Chapter 1 - Deadly Consequences
Optimus Prime brooded quietly in front of the monitor screens of the
bridge on the Ark with a long face. Contact with the Autobot recon team had
been lost just nineteen minutes after Bumblebee sent an SOS requesting help.
Thirty minutes before that Hound sent a communiqué saying that there was an
energy surge detected by Wheeljack's sensor array, so the recon team decided
they were going to check it out. Now all three of his men have suddenly gone
missing.
Prime's first notion about the situation was that Hound's team got caught
in a skirmish with the Decepticon troops while searching for the energon. He
knows that Megatron, as stubborn as he is in his goal for conquest, would do
whatever it takes to get his hands on large quatities of energon.
But then there lays another mystery: the anomaly, having suddenly
appeared after weapons fire between the Autobot troops and their assailants, is
somehow connected with the disappearance of his men.
I don't like this one bit.
Ironhide came in to the command center a few seconds later, distraught
as ever with no action occurring at the moment. He is the oldest and is the most
battletested of the Autobots. For this particular robot, he'd be more than happy to
go head-to-head with all the Decepticons. That aspiration was part of his
programming ever since he existed on the Cybertron, the home planet of both
the Autobots and their adversaries. In any case concerning the enemy, he'd prefer
action over words in order to prevent disasters from occurring.
"Anything new on the anomaly, Ironhide?"
Ironhide frowned, exclaiming himself with his usual southern tone,
"I'm afraid not, boss. I guess the anomaly's decided to keep quiet. Prime, to be
honest with you, I don't like the feeling of this. Three of our guys were sent out on
a recon mission looking for energon, and what's the result? All of them suddenly
go missing, after sending out an SOS back to base after a possible and very
likely tussle with the 'Cons, with the appearance of the anomaly afterwards."
"I get the idea of how you feel, old friend. But right now, let's focus on the
matter at hand and figure out what that thing is."
"Right," Ironhide said dryly, keeping his eyes locked to his monitor screen.
"Hmmm, looks like the signature appears to be purely energy in nature. Its
base configuration is exactly like the energon found here and back on Cybertron,
only its emission levels are much higher." Ironhide continued on his analysis
chuckling in delight of the irregularity he was examining, "Well, I'll be, this thing's
placed over what the humans would call a gold mine. Running more chec - - "
Ironhide froze in place, peering his eyes towards the incoming data from
the sensors.
"Ironhide, what is it?"
"Hello. well what do we have here?"
"Did you find anything?"
Prime walked over, looking over Ironhide's shoulders and observing the
monitor screen from behind him. "Ironhide, did you find anything?" he repeated.
"That's strange. This anomaly's also emitting something else. I don't
recognize the other energy signatures this thing's emitting. Its energy emission
levels are off the scale."
Prime couldn't agree more. The mystery becomes even more vague, and
neither the Autobot commander nor his personal bodyguard had a clue as to
what kind of unknown characteristics the phenomenon was displaying. The
thought of his men venturing into a place isolated far from their own time and
people was something he couldn't standing to contemplate. During the Great
War on Cybertron, no Autobot would leave their own behind on the field of
battle. The current crisis at hand was no different. It was either that the Autobots
would stand together, or fall as one.
"Maybe Wheeljack and Perceptor can make something out of this,"
Ironhide recommended.
"I couldn't agree more," Prime answered curtly. He stepped to the right
side of Ironhide and laced his right index finger on one of the communications
console buttons. The ship's speaker system boom loudly, with enough noise
for all the Autobot crew members to pause in their current tasks.
"Wheeljack and Perceptor, report to the command center immediately. I
repeat: Wheeljack and Perceptor, report to the command center immediately. All
other Autobots may resume their current tasks."
The two main scientific geniuses of the Autobot crew left their current
posts to the bridge of the Ark where Optimus Prime held sway. Wheeljack, being
one of the two, is a mechanical engineer, having been gifted with the ingenuity
and knowledge of many other engineers that lived and died that preceded him
back on Cybertron. Perceptor was currently the lead scientist of the Autobot
forces, researching various phenomena ranging from stars to planets to
biology, ecosystems and so forth. From time-to-time he whenever he is put in a
situation he would become too deeply involved in the matter; a scientific
investigation can be included on his list.
They didn't have much farther to go. Both of the robots strode through
several decks of the ship to reach the bridge of the Ark.
"Hey, Perceptor. You think you have any idea as to what Optimus wants
with us?" Wheeljack inquired during their tread.
"Perhaps they have a mission for us that may be of scientific importance,"
Perceptor smiled curtly.
"Doubt that. I heard rumors that Hound, Jazz, and Bumblebee suddenly
went missing looking for energon during recon duty."
"Any idea as to the cause of their disappearance?"
"I don't have a clue."
Perceptor kept on smiling, "No need to worry, friend. Once Optimus tells
us what's going we can begin conducting a search and rescue mission for the
three chaps. Say, is it possible that they've gotten into trouble with the
Decepticons?"
Wheeljack shook his head, "I wish I knew, but I don't."
"Then I guess we're about to find out," Perceptor said, his tone and
facial expression changing into seriousness.
The doors to the bridge opened with a swish, with the tall forms of
Optimus Prime and Ironhide near the sensor monitor screens.
"You called us, sir?" Wheeljack offered. For an engineer, he always
extended courtesy towards others; be it human, Autobot, or a Decepticon, he
would command the respect of others, unless forced otherwise to dismiss that
particular courtesy.
"Gentlemen, I am in need of your insight and expertise. Apparently the
databanks of Teletraan-1 doesn't have any records regarding a certain power
signature from a possibly alien phenomenon."
The words mentioned by Prime captured Perceptor's attention
immediately. His fingers from his left hand traced his chin, showing an indication
of curiosity. "Perhaps I can take a look?"
"No problem," Ironhide answered, stepping aside from the sensor console
to allow the Autobot scientist to take his place. Wheeljack slightly tapped Ironhide
on his right shoulder. "Mind if I take a look as well?"
