On Cybertron, it was mid-afternoon. Not that it really mattered, as just like at dawn, the time didn't really matter. At any rate, it was at afternoon that the Nemesis II appeared in the skies above Cybertron. Rodimus, along with most of the other Autobots he gathered for the meeting, were congregating on the ground level of the Citadel, awaiting word of the attack.
Perceptor rushed into the roon and announced, "Our cloaked probes have just spotted the Nemesis II. Based on its trajectory, I estimate that they will land on the outskirts of the city, to the south east."
Rodimus, checking his gun, said, "You heard him. Let's show Galvatron that he wont surprise us that easily."
In the docking bay of the Nemesis II, the Decepticons bristled with anticapation. As the they went over their equipment and psyched themselves up, Galvatron made his way in front of them. "It has been two years since the Autobots stole our planet Cybertron away from us. Two years since we have lived on our native ground. But today that will end! They will no longer be the conquerors, but the conquered! We will take back what is rightfully ours!"
As Galvatron delivered his speech, Cyclonus felt uneasy. Autobots and Decepticons had once lived in harmony, and before that had been one and the same. Is it really right for us to fight like this? But now was not the time for thoughts like that.
Galvatron finished his speech, "...and grind them into dust! Cyclonus?"
Cyclonus moved forward and stated, "We will disembark just on the outskirts of Iocon. Scourge and the Sweeps will cover the right. Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust will cover the left. Blitzwing and myself will take the lead. In the center will be Astrotrain, who will ferry Galvatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, and the Constructicons to the surface. There Devastator will cut a swath of destruction straight to the Citadel. Once there, Shockwave will take control of the planetary defenses, allowing us to take over the planet. The Autobots are currently unaware of our presence, so we must move quickly, before they can put together a coherent force."
"Astrotrain! Transform!" ordered Galvatron, who the proceeded to board the space shuttle, followed by Soundwave, Shockwave, and the Constructicons. "Our cause is just and our sparks are pure. Decepticons forever!"
"Decepticons forever!" repeated the others.
The docking bay door opened and Cyclonus, taking the lead, ordered, "Begin the attack!"
All was going according to plan, but when they were nearly to the surface, Thrust took a hit to the wing. He was knocked off course, but was able to right himself. Cyclonus thought, They can't have spotted us yet! and commanded, "Evasive maneuvers!" He spotted about a dozen Autobots, all engaged in firing upon them. He almost ordered retreat when Astrotrain went down.
"Good shot, Magnus!" said Rodimus Prime. "We can assume Galvatron was riding that!"
Before Astrotrain could do anything else, Galvatron and the others emerged. "Constructicons! Form Devastor! Kill every Autobot!"
Rodimus looked on, "Oh, slag! Dinobots! Take care of Devastator!"
Soundwave headed straight towards his opposite number, Blaster, and sent his tapes to attack. Blaster responded in kind, and Ramhorn attacked Laserbeak, Steeljaw faced off with Ravage, and Eject and Rewind engaged in hand to hand combat with Rumble and Frenzy. "Blaster inferior, Soundwave superior." he said coldly. Blaster responded by punching him in the face.
Shockwave transformed into a laser, and began taking potshots at Blurr. Because of his speed, Shockwave was unable to score a clean hit. While he was distracted, Bumblebee was able to get close enough to plant an explosive at his base, and the resulting blast knocked him out.
For his trouble, Bumblebee was shot in the leg by Blitzwing, who was in turn shot down by Kup. Kup, Springer, Jazz, Magnus, and Blurr had at this point begun firing at all the fliers as they scrambled around. One of the Sweeps charged at Springer, who transformed into car mode and decided to lead him on a chase.
Springer hated the Sweeps. He had always hated the Insecticons. Maybe it was the creepy way they acted, or how the first time he was on Earth some insects crawled under a damaged piece of his armor plating and chewed on some wiring. But the Sweeps were even worse. After being reformatted, they had no personality and acted in unison. He found it highly disturbing. So now he was speeding away from the scene of battle, with a Sweep firing at him all the while. But he saw his chance. A nearby cliff, which, if he remembered correctly, had a pretty steep drop. He gunned for it and the Sweep followed. I hope these guys are as dumb as I think they are! He went over the edge and transformed to robot mode. As he fell, he fired at the Sweep, who was now in a nose dive, also firing. The Sweep transormed and pointed his sword downward, hoping to impale Springer when he hit the ground. But I have other plans... At the last moment, Springer transformed into helicopter mode and flew off. Try to use ME to break your fall? Not likely. The Sweep hit hard and suffered extreme damage.
While this was going on, Thrust saw them go over the cliff, and followed them to help finish Springer off. He saw the Sweep's damaged body, and when he moved to investigate, Springer emerged from hiding, shot him several times and put him down, then returned to the battle.
Blurr drove up unto a ridge that overlooked the battle. As Ramjet made a pass, Blurr moved at high speed and jumped the ridge, transforming in mid air, and landing on top of the jet. Ramjet wildly tried to shake him off, but Blurr was able to get a shot off to one of his engines, forcing him to crash. Blurr was able to jump off in time, but was met by Dirge. Blurr had dropped his gun, and was about to rush him when Dirge was shot from behind by Jazz and Kup.
"Thanks Kup thanks Jazz but I could have taken him I swear!"
Jazz said, "Don't get cocky, kid. You're fast, but not that fast!" as he shot at a Sweep, before being grazed by a shot from Galvatron, who was in gun emplacement mode, gleefully firing on the Autobots.
