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The Extreme, Part 2: Initiation
By nightdragon0
"Sky Lynx!"
"Rodimus?" I asked, looking over in his direction. The hangar was empty except for the two of us. "I thought you'd have left for Cybertron already."
"Someone apparently made a mess of servicing the engines and we're basically stuck." The Autobot commander laughed. "I haven't seen you in a while Sky Lynx. How's everything going up there?"
"Well, I liked it better when it was mainly us and the Decepticons. There were great battles to fight then, at least."
"Then you wouldn't be stuck with all this shipping duty, I assume."
"It's an insult to one who hold a rank such as mine."
"With all the downsizing and upgrading going on, I'd say you're getting onto the endangered species list."
"Indeed." I nodded. I was the size of a large shuttle, or a standard gestalt/combiner transformer. That meant I used fuel in amounts like a shuttle, not like a regular Cybertronian. But unlike a shuttle, I needed to be constantly supplied, not just when I was scheduled to travel. "How have you fared then, Rodimus?"
"Since the democracy came into things, I've pretty much had a great deal of responsibility lifted off my shoulders."
"And I'm thinking you would be in the main governing body of Cybertron."
"Believe me, I've had my fair share of that during the wars. I still serve as an advisor, but nothing that's going to send a whole bunch of assassins on my tail."
"Peace, they say, is merely a foreshadowing for a greater battle." I muttered.
"That may be so." Rodimus nodded. "But let's concentrate on the present here. My rides' down, and since the schedules say you're headed back to Cybertron, I was hoping you'd give me one."
"If you don't mind riding with the cargo, it would be my pleasure."
"Great. Reliable as always, old friend."
I lowered the legs of my dinobird mode and extended a ramp to allow Rodimus to climb aboard. This was the combination my by bird mode and my lynx mode, making me looking like a winged dinosaur on four legs.
"As always, this flight has been blessed with my superior talents. Just sit back and leave the flying to me." I declared as I transformed to shuttle mode and fired up my engines, spending us speeding away from the moon of Argentia II.
"I see time hasn't done anything to improve your ego." Rodimus sighed, taking his seat at the cockpit. "It's going to be just like old times."
The stars around us shot by as I carried on my flight. The Argentia system was comprised of 50 small moons and planets orbiting a sun. A lot of raw energon minerals had been discovered around this uninhibited system and I'd made many runs back and fro.
I went along on my usual route (the fastest one of course). However, I begun to feel that something was wrong, but neglected to mention it until my long-range scanners started beeping.
"What's that?" Rodimus asked.
"Odd. My scanners have picked up some unidentifiable communications signal. It seems to be coming from the moon Argentia 52."
"That moon was cleaned out a long time ago." Rodimus said. "You're probably mistaken."
"The chances of my highly accurate and advanced technology being wrong are a 100 to 1." I insisted. "This certainly merits a quick investigation."
"Well, I certainly don't mind the detour. Let's just make it quick."
"Fortunately, it's Sky Lynx you're talking about here. I will be quicker than quick."
I deviated from my normal course and descended towards the moon. The source of the signal happened to be near the old landing pad, and I touched down there, smoothly as ever. Besides the launch pad, there were just a few old Cybertronian one-man shuttles and the run down processing factory, having been out of service for years now. The factory had been built into part of a mountain.
"Looks deserted." Rodimus commented, stepping out. He walked up to one of the old shuttles nearby and glanced into the cockpit. "Hmmm? This shuttled has been upgraded and fueled. This place was supposed to be abandoned for years."
"Something is not right." I growled, transforming into dinobird mode. "I don't know what, but I feel it."
"Let's check out the factory." Rodimus nodded, pulling out his gun.
It took along one swipe of my tail to send the old doors crashing inwards. We were walking through the corridors when I heard footsteps. I shadowy figure dashed in front of us.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Rodimus demanded, pointing his gun in the figure's direction.
All of a sudden, a laser blast shot the weapon out of his hand. On a walkway above us, a humanoid figure flickered into view. Cloaking technology that even my sensors had failed to detect. Another and another appeared.
"Attack!" A voice commanded. "The Autobots must not be allowed to leave here alive!"
"Dammit!" Rodimus cursed, jumping back as laser fire rained down.
"RRRRAAGGGHHH!" I let loose with the flames from my jaws, incinerating several figures who'd been bold enough to jump down in front of me. They seemed distinctively Cybertronian, but didn't seem to have any transformation abilities. Each one was heavily armored, with a helmet that shielded any signs of their identity. Their weapon technology was definitely on par with ours.
