethal ordinance," said a voice from the jet.
"By all means, colonel, take your best shot. Just make sure you don't hit any people hiding in the buildings," sneered Matt, mockingly bowing.
"Potentially-lethal does not necessarily mean wide-spread," said Cyclonus.
"Then take your best shot, Tonka toy," sneered Matt.
The next second, something whizzed past Matt's ear so fast that he felt it burn a little. "That was a warning shot," said Cyclonus, "Next one actually passes through you."
"Ooooh...a railgun...nice. But I can do one better. I can ground you by clicking my fingers, Mr. Plasma Engine," sneered Matt.
"I am not playing around," said Cyclonus.
"I wouldn't be either...but then some jackass toaster oven came in like the police to spoil my fun," said Matt darkly, the lights around him flickering and going out as he drew in the plasma energy.
Another shot rang out and Matt winced as the projectile went through his wing membrane. "Next shot goes through something vital," said Cyclonus, "This is your last chance to stand down."
"Very well," said Matt, before clicking his talons and Cyclonus's back literally exploded as his fuel cells all went critical mass at once. The jet quickly dropped out of the air and crashed into the street. "Next time, try going through on your threats a little faster," said Matt as he started to walk away.
Cyclonus staggered to his feet before aiming and firing, a translucent shield stopping the shots. "Oh, you want more, how nice," said Matt, turning to reveal solid red eyes. Matt threw a plasma orb at Cyclonus, only for a force shield to block it. However, the colonel was forced back as Matt advanced, throwing bigger and bigger orbs as he went before he got in claw range and brought them down on Cyclonus's gun wrist...and through it.
"Never had an offworlder that could actually fight back, have you?" taunted Matt.
Cyclonus staggered back, biting back his pain as he stared as his hand on the floor before Matt clawed him across the chest next. "I'm gonna take you apart and use you for body armor, you little pest," snarled Matt, clawing Cyclonus on the knee to bring him to chest height and readying his claw for a decapitating blow...before a mauve beam of light hit him...hard.
Matt staggered before saying, "Finally taking the kid gloves off, princess?"
Twilight, hovering over the scene, just glared. "You're not hurting anyone else here,"
Matt laughed insanely. "You'll have to kill me then. You able to do that...cause I have," he sneered, turning to blast Cyclonus only to see him being helped into a building by some civilians. "Oooh...multi-kill," he sneered, readying an orb.
"No!" shouted Twilight before blasting Matt with strong jets of flame.
Matt laughed, taking off and sending a hail of rapid fire bolts at her. "That's the warrior spirit. You won't last 10 seconds back home fighting Cryotek without it," he sneered, sending blast after blast at her
Twilight had her own shield up and was responding with blasts of different elements.
"Oh...points to variety, but nothing for aim," sneered Matt, before looking down. "How are you at interception?" he said, firing a few blasts at buildings. Twilight quickly started pulling up pillars of metal to hold the buildings in place. It wasn't a permanent fix, but enough for the TransTechs to repair later.
She paused as she felt something sharp against her neck. "You just flunked," sneered Matt in her ear before something inside Twilight snapped at that.
Suddenly, Matt's body was covered in a magenta glow before he started flying around, slamming into every hard surface nearby. And he wasn't doing so gently. The impacts left deep cracks at every point.
Applejack arrived at that, another Cybertronian in tow in time to see that. The Cybertronian accompanying Cheetor was a much stockier bot, his alt-mode being a very futuristic-looking half-track crane. His robot mode had noticeably green limbs and face. "This the organic that got zapped by the quantum net?" asked the Cybertronian.
"He's more trouble than he looks, Rhinox," said Cheetor.
"Twi...Twi, yer gonna kill him!" Applejack called desperately.
Twilight slowly reeled down her aggression, her flame-colored deco going back to its normal colors. Matt was currently in a small crater in the street. He didn't look in a good way, one of his arms bent the wrong way and his left eye swollen shut, impressive given what he had shrugged off so far.
"Wow, you really let him have it," said Cheetor.
Rhinox headed over to him before saying, "You really let him have it. I don't want to use this on him just yet. Not till he's less...damaged,"
"Will that thing even work on him?" asked Applejack.
"I modified it to drain any quantum energy. It should reverse the changes," said Rhinox, adding, "But in this state, it could kill him."
"I had no choice. He was going to kill that bot and he wasn't going to back down," said Twilight.
"Well, you might have hurt him badly," scolded Rhinox, making a call.
"I could use a healing spell, but I'm worried that'd just start this mess all over again," said Twilight.
"Probably a good idea," said Rhinox, perhaps a little harshly.
"Alright, fine," said Twilight sending a soft pink glow over Matt. His injuries started to heal immediately. His arm snapped back into its proper shape and the swelling around his eye diminished a lot.
But before she was finished, Matt sat up and said, "Thanks for the pick-me-up, but I gotta be going." With that, he took off before Twilight could grab him.
Rhinox sighed, aiming the quantum blaster at Matt and firing a blue beam into his back as he fled. Matt merely scratched his back before he flew out of sight.
"I thought that would work?" snapped Twilight, starting to get her flaming hue again.
"You expected something instantaneous? It'll take time," said Rhinox.
"Time is something we don't have," said Applejack, "While we're wastin' time followin' Matt around, Rarity's in who knows what kind of trouble."
"Arguing won't repair the Ground Bridge any faster," said Rhinox.
"Not that we have any idea of where to send a Ground Bridge to," said Cheetor.
