Chapter 2: An Ancient Evil

All was quiet. Orbiting the second planet of an ancient system, two entities were poised for battle. All that stood between them was the vast, cold emptiness of outer space. Cloaked in energy, both enemies charged each other, colliding in a brilliant explosion. To the unseen observer, both entities looked identical, except that the energy field around one was blue, the other purple. Without warning, the purple entity fired a stream of energy from its chest, which crackled around his opponent. The blue entity cried out in pain. With a tremendous effort, he managed to dispel the evil energy surrounding him. Angered, he retaliated with a beam of his own. The beam missed its mark, but not by much. The purple entity fired again, but this time he was prepared for it. He dodged and fired another beam, confident that this time he would not miss. He didn't. The beam struck home with brutal force. Mortally wounded, the purple entity used the last of his failing strength to propel himself towards a distant blue-green planet. As the entity hurtled through space the energy field surrounding it--which had by this time become quite weak--flickered and died. It sped toward its destination at an alarming rate, the blue entity in close pursuit.  As they flew through the void, the purple entity accessed its memory banks, downloading all available information on this strange planet.  After a few moments, its data banks identified the planet as Earth. At last! the purple entity thought to itself. It glanced back at the blue entity still trailing close behind. "It's too late, Duo." it muttered to itself. "You've failed. Even if I don't survive, someone will come and pick up where I left off. Pity you won't get to see humanity's destruction, but I dare not let you live!" Only one more thing needed to be done, and that was to send the Energy out into space, to a place where Duo wouldn't find it should he survive. It wouldn't be long before it found it's way back to Earth.

The purple entity glanced back once more, laughing silently to itself as it did so. It frowned.  Surely Duo must have realized by now that he'd lost, although the entity could see no indication of it. It's no use trying to play hero Duo. You're done for! The entities were approaching Earth's atmosphere. It was now or never! A jewel in the middle of the purple entity's chest began to glow bright red. A few moments later, the entity ejected a small capsule, which traveled parallel to their present course. Duo must have realized what he was doing, because the energy field around him grew brighter and his speed increased, but by then it was too late. Now it could die in peace....   "Damn!" Duo swore viciously. Now he had a decision to make, and it had to be made fast. He could either keep going, or try to chase after the Energy in the futile hope of catching it. He sighed bitterly. It just wasn't possible. Even if he could catch it--which was unlikely--he couldn't risk an entire planet. As dangerous as that energy was, Duo couldn't let its source escape his grasp again. This evil was ancient--almost as old as time itself--and had done enough damage on countless worlds already. "Nice try...." he muttered to himself. He wants me to go after it. Duo realized, because even if I succeed in destroying it, as long as he survives he'll just contaminate Earth and grow twice as strong! No, better to destroy the source, then go after the Energy. He just hoped that it wasn't too late....

Just then, the two entities entered Earth's atmosphere. The heat was excruciating; his thermal sensors went berserk. The energy around him glowed brighter to compensate, but Duo knew that it was hopeless. He'd never make it to the surface. Shortly after entering the atmosphere, the purple entity's remaining systems failed it. "Goodbye, Duo...." it murmured. The scorching heat was taking its toll on both of them, the entity's brilliant purple armor now charred and blackened. The last thing it saw was a brilliant flash as its control chip shattered, wreathing it in orange flame that looked similar to the energy field that had previously surrounded it. Duo was faring little better. He was growing weaker by the moment, his circuits sizzling in the heat.  As he watched the flame that signaled the demise of his nemesis, Duo pondered his options. Firing at it was out; he didn't want to risk the inhabitants of the planet's surface. The flaming husk of his enemy picked up speed even as he watched it, blazing forth like a comet. If it went unimpeded, it would hit the planet in a matter of seconds. He knew what he had to do....