Being my size, it was pretty much impossible for me not to get hit, the lasers leaving burning marks where they hit. Even on my armored hide, they pierced right to the circuitry.
"Rodimus take one of those shuttles and get help! I'll cover your retreat!" I yelled, firing off a couple of missiles.
"You can take them all by yourself!" Rodimus protested.
"Just GO! That's an order!!" I roared, swing my tail to knock another of the soldiers back. "Listen to me at least this time!"
"I'll be back Sky Lynx! I promise!" The Autobot commander transformed into his vehicle mode and raced off, barging a couple of guards out of his way.
"Stop him! Get out there you fools!" The commander ordered. I still couldn't figure out where his voice was coming from, but I had little time to think.
I fired at the ceiling just as Rodimus got out, sending huge rocks crashing down, sealing up the entrance of the cavern/factory. That would deter any forms of pursuit from here. Unfortunately, it also left me with no means of escape.
More and more soldiers were appearing. I screamed in pain as a rocket blew off my left wing. Desperately, I looked around and spotted what seemed to be a power generator. With a roar, I leapt up and fired up my jets, propelling myself towards the generator.
I sent a barrage of missiles into it, resulting in a huge explosion that threw me back against the wall. I was in bad shape now, shields depleted, armor damaged and power supplies failing. But I would not be defeated.
However, as I got up, I was hit by a yellow burst on energy. Several more followed after that. The pain that shot up into my processor was incredible, but I found myself unable to cry out.
Unable to move even. My servos were not responding to anything I wanted to do.
Paralyzed! I realized in horror. I could only struggle in vain against it as the soldiers surrounded me.
Each one took their time to aim, then fired at once. I could tell my legs were blown off, but everything else was oblivious to me. I collapsed onto my chest, head hitting the ground.
My vision was blurred, but I could still make out a Cybertronian stepping up in front of me, arrogantly shoving his foot onto my snout. I could do nothing to resist.
He was obviously the commander, much larger than the other soldiers. Unlike the others, his helmet left his mouth exposed.
"You're fought well, Sky Lynx but in vain." He laughed. His voice was deep, reverberating and sounded truly hideous. "Those were extremely unstable charges from a prototype, but it seems as if you've just been disabled and not destroyed."
"Sir, the other one has escaped." A voice from off to the side reported.
"No matter." The commander replied. "We will be gone, without a trance after this." Then, he looked down at me. "I'm sure you'll want to know who we are before you die."
The Cybertronian folded his arms and cocked his head to the side.
"We are like you, but without a name for our fraction. In those early centuries of the Great War, we fled Cybertron, vanishing into the deepest regions of this vast galaxy. Whilst you've fought, we've dedicated ourselves to research, developing technology beyond what you can even begin to comprehend. The time will come, when we take Cybertron and after which become the supreme rulers of the known universe." He laughed long and loud. "You may have delayed our plans a little, but our time will come. We shall disappear again, not wasting valuable resources on needless battles."
This ... another fraction. I thought. I ... must... warn...Cybertron!
My opponent knelt down to stroke my head.
"The great commander Sky Lynx, how pitiful you look struggling." He whipped out a huge plasma cannon and jabbed it at my forehead. "Worry not, I'm going to make it look like you took this whole place and everyone of us down with you. You'll go down in history as a great hero after all. But, the dead man tells no tales, as they say..."
The cannon lit up, a humming sound indicating it was charging.
NO! I cried silently. NO! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!!
The last thing I saw was the grinning face of my nemesis as he emptied the plasma cannon into my head.
NNOOOO!
I snapped up, screaming.
That was when Syndrea's fist flew into my face, knocking me to the ground.
"Argh!"
"Oh no! I'm sorry!" Syndrea gasped, running over to help me up. "But the way you were screaming like that, I just had to do something."
"Yeah, sure." I nodded, panting.
I ran my claws down the chest of my dragon beast mode. Black, sliver and gold coloring. I watched my chest rising and falling in accordance with my breathing.
It was me, Nightfire, the dragon. I was no longer Sky Lynx, the Autobot commander, the dinobird.
"Just a dream." I muttered.
"Another vision?"
"Of the past. But it's over and done with. Don't worry." I said, standing up.