Luckily for Shockwave, Rarity and Airazor, the rest of the trip to the tower and indeed, the tower itself seemed intact. "These controls are in good repair and it seems the main transmitter is still operational," said Shockwave with the air of a professional
"That's a relief," said Rarity.
"The problem, of course, is that the nanosec we activate the power source, we will attract untold amounts of savages who will tear us apart as soon as they reach us," said Shockwave.
"Great...doesn't this place have a defense system?" said Airazor.
"A badly damaged one," said Shockwave, "We might be able to get some of it operational, but that might not be enough to stop the horde. Which is why you two will providing extra defense while I make sure the com signal stays on."
"Great," said Airazor icily.
"Couldn't Airazor maintain the signal?" asked Rarity. She hadn't the slightest idea of how to operate the computer so she didn't suggest that she could do it.
"No...Airazor does not have the clearance to bypass her way into the surface emergency channels," said Shockwave.
"So how long do you predict it'll take you to get hold of Soundwave?" asked Airazor.
"That depends how deep we are and if they are even monitoring these old frequencies," said Shockwave.
"You're a scientist, estimate!" snapped Airazor.
"There are too many variables," said Shockwave.
"Well, you can't expect us to defend this tower for megacycles," said Airazor.
"When I've gotten this tower operational, I shall keep you informed of progress," said Shockwave.
Airazor glared before saying, "Come on, Rarity, let's go secure the perimeter."
The two femmes walked off as Shockwave got to work. Unnoticed by any of them, Dante was struggling to get off of the floor. He reached up to grasp the wall to pull himself up. Only the panel he was grasping fell off and clanged on his head. Shockwave briefly looked around to find the source of the noise, but eventually shrugged it off, not even noticing the re-knocked-out Dante.
He turned back, capping up what was left of the perimeter scanners and the main power. "Warning...power 6%...severe cascade failures in all grids...main communication array at 45% efficiency…" said the computer.
"Hmm...not the best of odds," muttered Shockwave to himself, "But still, I'm certain I can make do so long as the lowtechs can keep the primitives away."
"Warning...perimeter breach, 1km outer marker...multiple biohazards closing…" said the computer, a map of the complex showing red dots closing down the main street.
Shockwave activated his comm and said, "Ladies, the demons are approaching. I hope you are prepared."
"We're ready down here. I think I got the perimeter defenses working here. Get some power rerouted," said Airazor.
"I can divert some power to you, but I must maintain a majority of it to keep the signal strong," said Shockwave.
"Just keep the anti-personnel cannons on," said Airazor, her optics spotting the first demons.
"By my calculations, they will be within shooting range in 7 cycles," said Shockwave.
"Rarity, I hope you have some form of weapon. We're about to be servo deep," said Airazor, readying her blasters
"I'm afraid I'm still mostly unarmed," said Rarity, "Airazor, what did Shockwave mean by calling you a lowtech? I thought you were a citizen here."
Airazor sighed, "I'm a citizen...but I'm also an offworlder like you."
"I wouldn't have guessed," said Rarity, "You seemed so accommodated to this city."
Airazor glanced at out to where the demon horde was gathering. "Well, if we're gonna be overrun with primordials, I might as well tell you," she said, "I was part of an exploration crew that was stranded on a primitive planet we later found out was actually prehistoric Earth. Things were a lot different there. We had to use beast modes and scavenge and build what we could from what could be scrounged up. A lot of us thought we were never going to leave."
"Oh my...what happened?" said Rarity, before jumping as a cannon on the tower wall fired, vaporizing a demon that was scouting forward.
"Worst still, we were trapped in a seemingly-endless war. A war against a mad Predacon that managed to steal the Matrix of Leadership to fuel his twisted experiments. Things got to their bleakest when that crazy spider managed to upgrade this joker into a triple-changing juggernaut. There was a big battle where everyone went all out. We had the numbers, but that Triple Changer was worth half of us. I channeled what power I had left from the Vok to try and take him out. I don't know what happened, but somehow I got blown all the way to Axiom Nexus. I'm sure I put that scorpion down, but I don't think I'll ever know, because I know I'll never be able to leave here," said Airazor.
"Don't say that. My friend up above and...Dante could easily find your friends," said Rarity kindly.
"I'm not putting any hope in that," said Airazor, "Civil war may have never hit this Cybertron, but it's hardly a utopia. Everyone in Axiom Nexus is out for only themselves or 'the greater good' as they might claim."
Shockwave, listening in on the com, said, "There is no difference. Our civilization requires the constant improvement of our people. Lowtechs only are useful for providing aid to us."
"That's a very self-serving attitude," said Rarity darkly.
"Why waste effort on improving lowtechs?" asked Shockwave, "The more logical effort should be put into giving the TransTechs the upgrades we need."
"I did not realize that 'charity' here means 'giving only to the rich'!" snapped Rarity, "What kind of community ignores the plight of the poorer citizens and only seeks to improve things for the higher class? It's a wonder a revolution hasn't happened ages ago! How can the Autobots of this world stand for this injustice?!"
Shockwave paused, "Hold on...an anomalous energy signal is..."
Rarity snapped, "Do not interrupt me! Giving to the community doesn't mean giving everything you have. Supporting a community shouldn't mean having to give up all your hopes and dreams just to keep things running the 'way' it should. A community is something that should give back, not just take!" Suddenly, the cutie marks on Rarity's flanks flared up, surrounding Rarity in white light.