Ironhide gestured the engineer to go ahead. Wheeljack nodded and said
thanks as he went perching on the head rest on top of the seat that Perceptor
was currently occupying.
"Hmm, this does look somewhat recognizable."
Perceptor typed in a command for Teletraan-1 to scan for all the available
records regarding the unknown pattern being displayed by the phenomenon.
Prime stood behind Perceptor with arms crossed, waiting patiently for the results
from the search. When the Ark's supercomputer finished its search, Perceptor
froze in his place, squinting towards the screen. He turned to Wheeljack, whom
was at the right of him, and asked:
"Wheeljack, come take a look at the monitor. Do you recognize this?"
Wheeljack turned his attention to the screen, leaning a hand on the
console to balance his momentum. "This looks a little familiar."
There were more words that was going to come out, but he stood back up
and just stared at the screen. "I don't believe it."
Ironhide seemed a little blunt after Wheeljack's remark, "Believe what?"
Wheeljack ignored the directness of the battle-hardened Ironhide. He kept
his focus back to the screen. "Perceptor, are we seeing what I think we're
seeing?"
"I'm afraid so. Optimus, the anomaly that we're looking at right now
appears to be showing signs of a temporal flux."
" A temporal flux?" Prime paused for a moment, then continued: "How come
there wasn't any record of it in the databanks?"
"There's very little information regarding them, sir. That's because few of
records about this particular phenomenon ever existed back home on Cybertron.
Back home there are currently only two reports of this kind of irregularity ever occurring:
Zeron IV in the Zeron system, and Kiros IX, near one of Cybertron's moons. The
foundation of the phenomenon's existence was built mainly because of rumors
spreading about. Unfortunately, they were never proven and were dismissed by
the Cybertronian scientific community."
"Until now," Prime added.
"Indeed," Perceptor said. The four Autobots soon grew fascinated about
this particular discovery. Soon Wheeljack and his fellow compatriot Perceptor
were going to make history: giving actual proof that temporal fluxes exist in the
universe. Both of them thought how much of an honor it would be that upon this
one finding, to return to Cybertron and be greeted by many of the greatest
intellectual minds that the homeworld has to offer.
"Now the only question that remains is how did it get here," Prime began.
"I believe I can explain," Wheeljack proposed. "Usually anomalies of this
magnitude could be only be formed with certain elements and large quantities of
energon. They can be formed of natural causes, but they can be created artificially if
if the energon was focused in one spot." The engineer pointed towards another one
of the monitor screens that the four robots were setting their eyes upon. "From what the
surroundings were, there were some potassium mixed in with the energon. Somewhat
unusual, but not uncommon back home. If the laser were to hit the energon dead on,
and boom, it would create a large explosion with your temporal flux resulting
afterwards. Then it sucks any moving being that's within its range, say about 20-30
meters. Once its gravitational pull goes to work, nothing within its reach can get out.
But, after it sucks in anything for twenty minutes, its drag lessens, which allows
anything to come within distance for a only a certain amount of time until it returns to
its original state. Think of it like a snake that needs a long time to digest its prey."
"That's one hell of an assessment for something like that," Ironhide uttered.
Prime nodded in agreement, and faced himself towards the Ark's engineer,
"Wheeljack, do you have any idea of how long the flux will last before it goes back to its
original condition?"
The engineer shook his head in uncertainty, "I don't know, maybe two, three
hours at most."
Prime didn't look very happy. His men were in trouble and he had to act fast in
order to rescue them and get them back. "Then we don't have much time. The anomaly
appeared just twenty five minutes ago."
"I think I have a solution to that, sir." Perceptor interrupted.
"Wheeljack and I were conducting some tests with a prototype warp gate down
near the cargo hold. I believe we can use that to transport ourselves to the location of
where Hound's team went missing."
Perceptor's proposition raised the Autobot commander's hopes a little. Wheel-
knew of the risks involved with using the gate, since he built most of it himself. So he
said, "There's still one problem. The gate is still in its initial testing phases, and there's
still some problems with the circuitry that I need to correct."
"I'd like to offer Wheeljack my assistance to repairing the gate. It may not be
perfect, but at least once its fixed it will be in optimal condition. But, there is a number
limit on how many of us can enter through the gate."
"Shoot," Prime said.
"Six of us, every ten minutes."
Prime spent some time trying to organize his plans for rescue operation. In this
case, every minute counted. "Then we'll have to make the best of what time we have
left. Wheeljack, Perceptor, head to the cargo hold and repair the gate as quickly as you
can. Ironhide, have Red Alert, Ratchet, Inferno, Huffer, and Brawn meet me in the
armory. We're going to get our gear quickly and get ready to conduct the rescue
operation."
"Will do." Ironhide called, immediately leaving the scene.
Optimus Prime once again turned his attention towards Wheeljack and
Perceptor. "One more thing Wheeljack: can you adapt the warp gate's technology to
create portable warp generators?"
"I believe I can. What exactly did you have in mind?"
Wheeljack gave a look of curiosity towards the Autobot commander, whom
strongly replied: "We're going to have control that temporal vortex, so that the
surroundings can be safe for everyone to be in. Once it's secured, we'll send in teams
to initiate the search for Hound's group."
"Got it."
"And try not to get yourself hurt on the job."
Wheeljack just simply chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't."
Perceptor and his associate then rushed off to the cargo bay to begin the repairs
on the warp gate. Ironhide already departed from the command center to some of the
robots that Prime had summoned to the shuttle bay. Now was the Autobots' chance to
see what surprises this new world has in store through the gateway.
Bumblebee, Jazz, and Hound were all laying unconscious, flat on the ground,
out somewhere beyond the premises of a populated city or town. When Hound woke
up, the circuits through his head throbbing; he groaned at the pain and tried to recall
the events of what had just transpired.
Recon mission. energon. Insecticons!
He saw that his two partners have not recovered yet. "Guys, get up! We've got
to look for the Insecticons!"