"Somebody's got to take care of Galvatron, before he kills us all!" shouted Kup.
Ultra Magnus stepped up, "Leave that to me. Galvatron must be stopped." and he drove off.
"Isn't that what Optimus said when he--" Blurr began.
Jazz said, "Don't even think that!"
For most of the battle, Rodimus had been engaged in melee combat with Scourge. "C'mon Scourge, give it up! You don't think I'm going to let you get the Matrix again!" as he used the railing on his arm to block Scourge's sword.
"You Autobots and your Matrix! You think that it makes you better than us! You think it makes you pure!" as he parried a blow from Rodimus and slashed him across the leg, "We are the true children of Primus! You took the Matrix for yourselves and corrupted it, so that now only you can use it!"
Rodimus punched Scourge in the chest and said, "You chose to seperate yorselves! You couldn't stand having to share power!"
Devastator continued to pound away at the Dinobots. Swoop buzzed around his head, occasionally firing at him, but mostly dodging blows. Devastator picked up Sludge by the tail and swung him at Grimlock, knocking him aside. He then threw Sludge like a hammer, knocking Swoop out of the air. But he didn't see Slag charge him from behind, digging his horn into his left leg. He fell hard on his back, and seperated into his six component parts.
Thrust came to at the bottom of the cliff. He moved over to the Sweep, and to his surprise, he was still functional. He gathered him up in his arms, and began flying for the ship.
As Cyclonus flew over the battle field, he seethed with rage. This is no surprise attack! How could they respond so fast? He had little time to wonder when he took a direct hit to an engine. He transformed and landed on his feet, and was surprised when he turned to see his attacker. "Perceptor. I thought you were above this sort of thing."
"I'm not above fighting to defend my home, Thundercracker."
"Thundercracker is dead." Cylonus said, "And this is our home as well. We're only fighting to reclaim what is rightfully ours."
Perceptor said, "If your cause is to reclaim your home, then why attack Earth?"
Cyclonus paused, "They sympathize with the enemy, and we need their Energon. If you haven't forgotten, we have been cut off from our primary source. Our cause is rightous."
"Tell me, what is so rightous about conquering the galaxy? Galvatron is a mad man. Once he has what he wants, he'll toss you aside."
The arguement was cut short when Perceptor was shot in the leg. Cyclonus turned and saw that the shot came from Galvatron.
Galvatron cackled with glee, "Fall Autobots! Fall!" With Perceptor down, he began trying to hit Blurr, who dodging far to fast for him to line up his shot. As he tracked Blurr, he saw something far more interesting. Rodimus Prime had knocked Scourge down, and was now isolated. His back was turned, and it was a clean shot. Right through the Matrix. "Now you shall die, just as Optimus before you!" So focused he was on making the shot, he failed to notice Ultra Magnus, speeding towards his right side. Magnus made impact just as he fired. Galvatron was sent flying, and the shot went wide, striking Soundwave in the chest.
The tape cover on Soundwave's chest shattered, exposing his inner workings. Blaster took the oppurtunity to gut punch him with all his strength, causing him to double over in agony. This caused Ravage to fly into a rage in which he tore Steeljaw to pieces, before helping his fellow tapes carry Soundwave's unconscious form towards Astrotrain. Blaster rushed to Steeljaw, and pleaded, "C'mon Steeljaw! Don't die on me!"
Steeljaw, with the last of his strength, said, "Sorry, boss. I wish I could be more help..." as his spark passed. Blaster was enraged and began firing wildly, taking out Blitzwing and a Sweep.
Galvatron, regaining his bearings, looked over the battle field, realized that the Decepticons were losing. Although he didn't want to, he finally ordered, "Decepticons! Retreat!" The Decepticons began heading for Astrotrain, those who could walk or fly helping those that couldn't. Galvatron ran, firing behind him, until he was aboard Astrotrain. "Astrotrain! Take off!"
"Wait!" It was Thrust, who was carrying the damaged Sweep. He made it aboard just before the door closed, and Astrotrain took off.
Blaster continued firing until well after Astrotrain was out of view. It was Perceptor who stopped him. He walked over with a noticable limp, and gripped the barrel of Blaster's gun. "It's over, my friend. I'm sorry. Steeljaw is with the Matrix now."
As Perceptor consoled Blaster, Rodimus moved towards where Springer and Ultra Magnus were. "Status?" he asked.
Magnus responded, "Steeljaw was killed, I'm afraid. Bumblebee had a leg blown off, but should be fine."
Springer cut in, "And the big guy here put a massive dent in his front fender by running in to Galvatron! But in all seriousness, we're all a little beat up, but for the most part it's nothing too serious."
Rodimus asked, "And the Decepticons?"
"Soundwave looked really beat up." said Magnus. "And Dirge and Ramjet are dead. So is that Sweep Blaster just shot."
"I'm pretty sure I killed a Sweep." said Springer, "I saw Thrust carry it on Astrotrain, but it was totalled. I'm surprised he lived long enough for Thrust to rescue him."
"We were hurt badly, but not as bad as we could have been," Rodimus began, "and we hurt them, although not as bad as we could have. But we did stop one of Galvatron's major plans, one he spent months preparing. And we did it with minimal damage to the planet, and we should be proud of that."
Kup said, "Nice speech, kid. Now lets go back to the city and let the clean up crews take care of all this."
The injured Autobots were loaded onto Ultra Magnus, and Rodimus proclaimed, "Autobots! Transform, and roll out!" and they returned to the city as the sun set.
Not that the setting of the sun made all that much difference.