Shockwave snapped, "It is surging! What's happening down there, Inspector?"
"I think Rarity is finally having her upgrade," said Airazor, shielding her optics.
When the light eventually faded, Rarity had changed quite a bit. For starters, her pony form was now the size of a normal horse, actually a few hands bigger. She was also more obviously a robot, with a metallic white hide with light blue details, pure blue optics, and hair made of purple wiring. The biggest changes were the wheels built into her knees and the cone halves connected to her collar.
"Nice...have you got any guns now?" asked Airazor, a little jokingly.
"I'm not sure, let me see," said Rarity before concentrating. Her legs folded up, letting her wheels touch the ground while the cone halves snapped together over her head, forming a large drill.
"That'll do it," said Airazor before another demon, far larger began coming forward, shrugging off pulse cannon fire before smashing his fist into the ground, and pulling some cables, out, snapping them and causing the guns to power down and smirking coldly.
Rarity's drill started whirring extremely fast as she rolled forward. One demon tried to slice her apart, only for Rarity to drill right through its torso. The demons eventually found out that attacking Rarity head-on was like jumping into a blender, but they were very slow learners.
The one that had pulled the power cables though was backing up. It seemed he was a rare intelligent one in the way he was surveying the fight as well as keeping some of his fellows back, still wearing his cold smirk.
Eventually, the demons got the idea of attacking Rarity from the back, though Airazor was able to shoot many of them, the pony-drill was getting surrounded. Rarity shifted back to her pony form and then said a phrase that popped into her head, "Rarity, Maximize!" With several metallic clicks, she stood up on her hind legs, which extended in length while robot feet popped out of the hooves. Her upper body basically turned itself inside out, her pony head and forelegs folding up as she spun around at the waist, her robot arms and head emerging from her former back. Her drill detached from her collar and became a handheld weapon. "Don't think I'm not dangerous because I'm glamorous," she said, the drill spinning at slicing speed.
The next few demons came to an unfortunate drill-based end before the apparent leader called out something gruffly, the demons pausing before running back. "Now then, I assume you realize my brethren have you surrounded?" it called in a dark and amused tone.
"Oh, you can talk," said Rarity, "I thought you actually were the mindless monsters Shockwave described you as."
"Most of us are. I had the good luck to eat a programming module. It does wonders for the mind," called the demon.
"I assume it makes you no less likely to listen to reason," said Rarity.
"Not really. You Cybertronians are not welcome down here except as appetizers," said the demon conversationally.
"Then you're not going to let us go," said Rarity.
"Not in the sense you hope. I rather like the taste of fear in my food, so a head start is nice," said the demon smugly, before looking up as the computer's public PA announced, "Deploying central antennae for communication burst...all personnel clear the dish."
"Well, I think I need practice with these new wheels more," said Rarity before quickly converting back to her transport mode and rolling off.
"GET THEM! And you two, go up and destroy that communication center," snapped the demon to his fellows, who hissed, most of the horde charging after the duo instead. "Urgh...maybe I should have shared the module," muttered the intelligent demon before striding towards the tower.
Rarity drove as fast as her wheels could take her. Her transport mode obviously wasn't designed for racing, but it could still cover ground quicker than her legs could.
"KILL THE BOT! EAT ITS ENERGON!" screamed the horde behind her, some of them laughing insanely like hyenas.
"Get a little closer, Rarity!" called Airazor, providing cover fire for her.
"I'M TRYING!" screamed Rarity as a demon tried to grab her and went rolling into a wall, which fell on it with a crunch. Rarity eventually drove up a pile of rubble that made an impromptu ramp and landed in robot mode within sprinting distance of Airazor.
"Move, kid!" snapped Airazor, her blasts knocking down demon after demon before she looked around, "Where'd the brainy one go?"
"You didn't notice I was out cold? Does diplomacy mean anything to you giant toasters?" said Dante, diplomat extraordinaire.
"You were not a high priority," said Shockwave dismissively.
"Well, for a start, you're drawing too much power. You're gonna blow the com array before it gets a signal," said Dante, in a bored tone.
"You do realize that a very strong signal is needed to be noticed on the surface," said Shockwave.
"Yeah...but you could run the power through all the relays and have it concentrate in the dish. Stops the overload and even boosts the signal," said Dante, pointing on the screen to the offline relays.
"How would you even know those relays are operational?" asked Shockwave dryly.
"Same standard system as the NSC use, just larger," said Dante. Shockwave tapped out a command on the keyboard. Quite soon, power was diverting to the relays.
"There we go. We'll have a...who's that?" said Dante, jumping on a button to bring up a flickering CCTV feed, showing a creature calmly walking along the corridor on their floor.
"One of those wretched demons," said Shockwave in annoyance.
"You have demons here?" asked Dante.
"Not as you would know them," said Shockwave, "They're more accurately referred to as 'primordials', Primus's first attempts at creating life."
"Great, lemme guess, you dumped them all down here," said Dante coldly, before there was, in an apparent sheer case of absurdity, a polite knock at the blast door.
"Hello? Would you step out here so I can tear out your spark? I do hate to smash these doors down," causing even Shockwave to get as close to a 'wtf' expression as it was for an expressionless face to be.
"If you can, try to keep this specimen's head intact. It would make for a fascinating study," said Shockwave.
"Wait, what? No way I am fighting that robot King Kong unarmed, smartass!" snapped Dante.
"I suppose I might have something Mini-Con-sized for you here," said Shockwave.