"Wha -- ?" Bumblebee heaved himself back on his hands, then managed to get
back on his feet again.
"We gotta go look for the Insecticons," Hound repeated.
"You can say that again. Man, that was not pretty." The voice of Jazz echoed
through his brain. "Tell me about it. Where are we, anyway?"
"Not sure, I'll have to take a look."
Hound tried to get himself up, but noticed that he lost his left arm after the
the rather nasty trip through the temporal flux, which severed some of the circuitry
through his elbow, breaking off the left arm up to that point. "Blast it. I lost my left
hand."
"Hang on. I'll help."
Bumblebee rushed to the scene once again, wrapping Hound's right arm on his
right shoulder. "Can you still walk?"
"Yeah, my legs seems to be working fine."
To the younger Autobot, Hound looked pretty weak, but his recovery just looked
amazing to him. Hound asked Bumblebee to let him go so he could take a look at their
surroundings. Bumblebee released him in hoping that the Autobot scout could find out
where they were. Instinctively, Hound knew it was Earth, just not the Earth that they
were previously in.
"How do you know?" Jazz asked.
"I have this gut feeling. It doesn't feel natural."
"Feels natural to me."
"Well it doesn't for me," Hound countered.
Bumblebee became mute about the situation. He and his teammates had no
idea where they were and where the Insecticons were. For all he knows, they could
have recovered and started terrorizing anyone that came close to them. Or, they
may have been destroyed during the transit to the new Earth. He thought: They were all
in stable condition, so it's very unlikely that they were destroyed. Decepticons have
determination just like we do, and they'll do whatever it takes to strengthen and
achieve their goal of conquest.
"Bumblebee, you okay there, buddy?"
His mind shifted back to reality. It was Jazz, his arms crossed while waiting
patiently for his friend's answer. "It's nothing," Bumblebee lied, turning away from Jazz.
"Buddy, I know there's something going on in that head of yours. What'cha
thinking?"
"You got me. It's the Insecticons. I have this really bad feeling that they're out
somewhere frightening people while we're here trying to find out where we are right
now."
"No need to worry, man. Prime will definitely be looking for us. We'll figure out
what to do about the Insecticons later. Right now, we need a place to take cover and
hide."
Bumblebee had no choice but to conform with his fellow soldier, and nodded in
acknowledgment. Hound interrupted both of them.
"Guys, I think I know where we are now. Judging by the terrain, I'd say we're
near Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong?!!" Jazz snapped. "What are we doing out here miles away from
the United States?!"
"Jazz, we just got transported here just forty-five minutes ago."
"Still - -" Jazz froze, trying to come up with a sentence, but couldn't find any
words to express his surprise.
"That thing that we got through, it could've been a gateway. It's the only
explanation I can come up with of how we got here."
"This is getting even more worse. Man, this stinks," Jazz grumbled, kicking the
grass in irritation.
"There's a city not far from here, fifty-two miles southward. There's also some
trees we can use as camouflage so we aren't seen by anyone."
"Guess I'm willing to go with that plan. What do you think, Bumblebee?"
"I'm in."
"Good. Let's head on out, guys."
"Right," Jazz and Bumblebee said in unison. All three Autobots transformed into
their vehicle modes and drove towards their destination. The terrain felt rough during
their travel, and they haven't faced any opposition so far. Luck appeared to be on their
side for the time being. Hound stopped in place after trekking only seventeen miles.
"Wait," he commanded quietly, his fellow robots lowering their tones also.
"What is it?" Bumblebee asked.
"It's the Insecticons. I just detected their heat signatures forty miles ahead of us."
"Are you sure? How come I can't de - - Wait, I can sense them now. Looks like
my sensors need a fix-up."
"We'll have to worry about later. How would you boys like to join me on a little
hunt for some bugs?" Hound offered jauntily.
"I'd be more than happy to."
"Count me in on it," Jazz said voluntarily, giving thumb up with his right hand.
"Well then. Let the games begin."
All three of the Autobots continued their voyage and armed their weapons to
prepare to combat their adversaries.
Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell walked past some trees to find a spot to
set up a camp. They weren't happy about being on this alternate Earth.
Communications to their home base was lost, and they haven't a single clue as to
where they were. Shrapnel's brothers grew especially irritant at towards him for his
incompetence. Their mission was completely jeopardized due to this particular mishap,
and they each knew the price of failure once they returned back to Megatron.
But, they managed to weaken the Autobots that have arrived with them.
Shrapnel wanted to find a way to amend his error by helping his brothers find the three
stray Autobots and slaughter them all. Soon, his luck grew, with the heat signatures of
Hound's team. "Brothers, we have company," he warned.
Bombshell and Kickback nodded in acknowledgment; they needed a plan in
order to successfully ambush the astray enemy troops.
"Maybe if we finish off those three Autobots, and find a way back, Megatron
will be so - - " Shrapnel exclaimed in glee. His sentence was cut off at the end when
his two brethren simply told him to silence himself. They believed that he already
proved himself enough of a nuisance and a fool; and his stupidity still didn't make up for
him getting them here and impeding the Insecticons of their original objective: to
secure the energon.
Shrapnel tried to compromise with his kinsmen, "But - - brothers."
"SHUT UP, SHRAPNEL!!" Kickback boomed.
You should be put to scrap for screwing up our primary mission! Did you really
think that Megatron would be pleased with us just by killing only a few measly
Autobots?! Let's just stop talking and find those punks. At least we'll have something
to chew up once they're dead." As soon as the Insecticon finished, there was only
reticence between Shrapnel and his two brothers, so they just simply waited for their
targets to come to them.
One giant mech kneeled under heavy cover where nature was dominant of its
surroundings. Its metallic shape was defined through its human-like appearance, its
blades sheathed on its forearms, ready to strike down any foe when they're put to use.
But what's more dangerous wasn't the mech itself, but the man that controls it inside.