"This ends now!" Shouting a battle cry, Duo grimly launched himself towards it, the energy surrounding him increasing to a blinding intensity.  His systems threatened to overload the moment he did so, but Duo was oblivious to the pain. He increased his speed, determined to catch up to it before the scorching winds tore him apart. He'd almost reached it when his primary systems cut out, wreathing him in the same fiery blaze that had claimed his rival. Robbed of his sight, Duo channeled all of his remaining power into one last burst of speed. His last thought as he collided with his target was of the Energy, still floating out in space. Would anyone be able to stop it? The two entities collided in a tremendous explosion, the likes of which would still be visible in the skies for decades to come. Behind them, the cold emptiness of space was silent....as if in anticipation of what the future would bring.

* * * * * * * *

Walking lost in thought, Dinobot barely saw the barren plains that stretched from horizon to horizon all around him. Old Earth was a large planet, nothing compared to where he'd come from, and one could get lost if one wasn't careful. This desolate wasteland was the perfect place for a jamming station, among other things. He'd been sent out here to look for Energon (1), and destroy any deposits of the mineral he found before Megatron could get his hands on it. Already he was beginning to feel its toxic effects; he'd been in robot form too long. He should transform, but instead continued walking, his mind on other matters.

He'd found no sign of a jamming station so far. Nor of Energon, for that matter, but that didn't mean it wasn't there; more often than not it was buried underground, waiting for someone to stumble across it. But it wasn't that which occupied his mind. He was troubled, but he couldn't identify the source of his unease. Nor could he shake the feeling that something important was about to happen. He felt....anxious....a sense of nervous anticipation..... But he had not the slightest idea why. It was an unsettling feeling. He paused, looking all around him for something....anything.....that could explain his current state of mind. He found nothing. No Energon, no jamming station....nothing. The Energon was there, certainly; he could feel the buildup in his systems. He'd have to transform soon, or risk damage to his internal circuitry. But still he stood there, searching for a sign of some sort....

He was about to head back when suddenly, without warning, the sky was lit by an explosion so great that he had to shield his eyes against it. "Slag!" he exclaimed, trying to clear his vision. His eyes felt like they'd been hit by a megaton bomb, and oh how they ached! When at last he could see, he gazed upwards, trying in vain to determine whatever it was that had happened. What he saw took his breath away. "By the Pit…" he muttered, awestruck.

Where the sky had previously been clear, there was a brilliant conflagration of unparalleled beauty. It was mind numbing in its size, and appeared almost to grow as he watched. It seemed to be made up of some sort of energy....although Dinobot didn't know of anything that would produce that kind of explosion. Not even Energon was capable of that. It was beautiful....more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen before; a glorious combination of purple and blue, interlaced with streaks of red. He gazed at it, enraptured, oblivious to the sting of Energon buildup. It seemed to be in turmoil, roiling and shifting in subtle ways, almost as if the two energies were warring with each other....

Judging from the size of it, whatever had exploded had been fairly close; probably a meteor of some kind that had burned up in the atmosphere. What else could it possibly have been? As he stood there pondering this, an object streaked forth from the center of the detonation. Hurriedly, he calculated its trajectory and determined its point of impact. According to his readings, it would plunge into one of the various oceans' that covered the planet. No doubt it was a fragment of whatever it was that had exploded, but he couldn't be certain of that. Dinobot was a warrior, and in war, what you didn't know could kill you.

Just then, his internal alarms went off, warning him that his Energon resistance was almost gone. "Warning! Energon buildup critical! Transform immediately!" "Slag..." he muttered, angry with himself. I've got to tell Optimus! he thought. "Beast Mode!" he shouted, transforming into his secondary form, a velociraptor, capable of great speed. He took off in the direction he'd come, his primary mission forgotten. Above him, the mysterious explosion remained, spreading its glory across the sky in silent majesty, like a beacon.

Or a warning....

* * * * * * * * *

Inferno crouched hidden behind a boulder, watching Dinobot depart. He'd seen everything; the mysterious explosion, the object that had streaked down from its center, and like Dinobot, he'd reached similar conclusions. Above all, he knew one thing: the Maximals must not be allowed to get there first. "I must inform the Royalty!" he said to himself as he watched Dinobot dwindle away to a speck on the horizon. With that said, he took to the air, heading back to the Predacon base to tell his leader of his discovery.