"Oh well," said the voice from the other side, before the door bent inward.
"You better arm me up quick," said Dante.
Shockwave frowned before opening a compartment and pulling out a human-sized rifle between two of his fingers. "Attempt to use on me and you will regret it thoroughly," he said, handing it over to Dante.
"Don't tempt me, talkie toaster," said Dante before the door was kicked down, Shockwave standing in front of Dante as the demon walked in calmly.
"I highly recommend you stand down now," said Shockwave, aiming his blasters at the demon.
"Oh please. Blasters didn't work the last time you send your little exterminators in," laughed the demon.
"Against a horde, that might not be enough. But one individual is definitely doable," said Shockwave.
"How do you know?" sneered the demon before moving impossibly fast, grabbing one of the blasters and squeezing, a metallic shriek heard as it crumpled. The other blaster opened fire, point blank at the demon's shoulder. However, apart from a burn circle, there wasn't much damage. "Oops, I guess you were wrong," sneered the demon, throwing Shockwave across the room.
"It takes a great warrior to hope to defeat one of us," sneered the demon, "And you obviously barely know how to fight."
Dante peered out, before muttering "I'm gonna regret this." before running and clambering up the demon's leg as it gloated, readying his last thermal charge
"You scientists think you're so clever, but where does that cleverness get you out of your labs?" gloated the demon.
Shockwave, struggling noticed Dante, who made a 'shhh' motion at him before continuing. "And yet for your self-proclaimed might, you still dwell down here in the depths," said Shockwave.
"Because you...bigots treat us like animals. So we became them. You idiots even treat visitors, lowtech, no better than servants...and slaves. Just like the old Decepticons of other worlds," laughed the demon.
"You are no more native here than the other lowtechs," said Shockwave, "Somehow, your kind and the other Mutants have stumbled into some wormhole that dumped you out in the ancient caverns."
"Oh please. Some, maybe, but I remember when my people were in charge," sneered the demon, adding, "I would give advice that treating the lowtechs like second class slaves will get you all killed. But I'm going to rip your head off so it's a was-" he said before his own head exploded.
If Shockwave was disturbed by the cranial fluid that splattered everywhere, he didn't show it. Instead, he said to Dante in an irritated tone, "I told you to preserve its head. I wanted to study its brain core."
"Stick it up your tailpipe. You don't own my contract," said Dante, adding, "He makes sense though. You keep treating the lowtechs like slag and you'll have a civil war on your hands eventually. Everyone has a breaking point."
"The lowtechs have no chance of rebelling against us," said Shockwave, "If you wish to speak to someone about social reform, speak to Optimus Prime."
"Tell me, what will you do when lowtechs outnumber you?" said Dante conversationally, adding "Numbers always trump tech. That's why you guys are scared of spiderbots."
Shockwave paused at that before the console beeped. "Ah, we've made contact," he said.
An annoyed and bored voice said, "This channel is restricted to emergency military channels. Please sign off and call your local police units."
"This is Sub-Commander Shockwave, lock onto my position and send a Ground Bridge immediately," said Shockwave.
"C...commander Shockwave? Thank the Allspark. We've been trying to contact you for ages. One of those humans has gone nuts...some sort of nanotech..." said the voice on the other end.
"I was well aware of the situation before I was sent to the bottom of this abyss," said Shockwave, "Send me a Ground Bridge portal now."
"But he's broken containment," said the voice, clearly panicking.
"If I have to ask one more time, it'll mean your career," said Shockwave darkly.
"But...sending Ground Bridge. How many subjects?" said the shaking voice of the operator.
"Two," said Shockwave.
Dante immediately jabbed him in the foot. "Hey, you're not leaving the girls behind," he said.
"That entirely depends on whether they're still online," said Shockwave.
Dante glared and grabbed the com. "We got four down here. You try and activate it early and I'll make Shockwave seem like a damn picnic," he snapped, the operator saying "The scrap?"
Shockwave gave Dante an annoyed look before whacking him aside. "Don't presume to speak for me," said Shockwave.
"How many...and who the hell was that?" sad the operator, sounding on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Shockwave sighed and said, "Four, if the other members of my group manage to get here. And ignore that other voice, he is just a tagalong."
"We'll need a few minutes. Most of our teams are busy searching for the other organic," said the operator.
"I thought you said it was fixed," said a voice in Soundwave's com.
"The feedback from the Dark Star Saber energy fried several subsystems, High Commander Megatron," said Soundwave, "I am not the brilliant inventor that Shockwave is."
"I'm not asking you to build a Ground Bridge from scratch, I want you to fix the existing one!" snapped Megatron's voice on the comm. With that, the image changed to Matt. "And the plan for dealing with this organic? I assume we're making some sort of headway."
"Cyclonus's report did not reveal much, other than his acute control over plasma. However, he is no longer equipped with the Skyboom Shield," said Soundwave.
"He has proven to be particularly tough to wound. The only one who managed is that equine Prime and I doubt she is prepared to end him," said Megatron.
"We shall prepare accordingly. A battalion of soldiers, none using plasma-powered weaponry or modifications will be ready to come down on him in 30 cycles," said Soundwave.
"Why can't they move in now?" snapped Megatron.
"Because the organic has moved into the Crystal Spires district," said Soundwave.
Megatron paused before saying, "Give me his current location, down to the micron."
"Transmitting," said Soundwave before sending the coordinates.
