Thanks for all the support on the first chapter, I hope you like this one even more. Pokémon is the property of Nintendo, Gamefreak and several other companies, while Beast Wars and all other Transformers related media is the property of Hasbro and Takara Tomy. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: The Castaways

In the southwestern region of the Orange Archipelago, about ninety or so miles south of Valencia Island, there sits an unnamed island completely devoid of any kind of flora or fauna. And the main reason for this is because this particular island was a hotbed, no pun intended, of volcanic activity. On average, this place saw about two to four minor eruptions per month, which over the course of several hundred years had reduced the place to little more than a floating patch of black rock and lava pits. Why, it was even too unstable for most Fire Type Pokémon; except perhaps Legendaries. Which is why it was declared off-limits by the Orange Archipelago Geological Survey over seventy-five years ago.

But of course, this didn't keep out everyone.

On the eastern shore of this volcanic hunk of slag, two young trainers were glaring daggers at each other as they prepared to do battle. One was a sharply dressed blue haired boy in his early teens. The other was a slightly older boy with spikey blonde hair and a leather jacket. Their names were Damian and Angelo, and they were both rotten to the core.

"Last chance to wuss out, sissy boy." Angelo said with a sinister sneer. "There's no Nurse Joys around to save you this time."

"In your dreams, gutter trash." Damian replied smugly with a presumably fake accent. "The sooner I trounce you, the sooner I rid myself of an unsightly eyesore."

"So we're both clear on the rules then? One Double Battle. Winner take all. Loser forfeits his Pokémon and his Trainer's License. Which means that when this is over, you go back to living in your parents' house like the weak-kneed mama's boy you are."

"Sounds good to me. Either way, I never have to look at your ugly mug again."

"Enough talk! Let's freakin' do this!"

"Fine! Go, Scizor! Go, Beedrill!"

"I choose you! Charizard! Galvantula!"

'Heh. Heh. Heh. The joke's on you, muscle head.' Damian thought snidely. 'Even if by some miracle you do beat me, I'm not forfeiting squat. No witnesses, no verbal contract.'

'That's right, keep smirking, rich boy.' Angelo thought darkly. 'As soon as I'm done mopping the floor with your puny Pokémon, I'm gonna snap your scrawny neck and leave your body for the scavengers. No witnesses, no conviction. Heh. Heh. Heh.'

So, with their Pokémon out and their intentions clear, the two unscrupulous cads readied themselves for battle. But alas, before either of them could issue their first commands, a peculiar thing occurred. Suddenly, the entire battlefield was enveloped by cascading waves of mysterious purple light. Had they not both been so shocked and self-absorbed, the two trainers might have noticed that the strange energy was causing their own creatures to glow; as well as two fossilized skeletons that laid beneath their feet. Then, just as quickly as they appeared, the mysterious lights vanished, leaving the two reprobates deeply confused.

"What the bleedin' heck was that?" asked Damian in a mix of panic and curiosity.

"No idea, but I'm gonna find out." Replied Angelo as he recalled his Pokémon back into their Pokéballs.

"Hey! Where are you goin'? We got a battle to finish!"

"Use your head, pretty boy. That wasn't just some random act of nature. Whatever that was, it was manmade. Which means there's someone else on this island. Do you really want some random, nosey scientist or whatever stumbling onto what we're doing?"

"Oh… that's a good point. In that case I think I'll go with ya." Said Damian as he recalled his own Pokémon and ran to join his hated rival.

And as they trekked across the barren, rocky landscape towards the probable source of the disturbance, one thought ran through both of their minds.

'No witnesses.'

XXX

Meanwhile, in the forest just west of Pallet Town, a flock of Spearows watched with great curiosity as a mysterious metal object hovered in the air half a mile away; bathing the surrounding landscape in cascading waves of yellow light. Then, just as quickly as it began, the light disappeared and the strange object floated gently back down to its source.