Hewas taking a break from the tournament at Lanteau Island so that he could refresh
his mind. He donned a colored tight suit and trench coat. No human ever knew his true
identity, save for the scientists that helped provide his mech for him. To many he's
simply as Schwarz Bruder - a Neo-German with fighting skills that rivals that of the
acclaimed Master Asia, an honorable warrior gone rogue. Schwarz's role has never
changed; he was to help Domon Kasshu, directly and indirectly, to win the battle
against the Dark Gundam, a giant mech that is capable of three abilities that none of
the other Gundams possess: self-regeneration, self-multiplication, and self- evolution.
But, it was still up to the new King of Hearts to defeat this one menace that is a
threat to the Earth's survival. Schwarz noticed that the three Insecticons were on his
sensor screen. They couldn't see him because he was cloaked, rendering him invisible
and unseen. Three other vehicles were heading in their direction. "What are those
vehicles doing here?" Schwarz asked himself.
What intrigued him further was that when he extended his line of sight through
his sensors, there was no driver in one of the vehicles! Slowly, but silently, he
advanced towards the Insecticons to uncover this conundrum.
Hound's team had all of their heat sensors fully active once they were in range
of the forest. They stopped and transformed at about ten miles beyond the premises
of the woods nearby. Bumblebee and Jazz had their weapons ready, while Hound
used his optical sensors to amplify his vision so he can see further, which is his
equivalent of a set of binoculars. He noticed that one of the Insecticons were hidden
behind the tree due to his adversary's exposed heat signature. It was Kickback,
pulling out his machine gun and firing random volleys in the Autobots' direction.
Bombshell and Shrapnel were giving support fire to lay waste upon their enemies.
"Hit the deck!" Hound shouted, before the grenades landed, hitting and
sending piles of dirt ten-twenty feet up, scattering it on and around them. Shrapnel in-
formed his brothers that he was going to climb up one of the trees so he could get a
better view of his targets. They allowed him to do as he intended. And continued firing.
Jazz and Bumblebee retaliated, firing their weapons in the Insecticons' direction.
Shrapnel climbed the trunk of a large tree upward, and all three Autobots were
caught in his view. "Now I've got you, you - -" he said, but croaked as a blade dove
through his back and pierced through his chestplate. "Wha - - what is this?" Shrapnel
spoke faintly before his words died out. He was lifted by the blade with relative ease,
then was finally released from the brunt of it, falling down and making a hard landing
between his brothers. "Shrapnel!" Bombshell snapped. It suddenly came to his mind
that they had a new enemy in their midst, whom had just defeated their brother without
difficulty.
"Who's there?" he asked aloud. All he got was the silent treatment. "Show
yourself, or I'll blast you to pieces!" he threatened.
"Okay," said the invisible stranger.
A giant mech de-cloaked behind the Insecticons, standing eighteen meters
tall, with arms crossed and blades sheathed. "You've got some nerve for fighting others
whom is caught in a weaker position than you."
Kickback and Bombshell noticed a couple of seconds later that his voice was
coming through the speakers of the mech.
"Who are you to mention such - -" Kickback said, turning himself towards the
attacker.
"Let's be realistic," the stranger continued. "You could try to attack me, but then
you'd be exposing yourselves to your friends outside of the woods. Not very good odds
in my opinion."
Bombshell swiveled his head back towards their prey, then turned to Kickback
and asserted: "Brother, he's right. With Shrapnel down, we're outnumbered four to two.
I suggest we make a retreat."
Kickback considered that thought for a moment, then signaled Bombshell to pick
up Shrapnel and prepare to retreat. Once again he stood face forward towards their
new foe. "Let me reassure you that we'll, and we won't be the only robots you'll have to
worry about. The next time we meet, I'll promise you that it won't be easy as it is now."
"Save your breath and run while you still can."
Kickback grew hesitant, then called on Bombshell, whom was ferrying Shrapnel
to retreat.
Hound was wondering what made the confrontation with the Insecticons end so
quickly. The answer grew apparent in the form of one giant mech. It flew over the three
Autobots and landed directly in front of them. The scout scratched his head in
confusion, unsure of what to make of the situation. "Uh, I guess we should thank you
for saving our lives."
"Don't mention it," the stranger said in a neutral tone.
Bumblebee interrupted, intrigued about the stranger who was staring downward
upon them. "I was wondering, why did you save us from the Insecticons?"
The stranger chuckled, then replied: "I had this gut feeling of mine that you didn't
come here just so you could wreak havoc on the Earth."
"No, as a matter of fact, we got here by accident," Hound declared.
"I see. Do you have any idea what brought you here?"
"We were out back in Colorado doing a recon mission when we got trailed by the
Insecticons. Somehow, one of them managed to create a vortex when he fired his
weapon at the materials we were looking for. We got dragged into the vortex, and then
we suddenly end up here on Earth, but not the Earth that we know.
"We had to look for the Insecticons to make sure they weren't causing any
trouble. Following that, we met you."
It was all becoming clear to the stranger in the mech. These robots were not of
this world. "You mind telling me who you are?"
Hound chortled quietly and pointed to himself with his right hand. "I'm Hound."
Both of the Autobots introduced themselves quickly.
The small, yellow hued robot spoke "Bumbleebee,"
"Jazz," the tall white robot said.
The mech nodded at them. All of the Autobots and the mech stood in silence.
Bumblebee broke that silence. "So you mind telling us who you are?" he smiled,
confidently.
"I, am Schwarz Bruder of Neo-Germany."
"Nice to meet you," all three Autobots said as one.
"As to you," he replied. "I am sorry, but I must head back to Neo- Hong Kong. My
friends may be in need of me there."
"Did you just say Neo-Hong Kong?" Hound inquired.
"Yes."
"Mind if we tag along? We could use a guide to help us around here."
Schwarz weighed that thought into consideration. "All right, I'll help. But
try not to act too suspicious."
"No problem. Hound grinned. "I guess we have we all have a lot of explaining to
do."
The Neo-German fighter chuckled again. "Yes, I suppose so."
Hound and the others smiled. They had a confrontation with the Insecticons not very
long ago, and made a new friend only moments afterward.