After a moment, Megatron's voice said, "If the situation has not been resolved with 20 cycles, send in the soldiers, regardless of the organic's current location."
"What makes you think the situation might be resolved?" asked Soundwave.
"Because unless I miss my guess, he's heading towards the one bot who has the power to stop him in his tracks," said Megatron.
"Dammit, how many are there?" snapped Airazor, blasting two demons aside.
"There are currently 108," said Rarity, smacking back another demon.
"How would you know?" asked Airazor.
"I just found out my gem-detecting spell has been amplified in this new body," said Rarity, "I now have a very powerful radar system."
"We need to get back to the tower. I think I got a partial com. Shockwave's gotten through to topside," called Airazor before screaming as a demon got close enough to take one of her hands off.
"No!" yelled Rarity as her drill spun even faster. Suddenly, the drill halves opened up, even though they were still spinning. Rarity barely had time to register that when powerful soundwaves started emitting from the drill. The demon hit by it looked confused before collapsing into dust, the others falling over each other to scatter.
"I was hoping you had some kind of ranged weapon," said Airazor.
"You're hurt. Come on, we need to leave before they get together," said Rarity, helping Airazor up.
"I hope you can use that sound drill a couple more times," said Airazor.
"They're far away. I don't think they expected it," said Rarity.
"Good, how does that sound drill thing work?" asked Airazor.
"I did say I have a powerful radar system. I think this is an extension of it," said Rarity.
Shockwave's voice said, "Are you alive?" in a bored voice.
"Yes, Airazor's hurt. We need to get out of here," said Rarity.
"Leave her. Scanners show a spiderbot swarm closing. They are 5 cycles away," said Shockwave coldly.
"I am not leaving her behind!" snapped Rarity.
"You have no choice. You'll share her fate by helping her," said Shockwave.
"We're both coming, you...brute!" snapped Rarity, helping Airazor up again, a chittering heard in the distance.
"He might be right," said Airazor, "I'm only slowing you down. I can't fly, I can barely walk."
"No, I do not desert my...friends," said Rarity, her voice petering off as what looked like a tide came out of a building…dozens upon dozens...hundreds of tiny disks with legs, each with a single red optic...spiderbots. The tide spread out easily to surround them, intelligent behavior, before a female voice said, "And what is this...little lowtechs in the undercity?"
"Just leave me and run," whispered Airazor, "You might be able to drill your way out."
"Oh, I don't think so. My dear children are in the sewers too...and it's so rare that dinner comes to us," said the same sultry voice, a spiderbot like creature, far larger with the torso of a female Cybertronian came out, the spiderbots gently moving aside to let her past.
"Oh no, not her again," groaned Rarity.
"Oh, Miss Rarity, I did wonder who has scared the wheelers and killed so many of our enemies..." said the queen, now face-to-face with Rarity, towering a little over her
"We just want to leave now," said Rarity, "We have our way out now."
"Your friend, she is hurt...I can smell her energon leaking..." said the queen with a hungry tone.
"Keep away from her," said Rarity, "You will not have her."
"Who said anything about that? The demons eat my children when there is nothing else. The more dead, the better...and your friend killed a great many." Airazor starting to panic and scream and a few spiderbot clambered up and down to her new stump, two more dragging a nasty and lethal-looking hand.
"What are you doing?" demanded Rarity.
"She requires repairs or she will be offline...and you will be another inhabitant of this lovely city," sneered the queen as two bots began to weld the hand on, clearly painful. "If you like, I could fit her with a new wing," said the queen.
"Er, that's fine," said Rarity, "We'll take care of that on the surface."
Airazor finally managed to calm down as the spiderbots scattered, her hand, clearly from a heavy combat officer, flexed, looking slightly out of place before she turned and almost jumped to see a spiderbot sitting pirate parrot-style on her shoulder before it gave her a kiss on the face and hopped off, laughing insanely. Airazor gagged and spat frantically.
Rarity sighed and said, "Let's just go."
"We gotta go. You ok, Rarity?" asked Airazor, keeping an eye on the queen.
"You're free to go. Your friend will be...having jamming issues with their Ground Bridge, but I would like some of my children to follow you...or you can stay here," said the queen.
"Well..." started Rarity.
"You won't even know they're there," said the queen, "Almost literally. We're very good at hiding."
"Just say yes..." sighed Airazor, making a note to have the bots blasted.
"Ok, fine," said Rarity, "We're in a bit of a hurry now."
"Very good. Zita, Zantiz, go with the nice robot and help her friends," said the queen, two spiderbots scuttling up before one decided to jump on Airazor's face. "They're...enthusiastic," sighed the queen as the other one perched on rarities head and gibbered 'hi ho silver'.
Rarity didn't dare voice it, but she had a good hunch that the queen was saddling them (no pun intended) with the defective spiderbots.
"Well, go, my children can only distort Ground Bridges so long...and if you ever come back, Ill strip you for parts," said the queen politely, the swarm parting.
"Very nice to meet you," said Rarity politely before she and Airazor hurried through.
Matt glided through several pillars of crystals, holding a guide book in his talons. "Ok...so this Vector Prime's a tough guy, eh? We'll have to see, won't we?"
It was a bit odd for a Prime to be living on a world where no other Primes were allowed to visit, but Vector Prime was apparently a special case. He was a highly-respected multiversal scholar with uncannily acute clarity with mapping the various universal streams. Of course, all that meant to Matt was this guy was some egghead who probably was never in a serious fight in his life. But if the guide said he could cause trouble for Matt, he needed to go.