Syndrea and I were at the cavern I used as my den, fixing it up since the Quantum serge pretty much trashed everything. Syndrea had been repairing the communications relay and I'd, well, lain back and fallen asleep.
The velociraptor nodded and went back to fiddling around with the wires. From the look she gave me, I knew that she was going to ask me about it later.
As she twisted the wires, a hissing around came over the com-link. Both of us knelt over to hear it.
"Nightfire ... hiss ... drea. Need bo ... hiss ... report back to ...hiss..." It was Optimus Primal's voice.
"We heard you Optimus." Syndrea replied. "We'll be there shortly. Over and out."
"Status reports say that they both took a pretty large burst of energon, but otherwise they're OK." I said, indicating the two stasis pods that held Cheetor and Kirath.
Optimus nodded in approval and turned towards the computer screen. Considering he'd called everyone back to base, this had to be a significantly big thing. Rattrap had been dispatched for some reconnaissance mission, leaving him out of the gathering. The elevator hummed and brought up Tigatron and Airazor, the last of our members to arrive. Everyone took their spots at the circular table. Except me: my regular spot was leaning against the wall with my arms folded. I'm sure most of the others disapproved of this behavior, but I generally couldn't care less.
"I'll called you back here because I think we might have a serious problem on our hands." The Maximal commander said, assuming one of his 'big, important speech tones'. "Calico's team recovered the flyers in pretty bad shape."
"Yeah." Calico added in. "All I know is, we saw that huge energon explosion, the Preds we were fighting split and then we found those two."
"While they won't be able to tell us much, Kirath recorded those final moments before he went offline." Optimus continued.
Quick thinking. I thought.
Optimus played back Kirath's recording on the monitor. The screen was shaky, indicating that he'd been in the air. We were viewing things from Kirath's point of view and he turned towards a snow-covered mountain that had just been blown open. The snow from the adjacent peaks should've started pouring down into the artificially created opening, but it didn't.
"W...What's that?" Cheetor's voice came from off screen.
"I don't know." Kirath muttered.
There seemed to be a blue glow coming from within the crater. It then begun to get so bright until Kirath cried out in surprise and covered his eyes. Even though he'd obviously been squinting, I could make out two other flyers, probably Predacon ones, in the background.
The came the energon explosion that knocked the others out of the sky. Kirath's view spun wildly, but he astonishingly pushed on and instead flew closer until we could see a figure standing inside the crater.
It was a huge transformer, which seemed to have something like a crustacean as a beast mode. Laughing like a lunatic, he grasped on to a blue sphere about the size of his fist. Anything he was saying was indecipherable, except for the word 'power'. Next to him was a stasis pod, marked with a huge 'X'.
"By the matrix!" Kirath exclaimed. "An alien device! But who is that?!"
The figure then looked towards Kirath, brandishing a huge cannon. I grimaced, knowing what was going to happen. Kirath screamed as a blue burst of energy hit him.
The screen started spinning, and then went dark.
"Such ... malice I sense in that being." Silverbolt commented. "Just who or what was he?"
"The dark secret of the Axalon's journey." I said grimly, causing all heads to turn towards me. "Don't look at me. Ask your commander about that."
"An experiment to replicate Starscream's mutant indestructible spark." Optimus spoke. "One that should never have been attempted."
"It failed, with disastrous results." Rhinox added in. "Our purpose was to dump it on some far off planet where it could bring no harm to anyone. Unfortunately, when our ship was damaged in the battle, his pod was jettisoned with all the others."
"So now, it means there's a complete lunatic on the loose?" Syndrea asked.
"And one possessing a potentially powerful weapon, as we've clearly seen." Dinobot scowled. "Not very promising."
"Rattrap is keeping an eye on the Predacon Base, just in case they get into this." Optimus said. "He's got strict orders not to engage and to report back the moment he finds anything."
The ship's com-link hissed.
"Hello? Hey guys, I think there's something happening here." Rattrap's voice came from the other end. "One thing is, the Pred's shields are completely down!"
Everyone looked up with interest.
"Continue." Optimus told him.
"Well, listen to this." There was some hissing as Rattrap tuned his com-link to one of his gadgets. What it did was allow the rest of us to hear exactly what was going on in the base. To be particular, the Predacon command room.
"You dare attack me?!" It was Megatron's loud, booming voice.
There were the sounds of laser weapons being fired.
"Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!" A raspy, evil voice laughed loudly. "You fools! I am invincible! Immortal! Imbued with the powers of the aliens! Now you shall feel wraith of Rampage!!"