Optimus Prime brooded quietly in front of the monitor screens of the
bridge on the Ark with a long face. Contact with the Autobot recon team had
been lost just nineteen minutes after Bumblebee sent an SOS requesting help.
Thirty minutes before that Hound sent a communiqué saying that there was an
energy surge detected by Wheeljack's sensor array, so the recon team decided
they were going to check it out. Now all three of his men have suddenly gone
missing.
Prime's first notion about the situation was that Hound's team got caught
in a skirmish with the Decepticon troops while searching for the energon. He
knows that Megatron, as stubborn as he is in his goal for conquest, would do
whatever it takes to get his hands on large quatities of energon.
But then there lays another mystery: the anomaly, having suddenly
appeared after weapons fire between the Autobot troops and their assailants, is
somehow connected with the disappearance of his men.
I don't like this one bit.
Ironhide came in to the command center a few seconds later, distraught
as ever with no action occurring at the moment. He is the oldest and is the most
battletested of the Autobots. For this particular robot, he'd be more than happy to
go head-to-head with all the Decepticons. That aspiration was part of his
programming ever since he existed on the Cybertron, the home planet of both
the Autobots and their adversaries. In any case concerning the enemy, he'd prefer
action over words in order to prevent disasters from occurring.
"Anything new on the anomaly, Ironhide?"
Ironhide frowned, exclaiming himself with his usual southern tone,
"I'm afraid not, boss. I guess the anomaly's decided to keep quiet. Prime, to be
honest with you, I don't like the feeling of this. Three of our guys were sent out on
a recon mission looking for energon, and what's the result? All of them suddenly
go missing, after sending out an SOS back to base after a possible and very
likely tussle with the 'Cons, with the appearance of the anomaly afterwards."
"I get the idea of how you feel, old friend. But right now, let's focus on the
matter at hand and figure out what that thing is."
"Right," Ironhide said dryly, keeping his eyes locked to his monitor screen.
"Hmmm, looks like the signature appears to be purely energy in nature. Its
base configuration is exactly like the energon found here and back on Cybertron,
only its emission levels are much higher." Ironhide continued on his analysis
chuckling in delight of the irregularity he was examining, "Well, I'll be, this thing's
placed over what the humans would call a gold mine. Running more chec - - "
Ironhide froze in place, peering his eyes towards the incoming data from
the sensors.
"Ironhide, what is it?"
"Hello. well what do we have here?"
"Did you find anything?"
Prime walked over, looking over Ironhide's shoulders and observing the
monitor screen from behind him. "Ironhide, did you find anything?" he repeated.
"That's strange. This anomaly's also emitting something else. I don't
recognize the other energy signatures this thing's emitting. Its energy emission
levels are off the scale."
Prime couldn't agree more. The mystery becomes even more vague, and
neither the Autobot commander nor his personal bodyguard had a clue as to
what kind of unknown characteristics the phenomenon was displaying. The
thought of his men venturing into a place isolated far from their own time and
people was something he couldn't standing to contemplate. During the Great
War on Cybertron, no Autobot would leave their own behind on the field of
battle. The current crisis at hand was no different. It was either that the Autobots
would stand together, or fall as one.
"Maybe Wheeljack and Perceptor can make something out of this,"
Ironhide recommended.
"I couldn't agree more," Prime answered curtly. He stepped to the right
side of Ironhide and laced his right index finger on one of the communications
console buttons. The ship's speaker system boom loudly, with enough noise
for all the Autobot crew members to pause in their current tasks.
"Wheeljack and Perceptor, report to the command center immediately. I
repeat: Wheeljack and Perceptor, report to the command center immediately. All
other Autobots may resume their current tasks."
The two main scientific geniuses of the Autobot crew left their current
posts to the bridge of the Ark where Optimus Prime held sway. Wheeljack, being
one of the two, is a mechanical engineer, having been gifted with the ingenuity
and knowledge of many other engineers that lived and died that preceded him
back on Cybertron. Perceptor was currently the lead scientist of the Autobot
forces, researching various phenomena ranging from stars to planets to
biology, ecosystems and so forth. From time-to-time he whenever he is put in a
situation he would become too deeply involved in the matter; a scientific
investigation can be included on his list.
They didn't have much farther to go. Both of the robots strode through
several decks of the ship to reach the bridge of the Ark.
"Hey, Perceptor. You think you have any idea as to what Optimus wants
with us?" Wheeljack inquired during their tread.
"Perhaps they have a mission for us that may be of scientific importance,"
Perceptor smiled curtly.
"Doubt that. I heard rumors that Hound, Jazz, and Bumblebee suddenly
went missing looking for energon during recon duty."
"Any idea as to the cause of their disappearance?"
"I don't have a clue."
Perceptor kept on smiling, "No need to worry, friend. Once Optimus tells
us what's going we can begin conducting a search and rescue mission for the
three chaps. Say, is it possible that they've gotten into trouble with the
Decepticons?"
Wheeljack shook his head, "I wish I knew, but I don't."
"Then I guess we're about to find out," Perceptor said, his tone and
facial expression changing into seriousness.
The doors to the bridge opened with a swish, with the tall forms of
Optimus Prime and Ironhide near the sensor monitor screens.
"You called us, sir?" Wheeljack offered. For an engineer, he always
extended courtesy towards others; be it human, Autobot, or a Decepticon, he
would command the respect of others, unless forced otherwise to dismiss that
particular courtesy.
"Gentlemen, I am in need of your insight and expertise. Apparently the
databanks of Teletraan-1 doesn't have any records regarding a certain power
signature from a possibly alien phenomenon."
The words mentioned by Prime captured Perceptor's attention
immediately. His fingers from his left hand traced his chin, showing an indication
of curiosity. "Perhaps I can take a look?"
"No problem," Ironhide answered, stepping aside from the sensor console
to allow the Autobot scientist to take his place. Wheeljack slightly tapped Ironhide
on his right shoulder. "Mind if I take a look as well?"