He soon came across the tower he was looking for and flew up the relevant floor. Inside he could see the bot he was targeting. He was mostly white with some red panels and gold trim. However, even Matt could see that this bot was extremely old. There were even clockwork gears visible inside his chest, wings, and arms. He probably had a grandfather clock for an alt-mode.
"Oh, this'll be a breeze..." muttered Matt before blasting the window and the surrounding wall.
The bot didn't even look up from his computer as Matt flew in. "Ah, you must be Commander Matthew Lynch," he said in a conversational tone.
"Commander? I'm just a sergeant," said Matt calmly, gliding in.
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I addressing at the wrong time?" asked Vector Prime, "Or perhaps I should say I will be addressing you at the wrong time. Time travel does make verbal tenses a hassle."
"Oh shut up," snapped Matt, sending a plasma orb at Vector Prime's chest. However, a small portal opened in front of Vector Prime and the plasma orb disappeared into it before it closed. "Where did you send that?" asked Matt.
"Not where, when," said Vector Prime, "Don't worry, it'll be back with us soon enough."
"Fine, I'll just tear you apart myself," snapped Matt. Matt lunged at Vector Prime who moved back a lot faster than Matt would have expected. Just as Matt was flying to catch up with Vector, the portal reopened and the plasma orb continued its journey, only for Matt to end up being in its path. "What the-" began Matt only to be sent into the wall by the blast.
"See? Right on time," said Vector Prime.
"You damn pest!" snapped Matt, lunging at Vector
For a second, Matt thought he made solid contact with the old bot's torso. Then it seemed like Vector Prime dodge the blow as Matt was throwing it.
"You're resetting time! You little cheat!" snapped Matt, getting an idea what was happening.
"Very good," said Vector Prime, "You're very quick on the uptake for your current time." Matt grinned before looking around to look for anything to force Vector's attention off him, like some civilians.
Just then, Twilight's projected voice came through the broken window, "Matt, we know you're in there. Give yourself up before we use force."
"Oh look, it's the fuzz. Which one of them should I kill first? Or maybe I'll go to their planet and see how much of it I can destroy," laughed Matt madly.
Vector Prime's jovial mood instantly vanished, "I'm warning you, Matthew James Lynch. You do not want to tamper with the flow of time."
"Aw...you know his name. He's not home," sneered Matt.
Vector Prime's optics narrowed and he said, "This won't do. That secondary personality isn't supposed to surface for years."
"It's ironic. You TransTechs seem to love saying how the sun shines out your exhaust and that you can do no wrong...and it's your stupid quantum net that let me out," laughed Matt.
"I am not one of the Transcendent Technomorphs," said Vector Prime, "I came into being long before this particular dimension was spawned."
"Yeah, right. You got their attitude right down," sneered Matt before turning as Applejack and Twilight flew into sight. "Oh look...someone for your conscience," he sneered, sending a plasma orb at Applejack.
Suddenly, there was a sound like a clock tower ringing and Matt, the plasma orb, and everything else completely froze in place, a faint blue glow filling the air.
"This has gone on quite long enough," said Vector Prime angrily. He prepared a second blast before a black tendril of energy absorbed the blast easily, a human in a black business suit seemingly stepping out from the air. "That is...quite enough," he said icily in a stop-start motion of speech.
"Come to collect your charge?" asked Vector Prime calmly as if people materialized out of nowhere every day.
"Yes...and no...he isn't officially my charge yet...but if you kill him now, there is of course the paradox and the mutiversal destruction...and if that happens you know what the rest of the order would be forced to do to you and your own," said the human calmly.
"If you were paying attention, that chronal energy was meant to reverse time, not accelerate it. I was intending on restoring to the point before this ugly side of him surfaces," said Vector Prime.
"Yes...and that was enough chronal energy to revert him to a newborn...if not earlier..."
"Was it? Ah, I forgot how soon organics entered their mature years," said Vector Prime.
"Let the owner try something...nanite code Neptune 1 3 dash 12...nano reset," said the figure smugly into Matt's ear. There was a long pause before the suited man said, "You may deactivate the chronal field now."
"I'm waiting for you to leave," said Vector icily, the human chuckling before seeming to fade into nothing.
Then time started to flow normally again. However, instead of the plasma orb continuing its trajectory towards the pony-bots, it fizzled in midair. Matt also had the most peculiar look on his face. After a minute, he collapsed down, his draconic features seeming to turn to dust, revealing the human underneath...and also out cold.
Twilight stared in confusion before setting Applejack down. "What the hay is goin' on around here?" asked Applejack.
"I have cured your friend," said Vector Prime kindly, smiling to himself as he heard, only in his head, an annoyed voice say "Hey...kill thief."
"How did you do that?" asked Twilight.
"Time heals all wounds," said Vector Prime.
"Will he be ok?" asked Twilight, looking at Matt and wincing as she saw some of the scars and bruises from the telekinetic pummeling she had handed out.
"He will not remember what happened after the other personality took control. It is perhaps better he does not know," said Vector.
"Then how are we gonna explain, well, everything?" asked Applejack.
"I am sure Commander Megatron and his personnel will have a good story," said Vector Prime.
"Megatron? But he isn't here," said Twilight.
"Wait for it," said Vector before several jet form TransTech troopers flew past the window.
"Offworlder, surrender immediately or lethal force will be used. There will be no further warnings," called a voice.