The deafening, lightning-like sound after that nearly drowned out all the screams. For a while, no one said anything. Everything was somehow trying to contemplate the fact that a completely insane maniac had gotten hold of an alien weapon of unknown power. And he'd just taken out our worst enemy.
"Guys, I think we have a problem!" Rattrap finally broke the silence.
"This is a disastrous turn of events." Dinobot growled.
"What?! Megs being scrapped?!"
"He's referring to us cheese-lips!" Calico yelled into the com-link. "Cause where do you think he's going once he slags the rest of the Preds?"
"Oh boy." Rattrap sighed. "We're all gonna ... "
"SHUT UP RATTRAP!" Everybody screamed.
"Maximals," Optimus Primal spoke. "This foe may be more dangerous than all the Predacons put together. Which is why we must defeat him immediately."
"Excuse me," Rattrap said over the com-link. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if he just vappd old Megs, what do you think he's gonna do to us?!"
"Does our opponent have a weak point we may strike at?" Silverbolt asked.
"His spark." Rhinox replied. "As we said, the experiment wasn't successful, so in theory his spark can be destroyed by a sharp energon weapon."
"Getting close enough to actually use a blade on him may prove to be the problem." Airazor noted.
"Who said anything about getting close?"
Everyone stared towards Optimus as he spoke.
"Why do you mean?" Calico asked.
"We have someone amongst our ranks with a reputation as a one-shot-kill sniper." He explained. "And supposedly the best."
That was referring to me, of course. I looked up as all heads turned in my direction.
"So, you really want me to do it?" I growled.
Optimus slowly nodded.
"I'll need my bullets back then. You know, those ones."
"You'll have them." Optimus replied. "Go prepare your weapon. I'll brief the others, then we're moving out immediately, to strike while their shields are still down."
I turned and walked down the corridor, ignoring the chattering voices. There was a clanging of footsteps as Syndrea came running after me.
"Wait!" She called, chasing me into my quarters. "This has something to do with your Predacon past, doesn't it?"
"Indeed." I opened the locker and searched through it until I came up with a large, black suitcase. Snapping it open, I pulled out the various parts and begun putting them together.
"Nightfire." Rhinox appeared at the doorway and tossed me a small pack of 4 bullets. "We'll be waiting in the control room."
He then strode off, leaving Syndrea silently watching me as I held up my personal sniper rifle.
"This is what's known as Zero Wing's .338 Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle." I explained. "There aren't too popular as they're considered the 'daredevil's sniper'. Want to know why?"
That had been a pretty unnecessary question, but Syndrea nodded anyway.
"It can only be loaded with a single round. You miss and you have to shove a new shell in, provided you live long enough to do so. However, this rifle is the only one capable of holding the rounds I designed myself. Energon-based Magnum Spikes."
"Magnum Spikes are one of the better piercing round available." Syndrea commented.
"I modified them to my needs by replacing the charge within with energon and coating the casing with an energon layer." I said, holding up the rifle and testing the scope. "When targeted at a victim's spark, it will fatally damage it, provided it doesn't extinguish the spark outright."
"And this was how you killed then." Syndrea finished.
"I still hear their screams in my nightmares." I muttered, closing my eyes. "The pain and anguish as their sparks evaporated into nothingness. I never wanted to kill this way again."
"Nightfire ... "
"But now, I have no choice." I said, chambering one of the bullets. There was a familiar click as it slid into place. "Cry havoc, for the dragon of war is set loose."
Syndrea and I didn't speak as we headed back to the control room. Everyone was waiting as I boldly stepped into the room and swung the rifle over my shoulder.
"Are you prepared then?" Optimus asked.
"As me commanding officer, you have to give the order."
"Then, shoot and terminate." Optimus said grimly.
"Yes sir." I saluted.
I felt that it was a taste of old times. In expression of course, because it didn't really happen a long time ago.
I stepped through the ventilation shaft and positioned myself on a platform overlooking the Predacon control room. I tested the section of the catwalk and after making sure it held my weight, gave a thumbs-up to Calico and Dinobot, who were watching my back. Dinobot had been rather sore about sneaking around the base, but I guessed even he understood the necessity this time.
With the base's shields and defenses down, getting in had been a snap. Optimus, Rhinox and Rattrap would approach on the lower level from one side, Silverbolt, Tigatron and Airazor on the other. Syndrea had stayed back at base to bring Cheetor and Kirath once they were battle capable again.