Ironhide gestured the engineer to go ahead. Wheeljack nodded and said
thanks as he went perching on the head rest on top of the seat that Perceptor
was currently occupying.
"Hmm, this does look somewhat recognizable."
Perceptor typed in a command for Teletraan-1 to scan for all the available
records regarding the unknown pattern being displayed by the phenomenon.
Prime stood behind Perceptor with arms crossed, waiting patiently for the results
from the search. When the Ark's supercomputer finished its search, Perceptor
froze in his place, squinting towards the screen. He turned to Wheeljack, whom
was at the right of him, and asked:
"Wheeljack, come take a look at the monitor. Do you recognize this?"
Wheeljack turned his attention to the screen, leaning a hand on the
console to balance his momentum. "This looks a little familiar."
There were more words that was going to come out, but he stood back up
and just stared at the screen. "I don't believe it."
Ironhide seemed a little blunt after Wheeljack's remark, "Believe what?"
Wheeljack ignored the directness of the battle-hardened Ironhide. He kept
his focus back to the screen. "Perceptor, are we seeing what I think we're
seeing?"
"I'm afraid so. Optimus, the anomaly that we're looking at right now
appears to be showing signs of a temporal flux."
" A temporal flux?" Prime paused for a moment, then continued: "How come
there wasn't any record of it in the databanks?"
"There's very little information regarding them, sir. That's because few of
records about this particular phenomenon ever existed back home on Cybertron.
Back home there are currently only two reports of this kind of irregularity ever occurring:
Zeron IV in the Zeron system, and Kiros IX, near one of Cybertron's moons. The
foundation of the phenomenon's existence was built mainly because of rumors
spreading about. Unfortunately, they were never proven and were dismissed by
the Cybertronian scientific community."
"Until now," Prime added.
"Indeed," Perceptor said. The four Autobots soon grew fascinated about
this particular discovery. Soon Wheeljack and his fellow compatriot Perceptor
were going to make history: giving actual proof that temporal fluxes exist in the
universe. Both of them thought how much of an honor it would be that upon this
one finding, to return to Cybertron and be greeted by many of the greatest
intellectual minds that the homeworld has to offer.
"Now the only question that remains is how did it get here," Prime began.
"I believe I can explain," Wheeljack proposed. "Usually anomalies of this
magnitude could be only be formed with certain elements and large quantities of
energon. They can be formed of natural causes, but they can be created artificially if
if the energon was focused in one spot." The engineer pointed towards another one
of the monitor screens that the four robots were setting their eyes upon. "From what the
surroundings were, there were some potassium mixed in with the energon. Somewhat
unusual, but not uncommon back home. If the laser were to hit the energon dead on,
and boom, it would create a large explosion with your temporal flux resulting
afterwards. Then it sucks any moving being that's within its range, say about 20-30
meters. Once its gravitational pull goes to work, nothing within its reach can get out.
But, after it sucks in anything for twenty minutes, its drag lessens, which allows
anything to come within distance for a only a certain amount of time until it returns to
its original state. Think of it like a snake that needs a long time to digest its prey."
"That's one hell of an assessment for something like that," Ironhide uttered.
Prime nodded in agreement, and faced himself towards the Ark's engineer,
"Wheeljack, do you have any idea of how long the flux will last before it goes back to its
original condition?"
The engineer shook his head in uncertainty, "I don't know, maybe two, three
hours at most."
Prime didn't look very happy. His men were in trouble and he had to act fast in
order to rescue them and get them back. "Then we don't have much time. The anomaly
appeared just twenty five minutes ago."
"I think I have a solution to that, sir." Perceptor interrupted.
"Wheeljack and I were conducting some tests with a prototype warp gate down
near the cargo hold. I believe we can use that to transport ourselves to the location of
where Hound's team went missing."
Perceptor's proposition raised the Autobot commander's hopes a little. Wheel-
knew of the risks involved with using the gate, since he built most of it himself. So he
said, "There's still one problem. The gate is still in its initial testing phases, and there's
still some problems with the circuitry that I need to correct."
"I'd like to offer Wheeljack my assistance to repairing the gate. It may not be
perfect, but at least once its fixed it will be in optimal condition. But, there is a number
limit on how many of us can enter through the gate."
"Shoot," Prime said.
"Six of us, every ten minutes."
Prime spent some time trying to organize his plans for rescue operation. In this
case, every minute counted. "Then we'll have to make the best of what time we have
left. Wheeljack, Perceptor, head to the cargo hold and repair the gate as quickly as you
can. Ironhide, have Red Alert, Ratchet, Inferno, Huffer, and Brawn meet me in the
armory. We're going to get our gear quickly and get ready to conduct the rescue
operation."
"Will do." Ironhide called, immediately leaving the scene.
Optimus Prime once again turned his attention towards Wheeljack and
Perceptor. "One more thing Wheeljack: can you adapt the warp gate's technology to
create portable warp generators?"
"I believe I can. What exactly did you have in mind?"
Wheeljack gave a look of curiosity towards the Autobot commander, whom
strongly replied: "We're going to have control that temporal vortex, so that the
surroundings can be safe for everyone to be in. Once it's secured, we'll send in teams
to initiate the search for Hound's group."
"Got it."
"And try not to get yourself hurt on the job."
Wheeljack just simply chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't."
Perceptor and his associate then rushed off to the cargo bay to begin the repairs
on the warp gate. Ironhide already departed from the command center to some of the
robots that Prime had summoned to the shuttle bay. Now was the Autobots' chance to
see what surprises this new world has in store through the gateway.
Bumblebee, Jazz, and Hound were all laying unconscious, flat on the ground,
out somewhere beyond the premises of a populated city or town. When Hound woke
up, the circuits through his head throbbing; he groaned at the pain and tried to recall
the events of what had just transpired.
Recon mission. energon. Insecticons!
He saw that his two partners have not recovered yet. "Guys, get up! We've got
to look for the Insecticons!"
"Wha -- ?" Bumblebee heaved himself back on his hands, then managed to get
back on his feet again.