Vector Prime smirked. "I'm just that good," he said, unable to resist when he saw the girls' expressions, "You may wish to alert them to the situation before they begin firing."
Twilight nodded at that, flying out and waving...before pausing as she saw the literal army aimed at the tower. "Wow...overkill much? I mean...WAIT! EVERYTHING'S OK NOW!" she called.
"What is the status of the dragon?" called a voice.
"He's sane again. Our friend's sane again. Vector Prime cured him," called Twilight.
There was a long pause before the voice said, "Stand down everyone. I want that organic's condition verified." Two of the jets flew down, transforming into lanky troopers with guns for arms before heading inside to spot Matt before one of them gave a thumbs up to the throng "Good, but he is still under arrest until Director Shockwave can be found and recovered," said the voice.
"Who are you ta say that Matt's under arrest?" shouted Applejack.
"High Commander Megatron, that's who," said the voice flatly.
Applejack paused before saying, "Ah think he's got us there."
Vector Prime cleared his throat and said, "I'm afraid you cannot detain Mr. Lynch here long. He has very important duties elsewhere in the multiverse."
"Vector Prime...and the fact he came to your quarters specifically to destroy you makes no difference?" said Megatron icily.
"I'm not pressing charges. He's hardly the most dangerous assailant I've ever encountered," said Vector Prime.
"Fine...but I want them off world tomorrow. I don't care how. Give them a ship, throw them into a Space Bridge, I am past caring," said Megatron angrily.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Shockwave says the exact same thing when he reappears," said Vector Prime.
"What took you so long?" snapped Shockwave as the two arrived, Airazor hiding her current new hand, and helping hide the two spiderbots.
"We had an audience with the Spiderbot Queen," said Rarity.
"I...Just move...part of me does not want to know," said Shockwave wearily.
"Gladly. After this, I never want to go below ground again," said Airazor.
"But we still have to salvage that ship," said Rarity.
Shockwave snapped, "That ship is a husk! Even if it was operational, the swarm would have stripped it to a husk."
"There's still important gear there that we have to look for," said Dante.
"Oh, Dante, when did you wake up?" asked Rarity.
"After you left. Your friend tried to leave you to rot," said Dante, thumbing at Shockwave whose optic narrowed.
"The chances of you surviving were incredibly slim," said Shockwave dismissively.
"Like I said...a toaster. How long till the damn bridge?" snapped Dante, grabbing a piece of tech.
"Well, from what I've been able to discern, it seems the crisis regarding your rampaging friend has come to an end," said Shockwave.
"Does that mean someone is dead?" asked Rarity with worry.
"Dead, stopped, warped to a distant planet, I couldn't care less," said Shockwave, "What matters is that a Ground Bridge will be arriving very shortly."
The ground vibrated for a second before a far wall was torn off, sucked into a vortex. "Bingo, assholes first," said Dante, pointing for Shockwave.
"With pleasure," said Shockwave as he strode through the portal.
Dante winked at the others before following.
...and out into a large room, a dozen of Shockwave's men pointing at them.
"Ah, excellent," said Shockwave, "Soldiers, arrest the human and the Equinicon for kidnapping a military science officer. I shall be speaking with Prowl regarding Cheetor and Airazor's dismissals."
Airazor and Rarity looked horrified, but contrary to the others, Dante just smirked, before holding up the tech from earlier and plugging a crystal in. "I wouldn't doooo that," he said in a teasing voice.
"Give me one good reason why not," said Shockwave.
"Well, I'm guessing not every TransTech here is a complete glitchhead. So I reckon it'd be quite the scandal if what you said down below was on...every piece of com tech on this planet...on a three-hour loop to make sure everyone hears it?" sneered Dante darkly.
"You're bluffing," said Shockwave.
"Hmm...1 minute to show time," said Dante, hitting the button, a screen behind Shockwave flickering to a jokey 'please stand by' message.
"You know, while Megatron might not be fond of us lowtechs, he'd probably not want someone who brazenly announces his utter contempt for them under his employment," said Airazor.
"Thirty seconds till airtime and just a little longer until you're arrested," said Dante evilly.
Shockwave's single optic glared before he said, "Soldiers, stand down. The offworlders are not under arrest."
"And?" said Dante emphatically.
"Commander Cheetor and Inspector Airazor are not going to be dismissed," said Shockwave.
"And you're gonna get us a new ride, equipped with the drive from that ship down below," said Dante, the counter on the screen entering the last 10 seconds.
"Fine, I'll have you all deported!" snapped Shockwave, "I'll be glad to see the last of you anyways."
Dante grinned before pausing the timer at 3 seconds. "Nice doing business," he said coldly, before passing Airazor the control and saying "In case you get any ideas."
"You're almost as bad as that group from the Malgus cluster," muttered Shockwave.
"Matt...you're alive...shame," said Dante, Matt looking pale like he'd gotten the flu.
"Yeah...shame...who are you again?" asked Matt.
"How bad did he gets his head kicked in?" laughed Dante, getting frowns from the girls.
"Accordin' to that Vector Prime feller, he had his brain rewound or something," said Applejack.
"It might take some time for his memories to catch up, except for everything that's happened since he arrived in Axiom Nexus," said Twilight.
"Oh...fun. Did he kill anyone?" asked Dante.
"He badly injured a bot named Cyclonus, but he'll live," said Twilight.
"Damn, one less toaster would have been nice," muttered Dante before they all looked up as Vector Prime strode in, his escort training, to Dante's annoyance, almost entirely on Matt.