It was a simple plan really. I was to hit our bot, Rampage, destroying or as least severely damaging him, and allowing the others to sweep in and finish him off, along with the other Preds. Now that I got a fairly good look at him, I noted that he was some kind of Transmetal Crab.
Our scans had shown all functional Preds in the base were there in the 'throne room'. Rampage was seated on Megatron's throne, giving some deranged speech to the Predacons gathered before him.
Blackarachnia, Tarantulas, Waspinator, Terrorsaur, and Quickstrike. It seemed Megatron had been scrapped good, along with his loyal drone, Inferno. Unfortunately, that left Deathwing, Shadowflare and Muricate all as MIA (missing in action).
Still, I had my mission. Calico nodded to me, indicating that the others were in place.
I lay down on my chest and took aim. There was no hurry and certainly very little danger, considering how much the guy was rambling. I could sense a powerful spark within his shell, which practically made a bull's-eye on his chest.
This is too easy. I thought.
Perhaps if I hadn't been so busy thinking about how I'd get a whole lot of praise after the mission, I would've noticed the supporting bolts of my platform slowly coming lose. Calico called out a warning, but it was too late.
Fate had intervened.
The shot went wide and I hit the platform below, losing my rifle ... and alerting every Predacon to my presence.
I silently swore as every weapon was trained on me. Dinobot and Calico stood up and begun firing down at the Preds below. At the same time, the other Maximals charged into the room, guns blazing.
Pure hell broke loose and screams and laser bursts filled the room. I took the opportunity to leapt down and grab my sniper rifle from the platform below. Rampage had himself in the open, gleefully firing off a huge rocket launcher. I saw a piece of shrapnel hit Airazor's wing and she retreated out of the room after the others insisted on it.
I was pulling a bullet out of the pack when a stray shot hit my hand, causing me to drop the entire box.
"Rargh! NO! Dammit!" The box disappeared into the lava below. At that moment, every single curse word I knew was running through my mind.
Then, I felt a great source of energy building up. Rampage was raising that blue alien orb, oblivious to the shots being fired. Abandoning the rifle, I flew back up to where Dinobot and Calico were.
"What the?!" Calico gasped.
"What in the pit is he doing?!" Dinobot growled.
"RUN!" I roared, not having time to explain myself. Not waiting for a response, I took off down the shaft. I heard the clanging of the footsteps as the pair decided to follow me. That was when I heard, as much as felt the explosion. An energon detonation that was literally tearing the base apart.
Ignoring everything else, I ran.
But that didn't mean I couldn't hear the screams of both Maximal and Preadcon alike who were still there, falling victim to the lunatic's madness.
The worse part was, it was harder to block out the screams in my mind.
"What in the name of Primus happened?!" Syndrea yelled as the four of us stumbled back into the base.
It must've been a shock to her, not only seeing our damaged and charred robot forms, but the fact that only Calico, Dinobot and myself came back. Airazor had barely gotten out of the Predacon base in time and we'd dragged her back with us.
Cheetor and Kirath were equally astonished.
"The Pred base ... went up in one big bang." Airazor panted.
"That maniac ... " Calico growled.
"I'm never seen that kind of power." I said, leaning on Syndrea for support. "It was utterly overwhelming."
"But ... what happened to big-bot and the others?" Cheetor asked.
None of the four of us wanted to answer that.
"Nightfire, you can sense it, can't you?" Kirath demanded. "Tell us!"
"That monster ... the explosion ... " I struggled to find my words. I really wanted to try and tell them something comforting, but my senses never lied. I had tried to reach out to each one of the others and had come up with nothing. "They were in there."
Calico sadly shook her head.
"NO ... " Cheetor muttered. "This ... can't be."
"Whatever it is, I believe we'll be joining them shortly." Dinobot said. "The scanners."
Even as Kirath activated the monitor, I knew what he was seeing. A single unit in a straight march towards us, literally tearing down everything in his path.
The grim reaper comes to life. I thought, gritting my teeth.
"Sentinel, all weapon systems online." Kirath ordered.
Even as he did, the look on his face was grim. The general was realizing the severity of the situation. Then, that single figure marched into our view. All the guns went crazy, only to have their shots bounce off some sort of invisible shield.
"Primus, it's not having any effect." He gasped. "We may have only one other option. To retreat."
"And abandon base?" Dinobot protested.
"Would you rather stay and die?!" Calico yelled.