"We gotta go look for the Insecticons," Hound repeated.
"You can say that again. Man, that was not pretty." The voice of Jazz echoed
through his brain. "Tell me about it. Where are we, anyway?"
"Not sure, I'll have to take a look."
Hound tried to get himself up, but noticed that he lost his left arm after the
the rather nasty trip through the temporal flux, which severed some of the circuitry
through his elbow, breaking off the left arm up to that point. "Blast it. I lost my left
hand."
"Hang on. I'll help."
Bumblebee rushed to the scene once again, wrapping Hound's right arm on his
right shoulder. "Can you still walk?"
"Yeah, my legs seems to be working fine."
To the younger Autobot, Hound looked pretty weak, but his recovery just looked
amazing to him. Hound asked Bumblebee to let him go so he could take a look at their
surroundings. Bumblebee released him in hoping that the Autobot scout could find out
where they were. Instinctively, Hound knew it was Earth, just not the Earth that they
were previously in.
"How do you know?" Jazz asked.
"I have this gut feeling. It doesn't feel natural."
"Feels natural to me."
"Well it doesn't for me," Hound countered.
Bumblebee became mute about the situation. He and his teammates had no
idea where they were and where the Insecticons were. For all he knows, they could
have recovered and started terrorizing anyone that came close to them. Or, they
may have been destroyed during the transit to the new Earth. He thought: They were all
in stable condition, so it's very unlikely that they were destroyed. Decepticons have
determination just like we do, and they'll do whatever it takes to strengthen and
achieve their goal of conquest.
"Bumblebee, you okay there, buddy?"
His mind shifted back to reality. It was Jazz, his arms crossed while waiting
patiently for his friend's answer. "It's nothing," Bumblebee lied, turning away from Jazz.
"Buddy, I know there's something going on in that head of yours. What'cha
thinking?"
"You got me. It's the Insecticons. I have this really bad feeling that they're out
somewhere frightening people while we're here trying to find out where we are right
now."
"No need to worry, man. Prime will definitely be looking for us. We'll figure out
what to do about the Insecticons later. Right now, we need a place to take cover and
hide."
Bumblebee had no choice but to conform with his fellow soldier, and nodded in
acknowledgment. Hound interrupted both of them.
"Guys, I think I know where we are now. Judging by the terrain, I'd say we're
near Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong?!!" Jazz snapped. "What are we doing out here miles away from
the United States?!"
"Jazz, we just got transported here just forty-five minutes ago."
"Still - -" Jazz froze, trying to come up with a sentence, but couldn't find any
words to express his surprise.
"That thing that we got through, it could've been a gateway. It's the only
explanation I can come up with of how we got here."
"This is getting even more worse. Man, this stinks," Jazz grumbled, kicking the
grass in irritation.
"There's a city not far from here, fifty-two miles southward. There's also some
trees we can use as camouflage so we aren't seen by anyone."
"Guess I'm willing to go with that plan. What do you think, Bumblebee?"
"I'm in."
"Good. Let's head on out, guys."
"Right," Jazz and Bumblebee said in unison. All three Autobots transformed into
their vehicle modes and drove towards their destination. The terrain felt rough during
their travel, and they haven't faced any opposition so far. Luck appeared to be on their
side for the time being. Hound stopped in place after trekking only seventeen miles.
"Wait," he commanded quietly, his fellow robots lowering their tones also.
"What is it?" Bumblebee asked.
"It's the Insecticons. I just detected their heat signatures forty miles ahead of us."
"Are you sure? How come I can't de - - Wait, I can sense them now. Looks like
my sensors need a fix-up."
"We'll have to worry about later. How would you boys like to join me on a little
hunt for some bugs?" Hound offered jauntily.
"I'd be more than happy to."
"Count me in on it," Jazz said voluntarily, giving thumb up with his right hand.
"Well then. Let the games begin."
All three of the Autobots continued their voyage and armed their weapons to
prepare to combat their adversaries.
Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell walked past some trees to find a spot to
set up a camp. They weren't happy about being on this alternate Earth.
Communications to their home base was lost, and they haven't a single clue as to
where they were. Shrapnel's brothers grew especially irritant at towards him for his
incompetence. Their mission was completely jeopardized due to this particular mishap,
and they each knew the price of failure once they returned back to Megatron.
But, they managed to weaken the Autobots that have arrived with them.
Shrapnel wanted to find a way to amend his error by helping his brothers find the three
stray Autobots and slaughter them all. Soon, his luck grew, with the heat signatures of
Hound's team. "Brothers, we have company," he warned.
Bombshell and Kickback nodded in acknowledgment; they needed a plan in
order to successfully ambush the astray enemy troops.
"Maybe if we finish off those three Autobots, and find a way back, Megatron
will be so - - " Shrapnel exclaimed in glee. His sentence was cut off at the end when
his two brethren simply told him to silence himself. They believed that he already
proved himself enough of a nuisance and a fool; and his stupidity still didn't make up for
him getting them here and impeding the Insecticons of their original objective: to
secure the energon.
Shrapnel tried to compromise with his kinsmen, "But - - brothers."
"SHUT UP, SHRAPNEL!!" Kickback boomed.
You should be put to scrap for screwing up our primary mission! Did you really
think that Megatron would be pleased with us just by killing only a few measly
Autobots?! Let's just stop talking and find those punks. At least we'll have something
to chew up once they're dead." As soon as the Insecticon finished, there was only
reticence between Shrapnel and his two brothers, so they just simply waited for their
targets to come to them.
One giant mech kneeled under heavy cover where nature was dominant of its
surroundings. Its metallic shape was defined through its human-like appearance, its
blades sheathed on its forearms, ready to strike down any foe when they're put to use.
But what's more dangerous wasn't the mech itself, but the man that controls it inside.