At the epicenter of all these strange goings-on, there was a small canyon that ran through the middle of the forest. Nothing all that spectacular, pretty easy to overlook, except for the fact that on this particular day, the wreckage of an alien spacecraft was laying across it like a bridge. Inside said spacecraft, on the 'bridge' to be precise, four large cylindrical chambers let off short bursts of steam.

"Scanning and replication of local lifeforms: Complete." Said the gruff but familiar voice of Crewmate #3. "You may emerge."

The first of the mysterious cylinders rose back into the ceiling, revealing a slightly larger than normal Houndoom, looking eager and lighthearted.

"Whoa~ Check me out!" said the Houndoom excitedly in the voice of Crewmate #1. "I'm a dog! With… horns?"

"Hmm… interesting." Said the voice of the Commander from inside one of the tubes.

"Interesting? Optimus, I think the word you're looking for is awesome!" the Houndoom replied with youthful exuberance. "Just look at me! I'm like a hound from hell. No… I'm Hellhound!"

"Meh." Said a newly emerged Raichu in the voice of Crewmate #2, sounding thoroughly unimpressed.

"Meh? What do you mean meh?"

"Eh… I dunno. It sounds a little too… preddy. Doncha think?"

"Okay then… how about… Hound?"

"Well now yer just bein' lazy."

"No wait, this time I got it for sure. From this day forward, I am Houndor!"

"Meh, better than nuthin'." Said the Raichu derisively before adopting a decidedly cockier demeanor. "As for me, I got the perfect name locked and loaded. From now on, call me Rattrap."

"Oh… is that what you are?" said Houndor in mock surprise. "To think, all this time I thought you were some kind of mutant kangaroo."

"Why you smug little…"

"Settle down, you two." Said an Aggron with the voice of Crewmate #3 as it came onto the scene. "We've only been shipwrecked a few hours. Don't go all cabin fever on us just yet."

Rattrap let out a huff of mild irritation, while Houndor was completely enamored with his comrade's new form.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about. You're like if Godzilla married a battleship." He said excitedly. "What's your name gonna be, big guy?"

"Hmmm… let me see." The Aggron replied as he examined his new metallic exoskeleton. "Strong. Sturdy. Good for heavy lifting and providing support. I think… Backstop suits me just fine."

"Backstop. I like it." Said Houndor pleasantly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatevah." Rattrap said dismissively, before turning his attention back on his younger crewmate. "Just consider yourself lucky the big guy was here to stop me. Otherwise I'd 've had to get rough on yuhs."

"Moderate your Conflict Circuits, Maximals." Said the Commander, now in the form of a Blastoise, as he emerged from the final cylinder. "Remember, these beast forms are to protect us from the long-term effects of the energon fields out there. We may need energon for power, but this is too much of a good thing. Our robot forms will start to short out after a few minutes exposure."

"We know that, Optimus. You don't hafta say it out loud." Rattrap said in a tone that, under different circumstances, would've resulted in a smack to the face, but fortunately for him, Optimus was too busy trying to keep the peace.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, my point remains the same. These are strange times and we could be here for a while. So for now, let's all just try to get along. Okay?"

Rattrap muttered something condescending, but otherwise made no protest.

"Very good. And now that that's settled, let's see if we can't figure out just where in the universe we are."

"If this even is our own universe." Backstop added with a hint of concern. "Don't forget, transwarp engines can bend space and time. And depending on what coordinates Megatron got from the Golden Disk, theoretically we could be anywhere."

"Hmmm, a definite possibility." Optimus surmised. "But let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Computer, display map of the surrounding area. Range: 200 Klicks."

Acknowledged.

Seconds later, a large three-dimensional hologram appeared in the center of the room; displaying, as requested, an advanced topographical map of the area.

"Well, it could be worse." Optimus commented as he studied the map. "At least we were lucky enough to crash on the mainland and not some barren rock out at sea."