"The power ... it's truly alien." Syndrea muttered.
"Alien ... " I muttered. "Syndrea! Get the alien's golden disc form the computer!"
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Syndrea did so, slipping the disc into her subspace pocket. Kirath was setting the defenses to keep firing.
"But the only way out is through the back." Airazor realized. "And that leads up the mountain."
"No, there's another way." I growled. Everyone followed me as I led them to the central corridor and blew a hole in the floor with my rifle. That revealed the river, way down below.
"My wings are too damaged to be of any use." Airazor said. "Kirath and Cheetor couldn't carry all of us between them either!"
"Jump." I commanded.
"WHAT?! Are you insane!?" Dinobot yelled.
"Better than being dead." I argued. "Syndrea?"
"I'll manage." She said clutching onto me. "I'll go with you, no matter what."
"Good. Then hold on!"
I closed my eyes, then leapt through the hole, plunging to the raging river below. One by one, the surviving Maximals did the same.
What followed was the second huge explosion I'd been in contact with in those matter of cycles. Only this one was of our base. I'd swear I could hear the hideous laughter of the monster called Rampage, from high up above, taking great pride in having caused all this destruction.
My dream ... as Sky Lynx ... was he ... the one?
Plunging into the cold, raging waters cut off the rest of my thoughts.
"I'm sorry Sky Lynx." Rodimus said sadly. "I promised I'd come back, but I couldn't save you."
Rodimus? I wondered. What's going on?
"But you took them out. Every single one by yourself. Our sensors showed their ships detonating along with a large portion of the planet. That's a huge accomplishment you should be proud of, through you may never know it."
I ... what?
Then the image came back into my mind. That dark figure, and the plasma cannon aimed down at my head. But the scene in front of me didn't make sense. I was standing right there, looking into Rodimus' face, as well as all the other Autobots gathered behind him.
"We'll never know who they were now, but hopefully they're gone for good."
Gone? What was that he'd told me?!
"NO!" I screamed. "It's a trick! They've played you out and retreated until superior stealth technology! Rodimus!"
I was utterly shocked when no sound came out.
The cannon! How had I survived that!? What was I doing here?!
That was when it hit me. I was dead. I turned and looked over the body of my familiar dinobird mode, only it shimmered with a light blue color. I was partially translucent and I could actually see through myself.
"Rodimus, we should take his remains back to Cybertron to be cremated." Someone from the crowd said. I just couldn't be bothered to rack my mind for whose voice it was.
"Such a shame. Now he'll never get that surprise upgrade we'd been planning for him." Another voice said.
Rodimus only nodded sadly.
"All right, let's go."
"Looks like you'll be honored after all." A reverberating voice came from behind.
I spun round and suddenly noticed I was standing on some astral background. It was like a tunnel made out of multicolored lights against the starry background. At the end of the tunnel was a bright, white light.
I squinted as the light approached me.
"Who are you? And where it this?" I asked.
"I believe you already know the answer." The voice said.
"The All-spark." I muttered. "The matrix of the after life, where all sparks go once their journeys of life are complete."
I wasn't one to really believe in these things, but now that I was seeing it for myself, there was no way to deny it.
"But you still feel incomplete. You're missing something ... "
"Yes!" I blurted out. "That battle! If I could only do it over, just once more, I wouldn't be ... "
"But you cannot. Time gone by is unchangeable."
"Then why tell me all this?" I asked, stepping forward.
"Because your journey is not complete. You thoughts betray you."
"I don't understand."
"You will have another chance, but as another."
I saw a glowing sphere rise in front of me. It was my own spark, shimmering brightly in its blue light. I was suddenly hit by a series of visions. In them, I saw the new transformer I would become.
It was the time traveler I'd fought alongside so long ago. He was supposedly from a time coming and I realized now that he and I were one. When he'd temporarily switched our bodies, it had left an unseen bond that linked our fates. I saw also, the other things he'd neglected to tell us.
"NO!" I cried when I realized it. "How can you make me this Predacon?! I don't deserve this!"
"The choice is not yours to make. It is ... destiny."
I attempted to spring forward, but an invisible force struck me, showing me back. I felt myself falling. The lights of the Matrix were fading away.
"You will remember nothing of this." The disembodied voice echoed in my mind. "It is the way it must be ... "
Unable to fight it any longer, I gave myself up to the darkness.
Sky Lynx was no more ...