Hewas taking a break from the tournament at Lanteau Island so that he could refresh
his mind. He donned a colored tight suit and trench coat. No human ever knew his true
identity, save for the scientists that helped provide his mech for him. To many he's
simply as Schwarz Bruder - a Neo-German with fighting skills that rivals that of the
acclaimed Master Asia, an honorable warrior gone rogue. Schwarz's role has never
changed; he was to help Domon Kasshu, directly and indirectly, to win the battle
against the Dark Gundam, a giant mech that is capable of three abilities that none of
the other Gundams possess: self-regeneration, self-multiplication, and self- evolution.
But, it was still up to the new King of Hearts to defeat this one menace that is a
threat to the Earth's survival. Schwarz noticed that the three Insecticons were on his
sensor screen. They couldn't see him because he was cloaked, rendering him invisible
and unseen. Three other vehicles were heading in their direction. "What are those
vehicles doing here?" Schwarz asked himself.
What intrigued him further was that when he extended his line of sight through
his sensors, there was no driver in one of the vehicles! Slowly, but silently, he
advanced towards the Insecticons to uncover this conundrum.
Hound's team had all of their heat sensors fully active once they were in range
of the forest. They stopped and transformed at about ten miles beyond the premises
of the woods nearby. Bumblebee and Jazz had their weapons ready, while Hound
used his optical sensors to amplify his vision so he can see further, which is his
equivalent of a set of binoculars. He noticed that one of the Insecticons were hidden
behind the tree due to his adversary's exposed heat signature. It was Kickback,
pulling out his machine gun and firing random volleys in the Autobots' direction.
Bombshell and Shrapnel were giving support fire to lay waste upon their enemies.
"Hit the deck!" Hound shouted, before the grenades landed, hitting and
sending piles of dirt ten-twenty feet up, scattering it on and around them. Shrapnel in-
formed his brothers that he was going to climb up one of the trees so he could get a
better view of his targets. They allowed him to do as he intended. And continued firing.
Jazz and Bumblebee retaliated, firing their weapons in the Insecticons' direction.
Shrapnel climbed the trunk of a large tree upward, and all three Autobots were
caught in his view. "Now I've got you, you - -" he said, but croaked as a blade dove
through his back and pierced through his chestplate. "Wha - - what is this?" Shrapnel
spoke faintly before his words died out. He was lifted by the blade with relative ease,
then was finally released from the brunt of it, falling down and making a hard landing
between his brothers. "Shrapnel!" Bombshell snapped. It suddenly came to his mind
that they had a new enemy in their midst, whom had just defeated their brother without
difficulty.
"Who's there?" he asked aloud. All he got was the silent treatment. "Show
yourself, or I'll blast you to pieces!" he threatened.
"Okay," said the invisible stranger.
A giant mech de-cloaked behind the Insecticons, standing eighteen meters
tall, with arms crossed and blades sheathed. "You've got some nerve for fighting others
whom is caught in a weaker position than you."
Kickback and Bombshell noticed a couple of seconds later that his voice was
coming through the speakers of the mech.
"Who are you to mention such - -" Kickback said, turning himself towards the
attacker.
"Let's be realistic," the stranger continued. "You could try to attack me, but then
you'd be exposing yourselves to your friends outside of the woods. Not very good odds
in my opinion."
Bombshell swiveled his head back towards their prey, then turned to Kickback
and asserted: "Brother, he's right. With Shrapnel down, we're outnumbered four to two.
I suggest we make a retreat."
Kickback considered that thought for a moment, then signaled Bombshell to pick
up Shrapnel and prepare to retreat. Once again he stood face forward towards their
new foe. "Let me reassure you that we'll, and we won't be the only robots you'll have to
worry about. The next time we meet, I'll promise you that it won't be easy as it is now."
"Save your breath and run while you still can."
Kickback grew hesitant, then called on Bombshell, whom was ferrying Shrapnel
to retreat.
Hound was wondering what made the confrontation with the Insecticons end so
quickly. The answer grew apparent in the form of one giant mech. It flew over the three
Autobots and landed directly in front of them. The scout scratched his head in
confusion, unsure of what to make of the situation. "Uh, I guess we should thank you
for saving our lives."
"Don't mention it," the stranger said in a neutral tone.
Bumblebee interrupted, intrigued about the stranger who was staring downward
upon them. "I was wondering, why did you save us from the Insecticons?"
The stranger chuckled, then replied: "I had this gut feeling of mine that you didn't
come here just so you could wreak havoc on the Earth."
"No, as a matter of fact, we got here by accident," Hound declared.
"I see. Do you have any idea what brought you here?"
"We were out back in Colorado doing a recon mission when we got trailed by the
Insecticons. Somehow, one of them managed to create a vortex when he fired his
weapon at the materials we were looking for. We got dragged into the vortex, and then
we suddenly end up here on Earth, but not the Earth that we know.
"We had to look for the Insecticons to make sure they weren't causing any
trouble. Following that, we met you."
It was all becoming clear to the stranger in the mech. These robots were not of
this world. "You mind telling me who you are?"
Hound chortled quietly and pointed to himself with his right hand. "I'm Hound."
Both of the Autobots introduced themselves quickly.
The small, yellow hued robot spoke "Bumbleebee,"
"Jazz," the tall white robot said.
The mech nodded at them. All of the Autobots and the mech stood in silence.
Bumblebee broke that silence. "So you mind telling us who you are?" he smiled,
confidently.
"I, am Schwarz Bruder of Neo-Germany."
"Nice to meet you," all three Autobots said as one.
"As to you," he replied. "I am sorry, but I must head back to Neo- Hong Kong. My
friends may be in need of me there."
"Did you just say Neo-Hong Kong?" Hound inquired.
"Yes."
"Mind if we tag along? We could use a guide to help us around here."
Schwarz weighed that thought into consideration. "All right, I'll help. But
try not to act too suspicious."
"No problem. Hound grinned. "I guess we have we all have a lot of explaining to
do."
The Neo-German fighter chuckled again. "Yes, I suppose so."
Hound and the others smiled. They had a confrontation with the Insecticons not very
long ago, and made a new friend only moments afterward.