"Optimus Prime would have come in person to see you off, but his schedule is too full at the moment," said Vector Prime, "He asked me to go in his stead."
"Is our ride ready?" asked Dante, Matt saying dizzily "The drinks machine is talking..."
"Nearly so," said Vector Prime, "We need to make some modifications for supporting organic life."
"As long as it works. I hope Shockwave didn't put any silly trackers on it," said Dante, apparently conversationally.
"Even the Decepticons of this world can be callous, if more restrained," said Vector Prime, "But you can be assured the Autobots balance them out."
"Just remember, Airazor's got all you need to have Megatron lock that jerk up," said Dante.
"Speaking of whom, she wanted to speak with you before you left," said Vector Prime.
"Lovely," said Rarity as Airazor, looking clear, her arm replaced and looking better than ever.
"Hey girls," said Airazor, "I just wanted to tell you a few things before you left."
"Oh? What's that?" said Dante, pushing Matt aside who was saying "I saw you in a cartoon once...the CGI was really baaaad."
"Well, I didn't want to say it before because I wasn't certain you'd ever leave, but I think I saw two of your friends before," said Airazor.
"What? Which ones?" asked Dante.
"Well, there was this blue flying one with rainbow hair, had a big competitive streak," said Airazor, "And there was this pink one who was..."
"Crazy beyond the scope of science?" asked Twilight.
"Exactly," said Airazor.
"You know those two?" asked Dante.
Twilight nodded, "Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash."
Matt said dizzily, "Are we going on a road trip?"
"Yep, just as we figure out where to go," said Applejack.
"They were both in my home universe of Primax 496.22 Alpha," said Airazor, projecting a map of the Milky Way galaxy of that universe, "I think they might still be there." Just then, the apple on Applejack's chest and Twilight and Rarity's horns started slowing. Beams of light shot from all three of them, forming a triangle focused on one particular spot on the map.
"Bingo, time travel too if you're still there. Any warnings you want us to pass on? Like avoid the demon's axe?" said Dante sarcastically, earning a slap to the back of the head from Applejack.
Airazor zoomed in on the image, which soon revealed a metallic sphere. "Huh, what do you know," said Airazor, "Apparently, you might find your friends on Cybertron. Though I'm not certain which time period."
"Allow me," said Vector Prime as he gazed at the map. The gears in his chest clicked rapidly as his eyes glowed brighter. Finally, he said, "Hmm...it seems they've arrived at a troubled time, in the middle of the Spark War."
"Great...have you guys ever not fought?" said Dante.
"Only in this universe," said Vector Prime.
"Give it time. I'd advise you to keep a few eyes on Shockwave before he pushes the lowtechs too far," said Dante, helping Matt towards the door.
"Just a moment," said Vector Prime before turning to the mares, "You three have a power inside you, a power that reminds me heavily of one of my brothers. And I have a strong feeling that you'll meet him before your voyage is done. When you do, tell him that I send my best wishes."
"How will we know your brother?" asked Twilight.
Vector Prime chuckled and said, "Trust me, when we aren't wanting to be unnoticed by the populace, we stand out like beacons."
"And I have my own message," said Airazor, "If you see Tigatron, tell him I'm still alive, but I can't reach him. I might find my way back to him or find a way to bring him here, but we will be together again someday."
Matt seemed to pause at that before pushing Dante off and walking over to a cabinet marked 'emergency bridge beacon', rattling the door for the moment before his eyes flashed red and the door...came off.
"There are a few nanites left in him," said Vector.
"Yah don't say," said Applejack dryly.
"Just, whatever you do, don't tell him of when he was a dragon," said Vector Prime, "Make up any other story to fill in the gap, but he must not know about that."
"Why?" asked Twilight.
Vector Prime said, "We checked your ships chronometer. These guys are a little...early." Twilight's eyes widening as she caught on.
"So, how will we..." started Applejack.
"Things often have a way of working themselves out," said Vector Prime, "You'll see what I mean."
Dante appeared at the door. "You girls coming?" he snapped.
Rarity hugged Airazor one last time and said, "I'm make sure Tigatron gets your message. Just don't give up on him. And do try to help out the lowtechs more."
"Rarity, if there's one thing you've taught me, it's that we're all in this together," said Airazor.
"Great, there's the moral of the day. I'm feeling all mushy inside. CAN WE GET A MOVE ON?!" snapped Dante.
"Are all humans this easily annoyed?" asked Rarity.
"I think it's mostly the men," said Twilight, "They're less willing to open up about their sensitivity."
With that, the three mares boarded the ship. As Vector Prime and Airazor waved goodbye, the ship lifted off into the sky and through a transwarp portal to their next destination.
There's the other half of Rarity's chapter. Took a while, but we finally get to see Rarity's upgrade, which is of course based off of this. The Transformers references are a little less heavy in this part, but there are still plenty. Namely the Mutants and Demons that have appeared in the Marvel comics. And we have Vector Prime. Of course, this is obviously the mulitversal singularity version which places this story well before the Shroud happened. This story wouldn't have been able to go very far if the Shroud were in effect. Also, the Airazor of Axiom Nexus is the same Airazor that was seen in Rainbow Dash's chapter. The comics didn't really explain why she wasn't present during the 3H comics so I've provided my own explanation.
Anyways, half of the Mane 6 have been reunited and there's still one pony who has yet to meet up with any of the others. We'll be seeing her in due time. Until then, please review.