"Fascinating." Said Backstop as he looked over the technical readouts. "Several major cities. Highly industrialized. Technology appears to be predominately Level-5, but with traces of Level-6. Whoever lives here seems to be going through a transitionary period. Best comparison would have to be either Mid-21st Century Earth or Late-16th Century Elonia. Whichever you prefer."

"Yes, and look here. Fairly high concentrations of energon in these urban areas, and yet they still rely on primitive power plants. Most unusual."

"Perhaps they're still experimenting with energon as a power source? Or maybe they've found a different use for the stuff altogether?"

"I suppose it's possible, but…"

"Hello~ Cybertron to turbo-nerds!" Rattrap interjected rudely. "I hate to interrupt this meeting of the Junior Anthropologist Club, but I think yer both forgettin' one little detail. Namely, what are we gonna do about the Predacons?"

"Cool your jets, Rattrap." Optimus said in a calm but irritated tone. "The Axalon's scanners have a limited range, and since we can't fly, for the moment, we have no way of knowing where Megatron's ship crashed or if any of the Predacons even survived their encounter with… whatever that thing was. So for the time being, our main concern is survival, and the first step is to learn more about this planet and its inhabitants."

"And how do you propose we do that, Fearless Leader?"

"I think I have the solution." Said Backstop, stepping in before the Commander could unleash his baser instincts on his insubordinate underling. "Computer, enhance image 35% at Vector 814."

Acknowledged.

As requested, the holo-display zoomed in on a specific spot.

"See, there's a small town not too far from here. And look at this. Computer, enhance image another 12% at Vector 227."

Acknowledged.

Once again, the holo-display zoomed in on another spot on the map.

"Interesting." Optimus said, stroking his chin as he reexamined the map. "This area has a higher concentration of animal life signs than in any of the surrounding forests. Much more diversified too. And this structure over here, there's evidence of relatively advanced scientific equipment and increased levels of energon radiation. Could be a research facility. Perhaps even a nature preserve."

"My thoughts exactly." Replied Backstop. "It seems that whatever lives here, at least a few of them are interested in conservation. Could be the ideal place to gather intel without arousing suspicion."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Back up a minute, chief." Said Rattrap, this time only being an unintentional nuisance. "Are we sure this is such a good idea? I mean, just look at our Beast Modes. If they've got freaks like this runnin' around the forest, I don't even wanna think about what's callin' the shots around here."

"Oh, put a sock in it, squeaky. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. Right, Big Bot?" said Houndor in a perfect display of canine loyalty.

"Actually, this time Rattrap makes a good point." Replied Optimus as he walked over to the main window. "Until we can determine whether or not the natives are hostile, let's err on the side of caution and try to remain inconspicuous."

Outside, the alien commander observed a Skarmory and a Dodtrio fighting over a piece of fruit, only for it to be stolen by a passing Lickitung.

"No doubt about it. This is one unusual planet. Whatever it is."

XXX

Meanwhile, back on the volcanic island, Angelo had found the source of the mysterious lights, and it was much more than he'd bargained for.

"Find anything yet?" asked Damian in a loud and whiney voice.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, you idiot."

"What?"

"I said shut up! And for heaven's sake, get down!" Angelo replied in a hushed but furious tone as he literally dragged the other trainer to the ground.

Rude perhaps, but with good reason, as Damian soon discovered. For beyond the rocky hill where they laid, was a scene straight out of a science fiction movie. In the middle of a vast field of lava pools was a strange metal craft of unknown origin; a little smashed and smoking in some places, but otherwise intact.

"What the heck is that thing?" asked the blue haired trainer nervously.

"No idea, but I don't like it." Answered the other one gruffly. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

"Aww~ Leaving so soon?" asked a raspy, wheezing voice from somewhere close behind them. "But you're just intime for brunch."

The two trainers slowly turned their heads around, and the last thing either of them saw before letting out a bloodcurdling shriek was a pair of big, blue, soul chilling eyes.

End Notes:

Just to be on the safe side, Godzilla is owned by Toho.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

Peace.