"Gurgh!" This time, I managed to prevent myself from screaming out loud.
So, that was what happened to Sky Lynx. To me.
But I still shot up, staring around the area.
Our ragtag group had wandered around until we'd found this cavern to take shelter in. Outside, a huge thunderstorm was pouring down over the landscape. Exhausted, everyone lay, in beast mode, fast asleep.
Syndrea, Cheetor and Kirath were relatively clean, not having been in that earlier battle. Dinobot and Calico were only slightly charred by the blasts. Airzor's left wing, however, had been pierced by shrapnel and was unusable. My wings were generally all right, but I'd been in a state of shock and had been unable to use them earlier on.
I'd patched whatever minor injuries I could, but our situation was certainly in the extreme. Our base was gone and many of our troops lost. I still didn't know how the others were taking it, since I'd never really been that close to the group.
And there was a psychopath on our tails, intend on hunting us down like animals. Well, real animals that was.
"Nightfire?" Syndrea asked, getting up. "What is it?"
Growling, I abruptly sprang past her, drew my sword and slammed the approaching figure into the wall.
"Now, you're at an unfair advantage here because I can't use my weapon in beast mode." Deathwing said as I held my sword to his throat.
Shadowflare and Muricate, also in beast mode, appeared at the cavern's entrance and immediately hesitated at the glares of the awakening Maximals.
"Deathwing, you've got 10 nano-clicks to explain yourself before I turn you into chicken stew!"
"You wouldn't want to do that in this situation." Deathwing calmly replied. "Not while we face a common enemy, at least."
"Then you're not with that monster of a transformer?!" Kirath demanded.
"We were pretty much running for our lives." Muricate insisted.
"Remember how that energon blast knocked us out of the sky?" Deathwing addressed Kirath. "Well that Rampage figure came barging down and demanding us to take him to our base. I knew something was seriously wrong with him, so I split and these two happened to have the sense to come along."
"He held Blackarachnia at gunpoint and forced her to show him the way." Shadowflare told us. "In my humble opinion, a fatal mistake on her part."
"We figured as much." Kirath nodded. "So, what are you doing here?"
"To put it shortly, for an alliance." Deathwing said. "It would be mutually beneficial for both our parties, provided any of us survive to benefit from it."
"Can we really trust them?" Cheetor asked. "Something stinks about this."
"Under normal circumstance, I would have to agree." Dinobot said. "But in this predicament, the victor would merely await a far worse means of death."
"Well general, what do you think?" I asked Kirath.
"Why ask me?"
"Because you're the general, and probably the only one in a position to command this motley crew."
Dinobot was about to protest, but Calico gave him a ferocious growl, which basically meant 'shut up or I'll make you'.
"All right." Kirath nodded. "If the Predacons accept these terms ... "
"We will." Deathwing spoke.
"We have an alliance then."
I reluctantly withdrew my sword.
"In my humble opinion, we should also be discussing our business here." Shadowflare spoke. "The device in question is of alien design and I believe the alien disc was in your possession."
"Hope you remembered to bring it along." Deathwing muttered.
Syndrea gave him a nasty stare and pulled it out.
"But we aren't giving it to you." She growled.
"No, no. Nightfire is the one who should be using it, am I right?"
"Yes, give it to me." I said.
I carefully took the delicate disc in my claws and placed the 'palm' of my claw to it. Closing my eyes, I focused.
"What are you doing?" Syndrea asked.
"He's using his psychic powers to search through the disc, much like a computer scan would." Deathwing explained. "And I believe he's looking for any information that could aid us."
It was a very strange experience on my part. I saw myself seemingly floating through space.
Like there was a lock and I was trying to break the code with my mind. I pushed my mind deeper, searching for something, anything that would give us a chance. One moment, I was flying through a pathway of multicolored lights and then the information suddenly hit me.
"The Compelling Orb." I gasped, stumbling back into Syndrea's arms. "An artifact that grants unspeakable power to the one who holds it. It was supposedly sealed away, but the incredible malice and madness in Rampage's spark seemed to have reacted with that somehow, giving him the powers, but driving him further into insanity. Only when his insane desires will it destroy him from within."
No one said a word as I spoke.
"But it has a hidden power, an ability to travel through time and if he unlocks it somehow ... "
"Primus help us all." Kirath whispered.
Time travel. I thought. If I could get hold of it, could I change my destiny?
Syndrea was looking over towards me. She knew I was deep in thought, just not about what.